In that sense, I feel a strong connection to him.” “Arnold Layne” was Pink Floyd’s first single and it peaked at #20 n the U.K. And that is what I’ve always attempted to aspire to. What was so stunning about Syd’s songs was, through the whimsy and the crazy juxtaposition of ideas and words, there was a very powerful grasp of humanity. Both my mother and Syd’s mother had students as lodgers because there was a girls’ college up the road so there were constantly great lines of bras and knickers on our washing lines and ‘Arnold’ or whoever he was, had bits off our washing lines. Roger Waters, “’Arnold Layne’ was actually based on a real person. During the psychedelic rock era, it was possible for a song about a transvestite who went on clothesline panty raids to be played on the conservative BBC. Songwriter: Syd Barrett Did Not Chart 1967. Eminem, on his background, “I was poor white trash, no glitter, no glamour, but I’m not ashamed of anything.”ħ76. I mean, he was even sued by his own mother over the line “My mom smokes more dope than I do.” Eminem cemented his mainstream success in 2000 with “The Marshall Mathers LP,” which sold over ten million copies and included “Stan,” about a dangerously obsessed fan, and Eminem’s alter ego anthem “The Real Slim Shady.” Eminem slung insults at various pop culture stars on the song, but the major hook is the “please stand up’ chorus, a call for unity among his defiant punk rap community. Eminem debuted as a mainstream rapper with “My Name Is,” a witty combination of humor and hand grenades that went after authority figures with a viciousness that the Coasters never imagined. Songwriters: Marshall Mathers, Andre Young, Tommy Coster, Mike Elizondo #4 pop/#11 R&B 2000. Stylistically, The Cars could stall out when exploring artier off ramps, but were in cruise control when operating pop songs with melodic keyboard hooks.ħ77. Ric Ocasek added lyrics about an unattainable young woman, fully confident in her sexual charisma. That group evolved into The Cars, who became an immediate success with the release of their 1978 debut album, pushed into platinum territory with the singles “Just What I Needed” and “My Best’s Friend’s Girl.” We have to go back to the early 1960s for the origins of their 1979 hit “Let’s Go.” A Los Angeles band named The Routers, an instrumental surf rock outfit, scored a Top Twenty hit in 1962 with “Let’s Go (Pony).” The Cars nicked the drumbeat and the handclap cadence from “Let’s Go (Party),” updating the sound for the new wave era. Boston based musicians Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr started working together in the early 1970s and released a 1973 album as members of the band Milkwood. Soul” recording session where (a) he saw co-producer Charlie Greene punch Stephen Stills in the mouth and (b) he decided to cover the song, an idea he later dropped or Neil vetoed depending on which story you prefer.ħ78. Young, who bashed out the song in five minutes, playfully dedicated the tune “respectfully to the women of Whiskey A Go-Go and the women of Hollywood.” Otis Redding stopped by during the “Mr. Soul’ is that he just made it out from underneath. Whatever it was that had descended upon him, the feeling in ‘Mr.
Soul’ is the first glimpse into the darker side of Neil Young’s psyche.
Author James McDonough, “Open to a thousand interpretations, shot full of mystery and dread, ‘Mr.
Soul” sounds like a fuzz heavy update of the Stones’ “Satisfaction” with Neil Young’s mercurial, stream of consciousness lyrics providing a more psychedelic lens. Buffalo Springfield was a retroactive supergroup who helped to advance the country rock/California folk sound that had been developed by The Byrds. Songwriter: Neil Young Did Not Chart 1967. Lyrically, “Betcha By Golly, Wow” is a saccharin overdose, but Thompkins’ voice is such a splendid instrument, you barely notice the references to candy land and ordering custom made rainbows.ħ79. While Motown was moving in a more socially conscious direction, Thom Bell was creating a new brand of supper club soul. Producer Thom Bell wasn’t too impressed with The Stylistics as a unit, but he loved the falsetto voice of lead singer Russell Thompkins, Jr. The Stylistics were a Philadelphia based vocal group who released ten Top Forty singles between 19, to include the Top Ten hits, “You Are Everything,” “Stone in Love with You,” “Break Up to Make Up,” “You Make Me Feel Brand New,” and “Betcha By Golly, Wow,” which had originally been recorded by Connie Stephens in 1970. Songwriters: Thom Bell, Linda Creed #3 pop/#2 R&B 1972.