Song(s) of the Day: February 15

The second entry in the week of love is a single band that produced two songs about love in its greatest hits album, which also happens to be one of my favorite classic rock albums.

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen probably didn't win any awards for best music video, but it's a peppy song written by lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1979 that peaked at No. 2 in the UK, but topped the charts in the U.S. and Australia.

It's been repeatedly covered over the years, most notably by country artist Dwight Yoakam and most recently by pop band Maroon 5.

The next song on Queen's Greatest Hits album is "Somebody to Love," which was recorded three years prior to "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." The rangy classic rock ballad couples a complex melody and deep layering of vocal tracks performed by all four band members in live performances -- three in the studio -- that creates the impression of being sung by a large gospel choir.

A lyrical description on Wikipedia deduces that Mercury, who died of AIDS in 1991, uses the song to question his diminished love life and the role and existence of God. It didn't have as much success as the former song, reaching No. 2 on the UK charts, but only No. 13 in the U.S. Its most notable cover was George Michael, who performed a pretty cool version of it with the surviving members of Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness in April 1992.

Song of the Day: February 14

Take one guess at today's theme.

There's no shortage of love songs, ballads and romantic references in classic rock. In fact, there are so many good ones that I can't pick a single one, so I'll list off my favorites for the rest of the week.

Which one to pick for V-Day itself?

It wasn't recorded in the hey-day of classic rock, but one of my favorite ballads is Chicago's "You're The Inspiration."

Truth is, it's probably more of a power ballad typical of the mid-80s hair bands of the era than a true classic rock song. I'll have some of those later as the week goes on.

Recorded in November 1984, the song reached No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1985 and climbed atop the adult contemporary chart.

The lyrics make it a true Valentine's classic:

You know our love was meant to be
The kind of love that lasts forever
And I need you here with me
From tonight until the end of time
You should know, everywhere I go
You're always on my mind, in my heart
In my soul

[CHORUS:]
You're the meaning in my life
You're the inspiration
You bring feeling to my life
You're the inspiration
Wanna have you near me
I wanna have you hear me sayin'
No one needs you more that I need you
And I know, yes I know that it's plain to see
We're so in love when we're together
And I know that I need you here with me
From tonight until the end of time
You should know, everywhere I go
Always on my mind, in my heart in my soul

[CHORUS]

Interestingly, lead vocalist Peter Cetera said in 2004 that the song was initially written for Kenny Rogers and was inspired by a trip he took to Italy at the time. However, Rogers opted to not record the song and Cetera recorded it for his band's album, Chicago 17, far and away the band's most popular album, having gone seven times platinum in the US and a Grammy winner that included four Top 20 hit singles: "Stay the Night," "Hard Habit to Break" and "Along Comes a Woman," along with "You're The Inspiration."

Song of the Day: February 7

Call me a cheater if you want, but I'm taking editorial liberties with today's pick.

What better way of paying tribute to this year's Super Bowl winner, I thought, than to select a band or song that represents the Green Bay Packers.

Problem is, that's harder than it may seem. I was racking my brain trying to come up with a song or band in the classic rock genre with 'green' in the title (Sorry, Green Day). Same goes for Packers. And there's not many classic rockers who hail from Wisconsin.

So, I'm left with awarding co-songs of the day (two is OK, since neither one is officially classic rock)

1) "Saturday Night" by the Bay City Rollers.
The 1970s Scottish popsters were popular amongst teenage crowds in Great Britain the post-Beatles era. (Fun fact: Originally named The Saxons, the band chose a new name randomly by throwing a dart at a map of the United States. It landed near Bay City, Michigan, a mid-sized town that sits along Saginaw Bay, about two hours northwest of Detroit ).
When introduced in the U.S., "Saturday Night," which flopped in the UK, soared to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also hit No. 1 on the RPM national singles chart in Canada.

2) "Blister in the Sun" by Violent Femmes.
One of the earlier alternative rock bands, the three-man Femmes, as they are known by fans, formed in 1980 in Milwaukee (about two hours south of Green Bay). Released in 1982, "Blister in the Sun" was one of their first hits -- and perhaps their biggest, even though it only reached No. 76 on the Billboard Rock Chart.. A music video was filmed in 1997 for the song's use in the film "Grosse Point Blank."
Following a contentious legal battle over the use of the song in a Wendy's commercial, the band officially broke up in 2009.

Photo credit: Tim Hagen, 2008

Song of the Day: February 5

Despite the fact that he's been writing and recording since the late 1960s, Elton John isn't your typical classic rocker. It's mellow and piano/keyboard-centric, a style that doesn't scream classic rock.


But it's hard to dispute that one of his most recognizable songs fits the mold: "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)."

Written and composed in 1973, the song appeared on John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." It has been covered numerous times, including by The Who (1991) and more recently, Nickelback. The song reached #12 in the Billboard charts and stayed in the top 40 for nine weeks. It reached No. 7 in the UK's Music Week Top 50.

Song of the Day: February 3

'Tis the season for weather references on the radio.

After yesterday's momentary tease when temperatures climbed into the mid 40s, the mercury dropped -- nay, divebombed -- by nightfall when I left the office around 8.

And all that snow that melted yesterday froze overnight, which made for a fitting song choice on the way in this morning.

"Cold as Ice" by Foreigner.

Recorded in 1977 by the British-American rockers, it became one of the most popular songs of the band in the U.S., reaching number 6 in the Billboard Hot 100. It has been covered by more than a dozen bands. The band still tours today and teamed up last year with Styx and Kansas for the United in Rock Tour. This summer, they'll join Styx and Journey in a UK tour schedule.

Orange and Black

With the Super Bowl days away and my team -- the Philadelphia Eagles -- eliminated in the first round, I'm free to root for a competitive game and not care too much about who wins.

But the Super Bowl also means something else to me. It's the time of year when my sports attention turns to both hockey and college basketball. I'll get to the latter in the next day or two, but first a word about my love for the Fastest Game on Ice. I'm a sports nut and while it's hard to pick which of football, baseball and hockey is my favorite, there's something about the game played with the little black disk that makes it so exhilirating: the hard hitting, the finesse, the fast pace and so much more.

Last year, I watched my hometown Philadelphia Flyers barely qualify for the playoffs, only to make a miraculous postseason run and come within two wins of capturing the Stanley Cup. It was a letdown in the end, but that they were eliminated a day before my father had major heart surgery -- speaking of miraculous victories -- so it wasn't hard to move on with more important things in life.

Now this year, riding a hot rookie goalie and a potent offensive attack, the Orange and Black headed into the All-Star Game tied for the league's highest point total and looking like one of the favorites for the crown. Of course, as I write this, they're getting shut out late in the game, but it's on the road to the second-best team in the conference. Anyways, it's good to be able to focus more on hockey as the season progresses. If nothing else, I can take out my daily aggressions by living vicariously through the players and their hard hits.

Song of the Day: February 1

By the time I left home this morning, the trip from the front door to my car was more dangerous than once I got on the highway. Most of the ice that glazed sidewalks and secondary roads had been cleared from the major thoroughfares. Still, it seemed drivers were taking a little extra precaution.

Combine that with the dense fog I drove through a few hours ago and today's song is quite fitting.

"Slow Ride" by Foghat.

The British foursome formed in the early 70s and still tour today with drummer Roger Earl as the only original member of the band. "Slow Ride," which appeared on the band's fifth album, Fool for the City, reached number 20 on the U.S. charts in 1975, the band's top single. Over the years, the song has maintained and even grown in popularity by appearing on dozens of movies (Dazed and Confused), TV series (Seinfeld) and video games (Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock). In 2009, VH1 named it the 45th-best hard rock song of all-time.

Song of the Day #1

Dear Reader,

I don't want to set some sort of high bar here by titling this post -- my first official one -- Song of the Day. That suggests I'll post a new one every day and realistically, I know that won't happen. But hey, why not reach for the stars.

During most of my daily commutes, I'll rotate between sports talk radio, the news station and one of the few stations that play music in the morning instead of some annoying DJ blabbering on and on. Fortunately, that means the local classic rock station or a more contemporary music station that bypasses some of the more recent dreck that passes for pop and rock these days.

Which brings me to the first entry:

On a drab, dull Monday morning, such as today, an energetic song like "Magic Carpet Ride" by Canadian rockers Steppenwolf was just the right prescription to get me going on the way to the gym. Initially released in 1968, it peaked as the No. 3 song in the U.S. becoming the band's second-biggest hit next to the iconic "Born to Be Wild." For me, its psychedelic rhythm and guitar-heavy chords is infectious

There are different interpretations of the origins of the song and its lyrics. Some say it illustrates the importance of letting go of reality and the day-to-day challenges and dreaming of a worry-free fantasy world.