Song: Eat It (1984) Artist: Weird Al Yankovich Label: Scotti Brothers Writers: Michael Jackson, Al Yankovic Just as Michael Jackson’s album Thriller and the mega-hit Beat It was reaching its height, propelled by MTV and the 1984 Grammy Award for Record of the Year as well as a vocal performance Grammy for Jackson, Weird Al … Read more
The answer is a resounding NO! The Kinks and specifically Dave Davies of the Davie brothers did not invent the concept of guitar distortion. The fact is that guitarists have been intentionally overloading their amps to create distortion for pretty much as long as amplifiers have been around. The Kinks happened on a sound that … Read more
Although American Girl never charted in the U.S. the first time it was released in 1976, it has become one of the favorite Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers songs of all time. It is considered an absolute staple of classic rock and may be the song most identified with the band’s sound. It’s certainly my … Read more
Joan Jett has had a storied career. Before she was the frontwoman of her own band, she was a part of the band The Runaways, famous for such songs as “Cherry Bomb.” The song she is most known for, however, she did as part of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts: I love Rock ‘n Roll. In … Read more
I read a curious line about the White Stripes song Seven Nation Army on American Songwriter: “There’s no disputing that the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” is better known for its iconic guitar line than its lyrics.” (1) Now, I’m not aware of any statistical database from which you could mine such revelations, but are … Read more
Song: Babe I’m Gonna Leave You (1962) Artists: Joan Baez, Led Zeppelin Album: In Concert Writer: Anne Bredon When you hear Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You by Led Zeppelin, you may not realize that the song started out as a folk song. This in itself is not surprising since Led Zeppelin was heavily influenced by folk. Songs … Read more
Song: Every Breath You Take (1983) Artist: Police Album: Synchronicity (A&M) Writer: Gordon Summer (Sting) I cringe every time I hear someone covering The Police song (by Sting) Every Breath You Take or using it as part of another song. The reason this is so cringeworthy is that people use this song as if … Read more