Eric Troy 
Song: Don’t Give Up on Us (1976) Artist: David Soul Label: Private Stock Records Writer: Tony Macaulay Growing up in the seventies, I just loved the now-legendary TV cop show Starsky & Hutch. No wonder, as the show was pretty much made for teens. I don’t know what I’d think of it now as most … Read more
Although his biggest hit was Donna, Richie Valens will forever be most recognized for his enduring Latino rock song La Bamba. In fact, I think it is safe to say that he single-handedly brought “Laino rock” into the mainstream. He was certainly not the first person to record the song. It is, in fact, a traditional … Read more
Juice Newton had a big ‘crossover’ country-pop hit with Angel of the Morning in 1981 but the song has actually been covered by many artists, including Olivia Newton-John. The first person to sing the song, in 1967 was actually a singer named Evie Sands who recorded a number of songs by songwriter/producer Chip Taylor and … Read more
Barracuda is perhaps the song most identified with Heart. It is one of those songs that makes people think of Heart as a Led Zeppelin-influenced hard rock band with legendary female vocals. Their angriest and edgiest song, it was released off the 1977 Little Queen album, reaching no. 11 on the charts. The album, ironically, besides “Kick it … Read more
Song: Don’t Know Much (1980, 1989) Artist: Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville Album: Cry Like a Rainstorm – Howl Like the Wind Writers: Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Tom Snow Don’t Know Much is perhaps one of the most famous duets ever recorded. Like many such songs, though, it was not written as a duet. It was first … Read more
There are many ways to start a band. One way, apparently, is to decide you’re a good-looking guy with talent and place an ad in a paper looking for other guys with the same qualifications. This is how the band Kajagoogoo began. Kajagoogoo means ‘good-looking guys’ in baby talk. The band started a bit of … Read more
Abacab was one of three singles to hit the U.S. charts from the 1981 Genesis album of the same name. It is a progressive rock song that reached no. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending 14 weeks on the charts. The song title, a word repeated in the chorus, seems to be nonsense? Is it? … Read more