Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…