Poor Richard’s Rock Almanac WWTL2 Ben Franklin

Benjamin Franklin did not just help invent a country. He also invented lightning rods, bifocals, the Franklin stove, swim fins, and what might be the greatest mustache in American history. If the man had lived another hundred years he probably would have invented the electric guitar too.

So what would the most curious mind of the 18th century be listening to if he wandered into modern day Philadelphia with a pair of bifocals and a freshly charged lightning rod? Probably the bands that carry the same restless energy he had. Philly has always had a musical current running through it, from arena rock to soul to modern alternative. Franklin was a tinkerer, an experimenter, and a man who clearly enjoyed making a little noise when the situation called for it.

This WWTL2 playlist imagines Ben Franklin discovering the modern Philadelphia sound. Some songs nod to electricity, invention, and discovery. Others simply capture the rebellious spirit of a man who once flew a kite into a thunderstorm just to see what would happen.

If anyone was going to turn curiosity into rock and roll… it was probably Ben.

1. mastersradio – Crown of the Ordinary 1
2. The Boomtown Rats – Here's a Postcard
3. Dwight Yoakam, Post Malone – I Don’t Know How To Say Goodbye (Bang Bang Boom Boom)
4. Elton John and Brandi Carlile – Swing For The Fences
5. Buckcherry – Roar Like Thunder
6. Wilson Phillips – Good Vibrations
7. Daryl Hall and John Oates – Philly Forget Me Not (with Train)
8. The Electric Prunes – Smokestack Lightning
9. Track 35896
10. Daryl Hall – Can’t Say No to You
11. John Oates and Lawrence – Enough Is Enough
12. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – (Make the Music Go) Boom
13. Firefall – Cinderella
14. Ariana DeBose, Boy George, Nile Rodgers – Electric Energy (From Argylle)
15. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow – The Storm
16. Halestorm – Like A Woman Can
17. The Skeleton Twins – I Don't Want to Let You Go (feat. TBelly)
18. The Four Tops – Freedom
19. Will Smith, India Martinez, Marcin – First Love
20. Automatics – Flowers Of Freedom
21. Liam Gallagher/ w Dave Grohl – Everything's Electric
22. The Black Crowes (feat. Lainey Wilson) – Wilted Rose
23. AC/DC – Shot In The Dark
24. The Fabulous Thunderbirds w Billy Gibbons) – Payback Time
25. Anderson/Stolt – Knowledge
26. Closing Time
27. Phil Hendriks – Pennsylvania Avenue
28. Eclipse – The Spark
29. The Blow Monkeys – Time Storm
30. Sister Sledge – Free