Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Laura Nyro was a popular and prolific songwriter in the late ’60s/early ’70s. While she really didn’t have any hits of her own, she wrote songs that were hits for the 5th Dimension (“Wedding Bell Blues,” “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Save the Country“), Three Dog Night (“Eli’s Coming“), Blood, Sweat & Tears (“And When I Die,” “He’s a Runner”), and Barbra…
Burt Bacharach and Hal David bring us today’s classic song of the day, “Make It Easy on Yourself.” Like most Bacharach/David tunes, this one was recorded by multiple artists over the years. It was a hit in 1962 for Jerry Butler. And in 1965 for the Walker Brothers. And in 1966 for Cilla Black. And in 1970 for Dionne Warwick.…
Songwriters extraordinaire Burt Bacharach and Hal David bring us another superb classic song of the day with their tune, “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself.” It was a #3 hit in the UK for Dusty Springfield in 1964, even though it unfortunately failed to chart in the U.S. Burt and Hal wrote “I Just Don’t Know What…
Today’s classic song of the day is a Wall of Sound classic by one of my favorite singers of the ’60s (or any decade), Darlene Love, that was recorded in 1964 but not released until 1976. The song is “A Long Way to Be Happy” and it would have killed if producer Phil Spector had released it when it was…
Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote so many great songs it’s tough to keep track of them all. One of their lesser tunes, if anything they wrote could be called lesser, is today’s classic song of the day. “Are You There (With Another Girl)” was recorded by Dionne Warwick and released as a single in December of 1965. Early the…
Today’s classic song of the day is a nearly-forgotten pop song by Connie Francis, “Don’t Ever Leave Me.” The song was released in October of 1964 on MGM Records and peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #37 on the Cashbox Top 100. “Don’t Ever Leave Me” was written by the legendary Brill Building songwriting team of Ellie…
Three years ago today, on February 18, 2023, I launched the Classic Song of the Day blog. I started with a long post about the composer Burt Bacharach, who had recently passed away. The same day I posted my very first classic song of the day, a song written by Mr. Bacharach and his partner Hal David, “I’ll Never Fall…
Jimmy Webb is one of the premier songwriters of the 20th century. Even his lesser-known tunes get covered by a multitude of artists, because they’re so darned good. Today’s classic song of the day is a case in point. The song is “Do What You Gotta Do” and it was a minor hit for a few different artists, as well…
Barry Mann was one of the premiere songwriters of the ’60s and ’70s (and even into the ’80s a little), most often paired with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He didn’t start out writing with her, however, and he didn’t always limit himself to songwriting. Case in point is today’s classic song of the day, “Who Put the Bomp (in the…