On July 30, 1966, the Troggs started a 2 week run at No. 1 on the US singles chart with “Wild Thing”:
“Wild Thing” is the inspiration for the theme of the first of two playlists this week, songs including the word Wild in their title. Among some great songs are “Born To Be Wild,” “Wild Night,” “Wild Summer Nights,” “Wild World,” “Wild Is The Wind,” “Walk On The Wild Side,” “Wild Horses,” “The Wild Boys.” A few Wild derivations lead to the inclusion of “Your Wildest Dreams,” “Wildfire” and “Wildflower.”
Perhaps one of the greatest pairings of a song and movie scene is “Born to Be Wild” in the 1969 movie starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Jack Nicholson – Easy Rider:
In a somewhat surprising collaboration between two dissimilar artists, “Wild World” performed by Cat Stevens and Chris Cornell:
And in a pretty unusual video, though par for the course in the 80’s, Duran Duran with “Wild Boys”:
And who can forget Ton Loc doing the “Wild Thing:”
I always liked this video of “Wildest Dreams” by the Moody Blues:
On this day in 1958 Kate Bush, British singer and songwriter, was born. She had the 1978 UK No. 1 single “Wuthering Heights” at the age of 19. Her 1985 UK No 1 album Hounds of Love spent 1 year on the UK charts. She is having a bit of a resurgence with the prominent placement of her 1985 hit song “Running Up That Hill” in the 4th season of the Netfilx series Stranger Things. Since the start of the new season, the song has gone viral, racing up the Billboard charts:
The song title lends itself to the second playlist featured this week, which includes songs with the word Hill in their title. Among the song greats are “Blueberry Hill,” “The Fool On The Hill,” “Solsbury Hill,” “Red Hill Mining Town,” “One Tree Hill,” “Over The Hills And Far Away,” “Boot Hill,” and “Beverly Hills.” Though not containing Hill/s in the title, I took the liberty of including the following song for obvious reason: “the hills are alive with ‘The Sound of Music’…”
In this video of Led Zeppelin in 1973 performing “Over The Hills And Far Away” it becomes apparent the reason many consider Jimmy Page and John Bonham among the best rock musicians ever:
Also on July 30 in 1955 Johnny Cash recorded “Folsom Prison Blues” at the Sun Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. He was inspired to write the song after seeing the movie “Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison” while serving in the Air Force in West Germany. If you haven’t seen the 2005 movie “Walk The Line” it’s among the must-see music biopics, along with “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Ray,” “The Doors,” “The Buddy Holly Story,” “La Bamba,” and “Judy.” Reese Witherspoon won best actress for her portrayal of June Carter Cash, and Joaquin Phoenix was nominated for best actor:
Also sharing a birthday with Kate Bush on this day, though born 13 years earlier, in 1945, is saxophonist David Sanborn. His remarkable career included playing with the likes of James Brown, Eric Clapton, Cat Stevens, Roger Daltrey, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Loggins, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Elton John, Carley Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel, Roger Waters, Steely Dan, The Eagles, The Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, and Toto. He will be one of the featured artists in one of my upcoming blogs on saxophone and horns prominent in rock and pop music. Stay tuned.
And now on to the playlists – the Wild playlist, WILD One:
And the Hill playlist, Boot HILL:
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!