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 is one of my favorite Steely Dan tunes, “Kid Charlemagne.” This one was the lead track (side one, track one) of the Dan’s 1976 album, The Royal Scam. Released as a single, “Kid Charlemagne” only reached #82 on the Billboard Hot 100. As a classic album track, it’s had a lasting influence that exceeds…
Just as you can’t talk disco without Donna Summer (yesterday’s classic song of the day, “Hot Stuff“), you also can’t talk disco without the Bee Gees. Unfortunately, I’m not a huge disco-era Bee Gees fan—except for this one tune. The brothers Gibb released “Nights on Broadway in September 1975 and it shot to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and…
It’s almost impossible to talk about the disco craze of the late ’70s without talking about Donna Summer, the undisputed Queen of Disco. To that end, today’s classic disco song of the day is Ms. Summer’s “Hot Stuff.” Released in April of 1979, this monster worldwide hit peaked at #1 in Australia, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, and, in the U.S., on…
We’re still in disco mode this week, so today’s classic disco song of the day is “Le Freak” by Chic. This hot little number, released in September of 1978, the height of the disco era, hit number-one worldwide—in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and, in the U.S., on the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Hot Soul Singles, Billboard Dance Club…
Today’s classic funk/disco song of the day is “Strawberry Letter 23” by the Brothers Johnson. This track was released in June of 1977 and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart. “Strawberry Letter 23” was written and first released by R&B singer/guitarist Shuggie Otis, the son of musician Johnny Otis (“Willie and the…
Today’s classic disco track of the day is “Funkytown” by Lipps Inc. It was one of the last big dance hits of that era, released in March of 1980, at the very end of the disco craze. It hit big, however, peaking at #1 all around the world—in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain,…
Today’s classic disco song of the day is “Boogie Ooogie Oogie” by A Taste of Honey. Released in June of 1978, this disco classic hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Soul Singles, Billboard Hot Disco Singles, and Cash Box Top 100 charts. (It also hit #1 in Canada.) Billboard ranked it the #9 song for all of 1978.…
I am not a huge fan of the disco music but admit to liking a few tracks in that otherwise-despised (by me, at least) genre. So this week is all boogie, all the time, starting with today’s classic disco song of the day, “Boogie Nights” by Heatwave. This well-produced track was released in 1977 and rose to #2 on both…
Today’s classic R&B song of the day is “Gimme Little Sign” by Brenton Wood. Released in the fall of 1967, this track hit #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the Cash Box Top 100. Surprisingly, it topped out at just #19 on Billboard’s R&B Singles chart. “Gimme Little Sign” was written by Mr. Wood (under his real…
Today’s classic song of the day is “The Tide is High” by Blondie. Released in October of 1980, the single went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and around the world; it hit the top spot in Canada, New Zealand, and the UK, and was a Top 10 hit in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa,…