Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
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 1979 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…
For the fifth of our twelve days of classic Christmas songs we have “Merry Christmas Darling” by the Carpenters. It’s a wistful little tune just perfect for Karen Carpenter’s silky smooth voice. I was in seventh grade when this single came out and I thought the Carpenters were as boring as white bread. I was wrong. “Merry Christmas Darling” has…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Levon” by Elton John. Like all the best Elton John songs, this one was written by Elton (music) and his long-time collaborator, Bernie Taupin (words). “Levon” was the second track on side one of Elton’s 1971 album, Madman Across the Water and was released as a single in November of that year. It…
Today’s classic long-forgotten until you hear it again song of the day is “Shake It” by Ian Matthews. Mr. Matthews released this one in late 1978 and it peaked, early in 1979, at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on the Cash Box Top 100. “Shake It” was written by Terence Boylan in 1977 and released on his…