Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Woo Hoo” by The Rock-A-Teens Every so often, when I’m jonesin’ for some ‘50s rockabilly or some good old rock ‘n’ roll, I need not look any further than Rhino’s exceptional Loud Fast & Out Of Control: The Wild Sounds Of The ‘50s box set. The set was compiled by Gary Stewart, James Austin and Bill Inglot and released in 1999. Its 104 tracks are a comprehensive and enjoyable survey of the late ‘50s rockabilly scene including prime cuts by everyone including Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Johnny Burnette, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, and dozens of others. While the hits are well represented, it’s the many rarer picks...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “I Married Myself” by Sparks American brothers Ron and Russell Mael formed the group Halfnelson in 1970. Their first two albums were recorded in Woodstock, New York, produced by Todd Rundgren and released on the Bearsville record label. Both records tanked on these shores, so the brothers broke up the band, changed their name to Sparks, moved to England, got on the glam bandwagon and formed a new band that has gone on to endure for decades. In a musical world dominated by David Bowie, Mott The Hoople, Lou Reed, The New York Dolls and Queen, the newly reformed Sparks caused a sensation across the pond in 1974 with songs like...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Soul Drummers” by Ray Barretto Like Tito Puente before him, Ray Barretto is one of the all-time greatest “Soul Drummers” of them all.  He gave us the “El Watusi” in 1961, “Senor 007” in 1969 and this gem in 1967.  The music emanated from el barrio, the South Bronx and Spanish Harlem in New York City, via the then-fledgling Latin record labels like Tico and Fania. Like Rap music in the early 1980s, this music sprang up from the streets and changed the world forever. Ray Barretto was born in New York City and cut his teeth playing conga with Charlie Parker, José Curbelo and Tito Puente.  He replaced Mongo Santamaria...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Knowing When To Leave” by Dionne Warwick “Walk On By,” “Anyone Who Had A Heart,” “You’ll Never Get To Heaven (If You Break My Heart),” “Message To Michael,” “Alfie,” “”Do You Know The Way To San Jose,” “I Say A Little Prayer” — the list goes on and on, making an argument for the notion that the songwriting partnership of Burt Bacharach and Hal David was one of the most important in the history of pop music on par with Lennon and McCartney. Add the sophisticated stylings of Dionne Warwick into the mix and you got recordings that resulted in pure pop perfection. It was a marriage made in heaven, but...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred I worked at Reader’s Digest in their recorded music division for five years compiling music collections for people who were much older than I was at the time. In effect, I was selling nostalgia to folks whose memories I did not share. The job proved research intensive and ultimately rewarding, and by creating these music collections, I got a pretty good idea about what makes people feel nostalgic for music while garnering a newfound appreciation for a whole host of music I might not have ever heard otherwise. One of my co-workers at Digest was a musicologist named Gary Theroux. Gary used to say...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Whole Wide World” by Wreckless Eric “If it ain’t Stiff, it ain’t worth a f*ck.” “The world’s most flexible record label.” “Undertakers to the industry.” “We came. We Saw. We Left.” “In ’78 everyone born in ’45 will be 33-1/3.” “When you kill time, you murder success.” “If they’re dead, we’ll sign them.” The above non-sequitors were all slogans for one of the coolest record labels to be associated with the late 1970s punk rock movement. Stiff Records established itself by not only having a roster that included Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, The Damned, Wreckless Eric and Ian Dury, but by the hyperactive media antics they pulled off in the name...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Undo The Right” by Willie Nelson “If you can’t say you love me say you hate me / And that you regret each time you held me tight, If you can’t be mine forever then forsake me / If you can’t undo the wrong, undo the right.” Totally brilliant in its simplicity! And so is this demo recording made for Pamper Music, the music publishing company owned by Ray Price and Hal Smith. Only Willie Nelson could put this song over so matter of fact, and that’s why he is not only considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time, but also one of the greatest song stylists bar none....

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Poem 58” by Chicago Transit Authority The fact that Chicago Transit Authority was the horn band of the late 1960s has obscured the fact that Chicago was also one hell of a guitar band. Proof positive is this somewhat obscure track from their eponymously titled debut album from 1969. (Play the track and continue reading.) This song has it all! The track kicks off with a funky rhythm guitar pattern that quickly moves into an extended guitar solo courtesy of one of the most underrated guitarists of all time Terry Kath. Heck, even Jimi Hendrix was a big fan of Kath, and his intuitive and imaginative playing is what sets this...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Midnight Cowboy Theme” by John Barry Not only is today’s Song Of The Day perhaps one of the greatest movie themes of all time, it is also from one of the greatest films of the 1960s. The 1969 film Midnight Cowboy was based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The movie starred Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight (in his film debut) and was directed by John Schelsiinger. It won three Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. When it was originally released, it was given an X rating, so it also holds the distinction of being the only X-rated film to...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Waiting Is Forbidden” by Rudresh Mahanthappa Welcome to the sonic space where Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time meets King Crimson. Sound intriguing? If it doesn’t, read no further because today’s Song Of The Day is not for the faint of heart or those of closed mind. Despite his exotic name, Rudresh Mahanthappa was born in Italy of Indian descent, but raised in Boulder Colorado from a very young age. He studied music at Berklee in California and earned his Master Of Fine Arts degree at DePaul University in Chicago. While at Berklee, he was introduced to Indian saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath, and the two traveled to India to play concerts between 2005 and...