Your Daily Song Fix

A little secret about Your Daily Song Fix – We don’t turn down Prince requests! Shout out to Jon Cylus for the selection.

Bill Withers was the last of six children born on July 4, 1938, in Slab Fork, West Virginia. He was the only man in his family who did not end up working in the coal mines of West Virginia.  Instead, he enlisted in the US Navy and became interested in writing and singing songs while stationed in Guam.  In 1967, after being discharged, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his music career. As a self-proclaimed untrained musician, he became known for his story-telling ability and most of his early recordings did not feature a traditional song structure.  “Harlem” does not have a chorus; instead, each verse escalates in a crescendo as the song progresses. Withers uses this structure to build tension and compliment the story he’s telling in his lyrics.

If a man writes this song for you and you don’t fall in love with him your heart is made of stone. The Chicago-based group Pieces of Peace is also, almost certainly, the only band to ever be created in Chicago and disband in Singapore.

"Why would you deny me?"

If you’ve made it to Singapore as a band you’ve probably done something right, or have you?

I love my Dap Kings and my Amy Winehouse but sometimes there is nothing like the real deal.  This is song is 1960s soul that melts your heart and reminds you that you have to treat your lady right.

Sam Cooke began his career singing gospel, first with siblings and later as part of other various groups through the early 1950s.  In the second half of that decade, Cooke transitioned to pop music, releasing “Lovable,” his first pop single in 1956.  “Having a Party” was recorded in 1961 under his own record label after he had gained significant notoriety.  The studio version of this song features Cooke’s clear, soothing voice; something he carried over from his gospel days and a quality his fans adored him for.  The live version of the song appeared on “Live at the Harlem Square Club,” recorded in 1963, just one year before his controversial death in December, 1964.  In this live cut, a coarseness can be clearly heard in Cooke’s voice, probably as the result of time spent touring and performing live shows.  This grittier version of the song exemplifies something closer to rock and roll, and captures Sam Cooke’s true versatility as a singer and performer.

Studio version:

Live version:

Oh and look, Incubus has a cover of this song. Thanks for the hat tip, Google video! Tell the high-schoolers from 2003 about that one, but if you are looking for a foolish, feel-good flashback, the original “Let’s Get Crazy” is a good place to start. This track by Prince & The Revolution was obviously recorded at the dawn of the drum machine, but it’s still a good one to bring to an 80s party attended by people you don’t entirely hate.

Practice your two-step too, because this song will have all the wasted people in the room bouncing like a beach ball. “Shoot the jumper. Shoot it.”

“When you feel down and out, sing a song!”  It’s hard to not do just that listening to this up-beat, happy-go-lucky funk melody.  Earth, Wind & Fire is the ultimate funk-pop band.  Their hit “Sing a Song” reached #5 on the U.S. Billboard Charts in 1976 and it’s regarded as one of the band’s most popular songs.  Founded in 1969 by Maurice White, EWF has sold over 90 million albums and enjoy continued success, performing songs to this day.

Happy Friday! It’s time to get pumped up for a great weekend. We are trying something new this week. Your Daily Song Fix will be bringing you three links that we find amazing or hilarious. We live and breathe the internet and technology so be sure to check out these links to hear about things that no one else delivers. Of course we will still be posting a song, so you’ll get your fix.

1. Please Rob Me is a hilarious but scary website that crawls Twitter to figure out when people tweet out that they won’t be home (giving you the optimal chance to rob them). The intentions are good – to raise awareness about what information you should not be sharing with the public.

2. Are you interested in starting your own business? Are you seeking information on a certain topic? Mixergy.com is where you want to be. In Andrew Warner’s words – “Imagine having a mix of experienced mentors teaching you their expertise. That’s my mission with Mixergy.com.” Andrew asks the best interview questions I have seen …it’s almost like he is reading your mind.

3. A funny Dave Chappelle and Martin Lawrence clip that most people haven’t seen:

And finally, enjoy your daily song fix!

This song is about a relationship between two best friends. Stephanie and Paulette are references to characters in Grease 2. From what I have read, everyone fights over Stephanie whereas Paulette tries hard and craves approval from the other characters. I guess that says something about the friendship described in this song…