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 going to look at some of the top tunes of the year 1971, starting with the number-one pop single for the entire year. That tune is “Joy to the World” by the band Three Dog Night and I know you know it, Three Dog Night released “Joy to the World” in February of 1971. It quickly rose…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)” by Jim Croce. I bet you didn’t know the whole title, including the parentheses, did you? In any case, “Operator” was released in August of 1972 and peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #11 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart. Based on its lasting…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Danny’s Song” by Loggins and Messina. Kenny and Jim released this one in November of 1971 on their Sittin’ In album. Kenny Loggins wrote “Danny’s Song” for his brother Danny as a gift on the birth of his son Colin. That was back in 1966, when Danny was just a senior in high…
Today’s classic song of the day is “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle.” This song was a hit for the Royalettes in 1965 and Deniece Williams in 1982; it was also featured on Laura Nyro’s 1971 album of covers with Labelle, Gonna Take a Miracle. First things first. “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle” was written by Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein, and…
Today is the first day of the new year, a day full of hopes and wishes, and today’s classic song of the day for the new year is “Rainbow Connection.” You first heard the song in the 1970 film The Muppet Movie, sung by Kermit the Frog (voiced by head Muppeteer Jim Henson), accompanying himself on banjo. It’s a song…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Taxi” by Harry Chapin. Released in March of 1972, this is the song that launched and defined Mr. Chapin’s career. An extremely long song for a single, it peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. I’m a sucker for story songs, and “Taxi” is one hell of a story song. In just…
Your unfortunately forgotten early-70s ballad of the day is “If I Could Reach You” by the 5th Dimension. It was released in 1972 and hit #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Easy Listening chart. It was the group’s last top ten hit and, boy, was it a good one. Why it’s little remembered today baffles me.…
Yesterday was Christmas and I hope you and yours all had a lovely day. With that sentiment in mind, today’s classic song of the day is “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers. Mr. Withers released “Lovely Day” as a single four days before Christmas in 1977 and it peaked the next year at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6…
For this sixth of twelve days of classic Christmas songs, our classic Christmas song of the day is “This Christmas” by soul legend Donny Hathaway. Mr. Hathaway wrote (with Nadine McKinnor) and recorded this one back in 1970 but it didn’t do much of anything at the time. It really got big in 1991 when it was included on Atco…