Inspired by the season and the November 28 birthdays of Randy Newman, En Vogue/Lucy Pearl’s Dawn Robinson, The 5 Royales’ Johnny Tanner, The Fleetwoods’ Gary Troxel, Chamillionaire, R.B. Greaves, William DeVaughn, Bruce Channel, The Foundations’ Clem Curtis and Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr.
Inspired by the November 9 birthdays of Pepa, Mary Travers, Scarface, Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker, French Montana, Roxanne Shante, Big Pun, Sisqo and Dorothy Dandridge.
Inspired by the May 31 birthdays of D.M.C., Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, Peter Yarrow, Johnny Paycheck, Normani, Vicki Sue Robinson, Waka Flocka Flame, and Corey Hart.
Today is the birthday of Peter Gabriel. It’s also the birthday of Peter Tork of The Monkees. And Peter Hook of New Order/Joy Division fame. Those three inspired today’s playlist of guys named Peter. Only on Tunes du Jour, folks. And before anyone drags me on social media for not including any women, I couldn’t think of any female Peters. #SorryBernadettePeters
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Putting together a Hanukkah playlist isn’t easy, I tell ya, especially when one wishes to avoid THAT SONG. Beck’s Hanukkah entry, “The Little Drum Machine Boy,” remains absent from Spotify, so you’ll need to go elsewhere to learn about the holiday robot funk and the Hanukkah pimp. All in all, this isn’t a bad batch of tunes celebrating the holiday. Enjoy!
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In 1968, songwriter Mark James, whose hit compositions include “Hooked on a Feeling” and “Always on My Mind,” was married to his first wife, but he still had feelings for his childhood sweetheart, who also was married. Said James, “My wife suspected I had those feelings, so it was a confusing time for me. I felt as though all three of us were all caught in this trap that we couldn’t walk out of.”
He recorded and released a song he wrote based on his situation, but it flopped.
A year later, producer Chips Moman brought the song to Elvis Presley. Elvis loved it and was confident he could make it a hit.
Elvis was acknowledged as the King of Rock and Roll. During the ten years from 1956 through 1965 he scored 33 top ten singles, including 17 #1s. Then he hit a relative dry spell, with no top tens in 1966, 1967 or 1968.
The King recorded Mark James’ song. It became Elvis’ first #1 single since “Good Luck Charm” in 1962. The song, “Suspicious Minds,” was Presley’s final #1 in the US. Between 1956 and 1969, Elvis spent 79 weeks at #1, more than any other act.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked “Suspicious Minds” at no. 91 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
This week, Tunes du Jour’s Throwback Thursday playlist spotlights twenty of the best singles of 1969, kicking off with Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds.”
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Last night I spoke about my journey to improved self-confidence. As you can see from the above comments, it was well-received.
I love speaking. I love sharing my stories and messages with an audience. I love to inspire people to pursue their dreams and to better enjoy their lives. I can usually sense when a speech is really connecting with the audience. It’s a great feeling, like hitting a home run.
I’ve never actually hit a home run playing baseball, but I used that phrase to segue into today’s playlist. The World Series begins tonight, I think. I don’t know who’s playing, but it’s a good excuse to collect baseball songs. Here are twenty fun ones.
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I don’t smoke the marijuana; I get high on music.
Here is your 420 soundtrack – twenty hits: