Brits are more likely to think of “Many Rivers To Cross” as an early-80s hit by UB40, but Jimmy Cliff wrote the song, and originally recorded it, 15 years earlier. “Many Rivers To Cross” is often described as a reggae song, which I can understand as Jimmy Cliff is usually…

“Homeward Bound” was the first Simon and Garfunkel record I ever heard. It wasn’t their first major hit — that was 1965's “The Sound Of Silence” — but it was the first song of theirs I heard on the radio. The success of “The Sound Of Silence” caught everyone pretty…

Despite the title, Barry Manilow did not, in fact, write his 1976 Billboard Number One record, “I Write The Songs”. He wasn’t even the first person to record it. Originally written by Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys, “I Write The Songs” was first recorded by Captain & Tennille (better…

“Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” was a UK and US Number One hit for The Platters back in 1959. However the song is much older than that, dating back to 1933. Composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics by Otto Harbach, “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” was originally written for the…

“At Seventeen” is sometimes described as a song about teenage angst, but I’ve never been sure that’s quite the right word. For me, angst implies a degree of frustration, bordering on anger, and a desire to bring about tangible change…the faster the better. There was plenty of angst in punk…

“The Logical Song” launched Supertramp as rock superstars back in 1979, going Top 10 in both the US and the UK singles charts that year. And the success of “The Logical Song” helped drive the success of the album it featured on, “Breakfast In America”, which hit the top of…

I remember being puzzled the first time I heard the line “England swings like a pendulum do”. As a kid, I was thrown into panic at the grammar, whilst at the same time thinking “that singer has an amazing voice”. Back in 1970s Britain, when I was growing up, country…

There’s no genre of songs I enjoy more than protest songs. And there’s no sub-genre I enjoy more than protest songs that don’t sound like protest songs. I mean, I love angry young men and women bashing away at a guitar and singing about all the wrongs in the world…

“Dancing In The Street” is a Motown classic. Written by Motown songwriting royalty and performed by Martha And The Vandellas (later known as Martha Reeves And The Vandellas), for whom it would become a signature song. The songwriters of “Dancing In The Street” were Marvin Gaye, William “Mickey” Stevenson and…