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 “Knowing When to Leave,” from the Broadway musical, Promises, Promises. Like all the rest of the tunes from the play, this one was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. (Burt did the music, as usual, and Hal did the words.) Promises, Promises is a musical adaptation of director Billy Wilder’s 1960 film,…
Today’s classic song from a movie of the day is “The Look of Love,” as performed by Dusty Springfield in the 1967 James Bond spoof, Casino Royale. Released as a single in July of 1967, the song peaked at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song (it lost to “Talk to…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Tell Him” by the Exciters. This version of the song (SPOILER ALERT: it wasn’t the first) was released in October of 1962 and it went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on Billboard’s Hot Rhythm & Blues Songs list. “Tell Him” was originally written as “Tell Her” by legendary songwriter…
Today’s classic song of the day is “Silver Threads and Golden Needles” by the Springfields. Released in late summer of 1962, this harmony-laden track peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Springfields were a folk trio from the UK consisting of Tim Feild, Dion O’Brien, and Mary Catherine O’Brien. The O’Brien siblings changed their names to Tom Springfield…
Today’s classic song of the day takes us “Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa,” courtesy of Gene Pitney. This song was released in October of 1963 and peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa” was written by the legendary team of Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (words). It was the seventh top twenty hit…
Today’s classic song with Hal Blaine on drums of the day is “(They Long to Be) Close to You” by the Carpenters. This monster track was released in May of 1970 and shot to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Cash Box Top 100, Billboard Adult Contemporary, and Canadian RPM charts. It won the group a Grammy Award for Best…
Over the past few days we’ve looked at a few British girl singers, including the extremely talented Petula Clark. The biggest of the ’60s Brit girls, however, was arguably Dusty Springfield. Dusty was a phenomenon, racking up fifteen Top 40 hits on the UK charts and ten in the U.S. With that in mind, today’s classic songs (plural) of the…
The last track on side two of Dusty in Memphis is the song “I Can’t Make It Alone.” Like three other songs on the album (“So Much Love,” “Don’t Forget About Me,” and “No Easy Way Down“), this one was written by the legendary Brill Building songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It was produced by Jerry Wexler…
We’re still working through the tracks on Dusty Springfield’s legendary Dusty in Memphis album and now we’re on side two, near the end. The song is “No Easy Way Down,” written by the equally legendary team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King. This is track 10, the next-to-last track on side two. Like many of the songs on this album,…