In 1969, a revolutionary time for popular music, Billy Joe Royal, a country pop star and a Georgia native, made the national Top 20 with a silly, mildly salacious little ditty called “Cherry Hill Park.. Read more

This was featured in the movie That Thing You Do, starring Tom Hanks as the manager of the fictional '60s pop band The Wonders. In the movie, the song becomes their breakout hit and makes the band a h.. Read more

In the late 1940s to the early 1960s, expressing one’s love and feelings to another person materialized through a song. That explains why love songs thrived during that time. Hank Locklin’s “Send Me t.. Read more

Of all the songs written by Tillotson, this song is his most successful. It was inspired by his father's terminal illness, despite having lyrics that are sung as a lover to a heartbreaker. This was.. Read more

The up-tempo record “Poetry in Motion” which was released in September 1960 almost topped the pop chart in the US. The song peaked at No. 2; but in the UK, the single was more successful. It became a .. Read more

The line, "You're my pride and joy etcetera" ends the main chorus of this song. This was a dig at their record label, White Whale, who had been hounding them for another "Happy Together," which was Th.. Read more

This bright and brassy pop song was written by Gary Bonner and Alan Gordon, the same songwriting duo that were responsible for The Turtles previous hit, "Happy Together". Joe Wissert's production feat.. Read more

Despite what the title implies, this is not a song about a couple in love. According to Gary Bonner, who wrote the song with Alan Gordon, the song is about unrequited love. Our desperate singer wants .. Read more

This was written by Dewey "Spooner" Oldham and Dan Penn, whose other credits together include the hits "I'm Your Puppet" (a hit for James and Bobby Purify), "It Tears Me Up" (a hit for Percy Sledge) a.. Read more

This song is about a guy who gets a letter from his former love telling him that she wants him back, and the guy wants to fly out and see her immediately. The Nashville songwriter Wayne Carson Thompso.. Read more

"Rhythm Of The Rain" was written by The Cascades lead singer John Gummoe, who told SongFacts the story in October 2008: "I wrote 'Rhythm of the Rain' over a period of time, but the lyrics began while .. Read more

Don't You Care spent 14 weeks on the charts in 1967 and reached Number 6. It was the second hit for The Buckinghams... Read more

"Kind of a Drag" was written by Jim Holvay, who was a friend of the band's from Chicago. It is The Buckingham's only #1 hit, although they peeked into the Top 10 twice more and charted a couple more t.. Read more

In November of 1963, Jackie Deshannon, who wrote the song, released the original version. The Searchers covered it in 1964. I am using their version for my backing track. {image1}.. Read more

The session to record this song was scheduled for May 20, 1964, but The Drifters lead singer Rudy Lewis was found dead that morning (the cause of death is unclear, but likely either a drug overdose or.. Read more

"On Broadway" was a collaboration between the familiar songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and the also-successful team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. As such, it represents an especia.. Read more

First recorded by Little Eva, this breezy summertime song evokes the high-rise apartments in American cities where urban dwellers could escape from the stresses of daily living by climbing onto the ta.. Read more

In "Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely Life & Times of Doc Pomus" , Alex Halberstadt explains that "one night, Doc Pomus found a wedding invitation in a hatbox, and back came his most vivid memory from his w.. Read more

Wanted to do some Drifters' songs. I found this arrangement from Rick James and I added some Drifters harmonies and some Jay and the Americans harmonies, too. Originally, this RJ arrangement was for.. Read more

This song is often known by its first line, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire," as "The Christmas Song" doesn't appear in the lyric. Here's the story of how this song was written: Mel Torme and .. Read more

"Happy Holiday" was introduced by Bing Crosby and MarjorieReynolds (dubbed by Martha Mears) in the 1942 film Holiday Inn. It is used in a scene when the Inn opens for the first time. While it i.. Read more

This popular Christmas tune was written by Como's frequent accompanist Robert Allen and lyricist Al Stillman, who teamed up to write several hits of the era for Como, The Four Lads ("Moments To Rememb.. Read more

This was written by Meredith Willson, who wrote the Broadway play The Music Man, which included his famous songs "76 Trombones" and "Till There Was You." This song celebrates that time when Christm.. Read more

This was used in the film Meet Me In St. Louis. Judy Garland starred in the film and added some of the lyrics. At first, the words were very dark and she didn't feel comfortable singing them in the sc.. Read more

Cars were a common theme in early Beach Boys songs, notably "Little Deuce Coupe," which was the template for this song that envisions Santa's sleigh as a Nordic Hot Rod: candy apple red with a 4-speed.. Read more