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

first issue is published in 1967}

NOVEMBER 10TH
Protection by Massive Attack And Tracey Thorn (1994)
from the album Protection
Massive Attack may not have been frequent visitors to the UK singles chart, but when they did put in an appearance, they delivered a couple of gold nuggets, 'Unfinished Sympathy' and 'Protection', their collaboration with Tracey Thorn. Thorn had formerly occupied a lofty Top Three position when Everything But The Girl successfully covered the previous Rod Stewart chart-topper, 'I Don't Want To Talk About It'. Andrew Vowles from Massive Attack (who shares co-writing credits on this tune with Tracey Thorn) was born on this date in Bristol, three days after Sharleen Spiteri. For all you insecure people out there, why not seek Massive Attack's 'Protection'.
{Also on this date, in 1971 Khmer Rouge forces attack Phnom Penh in Cambodia}

NOVEMBER 11TH
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by The Platters (1958)
available on the album The Platters: All-Time Greatest Hits
The composer Jerome Kern passed away on this date in 1945 at the age of sixty. One of his efforts would re-surface more than a dozen years later when the American singing group, the Platters, produced an exceptional rendition of 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes'. Whether or not you feel that the 'fifties was dominated by the great ballad singers or was the decade of rock 'n' roll, can you name a better 1950s' song than this transatlantic Number One? Bryan Ferry subsequently had a bash at re-interpreting this Kern and Harbach composition, but the Platters' version, reinforced by a fine orchestral arrangement, is simply out of this world. It is one of popular music's finest three minutes.
{Also on this day, the Church of England votes to accept women priests in 1992}

NOVEMBER 12TH
Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Neil Young (1970)
from the album After The Goldrush
Today marks the anniversary of the birth of one of Canada's greatest musical exports, when Neil Young 'emerged' one day after the death of Jerome Kern. Young belongs in the bracket of artists who enjoyed considerable critical acclaim for their albums, but who were strangers to the singles charts. Taking time out from his association with David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash, Young proceeded to construct a new project which saw the light of day as the 'After The Goldrush' album. Building upon the kudos accumulated by his 'Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere' offering, Young reveals ten new songs and a cover version which cement his reputation as a force to be reckoned with. The pick of a good bunch is perhaps 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart'. With the assistance of a piano and drums accompaniment, as well as backing vocals, Young tugs at the heart strings with the kind of tune that's just too good for the hit parade.
{Also on this date, in 1982 Yuri Andropov becomes the leader of the USSR}

NOVEMBER 13TH
Moody Blue by Elvis Presley (1976)
available on the album The Essential Elvis Presley
On this day in 1956 Ginger Alden was born in Memphis at a time when her future lover, Elvis Presley, was already making a name for himself as the 'king of rock 'n' roll'. It was a twenty-year-old Alden who discovered Elvis lying unconscious on that fateful day in August 1977. While the king pushed up the daisies, his 'queen' cultivated a career as an actress and model. 'Moody Blue' (written by Mark James) was Elvis's last notable recording before his notorious rock 'n' roll lifestyle knocked him off his throne. Fans of Elvis fall into three categories: those like me who believe that the likes of 'Moody Blue' are evidence of a singer still on top form; secondly there are many who believe that Elvis 'died' about fifteen years earlier when the king swapped rock 'n' roll for ballads and re-invented himself as an actor. Thirdly there are those who believe he is currently stacking shelves in a supermarket in Cleethorpes. Gosh, how the mighty have fallen.
{Also on this day, the people of Sweden vote in 1994 to join the European Union}

NOVEMBER 14TH
You Were Made For Me by Freddie And The Dreamers (1963)
from the album You Were Made For Me
Mr. Freddie Garrity was born on this date back in 1936 in Manchester, just a few weeks before his native land was plunged into turmoil by the abdication crisis. Fast-forward to 1963 and whilst the British Establishment was coming to terms with a new scandal, Freddie and his Dreamers did their best to relieve the heavy vibes with such poptastic tunes as 'I'm Telling You Now' and another Top Three smash, 'You Were Made For Me'. The latter is a decent little pop song, nothing more, nothing less, and it benefited from a BBC appearance by the group during which Freddie and his fellow-entertainers dance themselves silly to this hit single. Garrity later died in May 2006 in Wales.
{Also on this date, in 1973 Princess Anne marries Captain Mark Phillips}

NOVEMBER 15TH
Waterloo by Abba (1974)
from the album Waterloo
Abba were living proof that the Eurovision Song Contest can provide the continent and beyond with a quality act. 'Waterloo' remains one of the very best Eurovision winners, though some people might argue that this is scarcely an achievement. 'Waterloo' was not only the making of the Duke of Wellington, but it did the musical career of Abba no harm either. After a few false starts, Sweden's very own 'fab four' took the charts by storm in the second half of the 'seventies with a series of well-crafted pop songs. One of the quartet, Anni-Frid, was born on this date in 1945, three days after Neil Young. She may have played second fiddle to the eye-catching Agnetha Faltskog, but Anni-Frid was a key contributor to the tremendous harmonies of Abba. Napoleon Bonaparte may have cursed the place name of Waterloo, but the rest of us can be grateful that this battle should be the inspiration for launching Abba on the road to fame.
{Also on this day, the Anglo-Irish Agreement is signed in 1985}

NOVEMBER 16TH
I Am The Resurrection by The Stone Roses (1989)
from the album The Stone Roses
By a strange twist of fate, I find myself writing about this item on Easter Sunday. Some folk might say that the lyrics are blasphemous or irreverent, or at least tongue-in-cheek, but whatever the argument, there is no question whatsoever about the sheer quality of the final track from the Stone Roses' seminal self-titled album. Curiously enough, their eponymous long player was not initially received with much enthusiasm, but soon thereafter the band's project has been hailed as an indie masterpiece. Instrumental in the attraction of the album was the performance of the outfit's guitarist John Squire, whose contribution to 'I Am The Resurrection' is immense, as the item evolves into a psychedelic jam of huge proportions. The group's bassist, Gary 'Mani' Mounfield, was born this day in 1962.
{Also on this date, Clark Gable dies in 1960, aged fifty-nine}

NOVEMBER 17TH
Eight Miles High by The Byrds (1966)
from the album Fifth Dimension
'Eight Miles High' is widely acknowledged as one of the highlights of the 'sixties. Was it a song about drugs or a tune merely related to a 'trip' on an aeroplane, as the performers have unconvincingly suggested? Whatever the answer, this hit single for the pioneering west coast band, the Byrds, was probably the standout track from their album, 'Fifth Dimension', which included such cuts as 'I See You', 'Mr. Spaceman', and an excellent instrumental, 'Captain Soul'. One of the co-authors of this classic composition, Gene Clark, was born on this date in 1944 in Missouri under the name of Harold Eugene Clark. In spite of the success of 'Eight Miles High', Clark exited the group soon afterwards.
{Also on this day, Czechoslovakia's 'Velvet Revolution' begins in 1989}

NOVEMBER 18TH
The Needle And The Damage Done by Neil Young (1972)
from the album Harvest
Neil Young built upon the foundations laid by 'After The Goldrush' and promptly came forth with an even better project entitled 'Harvest'. Featuring the hit single 'Heart Of Gold' and impressive nuggets such as 'Old Man', 'A Man Needs A Maid', and 'Out On The Weekend', 'Harvest' was one of the greatest albums of the 1970s. It also possessed a notable two minute track called 'The Needle And the Damage Done', in which Young wails about the loss of his guitarist Danny Whitten to heroin. In this brief but poignant recording, Young states that "I sing this song because I love the man." The tragic Crazy Horse axeman died this day in 1972 at the age of 29 in Los Angeles.
{Also on this date, 31 people die in a fire at King's Cross underground in 1987}

NOVEMBER 19TH
Turn!Turn!Turn! by The Byrds (1965)
from the album Turn! Turn! Turn!
We stay in North America for today's superb hit single. This Billboard Number One smash drew its inspiration from an unlikely source: the lyrics were based on verses from the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes. The poignant words to this tune certainly struck a chord with many record-buyers, although the Byrds' trademark jangling guitar onslaught and harmonies may have contributed substantially too. The producer of this wondrous recording was Terry Melcher (son of the singer and actress Doris Day) who died this day in 2004, aged sixty-two.
{Also on this day, in 1994 the first British National Lottery draw takes place}

NOVEMBER 20TH
Desperado by The Eagles (1973)
from the album Desperado
'Desperado' was one of the Eagles'