Song of the Day 9/7: The Fireballs, “Bottle of Wine”
The Fireballs, originally Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs (named for the Jerry Lee Lewis song), are most famous for their 1963 No. 1 hit "Sugar Shack," a tune that in…
Song of the Day 9/6: Average White Band, “Pick Up the Pieces”
Everyone knows they're white -- it's right there in the band name -- but I ran into a millennial the other day who didn't know they were Scottish. This video,…
Close a Volunteer Fire Company? It Would Never Happen in Delaware
A volunteer fire company in Haverford, Pa., has been shut down by township authorities after failing to take action against a member who tried to join the Proud Boys. According…
Song of the Day 9/5: Neil Young, “Like a Hurricane”
Yeah, Dorian is just a flimsy excuse to play one of my favorite Neil Young songs. It was written in 1975, recorded for "American Stars and Bars" for release in…
Biden’s Memory Is As Bad As Trump’s
Fresh off a controversy about jumbling the details of a moving story about a war hero, Uncle Joe showed a more serious lapse yesterday, telling NPR that he came out…
Song of the Day 9/4: Zedd and Aloe Blacc, “Candyman”
Gene Wilder died last weekthree years ago last week, which sent me to YouTube for his greatest film clips, which led to "Candy Man" by Sammy Davis Jr., which led…
Song of the Day 9/3: Sheer Mag, “Hardly to Blame”
It's been just about a year since I first featured this Philly band in Song of the Day, and they just released a new album, "A Distant Call," that tops…
Song of the Day 9/2: Bruce Springsteen, “Joe Hill”
I was watching the PBS series about Reconstruction recently and heard a bunch of historians lament how that part of American history is so little studied and poorly understood. That's…
Song of the Day 8/31: The Beach Boys, “All Summer Long”
The title track to the Beach Boys' 1964 LP was never released as a single in the U.S., so most people didn't hear it much until George Lucas used it…
Song of the Day 8/30: Iris DeMent, “Wasteland of the Free”
Another song for the "Nothing Has Changed" playlist. Folk/country artist Iris DeMent is probably best known for her song "Our Town" and her duets with John Prine, but back in…
Song of the Day 8/29: R.E.M., “Nightswimming”
This tune, initially recorded during sessions for the band's breakthrough "Out of Time" album, saw release on the band's 1992 "Automatic for the People" LP. Most REM songs started with…
Song of the Day 8/28: The Rembrandts, “Just the Way It Is, Baby”
The Rembrandts were just two guitarists, Danny Wilde (lead vocals) and Phil Solem (lead guitar), who hit the Top 20 with this catchy kiss-off in 1990. They are, unfortunately, remembered…