Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 10-25-23

Released as a single in 1971, Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman” tanked. She rerecorded the song. The new version was released as a single the following year, debuting on the Hot 100 at number 99. Two weeks later it was number 97. Then it fell off the chart. Lots of television appearances and many phone calls from Reddy’s husband to radio stations across the US led to the song re-entering the Hot 100, eventually becoming the first of three US number one singles for Reddy and winning her the very first American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Vocalist.

The late Helen Reddy was born on this date in 1941. Several of her recordings are included on today’s playlist.

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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 8-27-23

The Captain & Tennille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together” was a huge hit in 1975, but not everyone agreed with its message. Ian Curtis, the leader of Joy Division and a newlywed in 1975, was one of them. His composition “Love Will Tear Us Apart” could be seen as a response to the cheerful song, expressing his disillusionment with love and life. He took his own life in 1980, a month before his song was released as a single, on its way to becoming a classic.

Daryl Dragon, better known as The Captain, a nickname given to him by The Beach Boys’ Mike Love, was born on this date in 1942. A few of his duo’s hits are included on today’s playlist.

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Throwback Thursday: 1971

I recently read a book about the music of 1971. It was pretty bad. I should have been clued off seeing that the book derived its title from the name of a Rod Stewart album that came out in…1972. The author and I agree that 1971 was a great year for music, though he focused mainly on white acts. Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, recently named the number one album of all-time in Rolling Stone, was dismissed as being overrated due to white guilt, something the author clearly doesn’t feel. I humbly suggest that the playlist below shows more of the greatness (and diversity) of 1971’s music than this book.

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