Category: Seasons and Moods

October Songs

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Songs that mention October don’t necessarily have the month in the title. Like the clip above “Peaceful Waters” by Gordon Lightfoot. I think the song is something of an antithesis to “The Summer Side of Life” as it is a metaphor for the end of life.

The dead leaves of autumn
That cling so desperately
Must fly before the cold October winds
Their simple lives have ended
Must they be born to die again

As we near the end of the month we can have some fun with Halloween Songs and other festivities. If that’s your thing you should check out blackwings666.

For more of the generic type of songs of October there are a couple I think of, but when I did a search there were several that came up that I did not know. For example, “October Nights” by Yellowcard which is actually a pretty good song if you are into alt-rock. “October Snow” by Hayd, hope we don’t get any of that!

A couple songs I had forgotten about like “October Country” by October Country (that may be the reason I forgot), and “This October” by Julie London.

The three songs I wanted to post were “October Song” by Amy Winehouse and “October Winds” by Béla Fleck, and “Moondance” by Van Morrison, three very different songs.

Ava Gardner was the name of Amy Winehouse’s pet canary that died one October. So “October Song” does not have much to do with the month but hey, I can’t control the songs that pop into my head!

I know why this next song popped into my brain as I referenced a cover by New Grass Revival recently and one of the Banjo players was Béla Fleck. Here is a solo effort from his album Natural Bridge (1982).

This next song by Van Morrison is the one the got me hooked on the singer. It came to prominence seven years after it appeared on his album of the same name when it was finally released as a single in 1977. Remarkably it only reached #91 on the Hot 100, yet it’s one of his most well known songs. So what does it have to do with October?

Well, it’s a marvelous night for a moondance

With the stars up above in your eyes

A fantabulous night to make romance

‘Neath the cover of October skies

Under the Summer Covers VIII(1981)

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1981

In 1981 “Jesse’s Girl” was the #1 Song of Summer from Billboard. This is one great tune written by Rick Springfield. “Jessie’s Girl” oddly I think only reached #6 in Canada and #43 in the UK. He would chart six more songs in the Top 40 (Hot 100) but this would be his only #1 in the US. It sold well over 2 million copies. He is from Australia where ten years earlier he charted his first hit top ten “Speak to the Sky” peaking at #6, it also charted #14 in the US and #8 in Canada.

Once again not much to choose from for covers. Here is the one from the TV show Glee.

Also on the list that summer is another great heartbreaker of a Pop Rock song is “Queen of Hearts”. This time it’s the cover that makes the charts at #2 on Adult Contemporary and was a Top 40 hit worldwide.

It was written by Hank DeVito for Dave Edmunds and it appeared on his 1979 album Repeat When Necessary, which is quite often I must say. DeVito is one talented guy, apart from being an acclaimed photographer and writing songs he is a highly sought after Pedal Steel Guitar player who was at that time a member of Emmy Lou Harris’s The Hot Band. The song by Dave Edmunds was only released in the UK and peaked on the chart at #11. Hard to say how it many have done if the record company had agreed to a single in the US/Canada market but if you give it a listen, Edmunds did a great job on the song.

After she appeared as a session musician on an album for Rodney Crowell (also a Hot Band member), DeVito offered the song to Newton and things worked out nicely for the both of them I would say. The record was a million seller. It was on the album Juice which included her cover of “Angel of the Morning” that hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts in Canada and the US as did a third single from the album “The Sweetest Thing (I’ve Ever Known)” that also hit #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

From Billboard.com the 1981 Songs of Summer list

1, JESSIE’S GIRL, Rick Springfield
2, BETTE DAVIS EYES, Kim Carnes
3, ENDLESS LOVE, Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
4, THEME FROM “GREATEST AMERICAN HERO” (BELIEVE IT OR NOT), Joey Scarbury
5, SLOW HAND, The Pointer Sisters
6, THE ONE THAT YOU LOVE, Air Supply
7, I DON’T NEED YOU, Kenny Rogers
8, ELVIRA, The Oak Ridge Boys
9, QUEEN OF HEARTS, Juice Newton
10, ALL THOSE YEARS AGO, George Harrison

Under the Summer Covers VII(1980)

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1980

As we start off the 80’s there is a Rock song on top of the Songs of Summer chart. I could not have chosen a better one myself with Billy Joel and “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me”.

Joel has had 79 of his original songs covered, “Just the Way You Are” has the most versions at 311. But in in keeping with my top Songs of Summer are not particularity well covered observation, “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” is his eighteenth most covered song with 22 versions.

If you have been checking out some of my previous posts you know I am a bit of a Corb Lund fan, but this is perhaps not one of the best tracks from a great album of covers he released in 2019 called Cover Your Tracks. When you listen, remember he is a Country singer and it’s still one of the better cover versions of this song that I have heard. What a great sell job I did there, no?

At #7 on the list for 1980 we have The Rolling Stones “Emotional Rescue” that hit #3 on The Hot 100. This would be the last of five appearances by The Rolling Stones on these lists, not surprisingly more than any Rock band. They first showed up in 1965 at #1 with “I Can’ Get No Satisfaction”, then again in 1968, 1969 and 1978. I will give more summer song numbers when I end the series in September.

There are only 12 documented versions of the song, which I would imagine is very difficult to cover. However I think this 2016 effort by Yo La Tengo takes a good stab at it.

From Billboard.com the 1980 Songs of Summer list.

1, IT’S STILL ROCK AND ROLL TO ME, Billy Joel
2, MAGIC, Olivia Newton-John
3, COMING UP (LIVE AT GLASGOW), Paul McCartney And Wings
4, LITTLE JEANNIE, Elton John
5, SAILING, Christopher Cross
6, TAKE YOUR TIME (DO IT RIGHT) PART 1, The S.O.S. Band
7, EMOTIONAL RESCUE, The Rolling Stones
8, CUPID/I’VE LOVED YOU FOR A LONG TIME, The Spinners
9, THE ROSE, Bette Midler
10, UPSIDE DOWN, Diana Ross

Under the Summer Covers VI(1979)

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1979

We close out the 1970’s Song of Summer list with 1979 and not surprisingly there were seven Disco songs in the top 10. This would be the genre’s last hurrah.

Donna Summer continued her torrid pace of #1 hits on the Dance Charts and these two songs were also #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The number one Song of Summer was “Bad Girls” and at number four was “Hot Stuff”.

“Hot Stuff” is the most covered of Donna’s original songs with 84 versions. “Bad Girls” has 20 versions. Not surprisingly no one could match Donna, in particular if they attempted a cover in the Disco style. Of the mostly mediocre covers that I listened to from Country to Jazz styles there were not any I really liked but hey I’m no “Disco Duck”.

From the 2017 musical, Summer – The Donna Summer Musical here is Ariana DeBose.

From Billboard.com here is the list of the Songs of Summer for 1979

1, BAD GIRLS, Donna Summer
2, RING MY BELL, Anita Ward
3, GOOD TIMES, Chic
4, HOT STUFF, Donna Summer
5, MY SHARONA, The Knack
6, THE MAIN EVENT/FIGHT, Barbra Streisand
7, MAKIN’ IT, David Naughton
8, AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE, Earth, Wind & Fire
9, BOOGIE WONDERLAND, Earth, Wind & Fire With The Emotions
10, GOLD, John Stewart

References: 1

Under the Summer Covers V(1977/78)

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The Song of Summer belonged to the Gibb Family in 1971 if you recall, now they are back again in 1977 and 78. In those two years Andy Gibb would have three #1’s on the Billboard Hot 100 and two songs in the top 10. The two I am posting today were the #1 Song of Summer from Billboard.

Released in the Spring of 1977 “I Just Want to Be Your Everything” was written by Barry Gibb who also provided backing vocals on the recording. I just found out that Joe Walsh was on lead guitar.

“Shadow Dancing” would be Andy Gibb’s third #1 single and it was the Billboard choice for Song of the Summer in 1978. It was written by all four brothers, Barry, Robin & Maurice and Andy Gibb. The song would spend seven weeks at #1. The brilliant Albhy Galuten was back for this one also, he provided the Orchestration, synthesizer and served as a Co-Producer.

In keeping with my theory that Songs of Summer are not well covered there are only 17 versions of “I Just Want to Be Your Everything”. There are 18 versions of “Shadow Dancing”.

This cover of “Shadow Dancing” is by a group from Ghana and released in 1979.

“I Just Want to Be Your Everything” was covered by Country Singer Connie Smith in 1978.

From Billboard.com here is the list for 1977.

1, I JUST WANT TO BE YOUR EVERYTHING, Andy Gibb
2, BEST OF MY LOVE, The Emotions
3, (YOUR LOVE HAS LIFTED ME) HIGHER AND HIGHER, Rita Coolidge
4, DA DOO RON RON, Shaun Cassidy
5, I’M IN YOU, Peter Frampton
6, UNDERCOVER ANGEL, Alan O’Day
7, LOOKS LIKE WE MADE IT, Barry Manilow
8, EASY, Commodores
9, MY HEART BELONGS TO ME, Barbra Streisand
10, DO YOU WANNA MAKE LOVE, Peter Mccann

1978

1, SHADOW DANCING, Andy Gibb
2, THREE TIMES A LADY, Commodores
3, GREASE, Frankie Valli
4, MISS YOU, The Rolling Stones
5, BAKER STREET, Gerry Rafferty
6, BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE, A Taste Of Honey
7, LAST DANCE, Donna Summer
8, HOT BLOODED, Foreigner
9, USE TA BE MY GIRL, The O’Jays
10, STILL THE SAME, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band