Music History Today: May 7, 2020

May 7, 1970: "Long & Winding Road" became The Beatles' last American release. 

If ever there was a song which summed up the fraught nature of The Beatles’ final months, it was ‘The Long And Winding Road.' 

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The song started out as a simple McCartney ballad, written in Scotland in 1968 at a time in which the cracks in The Beatles’ relationships were become ever deeper. 

Read more: McCartney Times

May 7, 1966: The Mamas & The Papas started a three-week run at Number 1 on the US singles chart with "Monday Monday." 

The Mamas And The Papas were a sort of merger of two folk groups, the New Journeymen and the Mugwumps. Phillips had to be convinced to include Mama Cass Elliot in the group. He thought that she wasn’t pretty enough and that she’d hinder their commercial chances; his band-mates and producer outvoted him. 

Read more: Stereogum

May 7, 1966: Simon And Garfunkel's "I Am a Rock" entered Billboard's Hot 100. 

This song was not included on Simon & Garfunkel's first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., which they released on October 19, 1964. The folk-rock nature of the music makes it unlikely that Simon would have written it much earlier than 1964, when he first began experimenting with the folk genre. 

Read more: Music Wiki

May 7, 1973: George Harrison released "Give Me Love," which will become his second Number 1 single in the US.  

Three years after breaking up, the Beatles were still quite capable of reaching the top of the best-selling singles charts. Only problem was, sometimes they had to climb over each other to get there. Before their official dissolution in April of 1970, each of the band members had already released at least one solo effort.

Read more:Ultimate Classic Rock

May 5, 1983: Spandau Ballet was Number 1 on the UK singles chart with "True." 

 "True" is a song by the English band Spandau Ballet. It was released on 14 April 1983 as the third single from their third studio album of the same name. The song was written by band member Gary Kemp. The song was a huge worldwide hit, peaking at number one in the UK Singles Chart on 30 April 1983 for four weeks.  

Read more: Fandom

The Long And Winding Road
Beatles