Pop music - Part 3

Dead Flowers

“Dead Flowers” is a song recorded by the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it appears on their 1971 album Sticky Fingers as the fourth track of side two.

Recording of “Dead Flowers” took place in April 1970 at the Olympic Studios in London. The lyrics to the song are notably dark, and feature the line, “I’ll be in my basement room, with a needle and a spoon”, a reference to injecting heroin.

“Dead Flowers” was written during the period when the Stones were stepping into country music territory, when Richards’s friendship with Gram Parsons was influencing his songwriting. Jagger commented in 2003:

The ‘Country’ songs we recorded later, like “Dead Flowers” on Sticky Fingers or “Far Away Eyes” on Some Girls, are slightly different (than our earlier ones). The actual music is played completely straight, but it’s me who’s not going legit with the whole thing, because I think I’m a blues singer not a country singer – I think it’s more suited to Keith’s voice than mine.

Both Richards and Mick Taylor contribute the ‘honky-tonk’ style lead guitar lines throughout the album version. Richards’s choppier fills act primarily as a response to Jagger’s vocal lines during the verses, while […]

Paul2026-04-30T07:46:40-04:00

Dream a Little Dream

Music producer Thom Donovan has described Dream a Little Dream of Me as both a lullaby and a love song, noting its “comforting, childlike quality.” The lyrics by Gus Kahn portray two lovers parting reluctantly, with one asking the other to remember them through dreams while asleep.

In 1930, a handwritten manuscript titled Dream a Little Dream of Me, dated January 6, 1930, and written in the hand of composer Milton Adolphus, documents the melody of the song prior to its commercial publication. Contemporary newspaper accounts report that Adolphus sold the song outright that year for $12.50, receiving no royalty interest.

Handwritten musical manuscript titled Dream a Little Dream of Me, dated January 6, 1930, in the hand of Milton Adolphus.

The melody preserved in the manuscript corresponds to the later published version of the song. Adolphus did not receive formal songwriting credit when the song was subsequently registered and published, and he did not pursue ownership or attribution in later years. The song was later credited to Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt as composers, with lyrics by Kahn, and went on to become a widely recorded popular standard.

“There is music in the air, music all around us; the world is full of it, and you simply take as much as you require.” – Edward Elgar

[…]

Paul2026-04-13T14:23:39-04:00

Misty

Misty_ jazzy-Electric_Guitar

“Misty” is a jazz standard written and originally recorded in 1954 by pianist Erroll Garner. He composed it as an instrumental in the traditional 32-bar format, and recorded it on July 27, 1954 for the album Contrasts. Lyrics were added later by Johnny Burke. It appeared on Johnny Mathis’ 1959 album Heavenly, and this recording reached number 12 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart later that year. It has since become one of Mathis’ signature songs.

The song has been recorded by many other artists, including versions by Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Ray Stevens who released a hit country version in 1975. Recordings by both Johnny Mathis and Erroll Garner have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It was ranked number 174 in the list of the Songs of the Century compiled by Recording Industry Association of America and National Endowment for the Arts.

“Nothing is more beautiful than a guitar, except, possibly, two.” – Frederic Chopin

Paul2026-04-19T17:34:39-04:00

It All Depends On You

it all depends on you chart

“It All Depends on You” is a 1926 popular song with music by Ray Henderson and lyrics by Buddy G. DeSylva and Lew Brown. The song, written for the musical Big Boy, was published in 1926. It was featured in the hit 1928 Warner Bros. film The Singing Fool, starring Al Jolson, Betty Bronson and Josephine Dunn, and directed by Lloyd Bacon. This is a lovely Great American Songbook tune to learn and it’s not too difficult to get under your hand.

“Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.” – Leonard Bernstein

Paul2026-04-19T14:00:15-04:00

Unchain My Heart

Chords and lyrics: Unchain My Heart

“Unchain My Heart” is a song written by Bobby Sharp and recorded first in 1961 by Ray Charles and in 1963 by Trini Lopez and later by many others. Sharp sold the song to Teddy Powell for $50. Powell demanded half the songwriting credit. Sharp later successfully fought for the rights to his song. In 1987, he was also able to renew the copyright for his publishing company, B. Sharp Music.

The song was a hit for Charles when released as a single in late 1961. Accompanied by his backup singers the Raelettes, Charles sang about wanting to be free from a woman who won’t let him go, with his band’s longtime saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman soloing on the instrumental interlude. The song reached number nine on the pop singles chart, number one on the R&B singles chart and was the working title of Charles’ 2004 biopic Ray.

“Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.” – Lao Tzu

Paul2026-04-08T18:22:31-04:00

It’s a Jungle Out There

chords, notation, tabs and lyrics: It’s A Jungle Out There

“It’s a Jungle Out There” is a song written by Randy Newman and used as the theme song of the TV series Monk starting with its second season. In 2004, it won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music. As the first season’s theme song “Monk Theme” had won the same award the previous year, Monk became the first series to have two different theme songs win an Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music in consecutive years. The song is not to be confused with the Harry Nilsson song of the same name from his 1975 album Duit on Mon Dei.

The lyrics allude to Adrian Monk’s plethora of fears and warn that some degree of caution and attention is necessary to stay alive, given everyday life’s many dangers.

“Which of the two powers, Love or Music, can elevate man to the sublimest heights?… It is a problem, and yet it seems to me that this is the answer: ‘Love can give no idea of music; music can give an idea of love.’… Why separate them? They are two wings of the soul.” – Hector Berlioz

Paul2026-04-30T18:21:26-04:00

Feelings

“Feelings” is a song by the Brazilian singer Morris Albert, who also wrote the lyrics. It was released in June 1974 on Albert’s debut album After We’ve Left Each Other. The song’s lyrics, recognizable by the “whoa whoa whoa” chorus, concern the singer’s inability to “forget [his] feelings of love”. Albert’s song was hugely successful, performing very well internationally.

The lyrics, which discuss the end of a romantic relationship, were inspired by a public figure from Rio de Janeiro with whom the musician had a platonically romantic relationship. In the original version, the instrumental track was recorded by the studio group Os Carbonos, who also provided the backing vocals.

Its success in Brazil came after the song was included on the soundtrack of the telenovela Corrida do Ouro (“Gold Rush“) in 1974. In the country, the single sold approximately 300,000 copies and reached number one on the Grande Parada Brasil chart, published by Amiga magazine.

Between 1974 and 1976, the song was a top ten hit on the music charts of several countries, including in the United States, where it reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 4 in Record World magazine, and number 10 in Cash Box, as well as the United Kingdom, where it reached No. 4.

In the United States, it sold three million copies, earning Albert a gold record certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It also hit number 2 on the Adult […]

Paul2026-03-16T19:05:45-04:00

Heart Of Gold

heart-of-gold chords and lyrics

“Heart of Gold” is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young. From his fourth studio album Harvest (1972), it is Young’s only U.S. No. 1 single. In Canada, it reached No. 1 on the RPM national singles chart for the first time on April 8, 1972, on which date Young held the top spot on both the singles and albums charts, and No. 1 again on May 13. Billboard ranked it as the No. 17 song for 1972.

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 297 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, No. 303 in an updated 2010 list, and No. 259 in 2021.

Description

The song, which features backup vocals by James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt, is one of a series of soft acoustic pieces which were written partly as a result of a back injury. Unable to stand for long periods of time, Young could not play his electric guitar and so returned to his acoustic guitar, which he could play sitting down. He also played his harmonica during the three instrumental portions, including the introduction to the song.

“Heart of Gold” was recorded during the initial sessions for Harvest on February 6–8, […]

Paul2026-04-20T08:38:58-04:00