Monthly Archives: July 2023

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Song of the Day #5,499: ‘All Night Long (All Night)’ – Lionel Richie

I think there’s little debate over whether Lionel Richie belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but a better question is whether he should have made it as a member of the Commodores before (or instead of) making it as a solo artist.

To be fair, Richie has had a stellar solo career: five #1 hits, another eight in the top 10, two multi-platinum albums, one diamond album, and all of that in the course of just six years. He also had a beautiful blind woman create a photorealistic sculpture of his head in the oddly creepy video for ‘Hello.’

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Song of the Day #5,498: ‘We Belong’ – Pat Benatar

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has had a spotty reputation when it comes to inducting women. Only 25 solo women have been inducted into the Hall as performers since its 1986 inception. The Hall has been making up for that oversight in recent years, with 10 of those coming in the last five years.

Last year saw the induction of Pat Benatar, the artist responsible for such hits as ‘Love is a Battlefield,’ ‘Hit Me with Your Best Shot,’ and ‘We Belong.’ Interestingly, Benatar was added to the Hall alongside her longtime husband and guitarist, Neil Giraldo, so she may not qualify as a “solo” inductee even though all of her albums were released under her name alone.

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Song of the Day #5,497: ‘Coat of Many Colors’ – Dolly Parton

Getting back to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2022, we arrive at a musical legend whose excellence nobody can deny: Dolly Parton. Parton is the first female country artist inducted into the Hall.

Parton herself questioned whether she belonged in the Rock Hall and initially declined the nomination, stating that she wasn’t “worthy” of the honor. That’s not how the admission process works, however, so she made it on the ballot whether she wanted to or not. Eventually she embraced the honor and performed, with typical charm and humility, at the induction ceremony.

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Song of the Day #5,496: ‘(I Can’t Help) Falling in Love with You’ – UB40

It’s the week of July 17, 1993, and apparently a very dire time for popular music.

In the #1 spot is ‘Weak,’ the tepid R&B song I featured three weeks ago when it was perched at #2.

And in the second slot is UB40’s take on the Elvis Presley classic ‘(I Can’t Help) Falling in Love with You,’ breaking my streak of 5,495 Songs of the Day without an appearance by the British reggae band. That’s a shame.

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Song of the Day #5,495: ‘Electric Avenue’ – Eddy Grant

Throwing back to the week of July 16, 1983, we find The Police’s ‘Every Breath You Take’ in the #1 spot for the second straight week. As I featured that classic 14 years ago, I’m skipping it today to focus on that week’s #2 song.

In the second spot is the lone U.S. top ten hit by Guyanese-British artist Eddy Grant: ‘Electric Avenue.’ The reggae-tinged rock song spent five weeks at #2, held off from the top spot first by Irene Cara’s ‘Flashdance… What a Feeling‘ and then by the aforementioned ‘Every Breath You Take.’

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