Song of the Day #4,765: ‘Lean On Me’ – Bill Withers

Our final inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 2015 class is the soulful singer-songwriter Bill Withers, who recorded a handful of enduring classics during a career that spanned just 15 years. Withers retired abruptly in 1985 over his frustrations with record executives trying to micromanage his career.

Withers released eight studio albums during that span. His three best-known songs — ‘Ain’t No Sunshine,’ ‘Lean on Me,’ and ‘Lovely Day’ — are the sort of soulful staples people list among their all-time favorites. He also wrote and recorded the yacht rock classic ‘Just the Two Of Us’ with Grover Washington, Jr. on sax.

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Song of the Day #4,764: ‘Pride and Joy’ – Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

I don’t know much about Stevie Ray Vaughan, but the few minutes I spent reading about him and watching him perform in order to write this post made me an instant fan.

Vaughan is credited with leading the blues revival in the 80s, and is considered one of the greatest guitar players of all time by, well, the greatest guitar players of all time.

As such, he’s a no-brainer for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and made it in the first time he was nominated, in his sixth year of eligibility.

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Song of the Day #4,763: ‘It Don’t Come Easy’ – Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr is the next inductee from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2015, and his inclusion is certainly an example of the Hall getting sentimental.

Starr was the last of The Beatles not in the Hall as a solo artist, with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison having been inducted in 1994, 1999 and 2004, respectively. Harrison made it in three years after his death, and I could see the Hall wanting to avoid another posthumous ceremony.

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Song of the Day #4,762: ‘Are You Still in Love With Me?’ – Tift Merritt

My father’s birthday fell in the middle of the week, which paired him up with my Rock & Roll Hall of Fame post on Joan Jett. Not a bad place to land.

My mother’s birthday is today, a Random Weekend day, which provides me with one of those opportunities to spin the wheel and honor her with a mystery track.

This last happened on June 20, which was both Father’s Day and my older daughter’s birthday. The Random iTunes Fairy served up a Billy Joel song that day, a nice treat for both of them.

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Song of the Day #4,761: ‘Tonight’ – TV On the Radio

‘Tonight’ is a track from TV On the Radio’s 2006 album Return to Cookie Mountain.

This album received a ton of critical praise, ending up at or near the top of many year-end best-of lists. It doesn’t work for me, though. I picked up the record after really liking its follow-up, 2008’s Dear Science, but this one didn’t have the same effect on me. Dear Science still holds up, though.

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