On The Records

When people talk about influential artists, too often the Girl Groups are forgotten.  They certainly helped shape the most influential band of all time…The Beatles.

By the early 1960s, the explosion of Rock & Roll in the 1950s was mostly over.  Instead, the bulk of the music business had returned to professional songwriters coming up with songs for performers.  The music itself was mainly Pop, with some light trappings of Rock & Roll.  Most of the hits were by teen idols.  Then in 1961 came the first #1 song of the rock era by what was called a “Girl Group”.

The first big Girl Group hit was “Will You (Still) Love Me Tomorrow” by the Shirelles, topping the charts in January of 1961.  The song was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King.  The group followed up with “Dedicated To The One I Love” at #3, and also had two big hits in 1962 with “Baby It’s You (#8) and “Soldier Boy”(another #1).

The second #1 by a Girl Group was “Please Mr. Postman” by The Marvelettes in December of 1961.  It was the first #1 record for Motown.   By the way, I remember seeing a letter sent by one of my sisters (I think it was Janice) who co-opted a line from that song.  She wrote a very large D on the envelope, and after that D was a column of hyphenated words…-liver, -letter, -sooner, -better.  Hope the postman got a smile out of that.

And then there were more.  The Crystals (left) and The Ronettes were two Girl Groups produced by Phil Spector.  The Crystals hit #1 with “He’s A Rebel” in 1962.  The song was written by singer-songwriter Gene Pitney, who had sixteen of his own Top 40 hits in the 60s.  Two other big hits for The Crystals came in 1963…Da Doo Ron Ron (#3), and “Then He Kissed Me” (#6).  Both were written by the team of Jeff Berry & Ellie Greenwich, along with Phil Spector.  Those same three also wrote the #1 hit “Chapel Of Love” by The Dixie Cups.  Spector became know for his “Wall Of Sound” production technique, where he layered on multiple instruments (such as 3 pianos at once) and lots of backing vocals.

Phil Spector did the same thing for The Ronettes.  In 1963, their hits were “Be My Baby” (#2), and “Baby I Love You” (#24).  Again, both songs were written by Berry, Greenwich, and Spector.  “Walking In The Rain” made #23 in 1964, a song written by the team of Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, along with Phil Spector.  The song was a Grammy Award winner.  The Ronettes were named for lead singer Veronica “Ronnie” Bennett, who became Ronnie Spector (Phil’s wife).  The Ronettes bring us back to The Beatles.  The Ronettes toured with The Beatles in England (January of 1964), and became friends with the band.  They also opened for The Beatles during the band’s final tour in 1966.

Update:  Producer Phil Spector passed away January 16th, 2021 at the age of 81.  Spector had been in prison since 2009 when he was convicted of fatally shooting his girlfriend, actress Lana Clarkson.  Spector is in the 1960’s photo above, during his short marriage to Ronnie Spector.  Update:  (Jan. 12th, 2022)  Ronnie Spector died today at the age of 78.  Her family said she had a brief battle with cancer.  Their statement said… “Ronnie lived her life with a twinkle in her eye, a spunky attitude, a wicked sense of humor, and a smile on her face.”

Let’s look at the influence of Girl Groups on Rock & Roll’s biggest band.  In the early 60s The Beatles had four songs by Girl Groups on their albums…”Please Mr. Postman”, “Boys” (it was on the flip-side of the Shirelles’ “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”), “Baby It’s You”, and “Chains” (#17), a song by The Cookies (and written by Goffin & King).  The influence was multifaceted.  The vocal harmonies of these Girl Group songs were great training for The Beatles’ own harmony singing, and the flowing melodies, written by some of the top songwriters of the day, influenced them too.

The Beach Boys also covered some Girl Group songs, and Brian Wilson was very taken with Phil Spector’s production techniques.

The Angels were studio backup singers, and had their own #1 hit in 1963 with “My Boyfriend’s Back”.  The lead singer warns a boy who’d been bothering her…”My boyfriend’s back and you’re gonna be in trouble.”

(Shangri-La’s lead singer Mary Weiss with twins Marge & Mary Ganser)

The Shangri-las were just high school teenagers in 1964 when they started becoming popular.  Although they look fairly happy in the above photos, their songs were not so chipper.  First came “Remember (Walking In The Sand”) a #5 hit about losing a boyfriend (“He found somebody new.”), followed by “Leader Of The Pack”, a #1 smash about losing a boyfriend…in a motorcycle accident.  They finally found happiness with “Give Him A Great Big Kiss” (#18) in 1965, but sadness returned later that same year with “I Can Never Go Home Anymore” (#6).  Their downbeat songs were even covered by punk bands and Aerosmith.

(The Supremes…Mary Wilson, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard.)

Far and away the most successful 60s Girl Group was The Supremes.  Their first big hit was “Where Did Our Love Go” in mid 1964.  That started a string of 5-straight #1’s…”Baby Love”, “Come See About Me”, “Stop! In The Name Of Love”, and “Back In My Arms Again”.  In all, The Supremes had twelve #1 hits, and a total of 29 Top 40 hits.  Those songs included…”I Hear A Symphony” (#1), “My World Is Empty Without You” (#5), “You Can’t Hurry Love” (#1), and “You Keep Me Hanging On” (#1).  The prolific Motown songwriters were also providing hits for Martha & The Vandellas, The Temptations, The Four Tops, and more.

Some people have said the end of the Girl Groups came with The Beatles and the rest of the British Invasion.  But, The Supremes charted from 1964 to 1970, the same years as The Beatles.  Even as Rock grew, there was room on the charts for Pop.  Eventually though, the continuing trend for artists to write and perform their own songs is what pushed out the Girl Groups.  The positive effect was that more young women started playing instruments and fronting & forming bands…such as Heart in the 70s, and The Bangles & The Go-Go’s in the 80s.

Although the golden age of Girl Groups was in the 60s, they never completely disappeared.  The best-selling Girl Group ever, The Spice Girls, were a 90s phenomenon.  They dressed a little differently too.

The “lost” album by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young was supposed to be the follow-up to their amazingly successful 1970 album Deja Vu.  Of course, after that album and tour, the four members split to record successful solo albums.  Then in the Spring of 1973, on the Hawaiian island of Maui, they started work on a new CSN&Y album to be called Human Highway.

(Human Highway album cover mockup.)

“Human Highway” is a song written by Neil Young that the group recorded during sessions in May & June of 1973.  In all, the group recorded about half-an-album’s worth of songs, but those four strong personalities couldn’t stay together to finish what they started.  Instead, their label released the greatest hits collection, So Far.

In 1974, CSN&Y reunited for a major tour.

Although the tour was successful, the group still had trouble getting along.  It took them 40 years to release the live recordings, CSNY 1974.

The set has 3 CD’s, 1 DVD, and a 186 page book.  It also includes some songs that were part of their plans for Human Highway.  In fact, CSN&Y went back into the studio in 1974 and 1976 to try to finish the album.  Both times ended in conflict, and no album.

So, let’s track down the recordings that could have made up Human Highway. The first source is the 1991 CSN 4-CD box set.

The box set includes most of the major recordings by the group, and many of their best solo songs.  Most importantly, it has unreleased & alternate versions by the whole group.  Among those are the following unreleased recordings played by all four members of CSN&Y… “Homeward Through The Haze”  & “The Lee Shore” (both by Crosby), “See The Changes” (by Stills),  and “Taken At All” (by Nash).  All of these, except “The Lee Shore” were specifically recorded for the group’s follow-up album.  I’m including “The Lee Shore”, because this studio version was unreleased, they played it on their 1974 tour, and it would have fit nicely on the album.  It’s a full-band recording that’s more uptempo and rhythmic than the live versions.

The unreleased  group versions of “Human Highway” (by Young) and “Prison Song” (by Nash) were both available from bootlegs fans posted on the internet.  (Note:  The CSN&Y version of “Human Highway” is now available on Neil Young Archives II.)  You can hear all of the songs below.

“Prison Song” was horrendously bass heavy, but I ran it through an equalizer and it came out sounding much better.  I posted a copy of the song on YouTube under the user name radiospast.  You can also listen to it below.  The group version is the best version of “Prison Song”.

“As I Come of Age” (by Stills), “Wind On The Water” & “And So It Goes” (both by Nash) and “Through My Sails” & “Long May You Run” (both by Young) were originally written for Human Highway.  The songs ended up on solo albums, but the recordings all include multiple members of the band (which are noted on the album tracks below).

The final track…”Hawaiian Sunrise” (by Young) is from the above mentioned CSNY 1974 set.  Even though the recordings are supposed to be live, “Hawaiian Sunrise” really sounds like it’s a studio recording.  I did an edit to eliminate the applause at the end (by replacing the last note with the one from the NY Archives II solo version), and it fits right in with the rest of the album.

(Using a camera with a timer, Graham Nash took this photo for the album cover.)

In the following version of Human Highway, 11 of the 12 songs were originally written and recorded for the band’s follow-up album.  We’re pretending that they saved them for that album.  All but 3 of the songs have all four artists participating.  Here are the proposed sides of Human Highway.  Note:  The audio is right on this site, clicking won’t take you somewhere else.

Here’s the audio for the entire 42-minute Human Highway album.  Below that are the individual song titles with the audio beneath each title.  The group would probably have wanted to add an up-tempo rocker or two, but these are the songs that were available.

SIDE ONE:

See The Changes…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (CSN Box Set)

Human Highway…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (Archives II, ’76 version)

Taken At All / Long May You Run (Medley)…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (CSN Box Set/Decade)

And So It Goes…Crosby Nash & Young (Wild Tales)

Critical Mass/Wind On The Water…Crosby & Nash (Wind On The Water)

SIDE TWO:

As I Come Of Age…Crosby Stills & Nash (Stills)

Homeward Through The Haze…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (CSN Box Set)

Prison Song…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (bootleg/YouTube)

Through My Sails…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (Zuma)

The Lee Shore…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (CSN Box Set)

Hawaiian Sunrise…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (CSNY 1974)

The songs were placed in an order based on musical flow, lyrical content, and the time allowed per vinyl side.  Three songs on Side 1… “Human Highway”, “Taken At All” & “Long May You Run” go especially well together.  It’s not my original idea to make a medley of those last two, but this is my mix.  The last three songs on Side 2 flow perfectly for an album that has a photo of Maui on the cover.  It’s a strong album, with all twelve songs being good.

There’s a Stephen Stills song that could have made the album in place of “The Lee Shore” (since it’s the only song not specifically recorded for this album).  “Black Coral” was recorded for the album, and the CSNY version is on the Stephen Stills box set.

All of these songs eventually made it onto their solo/group albums; however, with the possible exception of “See The Changes”, these are the best versions.

David Crosby told Rolling Stone magazine he thought Human Highway could have been CSN&Y’s best album.

Bonus:  Here’s the timeline of recordings CSN&Y did for their album to follow Deja Vu.

May- June 1973  “Human Highway”, “Pardon My Heart”, “And So It Goes”, “Prison Song”, “See The Changes”, “Through My Sails”, & possibly “As I Come Of Age” (Stills copyrighted it after these sessions).

Dec 1974  “Wind On The Water” & “Homeward Through The Haze”.

March-May 1976  “Human Highway”, “Taken At All”, “Long May You Run”, “Midnight On The Bay”, “Ocean Girl”, “Black Coral”, “Time After Time”, “Fontainebleau”, “Traces”, “Separate Ways”, & possibly “Hawaiian Sunrise”.  Others worked on…“Treetop Flyer”, “No One Seems To Know”, “Let It Shine” “Guardian Angel”, “Make Love To You”,  & “Little Blind Fish”.

If the band had been able to finish Human Highway in 1976, only using songs still available to them at that time, it might have looked like this.

Side One:

1. See The Changes…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (CSN Box Set)
2. Human Highway…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (Archives II)
3. Taken At All…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (CSN Box Set)
4. Long May You Run…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (Decade)
5. Stateline Blues…Stephen Stills (Illegal Stills)
6. Out Of The Darkness…Crosby & Nash (Whistling Down The Wire)

Side Two:

1. Treetop Flyer…Stephen Stills (from 1976 CSNY session)
2. Time After Time…Crosby & Nash (Whistling Down The Wire)
3. Midnight On The Bay…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (Archives II)
4. Black Coral…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (Stills Box Set)
5. Little Blind Fish…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (1976 session)
6. Hawaiian Sunrise…Crosby Stills Nash & Young (CSNY 1974)

This version came really close to existing, because the group recorded enough songs for a complete album.  It’s too bad Crosby & Nash didn’t commit to this album instead of their own album.  CSN&Y would probably have finished “Treetop Flyer” and “Little Blind Fish” at their 1976 sessions.

Human Highway would likely have been a #1 album & a multi-million seller, easily surpassing the popularity of the albums the two-halves-of-the-group did release in 1976…Long May You Run and Whistling Down The Wire.  Interestingly, the two albums “tied” with each other.  Both only made  it to #26 on the Billboard album chart, and each sold about half-a-million copies in the U.S.

Extra:  What if CSN&Y had stayed together?  Here’s a link to that article:  https://ontherecords.net/2021/03/csny-what-if-they-had-stayed-together/

Extra 2:  Here’s the link to a proposal for a Human Highway box set:  https://ontherecords.net/2021/05/csny-human-highway-sessions-box-set/

Update March, 2021:   Archives II was added to streaming services 3/5/2021. The CSN&Y recordings of Neil Young’s songs that occurred during the time of the “Long May You Run” sessions are…“Ocean Girl”, “Midnight On The Bay”, and “Human Highway”.  That proves the Crosby & Nash vocals were never actually erased.

Here’s my review of Neil Young Archives II:

https://ontherecords.net/2020/11/neil-young-archives-vol-ii-review/

For most people, Jonathan Edwards is a one-hit-wonder, with the million-selling song “Sunshine (Go Away Today)”.  It entered the Top 40 in December of 1971, and peaked at #4 in 1972.

(Photos are from slides I took at a 1973 concert in Norfolk, VA)

The only reason we got to know more of Jonathan Edwards’ music, is because he opened for Seals & Crofts at a June 1973 concert in Virginia.  When we saw him, Edwards had released two albums…his eponymous album with “Sunshine”, and Honky-Tonk Stardust Cowboy from 1972.  We already had his single “Sunshine”, so we purchased the album Honky-Tonk Stardust Cowboy in order to get to know his music before we saw him.

Jonathan Edwards was so good during his portion of the concert.  He was playing one of our favorite styles of music, Country Rock.  It leaned a little to the Country side, and he was using an acoustic guitar instead of a solid body electric.  His preference for things a little more natural shows up in his song lyrics about being a musician.  In “That’s What Our Life Is” he sings…”They said I would shine like the light in a city, I hoped it would be like the moon on the sea.”

His performance was just so confident and enjoyable, we loved it all.  It turned out that he was the best part of the concert that night.  We ended up buying all of the albums he released in the 1970’s.

Above is our Jonathan Edwards playlist (click to enlarge)…which has our favorites from four of his albums…Jonathan Edwards (1971), Honky-Tonk Stardust Cowboy (1972), Have A Good Time For Me (1973), and Rockin’ Chair (1976).  In addition, there are six songs from the very hard to find Orphan album (1973).  Orphan was a country rock band with friends and colleagues of Jonathan Edwards, including songwriter Eric Lilljequist.  He wrote several songs recorded by Edwards, and also played lead guitar and provided vocals on some of Jonathan’s albums.  Orphan is a solid album with excellent vocal harmonies.

The playlist is included in case you aren’t familiar with this music, and would like some guidance getting to know Jonathan Edwards better.

Through the years, Jonathan Edwards has continued to perform, and has done some acting and film scoring.

(Jim Seals from that 1973 concert at the Scope Arena.)

(Dash Crofts was impressive on the mandolin.)

The main reason we went to the concert was to hear Seals & Crofts.  We had two of their albums…Summer Breeze and Diamond Girl.  The hits from those albums included…”Summer Breeze” (#6), “Hummingbird” (#20), “Diamond Girl” (#6), and “We May Never Pass This Way Again” (#23).

Seals & Crofts sounded great, their singing and playing were first rate.  However, there was something that night that really took away from their performances.  They had a lot of technical trouble.  It seemed during almost every song, they were seeking help with adjustment of the gear or the monitors, and it definitely kept them (and us) from getting deeply into their songs.

It may be unfair, because it was a bad night for them, but we knew if they ever passed our way again, we’d skip their concert.  The only other album we ever purchased by them was their Greatest Hits, that included “I’ll Play For You” (#18), and “Get Closer” (#6).

We left that 1973 concert knowing that Seals & Crofts were talented, but we were wishing they could have simply gotten up on stage and played (with less production) the way Jonathan Edwards had done so well.

It’s been 40 years since the world was introduced to the New Wave sound of The Cars.  Or were they Rock?  Pop?  Or maybe even Punk?  The cars had their own sound that mixed elements of all of them.

Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Ric Ocasek (guitar & vocals), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), Benjamin Orr (bass & vocals), David Robinson (drums).

This Boston band’s first album, The Cars, came out in June of 1978, and had three singles that charted…”Just What I Needed” (#27), “My Best Friend’s Girl” (#35), and “Good Times Roll” (#41).  It also had a much-played album cut “Moving in Stereo”.  Despite the modest rankings of the singles, the album grew in popularity.  By the end of 1978 it had gone platinum, it was the #4 ranked album for 1979, and went on to eventually sell over 6-million copies.  Rock radio liked the cars.  When I was programming a Rock station in the late ’80’s, I remember a list of the most-played classic songs on Rock stations, and at the very top of the list was “Good Times Roll”.

Ric Ocasek wrote almost all of their songs, and he had his own distinctively quirky style of singing.  Benjamin Orr also sang some of the leads.  He had a little smoother style, so he often did the ballads.  Keyboardist Greg Hawkes used synthesizers extensively, guitarist Elliot Easton experimented with guitar effects, and David Robinson often used drum programming.  All of that gave The Cars a sound that was called New Wave in the late ’70’s and early ’80’s, but the group also featured strong melodies and harmonies that had a wide appeal to radio programmers and listeners alike.

The Cars second album, Candy-O, also went multi-platinum, and featured their biggest hit so far, “Let’s Go” (#14), with the lead vocal by Benjamin Orr.  In 1980, their third album, Panorama, was a bit of a let down, even though it did go platinum.  Some fans liked the change-up from the first two albums.

By the end of 1981, The Cars released album number 4, Shake It Up.  The title song made it to #4, helped in part by that newfangled video thing, MTV, which had just started in August of that year.  The Cars were back to multi-platinum, and their biggest album was next.

Heartbeat City was released in March of 1984.  It had five hit singles…”You Might Think” (#7), “Magic” (#12), “Drive” (#3), “Hello Again” (#20), and “Why Can’t I Have You” (#33).  A sixth song, “It’s Not The Night” was #31 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart.  The Cars spent a lot of time in the studio for Heartbeat City, and had enlisted the help of producer Mutt Lange.

The video for “You Might Think” is one of the first computer graphic music videos, and won the first MTV Video Music Award for “Video of the Year” (in 1984).

After that high point, The Cars only had three more Top-40 singles…”Tonight She Comes” (#7), “I’m Not The One” (#32), and “You Are The Girl” (#17).  In 1987, they had their lowest-selling album Door To Door.  The Cars broke up in 1988.  There was a reunion album in 2011…Move Like This.

Above is a photo of my double CD anthology by The Cars from 1995.  It not only has a lot of great songs, it’s one of the coolest album packages ever.  The brightly-colored cardboard sleeve looks like metal-flake car paint, with added fire & pin-striping, and of course the CD’s look like wheels.

The Cars had 15-years of eligibility before they were inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (class of 2018).  Cars fans were happy to see the group finally get the recognition.  It’s a shame the honor couldn’t have come before Benjamin Orr passed away from cancer (at age 53 in 2000).

As always, there were some music fans who thought their own favorite bands should have been selected instead.  The Cars came up with a very original musical style that was even hard to categorize, and high-quality songs with great appeal.  The Cars induction was a good choice.

Update:  Ric Ocasek passed away on September 15th, 2019 at the age of 75.  He was found in his New York apartment, unconscious in his bed.  It was determined that the cause of death was heart disease.

Here’s the information released by Paulina Porizkova, who married Ric Ocasek In 1989 (although they announced their separation in 2018):

After The Cars broke up, Ocasek worked as a producer for many artists, including the band Weezer.  It’s sad that time is taking so many of the artists who have given us so much great music.

These two groups had parallel careers.  The Guess Who broke into the Top 40 in April of 1969 with their first Top 10 hit “These Eyes”(#6).  Three Dog Night’s first Top 10 hit, “One”, entered the chart a month later, and made it to #5.

Three Dog Night featured three lead singers…Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, & Chuck Negron.

 The Guess Who…Jim Cale (bass & vocals), Burton Cummings (lead vocals, keyboards & guitar), Garry Peterson (drums), and Randy Bachman (lead guitar & vocals).

Both bands have interesting stories about how they got their names.

Three Dog Night’s name was suggested by Danny Hutton’s girlfriend, June Fairchild, who had read how native Australians used dogs to keep warm.  On an extremely cold night it might take three dogs to keep warm…thus a “three dog night”.  Maybe the name sounded appropriate because of the three lead singers.

In 1965, The Guess Who was actually named Chad Allan & The Expressions.  They had a modest hit with “Shakin’ All Over” that year.  When they released an album, printed on the cover were the words…Guess Who?  It was meant to be a marketing ploy (to add some interest and mystery), but Instead, DJ’s called the band The Guess Who, so the group made it official.

From 1969 to 1975, Three Dog Night had 21 Top 40 hits, 7 million sellers, and 3 #1’s.  Interestingly, each of the lead singers had a #1…Cory Wells with “Mama Told Me Not To Come”, Chuck Negron with “Joy To The World”, and Danny Hutton with “Black & White”.

The band relied on outside songwriters, and knew how to turn the songs into hits.  They used clever arrangements and great harmonies.  Harry Nilsson wrote “One” (#6), Randy Newman wrote “Mama Told Me Not To Come” (#1), Laura Nyro wrote “Eli’s Coming” (#10), Hoyt Axton wrote both “Joy To The World” (#1) & “Never Been To Spain” (#5), Leo Sayer wrote “The Show Must Go On” (#4), and songwriter Paul Williams helped them out with three hits  “Out In The Country” (#15), “The Family Of Man” (#12), & “An Old Fashioned Love Song” (#4).  Paul Williams also wrote big hits for The Carpenters (“We’ve Only Just Begun” & “Rainy Days And Mondays”), and for Kermit The Frog (“Rainbow Connection”).

Some of Three Dog Night’s other significant singles included “Shambala” (#3), “Liar” (#7), and “Easy To Be Hard” (#4).  Although Three Dog Night never had another Top 40 hit after 1975, their hits catalog was so strong that various versions of the band have been touring ever since.

From 1969 to 1975, The Guess Who had 13 Top 40 hits, 3 million sellers, one #1, and a total of six songs that made the Top 10.  While the number of hits for The Guess Who is lower than for Three Dog Night, you could add in another 7 for Randy Bachman’s BTO (Bachman Turner Overdrive), and another 2 Top 40 solo hits for Burton Cummings.  So, the number of hits of the two groups is very similar, but Three Dog Night had more hits at the top of the charts.

One advantage for The Guess Who is that Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman were the songwriters for “These Eyes” (#6), “Laughing” (#10), “Undun” (#22), “No Time” (#5), “American Woman” (#1) and “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature” (a favorite album cut).  Besides touring, songwriting is the major money maker for musicians.

It seems ironic that this Canadian group’s only #1 hit in the U.S. was the anti-American song “American Woman”.  Maybe it was the line “I don’t need your war machines”  that struck a chord with young Americans who were protesting the Vietnam War.  Besides, it has a great guitar riff by Randy Bachman.

After “American Woman”, Randy Bachman left and formed BTO.  The Guess Who’s songwriting was then done by Burton Cummings and Kurt Winter.  Their significant hits were “Hand Me Down World” (#17), “Share The Land” (#10) and novelty song, “Clap For The Wolfman” (#6) [with spoken bits by DJ Wolfman Jack].

Meanwhile BTO had their seven hits from 1974 to 1976, including “Takin’ Care Of Business” (#12), “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” (#1), and “Roll On Down The Highway” (#14).  The main single for Burton Cummings was “Stand Tall’ (#10) in 1976.

I use a combined playlist for these bands, with their songs alternating.  I do the same thing with other bands that are associated in my mind…including The Buckinghams & The Grass Roots, The Yardbirds & The Zombies, and The Police & INXS.  That way, there is a refreshing style change from one song to another, and yet the songs share an era.

It would be a shame if younger or future Beatles fans only knew The Beatles through their album of #1 singles…1.

(Photos can be enlarged with a click.)

It’s obviously a very good collection of their songs that were #1 in America or England, with 21 of them topping Billboard in the U.S. (although “Something” lost it’s #1 designation when Billboard later altered their methodology.)  The problem is…The Beatles didn’t release many of their best songs as singles.

Another option is to purchase the Red and Blue albums 1962-1966 and 1967-1970.  They’re also good collections, but at 26 songs and 28 songs respectively, they could be priced like Beatles 1, which has 27 songs.  Instead, they’re priced higher, as double-albums.  And really, are “Old Brown Shoe” and “Octopus’s Garden” among their best songs?  Those were included just to help George and Ringo with royalties.

An interesting analysis of those two collections shows Rubber Soul provided the most songs…8 (6 album cuts + the 2 singles released the same day).  Using that same basic method, Revolver, surprisingly, has only 3 (2 +1), Sgt. Pepper has 6 (4 +2), The White Album has 5 (3 + 2), Abbey Road 4, and Let It Be 4 (3 + 1).

Update October, 2023:  The Red & Blue albums have been expanded and remixed.  There’s also a better balance of tracks from their best albums.  There’s a full article on this site.

Maybe Apple Records could simply release a companion album for 1…called 2.  The playlist would be something like this:

1. I Saw Her Standing There
2. All My Loving
3. Twist And Shout
4. And I Love Her
5. If I Fell
6. Things We Said Today
7. I’ll Follow The Sun
8. You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
9. Norwegian Wood
10. Nowhere Man
11. Michelle
12. In My Life
13. Good Day Sunshine
14. For No One
15. Here, There, And Everywhere
16. Strawberry Fields Forever
17. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
18. With A Little Help From My Friends
19. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
20. When I’m Sixty-Four
21. A Day In The Life
22. The Fool On The Hill
23. Revolution
24. Back In The U.S.S.R.
25. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
26. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
27. Blackbird
28. Here Comes The Sun

It’s more likely people would buy a single album to add as a supplement to 1…so 2 could be an option for Apple Records, and great for new fans.  Only 7 of these songs were singles.  Do you know all or most of these 28 songs anyway?

Why is it important for future fans to get to know more than The Beatles’ number one hits? 

This 2 list has John Lennon’s three most critically praised songs…”A Day In The Life”, “Strawberry Fields Forever”, and “In My Life”, plus one of his best rockers “Revolution”.  It has some of Paul McCartney’s best love songs, including…”And I Love Her”, “Michelle”, and “Here, There, And Everywhere”, his innovative rocker “Sgt. Pepper”, and his beloved “Blackbird”.  George Harrison only had “Something” on 1, so this list would add two more of his very best songs…”While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Here Comes The Sun”.  For Ringo Starr, it’s simply his best-ever vocal performance…”With A Little Help From My Friends”.  And, the list has many more excellent songs that deserve to be heard by future generations.

Note:  The newly expanded Red & Blue albums have all of the songs in the above paragraph, and 24 of the 28 songs on the 2 list.

Although album sales are disappearing, an album like this would be a good guide for future listeners.  They’d be likely to stream these songs if they were in a single album.  It might be hard to convince them to listen to all The Beatles’ albums, but  1 + 2  would go a long way in conveying the musical importance and uniqueness of The Beatles.

It wasn’t always a garage…sometimes it was a basement, a barn, a porch, or a backyard.  Rock & Roll made kids want to play music, and they had to have someplace to practice.

Almost every band starts out as a “Garage Band”.  Some make it big.  Some have one hit.  Most only play music for the fun of it…and maybe to dream a bit.

The peak of the Garage Band years came from 1963 to 1968.  In 1963, “Louie Louie” (the three-chord #1 hit by The Kingsmen from Portland, Oregon) led the trend.  Who couldn’t learn three chords?  You could probably record it in your garage!  The song was not sung clearly, and the recording wasn’t great, so there was a persistent rumor that the lyrics were “dirty”.  Of course they weren’t, but that didn’t stop some radio stations from banning the song.

The British Invasion increased the desire of young people to play music.  It’s estimated that nearly  200,000 local bands formed in the 1960’s.

Looking back, we can see what artists and songs might fit into the Garage Band label.  Some of the bands had multiple hits, but most were one-hit-wonders who had a spark of creativity.  The majority of Garage Rock songs sound like they could be performed with the classic lineup of guitars, bass, drums, and a keyboard.

In 1972, there was an album called Nuggets that gathered a lot of songs that fit the Garage Band feel.  Some of the songs were national hits, but it also included were some hard-to-find regional hits.  I liked the concept, and made my own playlist (you’ll probably recognize most of the songs)…60’s Nuggets: 

1. Louie Louie…The Kingsmen (’63)
2. Run Run Run…The Gestures (’64)
3. Night Time…The Strangeloves (’65)
4. She’s About A Mover…The Sir Douglas Quintet
5. Wooly Bully…Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
6. Hang On Sloopy…The McCoys
7. Keep On Dancing…The Gentrys
8. I Want Candy…The Strangeloves
9. Hanky Panky…Tommy James & The Shondells (’66)
10. Dirty Water…The Standells
11. Gloria…The Shadows of Knight
12. Lies…The Knickerbockers
13. Psychotic Reaction…Count Five
14. Wild Thing…The Troggs
15. Hey Little Girl…The Syndicate of Sound
16. My Little Red Book…Love
17. Time Won’t Let Me…The Outsiders
18. 96 Tears…? & The Mysterions
19. Mr. Moon…The Coachmen
20. Harlem Shuffle…The Fabulous Flippers
21. Jezebel…The Rumbles (’67)
22. I Had Too Much To Dream…The Electric Prunes
23. Pushin’ Too Hard…The Seeds
24. Little Bit O’ Soul…The Music Explosion
25. Talk Talk…The Music Machine
26. Incense And Peppermints…Strawberry Alarm Clock
27. We Ain’t Got Nothin’ Yet…The Blues Magoos
28. Green Tambourine…The Lemon Pipers (’68)
29. Journey To The Center Of The Mind…The Amboy Dukes
30. Shapes Of Things To Come…Max Frost & The Troopers    (Songs in chronological order by years…’63-’68)

The songs nearly every local band played are:  “Louie Louie”, “Gloria” by The Shadows of Knight (by Them in the U.K.), “Hang On Sloopy” by The McCoys, and “Wild Thing” by The Troggs.  Proving that “Wild Thing” was still a good starter song in the late ’80’s, our young son chose to play it on his new electric guitar at a school talent show.

(Screen shot of fuzzy video…our son playing “Wild Thing”, and wearing a “See you on The Dark Side Of The Moon” T-shirt”.)

There are some great Psychedelic Rock songs that fit the list: “Psychotic Reaction” by Count Five, “I Had Too Much To Dream” by The Electric Prunes, “Incense & Peppermints” by Strawberry Alarm Clock, “Green Tambourine” by The Lemon Pipers and “Journey To The Center Of The Mind” by The Amboy Dukes.  Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers did a rocking live cover of “Psychotic Reaction”.

Some Garage Band songs showed signs of early Punk Rock:  “My Little Red Book” by Love, “Hey Little Girl” by The Syndicate Of Sound, “Pushin’ Too Hard” by The Seeds, and “Talk Talk” by The Music Machine.  Those last three all used a half-sung/half-spoken style for the lead vocals.

(Some of my old 45’s from ‘60’s bands in Nebraska, one’s on the list.)

Since the Nuggets idea included some regional hits, I chose three from the area of my youth.  “Mr. Moon”, by The Coachmen from Lincoln & Omaha, sounds a bit like “96 Tears”.  It was a hit in the Midwest, and in various cities like San Francisco & Boston.  “Harlem Shuffle” was a big regional hit for The Fabulous Flippers from Kansas, and “Jezebel” was a Midwestern hit for The Rumbles from Omaha.  The Rumbles had excellent multi-part vocals.  They could nail The Beach Boys’ intricate harmonies live on songs like “Sloop John B”…something out of reach for most local bands.

There are some mainstream hits on the playlist.  “Lies” by The Knickerbockers is one of my favorites.  “Dirty Water” is true Garage Rock by The Standells, and so is “Hanky Panky”, a #1 hit by Tommy James & The Shondells.  “Time Won’t Let Me” hit #5 for The Outsiders,”Little Bit ‘O Soul made it to #2 for The Music Explosion, and “96 Tears” was a #1 hit for ? & The Mysterions.

The Byrds captured the Garage Band era with 1967’s “So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star”:

So you want to be a rock ‘n’ roll star,
Then listen now, to what I say.
Just get an electric guitar,
Then take some time and learn how to play.
And when your hair’s combed right
And your pants too tight, it’s gonna be all right.

Then it’s time to go downtown
Where the agent man won’t let you down.
Sell your soul to the company
Who are waiting there to sell plastic ware.
And in a week or two if you make the charts
The girls will tear you apart.

The Byrds knew how hard it actually was for bands, and that “making it” might not match a band’s dream.

Hopefully, all those Garage Bands enjoyed their time playing music.  The ones that did have some success sure gave us a great playlist!

Since the beginning of Rock & Roll through today, there are elements of Southern Rock in popular music…but the genre really developed and peaked in the 1970’s.

(The Allman Brothers Band…Jaimoe Johansen, Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, Berry Oakley, Dicky Betts, & Butch Trucks)

Although The Allman Brothers Band released albums in 1969 & 1970, it wasn’t until their 1971 live two-record set, At Filmore East, that the band gained national recognition.  The album contained blues covers, plus their popular originals “Whipping Post” and “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed”.  Their music was a mix of rock, blues, and country with a jam-band style.  They had extensive guitar solos by Duane Allman and Richard “Dickey” Betts, and they had the power of two drummers, Jaimoe Johansen and Butch Trucks.  Throw in the bass work of Barry Oakley, and the R&B-style keyboards and soulful lead vocals by Gregg Allman, and you have the premier band of Southern Rock.

Duane Allman had already been a much sought-after session guitarist.  Eric Clapton used Allman on “Layla” after he heard him as the lead guitarist on Wilson Pickett’s version of “Hey Jude”.  Duane remained in The Allman Brothers Band, but three months after the release of their live album, he died in a motorcycle accident.  It was October 29th of 1971.  Duane Allman was only 24.

Despite the tragedy, The Allman Brothers Band decided to continue, and they released another double-album, Eat A Peach, in 1972.   It was a success, with a great line-up of songs that included “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More”, “Melissa”, “One Way Out”, “Blue Sky” and “Little Martha”.  Of the nine songs on the album, Duane was on all but three.

Tragedy wasn’t done with the band.  A year after the death of Duane Allman, Berry Oakley was killed in a motorcycle accident just three blocks from where Allman had crashed his motorcycle.  Oakley died on November 11th, 1972, also at the age of 24.  Again, The Allman Brothers Band carried on.

(The spread-open cover of Brothers and Sisters, featuring Berry Oakley’s daughter, Brittany, and Butch Trucks’ son, Vaylor.)

The Allman Brothers Band added pianist Chuck Leavell and bassist Lamar Williams.  In 1973, they released their most commercially successful album, Brothers and Sisters.  The album went to #1 thanks in part to their excellent single “Ramblin’ Man”.  It was their only major hit (#2).  This was also a big album for songwriter/guitarist Dickey Betts.  Besides writing and singing lead on “Ramblin’ Man”, he wrote the popular album cuts “Southbound”, “Jessica” and “Pony Boy”.  The album has sold over 7-million copies worldwide.

The Allman Brothers Band began touring arenas and stadiums, but there was too much tragedy, money, drugs, alcohol, and internal problems.   The band dissolved in 1976.  They reformed briefly in the late 1970’s, and then again in varying forms throughout the following decades.  They were still a popular touring act, but never regained major popularity as a recording act.  Their album A Decade Of Hits 1969-1979 is an excellent collection.

Gregg Allman, who had some solo success…such as a his version of “Midnight Rider” (1974), his song “I’m No Angel” (1987), and his album Low Country Blues (2011)…passed away from complications of liver cancer in May of 2017, he was 69.

Record reviewers in the early ’70’s were calling The Allman Brothers’ music Blues/Rock.  Around 1973 and into the early 1980’s, the number of southern bands grew, and the musical genre became Southern Rock.

Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Marshall Tucker Band were two of the most popular Southern Rock bands of the 1970’s.  Skynyrd had two anthems…”Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird”.  Marshall Tucker’s biggest hits were “Heard It In A Love Song” and “Fire On The Mountain”, and were also known for featuring a flute in their arrangements.  Both bands had more songs that got heavy airplay.  Here’s my iTunes Playlist for some of the Southern Rock songs I own (not a deep dive):  (The Allman Brothers Band has a separate list.)

1. Sweet Home Alabama…Lynyrd Skynyrd
2. Can’t You See…The Marshall Tucker Band
3. Hold On Loosely…38 Special
4. Gimme Three Steps…Lynyrd Skynyrd
5. Keep Your Hands To Yourself…The Georgia Satellites
6. Heard It In A Love Song…The Marshall Tucker Band
7. Midnight Rider…Gregg Allman
8. Caught Up In You…38 Special
9. Call Me The Breeze…Lynyrd Skynyrd
10. The South’s Gonna Do It Again…Charlie Daniels Band
11. Fire On The Mountain…The Marshall Tucker Band
12. If You Want To Get To Heaven…Ozark Mountain Daredevils
13. What’s Your Name…Lynyrd Skynyrd
14. Back Where You Belong…38 Special
15. I’m No Angel…Gregg Allman
16. The Devil Went Down To Georgia…Charlie Daniels Band
17. Free Bird…Lynyrd Skynyrd

Other artists ( like The Band or CCR) that could be included here are on different playlists, such as my Country Rock lists.

We never caught any of the major Southern Rock bands in concert, but the music lives on with another generation.  We saw The Tedeschi Trucks Band in Salem.

(Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks…December 2013 in Salem, Oregon)

Their album Revelator won the 2012 Grammy Award for Best Blues Album.  Derek Trucks is the nephew of Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks.  Derek was a child prodigy on guitar, and was performing in public at age 9.  He  joined The Allman Brothers Band in 1999, and played with them until 2014.   Susan Tedeschi was also a child prodigy on guitar and was in a band by age 13.  The two guitarists met while Tedeschi’s band was opening for The Allman Brothers Band, and they married in 2001.

During the concert, Susan Tedeschi mostly played rhythm guitar while she sang lead vocals…kind of in the style of Bonnie Raitt, but a little harder.  Derek Trucks really impressed us with his guitar solos.  Then just before the concert ended, Susan took the lead guitar part on one song…and just blew us away!  There can’t be many bands with two great guitarists like them.

With new generations of Southern Rock and Blues/Rock musicians, maybe Gregg Allman was right in “Midnight Rider”…”The road goes on forever”.

What kind of crazy mixed-up world do we live in when Lindsey Buckingham is fired by Fleetwood Mac?

Buckingham was the architect of the sound that made Fleetwood Mac so popular starting in 1975.  After all the success producing their songs, being one of three songwriters & lead vocalists, and playing lead guitar, he quit the group in 1987.   He was replaced by two musicians, Billy Burnette and Rick Vito.

Then after 10 years, he rejoined Fleetwood Mac for their 1997 reunion, “The Dance”.  The group has toured on and off since then, including 16 years (1998-2014) without Christine McVie.

(Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks)

This month, after disagreements about an upcoming tour, Fleetwood Mac told Buckingham “Go Your Own Way”, and replaced him with The Heartbreaker’s lead guitarist, Mike Campbell, and Crowded House leader Neil Finn.  Those are two extremely talented musicians who could actually add some new touches to Fleetwood Mac.  Notice how it always takes two guys to replace Lindsey Buckingham.

Update 1:  Some quotes in Rolling Stone tell us more.

Mick Fleetwood said about the disagreement over the fall tour…“We arrived at the impasse of hitting a brick wall.  We made a decision that we could not go on with him.  Majority rules in terms of what we need to do as a band.“

Stevie Nicks said Buckingham wanted to put off the tour for a year, and the band didn’t want to wait.  Fleetwood Mac will be performing songs from the entire history of the band, including before Stevie and Lindsey joined.  Nicks said…“We were never able to do that since 1975, because certain people in the band weren’t interested in doing that.”  Nicks compared the situation to the ending of a long marriage.  “We were never married, but we might as well have been.  This is sad for me, but I want the next 10 years of my life to be really fun and happy.”

Above, Fleetwood Mac with Neil Finn & Mike Campbell.  They plan to play some old Fleetwood Mac songs on the tour.   Note: They played “Black Magic Woman”, “Oh Well” (Mike Campbell vocal) and “Hypnotized” (Neil Finn vocal)…plus Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin'” and “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by Neil Finn’s Crowded House.

I’m a fan of Lindsey Buckingham, and own most of his albums.  1992’s Out Of The Cradle is far and away his best album.  His new collection has 9 songs from that album.

(Lindsey Buckingham released Solo Anthology: The Best Of Lindsey Buckingham in October, 2018.  The deluxe 53 song 3 CD set [2 studio, 1 live] is around $20, and the 21 song single CD version [disc 1 above] is about $10.)

We had tickets for his concert in a fairly small venue in Lincoln, Nebraska in the early 2000’s.  But, when we showed up to see him, we were informed he was not satisfied with the sound system, and had canceled the show.  He has a reputation for sometimes being difficult…although that might be an interpretation of his caring about doing things right.

So…now that Lindsey Buckingham is “Second Hand News”…will the new tour be a success for Fleetwood Mac?  Almost certainly, yes.  There’s plenty of star power with Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, and the rest of this new line-up.  Their first performance will be at a September 21st festival in Las Vegas.  Then the 52 show tour starts October 3rd.  (Update 2:  Mac performed on TV 9/5/18, playing “The Chain” & “Gypsy”.  Neil Finn sounded great on vocals, and Mike Campbell really rocked lead guitar!  The whole group sounded energized.  Reviews of the tour have been very positive.)  Note:  The tour ended in November, 2019 after 80 performances.

As for Lindsey Buckingham…it seems a shame that the members of Fleetwood Mac had to “break the chain”.

Update 3:  Lindsey didn’t like the broken chain either.  As of October 2018, he is suing Fleetwood Mac for firing him, and is seeking an estimated 12-to-14-million dollars in lost income from the tour.

Update 4:  12/8/18…Lindsey Buckingham says he and Fleetwood Mac have settled his lawsuit.  In an interview with CBS, he said he’s satisfied with the outcome, but didn’t reveal details.  Buckingham also said during the interview that he heard Stevie Nicks had given a “him or me” choice to the rest of the band.  Buckingham said that even though it’s doubtful he’ll ever rejoin the band, he won’t say he’s “Never Going Back Again”.

Update 5:  2/8/19  Now we find out that last week Lindsey Buckingham (69) had emergency open heart surgery!  His family says he’s doing fine now, but there’s concern his vocal cords may have been damaged during the procedure.  Time will tell.  Meanwhile all scheduled appearances are cancelled.  On social media, Fleetwood Mac said…”Our thoughts and love go out to Lindsey and his entire family.  We are hopeful for a speedy recovery.”

Update 6:  In August of 2020, Lindsey demonstrated publicly that his voice has returned to normal.  Great news!

Update 7:  (Jan. 2021)  Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and Mick Fleetwood have all sold much of their rights (songwriting and future royalties on their recordings) to three different companies.

Update 8: (Feb. 2021)  In an interview with BBC radio, Christine McVee said it’s unlikely Fleetwood Mac will tour again…”Certainly not this year.”  She said she thinks the only member of the band who would be wanting to tour again would be Mick Fleetwood.

Update 9: (March 2021)  Mick Fleetwood told Rolling Stone that he is in favor of doing a farewell tour.  He says he has rekindled his friendship with Lindsey Buckingham, and would like to get some form of Fleetwood Mac back together for one final tour.

Update 10: (June 2021)  Lindsey Buckingham released a new self-titled solo album on September 17th, 2021.  Singles from the album include ”I Don’t Mind” and “Scream”.  He’s also doing a tour to support the album.

Update 11:  (Sept. 2021). Here’s a link to a new article with an update that’s too long to add to this article:   https://ontherecords.net/2021/09/fleetwood-mac-attack/

Update (11/30/22):  Sadly, Christine McVie has passed away at the age of 79.  Her family said she died in a hospital after a short illness.  Recently, she had been opening up about her experience in Fleetwood Mac, and how much she enjoyed that time.

The Nashville television show is fiction, but the music is real.

Nashville’s first season of music was produced by Grammy and Oscar winner T-Bone Burnett.  He’s produced some of Country’s best-reviewed and award-winning albums, and he’s done the same for movie soundtracks, including movies by the Coen Brothers.  Burnett doesn’t follow the latest Pop/Country trends, instead, he produces music the way he believes it should sound…which is authentic.

Burnett was assisted by another Grammy-winning musician, songwriter, and producer Buddy Miller.  Miller took over the Executive Music Producer position after the first season…which was in 2012.  Nashville was created by Academy Award winner Callie Khouri, who wrote the screenplay for Thelma & Louise.

So…there were quality artists behind the scenes for both the music and the drama.  The cast had to be talented as actors and as singers.

(Hayden Panettiere,  Charles Esten,  & Connie Britton)

The two lead characters are Rayna Jaymes, a legendary Country star played by Connie Britton (who had been in critically acclaimed “Friday Night Lights”)…and Juliette Barnes, a young successful Country/Pop star played by Hayden Panettiere (who was popular from her role in the TV series “Heroes”).  The beginning of the series was about the competition between these two Country stars.  Both actresses were critically praised for their performances on Nashville.  Hayden is the stronger musical performer, and also has the dance chops to make believable music videos in the show.

Deacon Claybourne, Rayna’s guitarist and love of her life, is played by Charles Esten.  Esten had starred as Buddy Holly in “Buddy” on the London stage in the ’90’s, and appeared as a guest in many TV series…from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” to “The Office”.

The show found vocal gold with Clare Bowen (who’s Australian) and Sam Palladio (who’s British).  They play Scarlett & Gunnar, a couple of up-and-coming singer/songwriters.  The duets by these two “When The Right One Comes Along”, “If I Didn’t Know Better”, “I Will Fall” and “Fade Into You” were highlights of the first season.  They were the first two actors cast.  The above photo shows them on the set that duplicates the famous Bluebird Cafe in Nashville.

Even more vocal gold came in the form of two real-life sisters, Lennon & Maisy Stella.  The younger sister, Maisy, auditioned for the part of Rayna’s daughter.  When the producers found out Maisy had a sister, and that they sang beautiful harmonies together on popular YouTube videos, they decided Rayna had two daughters (Maddie &  Daphne) at the ages of these two young stars.  Lennon & Maisy are the daughters of a musical duo popular in Canada, The Stellas.

The love of Juliette’s life is Avery Barkley, played by Jonathan Jackson.  The final major musical character is Will Lexington, played by Chris Carmack.  Both Jackson & Carmack have acting and musical backgrounds, and are good guitarists.

Besides talented music producers and solid actor/vocalists, Nashville’s secret to having a lot of great music over six seasons is that they used many of Nashville’s real songwriters, some who’ve become better known since the show started.  Contributing songwriters include…Nashville duo The Civil Wars, Kacey Musgraves, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, Sarah Siskind, Kate York, Sara Buxton, Steve McEwan, Sarah Zimmerman, Justin Davis, Trent Dabbs, Jake Ethridge, Garrison Starr, and many more.

The music is fully integrated into the show.  The songs reflect what the characters are experiencing in their lives, especially because they’re supposedly writing the songs.  The shows producers literally sorted through thousands of songs to find ones that worked.  They said some songs they found  were so good they wrote scripts in order to work the songs into the show.  One of the stated purposes of the producers of Nashville was to provide new songwriters a way to get their music heard.  Based on interviews with the songwriters, the plan has definitely worked.

(After 4 seasons on ABC, and 2 on CMT, Nashville has come to an end)

The show produced over 40 new recordings each year.  I select about 24 songs from each season to be on my “Nashville Best Season 1” through “Nashville Best Season 6” playlists…a total of 144 songs.  I’m not a major Country fan, but many of the songs on Nashville are more in the singer/songwriter vein, and some lean to Pop & Rock, because that’s the kind of music the various characters would perform.

I’ve put together some suggestions of songs you could check out on streaming services.  Just Google…Nashville Cast and the title of the song…most are on YouTube.  Or if you’re using Siri or Alexa, just ask them to play the song title and “by Nashville Cast”.

Songs by Clare Bowen & Sam Palladio (as Scarlett & Gunnar)

1. When The Right One Comes Along
2. If I Didn’t Know Better
3. Fade Into You
4. Something’s Gotta Give

Songs by Lennon & Maisy Stella (as Maddie & Daphne)

1. A Life That’s Good
2. Sanctuary
3. Beautiful Dream (ballad version) [by Lennon]
4. Come And Find Me (by Maisy)

Songs by Hayden Panettiere  (as Juliette)

1. Telescope
2. Undermine
3. Don’t Put Dirt On My Grave Just Yet
4. Nothing In This World Will Ever Break My Heart Again

Songs by Charles Esten (as Deacon)

1. Sideshow
2. Friend Of Mine
3. I Know How To Love You Now
4. Always Keep On Loving You

Songs by other cast members

1. Borrow My Heart (Jonathan Jackson with Clare & Sam)
2. History Of My Heart (Jonathan Jackson)
3. The Blues Have Blown Away (Connie Britton with Lennon & Maisy)
4. Surrender (Connie Britton with Charles Esten)

It’s not easy to instantly like songs on the first listen, but give it a try, and maybe you’ll enjoy The Music Of Nashville too.  You certainly don’t need to see the show to appreciate the songs.  “Nashville” has ended, but the music transcends the show.