I always thought Jake Owens was a better singer than the radio-friendly bro-country hits suggested. This track from his new album - produced by Shooter Jennings - sounds like classic 1970s country. It's right in my sweet spot youtu.be/YQWYmtFuG7c?...

If you know the name "Vanessa Paradis," it's likely because of her relationship with Johnny Depp, with whom she had two children. But she'a a well-known model & had a pretty successful singing career in France. This cover of the classic Lou Reed tune is from 1992 youtu.be/-FJQQZ_sW-s?...

I'm always fascinated by songs where the original version wasn't a hit. But when it was covered by another artist, it was a massive success. For instance, the Tina Turner hit "Better Be Good To Me" was actually first released by the NYC band Spider youtu.be/qVEdkOKkbwI?...

One of the best live bands I ever seen was Chicago's Insiders, who had ear-candy hooks and a sound that can best be described as "The Gin Blossoms with balls." Their "Live At Fitzgerald's" album is really stellar & like the swagger of this tune youtu.be/kP2Eop_v-Io?...

One of the amazing aspects of 20th Century pop music is that there are songwriters who have written really weird ranges of big hits. For instance, the little-known Norman Gimbel, who wrote the lyrics for "The Girl From Ipanema," "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and the theme from "Happy Days."🧵

Man, 1990s/early aughts Country music was the complete opposite of today's Bro-country radio hits. I can't imagine a song like this even being released, much less being a Top Ten country hit youtu.be/LZOIFKEnMeg?...

Most people forget Tracy Chapman's 1988 song "Fast Car" only became a hit after this stunning solo performance that June at the Free Nelson Mandela Concert. A last-minute sub for Stevie Wonder, barely a year away from singing in Harvard Square, she was performing at Wembley youtu.be/7tWE9mPM9pw?...

You are probably familiar with the King Harvest 1970s hit "Dancing In The Moonlight." But the story behind the song & the weird path it took to become a hit is a bit crazy www.allyourscreens.com/3776-todays-...

I understand why Garth Brooks has kept his music off of Spotify. But it means a generation of people aren't familiar with his music. Not just the hits, but the weird experiments. The hair is insanely awkward, but this Babyface-produced single "Lost In You" is just great. youtu.be/tCPYt6BYOSI?...

Following the death of Joey Mulholland, there is a lot of talk today about his band Badfinger. While this 1979 single wasn't a hit, it has a classic Badfinger sound, but the production also reflects when it was made. A real underappreciated song youtu.be/rh04FdTS2f8?...

Graham Parker's longtime backing band released three albums on their own, and this born-to-be-played-in-a-bar track is probably my favorite song from them www.allyourscreens.com/3491-todays-...

Although The Bay City Rollers had a string of lightweight hits in the mid-1970s, their hits dried up. Then they embarked on a pretty interesting push into more sophisticated pop-rock. This track from the "Elevator" album is one of my favorites, although it didn't chart youtu.be/DyTBEHSPukc?...

Ian Lloyd is best known for being the lead singer of The Stories, who had a hit in 1973 with "Brother Louie." But he released a couple of albums in the late 70s & the early 80s that sound like greatest hits albums from another universe. Like this Rik Ocasek-penned track youtu.be/bov22rDEfuQ?...

A lot of people have covered the Velvet Underground's "Waiting For My Man," but I'm especially fond of this version from French actress/singer/Johnny Depp ex Vanessa Paradis youtu.be/-FJQQZ_sW-s?...

Before she had a string of 70s pop hits like "If I Can't Have You" and "Love Me," Yvonne Elliman released some harder-edged tunes, like this remake of The Who's "I Can't Explain," with guitar work from Pete Townsend youtu.be/-sLWIOTUTQA?...

Lolita Pop was a Swedish pop-rock band that had some success in the Nordic countries in the 80s. They released a couple of English-language LPs in an effort to break in the U.S. This is as close to a hit as they got, from the soundtrack for the Jon Cryer movie "Hiding Out" youtu.be/s3oBkBE8FD0?...