Sunday Night Revival: Mike Cook’s Great Songs Of The ’60s, ’70s, & ’80s

Over the years, Heart’s 1978 album “Dog and Butterfly” has become iconic, and one of the main reasons why is the album’s first single release: “Straight On.” Of course, the collective talents of the Wilson Sisters, Ann & Nancy, (with co-writer Sue Ennis)’are what made “Straight On” such a “Great Song!” It’s a rockin’ but […] […]

It was a Bahamian folk song that was first published in 1916 as “The John B. Sails. “It’s also been known as”The Wreck of the John B.”…but we all know it as “Sloop John B.” from the Beach Boys’ legendary “Pet Sounds” album of 1966. Al Jardine was a huge folk music fan, and played  […] […]

Let’s start at the beginning: Producer Steven Spielberg,screenwriter Bob Gale, and director Robert Zemeckis asked Huey Lewis to write the theme song for a movie you may have heard of called “Back to the Future.” BUT HUEY TURNED THEM DOWN! He was flattered,of course,  but had no idea how to write for film, and no […] […]

If I asked you to name the biggest hit by “The Raspberries,” you might remember their “Great Song of ’72:” “Go All the Way,” “I Wanna Be With You, was the follow-up to The Raspberries’ first big hit “Go All the Way,”  and was either a Top 10 hit…or not…depending on which trade magazine you […] […]

It was common knowledge back in ’68 that group members Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. were engaged, making the “Marry me Bill” theme of the song accurate…but only on the surface…. because Billy Davis wasn’t the real “Bill!” “Wedding Bell Blues” was written by the extremely talented Laura Nyro…when she was  just 18-years-old. It […] […]

Some of us are certainly old enough remember the National Maximum Speed Limit law, signed in 1974 by President Nixon. Due to an oil embargo, the maximum speed limit was set at 55 for passenger vehicles on all highways nationwide (although some states ignored it). The law actually stayed in effect until 1995. In 1984, […] […]

Long time music fans may remember Donnie Iris as a member of the group Wild Cherry, who “Played That Funky Music” back in the mid 70s…or maybe as a solo artist with the sonG “Ah, Leah” in the early ’80s. (“ But before all that, he fronted a group called the Jaggerz. In 1970, they […] […]

“In the Year 25-25 by Denny Zager & Rick Evans: …is arguably the most famous one hit wonder of all time. Rick Evans wrote the song about the journey of man over a 10,000-year span: from 25-25 to 85-10…predicting the course of human events, and ending with the extinction of all mankind.’ With that in […] […]

t happens more than you might think: An artist has to be talked into a song that he or she feels is not “good enough to be good,”much less “great.” “Livin’ on a Prayer” is a prime example. IT’s one of the best-selling singles of all time—but it was almost scrapped by Jon Bon Jovi […] […]

At the beginning of his career–before he was a solo artist–Kenny Rogers was was with The New Christy Minstrels.  After a while, however, he left the Minstrels to lead “The First Edition…who released  a smattering of Great Songs during the late ‘6t0s and early ’70.s…including  1968’s “Just Dropped In to See What Condition my Condition […] […]

There are a number origin stories behind 1981’s “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins…but almost all of them are false. The most famous of these urban legends goes something like this: When Phil was a young boy, he witnessed a man drowning someone, but was too far away to help. Later, he hired a […] […]

Singer/Songwriter Hoyt Axton wrote “ Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World,””Billboard’s #1 song Song of 1971,”so it was only natural that Cory Wells, Danny Hutton and Chuck Negron would askHoyt if he had another song they could record. He did—and it became a “Great Song of 1972! Almost everyone of a certain age can […] […]

This 1966 hit was written by future Songwriter Hall-of Fame inductees Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil…as a warning against drug use…but the title of the song led many people–including musicians and radio programmers–to believe it PROMOTED-Drug use. In fact, Barry & Cynthia had written it for The Animals, who turned it down for that very […] […]

Critics initially thought that1984’s, “Run to You” by Bryan Adams was a song about his mistress…but it turned out that he was singing about his guitar! It all started when Bryan was noodling around on his guitar one day (as opposed to canoodling around with a girl) and came up with a riff that he […] […]

There are THREE heartbreaking stories behind James Taylor’s 1970 . hit “Fire & Rain.” I’ll break them down for you in lyrical order. #1: Just yesterday morning, they let me know you were gone. James’ childhood friend Suzanne Schnerr committed suicide while he was in London working on his first album. Friends at home, concerned […] […]

Most everyone knows that the song “Mrs. Robinson” came from the 1968 film “The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. But here’s some cool stuff you may NOT know: Paul Simon originally called the song “Mrs. Roosevelt” after Eleanor Roosevelt, but when Art Garfunkel learned that the director of “The Graduate, Mike Nichols, was using […] […]

This  Great Song of the ’80’s was named after a stage lighting system. That’s right! Super troupers are those massive spotlights that can light up a whole stadium during concerts and events.  The song, however, takes an interesting turn…with lyrics about how the bright lights of stardom can shine a little too brightly on the […] […]

In 1971, jazz artist Bill Chase put together a jazz/rock fusion band and named it after himself: Chase. The band featured a killer brass section that rivaled–and possibly out-performed–Blood, Sweat and Tears, Chicago, and Canada’s Lighthouse. Now Before you raise any objections, let me present my evidence: 1971’s “Get It On!” This song smokes from […] […]

One night in early 1987, Madonna called Patrick Leonard, one of her go-to songwriting partners. She was looking for music for her next film, “Slammer,” and needed a fast song and a slow song. So Patrick went to work. A few nights later, Madonna stopped by to check on his progress…just when he was adding […] […]

At first listen, “This One’s for You” sounds like a love song–and it IS–but not in the way you might expect. It’s a song Barry co-wrote with Marty Panzer, and dedicated to his grandfather. Young Barry was focused on becoming a songwriter, but his grandfather believed he could Also be a great singer and performer. […] […]

Mason Williams was a man of many talents. Not only did he write and arrange “Classical Gas,’ he performed it on guitar and directed  the orchestsra –all while working as head writer for The infamous Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour! The initial title was “Classical Gasoline,” but when the song was published, someone left off the […] […]

let’s head over to The Twin Cities– for“All This Love” by The Jets. My research turned up so much interesting info about the group and the song, I feel the best way to pass it all along is by offering a list of Fascinating Facts! ***The Jets are a family group, The Wolfgramms, originally from […] […]

    In 1974, Billy Preston was putting together material for his next album.”The Kids & Me.” One Night, during a nightclub gig in Atlanta, inspiration struck…and he wrote the song while sitting in his dressing room between sets. He intended it to be a variation on a line from Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling […] […]

It’s the song that launched a dance craze with just 2 short commands: “Do It. Do the Hustle!” Van McCoy wrote, produced and recorded it with the Soul City Symphony–and there’s a bit of irony involved. Van composed “The Hustle” based on descriptions of the dance from his songwriting partner Charles Kipps, who had seen […] […]

let’s start with a basic question: Is the title”Pretty Woman?” or “Oh, Pretty Woman?” Well, According to those in-the-know, the original  record label said “Oh,”  but Both are considered correct! Next question: Was the song inspired by a particular Pretty Woman? The answer is yes…but not in a blatantly romantic way. Apparently, Roy’s wife Claudette […] […]

Sting wrote “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” in an effort to illustrate two things: The attraction that people have for simple songs…and (more importantly) that people can use words to manipulate others. This is just the sort of thing you’d expect from an intellectual thinker like Sting…but as you ALSO might expect, […] […]

In 1978, discos all over the world were gifted with the perfect song to end the night–every night–for the next several years. Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” came from the film “Thank God It’s Friday,” and it won the Oscar for Best Original Song. It also topped Billboard’s Dance Club Chart…and went to #3 on the […] […]

By 1983, disco was dead…or was it? It certainly didn’t feel that way after college student Brenda Shannon Greene came along with her debut hit, “Let the Music Play’.” According to a number of musicologists, it was an important record in dance music history. Its combination of Latin American rhythms and melody with electro beats […] […]

This song was originally called “Going Home,” but Paul wasn’t very happy with the title–OR the lyrics. Before long, he started experimenting with titles that rhymed with “Going Home,” which made perfect sense because he was planning to add it to his 1973 solo album, “There Goes Rhymin’ Simon.” Inspiration struck when he came up […] […]

‘m cheatring a bit with this one…bu only slightly. “Beginnings” by Chicago SHOULD have been a “Great Song of the ’60s,” but it didn’t chart until 1971. Robert Lamm wrote “Beginnings” for Chicago’s first album, (1969’s “Chicago Transit Authority”), and it was the second single release after “Question 67 & 68,” but for some reason, […] […]

The album as a whole was an autobiographical sketch of Stevie’s life up to that point, and debuted at #1 on the Album chart– making Stevie the first American artist to achieve that honor. “I Wish,” the first of FOUR Great Singles from the album, covered his boyhood in the ’50s and early ’60s when […] […]

s it a song about animal rights? No. Is it a song about shock therapy? No. According to Peter Gabriel, the man behind 1982’s “Shock the Monkey,” it’s about jealousy. More specifically, Peter wrote it as a love song” that examines how jealousy can release your basic instincts.” To enhance he idea, he challenged himself […] […]

In late September of 1976, Stevie Wonder released “Songs in the Key of Life,” an amazingly creative double album that also came with a bonus 4-song extended-play disc. The album as a whole was an autobiographical sketch of Stevie’s life up to that point, and debuted at #1 on the Album chart– making Stevie the […] […]

 Back in the day, there was a lot of talk about “Sunshine Superman” being  a drug reference–and it was…but in this case, it was mostly a breakup song–after his wife-to-be, Linda Lawrence, temporarily called things off.   It was also an attempt to do something “Trippy”” that sounded like what The Beatles were releasing at the time.  Donovan, […] […]

Before  Jefferson Airplane, there was a group called The Great Society, whose frontman was a man named Darby Slick. Darby wrote “”Somebody to Love” as a cautionary tale about how free love could lead to jealousy, but  with loyalty and monogamy, true love could conquer all! He then handed it over  to his bandmate and Sister-in-Law–Grace Slick–who recorded […] […]

Have you ever noticed that “Sowing the Seeds of Love” sounds like something the Beatles might have recorded during their “Sgt. Pepper era? If so,you’ve got a keen ear…because it was written and produced that way–on purpose! Tears for Fears frontman Roland Orzabal, who wrote the song, incorporated a number of musical styles and recording […] […]

There’s a cool story behind this one—with a twist at the end.  Billy co-wrote this song with Wayne Brathwaite and Barry Eastmond. According to Barry, a friend of his wife had just broken up with a man she’d been dating for years. There was a particular song that always made her think of her old […] […]

The Bangles (as a group) were heavily influenced by ’60s music. For example: 1989’s “In Your Room:” According to Billy Steinberg, who co-wrote the song with Tom Kelly and Susannah Hoffs, The Bangles were, in many ways, a “retro Group.” With that in mind, they wrote the song to sound like something Tommy James & The Shondells […] […]

 By 1971, The Temptations had become known for their “psychedelic soul” music with songs like “Ball of Confusion” and “Psychedelic Shack.” Their fans, however, were hungry for an old-fashioned Temptations-style ballad, so they went into Motown’s Hitsville studio in Detroit and recorded one of the “Great Songs of the ’70s.” Just My Imagination” went to […] […]

 Guitarist Robbie Krieger of The Doors wrote this “Great Song for their “L.A. Woman” album, but there was a problem. Their producer, Paul Rothschild, (who had worked with the Doors before, as well as Janis Joplin and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band) thought “Love Her Madly” was horrible and said so. He called it “cocktail […] […]

Until 1968, The Guess Who was pretty much a hard rock Canadian group that rarely crossed the border with hit records…but that all  changed…when Randy Bachman came up with a ballad called “These Arms.” Lead singer Burton Cummings changed the title to “These EYES”, and tinkered with the lyrics and middle 8. But even after […] […]

This was the very first popular song to use the words “Heavy Metal” in the lyrics! In context, the phrase was actually “Heavy Metal Thunder” and was referring to the sound of Motorcycles as used in the counter-culture film Easy Rider,” Starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. But the song was so ear catching and […] […]

According to the Four Seasons keyboardist Bob Gaudio, who co-wrote the song with producer Bb Crewe, it was inspired by an incident in the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York City.. Back in the day, homeless children would run into the street during red lights and clean windshields for spare change. One day,  young girl […] […]