Ten Great Songs From One Great Year

1981

(for previous 1981 lists, click here and here)

On January 19, Iran agrees to release the 52 Americans, who had been held hostage for 444 days. While it was President Carter who was in office at the time, it is widely believed that the Iranian fear of President Reagan, who succeeded Carter the very next day, was the catalyst for their release. Two months after he was inaugurated, Reagan survives an assassination attempt, when he is shot by John Hinkley. His quick recovery increases his charm and popularity. Just two months later, Pope John Paul II is shot and nearly killed by Mehmet Ali Ağca, a Turkish gunman, as he enters St. Peter's Square in Vatican City to address a general audience. Later that month, Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman is assassinated in Chittagong. Of course in Noveber, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated during a parade by army members who belong to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization (part of the Muslim Brotherhood). He is replaced by Hosni Mubabrak, who then outlaws the Muslim Brotherhood from the country.

In June, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 5 homosexual men in Los Angeles, California have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems (the first recognized cases of AIDS). Two days later, The Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor. While this was widely condemned around the world, it was eventually praised the Reagan administration, as well as by other Western leaders. In July, tragedy strikes Kansas City, when two skywalks filled with people at the Hyatt Regency Hotel collapses into a crowded atrium lobby, killing 114.

In August, Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, after being convicted of murdering John Lennon in Manhattan 8 months earlier. Chapman remains imprisoned at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York, having been denied parole six times. In sports, Muhammad Ali loses to Trevor Berbick; this proved to be Ali's last-ever fight. A 51-day players strike forced the cancellation of 713 games, during the summer and in football, the story of the year was the rise of the San Fransisco 49ers dynasty, led by 3rd-year QB, Joe Montana.

Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do) - Christopher Cross (lyrics)

Peter Allen wrote this song with Carole Bayer Sager. It didn't become "Arthur's Theme" until a few years later when Bayer Sager and Burt Bacharach (who were married) reworked it for the movie Arthur starring Dudley Moore. Allen came up with the line, "When you get caught between the moon and New York City" when his plane got stuck in a holding pattern waiting to land at JFK airport in New York. This won the 1982 Oscar for Best Song From A Film. It was a very successful theme song, capturing the charming side of Dudley Moore's character as he faces a drastic change to his lifestyle. In the film, Moore must consider giving up his fortune for his new love, played by Liza Minnelli. The original script had him losing his money to be with the girl, but audiences in test screenings wanted an even happier ending, so the script was rewritten with Arthur keeping his fortune and the girl. Of course, this blew away the premise that Arthur must choose between money and love, but that's where this song came in handy. Speaking about the film in the New York Times, Larry Brezner, who was one of the producers, said the idea was to "give Arthur the money, bring up the music loud and get the audience the hell out of the theater happy, before they have time to think about it." Christopher Cross, whose real name is Christopher Geppert, won four Grammy awards in 1980: Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Sailing," Album Of The Year for Christopher Cross, and Best New Artist.



Urgent - Foreigner (lyrics)

The group wanted a "Junior Walker-style" sax solo for this record. When they took a break from recording, one of the members read in New York newspaper The Village Voice that Walker was performing that night mere blocks from the recording studio. Walker accepted their offer to play, and the recording of the sax solo was swift and without a hitch. Before recording this album, 2 members of the group left, trimming the band from 6 members to 4. This, along with the fact that it was their fourth album, explains the title, 4. Foreigner's guitarist Mick Jones produced the 4 album with Jeff "Mutt" Lange, who is known as a very meticulous producer with a tremendous work ethic. Jones told us: "We locked horns at the beginning, both pretty strong-minded about what we wanted to achieve, and we gradually discovered that it was the same thing. He drew a lot out of me. He was the first person that insisted on listening to every single idea I had on every single cassette tape, or any ideas I had anywhere, down on paper or lyrically, phonetically, instrumentally. He pulled songs like 'Urgent' out of that, and contributed a lot to 'Juke Box Hero.' It ended up being a great relationship."



Tempted - Squeeze (lyrics)

Squeeze singer and guitarist Chris Difford wrote the lyrics to this song. He explains: "Tempted was written in a cab on the way to Heathrow, I just wrote down what I saw and how I felt as we wormed our way through the traffic. I also must have anticipated a good time on tour as the chorus suggests." Paul Carrack sang lead on this. He also sang with the bands Ace ("How Long") and Mike And The Mechanics ("The Living Years"). In 1987, he had a solo hit with "Don't Shed a Tear." Carrack was with Squeeze for their East Side Story album, replacing Jools Holland on keyboards and also contributing vocals. He rejoined Squeeze in 1993 for their album Some Fantastic Place, and sang on a new version of "Tempted" that the band recorded for the soundtrack of the 1994 movie Reality Bites. Elvis Costello produced this track and you can hear him singing on the second verse. This was the first Squeeze song to crack the charts in America. Squeeze was already a big deal in their native England, where they had 7 Top-40 hits to this point. They managed just 2 more US hits: "Hourglass" and "853-5937," but "Tempted" remains their most enduring song in The States, where it continues to get airplay. Glenn Tilbrook, who writes the music for Squeeze, considers this one of his favorites. Says Tilbrook: "It was a sort of breakthrough song for us, in spite of the fact that it wasn't a hit, it was our first song. It was when we grew up, really, as a band. When we finished it I couldn't quite believe it was us." (video NSFW)



Who's Crying Now - Journey (lyrics)

This was one of the first Journey songs to feature keyboardist/guitarist Jonathan Cain. He had been a member of The Baby's before replacing long-time keyboardist Gregg Rolie in Journey. According to the liner notes of Journey's Time3 compilation, Steve Perry wrote the chorus of the song driving from Bakersfield to San Francisco, singing into a cassette recorder. He went to Cain's house, rain pouring down in sheets outside, with the whole song in his head. He hummed the song to Cain and guided him through the piano part. Cain suggested the tune sounded like "A somebody done somebody wrong song" and came up with the line, "Who's crying now?" They finished the song that afternoon. Escape was Journey's only #1 album. It contained 3 other hits: "Don't Stop Believin'," "Stone In Love," and "Open Arms." This was featured on Journey's Greatest Hits album, which has sold over 10 million copies. Cain and Neal Schon left the group in 1989 to join John Waite (also a former Baby's member) in Bad English. Plans for a tour ended when Perry injured his hip while hiking in Hawaii in the summer of 1997, and could not perform without hip replacement surgery – which he for some time refused to undergo. In 1998, Schon and Cain decided to seek a new lead singer, at which point drummer Steve Smith left the band as well.



All Those Years Ago - George Harrison (lyrics)

This is tribute to John Lennon, who was shot and killed the year before and remained friends with Harrison after The Beatles broke up. In an interview after Lennon was shot, George said that he originally had written most of the lyrics for Ringo, but with Lennon's assassination, he rewrote the lyrics and told of how he looked up to John. Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney played on this along with Denny Laine from McCartney's band Wings. Long time Beatle producer George Martin produced this song as well. Geoff Emerick, one of The Beatles sound engineers, also had a hand in this tune. In Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, Al Kooper gives an eye-witness account of George Harrison's reaction to hearing the news that John Lennon had been shot: "George was in the kitchen, white as a sheet, real shook up. We all had breakfast. He took calls from Paul and Yoko, which actually seemed to help his spirit, and then we went into the studio and started the day's work. Ray and I kept George's wine glass full all day..." Working til midnight, some of the work from this session ended up on the album Somewhere in England. Of course, the great George Harrison passed away in 2001, from lung and brain cancer.



The Voice - The Moody Blues (lyrics)

This was one of the songs that propelled The Moody Blues to a comeback in the early 1980s, and of their newer songs, this appealed the most strongly to fans of their original work. Written by Justin Hayward, The lyrics have the same philosophical tone of their songs in the late 1960s, and the song is alternately urgent and hopeful about the future. It seems to be telling listeners that they face major choices on how their world will turn out, and that there is great hope in it, but only if they make it happen of their own initiative. The Moody Blues have sold in excess of 70 million albums worldwide and have been awarded 14 platinum and gold discs. As of 2012 they remain active with one member from the original band from 1964 and two more from the 1967 lineup. In 2007, the now defunct Hard Rock Park theme park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, announced the building of a dark ride entitled "Nights in White Satin: The Trip". The ride incorporated multi-sensory experiences as well as a re-orchestrated version of the song by Justin Hayward. A re-recorded version of Graeme Edge's "Late Lament" again followed, which had each group member reading a verse of the poem. In March 2009, the ride closed because of the conversion of the park to the Freestyle Music Park, with the new owners desiring to make the park more "family friendly." The group continue to tour yearly; they toured the US, Canada and the UK in 2006 through 2010. In addition, Hayward took part in the UK tour of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds in April 2006, and a second tour in November 2007, also with dates in 2009. The Moody Blues also toured Australia and New Zealand in 2006. Their long-time producer, Tony Clarke, died in January 2010.



It Must Be Love - Madness (lyrics)

This was written by Labi Siffre, whose original version reached #14 in the UK in 1971. Madness' backing track was recorded in 9 hours in a front room studio in a house in Dagenham, Essex, and the production duo of Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley produced this track. Langer recalled the bold use of strings on this track in an article by Eric Olsen of Blogcritics Magazine: "We had the strings play pizzicato: 'plink, plink, plink,' which at that time required real musicians. It was quite an experiment and you took a lot of responsibility because you had to pay the bill. Now you can just use a sample." Winstanley added: "A few years later Trevor Horn told me that he nicked the pizzicato strings idea from us for the first ABC record - that was quite flattering really." In 1992 this was re-issued and again it reached the UK Top 10 this time peaking at #6. In America this was the follow-up to the band's only Top 10 hit, "Our House," and was released in the States in 1983. However the Ealing Comedy-influenced music video for this song, which featured the band all running around in undertaker's gear, was not appreciated across the Atlantic and this song only reached #33. The video also featured underwater performances from guitarist Chris Foreman and saxophonist Lee Thompson. Foreman recalled to Q Magazine August 2008: "In the pool, I had these lead weights on. I thought I was gonna die. The hire guitar got bent so we got a hairdryer and sent it back. They said, 'The neck's like a banana.' So we had to buy it." Labi Siffre made a cameo appearance in the video as a violin player.



Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You) - Air Supply (lyrics)

Air Supply consists of Graham Russell as guitarist and singer-songwriter and Russell Hitchcock as lead vocalist. Formed in Melbourne, Australia, they had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight Top Ten hits in the US. From their formation in 1977, they were popular in heir native country, but only limited in their success. So much so that Russell claimed, on a 1995 DVD, that he and Hitchcock were so poor that they were reduced to checking the backs of hotel sofas for change so that they could buy bread to make toast. That all changed in 1980. A re-recorded and remixed version of "Lost in Love" was released internationally as a single in January on Arista Records. The associated album, Lost in Love, appeared in March and contained three top 5 singles, including the title track which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The two other big hits were "Every Woman in the World" (#5) and "All Out of Love" (#2). Because of this newfound success, Arista Records president Clive Davis teamed the group up with producer Harry Maslin and he went on to produce five top 5 records in a row. In 1981 Air Supply released The One That You Love, with the title track issued as a single that went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also featured two other Top Ten hits, "Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You)" was written by Norman Saleet and "Sweet Dreams". The followup album, Now and Forever, also had three charted singles. However, they were not as popular and it seemed Air Supply was running out our air. However, the then released their Greatest Hits LP. which featured the Jim Steinman written song, "Making Love (Out of Nothing At All," which hit #2. Ironically, it was Steinman's other major 1983 release, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler, that kept it from the top spot. After that, Air Supply only managed one more top 40 song, 1985's "Just As I Am." In 2008, based on their chart performance, they were ranked the 83rd best musical act of all time in Billboard Hot 100's 50th anniversary edition. The band continues to tour regularly and in May 2010, they released their latest album titled Mumbo Jumbo featuring 14 new tracks.



The Night Owls - Little River Band (lyrics)

Another Australian band, The Little River Band chose its name after passing a road sign leading to the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong, on the way to a performance. LRB enjoyed sustained commercial success not only in Australia, but also in the US, as well. They have sold more than 25 million records and achieved 13 U.S. Top 40 hits, besides many music awards gained in Australia. Formed in 1975, out of the remains of a number of popular local bands, and fronted by lead singer Glenn Shorrock, LRB broke through successfully upon their single "Help Is On It's Way" which peaked at #14 in America in 1977. The band followed that up with an additional 9 top 40 hits over the next 5 years. However, In 1982, Shorrock was forced out of the band as the other members were keen to try different musical directions. In came John Farmham, who sang lead on "The Other Guy." It appeared not to matter, as this song peaked at #11. But after one more hit, 1983's "We Two," the pressures of success and constant touring took their toll on LRB and other members gradually left. Farnham left upon completion of the group's short Australian tour in support of their album No Reins (May 1986). Three founding members, Beeb Birtles, Shorrock, and Graeham Goble, went on to perform reunion concerts (in 2002-2007), but because they lost the rights to the name Little River Band, they appeared under the name Birtles Shorrock Goble. As the trademark owner, Guitarist Stephen Housden (who was the one member of the band to continued to perform under the LRB name, as other members came and went, has effectively stopped Birtles, Shorrock, and Goble from using references to their LRB past. But the musicians who have since toured under the name Little River Band have continued playing songs written by Birtles, Shorrock, and Goble. LRB's performance legacy has been in the hands of Wayne Nelson since 2006, as Housden himself no longer tours with the band.



Love In The First Degree - Alabama (lyrics)

Alabama is a country music and southern rock band from Fort Payne, Alabama. The band was founded in 1969 by Randy Owen (lead vocals, Rhythm Guitar) and his cousin Teddy Gentry (bass guitar, background vocals), soon joined by Jeff Cook (Lead Guitar, fiddle, keyboards). In 1973, after Owen's graduation from Jacksonville State University, they gave up their day jobs and weekend gigs. The group, formerly known as Wildcountry, left Fort Payne to explore the possibilities of the club scene in coastal South Carolina. The band is often credited with bringing country music groups (as opposed to solo vocalists) into the mainstream, paving the way for the success of today's top country groups. Since its change in name in 1972, Alabama has included Owen, Cook and Gentry. The band's blend of traditional country music and southern rock combined with elements of gospel music, and pop music gave it a crossover appeal that helped lead to their unprecedented success. They also toured extensively and incorporated production elements such as lighting and "sets" inspired by rock concerts into their shows. The band has over 30 number one country records on the Billboard Magazine charts to their credit and have sold over 73 million records to date. Although recording since 1977, it wasn't until 1981 before they hit crossover appeal, with their LP Feels So Right. The title track reached #20 and it's followup, "Love In The First Degree" passed it to #15 - to date, the highest charted Alabama song on the Hot 100. However, from 1980's "Tennessee River" to 1986's "You've Got The Touch," the band had an incredible string of 21 number one Country hits. If you continue to 1995, they charted in the Country music top 20 a record 41 straight times and 47 times overall and in the Country music top forty an amazing 59 times. In fact, for 20 years (1980-2000) every single one of their released singles have made the Country music top 40. In May 2002, the band announced its "Farewell Tour", which took place across the US during 2003 and 2004. They are now retired from touring, but released two albums of inspirational music in 2006 and 2007. Teddy Gentry has produced albums for various artists, most notably Emerson Drive and Collin Raye. Jeff Cook now performs with the Allstar Goodtime Band. The band was recently reunited at the 2011 ACM awards when they performed "Old Alabama" on stage with Brad Paisley. They are featured in Paisley's 2011 single "Old Alabama" which sings about Alabama; in the song they sing several lines from the chorus of "Mountain Music." Owen, and his wife Kelly Owen, were the primary benefactors for the construction of the Kelly Owen Women's and Children's Pavilion at DeKalb Regional Medical Center in Fort Payne, which was at the time a charitably-operated hospital of Baptist Health System of Alabama.



BONUS TRACK

Shaddup You Face - Joe Dolce (lyrics)

Dolce was born in 1947 in Painesville, Ohio and formed various bands including Headstone Circus with Jonathan Edwards who subsequently went on as a solo artist to have a charting hit song in the US "Sunshine". Dolce relocated to Melbourne, Australia (another Australian) in 1978 and his first single there was "Boat People"—a protest song on the poor treatment of Vietnamese refugees—which was translated into Vietnamese and donated to the fledgling Vietnamese community starting to form in Melbourne. His one-man show, Joe Dolce Music Theatre, performed in cabarets and pubs with various line-ups including Lin Van Hek as singer/performance artist. In July 1980 he recorded the self-penned "Shaddap You Face", for Full Moon Records label at Mike Brady's new studios in West Melbourne. When in Ohio, Dolce would sometimes visit his Italian grandparents—they supplied the inspiration with "What's the matter, you?" and "Eh, shaddap". He wrote the song about Italians living in Australia and first performed it at Marijuana House, Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in 1979. Dolce paid A$500 for the recording and spent $1,000 on the music video clip, which was created by Melbourne filmmaker, Chris Lofven. It became a multi-million-selling hit, peaking at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart for eight weeks from November 1980, in UK from February 1981 for three weeks, also No. 1 in Austria, New Zealand and Switzerland. Over the last two years Dolce has achieved recognition as a serious poet and essayist winning the 25th Launceston Poetry Cup in Tasmania and having thirty poems and lyrics selected by Les Murray for publication in Quadrant (magazine). Quadrant also published two of his essays: "Biblical Imagery in the Songwriting of the Creative Infidels: Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave and Paul Kelly" (Jan-Feb 2012) and "Hey Mr Cowbell Man: Sir Christopher Ricks' Dylan's Visions of Sin" (2012). He has also had work published in Meanjin, Island, Cordite 35, Eye of the Telescope 2, Carmenta, Journey, Italian Essays and Divan. His first book of poetry Hatbox was released in 2010.

Ten Great Songs From One Great Year

1976

(for a previous 1976 list, click here)

As mentioned in my previous 1976 list, the year was marked as a  year long celebration honoring the United States bicentennial. But there was much more to this year. In January, France sends up the first supersonic passenger jet, the Concorde. While commercial jets take eight hours to fly from New York to Paris, the average supersonic flight time on the transatlantic routes was just under 3.5 hours.

In april, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak form Apple Computers. In sports, the NBA and ABA agree to merge. Also, Major League Baseball expands to include the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays. The 21st Summer Olympics are held in Montreal, Canada. At age 14, gymnast Nadia Comăneci of Romania scored seven perfect 10.0 and won three gold medals, including the prestigious All-Around. The scoreboard could hold only 3 digits and the score was shown as 1.00.

On June 27th, Palestinian terrorists hijack an Air France plane in Greece with 246 passengers and 12 crew members. They take it to Entebbe, Uganda . A week later, in what has been called one of the most daring and successful rescue missions in world history, Israeli airborne commandos free the remaining103 hostages (all the non-Jews were allowed to return home); 1 Israeli soldier – the brother of former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several Ugandan soldiers are killed in the raid.

In July, in New York City, the "Son of Sam" pulls a gun from a paper bag, killing 1 and seriously wounding another, in the first of a series of attacks that terrorize the city for the next year. In August, A gunman murders Andrea Wilborn and Stan Farr and injures Priscilla Davis and Gus Gavrel, in an incident at Priscilla's mansion in Fort Worth, Texas. T. Cullen Davis, Priscilla's husband and one of the richest men in Texas, is tried and found innocent for Andrea's murder, involvement in a plot to kill several people (including Priscilla and a judge), and a wrongful death lawsuit. Cullen goes broke afterwards. September brought in the incarceration of Patty Heart and the founding of the band U2. By the end of the year, Jimmy Cater is sworn in a President of the United States and Mayor Richard J. Daley passes away in Chicago. He had served as Mayor of the Windy City for 21 years.

December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) - The Four Seasons (lyrics)

According to the co-writer and longtime band member Bob Gaudio, the song was originally set in 1933 with the title "December 5th, 1933," and celebrated the repeal of Prohibition. Neither lead singer Frankie Valli nor co-writer (and Gaudio's wife) Judy Parker were thrilled about the lyrics - and Valli objected to parts of the melody - so Gaudio redid the words and Parker redid the melody until all were content with the finished product. It ended up being a nostalgic love song. The group had to play down the sexual overtones in this song to appease conservative radio stations, but lead singer Frankie Valli later admitted that the song was "about losing your cherry" - a guy having sex for the first time. It's a similar theme to the Shirelles hit "Will You Love Me Tomorrow." The lead singer on the first verse was their drummer Gerri Polci - Frankie Valli comes in on the second verse. As well as sharing the lead in "December 1963," Polci was the lead singer on the group's third hit from the Who Loves You LP, "Silver Star," which hit #38 in the US. Their fifth and final #1 hit in the US, this was the only Four Seasons recording to top the UK charts.



Fanny, Be Tender (With My Love) - The Bee Gees (lyrics)

While recording the LP Main Course, the producer Arif Martin asked if one of the Bee Gees could do some screaming during the main chorus to make the songs more exciting. In response, Barry Gibb began singing higher and higher, eventually singing it in a falsetto that was unexpectedly powerful. He had never known he had such an ability and Barry's falsetto became a trademark of the Bee Gees. Barry Gibb recalled in a May 2001 interview with Mojo magazine: "Arif said to me, 'Can you scream?' I said, Under certain circumstances. He said, 'Can you scream in tune?' I said, Well, I'll try." In 1975, the Bee Gees moved their operations to Miami Beach, Florida at the suggestion of Eric Clapton following his comeback album 461 Ocean Boulevard the year before. The group recorded their previous  album with famed R/B producer Mardin, called Mr. Natural in 1974 with little commercial success. The album did, however, open the Gibbs to a new sound compared to the kind of music the brothers were producing in the early 1970's. This new R/B-flavored sound carried over on to their next album, also produced by Arif Mardin. For the band, there success on Main Course was nothing short of astounding. While they had success in the late '60s, and had a #1 hit ("How Can You Mend a Broken Heart") in 1971, the Bee Gees seemed to have past their prime. However, with the new sound and falsetto, in a just another year, the band would soon reach heights only Elvis Presley and The Beatles would know.



Welcome Back - John Sebastian (lyrics)

Sebastian wrote this as the theme song for the ABC TV show Welcome Back, Kotter, staring Gabe Kaplan as a teacher who returns to his old school and is placed in a class of misfits known as The Sweathogs. The show was a big break for John Travolta, who played one of The Sweathogs. Since it was written for the TV show, the song was less than a minute long. Viewers loved the song and related to the message about returning to the place where you laughed and your dreams were born. It became clear that there was demand for a full-length song, so Sebastian wrote a second verse and it was released as a single. Although the song does not have the word "Kotter" anywhere in the lyrics or title, the first pressings of the single were released as "Welcome Back, Kotter," to make sure everyone connected the song with the TV show. Sebastian was a member of The Lovin' Spoonful. This was his only hit as a solo artist.



And here is the opening to the television show.



Dream Weaver - Gary Wright (lyrics)

On Gary Wright's official site, he explains: "In 1972, my friend George Harrison invited me to accompany him on a trip to India. A few days before we left, he have me a copy of the book Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. Needless to say the book inspired me deeply, and I became totally fascinated with Indian culture and philosophy. My trip was an experience I will never forget. During the early '70s while reading more of the writings of Paramahansa Yogananda, I came across a poem called God! God! God! One of the lines in the poem referred to the idea of the mind weaving dreams and the thought immediately occurred to me, weaver of dreams... Dream Weaver. I wrote it down in my journal of song titles and forgot about it. Several months passed, and one weekend, while in the English countryside, I picked up my journal and came across the title 'Dream Weaver.' Feeling inspired, I picked up my acoustic guitar and began writing. The song was finished in an hour. The lyrics and music seemed to have flowed out of me as if written by an unseen source. After the record was released and became successful many people asked me what the song meant. I really wasn't sure myself and would answer 'it was about a kind of fantasy experience... a Dream Weaver train taking you through the cosmos.' But I was never satisfied with that explanation, and as years went by I began to reflect on what the song actually meant and then it came to me: 'Dream Weaver, I believe you can get me through the night...' was a song about someone with infinite compassion and love carrying us through the night of our trials and suffering. None other than God Himself."



Love Hurts - Nazareth (lyrics)

Nazareth made this song a hit, but it was originally recorded by the Everly Brothers. Roy Orbison also released it in 1961 as the B-side to his #1 hit "Running Scared." Nazareth was formed in December 1968 in Dunfermline, Scotland, out of the ashes of semi-professional local group The Shadettes (formed in 1961) by vocalist Dan McCafferty, guitarist Manny Charlton, bassist Pete Agnew and drummer Darrell Sweet. They took their name from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, which is cited in the first line of The Band's classic song "The Weight" ("I pulled into Nazareth / Was feelin' about half past dead..."). Nazareth's cover version of "Java Blues" by The Band's bassist/singer Rick Danko and Emmett Grogan is on their 1981 live album Snaz. Various Nazareth line-ups continued to make studio albums and tour throughout the 1980s and 1990s, although their popularity had declined such that some albums no longer received either a UK or a US release. They remained popular in Europe, particularly Germany, where "Dream On" became a hit single. A tribute came in 1993 when Guns N' Roses covered Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" on The Spaghetti Incident? album, consolation after they turned down Axl Rose's request for the group to play at his wedding. Nazareth maintained a live following in Europe and the US. In 1999, while touring the US, original drummer Darrell Sweet died at age 51 of a heart attack. He was replaced by bassist Pete Agnew's son Lee for later editions of the band. In February 2008, The Newz was released on the Hamburg-based label, Edel Entertainment. The release of the album coincided with Nazareth's fortieth anniversary tour. A follow up album, Big Dogz, was released in April 2011.



Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac (lyrics)

Stevie Nicks wrote this on a piano with help from her boyfriend, Lindsey Buckingham. At the time, they were recording as Buckingham-Nicks and about to release this on their second album, but they joined Fleetwood Mac instead and recorded it with them. Rhiannon is the name of a Welsh goddess. According to myth, Rhiannon shuns a God and marries a mortal man. That God then frames her for the murder of her own son, and she is forced to stand at the entrance to a city and tell everyone entering that she killed her child. Nicks started writing this after reading the book Triad by Mary Leader. It is about a woman who believes she is being possessed by the spirit of a woman named Rhiannon. There are themes of mythology and the occult that Nicks used in her song along with the name. Nicks did not know the story of Rhiannon the goddess until after she wrote the song, but she felt the lyrics fit that story as well. The Goddess Rhiannon rode a white horse and traveled with 3 birds that had healing powers. The birds appear in various Celtic symbols. Nicks introduced this in concerts as being about a Welsh witch. In interviews, she said Rhiannon was a good witch. This song was a huge influence on the image of Stevie Nicks, inspiring her flowing shawls and black outfits she began wearing on stage. It gave her a mystical look that caught on with her fans, who often dress like her. Nicks wrote various songs related to Rhiannon before joining Fleetwood Mac. At one point, she considered making it a project of some kind, perhaps a movie.



Baby, I Love Your Way - Peter Frampton (lyrics)

This is a very romantic love ballad. Frampton is telling his girl that he loves everything about her and wants to be with her day and night. This went nowhere when Frampton first released it as a single in 1975. The next year, he included it on his live album, Frampton Comes Alive!, and it helped the album become a huge hit. The live version was the second single released from the album, after "Show Me The Way" and before "Do You Feel Like We Do." By the age of ten, Frampton played in a band called The Little Ravens. Both he and David Bowie were pupils at Bromley Technical School. The Little Ravens played on the same bill at school as Bowie's band, George and the Dragons. Peter and David would spend time together at lunch breaks, playing Buddy Holly songs. At the age of 11, Peter was playing with a band called The Trubeats followed by a band called The Preachers, produced and managed by Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones. He became a successful child singer, and in 1966, he became a member of The Herd. He was the lead guitarist and singer, scoring a handful of British pop hits. Frampton was named "The Face of 1968" by teen magazine Rave. In early 1969, when Frampton was 18 years old, he joined with Steve Marriott of The Small Faces to form Humble Pie. While playing with Humble Pie, Frampton also did session recording with other artists, including: Harry Nilsson, Jim Price, Jerry Lee Lewis, as well as on George Harrison's solo All Things Must Pass, in 1970, and John Entwistle's Whistle Rymes, in 1972. During the Harrison session he was introduced to the 'talk box' that was to become one of his trademark guitar effects.



Shower the People - James Taylor (lyrics)

This song was the third AC #1 hit for JT, following "You've Got a Friend" and "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)". Taylor began attending Milton Academy, a prep boarding school in the Boston area in the fall 1961; summering before then with his family on Martha's Vineyard, he met Danny Kortchmar, an aspiring teenage guitarist from Larchmont, NY. The two began listening to and playing blues and folk music together, and Kortchmar quickly realized that Taylor's singing had a "natural sense of phrasing, every syllable beautifully in time. I knew James had that thing." Taylor wrote his first song on guitar at age 14, and continued to learn the instrument effortlessly. By the summer of 1963, he and Kortchmar were playing coffeehouses around the Vineyard, billed as "Jamie & Kootch". Kortchmar later worked as a session musician and songwriter for a number of '70s music legends, most notably Jackson Browne and Don Henley. Taylor faltered during his junior year at Milton, not feeling at ease in the high-pressured college prep environment despite having good scholastic performance. The Milton principal would later say, "James was more sensitive and less goal oriented than most students of his day." He returned home to North Carolina to finish out the semester at Chapel Hill High School. There he joined a band his brother Alex had formed called The Corsayers (later The Fabulous Corsairs), playing electric guitar; in 1964 they cut a single in Raleigh that featured James's song "Cha Cha Blues" on the B-side. Having lost touch with his former school friends in North Carolina, Taylor returned to Milton for his senior year. There, Taylor started applying to colleges, but soon descended into depression; his grades collapsed, he slept twenty hours a day, and he felt part of a "life that I [was] unable to lead." In late 1965 he committed himself to the renowned McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, where he was treated with Thorazine and where the organized days began to give him a sense of time and structure. As the Vietnam War built up, Taylor received a psychological rejection from Selective Service System when he appeared before them with two white-suited McLean assistants and was uncommunicative. Taylor earned a high school diploma in 1966 from the hospital's associated Arlington School and would later view his nine-month stay at McLean as "a lifesaver ... like a pardon or like a reprieve," and both his brother Livingston and sister Kate would later be patients and students there as well. As for his mental health struggles, Taylor would think of them as innate, and say: "It's an inseparable part of my personality that I have these feelings." Of course, JT would later use the experience at McLean as his inspiration for the hit single, "Sweet Baby James."



Get Closer - Seals and Crofts (lyrics)

"Get Closer" is the title track from Seals and Crofts eighth studio album, released when they were surfing the peak of their success. The duo - Jim Seals and Dash Crofts - wrote the song together and featured guest star on backing vocals Carolyn Willis, who was a member of the band The Honey Cone ("Want Ads"). This recording just happens to have come along shortly after Seals and Crofts played the famous California Jam of 1974, where they shared a stage with... Black Sabbath, The Eagles, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Deep Purple, and Earth Wind and Fire. The diverse lineup was telecast in part on an ABC special, giving the duo newfound fame. Seals and Crofts are both members of the Baha'i faith - so much so that they'd frequently close their live concerts by passing out literature and preaching onstage about their religion. After a long and successful run of recordings in the 1970s, the two lost their contract with Warner Brothers in 1980 and decided to set aside music for a while. They held a short reunion tour in 1991–1992 and appeared at several Bahá'í gatherings. Crofts lived in Mexico, Australia and then Nashville, TN, playing country music and making occasional hit singles. His brother, Dan Seals (formerly of England Dan and John Ford Coley) is also a successful Country music artist. Seals moved to Costa Rica and has lived on a coffee farm off and on since 1980, as well as in Nashville. Crofts currently resides on a ranch in the Texas hill country. In 2003 Seals and Crofts reunited and recorded their first new album since 1998, called Traces. In 2011 the bandmates' daughters, Juliet Seals and Amelia Crofts, used the name "Seals and Crofts" for their musical act.



It's Over - Boz Scaggs (lyrics)

William Royce "Boz" Scaggs was born in Canton, Ohio, the son of a traveling salesman. The family moved to McAlester, OK, then to Plano, at that time a Texas farm town just north of Dallas. He attended a Dallas private school, St. Mark's, where a schoolmate gave him the nickname "Bosley"; this was later shortened to "Boz". After learning guitar at the age of 12, he met Steve Miller at St. Mark's. In 1959, he became the vocalist for Miller's band, The Marksmen. The pair later attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison together, playing in blues bands like The Ardells and The Fabulous Knight Trains. Leaving school, Scaggs briefly joined the burgeoning rhythm and blues scene in London. After singing in bands such as The Wigs and Mother Earth, he traveled to Sweden as a solo performer, and in 1965 recorded his solo debut album, Boz, which was not a commercial success. Scaggs also had a brief stint with the band The Other Side with Mac MacLeod and fellow American Jack Downing. Returning to the U.S., Scaggs promptly headed for the booming psychedelic music center of San Francisco in 1967. Linking up with Steve Miller again, he appeared on the Steve Miller Band's first two albums, Children of the Future and Sailor. After being spotted by Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, Scaggs secured a solo contract with Atlantic Records in 1968, releasing his second album, Boz Scaggs in 1969. Despite good reviews, the LP, featuring the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and session guitarist Duane Allman, performing Fenton Robinson's "Loan Me A Dime," achieved only moderate sales, as did follow-up albums on Columbia Records. In 1976, he linked up with session musicians who would later form Toto and recorded his smash album Silk Degrees. The album reached #2 on the  Billboard 200, and #1 in a number of countries across the world, spawning four hit singles: "It's Over", "Lowdown", "Lido Shuffle", and "What Can I Say", as well as the MOR standard "We're All Alone," later recorded by Rita Coolidge and Frankie Valli. "Lowdown" sold over one million copies in the US. A sellout world tour followed. In the summer of 2010, Scaggs began a tour with Donald Fagen and Michael McDonald. They are performing together as one band billed as The Dukes of September Rhythm Revue. The show includes classic rock and R/B songs by various artists and personal repertoire songs from all three headliners.



BONUS TRACK

Nadia's Theme - Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin Jr.

The melody, originally titled "Cotton's Dream," was composed, and lyrics were written for it, by De Vorzon and Botkin Jr. as incidental music for the 1971 theatrical film Bless the Beasts and Children. The instrumental version was commercially released on that film's soundtrack album on A&M Records. The soundtrack also included "Lost", a song set to the same to same melody but with different lyrics, performed by Renee Armand. Botkin Jr. later composed a rearranged version of the instrumental theme for the U.S. TV soap opera The Young and the Restless, which debuted on March 26, 1973, on the CBS television network. Although a soundtrack album for the TV series was released by P.I.P. Records in 1974, the LP only contained a cover version by easy listening group Sounds of Sunshine, rather than the original recording by De Vorzon and Botkin. In the summer of 1976, ABC's sports summary program Wide World of Sports used the original The Young and the Restless theme for a montage of Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci's routines during the Olympics. However, Nadia never performed her floor exercises using this piece of music; instead, she used a piano arrangement of a medley of the songs "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" and "Jump in the Line."

Ten Great Songs From One Great Year

Songs About Kids

This week, a friend asked me to post songs that remind us of our children. Her little boy is in the hospital awaiting surgery to repair an issue with his stomach. While it is/was very scary for his worried-sick parents, the latest news is very positive and hopefully, he will be back home soon. Her request was that I create a list of songs that remind us of our children. After giving it a lot of thought, I decided not to personalize this list. While there are songs that certainly remind me of my own children, I prefer to list songs that would resonate with everyone.

Even if you aren't a parent, you can find real emotion and depth in songs written about kids. Of course, Country Music has the most songs written about kids and that is reflected in this list. If there is a song you feel I should have included, please feel free to let me know.

Tough Little Boys - Gary Allan (lyrics)

The song is about a father who has always imagined himself to be tough, even as a child. However, upon looking at his own child, the father starts to find himself worrying for the child's safety, admitting that "When tough little boys grow up to be dads / They turn into big babies again". Allan had it very tough the year after this song was released. In 2003, Allan and his wife, Angela Herzberg, moved to Tennessee from California. On October 25, 2004, Angela committed suicide after suffering from depression and migraines. Allan initially put his career on hold, but soon turned to music to deal with the loss of his wife. This resulted in 2005's "heart-wrenchingly personal album, Tough All Over. He included several songs which he wrote or cowrote, including "Puttin' Memories Away" and "I Just Got Back from Hell," which dealt directly with his grief.



Temptation - Billy Joel (lyrics)

Many songs can be thought to have different meanings. Some can be assumed to be about the relationship between a man and woman, but actually be about someone and G0d ("You Light Up My Life"). "Temptation" is one of these songs. At first glance, one can assume Joel wrote this about his love for his wife, Christie Brinkley, whom he has written numerous songs about. However, in this case, the songwriter is writing about his then-baby daughter, Alexa. In an interview I once saw  (can not find the video), Joel talked about the incredible sadness he felt every time he to be away from his daughter and how much it changed him as a writer.



Run For the Roses - Dan Fogelberg (lyrics)

In 1981, Dan Fogelberg was enjoying the peak of his success. His last album, Phoenix, reached the top 10 and his first single for the LP, "Longer" peaked at #2. Due to throat surgery, his next album was delayed. The first single from The Innocent Age, "Same Old Lang Syne," peaked on the charts 8 months before the album's release. But all that did was manage to whet the whistles of his fans. The Innocent Age was clearly his most ambitious, and turned out, his most successful LP of his career. The album drew its inspiration from Thomas Wolfe's major novel "Of Time and the River." Fogelberg captured on this album Wolfe's protagonist's search for meaning, for self, and the inexorable passage of time and was done in a complete life-cycle of time. While "Run for the Roses" is not about a human child, the song is about the maturing process of a Kentucky Derby winner and fits right in the LP's theme. Sadly, Dan Fogelberg passed away in 2007, a victim of prostrate cancer. He was 56.



Butterfly Kisses - Bob Carlisle (lyrics)

Bob Carlisle wrote this song for his daughter Brook. Carlisle is a Contemporary Christian singer. The album is one of the best selling Christian album ever. Carlisle said on the liner notes of Wow #1 Hits: "'Butterfly Kisses' is not so much a song about fatherhood. It's more a song about gratitude and imperfection - 'for all I've done wrong, I must have done something right.' It's also a song about appreciation of time well spent. As with any good thing, there is a bittersweet sadness in letting go. I hoped to capture in this song the beauty of the relationship between father and daughter as well as its inevitable change. This song affected more than dads. After the first concert where I sang it, women surrounded me telling me stories about their fathers. I had always thought of the song from the perspective of a dad but I hadn't thought of its impact upon daughters." This song won the 1997 Grammy for Best Country Song.



Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) - John Lennon (lyrics)

Lennon wrote this for his second son, Sean, who he had with Yoko Ono, in 1975. The line, "Every day and in every way I am getting better and better" is a self-improvement mantra. It was popularized by a French psychologist named Emile Coue, who made his patients repeat it over and over. Richard Dreyfuss' character, Mr Holland, sings this to his deaf son in the movie Mr. Holland's Opus. In the scene, Mr. Holland is upset over the death of John Lennon and when his son asks him what is wrong, Mr. Holland explains that he wouldn't understand. The deaf son gets upset over this because he is not stupid, so Mr. Holland holds a concert at a school for the deaf and sings this song to his son. Notice the tribute in the song to Paul McCartney in the lyrics, "Every day, in every way, it's getting better and better." This is from The Beatles' song "Getting Better" - John's contribution to that song at the time was cynical and witty (his lyric was "it can't get no worse") but here he was sending a little message to Paul that Paul was right, life does just get keep getting better and better.



Cat's in the Cradle - Harry Chapin (lyrics)

This heart-wrenching song tells of a father and son who can't schedule time to be with each other, and it serves as a warning against putting one's career before family. The verses start out with a natural harmony and depict the tale of a father with his newborn son. Although dad gets the necessities of child rearing accomplished, he doesn't allow himself to put in quality time with his son because of his career. Initially, this seems like no big deal because of his hectic and oblivious life working and paying bills. The recurring verse has the son saying, "I'm gonna be like you Dad, you know I'm gonna be like you..." Over time, both father and son grow into a switching of life roles. The father realizes his son's ambitions and goals of college, grades, and driving and wants to spend more time with him, yet slowly grasps the reality that now his son has no time for such things. In the last verse, Chapin illustrates that the "son" is all grown up with a fast paced job and kids of his own. In a glaring twist of roles, we see that the son now has no time to spend with his father. Sadly, dad realizes that his boy has become just like him. This song is based on a poem that Harry's wife Sandy wrote. She told us: "'Cat's In The Cradle' was a combination of a couple of things. Whenever I was on a long drive I would listen to Country music, because words would keep me awake more than just music. And I heard a song… I can remember the story, but I don't remember who sang it or what the title was, but an old couple were sitting at their breakfast table and looking out the window, and they saw the rusted swing and the sandbox, and they were reminiscing about the good old days when all the children were around and then the grandchildren, and how it passed, and now it's all gone."



Isn't She Lovely - Stevie Wonder (lyrics)

Wonder wrote this to celebrate the birth of his daughter, Aisha. In 2005, Aisha (last name: Morris, which is Wonder's real name) sang a duet with her dad on his song "How Will I Know." The baby crying in the beginning is Aisha. Also, in the end of the song, Stevie says, "Come on, Aisha. Get out of the water, Baby," which is a memorable moment with Stevie and his daughter.Wonder had Aisha with Yolanda Simmons, who he mentions near the end of the song: "Londi it could have not been done, without you who conceived the one." Although this was one of Wonder's most popular songs, it was never released as a single because he didn't want to edit down to a radio-friendly length. However, the song did make the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts as an "album cut," entering the AC Top 40 on January 8, 1977, staying there for five weeks and peaking at #23.



There Goes My Life - Kenny Chesney (lyrics)

This song is a story told by a man who faces an unplanned pregnancy with his girlfriend. When he first receives the news, all he can think about his how his life has seemingly been ruined. The story proceeds from the man's daughter being born, all the way to the day she leaves for college. By the end of the song, the man's daughter has become his life. The song depicts how our life priorities rapidly change over the years. This song spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Country Music charts and an astounding 7 weeks at #1. It also made the crossover to #29 on the Hot 100 chart. Over the life of his career, Chesney has been honored with numerous awards from the Academy of Country Music (ACM), Country Music Association (CMA), American Music Awards (AMA), Country Music Television (CMT), Billboard Music Awards (BMA), People's Choice Awards (PCA), and the French Country Music Awards (FCMA). Chesney has received six Academy of Country Music awards(including four consecutive Entertainer of the Year Awards from 2005 to 2008), as well as six Country Music Association awards. He is one of the most popular touring acts in country music, regularly selling out the venues at which he performs. His 2007 Flip-Flop Summer Tour was the highest-grossing country road trip of the year. The Country Music Association honored Chesney with the Entertainer of the Year award in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Other notable awards include the Academy of Country Music's 1997 New Male Vocalist of the Year, 2002 Top Male Vocalist of the Year, and the Triple Crown Award in 2005. He was awarded his fourth consecutive Entertainer of the Year award from the Academy of Country Music on May 18, 2008.



In My Daughter's Eyes - Martina McBride (lyrics)

McBride was raised in Sharon, Kansas, a small town with population of about 200. Her father, who was a farmer and cabinetry shop owner, exposed McBride to country music at a young age. Listening to country music helped her acquire a love for singing. After school, she would spend hours singing along to the records of such popular artists as Reba McEntire, Linda Ronstadt, Juice Newton, Jeanne Pruett, Connie Smith and Patsy Cline. Around the age of eight or nine, McBride began singing with a band her father fronted, The Schiffters. As Schiff grew older her role in the band progressively increased, from simply singing, to also playing keyboard with them. She enjoyed performing in her early years. McBride began performing with a local rock band, The Penetrators, in Wichita instead. Then, in 1987, Schiff gathered a group of musicians called Lotus and started looking for rehearsal space; she began renting space from a studio engineer named John McBride. In 1988, the two married. After marrying, the couple moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1989 with the hope of beginning a career in country music. John McBride joined Garth Brooks's sound crew and later became his concert production manager. Martina occasionally joined her husband on the road and helped sell Garth Brooks souvenirs. In 1990, impressed by Martina's enthusiastic spirit, Brooks offered her the position of his opening act provided she could obtain a recording contract. During this time, while her husband was working with country artists Charlie Daniels and Ricky Van Shelton, he also helped produce her demo tape, which helped her gain a recording contract with RCA Nashville Records in 1991.



Watching Scottie Grow - Bobby Goldsboro (lyrics)

Goldsboro had many pop music hit singles in the mid to late 1960s, including his chart-topping song, "Honey", in 1968. By the early 1970s, he had begun to achieve success on the country chart as well. According to Goldsboro, he met music producer Jerry Fuller one day in Los Angeles, and Fuller encouraged him to meet one of his associates in the music business, Mac Davis. When the two met, one of Davis' songs that stood out to Goldsboro was "Watching Scotty Grow". Goldsboro decided to record the song, but an executive with United Artists Records questioned the potential of releasing it as a single, stating that "I just don't think anyone will buy a record about a father and a son." After the release of Goldsboro's album We Gotta Start Lovin' in late 1970, "Watching Scotty Grow" began to receive attention from radio stations in the United States. Goldsboro stated: "They put it out and within two weeks, it was being played like a single." The record label quickly issued a 45rpm, and the song began ascending American record charts during the Christmas shopping season. It reached the top of the Billboard Easy Listening chart on January 9, 1971, where it remained for six weeks. The song also peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February of that year and climbed to the top ten on the Billboard country music chart as well. The song was Goldsboro's tenth top 40 hit on the U.S. pop chart.

Ten Great Songs From One Great Year

1969

(for a previous 1969 list, click here)

As we entered the final year of the decade, the United States was still dealing with the war in Vietnam, the anti-war movement, disenfranchised (or "drugged up") youth and serious racial tensions. On the other side of the coin, America was about to make its' mark in the space race, as well. Little did we realize that the end of the turbulent '60s really did bring about a great awakening in American society. By the final day, it seemed that most Americans had grown tired of the hippy movement, moved on from Woodstock and lost interest in the war (even though the draft and troop engagement went on for another 2 years). America accepted the fact that Nixon was the President, as the Democratic Party really self-destructed after the riots at the 1968 Convention. It would be 7 more years before they won another Presidential election, and 24 years before they had their second one.

Musically, the beginning of 1969 saw two landmark events. In late January, the great Elvis Presley stepped into American Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, recording "Long Black Limousine" thus beginning the recording of what becomes his landmark comeback sessions for the albums From Elvis in Memphis and Back in Memphis. Just 4 days later, The Beatles give their last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records. The impromptu concert was broken up by the police. Of course, the Woodstock Music Festival, in August, was the culmination of a decade of great change and awareness (not to mention sex and drugs). However, while still romanticized by many who attended, it really was an enormous mess, with numerous injuries, diseases and assaults. In hindsight, the backlash against the hippy movement that followed has still not changed, all these years later.

Just like today, there were serious tensions in the Middle East. In February, Yasir Arafat is named the head of the PLO. A month later, Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister in Israel's history. In May, An American teenager known as 'Robert R.' dies in St. Louis, Missouri, of a baffling medical condition. In 1984 it will be identified as the first confirmed case of HIV/AIDS in North America. In June, the Cuyahoga River fire (outside Cleveland) helps spur an avalanche of water pollution control activities resulting in the Clean Water Act, Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and the creation of the federal Environmental Protection Agency. That same day, Judy Garland dies of drug overdose in her London home. A few days later, The Stonewall riots in New York City mark the start of the modern gay rights movement in the U.S.

July, of course, brought us the Apollo 11 lunar mission. After 5 days traveling, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldredge (Michael Collins remained on the ship) successfully landed on the surface of the moon. They returned four days later to heroes welcome. Around this same time, tragedy once again stuck the Kennedy family (although this one was caused by them) when a car driven by Senator Ted Kennedy drove over the side of the Chappaquiddick bridge, into the river below. Mary Jo Kopechne, a former campaign aide to his brother, dies in the early morning hours of July 19 in the submerged car. Due to the enormous amount of time between the accident, and Kennedy's notifying the authorities, it is believed the Senator was not sober at the time of the accident. Questions continued to dog him the rest of his life. Followers of Charles Manson murder Sharon Tate, (who was eight months pregnant), and her friends: Folgers coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, and Hollywood hairstylist Jay Sebring at the home of Tate and her husband, Roman Polanski, in Los Angeles, California. Also killed was Steven Parent, leaving from a visit to the Polanskis' caretaker. More than 100 stab wounds are found on the victims, except for Parent, who had been shot almost as soon as the Manson Family entered the property.

Within a week of each other, the first-ever episode of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? is broadcast on CBS and the very last Warner Bros. cartoon of the original theatrical Looney Tunes series is released. One week after that, "The Brady Bunch" makes its' television debut. In Chicago, the United States National Guard is called in to control demonstrations involving the radical Weathermen, in connection with the "Chicago Eight" Trial. Of course, this domestic terror organization has been back in the news these past few years because two of the original members, Bernadine Dorn and William Ayers are friends and close associates of current President Barack Obama. This incredibly diverse year and decade ended with the first draft lottery in the United States held since World War II.

Spinning Wheel - Blood, Sweat and Tears (lyrics)

"Spinning Wheel" was nominated for three Grammys in 1970, and won Best Instrumental Arrangement. It was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The album itself won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1970. In founding member Al Kooper's memoir, Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, Kooper writes that he originally conceived of Blood, Sweat and Tears as "a band that could put dents in your shirt if you got within fifteen rows of the stage. Like Maynard Ferguson's band from the years 1960-1964, I wanted a horn section that would play more than the short adjectives they were relegated to in R/B bands; but, on the other hand, a horn section that would play less than Count Basie's or Buddy Rich's. Somewhere in the middle was a mixture of soul, rock, and jazz that was my little fantasy." When the band was first forming, they needed $40,000 seed money while the first album was in progress. This made Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records (the A/R behind Leiber and Stoller, Led Zeppelin, and Bob Dylan, amongst others) turn them down. Mo Ostin of Warner Brothers also nibbled but turned them down. Finally Bill Gallagher at Columbia signed them on, after attending the Monterey Pop Festival and becoming interested in the alternative market. One of the most intriguing riddles in rock 'n' roll history is: How did Blood, Sweat and Tears get it name? In Al Kooper's book, the truth is finally revealed: "One particular night, Jimi Hendrix, B. B. King, myself, and an unidentified drummer and bass player were going at it all night at the Cafe Au Go Go... At daybreak, when we finished playing, they put the house lights on and somebody observed: 'Christ! Look at the organ! There's blood all over the keyboard!' Sure enough, I had cut my hand playing, and in the state of bliss induced by my compatriot's sound had not felt a thing. What a great album cover, I thought. No. What a great name for a band."



Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival (lyrics)

In Rolling Stone issue 649, John Fogerty explained that the lyrics were inspired by a movie called The Devil And Daniel Webster, in which a hurricane wipes out most of a town. This is where he got the idea for the words "I feel the hurricane blowin', I hope you're quite prepared to die." Overall, he said the song is about the "apocalypse that was going to be visited upon us." This became the theme song of the demonstrators during the People's Park riots in Berkeley, California, in 1969. This song was used in two science-fiction movies of the 1980s: An American Werewolf In London (1981) and Twilight Zone: The Movie (1982). This contains a classic misheard lyric. The line "There's a bad moon on the rise" is often heard as "There's a bathroom on the right." Not only do many people sing the wrong lyrics, but John Fogerty himself sang the "bathroom on the right" lyric once during the "Premonition" concert. It can be heard after the last verse of the song quite plainly. The music makes this sound like a happy song, but the lyrics are very bleak, describing events that indicate a coming apocalypse. As a result of this song, American football player Andre Rison's nickname was "Bad Moon," as in "Bad Moon Risin'." Rison was an all-pro wide receiver, but is also famous for having his house burned down by Lisa (Left Eye) Lopes, a singer with TLC who was his girlfriend at the time.



Time of the Season - The Zombies (lyrics)

The theme of "Seasons" was a concept on the album Odessey And Oracle. Albums were very popular in 1967, so artists could put songs together that meant something when played in a certain order. The band broke up 2 weeks after this was released in 1967. In the US, it wasn't released until 1969, almost two years after the band disbanded. Lead singer Colin Blunstone went on to have a successful solo career including a #15 UK hit in 1972 "Say You Don't Mind" and was the guest vocalist on Dave Stewart's (not the Eurythmics Dave Stewart) 1981 UK #13 cover of "What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted," as well works with the Alan Parsons Project (he was the lead singer on "Old and Wise"). The recording of this song bought about a minor spat between keyboardist Rod Argent, who wrote the song, and the vocalist Colin Bluntstone. The argument was over the phrase, "When love runs high." Bluntstone struggled with the high note at the end of the line, and snapped at Argent, "If you're so good you come and sing it." Argent admitted in Mojo magazine February 2008: "It was written really quickly and we didn't rehearse it an awful lot. I was trying to change the phrasing."



Worst That Could Happen - Brooklyn Bridge (lyrics)

This song was written by Jimmy Webb and originally recorded by The 5th Dimension on their 1968 Magic Garden album. Like "MacArthur Park" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," Webb wrote the song about a love affair that he had with Linda Ronstadt's cousin, Susan Rondstadt. And yes, she married someone else in real life. When Johnny Maestro (former lead singer of the Crests) put together an 11-piece band, his managers complained that it would be easier to sell the Brooklyn Bridge than to promote such a large ensemble. The name stuck. After the group recorded two songs assigned to them by Buddha Records and were less than amused with the results, Maestro was rummaging through his LP collection when he spotted this song on The 5th Dimension's album. The follow-up, "Welcome Me Love", and its flip side, "Blessed is the Rain" — both by Tony Romeo — each reached the Top 50. A dramatic version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and the controversial "Your Husband, My Wife" also reached the middle ranges of the charts. The group sold over 10 million records by 1972, including LP sales, mostly produced by Wes Farrell. Appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Della Reese Show, and other programs helped to bring the group to the national stage. Johnny Maestro died on March 24, 2010, from cancer in Cape Coral, Florida, at age 70.



These Eyes - The Guess Who (lyrics)

Randy Bachman started writing this song when he was waiting in the living room at the house of his date, Denise. She was taking a long time getting ready so Bachman sat at the piano and wrote the beginning of this song. Denise - the girl he was waiting for - was the woman he eventually married. Burton claims the song took him just 15 minutes to write once he set down with his bandmate Burton Cummings to put it together. In 1968, this was a #1 hit when it was released in The Guess Who's native Canada. It got them a US record deal with RCA Records. This was The Guess Who's first Top 10 hit in the US. They hit #1 there the next year with "American Woman." Randy Bachman had the original piano chords with an original title of "These Arms." Burton Cummings changed the title to "These Eyes" and added the middle eight. After hitting the top 40 eleven times between 1969 and 1974, the band broke up, following their last big hit "Clap for the Wolfman." However, over the years, the band, under different arrangements, reunited a number of times. Currently, Bachman and Cummings tour together performing old Guess Who songs, as well as their other solo material (Bachman includes songs from his stint in Bachman-Turner Overdrive).



Something - The Beatles (lyrics)

This was released as a Double A-side single with "Come Together." It was the only song written by George Harrison released as a single by The Beatles. They had used some of his songs as B-sides, including "The Inner Light" and "Old Brown Shoe." Harrison wrote this during a break while they were working on The White Album. It was not recorded in time for the album, so Harrison gave this to Joe Cocker, but Cocker didn't release it until after The Beatles did. This seemed to be inspired by Harrison's wife, Pattie, but he claimed he did not have anyone in mind when he wrote it. George was really into his studies of Krishna Consciousness when he wrote this song and its original intent was as a devotion to Lord Krishna. In fact, the lyric was "something in the way HE moves." George ended up changing it because he didn't want to be perceived as a "poof." Pattie did inspire "Layla" when Eric Clapton realized he loved her a few years later. She and Clapton were married from 1979-1988. He also wrote "Wonderful Tonight" for her. In her 2007 book Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me, Pattie Boyd wrote: "George wrote a song called Something. He told me in a matter-of-fact way that he had written it for me. I thought it was beautiful and it turned out to be the most successful song he ever wrote, with more than 150 cover versions. George's favorite version was the one by James Brown. Mine was the one by George Harrison, which he played to me in our kitchen. But, in fact, by then our relationship was in trouble. Since a trip to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in India in 1968, George had become obsessive about meditation. He was also sometimes withdrawn and depressed." Harrison came up with the title after listening to a James Taylor song called "Something In The Way She Moves." Taylor was signed to Apple Records (The Beatles label) at the time. This is the only song on the Beatles 1 album that was not a #1 hit on its own in the US or UK. "Something" and "Come Together" spent one week at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart when the compilers of the chart changed its ranking method and stopped giving separate rankings for the two sides of a single. It was also gave Harrison representation among the 27 tracks.



Someday, We'll Be Together - Diana Ross and the Supremes (lyrics)

This was a remake of a song originally recorded by the duo Johnny and Jackey (Johnny Bristol and Jackey Beavers) in 1961. Motown Records brought in Bristol to produce a new version of the song for Jr. Walker and the All-Stars, but Motown chief Berry Gordy decided to give it to Diana Ross as her first solo single away from The Supremes. Bristol struggled to get the sound he wanted from Ross, and encouraged her along the way, which made it onto tape: That's him coaching Diana through the song, offering "Sing it pretty" and "You better" along the way. Motown decided to release this as by "Diana Ross and the Supremes," even though Ross was the only member of the group whose voice is on the recording - the backing vocals are by session artists. The next song Ross recorded, which was "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)," became her first solo single. The songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in early 1968 after a dispute with the label over royalties and profit sharing, and the quality of Motown's output (and the Supremes' records in particular) began to falter. From "Reflections" in 1967 to "The Weight" in 1969, only six out of the eleven released singles reached the Top 20, and only one of those, 1968's "Love Child", made it to number one. Due to the tension within the group and stringent touring schedules, neither Mary Wilson nor Cindy Birdsong appear on many of these singles; they were replaced on these recordings by session singers such as The Andantes. The changes within the group and their decreasing sales were signs of changes within the music industry. The gospel-based soul of female performers such as Aretha Franklin had eclipsed The Supremes' pop-based sound, which had by now evolved to include more middle-of-the-road material. In a cultural climate now influenced more than ever by countercultural movements such as the Black Panther Party, The Supremes found themselves attacked for not being "black enough", and lost ground in the black music market. "Someday, We'll Be Together" hit number one on the American pop charts, becoming not only the Supremes' 12th and final number-one hit, but also the final number-one hit of the 1960s. This single would also mark The Supremes' final television appearance together with Ross, performing on The Ed Sullivan Show on December 21, 1969. The Supremes without Ross made their final appearance altogether on Ed Sullivan on February 15, 1970.



Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley (lyrics)

This was the last #1 hit for Elvis during his lifetime. A remixed version of "A Little Less Conversation" hit #1 in the UK in 2002. Memphis singer Mark James wrote this song and he recorded and released his own version, but it didn't go anywhere. Memphis Soul producer Chips Moman brought this to Presley in 1969, and Elvis immediately fell in love with it and decided he could turn it into a hit, even though it had flopped for James. This was recorded between 4-7 in the morning, during the landmark Memphis session that helped Elvis reclaim his title of "The King." This was a big comeback song for Elvis, as it was 7 years since his last #1 hit. Elvis' publishing company, along with his manager Col. Tom Parker, tried to get their usual cut of the royalties from this and threatened to stop the recording if they didn't. Elvis insisted on recording the song regardless. This song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.



One - The Dog Night (lyrics)

This was written by Harry Nilsson, a popular songwriter who had hits as a singer with "Everybody's Talkin'" and "Without You." This is about loneliness. It was used in the film Recess: School's Out when the character of TJ is lonely and bored after all his friends go to summer camps. This was the first song on Three Dog Night's first album and it was one of 21 US Top-40 hits for the group, who did very well with songs written by other artists. Other hits by Three Dog Night include "Joy To The World" (written by Hoyt Axton), "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)" (written by Randy Newman) and "The Show Must Go On" (written by Leo Sayer). The official commentary included in the CD set Celebrate: The Three Dog Night Story, 1965-1975 states that vocalist Danny Hutton's then-girlfriend June Fairchild suggested the name after reading a magazine article about indigenous Australians, in which it was explained that on cold nights they would customarily sleep in a hole in the ground whilst embracing a dingo, a native species of wild dog. On colder nights they would sleep with two dogs and if the night was freezing, it was a "three dog night". On October 24, 2009, Three Dog Night released two new songs - '"Heart of Blues"/"Prayer of the Children". A new studio album, the group's first in 24 years, is being recorded during breaks from touring using producer Richie Podolor. Although an EP of five new songs was recorded and released in 1983, and two new songs were issued on Three Dog Night's 35th Anniversary Hits Collection Featuring The London Symphony Orchestra, the band thas not recorded a full-length album since 1976's American Pastime.



Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond (lyrics)

In 2007, Neil Diamond revealed that this song is about Caroline Kennedy, who is the daughter of the American president John F. Kennedy. After performing the song via satellite at Caroline's 50th birthday party, he told the Associated Press: "I've never discussed it with anybody before - intentionally. I thought maybe I would tell it to Caroline when I met her someday. I'm happy to have gotten it off my chest and to have expressed it to Caroline. I thought she might be embarrassed, but she seemed to be struck by it and really, really happy." Diamond added that he was a young, broke songwriter in the '60s when he saw a cute photo of Caroline Kennedy in a magazine. Said Diamond: "It was a picture of a little girl dressed to the nines in her riding gear, next to her pony. It was such an innocent, wonderful picture, I immediately felt there was a song in there." A few years later, Diamond wrote the song in a Memphis hotel in less than an hour. Caroline was 11 years old when the song was released. David Wild wrote in his book He Is...I Say: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neil Diamond, "Diamond says that 'Sweet Caroline' just seemed to come out of 'the excitement of the moment.' More specifically, Diamond's excitement seemed to focus on a chord in the song's 'touching hands' section, a relatively unusual A6 chord that he had never played before." Even though the song has nothing to do with Boston, the Red Sox, baseball or New England, it is played at Red Sox home games in Fenway Park between the 8th and 9th innings. The song was first played in honor of a Red Sox employee who named her newborn daughter "Caroline" in 1998, and it caught on with the fans, getting regular play since 2003. It's an audience participation number in that the crowd sings "dum-dum-dum" after the words "Sweet Caroline" in the chorus and "so good, so good, so good" after "good times never seemed so good." This Fenway ritual is portrayed in the Drew Barrymore/Jimmy Fallon movie Fever Pitch. Neil Diamond told AOL Music Canada that Frank Sinatra's version of this with a big band is his favorite of all the covers of his material. He explained: "He did it his way. He didn't cop my record at all. I've heard that song by a lot of people and there are a lot of good versions. But Sinatra's swinging, big band version tops them all by far." Other artists to record the song include Waylon Jennings, The Drifters, Julio Iglesias and Elvis Presley.



BONUS TRACK

Hawaii Five-O - The Ventures 

The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling instrumental band of all time. In 2008, the Ventures were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their instrumental virtuosity, experimentation with guitar effects, and unique sound laid the groundwork for innumerable groups, earning them the moniker "The Band that Launched a Thousand Bands". While their popularity in the United States waned in the 1970s, the group remains revered in Japan, where they still tour regularly to this day. The CBS television network produced Hawaii Five-O, which aired from September 20, 1968 to April 4, 1980. Currently, the program is broadcast in syndication worldwide and via on-demand streaming media from CBS Interactive. Created by Leonard Freeman, Hawaii Five-O was shot on location in Honolulu, Hawaii, and throughout the island of Oahu as well as other Hawaiian islands—with occasional filming in other locales such as Los Angeles, Singapore and Hong Kong. Hawaii Five-O was named in honor of Hawaii's status as the 50th State. Although the show's name has always ended with the number "0," the soundtrack album, released in the late 1960s, used the letter "O" instead of the number zero. Today, an "O" is often used to differentiate the original series and the revival which premiered in 2010.

Ten Great Songs From One Great Year

1995

(for a previous 1995 list, click here)

As we entered the middle of the '90s, America was in a lull. Bill Clinton had been President for a couple of years and his popularity was rising. Although rocked by the events in New York in '93 (first world Trade Center attack) and Waco Branch Dividian massacre), just a year ago, most Americans seemed content not to heap any blame on the President - no matter how poorly both crisis were managed. Instead, as the stock market rose above 4,000 for the first time, Americans were more interested in phenomenon that is the Internet. America Online became the latest and greatest creation and everyone was infatuated with the World-Wide Web. Another invention, the DVD (Optical Disk Storage), is introduced this year, offering  a far better viewing experience than the VHS (video recorder). Using digital technology, as opposed to analogue, it should made the VCR obsolete.

This is not to say tragedy did not strike this year. Just that it seemed, at least here in the States, it was less important. However, there were noticeable events that of course, affected not just us in the United States, but throughout the world. Of course, the biggest of these events was the April 19th bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City, by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. While McVeigh was executed for this crime, questions still linger as to who his true accomplices were. Regardless, the tragedy and outpouring of grief throughout the country reminded us of how quickly life can turn in an instance. Little known (outside of law enforcement) at the time was the continued manhunt for the Unibomber, who actually struck again in California, just 5 days later.

This was also the year that Mexican singer, Selena, was gunned down by the president of her own fanclub, Yolanda Saldívar. Also, "Superman" Christopher Reeve was paralyzed during a riding accident in Culpepper, Virginia. He would survive an additional 9 more years, before succumbing to an allergic reaction to an antibiotic. After a year of sensational media coverage, justice was hardly served when former NFL great O.J. Simpson was found not-guilty of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Brown.

November brought tragedy is Israel, when Yigal Amir assassinates Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, during a peace rally in support of the Oslo accords. Amir believed that they peace deal between Yasir Arafat's PLO and the Israeli government were a huge mistake and a suicidal pact with the enemy. Sadly, while his actions were contemptible, his fears were proven proficient.

Kiss From a Rose - Seal (lyrics)

Seal wrote this in tribute to Crosby Stills and Nash while living in a squat in Kensal Green, London and he recorded this for his second album. It was later used over the end credits of the Batman Forever movie, which helped make it a huge hit. It didn't start climbing the charts until the movie was released. With its curious waltz time, lavish harmonies and epic sound proportions, this had a very different sound and stood out on the radio, where many stations were willing to play it. In the US, it was a #1 hit on the Adult Contemporary charts for 12 weeks and won Grammy Awards in 1996 for Record of the Year, Song Of The Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance. This song was a worldwide hit, scoring in the Top-10 in Australia, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the US, and the UK. Not only is this song part of the Batman Forever soundtrack, but the second version of the video contains a great deal of film footage, and has Seal on a rooftop stage set next to a bat-signal. This ages the song badly, as - brace yourself for an onslaught from the world's most hideous fandom - director Joel Schumacher was later credited with ruining the Batman franchise "forever," resulting in the reboot with the Nolan version. What is Seal's actual birth name? Take a deep breath and say "Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel." Yes, all six of them. Seal is of Nigerian and Brazilian heritage, which might explain some of his unique international appeal. He's married to model/actress/designer Heidi Klum. However, Just this past January, the pair announced that they were separating after just 7 years of marriage.



I'll Be There For You - The Rembrandts (lyrics)

This was the theme song of the TV show Friends, which went on the air in 1994 and quickly became a ratings powerhouse. The theme was written by the songwriters Allee Willis and Michael Skloff. Says Willis: "I had seen the pilot, and that one line ('I'll Be There For You') had been given to me by Michael Skloff, who had started on the music, and it was just supposed to be about the loyalty of friends. That no matter how screwed up your life was, I'll be there for you." It is fairly rare for a TV show theme song to become a hit. The themes usually sound great for the 30 seconds they are on the air, but make terrible full length songs. This was an exception, as the popularity of the show exposed the theme to a mass audience that loved the incredibly catchy tune, and soon there was demand for a full-length version of the theme. Says Willis: "It was never, ever to this day released as a single. It was just DJs who made a cassette of the song and just started playing it. And it became the #1 airplay record of the year, but the Rembrandts never wanted it out as a single because they didn't write the song. So they kind of bit off their nose to spite their face. At that point, the only way they could get the Rembrandts to do the record was if they got songwriting credit. So the song needed a bridge, and it needed a second verse lyric, and they wrote that. They don't have credit on the theme, but they have it on the record." The Rembrandts are guitar players Danny Wilde and Phil Solem. They had some success since their first album was released in 1990, but they are best known for this song, which isn't typical of their work. They recorded the song because they were the only group signed to Warner Brothers who was available, and since Warner Brothers owned Friends, they made sure the theme was written by their publishing company (Warner/Chappell) and recorded by one of their artists.



You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette (lyrics)

This an angry message from a scorned ex-girlfriend directed at her former lover. Morissette has said it is about a specific person, but that person has not contacted her, and probably doesn't know it's about him. Morissette claims she will never say who this is about, just as Carly Simon has done with "You're So Vain." The song was rumored to be about the actor Dave Coulier, who Morissette went out with for a while when she was 16 and he was 31 (hence the line "an older version of me"). Coulier played Joey on the TV show Full House, and is known for his Bullwinkle impression. In a 2008 interview with the Calgary Herald, Coulier confirmed that this song is about their rocky former relationship. The actor/comedian said that he first heard the track was when he was driving. "I said, 'Wow, this girl is angry.' And then I said, 'Oh man, I think it's Alanis,'" Coulier revealed. "I listened to the song over and over again, and I said, 'I think I have really hurt this person.' I tried to contact her and I finally got a hold of her. And at the same time, the press was calling and saying, 'You want to comment on this song?' I called her and I said, 'Hi. Uh, what do you want me to say?' And she said, 'You can say whatever you want.' We saw each other and hung out for an entire day. And it was beautiful. It was one of those things where it was kind of like, 'We're good.'"



When I Come Around - Green Day (lyrics)

This is about 2 lovers who have had a fight. The song is saying that they need space, but eventually they will "come around" and get back together. MTV released 2 videos for this song when it became a single. They had the concept video for the song directed by Mark Kohr, and they also released a live version from Green Day's infamous Woodstock '94 performance (lots of mud was in the air). They used this video to promote the MTV Woodstock '94 retrospect video tape and it went into rotation. Jason White, who sometimes played as a second guitarist for Green Day, is in this video. He's the guy kissing the girl. When performing this song at Woodstock 94, a fan threw a clump of mud onstage and Billie Joe stuck it in his mouth. This caused the fans to keep throwing mud and started the infamous mud fight. A security guard (in a rush to get fans off of the stage) accidentally slammed bassist Mike Dirnt into an amplifier, causing him injuries to his arm and three of his teeth. This song was the fourth single, and highest charting song from the multi-platinum album, Dookie.



As I Lay Me Down - Sophie B. Hawkins (lyrics)

This song is Hawkins' second-highest charting Billboard hit right behind "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover." And the contrast between that song and this one is quite pronounced, showing off her' broad thematic range. This song is actually a ballad in memory of her father and as told in the 1998 film documentary The Cream Will Rise, Hawkins has struggled to overcome problems with her dysfunctional relationship with her mother and brother; so with that in mind, her father might have been her main source of stability in her home. Hawkins took to touring the country with an acoustic piano to promote this song, after which time it took off in the charts. Radio stations in the Top 40 and Adult Contemporary formats loved the song, since it was such an accessible, non-threatening tune without a trace of Grunge or Hip-Hop. The phones weren't exactly lighting up with requests for it, but it fit nicely on the playlists. "As I Lay Me Down" is familiar not only from heavy radio airplay, but from soundtrack usage in the TV series Dawson's Creek and Party of Five. It was also used in the 1995 film Now and Then, a chick flick about girls bicycling around the neighborhood to (mostly) 1969-1970 music. You name it, if it's a liberal cause, Hawkins is an active supporter of it. She's vegan, an animal-rights' activist, a female musician advocate, and as a member of Waterkeeper Alliance, an environmentalist. She also reworked her "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover" single into "Damn We Wish You Were President" in support of former first lady Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign for US president.



I Believe - Blessid Union of Souls (lyrics)

This is a heartfelt song about the power of love and the belief that it can impact life for the better. It has a strong Christian message, though it's implied rather than spelled out. There's a heavy dose of social commentary in this song as well. Blessid Union of Souls frontman Eliot Sloan recalls writing this song after his girlfriend's father coerced her into breaking up with him by threatening to cut off her college tuition. This was the group's biggest hit - they had 3 others hit the US Top-40: "Let Me Be the One," "I Wanna Be There," and "Hey, Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me)." Although they have not had a charted single since 1999,  the band still performs and records. This past year, they released a contemporary Christian record, called The Mission Field.



December - Collective Soul (lyrics)

Before forming Collective Soul, Ed Roland had studied music composition and guitar playing at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Since the mid 1980s Roland had been involved in underground music, either making unpublished demos or performing. He also worked at Real 2 Reel Studios in Stockbridge during the 1980s and early 1990s, which was owned by Will Turpin's father. Roland's main duties were producing, mixing and engineering work for local Atlanta artists. He also recorded his own demos and released his independent solo album Ed-E Roland in 1991. He had a pre-Collective Soul band in the late 1980s and early 1990s called Marching Two-Step which included Shane Evans, Michele Rhea Caplinger, and Matt Serletic. Marching Two-Step were a band for several years, but never managed to grow beyond the local club scene. Roland's early attempts to be signed to a recording contract by a label ended in rejection. In 1992, he enlisted musicians to record a demo in a basement. Roland intended only to sell the songs to a publishing company and had no plans of forming a band out of it. The demo was passed along to an Atlanta college radio station which began playing "Shine," soon to be its most requested song. Amidst the surprise popularity, Roland agreed to perform live shows, enlisting his brother Dean as well as Shane Evans, Will Turpin, and Ross Childress in what would be the first line-up of Collective Soul. Atlantic Records took note of the popularity of the song and subsequently signed them. While "Shine" was their breakthrough song, the band's second album, the eponymous Collective Soul, put them solidly on the map. Two singles for the LP, "December" and "The World I Know"both hit the Billboard top 20 and also, both topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Unfortunately, the two songs were the last top 40 songs the band recorded. They still perform and record, releasing their eighth studio album, another self-titled, but designated by the band as Rabbit, in 2009.



Bullet With Butterfly Wings - Smashing Pumpkins (lyrics)

Lead singer Billy Corgan wrote this about pain that comes from being a rock star. The lyrics are exceptionally dramatic, and Corgan has said they are a bit of a joke. This was the first single off Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness and Smashing Pumpkins' second biggest US hit ("1979" hit #12). This song also won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. The next year, they won the same award for "The End Is The Beginning Is The End." In the video, Corgan still has hair. However, when it was released, he had cut all of his hair off. Ever since, Billy has been bald. Possibly shedding some light on what to read into the lyrics, Corgan once said: "If people were interested in my own personal story and they knew every thing that had happened to me in my childhood, I think they would look at me differently because I was raised in a family that set me up to fail." Although the band first formed in 1988, it took until this year for them to make any impact on the charts. "Bullet" was their first single from the multi-platinum Mellon Collie LP, and first of theirs to chart. It ushered in their most successful run. In 2000, due to infighting and drug use, the group disbanded. However, as most bands do, they reconvened to record a new Smashing Pumpkins album, Zeitgeist. The band toured with a rotating lineup of between five and nine musicians through much of 2007 and 2008 before changes to the lineup were made permanent. Still, they toured through much of 2010 and 2011, and are currently recording the album Teargarden by Kaleidyscope and the album-inside-an-album Oceania.



Zombie - The Cranberries (lyrics)

This was inspired by the IRA bombing in Warrington, Cheshire in 1993. Two children, Jonathan Ball and Tim Parry, were killed. The IRA (The Irish Republican Army) is a militant group determined to remove British troops from Northern Ireland. Lead singer Dolores O'Riordan claimed that "Zombie" speaks about "The Irish fight for independence that seems to last forever." The lyrics even say, "It's the same old theme since 1916." Like the responsive works of Yeats, Heaney and U2, The Cranberries claim they wrote "Zombie" to be a "Song for peace, peace among England and Ireland." On August 31, 1994, just a few weeks after this song was released, the IRA declared a ceasefire after 25 years of conflict, leading some critics of The Cranberries to wonder if the IRA was willing to call a truce to make sure the group didn't release any more songs about them.



One of Us - Joan Osborne (lyrics)

This was written by Eric Bazilian, who was working on the album with Rob Hyman and Rick Chertoff. Says Bazilian, "For me, the song was more about what happens to you when you look at something that has completely changed your world view, which could be meeting God, it could be meeting an alien, it could be a near-death experience, it could be anything like that. Just how everything you know is wrong, or everything you know is right, and you didn't know it." Hyman and Bazilian were members of The Hooters and along with Chertoff, collaborated on Cyndi Lauper's first album, She's So Unusual. They usually take a while to craft their songs, but occasionally one will come out quickly. One of these songs was "All You Zombies," which was The Hooters' first single and also contains lots of Biblical imagery. Says Bazilian, "I've written a decent number of 'God' songs, and I wrote a bunch of them after 'One Of Us,' except you'll never hear them because they're not as good. It's a strange thing. I could, and I often have, pointed to another hand guiding." This song earned Grammy nominations for Song Of The Year, Record Of The Year and Best Female Pop Vocal. Osborne was also nominated for Best New Artist and Relish for album of the year. None of them won, with Seal's "Kiss From A Rose" beating it for Song and Record Of The Year, Alanis Morissette winning Best Album and Hootie and the Blowfish winning Best New Artist. Osborne's latest album, Little Wild One, was released in September 2008. Osborne performs as a guest vocalist on Sgt. Pepper Live, the 2009 album and DVD by Cheap Trick.



BONUS TRACK

Macarena - Los Del Rio (lyrics)

This was originally released on a local label in Spain in 1993, where it did fairly well. The next year, the American label BMG bought the Spanish label and set out to make "Macarena" a hit in America. They marketed an English language version to dance clubs and cruise ships, then released it as a single in 1995. It was a minor hit until the summer of 1996, when the Macarena dance craze hit America. The song went to #1 in July and stayed there for 14 weeks. Los Del Rio (Antonio Romeo Monge and Rafael Ruiz) are a Spanish flamenco-pop duo and they were inspired to record this on a trip to Venezuela when they spotted a beautiful flamenco dancer named Diana Patricia. When the song became a hit, she became known in Venezuela as "Macarena." This was the first hit for Los Del Rio since 1962 and their only hit in the US. This song stayed in the US Top 100 for 60 weeks, the one-time record for the longest run on the singles chart. In 1998 it was overtaken by LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live", which spent 69 weeks in total in the Hot 100. The song's 32-week climb (over two separate chart runs) to the #1 position established the record for the longest journey to the Hot 100's summit. The world record for the most people performing one dance at the same time was set by 50,000 people in Yankee stadium while dancing the "Macarena."