Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
Your surf instrumental song of the day is “The Lonely Surfer” by Jack Nitzsche. This is a classic surf music instrumental, released on Nitzsche’s solo album of the same name. Released as a single in August of 1963, it peaked at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100. “The Lonely Surfer” moves us from the Carolina beach music sound of yesterday’s…
Your real honest-to-goodness mid-tempo shuffle Carolina beach music song of the day is “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy” by the Tams. Unlike yesterday’s classic song of the day, Brenton Woods’ “The Oogum Boogum Song,” which fell into the beach music category despite its straight beat, “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy” has that shuffle beat that defines the true…
Your nonsensical, possibly pornographic Carolina beach music song of the day is “The Oogum Boogum Song” by Brenton Wood. This track was released in April of 1967 and rose to #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #19 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart. “The Oogum Boogum Song” is about a guy who’s so obsessed with a certain young lady…
Your real song by a fake person in a real movie of the day is “It Only Hurts When I Cry” by Donna Loren. Ms. Loren, a singer and actress, sang it in character as “Donna” in the classic Frankie-and-Annette beach movie, 1965’s Beach Blanket Bingo. In this fashion, it’s like the fictional Wonders from yesterday’s classic song of the…
Your ’60s pop tune written for a fake band in a ’90s movie song of the day is “That Thing You Do!” by The Wonders. The Wonders, in case you were wondering, were a one-hit wonder band created for the 1996 movie That Thing You Do! That movie is the best representation of the music business and the joy of…
Today’s forgotten Philly Soul song of the day is “Together” by the Intruders. It reached #48 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on Billboard’s R&B chart. The track sounds like classic 70s soul even though it was released in April of 1967. That’s because it has that glossy Philly Soul sound we associate with 70s soul, not the more…
Your forgotten late-60s pop song of the day is “Something in the Air,” by the group called Thunderclap Newman. It was a minor hit during the summer months of 1969, hitting #37 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the UK Singles chart. It’s a dreamy little ditty, all about the revolution being here. (In fact, the song…
Your forgotten late-60s soul song of the day is “Can I Change My Mind” by Tyrone Davis. This one was released in November of 1968 and went to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot R&B Singles list. It’s a stellar example of Chicago soul in an era otherwise dominated by the masters of Motown in…
Your Burt Bacharach song of the day is “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.” It was written for their musical, Promises, Promises, but made famous in a more radio-friendly version by Dionne Warwick that went to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The version from the Broadway musical is a lot more stripped down than the hit single, originally performed…