Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
In honor of his passing, today’s classic song of the day is 1970’s “If You Could Read My Mind” by Gordon Lightfoot. This is a wonderful and wonderfully moving tune, brutally honest in its raw emotion, the feeling of its lyrics amplified by its heart-wrenching melody and chord progression. It’s a remarkable piece of music from a remarkable musician. “If…
For today’s classic instrumental song of the day we’re sticking with mid-70s disco and “The Hustle,” by Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony. Disco was all the thing back in 1975 when this single was released, which explains why it went all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts and #1 on…
Today’s classic instrumental song of the day is a tasty slice of Philly Soul, “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” by MFSB, featuring the Three Degrees. Released in February of 1974, this track hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard’s Easy Listening chart, Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, and the Cashbox Top 100. You can’t get much better than that.…
Your classic instrumental of the day that also had a hit version with lyrics is “Grazing in the Grass.” The original instrumental version was by Hugh Masekela and the subsequent version with lyrics was by the Friends of Distinction, and they were both top ten hits. Unlike the classic instrumentals of the day for the the past few days, which…
Your really dark and twisted song with a bouncy cheery melody of the day is “Marie Provost,” by Nick Lowe. It’s a song about a fading silent movie star who dies all alone, save for her hungry little dachshund. That macabre tale is set to the sunniest, poppiest melody you can imagine, which belies the dark lyrics. If you didn’t…
Your Elvis Costello song that wasn’t written by Elvis Costello song of the day is “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.” Yes, Elvis had the best-selling version, and it kind of sort of sounds like something he might write, but he didn’t write it. Instead, the song was written by Elvis’ old mate and then-producer, the Basher himself,…
In honor of the late David Lindley, today’s classic song of the day is “The Load-Out/Stay” from Jackson Browne’s live album, Running on Empty. Released at the very end of 1977, Running on Empty went on to peak at #3 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart the following year and be classified as 7X Platinum, based on sales of more…
Your classic song of the day that I always thought was from another band is “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You” by Sugarloaf. Released in November of 1974, this track went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 early in 1975. The song is about a band’s travails in trying to get a record contract, continually being rebuffed with that…
Your classic song that you didn’t know Dusty Springfield sang vocals on of the day is “Ballad of a Well-Known Gun” by Elton John. This is an album track (side one, track one), not a single, from Elton’s 1971 album, Tumbleweed Connection. The album peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 album chart and #2 on the UK Albums chart.…