“Crocodile Rock” became Elton John’s first No. 1 hit single on MCA Records. (In time, eight more would follow.) But rather than appreciate his rare good fortune, John apparently grew weary of the song and later grumbled, “The last time I have to sing ‘Crocodile Rock,’ I will probably throw a… Read moreBEHIND THE BEAT ~ ‘Crocodile Rock’ — Elton John
You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht
I can see clearly now, the rain has gone
I went to a garden party
It was more — much more — than just another rock ‘n’ roll hit.
In Jim Croce’s brief career — he died at age 30 in a 1973 Louisiana plane crash — he released five Top 10 singles, the first of which was one of the best story songs of modern times. “You Don’…
Sammy Davis Jr. didn’t like the lyrics. “It’s horrible. It’s white bread; it’s cute-ums,’’ Davis said. He couldn’t imagine singing lyrics that included such cloying phrases as “groovy lemon pies.”
By the early 1970s, Motown’s teenage brother group The Jackson 5 was regularly burning up the Billboard singles and album charts. Lead singer Michael Jackson later recalled, “It was (Motown fo…
We’ve all been through this before. You hear a new tune on the radio, and it grabs you by the collar, demanding your attention. Soon, it’s burrowing deeply inside your brain to reside there forever.
The Beatles had 20. Elvis Presley had 18. Michael Jackson — with and without his singing brethren—had 17.
The first time the world heard of Brooklyn-born Robert John was in 1958, when he was 12 years old. Back then, the singing youngster was going by his real name: Bobby Pedrick Jr.
At a London party in 1760, a Belgian violinist made a surprise entrance on a new invention called roller skates as he played his music. In doing so, he smashed into a mirror worth $1,000 and d…
Remember Cat Stevens? He came to prominence here in the early 1970s as a singer-songwriter responsible for such ethereal ballads as “Peace Train,” “Wild World,” “Moon Shadow” and “Morning Has …
Thomas “Snuff” Garrett was a Dallas high school dropout who became a Lubbock, Texas disc jockey at age 17 and befriended local music star Buddy Holly.
One has to wonder. Somewhere in England in 1971, was there a woman in her mid-40s — and possibly wearing a Mona Lisa smile — who heard “Maggie May” and realized that she might have been the in…
Dave Marsh is a well-respected rock-music critic and historian. He’s normally quite sparing in his praise, but Marsh could barely contain his enthusiasm when he reviewed a Marvin Gaye single a…
A leisurely drive on a country road can offer a chance to leave city stresses behind for a while and enjoy nature’s scenic wonders.
It was in 1958 when 20-year-old Paul Revere (born Paul Revere Dick) met fellow Idahoan 16-year-old Mark Lindsay. Revere ran a drive-in restaurant west of Boise. One day, he began chatting with…
His songs might have lacked the depth and social commentary of his fellow ex-Beatles, but Ringo Starr fans usually could count on having fun when hearing what he offered to the world. Such is …
Humor writer Dave Barry once invited the readers of his weekly syndicated newspaper column to vote for the worst pop song of all time. When more than 10,000 letters piled up on his Miami offic…
Kris Kristofferson has earned a place in history as one of the great American songwriters. That honor, though, came at a high personal price.
It was a magical moment for Elton John and Bernie Taupin when they fully realized the potential that had blossomed in their professional partnership. As Taupin once explained, “ ‘Your Song’ wa…
In early 1971, United Kingdom musician Dave Edmunds’s high-decibel guitar licks, nasal lead vocals and floor-stomping beat made his version of “I Hear You Knocking” a prime example of “pub roc…
The Beatles ruled the music world from 1963 until 1970, when they released their “Let It Be” album.
The Kinks enjoyed a promotion day in Stockholm, Sweden on Sept. 2, 1965.
Tony Orlando was born Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitas in 1944 in Hells Kitchen, New York to a Puerto Rican mother and a Greek father. By age 15, Tony had formed a doo-wop group called the F…
C’mon, admit it. The cheerful, shuffling Top 5 single of "In the Summertime" brought a smile to your face and got your fingers drumming back in the summer of 1970. Mungo Jerry’s irresistible a…
Melanie (her full name is Melanie Anne Safka) began her performing career as a folk singer in such hip Big Apple coffeehouses as the Café Wha? Later, at the Brill Building — the New York music…
In 1970, "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" raised many an eyebrow. The drug scene was relatively new to middle-class American youth and nobody could recall such a tune wafting out of radio speaker…
It’s hard to imagine a million-selling 1970 song opening with the voices of a second-grade class singing
"Let It Be" offered a heads-up message for Beatle fans worldwide. The group was breaking up and nothing could stop its eventual demise.
When you’re down and out, When you’re on the street
"Rainy Night in Georgia" was a comeback hit for singer Brook Benton. Born Benjamin Franklin Peay in South Carolina in 1931, Benton cut his gospel chops in the local Methodist church, where his…
Did you know that the No. 1 hit "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" was designed to be so terrible that no self-respecting disc jockey would consider playing it?
Did you ever wonder how Led Zeppelin came up with such a weird name for its band?
It was 1969 and a former Harvard professor turned LSD advocate named Timothy Leary wanted to challenge Ronald Reagan for the governorship of California.
Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, was pretty much washed up as a recording star by the late 1960s. Especially, in comparison to the days when he seemed to own the radio airwaves.
The Archies’ "Sugar, Sugar" was the best-selling single of 1969, yet the singing group was never photographed together, never gave an interview, never appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show," never…
"I had been singing at my Pentecostal church in Richmond, California and at local R&B clubs — secretly, because the church would have frowned on that," admits Dorothy Morrison, the booming…
Paul McCartney of the Beatles chose Mary Hopkin to sing “Those Were the Days” for his new artist. The song reached No. 2 on Billboard, and numerous other artists, including Bing Crosby and Do…
Beatles Paul McCartney wrote "Hey Jude" to console John Lennon's son, Julian.
Dear Lance,
It was more — much more — than just another rock ‘n’ roll hit.
In Jim Croce’s brief career — he died at age 30 in a 1973 Louisiana plane crash — he released five Top 10 singles, the first of which was one of the best story songs of modern times. “You Don’…
Sammy Davis Jr. didn’t like the lyrics. “It’s horrible. It’s white bread; it’s cute-ums,’’ Davis said. He couldn’t imagine singing lyrics that included such cloying phrases as “groovy lemon pies.”
By the early 1970s, Motown’s teenage brother group The Jackson 5 was regularly burning up the Billboard singles and album charts. Lead singer Michael Jackson later recalled, “It was (Motown fo…
We’ve all been through this before. You hear a new tune on the radio, and it grabs you by the collar, demanding your attention. Soon, it’s burrowing deeply inside your brain to reside there forever.
The Beatles had 20. Elvis Presley had 18. Michael Jackson — with and without his singing brethren—had 17.
The first time the world heard of Brooklyn-born Robert John was in 1958, when he was 12 years old. Back then, the singing youngster was going by his real name: Bobby Pedrick Jr.
At a London party in 1760, a Belgian violinist made a surprise entrance on a new invention called roller skates as he played his music. In doing so, he smashed into a mirror worth $1,000 and d…
Remember Cat Stevens? He came to prominence here in the early 1970s as a singer-songwriter responsible for such ethereal ballads as “Peace Train,” “Wild World,” “Moon Shadow” and “Morning Has …
Thomas “Snuff” Garrett was a Dallas high school dropout who became a Lubbock, Texas disc jockey at age 17 and befriended local music star Buddy Holly.
One has to wonder. Somewhere in England in 1971, was there a woman in her mid-40s — and possibly wearing a Mona Lisa smile — who heard “Maggie May” and realized that she might have been the in…
Dave Marsh is a well-respected rock-music critic and historian. He’s normally quite sparing in his praise, but Marsh could barely contain his enthusiasm when he reviewed a Marvin Gaye single a…
A leisurely drive on a country road can offer a chance to leave city stresses behind for a while and enjoy nature’s scenic wonders.
It was in 1958 when 20-year-old Paul Revere (born Paul Revere Dick) met fellow Idahoan 16-year-old Mark Lindsay. Revere ran a drive-in restaurant west of Boise. One day, he began chatting with…
His songs might have lacked the depth and social commentary of his fellow ex-Beatles, but Ringo Starr fans usually could count on having fun when hearing what he offered to the world. Such is …
Humor writer Dave Barry once invited the readers of his weekly syndicated newspaper column to vote for the worst pop song of all time. When more than 10,000 letters piled up on his Miami offic…
Kris Kristofferson has earned a place in history as one of the great American songwriters. That honor, though, came at a high personal price.
It was a magical moment for Elton John and Bernie Taupin when they fully realized the potential that had blossomed in their professional partnership. As Taupin once explained, “ ‘Your Song’ wa…
In early 1971, United Kingdom musician Dave Edmunds’s high-decibel guitar licks, nasal lead vocals and floor-stomping beat made his version of “I Hear You Knocking” a prime example of “pub roc…
The Beatles ruled the music world from 1963 until 1970, when they released their “Let It Be” album.
The Kinks enjoyed a promotion day in Stockholm, Sweden on Sept. 2, 1965.
Tony Orlando was born Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitas in 1944 in Hells Kitchen, New York to a Puerto Rican mother and a Greek father. By age 15, Tony had formed a doo-wop group called the F…
C’mon, admit it. The cheerful, shuffling Top 5 single of "In the Summertime" brought a smile to your face and got your fingers drumming back in the summer of 1970. Mungo Jerry’s irresistible a…
Melanie (her full name is Melanie Anne Safka) began her performing career as a folk singer in such hip Big Apple coffeehouses as the Café Wha? Later, at the Brill Building — the New York music…
In 1970, "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" raised many an eyebrow. The drug scene was relatively new to middle-class American youth and nobody could recall such a tune wafting out of radio speaker…
It’s hard to imagine a million-selling 1970 song opening with the voices of a second-grade class singing
"Let It Be" offered a heads-up message for Beatle fans worldwide. The group was breaking up and nothing could stop its eventual demise.
When you’re down and out, When you’re on the street
"Rainy Night in Georgia" was a comeback hit for singer Brook Benton. Born Benjamin Franklin Peay in South Carolina in 1931, Benton cut his gospel chops in the local Methodist church, where his…
Did you know that the No. 1 hit "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" was designed to be so terrible that no self-respecting disc jockey would consider playing it?
Did you ever wonder how Led Zeppelin came up with such a weird name for its band?
It was 1969 and a former Harvard professor turned LSD advocate named Timothy Leary wanted to challenge Ronald Reagan for the governorship of California.
Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, was pretty much washed up as a recording star by the late 1960s. Especially, in comparison to the days when he seemed to own the radio airwaves.
The Archies’ "Sugar, Sugar" was the best-selling single of 1969, yet the singing group was never photographed together, never gave an interview, never appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show," never…
"I had been singing at my Pentecostal church in Richmond, California and at local R&B clubs — secretly, because the church would have frowned on that," admits Dorothy Morrison, the booming…
Paul McCartney of the Beatles chose Mary Hopkin to sing “Those Were the Days” for his new artist. The song reached No. 2 on Billboard, and numerous other artists, including Bing Crosby and Do…
Beatles Paul McCartney wrote "Hey Jude" to console John Lennon's son, Julian.
Dear Lance,
