Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Today’s classic early ’80s song of the day is “We Got the Beat” by the Go-Go’s. Released in January of 1982, it went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and established the group as the real deal. “We Got the Beat” was written by Charlotte Caffey, the band’s lead guitarist. It was inspired by the Miracles’ 1965 Motown hit,…
Today’s classic song from the late ’70s of the day is “Heart of Glass” by Blondie. Released in January of 1979, this danceable little number went to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100. (Surprisingly for a dance tune, it only hit #58 on Billboard’s Disco chart.) It was also a number-one hit in Australia,…
This week we’re fast forwarding slightly to the late 1970s and very early 1980s and some of the best tracks from that era. With that in mind, today’s classic song of the day is “Stop Your Sobbing” by the Pretenders. Released as a single in January of 1979, this track peaked at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #34…
Frequent readers of this blog know that I occasionally like to highlight obscure 1960s R&B singles that never made it big on the charts but were later somewhat revived by England’s Northern Soul scene. Today’s classic song of the day is one such obscure tune, “Do It” by Pat Powdrill. This track, released in 1966 on the equally obscure Downey…
Today’s classic song of the day is another horn rock (or jazz-rock) classic, “25 or 6 to 4” by Chicago. This one was off their second album, the first after shortening their name from Chicago Transit Authority; released in June of 1970, it hit #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. “25 or 6 to 4” was written by the band’s…
Today’s classic horn rock (or, if you prefer, jazz-rock) song of the day is “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” by Blood, Sweat & Tears. This was their mainstream breakthrough single; released in March of 1969, it shot all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Blood, Sweat & Tears was formed two years earlier by singer/keyboardist Al…
Yesterday’s classic song of the day was “Lotta Love” by the late Nicolette Larson. Today’s classic song of the day features a duet with Ms. Larson on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s hit, “Make a Little Magic.” This single was released during the summer of 1980 and rose to #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #77 on Billboard’s Hot…
In honor of the late Nicolette Larson’s birthday, today’s classic song of the day is her hit, “Lotta Love.” Released in the fall of 1978, this single went to #8 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart. “Lotta Love” was written by Neil Young, for whom Ms. Larson had…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Bad Sneakers” by Steely Dan, the second track on side one of Steely Dan’s 1975 album, Katy Lied. It was released as the second single from the album (the first was “Black Lightning,” which peaked at #37 on the charts), even though it only hit #103 on the Billboard Hot 100—which, if you…
Continuing, in a way, from last week’s theme of socially relevant songs, today’s classic song of the day is “In the Ghetto” by Elvis Presley. One of Elvis’ so-called comeback recordings, this single was released in April of 1969 and rose to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Cash Box Top 100. It also hit number-one…