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

I was thinking about this song this evening and I figured that I would add it to my list, after all it is one of my favourites from Dire Straits. This is more of a lyrically/vocally driven song than their normal material; the lyrics are quite hilarious if you listen closely to them. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

I have always loved the Three Dog Night version of this often-covered song; they did an excellent job making this song their own. Cory Wells' soulful vocals is the key to this song, which he does a fantastic job; he is the one of the three lead singers with the biggest, powerful voice. This is one of the best songs that builds; it takes about three minutes for the kick-in, but when it does it is awesome. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a television performance on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

This is a song that I fell in love with when I first heard it, it reminds me a lot of the music that my grandfather played. It showcases Jerry Reed's picking; his playing in this song sounds classical at times. From what I understand it was used in the film " Moonrunners ," which was the precursor to " The Dukes of Hazard ;" great car chase music. Here is a live television performance on YouTube. +

I noticed that I had not chosen any music from the bass legend Larry Graham yet; he is the pioneer of percussive bass playing, (slap bass). For those who are unfamiliar with his name or his music, if you have heard Sly & the Family Stone you have heard him; he was their bassist; after Sly & the Family Stone he formed this band: Graham Central Station. What has set him aside from other legendary bassists, other than his funkiness, (which is only rivaled among bassists by Bootsy Collins in my opinion), is his incredible vocal abilities. The fact that he can lay down such an impressive groove and sing that incredibly at the same time really sets him apart from the other monsters of bass in my opinion. This song is some excellent Funk music, and of course, the bass is amazing. The first time I heard this track I was amused by the "What did you expect?" sections where they played "classical opera," "Chopin, Beethoven, or Bach," and "some country fu...

Yesterday evening I was listening to a lot of Pink Floyd and this was one of the songs that I replayed a couple of times. In my opinion, this is one of their more interesting pieces of music, it is a mix of so many different ideas and sounds. I love David Gilmour's slide/steel guitar; it is the perfect topping for this song. Here is a video with the studio version on YouTube. Here is a classic live performance on YouTube. Here is a live performance from '94 on YouTube. +

Last night I was up until 3 in the morning finishing a video game that I have been working on for a bit and had to be up at 6... Oi, I have a great deal of work to do today as well. Anyway, I have been blaring Savatage music to keep my juices flowing and I thought that this song fit my situation a bit. It is one of my favourite Savatage songs and I liked it ever since I first heard it, an awesome track. Here is the music video on YouTube. +

A couple of days ago this song, for some reason was running through my mind as I was falling asleep on the couch; I'm not sure if American Graffiti was playing or not whilst I was sleeping. This was one of the mellower and soulful songs from the soundtrack. From what I understand, the band was formed in the early 70's as a retro 50's band and appeared in the Movie as the band: "Herbie and the Heartbeats" playing the song " At the Hop " among others. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +