Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 4/16: George Harrison, “Got My Mind Set on You”
When the Beatles landed in New York in February 1964, it was the first time in the United States for three of them, but not George Harrison. While his bandmates vacationed in Europe in September 1963, 21-year-old George visited his older sister, Louise, at her home in Benton, Ill., where her Canadian husband worked as […]
Song of the Day 4/15: The Robert Cray Band, “1040 Blues”
Here’s a song you’ll never hear the likes of Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk singing. They don’t hate taxes — because they don’t have to pay any! This was the first single off Cray’s 1993 LP, “Shame + a Sin.” It didn’t chart, even in the UK, where Cray’s albums consistently score higher than they […]
Song of the Day 4/14: The Gaslight Anthem, “45”
I knew guitar rock was over back in 2012, when this single didn’t break this band out of obscurity. The Gaslight Anthem had been on a steady climb since their formation in 2006. Their sophomore album, 2008’s “The ’59 Sound,” made year-end lists and got them noticed. Springsteen comparisons were inevitable given the band’s New […]
Song of the Day 4/13: Julian Lennon, “Imagine”
Julian Lennon, now 59 years old, never sang this song for the public until last week, when he released this video, along with this statement. He’s accompanied by Nuno Bettencourt, best known as lead guitarist for Extreme. The War on Ukraine is an unimaginable tragedy… As a human, and as an artist, I felt compelled […]
Song of the Day 4/12: Stan Freberg, “C’est Si Bon”
Today was beautiful in Paris, sunny and 22°, so nobody seems worried about Marine Le Pen. As the song says, “It’s so good!” My friend Geo. Stewart featured this version of an Yves Montand standard on a recent episode of Crazy College, his show dedicated to odd, silly and forgotten music that airs Sundays at […]
Song of the Day 4/10: Holly and the Italians, “Tell That Girl to Shut Up”
This song goes through my head every time I see another Marjorie Taylor Greene/Lauren Boebert clickbait headline. In an alternate universe, Holly Beth Vincent had a career like Chrissie Hynde’s. Like the Ohio-born Hynde, Vincent, a Chicago native, got her big break after moving to the UK. In 1979, the same year the Pretenders released […]
Song of the Day 4/9: Randy Rainbow, “Gay”
Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law was just made for lampooning by Randy Rainbow, who, it turns out — you never would have guessed — is gay.
Song of the Day 4/8: Pink Floyd and Andriy Khlyvnyuk, “Hey Hey Rise Up”
Russia’s unprovoked assault on Ukraine has brought about many unexpected changes. This one is minor, but it made news in the music media: It prompted Pink Floyd to record its first new song in 28 years. Well, not all of Pink Floyd — Richard Wright is dead, and Roger Waters is still, well, Roger Waters,* […]
Song of the Day 4/7: Robert Knight, “Everlasting Love”
Despite his smooth voice, Robert Knight only had one hit — this song, written expressly for him by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, who owned a record company in Nashville. The song itself, though, has been a hit over and over again, with covers reaching the Top 40 in the US in the ’70s (Carl […]
Song of the Day 4/6: Bobby Rydell, “Wildwood Days”
You have to be eligible for Medicare to have first-hand memories of Bobby Rydell, the South Philly teen idol from the early days of rock ‘n’ roll. He had his first hit at age 17, in 1959, and hit his peak in 1963, the year he appeared in the film version of “Bye, Bye Birdie” […]
Song of the Day 4/5: Stevie Wonder, “Evil”
Stevie Wonder, whose albums made critics’ Top 10 lists in the ’70s, seems to have fallen into relative neglect in recent years — Marvin Gaye, not Wonder, is now considered Motown’s greatest 1970s artist. This makes sense — Gaye’s soul influenced a lot more modern music than Wonder’s funk and pop. But at the time […]
Song of the Day 4/4: Wet Leg, “Chaise Longue”
This song went viral on social media last summer, and mainstream media picked up on it by autumn, but I didn’t hear it until last week, and it cracked me up. Wet Leg is Rhian Teasdale, who sings this tune, and Hester Chambers, two friends who live on the Isle of Wight, just off England’s […]
Song of the Day 4/3: Genesis, “The Carpet Crawlers”
Genesis, the venerable British band that pioneered prog rock in the ’70s and churned out synth-pop hits like clockwork in the ’80s, called it quits last week, 55 years after forming at a posh public school in Surrey. Their decision was prompted by the declining health of drummer-cum-frontman Phil Collins, who since 2017 had to […]
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