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Audio John Prine Music music videos photography singer songwriters Singers

John Prine.

That’s The Way That The World Goes ‘Round.
Please Don’t Bury Me.
Sweet Revenge.

We lost legendary singer-songwriter John Prine yesterday. This represents just a few personal favorites from the composers vast catalogue of memorable songs. He will be sorely missed.

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composers hit singles Music music videos photography

Donovan.

Colours.
Season of the Witch.
Sunshine Superman.
Hurdy Gurdy Man.
Cecilia of the Seals.

Mr. Donovan Leitch, the Scottish singer/songwriter, was right in the thick of it during the heyday of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and the like. And he penned and performed some of the most sublime, memorable compositions of that, or any era.

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Crowded House hit singles Music music videos Neil Finn new wave photography Singers The 80s vocalists

Hit Singles of the 80s: A Primer, of Sorts.

An introduction to some of the provocative musical goings-on way back in the 1980s. We have: The Vapors, Falco, Eddy Grant, Peter Schilling, Dead or Alive, Wang Chung, The Alarm, XTC, Lene Lovich, Pete Shelley, Echo and the Bunnymen, Paul Young, Bryan Adams, Human League, Simple Minds, Pet Shop Boys, Lloyd Cole, Fiction Factory, Psychedelic Furs, Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark, Dream Academy, Crowded House, Split Enz, Squeeze, Tears for Fears, and The Housemartins.

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Charisma dance hit singles Jackie Wilson Music music videos photography vocalists

Jackie Wilson: Higher and Higher.

The great Jackie Wilson gives two electric performances of Higher and Higher, circa 1974. His mindboggling gifts are on full display throughout; it’s as if time/space were suspended.

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Audio Chris Connor Dusty Springfield Female Vocalists hit singles Music music videos Peggy Lee photography Singers vocalists

Vocalists of Note: Goddess Division.

I Think It’s Going To Rain Today: Peggy Lee.
Don’t Explain.
All About Ronnie: Chris Connor.
Spring is Here.
.
Dusty Springfield: The Windmills of Your Mind.
Breakfast in Bed.

We have here a modest collection of some of the most brilliant, gifted vocalists ever: Peggy Lee, Chris Connor, Anita O’Day, Lulu, Billie Eilish, and Dusty Springfield.

Addendum: also Marilyn McCoo, Irene Krall, and Dinah Washington. And Edith Piaf.

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composers hit singles Music music videos photography Songwriters

Eve of Destruction.

The extraordinary, powerful, and, upon its 1965 release, highly controversial composition Eve of Destruction is performed live by vocalist Barry McGuire on the Hullabaloo show. McGuire, after being introduced by Jerry Lewis, delivers an emotionally charged rendition that made ripples—more like tsunami—across the US.

Composer P.F. Sloan recalls a few fascinating and unlikely (as in, almost credulity-straining…yet not) details: during the studio recording session, “Barry was reading it for the first time off a piece of paper I had written the lyric on! Okay. McGuire’s record is released but ‘Eve’ is the B-side. Somewhere in the Great Midwest of America a DJ played the wrong side by mistake!”.

Banned and denounced as unpatriotic, Eve only became more and more popular, most likely benefiting from all the wild, incorrect accusations and censure. Its creator and performer were not so fortunate, however; Sloan:  “It ruined Barry’s career as an artist and in a year I would be driven out of the music business too.”.

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hit singles Music music videos One Hit Wonders photography

The One {Approx.} Hit Wonders: 1970s, vol II.

A number of further One {approx.} Hitters from the 1970s. I cannot emphasize enough that some artists represented herein are responsible for more than 1 “hit”, somewhere in the world. Right. So, we’ve got The Blues Image, Ocean, Norman Greenbaum, The Sanford-Townsend Band, Wild Cherry, Flash and the Pan, and Sniff ‘n’ The Tears, this time around. Enjoy.

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hit singles Music music videos One Hit Wonders photography vocalists

The One Hit Wonders: The 70s.

Lee Michaels: Do You Know What I Mean.
Daddy Dewdrop: Chick-a-Boom.
King Harvest: Dancing in the Moonlight.

A soupçon of personal favorites, from a decade rich in great material. In order, we have: Edison Lighthouse, Pilot, Lee Michaels, Zager and Evans, Daddy Dewdrop, The Fortunes, The Ides of March, King Harvest, Hurricane Smith, Clint Holmes, Jigsaw, Walter Egan, John Stewart, Looking Glass, Tee Set, and JD Souther.

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Beatles composers hit singles John Lennon Music music videos Paul McCartney photography

Beatles, The.

Tomorrow Never Knows.
Sexy Sadie {Anthology version}.
She Said, She Said.
And Your Bird Can Sing.
Doctor Robert.
I Want To Tell You
Mother Nature’s Son {Anthology version}.
Hey Jude {Anthology version.}

A sampling of some of the titanic moments created by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. As far as rapid, intense, super-concentrated evolution goes, as well as profound alteration of the musical landscape, The Beatles have only John Coltrane and Beethoven as peers.

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Chris Hayes Lawrence O'Donnell Media News Anchors photography Politics Rachel Maddow Truth

Truth, Lies, and ________.

The passion and eloquence of Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, and Chris Hayes, in a troubled time.