He was no longer little…but he was not yet big either… By 1970, Stevie Wonder had grown restless with the constraints that Motown Records put upon his creativity. Rather than continue to create commercial fodder that was sure to climb the charts, Wonder wanted to dig deeper by addressing social concerns with his music, and exploring different instrumentation on his records. … [Read more...] about Song Of The Day – “We Can Work It Out” by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Today in Rock History – May 10
1966, A year after returning to her home state of Texas from San Francisco, Janis Joplin heads west again. She was summoned by Chet Helms, a friend who is now managing Big Brother & the Holding Company. He dispatches Travis Rivers, an old acquaintance of Janis' from her Port Arthur, Texas days to convince the singer to join Big Brother. Joplin had even considered becoming a … [Read more...] about Today in Rock History – May 10
Today in Rock History – April 27
1966, The Beatles began recording the new John Lennon song "I'm Only Sleeping" at Abbey Road studios London, England. Recording began at 11:30 PM. The band recorded 13 takes, concluding on May 6th. The song features the then-unique sound of a reversed guitar duet played by George Harrison, partly because the tape was played backwards accidentally. Paul McCartney wanted to see … [Read more...] about Today in Rock History – April 27
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Hold On Longer” by John Legend
This spectacular piece of song craft and mood comes from John Legend’s latest album Love In The Future. I’ve literally played this song over and over since it came out several weeks ago, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the best Stevie Wonder song that Wonder never wrote. Yet, in two minutes and thirty-nine seconds of splendor, Legend manages to match the seemingly … [Read more...] about Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Hold On Longer” by John Legend
Today in Rock History – April 14
1969, The recording of 'The Ballad Of John and Yoko' took place, with just two Beatles, Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Paul played bass, drums and piano with John on guitars and lead vocals. The song was banned from many radio stations as being blasphemous. On some stations, the word 'Christ' was edited in backwards to avoid the ban. 1969, Pink Floyd debuted a new … [Read more...] about Today in Rock History – April 14