Song · Justin Townes Earle
“Harlem River Blues” by Justin Townes Earle
From the album Harlem River Blues (2010)
“Harlem River Blues” by Justin Townes Earle appears on 15 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 2010 and 2026. It was first released in 2010 on the album Harlem River Blues. Its best result is #6 on the WRSI Top 94 Songs of 2010. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #151 indie & aaa song of 2010 and #1,255 indie & aaa song of all time.
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"Harlem River Blues" gave Justin Townes Earle's 2010 album its title, and he wrote it alone, words and music, then produced it with organ player Skylar Wilson. Earle plays acoustic guitar, Jason Isbell adds electric guitar, Bryn Davies plays double bass and Bryan Owings handles drums and percussion, while Adam Bednarik recorded and mixed it.
The credits save their biggest surprise for the choir: eight singers are listed, Earle, Isbell and Davies among them, alongside Rayland Baxter, Alex Caress, Jordan Caress, Josh Hadley and Caitlin Rose.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 84 | WFPK Louisville, KY | WFPK Top 100 Songs of 2010 | 100 |
| 2010 | 6 | WRSI 93.9 The River Northampton / Pioneer Valley, MA | WRSI Top 94 Songs of 2010 | 93 |
| 2011 | 69 | WTMD Baltimore, MD | WTMD Top 89 Songs of 2011 | 89 |
| 2021 | 42 | WFUV New York, NY | WFUV Top 90 Songs of 2021 | 90 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 154 | WTMD | WTMD Listeners' Top 897 Songs, 2003-2018 | 896 |
| 2019 | 782 | WYEP | WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 | 1017 |
| 2019 | 782 | WYEP | WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 | 1099 |
| 2022 | 702 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
| 2022 | 1270 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 | 603 |
| 2023 | 317 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 | 1229 |
| 2023 | 387 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places | 800 |
| 2024 | 361 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2024 | 811 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2025 | 395 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) | 714 |
| 2026 | 892 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound | 1055 |
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