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 sappy early ’70s love song of the day is “Precious and Few” by Climax. Released in December of 1971, it rose to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and #1 on the Cashbox Hot 100) in March the following year. The song was written by Walter Nims, the band’s lead guitarist. “Precious and Few” is a powerful song with…
Your forgotten late-60s pop song of the day is “Something in the Air,” by the group called Thunderclap Newman. It was a minor hit during the summer months of 1969, hitting #37 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the UK Singles chart. It’s a dreamy little ditty, all about the revolution being here. (In fact, the song…
Today’s little-known 1980s remake of a little-known 1970s pop song of the day is “Jimmy Loves Maryann” by Josie Cotton. This is a New Wavish remake of the second single from the band Looking Glass, which wasn’t near as big a hit as their previous “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl),” which was my Classic Song of the Day yesterday. The…
Your everybody-knows-it-and-loves-it early ’70s pop song of the day is “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass. This one is a classic that stood out in a year full of terrific pop hits. The song was released in May of 1972 and went all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Billboard ranked it the #12 song…
Your forgotten late-60s soul song of the day is “Can I Change My Mind” by Tyrone Davis. This one was released in November of 1968 and went to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot R&B Singles list. It’s a stellar example of Chicago soul in an era otherwise dominated by the masters of Motown in…
Your solo song from a member of the Go-Go’s of the day is “Rush Hour” by Jane Wiedlin. It was from her second solo album, Fur, and was her most successful solo single, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late July of 1988. It got lots of airplay on MTV, as you might imagine. Jane Wieldin was…
Your mostly forgotten horn-rock song of the day is “Pretty Lady,” by the also seemingly forgotten band, Lighthouse. Lighthouse was a Canadian band, kind of like Chicago or BS&T but with strings (two cellos and two violas) added on top of the horns (two trumpets, alto sax, and trombone, just like BS&T). This song was off their 1973 Can You…
Your Burt Bacharach song of the day is “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.” It was written for the Bacharach/David musical, Promises, Promises, but made famous in a more radio-friendly version by Dionne Warwick that went to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The version from the Broadway musical is a lot more stripped down than the hit single, originally…
For the very first post in my classic songs blog, I’m not going to highlight a specific song but rather a specific songwriter: Burt Bacharach. Burt passed away this week, aged 94, and he deserves a special mention. Burt Bacharach was a legend, one of my musical heroes, and one of the most talented songwriters of the entire 20th century.…