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

this day, 73 million viewers watch the Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964}

FEBRUARY 10TH
Killing Me Softly With His Song by Roberta Flack (1973)
from the album Killing Me Softly
This release became the second of three American chart-toppers in the early 'seventies for Roberta Flack, spending no fewer than five weeks at the top of the Billboard listing. 'Killing Me Softly With His Song' has stood the test of time as one of the great romantic recordings. Unfortunately for Roberta Flack, who was born on this date in 1937 in North Carolina, her once prolific solo singing career did not prove quite as durable as classics such as this would have suggested.
{Also on this date, Garry Kasparov loses a game of chess to the computer 'Deep Blue' in 1996}

FEBRUARY 11TH
Kissing With Confidence by Will Powers (1983)
from the album Dancing For Mental Health
American songbird Carly Simon provided the vocals to this most unusual of hit records. Drawn from a self-help album by 'Will Powers', offering a series of life-skills coaching advice 'songs'. This track (co-written by Steve Winwood) tackled the potentially awkward and embarrassing moment of approaching the man/woman of your dreams. 'Kissing With Confidence' was definitely one of Island Records' more peculiar, yet extremely listenable hit singles. Today represents the date of birth in 1948 of Will Powers' creator, Lynn Goldsmith. Carly Simon of course had previously enjoyed a high profile, courtesy of the smash 'You're So Vain' and the excellent 'Nobody Does It Better'.
{Also on this day, Nelson Mandela walks out of captivity in 1990, after 27 years behind bars}

FEBRUARY 12TH
Falling On A Bruise by Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine (1991)
from the album 30 Something
This is the date of Leslie 'Fruitbat' Carter's second, unofficial birthday. In the company of Jimbob Morrison, Carter was responsible for several of the very best and sorely under-rated recordings by British musicians in the early 1990s. Tracks such as 'Glam Rock Cops', the Top Ten hit 'The Only Living Boy In New Cross', 'Bloodsport For All' and 'The Only Looney Left In Town' are but a handful of songs from a repertoire that demands urgent investigation. Prince among the Carter USM's quirky legacy is the supremely powerful 'Falling On A Bruise' from their '30 Something' long player. The story of a single-parent's struggle for survival, complemented by a sound not far removed from the Pet Shop Boys in their melodramatic pomp, this is one obscure classic that should be unearthed today.....now!
{Also on this date, in 1999 President Clinton is acquitted in his impeachment trial}

FEBRUARY 13TH
Elegia by New Order (1985)
from the album Low-Life
Today is the date of birth in 1956 of the Joy Division and New Order bassist Peter Hook, the ex-husband of comedienne Caroline Aherne (aka Mrs Merton). Today's choice is the opening track from Side Two of the 'Low-Life' album. Benefiting from the guitar of Bernard Sumner and the keyboards of Gillian Gilbert, 'Elegia' is a moody, melancholic piece that deserves to be ranked as one of the ten best instrumentals of all time. It is arguably the best recording on a long player that also includes such superb tunes as 'Love Vigilantes' and 'The Perfect Kiss'.
{Also on this day, France tests its first atomic bomb in 1960}

FEBRUARY 14TH
Justify My Love by Madonna (1990)
from the album The Immaculate Collection
Well, it is Saint Valentine's Day. There are a plethora of romantic songs that could be selected for today, but instead of electing a soft, syrupy tune for lovers, I think that the most inspiring love anthem has to be Madonna's 'Justify My Love'. Ably assisted by a controversial promotional video, our Madge produces a near-orgasmic vocal performance. Without any doubt, this single, included on the 'Immaculate Collection' album, is one of the most immaculate releases of the 'nineties.
{Also on this date, Iran issues a fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989}

FEBRUARY 15TH
Breakfast In Bed by UB40 (1988)
from the album UB40
On the anniversary of the birth of UB40 lead vocalist Ali Campbell, today's tune is their Top Ten cover version from the group's self-titled album. In my semi-humble opinion, this cover is at least on a par with any of the recordings from the 'Labour Of Love' project. It is a much better single than the group's previous collaboration with Chrissie Hynde which yielded the chart-topper 'I Got You Babe'. Of course, the singing duet of Campbell and the Pretenders' chanteuse were indeed enjoying breakfast in bed, as they mixed business with pleasure. UB40 also have Chrissie Hynde to thank for the fact that it was The Pretenders who invited the Brummies to be support acts on a nationwide tour almost a decade earlier. While The Pretenders stumbled on with necessary line-up changes, the original eight-piece UB40 outfit still remained intact a decade later. Also worth listening to from the same 1988 album is the less successful chart single 'Where Did I Go Wrong?'
{Also on this day, the funeral of King George VI takes place in 1952}

FEBRUARY 16TH
The Great Gig In The Sky by Pink Floyd (1973)
from the album The Dark Side Of The Moon
The closing piece from Side One of 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' is a truly stunning composition from keyboardist Rick Wright. The song's roots are traced back to the Floyd's involvement in a film soundtrack, but this piano-led track with the working title of 'Religion' was put in cold storage and then brought out into the public domain for Pink Floyd's monumental album. The opening piano notes are played against a background of Abbey Road caretaker Gerry O'Driscoll musing about the subject of death: "Why should I be afraid of dying? There's no reason for it. You've got to go some time." However, the song goes into orbit with a remarkable vocal contribution from Clare Torry. Her orgasm impersonation-cum backing vocal was a result of the group giving her carte blanche to stand in front of the microphone and make some kind of singing noise. Torry then sheepishly returned to the studio booth and promptly apologised for her efforts. She need not have worried, for the band (who were by no means easily pleased) were delighted with her vocals, although they were less than happy when she belatedly claimed song-writing royalties for her contribution. Today represents the birthday of another Floyd female collaborator on 'Dark Side', Doris Troy, who like Clare Torry, delivered backing vocals on the seminal album.
{Also on this date, Fidel Castro is officially announced as Cuba's new Premier in 1959}

FEBRUARY 17TH
Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart by Marc Almond and Gene Pitney (1989)
from the album The Stars We Are
Drawn from different sides of the Atlantic Ocean as well as from different eras in popular music, Marc Almond and Gene Pitney must have represented the most unlikely singing duo since none other than David Bowie and Bing Crosby inflicted 'Little Drummer Boy' on the world a decade earlier. Even more peculiar was the fact that Gene Pitney was actually taking the odd step of recording a cover version of his previous hit! This impressive single became Marc Almond's first chart-topper in Britain since Soft Cell's 'Tainted Love' reached the summit in the late summer of 1981. Today is the date of birth of Gene Pitney, born in 1940.
{Also on this day, over 300 people are killed by a storm in Hamburg in 1962}

FEBRUARY 18TH
Let's Stay Together by AL Green (1972)
from the album Let's Stay Together
John Travolta was born on this day in 1954. I cannot quite bring myself to select one of his songs for today, but the tune for this day hails from arguably Travolta's finest film, 'Pulp Fiction'. I must admit to a sense of foreboding as I prepared to watch this Quentin Tarantino flick, which I knew would be peppered with swear words. I resolved to sit in the cinema and count the number of uttered profanities. Suffice to say that I had set myself an arduous task. The final figure was well in excess of two hundred. Nevertheless, the movie was outstanding, courtesy of being cleverly written and including the excellent Harvey Keitel amongst the cast. Above all, 'Pulp Fiction' benefited from a fine soundtrack, with Al Green's 'Let's Stay Together' being the pick of a good bunch. Assisted by a superb horns section, this American Number One smash hit remains one of the greatest soul classics from the early 1970s.
{Also on this date, snow falls for the first and only time in the Sahara Desert in 1979}

FEBRUARY 19TH
The Limits We Set by The Beat (1981)
from the album Wha'ppen?
The Beat only ever recorded three studio albums. Although the first effort, 'I Just Can't Stop It', was the biggest seller and the most highly acclaimed, I have a preference for its successor, 'Wha'ppen?', which also reached the Top Three in the album charts, a year later in 1981. I have a particular liking for Side Two of this album which was a cocktail of calypso and reggae, performed against a backdrop of social comment and sardonic lyrics from a multi-racial group only too acutely aware of the upheaval arising from the Thatcher revolution. On this, the birthday of the likeable vocalist and guitarist Dave Wakeling, why not have a listen to the album's closing track, 'The Limits We Set', a song about the consequences of shoplifting and taking on the system.
{Also on this day, the Mir space station is launched by the Soviet Union in 1986}

FEBRUARY 20TH
Standing Here by The Stone Roses (1989)
available on the album The Complete Stone Roses
Ian Brown, the lead vocalist of iconic Madchester combo The Stone Roses, was born on this day in 1963, the year of Beatlemania. 25 years later, The Stone Roses were re-writing pop history with an assortment of tunes