Album Tracks from Late Summer 1979

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Pop music might have started to suffer in the late ‘70s, but album releases were flourishing, probably better than at any other time in history. Just a few weeks ago, we needed three entire programs to cover the best album tracks from the summer of ’79, and now we need two more to cover album tracks from Late Summer! Music really was that good in 1979, and here’s proof;

1) Dance This Mess Around – The B-52’s (The B-52’s)

2) Lava – The B-52’s “

3) Little Sister – Ry Cooder (“Bop Till You Drop”)

4) I Can’t Win – Ry Cooder “

5) Girls Talk – Dave Edmunds (“Repeat When Necessary”)

6) Crawling from the Wreckage – Dave Edmunds “

7) Frozen Years – The Rumour (“Frogs, Sprouts, Clogs and Krauts”)

8) Emotional Traffic – The Rumour “

9) And the Healing Has Begun – Van Morison – (“Into the Music”)

10) It’s All in the Game – Van Morrison "

HOW MUSIC CHANGED PART 137-64 – EVERY SINGLE MOTOWN ‘A’ SIDE, PART 64

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Our 64^th show dedicated to playing every single Motown A-side from the label’s inception until its move to L.A. at the end of 1971 catches the label in the throes of struggling to remain relevant. Yes, they still had chart hits, and yes, much of the material was quite good, but the label simply was not as relevant as it had once been, and the chart positions of the label’s biggest stars spoke volumes about how much had changed since the mid-60s.

Songs from today’s show include;

1) Touch – The Supremes

2) Bless You – Martha Reeves & the Vandellas

3) Colour Combination – Jack Hammer

4) Got to Be There – Michael Jackson

5) I’m Still Waiting – Diana Ross

6) Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah – Suzee Ikeda

7) Whatever Happened to Love – Tom Clay

8) When Sundown Comes – Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

9) Superstar (Remember How You Got Where you Are) – The Temptations

10) Satisfaction – Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

11) We’ve Only Just Begun/ I‘ll Be There – Tony and Carolyn

Music from September 1969

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The previous week, our show featured music from the late summer of 1969, and the response was nearly overwhelming. To keep in stride, I felt compelled to stick within the same timeframe for this week’s show, and now that it’s a new month, we are dedicating today’s show to music trends dating from forty years ago this month – September 1969. This list includes both singles and album tracks, and songs include;

1) Suspicious Minds – Elvis Presley

2) Everybody’s Talkin’ – Harry Nilsson

3) I’m Gonna Take You Mine – Lou Christie

4) This Girl Is a Woman Now – Gary Puckett & the Union Gap (as a ‘Great Miss’)

5) Lodi – Creedence Clearwater Revival (from “Green River’)

6) Commotion – “ “

7) Waiting – Santana (from “Santana”)

8) In A Silent Way/It’s About That Time – Miles Davis (from “In a Silent Way”)

HOW MUSIC CHANGED PART 137-63 – EVERY SINGLE MOTOWN ‘A’ SIDE, PART 63

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As we progress deeper into 1971, you can literally hear how Motown’s relevance began to taper off (with Marvin Gaye’s entry being an obvious exception). The label just didn’t have the juice it once had, and Berry Gordy’s focus was intensely aimed at the west coast and the movie industry, so it was no real surprise when the singles began to lose their luster, Of course, by this time, Motown was a singles label in an album market, which only made things worse. Nevertheless, the material itself wasn’t so bad, even if it was no longer topping the charts and influencing an entire generation.

Songs from today’s show include;

1) My Piece of Heaven – The Rustix

2) Surrender – Diana Ross

3) Can’t It Wait Until Tomorrow – Valerie Simpson

4) Happiness – Lodi

5) Mac Arthur Park, pt. II – The Four Tops

6) Funky Rubber Band (vocal) – Popcorn Wylie

7) I’m an Easy Rider – My Friends

8) Who You Gonna Run To – Chuck Jackson

9) Act Like a Shotgun – G.C. Cameron

10) Walk Down the Path of Freedom – Sunday Funnies

11) Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) – Marvin Gaye

how MUSIC CHANGED PART 137-62 – EVERY SINGLE MOTOWN ‘A’ SIDE, PART 62

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It is strange to see how history unfolds. As this show aired, Michael Jackson had just been buried the night before, and Ted Kennedy’s passing was still on the minds of most Americans, so it’s odd to see that our 62^nd episode dedicated to Motown begins with one of the Jackson 5’s saddest songs, followed by a track that features Ted Kennedy’s eulogy for his brother Bobby. Since we are playing each Motown 45-RPM a-side in chronological order, it feels like a fairly remarkable coincidence, but it also feels good to hear that these songs manage to maintain significant amount of relevance almost 40 years later. Songs from today’s show include;

1) Maybe Tomorrow – The Jackson 5

2) What the World Needs Now/Abraham, Martin & John – Tom Clay

3) It’s Summer – The Temptations

4) That’s the Way a Woman Is – The Messengers

5) Take Me Girl, I’m Ready – Jr. Walker & the All Stars

6) Keep Me – The Originals

7) Lo and Behold – David and Jimmy Ruffin

8) You Can Come Right Back to Me – David Ruffin

9) It Takes All Kinds of People – Stoney & Meatloaf

10) If You Really Love Me – Stevie Wonder

11) Can I – Eddie Kendricks

SONGS FROM LATE SUMMER 1969

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As the end of the last summer of the ‘60s neared, the quality of popular music refused to diminish with the warm weather. Most notably, Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton were both refugees from superstar bands (Traffic and Cream, naturally), and they decided to put their talents together for a simpler, less stressful project called Blind Faith. With riots at the shows and near-hysterical expectations from the audience, history proves that things did not turn out at all like the pair had hoped, and their debut album remains their only album. The show is rounded out with a few additional singles and album tracks from that same era. Songs from today’s show include;

1) I Can’t Get Next to You – The Temptations

2) Green River – Creedence Clearwater Revival

3) Hot Fun in the Summertime – Sly & the Family Stone

4) Get Together – The Youngbloods

5) Lay Lady Lay – Bob Dylan

6) Can’t Find My Way Home – Blind Faith

7) Sea of Joy – Blind Faith

8) Shaman’s Blues – The Doors

9) 10 Minutes Before the Worm – Alice Cooper

10) B.B. on Mars – Alice Cooper

11) 1969 – The Stooges