WLCY RADIO HITSJune 2016

Jun 30, 2016

John Denver - Take Me Home, Country Roads from the album Poems, Prayers & Promises (1971)

"Take Me Home, Country Roads" is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, and John Denver, and initially recorded by John Denver. It was included on his 1971 breakout album Poems, Prayers & Promises.

The song was a success on its initial release and was certified Gold by the RIAA on August 18, 1971. The song became one of John Denver's most popular and beloved songs, and is still very popular around the world. It has continued to sell, with over a million digital copies sold in the United States. It is considered to be Denver's signature song.

The song also has a prominent status as an iconic symbol of West Virginia, which it describes as "almost Heaven"; for example, it was played at the funeral memorial for U.S. Senator Robert Byrd in July 2010. In March 2014, it became the official state anthem of West Virginia.

Similar Tracks

Take Me Home, Country Roads by The Tennessee Riders
Have You Ever Seen The Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show
The Gambler by Kenny Rogers

Similar Artists

James Taylor
Simon & Garfunkel
Jim Croce
Loggins & Messina
Eagles
Gordon Lightfoot

Eagles - One of These Nights from the album One of These Nights (1975) WLCY Radio

"One of These Nights" is a song written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey and recorded by the American rock band the Eagles. The title track from their One of These Nights album, the song became their second single to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart after "Best of My Love" and also helped propel the album to number one. The single version was shortened from the album version of the song, removing most of the song's intro and most of its fade-out, as well. Henley is lead vocalist on the verses, while Randy Meisner sings high harmony (not lead) on the refrain. The song features a guitar solo by Don Felder that is "composed of blues-based licks and sustained string bends using an unusually meaty distortion tone."

The song was a conscious attempt by the band to write something different from a country-rock and ballad-type song. Don Henley said: "We like to be a nice little country-rock band from Los Angeles ... about half the time". He added: "We wanted to get away from the ballad syndrome with "One of These Nights." With Don Felder in the band now, we can really rock." Frey said that they "wanted 'One of These Nights' to have a lot of teeth, a lot of bite—a nasty track with pretty vocals."

Donna Summer - Hot Stuff from the album Bad Girls (1979)

"Hot Stuff" is a song by American singer Donna Summer, released in 1979 as the first single release from her Bad Girls album through Casablanca Records. Up to that point, Summer had mainly been associated with disco songs but this song also showed a significant rock direction, including a guitar solo by ex-Doobie Brother and Steely Dan guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. It is one of her most popular songs, based on the performance on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Hot Stuff" won Summer the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in the inaugural year the award was given out. In 2010, the song was ranked #104 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

"Spill the Wine" is a 1970 song performed by Eric Burdon and War. Released as a single in May 1970 (backed by the non-album track "Magic Mountain"), it was War's first chart hit, peaking at number three in the US. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 20 song of 1970. It was also a top three hit in Canada and Australia. It charted #15 in Netherlands and #28 in Germany.

An edited version, released as a promo single for radio stations and subsequently included on most compilations, omits the middle spoken recitation, plus one chorus. A sound of a French woman is heard in the background. A flute solo also dominates the song.

Electric Light Orchestra - Shine a Little Love from the album Discovery (1979)

"Shine a Little Love" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released as a single in the US and UK in May 1979.

The song is the first track on their 1979 album Discovery. This was one of the band's most commercially successful singles, peaking at no. 1 in Canada, no. 6 in the UK Singles Chart and no. 8 in the US Billboard Hot 100. The song subsequently became one of their biggest worldwide hits as well. The 12" release was also available in white vinyl. Two different promotional videos were filmed for the single, a recording studio version shot on 35mm film, minus the band's three string players and a video-taped version made for the Discovery video album, featuring the full touring line-up.

A bit of a disco beat on this one, and quite a lot of things going on, forty piece string section and all. It's very jolly and bouncy and I must have been in a very good mood when I wrote it! ”

— Discovery remaster (2001), Jeff Lynne

Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show - When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman (1979) WLCY Radio

"When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman" is a popular single by Dr. Hook. It was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Alabama.

Written by Even Stevens, who followed producer Ron Haffkine into the studio bathroom to pitch him the song. When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman first appeared on the band's 1978 album Pleasure and Pain. Riding the disco wave in 1979 it belatedly became an international hit, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the USA and doing even better in the UK where it spent three weeks at number one in the UK Singles Chart in November 1979.The song was subsequently added to the band's 1979 album Sometimes You Win. It features background vocals by three female singers.

The song also featured throughout the 2005 Rockstar game The Warriors.

The song was covered by country music artist Conway Twitty in 1990 on his album Crazy In Love.

Mouth & MacNeal - How Do You Do? from the album Hey You Love / How Do You Do (1971)

"How Do You Do" released in 1971 was an international hit single for Dutch duo Mouth & MacNeal. It was #1 in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland and New Zealand. It also spent 19 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 a year later, and a cover version by Scots-German duo Die Windows (later Windows) reached #1 in Germany. The single earned Mouth & MacNeal, and its composers Hans van Hemert and Harry van Hoof, the 1972 Buma Export Award for the most records sold abroad by a Dutch musical act in that year.

Kenny Rogers - Lucille from the album Kenny Rogers (1977)

"Lucille" is a song written by Roger Bowling and Hal Bynum, and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. It was released in January 1977 as the second and final single from the album Kenny Rogers. The song is about a man in a bar who meets a woman who has left her husband. It became Rogers' first major hit as a solo artist after leaving the successful country/rock group The First Edition the previous year. An international hit, it reached number 1 on the Billboard Country Singles chart and number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Overseas, "Lucille" reached the top of the UK Singles Chart in June 1977, the first of Rogers' two number one singles there.

The Raiders - Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian) (1971)

"Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" is a song written by John D. Loudermilk. The song was first recorded by Marvin Rainwater in 1959 and released on MGM as "The Pale Faced Indian", but that release stayed unnoticed. The first hit version was a 1968 cover by Don Fardon, a former member of The Sorrows, that reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the UK Singles Chart.

In 1971 Paul Revere & the Raiders recorded the song on the Columbia Records label, and it topped the Hot 100 on July 24. The RIAA gold certification followed on 30 June 1971 for selling over a million copies. It was later certified platinum for selling an additional million copies. The song was the group's only #1 US Billboard hit, and their final Top Twenty song.

Historical context

The song refers to the forcible removal and relocation of the Five Civilized Tribes, including the Cherokee people, from the southeastern states of Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama to the southern Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. The removal of these tribes throughout the 1830s is often referred to as the "Trail of Tears". The removal of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole came on the heels of President Andrew Jackson's key legislation, the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Cherokee were the last of the Five Civilized Tribes to be removed after signing the Treaty of New Echota.

The Hollies - Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress) from the album Distant Light (1972)

"Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" (also called "Long Cool Woman" or "Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress)") is a song written by Allan Clarke, Roger Cook, and Roger Greenaway and performed by the British rock group The Hollies. Originally appearing on the album Distant Light, it was released as a single in April 1972 (on Parlophone in the United Kingdom), selling 1.5 million copies in the United States and two million worldwide. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1972. Billboard ranked it as the No. 24 song for 1972.

In the Hollies' native United Kingdom, the song was only a modest success for the band, peaking at number 32 on the charts. However, it was a smash hit in the United States, peaking at number 2 for two weeks behind Gilbert O'Sullivan’s "Alone Again (Naturally)". It was their highest charting single in America. It also topped the charts in South Africa and peaked at number 2 in New Zealand and Australia. By this time, Clarke had already left the band, but he feels that "it wasn't unfortunate", since he had co-written the song. Clarke rejoined the Hollies in the summer of 1973, partly due to the success of this song.

Hamilton, Joe Frank, & Reynolds - Don't Pull Your Love from the album Greatest Hits (1971)

"Don't Pull Your Love" is a classic song written by Brian Potter and Dennis Lambert. The song was originally released in 1971 by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds. The song was an international hit, hitting number one on the U.S. Cash Box Top 100 and reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as Billboard's Country and Easy Listening charts. In Canada, the song spent one week at number one. "Don't Pull Your Love" became a gold record. Session musicians later referred to as the Wrecking Crew were hired to record the instruments instead of Hamilton, Frank and Reynolds.

Blue Magic - Sideshow from the album Blue Magic (1974)

"Sideshow" is a song recorded by American R&B soul vocal quintet Blue Magic, released in 1974. It was first released on the album Blue Magic and when issued as a single it sold over a million copies, going to #1 R&B and #8 pop in the United States in the summer of 1974. Billboard ranked it as the No. 19 song for 1974. It was covered as a reggae version by Barry Biggs who reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1977. It has also been covered by Ray, Goodman & Brown, Silk, and Joss Stone.

The song is noted for its introduction, featuring a repeat of the first 10 notes of a slow version of Julius Fucik's "Entrance of the Gladiators" while one of the band's members acts like a master of ceremonies, declaring: "Hurry!! Hurry!!! Step right up! See the saddest show in town for only 50 cents!"

The follow-up song was the similarly themed "Three Ring Circus" (which was similarly covered as a later single by Biggs). Some radio edits fade the song out several seconds earlier before the repeat of the Introduction in the Coda section, which also features a repeat of the chorus, due to the length of the song.

The Guess Who - No Sugar Tonight from the album American Woman (1970)

"No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" is a song by the Canadian rock band The Guess Who. It was released on their 1970 album American Woman, and was released on the B-side of the "American Woman" single without the "New Mother Nature" section. The single was officially released as "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" and peaked at #1 on the RPM magazine charts (three weeks) and #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. In Cash Box, which at the time ranked sides independently, "No Sugar Tonight" reached #39.

George Harrison - Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) from the album Living in the Material World (1973)

"Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released as the opening track of his 1973 album Living in the Material World. It was also issued as the album's lead single, in May that year, and became Harrison's second US number 1, after "My Sweet Lord". In doing so, the song demoted Paul McCartney and Wings' "My Love" from the top of the Billboard Hot 100, marking the only occasion that two former Beatles have held the top two chart positions in America. The single also reached the top ten in Britain, Canada, Australia and other countries around the world.

Randy VanWarmer - Just When I Needed You Most from the album Warmer (1979)

"Just When I Needed You Most" is the title of a 1979 hit single by the American singer-songwriter Randy VanWarmer.

Released as a single in February 1979, VanWarmer's "Just When I Needed You Most" spent two weeks atop the US Billboard adult contemporary chart in May of that year and in June 1979 reached its peak position of No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart accruing an overall Top 40 tenure of 14 weeks and earning RIAA Gold record status. In addition, the track reached No. 71 on the Billboard country music chart. and in September 1979 made the Top 10 on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 8. VanWarmer attributed his single's success to empathy for its heartbreak scenario: "It's happened to everyone. That emotion is universal...I always hoped the record wasn't wallowing in self-pity and it had some redeeming value, and I guess it does." VanWarmer also attributed his single's success to the autoharp instrumental break between the second and third verses, performed by John Sebastian.

Tommy James & the Shondells - Crimson & Clover from the album Crimson & Clover (1968)

"Crimson and Clover" is a 1968 song by American rock band Tommy James and the Shondells. Written by the duo of Tommy James and drummer Peter Lucia Jr., it was intended as a change in direction of the group's sound and composition.

"Crimson and Clover" was released in late 1968 as a rough mix after a radio station leaked it. It spent 16 weeks on the U.S. charts, reaching number one in the United States and other countries. The single has sold 5 million copies, making it Tommy James and the Shondells' best-selling song. It has been covered by many artists such as Joan Jett and Prince.

In 2006, Pitchfork Media named it the 57th best song of the 1960s.

Ray Charles - Here We Go Again on Ray Charles Anthology (1967)

"Here We Go Again" is a country music standard written by Don Lanier and Red Steagall that first became notable as a rhythm and blues single by Ray Charles from his 1967 album Ray Charles Invites You to Listen. It was produced by Joe Adams for ABC Records/Tangerine Records. To date, this version of the song has been the biggest commercial success, spending twelve consecutive weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 15.

The most notable cover version is a rhythm and blues duet by Charles and Norah Jones, which appeared on the 2004 album Genius Loves Company. This version has been the biggest critical success. When Genius Loves Company was released, "Here We Go Again" earned Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration at the 47th Grammy Awards posthumously for Charles who died in 2004. Another notable version by Nancy Sinatra charted for five weeks in 1969. Johnny Duncan charted the song on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart for five weeks in 1972, while Roy Clark did so for seven weeks in 1982.

The song has been covered in a wide variety of musical genres. In total, five different versions have been listed on the music charts. Although its two most successful versions have been rhythm and blues recordings, many of its other notable covers were featured on country music albums. "Here We Go Again" was first covered in an instrumental jazz format, and many of the more recent covers have been sung as duets, such as one with Willie Nelson and Norah Jones with Wynton Marsalis accompanying. The song was released on their 2011 tribute album Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles. The song lent its name to Red Steagall's 2007 album as well. Cover versions have appeared on compilation albums by a number of artists, even some who did not release "Here We Go Again" as a single.

Jun 30, 2016

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Jun 29, 2016

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Historical context

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