By Matt Hurwitz. Carl Reiner was pulling together a television special called "Wonderful World of Pizazz," which celebrated the hippie styling of the day, and wanted The Cowsills to appear on the show performing “Hair,” the title track to the then-hit Broadway musical sensation.
If it had not been for producer Steve Lillywhite, Semisonic’s "Feeling Strangely Fine" and its hit single “Closing Time” would never have seen the light of day.
“I’ll Be You,” became The Replacements’ biggest hit.
In this month’s Classic Tracks we take a look at sessions for the entire album, which included not only the Top 10 title track, but unforgettable hits such as “Hillbilly Highway” and “Goodbye’s All We’ve Got Left,” and heartbreakers like “My Old Friend the Blues” and “Little Rock ’n’ Roller.”
By Matt Hurwitz. Though he no longer recalls precisely where or when “Give a Little Bit” was written, Hodgson explains, “I’ve always known that love is what I long for, what I want, what I believe we’re here to learn, ultimately.” And as the love chant of the ’60s was fading, he says, “Maybe it was an answer—‘Oh, just give a little bit.’”
By Sarah Jones. "Master of Puppets," Metallica’s third album, was released in March 1986 as the band’s major-label debut. Five years into their careers, they were maturing as artists, with all four members—frontman James Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Cliff Burton and drummer Lars Ulrich—contributing equally to song material.
Recording JT's version of the Motown hit
If The Emotions’ hit single “Best of My Love” sounds like a female version of Earth, Wind & Fire, that’s because it almost is.
Glen Campbell’s Number One Hit, 40 Years Ago This Month
One of the most interesting and engaging groups to burst onto the pop music scene in the early 1970s was a San Francisco Bay Area outfit known as Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks, who fashioned an eclectic amalgam of retro music styles into something quite fresh and original.
Every once in a while a song comes totally out of left field, far away from the mainstream, and for some inexplicable reason becomes a huge hit. One such tune was the 1985 Top 10 smash “Life in a Northern Town,” by an unknown new English band called Dream Academy.
Success is measured in all kinds of ways, but it’s probably fair to say that when “sidemen” take the spotlight, the results are mixed; not every great musician has that intangible quality that draws crowds. But the Atlanta Rhythm Section came out of the shadows to score huge hits in the mid-’70s, and gave hope to session guys everywhere.
Chicago was a pretty happenin’ rock town in the late ’80s and early ’90s, with a thriving club scene and a whole bunch of recording studios that catered to the many post-punk, alternative and industrial groups that sprang up in the area. One of the most popular studios to emerge in that era was Idful Music, in the affordable and ethnically diverse Wicker Park neighborhood (home to many a struggling musician).
Australian rock ’n’ roll band Midnight Oil broke into the U.S. charts with an explosive single from their album Diesel and Dust. “Beds Are Burning” was powerful on every level: musically, politically, sonically, even visually. In fact, anyone who had an ear to the modern rock radio format in 1988 can almost certainly name this song in three notes: Those effected horn-and-drum blasts make an unforgettable intro.
After psychedelic music had its heyday in the late 1960s, many musicians decided to take a trip sideways down country roads. The Flying Burrito Brothers and Poco both put out their excellent first albums in 1969, and that was also the year that Dylan cut Nashville Skyline and The Band released their roots-y “Brown Album.”
Few songwriters have captured the spirit of New York City better than the late, truly great Lou Reed. Okay, it wasn’t always the most flattering portrait of the city—no carriage rides in Central Park—but it was always honest and true; the dark underbelly rendered in frank minimalist poetry.
“It was all because of fishing,” says engineer/producer Howard Albert about the genesis of the legendary alliance between Atlantic Records and Criteria Studios. It seems that two of the production powerhouses behind Ahmet Ertegun’s Atlantic label—Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd—loved fishing off the coast of South Florida so much that they sought a creative home in Miami.
