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The Beatles, Tell Me Why
“Tell Me Why,” is the greatest black girl group doo-wop song ever. John wrote it in Paris or New York, presumably influenced by his relationship with his then wife Cynthia, well, at least according to Paul McCartney. John Lennon was a genius at creating the kind of propulsive and driving rock and roll that was…
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Chuck Berry, Run, Run, Rudolph
“All I Want for Christmas is a Rock and Roll Electric Guitar…” I wonder how many Fenders and Gibsons this line sold. 1958’s “Run, Run, Rudolph,” is basically Chuck Berry’s “Little Queenie” rewritten as a Christmas song, but when you’ve written the 4 greatest possible rock and roll songs or so, what does it matter…
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Hall and Oates, I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)
Oh the hits keep rolling for Hall and Oates. “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),” was a #1 for Daryl and John in 1981, and another track that set the tone for 80s pop. Their embarrassing cover art for the single also help set trends of decadent ugliness for the 80s as well. …
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Hall and Oates, You Make My Dreams Come True, FTW
I never thought I’d be adding a “Hall and Oates” section to my website, but on December 17th, 2011, it apparently has happened. Actually, I’ve been slowly enjoying Hall and Oates a bit over the last few years, getting hooked on the single “I Can’t Go For That,” and hearing a fantastic sounding Daryl Hall…
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The Beatles, Entire Ed Sullivan Performance, Remastered
When the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan show on a Sunday night in February of 1964, 73 million Americans tuned in. Originally Ed offered the Beatles Manager Brian Epstein a top dollar billing for a single show, but Brian turned it down and negotiated a 3 consecutive Sunday appearance for practically no payment. The…
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George Harrison, All Those Years Ago
If you’ve read this site enough, you know that I like making declarations, so here is a strong one. “All Those Years Ago,” is required listening for Beatles fans and one of the best George Harrison songs ever. It was written by George Harrison as a song for Ringo Starr to sing, but Ringo thought…
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The Kinks, Autumn Almanac
The Kinks. I love them. I love Ray Davies, the writer of this song, “Autumn Almanac,” an absolute stunning piece of musical genius from 1967. A lot happened in 1967. It was the year when the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper to critical and international fame, when Jimi Hendrix was revolutionizing the use of the electric…
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The Ramones, Spider-Man Theme Song
Holy shit, did you know that the guy who co-wrote the original Spider-Man theme song with Bob Harris was 3 time Oscar winner Paul Francis Webster? I know, WEBster, you can’t make that shit up! The original theme song to the classic 1967 cartoon, and now classic internet meme, “Spider-Man,” was a work of genius. …
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Eddie Vedder, Emilio Estevez, Adam Sandler Shooting SNL Promos in 1994
Making a television show is difficult, especially one like Saturday Night Live where all the content is written and produced a week in advance before live airing. From the looks of this video, making an SNL is a long an tedious process. Here, they are just making a promo spot, and even though this video…