Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Cover Songs: Top 100

Cover Songs:

Top 100

Cover songs have long been a staple of music, although listeners tend to favor the originals. However, there have been some covers which outshone the original – in some cases, to the point that people may not realize the song with which they’re so familiar is not recorded by the original artist. Here, according to the rankings in Dave’s Music Database, are the top cover songs of all time:

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (1992)
2. Bill Haley & His Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” (1954)
3. Marvin Gaye “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1968)
4. Aretha Franklin “Respect” (1967)
5. Bobby Darin “Mack the Knife” (1959)
6. The Animals “The House of the Rising Sun” (1964)
7. Sinéad O’Connor “Nothing Compares 2 U” (1990)
8. Elton John “Candle in the Wind 1997 (Goodbye England’s Rose)” (1997)
9. Elvis Presley “Hound Dog” (1956)
10. Artie Shaw “Stardust” (1941)

11. Artie Shaw “Begin the Beguine” (1938)
12. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts “I Love Rock and Roll” (1981)
13. Chubby Checker “The Twist” (1960)
14. The Righteous Brothers “Unchained Melody” (1965)
15. Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong “St. Louis Blues” (1925)
16. Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (1908)
17. Al Jolson “Swanee” (1920)
18. Ethel Waters “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” (1933)
19. Gene Austin “My Blue Heaven” (1927)
20. Ray Charles “Georgia on My Mind” (1960)

21. The Kingsmen “Louie Louie” (1963)
22. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower” (1968)
23. Fats Waller “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (1929)
24. Patti Page “Tennessee Waltz” (1950)
25. Bing Crosby “Silent Night” (1935)
26. Haydn Quartet “Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)” (1904)
27. Elvis Presley “All Shook Up“ (1957)
28. Ray Charles “I Can’t Stop Loving You” (1962)
29. Haydn Quartet “In the Good Old Summertime” (1903)
30. Billie Holiday “Summertime” (1936)

31. Soft Cell “Tainted Love” (1981)
32. Kim Carnes “Bette Davis Eyes” (1981)
33. Dooley Wilson “As Time Goes By” (1942)
34. Etta James “At Last” (1961)
35. Sophie Tucker “Some of These Days” (1911)
36. Elvis Presley “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” (1960)
37. Woody Herman “Blues in the Night (My Mama Done Tol’ Me)” (1941)
38. The Byrds “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1965)
39. Debby Boone “You Light Up My Life” (1977)
40. The Weavers “Goodnight Irene” (1950)

41. Jerry Lee Lewis “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” (1957)
42. Louis Armstrong “All of Me” (1932)
43. The Flamingos “I Only Have Eyes for You” (1959)
44. Red Nichols “I Got Rhythm” (1930)
45. Vaughn Monroe “Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)” (1949)
46. Marion Harris “After You’ve Gone” (1919)
47. Pee Wee Hunt “Twelfth Street Rag” (1948)
48. Cyndi Lauper “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1983)
49. Larry Clinton with Bea Wain “Deep Purple” (1939)
50. Ben Selvin “Happy Days Are Here Again” (1930)

51. Arthur Collins with Byron Harlan “The Darktown Strutters’ Ball” (1918)
52. Vess Ossman “Maple Leaf Rag” (1907)
53. Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler & Joe Perry “Walk This Way” (1986)
54. The Harmonicats “Peg O’ My Heart” (1947)
55. Harry MacDonough “Down by the Old Mill Stream” (1911)
56. John McCormack “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary” (1915)
57. Henry Mancini with Audrey Hepburn “Moon River” (1961)
58. Paul Whiteman “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” (1933)
59. The Beatles “Twist and Shout” (1963)
60. Cliff Edwards “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” (1928)

61. The Ink Spots “The Gypsy” (1946)
62. Les Paul & Mary Ford “How High the Moon” (1951)
63. Ritchie Valens “La Bamba” (1958)
64. Fats Domino “Blueberry Hill” (1956)
65. Willie Nelson “Always on My Mind” (1982)
66. Glenn Miller “Tuxedo Junction” (1940)
67. The Fifth Dimension “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” (1969)
68. Perry Como “Some Enchanted Evening” (1949)
69. Vess Ossman “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)” (1900)
70. Harry Nilsson “Without You” (1971)

71. The Five Satins “In the Still of the Nite (I’ll Remember)” (1956)
72. Bunny Berigan “I Can’t Get Started” (1938)
73. Count Basie “April in Paris” (1956)
74. Rudy Vallee “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (1932)
75. Judy Garland with Gene Kelly “For Me and My Gal” (1942)
76. Coleman Hawkins “Body and Soul” (1940)
77. Alma Gluck “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” (1915)
78. Paul Whiteman “Three O’Clock in the Morning” (1922)
79. Mitch Miller “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (1955)
80. Natalie Imbruglia “Torn” (1997)

81. John Yorke Atlee “Listen to the Mocking Bird (aka “The Mocking Bird”)” (1891)
82. Peerless Quartet “I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier” (1915)
83. Knickerbocker Quartet “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile” (1917)
84. Hal McIntyre with Ruth Gaylor “My Funny Valentine” (1945)
85. Fred Astaire “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” (1937)
86. The Tokens “The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)” (1961)
87. Louis Armstrong “When the Saints Go Marching In” (1939)
88. Elvis Presley “That’s All Right, Mama” (1954)
89. The Temptations “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” (1972)
90. Dionne Warwick & Friends “That's What Friends Are For” (1985)

91. Paul Whiteman “My Mammy” (1921)
92. Ada Jones & Billy Murray “Come Josephine in My Flying Machine” (1911)
93. All-4-One “I Swear” (1994)
94. Louis Armstrong “Hello Dolly!” (1964)
95. Fats Waller “Honeysuckle Rose” (1935)
96. Charles Harrison “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” (1918)
97. Roy Acuff “Wabash Cannonball” (1938)
98. Ray Noble “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (1936)
99. Ben Selvin “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” (1919)
100. Bert Williams “Nobody” (1906)

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First posted 11/23/2018; last updated 6/30/2021.

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Children’s Songs and Nursery Rhymes: Top 100

Children’s Songs and Nursery Rhymes:

Top 100

While most of the song lists at Dave’s Music Database focus on specific recordings by specific artists, this list focuses on songs without any specific recordings. This is an aggregate of 30 best-of lists focused on children’s songs and nursery rhymes. Some of the nursery rhymes date back a few centuries while there are also songs from the last decade which were popularized in Disney films and other animated fare. The song’s title and year of publication are listed.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (1706)
2. “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” (1806)
3. “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” (1910)
4. “The Wheels on the Bus” (1939)
5. “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” (1852)
6. “If You’re Happy and You Know It” (1905)
7. “Alphabet Song (The ABC Song)” (1761)
8. “Bingo (B-I-N-G-O)” (1780)
9. “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” (1961)
10. “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed” (based on “Shortenin’ Bread,” 1900)

11. “Mary Had a Little Lamb” (1830)
12. “Frere Jacques (Are You Sleeping?)” (1780)
13. “London Bridge Is Falling Down” (1744)
14. “I’m a Little Teapot” (1939)
15. “The Hokey Pokey” (1826)
16. “Do You Know the Muffin Man?” (1829)
17. “You Are My Sunshine” (1940)
18. “She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain” (1870)
19. “Hush Little Baby” (1918)
20. “This Old Man (Nick Nack Paddiwak)” (1842)

21. “Baa Baa Black Sheep” (1744)
22. “Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake, Baker's Man” (1698)
23. “Ring Around the Rosie” (1881)
24. “Five Little Ducks Went Swimming One Day” (1982)
25. “Hickory Dickory Dock” (1744)
26. “Baby Shark” (2016) *
27. “Yankee Doodle” (1754)
28. “Humpty Dumpty” (1797)
29. “The Ants Go Marching” (based on “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” 1863)
30. “The Farmer in the Dell” (1883)

31. “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (1908)
32. “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” (1894)
33. “Jack and Jill” (1765)
34. “Skip to My Lou” (1832)
35. “Ten in the Bed (Roll Over)” (?)
36. “Do Your Ears Hang Low?” (1900)
37. “Home on the Range” (1873)
38. “Pop Goes the Weasel” (1853)
39. “Down by the Bay” (1976)
40. “This Is the Way” (?)

41. “The Grand Old Duke of York” (1642)
42. “The Bear Went Over the Mountain” (?)
43. “Little Bo Peep” (1870)
44. “Baby Beluga” (1980)
45. “When You Wish Upon a Star” (from Pinocchio, 1940)
46. “Alouette” (1879)
47. “Hey Diddle Diddle” (1765)
48. “Rain, Rain Go Away” (1687)
49. “Old King Cole” (1708)
50. “This Land Is Your Land” (1944)

51. “Let It Go” (from Frozen, 2013)
52. “The Bare Necessities” (from The Jungle Book, 1967)
53. “Sing a Song of Sixpence” (1790)
54. “Happy” (from Despicable Me 2, 2013)
55. “Rock-a-Bye Baby” (1884)
56. “The Doggie in the Window” (1953)
57. “Three Blind Mice” (1609)
58. “You’re Welcome” (from Moana, 2016)
59. “Five Little Speckled Frogs” (?)
60. “O Where, O Where Has My Little Dog Gone” (1864)

61. “Happy Birthday to You” (1893)
62. “On Top of Old Smoky” (1841)
63. “Hot Cross Buns” (1798)
64. “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” (1881)
65. “Hakuna Matata” (from The Lion King, 1994)
66. “Polly Wolly Doodle (All the Day)” (1843)
67. “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” (1938)
68. “Little Miss Muffet” (1805)
69. “Pease Porridge Hot” (1760)
70. “This Little Piggie Went to Market” (1760)

71. “Oh Susanna” (1846)
72. “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” (1842)
73. “Little Jack Horner” (1902)
74. “Skinnamarink (aka ‘Skidamarink’)” (1910)
75. “There’s a Hole in My Bucket” (1700)
76. “Polly Put the Kettle On” (1803)
77. “Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly)” (from So Dear to My Heart, 1948)
78. “When the Saints Go Marching In” (1896)
79. “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe” (1805)
80. “Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two)” (1893)

81. “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” (from Trolls, 2016)
82. “Over the River and Through the Woods” (1844)
83. “Over the Rainbow” (from The Wizard of Oz, 1939)
84. “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” (1867)
85. “There Was a Crooked Man” (1842)
86. “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” (from Frozen, 2013)
87. “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt” (1926)
88. “Brahms' Lullaby (Wiegenlied) (aka ‘Cradle Song’)” (1868)
89. “Do Re Mi” (from The Sound of Music, 1959)
90. “Froggie Went A-Courtin’” (1700)

91. “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” (1709)
92. “Amazing Grace” (1800)
93. “Shortenin’ Bread” (1900)
94. “Be My Little Baby Bumble Bee” (1912)
95. “Eeeney Meeney Miney Moe” (1820)
96. “Miss Mary Mack” (1888)
97. “Kumbayah” (1926)
98. “Jimmy Crack Corn (The Blue Tail Fly)” (1848)
99. “Little Boy Blue” (1891)
100. “Peter Cottontail” (1950)

* This song has origins much earlier than 2016, but it became a sensation that year when Pinkfong released a video for it which has since become the most-watched video of all time on YouTube with more than 8 billion views.

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First posted 6/30/2021.

 
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Friday, June 25, 2021

Ed Sheeran “Bad Habits” released

Bad Habits

Ed Sheeran

Writer(s): Ed Sheeran, Fred Gibson, Johnny McDaid (see lyrics here)

Released: June 25, 2021

First Charted: July 3, 2021

Peak: 2 BB, 12 BA, 11 AC, 17 A40, 111 UK, 14 CN, 12 AU, 24 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 3.6 UK, 11.15 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 806.18 video, 1819.87 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Ed Sheeran was born in England in 1991. He released his first solo album in 2011. A decade later, Equals (=), marked his fifth time to ascend to the top of the UK album charts and fourth time atop the U.S. charts. The lead single, “Bad Habits,” was his eighth chart topper in the UK. It also topped the charts in 27 other countries and was the best selling song of the year in the UK.

“The moody song” SF is “part ballad and part dance track.” Sheeran is “in a deep internal conflict about his bad habits. His unhealthy lifestyle, such as nighttime drinking and partying, is leading him to make some poor choices, which le later regrets.” SF He addressed his drinking when his first daughter was on the way. Sheeran’s wife, Cherry, expressed concern about him being too drunk to drive her to the hospital safely when she was ready to give birth. WK

Originally Sheeran had a slower, acoustic song in mind as the album’s lead single. However, when Covid-19 restrictions were beginning to be lifted in England in 2021, he thought, “I don’t know if the world needs a depressing, sad, slow acoustic song when [the country is] opening up.” WK He inserted a “dancy vibe” into the song to make it a more “upbeat dance tune.” SF

The video for the song was compared to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” WK The video was also inspired by the American TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. WK Sheeran portrays a vampire in a hot pink suit. He and other monsters attack people during the night. He said he chose vampires as a way to “play on the nature of habits in a fantastical way.” WK

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First posted 4/13/2024; last updated 10/14/2024.

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Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Dave's Music Database Hall of Fame: Music Makers' Inductees (June 2021)

Originally posted 6/22/2021.

January 22, 2019 marked the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog! To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announced its own Hall of Fame. This tenth class of music maker inductees is comprised of the top R&B acts. Inductees were determined by looking at the DMDB list of the top 100 R&B acts, ranking them by overall points in Dave’s Music Database, and then inducting the ten highest-ranked acts not previously inducted. See the full list of music maker inductees here.

Chuck Berry (1926-2017)

Inducted June 2021 as a “Top R&B Act”

R&B/early rock-n-roll singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in St. Louis, MO. He is considered one of the architects of the early rock and roll sound. Inducted into the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His songs “Maybellene” and “Johnny B. Goode” rank in the top 1% of all time. The latter is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era. His compilation, The Great Twenty-Eight ranks as one of the top 1000 of all time. Read more.

Beyoncé (1981-)

Inducted June 2021 as a “Top R&B Act”

R&B/pop singer born Beyoncé Giselle Knowles in Houston, TX. “Say My Name,” “Independent Women” (both with the girl group Destiny’s Child before she went solo), “Crazy in Love,” “Irreplaceable,” and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” rank in the the top 1% of all time. Her albums Dangerously in Love, I Am…Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé, and Lemonade rank the top 1000 of all time. Read more.

James Brown (1933-2006)

Inducted June 2021 as a “Top R&B Act”

R&B/funk singer and dancer born in Toccoa, GA. Nicknamed “The Godfather of Soul.” Inducted into the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “Papa's Got a Brand New Bag” and “I Got You (I Feel Good)” are in the DMDB’s the top 1% of all time. His Live at the Apollo Volume 1 is in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of All Time and rates #1 on the DMDB list of the top live albums of all time. Read more.

Sam Cooke (1931-1964)

Inducted June 2021 as a “Top R&B Act”

R&B singer/songwriter born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Inducted into the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “You Send Me” and “A Change Is Gonna Come” are the top 1% of all time. His compilation, The Man and His Music, ranks as one of the top 1000 of all time. Read more.

Fats Domino (1928-2017)

Inducted June 2021 as a “Top R&B Act”

R&B singer and pianist born in New Orleans, LA. Inducted into the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Also in the Blues Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. “Ain’t That a Shame” and “Blueberry Hill” rank in the top 1% of all time. The latter is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era. Read more.

Marvin Gaye (1939-1984)

Inducted June 2021 as a “Top R&B Act”

R&B singer born in Washington, D.C. “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “What's Going On” are both in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era. Those two, as well as “Let’s Get It On” and “Sexual Healing” rank in the top 1% of all time. What's Going On and Let's Get It On rank in the top 1000 albums of all time; the former is in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of All Time Read more.

Little Richard (1932-2020)

Inducted June 2021 as a “Top R&B Act”

R&B singer and pianist born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, GA. Inducted into the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “Tutti Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally” rank in the top 1% of all time. Here's Little Richard! is one of the top 1000 albums of all time. Read more.

Lionel Richie (1949-)

Inducted June 2021 as a “Top R&B Act”

R&B/pop singer born in Los Angeles, CA. “Brick House” and “Three Times a Lady,” both recorded with the Commodores, rank in the top 1% of all time, as do his solo hits “All Night Long (All Night),” “Hello,” and “Say You Say Me.” “Endless Love,” a duet with Diana Ross, also ranks there and is in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era. Can't Slow Down ranks as one of the top 1000 albums of all time. Read more.

Smokey Robinson (1940-)

Inducted June 2021 as a “Top R&B Act”

R&B singer/songwriter and music executive born William Robinson, Jr. in Detroit, Michigan. This Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee makes the DMDB’s lists of top executives, R&B acts, singers, and rock-era songwriters. “The Tracks of My Tears” and “The Tears of a Clown,” both recorded with the Miracles rank in the top 1% of all time. Read more.

The Temptations (active 1960-)

Inducted June 2021 as a “Top R&B Act”

This R&B group from Detroit, Michigan, has existed in different incarnations for decades, but its best known members from their ‘60s heyday include Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, and Paul Williams. “My Girl” is in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era. That song, as well as “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “Just My Imagination Running Away with Me,” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” rank in the top 1% of all time. Read more.
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Friday, June 18, 2021

Styx released Crash of the Crown

Crash of the Crown

Styx

Released: June 18, 2021

Peak: 114 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK)

Genre: veteran classic rock

Tracks:

Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. The Fight of Our Lives [1:54]
  2. A Monster (Shaw, Evankovich, Gowan) [3:27]
  3. Reveries [3:03] (6/4/21, --)
  4. Hold Back the Darkness [3:58]
  5. Save Us from Ourselves [3:02]
  6. Crash of the Crown (Shaw, Evankovich, Gowan) [3:46] (5/6/21, --)
  7. Our Wonderful Lives [3:06]
  8. Common Ground (Shaw, Evankovich, Gowan) [4:00]
  9. Sound the Alarm [3:25]
  10. Long Live the King (Evankovich) [2:33]
  11. Lost at Sea (Gowan) [0:38]
  12. Coming Out the Other Side (Shaw, Evankovich, Phillips) [3:48]
  13. To Those [3:01]
  14. Another Farewell (Evankovich) [0:26]
  15. Stream (Shaw) [2:56]

Songs are written by Tommy Shaw and Will Evankovich unless noted otherwise.

Total Running Time: 43:03

The Players:

  • Tommy Shaw (vocals, guitar)
  • James Young (guitar, vocals)
  • Chuck Panozzo (bass)
  • Lawrence Gowan (vocals, keyboards)
  • Ricky Phillips (bass)
  • Todd Sucherman (drums, percussion)

Rating:

3.529 out of 5.00 (average of 6 ratings)

About the Album:

Styx returns with its 17th album, four years after 2017’s The Mission. The “15-song supersonic cyclone…encapsulates universal emotions, wrestles with top-of-mind issues, and celebrates personal triumphs over adversity in ways everyone can relate to personally.” SW “Crash of the Crown is a modern-day sonic chronograph of the endless regenerative cycle of the rise and fall – and rise again – of our shared human experience.” SW

The album brings back the same players who appeared on The Mission and sees Will Evankovich, who produced The Mission returns in the same capacity here and co-writes most of the songs. He also plays “a multitude of instruments throughout the entire album.” SW

Reveries, with its “wistful observational musings,” SW is “an instantly catchy song featuring STYX’s patented, always-uplifting four- and sometimes five-part harmonious vocal blend on its choruses.” SW The song date back to The Mission. SW

“The unmistakable snarl of A Monster” SW is “bolstered by a whirlwind outro solo from co-founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young.” SW It “was born and bred during a scenic tour break in British Columbia.” SW

There’s a “breathe-easier singalong mantra that permeates Sound the Alarm.” SW “The angelic vocal bridge that cements the relieved bliss” SW of that song “reached final fruition during the recording process itself.” SW

There’s also “the dark yet redemptively hopeful cautionary tale that frames Hold Back the Darkness.” SW and “the elegiac communal grace of To Those.” SW

Regarding the impact of the pandemic on the recording process, chief songwriter Tommy Shaw said, “Absolutely no obstacles were going to get in the way of how we approached creating this album…and everything came out exactly the way we wanted to hear it.” SW Recording happened primarily at Shaw’s home studio in Nashville, “albeit in strategic, quarantine-approved doses.” SW Bassist Ricky Phillips said, “Because we connected so well as a band when we recorded The Mission, I just had to go there to make my contributions.” SW

Similarly, original bassist Chuck Panozzo said, “I traveled over 900 miles by car to record with Will and Tommy in person. They’re both so good at getting the best bass performances out of me in the studio. Making that trip to Nashville was the highlight of my year!” SW He contributes “his signature low-end tone for the inspirational Our Wonderful Lives and the acute aquatic fever dream Lost at Sea.” SW

Shaw previewed an acoustic version of “Lives” at the Big Love Benefit Concert which streamed online in January 2021. It is “a track that serves as a stirring ode to taking stock of the finer points of life amidst trying times.” SW It also marks the first appearance of banjo on a Styx song. Shaw said, “I never imagined playing banjo on a STYX record…but as we were cutting ‘Our Wonderful Lives,’ I thought maybe a touch of Americana might work — so I auditioned it, and it felt like it belonged.” SW The song also features a “jubilant piccolo trumpet solo from guest performer Steve Patrick, which exhibits quite the deliberate Beatlesque flair.” SW

Some songs “were workshopped in hotel rooms all across the continent while the band was on tour.” SW There were others which pre-dated the lockdown. Keyboardist and singer Lawrence Gowan “had laid down many vocal and instrumental tracks in Nashville in the fall of 2019, including some of the synthesized flourishes that reign over the unifying come-together entreaty of Common Ground that recall The Who at their Quadrophenia peak.” SW He recorded other parts from his homebase in Toronto. SW

The title track “holds the unique distinction of featuring three lead vocalists, with JY lending his distinctive baritone to the opening verses, Tommy heading up the heroic stacked-vocal middle section, and Lawrence taking the lead for the final verse.” SW Young compared it to how he and Shaw traded lead vocals on 1981’s “Snowblind.” It received its world premiere during Eddie Trunk’s Sirius XM show “Trunk Nation.” SW

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First posted 6/18/2021; last updated 8/3/2021.

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Friday, June 11, 2021

Dennis DeYoung released 26 East Vol. 2

26 East Vol. 2

Dennis DeYoung

Released: June 11, 2021

Peak: --

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: classic rock veteran

Tracks:

Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. Hello Goodbye [4:26]
  2. Land of the Living [3:44]
  3. The Last Guitar Hero (with Tom Morello) [4:46] (5/11/21, --)
  4. Your Saving Grace [3:36]
  5. Proof of Heaven (with Jim Peterik) [5:27] (3/25/19, --)
  6. Made for Each Other [4:03]
  7. There's No Turning Back Time [4:47] (6/16/21, --)
  8. St. Quarantine [5:00]
  9. So Little Did We Know [4:17]
  10. Always Time [4:06]
  11. Isle of Misanthrope [6:07] (4/7/21, --)
  12. Grand Finale [1:58]

Rating:

3.156 out of 5.00 (average of 3 ratings)

About the Album:

When former Styx frontman Dennis DeYoung released 26 East Vol. 1, it was his self-proclaimed last hurrah. Well, sort of. His last studio effort ballooned up to the point that it was broken into two separate releases so now, a year after the first one, we get 26 East Vol. 2.

Both hint “strongly at DeYoung’s rock roots with Styx and it doesn’t get any better than this…epic music.” 519 The album offers “direct links to the classic Styx sound, as only he can provide, along with some straight ahead rock.” MR “26 East” is a reference to the street where DeYoung grew up on the south side of Chicago in Roseland, Illinois. The Panozzo twins, John and Chuck, lived across the street and formed the nucleus of Styx with DeYoung.

The album was preceded by Proof of Heaven, a song written with Survivor’s Jim Peterik even before 26 East Vol. 1. It was released back in March of 2019 on Peterik’s album Wind of Change. He “compliments DeYoung in the same way Tommy Shaw and James JY Young did when Styx was at its original peak.” 519

Peterik ended up being the catalyst to get DeYoung back into the studio in the first place. Peterik, who co-writes four of the songs on this album and also plays guitar, MR insisted that the world needed DeYoung’s music. The song is “a pretty uplifting and positive piece with heavy religious undertones and an optimistic outlook. This is the type of material fans deeply love from their former Styx lead singer – songs that are very theatrical and powerful.” 519

DeYoung smartly released Isle of Misanthrope, “an eight minute masterpiece with a surprise finish,” MR as the official first single to usher in 26 East Vol. 2. The “piece de resistance” MR is reminiscent of Styx’s anthemic “Suite Madame Blue” from 1975’s Equinox. The song even explores similar themes. The earlier song keyed in on the commercialization of the impending American bicentennial while “Isle” suggests that every empire will eventually burn to the ground. He says, “The lyrics are a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma…[It] is a commentary on the contemporary state of mankind under the guise of ancient times.” MR

For the album’s official second single, “the fiery, hard-rocking” BR The Last Guitar Hero, DeYoung brings in another guest. This time it’s Tom Morello, the former guitarist of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. The song “has the power and pop sensibility to be a hit, should rock radio choose to play it. It captures the essence of the decline of the rock music, performed with a passion by one of rock’s legacy heroes.” 519

The third single is the “upbeat acoustic rocker There’s No Turning Back Time.” 519 It is a “progressive mini-epic” BR which “harks back to the poppy, progressive rock of DeYoung’s Styx heyday.” BR It features “DeYoung’s plaintive vocals,” BR “distorted power chords, sprightly keyboard riffs a dizzying synthesizer solo.” BR

Elsewhere there is “the lovely Made for Each Other,” 519 “a great DeYoung ballad.” 519 That song and “Time” show typical themes DeYoung has explored in the past with the first being a sentimental, romantic song and the second being a song about reminiscing about the good ol’ days.

The album ends with Grand Finale, which originally closed out the 1977 Styx album The Grand Illusion. It is “a fitting farewell to a rock and roll legend.” 519 “The recording genius of Dennis DeYoung will be sadly missed, but both volumes of 26 East are an incredible closure.” 519 He even ends the album with Grand Finale, which was originally featured on Styx’s 1977 album The Grand Illusion –

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Last updated 8/3/2021.

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Saturday, June 5, 2021

BTS “Butter” debuted at #1

Butter

BTS

Writer(s): Jenna Andrews, Rob Grimaldi, Stephen Kirk, RM, Alex Bilowitz, Sebastian Garcia, Ron Perry (see lyrics here)

Released: May 21, 2021

First Charted: May 29, 2021

Peak: 110 BB, 118 DG, 25 AC, 14 A40, 3 UK, 2 CN, 6 AU (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.4 UK, 6.44 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 2091.10 video, 1295.66 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

South Korean boy band BTS formed in 2010. They consist of Jin, Sugar, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook. They released their first album, 2 Cool 4 Skool, in 2013. Four years later, they crossed into the global market and led a Korean Wave when their single “Mic Drop” became the first from a Korean group to be certified gold in the U.S. From 2018 to 2022, they landed four #1s on the Billboard album chart.

“Butter” was the group’s second English-language single but fourth to top the Billboard Hot 100. It made them the fastest act since Justin Timberlake to achieve four #1’s when it became their fourth chart topper in less than nine months. WK It debuted atop the chart and spent a whopping ten weeks there. It reached the top 10 in more than thirty countries worldwide. The song’s 11 million streams in its first day on Spotify set a record. WK The video set records for reaching 10 million views in its first thirteen minutes and 100 million views in the first 24 hours. WK

Forbes called the song an “infectious disco-pop track.” WK NME’s Rhian Daly called it “a clean and crisp piece of dance pop that’s undeniably cool without sacrificing immediacy or memorable hooks.” WK Stereogum’s Tom Breihan said it was “a full-on retro disco strutter, a song built for parties.” WK

Band member RM said it came about because they group felt they needed another summer song in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. WK They received a demo of the song that was already very good and they didn’t need to do much to it. SF Member J-Hope said he thought the song showed more of the individual members’ charms than “Dynamite.” WK

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First posted 3/24/2024; last updated 10/14/2024.

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