Some Neil Sedaka songs on today’s playlist, the man’s 84th birthday.
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Nobody would deny that 1964 was among the most pivotal years in rock and roll. Nobody except Lester, a guy I worked with decades ago. He was an idiot. The Beatles and the other artists who stormed the US pop charts during the first British Invasion made an indelible impact on contemporary music and culture. Motown was ascending and producing classic singles. Girl groups were still hanging around creating pop perfection. Bob Dylan was making himself known, messing with the vocals one expected on a hit record. And Dionne Warwick was already the queen of Twitter.
Here are thirty songs that partly defined 1964. Take note, Lester.
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Inspired by the season and the December 20 birthdays of Billy Bragg, Minutemen’s Mike Watt, Kim Weston, Alan Parsons, Heatwave’s Keith Wilder, Kiss’ Peter Criss, Anita Ward and The Easybeats’ Stevie Wright.
Inspired by the October 17 birthdays of Eminem, Fugees’ Wyclef Jean, Spinal Tap’s David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Ziggy Marley, The Singing Nun, Alan Jackson, Jim Seals, Gary Puckett and Aqua’s Rene Dif.
Inspired by the October 1 birthdays of Shalamar’s Howard Hewett, Donny Hathaway, Julie Andrews, Youssou N’Dour, Peaches & Herb’s Herb Fame, Shocking Blue’s Mariska Veres, Richard Harris, Brownsville Station’s Cub Koda and The Capitols’ Samuel George.
Inspired by Black Music Month, LGBTQ Pride Month, and the June 29 birthdays of Flight of the Conchords’ Bret McKenzie, Men At Work’s Colin Hay, DJ Shadow, Little Eva, Pussycat Dolls’ Nicole Scherzinger, Emily Skinner, and Broadway composer Frank Loesser.
Inspired by Black Music Month, LGBTQ Pride Month, and the June 8 birthdays of Kanye West, Three Dog Night’s Chuck Negron, Boz Scaggs, Nancy Sinatra, Bonnie Tyler, Joan Rivers, Robert Preston, Gang of Four’s Jon King, and James Darren.
Earlier this week I mentioned that the Village People suddenly find themselves with a hit song on the Adult Contemporary chart. Because 2020 needs to be even stranger, that classic group is joined in the upper reaches of that chart by Corey Feldman. Corey Feldman. Corey Feldman’s “U R Free” is in the top 20 of Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. Corey Feldman. 2020, am I right, people?
Today’s playlist is inspired by the May 8 birthdays of Earth Wind & Fire’s Philip Bailey, Toni Tennille, Basement Jaxx’s Felix Buxton, Rick Nelson, Martha Wainwright, Katy B, Bloodstone’s Charles McCormick, Darren Hayes and Jack Blanchard.
The girl group sound was a genre of pop music that flourished on the charts between 1958 and 1966. Most records that fall into this category were made by all-female trios or quartets. However, some girl group hits were performed by solo women, and some by groups that featured a cisgender male. Per girl-groups.com, more than 750 girl groups cracked the US or UK charts between 1960 and 1966.
Tunes du Jour commemorates International Women’s Day with a playlist of forty of the best examples of the girl group sound.
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