Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
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…
Our final classic sad song of the day during this week of incredibly sad songs is “Where’ve You Been” by Kathy Mattea. It was released in November of 1989 and rose to #10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart early in 1990. Like yesterday’s classic song of the day, John Prine’s “Hello in There,” “Where’ve You Been”…
Today’s classic sad song of the day is “Tecumseh Valley,” a real tear-jerker written by Townes Van Zandt and best remembered as performed by Nanci Griffith. Townes wrote this one in 1968 and first released it on his For the Sake of the Song album. It was always a staple of his live sets but didn’t get widespread airplay at…
Today’s classic song of the day packs a true emotional punch. I’m talking about “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted,” originally a hit for Motown artist Jimmy Ruffin in the 1960s, then a hit for Brit singer Paul Young in the 1990s, but perhaps performed best by Joan Osborne with Motown’s Funk Brothers in 2002. It’s such a perfect song that…
Your Memphis-flavored song of the day is “Walking in Memphis” by Marc Cohn. This song, released in 1991, was a career maker and a career highlight for Mr. Cohn, hitting #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #12 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was also nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year, losing to Natalie Cole’s duet…
Your second classic instrumental hit this week that you didn’t know had lyrics is “Soulful Strut,” a big hit for a little combo called Young-Holt Unlimited. Released in November of 1968, it went on to hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Rhythm & Blues Singles charts, #2 on the Easy Listening Chart, and #1 in Canada. The song…