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 soul song of the day is “People Get Ready,” written by the great Curtis Mayfield. It’s a song that’s been covered dozens if not hundreds of times, which makes it a true classic. “People Get Ready” is a popular song with gospel roots. The lyrics use the spiritual to inform the material, in particular the struggle of Black…
We’ll end our week of early MTV-era hits with today’s classic MTV song of the day, Cyndi Lauper’s anthemic “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” This smash hit was released as a single in June of 1983 and shot to #1 on the Cash Box Top 100 and Billboard Dance Club Songs charts and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It…
Today’s classic early MTV song of the day is “Vacation” by the Go-Go’s. This single, the title track and first single from the group’s second album, Vacation, was released in July of 1982, the middle of summer, and it peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on the Cash Box Top 100. “Vacation” was written by Go-Go’s’…
Today’s classic early MTV song of the day is “Mickey” by Toni Basil, the one with the sing-song cheerleader chant “Oh Mickey you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind, hey Mickey!” “Mickey” was released as a single in January of 1982, just a few months after the August 1981 launch of the MTV channel, and the accompanying…
Today’s classic early MTV song of the day is “Centerfold” by the J. Geils Band. The single was released a month after the launch of MTV, in September of 1981. Propelled by its video filled with sexy schoolgirls, “Centerfold” went all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February of the following year. “Centerfold” is another perfect…
Your classic early MTV song of the day, and an unshakable earworm, is “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield. The single was released at the end of March in 1981 but took an agonizing 19 weeks to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the beginning of August. Billboard ended up ranking it as the #5 song for the entire…
Your classic early MTV song of the day today is “Rapture” by Blondie. Like yesterday’s classic song, “Kid,” “Rapture” actually predates the launch of MTV. “Rapture” was included on the group’s 1980 album, Autoamerican, and released as a single in January of 1981. The song got a lot of radio play before the MTV channel launched in August of that…
This week we’re taking a stroll through the early years of MTV and music videos. That means the early ’80s and we’re starting with “Kid” by the Pretenders. This track was released on the band’s self-titled 1979 debut album. It was not released as a single in the U.S. but it was in the UK, where it peaked at #33…
For the past few days we’ve focused on songs and performers coming out of the Laurel Canyon scene in the late ’60s/early ’70s—Crosby, Stills & Nash, Judy Collins, and Joni Mitchell, all of whom (as well as Carole King, Jackson Browne, Cass Elliott, Warren Zevon, Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles, J.D. Souther, Harry Nilsson, and a handful of Monkees) had an…
Yesterday’s classic song of the day, “Both Sides Now,” was written by Joni Mitchell and a hit for Judy Collins, AKA Sweet Judy Blue Eyes. Today’s classic song of the day is pure Joni Mitchell through and through, her biggest hit ever. We’re talking “Help Me” from her classic Court and Spark album. This track, released as a single in…