Category: Rock and Roll
-
Otis Redding – (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay
About The Song “Dock of the Bay” was based on a few thoughts and lines Redding came up with during some time he spent sitting and watching the ocean in California. He took these ideas back to Memphis, where he and collaborator/producer Steve Cropper ended up making one of the most famous soul records of…
-
John Denver – Sunshine on My Shoulders
About The Song According to John Denver, he wrote the song on an early spring day in Minnesota, when it was “dreary, gray and slushy.” As the rain gently fell and the snow was slowly melting, Denver found himself yearning to spend more time out-of-doors and reminiscing how sometimes just the sun alone is enough to…
-
Sam Cooke – A Change is Gonna Come
About The Song Cooke wrote this as a protest song to support the civil rights movement, as Black Americans fought for equality. Up to this point, most of his songs were either touching ballads (“You Send Me”) or lighthearted uptemo tunes (“Twistin’ The Night Away”). When Cooke heard Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ In The Wind,”…
-
Eagles – Tequila Sunrise
About The Song Prior to Desperados, Don Henley and Glenn Frey had chosen not to write songs collaboratively, preferring to write in solitude and bring their contributions to the studio. However, in 1973 they decided to unite, sitting down for a week-long writing session that gave birth to the LP’s title track and its first single, ‘Tequila Sunrise’.…
-
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons – Who Loves You
In this song, Four Seasons frontman Frankie Valli is addressing a girl who is clearly in a funk. He’s asking her to think about who really loves her and who is going to get her through these tough times, hoping she’ll finally realize it’s him.The song was written by original Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio and a…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…