More Songs That Peaked At Number 22

by Kevin Burton    Yes you do know the song “But It’s Alright” by J.J. Jackson, but maybe not by its title.    If I mention that Huey Lewis and the News did a just about carbon copy of the song in 1994, that might help your recognition.    (No I’m not talking about “It’s …

A Scientific Study Of Groove In Music

by Kevin Burton    As a consumer of popular music for more than 50 years I thought I knew exactly what a groove was, until I tried to define it.     I have no trouble feeling the groove in “Ain’t That Peculiar,” by Marvin Gaye for example. But how to define it?     The website …

Quick Music Fans, What Is A Groove?

by Kevin Burton    One of my beep baseball coaches called me “the answer man.” This time, I struck out.   My wife asked me “What is a groove?” I am an amateur musician and somewhat of a historian. You would think that question would be right in my wheelhouse.      I gave perhaps the …

Wedding Bells Are Music To My Ears

by Kevin Burton    Songwriters Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich were married in 1962. The next year they wrote “Chapel Of Love,” perhaps the most famous pop song about a wedding.    In 1964 The Dixie Cups took Chapel of Love to number one on the Hot 100, where the song enjoyed a three-week honeymoon. …

Rock Music Followed Where Fats Domino Led

by Kevin Burton    There is a case to be made for Fats Domino as the main creator of rock and roll, but he rarely gets that credit, or even gets into that conversation.    Yesterday we began to look at why that might be, what causes rock historians to not give him full credit …

Domino Overlooked, Ain’t That A Shame?

by Kevin Burton    The best song I didn’t fit into my Flying Colors series about songs with a color in the title is “Blueberry Hill” by Fats Domino. This is not the first time he has been overlooked.    His “Blue Monday” did make number 6 on my list, so I didn’t ignore him …

Neil Young Takes A Stand – Again

by Kevin Burton    Neil Young has always put his money where his mouth is.   He took on the Nixon White House during the Vietnam War. Now he is taking on a popular podcaster who he says propagates dangerous lies about Covid 19.      By pulling his music from Spotify, the world’s largest …

The Look Of Love, The Sound Of Sominex

by Kevin Burton   All love to the singer and to the composers, maybe not so much to this particular song.     The late, great purveyor of blue-eyed soul Dusty Springfield took the Burt Bacharach-Hal David song “The Look of Love” to number 22 on the American chart in 1967.  That gets the song a …

“Rescue Me” Imitated The Detroit Sound

by Kevin Burton    From the heart of the Motown era came a million-selling hit that typified the Detroit sound.     But the song has been doubly mistaken through the years, shortchanging the artist whose vocal command made it a classic.    That song was “Rescue Me,” and it was a bit of a rescue …

Is Burton Cummings Rock’s Best Vocalist?

by Kevin Burton    He croons, he growls, he soars, he swoops, he screams, he quivers. Burton Cummings has a voice made for rock and roll.    He grabs a song and will, not, let it go.     So glad he took up music rather than whatever else he could have pursued as a high …