Tag Archives: songwriting

Africa: Toto

Posted on by
Reply

Monday morning after sifting through literally dozens of versions, band configurations, and covers, we settle on this 2013 version of the 1981 Toto song.

Dave Paich: lead vocals, keyboards and writer

Simon Phillips: drums

Nathan East: bass

Steve Lukather: lead guitar

And because here at Shalblog Industries® we use every part of the buffalo, expect more versions of it posted this week.

Thanks to YouTuber MADIM67

The Semicolon Song

Posted on by
1

A very silly, clever song. Make sure you stay for the end, if you don’t want to be completely confused. Language definitely not suitable for work or the easily offended.

More at thelonelyisland

Whose Garden Was This?: Tom Paxton

Posted on by
2

Dave Van Ronk claimed that it was really Tom Paxton of the NYC folk scene who first claimed the mantel of singer/songwriter among folkies, daring to sing mainly his own songs in the cafés, which led the way to Dylan and Ochs. Here’s a great Paxton song from fifty years ago that could have been written yesterday.

Monday morning, for all that’s been lost.

More at Tom Paxton – Topic

Waiting For Someone To Perform With

Posted on by
1

Sunday evening, Paul finds 50,000 to perform with, nah-nah-nah-nah-ing far into Monday morning.

Paul McCartney at the amazing Hyde Park concert in 2010, singing “Hey Jude.”

By the end, I think even McCartney was in awe. All 50,000 people, men, then women, were singing in the right key.

Here is the incredible set list for the concert that night:

 

What Makes This Song Great

Posted on by
Reply

Gordon Lightfoot’s song “If You Could Read My Mind” was always one of my favorites, but I never had the musical knowledge to understand why I liked it so much, even over and above the great lyrics. Rick Beato’s musical breakdown of the arrangement and production of the music of Lightfoot’s recording is just wonderful. His discourse on the song not only makes me feel smarter, but much more to the point, makes me hear things in the recording that I had never consciously heard before. (Headphones recommended).

More at Rick Beato

Oh Boy! Buddy Holly

Posted on by
Reply

In this live performance from The Ed Sullivan Show, you can barely hear Buddy’s guitar because Ed demanded that the sound be turned down. But Buddy bangs it out nevertheless. After that, Buddy reportedly refused to perform the second song he was scheduled to sing on the show.

Thanks to YouTuber Maniana14

Save The Rich!

Posted on by
Reply

As Congress argues about whether, Please Sir, May We Have More Gruel? let’s not forget about who is really important here.

Riki “Garfunkel” Lindhome and Kate “Oates” Micucci in a  dead-on satire of “We Are The World” type celebrity videos.

Warning: Language Not Suitable For Work.

More At: Garfunkel And Oates

 

 

Dion: Song for Sam Cooke

Posted on by
8

Monday morning, Dion, now pushing 80 years old, sings “Here in America,” his moving tribute to Sam Cooke, with whom Dion toured. The harmonies by the unseen Paul Simon raise it to a whole other level.

More at Dion

Famous Blue Raincoat: Leonard Cohen

Posted on by
Reply

Leonard Cohen’s brilliant triangle song has just the right amount of ambiguity and just the right amount of truth for everyone to read in their own story. The kind of song that has so many great lines, you argue with friends over which one you like best.

Thanks to YouTuber Tinkzy Martin

It’ll Never Happen Again

Posted on by
4

Johnny Rivers with a quintessential Tim Hardin song. The difference in the two versions is this: Rivers’ version is heartbreaking; Hardin’s brilliant take, on the other hand, makes you want to slit your wrists. It’s just too hard to make it through…so, here’s Johnny Rivers.

Thanks to YouTuber jriversmusic

Till There Was You: MonaLisa Twins

Posted on by
2

Monday morning, the MonaLisa Twins get their auditory capacity improved, all because of you.

I first heard this song on the Meet The Beatles album back in 1964. I had no idea at the time that it was from the Broadway musical The Music Man, by Meredith Willson.

More at MonaLisa Twins

At Seventeen: Janis Ian

Posted on by
4

Monday morning, a song for misfits.

At the time, 1975, the song was a  highly unlikely candidate for a pop hit. It may have been the first pop song for young women of high school age that wasn’t for the cheerleaders. It might be hard to recall now, in the age of Glee, but songs examining the inner lives of high school students who saw themselves as social outcasts were not, at the time, the common fare. Millions of young women saw themselves in the lyrics of the song, and suddenly the singer/songwriter, Janis Ian, who at age 14 had had a qualified (and often censored) hit with her song of interracial love, “Society’s Child,” was overnight an international star.

The clip above seems so raw, true, and natural that you might think it was just an amateur effort turned lucky. But Ian by that time had already had seven albums of music released and was an accomplished songwriter. It was the one time, though, she said, that she had penned a song and told her manager that she had just written a hit.

Thanks to YouTuber LittleMonster13100

Ringing of Revolution: Phil Ochs

Posted on by
4

Phil Ochs in 1966, 54 years ahead of his time.

A few notes on the jokes in his intro:

Senator Carl Hayden was the oldest senator in the Senate at the time at 89 years old at the time of the recording; and George Murphy was a former song and dance man who had been elected Senator from California in 1965, predating Ronald Reagan who became California governor a year later.

Thanks to YouTuber farmboy10001

Lucky To Be Me

Posted on by
4

Tony Yazbeck singing, and dancing on location, the Comden-Green-Bernstein standard from On The Town.

Aside from Yazbeck’s winning performance, if you’re a New Yorker, you’ll have fun identifying the locations.

Thanks to YouTuber On The Town on Broadway