Heard this the other day on NPR Music show on American anthems. Its still timely and relevant 50 years later.
Yearly Archives: 2018
Song of the day 8/2/18 throwback Thursday Jayhawks- “Blue”
One of the pioneering bands from the alt-country movement from their 1995 album Tomorrow the Green Grass.
Today in Music History August 2
1957 So You Say Its Birthday! Butch Vig, drummer with American rock band Garbage, producer extraordinaire (Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, Foo Fighters, as well as that album by those three guys from Seattle? What was it called?)
1968 ‘Hello I Love You’, by The Doors starts a two week run at .1 on the US singles chart. Some controversy has surrounded the song as Ray Davies of the Kinks has asserted that the main structure of the song was plagiarized from the Kinks song “All Day and All of the Night“. According to Davies, an out of court settlement was reached between the bands over the riff. The song was also one of the first stereo 45rpm records.
1975 ‘One of These Nights‘ by The Eagles goes to #1 on the US singles chart. The song, the title track of the album by the same name, was written by Don Henley and Glen Frey, and was a conscious attempt by the Eagles to get away from the country-rock/ballads that they were known for up to that point. It was influenced by R&B music and disco, and was about putting things off til another day instead of dealing with it at that moment.
Sources: This Day in Music.com, Wikipedia, YouTube, PSNEurope.com
Song of the Day 8/1/18 Phantastic Ferniture – ‘Bad Timing’
Australian folk singer Julia Jacklin wanted to do something different. “I’d gone straight into folk music, so every experience I’d had on stage was playing sad music with a guitar in my hand. I thought, I would love to know what it’s like to make people feel good and dance.” Phantastic Ferniture is the result of that desire.
Song of the day 8/1/18 The War on Drugs- “Pain”
The War on Drugs make make music that is expansive and almost orchestral but yet manages to feel intimate.
Today in Music History August 1
1942 So You Say Its Your Birthday! Jerry Garcia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist for the Grateful Dead, New Riders of the Purple Sage, among others. Garcia died of a heart attack while in drug rehab in 1995.
1964, A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles becomes their 5th #1 single in the span of 7 months in the US. Its opening guitar chord becomes iconic. The Beatles would spend 18 weeks at the No. 1 position during 1964.
1971, The George Harrison organized Concert For Bangladesh takes place at Madison Square Garden in NYC. The two concerts, to raise money to famine and war victims in Bangladesh, featured Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Ravi Shankar, and Badfinger, among others. It was the first ever benefit concert of this magnitude, seen by over 40,000 people and raised over $250,000. Over the decades, the concert, and resulting triple album and film, have raised over $12M (as of 1985).
1971 The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour begins on the CBS network in the US. The show grew out of a nightclub act that Sonny and Cher had embarked on after their music career declined. The show featured comedy skits and musical numbers by the duo along with guest stars. It ran until 1974, than again in a different from in 1976-77.
1981 MTV launches at 12:01 AM Eastern Time, with the words “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll,” spoken by John Lack and played over footage of the first Space Shuttle launch countdown of Columbia and of the launch of Apollo 11. The first video played is The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star.
Sources: This Day in Music.com; YouTube, Wikipedia, jerrygarcia.com, Billboard,
Song of the Day 7/31/18 Alice Merton – ‘No Roots’
Growing up, Alice Merton spent time in Germany, England, Canada, and the US. This song is about her feelings that she never really had a home.
HT: Music Enthusiast
Song of the day 7/31/18 The National- “ Don’t Swallow the Cap”
Looking for that perfect “headphones in the dark” kind of album? Try Trouble Will Find Me by the National. This is my favorite off that record.
Today in Music History July 31
1955 Elvis Presley plays 3 shows in Tampa FL to a crowd of 14,000. A riot broke out after fans took him up on his joking offer to see him backstage after the show, chasing him into his dressing room and tearing off his clothes. A photo from the show was used as the cover of his first RCA album in 1956.
1958 So You Say Its Your Birthday! Bill Berry, drummer for the pioneering American alt rock band R.E.M. Berry suffered a brain aneurysm on stage in 1995 that was successfully treated, and quit the band in 1997 only after getting his bandmates’ commitment to continue the band without him.
1968, Tommy James and The Shondells go to #1 on the UK charts with the garage rock classic ‘Mony Mony‘. The title was inspired after Tommy James, stuck for a title for his new song, went to the terrace of his Manhattan apartment and looked out and saw the “M.O.N.Y.” sign atop the Mutual of New York Building across the way.
2012 Bruce Springsteen, playing the Helsinki Olympiastadionin Finland at the European finale of his Wrecking Ball tour, plays his longest show ever, clocking in at 33 songs and 4 hours and 6 minutes (and that doesn’t include a 5 song acoustic pre-set before the E St. Band comes on!) That’s right kiddies, 4 hours plus! That’s why he’s called the Boss. For more on the show, check out this review.
Sources: This Day in Music.com, Wikipedia, ElvisPresleyPhotos.com, Backstreets.com
Song of the Day 7/30/18 Jeen – ‘Any Moment’
Let’s start this week with great indie rock from Jeen. HT to Music Enthusiast for this great cut.
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