Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from yesterday and today
Today’s classic song of the day is the Motown classic “Up the Ladder to the Roof” by the Supremes. Released in February of 1970, this track peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, #9 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #5 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart. Note that this single is by the Supremes, not by Diana…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Best of My Love” by the Emotions. Released in June of 1977, this one went all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, as well as Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart. It won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Clean Up Woman” by Betty Wright. This funky little tune debuted in November 1971 and rose to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and #2 on Billboard’s R&B chart) early the following year. “Clean Up Woman” was written and produced by the team of Clarence Reid and Willie Clarke for Alston Records. Together…
Today’s classic song of the day is “I’m Not My Brother’s Keeper” by a group called The Flaming Ember. This track was released in October of 1970 and rose to #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #12 on Billboard’s R&B chart. “I’m Not My Brother’s Keeper” was written by the team of William Witherspoon, Raynard Miner, and Ron Dunbar.…
Our final classic song of the day from 1971 this week is “Want Ads” by the group Honey Cone. This track, released in March of 1971, hit #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Hot Soul Singles charts. Billboard ranked it as the #13 song for the entire year. “Want Ads” was written by Greg Perry, Barney Perkins,…
You can’t look at the hit songs of 1971 without including that Motown classic, the groundbreaking “What’s Going On” by the legendary Marvin Gaye. “What’s Going On” was the lead track from Mr. Gaye’s 1971 album of the same name; released as a single in January of 1971, it hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Cash…
In honor of Les McCann’s passing earlier this week, today’s classic song of the day is his only mainstream hit, “Compared to What.” The song, recorded live at the 1969 Montreux Jazz Festival, was released as an album track on Swiss Movement, a live LP by McCann and saxophonist Eddie Harris. “Compared to What” is a protest song written by…
Today’s unjustly forgotten classic soul song of the day is “And the Rains Came” by the Millionaires. This catchy single was released on the Specialty Records label in 1969 and you’ve probably never heard it before. That’s a shame. “And the Rains Came” belongs to that genre now known as Northern Soul. This is a movement, based in England, that…
Today is Thanksgiving Day here in the United States, so what better classic song of the day than “Be Thankful for What You Got” by William DeVaughn. This song slow jam was released in March of 1974, sold more than 2 million copies in the U.S. alone, and hit #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard’s R&B…