Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
The next song on our tour of the Dusty in Memphis album is “I Don’t Want to Hear It Anymore,” the fourth song on side one. This is a heartbreaking tune about a woman finding out that her lover is unfaithful by hearing her neighbors talk behind her back (or, rather, through her apartment’s thin walls). As sung by Dusty…
We continue our listening tour of Dusty Springfield’s legendary Dusty in Memphis album with the second track on side one, “So Much Love.” This one was written by the equally legendary songwriting team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin and was a perfect match for the soulful feel of this album. One of the things that makes Dusty in Memphis…
Your totally unknown classic Jimmy Webb song of the day is “This Is Where I Came In,” by the Contessas. No point looking it up; it didn’t chart anywhere. Recorded and released in 1965, “This is Where I Came In” was one of the first songs composed by soon-to-be-legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb, and his first time in the studio. It’s…
Your classic song written by Laura Nyro but performed by someone else of the day is “Eli’s Coming,” by Three Dog Night. The band released this one in October of 1969 and it went all the way to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Cory Wells sang lead. As noted, the song wasn’t written by any of the Three Dog…
Your classic pop song of the day is “Laughter in the Rain” by Neil Sedaka. This beautiful little song was released in late 1974 and hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on February 1, 1975. It also hit #1 on the Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, as well as the Cash Box Hot 100. Neil Sedaka has had two…
Your classic ’60s song that you’ve probably never heard of of the day is “Splendor in the Grass” by the great Jackie DeShannon. The track, released in 1966, was actually a B-side to the A-side single, “Come and Get Me,” which only went to #83 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite that obscurity, “Splendor in the Grass” has endured, making…
Your classic song about a songwriter but not written by that songwriter is “P.F. Sloan,” about the songwriter of the same name. The song itself was written by Sloan’s friend, fellow songwriter Jimmy Webb, and performed (in its best-known version) by the Association. Jimmy first released the song on his 1970 solo album, Words and Music; the Association then released…
Your classic song that sounds an awful lot like another classic song of the day is “Let’s Live for Today” by the Grass Roots. It was released in May of 1967 and hit #8 on the Billboard Hot 100—and it bears a striking resemblance to the Drifters’ 1961 hit, “I Count the Tears.” The music for “Let’s Live for Today”…
Your angelic song of the day is John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery.” He wrote it back in 1970 and it first appeared on his self-titled 1971 debut album. It was immediately hailed as a major work and has since been covered by dozens of artists, from Gretchen Wilson and Emmylou Harris to John Denver and Carly Simon (in a contemporaneously…