Classic Crackers

MARVIN GAYE – His 55 Year Old Hit Single ‘WHAT’S GOING ON’ Is Highly Relevant Again Today

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

21 January 2026

The late great soul giant MARVIN GAYE (1939-1984) released
his hit single WHAT’S GOING ON, the title track of his 11th LP,
on 21 Jan 1971, today 55 years ago.

It went to #2 in the US. It would sell over two million
copies. More than 353 million streams on Spotify.

The album tackles police brutality and violence, other
socially related injustices, war, and climatic conditions.

Highly relevant again today.

“Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today, yeah

“Father, father
We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today
Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see

Oh, what’s going on (What’s going on)
What’s going on (What’s going on)
Right on, baby

Mother, mother
Everybody thinks we’re wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply ’cause our hair is long
Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Come on talk to me
So you can see

What’s going on (What’s going on)
Yeah, what’s going on (What’s going on)
Tell me what’s going on (What’s going on)
I’ll tell you, what’s going on (What’s going on)
Right on, baby, right on”

Discography

JOHN LENNON Released Hit Single ‘WOMAN’ Today 45 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

12 January 2026

JOHN LENNON (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980)
released the hit single WOMAN on 12 January 1981,
today 45 years ago.

That was two months after he was killed. It topped the charts
in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand.

It was the 2nd single from the Double Fantasy album.

John Lennon: “‘Woman’ came about because, one sunny afternoon in Bermuda,
it suddenly hit me what women do for us. Not just what my Yoko does for me, although
I was thinking in those personal terms, but any truth is universal. What dawned on me
was everything I was taking for granted. Women really are the other half of the sky, as
I whisper at the beginning of the song. It’s a ‘we’ or it ain’t anything.”

Instagram – All Albums

QUEEN Topped The UK Charts With Blockbuster ‘BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY’ Today 50 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

9 January 2026

QUEEN, one of the greatest bands ever topped the UK Charts with their blockbuster hit BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY for 9 weeks straight, starting on 9 January 1976, today 50 years ago.

The song parodies elements of opera with bombastic choruses, sarcastic recitative, and distorted Italian operatic phrases. Lyrical references include Scaramouche, the fandango, Galileo Galilei, Figaro, and Beelzebub, with cries of Bismillah.

Freddie Mercury called it a mock opera.

Producer Roy Thomas Baker recalled years later: “It was totally insane, but we enjoyed every minute of it. It was basically a joke, but a successful joke. [Laughs]. We had to record it in three separate units. We did the whole beginning bit, then the whole middle bit and then the whole end.

It was complete madness. The middle part started off being just a couple of seconds, but Freddie kept coming in with more “Galileos” and we kept on adding to the opera section, and it just got bigger and bigger. We never stopped laughing. It started off as a ballad, but the end was heavy.”

It featured on their 4th LP
A Night At The Opera.

Once again, Freddie.

Instagram – Bio – Discography

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JOHN LENNON Scored First Solo No 1 Hit In The UK 45 Years Ago Today With ‘(JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER’

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

20 December 2025

JOHN LENNON (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) scored
his first UK No. 1 hit on 20 December 1980 – 12 days after he
was shot – today 45 years ago.

The song featured on his Double Fantasy
credited to John Lennon & Yoko Ono

Start here.

JL’s Solo Discography

THE ROLLING STONES Released Hit Single ‘AS TEARS GO BY’ Today 60 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

18 December 2025

THE ROLLING STONES released their hit single AS TEARS GO BY
in the US, today 60 years ago, on 18 December 1965. A year later
it came out in the UK.

The ballad was written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and their manager
Andrew Oldham. It was one of their first self-written songs. It was given
to MARIANNE FAITHFULL in 1964, and went to #7 in the UK.

Faithfull: “I was never that crazy about ‘As Tears Go By’. God knows
how Mick and Keith wrote it or where it came from. In any case, it is
an absolutely astonishing thing for a boy of 20 to have written a song
about a woman looking back nostalgically on her life.”

A year later, The Stones put their version on their longplayer
December’s Children (And Everybody’s) that came out early
December. It was their North American record label that decided
to release it as a single on 18 December 1965.

THE ROLLING STONES

MARIANNE FAITHFULL

AC/DC Scored One Of Their Early Hits With ‘IT’S A LONG WAY TO THE TOP (IF YOU WANNA ROCK ‘N’ ROLL)’ Today 50 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

8 December 2025

Hard rock titans AC/DC released one of their early big hits
‘IT’S A LONG WAY TO THE TOP (IF YOU WANNA ROCK ‘N’ ROLL).

It went platinum in New Zealand, the US, Australia and Canada.
So far, the song collected more than 351 million streams on
Spotify.

It was the opening track of
the band’s LP High Voltage.

“It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll
It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll
If you think it’s easy doin’ one-night stands
Try playin’ in a rock-roll band
It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll”

Instagram – Discography

THE MAMAS & PAPAS Released Their Timeless Hit ‘CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ Today 60 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

8 December 2025

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS released their hit CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’
on 8 December 1965, today 60 years ago.

The song was already written by papa John and mama Michelle Philips in 1963. It was given
to Barry McGuire who recorded it in 1963 without success. In 1965 they released it, and it peaked at #4 in the US and became a classic over the years.

Biography – Discography

ABBA Scored Their 9th And Final No. 1 Hit In The UK With ‘SUPER TROUPER’ Today 45 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

29 November 2025

With SUPER TROUPER Swedish global pop icons ABBA scored their 9th and final
No. 1 hit in the UK. It occupied the top seat today 45 years ago, on 29 Nov 1980.

The song – with lead vocals by Anni-Frid Lyngstad – had the working title ‘Blinka Lilla Stjärna‘ (i.e. ‘Twinkle Little Star’. It was the last track to be written and recorded for the album of the same name.

The song’s name refers to the Super Trouper, a type of spotlight used in large venues.

“Tonight the super trouper lights are gonna find me
Shining like the sun (super trouper)
Smiling, having fun (super trouper)
Feeling like a number one”

Instagram – Biography – Discography

PULP Released Swirling Single ‘DISCO 2000’ Today 30 Years Ago

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

27 November 2025

Famous British guitar-synth pop combo PULP scored
one of their biggest hits with swirling single DISCO 2000.

The song was based on frontman Jarvis Cocker‘s childhood
memories of his friend Deborah Bone, whom he had fancied
in his youth but could never impress.

It was part of their most successful album Different Class.

It went to #7 in the UK and earned top-10 spots in several
other countries. Almost 150 million streams on Spotify.

“Oh, we were born within an hour of each other
Our mothers said we could be sister and brother
Your name is Deborah, Deborah
It never suited ya
And they said that when we grew up
We’d get married and never split up
Oh, we never did it
Although I often thought of it”

Instagram – Discography

THE SEEKERS Topped The UK Singles Charts With Tearjerker ‘THE CARNIVAL IS OVER’ 60 Years Ago Today

Posted on by JL

Top singles from the past

25 November 2025

Legendary pop band THE SEEKERS topped the UK Singles Chart
with their melancholic ballad THE CARNIVAL IS OVER, the group’s
second No.1.

Originally a Russian folk song from 1883 with lyrics written by Tom Springfield,
the brother of famous songstress Dusty Springfield. At its peak, the song was
selling 93,000 copies per day.

The song became The Seekers‘ signature recording, and the band
customarily closed their concerts, saying “Goodbye” to the audience
with it ever since its success in late 1965.

“Say goodbye, my own true lover
As we sing a lovers’ song
How it breaks my heart to leave you
Now the carnival is gone”

Bio – Discography