Tag Archives: Popular Music

Nancy Wilson: Born February 20, 1937

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Nancy Wilson’s musical style is so diverse that it is hard to classify. Over the years her repertoire has included pop style ballads, jazz and blues, show tunes and well known standards. Critics have described her as “a jazz singer,” “a blues singer,” “a pop singer,” and “a cabaret singer.” Still others have referred to her as “a storyteller,” “a professor emeritus of body language,” “a consummate actress,” and “the complete entertainer.” Then who is this song stylist (that’s the descriptive title she prefers) whose voice embodies the nuances of gospel, blues, and jazz? Her colleague and long time friend Joe Williams used to call her “the thrush from Columbus.”
FROM http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/nancywilson

Please note: since we originally posted this, Nancy Wilson passed away, on December 13, 2018.

I Want To Hold Your Hand

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February 1, 1964 was the day that a Beatles song hit Number One for the first time in the USA. The song was “I Want To Hold Your Hand”. The Beatles flew into JFK on February 7 and made their first appearance on Ed Sullivan two days later. And we all had a gear time!

https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/beatles
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-beatles-songs-20110919/i-want-to-hold-your-hand-19691231

Paul McCartney: Born June 18, 1942

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youngpaul

I was saying to someone the other day that one of the very first gigs we did – I don’t even think we were Beatlesthe Beatles, it was the Quarrymen – one the very first times I ever played with John, we did a very early gig at a thing called a Co-Op Hall, and I had a lead solo in one of the songs and I totally froze when my moment came. I really played the crappiest solo ever. I said, “That’s it. I’m never going to play lead guitar again.” It was just too nerve-wracking onstage. So for years, I just became rhythm guitar and bass player and played a bit of piano, do a bit of this, that and the other. But nowadays, I play lead guitar, and that’s the thing that draws me forward. I enjoy it. So, yeah, that means the answer to “Are you going to retire?” is “When I feel like it.” But that’s not today.
FROM https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/paul-mccartney-the-long-and-winding-qa-242714/

At the deepest level, McCartney has little idea where all the olderpaulmelodies come from. He still hasn’t figured out how he wrote “Yesterday” in his sleep. “I don’t like to use the word ‘magic,’ unless you spell it with a ‘k’ on the end, because it sounds a bit corny. But when your biggest song – which 3,000 people and counting have recorded – was something that you dreamt, it’s very hard to resist the thought that there’s something otherworldly there.”
FROM http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/paul-mccartney-yesterday-today-20120618

Jackie Wilson: Born June 9, 1934

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WilsonThey called him “Mr. Excitement,” and indeed Jackie Wilson was a gifted singer of considerable range and a charismatic showman who commanded a stage like few before or since. Wilson possessed a natural tenor. He sang with the graceful control of Sam Cooke and moved with the frenzied dynamism of James Brown…A mainstay of the R&B and pop charts from 1958 to 1968, Wilson amassed two dozen Top Forty singles, all released on the Brunswick label.
…
Wilson launched his solo career in November 1957 with the single “Reet Petite (The Finest Girl You Ever Want To Meet).” The song was written by Berry Gordy, Jr., a struggling songwriter who had yet to found his Motown empire. Another Gordy composition, “Lonely Teardrops,” was Wilson’s breakthrough, topping the R&B chart and becoming a Top Ten hit on the pop side. More R&B chart-toppers followed in quick succession
FROM https://rockhall.com/inductees/jackie-wilson/bio/

Jackie Wilson Discography~ http://www.discogs.com/artist/69375-Jackie-Wilson