Here’s another idea of my dear and lovely wife: a playlist of family related bands. So, enjoy the next ninety minutes of popular music with songs from my music library with family ties.
| Title | Artist | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Let Your Love Flow | The Bellamy Brothers | “Let Your Love Flow” by The Bellamy Brothers, released in 1976, was written by Larry Williams, one of Neil Diamond’s roadies. Howard Bellamy and David Bellamy are brothers. |
| Nights on Broadway | Bee Gees | “Nights on Broadway”, released in 1975, was written by Barry and Robin Gibb. Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and Maurice Gibb are brothers. Though it is widely believed that the Bee Gees first got their name from being the Brothers Gibb, this meaning did not come until a few years after their founding. When the brothers moved to Australia in 1958, they began playing on the radio with friends Bill Goode and Bill Gates. The groups name was originally The BG’s – contrived from the common initials between Barry Gibb, Bill Goode, and Bill Gates. The name then evolved from The BG’s to the Bee Gees which eventually came to mean the Brothers Gibb! |
| Stomp! | Brothers Johnson | “Stomp!” is a song released in 1980 by the Brothers Johnson, a funk and R&B band consisting of the American brothers George (“Lightnin’ Licks”) and Louis E. Johnson (“Thunder Thumbs”). |
| Jump | The Pointer Sisters | “Jump (For My Love)”, released in 1984 by The Pointer Sisters, features June Pointer as lead vocals with Ruth Pointer and Anita Pointer as the backing vocals. Louis Johnson from the Brothers Johnson plays bass. |
| Shake Your Body | The Jacksons | “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)”, released in 1978, by the Jacksons, is written by Randy and Michael, and features Michael on lead vocals. |
| Everyday People | Sly & the Family Stone | “Everyday People” is a 1968 song composed by Sly Stone and first recorded by his band, Sly and the Family Stone, consisting of Sly Stone (vocals), Rose Stone (vocals and piano) and Freddie Stone (vocals and guitar). |
| Behind a Painted Smile | The Isley Brothers | “Behind a Painted Smile”, released in 1967, written by Ivy Jo Hunter and Beatrice Verdi, was recorded by The Isley Brothers. Formed in the mid-’50s as a teenage gospel quartet by the eldest four Isley Brothers (O’Kelly, Rudolph, Ronald and Vernon), the original configuration of the group quit performing when Vernon was tragically killed at age 13 when riding his bike. In 1957, at the urging of their parents, the remaining three brothers moved to New York City to make it as a rock ’n’ roll band, and the first song they wrote together was “Shout!”. In 1973, the younger brothers Ernie and Marvin joined the band alongside their brother in law, Chris Jasper. |
| Cathy’s Clown | The Everly Brothers | “Cathy’s Clown”, released 1960 by The Everly Brothers, is written by Don Everly. It was recorded live in a single take, with Don and Phil sharing a microphone. The distinctive drum sound was achieved by recording them with a tape loop, making it sound as if there were two drummers. |
| Brother Jake | The Neville Brothers | “Brother Jake” was released in 1990 by The Neville Brothers, an American funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, consisting of Aaron Neville, Joel Neville, Cyril Neville, Art Neville and Charles Neville. |
| Good Texan | The Vaughan Brothers | “Good Texan” by The Vaughan Brothers, released in 1990, features brothers Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan and was co-written and produced by Neil Rodgers. |
| Mujer contra mujer | Mecano | “Mujer contra mujer” (in English “woman against woman” and released in France as “Une femme avec une femme”) is a 1990 song by Spanish pop band Mecano. Formed in 1981 and active until 1992, it became one of the most successful Spanish pop bands of all time, consisting of singer Ana Torroja and brothers Nacho and José María Cano. |
| Only When I Sleep | The Corrs | “Only When I Sleep”, released in 1997, is a song by Irish folk rock band The Corrs. The group consists of the Corr siblings: Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle, mandolin, ukulele), Sharon (violin, keyboards, vocals), Caroline (drums, percussion, piano, bodhrán, vocals) and Jim (guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals). |
| Let There Be Lonely | The Secret Sisters | “”Let There Be Lonely” was released in 2013 by The Secret Sisters, the Alabama-bred siblings Laura and Lydia Rogers from Muscle Shoals. |
| Something Tells Me | BAILEN | “Something Tells Me”, released in 2019 by BAILEN, explore the feelings of excitement and hesitation that come with falling in love. The Bailen siblings are comprised of fraternal twins Daniel and David and their younger sister Julia. |
| God Only Knows | The Beach Boys | “God Only Knows”, released in 1966 by American rock band the Beach Boys, is written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher. Formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961, the group’s original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. On April 9, 1965, Bruce Johnston joined the band replacing Glen Campbell, who briefly filled in as a touring member for Brian Wilson, and had declined an offer to officially join the band. |
| Oh Lori | Alessi Brothers | “Oh, Lori” was the biggest hit in 1977 for Alessi Brothers, identical twins Billy and Bobby Alessi, born on Long Island in 1954. Billy wrote it for his wife Lori at the time they were living in L.A. |
| We’ve Only Just Begun | The Carpenters | “We’ve Only Just Begun” written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, was initially for a bank commercial. The American siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter recorded it in 1970 and it became a popular wedding song. Songwriters Paul Williams and Roger Nichols were commissioned by an advertising agency to write it in 1968 for Crocker Bank, which was trying to attract young people and newlyweds to their institution. Playboy magazine’s readers voted Karen Carpenter as Best Rock Drummer of 1975. Karen died in 1983 from heart failure and complications of anorexia. |
| All Day and All of the Night | The Kinks | “All Day and All of the Night”, released in 1964, was recorded by The Kinks, an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies, Mick Avory and Pete Quaife. The guitar solo break by writer Dave Davies is truly inspired and difficult to copy, and deemed to be so excellent that for many years it was claimed that Jimmy Page played the break – however, it has been documented, and confirmed by Ray Davies, that Dave made up and played the solo himself, accidentally augmenting the unique riff by playing it through an amp with a hole in it. |
| Weather With You | Crowded House | “Weather with You”, released in 1992, is a song by New Zealand-Australian rock band Crowded House consisting of Neil Finn (vocals, guitar, piano) and drummer Paul Hester and Neil Finn, the younger brother of Split Enz founding member Tim Finn. Liam Mullane Finn (born 24 September 1983), the son of musicians Sharon and Neil Finn, joined the band in 2020. |
| Wonderwall | Oasis | “Wonderwall”, released in 1995, written by Noel Gallagher, was recorded by OASIS, an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991, initially consisting of Liam Gallagher (lead vocals, tambourine), Paul Arthurs (guitar), Paul McGuigan (bass guitar) and Tony McCarroll (drums), with Liam’s older brother Noel Gallagher (lead guitar, vocals) joining as a fifth member a few months after their formation. Liam and Noel Gallagher were unashamed about their sky scraping ambitions: they wanted to write better songs than anyone else, they wanted to sell more records than anyone else, they wanted to play bigger shows than anyone else. |
| Magic Man | Heart | “Magic Man”, released in 1975, is a song by the American rock band Heart, written and composed by Ann and Nancy Wilson. The song is an autobiographical tale of the beginnings of Ann Wilson’s relationship with band manager Michael Fisher. |
| Want You Back | HAIM | “Want You Back”, released in 2017, is recorded by American band HAIM. The band from San Fernando Valley, California, formed in 2007, consists of sisters Este, Danielle & Alana Haim. |
| Crazy Horses | The Osmonds | “Crazy Horses”, released in 1972, is a song by The Osmonds. The song is the only hit record from the Osmonds to feature Jay Osmond as lead vocalist. Donny, the usual co-lead, had no vocal parts because his voice was changing, due to puberty. The Osmonds consisted of brothers Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay, later joined by younger siblings Donny and Jimmy. Their only sister Marie, who rarely sang with her brothers at that time, launched a successful career in 1973, both as a solo artist and as Donny’s duet partner. |
| Jessica | The Allman Brothers Band | “Jessica”, released in 1973, is an instrumental piece by American rock band the Allman Brothers Band (ABB), as the second single from the album, Brothers and Sisters, the record that made the ABB the kings of America. The song, written by guitarist Dickey Betts and named after his daughter Jessica Betts, is a tribute to gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, in that it was designed to be played using only two fingers on the left hand. It has been used as theme for the British TV series Top Gear. |
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.
