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 song of the day was a hit for two different R&B artists. The song is “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)” and it was written by Betty Nelson, the wife of Ben E. King, and Ahmet Ertegun. (Probably all by Betty; it wasn’t unusual for the producer to take co-songwriting credit back in those days.) The first recording…
“Lay Lady Lay” was Bob Dylan’s fourth and final top ten single, and it’s today’s classic song of the day. Released in July of 1969, “Lay Lady Lay” peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, #8 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #19 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. Bob Dylan included “Lay Lady Lay” on his country-flavored 1969…
You ever decide to dump someone just to find out they’re dumping you, too? That’s the premise of today’s classic song of the day, “I’ve Found Someone of My Own” by the Free Movement. It’s right there in the lyrics: I got up this morningWhile I was having my coffeeMy woman came in, sat down by my sideWith tears in…
Today’s classic song of the day is one of many top ten hits by the Supremes. The song, released as a single in April of 1966, is “Love is Like an Itching in My Heart” and it peaked at #9 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and #7 on Billboard’s R&B chart. Supreme Mary Wilson…
Grand Funk (AKA Grand Funk Railroad) was a hard rock band. Today’s classic song of the day, “Bad Time,” was a melodic power pop song. One can question a hard rock band playing a power pop song, but it was a good move for the guys. “Bad Time,” released as a single in March of 1975, went all the way…
Today’s classic song of the day was written way back in 1955, was a minor hit for three different artists in the ’50s, then became a major smash for the Righteous Brothers in 1965. The song is “Unchained Melody,” and it’s one of my all-time favorites. The music for “Unchained Melody” was written by film composer Alex North, with lyrics…
Three years ago today, on February 18, 2023, I launched the Classic Song of the Day blog. I started with a long post about the composer Burt Bacharach, who had recently passed away. The same day I posted my very first classic song of the day, a song written by Mr. Bacharach and his partner Hal David, “I’ll Never Fall…
Anni-Frid Lynstad, better known as Frida, was one quarter of the Swedish monster group ABBA. (She was the redheaded one—or was it brunette? I never could tell…) Right before ABBA broke up in 1982, Frida recorded a solo album (her third) and released today’s classic song of the day as a single. That song is “I Know There’s Something Going…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Wake Up Everybody” by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, with Teddy Pendergrass on lead vocals. Released as a single in November of 1975, this tune peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, #15 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart. “Wake Up Everybody” was…
Today’s completely forgotten classic song of the day is “I Could Be So Good to You” by the equally forgotten band, Don and the Goodtimes. This track is virtually unplayed on oldies stations today, probably because it only reached #56 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it was released in 1967. It had more success regionally, especially in the Northwest,…