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

United States chart for a staggering nine weeks. It is easy to hear why, as this murderous tale is unquestionably one of the finest tunes from the 1950s. Bobby Darin (whose other UK chart-topper was the admirable 'Dream Lover') died at the age of only 37, on this day in 1973 in Los Angeles, after health problems arising out of a bad heart condition. Darin had no funeral as his body was donated to medical research.
{Also on this date, Spain's Prime Minister, Luis Carrero Blanco, is murdered by ETA in 1973}

DECEMBER 21ST
I Can Hear Music by The Beach Boys (1969)
from the album 20/20
Today is the anniversary of the birth in 1946 of the late Carl Dean Wilson. Carl was the youngest and almost certainly the most sensible of the three Wilson brothers, who were the very heartbeat of the Beach Boys. Carl (like oldest brother Brian) possessed the gift of a beautiful voice. He was after all entrusted with the lead vocal on the unforgettable 'God Only Knows' hit single from the 'Pet Sounds' album. As the wayward genius Brian became more erratic, Carl was required to fill this considerable void. One such impressive result was Carl's vocals on the Beach Boys' version of 'I Can Hear Music'. Needless to say but Carl and the rest of the 'boys' do tremendous justice to this Phil Spector pop song, which had been previously recorded by the Ronettes and later covered by a young Freddie Mercury.
{Also on this day, in 1988 a bomb on board a Pan Am flight explodes over Lockerbie}

DECEMBER 22ND
Bankrobber by The Clash (1980)
from the album Sandinista
'Bankrobber' was another reggae effort from the Clash. This hit single was one of the highlights of the group's triple album, 'Sandinista'. Joe Strummer and the gang were no lovers of what they perceived as a capitalist-dominated legal system, so it came as little surprise that the band should sing "Daddy was a bankrobber who never hurt nobody." After the Clash called time on their rebel rock, Strummer went on to have an association with the Pogues. However, this is a black day in the history of rock and pop, because Joe Strummer, the likeable rogue, died at the age of fifty, on this date in 2002, in Somerset, as a consequence of heart complications. Strummer's partner in crime, Mick Jones, once appropriately described Joe as the "salt of the earth."
{Also on this date, Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens in 1989}

DECEMBER 23RD
Bring Your Daughter...To The Slaughter by Iron Maiden (1990)
from the album No Prayer For The Dying
The notorious heavy metal outfit Iron Maiden proved unlikely chart-toppers when their charming piece, 'Bring Your Daughter...To The Slaughter' hit Number One in the British chart in early 1991. It can hardly be regarded as the world's most commercial pop song, but these senior citizens of hard rock richly deserved their success after a plethora of recordings that spanned more than a decade. One of the combo, Dave Murray (the guitarist and songwriter), was born on this day back in 1958 in Edmonton, north-east London.
{Also on this day, the first human kidney transplant is performed in 1954 in the USA}

DECEMBER 24TH
Fairytale Of New York by The Pogues (featuring Kirsty MacColl) (1987)
from the album If I Should Fall From Grace With God
On this special day in the calendar, it is hard to ignore the memorable Christmas tune that opens with the line: "It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank." The vocalist Shane MacGowan was no stranger to drunk tanks. Whilst his merry men offer their customary musical excellence, MacGowan stays sufficiently sober to swap lines with Kirsty MacColl, as the two take on the role of young lovers hoping for "a better time when all our dreams come true." Regrettably, the song had no fairytale ending, as Kirsty MacColl was killed in a boating accident thirteen years later, at the age of only forty-one.
{Also on this date, in 1951 Libya achieves its independence from Italy}

DECEMBER 25TH
Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid (1984)
available on the album The Best Christmas Album In The World...Ever!
Until the death of Princess Diana in August 1997, this colossus of a single was the United Kingdom's biggest-ever selling 45. I have to raise my hat to the celtic composers, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure. The song actually sounds quite festive, yet the lyrics are arguably the most thought-provoking words to be translated into music. Assembling a cast of current pop favourites, including Bono, Boy George, Duran Duran, Sting, Wham, and Paul Young was also a masterstroke. Forget all the forgettable stuff about Santa Claus is coming to town. Here is the ultimate Christmas track in which the world of pop reminds the listener of a less fortunate world where Santa Claus was most certainly not coming. There is a legion of legends, myths, and true stories about the excesses and downright shameful behaviour of the agents of rock and pop, but 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' was one glorious occasion when the artists of pop world did themselves proud. For Christians, today is the Saviour's Day. Not even the Messiah, Jesus Christ, could fail to be impressed by Band Aid's well-intentioned response to the famine catastrophe in east Africa.
{Also on this day, the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu is executed in 1989}

DECEMBER 26TH
The Fool On The Hill by The Beatles (1967)
available on the album The Beatles' Ballads
On this day in 1967 a new Beatles hour-long film was screened for the first time on television. Entitled 'Magical Mystery Tour', the movie was certainly something of a mystery, even if the music remained magical. The reception to this premiere was so critical that Paul McCartney appeared on the box the following day to defend this apparent flop. One item that was totally devoid of criticism was McCartney's composition, ' The Fool On The Hill'. Has Macca ever penned anything better than this highlight from the 'Magical Mystery Tour EP'? Well, possibly 'The Long And Winding Road' is a close second. Ironically, Sir Paul loathed the fact that the famed American producer Phil Spector gave this acoustic number a wall of sound makeover, featuring an orchestra and a 'heavenly choir'. Paul may have resented the end product, but the rest of us beg to differ. Today also happens to be the date of birth of Spector in 1939 in New York.
{Also on this date, in 1999 soul singer Curtis Mayfield dies, aged fifty-seven}

DECEMBER 27TH
I Want To Know What Love Is by Foreigner (1984)
from the album Agent Provocateur
Today is the anniversary of the birth of Foreigner's frontman Mick Jones in 1944 in Surrey. Not to be confused with the guitarist from the Clash, Jones and his group had made some ripples with the singles, 'Cold As Ice' and 'Waiting For A Girl Like You', but their biggest splash came courtesy of the marvellous ballad, 'I Want To Know What Love Is'. Undoubtedly one of the greatest sad songs in pop history, this 45 deservedly occupied No.1 in the British hit parade in early 1985.
{Also on this day, the Ulster loyalist Billy Wright is killed by the INLA in 1997}

DECEMBER 28TH
Surf's Up by The Beach Boys (1971)
from the album Surf's Up
'Surf's Up' was originally recorded for inclusion on the ill-fated 'Smile' project, but it was one of the few items that was salvaged from the wreckage of that aborted venture and placed in the public domain several years later. Back in the fall of 1966 when Brian Wilson seemingly had the world at his feet, he performed a solo version of this opus for American television, with sand from the beach at his feet. The eventual release possesses a stunning outro of harmonies that brings the curtain down on this Van Dyke Parks collaboration with Brian. The end result is a clear candidate for the best album track in popular music. Meanwhile on this day in 1983, the group's wayward drummer, Dennis Wilson, dived off his boat at the Marina del Rey in California. He never surfaced again. He was only 39.
{Also on this date, in 1950 the Peak District is named as Britain's first National Park}

DECEMBER 29TH
Dance With The Devil by Cozy Powell (1973)
available on the album The Best Of Cozy Powell
Colin Flooks was born on this date back in 1947 in Gloucestershire. Colin who? Alternatively known as Cozy Powell, Mr.Flooks scored a most unlikely smash with the instrumental, 'Dance With The Devil'. Featuring a typically virtuoso drums performance from Powell, this Mickie Most- produced single contains a riff that sounds remarkably similar to Jimi Hendrix's 'Third Stone From The Sun'. Nevertheless, Cozy Powell gave service to a whole host of rock acts such as Rainbow, which confirmed that this Top Three single was no 'fluke' for Mr. Flooks.
{Also on this day, Vaclav Havel is elected as President of Czechoslovakia in 1989}

DECEMBER 30TH
Mr.Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra (1977)
from the album Out Of The Blue
The hugely talented Jeff Lynne was born in Birmingham a day after Cozy Powell. Lynne was the main songwriter for the Electric Light Orchestra. The group's greatest song, even surpassing 'Telephone Line', is almost certainly 'Mr.Blue Sky', a Jeff Lynne composition. This is one of those rare tunes that can prompt the listener to stop in their tracks and drink in this wondrous recording. It is quite remarkable that the mundane subject of the weather could form the background to this grandiose effort. I cannot help but feel that this item would have sat comfortably in the midst of the 'Sergeant Pepper' album, given this impressive fusion of rock group and orchestra. Lynne went on to 'travel' a decade later with the