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The Groundhogs
Song of the Day: Deliberately one day after the traditional date of Groundhog Day, life and music repeats itself with two songs by the British 60s band were inspired the great American bluesman and one of his numbers
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John Schroeder
Song of the Day: After three belters from Quincy Jones, today let’s move on to full fat funk TV and movie orchestra sounds from the 60s and early 70s, with tracks rarely recognised, but whose still hits home instantly
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Conductor in chief - Quincy Jones
Song of the Day: He’s best known the high-profile producer for Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra, but continuing a mini-series, a small selection of key moments in the conductor and composer’s film and TV work
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Get Carter (1971) starring Michael Caine, with soundtrack by Roy Budd
Song of the Day: Resuming a thread of film soundtrack music that transcends their original source - this time the classic thriller starring Michael Caine and directed by Mike Hodges from 1971
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Shaft (1971) with the lead role played by Richard Roundtree, but perhaps best known for Isaac Hayes’s music
Song of the Day: Who is the man? Isaac Hayes - that is. Damn right! Today’s choice of orchestral funk, and another film theme, comes from the great Stax songwriter and singer from Tennessee, king of the deep voice
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Curtis Mayfield on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1972
Song of the Day: After yesterday’s Baby Huey, whose brilliant only album was produced by Curtis Mayfield, let’s turn to the man himself with a trio classic tracks from 1972 that show the full range of his funk and orchestration prowess
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At work and play: Baby Huey, as shown on his sole album of 1971
Song of the Day: We move from Britain’s Labi Siffre to a funk-soul legend from Indiana, who died at the age of just 26 and whose album, The Baby Huey Story: Living Legend was released posthumously in 1971
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The cover of Lee Moses’s classic 1971 album
Song of the Day: After the Four Tops, two superb and passionate songs about tricky relationships from a hugely under-rated artist who worked in the same circles, and made a classic 1971 album
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The Animals may have done the best-known cover version, but there are arguably others than better it
To some it’s a masterpiece, to others a dirge, but from 17th century England to 20th century New Orleans, with artists that include Woody Guthrie, Nina Simone, The Animals and alt-J it’s a song that keeps evolving
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Reverend Gary Davis (1896-1972)
Song of the Day: Moving from Blind Willie Johnson and his bottleneck guitar style, the finger-picking pioneer from Laurens, South Carolina who does a classic and clever talking version of this traditional number
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Who is Joan of Arc?
Song of the Day: After recent songs about the famous who died at a prematurely young age, four very contrasting numbers about the legendary French military heroine who was burned at the stake age 19 in 1431
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Sixto Rodriquez in the early 70s
Song of the Day: After yesterday’s Vashti Bunyan, another inspirational story of obscurity to long-sought recognition fro the mysterious Detroit-born Mexican immigrant singer-songwriter, made famous in the documentary Searching For Sugar Man
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Joni Mitchell in the early 1970s
Song of the Day: After two previous colourful entries, let's enter the vividly depicted world of the Canadian singer-songwriter, here taking us from Los Angeles to Paris and back on a journey of street and field scenes that capture big issues old and new.
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Dolly's a shade better
Song of the Day: After a colour-themed pair by Mattiel from Atlanta, let's enjoy twin versions from the Tennessee great, who also likes a shade of country and colour, in this tale of patchwork poverty, mother's love, and childhood pride
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Minnie Riperton in 1971
Song of the Day: After our previous Manchester late-80s dance tracks, when flower power returned with a new chemical twist, we hark back to another petal-infused and influential song by the vocalist linked to our previous Rotary Connection selection
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Bill Withers
Song of the Day: Moving on to a sublime black-hole-where-the-sun-was song by the American artist from 1971's Just As I Am, and written when making toilet seats for 747 aeroplanes, but given a gold when when it was a hit
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Rotary Connection, featuring Minnie Riperton and Charles Stepney (right).
Song of the Day: How to move from bluesy road tunes to this elaborate jazz-soul number at the peak of the psychedelic movement? Partly because this band also backed Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters
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Shuggie Otis in his days as teenage prodigy. He is now 63 and still going strong
Song of the Day: A psychedelic soul classic from Shuggie, aka Johnny Alexander Veliotes Jr, the California singer-songwriter from his 1971 album Freedom Flight, which 1977 became a funk hit produced by Quincy Jones
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Marc Bolan, 1947-77.
Song of the Day: To mark yesterday's 40th anniversary since the hugely innovative and influential glam-rocker's untimely death, as an alternative to the Ride A White Swan breakthrough, a grittier, sexier hit (titled Bang a Gong in the US) from the 1971 album Electric Warrior. Bolan said it was inspired by Chuck Berry's song Little Queenie …
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Can with bass player and co-founder Holger Czukay (seated).
Song of the Day: As a tribute to krautrock pioneer, bass player and brilliant eccentric band co-founder Holger Czukay, who has died aged 79, two of band's best known songs that exemplifies that highly influential style of repetition and momentum, from 1972's Ege Bamyasi and 1971's Tago Mago
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