'Mystery train' - Elvis Presley

On the 3rd of December 1955, Elvis Presley's first release on RCA Victor Records was announced. The first two songs ‘Mystery Train’ and ‘I Forgot to Remember to Forget’ had been purchased from Sam Phillips of Sun Records. Elvis was described by his new record company as 'The most talked about personality in recorded music in the last 10 years.'http://www.thisdayinmusic.com
Listen to 'Mystery train'

"Mystery Train" is a song written by Junior Parker and Sam Phillips.^[1] It was first recorded in Phillip's Memphis Recording Service and Sun Records at 706 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee in 1953. Raymond Hill and Matt Murphy were in the backing band with Bill Johnson on piano, Pat Hare on guitar, and John Bowers on drums. The band was listed on the label as Little Junior's Blue Flames. "Mystery Train" and "Love My Baby" were released late in 1953 on Sun #192, and from the beginning the sound and feel of "Train" gave Parker his first taste of fame and name recognition.

The following lines can be found in the Carter Family's "Worried Man Blues", their biggest selling record of 1930.^[2]

"The train arrived sixteen coaches long, The train arrived sixteen coaches long. The girl I love is on that train and gone."

Parker sings, "Train I ride sixteen coaches long. Train I ride sixteen coaches long. Well, that long black train carries my baby home."

Elvis Presley's version of "Mystery Train" was first released on August 20, 1955 as the B-side of "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" (Sun 223). Presley's version would be ranked #77 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list in 2003.^[3] It was again produced by Sam Phillips at Sun Studios, and featured Presley on vocals and rhythm guitar, Scotty Moore on lead guitar, and Bill Black on bass. Moore's guitar break toward the end of the record is an echo of the 1946 "Sixteen Tons" by Merle Travis.^[4]

RCA Victor rereleased this recording in December 1955 (#47-6357) after acquiring it as part of a contract with Presley.^[5] This version of the song peaked at # 11 on the national BillboardCountry Chart.^[6]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Train
'Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Well that long black train got my baby and gone'

'Venus' Shocking Blue

On the 2nd of December 2006, Dutch singer Mariska Veres from Shocking Blue died of cancer at the age of 59. Had the 1970 US No.1 & UK No.8 single 'Venus', (later covered by girl group of Bananarama) http://www.thisdayinmusic.com
Watch 'Venus' by Shocking blue

"Venus" is a 1969 song by the Dutch band Shocking Blue which the group took to number one in the U.S. and five countries across Europe in 1970. Notably covered by girl group Bananarama, the song returned to number one in the U.S. and topped the charts in six other countries around the world in 1986. The composition has been featured in numerous films, television shows and commercials, and covered dozens of times by artists around the world.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_(Shocking_Blue_song)
'A Goddess on the mountain top
Was burning like a silver flame
The summit of beauty and love
And Venus was her name'

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/shocking_blue/#share

'Beat it' Michael Jackson

On the 1st of December 1982, Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' album was released. It spent 190 weeks on the UK album chart became the biggest selling pop album of all time, with sales over 50 million copies http://www.thisdayinmusic.com

Listen to 'Beat it'

"Beat It" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones (with co-production by Jackson). It is the third single from the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller (1982). Dutch-American guitarist Eddie Van Halen was tapped to add the song's distinctive overdriven guitar solo, but he refused to appear in the music video. Following the successful chart performances of the Thriller singles "The Girl Is Mine" and "Billie Jean", "Beat It" was released on February 14, 1983 as the album's third single. The song was promoted with a short film that featured Jackson bringing two gangs together through the power of dance.

A commercial success, "Beat It" was awarded two Grammy Awards and two American Music Awards and was inducted into the Music Video Producers Hall of Fame. "Beat It" (along with the song's music video) propelled Thriller into becoming the best-selling album of all time. The single was certified platinum in 1989. Rolling Stone magazine placed "Beat It" in the 337th spot on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

In the decades since its release, "Beat It" has been covered, parodied, and sampled by numerous artists including Fergie, "Weird Al" Yankovic and Fall Out Boy. The song was also featured in the National Highway Safety Commission's anti-drunk driving campaign.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_It
'You better run, you better do what you can
Don't wanna see no blood, don't be no macho man
You wanna be tough, better do what you can
So beat it! But you wanna be bad'

'Rebel yell' - Billy Idol

 30th of  November 1955, Born on this day, William Broad (Billy Idol), singer, Generation X, (1979 UK No.11 single 'King Rocker'). Solo (1987 US No.1 & UK No.7 single 'Mony Mony', plus nine other UK top 40 singles)http://www.thisdayinmusic.com
Watch video 'Rebel yell'

"Rebel Yell" is the first song on the Billy Idol album of the same name. When first released in 1984, it charted outside the UK Top 40, but a re-issue in 1985 reached #6. It did not fare as well in the US, only reaching #46. The song was named the 79^th best hard rock song of all time byVH1.^[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebel_Yell_(song)
'I walked the ward with you, babe
A thousand miles with you
I dried your tears of pain, babe
A million times for you
I'd sell my soul for you, babe
For money to burn for you
I'd give you all, and have none, babe
Justa, justa, justa, justa to have you here by me
Because......'

'What is life' - George Harrison

On the 29th of November 2001, Former Beatles guitarist George Harrison died in Los Angeles of lung cancer aged 58. Following the breakup of The Beatles Harrison had a successful career as a solo artist and later as part of the Traveling Wilburys. The youngest member of The Beatles, (aged 16 when he joined), his compositions include ‘Taxman’, ‘Here Comes the Sun’, ‘Something’, and ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. Harrison released the acclaimed triple album, All Things Must Pass, in 1970, from which came the worldwide No.1 single ‘My Sweet Lord.’ He was the co-founder of Handmade Films, collaborated with Madonna and the members of Monty Python. An accomplished gardener, Harrison restored the grounds of his 120 roomed English home Friar Park. www.thisdayinmusic.com
Listen to 'What is life'

"What Is Life" is a song by George Harrison and is the first track on side two of his 1970 soloalbum All Things Must Pass. It was released as the second single from that album in the United States on February 15, 1971 with another album track, "Apple Scruffs," as the B-side. On March 27, "What Is Life" peaked at #10 in the Billboard Hot 100, making Harrison the first member of the Beatles to log two Top 10 solo hits on that chart.^[1]

The song was written for Billy Preston in 1969, but Harrison decided not to ask Preston to record the song during his "funky" phase, seeing the song as too much of a "catchy pop tune".^[2]

The song was co-produced by George Harrison and Phil Spector, who also produced, among other of Harrison's best known songs, My Sweet Lord.

In choosing personnel for recording, he chose mostly British performers, and all of them were successful in the music business, such people as Pete Ham, Joey Molland, and Tom Evans, all of the rock band Badfinger, and guitarist Eric Clapton, who at the time, was performing withDerek and the Dominoes.

An instrumental outtake version of the song appears on the 2001 re-release of All Things Must Pass. Featuring a piccolo trumpet and oboe, it was discarded because Harrison "didn't like the feel".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_Life

'I Hear You Knocking' - Dave Edmunds

On the 28th of November 1970, Dave Edmunds was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of the 1955 Smiley Lewis hit 'I Hear You Knocking.' Also the first release on the new MAM record label.http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/
Listen to the song - 'I Hear You Knocking'

"I Hear You Knocking" (sometimes spelled "I Hear You Knockin'") is a popular rhythm and blues song with emphatic syncopation, written by Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King and published in 1955. The original recording was made by Smiley Lewis, reaching #2 on theBillboard R&B singles chart.

The lyrics concern a former lover whose knocking at the door will not be answered. A similar lyrical theme appears in the earlier songs "Keep A-Knockin'"(1935) and "Open the Door, Richard" (1947), to which "I Hear You Knocking" may be considered an answer song.

The song was popularized in 1955 in a cover version by Gale Storm in a recording on Dot Records catalog number 15412, reaching #2 on the Billboard charts. The song reached #3 on the Cash Box Best-Selling Record chart.

A later recording by Welsh singer Dave Edmunds reached #4 on the Billboard charts in 1971, and in the UK it took the coveted Christmas number one slot in 1970, topping the UK singles chart for six weeks.^[1]

In an interview with John Lennon made shortly after the dissolution of the Beatles, Lennon told interviewer Jann Wenner that the Edmunds version was his favourite new recording.

There are also two versions of this song recorded by Alvin Lee. A live version in 1994 on the album 'Live in Vienna' and a studio version in 1995 on the album 'Nineteen Ninety four'.

The song was also covered live by the British rock band Thunder, and can be found as a live B-side on their "Castles in the Sand" single.

"I Hear You Knocking" was included in the Broadway musical "Million Dollar Quartet," which opened in New York in April, 2010.^[2] It was sung on Broadway by Elizabeth Stanley, as "Dyanne," a woman who in the show accompanies Elvis Presley to Sun Records Studio.^[3]Elizabeth Stanley also covered the song on the "Million Dollar Quartet" original Broadway cast recording, copyright 2010 by MDQ Merchandising, LLC.^{[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Hear_You_Knocking}
Listen to the song - 'I Hear You Knocking'

'Hey Joe' - Jimi Hendrix

27th November 1942, Born on this day, Jimi Hendrix, guitarist, singer, (1967 UK No.6 single 'Hey Joe', 1970 UK No.1 single 'Voodoo Chile', 1968 US No.1 & UK No.6 album 'Electric Ladyland'). Hendrix died on 18th September 1970 after choking on his own vomit.http://www.thisdayinmusic.com
Listen to the song - 'Hey Joe'
"Hey Joe" is an American popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and as such, has been performed in a multitude of musical styles by hundreds of different artists since it was first written."Hey Joe" tells the story of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico after shooting his wife. However, diverse credits and claims have led to confusion as to the song's true authorship and genesis. The earliest known commercial recording of the song is the late 1965 single by the Los Angeles garage band, The Leaves, who also had the first hit version of the song with a re-recording in 1966. Currently the best-known version is The Jimi Hendrix Experience's 1966 recording, their debut single. The song title is sometimes given as "Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go?" or similar variations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_Joe
Listen to the song - 'Hey Joe'
'Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand 
Hey Joe, I said where you goin' with that gun in your hand 

I'm going down to shoot my old lady 
You know, I've caught her messin' around with another man 
I'm going down to shoot my old lady 
You know, I've caught her messin' around with another man 
And that ain't too cool'

'I feel free' - Cream

On the 26th of November 1968 At the Royal Albert Hall London, the legendary rock band  Cream played their farewell concert. 
 Cream were a 1960's supergroup made up of Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, they played a mix of blues and hard rock, relased 4 albums and sold over 35 million copies.
'I feel free'  comes from their first album 'Fresh cream' released in 1966 and has been covered by many artists since, including David Bowie and The Foo Fighters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fLn9Z1G_LE
'I can walk down the street there's no one there
Though, the pavements are one huge crowd
I can drive down the road, my eyes don't see
Though my mind wants to cry out loud

I feel free'

'Day is done' - Nick Drake

On the 25th of November 1974 English singer, songwriter Nick Drake died in his sleep aged 26. He had signed to Island records when he was 20 years old and recorded 3 albums, none of which sold more than 5000 copies while he was alive. But he had a loyal fan base and they spread the word of his great songs. So much so, that he has gone on to be a massive influence in the World of contemporary music.
'Day is done' is a song from Drake's first album 'Five leaves left' and is a tale of missed opportunities. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2jxjv0HkwM
'When the day is done
Down to earth then sinks the sun
Along with everything that was lost and won
When the day is done'

'Somebody to Love' - Queen

On the 24th of November 1991 Freddie Mercury died aged 45. The day previous he had publicly stated that he was HIV positive and his death was due to complications with the disease. Mercury was the lead vocalist with Queen, a powerful singer and brilliant showman, he was also a great songwriter and penned many hit records for Queen, including 'Bohemian rhapsody', 'Killer Queen',' Don't stop me now' and 'Somebody to love.'
'Somebody to love' is a gospel song and an homage to Aretha Franklin, Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor multi tracked their voices to sound like a 100 piece gospel choir and the lyrics tell of a man starting out in desperation, finding faith and ultimately hope, It reached number 2 in the UK charts.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxzoB4GA3zs
'I work hard every day of my life 
I work till I ache my bones 
At the end I take home my hard earned pay all on my own - 
I get down on my knees 
And I start to pray 
Till the tears run down from my eyes 
Lord - somebody - somebody 
Can anybody find me - somebody to love?'

'The Son of Hickory Holler's Tamp' - O.C. Smith

On the 23rd of November 2001 singer O.C. Smith died at the age of 65. He had 2 huge hit records in the late 60's, 'Little green apples' which went to number 1 in the US and 'The Son of Hickory Hollers Tramp' which got to number 2 in the UK. Smith went on to become a Pastor and founded the City of Angels church in Los Angeles where he practiced for 16 years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UodaOuoMHXs
'The corn was dry and the weeds were high when daddy took to drinking. Then him and Lucy Walker they took up and ran away. Mama cried a tear and then she promised fourteen children I swear you'll never see a hungry day'

'While my guitar gently weeps' - The Beatles

On the 22nd of November 1968 The Beatles released their double 'White album' in the UK. It was at number one on the album chart for eight weeks. The album was ranked at number ten by Rolling stone magazines 500 greatest albums of all time. Tracks included Revolution, Helter skelter, Back in the USSR, Blackbird, Dear Prudence and the George Harrison composition 'While my guitar gently weeps' which featured Eric Clapton on lead guitar.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3RYvO2X0Oo
'I don't know why nobody told you 
how to unfold you love 
I don't know how someone controlled you 
they bought and sold you'

'Song 2' - Blur

On the 21st of November 1968 Alex James, bass player with Indie rock band, Blur was born.
'Song 2' comes from Blurs fifth album 'Blur' released in 1997. This song with it's great riff and woo hoo's is perhaps one of the best known songs the Band have released. The song at the time appeared to have a strange name, but 'Song 2 was the second track on the album, the second single to be released, it's exactly two minutes and two seconds long and it peaked at number two on the UK charts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlAHZURxRjY
'I got my head checked 
By a jumbo jet 
It wasn't easy but nothing is 
No '

'Bo Didley' - Bo Didley

On the 20th of November 1955 Bo Didley made an appearance on th Ed Sullivan show on US television. He had been booked to sing his version of 'Sixteen tons' but when he arrived on stage he sang his own song 'Bo Didley instead. As a result he was never asked to appear on the show again.
Bo Didley  played a huge part in the transition of African American blues to Rock music. He was known as 'The originator' and was a major influence on artists like Buddy Holly, The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Hendrix The Clash and Velvet Underground. In fact the bo Didley rhythm can be heard echoing through over five decades of rock. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgBbmuD_LQw
'Mojo come to my house wi' black cat bone 
A-take my baby away from home 
Up in that fo' door a-where you been? 
Up yo' house and gone again' 

'Where did you sleep last night' - Nirvana

On the 18th of November 1993 Nirvana recorded their MTV unplugged special at Sony Studios, New York.
 ' Where did you sleep last night' is a traditional American folk song dating back to the 19th century  and is best associated with the great blues singer Leadbelly who recorded it in the 1940's. Nirvana's stunning performance here introduced this great song to a new audience. Tragically, less than six months later singer Kurt Cobain was dead.
Watch here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKT1P7x_Pzo
'Her husband, was a hard working man,
Just about a mile from here.
His head was found in a driving wheel, 
But his body never was found'.

' Sea of heartbreak' - Johnny Cash

On the 17th of November 2003 Country music legend Don Gibson died. He was a great songwriter and penned  such country standards as 'Sweet dreams', 'Oh lonesome me' which Neil Young (who rarely covered other peoples songs) sang on his album 'After the gold rush, 'I can't stop loving you' which has been covered by more than 700 artists including Ray Charles.
'Sea of heartbreak' was a hit record for Don Gibson in 1961, but Johnny Cash's version is darker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZAS5ciRTe4
'The lights in the harbor,
Don't shine for me.
I'm like a lost ship,
Adrift on the sea.'
Ok here is Don Gibson's version -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4bo4ByFhLM

'All along the watchtower' Jimi Hendrix

On the 16th of November 1968 The Jimi Hendrix experience went to #1 on the US album chart with the double album 'Electric ladyland'

The album was a mix of R&B, blues and psychedelic and contained such songs as 'Voodoo chile', 'Crosstown traffic' and a cover of Bob Dylans 'All along the watchtower'. Dylan loved Hendrix 's version so much that after Jimi's death he played the Hendrix version iat his concertshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZTPsrcfQSE&feature=fvst
"There must be some kinda way out of here"
Said the joker to the thief
"There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief"

"Businessmen, they, they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None will level on the line
Nobody of it is worth", hey

The tide is high - Blondie

On the 15th of November 1980 Blondie were at #1 in the UK charts with''The tide is high' a song written by Jamaican singer songwriter John Holt. This was Blondie's 5th #1 single and their 3rd in 1980. The single also went to #1 in the US charts.
The song had originally been a minor hit fo John Holt's band 'The Paragons' in 1967 and Blondie wanted to keep its Jamaican feel, so they hired 3 percussionists and added a string and horn arrangement. 
The percussion allegedly features 8 tracks of drumsticks tapping on a piano bench.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppYgrdJ0pWk
'

It's not the things you do that tease and wound me bad
But it's the way you do the things you do to me

I'm not the kind of girl who gives up just like that
Oh, no'
 here is The Paragons version.