Time For A Big Smile! Stevie Wonder Kicks Off My “Songs For Sunday”!

As we continue to endure #quarantiningathome, at least we hav music to cheer us up….and for this week’s “Songs For Sunday”, I’ve got some of the best music in the “key of W!”

For my look at songs or Artists that begin with “W”, I had to start with the legendary Stevie Wonder, and one of his most joyous songs:

Stevie Wonder – “Don’t Cha Worry ‘Bout A Thing”

From his Grammy-winng album “Innervisions”, Stevie Wonder’s great song begins with a terrific spoken word intro by Stevie:

“See dig, mama, uh, do ya understand that?
(No)
Well uh, like, I can understand how you can’t, because I’ve been uh,
You know, Paris, Beirut, you know, I mean Iraq, Iran, “Ukraingia”, you know
I speak very very um, fluent Spanish
Ah, todo ‘sta bien, chévere, you understand that?
(Chévere?)
Chevere, bien chevere, is that right mama?
‘Cause I’ve got my shaky…”

He then mumbles briefly before heading into his beautiful groove…

This leads right into one of his most upbeat songs:

“Everybody’s got a thing
But some don’t know how to handle it
Always reaching out in vain
Accepting the things not worth having but

Don’t you worry about a thing
Don’t you worry about a thing, mama
Because I’ll be standing on the side
When you check it out”

Here’s a great live version from 2009:

My wife and I were lucky enough to see this amazing Artist live a couple of years ago, when he performed “Songs In The Key Of Life” in its entirety…here are some of the videos from that night:

https://johnrieber.com/2014/11/15/songs-in-the-key-of-life-stevie-wonders-masterpiece-live/

Here’s the best-selling duo of the 80’s – and they’re still touring – when this pandemic ends and our lockdown is over – for now, just listen to the beautiful melodies of Daryl Hall and John Oates:

They did an album that celebrated the radio, and you can see how by watching this terrific music video for their hit “Wait For Me”, which begins with someone fiddling with the dial on a radio:

The album “X-Static” wasn’t one of their biggest hits, but that song is timeless…

Next up is a great British singer, who never quite broke big in the US, but this song should have:

Robbie Williams – “Let Love Be Your Energy”

Robbie Williams had a string of smash hits around the world, including this big and bold love song:

“If you’re willing to change the world
Let love be your energy
I’ve got more than I need
When your love shines down on me”

Williams was successful in the US, but a mega-star elsewhere.

Here is the great music video from 2000:

Next up is a music video that has been seen just over 906-MILLION times!

Guess who’s back?

Eminem’s Anthem To Himself, “Without Me!”

This is a great song – profane and wise, filled with great rhythms and lyrics about life with – well, Eminem!

The lyrics explore the difficulty in breaking away from his “Slim Shady” character:

“Guess who’s back, back again
Shady’s back, tell a friend
Guess who’s back, guess who’s back?
Guess who’s back, guess who’s back?
Guess who’s back, guess who’s back?
Guess who’s back?
I’ve created a monster, ’cause nobody wants to see Marshall no more
They want Shady, I’m chopped liver
Well if you want Shady, then this is what I’ll give ya
A little bit of weed mixed with some hard liquor
Some vodka that will jump start my heart quicker
Then a shot when I get shocked at the hospital
By the doctor when I’m not cooperating
When I’m rocking the table while he’s operating “Hey”!”

Here’s the profanely entertaining music video:

That’s a classic song to be sure – and so is this one, with the immediately mesmerizing lyrics:

“One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small…and the ones that mother gives you don’t do anything at all…”

“White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane

They were one of the great counter-culture bands of the 60’s, and lead Singer Grace Slick was a mesmerizing singer…here’s their great performance from the Smothers Brother Show in 1967:

Fighting The Man!

The Smothers Brothers were very controversial at the time she showed that performance – it was way too raw for CBS in the late 60’s, and so the network tried to censor them! It’s a fascinating story, especially when George Harrison came on the show to encourage to keep fighting! Here is the complete story of that epic battle, with a great Beatles video as well:

https://johnrieber.com/2016/05/18/john-lennon-beds-tommy-smothers-incredible-give-peace-a-chance-story-the-beatles-get-political/

Finally, you can look at the greatest entertainers today, but few can match this:

The Who – “Won’t Get Fooled Again”

The raucous rock ‘n’ roll of The Who has endured for decades, and for me, this is the greatest single song of all time:

“I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again
No, no!”

Pete Townsend wrote the song, a epic statement about youth, rebellion, revolution and acceptance – eight minutes of rage, anger and energy that reaches a crescendo with what is, without a doubt, the greatest howl in rock history:

“Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

It’s almost impossible to accurately capture the power of this guttural primal scream that Roger Daltry performs in this song:

The song has great musicianship, two different solo bridges, changes in tempo, and of course, THAT SCREAM.

What follows that scream is a summation that is cutting – and iconic in rock history – as these lyrics end the song:

“Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss…”

Anger, rage – and acceptance that nothing will ever change…

Pete Townsend is famous for his powerful guitar work – and circular assault on the instrument – throughout the song – but the lyrics are just so incredibly powerful – match by the energy of the entire band – here is an amazing performance of the song live from 1977 – one of the greatest live rock songs of all:

The band endures 50 years on – here is a look at their incredible career, with lots of videos:

https://johnrieber.com/2017/08/13/the-greatest-rock-anthems-whos-1-the-beatles-led-zeppelin-let-the-rock-off-begin/

I gave you a little touch of Hall and Oates earlier, and I know that you can never get enough:

My wife and I saw them in concert two years ago and they were terrific – click here to see a live performance of the classic song “Out Of Touch”:

https://johnrieber.com/2019/05/16/here-is-some-classic-daryl-hall-and-john-oates-live-out-of-touch-is-never-out-of-tune/

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Let me know your favorite songs with a “W”!

Categories: 70's Music, Art, Books / Media, Classic Rock, Music, Obscure Music, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities, TV Show

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