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 is an obscure soul banger that never gained a foothold on the pop charts but later got rediscovered by England’s Northern Soul scene. The song is “The Right Track” and it was recorded by soul singer Billy Butler. “The Right Track” was written by blues guitarist Johnny Jones and released, in 1966, on Chicago’s…
Sixty-two years ago today, on November 29, 1963, Parlophone Records released the single “I Want to Hold Your Hand” to record-buying audiences in the UK. The record had more than a million copies advance ordered and debuted on the British charts at number-two. (Number-one that week was another Beatles tune, “She Loves You.”) It took just two weeks for “I…
Back in the 1970s punk scene, Patti Smith was a big deal; her 1975 debut album Horses established her cred and put her on every punkster’s radar. She hit the mainstream three years later when she recorded “Because the Night,” a song she co-wrote with Bruce Springsteen. Released in March of 1978, “Because the Night” hit #13 on the Billboard…
It’s Thanksgiving Day here in these somewhat United States, so let’s be thankful for today’s classic song of the day, Andrew Gold’s “Thank You for Being a Friend.” According to Mr. Gold, this one was “just this little throwaway thing” that took him only about an hour to write. I guess it doesn’t take that long when you’re as talented…
It’s the day before Thanksgiving here in the United States and a lot of people are on the road or in the air, heading home or over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house for a big Thanksgiving meal and get together. It’s only fitting, then, that today’s classic song of the day is Simon & Garfunkel’s “Homeward…
When it comes to Steely Dan songs, I have trouble picking my favorites, because they’re all so well-made. But today’s classic song of the day, “Doctor Wu,” definitely has a place in my top five. It’s a helluva song. “Doctor Wu” is from 1975’s Katy Lied, which may be my favorite Dan album. (Or maybe The Royal Scam is my…
The Foundations’ “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” is today’s classic song of the day. Released as a single in mid-1967, this one went to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, #8 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on the UK charts. “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” was written by Tony Macaulay and John Macleod, and produced…
Here’s another obscure one for you. The song is “You Saved My Soul” and it was written and recorded by Burton Cummings, who you probably remember from his years with the Canadian band the Guess Who. This particular track was released as a single in August of 1981 and got as high as #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 and…
Sixty-two years ago today, on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was driving in a motorcade through Dallas, Texas. As the motorcade drove through Dealey Plaza, three shots rang out from a window in the nearby Texas School Book Depository. Kennedy was hit twice, one bullet striking and passing through his neck and the second striking and passing through…