Old-school news, just in time
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 …
Continue reading “Imperfect Tens: Hits Dionne Warwick Hated”
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 …
Continue reading “Stealing Grooves? Plagiarism or Coincidence?”
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 …
Continue reading “Get Off My Lawn And Give Me The Old Songs!”
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 …
Continue reading “Lennon’s 1972 Peace Overture To McCartney”
by Kevin Burton There would come a time, in a year or so, when you could not escape disco. But at its inception 50 years ago, you couldn’t have seen it coming. “Disco snuck up on America like a covert operation,” wrote Alice Echols in her book “Hot Stuff, Disco and the Remaking …
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. …
Continue reading “Joni Mitchell’s Masterpiece, “Both Sides Now””
by Kevin Burton When Paul McCartney was 14 he wrote a whimsical song called “When I’m Sixty-Four.” As of today he’s 82. Can you believe that? On that pivotal night, Feb. 9, 1964, when the Fab Four Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show, their collective age was 86. A …
by Kevin Burton In my alternate Motown universe there is a lot more Martha Reeves and a lot less Diana Ross. There is also at least a little more Mary Wells. It’s Wells we focus on today. Sixty years ago, Wells’ “My Guy” became the first Motown record to hit number one on …
by Kevin Burton I have read maybe two dozen books about the Beatles on talking book. But I didn’t know this. In books by and about other contemporary artists, the Beatles emerge, as a yardstick, a cultural happening, a turning point. But not so much as a syllable about this. Until very …
Continue reading “A Female Version Of The Beatles? Who Knew?”
by Kevin Burton The headline to an article in The Independent called Gerry Rafferty a “bipolar alcoholic industry misfit.” His biographers including his daughter Martha dispute none of that. The article was printed on the occasion of the 2021 release of “Rest In Blue” an album of Rafferty demos polished and completed by …
Continue reading “Gerry Rafferty Was Born 77 Years Ago Today”
Page 7 