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

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 […] […]

First of all, is this song about a girl, God, or both? that’s a good question, and one that Jim Seals & Dash Crofts left up to interpretation. On the surface, “Diamond Girl” is definitely a love song about a particular woman, but many music critics and fans felt a deep dive into the lyrics […] […]

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 […] […]