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

Little Help From My Friends' reached the summit of the British hit parade. Assisted by the guitar of Jimmy Page and the organ of Stevie Winwood, this unlikely chart-topper was arguably the best-ever attempt at a Beatles cover version. Peculiarly, Wet Wet Wet also scored a Number One two decades later with an admirable pop alternative to this Lennon and McCartney composition. Today marks the anniversary of the birth of Joe Cocker in 1944 in Sheffield. Rather like his contemporary Harry Nilsson, Cocker's occasional classic recording was somewhat upstaged by his reputation for hard drinking.
{Also on this date, Romania's first post-communist elections take place in 1990}

MAY 21ST
Grey Day by Madness (1981)
from the album Seven
'Grey Day' was plucked from the 'Seven' album to be the first of three singles released from Madness's third long-player. It was the most successful of the three, and joined previous efforts 'My Girl', 'Baggy Trousers', and 'Embarrassment' in penetrating the Top Five of the British chart. Although Madness, not for the first time, were not offering a jolly song, their wacky video accompaniment ensured that this reggae-sounding slice of depression and despair would still be commercially appealing. Mike Barson, the song's author, subsequently explained that he had Roxy Music's 'Bogus Man' in mind when he penned this track. Barson, the group's most gifted musician and leading songwriter, was born on this date in 1958. It was indeed a grey day for Madness when their pianist exited the septet at the end of 1983 to take up residence in the Netherlands. It was perhaps no coincidence that thereafter, Camden Town's finest struggled to match their previous successes in the UK singles chart.
{Also on this day, in 1991 Rajiv Gandhi is killed by a female suicide bomber in Madras}

MAY 22ND
Panic by The Smiths (1986)
from the album The World Won't Listen
Mr. Steven Patrick Morrissey surfaced from his mother's womb on this day in 1959. When his musical career went into orbit, Steven insisted on being referred to simply as Morrissey. It is best not to argue with him about his name, or indeed about anything, because the Smiths' vocalist has an answer for everything, though it is often not an answer that the interviewer wants to hear. One of the best of many outstanding tunes from the Smiths was the brief but brilliant 'Panic'. Here, Morrissey is in top form, as he mockingly surveys the British pop scene. Urging the listener to "hang the DJ" was both funny and valid, given the quality of certain radio shows. Morrissey was particularly disturbed by how a Radio One news bulletin on the Chernobyl disaster should be immediately followed by the playing of Wham's carefree 'I'm Your Man'. The single boasts memorable lines about panic on the streets of Carlisle and in Humberside. Who else in the world of music could juxtapose the word panic alongside such relatively mundane locations? Is he a genius or what? Meanwhile critics accused our Steven of writing a racist, anti-disco song. However, the man with an answer for everything replied that reggae was the most racist music of all.
{Also on this date, the Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960 claims thousands of lives}

MAY 23RD
The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde by Georgie Fame (1967)
from the album The Third Face Of Fame
When the excellent 'Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde' was released as a single, it was charged with the unenviable task of attempting to dislodge a Beatles song from the UK Number One position. It was however a measure of this recording's popular appeal that it did indeed bring to a halt 'Hello Goodbye's seven-week residency at the top of the charts. In so doing, Fame himself (born Clive Powell in Lancashire) was now sitting on the coveted spot for the third time. This effort is arguably his best, highlighting his fine piano performance as well as recounting the story of North America's most notorious lovers, who left a trail of havoc back in the 1930s, and who were subsequently re-created for the big screen. The deadly duo met their fatal ambush on this day in 1934.
{Also on this day, in 1998 a referendum in Northern Ireland accepts the Belfast Agreement}

MAY 24TH
Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan (1965)
from the album Bringing It All Back Home
Mr. Robert Zimmerman was born this day in 1941 in Minesota. What is Dylan's best song? Of course 'Like A Rolling Stone' is the obvious choice. A whole publication by Greil Marcus was based on the outstanding album opener to 'Highway 61 Revisited'. Countless columns and literature have paid homage to this track, and justifiably so. I also have a liking for the humour of 'Rainy Day Women Nos 12 & 35' and 'Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat' from the 'Blonde On Blonde' project. However my own Dylan favourite is the short but superb 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'. Is this the world's first ever rap song? I think so. Bob races through the process of growing up, dishing out a welter of necessary advice and warning all young listeners of the perils and pitfalls: "girl by the whirlpool is looking for a new fool"... "don't follow leaders and watch your parking meters"..." orders from the D.A., 'must bust in early May'." If you want to 'get on in life', you could do a lot worse than heed Dylan's tongue-in-cheek instructions.
{Also on this date, Gene Clark from the Byrds dies in 1994, aged forty-six}

MAY 25TH
That's Entertainment by The Jam (1980)
from the album Sound Affects
The Jam achieved four British chart-toppers, but criminally this item was not among them. Not even the presence of 'Start' can challenge 'That's Entertainment' for the accolade of the best recording from the 'Sound Affects' album. Set against an acoustic guitar accompaniment, Paul Weller (the godfather of britpop) offloads a multitude of images which highlight life amongst the disenfranchised working class: "An amateur band rehearse in a nearby yard". This song certainly was entertainment. It's probably the Jam's finest offering, and ultimately it was just too good to thrive in the UK singles chart. Paul Weller was born on this date in 1958.
{Also on this day, in 1982 HMS Coventry is sunk during the Falklands conflict}

MAY 26TH
Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac (1982)
from the album Mirage
The self-styled gypsy Stevie Nicks was born on this day back in 1948. It is remarkable to think that when Mick Fleetwood invited American Lindsey Buckingham to join Fleetwood Mac in the mid-1970s, Stevie Nicks was not part of the deal. We can all be grateful that ace guitarist Buckingham insisted that his recruitment to the Mac was on condition that his musical and romantic partner Nicks would be employed too. Far from being surplus to requirements, Stevie Nicks vindicated Buckingham's stance, even if relations between the two would subsequently cool considerably. Nicks may have acquired a reputation for her enthusiasm for cocaine, but this extra-curricular interest failed to prevent her from enchanting the group's listeners with many notable vocal performances. The semi-autobiographical 'Gypsy' is surely a candidate for one of the best pop songs of all time. It probably even eclipses Stevie's previous contributions on 'Gold Dust Woman' and the brilliant 'Dreams' from the Rumours long-player.
{Also on this date, Manchester United win the Champions League final in 1999}

MAY 27TH
Don't Dream It's Over by Paul Young (1991)
from the album From Time To Time - The Singles Collection
Neil Finn of Crowded House was born on this day in 1958. His group's 'Don't Dream It's Over' was covered with much aplomb by Paul Young as an additional track for his greatest hits compilation of 1991. What can I say except that Paul Young's collaboration with Paul Carrack is a joy for both ears. It is perhaps one of the most under-rated covers from Paul Young's repertoire, but this uplifting and defiant song is too good to be overlooked: "And the papers today tell of war and of waste/But you turn right over to the TV page." Paul Young originally performed this item at the tribute to Nelson Mandela Wembley concert in 1988.
{Also on this day, in 1964 India's Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, dies, aged 74}

MAY 28TH
Fade To Grey by Visage (1980)
from the album Visage
Steve Strange was born on this date back in 1959. His band was responsible for one of the great electro-pop anthems. 'Fade To Grey' deserves inclusion among the ten best British singles of the 1980s, and if you don't agree, then I can only assume that you have never heard it. Regrettably, this synthesizer-powered dance song was precisely the kind of recording that the guitar-obsessed bigots in the music press would almost certainly have sneered at. For me, this marvel of a track has been like a London bus. I hadn't heard it in years and then suddenly I had the pleasure of encountering it twice in succession. The trouble for Steve Strange was that he and his group faded to oblivion soon after the success of this British Top Ten hit.
{Also on this date, the Palestine Liberation Organization is created in 1964}

MAY 29TH
Columbia by Oasis (1994)
from the album Definitely Maybe
Depending on whether or not you happen to like Oasis, Noel Gallagher is either an opinionated loudmouth or an amiable rogue. Born on this day in 1967, he certainly knows how to whack out a good tune on his six strings instrument. The album 'Definitely Maybe' is one of the great long-players of the 'nineties, containing such highlights as 'Live Forever' and 'Rock 'N' Roll Star', but for me the best track is the magnificent 'Columbia'. Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs may have suggested that this was his favourite song because he only had to play three different chords, but here Noel excels himself. Certain folk scoffed that Oasis were merely aping the Beatles, but I am sorry to have to report that the Fab Four never recorded anything quite as glorious