Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Billy Joel’s album The Stranger was a really big deal during my sophomore year in college. The album came out just as classes started in September of 1977 and spent six weeks in the #2 position on the Billboard 200 top albums chart. It spawned a number of hit singles, including “Just the Way You Are” (#3), “She’s Always a…
Back in 1976 disco music was in full swing, which meant it was ripe for parody—which is exactly what up-and-coming disc jockey Rick Dees did. Dees released his humorously duckified disco track, “Disco Duck,” in September of 1976 and it shot all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100. “Disco Duck,” which…
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…
Today’s classic song of the day is a one-hit wonder by soul singer Jean Knight. The song is “Mr. Big Stuff” and, when it was released in May of 1971, it went all the way to #2 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Soul chart (for five consecutive weeks!). “Mr. Big…
Today’s classic song of the day is a nice little bit of easy listening fluff from Australian songstress Olivia Newton-John. The song is “Sam” and, when it was released as a single in January of 1977, it went to #20 on the Billboard Hot 100, #34 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. “Sam”…
Eric Carmen is the king of power pop, and today’s classic song of the day is him applying all his power pop prowess to an uptempo ballad. The song is “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again” and, when it was released in April of 1976, it went all the way to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, #9 on the…
“Floy Joy” was the Supremes’ last top twenty hit and it’s today’s classic song of the day. Released as a single in December of 1971, it hit, early in 1972, #16 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 and #5 on Billboard’s R&B chart. In many ways, “Floy Joy” was a return to classic form for…
Concluding our short look at the post-Beatles solo careers of former members of that group, we have the song “Photograph” by Ringo Starr. This was a pretty big hit, the lead single from his 1973 album, Ringo. Released as a single in September of 1973, “Photograph” went all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash…
Continuing our look at post-Beatles solo work by former members of that group, today’s classic song of the day is “My Love” by Paul McCartney & Wings. Don’t let the credit fool you; like anything credited to Paul McCartney, Paul and Linda McCartney, or Paul McCartney and Wings, this is a Paul McCartney production from start to finish. “My Love,”…