Retro Tune of the Day - Fire by Etta James from Tell Mama, 1968

“You make my liver quiver babe…”

Retro Tune of the Day VINYL COUNTDOWN: Touch and Go by The Cars from the Panorama album, 1980.

All I want is you tonight
I guess that dress does fit too tight yeah
You know that look does makes me shake
It almost looks too good to fake…

Not a terribly successful album for The Cars, but side one of Panorama features Touch and Go, one of the greatest and most underrated songs written by Ric Ocasek. This is five minutes of absolute perfection. Check out a great video of the song here.

Retro Tune of the Day VINYL COUNTDOWN: Bad by Michael Jackson from the Bad album, 1987.

In his 1988 autobiography, Michael Jackson wrote: ”Bad is a song about the street. Its about a kid from a bad neighborhood who gets to go away to a private school. He comes back to the old neighborhood when he’s on a break from school and the kids from the neighborhood start giving him trouble. He sings, “I’m bad, you’re bad, who’s bad, who’s the best?” He’s saying when you’re strong and good, then you’re bad.”

He later explained in an interview with Ebony and Jet magazines that the song was based on a true story about a young black kid from the ghetto who went to school in Upstate New York who was killed by jealous friends when he returned home during a school break. [via]

Pretty amazing song by MJ and even cooler video directed by Martin Scorsese with a very West Side Story feel.

Check out more music from the vinyl countdown here.

Retro Tune of the Day VINYL COUNTDOWN: Young Americans by David Bowie from ChangesOneBowie album, 1976.

Young Americans was a breakthrough hit for Bowie in the United States. The sound of the song, often referred to by Bowie as “plastic soul” included cynical lyrics making references to the Watergate Scandal, McCarthyrism, and black repression via Rosa Parks as well as a direct lift from the Beatles’ A Day in the Life with the line “I heard the news today oh boy!”

Also interesting to note is the ChangesOneBowie album cover shot was taken by Tom Kelley, the same photographer who took the famous nude photographs of Marilyn Monroe on red velvet in 1949. [via]

Click here to hear yesterday’s tune!

Retro Tune of the Day VINYL COUNTDOWN: Love of My Life by Queen from the A Night at the Opera Album, 1975.

As I have recently acquired some great vinyls, I have decided to feature one song from each album every day for the next several days. Today’s song comes from my favorite Queen album A Night at the Opera. Love of My Life is a beautiful song that demonstrates Freddie Mercury’s vocal and classical piano precision accompanied by Brian May on the harp, acoustic guitar and custom-built Red Special guitar. One of the band’s most popular concert songs, Love of My Life was actually written for Mercury’s girlfriend at the time, Mary Austin. [via]

Retro Tune of the Day: Saved by LaVern Baker, 1957.

I used to smoke and drink
Smoke and drink and dance the hoochie-coo
Whoa yeah
But now I’m standing on this corner
Prayin’ for a-me and you
Ah hah

Retro Tune of the Day: D’yer Maker from the 1973 Led Zeppelin album House of the Holy.

The song title is intended to be pronounced with a British non-rhotic accent as “jah-may-kah.” The name of the song is derived from Jamaica and is a play on words based on the joke “My wife’s on vacation in the West Indies.” “Jamaica?” “No, it was her idea.” Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant has said he finds it amusing when Americans pronounce the song as “Dyer Maker.” [via]

Americans. Butchering languages and dialects since 1776.

Retro Tune of the Day: Livin’ Thing by Electric Light Orchestra on their A New World Record album, 1976.

This song makes me want to wear velour or go roller skating…or both.

Mondays suck. So here’s this. Turn it up. (Best rock song intro EVER.)

Retro Tune of the Day: Helter Skelter by the Beatles, White Album, 1968.

Retro Tune of the Day: Look at Me by John Lennon, 1970.

Retro Tune of the Day: Bad Reputation by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, 1981.

Retro Tune of the Day: Cecilia by Simon & Garfunkel, 1970.

This song makes me very happy. So turn it up. It will make you happy too.

Retro Tune of the Day: Its My Life by Talk Talk, 1984.

I’ve had this song on repeat. ALL DAY. Um yeah, No Doubt, your cover just does not do this song justice.

So thanks anyway…

K bye.

Retro Tune of the Day: Bernadette by The Four Tops, 1967.

This song makes me wish my name was Bernadette just so I could play this as my slow motion entrance song.

Retro Tune of the Day: Delirious by Prince from the 1999 album, 1982.