Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
This week’s final classic song with Hal Blaine on drums of the day is “Indian Reservation,” purportedly by the Raiders. This single was released in February of 1971 and rose all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 charts. I say “purportedly” by the Raiders (formerly known as Paul Revere & the…
Today’s classic song that featured Hal Blaine on drums of the day is “Cracklin’ Rosie” by Neil Diamond. Mr. Diamond released this single, on the Uni Records label, on July 30, 1970. It shot all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, Mr. Diamond’s very first number-one record. Contrary to what the…
Today’s classic song with Hal Blaine on drums of the day is “(They Long to Be) Close to You” by the Carpenters. This monster track was released in May of 1970 and shot to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Cash Box Top 100, Billboard Adult Contemporary, and Canadian RPM charts. It won the group a Grammy Award for Best…
Today’s classic song of the day with Hal Blaine on drums is “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel. Released on January 20, 1970, this song was a massive hit, charting for six weeks at #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. Billboard ranked it the number-one song for all of 1970 and it took…
Today’s classic song with Hal Blaine on drums of the day is “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” by the 5th Dimension. This hit single won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year—the fifth such honor for Mr. Blaine. “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” was actually a medley of two songs from the Broadway musical, Hair: “Aquarius” and “The Flesh Failures,” both…
We continue our salute to drummer extraordinaire Hal Blaine with today’s classic song of the day, the instrumental hit “A Taste of Honey” by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Mr. Albert’s single, released in August of 1965, peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent five weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart. It also won…
This week we’re highlighting the work of legendary drummer Hal Blaine and some of the hundreds of hits on which he’s played. We’re starting with today’s classic song of the day, “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes. “Be My Baby” was written by the team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich (with additional credit to producer Phil Spector, as was…
Today’s classic song of the day is “I’m Not My Brother’s Keeper” by a group called The Flaming Ember. This track was released in October of 1970 and rose to #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #12 on Billboard’s R&B chart. “I’m Not My Brother’s Keeper” was written by the team of William Witherspoon, Raynard Miner, and Ron Dunbar.…
Today’s classic song of the day is “I Go Crazy” by Paul Davis. This soft rock ballad was released in June of 1977 and peaked at #7 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100. “I Go Crazy,” written by Davis himself, is a song about a guy who runs into an old lover and realizes he…