Songs In The Key Of “I”!
My musical scroll through the alphabet lands on the letter “I”, which is filled with classic songs by Daryl Hall & John Oates, The Beatles and INXS – as well as a few that are modern “I” entries from Imagine Dragons and Sam Smith…let’s begin by heading to one of music’s great festivals:
Welcome To Chicago’s Lollapalooza!
My wife Alex and I saw Sam Smith at Lollapalooza in 2015, and I got some video of him performing his classic “I” song!
“I’m Not The Only One” by Sam Smith
Sam Smith has a perfect voice – and does a great live version of the song as well.
Here is that live version from Lollapalooza:
I became a lifelong Sam Smith fan when I saw him doing “Carpool Karaoke” with James Corden…look for it online – it’s terrific.
I have included Daryl Hall and John Oates before on my musical countdown, but since they have so many great songs, “I” just had to be two of them!
OK, the picture is for ANOTHER “I” song, their affectionate love of wine called “Intravino”, but here’s the “I” song I want to highlight:
“It’s A Laugh” by Daryl Hall and John Oates
While not as well known as many of the H&O canon, this is a great song from the terrific album “Along The Red Ledge”.
Here is a live version of the song from 1979:
There are so many great H&O songs, album track that were just as stong as their many hit singles…here are five of my favorite album tracks from the duo:
Next up is a slice of pure 80’s pop, from a great band that had a tragic end!
INXS – “Listen Like Thieves”
They topped the charts with a number of hit songs in the 80’s, but will unfortunately be remembered because of the tragic death of lead singer Micheal Hutchence…
Here’s a great live performance of one of their power pop hits, “Listen Like Thieves” from 1985 – note the intimate details from the Host prior to the performance:
INXS was a great band with a unique sound…and losing Michael Hutchence was a big loss…they had a unique sound..speaking of which, how about a new smash hit from the band Imagine Dragons:
Imagine Dragons – “Believer”
Imagine Dragons have created a unique “anthemic” sound, with several big hits already, including this one, which we saw them perform live at the 2019 Bottle Rock festival!
Here is their live performance!
Time to head back to the 80’s, with a “one hit wonder” song that I love love love…
Donny Iris – “Ah Leah!”
Donnie Iris was known for his work with the Jaggerz and Wild Cherry during the 1970s – he wrote the # 2 Billboard hit, “The Rapper”, with the Jaggerz in 1970 and was a member of Wild Cherry after the group had a #1 hit with “Play That Funky Music.” He also achieved fame as a solo artist in the early 1980s with the # 29 hit “Ah! Leah!” and the # 37 hit “Love Is Like a Rock.”
All of those songs are catchy pop hits, but one still resonates with me.
Here is “Ah! Leah!”
Bravo to Donnie Iris for his catchy song – it’s not easy writing hits – oh, unless you are Paul McCartney.
“I’ve Got A Feeling” by The Beatles
Paul McCartney and The Beatles show up on so many of my “Music A-Z” lists, because they were just so prolific, including this guttural song by Paul that ended up on the “Let It Be” album – here is Paul performing it live many years later:
It’s one of my favorite Beatles songs that wasn’t a hit..click here to see more about that:
Let me know what you think of this list of great “I” music!
Categories: 70's Music, Art, Awards, Books / Media, Classic Rock, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Memoirs, Music, Obscure Music, Politics, Talent/Celebrities, The Beatles, TV Show, Uncategorized
johnrieber 
Great post and choices! I’m not actually a massive fan of Sam Smith’s music, however I agree that he has a beautiful singing voice. I’d have to add I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor by Arctic Monkeys as I’ve always loved that song, and I Could Have Lied by RHCP, on one of my all-time favourite albums.
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Thanks for your comment – fascinating you chose Arctic Monkeys, because they were at Lollapalooza the same year we saw Sam Smith and they were great – I love british rock!
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Very envious you got to see them! Yeah we have some good bands over here, especially from North… My problem is I get stuck with all the old stuff and never branch out and listen to new talent, which I really should!
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I love classic music, but try to hear new music as well…harder to find these days!
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A great post, John. I remember INXS and the death of the lead singer. I think he committed suicide, didn’t he? I like I’ve had the time of my life from Dirty Dancing.
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That’s a great “I” song, Robbie! Singer Michael Hutchence died from auto-asphyxiation – accidental….so sad!
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I must look it up again. Thanks John.
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Reblogged this on johnrieber and commented:
Songs for Sunday….
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Bravo for mentioning Donny Iris. I love that song! It is never tiring. That cheered up my morning listening to “Ah, Leah”. Thanks, John.
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And I had no idea about the music he was part of in the 70’s…he could write a pop hit, that’s for sure!
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