Lindsey Buckingham--Trouble (1981)

     From the early days of modern pop/rock, there have been the equivalent of the mad scientist, who loves to tinker with voices, sounds, and overall texture to produce their art. Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, Todd Rundgren just to name a few and one can put Lindsey Buckingham in that category as well.         Since his first solo album in 1981, (Law and Order) he has produced very listenable, melodically infectious music. Not all of it has sold well, but all of them have the mark of a pop craftsman.  ...

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BT Express--Do It ('Till Your Satisfied) (1974)

     For those who didn't live through it, (and for many who did) the disco era began with "Saturday Night Fever". Actually SNF was the apex of the era, since the sound from the dance floor began to filter on the charts for a couple of years before what is considered "the disco era". For me, this song was one of the songs that began that move.      BT Express (which stands for Brooklyn Trucking Express) started out as the R&B group Madison Street Express in 1972 and changed the name with the release of...

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Peabo Bryson--If Ever You're In My Arms Again (1984)

     It seems that during the 80's, if you were a female artist and wanted to sing a duet with someone, Peabo Bryson was your man. During the 80's and early 90's, he sang at least 15 duets. Chart entries included songs with Melissa Manchester, Roberta Flack, Regina Belle (#1 with, "A Whole New World), and Celine Dion.      Robert Peapo Bryson (the name was changed to Peabo in 1965), began his career as a backup singer for a local group called Al Freeman & the Upsetters. Then a couple of years later joined,...

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Brownsville Station--Smokin In The Boys Room (1973)

     Brownsville Station was another of the bands to come from the fertile Detroit rock scene of the late 60's. They had 7 songs on the top 100 over their 10 year career, but only one is thought of today. "Smokin' in the Boys Room" was written by lead singer Cub Coda and Mike Lutz and reached #3 on the charts in late 1973. A little over a decade later, Motley Crue covered the song and it became their first hit as well.      The band broke up in 1979, but Cub Coda became a bit of a musicial renaissance man...

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Jackson Browne--Doctor My Eyes (1972)

     Jackson Browne had been writing since the mid-60's. He was well known with other songwriters in and around the New York area, and then later, southern California       Browne signed a songwriting contract with Electra Records on his 18th birthday, and five years later (1971) was rewarded with a record deal. The first album ("Jackson Browne" in 1972), caught the attention of music critics and the public, driven by the single, "Doctor My Eyes". It was his highest charting single until "Somebody's...

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Polly Brown--Up In a Puff of Smoke (1975)

    Polly Brown was a white soul singer from England. This was her only release that made it on the charts here in the states....reaching #16 in late 1975/early 1976. She had hits with the groups, Pickettywitch, and Sweet Dreams, both reaching the top 10 in the UK. Brown did well all through the 70's, and continues to write and record toda...

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Peter Brown--Dance With Me (1978)

     Peter Brown had no real interest in becoming a musician. His mother was musically gifted and gave young Peter music lessons, and his dad was an electrical engineer. Both streams of the gene pool  became part of Brown's early career as, because of his father's job, became well versed in many of the early electronic devices of the day, which included a two-track recorder in which he would fiddle around with overdubbing. He would also take an interest in the early versions of the synthesizer.      Despite...

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Bobby Brown--My Prerogative (1988)

     It's almost been a generation ago now, but once a upon a time, Bobby Brown was at the top of the musical heap in the late 80's/early 90's. At one point, he had 10 straight top 20 hits, and was seen as a pioneer of New Jack Swing, which was a hybrid of hip hop and R&B.      Most people under the age of 21 has only seen the decline. It wasn't that his fall couldn't be predicted either. He was voted out of the group New Edition back in 1986 because the others felt his onstage (and offstage) antics...

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The Crazy Word of Arthur Brown-- Fire (1968)

    They may have been influenced by him, but no doubt that artists like Alice Cooper, Kiss, Peter Gabriel, George Clinton and Marlyn Manson owe a debt to Arthur Brown.      His band, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown was made up of Vincent Crane (Keyboards), Drachen Theaker, (drums) and Nick Greenwood (bass). It was however, the onstage antics of Brown that drew the crowds. He had been kicked out of Italy for performing naked, he wore all kinds of makeup, and would wear this helmet that would lit on fire during concerts....

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Brooklyn Dreams--Heaven Knows (1979)

     Bruce Sudano was wanting to go home. He was with the group Alive N' Kickin who had a hit in 1970 with the song, "Tighter, Tighter", but subsequent songs failed to chart and they were drifting apart. Bruce wanted to continue in music, but with his own group. So he went back home and formed the group, "Brooklyn Dreams" with Joe Esposito and Eddie Hokenson.      The debut album garnered good reviews if not good sales, and someone at Casablanca records thought of putting Donna Summer with the group for an...

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Johnny Bristol--Hang On In There Baby (1974)

     Johnny Bristol made his first successes as a producer for Motown. Among the many he produced hits for included, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Diana Ross & the Supremes, and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. He left Motown in 1973 and briefly joined CBS/Columbia to produce, but was wanting to get back to writing and recording as he did in his very early career. CBS didn't show interest and he signed in 1974 with MGM on a recording contract.      He reached the R&B charts about a...

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Brighter Side of Darkness--Love Jones (1972)

    Just like with every other trend in entertainment, the success of the Jackson 5 put talent scouts and promoters on alert looking for the next R&B group with a diminutive singer. And just like most trends, the ones who come after are never quite as good. For at least one song however, the Brighter Side of Darkness found themselves on the charts. Led by 12 year old singer Darryl Lamont, the group struck gold with, "Love Jones" in late 1972. The rest of the group, who were all quite a bit older, were singing as a group in high...

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Alicia Bridges--I Love The Nightlife (Disco 'Round) (1978)

     Like fossils in amber, music will many times encase and freeze it's artists into a time frame. So much so sometimes, that they are defined by that certain period to the determent of their later career.  The rise and fall of disco is one of those periods. Many great songs came out of the era, but the trade off was that the artist was seen as a "disco" star, and when it went out of vogue, their career did as well.      Alicia Bridges saw herself as a rock and blues singer. She had been singing since...

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Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians--What I Am (1988)

     Edie Brickell was a student Southern Methodist University in the mid-80's, one night she went to hear a band with some guys who had gone to the same high school. Guitarist Kenny Withrow, drummer Brandon Aly, and percussionist John Bush from the group, "The New Bohemians" had all attended The Booker T. Washington Magnet School in Dallas TX with Brickell, although she was in the art department and never actually knew any of the guys while they attended.      The group had been playing together since the...

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Sunday Morning Vault: Terry Bradshaw--I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (1976)

    For many years now, Terry Bradshaw is seen on FOX sports coverage of the NFL. However, in the 70's he was known as one of football's best quarterbacks with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Am not sure why he was given the opportunity, but he also recorded a couple of country singles in the mid-70's. There have been many over the years who make their living in other areas of entertainment who have attempted to record an album., most with so-so results (see Telly Savalas' blog for one of my favorites). But at least on this song, Bradshaw...

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Brewer and Shipley--One Toke Over the Line (1971)

     Brewer and Shipley was your average early 70's folkie duo who sang about social injustices and such...except for this song. It actually was a bit of a lark... something they threw together backstage before a gig, liked what they did and recorded it. Although they had a couple of other songs on the top 100, this was by far their biggest song.      What is most interesting to me was how it was accepted at the time. There were some, like Vice President Sprio Agnew who condemned them personally as being...

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Boys Don't Cry--I Wanna Be A Cowboy (1986)

     Boys Don't Cry is the brainchild of lead vocalist/keyboard player Nick Richards who put together the band in the mid-80's. The music itself was easy to dance to, using humor and nostalgic references. "I Wanna Be A Cowboy" was the only song they ever charted here in the states, and probably could have only been produced in the mid/late 80's dance craze. However, it still is fun to listen to....

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Bread--Everything I Own (1972)

     Soft Rock for some seems an oxymoron, and perhaps it is. On the other hand, I don't think I've seen any album in more people's collection's than, "The Best of Bread". In the early 70's, Bread was the leading light of what was known as "soft rock". They didn't invent it, but along with The Carpenters, took it to a true art form. If Karen Carpenter was the queen of the genre, than David Gates was the king. Having been a producer/writer/singer since the early 60's, he had struck upon a formula that aimed for the soft hearted...

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Laura Branigan--Gloria (1982)

     Laura Branigan had been singing professionally since the early 70's. First with a group called, "Meadow" which went nowhere, then several other jobs including a stint as a backup singer for one of Leonard Cohen's European tours.      She was signed to a solo contract in 1979, and it took a couple of years to figure out how to promote her. Her alto voice had a four octave range, and in the grand tradition of record executives, tried her out in several different areas before settling on pop.        ...

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Boy Meets Girl---Waiting for a Star to Fall (1988)

     Songwriters George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam met in 1975 as they both were performing at a wedding. As time went on, they became a professional and romantic couple with success coming in the mid-80's as two of their songs, "How Will I Know" and "I Wanna Dance (With Somebody Who Loves Me" becoming huge hits for Whitney Houston.  They also wrote for Denise Williams and Bette Midler.      They began recording as, "Boy Meets Girl" in 1985 with so-so success, but reached #5 on the charts in 1988 for...

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Sunday Morning Vault: Pat Boone--Love Letters in the Sand (1957)

     In the late 50's, the two most popular male artists were Elvis Presley and Pat Boone. Revisionist history want's to put all of the spotlight on Elvis and push Boone to the background, but the truth was that for all of the excitement that Elvis caused, America in the 50's was still very conservative, and many teens were as well. Boone made records that, in hindsight, were a natural progression of the early 50's pop sound, updated for younger listeners. He also appealed to many parents since he was practically asexual on...

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Listen Here!! -#1 Sgt. Pepper (1967) Part 1

    I'm starting something new for the Omnibus this year. We are a people who love to make lists, and those who love music do the same. The Billboard top 40 has been a part of the landscape as long as Elvis as been shaking his hips. Since the blog and radio show deals with the music of our past, I thought it be a cool idea to write about the albums that have influenced modern music, and the albums that should have done so. There will also be a opportunity for me to stretch out a bit beyond the confines of where the Omnibus usually...

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Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart: I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight (1967)

     Tommy Boyce got his break as a songwriter when he composed, "Be My Guest" for Fats Domino in 1959, which is the same year he met Bobby Hart. Beginning in 1964, they began writing a string of hits for Chubby Checker ("Lazy Elsie Molly"), Jay & the Americans ("Come a Little Closer"), and Paul Revere and the Raiders ("(I"m Not Your) Stepping Stone"). If you remember the soap opera, "Days of our Lives", they wrote that too.      They were known (as songwriters) mainly for their work with The Monkees....

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The Box Tops--The Letter (1967)

     The Box Tops had 7 top 40 singles in just a little over two years, and three of them made the top 20. However, for most listeners, the song that mattered was the first hit. Written by Wayne Thompson, it was the first time the Box Tops had been in a studio before. It was also producer Dan Penn's first song that he total production control over. It was led by the voice of 16 year old Alex Chilton, who's bad experiences with management, lawyers and promoters  throughout this period effected his entire career. In spite...

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David Bowie--Fame (1975)

     Madonna has been lauded for her ability to reinvent herself and her character, and rightly so. She used the video age to position herself in a way no woman has done before or since, and that very few artists have been able to do and I have always been a fan. Having said that, her music is still for the dance floor and has matured over the years, but a decade before "Like a Virgin", David Bowie was redefining himself musically EACH ALBUM.       With each release in the 70's, Bowie was not only changing...

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Boston--More Than a Feeling (1976)

     I'll never forget the first time I heard Boston's, "More Than a Feeling" on a good stereo. A friend's house, shooting some pool and drinking beer, listening to albums. My ears immediately picked up on the sonic difference between this and other albums. It was crisper.....cleaner. Then the wall of sound washed over me like a warm musical bath. I was hooked, at least for that album. Their first solo album was one of my first purchases in my own collection.      Tom Scholz started making music while a student...

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Debby Boone---You Light Up My Life (1977)

     Mike Curb was trying to convince her to try a solo recording career. The group "The Boones" containing her famous dad, mom and other three sisters had done well on the Billboard AC charts over the past several years. With the youngest sister in college, and the older two getting married, it left Debby with an opportunity to try a solo career.      The first single given to her was a song written by Joe Brooks and originally recorded by Kasey Cisyk for the movie, "You Light Up My Life" starring Didi Conn....

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Daniel Boone--Beautiful Sunday (1972)

     Since the dawn of the modern pop/rock era, there have been many "one hit wonders". I suppose since the years that molded my musical tastes were in the early 70's, several of the "OHW's" have found a soft place in my heart, no matter if I really liked the song or not. "Beautiful Sunday" is one that has always put a smile on my face. One reason perhaps is that it brings certain memories of my Jr. High years back to life, the other is that it is just a sunny, optimistic song.       It's singer, born...

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Sunday Morning Vault: Gary "U.S." Bonds--Quarter to Three (1961)

     Gary Anderson had his name changed early in his career to "U.S. Bonds" to somewhat confused people in associating it with some public service announcements regarding government issued bonds. That was altered a bit when people started thinking that it was a group rather than an individual singer, so it was changed again to Gary "U.S." Bonds.      His first hit was "New Orleans" in late 1960, but hit No. 1 with, "Quarter to Three". Despite 5 top 10 hits in those pre-Beatle years, this was the song that...

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