Part from the same titled album of 1984, "Born in the USA" was written by Sprengsteen thinking about Vietnam veterans. As this was the first war that the US actually dindn't win, and while veterans of other wars received a hero's welcome, those who fought in Vietnam were mostly ignored when they returned to the states.

This is one of the most misinterpreted songs ever. Most people thought it was a patriotic song about American pride, when it actually cast a shameful eye on how America treated its Vietnam veterans. Springsteen considers it one of his best songs, but it bothers him that it is so widely misinterpreted. With the rollicking rhythm, enthusiastic chorus, and patriotic album cover, it is easy to think this has more to do with American pride than Vietnam shame.

The original title was "Vietnam." Director Paul Schrader sent Springsteen a script for a movie called Born In The U.S.A., about a Rock band struggling with life and religion. This gave Bruce the idea for the new title. Unfortunately for Schrader, when he was finally ready to make the movie in 1985, the title "Born In The U.S.A." was too associated with the song. Springsteen helped him out however, providing the song "Light Of Day," which became the new title for Schrader's movie and the feature song in the film.

This is the first song and title track to one of the most popular albums ever - Born In The U.S.A. sold over 18 million copies. The single was released in England as a double A-side with "I'm On Fire." It was the first song Springsteen wrote for the album. He first recorded it on January 3, 1982 on the tape that became his album Nebraska later that year.

While campaigning in New Jersey in 1984, Ronald Reagan said in his speech: "America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts. It rests in the message of hope in songs so many young Americans admire: New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen. And helping you make those dreams come true is what this job of mine is all about."

Springsteen talked about this in a 2005 interview with National Public Radio. Said Bruce: "This was when the Republicans first mastered the art of co-opting anything and everything that seemed fundamentally American, and if you were on the other side, you were somehow unpatriotic. I make American music, and I write about the place I live and who I am in my lifetime. Those are the things I'm going to struggle for and fight for."
Speaking of how the song was misinterpreted, he added: "In my songs, the spiritual part, the hope part is in the choruses. The blues, and your daily realities are in the details of the verses. The spiritual comes out in the choruses, which I got from Gospel music and the church."

Chrysler offered Springsteen $12 million to use this in an ad campaign with Bruce. Springsteen turned them down so they used "The Pride Is Back" by Kenny Rogers instead. Springsteen has never let his music be used to sell products.

This song inspired the famous Annie Leibowitz photo of Springsteen's butt against the backdrop of an American flag. Bruce had to be convinced to use it as the album's cover. Some people thought it depicted Springsteen urinating on the flag.

The drum solo towards the end of the song was completely improvised. Drummer Max Weinberg said that the band was recording in an oval-shaped studio, with the musicians separated into different parts. Springsteen, at the front, suddenly turned towards Weinberg (at the back) after singing and waved his hands in the air frantically to signal drumming. Weinberg then nailed it.

Read also:

• Don Mclean - American Pie (first part & second part)
• Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
• Guns n' Roses - November Rain

The is the 100th post (see here the first one) on this blog celebrated by presenting one of the greatest bands in music history: The Beatles.

The Beatles were John Lennon (guitar), George Harrison (guitar), Paul McCartney (bass) and Ringo Starr (drums). Lennon and McCartney began playing together in The Quarrymen in 1957; Harrison joined later that year. Before they became The Beatles, they were also Johnny and the Moondogs and The Silver Beatles, joined at times by bandmates including bassist Stuart Sutcliffe (23 June 1940 - 10 April 1962) and drummer Pete Best (b. 24 November 1941); Best was replaced by Ringo to form the final foursome. The early Beatles performed shows in Hamburg, Germany and Liverpool, England, playing covers of early American rock and roll plus original songs by Lennon and McCartney. Their 1962 release of "Love Me Do" charted in the U. K., and in 1963 their song "She Loves You" was the biggest hit in U. K. history. Their personal charm and charisma helped boost "Beatlemania," and their tour of the U.S. in 1964 led to sold-out concerts and mob scenes. Their movies A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965) capitalized on their humor and youthful exuberance and were box office successes, and the hit songs kept coming: in 1964 they had five straight number one albums. In the late '60s their songs became more sophisticated and their worldwide celebrity status prompted Lennon to joke "we're bigger than Jesus." By 1970 they were no longer performing in public and were beginning to pursue individual projects. In December of 1970 McCartney brought a lawsuit to dissolve The Beatles as a legal entity, and the group broke up. Their hits are too numerous to mention, and their impact on pop music can't be overstated. In 1980 Lennon was murdered, and in 2001 Harrison died of cancer, but McCartney and Starr continue to have busy solo careers.

This is "Don't Let Me Down" from their best period (1969).

Read also:
Music dictionary - Soft Rock
Cover Art: Abbey Road - The Beatles
The Four Seasons - December 1963 (Oh What A Night)

"Phantom of the Opera" is part of the 1980 Iron Maiden's self titled album which is certainly one of heavy metal's all-time best debuts. Surfacing from the underground along with a host of other New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands (e.g., Def Leppard, Motörhead), Maiden's debut proved to be incredibly influential for future metal bands -- it was one of the first to merge heavy metal's power with punk's riffing and attitude, forging a blueprint for such genres as thrash, speed, and death metal.

While the band would branch out musically on future releases, Iron Maiden contains some of their most straight-ahead compositions, such as "Prowler," "Sanctuary," "Charlotte the Harlot," and the title track. The group's more progressive direction is signaled by the seven-and-a-half-minute epic "Phantom of the Opera," as well as by the breakneck instrumental "Transylvania." Also featured was Maiden's first Top 40 U.K. single, the anthemic "Running Free," plus several calmer compositions like "Remember Tomorrow" and "Strange World," which showed that there was more to this young band than just bashing away.

Bassist/leader Steve Harris proved to be the band's main songwriter/wordsmith early on, with lyrics that often proved thought-provoking -- a sharp detour from the expected topic of sex, drugs, and rock & roll that most metal bands relied on, while vocalist Paul Di'Anno's oft-rough vocals were also a main ingredient.

This was inspired by the novel by Gaston Leroux, and the popular musical adaptation. Bass player Steve Harris: "This is a very long song that was done in sections. The middle part was totally separate but it fit in very well. It felt right to go from the slow part into the middle section. Phantom is one of the best pieces I've ever written, and certainly one of the most enjoyable to play. It's got all these intricate guitar lines which keep it interesting. Then there's the slow middle part which creates quite a good mood. It's also got fast heavy parts which are really rockin'. And it's also got areas for crowd participation. It pretty much covers all the bases for the band. It was also a good example of what I wanted to get across."

Read also:

• Iron Maiden - Aces High
• Music dictionary - Tharsh Metal
• AC/DC - Back In Black
• Def Leppard

Reelased in 1988 "...And Justice for All" is Metallica's most complex and ambitious work. This is the first Metallica studio album to feature bassist Jason Newsted, since it is the first after the tragic death of the group's former bassist Cliff Burton. The album's dark subject material, featuring references to injustice in the law system, limited freedom, war, insanity and hate, is accompanied by the most complex song structures to this date in Metallica's discography. The album is also noted for its near lack of bass guitar and dry production and therefore has been called a "slightly flawed masterpiece and the pinnacle of Metallica's progressive years" by www.allmusic.com's reviewer.

The cover of this album is also consifdered one their most profund. Ussually, the band's album art implies simple elements such dark colour, lightning, grafitti written words. Toghether with 2002 album "St Anger" 's cover, "And Justice for All" brings Metallica into a whole new level: expressing ideeas and song concepts through the cover of the album.

The front cover of "...And Justice For All" depicts the statue of Lady Justice cracked and bound by ropes, with both of her scales filled with dollars and both of her breasts exposed. The words "…And Justice for All" are written in graffiti to the right. The cover is made by Stephen Gorman after a concept by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. It is very clear that this cover expresses that decade's corupted society, as Lady Justice - Iustitia, the Roman Goddess of Justice - is on this cover the oposite of what should actually be: a bare-breasted woman carrying a sword and scales, and sometimes wearing a blindfold, standing in fron of a courtroom (Wiki, AllMusic).

Read also:

• Music dictionary - Thrash Metal
• Harvester of Sorrow
• Fade to Black

Pete Townshend originally wrote this about a character in his "Lifehouse" project, which was going to be a film similar to The Who's Tommy and Quadrophenia. Townshend never finished "Lifehouse," but the songs ended up on the album Who's Next.

Actually the lyrics are a first-person lament from a man in the Lifehouse story, variously identified as 'Brick' or 'Jumbo', who is always angry and full of angst because of all the pressure and temptation that surrounds him, and the song was intended to be his "theme song" had the project been successful. (The lyrics of the rocking section near the end were actually written by Townshend as a prayer when he was a disciple of Meher Baba after being tempted by a groupie, and incorporated into the song when it was written.) In the incarnation of Lifehouse that was officially released as a part of Pete Townshend's solo box set, The Lifehouse Chronicles the song's meaning changes to the theme song of the story's protagonist, Ray.

The version of "Behind Blue Eyes" on the original Who's Next album was actually the second version the band recorded; the earlier version appears as a bonus track on the remastered CD release, which features Al Kooper on Hammond Organ. Pete Townshend has also recorded two solo versions, one (the original demo of the song) was featured on the Scoop album. The demo along with a newer recording of the song featuring an orchestral backing was featured in The Lifehouse Chronicles.

Limp Bizkit covered this in 2003 on their album Results May Vary. Their version was used in the Halle Berry movie Gothika. Berry appeared in the video, which was directed by Bizkit front man Fred Durst. Conveniently enough, Durst included a scene where he kisses Berry in the video. As the song is rather difficult to be performed, Durst digitally changed his voice for this song and he almost never played it live (Songfacts).

Read also:

• Jimi Hendrix - Little Wing
• Pearl Jam
• The Doors - Brake On Through (To The Other Side)

A songwriter named Arthur Altman wrote the music for this in 1939. The song needed lyrics, so music publishing mogul Lou Levy asked his friend Jack Lawrence to help out. Lawrence had written many popular songs, including "Foolin' Myself" for Billie Holiday, "What Will I Tell My Heart?" for Bing Crosby, and "If I Didn't Care" for The Ink Spots. He agreed and added lyrics to the song. Altman made a few changes to the melody to accommodate the lyrics.

After this was written, Lou Levy found 3 prominent orchestras to record it. One of the orchestras was led by Freddy Martin, another by Jimmy Dorsey (with vocals by Bob Eberly), and the third by Harry James. James had recently discovered a 23-year-old vocalist from Hoboken, New Jersey named Frank Sinatra, who sang this in his version. Despite strong renditions from big-name orchestras, all 3 singles disappeared without a hint of public interest. Even though this was a flop, Sinatra's career took off. He joined Tommy Dorsey, the most successful bandleader of the early '40s, and became the featured vocalist on 39 Top-20 singles. He was a heartthrob sensation, headliner and show business icon. He was the most talked-about performer in the music industry, and signed a deal with Columbia Records, one of the biggest labels in the business.

his remains one of the most recorded American song standards. It has been recorded by vocalists Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Perry Como, as well as Jazz musicians like John Coltrane, George Shearing, Count Basie and Chet Baker. Other artists to record it include Barry Manilow, Diana Krall, Little Jimmy Scott, Al Jarreau and Little Anthony And The Imperials (Songfacts).

On this day in 1943, Frank Sinatra made his debut as vocalist on radio's "Your Hit Parade."

Read also:

• Summertime Stories
• Liza Minnelli - New York, New York
• Ella and Louis
• The World's First Album Cover

Jazz played by a small ensemble featuring collective and solo improvisation. The term is often ascribed especially to the New Orleans pioneers of jazz, although many critics of popular music believe the term better describes the music of a later wave of white Chicago musicians including Jimmy McPartland, Bud Freeman, and Frank Teschemacher. The earliest jazz ensembles grew out of the ragtime and brass bands of New Orleans, incorporating elements of the blues. In early jazz ensembles, such as those led by King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton, the trumpet or cornet plays the melody, with clarinet and trombone providing accompaniment. The tension created by soloists contrasts with the release of ensemble refrains. It is played with a distinctive two-beat rhythm, resulting in a joyous cacophony at fast tempos or slow, mournful dirges. Dixieland groups usually include banjo, tuba, and drums (Britannica Concise Encyclopedia).

The term Dixieland became widely used after the advent of the first million-selling hit records of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917. The music has been played continuously since the early part of the 20th century. Louis Armstrong's All-Stars was the band most popularly identified with Dixieland, although Armstrong's own influence runs through all of jazz.

The swing era of the 1930s led to the end of many Dixieland Jazz musicians' careers. Only a few musicians were able to maintain popularity. Most retired.

There was a revival of Dixieland in the late 1940s and 1950s, which brought many semiretired musicians a measure of fame late in their lives as well as bringing retired musicians back onto the jazz circuit after years of not playing (e.g. Kid Ory). Many Dixieland groups of the revival era consciously imitated the recordings and bands of decades earlier. Other musicians continued to create innovative performances and new tunes. For example, in the 1950s a style called "Progressive Dixieland" sought to blend traditional Dixieland melody with bebop-style rhythm. Steve Lacy played with several such bands early in his career. This style is sometimes called "Dixie-bop".

While the term Dixieland is still in wide use, the term's appropriateness is a hotly debated topic in some circles. For some it is the preferred label (especially bands on the USA's West coast and those influenced by the 1940s revival bands), while others (especially New Orleans musicians, and those influenced by the African-American bands of the 1920s) would rather use terms like Classic Jazz or Traditional Jazz. Some of the latter consider Dixieland a derogatory term implying superficial hokum played without passion or deep understanding of the music.

Today there are three main active streams of Dixieland jazz:

• Chicago style (Jimmy McPartland, Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier Bud Freeman) differs from its southern origin by being faster paced, resembling the hustle-bustle of city life; The rhythm sections of these bands substitute the string bass for the tuba and the guitar for the banjo. Musically, the Chicagoans play in more of a swing-style 4-to-the-bar manner.

• West Coast Revival The "West Coast revival" is a movement begun in the late 1930s by the Lu Watters Yerba Buena Jazz Band of San Francisco and extended by trombonist Turk Murphy. It started out as a backlash to the Chicago style, which is closer in development towards swing. The repertoire of these bands is based on the music of Joe "King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, and W.C. Handy. Bands playing in the West Coast style use banjo and tuba in the rhythm sections, which play in a 2-to-the-bar rhythmic style.

• New Orleans Traditional The "New Orleans Traditional" revival movement began with the rediscovery of Bunk Johnson in 1942 and was extended by the founding of Preservation Hall in the French Quarter during the 1960s. Bands playing in this style use string bass and banjo in the rhythm section playing 4-to-the-bar and feature popular tunes and Gospel hymns that were played in New Orleans since the early 20th century.
  

"When The Saints Go Marching In" is one of the best known dixieland "hit". This is a version from the '40s performed by The Dukes of Dixieland: