In this episode of Ramblin’ Tunes, I am serving you tracks that will brighten your day with a nice mix of genres through music history.
| TITLE | ARTIST | COMMENTS |
|---|---|---|
| Walking On Sunshine | Katrina & The Waves | English rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Kimberley Rew wrote “Walking on Sunshine” for his rock band ‘Katrina and the Waves’ in 1983. In 1997, Katrina and the Waves won the Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom with another of Rew’s composition “Love Shine a Light”. |
| Happy | Pharrell Williams | Pharrell made the world “Happy” in 2014 with this feel-good anthem. The song soared to #1 in 35 countries—it was the best selling song of 2014. Originally, Pharrell intended Cee Lo Green to sing the song—but things didn’t work out. “Happy” is repeated 56 times over the course of the song. |
| H.A.P.P.Y. Radio | Edwin Starr | “H.A.P.P.Y. Radio” is a 1979 disco song written, produced and recorded by soul singer Edwin Starr. |
| Yeke Yeke | Mory Kante | Guinean recording artist Mory Kanté released “Yé ké yé ké” in 1987 as a single from his album “Akwaba Beach”. The lyrics are in Mandinka and adapted from a traditional song called “Yekeke”. ‘Yekeke’ is the sound that young girls, approaching the age of marriage, make when they dance and flirt with each other through music. |
| Poppa Joe | Sweet | The Sweet and ‘Poppa Joe’ in 1971 is one of the many songs by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. The Sweet, with their blond haired frontman Andy Scott and talented bass player Steve Priests, is one of the best glam rock bands of the seventies. |
| Sunflower | Glen Campbell | “Sunflower” is a song written by Neil Diamond and recorded by American country music singer Glen Campbell. It was released in June 1977. Neil Diamond did not release his own version of this song until late 2018, when it was included the release of his 50th Anniversary Collectors Edition 6-CD set. |
| Good vibrations | The Beach Boys | Glen Campbell played lead guitar on the final recording of ‘Good Vibrations’. Beach Boys lead singer Mike Love wrote the lyrics as a kind of a flower power poem. Brian Wilson composed it while on LSD, which explains why the song is the musical embodiment of a spectacular acid trip. The unusual, high-pitched sound in the song was produced using an electro-theremin. |
| Sunshine Superman | Donovan | More sixties psychedelic pop from Scottish singer-songwriter “Sunshine Superman”: Donovan. Session guitarist Jimmy Page (The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin) played the lead guitar, employing an innovative use of the volume control on his guitar for the repeating figure during the verses. |
| All I Wanna Do | Sheryl Crow | Sheryl Crow closely based her lyrics of this song on the poem “Fun” by Wyn Cooper, which starts with the phrase “’All I want do do is have a little fun before I die.” “All I Wanna Do” was her breakthrough hit and won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. |
| Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In | The Fifth Dimension | This song “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” is a medley of songs taken form the 1967 American Tribal Love Rock Musical “Hair” and released as a single by American group the “5th Dimension”. This song was one of the most popular songs of 1969 worldwide and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group in 1970. In the documentary “Summer of Soul” about the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969, the story behind the unusual way they stumbled into recording “Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In,” is told by band members Billy Davis Jr. and his wife Marilyn McCoo. |
| Funkin’ For Jamaica (ft. Toni Smith) | Tom Browne | “Funkin’ for Jamaica (N. Y.)” is a 1980 single by jazz trumpeter Tom Browne with vocals performed by Toni Smith (Thomassina Carrollyne Smith), who also helped compose the song. . The single is a memoir of the neighbourhood in the New York City borough of Queens where Browne was born and raised. Browne got the idea for the song while he was at his parents’ home. |
| Dreadlock Holiday | 10cc | 10cc’s Internationally acclaimed reggae hit “Dreadlock Holiday” from their album, Bloody Tourists of 1978. The song lyrics are inspired by real experiences in Barbados and Jamaica. |
| Kingston Kingston | Lou & The Hollywood Bananas | The Belgian project “Lou & The Hollywood Bananas” added in 1978 some ska style to their reggae hit “Kingston Kingston”. The lyrics go: “C’est l’hiver à Paris – Paris la pluie et l’ennui – Mais ici plus d’ soucis“ meaning: “winter in Paris, rain and boredom but here no worries” Lou Deprijck is the mastermind behind ‘Two Man Sound’, ‘Plastic Bertrand’ and ‘Viktor Lazlo’, one of the “Hollywood Bananas”. |
| Three Little Birds | Bob Marley & The Wailers | Bob Marley based the song “Three Little Birds” on his observations around him, such as the pretty canaries flying around his home. |
| Sunshine Reggae | Laid Back | “Sunshine Reggae” is a song written and recorded by Danish electronic music duo Laid Back. It was originally released as a single in 1982 and released on their second album Keep Smiling (1983). |
| Jamaica Farewell | Harry Belafonte | Many of Harry Belafonte’s hits are Caribbean folk songs. The lyrics of “Jamaica Farewell” were written by Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie), an American-born, half-Barbadian songwriter. It is about the beauties of the West Indian Islands. The line “ackee, rice, saltfish is nice” refers to the Jamaican national dish. |
| Isla en el Sol (Island In the Sun) | Julio Iglesias | Harry “King of Calypso” Belafonte wrote “Island In The Sun” about simple life on a Caribbean island. The island is a fictional Caribbean one named Santa Marta. Julio Iglesias adapted the song in Spanish for his 1981 album ‘De Niña a Mujer’ (English: From a Child to a Woman) dedicated to his daughter Chábeli. |
| La Isla Bonita | Madonna | “La Isla Bonita” or “The Beautiful Island” from Madonna in 1987. She considers it a “A tribute to the beauty and mystery of Latin American people.” The location of San Pedro is unclear and goes from a Los Angeles’ neighbourhood to a Belize district. European tourists may know “La Isla Bonita” as La Palma, the most beautiful of the Canary Islands! |
| El mismo sol (ft. Jennifer Lopez) | Álvaro Soler | “El mismo sol” (English: The Same Sun) is a 2015 summer hit of Spanish-German singer-songwriter Álvaro Soler. This Spanglish version feature additional lyrics in English and vocals by American entertainer Jennifer Lopez. The lyrics convey an intense will to enjoy and love life, have fun, and travel. |
| Vacances, J’oublie Tout | Elegance | “Vacances, J’oublie Tout” by French one hit wonder “Elegance” in 1982. The title says it all: “on holiday, I forget about everything”. |
| On The Beach | Chris Rea | “On the Beach” is a song by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea that was first released in 1986 and re-recorded in 1988. It is inspired by the Spanish island Formentera off the coast of Ibiza where Rea married his wife Joan Lesley.” |
| You Are The Sunshine Of My Life | Stevie Wonder | With “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” Stevie Wonder expressed his devotion to his wife Syreeta Wright. Earlier, in 1970, Syreeta had written the lyrics for “”Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours”. The male vocalist who first sings on the track is Jim Gilstrap, and the female singer who follows is Lani Groves – both were backup singers in his band. Stevie is the third singer heard on the track. |
| Mykonos | Fleet Foxes | “Mykonos” by the American indie folk band Fleet Foxes in 2008. The Greek LGBT-friendly island Mykonos’s nickname is “The Island of the Winds”, due to the very strong winds that usually blow on the island or it it because its vibrant nightlife? |
| The Speak Up Mambo (Cuéntame) | The Manhattan Transfer | The original version of “The Speak Up Mambo (Cuentame)” was released in 1955 by Cuban bandleader Al Castellanos and his Orchestra. The Manhattan Transfer scored a world hit with it in 1977. |
| Here Comes The Sun | The Beatles | George Harrison found the inspiration for “Here Comes the Sun” during spring of 1969 in Eric Clapton’s garden in Surrey, England and completed the lyrics while on holiday in Sardinia, Italy. The song featured on the Beatles album Abbey Road of the same year. |
| Soley Soley | Middle Of The Road | “Soley Soley” is a song by Scottish band Middle of the Road, released as a single in August 1971. The song is written by Spanish musician Fernando Arbex (founder of Los Brincos) and and recorded in Spain. |
| Kokomo | The Beach Boys | “Kokomo” by the Beach Boys (without Brian Wilson) from the 1988 film Cocktail. The group later recorded a Spanish-language version of with participation from Wilson. The song is written by John Phillips, Scott McKenzie, Mike Love, and Terry Melcher and describes two lovers taking a trip to a relaxing place on Kokomo, a u topic island off the Florida Keys. In addition to the fictional Kokomo, the song also makes references to many real Caribbean islands, including Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, Bahamas, Martinique, and Montserrat. |
| So Nice (Summer Samba) | Bebel Gilberto | Brazilian bossa nova singer Bebel Gilberto is the daughter of João Gilberto and singer Miúcha. “So Nice” or “Summer Samba” (originally “Samba De Verão”) created by the brothers Marcos and Paulo Sérgio Valle in 1964 became first a world hit in1966 for the “Walter Wanderley Trio”. Bebel Gilberto recorded the English version on her 2000 album Tanto Tempo |
| Waters Of March (feat. Oleta Adams) | Al Jarreau | Antônio Carlos Jobim wrote “Waters of March” (Portuguese: “Águas de março”). The inspiration comes from Rio de Janeiro’s rainiest month where the rains of March mark the end of a Brazilian summer. Al Jarreau’s version, with vocals by Oleta Adams, features on the 1997 compilation album ‘A Twist of Jobim’. |
| In The Summertime | Mungo Jerry | “In the Summertime”, released in 1970, is the debut single by British rock band Mungo Jerry. Written and composed by the band’s lead singer, Ray Dorset, the song celebrates the carefree days of summer. |
| Summertime | Billy Stewart | In his teens Billy Stewart won a talent singing contest performing George Gershwin’s “Summertime” but it was in 1966 that he recorded this “scat-singing style” cover. The drummer for Stewart’s recording was Maurice White (founder of the band Earth, Wind & Fire). Billy Stewart’s version became the most successful recording of “Summertime” in the 20th Century. |
| Don’t Worry, Be Happy | Bobby McFerrin | “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” is a song by American musician Bobby McFerrin, released with the 1988 movie Cocktail. The inspiration for the song came from a Meher Baba, an Indian spiritual master, poster. The song won the1989 Grammy awards for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. |
| La ballade des gens heureux | Gérard Lenorman | “La Ballade des gens heureux” (translation: The Ballad of the Happy People) is a song by Gérard Lenorman, released in 1975 with lyrics by Pierre Delanoë. French singer-songwriter Gérard Lenorman (born 9 February 1945) was born in Normandy as the son of Madeleine Lenormand and an unknown German soldier. |
| Joy | Apollo 100 | “Joy” is a 1971 instrumental pop hit record by ‘Apollo 100’. Apollo 100 was founded by British arranger and multi-instrumentalist Tom Parker. “Joy” is a contemporary interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata No. 147: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. |
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.
