Classic Crackers

MUSE Released Fierce Hit Single ‘BLACK MASSIVE HOLE’ Today 30 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

19 June 2026

British rock champs MUSE released their hit single SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE
(more than 978 million streams on Spotify) today 30 years ago, on 19 June 1996.

The song was the lead single of their 4th album Black Holes And Revelations,
written by frontman Matt Bellamy. He said he was influenced by several Belgian
bands, specifically, Millionaire, dEUS, Evil Superstars and Soulwax. Bellamy said that
“these groups were the first to mix R&B rhythms with alternative guitar.

It peaked at #4 on the UK Singles Chart, the highest
singles chart position at that point in time in their
home country.

Instagram – All Albums

BLONDIE – Their Debut Single ‘X OFFENDER’ Came Out 50 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

18 June 2026

Fab pop prodigies BLONDIE released their debut single
X OFFENDER this week 50 years ago.

It wasn’t a commercial success but the start of a top-ranking career.

The song was written by bassist Gary Valentine and Debbie Harry.
The original title was Sex Offender, but the band’s label Private Stock
was scared that they would get in trouble with it.

Valentine originally wrote the song about an 18-year-old boy being arrested
for having sex with his younger girlfriend. Harry changed the lyrics so that the
song was about a prostitute being attracted to the police officer that had
arrested her.

“Public defender
You had to admit
You wanted the love
Of a sex offender”

It appeared on
their debut LP.

Instagram – All Albums

THE CREATION – English Beat Band Released Jangly Debut Single ‘MAKING TIME’ Today 60 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

17 June 2026

English beat group THE CREATION released their jangly debut
single MAKING TIME on 17 June 1966, today 60 years ago.

It was one of the first songs on which
the guitar was played with a bow.

The lyrics portray the experience of working in a clock factory
while co-workers listen to their favourites on the radio.

Their biographer Sean Egan defined their style as
“a unique hybrid of pop, rock, psychedelia and the
avant garde.”

To my ears, it sounds like a song that easily could
have been on The Who’s debut LP ‘My Generation’.

It was covered several times over the years and was
used for commercials and TV series in this century.

Short Bio – Discography

THE BYRDS Released Their ‘5D (Fifth Dimension)’ Single Today 60 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

12 June 2026

Legendary nightingales THE BYRDS released their single
5D (Fifth Dimension today 60 years ago, on 12 June 1966.

It was the title track from their 3rd LP.
It peaked at #44 in the US.

Roger McGuinn who wrote the song has described its lyrics as an attempt to explain Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, and as having been directly inspired by the book 1-2-3-4, More, More, More, More by Don Landis.

Discography

THE SPECIALS Released Doom & Gloom Anthem ‘GHOST TOWN’ Today 45 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

12 June 1981

British ska heroes THE SPECIALS scored their biggest hit
with GHOST TOWN this day 45 years ago, on 12 June 1981.

It topped the UK Singles Charts for 3 weeks.

The song’s sparse lyrics allude to urban decay, unemployment
and violence in inner cities in the UK, at the time.

Jerry Dammers (keyboards/songwriter): “The overall sense I wanted to convey was impending doom. There were weird, diminished chords: certain members of the band resented the song and wanted the simple chords they were used to playing on the first album. It’s hard to explain how powerful it sounded. We had almost been written off and then “Ghost Town” came out of the blue”

R.I.P. Terry Hall (1959-2022)

THE ROLLING STONES Released Single ‘WILD HORSES’ (Only In The USA) Today 55 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

12 June 2026

THE ROLLING STONES are about to release their 25th LP
Foreign Tongues, but let’s go back in time, more than half
a century, actually.

Today, 55 years ago, on 12 June 1971, they released the song
WILD HORSES (more than 400 million streams on Spotify), in
the US, not in the UK

It was the 3rd single from their classic LP Sticky Fingers.

Earlier that year, Marianne Faithfull overdosed on sleeping pills.
When she woke up, she told Mick Jagger, “Wild horses wouldn’t drag
me away“.

Mick recalled, “Everyone always says this was written about Marianne, but I don’t
think it was; that was all well over by then. But I was definitely very inside this piece emotionally.”

The music originated, allegedly, as a lullaby Richards was writing for his newborn son.

Keith Richards said, “If there is a classic way of Mick and me working together this is it.
I had the riff and chorus line, Mick got stuck into the verses. Just like ‘Satisfaction’, ‘Wild Horses’ was about the usual thing of not wanting to be on the road, being a million miles from where you want to be.”

Instagram – Discography

MARVIN GAYE Warned About Environmental Problems Today 55 Years Ago With His Single ‘MERCY MERCY ME (THE ECOLOGY)’

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

10 June 2026

The late great soul giant MARVIN GAYE (1939-1984) released his thematically
remarkable single MERCY MERCY ME (THE ECOLOGY), today 55 years ago,
on 10 June 1971.

It was the 2nd single from his 11th LP, masterpiece What’s Going On.

The the song, written solely by Gaye, and became regarded as one
of popular music’s most poignant anthems of sorrow regarding
the environment.

The distinctive percussive sound heard on the track was allegedly
a wood block struck by a rubber mallet, drenched in studio reverb.

Cash Box (American Magazine): “A similar chugging ballad effort to first single
‘What’s Going On’. The easy going surface lies gently above an exciting rhythm track.”

It peaked at #4 in the US, #9 in Canada.

Discography

FUGEES At #1 Seat In The UK With Their Cover Of ‘KILLING ME SOFTLY’ Today 30 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

9 June 2026

Hip-rap-hop trio FUGEES, fronted by masterful voice Lauryn Hill
were at the top seat of the American Singles Chart with their cover
of KILLING ME SOFTLY.

A song with a long history.

It was written by veteran songwriter Norman Gimbel upon indication
of an idea by 20-year-old singer Lori Lieberman after she witnessed a
Don McLean concert, performing a song named Empty Chairs.

Composer Charles Fox put the lyrics to music. The song was named
Killing Me Softly and Lieberman recorded and released it in 1972, but
it didn’t chart.

The following year, soul star Roberta Flack released her version.
It became a worldwide hit with the #1 seat in the US, Australia,
Canada and New Zealand, and #6 in the UK.

Then in 1996, Fugees covered the tender ballad and scored
their first #1 UK hit. It topped the charts in no less than
20 countries.

LORI LIEBERMAN

ROBERTA FLACK

FUGEES

ROBERT PALMER Topped US Singles Chart With ‘ADDICTED TO LOVE’ 40 Years Ago Today

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

8 June 2026

The late great English singer-songwriter ROBERT PALMER (1949 – 2003) topped
the US Singles Chart on 8 June 1986, today 40 years ago, with ADDICTED TO LOVE.
A song from his 8th LP, Riptide.

The accompanying clip was a remarkable/memorable event in itself, with Palmer backed
by a group of sensually moving mannequins who look like robots with pale skin, red lips, layers of make-up, staring eyes, and a cold, yet utterly cool expression on their face, following the style of women in the paintings of the late American artist Patrick Nagel.

WATCH/LISTEN

Short Bio – Discography

THE KINKS Released Their Summer-Juiced Hit ‘SUNNY AFTERNOON’ Today 60 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

3 June 2026

This day 60 years ago, on 3 June 1966, Brit-pop-rock legends THE KINKS,
featuring the siblings Davies, released one of their biggest hits with their
everlasting summer-juiced earworm SUNNY AFTERNOON.

Ray Davies said he wrote the song when listening
continuously to Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan and Bach.

The song’s story is actually not a happy one.

Davies: “The only way I could interpret how I felt was through a dusty, fallen aristocrat
who had come from old money as opposed to the wealth I had created for myself. In order
to prevent the listener from sympathizing with the song’s protagonist I turned him into a scoundrel who fought with his girlfriend after a night of drunkenness and cruelty.“.

Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze
I got a big fat mama tryna break me
And I love to live so pleasantly
Live this life of luxury
Lazin’ on a sunny afternoon
In the summertime
In the summertime

Discography