William's Song a Day Blog - est. September 2007

From: Nebraska ; Year: 1982; Genre: Folk This, the lead and title track off of his Nebraska album, just happened to be on my mind today. It reminds me a lot of the old time folk singers from way back in how they wrote song about actual happenings, mostly gruesome tales and such. In this one he tells the tale of the serial killers Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate and their eight-day spree in 1958 killing 11 people. Although, he also was inspired by the writings of Flannery O'Connor , of which he took some artistic liberties with the tale. The best aspect of this song in my opinion is how he stripped it back to essentially just him and his guitar as well as him overdubbing a few other instruments. It comes off quite to my ears as Pete Seeger meets the acoustic music of Neil Young; very emotional and profound.   Hear Nebraska on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Wolfmother - City Lights     My song pick 2 years ago today: Mac Davis...

From: Struttin' My Stuff ; Year: 1975; Genre: Southern Rock Kind of surprised that I had not yet chosen something from Elvin Bishop yet; especially this song, which is probably one of his most famous. Basically, if you have a movie or TV show depicting the 1970s this is one of the "go-to" tracks to play in the background, as such has been used for just that on many occasions.     Hear Fooled Around and Fell In Love on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Funkadelic - I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everybody's Got a Thing     My song pick 2 years ago today: Boyz II Men - In the Still of the Night (I'll Remember)   My song pick 3 years ago today: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - One Rainy Wish   My song pick 4 years ago today: April Wine - Cat's Claw   My song pick 5 years ago today: Alphaville - Big In Japan   My song pick 6 years ago today: Primus - Mary the Ice Cube   My song pick 7 years ago today: Masto...

From: The Spice of Life ; Year: 1969; Genre: Soul/Funk This track always puts me in a better mood than I was in when I hear it. It is definitely not in a sugary pop track kind of way, a very soulful and uplifting kind of way. Recently discovered that Marlena Shaw's recording of this track is actually a cover that was recorded a few times prior and since; I always assumed it originated with her, but I was in error. California Soul was originally written by the legendary husband-and-wife writing duo Ashford & Simpson and recorded first by The Messengers. Wotever the case, I still love this rendition/recording; there's just more great versions out there to hear.   Hear California Soul on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Fleetwood Mac - Sands of Time     My song pick 2 years ago today: Sol Ho'opi'i - Fascinating Rhythm   My song pick 3 years ago today: Kenny Rogers & the First Edition - Something's Burning   My song pic...

From: Voulez-Vous ; Year: 1979; Genre: Pop/Rock Off and on for quite some time I have had music from this record on my mind and with enough regularity that I am picking another one from it. Musically, this is a great "sit back and enjoy" kind of track very much in the norm of the hit making machine that was ABBA. Lyrically, this one is slightly darker in that it deals with the " schadenfreude " that the jilted ex-lover is feeling after her ex-boyfriend gets unceremoniously dumped by the girl he left her for.    Hear The King Has Lost His Crown on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Los Lobos - The Mess We're In     My song pick 2 years ago today: Ultravox - Visions in Blue   My song pick 3 years ago today: Miami Sound Machine - Bad Boy   My song pick 4 years ago today: The Northern Pikes - She Ain't Pretty   My song pick 5 years ago today: Parliament - Wizard of Finance   My song pick 6 years ago today: ABBA - Sup...

From: Centerfield ; Year: 1985; Genre: Blues Rock/Country Rock/Rockabilly Had some of the great music from this album come on in a story I happened to be in; I thought I would revisit it. This song is one of the typical Fogerty tracks that crosses all the major Americana genres and seemingly can be played almost anywhere to a crowd.    Hear Big Train (From Memphis) on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Humble Pie - 30 Days in the Hole     My song pick 2 years ago today: The Thermals - An Ear For Baby   My song pick 3 years ago today: Hawkwind - Jack of Shadows   My song pick 4 years ago today: George Clinton - Maximumisness   My song pick 5 years ago today: Bruce Hornsby & The Range - Look Out Any Window   My song pick 6 years ago today: Marillion - This Strange Engine   My song pick 7 years ago today: 10cc - Good Morning Judge My song pick 8 years ago today: The Moody Blues - I Know You're Out There ...

From: The Thunderfist Chronicles ; Year: 2025; Genre: Pirate Metal/Power Metal Had them pop into my mind once again this morning; a good mix for doing your taxes to anyway. This is to date their lengthiest song at an epic 17+ minutes and filled with a great deal of big, astounding music and tales of boldness, adventure and legend.   Hear Mega-Supreme Treasure of the Eternal Thunderfist on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Boyz II Men - It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday     My song pick 2 years ago today: Daniel Boone - Beautiful Sunday   My song pick 3 years ago today: The Jimmy Castor Bunch - Hallucinations   My song pick 4 years ago today: The Kinks - Sleepwalker   My song pick 5 years ago today: Carmen - The Horseman   My song pick 6 years ago today: Daniel Lanois - That's The Way It Is   My song pick 7 years ago today: Raspberries - Go All The Way My song pick 8 years ago today: The Thermals - Test...