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

OCTOBER 19TH
Why Must I Cry by Peter Tosh (1976)
from the album Legalize It
Born this day in 1944, big Peter Tosh typified the Jamaican rude boy image. Formerly one third of the original Wailers alongside the celebrated Bob Marley and Bunny Livingstone, Tosh was not someone to be trifled with. He did after all have sufficient street credibility to be courted by the Glimmer Twins (Mick and Keef). Differences of opinion with Island Records' boss Chris Blackwell obliged Tosh to plot his own solo path away from the Wailers, and one fine result was the composition 'Why Must I Cry'. The song may not have scratched the charts but it was a reminder of the talented individual who had composed the likes of '400 Years' and 'Stop That Train' for the 'Catch A Fire' album. Tosh was then gunned down in his own home a decade later. It was initially suggested that he had been murdered by an intruder whom he had disturbed, but there was never any evidence that a robbery had been attempted. It was a brutal end to the life of one of Jamaica's most famous sons.
{Also on this date, the cellist Jacqueline du Pre dies in 1987, aged forty-two}

OCTOBER 2OTH
Something About You by Level 42 (1985)
from the album World Machine
Mark King, the bass guitarist and lead vocalist of Level 42, was born on this date back in 1958 on the Isle of Wight. His group were responsible for several hit singles in the 'eighties revolving around their funk and pop fusion, including the likes of 'Lessons In Love' and 'Living It Up'. However I consider their Top Ten smash, 'Something About You', to be not only their finest release, but also a candidate for one of the best pop songs of the 1980s. This breezy delight made a welcome appearance in the charts in the autumn of 1985.
{Also on this day, in 1968 Jacqueline Kennedy marries Aristotle Onassis}

OCTOBER 21ST
Mighty Quinn by Manfred Mann (1968)
from the album Mighty Garvey!
Mr. Manfred Mann emerged from his mother's womb this day in 1940, in Johannesburg. The pop group that was named after him achieved three UK Number Ones in the 'sixties. Whilst 'Pretty Flamingo' was an improvement on their first chart-topper ('Do Wah Diddy Diddy'), the band's final summit-climber, 'Mighty Quinn', was perhaps better than the other two put together. Here was another in the growing catalogue of Bob Dylan compositions which were to prove fruitful for other artists. 'Quinn The Eskimo' didn't just inspire one of the best singles of the 1960s, but this Dylan creation is another contender for the best cover version of all time.
{Also on this date, 116 children die in the Aberfan coal landslide in 1966}

OCTOBER 22ND
Oh Carolina by Shaggy (1993)
from the album Pure Pleasure
Today marks the anniversary of the birth in 1968 in Kingston of the Jamaican singing star, Shaggy. His marvellous interpretation of 'Oh Carolina' was able to successfully occupy pole position in the British singles chart in early 1993, the first of four UK Number Ones for the man named after the 'Scooby Doo' character, on account of his hairstyle. Prior to becoming an international celebrity, Shaggy had previously served in the United States Marines during the Operation Desert Storm tussle with Iraq in 1991.
{Also on this day, in 1962 the existence of missiles in Cuba is announced}

OCTOBER 23RD
River Deep - Mountain High by Ike And Tina Turner (1966)
from the album River Deep - Mountain High
Prolific songwriter Ellie Greenwich was born back in 1940 in Brooklyn on this date. Her catalogue of hits included composing credits on such giants as 'Chapel Of Love' by the Dixie Cups and 'Be My Baby' by the Ronettes. Greenwich, her husband Jeff Barry and their writing partner Phil Spector then created one of the masterpieces of popular music with 'River Deep - Mountain High'. Spector famously applied his celebrated 'wall of sound' to this monumental recording, only to be supremely devastated by the single's failure to impact upon the American chart. Ike and Tina Turner's effort fared better across the Atlantic where the British correctly acknowledged that Tina Turner's performance was 'simply the best', and the issued tune consequently reached the Top Three.
{Also on this date, a cease-fire ends the Yom Kippur conflict of 1973}

OCTOBER 24TH
Casino Boogie by The Rolling Stones (1972)
from the album Exile On Main St.
I am of the opinion that the acclaimed 'Exile On Main St.' is inferior to its famed predecessor, 'Sticky Fingers'. However, this double album still has considerable merits. The hit single from the long player, 'Tumbling Dice', made a deserved appearance in the British Top Ten, though it is probably eclipsed by a delightful composition entitled 'Casino Boogie'. Here one finds another of those tunes that simply oblige body movements, such is its infectious feel. I do so love the Jagger line about "the judge and jury walked out hand in hand". 'Casino Boogie' ought to be recognised as one of the great album tracks of the 1970s, better even than 'Ventilator Blues' or 'I Just Want To See His Face'. Meanwhile, Bill Wyman (the oldest of the Rolling Stones) was born as Bill Perks on this day in Penge in Kent in 1937.
{Also on this day, Zambia gains its independence from the UK in 1964}

OCTOBER 25TH
The Narrow Way by Pink Floyd (1969)
from the album Ummagumma
On this date in 1969 the Floyd released a double album called 'Ummagumma'. Not only was the title peculiar, but the quartet opted for a bizarre format of each having to provide a new song for the long player to complement the live recordings that also featured. Recent recruit Dave Gilmour was uneasy about the prospect of composing a new tune, but he need not have worried. His product, 'The Narrow Way', must rank as one of the group's best recordings. Gilmour's guitar playing is quite superb, and armed with the confidence that this song ought to have produced, the axeman was able to take a greater role in collaborating with the foursome's main songwriter, Roger Waters, on subsequent projects.
{Also on this date, in 1983 United States forces invade Grenada}

OCTOBER 26TH
A Day In The Life by The Beatles (1967)
from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
In the landscape that is popular music, this seminal track is a skyscraper. There is no doubt that Sergeant Pepper's status as a special album owes much to this extraordinary composition. John Lennon counts the song in with the words "sugarplum fairy, sugarplum fairy", and then he proceeds to recall a couple of news stories he had encountered in the newspapers. The first related to the fatal car crash of the Guinness heir, Tara Browne. John also mentions the premiere of his new movie, 'How I Won The War'. However, Paul McCartney then weighs in with a remarkable contribution that culminates with the lines: "Found my way upstairs/ And had a smoke/ And somebody spoke/ And I went into a dream." This apparent drugs reference was sufficient to attract the unwanted attention of the censor. The tune then concludes with an eccentric blow-out from the orchestra musicians. On this day in 1965, the 'moptops' were puffing marijuana in Buckingham Palace on receiving their MBEs from the Queen. The Establishment may have chosen to honour them, but the naughty four had other ideas.
{Also on this day, Rocky Marciano defeats Joe Louis in 1951}

OCTOBER 27TH
All She Wants Is by Duran Duran (1988)
from the album Big Thing
Simon Le Bon, the lead vocalist of the Birmingham pop group Duran Duran, was born this day back in 1958 in Hertfordshire. His outfit enjoyed their fair share of commercial success in the 'eighties, though by the end of the decade, the fickle record-buying public were regarding them as 'old hat', a museum piece from a time when Depeche Mode, the Human League, and Spandau Ballet dominated the hit parade as well as featuring on numerous teenage bedroom posters. Ironically, Duran Duran still delivered arguably better singles at the end of the 1980s. 'Notorious' is a decent effort, whilst 'All She Wants Is' was a suggestive song that left little to the imagination. It is however more worthy of a lofty chart position than some of the group's items from earlier in the decade.
{Also on this date, in 1995 Latvia applies to join the European Union}

OCTOBER 28TH
Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order (1986)
from the album Brotherhood
Stephen Morris, the drummer for both Joy Division and then New Order, was born on this date in Macclesfield, a year before Simon Le Bon. One of the great New Order recordings that Morris was associated with was 'Bizarre Love Triangle'. Its seven minute version on the 'Substance' compilation album is a joy to listen to, and I have no hesitation in placing it among my top twenty all-time favourite songs. Morris went on to get hitched with band-mate, Gillian Gilbert, the group's keyboardist.
{Also on this day, Britain's Poet Laureate Ted Hughes dies in 1998, aged 68}

OCTOBER 29TH
Albatross by Fleetwood Mac (1969)
available on the album Greatest Hits
One of the great British blues bands of the 'sixties may have been named after its rhythm section, but the group's dominating force was undoubtedly Peter Green. The unofficial leader of Fleetwood Mac was heavily responsible for the guitar treat that was 'Albatross', assisted in no small way by his young guitar sidekick, Danny Kirwan. Both Green and Kirwan, along with fellow axeman Jeremy Spencer, would go off the rails in one way or another in the early 1970s, but thankfully not before they had created this soothing instrumental masterpiece. Born Peter Greenbaum on this day in 1946 in Bethnal Green, Peter Green has acquired legendary status among many blues followers. This British No.1 represented the commercial peak of a career that soon took a nosedive for the unstable Jewish guitarist.