Thursday, March 24, 2022

Music History Today: March 24, 2022

March 24, 1972: The Godfather movie opened in theaters. 
Nino Rota once said, about his work as a composer, “They reckon my music’s just a bit of nostalgia plus lots of good humor and optimism? Well, that’s exactly how I’d like to be remembered.”

The Godfather movie poster
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It is ironic, then, that his best-known work is the score to The Godfather—a film that, on the surface, offers violence and loss rather than “good humor and optimism.” Yet Rota’s Godfather score draws out aspects of the film that lie beneath the surface— its dark humor and its nostalgia —and helps give the film’s nostalgia its emotional pull and complexity. 
March 24, 1978: Steely Dan released the single "Deacon Blues."
"Deacon Blues," written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, was recorded by their group Steely Dan on their 1977 album Aja. Donald Fagen said of the song's opening lines and theme:

Steely Dan Aja desktop wallpaper

The concept of the "expanding man" that opens the song may have been inspired by Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man. Walter and I were major sci-fi fans. The guy in the song imagines himself ascending to the levels of evolution, "expanding" his mind, his spiritual possibilities, and his options in life. 
Read more: Wikipedia

 

March 24, 1979: Linda Clifford entered the Billboard single's chart, at Number 77,  with a disco cover of "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
Brooklyn vocalist Linda Clifford parlayed a jazz background, booming voice, and sassy manner into disco and R&B/urban contemporary stardom in the '70s and '80s. Clifford got her first hit in 1978 with "Runaway Love," a song that peaked at number three on the R&B charts. The highly stylized "If My Friends Could See Me Now" was a club favorite that same year. 
Read more: Allmusic

 

March 24, 1984: Christine McVie's "Got a Hold on Me" peaked at Number 10 on the US music chart.
By the mid-1980s, Christine McVie was ready to just take it easy. Fleetwood Mac's most recent album, Mirage (1982) was chart-topping smash, followed by an equally successful tour.

Christine McVie's "Got a Hold on Me" single cover

In the time leading up to its follow-up, Tango in the Night (1987), McVie corralled a few friends and crafted her second solo album. McVie debuted the album's lead single, "Got a Hold on Me," in January 1984. 
Read more: RHINO

March 24, 2007: "Candyman" by Christina Aguilera moved from Number 47 to 21 on the American Top 40 chart. 
This Andrews Sisters pastiche was the third single to be released from American singer Christina Aguilera's third studio album, Back to Basics.

Christina Aguilera "Candyman"
Christina Aguilera

The song was written by Aguilera and her frequent collaborator Linda Perry (she penned Aguilera's international hit "Beautiful"). They said the song was inspired by The Andrews Sisters' 1941 hit "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." 
Read more: Songfacts

The Godfather Theme Song

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