Billy Bragg was born on this date in 1957. A handful of his songs are included on today’s playlist.
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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 9-29-24
Shortly after British rock band Suede released their debut album in the US in 1993, they encountered a trademark issue. An American lounge singer named Suzanne deBronkart had been performing under the name “Suede” since the 1980s and had already trademarked the name for musical performances in the US. She sued for trademark violation.
Two years later, the British band reluctantly agreed to use the name “The London Suede” for all their US releases and performances. This compromise allowed them to maintain their original name in other parts of the world while respecting the existing trademark in the United States.
This name change applied to all their album releases, merchandise, and concert promotions in the US throughout their career.
(The London) Suede’s Brett Anderson was born on this date in 1967. A handful of the band’s tracks are included on today’s playlist.
Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 7-15-23
Norma Jean Wright, who sang lead vocals on Chic’s first smash single “Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah),” was born on this date in 1956 in Ripley, Tennessee, which is not far from the town of Nutbush, from where Tina Turner hails. Wright’s dad attended the same church as Tina. Besides her work with Chic, most notably on the aforementioned single and its follow-up, “Everybody Dance,” Wright has released solo records and sang backup on albums by Aretha Franklin, Madonna, Luther Vandross (who sings backup on “Dance, Dance, Dance”) and Sister Sledge.
Tunes du Jour celebrates the birthday of Norma Jean Wright with a playlist that includes her two biggest hits with Chic.
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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 6-26-23
Upon its initial release, The Clash’s “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” reached number 17 on the UK singles chart. Following the song’s inclusion in a Levi’s commercial, the single was reissued in 1991 and this time went to number one on the UK singles chart, knocking out Bart Simpson’s “Do The Bartman.” That in a nutshell is the UK singles chart.
The Clash’s Mick Jones turns 68 today. Showing him some love on today’s playlist.
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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (5-22-20)
Inspired by the May 22 birthdays of Morrissey, Marshall Tucker Band’s Doug Gray, Jigsaw’s Des Dyer, Johnny Gill and Icehouse’s Iva Davies.
It’s Friday And I Need To Dance!
I knew I was in trouble when the doctor walked into the examination room, looked at me, and said “Mrs. Garcia?”
Unfortunately, I was forced to change health care plans this year. By doing so, I could not longer see the doctor I’ve been going to for the past eleven years. Of those affiliated with my new insurance provider, I selected the doctor who was closest to my home.
I went to his office today because of my eyes. My eyelids are itchy and flaky, and beneath my eyes is swollen and red. I asked him how I should treat them, and he answered “I don’t know. I’m not a dermatologist.” Per the rules of the plan, I had to see him before I could go to a specialist, which seems to me to be a silly waste of time. He took a photograph of my eyes, instructing me to close my eyes for an effective photo. I didn’t go to medical school, but I could have figured out on my own that the best way to photograph my eyelids is for me to have my eyes shut. He’ll send the photos into headquarters, who will then contact me with the name of a dermatologist I can see. Until then, all I can do is scratch my eyelids until they bleed.
On the plus side, the doctor said I’m not pregnant. That calls for a dance.
Tunes du Jour’s weekly dance party kicks off with Neneh Cherry’s “Kisses on the Wind.”
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It’s Neil Tennant’s Birthday And I Need To Dance!
In 1983, a writer for the UK’s Smash Hits magazine, along with a friend he met two years earlier in a music shop, inspired by such disparate sources as a James Cagney film, a T.S. Eliot poem, and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five’s “The Message,” recorded a rap tune contrasting two parts of London and people’s need to escape the pressures of everyday life.
The song, released on Bobcat Records, got some attention in Los Angeles, Canada, Belgium, and in dance clubs in parts of Europe and North America.
In 1985 the duo rerecorded the song for their new label, EMI. This time around, “West End Girls” became a worldwide pop smash.
Today Neil Tennant turns 61 years old. Tunes du Jour kicks off its weekly dance party with the biggest British rap hit to hit the U.S. charts.
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