Songs You May Have Missed #799

17 Oct 2025 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

The Browns: “Big Daddy” (1968)

Almost a decade after country folk trio The Browns charted top 20 with sentiment-saturated fare such as “The Three Bells”, “Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair)” and “The Old Lamplighter”, they served up a change of pace with this John D. Loudermilk novelty tune.

Jim Ed Brown, who’d usually handled lead vocals, deferred to his sisters Maxine and Bonnie on this one. The session was sprinkled with country music royalty.

A guy named Chet Atkins played guitar. Floyd Cramer was at the piano. And none other than Ray Stevens played the trumpet that upped the fun quotient.

Unfortunately, RCA Records sat on the tape for 18 months and by the time they released this single The Browns had already disbanded.

To my ears it’s one of the most infectious ditties ever to miss the pop charts.

Photo: Frank Empson / The Tennessean

Songs You May Have Missed #798

15 Oct 2025 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

Röckët Stähr: “Sick” (2024)

The singer/songwriter/guitarist/pianist/bassist who calls himself Röckët Stähr has made it his mission to revive the “spit and fire” of classic rock and roll.

His Death of a Rockstar was an animated rock opera and accompanying 26-song soundtrack which took him 13 years animate, write and record.

From his self-titled follow-up album comes perhaps his most engaging song, “Sick”, on which the made-up and mottled spiritual descendent of glam spits lyrical fire indeed.

For a fuller picture we include a bonus track in the form of the animated video for “Bring Back That Rock N Roll”, wherein Mr. Stähr issues his musical mission statement while regurgitating ELO, Queen, Bowie, Mott the Hoople, etc.

It’s a potent reminder that larger-than-life personas, over-the-top theatrics and grand, absurd ambition have been mostly absent from rock since the shoegazers stole the show–literally.

Songs You May Have Missed #797

11 Oct 2025 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

Secret Garden: “Song from a Secret Garden” (1996)

The Irish/Norwegian duo Secret Garden wrote and performed Norway’s winning entry “Nocturne” at the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest.

But to my ears “Song from a Secret Garden” is their debut album’s highlight. The song has been featured in Korean and Italian drama and sounds like something that could have accentuated the most heart-tugging part of a Studio Ghibli film.

Beautifully orchestrated but with restraint; evoking nostalgia without being cloying. This is simply a gorgeous piece of music.

Songs You May Have Missed #796

09 Oct 2025 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

BØRNS: “Faded Heart” (2018)

From the Michigan native’s second LP Blue Madonna, on which he displays the same glammy, glittery and slightly psychedelic proclivities that made his debut Dopamine smack listeners upside the pleasure centers.

On Blue Madonna BØRNS evokes vintage artists like Elton John, Electric Light Orchestra, T. Rex and the Beatles but also more contemporary synth-pop acts such as MGMT and Tame Impala.

“Faded Heart” is all processed falsetto vocals, driving beat and synth buzz–a powerful neurotransmitter of a pop song indeed.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2020/09/25/songs-you-may-have-missed-669/

Songs You May Have Missed #795

28 Sep 2025 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: , ,

Greeicy featuring Mike Bahia: “Amantes” (2017)

Colombian actress/singer Greeicy Yeliana Rendón Ceballos transitioned from TV acting to a career as a singer in 2017. The duet “Amantes” (“Lovers”) was her second single release and first time hitting the charts (#3 in Colombia and #1 in Mexico).

She’d later go on to multi-platinum success and Grammy nominations.

Songs You May Have Missed #794

16 Sep 2025 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags:

Middle Brother: “Middle Brother” (2011)

Super group? Nah. Middle Brother, the side project comprised of the lead singers of Dawes, Deer Tick, and Delta Spirit (Taylor Goldsmith, John McCauley, and Matthew Vasquez respectively) feels more like a rollicking bit of fun, with no lofty ambitions beyond mutual musical commiseration over female troubles.

“Middle Brother”–the song, the album and indeed the band–present an irreverent brand of alt-country folk with a skewed sense of humor, and it makes this listener wish these guys had followed up one of the best Americana albums of the last decade or two.

Middle Brother bring to mind another similar collective, Tripwires, whose work can be found elsewhere on this blog.

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