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 song of the day is “Poor Poor Pitiful Me.” It was written by and originally recorded by Warren Zevon but became a hit when covered by singer Linda Ronstadt. It was also a hit for country singer Terri Clark two decades later. As noted, Warren Zevon wrote “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” and included it on his 1976 album,…
Today’s classic song of the day is a hot track from the disco era, “Turn the Beat Around” by Vicki Sue Robinson. Released in February of 1976, this single hit #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, #15 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Disco chart. “Turn the Beat Around” was written by brothers Gerald and…
Today’s classic song of the day is “My Maria” by B.W. Stevenson. Released in August of 1973, this country-flavored track hit #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, #7 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Easy Listening Chart. B.W. Stevenson wrote “My Maria” with Daniel Moore, who wrote a ton of songs for a ton of different…
Today’s classic song that packs an emotional punch is one you might not have heard but are going to love. The song is “Emily” by Beth Nielsen Chapman, off her 1990 self-titled debut album. This one knocks me out every time. “Emily” starts out as a song about two old friends catching up after many years apart. That, in itself,…
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…
Today’s classic Gen-X song of the day is Lisa Loeb’s “Stay (I Missed You).” This track was released in May of 1994 and was featured as the end-credits tune in that quintessential Gen-X movie, Reality Bites. It hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Ms. Loeb the distinction of being the only artist to have a #1 Billboard…
Put on your dancing shoes because we’re starting a week of dancing songs at the Classic Song of the Day blog. First up is Mary Chapin Carpenter’s feisty “Down at the Twist and Shout,” a Cajun-flavored number that was a big country hit in 1992. It rose all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks…