The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.
To start off this week and wrapping up July, we have TheHuman Beinz with their hit "Nobody But Me" from 1968. They started in 1964 and are still active.
The Human Beinz (/ˈbiːɪnz/ BEE-inz) is an American rock band from Youngstown, Ohio. Originally known as the Premiers, the band initially featured John Richard "Dick" Belley (vocals, guitar), Joe "Ting" Markulin (vocals, guitar), Mel Pachuta (vocals, bass), and Gary Coates (drums), later replaced by Mike Tatman.
Their only hit record in the US, "Nobody But Me", peaked in 1968 at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Here's we have them performing in a vintage video and another of Pan's People dancing to the song.
The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.
To start off the week, we have Iron Butterfly with their 1968 hit, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" which was second album of the same name. The song was actually supposed to be "In The Garden of Eden." According to Wikipedia, "Drummer Ron Bushy, organist-vocalist Doug Ingle wrote the song one evening while drinking an entire gallon of Red Mountain wine. When the inebriated Ingle then played the song for Bushy, who wrote down the lyrics for him, he was slurring his words so badly that what was supposed to be "in the Garden of Eden" was interpreted by Bushy as "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida."
Iron Butterfly is an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal music. Although their heyday was the late 1960s, the band has been reformed with various members with varying levels of success with no new recordings since 1975. Their second album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968), remains a best-seller, and Iron Butterfly was the first group to receive an in-house platinum album award from Atlantic Records.
The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.
We open the week with Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods and their 1974 hit, "Billy Don't Be A Hero". The song was voted #8 on Rolling Stone magazine's readers' poll of "10 Worst Songs of the 1970s" even though it did hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June 1974.
At the time, some thought it was about the Vietnam War that ended the year before, but it was actually set in the American Civil War.
Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods are an American pop music group, known mainly for their 1970s hit singles, "Billy Don't Be a Hero" and "Who Do You Think You Are".
The band was formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1965 by their leader, Robert Walter "Bo" Donaldson. Their first singles were released between 1966 and 1968 on a label owned by Bo's mother, Bea Donaldson. Those four singles went largely unnoticed. The band were first discovered while touring with The Osmonds in the early 1970s and signed with Family Productions, releasing their first single in 1972, "Special Someone", but their big break came after moving to ABC Records and working with the record producer Steve Barri in 1973. Although their first single with ABC, "Deeper and Deeper,” failed to make a big impression on the charts, beginning in 1974, the band began a string of hit songs.
Alive 'N Kickin' is an American pop group formed in Brooklyn, New York. Led by singers Pepe Cardona and Sandy Toder, they are best known for their 1970 hit "Tighter, Tighter", which peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The group's initial run lasted from 1968 to 1971, during which they didn't achieve success outside of "Tighter, Tighter", making them a one-hit wonder. In 1976, most of the original lineup reformed, and they've continued to perform to the present day, with various member changes. They have released one studio album, 1970's Alive 'N Kickin'.
Nelly Kim Furtado (born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 45 million records, including 35 million in album sales worldwide, making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. Critics have noted Furtado's musical versatility and experimentation with genres.
Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford. Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has also incorporated elements of pop rock, heavy metal, glam metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many subsequent rock artists. Aerosmith is sometimes referred to as "the Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". The primary songwriting team of Tyler and Perry is sometimes referred to as the "Toxic Twins".
The Mojo Men was an American rock band based in San Francisco. Formed in 1965, the group underwent several name and personnel changes until their 1969 breakup. Their highest-charting Billboard Hot 100 single was a cover of Buffalo Springfield's "Sit Down, I Think I Love You", which peaked at number 36 in 1967.
The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.
To begin the week, we have Suzi Quatro with her 1973 hit, "48 Crash" from her self-titled debut album and the song "Stumblin' In" with Chris Norman from 1978.
Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of singles that found success in Europe and Australia, with both "Can the Can" (1973) and "Devil Gate Drive" (1974) reaching number one in several countries.
Quatro released her self-titled debut album in 1973. Since then, she has released 15 studio albums, 10 compilation albums, and one live album. Other songs, including "48 Crash", "Daytona Demon", "The Wild One", and "Your Mama Won't Like Me", also charted highly overseas. Following a recurring role as bass player Leather Tuscadero on the popular American sitcom Happy Days, her duet "Stumblin' In" with Smokie's lead singer Chris Norman reached number four in the US, her only song to chart in the top 40 in her homeland.
The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.
To start off the week, we have Coven with their hit from the movie Billy Jack (1971) "One Tin Soldier". It is interesting to note that Billy Jack only made only $10 million during its initial 1971 release. But during its 1973 re-release, it became a huge hit and reportedly made over $50 million, a big feat for a small indie film at the time.
The song also became a huge hit during the summer of 1973.
The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.
As today is Memorial Day, I thought we'd do something different. Here, we have several artists with the top ten protest songs that are still powerful today.
The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.
To start off the week, Los Angeles is the focus of a hit from 2009, "We Run L.A." by Ya Boy featuring Doc Hollywood.
From Wikipedia:
William Joseph Crawford (born January 28, 1984), known by his stage name Ya Boy (also known as Rich Rocka), is an American rapper from Fillmore District, California. He is best known for his 2011 single "Lock Down" (with DJ Drama featuring Akon). The year prior, he signed with the latter's record label, Konvict Muzik, having first signed with San Quinn's Done Deal Entertainment to release his debut studio album, Rookie of the Year (2005). The following year, he signed with the Game's Black Wall Street Records, and later Mack 10's Hoo-Bangin' Records in 2009, although he released no albums with both labels.
From A.I.
"We Run L.A." is a 2009 West Coast hip-hop track by rapper Ya Boy (now known as Rich Rocka) featuring the pop/rock duo Doc Hollywood. The song gained wide popularity for its high-energy lifestyle lyrics and became highly recognizable for sampling the iconic chorus of Randy Newman's "I Love L.A.".
We have two versions of "We Run L.A." The first is the single version most familiar for its airplay and the second is one with some different lyrics.
The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.
It is hard to believe that 1996 was thirty years ago, but that's where we get this week's entry of Classic Rock Music Monday. Today, we spotlight OMC with their hit "How Bizarre" from that year.
OMC, or Otara Millionaires Club, were a New Zealand music group, then duo, with vocalist Pauly Fuemana later becoming the sole member. OMC was best known for the 1996 hit "How Bizarre", named one of the greatest New Zealander songs of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association. The full name of the band is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Ōtara's status as one of the poorest suburbs of Auckland.
The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.
To begin the week (and being the first for May), we have the pop group Mercy with their 1969 hit, "Love (Can Make You Happy)", which peaked at number two on the Billboard chart.
Mercy is an American pop group from Florida. The group's 1969 single "Love (Can Make You Happy)", written by Jack Sigler, Jr., soared to No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and also peaked at No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart."Love (Can Make You Happy)" was released in April and had sold over one million copies by July 15, earning a gold record from the R.I.A.A., although the group did not receive the award until October 2009.
The track was originally released on the small Tampa, Florida-based Sundi record label, at which time it was also included in the movie, Fireball Jungle. The B-side of the Sundi single was entitled "Fire Ball".
During the single's rapid rise in the charts, an album was released by a group calling themselves "The Mercy" (with a cover showing three female models, that included the Sundi recording, as well as several other songs that were not recorded by any of the original Mercy members.
The song was re-recorded on the Warner Brothers label, with the addition of new band members, and included on the Warner Brothers album, Love Can Make You Happy, which peaked at No. 38 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Mercy had one other Billboard Hot 100 hit, the song "Forever", which reached No. 79 in June 1969.
The band is still touring with Sigler, the original lead vocalist and founder of the group. Mercy released their latest EP on iTunes in 2009.
INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed in 1977 in Sydney. Originally called the Farriss Brothers, founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, guitarist Tim Farriss, lead singer and main lyricist Michael Hutchence, and guitarist and saxophonist Kirk Pengilly. For 20 years, INXS were fronted by Hutchence, whose stage presence made him the focal point of the band. Initially known for their new wave/ska-pop style, the band then developed a harder pub rock style that included funk and dance elements.
The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the 1960s. While their popularity in the United States waned in the 1970s, the group remains especially revered in Japan, where they have toured regularly. The classic lineup of the band consisted of Wilson (rhythm guitar), Bogle (initially lead guitar, later bass), Nokie Edwards (initially bass, later lead guitar), and Mel Taylor (drums).
Their first wide-release single, "Walk, Don't Run" (1960), brought international fame to the group, and is often cited as one of the top songs ever recorded for guitar. In the 1960s and early 1970s, 38 of the band's albums charted in the US, ranking them as the 6th best album chart performer during the 1960s, and the band had 14 singles in the Billboard Hot 100. With over 100 million records sold, the Ventures are the best-selling instrumental band of all time.
The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.
In honor of our four astronauts who will be circling around the moon today, we have a couple from Chad & Jeremy, the first one being "Everyone's Gone To The Moon." The other is "A Summer Song." Both are from 1964.
Chad & Jeremy were a British musical duo consisting of Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, who began working in 1962 and had their first hit song in the UK with "Yesterday's Gone" (1963). That song became a hit in the United States in the following year as part of the British Invasion. Unlike the rock-influenced beat music of their peers, Chad & Jeremy performed in a soft, folk-inflected style characterized by hushed and whispered vocals. The duo had a string of hits in the United States, including "Willow Weep for Me", "Before and After", and their biggest hit, "A Summer Song". After some commercial failures and divergent personal ambitions, Chad & Jeremy disbanded in 1968.
Chad Stuart continued to work in the music industry, while Jeremy Clyde became a film and stage actor. In the early 1980s, the duo reunited to record a new album and perform concerts, including a multi-band British Invasion nostalgia tour. After another long period of separation, in the early 2000s, Chad & Jeremy began performing again and developed a semi-regular tour schedule for many years. Chad Stuart retired in 2016 and died on December 20, 2020, while Jeremy Clyde continues to tour and record as a solo artist.
The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.
This week's spotlight is on a song that I haven't heard in ages, probably not since the early 1970s when it came out: "Softly Whispering I Love You" by The Congregation (known here as The English Congregation). I happened to stumble on it on YouTube.
Interestingly, although I hadn't heard it in ages, the familiarity hadn't diminished. I was in my senior year in high school when this song came out in December 1971.
The Congregation was a British pop ensemble, formed by Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway in England. In the United States it was credited as The English Congregation.
The band's biggest hit was a cover version of "Softly Whispering I Love You" (originally recorded by Cook and Greenaway's previous group, David and Jonathan), which peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart in 1971, No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, No. 1 in South Africa, No. 12 in Australia and New Zealand and No. 10 in Germany. The group's lead singer was the former Plastic Penny vocalist, Brian Keith, who later became a session musician. With no further top 40 hits, The Congregation was a transatlantic one-hit wonder.
The band changed its name on releases in the United States to avoid confusion with the Mike Curb Congregation, which also recorded "Softly Whispering I Love You".
The following three videos are of The Congregation's version. The first is with lyrics. The second is their appearance on Top of The Pops with the song dubbed in. The third is the same as the second, only with the original sound.
