Category: Rock and Roll Revisited

“I Shot the Sheriff” was the hit single from Eric Clapton’s “461 Ocean Blvd” LP. But, for me, “Let It Grow” is the cut that never grows old.

There is beauty in simplicity. Peel back all the conflicting stories about what the lyrics in “Itchycoo Park” mean, that’s the message.

Some don’t consider “California Soul” to be a major 5th Dimension hit. But it still hooks me, every time I hear it.

At barely two minutes, Del Amitri’s 1995 smash, “Roll To Me” is a timeless tune that channels the best of the 1960s.

Producer Bones Howe is the real catalyst behind Jimmy Webb’s iconic, “MacArthur Park”. He came up with the idea. Webb created the charts. The Association rejected it. Richard Harris, with WABC programmer, Rick Sklar’s help, made it a hit.

The inimitable Creem and Rolling Stone rock journalist, Lester Bangs dubbed the Troggs, the “godfathers of punk”. So there’s a certain irony that their most enduring hit was a love song.

When Nathan East decided to release a collection under his own name, Van Morrison’s “Moondance” was one of 14 eclectic tunes to make the cut. With Michael MacDonald on vocals it rocks like few cover tunes ever do.

When Kiki Dee joined Elton John’s Rocket Records, a career that had been simmering since the mid 1960s took off. And 1974’s “I’ve Got the Music In Me” was the fuse that lit the fire.

REO’s 7th studio album produced their first Top 40 hit, “Time for Me to Fly”. It was worthy of the accolades. But for me, it was Side One, Cut One that would resonate.

Certain songs define a generation. And for some, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” ranks with Vicki Sue Robinson, Cheryl Lynn and Gloria Gaynor.