Did not know that Jacques Brel wrote those songs too. I am familiar with a few of his songs done by English speaking artists, like Alex Harvey and Scott Walker. Jacques Brel sure has made his mark on modern popular music.
As we speak, or as I write, I am checking out his original to Seasons In the Sun, so while we’re at it…
Jacques Brel - Le Moribond
on my way to the football match tonight , the radio was on in my friends car, when this song started to play ,and suddenly i got a shiver right through my body , at first i didnt understand the significance until the song finished , i was trying to remember all the way through the football match why i had a feeling that song meant something to me , , now you have to remember this song was released in 1959 almost 65 years ago , well it also happens to be the 1st song i ever danced to with my late wife , it was at the school disco i was 11 years old my late wife was 10 yrs old , well it was during this song we said to each other we would be together forever . well you would think it was just a silly school boy crush , but we stayed together for her forever untill she passed away in 2020 , i guess that shiver i felt was her way of reminding me she was still watching over me
Heartwarming, I’d like to think those things still happen 
Funkadelic - Super Stupid
It’s time to celebrate the memory of a great guitar player who seems to be a little forgotten today. Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic and Parliament would have turned 74 today, if he hadn’t passed away in 1992.
Eddie Hazel’s greatest and best known guitar work is the ten minute Maggot Brain, which was posted in this topic a couple of years ago. So instead, here is Super Stupid, with some more fine guitar playing from Eddie.
I’ll leave the link to Maggot Brain here too. Guitar like this deserves to be heard again and again!
https://forum.spyhub.tv/t/whats-the-best-song-you-have-heard-today/14671/103?u=gladngrumpy
The Wailers - Mellow Mood (1967)
I’d like to give a shout out to one more artist today. Neville O’Riley Livingston, better known as Bunny Wailer would have turned 77 today. He passed away in 2021, making him the longest living member of the original Wailers.
The Wailers were originally a vocal trio, with Bunny Wailer, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. They were the ones who later made reggae music known outside of Jamaica, for which they deserve all the credit they can get. So here’s one to Bunny’s memory, and of course to Bob and Peter too!
Bunny Wailer - Mellow Mood (1980)
While we’re at it, here is the song again 13 years later with Bunny Wailer alone this time.
Finbar Furey - The Ballad For George Best
Happy Birthday to John Kay, singer in Steppenwolf, who is turning 80 today. They were pretty big back in the day, and still have a small handful of songs which has become staples in classic rock, like Born To Be Wild and Magic Carpet Ride.
However, as a tribute on John Kay’s birthday, I’ll choose one of their lesser known songs, a song that that used to help me a little once upon a time when I needed it. This is a live version from sometime in the mid 1990’s.
John Kay & Steppenwolf - Desperation
Ah what the hell, while we’re at it. Happy Birthday John Kay!
Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild
Stop! Hammer time!
There is a lot of wisdom in the song Desperation “Take my hand if you don’t know where you’re goin’, I’ll understand, I’ve lost the way myself”. “Don’t look back or you’ll be left behind, Don’t look back or you will never find peace of mind”.
This next one brings back memories of a film we thought was the best of everything. Soundtrack from the 1969 Dennis Hopper film “Easy Rider”. Our own bikes were small in comparison but…never mind! 
Just ran into a great coverversion of Born to be wild
Cool! I watched a few videos of these kids and their dad (I presume) back in quarantine days, and their so fun to watch. The girl may well end up as a star some day. She’s already got the rock star pose, and a Grateful Dead t-shirt to go with it 
this might be to far back for many of you to remember it , but the story behind it is stranger than the track itself
“I Put A Spell On You,” Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ most iconic track, stands as a transformative piece in music history, released in 1956. Initially intended as a love ballad, it morphed into a raw expression of obsession and desire under Hawkins’ intense performance. The recording session, fueled by a_____l to loosen the band, unleashed a performance filled with screams and moans, marking a departure from conventional music of the time.
Facing bans from radio stations due to its edgy content, the song nevertheless became a cult classic, resonating with audiences for its emotional depth and Hawkins’ unforgettable delivery. Hawkins’ live performances, featuring props like coffins and skulls, amplified the song’s voodoo mystique, laying the groundwork for future genres like shock rock and horror punk.
“I Put A Spell On You” has been covered by numerous artists, attesting to its influence across music styles. The song encapsulates Hawkins’ legacy as a pioneer who blurred the lines between music and performance art, leaving an indelible mark on the industry. Its enduring appeal lies in its primal emotion and the spellbinding power of Hawkins’ artistry.
This date in 1973 saw the release of the U.S. compilation LP ‘The Hollies’ Greatest Hits’ (March 26th 1973)
Released by Epic Records, The Hollies’ Greatest Hits stands as a comprehensive anthology of the band’s most successful singles spanning from 1965 to 1972. This compilation album not only traversed the band’s transitions between labels, from Imperial Records to Epic Records, but also highlighted their evolution in sound and popularity over the years. Marking its presence on the Billboard 200 charts for seven weeks and reaching a peak position of number 156, the album was a testament to the band’s enduring appeal in the United States, despite its more significant earlier successes in their home country, the United Kingdom.
The album’s inception can be traced back to the band’s shift from Imperial Records, a subsidiary of Liberty Records which was eventually absorbed by United Artists Records, leading to the discontinuation of the Imperial imprint. By 1967, The Hollies had inked a deal with Epic Records in the U.S., with this compilation emerging six years post their prior collection. It meticulously curated hits from both the Imperial and Epic periods, albeit omitting earlier UK successes such as “Stay,” “Here I Go Again,” and “I’m Alive” due to the timeline of the band’s chart presence in the U.S. Notably, the compilation excluded “Jennifer Eccles” and their 1983 cover of “Stop! In the Name of Love,” despite their chart achievements.
Among the collection are tracks that feature Graham Nash, a founding member whose participation in the band ceased in 1968. Songs like “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress,” and “Long Dark Road” exemplify the band’s post-Nash era, showcasing their adaptability and sustained success. The album cover itself is a visual homage to the twelve tracks included, each represented in a unique collage that captures the essence of each song.
In a nod to the album’s lasting legacy, The Hollies’ Greatest Hits was reissued on compact disc by Legacy Records on March 26, 2002, with a remastered version that included “The Air That I Breathe” from 1974 as a bonus track. This compilation not only offers a snapshot of The Hollies’ storied career but also serves as an enduring bridge connecting generations of listeners to the band’s timeless music.
From the album, HE AIN’T HEAVY, HE’S MY BROTHER
A ballad written by piano player, singer, and producer Bobby Scott (“A Taste of Honey”) and lyricist Bob Russell and originally recorded by Kelly Gordon in 1969, HE AIN’T HEAVY, HE’S MY BROTHER became a worldwide hit for The Hollies later that year and a minor hit for Neil Diamond in 1970.
It has been recorded by many artists in subsequent years.
The title came from the motto for Boys Town, a community formed in 1917 by a Catholic priest named F____r Edward Flanagan.
Located in Omaha, Nebraska, it was a place where troub__d or homeless boys could come for help.
In 1941, F____r Flanagan was looking at a magazine called The Messenger when he came across a drawing of a boy carrying a younger boy on his back, with the caption, “He ain’t heavy Mr., he’s my brother.”
F____r Flanagan thought the image and phrase captured the spirit of Boys Town, so he got permission and commissioned a statue of the drawing with the inscription, “He ain’t heavy F____r, he’s my brother.”
The statue and phrase became the logo for Boys Town. In 1979, girls were allowed and the name was eventually changed to Girls And Boys Town. The logo was updated with a drawing of a girl carrying a younger girl added.
The ‘Two Brothers’ concept precedes the magazine illustration that F____r Flanagan saw. In 1921, there was a resident at Boys Town who had difficulty walking. He wore leg braces and the other boys would often take turns giving him a ride on their backs.
There is a famous photograph of this boy and one of the other youth giving him a ride. Now there are several statues of the Two Brothers on the Home Campus in Omaha; one is the sandstone of the two brothers from the illustration, another is a bronze version by an Italian artist that was commissioned in 1977. There is also a version done directly from the 1921 photograph in the Hall of History.
In 1938, Spencer Tracey portrayed F____r Flanagan in the movie Boys Town, which also starred Mickey Rooney. In 1941, they made a sequel called Men Of Boys Town, where they used the phrase “He ain’t heavy, F____r, he’s my brother” for the first time in a movie.
“In the 1960s when we were short of songs I used to root around publishers in Denmark Street,” explained Hollies guitarist Tony Hicks. “One afternoon, I’d been there ages and wanted to get going but this bloke said: ‘Well there’s one more song. It’s probably not for you.’”
“He played me the demo by the writers [Bobby Scott and Bob Russell]. It sounded like a 45rpm record played at 33rpm, the singer was slurring, like he was _____. But it had something about it. There were frowns when I took it to the band but we speeded it up and added an orchestra.”
“The only things left recognizable were the lyrics. There’d been this old film called Boys Town about a c___dren’s home in America, and the statue outside showed a c___d being carried aloft and the motto He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother. Bob Russell had been dying of cancer while writing. We never got, or asked for, royalties. Elton John - who was still called Reg - played piano on it and got paid 12 pounds. It was a worldwide hit twice.”
if you dont like the write ups i do on the songs or if you think there to long just say i can compress my future writings into easier readings , although myself i love to learn the history of the song and the artist especially when looking back into the achives of the history of music
Oh no, keep them coming. I am just glad that I’m not alone in this topic going a little bit off the rails sometimes, though I’ve never written something as long as your Hollies post above 
I do that all the time
On this date in 1965, THE BYRDS released their new single, a cover of Bob Dylan’s MR. TAMBOURINE MAN (Apr 12, 1965)
The debut single by THE BYRDS, MR. TAMBOURINE MAN, a cover of the Bob Dylan original, was released on April 12th 1965 by Columbia Records.
The song was also the title track of the band’s debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man, which was released two months later.
The Byrds’ version was abridged and in a different key from Dylan’s original. Although Dylan’s version contains four verses, the Byrds only perform the song’s second verse and two repeats of the chorus, followed by a variation on the song’s introduction, which then fades out.
In early 1964, Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark, and David Crosby formed the Jet Set and started developing a fusion of folk-based lyrics and melodies, with arrangements in the style of the Beatles.
In August 1964, the band’s manager Jim Dickson acquired an acetate disc of “Mr. Tambourine Man” from Dylan’s publisher, featuring a performance by Dylan and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.
Although the band members were initially unimpressed with the song, they eventually agreed to begin rehearsing and demoing it. In an attempt to make it sound more like the Beatles, the band and Dickson elected to give the song a full, electric rock band treatment, effectively creating the musical subgenre of folk rock.
To further bolster the group’s confidence in the song, Dickson invited Dylan to hear the band’s rendition.
Dylan was impressed, enthusiastically commenting, “Wow, you can dance to that!” His endorsement erased any lingering doubts the band had about the song.
During this period, drummer Michael Clarke and bass player Chris Hillman joined, and the band changed their name to the Byrds over Thanksgiving 1964.
The Byrds’ recording of the song opens with a distinctive, Bach-inspired guitar introduction played by McGuinn and then, like Dylan’s version, goes into the song’s chorus.
The song’s jangling, melodic guitar playing (performed by McGuinn on a 12-string Rickenbacker guitar) was immediately influential and has remained so to the present day.
Due to producer Terry Melcher’s initial lack of confidence in The Byrds’ musicianship, McGuinn was the only Byrd to play on both “Mr. Tambourine Man”.
Rather than using band members, Melcher hired the Wrecking Crew, a collection of top L.A. session musicians, who (with McGuinn on guitar) provided the backing track over which McGuinn, Crosby, and Clark sang.
The single reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 1 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the first recording of a Dylan song to reach number 1 on any pop music chart.
IF you are missing a loved friend or someone who was real close , why not take the time to read these words , digest them ,then listen to the song
While the definitive writer isn’t credited on all sources, “I Want To Stroll Over Heaven With You” found its place in country music hearts thanks to the smooth vocals of Alan Jackson. The song debuted on his gospel album, “Precious Memories,” released in 2005. This marked a shift for Jackson, known for his country hits, but the theme of faith and longing for a better life resonated with his audience.
The lyrics paint a hopeful picture of the afterlife. The singer contemplates the blessings received in life and expresses a simple yet powerful desire: to walk hand-in-hand with a loved one in heaven. It acknowledges the limitations of earthly life – unfulfilled dreams and troubles – but contrasts them with the beauty and peace promised in the hereafter.
The song’s origins trace back to Southern Gospel music, a genre known for its uplifting messages of faith. J.B. Lemley is credited as the writer on some sources, but the song’s roots might lie in earlier gospel traditions. Regardless of its exact origin, “I Want To Stroll Over Heaven With You” became a staple in Alan Jackson’s live performances, particularly those with a gospel focus.
Whether you share the singer’s faith or simply yearn for a future free of troubles, “I Want To Stroll Over Heaven With You” offers a comforting glimpse of a brighter tomorrow. So, put on your favorite walking shoes, country music fans, and get ready to take a stroll through the heavenly fields with Alan Jackson
This post reminded me of a song by the Irish singer Finbar Furey, whom I discovered recently and have been listening to a bit since. He is one of those singers with a voice not pretty or tecnically good, still with such character and depth to it.
This is a song about the songs we remember from when we grew up and the folks around us who sang them. They are gone now, but the songs will always be there.
Finbar Furey - I Remember You Singing This Song
ive always been an avid irish folk song listener , the Fureys along with Paddy Reilly also partiall to a bit of Mary Duff . i think it was after going to see Foster &Allen live that got me intrested
I very much like this too, but these names are new to me. So I may have a bit of research to do there.