by Kevin Burton In the late 60s and 70s when DJs would spin “Get Back” by The Beatles, they didn’t say anything about Billy Preston, not that I ever heard anyway. But Preston was working closely with the Beatles on the album “Let It Be.” He was a big part of what they …
Category Archives: music
“My Sharona” Exploded, The Knack Fizzled
by Kevin Burton This song was headed for the top. No two ways about it. It was d-d-destiny, to borrow a stuttered word from the lyrics. The first time The Knack played “My Sharona” at MCA Whitney Recording Studios, producer Mike Chapman told the band it was going to be a number …
Imperfect Tens: Hits Dionne Warwick Hated
by Kevin Burton The artist hated them, I loved them and so did millions of others. From the 60s genius of legendary songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and the 80s (post-70s really) brilliance of the Bee Gees, came two smash hits for Dionne Warwick. Both songs went to number 10 …
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“Fantasy Football Anthem” Tells The Truth
by Kevin Burton All love to Kevin Rowland and to Dexy’s Midnight Runners, makers of Come On Eileen. All love to Eileen, all love to Johnnie Ray, all love to bib overalls. But I may just have a new all-time favorite song. It’s called Fantasy Football Anthem, and it’s by Holderness Family …
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Stealing Grooves? Plagiarism or Coincidence?
by Dictionary Scoop They say that bad artists imitate, but it takes a great artist to make something new out of the work of others. In the world of music, the thin line between inspiration and plagiarism is often full of controversy, even when the similarities were not intended. Whether it’s a …
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Device Helps Blind Musicians Communicate
by Katie Geleff CBC Radio A PhD student in Ottawa has developed a device that allows blind and low-vision students to feel music cues, replacing the need to see them. Instead of having to follow a conductor’s baton, or a teacher’s hand gestures during a lesson, music learners can receive instruction through a …
Get Off My Lawn And Give Me The Old Songs!
by Kevin Burton Look out kids, there may be science behind my old-man curmudgeonality. It seems newer songs are really not like the songs of old. Furthermore, technology is partially to blame. I’m having a good day! “If you feel curmudgeonly for thinking ‘They don’t make hits like they used …
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Lennon’s 1972 Peace Overture To McCartney
by Kevin Burton How would music history be different, had an invitation sent in 1972 been received favorably? The acrimony surrounding the Beatles’ breakup was not as fevered as Beatlemania itself – nothing else in music has ever been – but it was white hot. But some two years after the split, John …
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Joni Mitchell’s Masterpiece, “Both Sides Now”
by Kevin Burton Turning on the radio is like opening a musical fire hydrant. The product comes at you fast and furious. When I was young I lacked the discernment to understand that some of the musical water being spewed out by that hydrant was more nourishing than some of the other. …
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Bonnie Raitt Supports A Free Press, Journalism
by Kevin Burton I love Bonnie Raitt more this week than I did before, and that’s saying something. Raitt announced Monday that proceeds from her Sept. 23 concert in Carmel By The Sea, California, will go to support investigative journalism and protect a free press. “Special guest Roy Rogers will support the …
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