Happy Birthday to Steve Winwood. I have done a lot of his groups of late. First Blind Faith though. Here he is with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Ric Grech in Hyde Park on June 7, 1969 with their most famous song.
Norman Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) wrote this song with Cornelius Grant and Rodger Penzabene.
Burt Bacharach May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023). So many classic songs written or co-written by Burt. This goes out to Julianne, George and Michael.
Apparently this song has gone viral recently:
North Philly singer Barbara Mason is best known for “Yes, I’m Ready,” the 1965 song she wrote when she was 17, that became a top five pop and R&B smash.
That song is a prototypical Sound of Philadelphia recording that features Kenny Gamble on backup vocals and musicians who would become members of the Sigma Sound Studios house band MFSB, including guitarists Bobby Eli and Norman Harris, bass player Ronnie Baker, and drummer Earl Young.
Now, 61 years later, Mason has another hit.
“Forever,” a deep cut from her 1968 album Oh How It Hurts, which was released on the Arctic Records label owned by legendary Philly DJ Jimmy Bishop, has gone viral on TikTok.
The song has slowly gathered steam on the social media platform since first resurfacing last summer, and is now featured on over 241,000 videos. Mason’s pleading voice singing “Just to be with you, forever,” is a particularly popular choice among romantic couples smooching in the “Seeing if he melts into the kiss” TikTok trend. IYKYK.
The unexpected exposure has also boosted Mason’s prominence on other platforms. On Spotify, for instance, the 78-year-old singer now has 1.1 million monthly listeners. And while “Yes, I’m Ready”’s 32 million streams are still Mason’s most on that music service, “Forever” is now a strong second with over 12 million.
Naturally, Mason’s record label has taken notice. In a recent news release headlined “Gen Z Craves Authentic Philly Soul,” Jamie Records announced a new compilation of Mason’s music from the 1960s, including one previously unreleased song.
On May 22, Jamie Records will release The 1960s Archive Collection, an 11-song compilation of songs by the singer who was inducted into the Soul Music Hall of Fame in 2016. Those songs — with the exception of “Forever” — have never been available to stream. The album will also include the ballad “You Left Me Behind,” which has never been released in any form.
Sadly we recently lost Dave Mason who wrote this classic from 1967. His birthday was today. Love this early "music video".
Donovan was born on this day in 1946. Here is a performance from 1966 alongside Pete Seeger
Shel Silverstein who wrote this song left us on this day in 1999. This is his most famous song.
Arthur was born on this day in 1940. This song was a favorite of John Lennon's as well as Al Bundy.
Hank Snow was born on this day in 1914.
Born on this day in 1935, Nokie Edwards was a guitarist for the Ventures. He plays the lead on this track from their first album.
Ricky Nelson was born on this day in 1940. This record went to #1 in 1961.
Born on this day in 1911 was Robert Johnson who wrote this song as many other classic blues songs. Some of the personnel on this song include Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Jack Bruce and Paul Jones.
This song is based on the third theme in the final movement of the Academic Festival Overture by Brahms. Herr Brahams was born on this day in 1833.
Born on this day in 1840 was the great composer Tchaikovsky. This song uses part of the act II final of Swan Lake for its melody. This was a top ten hit in Belgium and in France.