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 …

Here Comes The Spring, I Say It’s All Right

by Kevin Burton    Little darling, welcome to sunshine. Welcome to new beginnings.    We have breaking news on Page 7 today and it’s news you can use: In the northern hemisphere, spring begins tomorrow at 10:33 a.m. Central Time USA.    You might be in church at that time, so you can let your …

“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 …

Brother Neil’s Travelling Controversy

by Kevin Burton    Hard feelings and Neil Diamond songs usually don’t go together as far as I know. But we have two examples of such today.    Diamond is the latest artist to be featured in our 2022 look at songs that peaked at number 22 on the American chart.     The songs “Brother …

A Farewell To Everyday People?

by Kevin Burton    Sly Stone’s spot-on cultural signpost “Everyday People” topped the American charts 53 years ago.  But where is that message today?    The song is brilliant in its simplicity. Sung partially to the rhythm of a children’s rhyme, it contains a message even a child can understand.    “The song takes some …

The Sounds They Were A-Changin’

by Kevin Burton    Musical eras, like chocolate bars or ice cubes, are fluid before they are solid, shaped by the temperature of the times.    We can’t always distinguish them day to day. Historians declare them later, according to their differing standards.   But for me there is something momentous about looking at the …