“How Will I Know” was the song that made Whitney Houston America’s sweetheart. And as calculated as Clive Davis’s plan to make her a superstar were (release a couple of singles that solidified a base of R&B fans before making an all-out pop push), it worked. And it worked with a great song, even if… Read More “How Will I Know” by Whitney Houston (1985)
I don’t know if you’ve ever lost a friend to suicide. I’ve lost several; off the top of my head I can count four in the last seven years. And in at least one of those cases, I feel as though there’s something I could’ve done to save them, or something that I did do… Read More “How To Save A Life” by The Fray (2005)
I could’ve probably bundled the two Bee Gees “How” songs together and called it a day, but “How Deep Is Your Love” is such a fantastic song that I couldn’t give it short shrift by placing it in a post with another song. To this day, I get goosebumps when those famous Gibb harmonies kick… Read More “How Deep Is Your Love” by The Bee Gees (1977)
Phil Collins was a very busy man during the ‘80s. Not only did he record four solo albums, but he equaled that productivity as ⅓ of Genesis, and this is to say nothing of his work as a sideman, producer and member of Brand X. Quite simply, the guy was everywhere. So it shouldn’t have… Read More “Hold On My Heart” by Genesis (1991)
As my last few posts have made clear, I’m quite fond of lyricists who are able to capture a specific mood. “Help Me” finds Joni Mitchell falling for a guy who’s unquestionably a cad. He’s a smooth talkin’ ladies man, and he loves his freedom more than he loves love. So why is Joni falling… Read More “Help Me” by Joni Mitchell (1974)
Adele’s 21 album surpassed expectations to become a monster hit, the type of big-selling album that most people thought wasn’t possible in the 2010s (and seriously, probably won’t happen again). I’m pretty sure that Adele’s record company (and maybe not Adele herself, since she seems so blase about her success and that’s actually kind of… Read More “Hello” by Adele (2015)/”Hello” by Joe (2015)
There was never a period with Santana during which I was like oh, man; I’ve gotta dig deeper into this guy’s catalog. That changed with 1999’s Supernatural. Placing a ’60s guitar legend in a contemporary setting with modern-day vocalists was, at the very least, a marketing masterstroke. And I dug most of Supernatural the first… Read More “The Game Of Love” by Santana feat. Michelle Branch (2002)
Here’s a song I don’t have a lot to say about. It’s very pretty. Roberta Flack doesn’t get a lot of credit as a great interpreter of lyrics. Mainly because there’s still a little thing in my head that says “she writes all her own songs”, yet the three songs I most associate with her… Read More “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack (1972)
There are some people you just can’t picture in a sexual sense. Roberta Flack is one of those people. Her music, to me, has always felt chaste. When I discovered Flack’s music, she was already in middle age, so the image I’ve painted of her in my head has always been matronly. She’s only a… Read More “Feel Like Makin’ Love” by Roberta Flack (1974)
At some point, I don’t remember if I was in junior high or high school, we became a “Lite FM” household. While I certainly had my own musical tastes, my grandmother ran the house I lived in for most of my childhood (and all of my teenage years), and if she wasn’t playing church radio… Read More “Fallin’ In Love” by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds (1975)
Five Star Jamz 