Saturday, February 25, 2023

Music History Today: February 26, 2023

February 26, 1983: Dexys Midnight Runners entered the top 40 section of Billboard, heading to Number 1, with "Come On Eileen."
"Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners is based on a true story. Eileen was a girl that the songwriter Kevin Rowland grew up with.

Dexys Midnight Runners Come On Eileen
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Their relationship became romantic when the pair were 13, and according to Rowland, it turned sexual a year or two later. He was raised Catholic and served as an altar boy. Sex was a taboo subject and considered "dirty." 
Read more: Songfacts

February 26, 1932: Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas.

Johnny Cash grew up in a poor farming community and joined the Air Force in 1950. Following his discharge, Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two scored hits with songs like "Walk the Line."
Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
Cash's career was nearly derailed in the 1960s by a serious substance-abuse problem, but his marriage to June Carter and acclaimed album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison (1968) put him back on track. In later years, Cash joined the country supergroup the Highwaymen and released a series of recordings with producer Rick Rubin. 
Read more: Biography

February 26, 1961: The Miracles featuring Smokey Robinson peaked at Number 2 on Billboard with "Shop Around." 
The Miracles' "Shop Around" was the first million-seller for Motown Records and the label's first Top 10 single in the US. Robinson wrote the song for another Motown artist, Barrett Strong, but Motown leader Berry Gordy convinced him to record it with his group, The Miracles. 
Read more: Songfacts

February 26, 1972: America was moving fast on Billboard, from Number 84 to 47, with "A Horse with No Name."
America was formed in England by the sons of US servicemen stationed there. Lead singer Dewey Bunnell wrote the Number 1 hit when he was 19. It was initially titled "Desert Song," based on the desert scenery he encountered when his dad was stationed at an Air Force base in Santa Barbara County, California. The song tells a tale about a trip through the desert. 
Read more: Songfacts

February 26, 2000: Marc Anthony entered the US music chart with "You Sang to Me." 
Marc Anthony recorded an English and a Spanish version of "You Sang to Me."


The English version climbed to Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also spent seven weeks atop the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. According to Anthony, he wrote this song for his then-friend Jennifer Lopez, whom he married soon after. 
Read more: Wikipedia

 

Come On Eileen
Dexys Midnight Runners

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