The Song For Today by Jimmie Oliver (ebook reader with highlight function .TXT) 📕

as this. 'Columbia' is a candidate for one of the ten best recordings of the decade, and that is a definite, not maybe.
{Also on this day, 39 soccer fans are killed in the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985}

MAY 30TH
Clash City Rockers by The Clash (1977)
available on the album The Story Of The Clash, Volume 1
In my semi-humble opinion, 'Clash City Rockers' is perhaps the best punk tune ever recorded. However, it garners less attention than a few of the foursome's other songs. Regrettably, commercial radio disc jockeys stick to the commercial 'Rock The Casbah' and the awful 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go?', while anyone who cites one of the Clash's early punk records will almost certainly refer to 'White Riot'. However, 'Clash City Rockers' merits more recognition. It was a minor hit for the group, whose policy of refusing to appear on 'Top Of The Pops' limited any possibility of their singles climbing further up the charts. Anyhow, today is the anniversary of the birth of the band's accomplished drummer, Nicky 'Topper' Headon, born in 1955.
{Also on this date, in 1982 Spain becomes the 16th member of N.A.T.O}

MAY 31ST
Bonzo's Montreux by Led Zeppelin (1982)
from the album Coda
Most critics and musicians have frowned upon the notion of drum solos, yet it is perfectly acceptable to have guitar or piano solos. This shouldn't be so. Perhaps Ginger Baker's elongated and self-indulgent 'Toad' recording gave drum solos a bad image, but I see nothing wrong with the two tracks in which John Bonham showed off his drumming skills. 'Moby Dick' was a fine instrumental, assisted by the guitar of Jimmy Page. Page subsequently laid down his axe and threw in a range of electronic treatments to embellish a tune called 'Bonzo's Montreux', which eventually surfaced in Led Zeppelin's compilation of unreleased items, entitled 'Coda'. Even in the absence of John Paul Jones and Robert Plant, 'Bonzo's Montreux' ranks alongside 'Darlene' and 'Poor Tom' as the best selection from the 'Coda' collection. The sticksman supreme, big bad Bonzo Bonham was born this day in 1948.
{Also on this day, the new Republic of South Africa is established in 1961}

JUNE 1ST
Maggie May by Rod Stewart (1971)
from the album Every Picture Tells A Story
The Beatles had recorded a daft little ditty, called 'Maggie Mae' for their ill-fated 'Let It Be' project, but to coin a phrase that was in vogue in 1971, Rod Stewart's chart-topper was 'something completely different'. Possessing the kind of lyrics that any teenage adolescent male might relate to, as well as featuring a marvellous mandolin-flavoured instrumental break, this was the big breakthrough hit for 'Rod The Mod', an Anglo-Scot who previously entertained footballing ambitions, but his brief flirtation with Brentford Football Club did not prove successful. As well as occupying five weeks at the top perch of the UK singles chart, this song prompted a memorable 'Top Of The Pops' appearance, during which the popular Radio One disc jockey John Peel played on mandolin while Rod dribbled with a football. Guiding Rod on his road to international fame was his backing band, the Faces. Included in their ranks was the amiable guitarist and painter Ron Wood, who came to life on this day in 1947 in Hillingdon, Middlesex. Woody would later go rolling with the Stones for more than thirty years.
{Also on this date, Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel in 1962}

JUNE 2ND
In Your Room by The Bangles (1988)
from the album Everything
Although 'Everything' was a less satisfying album than its predecessor, 'Different Light', Side One did provide three excellent tracks. 'Be With You' and 'Eternal Flame' were two of the Bangles' most noteworthy recordings, but they are perhaps surpassed by the outstanding 'In Your Room'. With Susannah Hoffs on lead vocals, this song of seduction made a bigger splash on the American singles chart than in Britain where the record buyers preferred the more romantic and sedate 'Eternal Flame'. Today is the anniversary of the birth in 1955 of the group's bass player, Michael Steele. The flame-haired Steele wrote and sang an album item, called 'Following', for the 'Different Light' venture. It is a composition that is well worth checking out.
{Also on this day, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II takes place in 1953}


JUNE 3RD
Can The Can by Suzi Quatro (1973)
from the album Suzi Quatro
American rocker Suzi Quatro cashed in on the glam rock craze with a few smash hits of her own, notably 'Can The Can' and the equally admirable 'Devil Gate Drive', which topped the charts in Britain in 1974, a year after 'Can The Can' had been there and done that. The immensely likeable Quatro was born on this date in 1950. She owed some of her success to the songwriting team of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman who were responsible for successful releases from the likes of the Sweet, including 'Blockbuster', which was another UK Number One in 1973. Quatro (christened Susan Kay Quatrocchio) may not have flourished after glam rock faded, but 'Can The Can' remains one of the great teen anthems of the 1970s. Meanwhile, Mike Chapman later produced acts such as Blondie.
{Also on this date, Indian forces storm the Sikhs' Golden Temple in 1984}

JUNE 4TH
All Or Nothing by The Small Faces (1966)
available on the album From The Beginning
Ronnie Lane, bass guitarist for the Small Faces and then the Faces, finally succumbed to the multiple sclerosis condition on this day in 1991, at the age of fifty-one. Lane's legacy includes chart-toppers with Rod Stewart, such as 'You Wear It Well' as well as one he co-wrote for the Small Faces, 'All Or Nothing', which reached the summit of the British singles chart on that memorable summer of 1966 when London was swinging and England were winning the football World Cup. Ronnie and his band typified the joie de vivre and feel-good factor that permeated the capital during those heady times.
{Also on this day, in 1979 Jerry Rawlings seizes power in Ghana in a coup}

JUNE 5TH
Can I Play With Madness by Iron Maiden (1988)
from the album Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Nicko McBrain was born on this date back in 1952. He would later spend his early adult life in the role of drummer for the heavy metal outfit, Iron Maiden. The group that was named after a medieval torture instrument thrilled their own fans with a succession of hard rock albums and songs which revealed a tongue-in-cheek flirtation with the forces of darkness. The notorious combo eventually enjoyed commercial success in the UK singles chart with the Top Three smash, a delightful little ditty called 'Can I Play With Madness'. Yeah, sure, knock yourself out.
{Also on this date, the Israeli air force launch the Six-Day War in 1967}

JUNE 6TH
Get Back by The Beatles (1969)
from the album Let It Be
'Get Back' was the sixteenth Number One success story for the Beatles in the British hit parade. It featured a 'fifth Beatle' when George Harrison drafted in his friend Billy Preston to contribute keyboards. By the beginning of 1969, the 'fab four' were virtually sick of the sight of each other, after a decade together. Consequently, the recruitment of Preston was also an attempt to defuse the gathering tension of the 'Let It Be' recording sessions. The result was this marvellous rocker, in which the Beatles cast off all orchestral arrangements and get back to basics. The disharmony of that January was removed by the group's impromptu gig on top of the Apple building in central London at the end of the month. Traffic came to a standstill and work halted in nearby offices as John Lennon uttered the immortal line at the end of 'Get Back': "I'd like to thank you all on behalf of the group...and I hope we passed the audition." Sadly, Billy Preston's own troubled existence came to an end this day in 2006 at the age of fifty-nine.
{Also on this day, Senator Bobby Kennedy dies from gunshot wounds in 1968, aged 42}

JUNE 7TH
Purple Rain by Prince (1984)
from the album Purple Rain
Which tracks have been the greatest album finales? Obvious candidates would be 'Moonlight Mile' from 'Sticky Fingers', 'Caroline No' from 'Pet Sounds', and 'Many Rivers To Cross' from 'Labour Of Love', but I would be disappointed if 'Purple Rain' was not on the short list for such an accolade. The long player from which it hails was one of the very best musical offerings of the 1980s, containing such delights as 'Darling Nikki', 'The Beautiful Ones', and the smash hit 'When Doves Cry'. However, the superb proceedings are perhaps eclipsed by the concluding song, the title track. 'Purple Rain' is a sensitive recording that seems to go on and on, and yet this listener (and presumably many others besides) fervently hopes each time that the tune will linger a little longer. Rarely has the electric guitar and more conventional stringed instruments complemented each other so wonderfully. The artist (formerly known as) Prince was born this summer's day in 1958 as Prince Rogers Nelson. This tiny little man with the regal name was responsible for several huge hits, of which 'Purple Rain' is perhaps the colossus.
{Also on this date, in 1966 Ronald Reagan becomes the Governor of California}

JUNE 8TH
Too Shy by Kajagoogoo (1983)
from the album White Feathers
Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes was born on this date in 1962. Rhodes took time out from basking in the glory of his group's regular ascendancy in the charts to assist with the emergence of another pop outfit, Kajagoogoo. In the event, Rhodes would co-produce the chart-topping 'Too Shy'. Originally I never warmed to this hit single, but through the mists of time, I have come to appreciate this tune for what it is: a