Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
During this election week in the U.S. we’re focusing on socially relevant songs from years past. With that in mind, today’s classic socially relevant song of the day is Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come.” Sam Cooke wrote “A Change is Gonna Come” in reaction to an incident he experienced while touring Louisiana in December of 1963. He made…
All this week we’ve been highlighting songs that were featured on the soundtrack to The Big Chill, that 1983 movie that followed a group of Baby Boomer friends adjusting to the death of one of their own and their sacrifices in adapting to lives as adults. Our final song from The Big Chill this week is “I Second That Emotion,”…
Today’s classic song featured in the movie The Big Chill of the day is “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” as recorded by Aretha Franklin. It’s one of the best songs of the 20th century—and it was written in a single evening. The story goes that lyricist Gerry Goffin was coming out of the Oyster House bar on…
Today’s classic song of the day that was featured in the movie The Big Chill is Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman.” This song was playing in the background after the after-dinner cleanup scene we featured yesterday (the one with the Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg“), as the group of old friends is sitting around the living…
Yesterday’s classic song of the day had everybody dialing “Beechwood 4-5789” (which is actually 234-5789). Today’s phone number-related song changes the first digit from a “2” to a “6” and gives us “634-5789,” a big hit for legendary soul singer Wilson Pickett. “634-5789” was written by Stax Records stalwarts Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper. You know Eddie Floyd as a…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Get Ready,” a hit for two different Motown groups. It was initially a hit for the Temptations in 1966, then it was a hit again in 1970 by Rare Earth. “Get Ready” was written by premiere Motown songsmith Smokey Robinson. He envisioned it as an up-tempo dance number and had the Temptations in…
Yesterday, the 5th Dimension hosted a “Stoned Soul Picnic.” Today, Arthur Conley gives us some “Sweet Soul Music.” Written by Arthur Conley and Otis Redding, “Sweet Soul Music” was recorded at Muscle Shoals’ famous FAME Studios. Released in March of 1967, this sweet soul single climbed all the way to #2 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard R&B…
Yesterday’s classic song of the day was all about being “stone in love,” so it makes sense for today’s classic song of the day to be “Stoned Love.” This was a track by the post-Diana Ross Supremes, with Jean Terrell singing lead. “Stoned Love” was released on the Motown label in October of 1970. It peaked at #7 on the…
Today’s classic song of the day is that Philly Soul classic, “I’m Stone in Love with You” by the Stylistics. The song was written by Thom Bell, Linda Creed, and Anthony Bell, and produced by Thom Bell. Thom Bell was one of the chief architects of the Philadelphia sound. He wrote, arranged, and produced hits for the Delfonics (“La-La (Means…