Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
“It’s Not Unusual” was the big breakout hit for Welsh singer Tom Jones, and it’s today’s classic song of the day. Released in January of 1965 in the UK (March in the U.S.), this track went to #10 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and #3 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart. The song went all…
For some reason I think of Neil Diamond primarily as a 1970s artist. (Probably because that’s when I started listening to top 40 radio.) That ignores Mr. Diamond’s many, many hits in the 1960s and then on into the 1980s. Case in point is today’s classic song of the day, “Thank the Lord for the Night Time.” Released in July…
Singer/songwriter Neil Sedaka passed away yesterday. In his honor, today’s classic song of the day is one of his big 1960s hits, “Stairway to Heaven.” No, this isn’t Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” which came along a decade or so after Mr. Sedaka’s tune. This one was written by Neil Sedaka and his partner Howard Greenfield back in 1960. RCA…
Today’s classic song of the day is “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)” by Betty Everett. Released as a single in January of 1964, this one went all the way to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Cash Box’s R&B chart. “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)” was written by professional songsmith Rudy…
“I Got You Babe” by Sonny & Cher is today’s classic song of the day. Released as a single in June of 1965, this one went all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and was a top ten hit all around the globe. Sonny Bono wrote “I Got You Babe” and…
Today’s classic song of the day was a hit for two different R&B artists. The song is “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)” and it was written by Betty Nelson, the wife of Ben E. King, and Ahmet Ertegun. (Probably all by Betty; it wasn’t unusual for the producer to take co-songwriting credit back in those days.) The first recording…
“Lay Lady Lay” was Bob Dylan’s fourth and final top ten single, and it’s today’s classic song of the day. Released in July of 1969, “Lay Lady Lay” peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, #8 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #19 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. Bob Dylan included “Lay Lady Lay” on his country-flavored 1969…
Today’s classic song of the day is one of many top ten hits by the Supremes. The song, released as a single in April of 1966, is “Love is Like an Itching in My Heart” and it peaked at #9 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and #7 on Billboard’s R&B chart. Supreme Mary Wilson…
Today’s classic song of the day was written way back in 1955, was a minor hit for three different artists in the ’50s, then became a major smash for the Righteous Brothers in 1965. The song is “Unchained Melody,” and it’s one of my all-time favorites. The music for “Unchained Melody” was written by film composer Alex North, with lyrics…