Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
In honor of lyricist Toni Stern’s passing, today’s classic songs of the day are “Sweet Seasons” and “It’s Going to Take Some Time.” Ms. Stern wrote the lyrics for both of these tunes and her friend Carole King composed the music. Toni and Carole wrote “Sweet Seasons” for Ms. King’s 1971 album Music, the follow-up to her groundbreaking 1971 album,…
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,…
Today’s classic song that packs an emotional punch is another story song by Harry Chapin, “A Better Place to Be.” This one was a track on his 1972 album, Sniper and Other Love Songs. While the original version of the song was never issued as a single, a live version was released in April of 1976 and peaked at #86…
We continue our look at the year 1971 with one of the biggest hits from one of the year’s biggest albums, “It’s Too Late” by Carole King, from her landmark Tapestry album. Released as a single in April, “It’s Too Late” hit #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. Billboard ranked “It’s Too Late” and the…
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…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Taxi” by Harry Chapin. Released in March of 1972, this is the song that launched and defined Mr. Chapin’s career. An extremely long song for a single, it peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. I’m a sucker for story songs, and “Taxi” is one hell of a story song. In just…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Mr. Bojangles.” The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band released this song as a single in September of 1970 and it rose to #9 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100. “Mr. Bojangles” was written and originally recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker. The song was inspired by and somewhat documents a…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Stoney End,” written by the incredibly talented Laura Nyro and performed by the equally incredibly talented Barbra Streisand. Released in 1971, the single hit #6 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It’s a terrific song, as were just about all of Laura Nyro’s songs, and Babs did…
Today’s classic dance song of the day is “Save the Last Dance for Me” by the Drifters. Released in August of 1960, it spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was written by the legendary songwriting team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman and produced by the equally (if not more so) legendary Jerry Leiber and…