Today’s classic song of the day comes from singer-songwriter Dave Mason. The song is “We Just Disagree” and it was released in August of 1977, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #19 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
“We Just Disagree” was written by Jim Krueger, who was a guitarist in Dave Mason’s band. Here’s what Mr. Mason remembers about it:
“Well, Jim Krueger, my guitar player, wrote it. He said, ‘I’ve got this song. I think it would be great for you.’ He played it, and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s a great song.’ That was it. I did it because it was a great song and it worked within the context of how I write, which is I try to write about timeless themes so that the songs don’t become dated. Whether it was gonna be a hit or not, I had no idea.”
Turned out the song was a hit—Mason’s biggest, in fact. Dave Mason was a founding member of the English group Traffic, with whom he played from 1967 to 1968. After that he became a session musician, backing up the likes of the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and George Harrison. As a songwriter, he’s known for “Hole in My Shoe” for Traffic, “Feelin’ All Right” for both Traffic and Joe Cocker, and “Only You Know and I Know” for Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. That last one was also a solo hit for himself. While he hasn’t made any new recordings since the ’70s, he’s still out their performing today, age 79.
But let’s go back to the ’70s for today’s daily bonus video of the day. It’s Dave Mason and his band performing “We Just Disagree” on the December 30, 1977, episode of The Midnight Special. There ain’t no good guy, there ain’t no bad guy, there’s only you and me and we just disagree…
