The Song For Today by Jimmie Oliver (free ebook reader for ipad TXT) 📖

day, the actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956}

APRIL 20TH
Rene by The Small Faces (1968)
from the album Ogden's Nut Gone Flake
Cockney icon and artful dodger Steve Marriott died on this day in 1991 at the age of forty-three in a house fire. The lead guitarist and vocalist of the Small Faces was a pivotal figure at the time when London was swinging in the second half of the 1960s. Marriott's group joined forces with fellow mods the Kinks, the Who, and the home counties' Rolling Stones to present the south of England's belated response to Beatlemania and the 'Mersey sound'. One of London's greatest-ever bands reached Number One in 1966 with 'All Or Nothing', but it was two years later when the Small Faces peaked artistically and commercially with the splendid 'Ogden's Nut Gone Flake' project. This quaint album included Stanley Unwin pouring forth his own gobbledegook English vocabulary between songs, a couple of which were instrumentals which demonstrated the outfit's musical abilities. For me, the best track is 'Rene', which evolves into a swaggering tune, featuring a superb instrumental fade-out about the dockers' delight.
{Also on this date, in 1968 Enoch Powell delivers his 'rivers of blood' speech}

APRIL 21ST
A Forest by The Cure (1980)
from the album Seventeen Seconds
Robert Smith, the frontman of Goth rockers The Cure, was born on this date in 1959 in Blackpool. Smith's combo provided their own alternative remedy to the ailing music scene with several distinctive singles and albums. The popular 'The Lovecats', complete with its wacky video and humorous lyrics, is clearly a firm favourite of many music lovers and non-Cure fans, but I would argue that the greatest medicine that they ever dished out was 'A Forest', which was a minor hit single in 1980. This stark atmospheric number, boosted by majestic guitar and bass contributions, is a candidate for the best song of the 1980s. The Cure continued to provide their own brand of 'indie' music which found favour with students and teenagers, but none of their efforts (not even 'Jumping On Someone Else's Train') can compare with 'A Forest'.
{Also on this day, the Rastafarian icon, Emperor Haile Selassie, visits Jamaica in 1966}

APRIL 22ND
Angel Eyes by Roxy Music (1979)
from the album Manifesto
Prolific session musician Paul Carrack was born today in 1951 in Sheffield. Carrack is one of the great unsung heroes of popular music. His impressive curriculum vitae boasts such achievements as the wonderful 'How Long' by Ace, 'The Living Years' by Mike And The Mechanics, and Squeeze's 'Labelled With Love'. Carrack has been no stranger to chart success, even if he isn't a household name. His long list of credits includes a brief spell with Roxy Music where he contributed to a handful of smash hits such as 'Angel Eyes'. Although their previous hit 'Dance Away' is almost certainly the superior release, 'Angel Eyes' took both Roxy Music and Paul Carrack back to the Top Five. This short but sweet slice of sophisticated pop is best remembered for the saxophone of Andy Mackay.
{Also on this date, in 1994, ex-American President, Richard Nixon, dies at the age of 81}

APRIL 23RD
Only The Lonely by Roy Orbison (1960)
from the album Lonely And Blue
It was wholly appropriate that the Big O should record such sad songs as 'Crying', 'It's Over', and 'Only The Lonely', because his personal life was afflicted by family tragedies. On a lighter note, one of North America's greatest pop performers was born this day in 1936. 'Only The Lonely' provided Orbison with the first of three Number Ones in the United Kingdom, and I choose to depart from conventional wisdom by declaring that the harmonies in this tune renders it a better recording than 'Oh, Pretty Woman'. Orbison would later part company with his trademark ballads and join ranks with fellow greats Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Tom Petty to form the Travelling Wilburys. However, the Grim Reaper would rear his ugly head again to curtail their festivities.
{Also on this day, cricket and soccer legend Denis Compton dies in 1997, aged 78}

APRIL 24TH
Happy Talk by Captain Sensible (1982)
from the album Women And Captains First
Ray Burns, a versatile member of the punk outfit The Damned, preferred to function under the moniker of 'Captain Sensible'. After the punk era had run its course, Burns became thoroughly sensible indeed by choosing to cover the tune, 'Happy Talk' from the 'South Pacific' film soundtrack. However not even he could have envisaged this cute, easy listening single would in one week leapfrog from No.33 to Number One in the British singles chart. The Captain was born on this date in 1954 in Balham, south London.
{Also on this date, Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953}

APRIL 25TH
Chiquitita by Abba (1979)
from the album Voulez-Vous
By 1979 Abba could do no wrong, and they ruled the roost of the pop world - at least on the British side of the Big Pond. Their consistent success continued unabated with the formidable piece of melodrama, entitled 'Chiquitita', which narrowly failed to reach the top of the UK singles list. However, all was not running smoothly on planet Abba as the relationships within the quality quartet fell apart. It was a measure of the Swedish superstars' talents that they did not let internal disharmony sabotage their musical harmony. 'Chiquitita' with its superb piano and tragic lyrics is a favourite Abba song of mine. The group actually donated their royalties from its record sales to UNICEF. One of the composition's famed authors, Bjorn Ulvaeus, was born this day in 1945.
{Also on this day, in 1974 a coup effectively ends 40 years of dictatorship in Portugal}

APRIL 26TH
Save A Prayer by Duran Duran (1982)
from the album Rio
Vastly superior to their two subsequent UK chart-toppers, 'Save A Prayer' can lay claim to being one of the best British singles of the 1980s. Its performers, Duran Duran, basked in the glory of the New Romantic era of pop music, as these Brummie musicians appeared in exotic locations to film their musical epics, of which 'Save A Prayer' is the obvious highlight. Their output may be frowned upon by the guitar-obsessed music press, but Duran Duran were responsible for several superb hit singles, including 'Planet Earth', 'Notorious', and 'A View To A Kill'. However, the five-minute opus, 'Save A Prayer' is the colossus of 1982, in a musical landscape that featured the likes of Renee And Renato, the Goombay Dance Band, Bucks Fizz, Tight Fit, and reggae kids Musical Youth. Roger Taylor (not to be confused with Queen's magnificent sticksman) was born on this date in 1960.
{Also on this date, Jill Dando is shot dead on her doorstep in 1999, aged 37}

APRIL 27TH
Shiny Happy People by R.E.M. (1991)
from the album Out Of Time
Kate Pierson of the B-52s was born on this day in 1948 in New Jersey. She and her group found fame with such catchy pop classics as 'Love Shack' and 'Rock Lobster', before she guested on R.E.M.'s 'Out Of Time' project during which the Georgian quartet made use of her services on two or three tracks. Although the enigmatic 'Belong' is my favourite song from this great album, it would be amiss of me if I did not draw attention to Pierson's backing vocals on the popular smash, 'Shiny Happy People'. It was totally unlike R.E.M. to offer such a sing-along tune, but the group would probably counter that they have sometimes felt the need to surprise their listeners and not allow themselves to be pigeon-holed. I can still remember Spitting Image's send-up of this single with their very own 'Smiley Crappy People'. Nevertheless, it is one of several highlights from a long player that contained 'Losing My Religion', the beautiful 'Endgame' instrumental, and the jangling guitar classic, 'Near Wild Heaven'.
[Also on this day, in 1981 Xerox PARC unveil a new gadget, the computer mouse}

APRIL 28TH
She's Electric by Oasis (1995)
from the album (What's The Story) Morning Glory?
On this date in 1996, the latest Mancunian sensations, Oasis, performed the second of two concerts on the hallowed turf of Maine Road, the home venue of their favourite football team, Manchester City. Whilst the soccer club may have under-achieved more often than not, the same could not be said of the Gallagher brothers and their rock band. 'She's Electric' from their '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?' album was further evidence of a group at the peak of their musical powers. Before long, that amiable rogue Noel Gallagher would be exchanging pleasantries with the new Prime Minister, Tony Blair, in Ten Downing Street, thus replicating the well-worn footpath from working-class hero to friend of the Establishment as practised by previous rock 'n' roll 'rebels'. Cool Britannia, or 'same old, same old'?
{Also on this date, Charles de Gaulle resigns as the President of France in 1969}

APRIL 29TH
Moonage Daydream by David Bowie (1972)
from the album The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars
Bowie's 'The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars' was unquestionably one of the landmark recordings of the 'seventies. Here was a concept album in which David created his first alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, the extra-terrestrial rock star who "took it all too far, but boy could he play guitar." Bowie's parody of being a famous pop star has been played for real by many other acts, both before and since. His seminal long player features the apocalyptic 'Five Years', but perhaps Ziggy's thunder was partially stolen by his backing band, the Spiders from Mars. One such 'Spider', ace axeman Mick Ronson, was finally defeated by cancer on this spring day in 1993. Ronson's impressive legacy boasts such wonders as the album's title track, 'The Jean Genie', and the tremendous 'Moonage Daydream', a languid rocker which lifts into orbit at its conclusion, helped on its way by Ronson's plucking.
{Also on this day, in 1968 a new musical entitled 'Hair' opens in Broadway}

APRIL 30TH
Born Slippy.NUXX by Underworld (1996)
available on the album Trainspotting: Music From The Motion Picture