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Song of the Day #4,321: ‘Cupid’s Got a Brand New Gun’ – Michael Penn

Every so often the Random iTunes Fairy serves up a Michael Penn song and gives me an excuse to dip my toe into his five albums, the last of which was released 15 years ago, and bemoan the fact that he stopped recording pop songs in favor of work on TV and movie soundtracks.

‘Cupid’s Got a Brand New Gun’ is one of my favorite tracks from Penn’s debut album, 1989’s March. That album included the almost-top ten hit ‘No Myth’ (it reached #13 on Billboard’s Hot 100, though it did climb all the way to #4 on the Modern Rock chart) and it proved to be the commercial peak of Penn’s career.

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Song of the Day #4,320: ‘Have a Drink On Me’ – AC/DC

How many bands can put out a string of Platinum or multi-Platinum albums in a row, lose their lead singer and replace him in less than a year, then release one of the top-selling albums of all-time? That list starts and ends with AC/DC.

Bon Scott fronted the Australian rock band for five years, culminating with the massive 1979 hit album Highway to Hell. Then he died in the back seat of a car after a night of heavy drinking. The band held auditions for a new lead singer, landing on Brian Johnson, whose distinctive shrieking rasp helped make 1980’s Back in Black an all-time classic.

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Song of the Day #4,319: ‘Through the Years’ – Kenny Rogers

The biggest name the music world has lost in 2020 so far is Kenny Rogers, who passed away at age 81 on March 20. Rogers died of natural causes, and his passing went sadly unrecognized due to the increasing panic over coronavirus. In normal times, a guy like Rogers would have warranted a week’s worth of remembrances.

Rogers sold more than 100 million albums over the course of a career that spanned nearly 60 years. He had pop and psychedelic rock hits before shifting his career into the crossover country lane that brought him most of his success. Don’t forget that old Kenny was responsible for ‘Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In),’ used so memorably in The Big Lebowski.

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Song of the Day #4,318: ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ – Bill Withers

Legendary soul singer-songwriter Bill Withers didn’t die from coronavirus, but his passing on March 30, at 81 years old, happened right when the new pandemic reality was setting in. Would all the news be sad now?

Withers was responsible for such soul-balming classics as ‘Ain’t No Sunshine,’ ‘Lean On Me,’ ‘Just the Two of Us’ and ‘Lovely Day.’ He won multiple Grammys and was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

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Song of the Day #4,317: ‘Angel from Montgomery’ – John Prine

I’m not at all familiar with John Prine’s music, but when he died earlier this month after contracting coronavirus, I knew full well that the world had lost a legend.

I knew in large part because some of my favorite artists (Miranda Lambert, Lucinda Williams, Jason Isbell and Brandi Carlile) posted heartfelt tributes to the man that made it clear he was not just an immense talent but something akin to a family member.

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