by Kevin Burton It was 1978 when FM radio overtook AM. But the song that marked the occasion was sort of a medium-sized hit. We’re talking “FM” by Steely Dan. So what’s your definition of a hit song? Is it based on how much it sells? How high it gets on …
Tag Archives: 70s music
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 …
Huge Hit “Maggie May” Almost Discarded
by Kevin Burton The smash hit that was number one on the American pop chart fifty years ago today was almost tossed aside. It was included on Rod Stewart’s “Every Picture Tells A Story” LP at the last minute, according to the entry in the Billboard Book of Number One Hits. One …
Work Commute Takes On A 70s Groove
by Kevin Burton You don’t often get a break like this one, and I’m riding with it. The ride service that takes me from my rural town back and forth to work in the big city will not be charging its usual fee for the fourth quarter of this year. That’s right, …
A 1972 One-Hit, One-Rhyme Wonder
by Kevin Burton Because mine is a songwriter’s household we have “what rhymes with’ as one of our buzzwords. Buzzphrases I guess that should be. Example: My granddaughter Willow is spoiled. So it’s “Oh my goodness can’t believe how spoiled she is…what rhymes with spoiled?” “Coiled, boiled, foiled..” and so on. Got …
More Rafferty, More ABBA Coming
by Kevin Burton Here’s great news about even more new Gerry Rafferty music. Rafferty’s daughter Martha did an interview Aug. 31 on BBC Scotland. Twice she told host Roddy Hart that there was other unfinished music she hoped would come out “later.” The Scottish singer/songwriter was working on several new songs just …
A Moment To Savor With Gerry Rafferty
by Kevin Burton The hit sniffers at United Artists wanted the title track from Gerry Rafferty’s 1978 smash album “City To City” to be the first song released as a single. Rafferty knew better, successfully spoke up for the sonic masterpiece “Baker Street” as the first single and the rest is history. …
Last Echoes From The Brilliant Rafferty
by Kevin Burton Thanks to his daughter Martha, we have a new studio album from Gerry Rafferty, ten years after his death. Parlophone Records released “Rest In Blue” on Friday. It’s a revamping of the songs he was working on at the time of his death. For dedicated Rafferty fans it’s a …
ABBA Songs More Than Pop Confections
By Kevin Burton Have you heard, ABBA is releasing new music Friday! It’s the first time in 39 years the Swedish quartet has released anything. I told that story yesterday (Something Old, Something New, ABBA!, Aug. 31). Looking forward to the new tunes, here is a list of my favorite old ones, …
Something Old, Something New, ABBA!
by Kevin Burton ABBA is back. Are you ready for this? Did you miss them? The Swedish supergroup thrived in the 70s with hits such as “Dancing Queen,” “Fernando” and “Mamma Mia.” For the first time in 39 years they will release new music Friday, according to published sources. Maybe you’re down …
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