About a month ago, I featured Fats Domino’s recording of “Lady Madonna” from the 1969 album Fats Is Back. That record was produced by Richard Perry for Reprise Records, and today’s Song Of the Day follows Perry to the very next project he worked on, Ella by Ella Fitzgerald. Reprise records of the late ‘60s […]
Song Of the Day – “On The Air” & “Moribund The Burgermeister” by Peter Gabriel (Live from Rockpalast, 1978)
By the time of the broadcast from this 1978 Rockpalast show, Peter Gabriel was three years past his Genesis days and was out on the road promoting his second solo record, Peter Gabriel (which also goes by the names Peter Gabriel II and Scratch because of its album jacket image). I’ve already written several pieces […]
Song Of The Day – “Picture This” by Blondie
There was nothing new about punk and new wave. It came about as a reaction to the bloated excesses of progressive rock groups like Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Genesis and Yes and their seemingly obligatory side-long multi-part suites of music. (Not that there was anything wrong with that…) Groups like Ramones and Blondie brought back […]
Song Of The Day – “It’s Been A Long Long Time” by Bing Crosby
As our boys came home from World War II, they were welcomed back with this number one hit from 1945 that perfectly captured the sentiments of those who remained home while their loved ones were away. It’s a perfect record in every way. You’d be hard pressed to find a better vocalist than Crosby to […]
Song Of The Day – “What The Eyeballs Did” by Atoms For Peace
The first thing that grabs you is the rhythm – jittery, squiggly, purely wiggy and totally glitchy rhythm. Rhythms that don’t make you dance, but do make you move. The ghost of Talking Heads’ Remain In Light lives here. Their fingerprints are all over songs that have been built up from rhythm. They inhabit the […]
Song Of The Day – “Dancin’ Wild” by Tom & Jerry
Before “The Boy In The Bubble” and “Graceland”…before “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” and “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard”…and before “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “Sound Of Silence,” there was “Hey Schoolgirl” and a multitude of early recordings by the likes of Tom & Jerry, Jerry Landis, […]
Song Of The Day – “One Too Many Mornings” by Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash
Still a mystery to me why these recordings have never been officially released… The Dylan-Cash Sessions took place in Nashville’s Columbia Studio A on February 17-18, 1969 at the tail end of the Nashville Skyline recording sessions. During the same week that Dylan turned in such indelible recordings as “I Threw It All Away,” “Lay […]
Song Of The Day – “Jungle Strut” by Gene Ammons
Song Of The Day – “Jungle Strut” by Gene Ammons He was the son of boogie woogie pianist Albert Ammons, but Gene Ammons or “Jug” as he was affectionately nicknamed was known more for his full round tone on the tenor. He got the name “Jug” from Billy Eckstine, after not fitting into the hats […]
Song Of The Day – “Susan” by The Buckinghams
Transistor radios…beaches…the warmth of the sun…crashing waves…Chicago? Yup! The Bucking hams were the epitome of 1960s sunshine pop with their perfect blend of warm harmonies and sophisticated horn-drenched productions. Their sound was more akin to California than their native Chicago, and they were responsible for a string of perfect pop singles during the late sixties […]
Song Of The Day – “Willkommen” by Joel Grey from the film “Cabaret”
A funny thing happened to the Broadway Musical Cabaret during its adaptation to the big screen. It lost ten out of its original fifteen songs. Many of the original Broadway songs were in the play to express the emotions of the characters and move the plot line forward, something that the medium of film was […]
