Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
This week we’re going to look at songs that pack a real emotional punch, starting with Elvis Presley’s “Kentucky Rain.” This is a powerful song given a powerful performance by the King and it hits you in the gut every time you hear it. Elvis recorded “Kentucky Rain” on February 19, 1969. It was one of several powerful songs recorded…
This week’s final city-themed song of the day is “Going Down to Liverpool.” The song was initially released by Katrina and the Waves (you know them from their huge hit, “Walking on Sunshine“) but made a bigger splash when covered by the Bangles. “Going Down to Liverpool” was written by Kimberley Rew of Katrina and the Waves. It first appeared…
Today’s classic song of the day, like several others this week, mentions the name of a city in its title and lyrics. The song is “El Paso” by Marty Robbins, released in October of 1959. As a single, it hit #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard’s Hot Country Songs charts early in 1960. That made “El Paso”…
We’re apparently on a short run of tunes about cities, so for today’s classic song of the day we point the Wayback Machine to New York City in the late ’70s with the song “Native New Yorker” by the group Odyssey. This disco track was released in November of 1977 and, while it only hit #21 on the Billboard Hot…
Today’s classic song of the day is one that drew thousands of young people to a particular city in the summer of 1967. We’re talking “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” by Scott McKenzie. Released in May of 1967, just in time to herald the so-called Summer of Love, “San Francisco” peaked at #4 on both…
Today’s classic song of the day is one of the 1980’s most popular and most despised tracks. We’re talking about “We Built This City” by Starship. Released in August of 1985, the song topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 and hit the top ten in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Paraguay, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and West…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Allentown” by Billy Joel. The track was included on his 1982 album, The Nylon Curtain, and released as a single in November of that year. The single went to #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #14 on the Cash Box Top 100. “Allentown,” written by Mr. Joel, is about how the real…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Life in a Northern Town,” by the British band, the Dream Academy. Released in March of 1985, it peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, #9 on the Irish chart, and #15 on the UK Singles chart. “Life in a Northern Town” is a nostalgic song about living in a small English…
Our final classic song of the day from 1971 this week is “Want Ads” by the group Honey Cone. This track, released in March of 1971, hit #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Hot Soul Singles charts. Billboard ranked it as the #13 song for the entire year. “Want Ads” was written by Greg Perry, Barney Perkins,…