Curio Cabinet / Song Curio

This hit is easy to groove to…if only it was as easy to understand. On this day in 2017, Walter Becker, co-founder and guitarist of American rock band Steely Dan, passed away. He left behind a legacy of hits, the best remembered of which just might be 1972’s Do It Again. The song features interesting instrumentation, including an electric sitar and a Yamaha YC-30 organ, the latter of which included a tool called a portamento ribbon. This “ribbon” controls what is known as the “portamento effect”, where the pitch of a note is gradually changed as it becomes another note. In other words, it creates a funky “slide” effect that helps give the song its unique flavor. The song’s lyrics are a bit harder to understand, as they fluctuate between talking about fighting on the street, to sorrow over a cheating partner, to issues with addiction, with a repeating refrain of “you go back, Jack, do it again,” suggesting that the song’s narrator probably hasn’t learned a lesson from his experiences. Hey, when you sound this good, you don’t have to make perfect sense.

This has to be one of the strangest hits by one of the strangest musical duos of all time. Born on this day in 1942, American musician Daryl Dragon, along with his then-wife, Toni Tennille, formed the soft-rock duo Captain & Tennille. For their performances, Dragon would dress as a cruise ship captain while Tennille wore outfits typical of stylish cruise ship passengers. But the absurdity didn’t stop at their costumes. Their best-remembered hit is a song called Muskrat Love...and the title really says it all. The soft-rock tune, which features gentle, romantic piano and Tennille’s soft vocals, is a love song about two muskrats (yes, muskrats) named Susie and Sam. The song wasn’t actually written by or for Captain & Tennille. It was originally conceptualized as a country song called Muskrat Candlelight by Texas singer/songwriter Willis Alan Ramsey in 1972. America even recorded a cover of it the following year. But it really took off when Captain & Tennille took the helm. Under their captainship, the song reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Easy Listening chart. Who says rodents aren’t romantic?

Stop that funky music! It was recently announced that the estate of late songwriter Isaac Hayes is suing former President Donald Trump for using one of his songs at political rallies without permission. Strangely, this isn’t the first time that the 1966 hit Hold On, I'm Comin', which was written by Hayes and producer David Porter for the soul duo Sam & Dave, has been at the center of a controversy. When it was first released, the song’s funky saxophone and soulful lyrical delivery had some listeners (and radio stations) convinced that its title was a sexual innuendo. In reality, the title was a sly reference, just not in the way that people thought. It originated when David Porter and Isaac Hayes were leaving the recording studio together one day, and Hayes was taking longer than Porter wanted. Porter pestered Hayes by shouting through the bathroom door that they needed to go, to which Hayes replied “Hold on, I’m coming!” Thus, the song’s title was born. This hit was never as lascivious as people made it out to be, but it clearly wasn’t intended to be political either.

K-pop continues to dominate U.S. charts in new ways. On July 30th, K-pop broke new ground on the Billboard 200 albums chart by claiming the top two spots at once. MUSE, an album from BTS member Jimin, claimed the number two spot while ATE from Stray Kids took number one. Stray Kids’ willingness to experiment musically seems to be paying off. Chk Chk Boom, the album’s lead single, was clearly inspired by reggaeton. This upbeat genre first evolved in Panama from a mix of Jamaican dancehall music, reggae, and hip-hop. It was popularized in Puerto Rico, where it became distinct for its mixture of dance beats, rapping (sometimes in a reggae style) and lyrics usually sung in Spanish. In Chk Chk Boom, Stray Kids sings mostly in Korean and English, but they do throw in some Spanish too. As if the song didn’t have enough genre-crossing appeal, its music video features cameos from Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in their roles from the hit movie Deadpool & Wolverine. Stray Kids contributed a song the film’s album, so it’s only right for the actors to contribute to a music video. How’s that for cross promotion?

This was one turnt up turntable. On this day in 2016, Third Man Records, a label owned by Jack White of the White Stripes, launched a fully-functional turntable and vinyl record into space, making history as the first vinyl record ever played in space. The event, which was meant to celebrate Third Man Records’ seventh anniversary, was accomplished using a high-altitude balloon dubbed the Icarus Craft. As for what was played, it was, fittingly, A Glorious Dawn, a song created with voice samples from scientist Carl Sagan and music from composer John D. Boswell, also known as Melodysheep. The song’s slow, electronic beat pulses beneath Sagan’s soothing voice. The unusual track features some of Sagan’s most hopeful statements about mankind, including the idea that, one day, we might learn to live in peace with one another and visit the stars. As for the record itself, it eventually reached an altitude of around 94,000 feet. A fitting height for such noble ideas.

[Image description: A black-and-white, close-up photo of a vinyl record spinning.] Credit & copyright: Miguel Á. Padriñán, pexels
 

If you’re looking for easy listening, this isn’t the band for you. On this day in 2016, the world lost vocalist Alan Vega, one half of the New-York-based, electronic proto-punk duo Suicide. The band’s other member and lead instrumentalist, Martin Rev, was a longtime friend of Vega’s. If you’ve never heard of electronic proto-punk, you’re not alone. The genre wasn’t intended to be popular, but rather to speak plainly about societal issues from class inequality to political corruption. As such, many Suicide songs have a distinctly unsettling sound, such as 1977’s Rocket USA, which features intermittent, monotone vocals over buzzy, electronic arrangement. The song’s lyrics describe the U.S. as an out-of-control rocketship hurtling toward an unknown fate. Vega was once quoted by Louder as saying, “When we started, our philosophy was that the one thing Suicide was never going to do was entertain…In those days, audiences wanted to go see a band for entertainment. They came off the street to see us and they got the street thrown right back in their faces.” That’s pretty punk no matter how you slice it.

This jazz musician has always played to her own beat. On this day in 2010, musician Carlos Santana made headlines by proposing to his girlfriend, Cindy Blackman, (now Cindy Blackman Santana) during a concert in Illinois. At that point, Blackman had been the drummer for Santana, their shared band, for several years—but her career stretches back much further than that. In fact, Blackman has recorded with some of the most famous bands in the world, including Lenny Kravitz. She’s also released several jazz albums of her own, on which she served as both bandleader and drummer. The most famous of these is Arcane, her debut studio album released in 1988. The nearly-50-minute album includes eight tracks, though, in true jazz-album style, they all flow into one another without breaks in-between. The Album’s opening, titular track is a five-minute, upbeat bash led by Blackman’s light but prominent cymbals. Several impressive drum solo sections follow later in the album. An impressive debut for a drummer who still tours, both as a band member and solo artist, to this day!

This fast car sure hasn’t slowed down! We’ve written before about Tracy Chapman’s 1988 hit Fast Car, a song famous for its unflinching look at working class struggles. On this day last year, the bluesy folk song became a chart-topper once again, this time as a country song. A cover by country star Luke Combs reached number one on the U.S. Country Airplay chart and stayed there for two weeks. Combs had been a fan of the song since his childhood, when his father would play it for him on a cassette tape. His own working class background made the song easy to relate to, and a natural one for him to cover. Of course, Combs’ version hits differently, with his unmistakably southern twang and country instrumentation in place of Chapman’s sparse, acoustic arrangement. The cover officially made Chapman the first black woman to top the country charts as a song’s sole writer, and she even appeared on stage with Combs at the 66th Grammy Awards for an emotional duet. It’s true what they say; a good song simply never goes out of style.

It’s not every day that a song wins a Grammy and an Oscar! Legendary American singer and songwriter Carly Simon, born on this day in 1945, achieved the rare feat in 1989, after her song Let the River Run from the movie Working Girl became a smash hit. The song has an unusual sound, especially for a soundtrack tune from a fairly lighthearted movie. After a slow, orchestral intro, the pop track swells to a slowish-but-steady beat with a backup chorus throughout. The choral elements are obviously gospel-inspired, yet the song was written specifically for the movie, which is about young, female office workers trying to get ahead despite a sexist office culture. Simon went on to describe the song as “a hymn to New York”, and its meaning obviously struck a chord with many people, since it not only took home an Oscar and Grammy but also tied with Phil Collins' Two Hearts at the Golden Globes for Best Original Song. At the time, Simon was the first artist in history to win these three awards for a song entirely created and performed by one artist. You could say she was a working girl!

Can we get a hallelujah? On this day in 1976, famed Nashville songwriter and producer Busbee was born. Though he tragically passed away in 2019 at the age of 43, he’ll long be remembered for his work with artists from Pink to Keith Urban to The Fray. One of his most lauded songs, co-written alongside singer Maren Morris, was 2015’s My Church. The bluesy country tune, about the almost-religious experience of listening to music while cruising down the highway, won Morris a Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance in 2017. It also earned her a nomination for Best New Artist, and the song itself was nominated for Best Country Song. My Church is a great example of Busbee’s knack for combining genres, as its distorted guitars are clearly inspired by rock while its twangy strings conjure the melancholy of the blues. If you’re looking to pay respect to this music industry titan this summer, jamming to My Church while rolling down the highway seems like a pretty fitting tribute.

Today we celebrate the passing of a legend who was lost too soon. On this day in 1997, the body of 30-year-old American rock musician Jeff Buckley was recovered from the Mississippi River, where he’d gone missing a few days prior after an ill-fated swim. Though he’s best remembered for his cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, Buckley wrote and released plenty of original music, including the posthumous album Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk. Released a year after his death, the album featured previously unheard recordings, including The Sky is a Landfill, a song Buckley had written with bandmate Michael Tighe. Although the gritty, downbeat track uses environmentalist imagery, particularly the sky turning dark from pollution, the song was never about environmentalism. Rather, it’s a harsh critique of the music industry based on an essay from American journalist Al Giordano's essay, The Medium Is the Middleman, published in 1997. The idea was that the media was polluting the world with corporate-made garbage rather than real, soulful art. Sound familiar?

It may be the epitome of 1980s camp today, but this song was a trendsetter in its time! On this day in 1983, Flashdance...What a Feeling was shooting up the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it would remain at number one for six weeks. With its heavy emphasis on synthesizer and soaring, dramatic vocals, it was the epitome of 80s pop. Written for the movie Flashdance, the song helped change the film landscape for the following decade. Specifically, it ushered in an age of musical non-musicals—movies that weren’t actually musicals, but were still heavily centered around music. These included films like Footloose and Dirty Dancing, both of which propelled their own signature songs to hit status. Though Flashdance...What a Feeling was written by singer Irene Cara and Keith Forsey, it was composed and produced by Giorgio Morodor, who had a habit of movie-song hit making, having also produced Danger Zone for Top Gun and Don't You (Forget About Me) for The Breakfast Club. Talk about a cinematic tastemaker!

Some things are hard to talk about, but they’re often the things that musicians step up to sing about. That was certainly the case on this day in 1970, when folk-rock supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recorded Ohio. The protest anthem is about events that took place just weeks before its recording, when U.S. National Guard soldiers shot four unarmed students at Kent State University in Ohio. The students had been peacefully protesting the Vietnam War, and their killings became a flashpoint in the anti-war movement. The song’s lyrics pull no punches in asking listeners to stand up for their rights rather than turn away in fear: “What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground/How can you run when you know?” In the song’s full version, the words “four dead in Ohio” are repeated more than 30 times, driving home its message in no uncertain terms. The song’s steady beat, straightforward tune, and harmonized but uncomplicated vocals make it easy to remember and sing along with. That’s a pretty important feature when it comes to protest songs. After all, the goal is for people to raise their voices!

It was written on the recommendation of a movie star and named for one of the world’s most iconic rock songs—that’s a lot for one musical! On this day in 2002, We Will Rock You, a musical based on the songs of legendary rock band Queen, opened at London’s Dominion Theatre. Its 12-year run made it the Dominion's longest-running musical. Perhaps more impressive is the way the musical got started. It’s title is obviously based on Queen’s 1977 rock anthem We Will Rock You, a bare-bones yet pulse-pounding song featuring Freddie Mercury’s signature yowling vocals atop rhythmic claps and stomps. As for the musical’s inspiration, it came from a meeting between Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor and actor Robert De Niro, whose daughter was a Queen fan. De Niro asked if the band had ever considered making a musical based on their songs. Afterward, May and Taylor teamed up with playwright Ben Elton to craft a story set 300 years in the future, in which counterculture youths fight to overthrow the corporate overlords that control their society. It seems like just the sort of romantic sci-fi story that Mercury himself would have loved.

You may not remember The Seekers, but they were on top down under! The 1960s were a competitive time for musicians, and no one proves that more than Australian pop-folk group The Seekers. The four-person group boasted polished instrumentals and harmonies, but so did many other groups from countries with bigger music scenes, like the U.S. and England. To get their music on the radio, the Seekers sought out the help of Tom Springfield, Dusty Springfield’s songwriter brother, who penned them what would go on to be their best-remembered hit: I'll Never Find Another You. The bouncy lovesong, with its beautiful harmonies, folklife instrumentation, and sweet lyrics about lifelong devotion was just what the 1960s ordered. Not only did the song break The Seekers onto the radio for the first time, it reached number one in Australia and the UK, and number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. They went on to have several more number one hits throughout their career, though, so you could say they did find another tune.

There was a whole lot of rock in this orchestra. On this day in 1972, legendary British rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) made their debut at a small London pub. Within a few short years the band, which specialized in classically-inspired rock music, was churning out hits, including their best-remembered song, 1977’s Mr. Blue Sky. It features a bouncy tune and very literal lyrics (it’s about the joy of seeing a blue sky after a period of bad weather) yet the layers of electronic instrumentation and intricate harmonies (which may well remind listeners of The Beatles) lend it a maturity that made it instantly popular. In a 2014 interview with Hi-Fi News & Record Review, songwriter Jeff Lynne said, “All the bits that come in and out, the backing vocals, the cellos sliding, all the little naughty bits, the sound effects, everything is exactly what I imagined ELO to be.” The song has been featured in commercials, as a T.V. show theme song, and is even played at the beginning of every soccer match featuring the Birmingham City Football Club. It seems that everyone everywhere can agree that nice weather is worth singing about.

 
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Break out the Aqua Net and shoulder pads; in honor of yesterday's total solar eclipse, we're revisiting Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart. The power-ballad, by songwriter Jim Steinman, slipped out of the late Meat Loaf's grasp and Steinman's own planned musical called Vampires in Love before it landed in Bonnie Tyler's lap. With a new voice and lyrics drained of all bloodsucker references, Tyler took the song to a different sort of mythical place. The song’s music video was filmed at Holloway Sanitorium, an abandoned British asylum, and it featured ninjas, nocturnal angels, and a possessed boys' choir. Luckily, the bizarre visuals didn't overshadow the song's popularity. In 1983, Total Eclipse of the Heart was the first song by a Welsh performer to hit #1 on the U.S. charts, selling over six million copies in the process. Tyler continues to perform the song live over 30 years after its release, because even if it’s not about the immortal undead anymore, it still has bite—especially during an actual eclipse!

That piano intro alone is enough to get the waterworks started. The late, great American songwriter Leon Russell was born on this day in 1942, but it was in 2018, two years after his death, that he accomplished one of his most impressive career feats. A Song for You, which Russell wrote in the 1960s and recorded in 1970 for his self-titled debut album, was named to the Grammy Hall of Fame. The iconic rock ballad has been covered by more than 200 artists—a testament to its enduring ability to tug at the heartstrings. Though Russell’s version remains the most famous, with its raw vocals and stripped-down, piano-heavy instrumentation, it was originally written with a very different singer in mind. Throughout his career, Russell worked with some of the most famous artists in the industry, including Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, and George Harrison. He envisioned A Song for You being sung by Frank Sinatra. The crooner never ended up recording it, but that certainly didn’t stop any other artists from taking a crack at it, including Russell. Sometimes, if you want something done right you’ve got to do it yourself…alongside 200 others.