Song: Fame (1975) Artist: David Bowie Album: Young Americans Fame is one of the David Bowie Songs you will hear most often on the radio. Or, as hip music critics say, “it is an FM radio classic,” as if anyone actually listens to AM anymore. Yes, with FM there’s no static at all. You can stop saying … Read more
Artist: Bill Joel Album: 52nd Street (1978, released on CD, 1982) The journey toward the CD began in the early 1970s when Sony and Phillips began working on an optical disc with digitally encoded sound that could be read by laser. Before the compact disc, it was all vinyl and cassette tape. It was even … Read more
Most people know the song Blinded by the Light from Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (usually known as Manfred Man), but it was actually a Bruce Springsteen Song, and an important one at that. It was really about driving around in your car; Bruce himself was the “teenage diplomat” in the song. But beyond that, there is … Read more
Song: We Can Work It Out (1965) Artist: The Beatles Album: Yesterday and Today (Capital) We Can Work It Out was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and appeared on the album Yesterday and Today. The song is just as well known, if not better-known, by Stevie Wonder’s 1970 cover version, from the album Signed, Sealed & Delivered. At the … Read more
It just so happens that I began writing this post a week before I wrote my post on my favorite song from Guardians of the Galaxy. I ended up posting the latter first. Upon writing the latter, I found out that this song was also slated to be in the soundtrack. The song is called Livin’ Thing and it … 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
It is one of those musical ironies that so many people wonder about the lyrics to Steve Miller’s 1973 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 to. But let’s face it. It’s fluff and the lyrics … Read more