Category: Rock and Roll
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The Doors – Light My Fire
About the Song The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965. The band was led by vocalist Jim Morrison, and is widely considered to be one of the most influential and controversial rock bands of the 1960s. The Doors’ music was characterized by Morrison’s poetic lyrics, keyboardist Ray Manzarek’s use…
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The Temptations – Papa Was A Rolling Stone
About The Song “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” is a song originally performed by Motown recording act the Undisputed Truth in 1972, though it became much better known after a Grammy-award winning cover by the Temptations was issued later the same year. This latter version of the song became a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100. “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” was…
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Mary MacGregor – Torn Between Two Lovers
About The Song A song written by Peter Yarrow (of the folk music trio Peter, Paul, & Mary) and Phillip Jarrell, “Torn Between Two Lovers” describes a love triangle and laments that “loving both of persons is breaking all the rules.” Yarrow originally intended the song to be sung by a man, but it was ultimately made famous by a woman, Mary…
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Fats Domino – Ain’t That A Shame
About The Song This is a heartache song about a breakup that was the other partner’s fault. Domino wrote it with Dave Bartholomew, who worked on most of Domino’s hits. This was the first song to crossover from the R&B charts to the mostly white pop charts of the day. Like several other songs previously…
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Juice Newton – Angel Of The Morning
About The Song Originally, this song was recorded by Evie Sands in 1967. Her version was performing well, however, two weeks after it was released, her record label went bankrupt. Chip Taylor, who wrote the song, was devastated when he found out the label could not promote it or even make more copies of…
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Brenda Lee – I’m Sorry
About The Song “I’m Sorry” was a 1960 hit song by American singer Brenda Lee. Ronnie Self and Dub Allbritten penned it, and Brenda sang the song when she was still 15 years old. After its release, the song peaked on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart number one spot in July 1960. Brenda started…
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REO Speedwagon – Can’t Fight This Feeling
About The Song It took 10 years for Kevin Cronin to complete the song that became one of REO Speedwagon’s most definitive power ballads. When he finally delivered it, he hated the title, but he couldn’t fight it anymore. The roots of “Can’t Fight This Feeling” went back, like many of Cronin’s songs, to an…
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Bobby Vinton – Blue Velvet
About The Song Written and composed by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris in 1950, “Blue Velvet” is a top 20 hit for Tony Bennett in its original 1951 version. The song has since been re-recorded many times, with a 1963 version by Bobby Vinton reaching no. 1. While visiting friends in Richmond, Virginia, songwriter Bernie Wayne stayed at the Jefferson Hotel, and it was the sight of a woman…
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The Seekers – The Carnival Is Over
About The Song It reached #1 in the Australian Charts and #1 in the UK Singles Chart. This was the Seekers’ best selling single in the UK, selling 1,400,000 copies, and reached #1 in both the Australian and UK charts. Tom Springfield wrote the song, basing the melody on the Russian folk song “Stenka…
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Billy Joel – Uptown Girl
About The Song This song was released on September 29, 1983, on his ninth studio album, An Innocent Man (1983). “Uptown Girl” peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks from November 12 to December 10, 1983. It also reached number one in the United Kingdom for five weeks, his only number-one hit in…