Dave Schwensen's Blog, page 21

#283 – Candy Man

#283 – Candy Man by Sammy Davis Jr.

Hip cat with a sugar rush

Excuse me while I have one of my cringe moments here… give me a moment… taking a deep breath… okay…

Let’s get this over with.

Before we start I want to make a couple things perfectly clear.

First, I have no choice in what songs appear on this list. RereadAbout Dream Songs if you need a refresher. I wake up with a song in my head and BOOM it’s on the list. The order it lands on the list depends on how many times it wakes me up during the...

#284 – If You Really Love Me

#284 – If You Really Love Me by Stevie Wonder

No longer Little Stevie Wonder

He had been called Little Stevie Wondersince his debut as a twelve year old “musical genius” and hit maker for Motown Tamala Records. In fact, that was the title of his first album, Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius in 1963 that included his first number one hit, Fingertips Part 2.

So where was Fingertips Part 1? It was actually the A-side of the single, but deejays preferred the B-side (Part 2) that had much more a...

#285 – Life’s Been Good

#286 – Life’s Been Good by Joe Walsh

Living Large

I just realized something. Joe Walsh is making his third appearance on this countdown. I don’t want to sound all full of myself because after all, it’s not like this is The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or anything. Or maybe in my head it is. I’ll have to sleep on it.

Eric Clapton is in The Rock Hall three times with The Yardbirds, Cream and solo. He has yet to appear on this list in any of those configurations (don’t worry “Clapton is God” fans – w...

Last Train To Memphis

The Definitive Bio on the Young Elvis Presley

The Classic Rocker Featured Book Review

Last Train To Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick

Rating: FIVE Classic Rock Stars

This goes down as one of the best biographies I’ve read, regardless of what life status, profession or era we’re talking about. It was insightful, in depth, exciting and touching. This is American history as much as any biography you’d read about a pioneer, politician, inventor, activist, war hero or sports star....

#286 – Summertime Blues

#286 – Summertime Blues by The Who

Here’s a reality check.

Baby boomers were the first generation of Mouseketeers. Okay, take a chill pill and calm down. I’m not going to strap mouse ears on Keith Moon or incite you to trash an electric guitar over that statement. It’s just an observation that will allow me to put this 1970 re-recording of a classic song into a perspective our kids might understand.

Let’s call it a lesson in rock’n roll that might shine some light on artists that were already le...

Beatles 50th and Jane Scott Rocks!

As John Cleese from Monty Python once said: “And now for something completely different.” (Watch HERE if you don’t believe me).

The countdown will continue with a high-energy ROCKER from a band that started playing the song in the 60’s, recorded it in the 70’s, and can still sell out a stadium. It’s actually a classic from the 50’s, but more about that later. Right now I want share this with you…

Cleveland Sept 15, 1964

The 50th anniversary of The Beatles first North American Tour is happening r...

#287 – Rock Show

#287 – Rock Show by Wings

Flyin’ with Wings!

Like many great songs, this stirs up memories. Here’s the best one for me…

May 10, 1976 in Richfield Coliseum. This was a new sports arena, roughly the size of Madison Square Garden, built in the middle of nowhere. Okay, to put it somewhere – we’re talking southeast of Cleveland between a cornfield and another cornfield. The Cleveland Cavaliers (an NBA expansion team around that time) needed a state-of-the-art place to play hoops and though it was coo...

#288 – Together Wherever We Go

#288 – Together Wherever We Go by… oh, let’s say Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Dean Martin

Frankie, Bingo and Deano

Wait a minute. Does that “by line” above sound too indecisive? Well, this one is a bit confusing – and I’ll blame it on my baby boomer roots. The song is ingrained in my mind and how it got there is another journey into the past. My generation will understand. For the rest of you, here’s how it works…

Our kids – and for some of you, your grandkids – spend their youngest years list...

#289 – La-La (Means I Love You)

#289 – La-La (Means I Love You) by The Delfonics

The Delfonics – very smooth.

One word comes to mind when I hear this song: smooth. And that description also works for the trio that made it a hit in January 1968. The Delfonics were smooth.

The great thing about classic songs is that it should paint a picture in your mind. With La-La (Means I Love You) I can picture being at a junior high dance when this song was in heavy rotation on AM radio. We all knew it and when it came on, we’re talkin’ slo...

#290 – What I Like About You

#290 – What I Like About You by The Romantics

What I like about… your hair?

I’m having some difficulty placing this song with the year it actually came out. After doing a little research (very little because I mainly work off memory) I was surprised to learn this song was recorded in 1979 and released the following year. In 1980 we were still listening to Pink Floyd, Electric Light Orchestra, Queen and John Lennon. The Romantics seemed a lot younger than that, so I was assuming this song was la...