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 a Wall of Sound classic by one of my favorite singers of the ’60s (or any decade), Darlene Love, that was recorded in 1964 but not released until 1976. The song is “A Long Way to Be Happy” and it would have killed if producer Phil Spector had released it when it was…
“(Today I Met) The Boy I’m Gonna Marry” was the first solo single for vocalist extraordinaire Darlene Love, and it’s today’s classic song of the day. Released in March of 1963, this single peaked at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #38 on the Cash Box Top 100 in 1963. This Wall of Sound spectacular, produced by troubled genius…
Today’s classic song of the day was recorded by one group but released under another group’s name. The song is that Wall of Sound classic, “He’s a Rebel,” and there’s an interesting story behind it. To start out, “He’s a Rebel” was written by Gene Pitney for the Shirelles, but that group, which was really hot at the time, turned…
Today’s classic Christmas song of the day is “Winter Wonderland.” It was written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard “Dick” Smith. The original lyrics were about a winter love affair; in 1947, new lyrics were written that made it more about children playing in the snow. Later versions tended to combine the two versions, so that you hear…
Today is Christmas Day and our twelfth and final day of twelve days of classic Christmas songs, and what better song for this special day than Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” This Christmas classic, written for the movie Holiday Inn, is the world’s best-selling single of all time, with more than 100 million copies sold to date. The version of “White…
It’s Christmas Eve, the eleventh day of our twelve days of classic Christmas songs, and our classic Christmas song of the day is my very favorite Christmas song of them all, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love. “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” is a near-perfect track that defines the season for me and features some of the best…
Today’s classic Girl Group songs of the day are “People Say” and “Chapel of Love,” both by the Dixie Cups. We’ll start with “People Say,” which was released on Red Bird Records in July of 1964. This one peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the R&B Singles chart. Billboard magazine placed “People Say” at #53…