Song: Hot Child in the City (1978) Artist: Nick Gilder Album: City Nights (Chrysalis) At around the same time that Billy Joel was winning a Grammy for Just the Way You Are and disco, punk, and New Wave were simultaneously selling records, a pop/rock song about a runaway teenage girl who may or may not be a … Read more
Song: Kiss You All Over (1978) Artist: Exile Album: Mixed Emotions Casual country fans might be shocked to know that the 80’s country hitmakers, Exile, toured with acts such as Aerosmith, Heart, Dave Mason, Boston, and Seals & Crofts in 1978. Although their first no. 1 country hit was Woke Up in Love in 1983, … Read more
Song: Maggie May (1971) Artist: Rod Stewart Album: Every Picture Tells a Story (Mercury) Maggie May was Rod Stewart’s first big number one hit. Ironically, it was the B-side of the song he thought would be his breakthrough, Reason to Believe, a cover of a folk song by Tim Hardin, today a true classic in … Read more
Song: Whenever I Call You ‘Friend’ (1978) Artist: Kenny Loggins with Stevie Nicks Album: Nightwatch (Columbia) Although Kenny Loggins might be known as a movie soundtrack staple, and best remembered for Danny’s Song, even if fans of the song don’t quite realize its Kenny Loggins. However, Whenever I Call You ‘Friend’ was his first big solo hit, a … Read more
Song: After Midnight (1965 Liberty Records: Liberty #55931, 1972) Artist: J.J. Cale Album: Naturally (Shelter Records 1972 Imagine living in your car while Eric Clapton has tremendous success with your song and slowly becomes a legend. Imagine earning royalties from this that allow you to not only eat but to go on recording music. Now … Read more
If you watched the recent Elton John biopic (if you could call it that), Rocket Man, you may have been interested to see the scene with Elton John recording the duet Don’t Go Breaking My Heart with a female singer. As I’m writing this, I can’t recall if she was ever actually identified by name … 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