HITBACK THURSDAY - TREKKING ON MEMORY LANE

Some of us may have a library of classic songs where we have easy access of all the songs we like, but there are times when we want to listen to a specific theme. Today, I decided to share my song list that talks about reminiscing the past and entitled it "Trekking on Memory Lane"

DIANE REEVES was born on October 23, 1956, in Detroit, Michigan to a musically inclined family. She is an American jazz singer who has been one of the leading exponents of the genre since the 1980s. 

While in Los Angeles during the early ‘80s, Reeves wrote “Better Days,” a song often referred to by fans as “The Grandma Song.” A 1988 rerecording of Reeves’s signature tune spent 12 weeks on Billboard Magazine’s R&B charts. The moving lyrics vividly recount experiences shared with her grandmother and how their relationship became a source of inner strength for Reeves. Over the years, she has expanded “Better Days” into an enchanting montage of childhood memories that never fails to enthrall audiences whenever it’s performed live.

To quote Diane Reeves: “‘Better Days’ came out of work I had been doing with another songwriter, Tony Lorrich, who coauthored it with me,” she explained. “My grandmother had passed away and so had his mother, so the song is about both of them. And people have even said to me that [‘Better Days’] reminded them of another special relative, maybe an uncle or an aunt.”

From childhood memories of our family let's move to our first love....
Our love for songs played over the radio waves, giving us inspiration. 

Yesterday Once More", written by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis, is a hit song by The Carpenters from their 1973 album Now & Then. Composed in the key of E, "Yesterday Once More" features a long middle section, consisting of eight covers of 1960s tunes incorporated into a faux oldies radio program. The work takes up the entire side B of the album.

The single version of the song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart becoming their 5th number two hit and making them the act with the second most number two hits on the chart behind only Madonna. The song also peaked at number 1 on the easy listening chart, becoming their eighth number 1 on that chart in four years. It is The Carpenters' biggest-selling record worldwide and their best-selling single in the UK, peaking at number 2. Richard Carpenter admitted on a Japanese documentary that it is his favorite of all the songs that he has written. He has performed an instrumental version at concerts.

According to Cash Box, on June 2, 1973, "Yesterday Once More" was the highest-debuting single at No. 71. By August 4, it had reached No. 1.

Dionne Warwick, a close friend of The Carpenters, performed the song live in Las Vegas the night before Karen Carpenter's death in 1983.

Another hit by the Carpenters that will surely take us back to memory lane is "Superstar."

"Superstar" is a song composed by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell in 1969. Released in 1971, The Carpenters' version of "Superstar" peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #2, and has become one of their signature songs.

The song was originally recorded by Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett and Mad Dogs and Englishmen, in the works under the titles "Groupie (Superstar)" and just "Superstar", but neither version came to prominence. 

Similar to the origins of "We've Only Just Begun", Richard had found inspiration for "Superstar" on the television: Bette Midler had been performing the song during her appearance on The Tonight Show in 1970. With "Superstar" eagerly arranged and recorded, it was featured on the Carpenters' "Tan Album", Carpenters, in May 1971.

This next song tells us about how one's feelings can't be easily forgotten...

"On the Street Where You Live" is a song with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, from the 1956 Broadway musical, My Fair Lady. It is sung in the musical by the character Freddy Eynsford-Hill, who was portrayed by John Michael King in the original production. In the 1964 film version, it was sung by Bill Shirley, dubbing for actor Jeremy Brett.

The most popular single of the song was recorded by Vic Damone in 1956 for Columbia Records. It reached No. 4 on the Billboard chart and #6 on Cashbox magazine's chart. It was a No. 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1958. Eddie Fisher also had a top 20 Billboard hit with the song in 1956, reaching No. 18. Lawrence Welk and His Orchestra released a version that went to No. 96 in 1956. Andy Williams' recording appeared in the Billboard top 40 in 1964, reaching No. 3 on the adult contemporary chart and #28 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Beatles also sung their share on memory lane...

"Yesterday" is a song originally recorded by English rock band the Beatles for their 1965 album Help!. Although credited to "Lennon–McCartney", the song was written by Paul McCartney. It remains popular today with more than 2,200 cover versions, and is one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded music. At the time of its first appearance, the song was released by the Beatles' record company as a single in the United States but not in the United Kingdom. Consequently, while it topped the American chart in 1965 the song first hit the British top 10 three months after the release of Help! in a cover version by Matt Monro. "Yesterday" was voted the best song of the 20th century in a 1999 BBC Radio 2 poll of music experts and listeners and was also voted the No. 1 Pop song of all time by MTV and Rolling Stone magazine the following year. In 1997, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) asserts that it was performed over seven million times in the 20th century alone.

"Yesterday" is a melancholy acoustic guitar ballad about the break-up of a relationship. McCartney is the only member of the Beatles to appear on the recording, and it was the first official recording by the Beatles that relied upon a performance by a single member of the band. He was accompanied by a string quartet. The final recording was so different from other works by the Beatles that the band members vetoed the release of the song as a single in the United Kingdom. (However, it was issued as a single there in 1976.) In 2000 McCartney asked Yoko Ono if she would agree to change the credit on the song to read "McCartney–Lennon" in The Beatles Anthology, but she refused.

 

Reflecting on one's wasted youth...
 

Originally written as Hier encore in 1961 by Charles Aznavour and Georges Garvarentz, Herbert Kretzmer translated this song of the realization of wasted youth and regrets of one’s later years. It is one of those heartfelt songs that few could do justice to and even fewer would dare to try. Perhaps made most famous in English by Roy Clark (Yesterday When I Was Young), Dusty performed it with uncommon sadness yet uncommon artistry. Don’t be surprised if you glance for a tissue before it is done.

The English-language lyrics, written by Herbert Kretzmer, tell of a man reflecting on his life. He recounts how he had wasted his youth on self-centered pursuits, and that, now that he is older, he will not be able to do all that he had planned; this implies that he may be close to his impending death.

Have you ever experienced loosing the one you love?
Solitaire tells the tale of a man left behind by the one he loves because of his indifference...

"Solitaire" is a ballad written by Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody. Cody employs playing the card game of solitaire as a metaphor for a man "who lost his love through his indifference" - "while life goes on around him everywhere he's playing solitaire". The song is best known via its rendition by the Carpenters.

If you live overseas and you feel like coming home, then this song might be the one you are looking for...

"Take Me Home, Country Roads" is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, and John Denver, and initially recorded by John Denver. It was included on his 1971 breakout album Poems, Prayers and Promises; the single went to number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, topped only by "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" by The Bee Gees. It became one of John Denver's most popular and world-wide beloved songs, and is still very popular around the world, considered to be John Denver's own signature song.

 

Looking back to old times can either make you depressed or inspired… whichever it is, what’s important is how you deal with the memories that will come rushing in when you reminisce… and say “Good morning yesterday”

"Times of Your Life" is a popular song and advertising jingle made famous in the 1970s by Canadian singer Paul Anka, who recorded it in 1975 for an album of the same title. It was written by Roger Nichols (melody) and Bill Lane (lyrics).

Kodak created an advertising campaign in 1975 that featured Anka singing a jingle entitled "Times of Your Life". While the tune was being heard across the United States in a commercial, Anka decided to record and release it as a single in late 1975. The song became a hit in the U.S., reaching number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1976 and remaining in the Top 40 for 12 weeks. The previous month, "Times of Your Life" had spent one week atop the Billboard easy listening (adult contemporary) chart, Anka's only recording to do so.

Final song in the list is:

"In My Life" is a song by the Beatles released on the 1965 album Rubber Soul written mainly by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song originated with Lennon, and while Paul McCartney contributed to the final version, he and Lennon later disagreed over the extent of his contributions (specifically the melody). George Martin contributed the instrumental bridge. It is ranked 23rd on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" as well as fifth on their list of the Beatles' 100 Greatest Songs. The song placed second on CBC's 50 Tracks. Mojo magazine named it the best song of all time in 2000.

Looking back is something we, as humans, can't avoid. While it is not that bad to reminisce once in a while, it is better to look forward and live in the present. It is also important that, if ever we remember the things we did in the past, we look back without regrets and we learned from past experiences, above all we must learn to accept that what we have done in the past cannot be changed but what's important is the lesson we learned from our mistakes.