Every iconic song or act has a starting point, but the journey to the top is rarely a straight line. In Music Origins, we go behind the scenes to uncover the roots of the music you love. From the unexpected early recordings of legendary artists to the bizarre historical accidents that turned forgotten tracks into global hits, we explore the foundations, evolutions, and hidden legacies that shaped music history
Lobo often shows up on lists of one hit wonders even though the artist actually had a string of hits between 1971 and 1973 and continued cracking the Top 40 into 1974. Perhaps the misperception is due to I’d Love You to Want Me being such a big hit, selling a million copies earning gold disc … Read more
Originally written by Scott English and Laurence Weiss, Bend Me, Shape Me was a no. 5 hit in 1967 for the band The American Breed, out of Chicago. It was one of three top forty hits for the band, along with Step Out of Your Mind and Green Light. The song was originally recorded by the Cleveland … Read more
The legendary Chuck Berry, known as the “Father of Rock and Roll” had many songs on the charts but, his only number one his was a cover of a novelty song, 1972’s My Ding-A-Ling. It spent 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent two weeks at no. 1 in October of that year. … Read more
Song: I’ve Never Been to Me Artist: Charlene (D’Angelo) Writer: Ron Miller, Kenneth Hirsch Label: Prodigal, Motown I’ve been to Georgia and California and anywhere I could run; took the hand of a preacher man And we made love in the sun; but I ran out of places and friendly faces because I had to … Read more
John Lennon definitely did say ‘life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. He said it in a song called Beautiful Boy from 1981, off his album Double Fantasy. The question is whether he originated the the saying, as is often claimed. Although Lennon is the originator of many famous quotes, he cannot … Read more
Steve Miller’s lyric on The Joker (1973), the pompatus of love, really stands out. I’ve already explained where he got that from. No, it was not original to him. Many people, including myself, also love the line from The Joker, “You’re the cutest thing I ever did see. I really love your peaches, wanna shake … Read more
Kate Bush’s extraordinary ‘comeback’ is all over the internet. Her 1985 song Running Up That Hill, from the album Hounds Of Love is enjoying new sales and is a big streaming hit, due to its use in Season 4 of Stranger Things. It already reached no. 1 in the UK after its peak at no. … Read more