This gig takes you on a journey of popular songs of the past decades that touch on different cultures and kinds of people, with highs and lows. You will hear popular songs related to traveling, going places, work life balance and what keeps you busy.
| TITLE | ARTIST | COMMENTS |
|---|---|---|
| A Hard Day’s Night | The Beatles | It was Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr that used the expression first and later repeated by John Lennon in his book In His Own Write before ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ was used as a movie and song title. |
| 9 To 5 | Dolly Parton | This epic song from 1980 by Dolly Parton from the movie “9 to 5” speaks to the frustrations – and hopes – of the average working-class person and exposes the gender balance in the workplace. It didn’t start any kind of movement at that time, but it did push the issue forward. The film is worth watching. Not only because it’s a funny classic movie but also to better understand the statements and the sounds in the song. |
| Morning Train (Nine To Five) | Sheena Easton | Outside of the United States, Sheena Easton’s “Morning Train” was released as “9 To 5”. Female songwriter Florrie Palmer wrote this song about how dull a woman’s life can be while she’s waiting for her man to come home and show her a good time. |
| The Worker | Fischer-Z | Fischer-Z’s band leader John Watts was still studying clinical psychology and working in mental institutions at the he wrote this song in 1979 about his father’s daily commute to London. |
| Sixteen Tons | Tennessee Ernie Ford | Sixteen Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford was written in 1947 by singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Rosewood, Kentucky Merle Travis and based on the experiences of his coal-mining family. His brother, John Travis, who wrote him a letter quoting the sentence “It’s like working in the coal mines. You load 16 tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt.” and his father who told a neighbour, “I can’t afford to die. I owe my soul to the general store,” inspiring the lyrics: Saint Peter don’t you call me, ’cause I can’t go, I owe my soul to the company store. |
| Chain Gang | Sam Cooke | Chain gangs, were groups of prisoners linked together while performing physical labor. They were first used during the reconstruction of the south after the US Civil War as a way to utilize prisoners as free labor in rebuilding Southern states’ infrastructure. Sam Cook wrote the “Chain Gang” in 1959 while on tour by bus, meeting a chain gang of prisoners in Georgia working on the side of the road. |
| Let’s Clean Up The Ghetto | Philadelphia Int Allstars | “Let’s clean up the ghetto” was released in 1977 and performed by the Philadelphia International All Stars who were a funk and soul collective including Dee Dee Sharp, Billy Paul, Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass, The O’Jays & Archie Bell |
| Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) | Jay-Z | Jay-Z’s ‘Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)’ is based on the song from the Broadway musical “Annie” where little orphan Annie is punished after she tried to escape. Just like Jigga, she tries to overcome her difficult circumstances. |
| Living For The City | Stevie Wonder | “Living For The City” by Stevie Wonder, who not only wrote the song but also played all the instruments on this song and also did all the vocals. The story of a young kid leaving his hometown in the south, where he has seen the hardships faced by his family, seeking for opportunities in New York City where he gets caught up in a different system of inequality that imprisons him and leaves him disillusioned. |
| Movin Out (Anthony’s Song) | Billy Joel | Billy Joel’s “moving out” from 1977 deals with working and lower-class New Yorkers to find a bigger and brighter future and get their own slice of the “American Dream.” Near the end of the recording is the sound of a car starting up and driving away, and it was actually the bass player’s (Doug Stegmeyer) 1960s Corvette that was used. |
Sources
The information sources of the song facts include, but are not limited to, Wikipedia, songfacts.com, discogs.com, secondhandsongs.com, YouTube and artists’ related websites.
