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 “One Fine Day.” This one was written by the legendary songwriting team of Carole King (music) and her then-husband Gerry Goffin (words) back in 1963. They originally intended the song for Little Eva, who had a previous hit with their song, “The Loco-Motion,” and occasionally babysat for their kids. When that didn’t pan…
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 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 a true classic from the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. “Walk On By” is the song and it was first a hit for Dionne Warwick and then later for Isaac Hayes—in a dramatically revamped version. Burt and Hal wrote “Walk On By” in 1963 and promptly gave it to singer…
Today’s song of the day is a James Taylor classic, 1974’s “Walking Man.” This was the lead track (side one, track one) of the same-named album. While “Walking Man” was released as a single, it didn’t break into the Billboard Hot 100—although it did reach #26 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart. It’s become one of Mr. Taylor’s best-known and best-loved…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Knowing When to Leave,” from the Broadway musical, Promises, Promises. Like all the rest of the tunes from the play, this one was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. (Burt did the music, as usual, and Hal did the words.) Promises, Promises is a musical adaptation of director Billy Wilder’s 1960 film,…
This week’s last socially relevant song of the day is “Too Many Martyrs (The Ballad of Medgar Evers)” by the late, great folksinger, Phil Ochs. It’s a tribute to and a lament for the life and death of Medgar Evers. Medgar Evers was a Civil Rights activist in Mississippi during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Evers was an Army…
Today’s classic socially relevant song of the day is a terrific tune by songwriter Laura Nyro, “Save the Country.” In addition to being recorded by Nyro herself, “Save the Country” was a big hit for the 5th Dimension; released as a single in June of 1970, it reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary…
Still celebrating composer Jim Steinman’s birthday, today’s classic song of the day is one of his tunes from the 1984 movie, Streets of Fire. “Tonight is What It Means to Be Young” was the movie’s closer, sung in the movie by lead character Ellen Aim (Diane Lane). In reality, Ms. Lane was lip synching to a studio group called Fire…