Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Yesterday’s classic song of the day had everybody dialing “Beechwood 4-5789” (which is actually 234-5789). Today’s phone number-related song changes the first digit from a “2” to a “6” and gives us “634-5789,” a big hit for legendary soul singer Wilson Pickett. “634-5789” was written by Stax Records stalwarts Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper. You know Eddie Floyd as a…
Today’s classic song of the day with a phone number in the title is “Beechwood 4-5789.” Back in the days when there were fewer people, fewer phones, and therefore fewer phone numbers, local exchanges were known by their letters rather than their numbers. Take the first two letters of the word and that’s your exchange prefix—which you could translate into…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Get Ready,” a hit for two different Motown groups. It was initially a hit for the Temptations in 1966, then it was a hit again in 1970 by Rare Earth. “Get Ready” was written by premiere Motown songsmith Smokey Robinson. He envisioned it as an up-tempo dance number and had the Temptations in…
Yesterday’s classic song of the day, “Please Come to Boston,” was a about a musician who tried to get his girl to travel with him to Boston, Denver, and L.A. Today’s classic song of the day is about another musician who doesn’t want to leave their partner to go back on the road. The song is “Leaving on a Jet…
Yesterday, the 5th Dimension hosted a “Stoned Soul Picnic.” Today, Arthur Conley gives us some “Sweet Soul Music.” Written by Arthur Conley and Otis Redding, “Sweet Soul Music” was recorded at Muscle Shoals’ famous FAME Studios. Released in March of 1967, this sweet soul single climbed all the way to #2 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard R&B…
Yesterday the Supremes sang about “Stoned Love;” today, the 5th Dimension is keeping with that theme by going to a “Stoned Soul Picnic.” This song was written by legendary songstress Laura Nyro and originally included on her 1968 album, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession. The 5th Dimension released their version of the tune as a single in June of 1968;…
Today’s classic song of the day is the almost totally forgotten “Love (Can Make You Happy)” by a group called Mercy. Released as a single on March of 1969, it was a fairly big hit, going all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, Cash Box Top 100, and Billboard Adult Contemporary charts. It also hit #2 on…
Today’s classic Motown song of the day is “Since I Lost My Baby” by the Temptin’ Temptations. The tune was written by Smokey Robinson and fellow Miracle Peter Moore; Smokey also produced. The single, released in June of 1965, peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on Billboard’s R&B Singles chart. At the time, Smokey said “Since…
Yesterday’s classic song of the day was about 99 red balloons; today’s is about a single yellow balloon. The song, which few of you will remember (but might recall when you listen to it), is called “Yellow Balloon” and it’s performed by a group called The Yellow Balloon. Released in February of 1967, this little piece of sunshine pop rose…