Hank Williams was the first superstar of country music and the architect of rock’n’roll. This was the last song he recorded, in 1952. (more…)

There are oldies and then there are oldies – this one is from before I was born. It’s a proper earworm, with some great lyrics, and it’s had almost 50 million views on YouTube, making it surely one of the best known oldies of all time. (more…)

Wanda Jackson exchanged country music for rock’n’roll on the advice of her teenage boyfriend Elvis Presley – and never looked back. (more…)

Before soul music began, back in the Forties and Fifties, there was doo wop and gospel. And before Marvin Gay became better known as Marvin Gaye, he was one-quarter of The Marquees.
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A hit from way back in the year I was born, this timeless doo wop ballad features two of the greats of soul music – Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler. (more…)

This is the song that was number one on my first birthday. Obviously I don’t remember it, though I do remember the song from Glen Campbell’s version in 1970. (more…)

I had never thought to look up the pop chart on the day I was born. Until now. So it is with great joy that I discover the best-selling single as I was popping out in a hospital in Newtownards, County Down, was Great Balls Of Fire. (more…)