70's, 80's 'Feel Good' Music

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"Red Red Wine" is a song originally written, performed and recorded by American singer Neil Diamond in 1967 that appears on his second studio album, Just for You. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a person who finds that drinking red wine is the only way to forget his woes.

UB40 recorded a cover version in 1983 for their album Labour of Love that went to No. 1 in the UK and was moderately successful in the United States. It was rereleased in 1988 and went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941 is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time.
He has written and recorded ten singles that reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts: "Cracklin' Rosie", "Song Sung Blue", "Longfellow Serenade", "I've Been This Way Before", "If You Know What I Mean", "Desirée", "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (which he co-wrote with Marilyn Bergman and performed with Barbra Streisand), "America", "Yesterday's Songs", and "Heartlight (co-written with Carole Bayer Sager and Burt Bacharach). A total of thirty-eight songs by Diamond have reached the top 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, including "Sweet Caroline". He has also acted in films, making his screen debut in the 1980 musical drama film The Jazz Singer.

Diamond was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, and he received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. In 2011, he was an honoree at the Kennedy Center Honors, and he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Diamond was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to a Jewish family. All four of his grandparents were immigrants, from Poland on his father's side and Russia on his mother's. He grew up in several homes in Brooklyn, having also spent four years in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where his father was stationed in the army. In Brooklyn, he attended Erasmus Hall High School and was a member of the Freshman Chorus and Choral Club, along with classmate Barbra Streisand.
Diamond recalled they were not close friends at the time: "We were two poor kids in Brooklyn. We hung out in the front of Erasmus High and smoked cigarettes.
Also in their class was chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer. After his family moved to Brighton Beach, he attended Abraham Lincoln High School and was a member of the fencing team. Also on the team was his best friend, future Olympic fencer Herb Cohen.

 

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Weiss wrote and recorded "Rhinestone Cowboy" in 1974, and it appeared on his 20th Century Records album Black and Blue Suite. It did not, however, have much of a commercial impact as a single, although it peaked at number 71 in Australia in August 1974.

Larry Weiss -- Rhinestone Cowboy​

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In late 1974, Campbell heard the song on the radio and, during a tour of Australia, decided to learn it. Soon after his return to the United States, Campbell went to Al Coury's office at Capitol Records, where he was approached about "a great new song" – "Rhinestone Cowboy".
Several music writers noted that Campbell identified with the subject matter of "Rhinestone Cowboy" – survival and making it, particularly when the chips are down – very strongly. As Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic put it, the song is about a veteran artist "who's aware that he's more than paid his dues during his career ... but is still surviving, and someday, he'll shine just like a rhinestone cowboy.

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"Southern Nights" is a song written and performed by American musician Allen Toussaint, from his 1975 album, Southern Nights, and later recorded by American country music singer Glen Campbell. It was the first single released from Campbell's 1977 album, Southern Nights, and reached No. 1 on three separate US charts.
The lyrics of "Southern Nights" were inspired by childhood memories Allen Toussaint had of visiting relatives in the Louisiana backwoods, which often entailed storytelling under star-filled nighttime skies.
When Campbell heard Toussaint's version, he immediately identified with the lyrics which reminded him of his own youth growing up on an Arkansas farm. In October 1976, Campbell recorded the song with slightly modified lyrics.

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Southern nights
Have you ever felt a Southern night?
Free as a breeze
Not to mention the trees
Whistlin' tunes that you know and love so
Southern nights
Just as good even when you close your eyes
I apologize
To anyone who can truly say
That he has found a better way
Southern skies
Have you ever noticed Southern skies? (In southern skies)
Its precious beauty lies
Just beyond the eye it goes running through your soul
Like the stories told of old
Old man
He and his dog, that walk the old land
Every flower touched his cold hand
As he slowly walked by
Weepin' willows would cry for joy, joy
Feel so good
Feel so good, it's frightening
Wish I could
Stop this world from fighting
Mysteries
Like this and many others in the trees
Blow in the night
In the Southern skies
Southern nights
They feel so good, it's frightening
Wish I could (Southern nights)
Stop this world from fighting
Southern skies
Have you ever noticed?

Glen Campbell - Southern Nights​

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"I Can See Clearly Now" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Johnny Nash. It was the lead single from his twelfth album, I Can See Clearly Now (1972), and achieved success in the United States and the United Kingdom when it was released in 1972, reaching number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box charts. It also reached number one in Canada and South Africa. The song has been covered by many artists throughout the years, including a hit version by Lee Towers that reached no. 19 in the Dutch Top 40 in 1982, and another recorded by Jimmy Cliff for the motion picture soundtrack of Cool Runnings that peaked at no. 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1993.

Johnny Nash - I Can See Clearly Now​

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Baby, I Love Your Way" is a song written and performed by English singer Peter Frampton, released as a single in September 1975. It first featured on Frampton's 1975 album, Frampton, where it segues from the previous track "Nassau".
Billboard described the live version as an "easy rocker" and said that the portion of the song where Frampton sings the title lyrics made "an effective hook.
Cash Box called it "an excellent tune" explaining that "primarily, this is an acoustic tune, and Frampton sings with sensitivity over the soft backing.
Record World said that although the studio single released the prior year didn't sell well, "this single is...headed for the top.
In 2017, Frampton discussed this song while talking to lawmakers in Washington, D.C. about inequitable revenue payments from streaming music services like iTunes and Spotify. "For 55 million streams of 'Baby I Love Your Way', I got $1,700," said Frampton. "Their jaws dropped and they asked me to repeat that for them.

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The American neo-disco group Will to Power recorded a medley of "Baby, I Love Your Way" and "Free Bird", which reached No. 1 in the US.

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American reggae/pop band Big Mountain released a cover of "Baby, I Love Your Way" in February 1994, which appeared on the soundtrack of the film Reality Bites, starring Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Ben Stiller. This version achieved major worldwide success, reaching number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart. The single reached the top 10 in many countries across Europe, including topping the charts of Denmark, Spain, and Sweden. It also reached the top five in Australia and New Zealand, as well as in Canada, where it peaked at number two.

BABY I LOVE YOUR WAY - BIG MOUNTAIN​

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"Love Is in the Air" is a 1977 disco song by Australian singer John Paul Young. It was written by George Young (no relation) and Harry Vanda, and released as the lead single from Young's fourth studio album, Love Is in the Air (1978). The song became a worldwide hit in 1978, peaking at No. 3 on the Australian charts and No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, it peaked at No. 7 on the pop chart and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, his only U.S. top 40 hit.
The song plays at 122 beats per minute, a typical 1970s disco rhythm. At the Australian 1978 King of Pop Awards, the song won Most Popular Australian Single.
In 1992, a remix of the song was released and featured on the soundtrack to the Golden Globe-nominated film Strictly Ballroom. A new music video was also produced.
John Paul Young said of the recording, "We actually did 'Love Is in the Air' because we needed something for the German market. 'Standing in the Rain' became a hit in the clubs over there and then on the charts, so we needed a follow-up. I'd been to Germany and heard the music. It was electronic mania, all clicks and electronic buzzes. So George and Harry gave it the treatment.
Young performed the song at the Closing Ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

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"I Live My Life for You" is the seventh single released by the American rock band FireHouse. It is the tenth and last track from its third album, 3. A power ballad, the song reached number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 20 on the Adult Contemporary charts. It is generally considered to be the last song released by a 1980s style glam metal band still classified as such to make a significant impact on the charts, something notable because it was released in 1995 which was a full three years after the genre was pushed out of the mainstream by the grunge movement. The song was written by guitarist Bill Leverty and vocalist C.J. Snare.
When asked about the song's success in an interview, Snare commented that "we surprised a lot of people because we were the only band of that genre that I can remember that actually had a top 20 hit right in the middle of that whole Seattle scene.

Firehouse - I Live My Life for You​

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"Hit Me with Your Best Shot" is a song recorded by American rock singer Pat Benatar and written by Eddie Schwartz. In 1980, it was released as the second single from her second album Crimes of Passion, which became her biggest-selling album. It hit No. 7 in Cash Box, and reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first Top 10 hit in the US. It was particularly popular on album-rock radio stations, peaking at number 1 on the US Tunecaster Rock Tracks chart.
It was also a Top 10 hit in Canada, although the only other country in which it charted was Australia where it reached the Top 40.

"Hit Me with Your Best Shot" sold well over a million copies in the U.S., achieving a gold certification by the RIAA. The song is one of Benatar's most recognizable tracks. Heard at many baseball and soccer games, the song has been featured on many compilation albums, including both multi-artist works as well as those just focusing on Benatar (such as 10 Great Songs and Greatest Hits).

In a 2022 interview, Benatar told USA Today that she would no longer perform the song in protest of mass shootings in the United States. "(The title) is tongue-in-cheek, but you have to draw the line. I can't say those words out loud with a smile on my face, I just can't," she explained. "I'm not going to go on stage and soapbox - I go to my legislators - but that's my small contribution to protesting. I'm not going to sing it.

Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shoot​

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