Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
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 with a phone number in the title is “Beechwood 4-5789.” Back in the days when there were fewer people, fewer phones, and therefore fewer phone numbers, local exchanges were known by their letters rather than their numbers. Take the first two letters of the word and that’s your exchange prefix—which you could translate into…
We finish off our week of 1970s classic rock tracks with one of the most popular songs of the entire decade, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” This almost-six minute epic, released as a single in October of 1975, reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on the Cash Box Top 100; it went all the way to #1 in Australia,…
Today’s classic song of the day comes from one of the most innovative but overlooked albums of the early ’70s, Spirit’s Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus. The song, “Mr. Skin” was released as a single in 1973 and barely cracked the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at a totally unjustifiable #92. It’s a great tune, nonetheless. “Mr. Skin” is a hard-driving…
We seem to be doing a lot of ’70s classic rock this week, so today’s classic song of the day is “Free Ride” by the Edgar Winter Group. Mr. Winter’s group, at this point in time, consisted of Mr. Winter himself on keyboards, Dan Hartman on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Ronnie Montrose on lead guitar, Rick Derringer on rhythm…
Today’s classic song of the day is a heavy-duty rocker from the James Gang, “Funk #49.” This one appeared on their 1970 album, James Gang Rides Again and, released as a single, rose all the way to #59 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Funk #49” was a guitar-driven number, written by all three members of the group—guitarist/singer Joe Walsh, bassist…
Today’s classic song of the day is a legendary rocker by the Who. Released as the lead track on the group’s 1971 album, Who’s Next, “Baba O’Riley” is famous for its repeating staccato synthesizer-like backing and the lyrics, “It’s only teenage wasteland.” (In fact, many listeners at the time thought—and probably some today still think—that the song’s name was “Teenage…
Yesterday’s classic song of the day, “Get Ready,” as performed by the group Rare Earth, featured a singing drummer. So does today’s. The song we’re featuring today is one that doesn’t get a lot of play on oldies or classic rock stations and playlists, although it was a decent hit back when it was released in May of 1970. The…
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…
Today’s classic song of the day for a beautiful Sunday morning is “Beautiful Sunday” by a British singer named Daniel Boone. Released in February of 1972, this sunny little single peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100, #16 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #6 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart. It was a Top Ten hit all around…