Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
The Association had a lot of big hits back in the mid-to-late ’60s, but their biggest was today’s classic song of the day, “Cherish.” This single, released in August of 1966, went to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100. It was also a #1 hit in Canada. “Cherish” was written by group member Terry…
“Needles and Pins” is today’s classic song of the day. It was first recorded by Jackie DeShannon, with producers Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono creating a Phil Spector-like Wall of Sound backing. Released as a single in April of 1963, Jackie’s version of “Needles and Pins” only made it to #83 on the Billboard Hot 100, although it went all…
“Easy to Be Hard” is today’s classic song of the day. It comes to us from the musical Hair and the group Three Dog Night. Hair was a big deal. When it opened in 1967, it was the first so-called “rock musical” and led the way for other more modern takes on the traditional Broadway musical. It reflected the times,…
When you were younger, did you ever have to choose between two equally appealing girls? (Or, if you’re a girl, two equally attractive guys?) I never had the good fortune to be in that situation, but apparently John Sebastian was, and he wrote today’s classic song of the day about it. As the lyrics so neatly put it: Sometimes there’s…
I love the Rascals and today’s classic song of the day is one of their best and most unique. “How Can I Be Sure” was released as a single (under their original Young Rascals moniker) in August of 1967 and went all the way to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Cash Box Top 100. It…
Long-time followers of this blog know that I love featuring long-lost soul tracks from the 1960s that have been revived by England’s Northern Soul scene. Today’s classic song of the day is one such tune, “I Love You Baby” by Cindy Scott. “I Love You Baby” was written by the team of Leon Huff (of future Philly Soul fame), David…
“The Sound of Silence” (originally titled in the plural as “The Sounds of Silence”) is today’s classic song of the day. Written by Paul Simon, performed by Simon and his partner Art Garfunkel, and recorded for Columbia Records, the single was released twice. The first version, a folk-like acoustic recording, was released in October of 1964 and included on the…
Lou Rawls’ “Love Is a Hurtin’ Thing” is today’s classic song of the day. Released as a single in October of 1966, this smooth soul track went all the way to #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart. “Love Is a Hurtin’ Thing” was written by Ben Raleigh and David J. Luff, writing…
For some reason, I always thought that today’s classic song of the day was a Partridge Family song. I mean, it has that same sort of Baroque pop sound, the title is as vacuous as anything churned out by the P. Family’s hired songwriters, and the lead vocal sounds vaguely teen idolish. Really. The problem is, “Sit Down I Think…