Love Is Growing New And She’s Still The One

by Kevin Burton    Found a lyric last week that is so cool, I want to use it to tell my happy Valentine’s Day story.    This is what happens when my usual Tuneful Tuesday post coincides with Valentine’s Day.    The song “Still The One” went to number five for Orleans in 1976.  It’s …

Legendary Composer Bacharach Dead At 94

by Kevin Burton    You know Burt Bacharach, even when it’s not Burt Bacharach.    Bacharach died Wednesday at home in Los Angeles of natural causes, according to his publicist, Tina Brausam.    The Kansas City-born composer had an unmistakable sound, especially in his work with longtime writing partner, lyricist Hal David.    The New …

Still Singing, Petula Clark Turns 90

by Kevin Burton    Did you know Petula Clark has a new single?  Well, it’s her birthday today so let’s help her celebrate.    That’s 90 candles on the cake today for Petula, if you’re counting. She was born on this day in 1932 in Ewell, England. That’s 68 million records sold, if you’re doing …

Songwriter Cynthia Weil Turns 82

by Kevin Burton    Happy 82nd birthday to a great American songwriter you may not know much about, Cynthia Weil.     If her name doesn’t ring a bell, her music sure will.  She and her husband Barry Mann formed one of the most important songwriting teams of the 60s. They were contemporaries of writers you …

Drift Away: The Healing Power Of Music

by Kevin Burton    Let me be clear: the beat, the rock and roll beat, does not free one’s soul.  But in the secular sense it sure frees something.     And that’s the heart of the great 1973 song “Drift Away.”    Lawrence Darrow Brown was born in Simonton, Texas on this day in 1940.  …

Mining For Radio Gold In Canada

by Kevin Burton    The things we don’t say, can’t say, the things we won’t see and refuse to feel, these are the ghosts that inhabit a great 1971 song.    I speak of “If You Could Read My Mind” by Gordon Lightfoot.  The orchestration is good but it never gets in the way of …

Songs And Seasons In The Canadian Sun

by Kevin Burton    Friday was Canada Day, which got me thinking about my favorite songs by Canadian musicians.    The discussion started Saturday on Page 7 (“A Salute To Canada’s Greatest Hits,” July 2.) I have learned a few things just looking into it.     For instance, Rush, a group I never listened to …

A Salute To Canada’s Greatest Hits

by Kevin Burton    What in the world was “The Safety Dance” all about anyway?     That’s just one avenue I walked down during my look into the best Canadian music in honor of Canada Day, which was yesterday, July 1.    I set out to create a top ten list of favorite songs by …

Hearing My Story In The Rock And Roll

by Kevin Burton    The stories, the images, the sound and fury of rock and roll, truly resonate when they hit close to home.    By now we have enough rocking sounds to fill the seven seas. The messages are all over the map. The sheer variety is breathtaking. Not every song will get in …

Sunny Songs To Usher In Summer

by Kevin Burton     Ready or not, here’s summer!     Today’s official beginning of summer coincides with our usual Tuesday music discussion on Page 7 to bring you songs about summer.    Summer started at 4:14 am Central Time today, according to the Farmer’s Almanac.  But most people have a different definition of summer a …