Arts and Entertainment
Song of the Day 9/6: Blood, Sweat & Tears, “God Bless the Child”
Billie Holiday co-wrote this with Arthur Herzog Jr. — each claimed the other’s contribution was minimal — and recorded it three different times. Hundreds of others have covered it, usually as a slow-burning ballad of self-reliance. It took Blood Sweat & Tears, on their first LP with barrel-chested belter David Clayton-Thomas on lead vocals, to […]
Song of the Day 9/5: Billy Bragg, “There Is Power in a Union”
Mainstream media loves to cite the low percentage of unionized US workers but rarely details the lengths companies go to in their union-busting. That’s improved somewhat in recent months as Amazon and Starbucks have waged vicious campaigns against unionization efforts — and seen workers succeed in both certification votes and court rulings despite it all. […]
Song of the Day 9/3: Squeeze, “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)”
As in most songwriting partnerships with a strict division of labor, Squeeze songs always begin with Chris Difford’s lyrics. “I always write to Chris’s lyrics,” Glenn Tilbrook told Songfacts. “And what’s more, I made a habit pretty early on of never reading lyrics he gave to me until I sat down with the guitar or […]
Song of the Day 9/2: Gene Pitney, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona If somebody had told me Gene Pitney was not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I’d have believed it but I wouldn’t have been happy about it. Maybe I’d start one of those fierce little fan groups that lobby for an overlooked favorite to finally get his due. […]
Song of the Day 9/1: The Monkees, “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone”
Mickey Dolenz is the last surviving Monkee, and he’s not Monkeeing around. He has sued the FBI to gain access to its file on the Monkees. Yes, J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI, demonstrating the perfect combination of paranoia and cluelessness that led to the Great Folk Music Scare, kept a file on the Pre-Fab Four as […]
‘Bulo’s Fave Tunes: August 2022
I cull the wheat from the chaff so that you don’t have to. Sit back, relax. The Master knows what He’s doing: Wonder if I can get this guy on a double-bill with Catbite at the Gild Hall…: This haunting footage was recorded just days before the Great San Francisco Earthquake Of 1908. Have I […]
Song of the Day 8/31: Clifford Curry, “She Shot a Hole in My Soul”
Let’s squeeze in a last bit of Carolina beach music before the summer’s over. This 1967 tune was the closest regional star Clifford Curry, once known as the King of Beach Music, ever got to a national hit — it reached No. 45 in the R&B chart. It was covered by John Fred & His […]
Song of the Day 8/30: Joey DeFrancesco Trio, “Never Can Say Goodbye”
Delco native Joey DeFrancesco, widely recognized as the top jazz organist of his generation, died last week. He was only 51, but released nearly 40 albums of his own and played on dozens more as a sideman for everyone from Miles Davis to Van Morrison. He recorded his first LP when he was just 16, […]
Symphony Steve’s First Show Of The Arden Concert Gild Season!
I’m really psyched to announce that Chris Pierce and Special Guest Sug Daniels will grace the Gild Hall stage on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022 at 8 pm. Chris Pierce writes some of the most powerful songs I’ve heard in a long time. Check him out: Which doesn’t mean that he can’t turn out a kick-ass […]
Song of the Day 8/29: The McCoys, “Hang On Sloopy”
You surely know this cover version of the song, credited to the McCoys. You probably haven’t heard the original by the Vibrations, titled “My Girl Sloopy,” though it reached No. 26 in 1964. As the Atlantic Records label should tell you, they were a black band, and in their interpretation the song has a clear […]
Song of the Day 8/27: Stanley Beckford and the Starlights, “Soldering”
A footnote to “Sara Smile” by Hall and Oates, the song I wrote about a few days ago: Its B-side was another tune from the duo’s Silver Album, a reggae-flavored cover called “Soldering.” After Eric Clapton had a hit covering “I Shot the Sheriff” in 1974, rock musicians started to pay more attention to Jamaican […]
Song of the Day 8/26: Isaac Hayes, “Theme From Shaft”
Guest post by Nathan Arizona If you have anything bad to say about Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft,” there can be only one response: Shut yo mouth. We’re talking ’bout Shaft. John Shaft. And we’re talking about “Shaft,” the exhilarating orchestral funk song, and “Shaft,” the 1971 “blaxploitation” movie. These movies turned previously ignored black actors into […]
Song of the Day 8/25: Billy Joe Royal, “Cherry Hill Park”
This one’s for Gary Busey, who ran into some trouble over there in Cherry Hill, N.J., a couple of weeks ago at a horror film convention. Billy Joe Royal of Valdosta, Ga., is usually described as a “country soul” singer. This wasn’t his biggest hit — that would be his debut single, “Down in the […]
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