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 Christmas song of the day is “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” It was written in 1934 by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. The song was first recorded by banjo player Harry Reser and His Orchestra in 1934, but became a huge hit when recorded by Eddie Cantor later that year. Tons of artists have recorded “Santa…
Today’s classic song of the day was written and originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon—although it was a bigger hit for the group the Searchers. The song is “When You Walk in the Room” and Ms. DeShannon released her version as a B-side to her “‘Till You Say You’ll Be Mine” single in November of 1963. She re-released it as an…
Today’s classic Christmas song of the day was written and performed by former Beatle John Lennon, along with his wife, Yoko Ono, and the group of musicians they called the Plastic Ono Band. On this record, the Band consisted of Nicky Hopkins on piano, chimes, and glockenspiel; Teddy Irwin, Hugh McCracken, Chris Osbourne, and Stuart Scharf on various guitars; Klaus…
Today’s classic song of the day is about a girl, who’s really a guy, named “Lola.” Written by Ray Davies, the single was released by his group, the Kinks, in June of 1970. Despite its, at the time, controversial subject matter, “Lola” shot to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on the Cash Box Top 100. It was…
Today’s classic song of the day is another one co-written by Paul Williams, this time with frequent collaborator Roger Nichols. (Paul did the words, Roger did the music.) The song is “We’ve Only Just Begun” and it was a huge hit for the Carpenters. Paul and Roger wrote “We’ve Only Just Begun” as a commercial jingle for California’s Crocker National…
Today’s classic song of the day was a top ten hit for Helen Reddy in 1974. The song is “You and Me Against the World” and it peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart. It also hit #1 on Canada’s RPM Adult Contemporary chart. “You and Me Against the World” was written…
Today’s classic song of the day is a Laura Nyro composition that was a hit when recorded by Barbra Streisand. The song is “Flim Flam Man” and it’s a good one. Ms. Nyro wrote “Flim Flam Man”—originally titled “Hands Off the Man (Flim Flam Man)”—back in 1967 and included it on her debut album, More Than a New Discovery. When…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Queen of Hearts.” The song was written by Hank DeVito, Emmylou Harris’ pedal steel guitarist, first recorded (and a hit in England) by Dave Edmunds, and made an even bigger hit here in the U.S. by country singer Juice Newton. Dave Edmunds, of Rockpile fame, first recorded “Queen of Hearts” for his 1979…
If you know today’s classic song of the day, chances are you know a little French, in particular the line Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir? That’s right, the song is “Lady Marmalade” and it was a big hit for the group Labelle. “Lady Marmalade” was written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan. Crewe was a member of the Four…