Paul McCartney Tosses Off A “G” Gem!
Just a guy at a piano, but what came from the mind of Paul McCartney was genius and a great way to begin my “Songs For Sunday” – with a varied look at songs that begin with “G”!
You’ve got Beatles, Bond, Genesis and Gaucho too! Let’s go!
These Guys Messing About In The Studio!
Yes, take four Beatles and a collection of songs, and what do you get? Another of their masterpieces, including this great song from Paul!
“Got To Get You Into My Life” by The Beatles
This is one of Paul’s great slices of upbeat pop, from the “Revolver” album – it was also a huge hit for Earth, Wind & Fire.
Here is a terrific live performance by Paul at The White House for then-President Obama!
The Beatles released the greatest music of all time, and the “Revolver” album is an amazing collection of great pop hits, ballads and experimentation…see more about the 50th anniversary of this masterpiece here:
Next up, a band made of of these members:
Here is one of my favorite songs from Gorillaz, a British “Virtual Band” started in 1998 by Damon Albarn from Blur – and all of the band members are animated!
Here is their incredible video for “Feed Good, Inc.”:
Next up is a band that hasn’t been given as much credit as they deserve – perhaps because they posed like this for an album cover:
Grand Funk Railroad – “We’re An American Band”
They had a pretty good collection of rock hits, but this song is the classic – life on the road for “an american band”:
“We’re coming to your town
We’ll help you party down
We’re An American Band”
Here’s a great live performance from 1974:
One of my favorite Artists, Todd Rundgren, produced this album – click here for a closer look, and also see how The Simpsons celebrated the music of Grand Funk Railroad as well!
The biggest selling duo in music history is getting the acclaim they deserve now as well:
“Go Solo” – Daryl Hall and John Oates
Daryl Hall and John Oates have so many mega-hits, like “She’s Gone”, “Kiss On My List” and “Sara Smile”, but in the early 80’s, this song turned up as an album cut on their big hit “H2O” – here is the video:
Here is a look at some other album tracks from their great body of work – fun music videos as well!
Next up, a look at some of the greatest James Bond 007 theme songs, like this one:
“Goldfinger” by Shirley Bassey
The third film in the 007 series started off with a big, bold and brassy theme song that cemented James Bond as the coolest guy in the world…and Bassey as one of our greatest vocalists…here she is performing the song live:
“Goldfinger” is considered one of the greatest Bond films, and themes as well, but what is the best? Well, here is my list of the “best” and “worst” Bond songs of all:
https://johnrieber.com/2013/11/05/rock-on-007-the-best-and-worst-james-bond-theme-songs/
Next up, a band that lost its lead vocalist, and then became one of the biggest selling groups…welcome to the world of Genesis:
Genesis – “Turn It On Again”
At the dawn of the 80’s, a new Genesis, now with lead vocals by Drummer Phil Collins, arrived with a song that begins with a catchy guitar riff and explodes into the sound that would make them one of the best-selling groups of the decade…here is the music video:
A great new documentary brought the entire band back together, including original lead singer Peter Gabriel, for a candid look at the band…see more here:
Finally, another band refined its sound in the 80’s:
“Gaucho” by Steely Dan
After the phenomenal success of “Aja” at the end of the 70’s, Steely Dan cemented their new blues/jazz funk on their next album from 1980, and the title track is a great example of their sound.
Here’s a video from youtube by “Steely Ben”, showing lyrics and images over the audio of the song:
Fans of the band were stunned to lose Walter Becker – here is a look at the band he founded with Donald Fagen:
https://johnrieber.com/2015/03/16/icy-cool-steely-dan-classic-70s-music-lawsuits-over-dirty-work/
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Let me know what great “G” songs or bands I missed!
Categories: 70's Music, Action Films, Art, Books / Media, Classic Rock, Music, Obscure Music, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities, Technology, The Beatles, Todd Rundgren
johnrieber 
What a great selection here, John. Love the Genesis tune. OMG they look so young!
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I have always been a Beatles fan and I just love the theme song to Goldfinger. A great film and a fantastic song.
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Great G picks John!
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Thank you for reading!
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Definitely Goodies! Two (very) different G-bands come to mind: Guns’n’Roses and the Gypsy Kings.
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Oh yes I think I put G’n’R in the “S” list for “Sweet Child O’ Mine” – thanks for reading!
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I really like ‘Feel Good’ by Gorillaz, but it doesn’t get much better for me than Steely Dan.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I ask my “Alexa” to play Steely Dan and I get hours of music, a nice mix across all albums….real fun!
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