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 the truly classic “California Dreamin’,” by The Mamas & The Papas. This was the group’s first big hit, released in December of 1965. It went on to peak at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 the following year, sell more than a million copies, rank as the #10 song for all of 1966,…
Today’s classic song of the day is the classic protest song “Eve of Destruction,” by Barry McGuire. The song, released in July of 1965, shot all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit the top ten in countries around the world. “Eve of Destruction” was written by prolific songwriter P.F. Sloan, and produced by Sloan and…
Your totally forgotten Girl Group song of the day is “The Sh-Down Down Song (You Better Leave Him Alone),” credited to “The Ginger-Snaps featuring Dandee Dawson.” The song was written and produced by the very prolific songwriting team of P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri for Dunhill Records. It was released in 1965 and went absolutely nowhere, which is a shame…
Your classic song that sounds an awful lot like another classic song of the day is “Let’s Live for Today” by the Grass Roots. It was released in May of 1967 and hit #8 on the Billboard Hot 100—and it bears a striking resemblance to the Drifters’ 1961 hit, “I Count the Tears.” The music for “Let’s Live for Today”…
Today’s classic song of the day had popular recordings by three very different artists in three very different styles. We’re talking about “Don’t Be Misunderstood,” first recorded by Nina Simone in a simmering soul version, then by the Animals in a bluesy rock version, then by Santa Esmeralda in a fiery Latin disco version. It says something that the song…
Your influential but overlooked song from an influential but overlooked album of the day is “Alone Again Or” by the band Love, from their album Forever Changes. It’s one of those songs you know when you hear it, but probably wouldn’t think of otherwise. It was released as a single in January of 1968 but only bubbled under the Billboard…
Your Baroquely eccentric classic song of the day is “Morning Girl” by the Neon Philharmonic. The group Neon Philharmonic was really a guy named Tupper Saussey, who did the composing and arranging, and vocalist Don Gant. Despite Gant’s vocals, this is most definitely a Tupper Saussey production, and it’s every bit as eccentric as he was. “Morning Girl” was released…
Your angelic song of the day is “Angel of the Morning” by the extremely angelic Merrilee Rush. The track was released in February of 1968 and peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 a few months later. It may the best-known song with the word “angel” in the title. “Angel of the Morning” was written by Chip Taylor, who…
Our final song with a day of the week in the title song of the day of the week is “Never On Sunday” by the Chordettes. The Chordettes’ version of the song hit #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961; an instrumental version, by Don Costa and His Orchestra, had hit #19 on the Hot 100 the year prior.…