by

Song of the Day #6,683: ‘The Ballad of Dorothy Parker’ – Prince

Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1987…

#9 – Sign O’ the Times – Prince

If I tried to be totally objective, this album would be in the top five of this list, and possibly even at #1. It’s the magnum opus of one of music’s most startlingly original and creative talents — a funk, R&B and art pop masterpiece.

I’m not denying any of that by putting it at #9. It’s just that Prince isn’t a personal favorite of mine. I appreciate the hell out of his work, and love a lot of it, but I’ve never felt the personal connection I do with some other artists.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #6,682: ‘The Lazarus Heart’ – Sting

Now that the Decades series has its own dedicated landing page, I’m excited to add new installments and get closer to my goal of writing about 40 years of memorable albums (with additional decades to come).

Over the next several weeks I’ll turn my attention to the albums of 1987, a year that turns out to be even stronger than the last one I tackled, 1977.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #6,681: ‘Amanda’ – Boston

The #1 song the week of November 8, 1986, belonged to Boston. ‘Amanda’ was the band’s first single in six years, and it kicked off the promotion of their third album, Third Stage, with a bang.

While Third Stage didn’t ultimately reach the heights of the band’s first two smash albums, it did go 4X Platinum, and ‘Amanda’ became Boston’s only #1 hit. That’s right, ‘More Than a Feeling,’ ‘Peace of Mind,’ ‘Don’t Look Back,’ and other popular Boston songs never managed to top the Hot 100.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #6,680: ‘Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)’ – Rod Stewart

Throwing back to the week of November 7, 1976, we find the biggest hit of Rod Stewart’s career, ‘Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright).’ The song hit #1 on this week and didn’t relinquish its spot until early 1977.

‘Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)’ achieved this massive success despite (or, more likely, because of) controversy over its lyrics. The faint of heart took offense at lines like these: “C’mon, angel, my heart’s on fire / Don’t deny your man’s desire / You’d be a fool to stop this tide / Spread your wings and let me come inside.”

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #6,679: ‘Loving Life Again’ – Ella Langley

I’m closing out this edition of What the Kids are Listening To, appropriately, with an Ella Langley song. The Alabama-born singer-songwriter is certainly the story of this year’s Hot 100.

‘Loving Life Again’ is the fourth single from Langley’s sophomore album, Dandelion. The other three made it to the top five, while this one has so far peaked at #16.

Continue reading →