Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Music History Today: March 16, 2022

March 16, 1996: Alanis Morissette entered Billboard's Hot 100 almost in the Top 10, at Number 11, with "Ironic."

Alanis Morissette was never particularly attached to “Ironic,” which largely stood apart from the autobiographical narrative of the Jagged Little Pill album.

Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette

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 “I didn’t even want it on the record,” she explains. “And I remember a lot of people going, ‘Please please, please.’ So I said, OK. That was one of the first songs we wrote, almost like a demo to get our whistles wet. 

Read more: Rolling Stones

March 16, 1968: Gary Puckett & The Union Gap made a big move with "Young Girl," from Number 52 to 24 in the American Top 40 chart.

Gary Puckett & the Union Gap's best known song Young Girl is about a man who realizes the woman he is talking to is too young for him to be interacting with.

Gary Puckett & the Union Gap
Gary Puckett & the Union Gap

Some people have said the song sounds “creepy” in the age of #metoo but Puckett said he’s never thought of the song that way. 
Read more: Out in Perth

March 16, 1974: Harry Chapin had an American Top 40 hit when "WOLD" reached Number 40.

In an inspired move, Harry Chapin wrote the central character of W.OL.L.D. as a radio DJ travelling from town to town and station to station trying to find both himself and a career, without ever quite finding either.

Harry Chapin
Harry Chapin

Naturally radio DJs, all of whom could identify with the experiences Harry Chapin sung about, clamored to play it. Although only a minor hit in the UK, the radio airplay in the US for “W.O.L.D.” far out-paced its chart performance. 
Read more: No Word Song

March 16, 1985: "Don't Come Around Here No More" by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers entered Billboard's Hot 100 chart at Number 64. 

In 1984, Stevie Nicks and her producer Jimmy Iovine asked the Heartbreakers leader if he could recommend any songwriters for their next project.

Tom Petty as the Mad Hatter
Tom Petty

Petty had been impressed by “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by the Eurythmics, and suggested its writer and performer, Dave Stewart. Petty thought nothing more about it until he received a call from Stewart, asking him to join them in a studio. 
Read more: Ultimate Classic Rock

March 16, 1991: "All This Time" by Sting reached Number 5 in the USA.

"All This Time"  album by Sting

It might seem that Sept. 11, 2001 was the worst possible evening Sting could have picked to record a live album in front of a small crowd in Tuscany. But judging by All This Time, it may have been the best possible evening. 
Read more: Classic Album Review

Alanis Morissette
Ironic

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