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 an instrumental written by a Frenchman and recorded by a French orchestra leader. The song is “Soul Coaxing” and, when it was released in the U.S. in February of 1968, it went to #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart. I’ll admit I wasn’t familiar with this…
Today’s classic song of the day is an autobiographical journey through the early’60s folk music scene and the formation of the group the Mamas & the Papas. The song is “Creeque Alley” and, when it was released as a single in April of 1967, it went to #5 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100. “Creeque…
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…
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…
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…
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),…
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…
Top forty radio in the 1960s was a wonderful thing, with all types of music and musicians represented. You might get a song by the Beatles, then one by Dusty Springfield, then a Dylan tune, then a Motown tune, then a country tune, then maybe even something by an old-school crooner. That last category is represented by today’s classic song…
After spending the last four days celebrating solo songs by the four members of the Beatles post-breakup, it’s only fitting that we now look at a tune that features all four Beatles working together and firing on all cylinders. Today’s classic song of the day, then, is an early one by the Fab Four, “All My Loving.” Believe it or…