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

From: Road Runner ; Year: 1966; Genre: Soul/R&B/Motown Was thinking about the landmark film Cooley High last night, which is one I want to watch again, (I'm a) Road Runner was of course included in its amazing soundtrack. There's so much to love about this one; no detractors in the slightest in my biased opinion.   Hear (I'm a) Road Runner on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Supertramp - Brother Where You Bound     My song pick 2 years ago today: Fairport Convention - Book Song     My song pick 3 years ago today: Heart - Without You   My song pick 4 years ago today: Stanley Clarke - We Supply   My song pick 5 years ago today: ZZ Top - Stages   My song pick 6 years ago today: Jethro Tull - Strip Cartoon   My song pick 7 years ago today: Steve Vai - The Animal My song pick 8 years ago today: Savatage - Strange Wings My song pick 9 years ago today: Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night My song pick 10...

From: "He's Back" (The Man Behind The Mask) single; Year: 1986; Genre: Hard Rock/Metal Just noticed that today is Monday the 13th ; couldn't let it go without picking something apropos. Whilst by no means even close to Alice Cooper's finer offerings, there is just something about this era of his music that I like; probably the familiarity of growing up with it and the movies of the time. This was one of three song of Alice's that were used for the soundtrack to the sixth installment of the Friday the 13th franchise . I remember that film quite well, although I never actually saw it back then. It was mostly the genius advertisement campaign where people would slap up posters of or paint "Jason Lives" all over the place. It even showed up in television shows, including Saturday morning cartoons; the 1980s were definitely a different time, eh?   Watch the music video on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven ...

From: Car Wash (soundtrack) ; Year: 1976; Genre: Funk/Soul Ultra busy couple of days, but definitely wanted to make a good pick for Friday. For wotever reason I just had Rose Royce on the brain, especially from their debut album and soundtrack for the classic Norman Whitfield film Car Wash . Lequeint "Duke" Jobe's bass playing really drives this one and just shows how much of an amazing player his is.   Hear Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Incredible Bongo Band - Let There Be Drums     My song pick 2 years ago today: Buster Poindexter - Hot Hot Hot     My song pick 3 years ago today: Steeleye Span - Awake, Awake   My song pick 4 years ago today: Zakk Wylde - Throwin' It All Away   My song pick 5 years ago today: The (Detroit) Spinners - I've Got To Make It On My Own   My song pick 6 years ago today: Bootsy Collins - Bass-Rigged-System   My song pick 7 years ago today:...

From: The Crow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ; Year: 1994; Genre: Alternative Metal Last night was going over my "Music" app on my computer; man, I miss iTunes.... I know "owning music" is so passé and out of fashion and I should just be streaming, but that's just not for me. Anyway, I noticed quite a few of my songs greyed out, apparently missing the file that goes with it. I have absolutely no idea how I "lost" the songs, so had to go searching around for the original copies. Long story short, I got most of them recovered and backed up in multiple places. As you probably surmised, this was among the missing songs; I was really glad to have The Crow soundtrack complete once more digitally. I really wish more of the recent films had such a great soundtrack; all big hit songs that actually could serve as an early 1990s rock music soundtrack as well as a film's. This is one of those albums that you can put on and just enjoy from alpha to zed, ...

From: A Kind of Magic ; Year: 1986; Genre: Rock There are times, like today, that I keep on coming back to this record, and, of course, the soundtrack for the film Highlander , of which essentially most of the song on the album comprised it. This has always been among my favourites if for no other reason than Freddy's vocals delivery as well as the saxophone, especially the solo played by Steve Gregory , who has played on other hits of the time.    Hear One Year of Love on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Rose Royce - Bad Mother Funker     My song pick 2 years ago today: R.E.M. - Everybody Hurts     My song pick 3 years ago today: Jethro Tull - Wolf Unchained   My song pick 4 years ago today: Hawkwind - We Like To Be Frightened   My song pick 5 years ago today: Rage Against the Machine - Maggie's Farm   My song pick 6 years ago today: Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Infinite Space (Conclusion)   My song ...

From: Das Letzte Einhorn "The Last Unicorn" Original Soundtrack ; Year: 1982; Genre: Soft Rock/Soundtrack Was talking about America's songs from this classic movie soundtrack and just a little later it came on while driving; quite a coincidence, right? Just seemed like a sign that it should be chosen today. Anyway, this was one of three tracks recorded by the band America for The Last Unicorn , but from wot I understand they also had a hand in the orchestral pieces as well. Gerry Beckley performs the lead vocals on this one and the title-track and, even though all pieces of music were written/arranged/produced by Jimmy Webb, this track and their others on the soundtrack sit perfectly with any compilation of songs from the band, which are actually included on some of their Greatest Hits albums.   Hear In the Sea on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) - City's Still Growing     My song pick 2 years ago today: ...

From: Honeysuckle Rose (Soundtrack) ; Year: 1980; Genre: Country Looking forward to another four hours of driving... if that's possible. (I really hate being behind the wheel for even short distances if you could not guess). I guess my personal mood is the opposite sentiment of this seminal hit from the outlaw country/western legend that is Willie Nelson. ....yeehaw....😩   Hear On the Road Again on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: The Kinks - Animal Farm     My song pick 2 years ago today: Duran Duran - Girls on Film   My song pick 3 years ago today: Mountain - Tired Angels (to J.M.H.)   My song pick 4 years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Ramble Tamble   My song pick 5 years ago today: 10cc - Art for Art's Sake   My song pick 6 years ago today: Brotherhood of Man - Save All Your Kisses For Me   My song pick 7 years ago today: Wolfmother - Enemy Is In Your Mind My song pick 8 years ago today...

From: A Night at the Opera ; Year: 1999 (1939); Genre: Comedy In a weird mood today and had the Marx Brothers film At the Circus , or rather music from it playing in my mind incessantly. Wot the Marx Brothers did musically is seemingly timeless and is enjoyable to people born more than a century after release. I still laugh and cannot turn away from this scene in particular, it is just so entertaining and hilarious. Even though Groucho sings the lead and is the primary focus and does an amazing acting job, his brother Harpo doing his physical comedy in the background is my favourite aspect; he all but steals the show during this number. It took me a while to find the soundtrack, but luckily was able to find this album of one of their most popular film's namesake. It also includes three other film soundtracks, including At the Circus , of which this one came.   Watch the number performed from the film on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Marvin Gaye...

From: Second Fire!! ; Year: 1995; Genre: Hard Rock/Metal Decided to go with another song from one of the Japanese animé's that I have always liked a lot: Macross 7 . For those not acquainted with the series, it was created by Shōji Kawamori  and combines science fiction/space, mecha , and music/"making of the band" genres. Over the years I have been able to procure most of the CDs associated with Macross 7 and some of the other Macro ss series. I've always liked the "Duet Version" off the second disc, which is performed by both guitar virtuoso  Yoshiki Fukuyama and Chie Kajiura as their characters from the show. As far as I am aware, the music was performed by Yoshiki Fukuyama and his band at the time: Hummingbird. Anyway, this is a high-intensity heavy metal/hard rock piece that feature a lot of blazing guitar work and was heavily featured in the show.    Hear Holy Lonely Light on YouTube.   Watch an awesome live performance of the song on YouTube.   ...

From: School Daze (Soundtrack) ; Year: 1988; Genre: Cool Jazz Lately I have been going back to this soundtrack album. This amazing piano and horn piece from the film is and always will be among my favourites on the disc. One Little Acorn actually has two tracks with a shorter reprise version that feature only the piano as well as the full song.   Hear One Little Acorn on YouTube.   Hear the piano solo version on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Apollo 100 - Joy (Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring)     My song pick 2 years ago today: Rick James - Glow   My song pick 3 years ago today: Sweet - Love Is Like Oxygen   My song pick 4 years ago today: Red Rider - Laughing Man   My song pick 5 years ago today: Heart - Straight On   My song pick 6 years ago today: Zones - Mourning Star   My song pick 7 years ago today: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - Lenny My song pick 8 years ago today: The Alan Parsons Projec...

From: The Very Best of Isaac Hayes ; Year: 2007 (1972); Genre: Soul/Funk I don't know why, but just wanted to pick something from Isaac Hayes for today, which is the first Funky Friday of the New Year! Isaac Hayes was a noted composer of not just regular music, but was quite prolific in the writing of television/film music; most famous would be the Theme From Shaft . This one came from an umbrella/wheel series that lasted a single season, of course, titled:  The Men . The series consisted of three drama/adventure shows on a similar theme and would weekly rotate. Whilst the show(s) did not fair well, Isaac Hayes' theme did become a hit for him and has been recorded by other artists in different genres since.   Hear Theme From The Men on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Carmen - The City     My song pick 2 years ago today: Jerry Goldsmith and Paul Williams - Flying Dreams   My song pick 3 years ago today: Pointer Sisters - Ju...

From: Death Wish: Original Soundtrack Recording ; Year: 1974; Genre: Jazz Fusion/classical Had Herbie Hancock's work on my mind most of last night and today. He has always been one whose music just mesmerizes me; a modern classical composer at the same level as the greats in my opinion. Anyway, it never clicked with me that he wrote the soundtrack to the original Charles Bronson epic Death Wish . Honestly, I have not watched the film for a long time, so it's not all that surprising I suppose. Really like the playful naming of the overall title with the play on words "sweet revenge," but with it being a suite of music the homo-phonetic sound of the two words was I guess too much to resist for Mr. Hancock. Suite Revenge is a collection of 5 shorter pieces of music (a): Striking Back , (b): Riverside Park , (c): The Alley , (d): Last Stop , and (e): 8th Avenue Station .   Hear Suite Revenge on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: The Jimi Hendrix Expe...

From: The Devil's Rejects Soundtrack ; Year: 2005 (1966); Genre: Country/Gospel Around this time of year I watch a lot of horror flicks to help get into the Halloween spirit. This classic Buck Owens track was used as part of the soundtrack to black comedy/horror film:  The Devil's Rejects , which is the second movie in the Firefly series written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie.  The whole antithetical message and mood of this song as well as others on the soundtrack actually help to ground the film to some degree, plus, being a period-piece, having a Buck Owens tune with everything the movie entails helps sell that aspect.   Hear Satan's Gotta Get Along Without Me on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Sugarcult - Memory     My song pick 2 years ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - White Flags   My song pick 3 years ago today: Billie Holiday - If The Moon Turns Green   My song pick 4 years ago today: Rolling Stones - L...

From: Spaceballs: The Soundtrack ; Year: 1987; Genre: Soul/Funk Watched the classic film for the umpteenth time last night. Decided that The Spinners' main title track would make a great pick for this Friday.     Hear Spaceballs on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Ray Parker Jr. - Ghostbusters     My song pick 2 years ago today: David Essex - Stardust   My song pick 3 years ago today: Beat Crusaders - Summerend   My song pick 4 years ago today: The Alan Parsons Project - To One in Paradise   My song pick 5 years ago today: Sky - Gymnopedie No. 1   My song pick 6 years ago today: Lawrence Gowan - A Criminal Mind   My song pick 7 years ago today: R.E.O. Speedwagon - In Your Letter My song pick 8 years ago today: Tom Petty - A Face in the Crowd My song pick 9 years ago today: John Fogerty - You Got the Magic My song pick 10 years ago today: Pink Floyd - Pigs (Three Different Ones) My song pick 1...

From: Silent Running Original Soundtrack ; Year: 1972; Genre: Folk Rock/Space Rock I just love these science fiction films from the 60s and 70s; the way that artists back then were smitten with the concept of "space cowboys" and how the great folk and rock performers melded the folk music, which is sung and played from the heart, to the idea of space pioneers. This was the title track, which music was composed by Peter Schickele, (also known as P.D.Q. Bach ), with lyrics by Diane Lampert was one of two songs from the movie performed by acclaimed folk artist Joan Baez. Suffice it to say, with the musical ability behind this one it is a definite classic.   Hear Silent Running on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Primus - Mr. Knowitall     My song pick 2 years ago today: The Steve Miller Band - The Stake   My song pick 3 years ago today: John Lee Hooker - Boom Boom   My song pick 4 years ago today: Parliament - Presence of a Brai...

From: The Transformers: The Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) ; Year: 1986; Genre: Rock/Pop Let's be honest here: if it weren't for all of the nostalgia and its use in popular culture that is connected to this track the dated sound that is set in mid 1980s concrete so to speak would probably be a detriment. However, with it so tied up with The Transformer: The Movie and subsequent films, television shows and other media, almost everyone hearing it will even to this day whole-heartedly rock out and own the song. That being said, it's not bad or anything negative, just very much identifiable soundwise with that decade and even without the tie-ins in my personal opinion makes it a great track. Anyway, from wot I understand it was inspired by the film Iron Eagle and was intended on being part of the Stallone movie Cobra , but for some reason apparently did not make the cut. Instead it became one of the most memorable songs on The Transformers soundtrack along with W...

From: Super Fly ; Year: 1972; Genre: Funk/Soul Don't have the foggiest why, but this song was on my mind today. This psychedelic soul/funk piece was the title track for this record, which was also the soundtrack to the film of its namesake .      Hear Superfly on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: The Winery Dogs - Xanadu     My song pick 2 years ago today: Bob Welch - I'll Dance Alone   My song pick 3 years ago today: Headstones - S.O.S.   My song pick 4 years ago today: Maxine Nightingale - Right Back Where We Started From   My song pick 5 years ago today: Primus - Last Salmon Man (Fisherman's Chronicles, Part IV)   My song pick 6 years ago today: Paul Simon - 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover My song pick 7 years ago today: Michael Martin Murphey - Wildfire My song pick 8 years ago today: Alestorm - No Grave But The Sea My song pick 9 years ago today: Antoine Busnois - Gaude Coelestis Domina My song pic...

From: Gravity ; Year: 1986; Genre: Funk/Soul Since it is a Funky Friday and Independence Day as well, I needed to pick something to fill both occasions. This was the first song to come to mind and is absolutely perfect in both cases. For me two things in particular come to mind when I hear Living in America start playing: 1. The image of the late great Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed entering the ring against Soviet fighter Ivan Drago, who was played by Dolph Lundgren towards the beginning of the film Rocky IV . And 2. Weird Al Yankovic's funny parody Living With a Hernia . Not to take anything away from the Godfather of Soul's amazing songwriting and unparalleled performance, it's just my personal goofiness.    Watch the music video on YouTube.   Hear the full album version on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Pearls Before Swine - Ballad to an Amber Lady     My song pick 2 years ago today: Hawkwind - The Last Messiah   M...