Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Band Music from Bands

Quite a few songs with "band" in the title have charted in the U.S. through the years. 

The first one that comes to mind is "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Band," from The Beatles' landmark album released in 1967. The Paul McCartney-penned tune (but credited as a McCartney-Lennon composition) reached No. 71 on the charts. 



The following year, The Association's "Six Man Band" made it to No. 47. The song, written by Terry Kirkman, revealed the band's edgy side.




John Fogerty's rousing "Travelin' Band," reached No. 2 in 1970 for Creedence Clearwater Revival. The guys showed they were much more than a bayou-blues band.




Three Dog Night scored a No. 19 hit with the funky "One Man Band" in 1971. It was written by Billy Fox, Tommy Kaye, and January Tyme).  Three Dog Night had 18 songs reach the Top 20; quite an accomplishment for a group that can't get a nod from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 




Albert Hammond had a No. 19 hit with the bouncy "The Free Electric Band" in 1973. He co-wrote the song with Mike Hazelwood.




And finally, Grand Funk Railroad had its biggest hit in 1973, with the driving "We're An American Band" topping the charts. Drummer Don Brewer wrote and sang the classic song (my favorite by the group).




Some other notable "band" songs include "Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney and Wings (No. 1 in 1974 by McCartney); "Uncle John's Band" by the Grateful Dead (No. 69 in 1970 by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter); "Listen to the Band" by The Monkees (No. 63 in 1969 by Michael Nesmith);"Rock & Roll Band" by Boston (uncharted in 1976 by Tom Scholz);  and "I'm Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)" by The Moody Blues (No. 12 in 1973 by John Lodge).

Do you have any favorite band songs?

Until the next time . . .

No comments:

Post a Comment