“Lilac Wine (Dance with Me)” by Eartha Kitt [1953]

To many listeners “Lilac Wine” is only a song on Jeff Buckley’s sublime 1994 album Grace (his version). The song, however, had been written 44 years earlier for an obscure musical revue. In 1953 Eartha Kitt became the first major pop artist to record and release the song. It was included that year on her first 12” LP, That Bad Eartha, the album that cemented her sex kitten persona. (“Santa Baby” had been recorded at the same sessions and became her biggest hit when it was released in December.)

americanroutes:

Found by our senior producer: excellent behind-the-scenes footage of recording sessions at Stax and FAME studios. You’ve got the Mar-Keys working out arrangements around a conference table; Booker T and the MGs laying down “Time is Tight”, and Brook Benton belting “I Know You Care.”

(Source: youtu.be)

thedailywhat:

The More You Know of the Day: And so, one of the greatest mysteries of our time is finally solved: Ice Cube’s “good day” took place on the 20th of January, 1992.

How did Murk Avenue’s Donovan Strain arrive at that particular date? Using details gleaned from the song’s lyrics, Strain was able to conclude the following: 

The ONLY day where:
Yo MTV Raps was on air
It was a clear and smogless day
Beepers were commercially sold
Lakers beat the SuperSonics
and Ice Cube had no events to attend was…
         
          JANUARY 20 1992

So there you have it. Twenty years and one week ago today was what shall henceforth be known as the first annual National Good Day Day.

[gawker.]

“Her Majesty” by Chumbawamba [2002]

Never a group to shy away from controversy, Chumbawamba in 2002 lyrically accosted Britain’s beloved monarch and in doing so challenged fans of the England’s most famous band. To “celebrate” the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, Chumbawamba added “a chorus or two” (e.g. “she’s pretty much obsolete”) to the Beatles’ “Her Majesty” and gave the recordings away for free to UK residents on the band’s mailing list. (via)

A Beatles song verbally assaulting the queen? That had to stir some resentment (that is, if people even listened to Chumbawamba in 2002). On the musical side, the band actually showed some respect for the song, beginning with the out-of-place chord and ending just as abruptly as the original 23 second recording. 

“I’m a Truck” by Red Simpson from I’m a Truck [1971]

Country music produced some great songs about trucking and about driving in general. But is this when country started to become a self-parody? I just feel like Red took the song far too seriously for its lyrics.

“Where Did You Sleep Last Night” by Lead Belly [1944]

“Where Did You Sleep Last Night” (most commonly under the title “In the Pines”) stands as one of the most enduring songs in the American folk tradition. Surviving—no, thriving—through dozens of stylistic changes, the song has been sung and recorded under various titles from at least the 1870s. Most listeners in their 20s and 30s recognize it from Nirvana’s live MTV Unplugged show and subsequent album. This Lead Belly recording for the Musicraft label in 1944 is the one that inspired Cobain’s version. See this 1994 New York Times article for an in depth history of the song.

newwavetimewarp:

The Waves’ single “The Nightmare” came out January 25, 1982. Yes, this was pre-Katrina and the Waves.

“The Middle Class (Les bourgeois)” by Mort Shuman, Wolfgang Knittel from Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris [1968]

The music of Frenchman Jacques Brel was brought to American audiences in humorous translations in the 1968 off-broadway show Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. For a detailed account of how and why Brel’s music ended up in a musical, read the top review on Amazon (and download the album if you want—Brel was a great songwriter). While the concept of the bourgeoise doesn’t really equate to American notions of the middle class, the song remains pretty sharp. Maybe it would have translated better in modern terms: the one percent.

nedison:

Golden years.

“We Don’t Care” by Manfred Hübler & Siegfried Schwab from Vampyros Lesbos Sexadelic Dance Party (Soundtrack to Vampyros Lesbos) [1970]

David Axelrod met Barbarella in the score of Vampyros Lesbos, a sexy European exploitation film about female vampires. Soft gore with soft core, said one critic of the 1971 cult classic. The soundtrack by Manfred Hübler and Siegfried Schwab (recording under the name Vampires’ Sound Incorporation) itself became a cult classic, enough to earn the CD reissue I found. Have a listen above. Watch the (NSFW) film trailer here (worse quality but with English subtitles here). Read more and find a few links here (also the source of the paraphrase above).