Today In Oldies 12/31/2010

Golden Hits Radio & GHR-2's Everything Oldies.......ringing out 2010 with 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's music news!

• To ring in the new year, here are five legendary performances of "Auld Lang Syne" (click here for video)
• The TV special re-enacting Michael Jackson's autopsy will not be happening
• Paula Abdul.....singer.....dancer......MENSA member?!?!?!
• After 20 years, a rocker is headed to divorce court
• The man who was once rock's biggest Baby goes returns to his roots for a new album

Oldies On TV

• Madonna - Ellen DeGeneres (syndicated; check local listings)
• Bono & The Edge, more - New Year's Eve With Carson Daly (NBC)
• Rick Springfield, more - All American New Year's Eve (Fox News)
• Daryl Hall, John Oates, Smokey Robinson, Todd Rundgren, Jose Feliciano, more - Live From Daryl's House: A New Year's Eve Special (WGN America)

The Gift Of Music

This week, Everything Oldies will spotlight hit songs written by one music superstar and performed by another.  In some cases, the writer of the song had the artist in mind when putting pen to paper, and in others, they had someone else in mind when the song was written and were advised to keep it for themselves.  In any case, the artist made it his (or her) own and fully realized the writer's vision.

Today, we celebrate songs written by someone who has received every possible award and honor known to man.  We certainly don't have to tell you that Paul McCartney might be one of the world's most brilliant songwriters from his Beatles, Wings, and solo days, but he also wrote several hits for other artists!  We'll also take a look at one song originally written for someone else but eventually kept by the Fab Four, a wise decision since it became their biggest hit. 

• McCartney wrote a song for the 1969 Peter Sellers film The Magic Christian, but it doubled as a statement about the financial trouble surrounding The Beatles' Apple Corps business venture.  McCartney's original demo of the song can be heard on the Beatles' "Anthology" CD, but the song ended up in the hands of one of the first groups signed to Apple Records.  They wanted to put their own take on it, but McCartney insisted that it be done just as he had done it on the demo.  They obeyed, and as a result, Badfinger had their first hit!

• Riding the wave of the British Invasion, it certainly didn't hurt Peter Asher that Paul McCartney was dating his sister Jane during the Beatles' heyday.  As a result, he and John Lennon wrote Asher and his partner, Gordon Waller, a song that became a smash on both sides of the Atlantic for Peter and Gordon.....

• Paul originally wrote this song for Aretha Franklin.  Wisely, he decided to keep it and let The Beatles record it.  Otherwise, The Fab Four would have been denied one of their biggest hits!  

Golden Hits Radio & GHR-2's Burning Question of the Day

On New Year's Eve 1967, Sonny and Cher were informed that their invitation to appear at the next day's Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California had been rescinded.  What was the reason?

Check back Monday @ Everything Oldies for the answer, and leave a comment here with your best guess!

Yesterday's Burning Question (and Answer) of the Day

What 70's album holds the record for taking the longest amount of time from its initial release to hit #1?

Answer: Taking more than a year from its initial release (58 weeks), Fleetwood Mac's self-titled 1975 album