Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Today’s classic song of the day was written and originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon—although it was a bigger hit for the group the Searchers. The song is “When You Walk in the Room” and Ms. DeShannon released her version as a B-side to her “‘Till You Say You’ll Be Mine” single in November of 1963. She re-released it as an…
Today’s classic Christmas song of the day was written and performed by former Beatle John Lennon, along with his wife, Yoko Ono, and the group of musicians they called the Plastic Ono Band. On this record, the Band consisted of Nicky Hopkins on piano, chimes, and glockenspiel; Teddy Irwin, Hugh McCracken, Chris Osbourne, and Stuart Scharf on various guitars; Klaus…
Today’s classic song of the day is about a girl, who’s really a guy, named “Lola.” Written by Ray Davies, the single was released by his group, the Kinks, in June of 1970. Despite its, at the time, controversial subject matter, “Lola” shot to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on the Cash Box Top 100. It was…
Today’s classic Christmas song of the day comes from that classic holiday television special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The song is “A Holly Jolly Christmas” and it was made famous by Burl Ives. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was a Rankin/Bass stop-action animation production that first aired on December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network. I watched it on WFBM-TV…
Today’s classic song of the day is a protest song from Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Fortunate Son.” It was one side of a two-sided single, the other side being “Down on the Corner.” This two-sided single was released in October of 1969. “Fortunate Son” got a lot of airplay and was embraced by those in the anti-Vietnam war movement, which helped…
Today’s classic Christmas song of the day is “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” written by famed songwriter Frank Loesser. It’s not a Christmas song per se, in that it doesn’t mention the holidays, but its snowy winter theme inspires listeners to identify it with the season. Frank Loesser wrote “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” in 1944 to sing with his wife, Lynn…
Today’s classic song of the day is a Motown classic, “Come See About Me” by the Supremes. This one was written by the legendary songwriting team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland, otherwise known as Holland-Dozier-Holland or just H-D-H. Brian and Lamont produced the single and backing was provided by the Funk Brothers, including Earl Van Dyke on…
Today’s classic Christmas song is in three-quarter time. It’s “The Christmas Waltz,” originally performed by Frank Sinatra but also by dozens if not hundreds of others over the years. “The Christmas Waltz” was written by legendary songwriters Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne for Frank Sinatra back in 1954. Frank requested a Christmas song from the pair, and you don’t turn…
Today’s classic song of the day is another one co-written by Paul Williams, this time with frequent collaborator Roger Nichols. (Paul did the words, Roger did the music.) The song is “We’ve Only Just Begun” and it was a huge hit for the Carpenters. Paul and Roger wrote “We’ve Only Just Begun” as a commercial jingle for California’s Crocker National…