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 a bit of psychedelia from the Summer of Love. The song is “Incense and Peppermints’ by the Strawberry Alarm Clock and it was released in May of 1967. It went all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100. The Strawberry Alarm Clock were a California-based…
Billy Joel’s album The Stranger was a really big deal during my sophomore year in college. The album came out just as classes started in September of 1977 and spent six weeks in the #2 position on the Billboard 200 top albums chart. It spawned a number of hit singles, including “Just the Way You Are” (#3), “She’s Always a…
Many people don’t know that Neil Diamond got his start as a Brill Building songwriter, a protege of established songwriters Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. Some of his first successes were songs he wrote for the Monkees, starting with “I’m Believer” and followed up by today’s classic song of the day, “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You.” Don…
Back in 1976 disco music was in full swing, which meant it was ripe for parody—which is exactly what up-and-coming disc jockey Rick Dees did. Dees released his humorously duckified disco track, “Disco Duck,” in September of 1976 and it shot all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100. “Disco Duck,” which…
Today’s classic song of the day is a premier example of producer Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound style. The song is “Da Doo Ron Ron” and it was a major hit for Spector’s group, the Crystals. Released as a single in April of 1963, “Da Doo Ron Ron” peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on the…
Today’s classic song of the day is a one-hit wonder by soul singer Jean Knight. The song is “Mr. Big Stuff” and, when it was released in May of 1971, it went all the way to #2 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Soul chart (for five consecutive weeks!). “Mr. Big…
When it opened off-Broadway in 1967 (and on Broadway in 1968), the musical Hair was groundbreaking with its hippie themes and on-stage nudity. The musical has also supplied us with several hit songs, including “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” (a hit for the 5th Dimension), “Hair” (a hit for the Cowsills), “Easy to Be Hard” (a hit for Three Dog Night),…
Today’s classic song of the day is a nice little bit of easy listening fluff from Australian songstress Olivia Newton-John. The song is “Sam” and, when it was released as a single in January of 1977, it went to #20 on the Billboard Hot 100, #34 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. “Sam”…
The Rolling Stones bring us today’s classic song of the day, “She’s a Rainbow.” Released in November of 1967, this psychedelic track peaked at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100. “She’s a Rainbow,” written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, is somewhat atypical for a Stones song in that it’s more of a gentle ballad than a hard rocker. In…
Eric Carmen is the king of power pop, and today’s classic song of the day is him applying all his power pop prowess to an uptempo ballad. The song is “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again” and, when it was released in April of 1976, it went all the way to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, #9 on the…