Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (2-13-21)

Inspired by the February 13 birthdays of Peter Gabriel, New Order/Joy Division’s Peter Hook, Robbie Williams, Feist, The Monkees’ Peter Tork, C + C Music Factory’s Freedom Williams, Stockard Channing, King Floyd, Black Flag’s Henry Rollins and Tennessee Ernie Ford.

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A Carole King Playlist

Here’s a fun fact (or three): In the history of the Billboard Hot 100, nine songs have hit #1 performed by different artists. The first two songs to achieve this feat were “Go Away Little Girl” (Steve Lawrence in 1963 and Donny Osmond in 1971) and “The Loco-motion” (Little Eva in 1962 and Grand Funk in 1974). Both of those were written by Carole King (b. February 9, 1942) and the late Gerry Goffin, who she married. To date Carole King has a writing credit on 118 Hot 100 hits. 118. One hundred eighteen.

Here are 30 of those 118 songs Carole co-wrote.

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A Stand-Up Comedy Playlist

Today is the birthday of both Eddie Izzard and Chris Rock, two of my favorite stand-up comedians. To celebrate, here is a stand-up playlist with lots of routines from those two plus other classic performers.

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A Bob Marley Playlist

If you have only one reggae album in your music collection, there’s a very good chance it’s Legend by Bob Marley & the Wailers. It’s the best-selling reggae title of all-time. In the US it’s only the second album to spend more than 500 weeks on Billboard’s weekly Top 200 album chart. (The first to pass that milestone was Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.) These accomplishments are all the more astounding when one considers that Legend is a greatest hits album consisting of 14 songs, none of which ever cracked the Billboard Hot 100 singles survey.

When deciding what songs should go on Legend, compiler Dave Robinson was determined to expand Bob Marley’s renown. Stateside Marley (b. February 6, 1945) wasn’t a very big seller. Robinson figured that many people were turned off by the subject matter of some of Marley’s compositions, so he nixed the songs about herb. He nixed the songs about slavery. He toned down the presence of violence and the odes to Jah and Rastafarianism. He carefully selected a non-threatening photo for the album cover. He remade Bob Marley’s persona into one of an upbeat spiritual man spreading love and positive vibes, which was but one aspect of his artistry. On top of that, the word “reggae” was not used in advertisements created for the collection. It was genre-less music designed to be listened to by everyone.

I don’t point out the whitewashing of Marley as a put down. Quite the contrary, actually. There are useful marketing lessons here. Legend, released in 1984, three years after Marley’s death from cancer at age 36, brought millions of consumers to reggae music. And the songs on the album are great.

The songs on Legend make up a large part of today’s Bob Marley playlist. There are a lot more songs for further exploration.

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Throwback Thursday: 1972

This Throwback Thursday we revisit 1972. What happened in music in 1972?:

Michael Jackson had the first of 13 solo US #1 Hot 100 singles with a song
about a rat.

Chuck Berry had his first US #1 single with a song about his penis.

Roberta Flack spent six weeks at #1 on the US Hot 100 with a song she
released in 1969.

Helen Reddy rerecorded a song from her 1971 album I Don’t Know How To Love Him. It became the first of her three US #1 Hot 100 singles and became an anthem for women’s equality.

The Staple Singers scored their first of two US #1 Hot 100 hits with a classic song that had only one verse.

Neil Young scored his only US #1 Hot 100 single.

Some of the other classic singles to peak in 1972 are “American Pie,” “Let’s Stay Together,” “Me & Mrs. Jones,” “Without You,” “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” “Alone Again (Naturally),” “Lean On Me,” “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” “School’s Out” and “The Harder They Come.”

David Bowie released The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders
from Mars.

The Rolling Stones released Exile on Main St.

Elton John released Honky Château.

As far as music goes, I’d say 1972 was pretty pretty pretty pretty good. Even the bad songs were good! Here are thirty highlights.

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