Song of the Day July 11-18

July 11th 2022

A little history of this song… Across the River Bruce Hornsby & The Range

In my opinion one the best piano players in Rock has been Bruce Hornsby. With his first break-out hit :"The Way It Is" Hornsby established himself as as a meditative singer-songwriter; his collaborations with Don Henley (“The End of the Innocence”) and Bonnie Raitt (“I Can’t Make You Love Me”) bolstered his adult-pop cred. Instead of cashing in on this, he has followed his own unpredictable muse for three decades. He briefly joined the Grateful Dead, worked with jazz players like Branford Marsalis and Pat Metheny, ventured into electronica, and wrote music for assorted Spike Lee projects. He believes It’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times in which we live... amid he lives by that motto to which is reflected in his music time and again. Today's Song of the Day Across the River comes from his 1990 Album "A Night on the Town". (Little known fact: Jerry Garcia played lead guitar on the original recording of the song). The song is about a beautiful, strong-willed southern girl who is determined to leave her boring, small-town life behind to the disapproval of her uptight family and neighbors. However, everyone expects that she will be unable to cope in the cosmopolitan outside world and return. This continues even after she leaves. The narrator observes that she came back 35 weeks ago, nearly the term of a pregnancy, perhaps intimating that she went away with high hopes, got taken advantage of, got pregnant, and had to come home without achieving whatever it was she left for. But, at the end there is hope for the girl as Hornsby sings "Some fine Day, you will find your way Across the River..." a metaphor that she can make it back to the success she was looking for. We all can.

Enjoy!!

July 13th 2022

A little history of this song… Magnolia Poco

Poco was an American country rock band originally formed in 1968 after the demise of Buffalo Springfield. Poco are considered one of the founders of the Southern California country rock sound that included bands such as The Eagles, Jackson Browne, The Flying Burrito Brothers etc, with three of its members of the band having been inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band originally consisted of guitarists Richie Furay and Jim Messina... later of Loggins & Messina (Your Momma Don't Dance) who were former members of Buffalo Springfield, and were joined by multi-instrumentalist Rusty Young, drummer George Grantham, and bassist Randy Meisner ... who left to join The Eagles and was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit... who later left to... join The Eagles. That's confusing huh! The sound that the Poco pioneered had a uniquely country feel to it but was slower in design and texture purposely to distinguish themselves from all the other bands that were looking to strike record deals in LA at the time. Poco succeeded with their new sound and signed a deal with Epic Records. Today's Song of the Day comes from Poco's 4th album (released in 1973) "Crazy Eyes" which became their biggest selling album to date reaching #38 and staying on the charts for close to 9 months. It is titled "Magnolia" and was originally written by J.J. Cale and sung by new member Paul Cotton. For the times it was released in the song came in at a whopping 6 min 17 secs. The song is about a man trying to get back to New Orleans to see the girl he loves... and is beautifully sung by Paul Cotton. There are some great songs on "Crazy Eyes" ( Here We Go Again, Crazy Eyes, Let's Dance Tonight). If you're unfamiliar with Poco, this would be a great place to start!

Enjoy!!

July 15th 2022

A little history of this song… Suite: Judy Blue Eyes Crosby, Stills & Nash

I'm guessing that I've probably played this entire album, Crosby, Stills & Nash close to 1000 times in my life... and I never tire of it. Every song on this Album is a hit. The song I've chosen for today's Song of the Day is Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. The Song is a love letter to Stephen Stills one time partner Judy Collins. For those who don't know who she is, Collins was/is a folk rock singer who also had multiple hits including 1967's “Both Sides Now” from her landmark 1967 album, Wildflowers, which has been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The relationship between the two singer/songwriters had been deteriorating throughout the first half of 1969 due largely in part to Collins' bouts with alcoholism. Stephen Stills was the complete opposite when it came to drug use. Of his personal drug use he says "I rarely smoked pot. Instead of being out partying, I preferred being in the studio making music. “I was the only guy at Woodstock who was straight!” Both knew that the relationship was barely surviving and Stills need an outlet for his frustration with the way things were going. "It poured out of me over many months and filled several notebooks. I had a hell of a time getting the music to fit. I was left with all these pieces of song and I said, 'Let's sing them together and call it a suite,' because they were all about the same thing and they led up to the same point." The title is a play on words. "Suite" is a reference to a part of a classical composition, but it can also be interpreted as "sweet." The full-length version of the song can be considered a suite, with lots of musical changes. Interestingly enough Stills played ALL the instruments on the record except for drums. Judy Collins recalled to Mojo magazine the effect this song had on her after Stills played it in her hotel room. She said: "He sang me 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.' and, you know, broken hearts are a very good inspiration - and I just caved in and I suppose I made promises I couldn't keep. We both had personal struggles. Most of all, I felt the song was flattering and heartbreaking – for both of us." The single, reached number #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. A 60's classic!!

July17th 2022

A little history of this song… For A Rocker Jackson Browne

To close out the LA Country Rock Sound week we're going to go with a song you probably wouldn't expect from Jackson Browne. An upbeat Rock-centric tune that is completely different than the sound he was producing in the 70's. No one will dispute that Jackson Browne is one of the best singer/songwriters of the 70's. One big hit after another, ( "Doctor My Eyes", "Running on Empty", " Rock Me on the Water, etc.) but as he grew a little older , at the start of the 80's he changed his sound a bit: he added some electric guitars, put back-up singers on his albums and his songs became a little more upbeat. Todays's song of the Day is from his 1983 Album "Lawyers in Love" and is the last rack on the album entitled "For a Rocker". The song was something of a departure for Browne, a straight-out uptempo party number: "I got a shirt so unbelievably bright, I'm gonna dig it out and wear it tonight." Rolling Stone commented on its apparent attempt to emulate Bruce Springsteen's work, and maybe because of that that "For a Rocker" got very little air-play on the radio. Browne did however use the song as his last song in concerts to close out shows because of it's up-tempo style. It peaked at #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it debuted and actually was the 3rd singles released from the album.... so Asylum Records didn't promote it much either. This song was written as a tribute to James Honeyman-Scott, the guitar player for the Pretenders, who had died of heart failure in 1982. The reference to Peggy Sue is Jimmy's wife and Jenni is her sister. Very different for Jackson Browne, but I think you'll like "For a Rocker" especially if you haven't heard it in a while.