On August 12, 1964 The Beatles made their Hollywood debut with the opening of their first feature film A Hard Day’s Night. Captured at the height of Beatlemania, the film opened to rave reviews and was a financial and critical success. It earned two Academy Award nominations and inspired countless films, TV shows, and eventually music videos. Two notable cameos in the movie are Patty Boyd playing a blonde schoolgirl on the train and Phil Collins playing a schoolboy watching the Beatles on TV. Patty eventually married George Harrison and subsequently having an affair with then marrying one of George’s best friends – Eric Clapton. She inspired the songs “Something,” “Layla,” and “Wonderful Tonight.” Collins of course became the drummer and eventual lead vocalist of the progressive rock band Genesis.

The song and movie provide the theme of this week’s music blog, songs featuring the word Days. Accompanying the playlist Glory DAYS is a country version These DAYS, the word Day in song is reserved for another day (no pun intended, lol 😂) and another blog.

Song greats in the list include The Beatles in the title song as well as “Eight Days A Week,” Springsteen’s “Glory Days,” Wang Chung’s “Dance Hall Days,” Chicago’s “Old Days,” the Carpenters “Rainy Days and Mondays,” The Goo Goo Doll’s “Better Days,” Lifehouse’s “Days Go By,” and Billy Joel’s “I’ve Loved These Days” along with his daughter Alexa Ray Joel’s “For All My Days” among many others.

Two songs use a little artistic license, in that they don’t contain the word Days in their title, but the word figures very prominently in the song. They are Bryan Adams “Summer of ’69” with the lyric “those were the best days of my life,” and John Lennon’s “Nobody Told Me” with the lyric “nobody told me there’d be days like these, strange days indeed.” I think they were more than worthy of inclusion.

The last 3 songs are various versions of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” The first is a classic version with Frank Sinatra and the Andrews Sisters. If the second by John Denver featuring Miss Piggy and friends isn’t strange enough, be sure to give a listen to the version by Bob and Doug McKenzie of Strange Brew and the Great White North fame. definitely not your mother or grandmother’s crooner Christmas carol! 🤣

As you all know by now I tend to be quite the verbose blogger. But sometimes less is more. While it is hard to truly relate what shear fervor and Beatlemania, this video truly captures perhaps the singular most important sentinel moment in the history of rock.

So on to the playlists. First the rock and pop Days playlist:

And the country Days playlist:

I hope that this music and my blog truly serve as a “revival: a new presentation of something old,” a springboard to return to the music of your youth, or perhaps to find artists you want to discover anew.  Rediscover the passion of music in your life.

Live in the moment.

Enjoy the moment.

Love the moment.

Listen to the MUSIC!