Supertramp - The Logical Song (1979)

"The Logical Song" is a song by the English rock band Supertramp. The song was released as the lead single from their sixth studio album, Breakfast in America (1979), in March 1979 by A&M Records.

"The Logical Song" is Supertramp's biggest chart hit in both the United States and their native United Kingdom and it is among their most widely recognised radio hits. It won the 1979 Ivor Novello Award for "Best Song Musically and Lyrically".

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"The Logical Song" was mostly penned by Roger Hodgson; Rick Davies wrote the vocal harmony on the second chorus. The song makes use of keyboards, castanets, and an instrumental section. Among the contemporary sound effects in this song are the 'tackled' sound from a Mattel electronic football game and the Trouble "Pop-o-matic" bubble – both popular at the time this song was released.

The lyrics are a condemnation of an education system focused on categorical jargon as opposed to knowledge and sensitivity.The lyrics are notable for their use of consonance, with a repetition of the '-ical/ -able' endings of multiple adjectives.

Rolling Stone called the song a "small masterpiece" praising the "hot sax" and Hodgson's "wry humor". The magazine also made comparisons between Hodgson and Ray Davies from The Kinks.

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Michael Martin Murphey - Wildfire (1975)

"Wildfire" is a classic song written by Michael Martin Murphey and Larry Cansler. It was originally recorded by Murphey, who had yet to add his middle name to his recorded work, and appears on his gold-plus 1975 album Blue Sky – Night Thunder.

Released in February 1975, as the album's lead single, "Wildfire" became Murphey's highest-charting Pop hit in the United States. The somber story song hit #2 in Cash Box and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June 1975. In addition, it reached the top position of the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

The single continued to sell, eventually receiving platinum certification from the RIAA, signifying sales of over two million US copies. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

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Willie Nelson - Always On My Mind (1982)

"Always on My Mind" is an American country music song by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, recorded first by Gwen McCrae (as "You Were Always On My Mind") and Brenda Lee in 1972.

Allmusic lists over 300 recorded releases of the song in versions by dozens of performers. While Brenda Lee's version had stalled at #45 on the country charts in 1972, other performers would reach the top 20 in the United States and elsewhere with their own versions: Elvis Presley in 1972; John Wesley Ryles in 1979; Willie Nelson's Grammy Award winning version in 1982; Pet Shop Boys in 1987.

Willie Nelson version

The song was recorded by Willie Nelson and released in the spring of 1982. The song raced to number one on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart that May, spending two weeks atop and total of 21 weeks on the chart. The song also did very well on Top 40 radio, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and staying on this chart for 23 weeks. In the year end charts, this version was Billboard's number one country song for 1982. This version also charted in a number of other countries.

Nelson's version would result in three wins at the 25th Grammy Awards in February 1983: songwriters Christopher, James and Carson won Song of the Year and Best Country Song; in addition, Nelson won for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

This version also won Country Music Association awards in two consecutive years: 1982 Song of the Year and 1983 Song of the Year for songwriters Christopher, James and Carson; 1982 Single of the Year for Nelson, and; contributed to Nelson winning 1982 Album of the Year for the album "Always on My Mind".

Willie Nelson performed the number with Johnny Cash on the 1998 release of VH1 Storytellers: Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson. The song was also featured on a December 2009 ASPCA commercial.

On July 10, 1991, this version was certified platinum by RIAA. In 2008, the single was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Nelson's version was prominently featured, in its entirety, in a season two (2013) episode of the HBO television series The Newsroom.

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Dr. Hook - Sharing The Night Together (1978)

Sharing the Night Together is a popular song written by Ava Aldridge and Eddie Struzick. Originally recorded by Lenny LeBlanc and then Arthur Alexander in 1976, the song was later a single by Dr. Hook off their album Pleasure & Pain. "Sharing the Night Together" also appeared on most of Dr. Hook's following albums like Greatest Hits and Greatest Hits (And More). It reached #6 in the U.S. and #3 in Canada in 1978, and #43 in the UK in 1980.

In 1978, Jamaican singer Delroy Wilson made a reggae version.

In 2007, Elliott Yamin covered the song and included it as a bonus track in his eponymous debut album.

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Charlie Rich - The Most Beautiful Girl (1973)

"The Most Beautiful Girl" is a song recorded by Charlie Rich and written by Bill Sherrill, Norris Wilson, and Rory Michael Bourke. The country & western ballad reached #1 in the United States in 1973 on three Billboard music charts: the pop chart (two weeks); the country chart (three weeks); and the adult contemporary chart (three weeks), as well as in Canada on three RPM charts: the RPM 100 Top Singles chart, the Country Tracks chart, and the Adult Contemporary chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 23 song for 1974.

The song is a cover of "Hey Mister", recorded by co-writer Norris Wilson in 1968. The song also uses a part of "Mama McCluskie", also by Norris Wilson.

Rich's B-side, his own I Feel Like Going Home, was later covered by Rita Coolidge and was released on her 1974 album Fall into Spring. British Pop star Engelbert Humperdinck included "The Most Beautiful Girl" on his 1973 album Engelbert: King of Hearts.

"The Most Beautiful Girl" was also recorded by Slim Whitman in the 1970s. Andy Williams released a version in 1974 on his album, The Way We Were. In 1975 ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad recorded a Swedish-language version called "Vill du låna en man?" (with Swedish lyrics by Stig Anderson) on her solo album "Frida ensam". Sergio Franchi recorded the song in his 1976 DynaHouse album 20 Magnificent Songs. Country music boy band South 65 recorded an updated version of the song, titled "The Most Beautiful Girl (2001 Version)", on their 2001 album Dream Large.

The song receives a very brief airing by Brenda Fricker in the film So I Married an Axe Murderer. Jason Alexander also offered a rendition as his character George Costanza on the Dec. 16, 1992 episode of the sitcom Seinfeld titled "The Pick," where he bemoaned the loss of his girlfriend, Susan.

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Hall & Oates - Kiss On My List (1980)

Kiss on My List is a song by the American duo Hall & Oates. It was written by Daryl Hall and Janna Allen, and produced by the duo. It was the third single release from their ninth studio album, Voices (1980), and became their second Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (after "Rich Girl" in 1977).

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While two other songs from the album had returned the duo to chart activity, it was the success of "Kiss on My List" that confirmed the start of the duo's sustained run as one of American pop's top-selling acts, a run that lasted into 1989.

According to Daryl Hall, Eddie Van Halen copied the synth part of this song and used it for the song "Jump" by Van Halen.

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Cat Stevens - Morning Has Broken (1971)

"Morning Has Broken" is a popular and well-known Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and is set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune known as "Bunessan" (it shares this tune with the 19th century Christmas Carol "Child in the Manger"). It is often sung in children's services. English pop musician and folk singer Cat Stevens (known as Yusuf Islam since 1978 after becoming a Muslim in 1977) included a version on his 1971 album Teaser and the Firecat. The song became identified with Stevens when it reached number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the U.S. easy listening chart in 1972.

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Writing credit for "Morning Has Broken" has occasionally been erroneously attributed to Cat Stevens, who popularised the song abroad. The familiar piano arrangement on Stevens' recording was composed and performed by Rick Wakeman, a classically trained keyboardist best known for his tenures in the English progressive rock band Yes.

When shaping "Morning Has Broken" for recording, Stevens had to start with a hymn which took around 45 seconds to sing in its basic form. Producer Paul Samwell-Smith told him he could never put something like that on an album, and that it needed to be at least three minutes, although an acoustic demo exists of Stevens playing an early version which lasts almost three minutes. Prior to the actual recording Stevens heard Wakeman play something in the recording booth. It was a rough sketch of what would later become "Catherine Howard". Stevens told Wakeman that he liked it and wanted something similar as the opening section, the closing section and, if possible, a middle section as well. Wakeman told Stevens he could not as it was his piece destined for a solo album, but Stevens persuaded him to adapt his composition. The familiar piano intro and general structure of the piece may be attributed to Stevens or to Wakeman.

In 2000, Wakeman released an instrumental version of "Morning Has Broken" on an album of the same title. That same year he gave an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live in which he said he had agreed to perform on the Cat Stevens track for £10 and was "shattered" to be omitted from the credits, adding that he never received the money either.

On his return to performance as Yusuf Islam, Stevens made a payment to Wakeman and apologized for the original non-payment, which arose from confusion and a misunderstanding on the record label's part. On a documentary aired on British television Wakeman stated that he felt Stevens's version of "Morning Has Broken" was a very beautiful piece of music that had brought people closer to religious truth. He expressed satisfaction in having contributed to this.

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Special Of The Day: The Ronettes - Be My Baby (1963)

Brian Wilson has declared 'Be My Baby' the greatest pop record ever made

"Be My Baby" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. It was first recorded and released by American girl group The Ronettes as a single in August 1963 and later placed on their 1964 debut LP Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica. Spector produced their elaborately layered recording in what is now largely considered the ultimate embodiment of his Wall of Sound production formula.

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It is considered one of the best songs of the 1960s by Pitchfork Media, NME and Time. In 2004, the song was ranked 22 by Rolling Stone in its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and described as a "Rosetta stone for studio pioneers such as the Beatles and Brian Wilson," a notion supported by Allmusic who writes, "No less an authority than Brian Wilson has declared 'Be My Baby' the greatest pop record ever made — no arguments here." In 1999, it was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame, and in 2006, the Library of Congress honored the Ronettes' version by adding it to the United States National Recording Registry.

"Be My Baby" was recorded in July of 1963 at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. Spector recorded a range of instruments including guitars, saxophones, multiple pianos, and horns with innovative studio mixing and over-dubbing. Spector described his production method as "a Wagnerian approach to rock & roll", which became known as the wall of sound. "Be My Baby" was one of the first times Phil Spector used a full orchestra in his recording. The drums were played by Hal Blaine. Darlene Love and Sonny and Cher were part of the group of guests that provided additional backup vocals. Guitars on the session were played by Tommy Tedesco and Bill Pitman, after whom the instrumental "Tedesco and Pitman" on the B-side of the single was named.

"Be My Baby" was the first Ronettes song produced by Phil Spector released on his label, Philles Records. The group had already recorded a track by Greenwich and Barry called "Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love", but this was held back in favor of "Be My Baby".

The song was arranged by Spector regular Jack Nitzsche and engineered by Larry Levine. Ronnie Spector is the only Ronette to appear on the record.

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