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

From: Okeh - 8474 ; Year: 1927; Genre: New Orleans Jazz Whenever I play any of Pops' music, even those with "Blues" in the title, after the first bar of music the last thing I feel is "Blue" anymore. Maybe that's the point, but there was something special about Satchmo; it was like it was his reason for being was to make the world a much more beautiful and wonderful place to live.    Hear Wild Man Blues on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Stanley Clarke - Dayride     My song pick 2 years ago today: Curved Air - Piece of Mind   My song pick 3 years ago today: Dire Straits - Hand in Hand   My song pick 4 years ago today: Stone Temple Pilots - Sex Type Thing   My song pick 5 years ago today: Culture Club - Do You Really Want To Hurt Me   My song pick 6 years ago today: Caramba - Hubba Hubba Zoot Zoot My song pick 7 years ago today: Big Star - In The Street My song pick 8 years ago today: Bowling for Soup - 198...

From: Okeh – 40989 ; Year: 1928; Genre: Classical/Jazz I noticed that recently I have chosen artists in the " E " category three times over the last four days either by accident of subconsciously, so I thought that I would just go ahead and pick one more "E."  Anyway, I saw I have to date only chosen two from the late-great guitar virtuoso Eddie Lang, so here's another one. This rendition of the standard by Sergei Rachmaninoff is quite amazing to hear; only he and his guitar are present on this recording, which was a real novelty at the time as the guitar was not really treated as a lead instrument to be spotlighted. Lang and a few others were the real pioneers of making guitar music a highlight of mainstream; basically everyone from Django Reinhardt all the way down to Les Paul, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani along with the other great guitar virtuosos that dazzle and shred to this day can be traced back to Eddie Lang. He is definitel...

From: Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue / An American In Paris ; Year: 1987 (1928) Genre: Jazz/classical Got myself in the mood to hear this Gershwin masterpiece today; chances are that you've probably heard it at some time and parts of it will give you that "I know tune" moment. Hear An American in Paris on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: War - Summer My song pick two years ago today: The Mamas & the Papas - Go Where You Wanna Go My song pick three years ago today: Journey - Wheel in the Sky My song pick four years ago today: Santana - La Fuente del Ritmo My song pick five years ago today: King Crimson - The Court of the Crimson King My song pick six years ago today: Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) - Yours Truly, 2095 My song pick seven years ago today: Stahlhammer - Herz Aus Stahl My song pick eight years ago today: America - Sister Golden Hair My song pick nine years ago today: Fleetwood Mac - Little Lies

From: Timeless Historical Presents Fletcher Henderson and Louis Armstrong 1924-1925 ; Year: 1924/25; Genre: New Orleans Jazz/Dixieland Back some six years ago or so I was really wanting to pick this song, but could never find it on YouTube or another streaming service, so I just made a note of it in my queue of unpicked songs and checked every now and then for it, but eventually gave up. Today, on a lark I decided to check, and sure enough, not only was it there, but from an official source too. It's amazing how much things have changed with music and YouTube since I first started this blog over nine years ago. Because companies and artists would take down and go after people the choices I could make back then were very restricted, but now... it's really night and day difference. Anyway, this is one of those feel good pieces of jazz you'd expect to hear playing behind an old silent film or during a Vaudeville act. Of course hearing Pops in his earlier years is a treat...

From: The Essential Louis Armstrong ; Year: 1979 (1926); Genre: Now Orleans Jazz I was in the mood for some Louis Armstrong today; this is one of his most popular tracks with his Hot Seven. Hear Heebie Jeebies on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Van Halen - Dance the Night Away My song pick two years ago today: Jethro Tull - The Whistler My song pick three years ago today: Maurice Ravel - M.19 - Pavane for a Dead Princess My song pick four years ago today: Black Label Society - Stillborn My song pick five years ago today: Lynyrd Skynyrd - I Never Dreamed My song pick six years ago today: Duran Duran - New Moon On Monday

Year: 1924; Genre: classical/Jazz I am making another pick where the date the song/piece of music was published happens to coincide with my song pick number. This is a rather famous experimental crossover piece that combines the musical worlds of jazz and classical music; in my opinion some of the best music ever written comes from such musical fusions. It is also written similar to a concerto in that it contrasts a solo piano against a jazz orchestra. To say the least it's a very interesting piece of music. Hear Rhapsody in Blue on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rammstein - Mein Land My song pick two years ago today: Karussell - Tanzen My song pick three years ago today: Pearls Before Swine - Tell Me Why My song pick four years ago today: Red Rider - Lunatic Fringe My song pick five years ago today: Steve Winwood & Traffic - Dear Mr. Fantasy

From: Workshop ; Year: 2010; Genre: Jazz/Pop This song happened to first be published in the year 1920, which is also today's pick number; it was written by Melvin and John Schonberger. Most of my memories concerning this song are from hearing my grandfather play Chet's rendition countless times. So even though there are many other good versions out there, there was really no other version that I really wanted to pick other than Chet Atkins'. Hear Chet Atkins' version on Whispering on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall, Parts 1-3 My song pick two years ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - X-Ray Eyes My song pick three years ago today: Alton Ellis - Sunday Coming My song pick four years ago today: Pat Benatar - Treat Me Right My song pick five years ago today: Ronnie Milsap - Smokey Mountain Rain

From: Sol Hoopii: Master of the Hawaiian Guitar ; Year: 2009 (1927); Genre: Blues I happened to remember that in the year 1889, which is also today's pick number, was when the Hawaiian or steel guitar was invented by Joseph Kekuku . Since the guy who has been teaching me to play the Hawaiian guitar is a huge fan of master guitarist Sol Ho'opi'i I've become well acquainted with his music, so I thought I would pick one of his songs. I just wish there was more of a selection of his music on YouTube. Hear Sol Ho'opi'i's rendition of St. Louis Blues on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Allman Brothers Band - Les Brers in A Minor My song pick two years ago today: Puhdys - He John My song pick three years ago today: Styx - Too Much Time On My Hands My song pick four years ago today: The Amboy Dukes - Journey to the Center of the Mind My song pick five years ago today: The Who - Pinball Wizard

1600 Maurice Ravel - M.81 - Boléro M. 81, Year: 1928 Genre: classical/Orchestral Well, I've made to 1600. I wasn't too sure if I wanted to pick something fitting for this post or not being as it is so close to the New Year and all, but I happened to have this lovely piece of music on my mind and it seemed like a good choice. This is yet another one of those classical pieces of music where you'll get that "I know that tune" feeling immediately upon hearing it; it has permeated popular culture quite a bit over the years. I absolutely love the percussion and brass throughout the piece; it's such a rousing tune. Even though Ravel himself supposedly hated this piece it became his most famous and best remembered. Hear Boléro on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Megaherz - Schizophren My song pick two years ago today: Genesis - Turn It On Again My song pick three years ago today: Miles Davis - Walkin' My song pick four years ago today: Jethro Tull - Cold...

1092 Eddie Lang - Eddie's Twister Probably most today don't even know of this master guitarist let alone his influence and contribution to music as a whole in his abbreviated life. Eddie Lang, who also played under the pseudonym Blind Willie Dunn, was one of the first to popularize the guitar in Jazz as a lead instrument; after him many guitarists followed. Sadly, in 1933 he died at the age of 30 of a hemorrhage. With musicians like him who died young and were truly on the cutting edge musically it would have been amazing to hear his creations that he would have made later in his life. I wish he would have lived long enough play alongside the likes of Django Reinhardt, Oscar Alemán, or even Les Paul, now that would have been awesome. Here is a video with a recording of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Goo Goo Dolls - Black Balloon My song pick two years ago today: Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon +

948 ( Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven - Melancholy Blues ) I couldn't let this theme week go without picking the featured Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong piece from Voyager Spacecraft's " The Sounds Of Earth " Golden Record. I can't help but get a smile on my face when I hear him play; he's certainly one of the greatest of the last Century. Here is a recording of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Lynyrd Skynyrd - That Smell My song pick two years ago today: Pink Floyd - Brain Damage/Eclipse +

944 ( Blind Willie Johnson - Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground ) I'm venturing into a theme week; the theme: my favourite songs featured on The Voyager Space Probe's " The Sounds of Earth " golden record. I have already chosen at least a couple featured on record to my list, one being the first song I chose: J.S. Bach's 2nd Brandenburg Concerto , movement #1, and my twentieth pick: Mozart's " Queen of the Night Aria ." Suffice it to say if I had not already chosen them they would be featured this week. Anyway, this Gospel/Blues is simply a beautiful song. It features Blind Willie Johnson playing the slide guitar with him vocalizing along with the it. The song was apparently recorded in the mid-late 1920s. From what I have read, the team that gathered the songs led by Carl Sagan chose this track to express the human aspect of loneliness. To think, a humble Blues guitarist's composition might be one of the first pieces of music a...

905 ( Manuel de Falla - Danza Del Terror (Dance of Terror) ) I cannot count the amount of times I have heard this piece outside of the greater operatic piece " El Amor Brujo ." If you have seen old cartoons from the 1920s through the 1940s you probably have heard this song playing at some point. Anyway, this is an amazing piece of anxious music that has somewhat of a "diabolical" feel to it. Here is a recording on YouTube. Here is another recording with the " Danza ritual del fuego (Ritual Fire Dance) " section as well on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Dire Straits - Lady Writer My song pick two years ago today: Rammstein - Zerstören +

895 ( Nora Bayes - The Japanese Sandman ) This is another one of those songs composed about 90 years ago in the vein of fantasizing about a far away and exotic land, in this case Japan. The song was composed by Richard A. Whiting with lyrics by Raymond B. Egan circa 1920 and was recorded by numerous artists; I really like Nora Bayes' beautiful vocals in her interpretation of the song. Here is a recording of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Queen - We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions My song pick two years ago today: The Little River Band - Reminiscing +

This song was originally written in 1860 by Joseph Webster and Maud Irving, however the Carter Family version of the song is really what made the song famous. This type of music has always had a special place with me because my grandfather played this music a lot when I was young; there are a lot of good memories tied to it. The best part of this song, as with any Carter Family tune, are the vocal harmonies and Ma’ Maybelle’s guitar work; she was an incredible guitarist. What is odd about her playing is that she strums the high strings and plays the melody on the lower strings, which makes her sound quite distinctive. Here is a recording on the song on YouTube. Here is a performance from The Grand Ole Opry on YouTube. +