Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
We’re looking at Dusty Springfield’s legendary Dusty in Memphis all week this week, and now we come to the one hit single from the album. “Son of a Preacher Man” was the third track on side one; released as a single in November of 1968, it peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 early the next year. “Son of…
We continue our listening tour of Dusty Springfield’s legendary Dusty in Memphis album with the second track on side one, “So Much Love.” This one was written by the equally legendary songwriting team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin and was a perfect match for the soulful feel of this album. One of the things that makes Dusty in Memphis…
This week we’re going to do something a little different with a deep dive into one of the finest albums ever made, Dusty in Memphis. We won’t look at every track on the album, although we could, but rather focus on the best of the best on this landmark album. The opening track on Dusty in Memphis (side one, track…
Your classic song for a summer Sunday afternoon is “Groovin’,” by the Young Rascals, later covered by Booker T. and the M.G.’s. It was a big hit for both groups. The first version released was by the group then known as the Young Rascals. They released it in April of 1967, just in time for summer Top 40 radio, and…
Your totally forgotten ’70s song of the day is “Games” by a group called Redeye. It was released in late 1970 and peaked at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100. I’m guessing that if you’re of a certain age you’ll remember this song if you hear it. It played the other day on a rerun of Casey Kasem’s American Top…
Your classic cheesy early ’80s romantic pop song of the day is “Key Largo” by Bertie Higgins. Released in September of 1981, it peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. “Key Largo,” written by Bertie Higgins and his producer Sonny Limbo, is the one that references all those old Humphrey Bogart movies,…
In honor of Tina Turner’s passing, today’s classic song of the day is the Wall of Sound classic, “River Deep, Mountain High.” Produced by the legendary Phil Spector for Ike & Tina Turner, this one was released in May of 1966 but only rose to #88 on the Billboard Hot 100. Everybody, Phil Spector included, expected “River Deep, Mountain High”…
Your totally unknown classic Jimmy Webb song of the day is “This Is Where I Came In,” by the Contessas. No point looking it up; it didn’t chart anywhere. Recorded and released in 1965, “This is Where I Came In” was one of the first songs composed by soon-to-be-legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb, and his first time in the studio. It’s…
Today’s oddly original classic late-70s song of the day is “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” by Joe Jackson. In my memory this is an early ’80s tune, but it was originally released in October of 1978. That initial release didn’t take so the label re-released it in July of 1979, when it went all the way to #21…