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Song of the Day #6,356: ‘Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)’ – The Byrds

Topping the Billboard Hot 100 the week of Nov. 30, 1965, was The Byrds’ folk rock reimagining of Pete Seeger’s ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ Seeger took almost the entirety of the lyric from the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes. He did add the “turn turn turn” part, and for that claimed 5% of the royalties.

He earned another 50% for writing the musical arrangement, and donated the remaining 45% to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, a group “dedicated to ending the occupation of the Palestinian territories and achieving a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians.” Pete Seeger was a woke king.

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Song of the Day #6,355: ‘Only You (And You Alone)’ – The Platters

Throwing back to the week of November 29, 1955, we find a quintet of repeat offenders atop the Billboard chart. But none of those songs is as enduring a classic as the song at #6 that week, ‘Only You (And You Alone)’ by The Platters.

Amazingly, this doo-wop gem never made it higher than #5, but I’m confident it’s recognizable today to people from all generations thanks to its use in movies, TV shows, and commercials.

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Song of the Day #6,354: ‘It Depends’ – Chris Brown feat. Bryson Tiller

Wrapping up the latest installment of ‘What the Kids are Listening To,’ here’s the Chris Brown song I alluded to yesterday. It sits at #16 on the chart, just behind Morgan Wallen’s ‘What I Want.’

I believe it was Aziz Ansari who did a stand-up routine about how it’s easy to cancel artists you don’t like to begin with, and hard to cancel those of whom you’re already a fan. People will skip an R. Kelly song but you’ll have to pry Michael Jackson from their cold, dead hands.

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Song of the Day #6,353: ‘Thanksgiving Song’ – Mary Chapin Carpenter

Taking a break from ‘What the Kids are Listening To’ to acknowledge today’s Thanksgiving holiday (apologies to the international readers). Mostly I didn’t want to post a Chris Brown song on a family holiday.

Thanksgiving doesn’t really have songs, certainly not like Christmas or even Halloween. But I did find this lovely ballad by Mary Chapin Carpenter which I think does the trick.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

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Song of the Day #6,352: ‘Your Idol’ – Saja Boys

Taylor Swift holds the #13 spot on the latest Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Elizabeth Taylor,’ the second track on The Life of a Showgirl. The first four songs on the album remain in the top 20, suggesting enough people are interrupted in their listening to show diminishing returns for later tracks.

At #14 is a repeat of the fake band featured yesterday, KPop Demon Hunters‘ Saja Boys. While yesterday’s ‘Soda Pop’ was a straightforward song about young love, ‘Your Idol’ hints at the disguised demons’ true intent.

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