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 “September Gurls” by Big Star. It’s a near-perfect piece of power pop, influential beyond its limited recognition at the time. Big Star’s Alex Chilton (former lead singer of the Box Tops) wrote “September Gurls” and the group released it on their second album, 1974’s Radio City. It was also released as a single…
Today’s classic song that packs an emotional punch is “Romeo and Juliet” by Dire Straits. This one was never released as a single in the U.S., although it was in the UK (where it rose all the way to #8 on the UK Singles chart). Here in the U.S. you had to listen to it on the band’s 1980 album,…
This week’s final city-themed song of the day is “Going Down to Liverpool.” The song was initially released by Katrina and the Waves (you know them from their huge hit, “Walking on Sunshine“) but made a bigger splash when covered by the Bangles. “Going Down to Liverpool” was written by Kimberley Rew of Katrina and the Waves. It first appeared…
Today’s classic song of the day is one of the 1980’s most popular and most despised tracks. We’re talking about “We Built This City” by Starship. Released in August of 1985, the song topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 and hit the top ten in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Paraguay, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and West…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Allentown” by Billy Joel. The track was included on his 1982 album, The Nylon Curtain, and released as a single in November of that year. The single went to #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #14 on the Cash Box Top 100. “Allentown,” written by Mr. Joel, is about how the real…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Life in a Northern Town,” by the British band, the Dream Academy. Released in March of 1985, it peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, #9 on the Irish chart, and #15 on the UK Singles chart. “Life in a Northern Town” is a nostalgic song about living in a small English…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Love at the Five and Dime,” written and originally performed by songstress Nanci Griffith but made a bona fide hit by Kathy Mattea. Ms. Mattea’s version was released as a single in April of 1986 and made it all the way to #3 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. As I’ve written before,…
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…
Yesterday’s classic song of the day was “Taxi,” a story song about two old lovers running into each other years later. It follows, then, that today’s classic song of the day is another story song about two old lovers running into each other years later, this time during the holiday season. The song, and you know it, is “Same Old…