Song: Saturday in the Park (1972) Artist: Chicago Album: Chicago V (Columbia) The lyrics, “I think it was the 4th of July” come from the 1972 Chicago song Saturday in the Park, which charted in the U.S. up to No. 3 and was the group’s first gold single. The song was written by keyboardist Robert Lamm, … Read more
Song: Stuck in the Middle With You (1972) Artist: Stealers Wheel Album: Stealers Wheel (A&M) You may know the song Stuck in the Middle with You from the ear-slicing scene in Reservoir Dogs (1993). It was the only big hit by the Scottish folk-rock band Stealers Wheel, in 1973, appearing on their self-titled album Stealers Wheel, climbing … Read more
Song: The Old Man Down the Road (1984) Artist: John Fogerty Album: Centerfield (Warner Brothers) If you are a songwriter or any kind of artist, you probably would never imagine that you could be sued for copyright infringement of one of your own previous works. But this is just what happened to John Fogerty, in … Read more
Song: The Joker (1973) Artist: Steve Miller Band Album: The Joker (Capitol) It is one of those musical ironies that so many people wonder about the lyrics to Steve Miller’s song, The Joker, “the pompatus of love.” The song is catchy and it is one of those classic rock songs you can’t help but sing along … Read more
Song: 25 or 6 to 4 (1970) Artist: Chicago Album: Chicago II (Columbia) The Tommy Tutone song Jenny (867-5309) spawned quite a myth, or maybe not a myth, about thousands of people calling the number from the song and overloading the circuit boards, thus causing the number to always be “out of service,” or something like that. But … Read more
Song: Brass in Pocket (1980) Artist: Pretenders Album: The Pretenders (Real Records/Sire) Brass in Pocket may be the most well-known Pretenders song, but since, like so much of the Pretender’s music, it has lived on so long, many people who hear it may have never heard of the Pretenders. Since the words “Brass in Pocket” are … Read more