This group's sound was dynomite, even special. When you look at the music of the 60's, you know there weren't too many better acts than this one. I had the pleasure of seeing the group several years ago. Unfortunately, McCoo & Davis weren't with them but they were amazing, which just drove home the point how great they were. I can only imagine what they sounded like live with the full group intact. As you have probably guessed if you've followed the other segments of this feature, I don't go merely by chart #.
1958: The soundtrack to Oklahoma! received the first gold record from the Recording Industry of America (RIAA). 1960: Jimmy Jones had the #1 U.K. hit with "Good Timin'". 1963: Freddie & the Dreamers recorded "I'm Telling You Now". 1964: The Elvis Presley movieViva Las Vegas, generally regarded as one of his best, was #8 in the United States. 1965: The movie Having a Wild Weekend starring the Dave Clark Five opened in London. 1965: The Hollies' "I'm Alive" returned to #1 in the U.K.
1967: Another look back at one of the top years in the Rock Era. "Windy" by the Association remained at #1 but the Music Explosion was challenging with "Little Bit O' Soul". Frankie Valli's solo hit "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (he was still in the 4 Seasons) was at #3 and Scott McKenzie remained at 4 with "San Francisco". The rest of a dynamite Top 10: Petula Clark's "Don't Sleep in the Subway", "Come On Down To My Boat" from Every Mother's Son, the 5th Dimension's magical "Up, Up and Away" moving from 12-7, the Grass Roots at #8 with "Let's Live For Today", the Young Rascals were on their way down with their classic #1 "Groovin'" and Johnny Rivers joined the group at #10 with "The Tracks of My Tears".
1967: One of The Top R&B Songs of the Rock Era*, "Respect" from Aretha Franklin, spent its eighth week at the top on this date. 1967: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which had debuted at #8 two weeks before, completed the climb up the Top 200 Albums by reaching #1 for the Beatles one week later and on this date, made it two weeks in a row. That was nothing. Headquarters from their rival the Monkees was hanging in there at #2. Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass remained at 3 with Sounds Like.
1968: Steppenwolf released the single "Born To Be Wild". 1968: Pink Floyd played at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago, Illinois. 1969: Marianne Faithfull was found in a coma after a suicide attempt. 1970: The Everly Brothers Show began on ABC-TV as a summer television series. 1972: Three Dog Night, Edgar Winter, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Faces with Rod Stewart, Humble Pie and the J. Geils Band performed at the Concert 10 Festival at the Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.
1972: "Lean On Me" hit #1 for Bill Withers, a message we could all take to heart. Billy Preston's "Outa-Space", one of The Top 100 Instrumentals of the Rock Era*, was up to #2 and the former #1 "Song Sung Blue" from Neil Diamond was down to 3. Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose came in fourth followed by the former #1 from Sammy Davis, Jr.--"The Candy Man". The rest of the Top 10: "Troglodyte" from the Jimmy Castor Bunch, ummm "Rocket Man" by Elton John, Vegas star Wayne Newton got in on the action with "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast", America remained at 9 with "I Need You" and Luther Ingram's still not right with "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right". 1972: Neil Diamond's "Song Sung Blue" remained at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for a fifth week. 1973: Mott the Hoople appeared at Royal Albert Hall in London, where the crowd rioted and two boxes in the prestigious venue were damaged. The Hall temporarily banned rock concerts and issued the group with a fine.
1974: Monday fell on this date, the day new 45's were released to radio stations. Eric Clapton's "I Shot the Sheriff" was one of them. 1978: Paul Simonon and Joe Strummer of the Clash were arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct after a Clash concert at the Apollo in Glasgow, Scotland. 1978: Lionel Richie & the Commodores were moving on up with "Three Times a Lady"--49 to 26 on this date.
1978: Teddy Pendergrass owned the top R&B hit with "Close the Door". 1978: Roberta Flack took over at #1 on the AC chart with "If Ever I See You Again".
1978: Maybe it was the weather (or being out of school) but summer music sounded better. Andy Gibb was just beginning a long stay at #1 with "Shadow Dancing" while Gerry Rafferty was camped out at #2 for a fourth week with the classic "Baker Street". ABBA had #3 with "Take a Chance On Me". The O'Jays edged up to 4 with "Use Ta Be My Girl" and Bob Seger had #5--"Still the Same". The rest of the Top 10: Rod Stewart sound alike Bonnie Tyler with "It's a Heartache", the Stones rolled up from 14-7 with "Miss You", Peter Brown with "Dance With Me", Heatwave had folks dancing with "The Groove Line" at #9 and Carly Simon's 13th hit and fifth Top 10--"You Belong To Me" was at #10.
Gerry Rafferty dislodged Saturday Night Fever from #1 on the album chart after an unprecedented 24 consecutive weeks (with the album City To City). Natural High from the Commodores was third, followed by Some Girls by the Rolling Stones and Stranger in Town from Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. The rest of the Top 10: Darkness on the Edge of Town by Bruce Springsteen, Andy Gibb's Shadow Dancing, Feels So Good from Chuck Mangione at #8, the Soundtrack to "Grease" at #9 and Carly Simon's Boys in the Trees completing the list. 1979: The B-52's gave their first concert in the U.K. at the Lyceum Ballroom in London. 1984: Bono of U2 and Van Morrison joined Bob Dylan on stage at Wembley Stadium in London, with the three singing "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue". 1985: Two new releases arrived at radio stations on this date, Monday, July 8, 1985--Dire Straits released their single "Money for Nothing" and Billy Joel released "You're Only Human". 1987: U2 performed at Vorst National in Brussels, Belgium.
1989: The Fine Young Cannibals made it two #1's out of the gate as the follow-up to "She Drives Me Crazy", "Good Thing" hit #1.
1991: Michael Bolton released the single "Time, Love and Tenderness". 1992: Garth Brooks and wife Sandy celebrated their new daughter, Taylor Mayne Pearl.
1995: It didn't even take a music professional to tell where this song was heading. (Actually, about 10 seconds was all it took me) "Kiss From a Rose" by Seal moved from 54 to 32 on this date. 1995: Michael Jackson continued the ever-increasing practice of debuting at #1 with HIStory: Past, Present and Future-Book I.
1995: "Waterfalls", one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era* from TLC, climbed from 7 to the top on this date. Monica was stuck at #2 with "Don't Take It Personal (just one of dem days)". 1996: The Spice Girls released their debut single "Wannabe" in Great Britain. 1998: The Estate for Roy Orbison filed a $12 million royalty suit against Sony Music. 2000: Iron Maiden had to cancel several dates of a European tour after guitarist Janick Gers fell off stage during a concert in Mannheim, Germany. 2001: Alicia Keys reached #1 on the album chart with her superb Songs in A Minor. 2003: LL Cool J re-signed with Def Jam Records. 2003: Nickelback filmed the video to "Someday" in their hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 2003: An article in the Wall Street Journal emphasized the similarity between lyrics on Bob Dylan's 2001 album Love and Theft and the Japanese book "Confessions of a Yakuza". Author Dr. Junichi Saga claims never to have heard of Dylan. Better not tell him that--don't think his ego could take it. 2004: Scott Weiland, formerly with Stone Temple Pilots and then with Velvet Revolver, was given three years probation after being convicted of a DUI in a Los Angeles court. 2004: Mark Purseglove was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in jail for bootlegging famous recordings by the Beatles, Pink Floyd and others. 2005: Soul great and great guy Luther Vandross was laid to rest following a funeral service at New York's Riverside Church. Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Usher and Patti LaBelle were among those in attendance. 2006: Nelly Furtado owned the #1 album with Loose. 2007: The Chemical Brothers topped the U.K. album chart with We Are the Night.
Born This Day: 1935: Steve Lawrence (Sidney Liebowitz) was born in Brooklyn, New York. 1944: Jai Johanny Johanson, drummer for the Allman Brothers Band, was born in Gulfport, Mississippi. 1961: Andy Fletcher, co-founder and master of synthesizers for Depeche Mode, was born in Nottingham, England. 1961: Graham Jones, guitarist for Haircut 100 ("Love Plus One") 1963: Joan Osbourne was born in Anchorage, Kentucky. 1970: Beck (Beck David Campbell) was born in Los Angeles. 1985: Jamie Cook, guitarist for the Arctic Monkeys, was born in Sheffield, England.
ELO had a style all their own, though of course the Beatles were a huge influence. Blending elements of classical and rock into their songs, they have received major airplay for going on 40 years.
Note: U.S. data reflects the top position in the trade magazines.
1972: "10538 Overture" (#9 U.K.) 1973: "Roll Over Beethoven" (#31, #6 U.K.) "Showdown" (#51, #12 U.K.) 1974: "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" (#22 U.K.) "Daybreaker" (#61) "Can't Get It Out of My Head" (#9) 1975: "Boy Blue" "Evil Woman" (#9, #6 Canada, #6 U.K.)
1976: "Nightrider" "Strange Magic" (#14, #20 Canada, #38 U.K.) "Showdown" (reissue) --#59 "Livin' Thing" (#10, #4 Canada, #4 U.K.) 1977: "Rockaria!" (#9 U.K.) "Do Ya" (#16) "Telephone Line" (#4, #9 Canada, #8 U.K.) "Turn to Stone" (#9, #1 Canada, #8 U.K.) 1978: "Mr. Blue Sky" (#27, #6 U.K.) "Wild West Hero" (#6 U.K.) "Sweet Talkin' Woman" (#17, #6 Canada, #6 U.K.) "It's Over" (#75)
"The ELO EP" (#34 U.K.) 1979: "Shine a Little Love" (#7, #1 Canada, #6 U.K.) "The Diary of Horace Wimp" (#8 U.K.) "Don't Bring Me Down" (#3, #2 Canada, #3 U.K.) "Confusion" (#37, #8 U.K.) "Last Train to London" (#36, #8 U.K.)
1980: "I'm Alive" (#14, #7 Canada, #20 U.K.) "Xanadu" (with Olivia Newton-John) --#4, #6 Canada, #1 U.K. "All Over the World" (#8, #3 Canada, #11 U.K.) "Don't Walk Away" (#21 U.K.) 1981: "Hold On Tight" (#8, #3 Canada, #4 U.K.) "Twilight" (#38, #30 U.K.) 1982: "Rain is Falling" "Here is the News"/"Ticket to the Moon" (#24 U.K.) "The Way Life's Meant to Be" 1983: "Rock 'n' Roll Is King" (#19, #4 Canada, #13 U.K.) "Secret Messages" (#48 U.K.) "Four Little Diamonds" (#86, #84 U.K.) "Stranger" 1986: "Calling America" (#18, #28 U.K.) "So Serious" (#77 U.K.) "Getting to the Point" (#97 U.K.) 1990: "Destination Unknown" 2001: "Alright" "Moment in Paradise" 2006: "Surrender" (#81 U.K.) 2007: "Latitude 88 North"
Thus, ELO has had 33 hits in the U.K. with nearly half (16) of those going Top 10 and one #1. The United States has given them 26 hits with 11 Top 10. No official #1's in the U.S., but I can tell you from being in radio that "Don't Bring Me Down", "All Over the World" and "Telephone Line" were #1 at numerous top radio stations. In Canada, ELO has had 13 hits, 12 Top 10's and 2 #1's.
This British group had a huge cult following and their albums served as great "party music" in the 70's. That all changed in a big way with their landmark Breakfast in America album, which made them household names. Here is the complete discography of albums from Supertramp:
1970: Supertramp (#158) 1971: Indelibly Stamped 1974: Crime of the Century (#38, #4 Canada, #4 U.K., #5 Germany) --an outstanding album.
1975: Crisis? What Crisis? (#44, #12 Canada, #20 U.K.) 1977: Even in the Quietest Moments... (#16, #1 Canada, #12 U.K., #14 Germany)
1979: Breakfast in America (#1, #1 Canada, #3 U.K., #1 Germany) --of course far and away their best. 1982: ...Famous Last Words (#5, #1 Canada, #6 U.K., #1 Germany) 1985: Brother Where You Bound (#21, #11 Canada, #20 U.K., #4 Germany) 1987: Free as a Bird (#101, #34 Canada, #93 U.K., #23 Germany) 1997: Some Things Never Change (#44, #74 U.K., #3 Germany) 2002: Slow Motion (#17 Germany)
Live Albums: 1980: Paris (#8, #3 Canada, #7 U.K., #5 Germany) 1988: Live '88 (#50 Germany) 1999: It Was the Best of Times (#91 U.K., #29 Germany) 2001: Is Everybody Listening? 2010: 70-10 Tour
Compilations: 1986: The Autobiography (#12 Canada, #9 U.K., #45 Germany) 1990: The Very Best of Supertramp (#17 Canada, #8 U.K., #6 Germany) 1992: The Very Best of Supertramp 2 (#63 Germany) 2005: Retrospectacle (#9 U.K., #47 Germany)
Note here that we are looking at Paul Simon solo. Of course, he also wrote and performed many incredible songs with Art Garfunkel. Honorable Mentions go to "Mother and Child Reunion", "Graceland" and "Still Crazy After All These Years". These are the Five Best from Paul's solo career.
As we approach the Top 30 Albums of the Rock Era*, today Inside the Rock Era features #34 from Jewel.
In listening to Pieces of You or evaluating its success, it's hard to believe it was a debut release. The album did not attract immediate attention but nearly a full two years after its release, it peaked at #4. Jewel's great debut remained in the Top 10 for 28 weeks and spent a total of 114 weeks on the chart. Little by little, more and more people and radio stations discovered it and found the hidden gems inside. The album continues to sell well and has reached 12 million in just 16 years. It has an excellent Track Rating* of 9.00.
The timeless "Who Will Save Your Soul" was the single that finally got this album the attention it deserved. After that, it was icing on the cake as "Foolish Games" and "You Were Meant For Me" also were huge hits. Both of these were re-recorded for release and two years after the release of the album, those hit versions were included on the album instead of the original versions. "Morning Song" was released in the U.K. as a fourth single. At that point, there shouldn't have been anyone that didn't realize that not only was Pieces of You an incredible album but that Jewel was going to be a big star. Any station that remotely had any aspirations of being popular should have played everything on the album they could.
Pieces of You tracks through for most listeners; it's the type of album you want to listen to all the way. You will like different songs than I, but here are some of the top ones: "I'm Sensitive" is a great track with deep meaning like so many of Jewel's songs. "Pieces of You" may be controversial, but it tells it like it is and I think should be required listening for every junior high school kid and up around the world. "Little Sister" is another example of Jewel's amazing lyrics. "Don't" and "Angel Standing By" are other nice tracks. She may have never been able to match this album, but all we are concerned with is the actual product and what its achievements are.
Pieces of You: (All songs by Jewel Kilcher unless otherwise noted.)
1. "Who Will Save Your Soul" --4:00 2. "Pieces of You" --4:15 3. "Little Sister" --2:29 4. "Foolish Games" --5:39 5. "Near You Always" --3:08 6. "Painters" --6:43 7. "Morning Song" --3:35 8. "Adrian" --(Jewel Kilcher, Steve Poltz) --7:02 9. "I'm Sensitive" --2:54 10. "You Were Meant For Me" --4:13 11. "Don't" --3:34 12. "Daddy" --3:49 13. "Angel Standing By" --2:38 14. "Amen" --4:32
Jewel also plays guitar on the album in addition to her amazing lyrics and vocals. She gets help from Robbie Buchanan and Charlotte Caffey on piano, from Spooner Oldham on keyboards, Tim Drummond, Mark Howard and Craig Young played bass and Oscar Butterworth was the drummer. Kristin Wilkinson added nice strings to the mix.
Pieces of You was recorded in 1994. Ben Keith produced this amazing album, the engineers were Tim Mulligans and John Nowlands. Nowlands, Mulligans, Gene Eichelberger and Joe Baldrige mixed the album, Jewel and Charlotte Caffey arranged it and Mulligans mastered it. John Codlins was in charge of art direction while Hugh Hales-Tooke provided photography. The album was released February 28, 1995 on Atlantic Records.
1954: Memphis D.J. Dewey Phillips of WHBQ Radio became the first DJ to play an Elvis Presley song. 1956: The Platters released the single "My Prayer". 1956: Fats Domino spent week #8 atop the R&B chart with "I'm In Love Again". 1957: Elvis Presley had the #1 hit "All Shook Up" in the U.K.
1958: "Yakety Yak" by the Coasters was #1 for a third week on the R&B chart. 1959: The Everly Brothers recorded "Till I Kissed You". 1962: The Beatles performed at Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight, in Birkenhead, England 1962: The initial "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" by Neil Sedaka moved from 66 to 26 on this date. 1962: "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles, one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*, remained at #1 for a seventh week on the R&B chart. 1963: Peter, Paul & Mary were the guests on What's My Line on CBS-TV.
1966: The Kinks positioned themselves at #1 on the U.K. chart with "Sunny Afternoon". 1967: Dusty Springfield began a three-week stay at the Copacabana in New York City. 1967: How's this for a combo? Jimi Hendrix opened on a national tour for the Monkees. 1968: The Yardbirds broke up, paving the way for the New Yardbirds to form. That later lineup would become Led Zeppelin. 1969: George Harrison recorded his vocal of "Here Comes the Sun". 1971: Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog of ABBA were married in Verum Sweden. Future ABBA member Benny Anderson played organ at the ceremony. 1973: The great disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure, starring a plethora of great actors, was out and everything was going the movie's way. Maureen McGovern, who recorded her version of the song from the movie, had one red-hot song in "The Morning After", which rocketed up from 86 to 42. 1973: "Yesterday Once More" by the Carpenters moved into the #1 position on the Adult Contemporary chart. 1973: Living in the Material World, while not making The Top 100 Albums of All-Time in the Rock Era*, was a strong contender with weeks at number one already totaling three on this date. Paul Simon had another of the top albums from 1973 with There Goes Rhymin' Simon--in fact you'll find four of The Top 10 Albums for the Year 1973 in the Top 10 from this date. Paul McCartney & Wings fell to 3 with Red Rose Speedway, Pink Floyd edged up to 4 with The Dark Side of the Moon and the Carpenters had #5--Now & Then. The rest of the Top 10: Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy, the great live album Made in Japan by Deep Purple, the essential "blue album" Beatles/1967-1970, Fantasy from Carole King at #9 and Seals & Crofts rounding out the list with Diamond Girl.
Dr. John was right in the thick of things...
1973: Billy Preston played his way up to #1 with "Will It Go Round In Circles". "Kodachrome" from Paul Simon was another smash at #2 while Paul McCartney & Wings slipped to 3 with their former #1 "My Love". Beatles mate George Harrison fell to four from his perch at #1 with "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)". The rest of a great Top 10: "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" by Jim Croce moved from 12 to 5, Clint Holmes edged up with "Playground In My Mind", Three Dog Night with their 16th hit and 10th Top 10 in "Shambala", the Carpenters with their ninth Top 10 and 13th hit "Yesterday Once More" at #8, Dr. John remained at #9 with "Right Place Wrong Time" and Barry White lent his soul voice to us with "I'm Gonna' Love You Just a Little More Baby". 1975: Keith Richards of that band that showed us how not to live, the Rolling Stones, was arrested for possession of an offensive weapon and reckless driving in Arkansas.
1975: A new group released their first single to radio stations on this date--K.C. & the Sunshine Band was their name and the song was "Get Down Tonight". 1978: The Grateful Dead played at the beautiful Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. 1979: Maxine Nightingale had her biggest hit since "Right Back Where We Started From" in 1977. "Lead Me On" was #1 again on the Adult Contemporary chart.
"On My Honor" from the great Donna Summer...
1979: The double album Bad Girls climbed back to the top on the album chart. The landmark Breakfast in America fell to #2 in its 15th week. Although she could never match her debut, it was indeed a great first album for Rickie Lee Jones. Earth, Wind & Fire had #4 with I Am and Cheap Trick's all-time top album Cheap Trick at Budokan was #5. The rest of the Top 10: Desolation Angels from Bad Company, Sister Sledge at #7 with We Are Family, Anita Ward's Songs of Love, ELO's great album Discovery at #9 and Monolith from Kansas at #10. 1980: Diana Ross released the single "Upside Down" to radio stations on Monday, July 7, 1980. 1980: Led Zeppelin performed for the final time prior to drummer John Bonham's death. 1984: "If Ever You're In My Arms Again", which ranks #26 on The Top 100 Adult Contemporary Songs of the 80's, first reached #1 on this date for Peabo Bryson. 1984: Prince's powerful song "When Doves Cry" reached #1 on this date, leapfrogging Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark". The Pointer Sisters had #3--"Jump (For My Love)" and Laura Branigan remained at #4 with "Self Control". The rest of the Top 10: Duran Duran was down to 5 with the former #1 song "The Reflex", Billy Idol's top career hit "Eyes Without a Face", Cyndi Lauper was at 7 with "Time After Time", Ann Wilson and Mike Reno were up to 8 with "Almost Paradise", Huey Lewis and the News had song #9--"The Heart of Rock and Roll" and ZZ Top stepped up to #10 with "Legs". 1984: You could go broke buying all the great albums on this date--Bruce Springsteen hit #1 after just three weeks with Born in the U.S.A., Sports was still at #2 for Huey Lewis & the News and the "Footloose" Soundtrack was hanging around at #3. If the Cars had a better album than their debut this was it--Heartbeat City at #4 while Lionel Richie was at #5 with Can't Slow Down, She's So Unusual from Cyndi Lauper, 1984 by Van Halen, the Scorpions at #8 with Love At First Sting, Billy Idol came crashing into the Top 10 with Rebel Yell and Duran Duran was at #10 with Seven and the Ragged Tiger. 1986: Bob Dylan performed a second gig with the Grateful Dead, joining them for three songs. 1990: The Rolling Stones were in concert at Wembley Stadium in London. 1990: Janet Jackson moved from 93 to 44 with "Come Back To Me". 1990: Lisa Stansfield had the top R&B song with "You Can't Deny It". 1990: Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em by M.C. Hammer which is perhaps the only rap album worth its weight in crap, was #1 on this date. 1990: Michael Bolton bolted up to #1 on the AC chart with "When I'm Back On My Feet Again". 1999: Coolio was sentenced to 10 days in jail, 40 hours of community service and two years probation for illegally possessing a firearm. 2000: Bobby Brown was released from a jail in Florida after serving 26 days for violation of his probation. Brown had received the sentence in 1996 from a drunk driving episode. 2001: Coldplay, the Stereophonics, Nelly Furtado, David Gray, the Proclaimers and Muse were among the performers at the T in the Park Festival in Scotland. 2001: Radiohead and Beck were on the same bill at South Park in Oxford, England. 2002: Oasis had the top U.K. album with Heathen Chemistry. 2002: Nelly was on top of the United States album chart with Nellyville. 2003: R.E.M. performed "Permanent Vacation" for the first time in 20 years at a concert in Vienna, Austria. 2003: John Mayer and the Counting Crows began their summer tour that would last through September. 2006: Sid Barrett, founding member of Pink Floyd, died of complications from diabetes at age 60. 2007: Live Earth was a summer spectacular featuring 100 artists on all seven continents over 24 hours. The event was organized by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. Concerts were held in Washington, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, London, Hamburg, Tokyo, Shanghai and Sydney. Madonna, Genesis, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snow Patrol, Duran Duran, Crowded House, UB40, James Blunt, the Foo Fighters, Enrique Iglesias and Joss Stone were among the many performers. 2009: Family and friends bid farewell to Michael Jackson at an emotional memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. 2010: Frankie Valli and Les Paul were inducted into the New Jersey Music Hall of Fame.
Born This Day: 1940: Ringo Starr was born in Dingle, England. 1941: Singer/guitarist Chan Romero, who wrote "Hippy Hippy Shake" was born in Billings, Montana. 1944: Warren Entner, singer, songwriter, organist and guitarist with the great 60's band Grass Roots; later a manager for Quiet Riot and Rage Against the Machine, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. 1945: Jim Rodford, who helped cousin Rod Argent form Argent and later was a member of the Kinks, was born in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England. 1947: Peter Banks, guitarist of Yes, was born in Barnet, North London. 1947: David "Scar" Hodo of the Village People was born in Palo Alto, California. 1949: Rhino Rheinhardt of Iron Butterfly 1962: Mark White of the Spin Doctors ("Two Princes) was born in New York City 1963: Vonda Shepard was born in New York City. 1988: Ilan Rubin, drummer of Lostprophets and with Nine Inch Nails for their final tour, was born in San Diego, California
Numerous lineup changes over the years has made for a wide variety of musical styles from this supergroup. Here is the complete discography from the Mac:
1968: Fleetwood Mac (#198, #4 U.K.) Mr. Wonderful (#10 U.K.)
1969: Then Play On (#109, #6 U.K.) Fleetwood Mac in Chicago/Blues Jam in Chicago, Volumes 1-2 (#118)
1970: Kiln House (#69, #39 U.K.)
1971: Future Games (#91)
1972: Bare Trees (#70)
1973: Penguin (#49) Mystery to Me (#67)
1974: Heroes Are Hard to Find (#34)
1975: Fleetwood Mac (#1, #23 U.K., #15 Canada)
1977: Rumours (#1, #1 U.K., #1 Canada)
1979: Tusk (#4, #1 UK., #2 Canada)
1982: Mirage (#1, #5 U.K., #4 Canada)
1987: Tango in the Night (#7, #1 U.K., #2 Canada)
1990: Behind the Mask (#18, #1 U.K., #20 Canada)
1995: Time (#47 U.K.)
2003: Say You Will (#3, #6 U.K.)
Live Albums:
1980: Live (#14, #31 U.K.)
1995: Live at the BBC (#48 U.K.)
1997: The Dance (#1, #15 U.K., #19 Canada)
2004: Fleetwood Mac: Live in Boston (#84)
Compilations:
1969: English Rose (#184) The Pious Bird of Good Omen (#18 U.K.)
1971: Black Magic Woman (#143) Greatest Hits (#36 U.K.)
1975: Vintage Years (#138)
1987: The Collection
1988: Greatest Hits (Warner Brothers) --#14, #3 U.K.
1992: 25 Years --The Chain (box set)
2002: The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (#12, #6 U.K.)
2007: The Essential Fleetwood Mac
Diana Ross piled up 12 #1 songs with the Supremes, which for a long time ranked behind only the Beatles and Elvis Presley. What truly made her an icon, however, was her great solo success. She proved she was her own star away from the group. Here is the complete list of solo releases from Diana Ross:
1970: "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" (#20, #7 R&B, #18 Adult Contemporary, #33 U.K.) "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (#1, #1 R&B, #6 AC, #6 U.K.) "Remember Me" (#16, #10 R&B, #20 AC, #7 U.K.) 1971: "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" (#29, #17 R&B, #16 AC) "Surrender" (#38, #16 R&B, #10 U.K.) "I'm Still Waiting" (#63, #40 R&B, #1 U.K.) 1972: "Doobedood'ndoobe, Doobedood'ndoobe, Doobedood'ndoo" (#12 U.K.) 1973: "Good Morning Heartache" (#34, #20 R&B, #8 AC) "Touch Me in the Morning" (#1, #5 R&B, #1 AC, #9 U.K.) "You're a Special Part of Me" (with Marvin Gaye) --#12, #4 R&B, #43 AC 1974: "All of My Life" (#9 U.K.) "Last Time I Saw Him" (#14, #15 R&B, #1 AC, #35 U.K.) "My Mistake (Was to Love You)" --with Marvin Gaye (#19, #15 R&B) "You Are Everything" (with Marvin Gaye) --#5 U.K. "Sleepin'" (#70, #50 R&B) "Don't Knock My Love" (with Marvin Gaye) --#46, #25 R&B
"Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Hear) --with Marvin Gaye --#25 U.K. "Love Me" (#38 U.K.)
1975: "Sorry Doesn't Always Make It Right" (#17 AC, #23 U.K.) "Theme From 'Mahogany' (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" --#1, #14 R&B, #1 AC, #5 U.K. 1976: "I Thought It Took a Little Time (But Today I Fell in Love)" --#47, #61 R&B, #4 AC, #32 U.K. "Love Hangover" (#1, #1 R&B, #19 AC, #10 U.K.) "One Love in My Lifetime" (#25, #10 R&B, #31 AC) 1977: "Gettin' Ready for Love" (#27, #16 R&B, #8 AC, #23 U.K.) 1978: "Your Love Is So Good for Me" (#49, #16 R&B) "Top of the World" "You Got It" (#49, #39 R&B, #9 AC)
"Lovin', Livin' and Givin'" (#54 U.K) "Ease on Down the Road" (with Michael Jackson) --#41, #17 R&B, #40 AC, #45 U.K. "A Brand New Day" (with Michael Jackson) "Pops, We Love You (A Tribute to Father)" --with Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson 1979: "What You Gave Me" (#86 R&B) "The Boss" (#19, #12 R&B, #41 AC, #40 U.K.) "No One Gets the Prize" (#59 U.K.) "It's My House" (#27 R&B, #32 U.K.)
1980: "Upside Down" (#1, #1 R&B, #18 AC, #2 U.K.) "I'm Coming Out" (#5, #6 R&B, #13 U.K.) "My Old Piano" (#5 U.K.) "It's My Turn" (#9, #14 R&B, #9 AC, #16 U.K.) 1981: "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (#7, #6 R&B, #2 AC, #4 U.K.) "One More Chance" (#79, #54 R&B, #49 U.K.) "Cryin' My Heart Out for You" (#58 U.K.) "Endless Love" (#1, #1 R&B, #1 AC, #7 U.K.) 1982: "Mirror, Mirror" (#8, #2 R&B, #36 U.K.) "Work That Body" (#44, #34 R&B, #7 U.K.) "It's Never Too Late" (#41 U.K.) "Muscles" (#10, #4 R&B, #36 AC, #15 U.K.) "Tenderness" (#73 U.K.) "We Can Never Light That Old Flame Again" 1983: "So Close (#40, #76 R&B, #13 AC, #43 U.K.) "Who" "Pieces of Ice" (#31, #15 R&B, #46 U.K.) "Up Front" (#60 R&B, #79 U.K.) "Let's Go Up" (#77, #52 R&B)
1984: "All of You" (with Julio Iglesias) --#19, #38 R&B, #2 AC, #43 U.K. "Swept Away" (#19, #13 R&B) "Touch by Touch" (#47) "Missing You" (#10, #1 R&B, #4 AC, #76 U.K.) 1985: "Telephone" (#13 R&B) "Eaten Alive (#77, #10 R&B, #71 U.K.) "Chain Reaction" (#95, #85 R&B, #25 AC, #1 U.K.) 1986: "Chain Reaction" (remix) --#66 "Experience" (#47 U.K.) "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (reissue) --#85 U.K. 1987: "Dirty Looks" (#12 R&B, #49 U.K.) "Tell Me Again" "Shockwaves" (#76 U.K.) 1988: "Mr. Lee" (#58 U.K.) "If We Hold on Together" (#23 AC, #11 U.K.) "Love Hangover" (remix) --#75 U.K.
1989: "Love Hangover" (remix) "Workin' Overtime" (#3 R&B, #32 U.K. "Paradise" (#61 U.K.) "This House" (#64 R&B) "Bottom Line" 1990: "I'm Still Waiting" (remix) --#29 U.K. 1991: "No Matter What You Do" (with Al B. Sure) --#4 R&B "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (#37 R&B, #26 AC, #2 U.K.) 1992: "You're Gonna' Love It" "Waiting in the Wings" "The Force Behind the Power" (#27 U.K.) "One Shining Moment" (#10 U.K.) 1993: "Heart (Don't Change My Mind)" --#31 U.K. "Chain Reaction" (remix) --#20 U.K. "Your Love" (#14 U.K. 1994: "The Best Years of My Life" (#28 U.K.) "Someday We'll Be Together" (remix) "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"/"I'm Coming Out" (reissue) --#36 U.K. 1995: "Take Me Higher" (#77 R&B, #32 U.K.) "I'm Gone" (#36 U.K.)
1996: "If You're Not Gonn' Love Me Right" (#67 R&B) "I Will Survive" (#14 U.K.) "Voice of the Heart" (#28 AC)
"In the Ones You Love" (#34) 1997: "Promise Me You'll Try" 1999: "Until We Meet Again" "Not Over You Yet" (#9 U.K.) "Sugarfree" 2001: "Goin' Back"
Note that these include those from Tina Turner as a solo artist, not her work with then-husband Ike. Turner made one of the top comebacks of the Rock Era in 1984 with her award-winning album Private Dancer.
You will find several lists of the top instrumentals so this one is far from being the only one. It is, however, unique in that I tried to base it on what the public thinks, leaving my personal bias out of it. For it doesn't matter what a so-called "expert" or professional in the music business thinks. History will always record what the public likes.
So I base a good deal of this list on chart performance at the time, single and album sales to this point in history, and how the song holds up today. I have put a considerable amount of time and effort into coming up with this list. Although I believe it contains The Top 100 Instrumentals of the Rock Era*, it doesn't start getting great until the top 85 or so.
What is great about instrumentals is that the songwriter is free to focus solely on the music. Artists today have gotten away from that--when you strip the song from its jive and 21st century sound effects, all you have is the music. By listening to these instrumentals, hopefully we'll get back to what matters when composing a song.
Of course, I do realize that beginning in the 1980's, we as a society began cutting music programs to the bone so really we have only ourselves to blame for the poor quality of "music" these days. I know my own knowledge of music (I play the saxophone, clarinet and have played piano since age 5 and was in a group of 12 that was selected to sing at our church's world conference in Portland, Oregon and then toured throughout the country...) would not have been as great were it not for music education in the schools. I hope we can get back to providing more funds for that, to stimulate our children's interest in music.
Getting back to the other "lists" you may see on the web. They are great, but what is a music site without music?! Thus, you actually get to hear the songs that are in the list. Many I was not familiar with until I started researching for this special.
For navigation, the song titles are below the embedded YouTube video. For ease of use, I have separated the list into 10 segments of 10 songs each. Part Five will appear on this blog July 9. I strongly recommend playing each song in order--with any luck (if I've done my homework (and I have!)), each one should sound better than the last. At least that's the goal.
Enjoy! (Make sure you pause, stop or finish listening to one song before you start another!)
70. "The Entertainer" by Marvin Hamlisch
Hamlisch was a child prodigy and began playing songs he heard on the piano at age five. At age seven, he was accepted into what now is the Julliard School Pre-College Division. His first job was as a rehearsal pianist for "Funny Girl" starring Barbra Streisand. Hamlisch is one of only 12 people to have won an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy and a Tony award, and one of only two to win all of those plus a Pulitzer Prize (the other is Richard Rodgers). Hamlisch went on to produce scores for numerous films including The Way We Were, Ordinary People and Sophie's Choice. This song was copyrighted December 29, 1902 by the famous ragtime musician Scott Joplin. But it wasn't until the all-time classic movie The Sting, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, included six songs from Joplin that he received his due. Hamlisch adapted Joplin's song into the movie and it became a huge hit. The score to the album won a Grammy and Hamlisch did as well for Best New Artist. "The Entertainer" reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, #3 on the popular chart and sold over a million copies.
69. "Teen Beat" by Sandy Nelson
Nelson attended high school with Jan Berry and Dean Torrence, who later were huge stars as Jan & Dean. Nelson was one of the best-known drummers of the 1960's and became a session musician in high demand. He played on "To Know Him Is To Love Him" by the Teddy Bears, "Alley-Oop" by the Hollywood Argyles and "A Thousand Stars" by Kathy Young and the Innocents. Nelson's style of mixing his drumming with cool guitar licks was a forerunner to the surfing hits that would follow. He was not an incredible drummer, but knew how to incorporate drum solos into rock hits. "Teen Beat" became a national sensation, reaching #4 in 1959 and selling over a million records. Nelson eventually posted 10 solo hits, including another Top 10--"Let There Be Drums".
68. "Axel F" by Harold Faltermeyer
Faltermeyer was born in Munich, Germany, the son of a homemaker and a construction businessmen. He learned how to play the piano at age six. Soon after, a music professor discovered that Harold had the gift of perfect pitch. He began playing organ in a rock combo and studied piano and trumpet a the Munich Music Academy.
In 1978, Giorgio Moroder discovered him and brought him to Los Angeles to play keyboards and arrange the Soundtrack to "Midnight Express" which Moroder was working on. In fact, Moroder narrowly missed the Top 100 with "Chase", the theme to "Midnight Express". Faltermeyer also did the same work on the Soundtrack to "American Gigolo". Moroder and Faltermeyer continued their work together producing hits and albums for Donna Summer, Barbra Streisand, Glenn Frey, Blondie, Bob Seger, Billy Idol, Cheap Trick and many others. Faltermeyer was well known for his attention to detail and development of the synthesizer sound. Faltermeyer would later score another Grammy for his work in the movie "Top Gun". "Axel F" reached #3 in March of 1985 on the popular chart and was a #1 song for two weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart. It would be the only solo release from Faltermeyer.
67. "Because They're Young" by Duane Eddy
"Because They're Young" was the title song from the movie starring James Darren and Tuesday Weld, although an orchestra plays the song in the opening credits, not Eddy. Eddy played "Shazam" while Dick Clark played a high school teacher in the film.
Eddy began playing guitar at age five and was famous for developing a technique of playing lead guitar on the guitar's bass strings to achieve a "twangy" sound. He was elected into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and in 2004, was presented with a Guitar Legend Award from Guitar Player Magazine. Among those who credit Eddy as an influence: George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Davies of the Kinks, Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits and John Entwhistle of the Who.
66. "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" by Sounds Orchestral
"Cast Your Fate to the Wind" was originally a jazz piece written and recorded by Vince Guaraldi. It won a Grammy Award for Guaraldi for Best Original Jazz Composition in 1963. It has been remade several times, but never bigger than the version by Sounds Orchestral. The group reached #1 for three weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart and #10 on the popular chart. The single sold over a million copies. Sounds Orchestral in the background with Little Richard
Sounds Orchestral was a British studio band assembled by John Schroeder and featuring Johnny Pearson, who was band leader of the television show Top of the Pops for 16 years. Sounds Orchestral went on to release 16 studio albums.
