Songs That Changed the World: The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era--"Everyday People" by Sly & the Family Stone

A song from the volatile 60's is next in our very special feature of The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era*.  It is a plea for peace and racial equality between the races and social groups.  A powerful message, especially for the times, it was presented in such a fun way that Sly & the Family Stone made it "cool" to get along.

 

"Everyday People"

 by Sly & the Family Stone

Words and Music by Sly Stone




Sometimes I'm right and I can be wrong
My own beliefs are in my song
The butcher, the banker, the drummer and then--
Makes no difference what group I'm in
I am everyday people, yeah yeah



There is a blue one who can't accept the green one
For living with a fat one trying to be a skinny one
Different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo-bee

Oh sha sha - we got to live together


I am no better and neither are you
We are the same whatever we do
You love me you hate me you know me and then
You can't figure out the bag l'm in



I am everyday people, yeah yeah
There is a long hair that doesn't like the short hair
For bein' such a rich one that will not help the poor one
Different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo-bee

Oh sha sha-we got to live together


There is a yellow one that won't accept the black one
That won't accept the red one that won't accept the white one
Different strokes for different folks

And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo-bee
I am everyday people.

This Date in Rock Music History: September 24

1955:  Elvis Presley performed on The Louisiana Hayride at the Shreveport Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, broadcast on KWKH-TV.  

1955:  Chuck Berry was on top of the R&B chart for the eighth straight week with "Maybellene".

1957:  An historic day in the Rock Era as Elvis Presley released the single "Jailhouse Rock" on RCA Victor Records.

1957:  Disc jockey Alan Freed's fourth movie, Mister Rock and Roll, featuring footage of Chuck Berry, Clyde McPhatter, Frankie Lymon and Little Richard, debuted at the Paramount Theatre in New York City.
1958:  The Platters recorded the song "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" in Paris, France.

1958:  The Kingston Trio released the single "Tom Dooley".
1958:  Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen were guests on the premiere of The Donna Reed Show on ABC-TV.
1966:  Jimi Hendrix and new manager Chas Chandler, formerly of the Animals, arrived in London.  On the flight across the pond, Hendrix changed his first name from Jimmy to Jimi.
1966:  The Temptations took over the R&B chart with "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep".

1966:  Roger Williams topped the Easy Listening chart for the sixth week with "Born Free".

  Los Angeles band the Association gave us one of The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era*...

1966:  The Association reached #1 for the first time with the song "Cherish".  The Supremes fell back with "You Can't Hurry Love", Donovan had song #3 with "Sunshine Superman" and the Beatles were submersing with "Yellow Submarine".  The rest of the Top 10:  The Hollies and "Bus Stop", the Temptations entered the Top 10 with "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep", Los Bravos made an 18-7 move with "Black Is Black", ? & the Mysterians were up from 25 to 8 with "96 Tears", the Beach Boys with "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and the Four Tops were up from 26-10 with "Reach Out (I'll Be There)".
1966:  Revolver by the Beatles was the #1 album for the third straight week.  Going Places by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass crept back in the Top 10 after 49 weeks of release.
1967:  The Beatles concluded filming of Magical Mystery Tour at West Malling Air Station in Maidstone, Kent with the ballroom finale of "Your Mother Should Know.

1968:  The Vogues were awarded a Gold record for the song "Turn Around, Look At Me".
1969:  Deep Purple performed "Concerto for Group and Orchestra" with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall in London.








1970:  Smoky Robinson & the Miracles released their great song "The Tears Of A Clown".
1971:  Yes began a tour at the Exmouth Pavilion in Devon, England with new keyboardist Rick Wakeman aboard.  (Note:  several websites show the beginning of the tour in Leicester on September 30, but the tour began on September 24 in Devon, according to numerous sources.)
1971:  John Lennon was a guest on The Dick Cavett Show.
1971:  The Jackson 5 appeared on the cover of Life magazine.
1973:  ABBA began recording the Waterloo album.

1973:  Chicago released the single "Just You 'N Me".











1973:  Ringo Starr released the single "Photograph".
1975:  Rod Stewart had the #1 U.K. song with "Sailing".
1977:  The first Elvis Presley convention was held in Memphis, Tennessee.
1977:  The #1 Easy Listening song was "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon for the third week.








                                    Newcomer Foreigner was anything but cold...

1977:  The Emotions returned to #1, making it five weeks for "Best Of My Love".  The Floaters had to settle for #2 with "Float On" while another hit from Rumours--"Don't Stop" kept Fleetwood Mac in the limelight.  K.C. and the Sunshine Band were up with "Keep It Comin' Love" and the Brothers Johnson were at 5 with "Strawberry Letter 23".  The rest of the Top 10:  Andy Gibb's previous #1 "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" tumbled, ELO moved up with "Telephone Line", Meco's instrumental "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" moved from 13-8, Shaun Cassidy had a hit with the Eric Carmen song "That's Rock 'N' Roll" and Foreigner cracked the list with "Cold As Ice".

1977:  Rumours by Fleetwood Mac was #1 for a record 20th week.  It wasn't done yet.
1979:  The Eagles released the landmark album The Long Run.
1980:  As mixing of the upcoming Double Fantasy album was being wrapped up at Record Plant East in New York City, John Lennon gave one of his last interviews to Lisa Robinson of 97-FM in Buffalo, New York.
1983:  UB40 picked up the #1 album in the U.K. with Labour of Love.

      
                         The Eurythmics with one of their biggest career hits...

1983:  Billy Joel earned his second #1 song with "Tell Her About It", holding off Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse Of The Heart".  Men Without Hats were a solid 3 with "The Safety Dance" while the former #1 "Maniac" from Michael Sembello found itself now at #4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Air Supply enjoyed their eighth Top 10 song out of 10 releases with "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All", the Eurythmics fell with the former #1 "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)", Michael Jackson's "Human Nature", Taco stabilized at #8 with "Puttin' On The Ritz", the Stray Cats entered the Top 10 with "(She's) Sexy + 17" and Asia was at 10 with "Don't Cry".






1983:  "Tell Her About It" was the new Adult Contemporary #1 song for Billy Joel.
1983:  Synchronicity continued to battle Michael Jackson's Thriller as the Police owned the #1 album for the 11th week.  The Soundtrack to "Flashdance" was third followed by Def Leppard's Pyromania and An Innocent Man from Billy Joel.







1984:  Hall & Oates released the single "Out Of Touch".  (Note:  one website naively says the song was released October 4.  "Out Of Touch" debuted on the Singles chart on September 29.  It is physically impossible for a song to be included on the Singles chart if it has not yet been released as a single.)
1984:  Culture Club reached #1 in the U.K. with "Karma Chameleon".
1988:  James Brown was arrested in Georgia after eluding police in a two-state car chase.  He was later convicted of illegal possession of firearms and drugs and failure to stop for police and sentenced to six years in jail.  
1988:  The Hollies owned the #1 song in the U.K. with "He Ain't Heavy...He's My Brother", which had picked up new popularity after being featured in a beer commercial.






1988:  Bobby McFerrin took over at #1 with his positive song "Don't Worry Be Happy".  Guns N' Roses slipped to 2 with "Sweet Child O' Mine" and Taylor Dayne edged up with "I'll Always Love You".  Robert Palmer fell after a long run with "Simply Irresistible" and Leppard had their third Top 10 song from Hysteria--"Love Bites".  The rest of the Top 10:  Huey Lewis & the News with "Perfect World", Peter Cetera from Sun Valley, Idaho with "One Good Woman", the New Edition dropped with "If It Isn't Love", Kenny Loggins had the #9 song--"Nobody's Fool" and Cheap Trick joined the party with their remake of the Elvis Presley classic "Don't Be Cruel".
1988:  Peter Cetera owned the top Adult song with "One Good Woman", #1 for the fourth straight week.
1988:  Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses returned to #1 on the Album chart, displacing the great album Hysteria by Def Leppard, which was spending its 58th week on the chart.
1989:  Prince performed on the 15-year anniversary of Saturday Night Live on NBC-TV.
1991:  Nirvana released the album Nevermind.
1994:  Boyz II Men presided over the R&B chart for the sixth week with "I'll Make Love To You".

1994:  II by Boyz II Men remained at #1 on the Album chart, ahead of Soundtracks to "The Lion King" and "Forrest Gump".  Green Day was up to 4 with Dookie while Stone Temple Pilots held down #5 with Purple.  The rest of the Top 10:  Offspring with Smash, The 3 Tenors In Concert 1994 from Carreras, Domingo and Pavarotti, the self-titled debut from Candlebox, Counting Crows and August and Everything After at #9 with Sweden's Ace of Base wrapping up the list with The Sign.
1994:  Boyz II Men remained at #1 for the fifth straight week with "I'll Make Love To You" while Lisa Loeb held on to #2 for the fifth week after dropping from the top spot with "Stay (I Missed You)".
1997:  Larry Hall ("Sandy" from 1959) died of cancer at the age of 57.
2000:  Madonna was on top of the U.K. Album chart with Music.



2003:  The Dave Matthews Band performed in front of 100,000 at a charity concert in New York City's Central Park.  The concert was recorded and later released as a live album.

2003:  Gordon Lightfoot was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.



Born This Day:
1933:  Mel Taylor, drummer of the Ventures, was born in Brooklyn, New York; died of lung cancer on August 11, 1996 in Tarzana, California.  
1936:  Jim Henson, creator and voice of the Muppets on "Rubber Duckie" and "Rainbow Connection", was born in Greenville, Mississippi; died of Group A steptococcus on May 16, 1990 in Manhattan, New York.
1940:  Barbara Allbut of the Angels was born in Orange, New Jersey.

1941:  Linda McCartney of Wings was born in New York City, New York; died when breast cancer spread to her liver April 17, 1998 in Tucson, Arizona.  (Note:  a spokesman from the McCartney family initially released a statement saying she had died in Santa Barbara, California to throw off the media so the family could grieve privately.  Some websites still report that she died in Santa Barbara--apparently they are still thrown off...)








1942:  Gerry Marsden of Gerry & the Pacemakers was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England.  (Note:  Some websites report Marsden was born in Toxteth, England.  Toxteth is not a city but an inner city era of Liverpool.)
1942:  Phyllis "Jiggs" Allbut of the Angels was born in Orange, New Jersey.
1944:  Rosa Lee Hawkins of the Dixie Cups was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1946:  Carson Osten, bassist with Todd Rundgren in Nazz and Utopia, and also a creator of comics including Mickey Mouse and Goofy for Disney Studios, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died December 22, 2015 in Thousand Oaks, California.
1946:  Jerry Donahue, guitarist of Fairport Convention and Fotheringay, was born in Manhattan, New York.
1971:  Marty Cintron III, who has sold over eight million albums with No Mercy, was born in the Bronx, New York.
1971:  Peter Salisbury, drummer of the Verve, was born in Bath, Somerset, England.

Songs That Changed the World--The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era: "You Found Me" by the Fray

Everyone has to come to terms with their own identity and the meaning of life in their own way.  Today's featured song on The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era* is "You Found Me" from the Fray.

"You Found Me"

by the Fray

Written by Isaac Slade and Joe King




I found God
On the corner of First and Amistad
Where the west
Was all but won
All alone
Smoking his last cigarette
I said, "Where you been?"
He said, "Ask anything".

[Verse 2]
Where were you
When everything was falling apart?
All my days
Were spent by the telephone
That never rang
And all I needed was a call
That never came
To the corner of First and Amistad

[Chorus 1]
Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lyin' on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait?
Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late
You found me, you found me

[Verse 3]
In the end
Everyone ends up alone
Losing her
The only one who's ever known
Who I am
Who I'm not, who I wanna be
No way to know
How long she will be next to me

[Chorus 2]
Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lyin' on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait?
Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late
You found me, you found me

[Bridge]
Early morning
The city breaks
I've been callin'
For years and years and years and years
And you never left me no messages
Ya never send me no letters
You got some kinda nerve
Taking all I want

[Chorus 3 and outro]
Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lyin' on the floor
Where were you? Where were you?
Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lyin' on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait?
Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late
You found me, you found me
Why'd you have to wait?
To find me, to find me

This Date in Rock Music History: September 23

1956:  Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees first appeared on television on Circus Boy on NBC-TV.

     
        16-year-old Canadian crooner with one of the early classics of the Rock Era...

1957:  "Diana" by Paul Anka took over at #1 on the R&B chart.
1960:  All four members who would become the Beatles backed Lu "Wally" Walters, bassist of Rory Storm & the Hurricanes to record the song "Summertime" in Hamburg, Germany.  John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison were already members of the Beatles while drummer Ringo Starr was a member of the Hurricanes.  Stuart Sutcliffe was with the group at the time but did not play on the recordings, nor did drummer Pete Best, who was not present in the studio.  (Note:  some websites falsely say members of the Beatles also recorded "Fever" and "September Song" on this date.  In reality, the members of the Hurricanes (including Starr), recorded the latter two songs, according to the website 'BeatlesBible'.)
1961:  Another famous date here as on September 23,1961, Stevie Wonder auditioned for Motown Records.
1961:  The Shadows' self-titled debut album was #1 on the U.K. Album chart.
1965:  The Walker Brothers owned the #1 U.K. song--"Make It Easy On Yourself".
1967:  The Mothers of Invention made their debut in the U.K. at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

                            The Box Tops reached the top with "The Letter"...

1967:  An example of what made 1967 one of the best years in the Rock Era--the progression of #1's from "Respect", "Groovin'", "Windy", "Light My Fire", "All You Need Is Love", "Ode To Billie Joe" and on this date, the Box Tops took over the coveted position with "The Letter".  That's heavy duty competition, something you always want to evaluate when looking at music.  All are members of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.  The Association had another clear winner as "Never My Love" jumped from 15-5 to enter the Top 10.
1967:  The album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles had been out 14 weeks with 13 of those at #1.  Even the Doors' solid debut could not topple it.  Flowers from the Rolling Stones was #3.







1968:  Steppenwolf released the single "Magic Carpet Ride".
1970:  Mick Jagger met Bianca Rose Perez Moreno de Macias after a Rolling Stones concert at the Paris Olympia.  The two would later marry.
1972:  Helen Reddy was beginning to roar as "I Am Woman" moved from 87 to 65.


1972:  Country star Mac Davis crossed over to #1 with "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me".  Three Dog Night slipped with "Black & White" while Chicago was up to 3 with "Saturday In The Park".  The O'Jays had song #4--"Back Stabbers" while the classic "Alone Again (Naturally)" from Gilbert O'Sullivan was still at #5.  The rest of a solid Top 10:  "Ben", the first big solo hit for Michael Jackson, moved from 13-6 on this date, Main Ingredient was up strongly (16-7) with "Everybody Plays The Fool", Elton John edged up with "Honky Cat", the Raspberries entered the list with "Go All The Way" and Gary Glitter tumbled with "Rock and Roll Part 2".








1974:  John Lennon released the single "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" in the United States on Apple Records.  It would be released in the U.K. on October 4.
1974:  Robbie McIntosh, drummer of the Average White Band, died of drugs in Los Angeles at the age of 24.
1977:  Steely Dan released the best album of their career--Aja.
1978:  Sonny Bono made an appearance on the popular ABC-TV show Fantasy Island.
1978:  Chris Rea remained at #1 on the Easy Listening chart for a third week with "Fool (If You Think It's Over)".







1978:  Earth, Wind & Fire rose to #1 on the R&B chart with their remake of the Beatles' hit "Got To Get You Into My Life".
1978:  Donna Summer was on the move with her remake of the Richard Harris song  "MacArthur Park", up from 75 to 50.








    
                                   Nick Gilder gave us this great song from 1978...

1978:  "Boogie Oogie Oogie" by A Taste of Honey amazingly held on to #1 for a third week, but only for the moment.  On its heels was "Kiss You All Over" by Exile while Olivia Newton-John scored her 18th career hit with "Hopelessly Devoted To You".  Behind that trio, the Commodores' former #1 "Three Times A Lady", Andy Gibb's "An Everlasting Love" and yet another hit from Grease--"Summer Nights" from John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John.  The rest of the Top 10:  Boston's new release "Don't Look Back", "Hot Blooded" from Foreigner, Canada's Nick Gilder entered the Top 10 with "Hot Child In The City" and the Little River Band were up from 15-10 with "Reminiscing".
1978:  Grease returned to #1 on the Album chart after a one-week occupancy by Boston's Don't Look Back.    That gave one of the last great musicals its eighth week at the top.  Foreigner's Double Vision was third followed by Some Girls from the Rolling Stones.
1980:  With immeasurable help from Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, Barbra Streisand released her great album Guilty on Columbia Records.

1980:  David Bowie replaced Phillip Anglim in the title role for the play "The Elephant Man" at the Booth Theatre in New York City.  (Note:  some websites erroneously put Bowie's debut on Broadway as November 15, 1990.  It was not in 1990, nor was it on November 15, according to the book 'Philosophizing Rock Performance:  Dylan, Hendrix, Bowie' by Wade Hollingshaus. 
1982:  Brenda Lee was inducted into the Georgia Hall of Fame.





1986:  Billy Idol released the single "To Be A Lover".
1986:  James Brown, Freddie Jackson and Melba Moore headed an anti-crack rally at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
1989:  The Eurythmics owned the #1 U.K. album with We Two Are One.








                         Cher was back in a big way with this Diane Warren song...

1989:  The public chose "Girl I'm Gonna' Miss You" by Milli Vanilli to be #1 which speaks volumes as to the quality out at the time, as well as the listening public at that time.  Warrant held down #2 with "Heaven" while Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time" was at #3.  Skid Row came in next with "18 And Life" while Madonna's "Cherish" was moving up.  The rest of the Top 10:  Gloria Estefan registered her 10th hit ("Don't Wanna' Lose You"), with seven of those going Top 10, Surface slipped up with "Shower Me With Your Love", Janet Jackson was up from 15-8 with "Miss You Much", New Kids on the Block were down with "Hangin' Tough" and Paula Abdul's "Cold Hearted" closed out the list.
1989:  A better representation of what was really popular was the Adult Contemporary chart as the Bee Gees remained at #1 with "One".
1995:  Michael Jackson made it four weeks atop the R&B chart with "You Are Not Alone".



                          Sophie B. Hawkins made it into a loaded Top 10...

1995:  The great song "Gangsta's Paradise" from Coolio prevailed for a third week at #1.  Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone" hung tight at 2 followed by classic #1's "Kiss From A Rose" and "Waterfalls".  The rest of the Top 10:  Janet Jackson with "Runaway", All-4-One edged up with "I Can Love You Like That", Shaggy teamed up with Rayvon on the double-sided "Boombastic"/"Summer Time", Luniz was at 8 with "I Got 5 On It", Hootie & the Blowfish with "Only Wanna' Be With You" and Sophie B. Hawkins cracked the Top 10 with "As I Lay Be Down".










1997:  Elton John released the single that was his tribute to Princess Diana--"Candle In The Wind 1997" in the United States.
1997:  MCA Records re-released the debut album Show Your Hand by the Average White Band to commemorate the group's 25th anniversary.
1997:  Elektra Records released the album The Next Voice You Hear:  The Best of Jackson Browne.
1997:  The Rolling Stones began their first American tour in three years with a concert at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois.

1999:  Bono of U2 met the Pope John Paul II in Castelgandolfo, Italy to discuss his initiative for ending Third World debt.  (Note:  some websites claim the meeting took place on September 22 at the Vatican.  It was September 23 in Castelgandolfo, according to 'CNN', MTV and the newspaper 'The Guardian'.)
1999:  While Bono was at that historic meeting with the Pope, Shirley Manson of Garbage unveiled her line of lip gloss.
2001:  Kylie Minogue reached #1 in the U.K. with "Can't Get You Out of My Head".
2001:  Jay-Z had the #1 album with The Blueprint.






2002 Sting won an Oscar for Best Musical Performance for Sting In Tuscany...All This Time.
2003:  Outkast released the two-album set of solo releases Speakerboxxx/The Love Below on LaFace Records.
2003:  Dave Matthews released a solo album, Some Devil on RCA Records.
2006:  The #1 album was B'Day by Beyonce.
2007:  James Blunt went to #1 on the U.K. Album chart with All the Lost Souls.

2010:  The Ray Charles Memorial Library opened in Los Angeles.
2011:  Clarence Johnson of the Chi-Lites, who left the group in 1964 before they became popular to become a producer (he worked with Deniece Williams among others), died in Olympia Fields, Illinois.  (Note:  several websites incorrectly state Johnson died in Chicago, Illinois.  He died in St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields, a village in Cook County.)




Born This Day:

1930:  Soul superstar Ray Charles was born in Albany, Georgia; died June 10, 2004 in Beverly Hills, California of alcoholic liver disease and hepatitis C.
1939:  Guitar ace Roy Buchanan was born in Ozark, Alabama; died August 14, 1988 by hanging himself while in police custody.






1943:  Julio Iglesias was born in Madrid, Spain.
1943:  Steve Boone, bass guitarist of Lovin' Spoonful, was born in Camp Lejeune U.S. Marine Corps base in North Carolina. 
1943:  Wallace Scott of the Whispers, twin brother of Water, was born in Fort Worth, Texas.
1943:  Walter Scott of the Whispers was born in Fort Worth, Texas.  
1943:  John Banks, founding member and drummer of the Merseybeats, was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England; died April 20, 1988 of throat cancer in Tel Aviv, Israel.
1945:  Paul Petersen, actor who had several hits including the Top 10 "My Dad" in 1962, was born in Glendale, California.
1947:  Jerry Corbetta, founder, keyboardist and lead singer of Sugarloaf ("Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" and "Green-Eyed Lady") was born in Denver, Colorado; died September 16, 2016 of Picks disease in Denver.
1947:  Neal Smith, drummer with Alice Cooper, was born in Akron, Ohio.

1949:  Bruce Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey.  (Note:  some sites report his birthplace as Freehold, New Jersey.  Springsteen was born in a hospital in Long Branch according to the book 'The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen' by Rob Kirkpatrick; he grew up in Freehold.)










1959:  Martin Page, who has written many songs such as "We Built This City" for Starship and "These Dreams" for Heart as well as his own "In The House Of Stone And Light", was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England.











1970:  Ani DiFranco was born in Buffalo, New York.
1972:  Jermaine Dupri, rapper, songwriter and producer, was born in Asheville, North Carolina.  (Note:  some sources report his birthplace as Atlanta, Georgia.  'The Encyclopedia of African American Popular Culture' lists it as Asheville, and the ebook 'Media Now, 2010 Update: Understanding Media, Culture, and Technology', reports his birthplace as Asheville, and that he moved to Atlanta, where he graduated from high school.)
1979:  Erik-Michael Estrada of O-Town was born in Bronxville, New York.  (Note:  several websites naively say Estrada was born in the Bronx, New York.  That is a different place than Bronxville (15 miles north of Manhattan), the place where Estrada was born.)
1985:  Diana Ortiz of Dream was born in San Fernando Valley, California.

Songs That Changed the World--The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era: The Next Ten

There's still much more to come in our very special feature saluting Songs That Changed the World--The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era.  Earlier in the month, we included the first 12 together.  Here are the next Ten (Click on the song title to go to that specific page):




"Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen


"Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2


"Where Have All the Flowers Gone" by Johnny Rivers


"Sing" by the Carpenters


"If Today Was Your Last Day" by Nickelback


"Everything I Own" by Bread


"The Fear" by Lily Allen


"Put Your Hand in the Hand" by Ocean


"The Message" by Grandmaster Flash


"Just a Girl" by No Doubt

Songs That Changed the World--The Most Important Songs of the Rock Era: "Just a Girl" by No Doubt

In this song, No Doubt blasts the traditional gender roles that show condescension towards women and constitute a glass ceiling for females.  This is "Just a Girl".

"Just a Girl"

by No Doubt

Words by Gwen Stefani, Music by Tom Dumont




Take this pink ribbon off my eyes
I'm exposed
And it's no big surprise
Don't you think I know
Exactly where I stand
This world is forcing me
To hold your hand
'Cause I'm just a girl, little 'ol me
Don't let me out of your sight
I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite
So don't let me have any rights

Oh...I've had it up to here!
The moment that I step outside
So many reasons
For me to run and hide
I can't do the little things I hold so dear
'Cause it's all those little things
That I fear

'Cause I'm just a girl I'd rather not be
'Cause they won't let me drive
Late at night I'm just a girl,
Guess I'm some kind of freak
'Cause they all sit and stare
With their eyes

I'm just a girl,
Take a good look at me
Just your typical prototype

Oh...I've had it up to here!
Oh...am I making myself clear?
I'm just a girl
I'm just a girl in the world...
That's all that you'll let me be!
I'm just a girl, living in captivity
Your rule of thumb
Makes me worry some

I'm just a girl, what's my destiny?
What I've succumbed to Is making me numb
I'm just a girl, my apologies
What I've become is so burdensome
I'm just a girl, lucky me
Twiddle-dum there's no comparison

Oh...I've had it up to!
Oh...I've had it up to!!
Oh...I've had it up to here!

This Date in Rock Music History: September 22

1956:  We were first introduced to a great new act as the first single by the Coasters--"One Kiss Led To Another" debuted on this date.
1957:  Bobby Helms made his television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, singing "My Special Angel".

1958:  With permission from the United States Army, Elvis Presley gave one last press conference at the Military Ocean Terminal in Brooklyn, New York before joining his 3rd Armored Division on the USS General Randall on the way to Bremerhaven, Germany.  (Note:  some websites report Elvis left Brooklyn on September 19.  He left his base at Fort Hood, Texas on September 19, but departed for Germany from Brooklyn on September 22, according to the official Graceland website.)

1958:  Connie Francis had the top U.K. song with "Carolina Moon, Stupid Cupid".

1958:  Tommy Edwards had one of the great early songs of the Rock Era with "It's All In The Game", which on this date reached #1 on the R&B chart.
1960:  The Beatles performed for the 37th consecutive night of a 48-night stay at the Indra Club, on Grosse Freiheit in Hamburg, West Germany.
1962:  Bob Dylan first appeared at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan, New York.

1962:  "Green Onions" by Booker T. and the MG's returned to #1 on the R&B chart.
1964:  Fiddler on the Roof opened at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway in Manhattan, New York, the first of 3,242 performances.  The classic musical became the first play in history to record 3,000 performances on Broadway.
1964:  Herman's Hermits reached #1 in the U.K. with a song written by Carole King of Sun Valley, Idaho with her husband Gerry Goffin--"I'm Into Something Good".
1965:  The Supremes began recording the song "I Hear A Symphony" at Motown Records' Hitsville U.S.A. Studios in Detroit, Michigan.  The song was finished September 30.







1967:  The Beatles were featured on the cover of Time Magazine.
1969:  Diana Ross was a guest on the popular television show Laugh In on NBC.
1969:  Three Dog Night, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, James Brown, Tom Jones, Janis Joplin, and Oliver  performed on the debut of the new weekly television show The Music Scene, which debuted on ABC.  A promotional film of "Ballad Of John And Yoko"/"Give Peace A Chance" by the Beatles was also shown.  (Note:  most websites show that Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, and Cass Elliot performed that night, but Archival Television Audio, which is accredited by The Guinness Book of World Records,  indicates the performers are as shown above.)
1972:  David Bowie began his first tour of the United States.
1973:  The Rolling Stones topped the Album chart in the U.K. with Goat's Head Soup.
1973:  Soul group Tavares made its debut on the chart with their first single "Check It Out".
1973:  Brothers and Sisters by the Allman Brothers Band was the top album for a third week.
1973:  Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" took over at the top of the R&B chart.

 1973:  The great song "My Maria" from B.W. Stevenson took over at #1 on the Easy Listening chart.













                                               Stevie was at his creative peak...

1973:  Marvin Gaye took over at #1 with "Let's Get It On".  Grand Funk was up nicely to #2 with "We're An American Band" and the former #1 "Delta Dawn" from Helen Reddy dropped to 3.  Paul Simon had the #4 song--"Loves Me Like A Rock".  The rest of the Top 10:  Tony Orlando & Dawn with "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose", the Stories were still at 6 with their former #1 "Brother Louie", Cher moved from 11-7 with "Half Breed", Stevie Wonder had his 32nd hit and 15th Top 10 with "Higher Ground" and the Isley Brothers catapulted into the Top 10 with "That Lady".
1974:  The Sonny Bono Comedy Revue Show debuted on ABC-TV.  It struggled to find an audience.









1975:  The Silver Convention released the single "Fly, Robin Fly".














1975:  The Bee Gees released one of their great hits--"Nights On Broadway".
1978:  Leif Garrett dabbled in acting when he starred in dual roles on the ABC-TV show Wonder Woman.
1979:  Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and Chaka Khan performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City fourth night of the five-night No Nukes concerts. 
1979:  Gary Numan owned the #1 U.K. song--"Cars".
1979:  "Rise" by Herb Alpert was the #1 Adult Contemporary song.

        Led Zeppelin was still #1 with one of The Top 100 Albums of the Rock Era*...


1979:  Led Zeppelin remained the owners of the #1 album with In Through the Out Door.  The former #1 Get the Knack from the Knack was still at 2 while Bob Dylan moved from 14-3 with one of his best career albums, Slow Train Coming.  Supertramp was still at 4 with Breakfast in America.  The rest of the Top 10:  Chic & Risque, Michael Jackson's Off the Wall at #6, the Commodores brought Midnight Magic, Earth, Wind & Fire had #8--I Am, the Cars rolled down with Candy-O and Robin Williams was at #10 with Reality...What a Concept.
1979:  Kenny Rogers had a hot song with "You Decorated My Life", which moved from 60 to 37.




 
           They don't get much better than "The Devil Went Down To Georgia"...

1979:  The Knack had one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era* as "My Sharona" spent a fifth week at #1.  Earth, Wind & Fire remained at #2 with "After The Love Has Gone".  The Charlie Daniels Band by this time had reached #1 in a few cities with "The Devil Went Down To Georgia", which Billboard placed at #3.  Herb Alpert's big comeback song "Rise" moved from 12-4 and Maxine Nightingale had Song #5--"Lead Me On".  The rest of the Top 10:  Robert John's first hit since his remake of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"--"Sad Eyes", the Little River Band was at 7 with "Lonesome Loser", Dionne Warwick remained at 8 with "I'll Never Love This Way Again", the Commodores were back with "Sail On" and ELO dropped with "Don't Bring Me Down".

1980:  John Lennon was one of the first to sign a recording contract with Geffen Records on this date and less than two months later, released the final album of his career on that label.

1980:  Hall & Oates released their remake of the classic Righteous Brothers hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling".  It was actually pretty good as remakes of classics go.  (Note:  one naive website claims the single was released September 25.  The song debuted on the Singles chart on September 27.  As all those who work in the industry know, the deadline for reporting new additions to radio station playlists is the Wednesday preceding the Saturday publication of trade papers.  In 1980, Wednesday of that week fell on September 24, making a release date of September 25 impossible.)
1981:  Songwriter Harry Warren, who wrote over 800 songs including "I Only Have Eyes For You" for the Flamingos, "That's Amore'" for Dean Martin and "Chattanooga Choo Choo", which the Glenn Miller Band turned into a classic, died at the age of 87 in Los Angeles.
1983:  The Everly Brothers, who barely communicated for 10 years, reunited for the first of two historic shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
1984:  Billy Ocean ruled the R&B chart for the fourth week with "Caribbean Queen".




1984:  Former Babys lead singer John Waite hit #1 with his solo hit "Missing You".

1984:  Survivor had one of the fastest-rising songs as the great track "I Can't Hold Back" moved from 85 to 64.










                 The Pointer Sisters had the biggest album of their career...


1984:  Prince made it eight weeks at #1 on the Album chart with Purple Rain, holding off Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. again.  Huey Lewis & the News were still at #3 after 51 weeks with Sports.  Tina Turner remained at 4 with Private Dancer and the Cars' great album Heartbeat City was at #5.  That is as fine a Top Five as you'll ever see.  The rest of the Top 10:  Julio Iglesias with 1100 Bel Air Place, Lionel Richie and Can't Slow Down at #7, Ratt's Out of the Cellar, the Soundtrack to "Ghostbusters" at #9 and the Pointer Sisters entered the list with Break Out.

1985:  Boston released the single "Amanda".











1985:  The first Farm Aid concert was at Memorial Stadium on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign, Illinois,  The concert featured John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Neil Young and Willie Nelson and raised $10 million for farmers in the United States.  It was such a success that Farm Aid became an annual event.

1989:  Irving Berlin, one of the greatest songwriters in American history, whose "White Christmas" is one of the top-selling singles of all-time, died in his sleep at the age of 101 in New York City.  Berlin wrote an estimated 1,500 songs, including the scores of 19 Broadway shows and 18 motion pictures.  Among the other great Berlin songs:  "God Bless America", "Always", "There's No Business Like Show Business", "Puttin' On The Ritz" and "Count Your Blessings (Instead Of Sheep)".  Berlin's songs were recorded by Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Linda Ronstadt, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Cher, Dean Martin, Doris Day, Eddie Fisher, Fred Astaire, Ethel Merman, Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong and Al Jolson, just to name a few.
1990:  Nirvana performed at the Motor Sports International Garage in Seattle, Washington.






Phil Collins employed the great horns of Earth, Wind & Fire for this great song...

1990:  Wilson Phillips remained at the top with "Release Me".  Jon Bon Jovi's solo hit "Blaze Of Glory" would have to settle for #2.  Two new entries in the Top 10--Phil Collins with "Something Happened On The Way To Heaven" at #7 and George Michael moved from 18-8 with "Praying For Time".
1991:  Bryan Adams set a U.K. record when "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" remained at #1 for a 12th week.
1995:  Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting System announced a $7.5 million merger.

2000:  The Red Hot Chili Peppers closed out a successful tour at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington.
2000:  Liam Gallagher of Oasis and his wife were divorced in London.
2000:  In today's segment of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music, Stanley Howse of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony was sentenced to 12 years at Pleasant Valley State Prison for pulling an AK-47 on two men.



2003:  Jon Bon Jovi and bandmate Richie Sambora became co-owners of the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League.
2004:  Nelly owned the top two spots on the Album chart with Suit and Sweat.
2004:  In today's episode of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music, the bodyguard for Lil' Kim was sentenced to 12 years in prison after firing 20 times in a shoot-out with a rival gang in 2001.  (Note:  many websites falsely report the sentencing taking place on September 23.  According to 'MTV', 'USA Today' and 'United Press International', the bodyguard was sentenced on Wednesday, September 22.)
2005:  Jimmy Page was made an honorary citizen of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for his work with Casa Jimmy (Jimmy's House).  Page opened the house in 1998 which had supported 300 street children.

2006:  The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson--"Chantilly Lace") was posthumously saluted with a Texas State Historical Marker in his honor placed at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in his hometown of Beaumont, Texas.
2010:  Eddie Fisher ("Heart" from 1955) died at age 82 of complications from hip surgery in Berkeley, California.






2012:  Howard Scott, sound engineer and producer who helped introduce the long-playing vinyl record in 1948 and was a producer with Columbia, Sony and MGM, died of cancer in Reading, Pennsylvania at age 92.

Born This Day:
1930:  Joni James ("How Important Can It Be?") was born in Chicago, Illinois.

1943:  Toni Basil ("Mickey") was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1951:  David Coverdale, singer/songwriter of Deep Purple and Whitesnake, was born in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Riding of Yorkshire, England.
1953:  Richard Fairbrass of Right Said Fred ("I'm Too Sexy" from 1991) was born in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England.  (Note:  some websites report Fairbrass was born in East Grinstead, Sussex, England.  He was born in Kingston-Upon-Thames and later grew up in East Grinstead.)  

1956:  Debby Boone was born in Hackensack, New Jersey.
1957:  Johnette Napolitano, singer, songwriter and bassist of Concrete Blonde, was born in Hollywood, California.








1960:  Joan Jett of the Runaways and leader of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts was born in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.  (Note:  some websites falsely say she was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  She was born in Wynnewood, a suburb of Philadelphia, according to her Pinterest page.)
1975:  Michael Lawrence Tyler, who adopted the stage name of Mystikal ("Stutter" from 2001) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.