WLCY Radio Hits: Jazz

Showing posts with label Jazz. Show all posts

May 8, 2020

George Benson - Give Me The Night (1980)

"Give Me the Night" is a song recorded by American jazz and R&B musician George Benson, which he released from his 1980 studio album of the same title. It was written and composed by Heatwave's keyboard player Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones.

The song was a commercial success, and was Benson's first single to hit number one on the US Billboard Soul Singles chart. It also peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it his most successful pop entry. It also peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Disco Singles chart and at number seven in the UK Singles Chart. "Give Me the Night" was one of the last disco singles to become a major success, with the steady decline of the genre in the early 1980s.

Similar Tracks
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And The Beat Goes On by The Whispers
Lady (You Bring Me Up) by The Commodores
Just The Two Of us by Grover Washington Jr.
Just The Two Of Us by Bill Withers

Similar Artists
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Bobby Caldwell
Grover Washington Jr.
Doc Powell
Luther Vandross
Earth Wind & Fire
Norman Brown

Holly Holy (Single Version) - Neil Diamond (1969)

Holly Holy (Single Version) by Neil Diamond (1969-1970)

"Holly Holy" is a song written and recorded by Neil Diamond with instrumental backing provided by the American Sound Studio house band in Memphis. Released as a single on October 13, 1969, it was a successful follow-on to "Sweet Caroline", reaching #6 on the U.S. pop singles chart by December. The song also reached #5 on the Easy Listening chart. It became a gold record and then eventually a platinum record.

I Am...I Said by Neil Diamond (1971)

"I Am... I Said" is a song written and recorded by Neil Diamond. Released as a single on March 15, 1971, it was quite successful, at first slowly climbing the charts, then more quickly rising to number 4 on the U.S. pop singles chart by May 1971. It fared similarly across the Atlantic, reaching number 4 on the UK pop singles chart as well.

Turn Your Love Around by George Benson (1982)

"Turn Your Love Around" is a pop/R&B single by George Benson. The song was written by Grammy winners Bill Champlin of Chicago, Steve Lukather of Toto and producer and guitarist Jay Graydon to help fill out Benson's 1981 greatest hits album, The George Benson Collection. The song won a Best R&B Song Grammy Award at the 25th Grammy Awards in 1983 for Champlin, Graydon, and Lukather as its co-writers.

"Turn Your Love Around" reached number one on the soul singles charts and number five on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts in early 1982, as well as the top ten on the jazz chart. It is ranked as the 27th biggest hit of 1982. In Canada, the song spent two weeks at number 10.

Let's Groove by Earth, Wind & Fire (1982)

"Let's Groove" is a song by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire from their eleventh studio album Raise! (1981). Written by Maurice White and Wayne Vaughn, and produced by White, the song was chosen as the lead single from the album.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, disco music was undergoing a severe backlash. In spite of this, the band decided to revive the disco sound that was later included on their previous works and records. Musically, "Let's Groove" is a post-disco, pop and funk song which includes instrumentation of synthesizers and keyboards along with live electric guitars.

Critical reception

Ed Hogan from AllMusic said, "He brought in guitarist Roland Bautista and began co-writing, with Emotions member Wanda Vaughn and her husband Wayne Vaughn, a song that reflected the then-emerging electronic sound of the '80s. Not to be confused with the same-named hit by Archie Bell & the Drells, "Let's Groove" certainly was a change. Starting off with a robotic-sounding vocoder riff, it served up a more gritty-sounding EWF for the 1980s, laced with Brecker Brothers-supplied horn blasts that rival those of EWF's 1976 gold single 'Getaway'."However, reviewing the parent album, William Ruhlmann said the song was a recycled mid-tempo tune from the mid-'70s, and stated that everything else sounded desultory and uninspired. He, however, highlighted the song as an album standout.

Rolling Stone described Let's Groove as "city music" where "the horn section screams like a car running a red light."The Baltimore Sun noted that the song was "quite possibly the funkiest thing to come out of the early 1980s". NME also placed Let's Groove at number 16 on their Singles of the Year list of 1981.

"Let's Groove" was Grammy nominated for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.

Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It) by Kool & The Gang (1981-1982)

"Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)" or "Take My Heart" is a 1981 single by Kool & the Gang from their album, Something Special. The single was the group's sixth number-one R&B single, reaching the top of the U.S. R&B chart for a single week. It also reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100.

References

Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 333.

Oh No by The Commodores (1981-1982)

"Oh No" is an R&B ballad from the 1981 Commodores album In the Pocket. Written by Lionel Richie, the song was released as a single in 1981, being his last hit with the Commodores before going solo.

Similarities of the song's opening bars can be heard in Richie's 1981 duet "Endless Love" with Diana Ross.

This song was also featured in the 1982 movie The Last American Virgin.

Yesterday's Songs by Neil Diamond (1982)

"Yesterday's Songs" is a 1981 single by Neil Diamond from his album On the Way to the Sky. The song was a major adult contemporary radio hit, spending six weeks at #1 on the U.S. Billboard chart and four weeks atop the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart. On the Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at #11. On the Canadian pop charts, the song reached #15. "Yesterday's Songs" is ranked as the 77th biggest American hit of 1982.

Neil Diamond - Love On The Rocks (1980)

"Love on the Rocks" is a song written by Neil Diamond and Gilbert Bécaud that appeared in the 1980 movie The Jazz Singer and was performed by Diamond on the soundtrack album to the film. It was also released as a single and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in January 1981, behind "(Just Like) Starting Over" by John Lennon. In addition to the main chart, "Love on the Rocks", also made it to #3 on Billboard's US Adult Contemporary chart. Billboard also rated it as the #26 pop single overall for 1981. It performed less well in the UK, reaching only #17. It was covered by Millie Jackson on her 1981 album Just a Lil' Bit Country, and by Gladys Knight on the album Great Solo Performances by Guest Artists from the Tom Jones Show, Vol. 1. Bécaud covered the song l'amour et mort' on his 1991 album Mon Copain.

Frankie Valli - Swearin' to God from the album Closeup (1975)

"Swearin' to God" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Denny Randell. It was recorded by Frankie Valli and released in May 1975 as a single from his album Closeup. It's a love song whose lyrical hook is a more literal use of the expression "I swear to God" (i.e., "I mean this sincerely"):

I'm swearin' to God / So glad He's givin' me you

Valli's first disco-style song (it runs four minutes as a single but just over ten minutes on the album), "Swearin' to God" features Patti Austin singing a response to Valli's praise in the bridge. It is one of Valli's best known songs.[citation needed] "Swearin' to God" hit number 6 on the U.S. Billboard charts and also charted in the UK (#31).

Neil Diamond - Song Sung Blue from the album Moods (1972)

"Song Sung Blue" is a 1972 hit song written and recorded by Neil Diamond, inspired by the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto #21. The song was released on Diamond's album, Moods and later appeared on many of Diamond's live and compilation albums.

It was his second No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, after 1970's "Cracklin' Rosie". The song spent twelve weeks in the Top 40. In addition, "Song Sung Blue" spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart. In addition, the song made the pop chart in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart. The song has become one of Diamond's standards, and he often performs this song during concerts.

"Song Sung Blue" was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1973, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Both awards that year were won by Roberta Flack's rendition of Ewan MacColl's song, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".

Neil Diamond - Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon (1967)

"Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" is a song written by Neil Diamond, whose recording of it on Bang Records reached #10 on the U.S. pop singles chart in 1967. The song enjoyed a second life when it appeared on the 1994 Pulp Fiction soundtrack, performed by rock band Urge Overkill. Other versions have been recorded by Cliff Richard (1968), Gary Puckett and the Union Gap (1969), the Biddu Orchestra (1978), and 16 Volt (1998).

The song first appeared on Diamond's album Just for You. The mono and stereo versions of this song differ slightly. On the mono "Just For You" LP as well as on the 45, the strings do not come in until the second verse. It also has a slightly longer fade. The stereo "Just For You" LP version has a shorter fade and the strings come in on the first chorus.

May 8, 2020

Dec 13, 2019

May 17, 2019

Apr 19, 2019

Apr 13, 2019

Critical reception

Apr 7, 2019

References

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