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 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 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.…
Your classic song written about a legendary painter of the day is “Vincent” by Don McLean. In case you’ve never heard it, the song is about the artist Vincent Van Gogh, and if you’ve never heard of him, that’s your loss. The song “Vincent” is a moving tribute to that troubled painter that captures the essence of Van Gogh’s work…
Your classic song about a songwriter but not written by that songwriter is “P.F. Sloan,” about the songwriter of the same name. The song itself was written by Sloan’s friend, fellow songwriter Jimmy Webb, and performed (in its best-known version) by the Association. Jimmy first released the song on his 1970 solo album, Words and Music; the Association then released…
Today’s classic song of the day had popular recordings by three very different artists in three very different styles. We’re talking about “Don’t Be Misunderstood,” first recorded by Nina Simone in a simmering soul version, then by the Animals in a bluesy rock version, then by Santa Esmeralda in a fiery Latin disco version. It says something that the song…