"There's a time in life for Hoagy Carmichael. There's a time in life for Claude Debussy. There's a time in life for Jerry Lee Lewis. There's a time in life for Destiny's Child. All these things have their moment." ~Elvis Costello
For fans of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Chicago who are too young to remember what a true Rock band they once were, and what a major role original lead guitarist Terry Kath played, here’s the full Tanglewood concert from 1970.
The band’s mix of jazz and rock styles was truly innovative, and Kath’s guitar work astonishing.
Every era of music has its standards; undeniable, indispensable, and ultimately inescapable cultural markers that live down the generations.
I don’t have to remind you that “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Hotel California” and “Sweet Caroline” are as much a part of the 2020’s as they were part of the 70’s. You already know it, and so do your children–and maybe their children.
As much as classics like these deserve all the love and longevity, it’s not the thrust of this particular blog to celebrate the ubiquitous. In fact, mostly the focus here is to redirect the spotlight to the deserving but relatively overlooked songs or artists.
In the category of Songs You May Have Missed, we feature almost exclusively songs that never cracked the US Top 40 or were never singles at all.
The songs we recall here though were hits in their time, but didn’t live beyond it–or at least didn’t have the same afterlife of those universally acknowledged classics.
No mock operatic ambitions or snazzy guitar solos here. These songs have never been sung in a sports stadium.
They are just quietly devastating, tragically honest, perfectly arranged. These songs are transcendent. And, if you haven’t heard them lately, worth a fresh listen.
Roberta Flack: “If Ever I See You Again” (1978)
The 5th Dimension: “If I Could Reach You” (1972)
Aretha Franklin: “Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)” (1973)