What are you listening to right now?

The McCoys were a rock group formed in Union City, Indiana, in 1962 & active until 1969.

The original band members were guitarist and lead singer Richard Zehringer (later known as Rick Derringer), his brother Randy (later known as Randy Z) on drums, and bassist Dennis Kelly. This first line-up was known as The Rick Z Combo, and later as Rick and the Raiders. When Kelly left for college, the Zehringers were joined by bassist Randy Jo Hobbs, saxophonist Sean Michaels, and keyboardist Ronnie Brandon. This was the line-up that took the name of "The McCoys".

After Hang On Sloopy, the band was labeled as a bubblegum pop act, much to the disdain of the band. They ended up signing a deal with Mercury Records and recorded their last two records, Infinite McCoys (1968) and Human Ball (1969), for the label. The albums were The McCoys' attempt at making psychedelic music, neither album caught on & both failed to chart basically ending the tenure of the band.

Rick Derringer,Randy Z and Randy Hobbs went on to become Johnny Winter's band for the albums Johnny Winter And and Live Johnny Winter And in 1970 and 1971 respectively. At first, the band was supposed to be called Johnny Winter & The McCoys, but was changed due to management warning Winter about their bubblegum past, and how it could hurt his reputation as a serious musician.

This song was released as a single & hit #92 in 1967. It was a non album track. They have just 1 more song to chart after this one.

This song was the first track on the 10th studio album from U2. The album was called All That You Can't Leave Behind, it was released in 2000 & the song was released as the lead single.

The album landed at #3 here in the states, it was in the Top 3 in every country where it charted, including #1 in 20 different countries. It is certified at 4 X Platinum here & has sold over 14 million copies worldwide.

The song peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, the band's highest position since "Discothèque" in 1997. But it hit #1 in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Finland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Scotland and Spain.

At the 43rd Grammy Awards in 2001, the song won three Grammy Awards. It won Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. 

Enjoy one of my favorite Kate Bush songs featuring Donald Sutherland in the video. May he rest in peace.

This was the 1st hit single for Chad & Jeremy. It got to #21 in July 1964.

Chad Stuart was from Windermere, Westmorland, England. He passed away in December 2020 at the age of 79.

Jeremy Clyde is from Dorney, Buckinghamshire, England. He is still with us & turned 83 last March.

Chad won a scholarship to the Central School of Speech and Drama in London & that was where he met fellow student Jeremy.

They became a hit act in the US as part of the British Invasion. Unlike the rock-music sounds of their peers, Chad & Jeremy performed in a soft, folk-inflected style.

This was the title song to their debut album, released in the states in July 1964. The album contains three of their US hits: "A Summer Song" #7 their biggest hit ever, "Willow Weep for Me" #15, and the song linked to here.

Captain & Tennille were a husband-and-wife team featuring "Captain" Daryl Dragon and Toni Tennille,

The two have a Beach Boys connection.

In 1972, Toni was the co-writer of an ecology-themed musical, Mother Earth. At that time, Daryl Dragon (son of composer Carmen Dragon) was working as a keyboardist for the Beach Boys, where he got his name "Captain" because he wore a ship captain's hat while performing. When her show was preparing to move from San Francisco to Southern California a call was put out for a replacement keyboardist. Daryl was between tours when he heard about the opening, met Toni in San Francisco to audition, and landed the gig.

He later recommened her to the Beach Boys when the band needed an additional keyboardist, and they hired her. She toured with them for a year, and has since been known as the Beach Boys' one and only "Beach Girl.

The two divorced in January 2014, after 39 years of marriage. He was unaware of the termination of his marriage until he was served with the divorce papers. The two remained close friends until his death from complications of kidney failure on January 2, 2019, in Prescott, Arizona. She was at his side when he died at the age of 76.

This song comes from their 4th studio album. It was called Dream & was released in 1978. The album was their lowest charting album, landing at #131. This was the 3rd single released & it just broke into the top 40 by hitting #40 exactly.

Bruce Springsteen has released 21 studio albums during a career spanning six decades. He will turn 75 in September.

During his career he has sold more than 140 million records worldwide and more than 71 million records in the US making him one of the world's best-selling artists.

He has won 20 Grammy Awards, 2 Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and a Special Tony Award (for Springsteen on Broadway). He was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, was named MusiCares person of the year in 2013, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2016.

This song was the 1st song on his 10th studio album. It was called Lucky Town & was released in 1992. The album landed at #3 & is certified Platinum. This song was also the lead single released, it hit #16 on the Hot 100 & #2 on the Mainstream Rock Chart. It was released as a double sided single with Human Touch from his 9th album.

Glen Campbell was a country/pop singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actor from Billstown, Arkansas. He died of complications from Alzheimer's disease in 2017 at the age of 81.

He won 6 Grammy Awards, 2 of them for the song linked to here & another 1 for the album that included the song. He also has a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His recordings of Wichita Lineman, By The Time I Get To Phoenix & Gentle On My Mind have been installed into The Grammy Hall Of Fame.

During his career he released 65 studio albums, 4 soundtrack albums, & 116 singles 17 of which hit #1.

This was the title song to his 7th studio album it was released in November 1967. The album hit #15 on the top 200 & #1 on the Country chart & it has been certified Platinum. The single landed at #26 on the Hot 100 & #2 over on Country. The follow up single was Hey, Little One it landed at #54 & #13.

The song was written by Jimmy Webb & had been previously recorded in 1965 by Johnny Rivers & covered by Isaac Hayes in 1969. Frank Sinatra called it "the greatest torch song ever written!

Ramsey Lewis was a jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality from Chicago. He died on September 12, 2022, passing away in his sleep at his home in Chicago at age 87.

By 1966, he was one of the nation's most successful jazz pianists, having had hits with "The In Crowd", "Hang On Sloopy", and "Wade in the Water." All three singles sold over one million copies and were awarded gold discs.

In addition to recording and performing, he hosted the weekly syndicated radio program Legends of Jazz, created in 1990, syndicated by United Stations Radio Networks. He also hosted the Ramsey Lewis Morning Show on Chicago "smooth jazz" radio station WNUA (95.5 FM).

This song comes from In Person 1960-1967. It was recorded in Chicago at the Bohemian Caverns.

Artie Shaw was a clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction, he was from New York City. He died in 2004 at the age of 94. According to his publicist, he had been "in ill health for some time, but I don't know the specific cause of death." His full name was Arthur Jacob Arshawsky.

During the swing era, his big bands were popular with hits like "Begin the Beguine" #1, "Stardust" #6, "Back Bay Shuffle" #8, and "Frenesi" #1.

In addition to hiring Buddy Rich as a drummer, he signed Billie Holiday as his band's vocalist in 1938, becoming the first white band leader to hire a full-time black female singer to tour the segregated Southern U.S.

In 1938, DownBeat magazine readers voted Artie Shaw's band as the best swing band.

He released this song as a single in 1941 & it hit #9. The song was originally introduced in the 1931 stage musical “The Band Wagon,” which starred Fred and Adele Astaire.

Carmen McRae was a jazz singer from Harlem. On November 10, 1994, she died at her home in Beverly Hills at the age of 74. She had fallen into a semi-coma four days earlier, a month after being hospitalized for a stroke.

She began studying piano when she was eight. When she was 17 she met singer Billie Holiday. Eventually she met trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, bassist Oscar Pettiford, and drummer Kenny Clarke, & got her first important job as a pianist with Benny Carter's big band (1944), worked with Count Basie (1944) and under the name "Carmen Clarke" made her first recording as pianist with the Mercer Ellington Band (1946–47).

She was nominated for 7 Grammy Awards but never won.

This song was a part of her album Portrait Of Carmen, it was released in November, 1967. There must be 50 associated producers, arrangers, musicians & backing vocalists on this album.

The song has music by Axel Stordahl and Paul Weston and lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was written in 1945 with the 1st charting version coming in 1946 by Frank Sinatra.

Rudy Vallée was a singer, saxophonist, bandleader, actor, and entertainer from Island Pond, Vermont. He died of cancer on July 3, 1986 while watching the televised centennial ceremonies of the restored Statue of Liberty. His wife Eleanor said that his last words were: "I wish we could be there; you know how I love a party." He was 3 weeks shy of turning 85.

He was the first male singer to rise from local radio broadcasts in New York City to national popularity as a "crooner".

In 1929, he began hosting The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour, a popular radio show with guests such as Fay Wray and Richard Cromwell in dramatic skits. He continued hosting radio shows such as the Royal Gelatin Hour, Vallee Varieties, and The Rudy Vallee Show through the 1930s and 1940s.

For his work in radio, he was inducted into the Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2011.

This song was released as the B side to a single called Weary River. It landed at # 2 in 1929. He wrote the lyrics & recorded the song with his orchestra The Connecticut Yankees. These were his first recordings for RCA Victor.

The song was also part of the sound track of the films My Own Private Idaho, "Tomorrow Is Another Day" and Bonnie and Clyde.

The music industry sure does have some strange goings on.

Even though this song was released by a group called The Rinky Dinks, it was actually Bobby Darin.

Bobby took the song to Brunswick Records, but he was under contract with Atco Records. Brunswick released a recording of it crediting the "Ding Dongs". New York disc jockeys liked the record, and when Atco discovered the deception Brunswick was forced to turn over the masters to Atco, which released the record, crediting the "Rinky Dinks".

Bobby wrote the song along with Woody Harris & it landed at #24 on the Hot 100. It was just his 2nd charting single.

Billy Stewart was a R&B singer and pianist from Washington, D.C..

He died in a car accident in January 1970, at age 32. The accident happened when his car left the highway, ran along the median strip at a slight angle to the highway, struck the bridge abutment, and then plunged into the river, killing Billy and three members of his band instantly.

Bo Diddley has been credited with discovering him playing piano in Washington, D.C., and inviting him to be one of his backup musicians. This led to a recording contract with Diddley's label, Chess Records and Bo played guitar on Billy's 1956 recording of "Billy's Blues".

He was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2021.

He released this song as a single in 1967. It hit #79 on the Hot 100 & #41 on the R&B Chart.

The song goes back to 1935. It was written Pinetop Sparks and his brother Milton. It was first performed in the taverns of St. Louis by the Sparks brothers and was recorded July 28, 1935 by Pinetop with Henry Townsend on guitar.

The song was inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame in 2019. The induction statement includes:

"Everyday I Have the Blues" is one of the most ubiquitous of all blues songs, a required number in the repertoires of the countless bar and lounge bands of many genres. Its late entry into the Blues Hall of Fame reflects the fact that no strong consensus emerged as to which of the hundreds of recorded versions was most deserving. But it often is associated with B.B. King, and so the first of his own many versions gets the honors.

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

In December 2001, they were awarded the R&B Foundation Pioneer Award.

Two Family Stone 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. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked them 43rd on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

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

This song was released as a single in 1968 & became their 1st ever #1 hit, landing at the top of both the Pop & R&B charts. It was included on their 4th studio album. It was called Stand, it came out in 1969, hit #13 & has been certified Platinum.