Theme weeks like this one on the Library of Congress’ latest additions to the National Recording Registry always reveal holes in my musical education.
For example, I never knew the 2001 Moulin Rouge song ‘Lady Marmalade’ was a cover of a 1974 single by Labelle. And I didn’t know Patti LaBelle fronted a girl group called Labelle, a trio that started as Patte LaBelle and the Bluebelles before changing their name in the early 70s.
The Library of Congress added Connie Smith’s ‘Once a Day’ to the National Registry, honoring a woman acknowledged as one of the most influential vocalists in country music history. I’d never heard of her.
Her 1964 recording of ‘Once a Day’ was Smith’s debut single and the biggest hit of her career. It was the first debut song by a female country artist to hit #1, and held a record for most weeks in the top spot by a female country artist for 50 years, when it was unseated by Taylor Swift’s ‘We Are Never Getting Back Together.’
Every year starting in 2002, the Library of Congress names 25 recordings to its National Recording Registry, a collection of works deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”
These can be songs, albums, or spoken word broadcasts — the only restriction is that they be at least 10 years old and they physically exist. Members of the public are welcome to submit nominations.
One of my great musical shames is my inability to appreciate Stevie Wonder.
I understand why he’s considered a genius, and one of the most influential and accomplished artists of all time. I hear the intricacy in his melodies and instrumentation, and I marvel that he often played all the instruments himself. I pay my respects to a man who once won three Album of the Year Grammys during a four year span in the mid-70s, a feat nobody else has managed.
‘Friend of the Devil’ is my fourth Song of the Day from Grateful Dead’s classic 1970 album American Beauty, and probably my favorite of the bunch.
American Beauty is considered one of the greats, and I can’t argue with that assessment. The folk rock sound is sublime, the songs are memorable, the lyrics are evocative. My knowledge of the Dead pretty much starts and stops with this album, but it’s enough to make me understand their appeal.
Meet Me In Montauk 