Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
This week we’re looking at songs with a woman’s name in the title, so today’s classic song of the day is “Alison” by Elvis Costello. Mr. Costello included the track on his 1977 debut album, My Aim is True and released the song as a single that same year. Unfortunately, it didn’t chart. Fortunately, it still got a lot of…
Today’s classic song of the day is one of the top songs of the modern era, period. It’s “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” written by Carole King (music) and Gerry Goffin (words). It was a hit in 1960 for the girl group the Shirelles, reaching #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cash Box Top 100. It was…
Last week I wrote about the song “Boogie Oogie Oogie” by a group called A Taste of Honey, and how they won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1979 over more deserving acts like The Cars, Elvis Costello, Toto, and Chris Rea. In my write-up I called Rea, like A Taste of Honey, a one-hit wonder. Some readers took…
Today’s classic song of the day is one of my favorite Steely Dan tunes, “Kid Charlemagne.” This one was the lead track (side one, track one) of the Dan’s 1976 album, The Royal Scam. Released as a single, “Kid Charlemagne” only reached #82 on the Billboard Hot 100. As a classic album track, it’s had a lasting influence that exceeds…
Just as you can’t talk disco without Donna Summer (yesterday’s classic song of the day, “Hot Stuff“), you also can’t talk disco without the Bee Gees. Unfortunately, I’m not a huge disco-era Bee Gees fan—except for this one tune. The brothers Gibb released “Nights on Broadway in September 1975 and it shot to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and…
It’s almost impossible to talk about the disco craze of the late ’70s without talking about Donna Summer, the undisputed Queen of Disco. To that end, today’s classic disco song of the day is Ms. Summer’s “Hot Stuff.” Released in April of 1979, this monster worldwide hit peaked at #1 in Australia, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, and, in the U.S., on…
We’re still in disco mode this week, so today’s classic disco song of the day is “Le Freak” by Chic. This hot little number, released in September of 1978, the height of the disco era, hit number-one worldwide—in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and, in the U.S., on the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Hot Soul Singles, Billboard Dance Club…
Today’s classic funk/disco song of the day is “Strawberry Letter 23” by the Brothers Johnson. This track was released in June of 1977 and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart. “Strawberry Letter 23” was written and first released by R&B singer/guitarist Shuggie Otis, the son of musician Johnny Otis (“Willie and the…
Today’s classic disco song of the day is “Boogie Ooogie Oogie” by A Taste of Honey. Released in June of 1978, this disco classic hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Soul Singles, Billboard Hot Disco Singles, and Cash Box Top 100 charts. (It also hit #1 in Canada.) Billboard ranked it the #9 song for all of 1978.…