LEGEND Your Song of the Day

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John Lennon - "#9 Dream"

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=6972

Songfacts®:

View Lyrics

When Walls And Bridges was released, the NME expressed what many people thought of this song when they described it as, "a depressing hunk of sentimental bushwah with a chorus in phony Haitian."

The mystery voice that calls Lennon's name "John" during the first bridge was performed by his lover, May Pang - on the second bridge he reversed the tape of her saying his name. According to May Pang's bookLoving John, Lennon told her that he did not know what the song was about, but it was not about her. He also did not "convince" her to sing the vocals, she sang them because the female vocalist scheduled for the session did not show up. (Thanks to David Thoener, who was an engineer at the sessions.)

John admitted that he "borrowed" the string arrangement from Harry Nilsson's "Many Rivers To Cross" from Nilsson's album Pussy Cats - which John produced!

The line, "Ah bowakawa, posse, posse" were just nonsense foreign sounding words, much like the made-up words John used in the Beatles' "Sun King" from Abbey Road. (thanks, Ken - Louisville, KY, for above 2)

John Lennon was fascinated with the recurrence of the number nine throughout his life, which included:

Lennon was born on October 9.

His first home was 9 Newcastle Road, Wavertree, Liverpool - three names which each contain nine letters.
The Beatles' first gig at the cabin took place on February 9, 1961.
Brian Epstein, The Beatles' manager, first saw them perform on November 9 that same year.
The Beatles' contract with EMI was confirmed on May 9,1962.
The Beatles' debut single, "Love Me Do," was on Parlophone R4949.
Lennon's son Sean shared his father's birthday.

As well as this song, which peaked at #9 on the Hot 100, Lennon wrote two others with the same number in the title: "Revolution 9" and "One After 909."

 

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Here Comes My Girl
by
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2972

Songfacts®:

This was written the same week as "Refugee." Both songs started as demos written by Heartbreakers guitar player Mike Campbell on a 4-track recorder in his house.

In our interview with Mike Campbell, he explained: "'Here Comes My Girl' was interesting because we had the chorus and Tom wasn't sure how to do the verse, he kept trying to sing it different ways and he finally came across sort of half-talking it, and that's when the song seemed to come to life." (Read more in ourinterview with Mike Campbell.)

This was the first album the band released on a major label. Their first 2 albums came out on a small label called Shelter Records, which was acquired by MCA. After some legal maneuvering where Petty filed for bankruptcy and the label sued the band, MCA set up a label called Backstreet Records, which was dedicated to Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

This didn't end the tension between Petty and MCA. Petty held back the tapes for their next album, Hard Promises, when MCA tried to raise the price from $8.98 to $9.98. Petty won that battle and the album came out at the lower price.


 

Selassie I

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Collie Buddz is one of my favorites. This vid has a bunch of eye candy to add to the great tune...


 

LesBaker

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I hated the sound but the women were fun to watch.

Seems to me, thou I'm not that knowledgable, that rap has infected some reggae music. I don't like that lol.
 

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http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3324

'The Show Must Go On' by Queen

Guitarist Brian May wrote this while lead singer Freddie Mercury was dying of AIDS. It was Mercury's last official album with Queen, and when it was released, very few people knew he had the disease. The lyrics are about the need to press on and make the most out of life while you can still enjoy it.

This was used in the movie Moulin Rouge. It is performed in an operatic style by Jim Broadbent and Nicole Kidman in a scene that sets up the climax of the movie.

In a 2005 poll by digital TV channel Music Choice where 45,000 adults across Europe were asked which song they would like played at their funeral, this was the favorite.

The video is mainly just clips of old Queen videos and a few live performances, but it is so cleverly edited and spliced together that it works as a video of it's own.




 

Selassie I

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Jack Johnson has so many great songs. Mello stuff, but there's always a time for it. Here's one of my favorites...

 

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This song always makes me happy. I like the first video live-in-the-studio the best.

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=29790

Songfacts®:

The Miracles scored their biggest hit with the percolating disco smash "Love Machine" The infectious, high-energy track had dance floors packed back in late 1975 and much of '76. In the song's lyrics, a lover compares himself to a robot or computer who can be programmed to meet all the needs and desires of his mate.

The track was produced by Freddie Perren, a former member of The Corporation - the Motown songwriting/production team responsible for The Jackson 5's early hits. And it was written by Miracles lead singer Billy Griffin and group-mate Warren "Pete" Moore. Griffin replaced Smokey Robinson when he left The Miracles in 1972 to pursue a career as a solo artist. The Baltimore native was only 20 when he became The Miracles new frontman. Griffin's smooth falsetto fits nicely on the upbeat groove, and Miracle Bobby Rogers' playful growls are irresistible. During his tenure with The Miracles, Griffin also sang lead on the Top 10 R&B hits "Do It Baby" and "Don't Cha Love It." A talented and prolific songwriter, Griffin has penned songs for well-known musical acts such as Aretha Franklin, Fergie, The O'Jays, Freda Payne and The Emotions.

The groove for "Love Machine" grew out of an impromptu jam session, according to noted studio bassist Scott Edwards, who laid down the bottom on the track. In our interview with Edwards, he discussed the recording of "Love Machine" and how they came up with the groove for the song: "A lot of the hits were basically the musicians jamming," said Edwards. "The same thing happened with another tune for Freddie [Perren], The Miracles 'Love Machine.' Same thing. We were just jamming, and Freddie said, 'Do the changes to these chords.' So that's the way a lot of stuff was made."

Some of the other big hits that Edwards played bass on include "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (Stevie Wonder), "I Will Survive" (Gloria Gaynor), "Bad Girls" (Donna Summer), "Shake Your Groove Thing" (Peaches & Herb)," "Rhinestone Cowboy" (Glen Campbell) and "Sara Smile" (Hall & Oates).

This was the first single off the album City of Angels, which was the fourth studio album The Miracles recorded without Smokey Robinson. The seven-minute song was cut into two parts; the first part ("Love Machine (Pt. 1)") was released as a single in October of 1975. The track shot to the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 and went to #5 on the Hot Soul Singles chart; it peaked at #3 on the UK Singles chart. The song went on to sell 4.5 million copies worldwide, making it the biggest-selling single of the group's career. It was also The Miracles' longest-running hit, staying on the charts for more than six months. Additionally, "Love Machine" was only the second time that a song by The Miracles reached the top spot on the Hot 100. Their other song to do it was "Tears Of A Clown," released in 1970.

City of Angels also performed well on the charts. It climbed to #33 in the US and went platinum, with more than a million copies sold. It was an ambitious concept album conceived by Billy Griffin and Pete Moore; the two co-wrote all the tracks on the album. They have said that the album is about life in Los Angeles.

It tells the story of a guy who follows his estranged girlfriend to LA, where she hopes to find fame and fortune. However, in an interesting twist of fate, he's the one who becomes the big star. In an interview shortly after the album's release, Moore said that "Love Machine" is about the story's protagonist who describes himself as a "Love Machine" after he becomes a superstar. City of Angels was co-produced by Perren and Moore.

This song has been covered by Wham! and Thelma Houston, and it was featured in the films Donnie Brasco, The New Guy and Heavyweights. The track was also used for a couple of Denny's commercials.

The song was engineered and mixed by Kevin Beamish, who has also done engineering and production work for renowned musical acts such as REO Speedwagon, Jefferson Starship and Kenny Chesney.



 

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My favorite Elton John/Bernie Taupin song 'Amoreena' from my favorite album of his 'Tumbleweed Connection.'

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=8826

In this song Elton sings about fond memories of a girl he once knew. The Tumbleweed Connection album has prairie theme, which shows up in this song with images of cattle, cornfields and hay.

This plays in the opening scene of the Al Pacino film Dog Day Afternoon. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France, for above 2)

The name "Amoreena" implies love, as "Amor" signifies love in many languages (note the English word "Amorous").

 

Selassie I

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Toots ... with his version of an oldie.

Toots is way up in his sixties,,, he may be even in his 70's now... you'd never know it watching him perform. Dude busts out some serious moves on stage still. He and the Maytals has some of Reggae's all-time classics.


 

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From one of the best movie soundtracks ever......
To Live And Die In LA
by
Wang Chung

LINK

This is the title track to William Friedkin's 1985 crime drama To Live and Die in LA Wang Chung wrote the original score for the film (which included this song). (thanks, Justin - Felts Mills, NY)

According to the DVD commentary on To Live and Die in L.A., director William Friedkin didn't want a theme song for the movie, but Jack Hues and Nick Feldman of Wang Chung wrote one anyway, which was this song. Friedkin liked it and decided to use it in his movie. (thanks, Donovan Berry - El Dorado, AR)

In an interview with Eric Greenberg on the Just My Show podcast, Jack Hues of Wang Chung explained: "It all has to do with the opportunity to explore a new genre. I started out just a kid in love with the Beatles music and learning to play guitar, but when I got around 18, I wanted to go to university. And at that time you had to do classical music if you wanted to do music in university. So I got into classical music, and that whole thing of long form composition - outside of a three-minute pop song - was something I really, really wanted to do. So the opportunity for To Live and Die in LA was ideal for me creatively. It gave me the chance to really expand ideas instead of always having to pare them down and try and fit them into that three-minute format."


 

Selassie I

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Toots deserves at least one more. If you like Blues music,,, you'll like this....


 

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The Keyboardist used to be with Miles Davis. The stick player played with John Paul Jones. The flautist plays with the guys in King Crimson. And so on...