Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
Today’s classic song of the day is “Take a Letter Maria’ by R.B. Greaves. Released in autumn of 1969 by ATCO Records (I vividly remember that yellow and white label), “Take a Letter Maria” peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It ended up selling more than 2 1/2 million copies. The song is about a guy who discovers…
Today’s first long forgotten classic soul song of the day is “Mix It Up Baby” by Barbara Lynn. This one is long forgotten because it didn’t chart when it was released in March of 1968. Ms. Lynn wrote “Mix It Up Baby” and it was released on her “Here Is Barbara Lynn” album for Atlantic Records. It’s a mid-tempo dance…
Today’s classic song of the day is “A Girl Like You” by the Young Rascals. Released in 1967, it peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. “A Girl Like You” is an upbeat, feel good shuffle. The first part of each verse (‘I don’t know what it’s all about…”) is more subdued, with just piano accompanying the vocals, then…
Today’s long lost classic soul song of the day is “Nothing But a Heartache” by the Flirtations. Released in 1969, it only made it to #34 on the Billboard Hot 100. It should have been higher. “Nothing But a Heartache” was written by British songwriters Wayne Bickerton and Tony Waddington. Bickerton was a fairly successful producer for acts like Petula…
Today’s nearly forgotten classic song of the day is “I Can’t Stay Mad at You” by Skeeter Davis. This single was released in August of 1963 and peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Singles chart, and #14 on the Hot Country Singles chart. “I Can’t Stay Mad at You” was written by…
Your forgotten classic oldie of the day is “With This Ring” by the Platters. This single was released in February of 1967 and went to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #12 on Billboard’s R&B chart. The song was written by Richard “Popcorn” Wylie, Luther Dixon, and Tony Hester. Together and separately, they were responsible for such hits as…
Your classic groovy song of the day is “Groovy Situation” by the Duke of Earl himself, Gene Chandler. Released in June 1970, this single reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart. It ended up selling more than a million copies to be certified Gold by the RIAA. “Groovy Situation” was written…
Our final classic mid-80s song of the day this week is “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul. This single was released in late November 1988 and peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Dance Singles charts early the next year. Sales were helped by a ton of music video play on MTV. “Straight Up” was written and produced by…
Today’s classic mid-80s song of the day is “I Can’t Wait” by Nu Shooz. This dance floor classic debuted in February 1986 (sort of; we’ll get into details in a moment) and peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 on the Hot Black Singles chart (even though nobody in the group was black), and #1 on the Hot…