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 it … Read more
Song: La Bamba (1958) Artist: Ritchie Valens Writer: Traditional Mexican Folk Song, rock arrangement by Ritchie Valens Label: Del-Fi 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 … Read more
Song: Abacab (1981) Artist: Genesis Album: Abacab Writers: Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford 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 … Read more
And we danced like a wave on the ocean, romanced; We were liars in love and we danced… Song: And We Danced (1985) Song: And We Danced (1985) Artist: The Hooters Album: Nervous Night (Columbia) Writers: Eric Brazilian, Rob Hyman And We Danced was the first single from the second album of The Hooters, a … Read more
Song: Hooked on a Feeling (1968) Artist: B.J. Thomas Album: On My Way (Sceptor) Writer: Mark James Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Swede is one of the popular tracks from the soundtrack of Guardians of the Galaxy (some of them here). But, the arrangement, with its ooga-chaka ooga-chaka refrain, is quite a bit different than the original. The song was … Read more
Song: Crimson and Clover (1968) Artist: Tommy James & the Shondells Writers: Tommy James and Peter Lucia Album: Crimson and Clover (Roulette) Tommy James credits the song Crimson and Clover for allowing the band to pivot from a singles-oriented AM radio band to FM radio progressive album-oriented rock. Without this change, he is sure, the … Read more