Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
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…
We continue our look at the year 1971 with one of the biggest hits from one of the year’s biggest albums, “It’s Too Late” by Carole King, from her landmark Tapestry album. Released as a single in April, “It’s Too Late” hit #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. Billboard ranked “It’s Too Late” and the…
Today’s classic song from 1971 is Rod Stewart’s big hit, “Maggie May.” Rod released this single in June of 1971 and it went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Cash Box Top 100, and similar charts in Australia, Canada, and the UK. It ended up being Billboard’s number-two song for all of 1971, behind yesterday’s classic song of the…
This week we’re going to look at some of the top tunes of the year 1971, starting with the number-one pop single for the entire year. That tune is “Joy to the World” by the band Three Dog Night and I know you know it, Three Dog Night released “Joy to the World” in February of 1971. It quickly rose…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)” by Jim Croce. I bet you didn’t know the whole title, including the parentheses, did you? In any case, “Operator” was released in August of 1972 and peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #11 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart. Based on its lasting…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Danny’s Song” by Loggins and Messina. Kenny and Jim released this one in November of 1971 on their Sittin’ In album. Kenny Loggins wrote “Danny’s Song” for his brother Danny as a gift on the birth of his son Colin. That was back in 1966, when Danny was just a senior in high…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Love at the Five and Dime,” written and originally performed by songstress Nanci Griffith but made a bona fide hit by Kathy Mattea. Ms. Mattea’s version was released as a single in April of 1986 and made it all the way to #3 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. As I’ve written before,…
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’s classic song of the day is “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle.” This song was a hit for the Royalettes in 1965 and Deniece Williams in 1982; it was also featured on Laura Nyro’s 1971 album of covers with Labelle, Gonna Take a Miracle. First things first. “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle” was written by Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein, and…