Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
“It’s My Party” was Lesley Gore’s first big hit, and it’s today’s classic song of the day. Released when she was just 16 years old, in April of 1963, the single hit #1 on all the charts—the Billboard Hot 100, the Cash Box Top 100, and Billboard’s R&B chart. The song was credited to songwriters Herb Weiner, John Gluck Jr.,…
The Jackson 5’s “Mama’s Pearl” is today’s classic song of the day. Released in January of 1971, it peaked at #2 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles charts. (It was kept out of the #1 position on the Hot 100 by the Osmonds’ “One Bad Apple,” back when that white bread family group was…
Today’s classic song of the day sounded quite a bit different from everything else on the radio at dawn of the British Invasion. The song is “(Down At) Papa Joe’s” by a group called the Dixiebelles, and it hit #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it was released late in 1963. “(Down At) Papa Joe’s” was written by a…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Sideshow” by the group Blue Magic. Released early in 1974, this sweet slice of seventies Philadelphia soul went all the way to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, #5 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart. “Sideshow” was written by Vinnie Barrett and Bobby Eli, two Philadelphia songwriters…
If you remember today’s classic song of the day at all, and you might not, you might think it was a song by the Beach Boys. That’s because it sounds remarkably like the Beach Boys singing a Brian Wilson song, even though it isn’t. The song is “New York’s a Lonely Town” and it’s by a studio group called the…
Today’s classic song of the day is another standout track from Stevie Wonder’s 1976 masterpiece, Songs in the Key of Life. “Isn’t She Lovely” was the first track on the first side of the second disc; while it wasn’t released as a single, FM radio DJs picked up on it and drove it to #23 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.…
Kenny Rogers had a pretty decent career before he went solo in the ’70s and became a big-time star. He started out singing with groups in his native Houston during the 1950s then, in 1966, joined the folk group the New Christy Minstrels as a bassist and singer. A year or so later, he and several other Minstrels left that…
Everybody feels like an outcast in high school, especially if you’re not one of the “popular” or good-looking kids. That feeling is well-conveyed in today’s classic song of the day, Janis Ian’s “At Seventeen.” Released in July of 1975 as the second single from her surprise hit album Between the Lines, this brutally honest track went all the way to…
The song “Concrete and Clay” is today’s classic song of the day. Released by a group calling themselves Unit 4 + 2 in February of 1965, it was a #1 hit in the UK but peaked at just #28 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. (It did hit #9 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart, however.) “Concrete and Clay” was written…
Anybody remember this one? Today’s classic song of the day is “You,” a hit for Rita Coolidge during the summer of 1978. It’s a soft rock tune that has a definite disco feel that was perfect for the time—and might even qualify as “yacht rock” today. “You,” released in June of 1978, reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 100, #17…