Category: Songs By Year

Picking Five Songs From 1976

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year4 Comments

After a few weeks layoff due to super busy stuff, I’m getting back to this thing again. I’m also working well ahead on these now so the series won’t be interrupted again. It’s not like it takes any massive amount of time to put these posts together.

We’re now to 1976, which is the last time you’ll see me say I wasn’t around for the year. This is also where things start getting tough – this was probably the most difficult five songs I had to pick of all I’ve been through so far. Yes, the 1980’s get insanely crowded but it’s so absurd by that point that it’s actually easier to just grab five songs. This year I had to bump things left and right, and really go over the five I wanted. But I did eventually get a list together so let’s have at it.

The Runaways – Cherry Bomb

Up first is this fantastic cut from the revolutionary all-woman group. It was the start of the illustrious careers of Joan Jett and Lita Ford, but even beyond that it was a massive dose of grit and attitude. And it was seriously heavy – heavier music was about to really take off and The Runaways were definitely a part of that.

Judas Priest – The Ripper

Speaking of heavy, it’s time to welcome Judas Priest to these lists. If you’re thinking this is just the first of many appearances, you’d be right. Heavy metal was kind of in a down period as Black Sabbath were fading during this time, but Priest served as the bridge between Sabbath and the metal golden era of the ’80’s. Here they cut into the gruesome tale of Jack The Ripper, perhaps the most notorious criminal in history. The guitar work that truly set heavy metal apart is center stage here, and while Rob Halford is fairly restrained through most of the song, he lets loose at the end.

Boston – Foreplay/Long Time

Up next is a cut from the world famous Boston debut. This has one of the best instrumental sections around in the Foreplay intro. Then the song breaks into Long Time, a fantastic rocker about having to move on. The lyrics are philosophically heavy, but it’s just as easy to totally rock out to the music too. And in defiance of the “shorter is better” pop song format, this nearly 8 minute long cut still gets airplay 48 years on.

Kiss – God Of Thunder

Kiss had a banner year in 1976, releasing two of their best albums and truly becoming a force in the live market. But for all of their triumphs that year, it’s this plodding heavy metal track that Paul Stanley brought to the table that does it for me. Bob Ezrin slowed the song down and gave it to Gene Simmons to sing, and this is easily one of Gene’s biggest moments on record. Even the most die-hard of extreme metalheads get down to this song.

AC/DC – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Wrapping up with another list debut, AC/DC crack this one with one of their early signature songs. This snarling, tough tale of a killer for hire is both rocking and pretty funny. It’s easily one of the band’s most recognizable songs today, though it took years for it to get from Australia to the US. But the gritty rock and sing-along chorus are just too good to be passed up.

That does it for 1976. The next few weeks will close out the ’70’s as music really started changing dramatically, then the ’80’s come around and make these lists damn near impossible to do. ‘Till then.

Picking Five Songs From 1975

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year2 Comments

My job has been absolutely kicking my ass this past week or so. Between it and me desperately trying to find a new job, I haven’t had as much time to work on the site. But I can bang out these five songs from 1975 real quick.

Nothing much to note here, I was still two years away from being born so I have no great memories of ’75. Let’s check out the music.

Heart – Crazy On You

I’m altering the timeline again with this one. This song was released on album in 1975 – in Canada. It wasn’t released as a single or in the US until ’76, but here it is on my list for this year anyway because guess what – 1976 is when things get super crowded on these lists.

Anyway – great blast of a song here. Heart were at times part folk, part psychedelic and part heavy metal – this tune fits the first two more. Very groovy guitar and keyboard passages here and Ann Wilson gives a super smooth performance throughout. Plus a great mix of acoustic and electric guitars here, not something you get all the time, at least to this great of effect.

As we go through these, you’re going to find out that Heart is one of my favorite bands, in all their phases. We’re just getting started here.

Led Zeppelin – Kashmir

So Robert Plant drove through the desert in Morocco and was inspired to write this song about a disputed region between India and Pakistan. Regardless of the geographic blasphemy, it helped Zep record one of their most epic movements. This song is totally majestic and awe-inspiring. Not much else for me to say about it.

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here

While this song is full of subtle twists, especially the full album version (which should be posted below), this one is actually pretty straightforward for a Pink Floyd track. It is a somber affair looking back on lost dreams, set against minimal acoustic passages. The song is popularly regarded as being about troubled former bandmate Syd Barrett, though Roger Waters has discounted that idea before. Regardless, it’s a masterpiece of a song.

Aerosmith – Sweet Emotion

We’ll just ignore all of the things this song could possibly be about and focus instead on how kick ass of a tune it is. Aerosmith added a few psychedelic elements to their hard rock groove and came out big winners for it. An electric jam all the way through.

What I posted is the 1991 remix video, which brought Aerosmith up straight up against grunge, and Aerosmith won that unlikely battle.

Waylon Jennings – Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?

Every genre of music has its formulas for success and acts that were herded into the spotlight, used for a hit, then discarded for the next. But no music scene had its formula down quite like Nashville and country. While that machine keeps plugging away today, it was a group of artists in the ’70’s, spearheaded by Waylon and the creative freedom afforded to him contractually, that sparked a whole new movement in country. The outlaws were riding, and they would reshape country through the decade.

Here Waylon pokes fun at the establishment and highlights how far they’ve drifted from the spiritual father of their genre, Hank Williams. It’s not a comedy tune but some of the lyrics are low key pretty funny, like the one about the five piece band looking at his backside. But the song does carry its weight and then some, directly targeting the tired old formula of Nashville and offering a refreshing change.

That’s all for 1975. Next week will be ’76 so I’ll have to pick some really patriotic stuff to celebrate the bicentennial of my great nation. I’ll get right on that.

Picking Five Songs From 1974

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year7 Comments

I press on with my look at songs from a particular year, this time we’ve hit 50 years ago exactly as it’s time to look at 1974. And this year offered up something a bit different – I’ve previously been able to easily reference Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin albums for songs I absolutely love, but both bands did not offer up any recorded material in ’74. Not to be deterred, it was honestly pretty easy to locate five songs I like a lot from the year.

We do see a few debuts from acts now legendary, and in the next several years things really get different with all the debuts. And also these lists get really hard to compile, to this point I haven’t had to “bump” a song from a list due to finding another I like better, but that is coming very soon. And we’re just a few years removed from where I was actually around.

But that’s all for later – for today, let’s enjoy a few choice cuts from 1974.

Kiss – Strutter

Here we have the first track from the first album from the group that would take over the world with their stage shows and theatrics. But out of the gate we get a fairly simple yet quite ass kicking rock track. Even up against the music of the time, there was something a bit different in what Kiss had on offer. And just listen to Paul Stanley’s voice from 50 years back, damn that dude could carry a tune.

Rush – Working Man

The debut surge continues with Canada’s greatest export. Rush were still not in their final form here as Neil Peart had not yet joined the band, but this first album did feature this choice cut that helped the band get their break when it got played on FM radio. This isn’t the crazy, prog-driven music of Rush to come, but it’s a nice and loud ode to the existence of the rank and file worker, which I can totally identify with in my late 40’s with shit prospects of upward mobility. But hey, great song.

UFO – Doctor Doctor

This next one came to me from less conventional means, as to this day I’m woefully uneducated on the music of UFO. But this early contribution from new and then young guitarist Michael Schenker slowly became a fan favorite after years of live performances. It starts with an epic intro but the song itself is a pretty lean and mean rock track.

What led me to this song was its use as intro music – since 2000, Iron Maiden have played this song over the PA just before taking stage. Maiden also did cover the song during the Blaze Bayley years just prior. But that’s how I came to know this song and I should get off my ass and get into more UFO.

Dolly Parton – Jolene

This time there’s no debut as Dolly had already been around. I’m also playing with the timeline a bit since this song was released in ’73 as a single, but the album of the same name was released in early ’74 so I’m running with that. It’s like the Marvel Cinematic Universe in here, I just play with time to suit my needs at any given moment.

Jolene is one of country music’s all time songs, as Dolly laments that the title character seems to be making moves on Dolly’s man. Nothing is entirely clear – Dolly thinks Jolene is on the prowl, but it’s never said if that’s really the case. But Dolly’s insistence that Jolene keep away is one of country’s crown jewels.

Queen – Stone Cold Crazy

If you had “Queen would invent thrash metal” on your 1974 bingo card, well I guess you cashed in. This short hyperblast of frantic rock featured everything that would come along in the early ’80’s – ripping guitars, pounding drums and rapid fire vocals. I didn’t hear it at the time of course, but even going back to music from before I was around, this one really sticks out as something out of the ordinary. I bet it was crazy to hear when it was released.

That does it for 1974. I guess that means there are either 49 or 50 more of these to do, I don’t know because I don’t have enough fingers to count it all. See you next week.

Picking Five Songs From 1973

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year4 Comments

Time marches on and it’s now 1973 on my songs and years thing. I honestly don’t have much to say about the year – I was not around for it and nothing really jumped out at me when I was looking through stuff. I had no problem picking five songs, it does get to be a problem a few years down the line as a lot more acts started up and things get really crowded. But for today, no problem.

Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Sabbath had issues recording their fifth album but when it came down to it they were able to belt stuff out, including this masterpiece of a title track. The song is somewhat bright and melodic (but still plenty heavy) for most of the way, then descends into one of the heaviest pieces of music ever recorded in the song’s final moments. This is truly the stuff of legend.

Pink Floyd – Time

One of the cuts from Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon album that took over the world and never let go. Time is a remarkable song with both atmospheric elements and also some flat out rocking all contained within. Time is the thing that rules over all our lives and also may very well not really exist outside our perceptions, but I don’t have time for all of that today. A marvelous song.

Joe Walsh – Rocky Mountain Way
Splendid stuff here as Joe was struck by songwriting inspiration while mowing his lawn in Colorado. It was the boost Walsh needed to get over his depression from leaving The James Gang and get his solo career kickstarted. Find a dive bar, get a cheap beer and enjoy this slice of rock n roll greatness.

Alice Cooper – Elected

Here lies one of the last vestiges of the Alice Cooper band, as after ’73 Coop would rebrand as a solo artist. Alice has actually run for President in most elections since this song, though obviously he hasn’t broke the threshold and been elected. But he put out this fun staple of his live set.

Montrose – Rock Candy

Montrose wound up billed as “the US’s answer to Led Zeppelin” when their debut album dropped in ’73. And this song was one huge reason why – it’s sleazy, groovy and balls out rocking. Montrose never got their commercial due, but this song was massively influential to legions of rockers who would come along later. This early version of Montrose was short-lived but they cranked out some badass music.

That does it for 1973. Nothing much else to go over, have a good weekend and we’ll get back to the grind next week.

Picking Five Songs From 1972

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year2 Comments

Moving on with the songs by year thing, it’s time for 1972. This one was pretty easy, I have a few of these left before things get really crowded. We’re also now five years away from when I was actually around.

Deep Purple – Smoke On The Water

One of rock’s most immortal songs with the craziest of stories behind it. Perhaps the most iconic riff in history too. I know this song is over 50 years old so I don’t take it for granted that everyone “knows” it, but I do think just about everyone knows this song.

Alice Cooper – School’s Out

This might be The Coop’s prime anthem, kinda hard to say. But this song is an absolute blast. It’s great every year when school lets out for the summer, it’s great in movies about school, and it’s still great as an adult because school being out means less traffic and headaches than normal.

Neil Young – Heart Of Gold

Neil was 26 when he wrote this sad, sad song about searching for love and growing old while striking out. He’s now a few months from his 79th birthday and has about that many studio albums to his credit. But this song still resonates as one of his signature tracks. His unique vocal timber and acoustic guitar made some damn fine music.

David Bowie – Suffragette City

I talked about this song earlier this year. A nice, crazy and noisy affair with attitude and a great false ending. On heralded album full of classics, this one still jumps out to me. Bowie influenced rock of all stripes with this song and album.

Humble Pie – 30 Days In The Hole

This is a fun song about using every type of drug known to man and getting put away for it. Humble Pie were a supergroup before anyone really knew what that was, though Peter Frampton was gone by the time this song came out. This is one of those songs that wasn’t a hit at the time but it got picked up by FM radio and became an enduring classic in the years since.

That does it for this post. The ’70’s keep pushing on next week.

As for next week – the Album of the Week post will be held back until Tuesday. It lines up in order to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the album on the exact day. Not sure what album came out on September 3, 1984 that I’d be interested in…

Picking Five Songs From 1971

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year8 Comments

The “Five Songs a Year” series rolls on into 1971. As always, these are five of my favorite songs from a year as opposed to “my five favorites,” nothing here is too definitive.

This year was really easy for me to throw together, I saw a few things that got released that year and had my list together real quick. I’m sure I could have done a more exhaustive review of the music from ’71 but this is supposed to be a quick and easy thing so I’ll leave it at that. Things start getting really crowded in a few years’ time so I’ll enjoy these easier ones.

Alice Cooper – Under My Wheels

The Coop has arrived on this list, for the first and likely not last time. This was the classic band formation of Alice Cooper on their fourth album Killer. This one is a fun old-school boogie that also gets into a bit of sensory overload at points. They are going completely off here and it’s a crazy experience.

T. Rex – Get It On

A song and album so influential that just about everyone who’s made music since has a copy of the record. The song is a very simple jam but adds enough to stand out from the other happenings in rock at the time. Even 53 years later the song lives on in rock immortality.

Black Sabbath – Children Of The Grave

And here is another signature track from the masters of metal. This one has some crazy bass and percussion on it, and is even a bit bright musically. But the song is a dire warning yet again about the ills of war and its possible apocalyptic consequences. Another one of Sabbath’s finest songs.

The James Gang – Walk Away

While this group never got the traction they might have been after, this song would become a fairly solid hit for them over the years. It was another Joe Walsh composition and performance, and the amount Walsh had to put into writing for the group led him to do just what the song’s title states not long after release. The James Gang would go on for several more years before sputtering out. Never heard how it panned out for Joe Walsh…

Led Zeppelin – The Battle Of Evermore

All of the other songs here are uncomplicated, there’s nothing to get in a fuss over about them. But this one? We have a guest singer! Mandolin! Lord of the Rings AND King Arthur! The song’s overall structure is not complex but man there’s a lot going on here. I’ve heard this practically my whole life and I still can’t wrap my head around it. Not sure what that says more about – the song or me.

That does it for 1971. Things stop getting quick and easy real soon as more of rock and metal’s immortal acts show up on the scene through the next several years.

Picking Five Songs From 1970

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year7 Comments

I’m moving on through the years and now I’m picking songs from 1970. As always, this is me picking five of my favorites of a year rather than me picking an absolute top five.

We’re still in years before I was born, it’ll be seven more posts before I “show up.” While I wasn’t around for 1970, this is the year stuff I’m into really got going, as we’re just about to see. Not all of the songs I pick every year are going to revolve around heavy metal, but this year it’s an almost constant theme given the acts and songs involved.

Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath

And here we are – heavy metal is in full force now. The Birmingham foursome mucked their way into a record deal and mutated the blues into an assault on the ears. This song is totally down in the dumps, being the herald of a subgenre of metal that would be known as doom years later.

And what a song this is. Just so morose, creepy and excellent. And while Sabbath were often accused of Satanism, here they don’t depict Satan and Hell as some kind of party – rather it’s a horrifying experience to be cast down below. Heavy metal is here, and damn is it wicked.

Mountain – Mississippi Queen

A fun, heavy cut that became the biggest hit for the US group who were also responsible for the rise of heavy metal. This had guitar loaded with purpose and was a curb-stomping song about a riverboat and of course a woman on said boat. This song still gets airtime 54 years later, a pretty wicked accomplishment.

Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song

Here the titans of rock went about also contributing to heavy metal – this brief blast of music would combine loud, brash music and Viking themes, something that runs amok through metal to this day. Also Robert Plant’s wail on here is just ungodly, good luck finding anyone else on the planet to replicate that. While tales of Viking raids are fantasy in the modern age, the song’s origin is mundane – Zep were booked to play in Iceland and put on a crazy show at a last-minute venue after their original booking got axed by striking workers. And this is what they came up with out of that. Just crazy.

Santana – Oye Cómo Va

Fun fact – decades before Carlos Santana conquered the world with his accomplice Rob Thomas, his band was quite successful already. This was a cover of a cha-cha-chá song by Tito Puente from 1962. Puente was not originally happy that a rock band was doing his song, he changed his mind when the first royalty check came in.

The song is really fun with a nice groove and simple yet crazy organ from Gregg Rolie. It’s easy to see why this one caught on so well, including with me who wouldn’t have heard it until years after it was released.

Black Sabbath – War Pigs

There won’t be very many instances of one act getting two songs on the same year. But this is a rare instance since it marks the first works of heavy metal’s fathers and they happened to put out two albums in 1970.

This was an anti-war song, getting more into the evil nature behind the powers that be sending the poor off to die for a nebulous cause. It’s often discussed as one of Sabbath’s best songs and with good reason, it’s an intense jam and the speed up at the end just slides everything off the rails and into a total frenzy.

That covers it for 1970. Heavy metal is here now and it does inform a large part of my listening. But there is plenty beyond metal to go over as well as these years wind on. Until then.

Picking Five Songs From 1969

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year5 Comments

On again with this long-running series where I pick five songs from a year. As always, this list should be taken as “five of my favorite songs from 1969,” as opposed to “my five favorite songs from 1969.”

1969 was apparently a hell of a year. I wasn’t personally around for it, I still have eight years before I showed my pretty little face. But this was the big one – the Summer of Love, Woodstock, all of that jazz.

Now, I don’t know if music from ’69 really leapt out and grabbed me the same way stuff from ’67 did. But that could be more about that year than this one. It was no real problem finding five songs for this year.

Led Zeppelin – Communication Breakdown

First off is one from Zep’s debut. I do very much love the album and this song specifically is a huge selling point. A short blast of heavy metal from them, which is honestly a rare treat as they influenced the genre for sure but didn’t actually play it much. I’ve always loved the power and insanity of this track.

Credence Clearwater Revival – Fortunate Son

I guess one way to achieve musical immortality is to release three freaking albums in one year, which CCR did in 1969. This track was a shot at the elite, who kept their children out of the Vietnam War while the sons of the working class were shipped off to face death. It’s a fantastic song and an enduring protest anthem to this day. While CCR had a number of great songs in their career, which was apparently mostly in 1969, this song stands out to me as their magnum opus.

The Stooges – I Wanna Be Your Dog

What would become punk rock took shape in no small part thanks to this track from Iggy Pop and company. This is a pretty groovy track with piano from John Cale of The Velvet Underground and the simple, distorted three chord guitar structure which would become the anchor of punk. The song isn’t literal, Iggy Pop doesn’t want to be a dog. In part it’s the word God turned backwards because Iggy was bored one day and came up with it. The other part is naughty stuff, I’ll let you dwell on that.

Merle Haggard – Okie From Muskogee

Up next is a song written as a counter to the Vietnam protests. Haggard was in full support of the US troops and composed this ode to American life. Haggard later said his views changed after learning new information about the war but the song was an enduring hit and also a tribute to the small town folks of his home state so the song remained in play through his life.

And, while the song is politically charged and in a way I’m not personally inclined toward, it is a fair assessment of that “simpler” kind of life. I can appreciate that side of things, especially the more “small town” stuff. I also fondly recall Willie Nelson playing this live in tribute just after Merle died in 2016, nothing says irony like Willie playing this song.

The Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter

And this year caps off with yet another song about the Vietnam War, though Keith Richards actually started it based on a far more mundane thunderstorm. But the anti-war sentiment rings strong through this excellent song. I’m not a massive Stones fan, I don’t have any of their albums or anything, but their top tracks do stand out and this is certainly one of them.

That does it for this edition and also wraps up the 1960’s. Things really kick off once I get rolling into the ’70’s. See you then.

Picking Five Songs From 1968

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year5 Comments

Back again to pick songs from a year. This time it’s on to 1968, which again I’m not radically familiar with the time period. This was nine years before I was born so this is me going back to songs I’ve heard in the years since.

And as always, this is more of a “five of my favorite songs” kind of thing as opposed to “my five favorite songs” of any year. Nothing radically definitive here, just me going through stuff. Let’s get to it.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – All Along The Watchtower

Up first is something definitive, this being the definitive cover song. Hendrix worked on this before Bob Dylan even released his version and Hendrix’s cover was out only six months after Dylan’s original. And Jon Bon Jovi’s cousin was the recording engineer in with Hendrix for long sessions of recording guitar tracks over and over again.

But in the end what came out was a masterpiece of a song. Hendrix did such wonders with the song that Dylan wound up working some of the cover into his performances. The song is a crazy, mind-melting trip through what sounds like an apocalyptic wasteland. There’s really nothing more I can say, the song is just flat out amazing.

Johnny Cash – Cocaine Blues

Another cover song here, as Cash pulled out this old time song for his famous set at Folsom Prison. A twisted tale of Willy Lee, who gets messed up on the white powder and shoots his woman for having other lovers. Lee runs off to Mexico buts gets caught and put away for life in Folsom (it was San Quentin in older versions).

This is one hell of a heavy song for a country performance, though also one fitting for the audience Cash was playing for. Cash said he almost “did himself in” playing it, it’s a pretty hard hitting tune to play out with basic country instruments. And it’s a magnificent highlight of a landmark performance.

The Beatles – Back In The USSR

For a bit of a spoiler alert – this is the only Beatles song to appear on my lists. And the one I pick is essentially a joke song, this one mocks up the Beach Boys and Chuck Berry and clowns around with their takes on the USA. And Ringo was pissed off during this time so Paul had to do the drums, or something, I’m not entirely sure.

But this is a fantastic boogie, it’s both funny and also a really good song on its own merits. And it was a great way to open an album, especially one with all the crazy shit that the White Album had on it. Paul and company took some flack for recording this back then but the song outlived the Soviet Union and it’s been a widely played and celebrated track.

Cream – White Room

One more Cream song for the list before the group bowed out. This one is another crazy psychedelic offering but was actually just about Jack Bruce’s poet friend who had just got an apartment or something. It’s also probably about drugs, I don’t know that but it has to be because these lyrics are totally crazy. Another fine jam from a group that did more than they probably want credit for to get heavy metal off and running.

Merle Haggard – Mama Tried

A little more country to wrap this one up. But this is not just a country song, Mama Tried was a huge hit for Merle and has been all over the place since its recording over 50 years ago. The song is partially a look at Merle’s own early life – he was a petty criminal growing up and wound up doing a stretch in San Quentin. A series of events with other inmates led to him turning his life around, and also he happened to catch a Johnny Cash performance while locked up.

This song is far more tragic than Merle’s own life, though. The guy here gets put away for life, even with his mother doing her damnedest to keep her son from going astray. It’s a sad, sad tale that gets to just about anyone who listens to the song. This was 18 And Life long before Skid Row was a thing.

That covers it for 1968. Just eight more of these and we’ll actually get to years that I was around for.

Speaking of years, a quick note – today marks the third anniversary of this site. I’ll have a more in-depth acknowledgment of that some time next week. Until then, enjoy your weekend.

Picking Five Songs from 1967

On By bigbadburchIn Songs By Year8 Comments

It’s time for a new series. This one is really quick and easy but it’s also going to run for a long time.

This is a very simple premise that I’ve seen several other people hammer out on their blogs. I’m simply going to pick five songs from a year. It should be thought of more as “five of my favorite songs from that year” as opposed to “my five favorite songs from that year,” this isn’t terribly definitive. It’s just a fun thing to do.

I decided to start this off with 1967 as it’s where I find stuff that really sticks out to me music-wise. Bear in mind that I wasn’t around until ten years after 1967, but it’s a year that has stuff in it that resonates so it’s where I’ll start.

I know a lot of other people ended their runs at various points. For me, it’s honestly not that tough to keep this going all the way through 2024. I’ll go ahead and run this for, uh, 58 weeks or however many posts I need to get to that point, so obviously this will run well into next year.

Enough about that, this is pretty simple and doesn’t need a ton of exposition to get it going. Here are five of my favorite songs from 1967.

Johnny Cash and June Carter – Jackson

This one was written a few years earlier but got famous off of the Cash-Carter duet. Like many I was at one time not into country music at all, but Johnny Cash was always an exception to that. This hellraising song about a guy who wants to go wild because he’s bored in his marriage is always a welcome listen.

Cream – Sunshine Of Your Love

It’s not hard at all to include this hit track from Cream. The band were massively influential in hard rock and what would become heavy metal just a few years later. The psychedelic edge to rock from this era really caught my ear, as you’ll clearly see just looking down this list. The song is a trip but it also pulls no punches, jamming all the way through.

This was also important based on who the song was inspired by. Jack Bruce came up with this after seeing Jimi Hendrix live. Hendrix himself played the song as tribute to Cream after the troubled trio announced their breakup a year later, Hendrix was not aware the song was an ode to him.

Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit

This ode to Alice In Wonderland is world famous so there’s not a ton I have to really bring up about it. Another crazy, trippy song that’s insanely memorable and also over just as soon as it starts. Just an awesome song to crank up and I wish it was about ten minutes longer, honestly. But it’s also perfect just the way it is.

Procol Harum – A Whiter Shade Of Pale

Another monolithic entry to the list. This song is a sad dirge but also, again, quite the trip. And while England is clearly spoiled for great music, this is actually one of the biggest songs to ever come from the country. It conquered more of the world than the British Empire did. The crazy organ piece along with the sad tale of a guy and girl splitting up is just mind blowing.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Purple Haze

This is why I started at 1967 – this was what got me into music. I was a 5 year old kid staying over and my grandparents’ place overnight, my uncle was out at prom so I was sleeping over in his room. I spent the evening playing his tapes and 8 tracks, and when I got to the first Hendrix album my puny little mind was absolutely blown.

Hendrix has been one of my favorite artists since this early point in my life and Purple Haze is perhaps my favorite song of his. This song is crazy, electric and just amazing. And another, perhaps largely uncredited, contribution to the development of heavy metal.

That’s all for 1967. This damn thing will run all the way into September of ’25 I think, so buckle up and enjoy this and the next 57 Fridays of songs.