From Encyclopedia Britannica: - pop ballad, form of slow love song prevalent in nearly all genres of popular music. There are rock ballads, soul ballads, country ballads, and even heavy metal ballads. Here is a selection of some of the most popular “pop ballads” of the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

SUKIYAKI (Kyu Sakamoto)

(From Wikipedia): Kyu Sakamoto (坂本 九 Sakamoto Kyū?, born Hisashi Oshima (大島 九 Ōshima Hisashi?), 10 December 1941 – 12 August 1985) was a Japanese singer and actor, best known outside of Japan for his international hit song "Sukiyaki", which was sung in Japanese and sold over 13 million copies. It reached number one in the United States Billboard Hot 100 in June 1963. He is also the first Asian singer to have a number one song on the Billboard Hot 100. On August 12, 1985, Kyu Sakamoto died in the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123, the deadliest single-aircraft accident in history, and the second deadliest plane crash in history behind the double Boeing 747 collision of the March 1977 Tenerife airport disaster.

Monday, July 22, 2013

THE NEXT TIME (Cliff Richard)


(From WIKIPEDIA):"The Next Time" was the first of three number one hit singles from the Cliff Richard musical Summer Holiday. Both sides were marketed as songs with chart potential, and the release is viewed retrospectively as a double A-side single. However, technically double A sides were not regarded as such until 1965, so The Next Time was pressed as the A Side, with "Bachelor Boy" the B-side (written by Bruce Welch and Cliff Richard). The song was succeeded at number one by the film's title track "Summer Holiday", which in turn was followed by The Shadows' "Foot Tapper". The recording of the song took place at Abbey Road Studios in London on 10 May 1962. It was produced by Norrie Paramor and engineered by Malcolm Addey. The song was included on the January 1963 album "Summer Holiday" The film was the most successful box-office attraction of the year.