What are you listening to right now?

The Jackson 5 eventually became The Jacksons in 1976, but they were still the family band we grew up with.

No matter what name the performed under, they won awards from all over the world, except the Grammys where they were nominated 3 times but never won. They do however have 3 songs that have been inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame, I’ll Be There & I Want You Back installed in 1999 & ABC in 2017.

They were installed into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1997 & The Vocal Group Hall Of Fame in 1999.

After they changed their group name, they released 6 albums beginning with The Jacksons in 1976 & ending with 2300 Jackson Street in 1989. This song comes from their 3rd release. It was called Destiny & it came out in 1978. The album landed at #3 & has been certified Platinum.

Singles released from the album included Blame It On The Boogie which stalled out at #54 & Shake Your Body Down To The Ground which hit the top 10 on multiple Billboard charts including a #7 on the Hot 100 & went on the sell over 2 million copies.

The song linked to here was co – written by Michael & Randy. There is some sterling lead guitar played by a guy named Paul Jackson Jr., he is no relation to the family.

Kinks-Size is a studio album by the Kinks, released as their second album in the United States, it was issued by Reprise Records in March 1965. It peaked at number 13 on the Billboard album chart in the third week of June 1965, the same week the Kinks began their first US tour.

Kink Size was issued as a 4 song EP in the UK & the album issued here in the states seems to have been a compilation of sorts. The EP did not include this song at all.

The album was issued to capitalize on the nation-wide publicity generated by the band's February 1965 appearance on the program Hullabaloo & has been critiqued as a clear cash-grab by Reprise, but the actual songs included have been praised as "the best parts of the group's work in England".

Similarities between the song and the Doors' 1968 song, "Hello, I Love You" have been pointed out. Ray Davies said on the topic: "My publisher wanted to sue. I was unwilling to do that. I think they cut a deal somewhere, but I don't know the details."

Robby Krieger of The Doors has denied the allegations that the song's musical structure was stolen from Ray Davies. Instead, he said the song's vibe was taken from Cream's song "Sunshine of Your Love". According to the Doors biography No One Here Gets Out Alive, courts in the UK determined in favor of Davies and any royalties for the song are paid to him.

The single hit #7 here in the US in 1965. It was their 2nd consecutive #7 hit following You Really Got Me.

Joe Walsh is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter from Wichita, Kansas. Joe just turned 76 last November.

As a member of the Eagles he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 & the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001. He has won 5 Grammys, all with the Eagles.

He has been a part of 4 albums with The James Gang, 5 with the Eagles, 2 with Ringo Starrs’ All Star Band, & 11 solo albums. He has also been a guest player on multiple albums from many different artists.

He has contributed music to multiple movie soundtracks which is where this song comes in. It was originally a part of Urban Cowboy starring John Travolta, Debra Winger & Scott Glenn. The movie came out in 1980. The album got to #3 on the Top 200 chart.

The song was released as the 1st single from the album & landed at #19 on the Hot 100. The album also included Stand By Me by Mickey Gilley #22 & #1 on Country, Love The World Away by Kenny Rogers #14 & #4, Lookin For Love by Johnny Lee #5 & #1, Look What You’ve Done To Me by Boz Scaggs #14 on pop, & Could I Have This Dance by Anne Murray #33 & #1.

Tiffany, is a singer, songwriter, actress, and former teen icon from Norwalk, California. Her full name is Tiffany Renee Darwish. She is no longer a teen, she turned 52 last October.

She was singing at the Palomino Club when she was discovered by Hoyt Axton and his mother Mae. Mae took her to sing in Nashville, where she performed on The Ralph Emery Show, singing Juice Newton's "Queen of Hearts" and Tammy Wynette's "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad".

During her career she has released 11 studio albums & 44 singles. Her most recent album came out in 2022, but she has not had one that charted since her 2nd album in 1988. This song was the lead single from that 2nd album. The album was called Hold An Old Friend's Hand. The album got to #17 & has been certified as Platinum.

She promoted the album by touring in shopping malls. The tour was called The Beautiful You: Celebrating the Good Life Shopping Mall Tour '87, & included 60 concerts.

The single landed at #6, it was her 4th and last top 10 hit. The music video was filmed at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.

Ella Fitzgerald was a jazz singer from Newport News, Virginia. She died in her home from a stroke on June 15, 1996, at the age of 79.

She debuted at the age of 17 on November 21, 1934, in one of the earliest Amateur Nights at the Apollo Theater. She had intended to go on stage and dance, but she was intimidated by a local dance duo called the Edwards Sisters and opted to sing instead. She sang "Judy" and "The Object of My Affection" and won first prize.

Ella won 14 Grammy awards, including one for Lifetime Achievement in 1967.

She has also had 6 of her recordings installed into the Grammy Hall Of Fame. Her 1938 recording of A Tisket A Tasket was installed in 1987, 1960 Ella In Berlin in 1999, 1957 Ella Sings The Rodgers & Hart Songbook also in 1999, 1956 Ella Sings The Cole Porter Songbook in 2000, 1958 Porgy & Bess in 2001 & 1960 How High The Moon in 2002.

This song was written by Cole Porter for his 1934 musical Anything Goes. The 1st versions were recorded in 1935 by Paul Whiteman (vocal by Bob Lawrence) and by Harry Rosenthal (vocal by Helen Ward).

The version here was included on Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book. It was a 1956 studio double album. This album began her Song Book series, each of the eight albums in the series focusing on a different composer of the canon known as the Great American Songbook. The album was recorded February 7–9 and March 27, 1956, in Hollywood, & as mentioned above it was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame. In 2003, it was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.

Raspberries was a pop rock band formed in 1970 in Cleveland.

They disbanded in 1975 after a five-year run, and Eric Carmen went on to a successful career as a solo artist.

Their best known songs include "Go All the Way", "Let's Pretend", "I Wanna Be with You", "Tonight", and "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)".

During their short career they released 4 albums. This song comes from their final album. It was called Starting Over & it was released in 1974. The album featured a new line-up with Michael McBride (drums), and Scott McCarl (bass, vocals). Drummer Jim Bonfanti and bassist Dave Smalley had left the band the previous year.

The album charted at #143. It included just 1 single. Overnight Sensation got to #18 on the Hot 100. It was their final charting single.

Eric Carmen & Michael McBride shared writing credits on this one.

Donna Summer, was a singer and songwriter from Boston. She died in 2012 from lung cancer, she was 63. Her real name was Donna Adrian Gaines.

In 1968, she joined a German adaptation of the musical Hair in Munich, where she spent several years living, acting, and singing. There, she met music producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and they went on to record influential disco hits together such as "Love to Love You Baby" and "I Feel Love", which Moroder described as "really the start of electronic dance" music.

She sold over 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She won five Grammy Awards.

In 2013, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Her catalog includes 17 studio albums and 89 singles. She had three #1 albums on the US Billboard 200, 16 #1 hits on the US Dance Club Songs and 4 chart-topping singles in the Billboard Hot 100.

Bad Girls was her 7th studio album & it was released on April 25, 1979. It became the best-selling and most critically acclaimed album of her career. The album hit #1 & has been certified Double Platinum in the US & has sold over 4 million copies worldwide.

At the 1980 Grammy Awards, Bad Girls was nominated for Album of the Year (She lost to 52nd Street by Billy Joel), Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (she lost to Dionne Warwick & I’ll Never Love This Way Again) and "Hot Stuff" which she won for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Additionally, "Dim All the Lights" was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, (She lost to Dionne Warwick again for Deja Vu) and "Bad Girls" was nominated for Best Disco Recording (She lost to I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor).

"Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls" both hit #1, "Dim All the Lights" landed at #2.

Cyndi Lauper is a singer, songwriter, actress, and activist from New York City. She will be 71 in June.

In 2013, she won the Tony Award for best original score for composing the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, making her the first woman to win the category by herself. The musical was awarded five other Tonys including Tony Award for Best New Musical. In 2014 she won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for the cast recording. In 2016, the West End production won Best New Musical at the Olivier Awards.

Cyndi has won awards at the Grammys, Emmys, Tonys, making her one of the few singers to win three of the four major American entertainment awards (EGOT).

She won the Best New Artist Grammy in 1985 beating out Sheila E., Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Corey Hart & The Judds.

She has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

During here career she has released 11 studio albums, 6 compilation albums, 5 video albums and 53 singles. This song was included on her debut album from 1983. It was called She’s So Unusual. The album was Grammy nominated for Best Album but lost out to Can’t Slow Down by Lionel Richie. It hit the top 10 in many countries around the world including #4 here in the states & has been certified 7 X Platinum.

The album included the singles, Girls Just Want To Have Fun #2, Time After Time #1, She Bop #3, Money Changes Everything #27 & the song linked to here which hit #5.

The song was originally written & recorded in 1983 by a guy named Jules Shear. His version didn’t attract much attention but when Cyndi charted with it, he said he was surprised that his "folk song" was interpreted by Lauper as "a drum machine and techno thing". According to Cyndi, she wanted it to be just like Shear's version, with a bit more of an acoustic sound. However, she changed her mind, saying that she wanted to remake it in her own style.

The Velvet Underground performed under several names before settling on their name in 1965. The name was taken from the title of a 1963 book on atypical sexual behavior. In 1966,  Andy Warhol became their manager. They served as the house band at Warhol's studio, the Factory, and his traveling multimedia show, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, from 1966 to 1967.

The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2004, they were ranked number 19 on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". The New York Times wrote that the Velvet Underground was "arguably the most influential American rock band of our time".

During their career they released just 5 studio albums & never had much commercial success. This song comes from their 1st album. It was called The Velvet Underground & Nico & was released in 1967. The album charted at 129 & was the highest they ever got, but that didn’t happen until 2013 after the death of Lou Reed.

The album was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 2006.

According to Lou, the song is "a very apt description of certain people at the Factory at the time. ... I watched Andy. I watched Andy watching everybody. I would hear people say the most astonishing things, the craziest things, the funniest things, the saddest things." In a 2006 interview, Reed's band mate John Cale stated: "The song was about a girl called Darryl, a beautiful petite blonde with three kids, two of whom were taken away from her." The song was Andy Warhol's favorite by the band.

Peggy Lee, was a jazz and pop singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, from Jamestown, North Dakota. She died of complications from diabetes and a heart attack on January 21, 2002, at the age of 81. Her real name was Norma Deloris Engstrom.

She began her career as a vocalist on local radio singing with Benny Goodman's big band. But during her career she also wrote music for films and recorded conceptual record albums combining poetry and music. Called the "Queen of American pop music," she recorded over 1,100 songs and composed over 270 others.

She won the Grammy in 1969 for her hit "Is That All There Is?", for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance. She was inducted into the Big Band Jazz Hall of Fame in 1992, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Songbook Hall of Fame from the Great American Songbook Foundation in 2020.

With the stated discography of 1,100 recorded songs, as you can imagine the list of albums goes on & on. She recorded for Capitol, Decca, Harmony, & other labels. She also recorded as a guest vocalist with other artists. She had her 1st charting single in 1941 & continued to land on the charts as late as 1974.

This song was written in 1940 with music composed by Duke Ellington & lyrics written by Carl Sigman. The version heard her was recorded Live by Peggy in 1959 & released on an album called Beauty and the Beat!

The concert took place in Miami on May 29, 1959. The occasion was the DJ's second annual convention.

Merrilee Rush is a singer from Seattle. She turned 79 earlier this week.

There is a long & winding road that led to this record.

In 1960, she auditioned for, and became the singer for the Amazing Aztecs, a Seattle-area rock & roll band led by saxophone player Neil Rush, whom she would later marry.

In 1965, the duo formed Merrilee Rush and the Turnabouts, who soon became a popular act on the Pacific Northwest's dancehall circuit. A member of the group's road crew also worked for Paul Revere & the Raiders, and through this connection, they were invited to be the opening act on the Raiders' tour in 1967. While in Memphis, Raiders lead vocalist Mark Lindsay introduced Merrilee to record producer Chips Moman.

The song was recorded at Moman's American Studio in Memphis in early 1968. It got to #7 on the Hot 100. It was credited to "Merrilee Rush and the Turnabouts", but the single and associated album (also called Angel of the Morning) were recorded using the same musicians who played on Elvis Presley's Memphis recordings.

She was nominated for a Grammy for female vocalist of the year in 1968 but she lost out to Dionne Warwick & "Do You Know the Way to San Jose".

This was her only Top 40 hit.

Boz Scaggs is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Canton, Ohio. Boz will turn 80 this upcoming June. His real name is William Royce Scaggs.

He began his career as a bandmate of Steve Miller in The Ardells in the early 1960s and the Steve Miller Band from 1967 to 1968. He began his solo career in 1969.

He has been nominated for 7 Grammy Awards but has yet to break through.

Tragedy struck in 2017 when his house burnt down as a result of the Northern California wildfires in October. He and his wife were on tour at the time. He lost everything: vineyard, cars, and sentimental objects such as decades worth of legal pads and cocktail napkins with lyrics on them.

During his recording career he was a part of 2 albums with Steve Miller before going solo. Since then, he has released 19 albums with the most recent one coming in 2018.

This song comes from his self - titled 2nd studio album. It was released in 1969 & was the 1st one to actually chart landing at 171 on the top 200 charts. This album was produced by Jann Wenner who may be better remembered as the co - founder of Rolling Stone magazine & the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.

Wenner suggested he record the album at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, based on the style of music he had been making. Boz wanted to watch some of the recording sessions at Muscle Shoals anonymously, so Wenner gave him a Rolling Stone press badge to visit the studio and interact with the studio musicians. During this visit, Scaggs met several musicians that would appear on the album, including Duane Allman, Roger Hawkins, and David Hood.

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section provided studio assistance & Duane Allman played guitar on 4 of the songs.

No singles were released. Boz won’t really have the big success until Silk Degrees lands in 1976.

Sly and the Family Stone was a band originating from San Francisco. They were active from 1966 to 1983.

True to Sly’s weirdness when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, all of the original members were in attendance, except Sly. Just as the band took the podium to receive their awards, he suddenly appeared, accepted his award, made some very brief remarks ("See you soon"), and disappeared from public view.

Two of their songs, "Dance to the Music" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)", are among The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2007.

During their career they released 10 studio albums, 2 Live albums & 19 singles, 5 of which hit the top 10 including 2 #1 hits.

This song comes from their 5th studio album. It was called There's a Riot Goin' On & was released on Nov. 1, 1971. The album hit #1 on the Top 200 & Top Soul Albums charts & has been certified Platinum. It included their final #1 hit single Family Affair.

The album's title track is silent and listed as zero minutes and zero seconds long. For many years it was speculated that this track listing and the title of the album referred to a July 27, 1970, riot in Chicago for which Sly & the Family Stone had been blamed. The band was to play a free show in Grant Park but the crowd became restless before the band began and started rioting. Over a hundred people were injured, including several police officers, and the reason given to the press was that the band was late and/or refused to perform. The original LP jacket featured a photo collage with a picture of the band-shell in Grant Park overlaid with a photo of a police car.

However, in 1997 Sly Stone said that the "There's a Riot Goin' On" track had no running time simply because "I felt there should be no riots".