It’s St. Patrick’s Day! Time to go all Kermit on you and name our Top 10 Green Songs.

The post Top 10 Green Songs appeared first on Fusion 45.

“I used to write all the words in that period,” said Mick Jagger is quoted as saying in Mick Jagger In His Own Words. “‘Angie’ is a kind of throwback to the ‘Back Street Girl’ and ‘Lady Jane’ ballads which we used to do.”

Adding the string arrangements of Nicky Harrison and the piano playing of Nicky Hopkins, “Angie” logged in at #75 for it’s first week on the pop chart in September ’73. It took just six weeks for the song to make it to the top, where it began a two week residency on October 20, 1973.

The post Number 1 With A Bullet: The Rolling Stones’ “Angie” appeared first on Fusion 45.

“My work is a combination of collage, airbrushing and painting,” artist Tadanori Yokoo is quoted as saying in Storm Thorgerson’s book 100 Best Album Covers. “I like collecting postcards, and on this cover for Miles Davis I used some that I had brought back from New York and Tahiti.”

“At the time I was into meditation and yoga,” Yokoo continued. “I listened to Miles Davis’ tape and thought about…The Hollow Earth. It is a legend about a land called Agharta, which exists in a huge cavern in the center of the earth.”

“I am a very good friend of Carlos Santana (for who Yokoo designed two covers) but with Miles Davis I never met him. I named the picture Agharta and he accepted that as the title of the album.”

The post Art Work: Miles Davis’ Agharta appeared first on Fusion 45.

Taking cues from her band, the Fugees, 23-year old Lauryn Hill bust onto the music scene as a solo artist with the release of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1998.

The centerpiece of the record is “Doo Wop (That Thing),” a cut that exemplified the album’s genre-spanning mix of gospel-like choirs, rapped verses and classic R&B horn licks. It was the first single from the set and topped the charts in both the US and the UK.

Five Grammys went to Hill for this 16-song set, including two for the aforementioned “Doo Wop (That Thing)” plus nods for Album of the Year and Best R&B album.

Released in August 1988 by Ruffhouse, Miseducation has sold more than 8 million copies.

The post Best Sellers From The 90′s: Lauryn Hill’s “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” appeared first on Fusion 45.

“The Grateful Dead hired Rick based on his reputation for his concert posters (which he created for the Avalon Ballroom and the Fillmore West),” said his widow, Ida, in 100 Best Album Covers. “They told him he could design anything he visualized and was given total artistic freedom. The guys in the band would OK the final artwork, but basically they just loved his style.”

For Aoxomoxoa, Griffin shot for a design that was “tribal,” evoking a surfer’s paradise with the blue sky, circling a skull and crossbones with the sun and a garden, injecting his love of the water in the album’s fluid lettering.

The post Art Work: The Grateful Dead’s “Aoxomoxoa” appeared first on Fusion 45.

10. The J. Geils Band – “Love Stinks”

I was 18 at the time. Love did stink.

9. John Lennon – “(Just Like) Starting Over”

Sadly, it was just coming to an end.

8. The Pretenders – “Brass in Pocket”

I still don’t know what the lyrics are to this tune. And don’t want to spoil it by learning.

7. Bob Seger – “Against the Wind”

A lot of people slag on this album as being pretty weak but I never thought so.

6. The Vapors – “Turning Japanese”

Writer David Fenton said “‘Turning Japanese’ is all the clichés about angst and youth and turning into something you didn’t expect to.” I thought it was about girls.

The post Top Rock Hits of 1980 appeared first on Fusion 45.

Nicolette Larson – Nicolette (Warner Bros., 1979)

By the time Nicolette Larson had entered the studio to record her debut album, she had lent her angelic voice to project ranging from Neil Young‘s Comes a Time to Emmylou Harris‘ Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town to the Doobie Brothers‘ Minute by Minute.

For Nicolette, she chose the Doobs producer, Ted Templeman, a stable of  famed musicians (including Linda Ronstadt as well as members of the Doobie Brothers and Little Feat) and two dozen songs that covered rock, pop and country.

Of those tunes, eleven made the cut. Among the highlights were Lauren Wood‘s “Can’t Get Away From You,” Glen Frey and J.D. Souther‘s “Last in Love” and, of course, her #8 cover of Neil Young’s “Lotta Love.”

Nicolette was eleased in November ’78 and took just three months to sell a million copies and win a gold record.

The post Going For The Gold: Nicolette Larson appeared first on Fusion 45.

When I introduced LeVar Thomas a few weeks ago, I compared this South Carolina singer’s music to the Chi-Lites and Boyz II Men. For his encore, LeVar’s feeling his inner Stevie Wonder.

It’s the opening notes — the two-part harmony over a simple Fender Rhodes chord progression — that makes me think of Stevie when I listen to “Missing You.”

The harmonies become more complex, the string parts begin to weave in and out and we’re feeling all full of Philly soul, like Gamble and Huff are back at the desk working their magic.

Along with my girl Ayah and Boyz II Men kick we dropped yesterday, I’m putting together a little “midnight magic” mix tape. All I need is a little wine, a medium size fire and a big desire for a little one-on-one time.

Originally written for MP3.com.

Buy LeVar Thomas’ music on iTunes.

Levar Thomas – Missing You

The post Free MP3: LeVar Thomas’ “Missing You” appeared first on Fusion 45.

Sounds like we’re headed back to the 90′s with this one. Look at the video for “It Starts And Ends With You,” download the new single, “Barriers,” and pre-order from Amazon.

Suede – Barriers (From Bloodsport, Out March 19)

Related articles

• Suede Announce Bloodsports Tracklist, Artwork

The post Free MP3: Suede’s “Barriers” appeared first on Fusion 45.

Say what you want about the Bee Gees and their falsettos and their disco success. They were among the ’60s and ’70s most adept songwriters, authors of more than their share of classics. Here are the Three Best Bee Gees Songs from the ’60s.

3. “Words”

Like “To Love Somebody,” this song was written at the request of Robert Stigwood for another artist: Cliff Richard. When Richard took too long to get it done, the band recorded and released it in October 1967.

A simple tune sung by Barry, it’s a magnificent ballad that blends the emotive style of the ’50s tearjerker with the sparse arrangement of ’60s folk (like Cliff Richard singing a Donovan song).

2. “Massachusetts”

Throughout their careers, the Bee Gees proved themselves masters of the medium-tempo ballad.

An eventual #1 in the UK (and the second song played with the launch of BBC Radio 1), “Massachusetts” blends the orchestral intensity of “To Love Somebody” with the simple lyricism of “Words.” It is, indeed, one of the most beautiful pop ballads of the ’60s.

1. “To Love Somebody”

The reason this is such a soulful tune is that it was written for Otis Redding on the request of the Bee Gees manager, Robert Stigwood. Redding before it would be recorded so we’ll never know what it would’ve sounded like in his hands.

In the hands of Barry, Maurice and Robin, the song they recorded at IBC studios in March 1967 became a tender ballad of longing, an iconic pop standard and an example of ’60s pop orchestration at its best.

The post Three Best Bee Gees Songs From The 60′s appeared first on Fusion 45.

Enough Spandex to clothe a small country.

9. Diana Ross – “Upside Down”

Diana gets her [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Chic[/lastfm] on.

8. The Whispers – “Lady”

One of the best soul ballads of the early ’80s, bar none.

7. Ray, Goodman and Brown – “Special Lady”

In the style of the great standup soul groups…play these two back to back…

6. Jimmy Ruffin – “Hold On to My Love”

Jimmy Ruffin puts some classic Motown groove on the pops

The post Top 10 Rhythm And Blues Hits of 1980 appeared first on Fusion 45.

John Whitehead was one half of the duo of McFadden and Whitehead, childhood friends whose time together dated back to the 60s when they toured with Otis Redding.

After Redding died, McFadden and Whitehead went to work with James Knight under the name Talk of The Town. When no one talked about Talk of the Town, the pair’s music career looked to be over.

Then, one night while sitting at a kitchen table, the songwriters came up with “Back Stabbers,” one of the biggest selling records of all time for the O’Jays. McFadden and Whitehad-penned hits for Melba Moore and Teddy Pendergrass followed before the duo released their first album in 1979.

Within months, “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” had climbed to the top of the charts, landing at #12 on the pop roster, #1 on the R&B charts and selling 8 million copies.

Rhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY0tsKCB4lc

The post One Hit Wonders: McFadden And Whitehead appeared first on Fusion 45.