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

1289 Chet Atkins - Windy and Warm After about a week of freezing temperatures I was greeted this morning with a nice Chinook Wind coming out of the south-west; it's been a welcome relief. Anyway, ever since I stepped out the door this morning this aptly-titled Chet Atkins track kept running through my mind and it seems like an excellent song to close out February. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Watch a classic live television performance on YouTube. Here is another live television performance on YouTube, the song starts at the 1:15 mark. My song pick a year ago today: David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World My song pick two years ago today: Dire Straits - Industrial Disease My song pick three years ago today: Blues Image - Ride Captain Ride My leap year pick 2.29.08: ABBA - The Visitors +

1288 Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass - A Taste of Honey A bit ago my dad and I were going over some of Herb Alpert's music and since I haven't picked one of his songs yet I figured today would be a excellent time to do so. As with a lot of Herb Alpert's recordings, this song did not originate from his pen; it was originally written by Bobby Scott and Ric Marlow for the Broadway production of the same name. I love his arrangements with the horn harmonies as well as neat break sections. Hear A Taste of Honey on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Steve Miller Band - Rock'n Me My song pick two years ago today: Three Dog Night - Try A Little Tenderness My song pick three years ago today: Steve Winwood - Roll With It +

1287 Steeleye Span - The Mooncoin Jig This is a neat and rather rousing instrumental off of Steeleye Span's Now We Are Six album. I love the chord shifts and the neat time signature devices used in this traditional dance tune. Peter Knight gets to shine with his mandolin and banjo playing in this one, however the rhythm section is quite excellent as well. Hear The Mooncoin Jig on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Queen - I'm Going Slightly Mad My song pick two years ago today: Jerry Reed - Lightning Rod My song pick three years ago today: Ozzy Osbourne - Changes +

1286 Rufus & Chaka Khan - Tell Me Something Good This one started running through my mind ever since I woke up this morning. Since it's Friday and all, I figured it would make an excellent "Funky Friday" pick. The song was written by Stevie Wonder and is one of their most memorable hits. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Freddie Taylor and His Swing Men from Harlem - Viper's Dream My song pick two years ago today: Larry Graham & Graham Central Station - Pow My song pick three years ago today: Ricky Nelson - Garden Party +

1285 Rush - Entre Nous I've been playing Permanent Waves quite a bit lately and I realized I hadn't pick this song yet. This was the first Rush album I ever purchased, although I had been given a cassette of Moving Pictures prior, I still consider this to be my first Rush album. At the time I was already a moderate Rush fan and wanted recordings of some of their songs to learn on my bass; I recognized a few of the tracks, which helped make my decision. To say the least after playing it the first couple of times I ended up liking the rest of the songs on the album as well. In my opinion there is not a real weak track on this album; I like to put it on and just let it repeat whilst working. The first time I actually ran into this song was from a SIDplayer file on my old Commodore 64; it was one of many digitized Rush songs that was on the disc. A SID file would be called a midi today; SID got its name from the digital/analogue audio chip in the computer called: ( S ound I nte...

1284 David Bowie - Up the Hill Backwards I've been absolutely loving David Bowie's Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) album as of late; it's steadily becoming one of my favourite Bowie albums and this is one of my favourite tracks among quite a few on the album. I love how it was arranged with its upbeat, effervescent feel, yet still having the technical side as well. Hear Up the Hill Backwards on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Fairport Convention - Who Knows Where The Time Goes My song pick two years ago today: Savatage - Sleep My song pick three years ago today: The Beatles - Across The Universe +

1283 The Offspring - Gone Away It seems like it's been ages since I've chosen a song from The Offspring, so I'm picking one today. They are one of the bands I've been into since my teenage years, for me their music was an excellent mix of pure fun and angst; perfect music for someone in his/her formative years. This is one of my favourites from their Ixnay on the Hombre album; if memory serves me right, it was a fairly big hit for them as well. Hear Gone Away on YouTube. Watch the music video on YouTube. Watch a live performance circa '01 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Converge - Cruel Bloom My song pick two years ago today: Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids - She's So Fine My song pick three years ago today: Lobo - A Big Red Kite +