Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Around The Way Girl” by LL Cool J

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“Don’t Call It A Comeback, I been here for years…,” so begins the title cut from the 4th album called Mama Said Knock You Out by James Todd Smith…aka Ladies Love Cool J…aka LL Cool J. And back in the day in my hood, the strains of LL could be heard emanating from booming systems [...]

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Invocation & Ritual Dance Of The Young Pumpkin” by The Mothers Of Invention

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It’s Mother’s Day and you should always listen to your MOTHERS! Nobody and I mean absolutely nobody sounded like The Mothers Of Invention back in 1966 when they released their second album Absolutely Free. The Mothers offered their own brand of compositional complexity, out of the ordinary instrumentation, Doo Wop harmonies and Free Jazz wig-out [...]

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Knowing When To Leave” by Dionne Warwick

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“Walk On By,” “Anyone Who Had A Heart,” “You’ll Never Get To Heaven (If You Break My Heart),” “Message To Michael,” “Alfie,” “”Do You Know The Way To San Jose,” “I Say A Little Prayer” — the list goes on and on, making an argument for the notion that the songwriting partnership of Burt Bacharach [...]

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred

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I worked at Reader’s Digest in their recorded music division for five years compiling music collections for people who were much older than I was at the time. In effect, I was selling nostalgia to folks whose memories I did not share. The job proved research intensive and ultimately rewarding, and by creating these music [...]

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Poem 58” by Chicago Transit Authority

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The fact that Chicago Transit Authority was the horn band of the late 1960s has obscured the fact that Chicago was also one hell of a guitar band. Proof positive is this somewhat obscure track from their eponymously titled debut album from 1969. (Play the track and continue reading.) This song has it all! The [...]

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Whole Wide World” by Wreckless Eric

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“If it ain’t Stiff, it ain’t worth a f*ck.” “The world’s most flexible record label.” “Undertakers to the industry.” “We came. We Saw. We Left.” “In ’78 everyone born in ’45 will be 33-1/3.” “When you kill time, you murder success.” “If they’re dead, we’ll sign them.” The above non-sequitors were all slogans for one [...]

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Undo The Right” by Willie Nelson

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“If you can’t say you love me say you hate me, And that you regret each time you held me tight, If you can’t be mine forever then forsake me, If you can’t undo the wrong, undo the right.” Totally brilliant in its simplicity! And so is this demo recording made for Pamper Music, the [...]

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Midnight Cowboy Theme” by John Barry

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Not only is today’s Song Of The Day perhaps one of the greatest movie themes of all time, it is also from one of the greatest films of the 1960s. The 1969 film Midnight Cowboy was based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The movie starred Dustin Hoffman and [...]

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Waiting Is Forbidden” by Rudresh Mahanthappa

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Welcome to the sonic space where Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time meets King Crimson. Sound intriguing? If it doesn’t, read no further because today’s Song Of The Day is not for the faint of heart or those of closed mind. Despite his exotic name, Rudresh Mahanthappa was born in Italy of Indian descent, but raised in [...]

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Calcutta!” by Lawrence Welk

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Instrumental week continues… Wunnerful…wunnerful…this groovetastic little number conjures visions of Gomez and Morticia dancing up a storm in their creepy parlour while Lurch serenades them on the harpsichord. I’m not sure if this Lawrence Welk ditty was ever used on The Addams Family, or if it’s just something I’ve yanked from the cobwebs of my [...]