We wrap up our year in songs and our week-long tribute to the late George Michael with one of his most popular and at the time, most controversial, songs. I Want Your Sex was the lead single to George's breakout debut, Faith, and it's still as hot today as it was way back in 1987. Check it out...
Good morning and Happy Friday! Since Friday is my favorite day of the week, I've saved my favorite George Michael song for today's post. Freedom 90 (for those of you who may have wondered, the 90 in the song was thrown into the title so as to distinguish this song from a previous Wham! song also called Freedom) is Michael's only bona fide anthem, with a chorus that you just can't help but belt out when you take a listen.
The music video for Freedom 90 is uniquely iconic, as well. At the time, George was said to be struggling with his own fame and preferred not to make an appearance in it, opting for several top models of the day to appear instead, lip-syncing the tune. Throughout the video we see supermodels Naomi Cambell, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington, John Pearson, Mario Sorrenti, Scott Benoit, Todo Segalla, and Peter Formby striking poses and singing along in what you could imagine is a visually stunning six minutes. The concept worked, as the vid to this song is one of George's most memorable ever. So without further adieu, check out the inspirational Freedom 90...
Here's the one that started it all for fans of George Michael. Although, the duo had put out a previous record a year earlier (1983's Fantastic), they really did not make any sort of waves until their appropriately titled sophomore set, Make It Big, and this fun dancey number was both the album's first single and the duo's first #1 hit...
One of George Michael's biggest hit ever was this rockabilly tune from his breakout solo album of the same name. In fact, it was the biggest selling single here in the U.S. for the year 1988. Check out the fun Faith...
Like many of you out there, I've been listening to a lot of George Michael the last couple of days Here's an early favorite of mine from George and Andrew Ridgeley's third and final album together, Music from the Edge of Heaven. The tune is one of those sugary dance/pop gems I'd mentioned yesterday and simply a whole lotta fun! Check out I'm Your Man...
The year 2016 was a terrible year for celebrity deaths, and yesterday the trend continued as singer/songwriter George Michael unexpectedly passed away on Christmas Day. He was only 53 years old. The news of George's passing left fans around the world in shock, and even I feel like somehow this terrible news is not true. Like any other death, it will take time to sink in, and it will, but for now...wow, just wow.
Since those early days of Wham! back in the early to mid-eighties, George Michael has graced us all with his own unique gift of music. From sugary pop tunes like Wake Me Up Before You GoGo and I'm Your Man to his sexual solo awakening to a more contemplative state later on, George enjoyed a prolific career, and luckily for us, we still have his music to enjoy.
Of course, this tragic event calls for a week-long celebration of George's music, and I hope you will enjoy reliving these special tunes with me, as they represent even a small part of the greater soundtrack to our lives. Today's song is very fitting, and sadly it was George's very last #1 tune way back in 1990. Take a listen to the melancholic Praying for Time...
Well, it is here! From me and mine, I wish you and yours the happiest of days today. Before you go though, enjoy this absolutely moving rendition of the most beautiful of songs...what a voice!
Now here's a modern day Christmas classic done in the funnest of ways as Carpool Karaoke star James Corden is joined by Mariah Carey and a host of other stars performing a stellar rendition of Mariah's tune. This one's guaranteed to make you smile...
Today we have a Christmas classic that's another one of my all-time favorites, There are so many versions of The Little Drummer Boy that have been recorded, and though I traipsed through more than a few I still find Bob Seger's version to be the most authentic. Such a melancholic song, such a great rendition! Check out Bob performing it live...
As we move another day closer to Christmas, here's one of my all time favorite holiday tunes. The Waitresses were your typical new wave band, with a crazy, frenzied sound that was simply irresistible and this was one of two songs of theirs that are among new wave's best. Check out the classic Christmas Wrapping...
Here's one of my favorite Christmas classics from all the way back in 1960. It's Brenda Lee and the always fun Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Enjoy!
More than 20 years ago, a group of artists got together to record a special holiday song to raise funds for the millions in Africa suffering from malnutrition. Well, there is never a shortage of people in need, both her in America and around the world. In these past few years, and especially the past few weeks and months, the people living in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, have been suffering some of the worst kinds of atrocities, caught in the cross-hairs of a bloody civil war.
So as you head out to the mall to do catch the latest bargain on things from your Christmas list, please be mindful of how lucky you are to be doing that, because halfway around the world, a great many people, many of them children, are suffering. And if you'd like to take part in the spirit of the season, you can help out the innocent victims of this human tragedy by donating to the International Rescue Committee. I know I will. In the meantime, enjoy a Christmas classic...
Woke up this morning to lots of white outside my window. It's really the first significant snowfall we've had so far, and at this time of the year, it is beautiful! Here's a classic holiday song, done new wave style by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, to fit the day. Enjoy!
I hope that you are enjoying this month-long look back at the best tunes of the year. I know that I've been reliving the best of 2016 and have been re-enjoying checking them out myself. When the year began, this funkalicious jam by hot artist The Weekend had us all jamming out. So yeah, let's jam...
One of the biggest anthems of the year comes from Joe Jonas and his band DNCE and their debut Cake by the Ocean. Check it out and have a great Hump Day...
One of my favorite tunes of 2016 comes from a singer I know very little about, except his name...and his voice. Earlier in the year, MNEK released a song I immediately LOVED and upon listening to it again this morning, I am sure I'll be listening to it much more later today and in the next few weeks. More Than a Miracle is combination soul/R&B/dance, with a definitive freestyle sound to it. Unfortunately there's no vid for the tune, but you can here it right here...
The year 2016 saw several big name returns to the music scene, including one Britney Spears. Returning to the more dancier, polished side of things compared to her 2013 Britney Jean record, the new Glory album is chock full of dance stuff more reminiscent of the great Femme Fatale album. This jam, the record's debut single, is less of a dancey track and more of a mid-tempo, but splendid tune. Check out Make Me...
I remember hearing this song in the car with my pal Eddie over the summer and I was jamming out while he was saying..I don't get it! I don't have any idea what the hell she's saying! Lol, I got that. I really don't either, but to me it doesn't matter. This song is so unique and fast and funky and cool that I don't really have to know what she's saying for me to like it.
Young Kiiara is just 21 years old and she just put out her debut album, Low Kii Savage, on Atlantic Records in March. This, the debut single, reached all the way to the #13 spot. Not bad, huh? Anyway, here are the lyrics that probably confuse you when you're listening...
Roof is falling let me love me falling I just know [3x]
Today we travel back to the mid-eighties with George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley and probably one of the cheesiest Christmas songs ever! Enjoy the song and the video and your weekend!
The five girl group known as Fifth Harmony had a big year in 2016 with their biggest hit to date, Here's the island jam debut hit single off of their second studio album 7/27, Work From Home...
Justin Timberlake returned in 2016 for just one song, from the Trolls movie, and it was an instant hit for its feel-good vibes. Check out Can't Stop the Feeling...
It's the last month of the year, and it's time to start reflecting on the best music of 2016. Though it wasn't the greatest year on record for music, it did have its moments, like this one from Drake, which was, and still is, a groovalicious and infectious jam. Check out One Dance...
It seems that lots of Christmas decorating was going on this weekend, at least as far as I could see from my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds. Well, it is December 5th, and Christmas is less than three weeks away, so here is a beautiful holiday song for you from that angelic-voiced quintet known as Pentatonix. Check out their beautiful rendition of a classic...
I've been wanting to post this tune for awhile now...so appropriate for this time we're all living in. That's why I love music so much. It has a way of giving us truth in such a way that seems to carry a different mode of meaning than, say, just words on a paper. Please listen, really listen, to the beautiful Holy War...
Here's a classic jam to get your weekend started. This one is the title track from David Guetta's 2009 gem of a record and features British songstress Estelle on vocals. This one epitomizes the type of quality dance music that characterized the album and spawned a sound that would last for at least a few years on. Check out One Love...
I've been listening to a lot of songs lately from a list on my iPod I like to call All Time Faves, Oh, so many great tunes there! Anyway, here's a P!nk classic...high energy and so much fun! Happy Thursday!
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