Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Classic rock, pop, and soul songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s
Your totally forgotten ’70s song of the day is “Games” by a group called Redeye. It was released in late 1970 and peaked at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100. I’m guessing that if you’re of a certain age you’ll remember this song if you hear it. It played the other day on a rerun of Casey Kasem’s American Top…
Your classic cheesy early ’80s romantic pop song of the day is “Key Largo” by Bertie Higgins. Released in September of 1981, it peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. “Key Largo,” written by Bertie Higgins and his producer Sonny Limbo, is the one that references all those old Humphrey Bogart movies,…
In honor of Tina Turner’s passing, today’s classic song of the day is the Wall of Sound classic, “River Deep, Mountain High.” Produced by the legendary Phil Spector for Ike & Tina Turner, this one was released in May of 1966 but only rose to #88 on the Billboard Hot 100. Everybody, Phil Spector included, expected “River Deep, Mountain High”…
Your totally unknown classic Jimmy Webb song of the day is “This Is Where I Came In,” by the Contessas. No point looking it up; it didn’t chart anywhere. Recorded and released in 1965, “This is Where I Came In” was one of the first songs composed by soon-to-be-legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb, and his first time in the studio. It’s…
Today’s oddly original classic late-70s song of the day is “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” by Joe Jackson. In my memory this is an early ’80s tune, but it was originally released in October of 1978. That initial release didn’t take so the label re-released it in July of 1979, when it went all the way to #21…
Your classic song written by Laura Nyro but performed by someone else of the day is “Eli’s Coming,” by Three Dog Night. The band released this one in October of 1969 and it went all the way to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Cory Wells sang lead. As noted, the song wasn’t written by any of the Three Dog…
For our final day of horn rock week, I’m pulling out another Blood, Sweat & Tears tune, because I really like BS&T. This one is the combo of “Snow Queen” and “Maiden Voyage,” the closing tracks from their 1972 album New Blood. You didn’t hear it on the radio but it really encapsulates all that I like about this period…
We’re coming close to the end of horn rock (jazz rock) week and for today’s classic horn rock song of the day we move north of the border for the Canadian band Lighthouse and their big hit, “One Fine Morning.” Released in 1971, this tune peaked at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 but hit #2 on the Canada RPM…
It’s still horn rock week and we’re past the big names, BS&T and Chicago and the like. Looking now at more obscure bands, today’s classic horn rock song of the day is “Vehicle” by the little remembered group, the Ides of March. The song was actually released in March of 1970 and went all the way to #2 on the…
It’s day number four of horn rock week, and now we’re up to Chase, the band formed by former big band trumpeter Bill Chase. The song (their only hit single) is “Get It On,” and it peaked at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971. Bill Chase had been a trumpet player with the Maynard Ferguson, Stan Kenton, and…