Song: Break My Stride (1983) Artist: Matthew Wilder Album: I Don’t Speak the Language (Private I) Break My Stride is Matthew Wilder’s one hit song from 1983. Although Wilder had little support, he managed to compete with other one-hits such as Der Kommisar, Blinded Me with Science, and Kajagoogoo (Too Shy). This feel-good pop-rock classic can still be heard … Read more
Song: She’s Not There (1964) Artist: The Zombies Album: The Zombies (Parrot) Written by Rod Argent, who wrote many other classic rock songs, She’s Not There was the first hit by the Zombies. It is also one of those songs that, if you have only heard Santana’s version (1977), you should listen to the original, without … Read more
Song: Black Magic Woman (1969) Artist: Fleetwood Mac – Peter Green Album: English Rose (Epic) Starting with the lyrics ‘don’t turn your back on me baby,’ Black Magic Woman, is best known for the Santana version from 1971. The original, and the best, is from Fleetwood Mac, off the album English Rose, in 1969. The song … Read more
Song: Always On My Mind (1982) Artist: Willie Nelson Album: Always On My Mind (Columbia) Despite the likes of Elvis, Brenda Lee, and The Pet Shop boys having recorded it, Willie Nelson’s version of ‘Always on My Mind‘ is still considered the definitive version, not to mention the song for which he is most known. … Read more
Song: Behind Blue Eyes (1971) Artist: The Who Album: Who’s Next (Decca) The lyric “No one knows what it’s like to be the bad man” comes from the song Behind Blue Eyes, released on The Who’s album Who’s Next in 1971. A tortured and dark acoustic ballad, the song was originally part of a collection of songs … Read more
Song: Africa (1982) Artist: Toto Album: Toto IV (Columbia) The lyric “I bless the rains down in Africa” come from the band Toto’s greatest hit song, Africa, released on the album Toto IV in 1982. It is said to be misheard, sometimes, as “I left my brains down in Africa” but it is uncertain whether this particular … Read more
Song: Saturday in the Park (1972) Artist: Chicago Album: Chicago V (Columbia) The lyrics, “I think it was the 4th of July” come from the 1972 Chicago song Saturday in the Park, which charted in the U.S. up to No. 3 and was the group’s first gold single. The song was written by keyboardist Robert Lamm, … Read more