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

From: On the Threshold of a Dream ; Year: 1969; Genre: Country Rock Was fully intending on choosing another song today, but ever since getting ready to write this blog post Send Me No Wine has been incessantly playing in my mind. It's really difficult for me to pick favourites from this record, or really a favourite of their first ten albums to be honest. At least for this record, and most of their others of the period, it is mostly due to how they arranged and wrote the songs to segue perfectly into each other as to make the listener keep playing the disc without skipping around or putting an entire other album on. Anyway, this is quite a catchy tune with a lot of interesting aspects within, one in particular is how they use the Mellotron to imitate a pedal steel guitar to some degree, which helps give it that signature country "boing" if you will.    Hear Send Me No Wine on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Spanky and Our Gang - ...

From: Béla Fleck and the Flecktones ; Year: 1990; Genre: Jazz Fusion/Bluegrass Apparently I have not chosen one of their songs in quite some time; in around six years to be exact. Strange, with them being a favourite of mine, I guess I should rectify that today. It's kinda odd how Béla Fleck & the Flecktones have not released a new album, as far as I am aware, for almost 15 years. At least they are still together and performing, again, as far as I am aware. Anyway, here's one from their debut album, which came out in 1990. Doesn't seem that long ago to me, but that was actually 35 years ago... wow.    Hear Frontiers on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Sly and the Family Stone - Spaced Cowboy     My song pick 2 years ago today: Wings - Again and Again and Again   My song pick 3 years ago today: Iron Maiden - Run to the Hills   My song pick 4 years ago today: Paco De Lucía - De Madruga (Seguiriyas)   My song pic...

From: Funky Christmas; Year : 1976; Genre: Soul/Funk/Christmas Music Thought I would continue picking something seasonal on this first Friday in December. It is simply astonishing just how many Christmas and related songs there are performed by soul, funk, and R&B artists over the years and still counting. Being how much I love those genres, I highly doubt that I'll run out of new and different Christmas music at all, which is awesome!   Hear Feeling Like Christmas on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Jethro Tull - The Betrayal of Joshua Kynde     My song pick 2 years ago today: Wilson Pickett - Never My Love   My song pick 3 years ago today: Europe - Prisoners in Paradise   My song pick 4 years ago today: Cab Calloway - The Birth of the Blues   My song pick 5 years ago today: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - Tightrope   My song pick 6 years ago today: The Thermals - Here's Your Future   My song pick ...

From: In the Christmas Spirit ; Year: 1966; Genre: Soul/R&B/Christmas Music Yesterday I learned of the passing of legendary writer and guitarist Steve Cropper. Even if you do not know him by name, you have heard his music without a doubt. He has to be right up there with the most recorded musicians, especially guitarists, in the last century. Booker T. & The M.G.'s were Stax Records in-house band and played behind most of the soul and rock acts out of the 1960s and 1970s. The band was most notably made up of Booker T. Jones on keys, Steve Cropper on guitar, Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass, and Al Jackson Jr. on drums. They were the most famous of the few "house bands" and were known outside the studio by name; their biggest hit is probably Green Onions . Anyway, I suppose I could have gone with one of the many, many artists that he played with, but it just seemed right to pick one from the original band. Because it is also the Christmas season I thought I...

From: Legend ; Year: 1978; Genre: Country Rock On and off for many years now I've been meaning to choose a track from Poco; even to the point that I believed I already had. For those who don't know about Poco, they were one of the bands formed out of the dissolution of the storied band  Buffalo Springfield ; although by the release of Legend and Poco's major successes, both members of Buffalo Springfield, Jim Messina and Ritchie Furay, had moved on. In fact the only founding member to appear on this record, and every other release for that matter, was Rusty Young, whose death a few years ago brought the band to an end. However, Rusty Young did make an appearance of Buffalo Springfield's final album, Last Time Around , as a guest musician on a track playing pedal steel guitar, so arguably there always was one member of the former band. Anyway, if you have indulged in mainstream music from the late '70s and early '80s, you probably have heard this one at some tim...

From: High and Mighty ; Year: 1976; Genre: Hard Rock Just another great, dynamic track from Uriah Heep. Plus, it's quite apropos with the first real snowfall this season coming down here.      Hear Footprints in the Snow on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Jim Reeves - The Blizzard     My song pick 2 years ago today: Ozzy Osbourne - That I Never Had   My song pick 3 years ago today: The Four Tops - Right On Brother   My song pick 4 years ago today: Jim Croce - Steel Rail Blues   My song pick 5 years ago today: Kansas - The Wall   My song pick 6 years ago today: Trio of Doom - Are You The One? Are You The One?   My song pick 7 years ago today: IQ - Fascination My song pick 8 years ago today: The Rolling Stones - Winter My song pick 9 years ago today: Archie Bell & The Drells - Tighten Up My song pick 10 years ago today: Yes - Cinema My song pick 11 years ago today: Heart - Sing Child My ...

From: Are You Ready ; Year: 1982; Genre: Pop Had not heard this song in ages, but just happened to hear it the other day and thought it would make an excellent pick. To my ears on this track, they remind me a great deal of ABBA, which considering the era of its writing and recording is not a surprise. Wot is of interest though is that this very upbeat poppy tune is actually a political protest song. Either way you look at it/listen to it you should still enjoy it in some regard.   Hear The Land of Make Believe on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Tesla - All the Young Dudes     My song pick 2 years ago today: Sly and the Family Stone - Underdog   My song pick 3 years ago today: Fleetwood Mac - Morning Rain   My song pick 4 years ago today: Faith No More - Naked in Front of the Computer   My song pick 5 years ago today: The B-52's - Deadbeat Club   My song pick 6 years ago today: Pallas - Crown of Thorns   My son...