Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 10-21-23

“This is a song I wrote for my first album. It was the only song I ever wrote that was a Top 10 hit. It wasn’t for me, it was for a group called Manfred Mann’s Earth Band. They were a great band, but they changed the lyrics. And it pissed me off. Because I have a big ego. And I wanted to hear my words coming out of the radio. But they had a hit, so I was happy about that. But what they did was, they took out one of my lines and they put in one of their own. And their line became one of the most misunderstood lines of all time. In my version, the line went: ‘Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night.’ A deuce is a 1932 Ford Coupe, a very hot car back in the day. But they changed it to: ‘Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce, you know the runner in the night.’ Now that makes no sense. But that’s OK, because it rhymed. But then people started to mishear that line. And they misheard it as: ‘Blinded by the light, wrapped up like a douche, another rumor in the night.’ A douche is not a car. It’s a feminine hygiene product. And it doesn’t even rhyme! So I don’t know how they got that. But that’s what people heard. And that’s what they’ve been singing for 40 years.” – Bruce Springsteen

Manfred Mann was born Manfred Lubowitz on this date in 1940. A few of his hits are on today’s playlist.

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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 8-12-23

I’m generally not one for guitar solos, but Mark Knopfler’s work on this record, particularly starting at around the 4:50 mark, coupled with the main riff, sends me every time.

Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler was born on this date in 1949. Some of his band’s best work is included on today’s playlist.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/6CHpLkNnuZCozgaFTHkQGO?utm_source=generator

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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 7-17-23

The Spencer Davis Group were under pressure from their manager, Chris Blackwell, to come up with a hit single. He put them in a studio. By around 11:30 AM they had a riff. By noon the song was written and the band headed to a café down the road for lunch. Blackwell was livid when he found them eating rather than working on their new record. His anger subsided when the song, “Gimme Some Lovin,” recorded in just one or two takes, became a worldwide smash. It is now considered a rock n roll classic.

The late Spencer Davis was born on this date in 1939. A couple of the Group’s tracks are included on today’s playlist.

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A Neil Diamond Playlist

Today Tunes du Jour pays homage to Neil Diamond (b. January 24, 1941). Included in today’s playlist are hits Diamond had as a performer, songs of his that were hits for other artists, and “The Pot Smoker’s Song” and “Reggae Strut,” because I think you need to be aware of them, the latter sounding like it wasn’t written by the guy who espoused the views of the former.

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