Here’s one you don’t see every day: the original video for the 1972 hit, “Me and Mrs. Jones” by Billy Paul. Okay, so you may here the song (or the many cover versions) but have you ever seen this one with Paul a the piano, singing with a cigarette in his mouth? Does it get any cooler, or any more “I really don’t want to do this video”, than that?…
This is one of those infectious tunes from the 70’s that people either love or hate. It seemed to be on the radio non-stop from late 1972 to mid-1973 in the US. Which side were you on? Here’s more on the song from Wikipedia: “Little Willy” is a song written by songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and performed by the British glam rock band The Sweet, released in 1972…
Not sure when the video was made, but Harry Chapin’s classic hit “Taxi” was originally released in 1972 and surprisingly only made it to #24 on the Billboard charts. Regardless, I consider it one of the best efforts of this talented singer/songwriter. How about you? Here’s more on the song from Wikipedia: “Taxi” is a song written and performed by Harry Chapin from his 1972 album Heads & Tales. Chapin…
This is a song that’s grown on me over the years. Can’t say I cared for it when it first came out in ’72 (I was only 13) but it’s the kind of song that grows on you the older you get and the more life adventures you go through … if you know what I mean. Plus, until I did some research for this post, I never realized it…
Not sure what TV show this performance was from, but looks to me like BBC 2, although I’m sure one of our readers will help me out with that. Regardless, this is a great LIVE version of Chuck Berry’s “My Ding-A-Ling” which ended up being his only #1 song in the US. (You can get the original CD it was on, The London Chuck Berry Sessions, here.) Here’s more on…
If you grew up in the 70’s you could not miss the incredible voice of singer/songwriter Jackson Browne, who had a string of classic hits including “Running on Empty”, “Take It Easy”, “Somebody’s Baby” and, of course, his 1972 smash “Doctor My Eyes.” But while looking up a great LIVE version of JB performing that song, I came across something I didn’t expect: a cover of the song by none other…
“Brandy” was HUGE in 1972, and ended up being the No. 1 song on both the Billboard and Cashbox charts for the year … and deservedly so. It was written and composed by Elliot Lurie and recorded by Lurie’s band, Looking Glass, on their debut album also called Looking Glass. It’s an odd subject for a rock song; a barmaid from a bygone era whose heart belongs to a man who’d…
What a talent and gone WAY to soon. We were just getting to know singer/songwriter Jim Croce in the early 1970’s with hits like “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” and “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” when he hits us with this insightful story-song, “Operator,” also commonly referred to as “That’s Not the Way It Feels.” “Operator” was written and recorded in 1972 single Croce as part of his Don’t Mess…
It’s great to see the pre-disco Rod Stewart here, rocking out his first big solo hit, “Maggie May” from 1971 which was actually the B-side to another, but lesser, hit “Reason to Believe.” off his Every Picture Tells a Story album. Here’s more from Wikipedia: “Maggie May” is a song co-written with Martin Quittenton and performed by singer Rod Stewart from his album Every Picture Tells a Story, released in…
Who doesn’t know who the Osmonds are? Even if you’re not a fan of their music, they seemed to be everywhere during the 70’s (TV, radio, live performances) and little sister Marie still hawks some weight loss plan on TV commercials to this dayu. The Osmond Brothers began as a barbershop quartet in the 60’s consisting of older brothers Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay and were later joined by younger siblings…