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 Motown song of the day is “Heat Wave,” which was a hit twice—for Martha and the Vandellas in 1963 and a little over a decade later for Linda Ronstadt. We’ll focus on the original version first, since this is Motown week at the Classic Song of the Day blog. Martha and the Vandellas recorded “Heat Wave” on June…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes. It was one of the first big Motown hits, released in August of 1961 on the Tamla label. It went all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard’s Hot R&B Sides charts. If you’ve been following this blog you might have noticed…
Today’s little-known classic soul song of the day is “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do),” originally released by Frank Wilson and most recently covered by the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen. Frank Wilson was a songwriter and producer for Motown Records in the ’60s and ’70s. In 1965 he was recruited, along with a handful of others, by Berry Gordy…
Continuing with our look at some of the top hits from the spring and early summer of 1970, today’s classic 1970 song of the day is “Hey There Lonely Girl” by Eddie Holman. The single was released the last week of December of 1969 and hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 21, 1970. “Hey There Lonely Girl”…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” by Jackie DeShannon. It’s a timeless, universal message that resonates as much today as it did when it was first released in 1969. Jackie DeShannon wrote (along with Jimmy Holiday and Randy Myers) and recorded “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” two years after the…
Today’s classic song of the day packs a true emotional punch. I’m talking about “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted,” originally a hit for Motown artist Jimmy Ruffin in the 1960s, then a hit for Brit singer Paul Young in the 1990s, but perhaps performed best by Joan Osborne with Motown’s Funk Brothers in 2002. It’s such a perfect song that…
Today’s classic song of the day is such a great song it was a hit in both the 1960s and 1980s—and has become a standard for performers of all types and sizes. The song is “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You),” which was first released by the Isley Brothers in 1966 and then later by Rod Stewart…
This week’s final classic song by a guy named Gary, Gerry, or Jerry of the day takes us back to 1960 and “He Will Break Your Heart” by Jerry Butler. This track went all the way to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard R&B chart. Jerry “The Iceman” Butler was a former member of soul…
Today’s classic song by a Gary, Gerry, or Jerry of the day is “Ferry Cross the Mersey” by Gerry and the Pacemakers. Released in December of 1964, this tune rode the wave of the Beatles’ British Invasion all the way to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 early the following year. “Ferry Cross the Mersey” was written by Gerry Marsden,…