John Richards

This was written by Heatwave's keyboardist Rod Temperton; it was the first song he ever wrote on his own. The song got the attention of producer Quincy Jones, who brought Temperton in to write songs for Michael Jackson. It was a very fruitful collaboration, as Temperton wrote three of Jackson's biggest hits: "Off The Wall," "Rock With You" and "Thriller."

After getting hit with a great deal of negative publicity back home in London, The Sex Pistols felt like they had been trapped in a prison camp environment, so they decamped to the Channel Island of Jersey. The group was so notorious, they couldn't find a place to stay. Steve Jones and Paul Cook returned to England, but John Lydon and Sid Vicious continued on to Berlin, where they spent two weeks. The lyric was inspired by this trip, including their views over the Berlin Wall into communist East Berlin.

Released as a single in 1977! The band was formed in 1973 by Harry Wayne Casey (KC), a record store employee and part-timer at TK Records in Hialeah, Florida. KC originally called the band KC & The Sunshine Junkanoo Band, as he used studio musicians from TK and a local Junkanoo band called the Miami Junkanoo Band.: www.heykcsb.com

"To this day, Plastic Bertrand has sold more than 20 millions of albums throughout the world. His songs are performed by the greatest American bands such as Sonic Youth, The President of The United States, Leyla Kaye (Prince) and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and are also choose as the soundtracks of films like «The Wolf of Wall Street» (Leonardo di Caprio / Martin Scorsese), Three Kings (George Clooney), Me Myself and I, Jackass The Movie." www.plasticbertrand.com

"Yes, there was a Virginia. Billy Joel based his 1977 song 'Only The Good Die Young' on an actual high school crush named Virginia Callahan. After Joel wrote the song about this Catholic girl’s reluctance to enjoy some lustful moments instead of praying all the time, he asked his drummer for his input. 'I showed the song to Liberty (Devitto), who’s Catholic,' Joel recalls in the liner notes to a 2008 rerelease of The Stranger. 'He said, ‘Well, it’s true.’” americansongwriter.com

X Ray Spex's Poly Styrene was the first woman of color to front a successful rock band in the UK. "She introduced the world to a new sound of rebellion, using her unconventional voice to sing about identity, consumerism, postmodernism, and everything she saw unfolding in late 1970s Britain, with a rare prescience. As the frontwoman of X-Ray Spex, the Anglo-Somali punk musician was also a key inspiration for the riot grrrl and Afropunk movements. Documentary Polystrene tells her story - find out where you can watch it here: www.polystyrenefilm.net

This 1977 disco instrumental was an adaptation of Beethoven's 5th Symphony. Saturday Night Fever is the soundtrack album from the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta.

Released in 1977! Richard Hell and the Voidoids were the first rock band to play at CBGBs in New York! This album was written while Richard Hell was still in the band Television, and first performed live with The Heartbreakers. Malcolm McLaren said this song directly inspired The Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant".

1977 Marvin Gaye told Divided Soul biographer David Ritz, "Motown was screaming disco at me... Disco disco disco disco! I couldn’t be bothered." He eventually would be bothered enough to create this disco jam that appeared on 1977's 'Live at the London Palladium.'

Released in 1977, Marquee Moon is the debut album by American rock band Television. RIP Tom Verlaine, singer and guitarist who we lost in January of this year (2023) at the age of 73.

1977 - Chic's first single and first hit in the US. Nile Rodgers said: "Bernard [Edwards] came to my apartment one day and he had laid out the complete lyric, but we wanted to add a catch phrase, so we went through a few ideas like "23 skidoo" and "Oh, you kid" and all that stuff. We had in mind something like the old dance marathons, where the emcees made the people dance, and finally we thought of how Gig Young kept saying "Yowsah, yowsah, yowsah" in 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'"

This song was written by Cheap Trick's guitarist Rick Nielsen and recorded for their 1977 self-titled debut album, but it didn't make the cut. The song was included on their second album, In Color, which was released later in 1977. By 1978, the band had dropped it from their setlist, but restored it when they toured Japan that year, since Japanese audiences loved the song. A live version of "I Want You to Want Me" from the album Cheap Trick at Budokan was released in 1979 and became their biggest selling single. - bit.ly

This was released as a single in 1977. After Duke Ellington died in 1974, Wonder wanted to write a song acknowledging musicians he felt were important. He later said, "I knew the title from the beginning but wanted it to be about the musicians who did something for me. So soon they are forgotten. I wanted to show my appreciation." Wonder pays tribute to "some of music's pioneers" in the song: "There's [Count] Basie, [Glenn]Miller, Satchmo [Louie Armstrong], and the king of all, Sir Duke / And with a voice like Ella's [Fitzgerald] ringing out / There's no way the band can lose".

"‘The Modern World’ was released as an A-side and backed by ‘Sweet Soul Music’ and ‘Back In My Arms Again’, both recorded live at London’s 100 Club on September 11th, 1977. Though the track made only a minor impact on the charts (it reached number 36) and was widely dismissed by critics, it captured something essential about the mood of 1977, even if The Jam were forced to replace Weller’s vehement “I don’t give two Fs” with the infinitely softer I don’t give a damn.” faroutmagazine.co.uk

John! Loving this 1977 mix. Will you Take a Chance on some ABBA? "Take a Chance on Me" was released in January 1977. "Take A Chance On Me” was originally titled “Billy Boy”, and came from Ulvaeus who would sing a “tck-a-ch” rhythm to himself while he would go running. Eventually, this rhythm turned into the lyrics “take a chance”. storyofsong.com

"Lucille" was Kenny Rogers' first major hit as a solo artist after leaving his band The First Edition the previous year. An international success, it was the first of 21 Country #1s for the singer. This won the 1977 Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance and was the winner of the CMA award for Single Of The Year." www.songfacts.com

"John Williams' richly thematic and highly popular 1977 score to this first Star Wars film was selected by the American Film Institute as the greatest American movie score of all time." www.classicfm.com

Released in 1977, ‘Heroes’ was Bowie’s twelfth album. The album wasn’t as commercially successful as one might think when first released, managing 3rd in the UK charts and Dutch charts. Heroes, the title track only managed 24th in the UK charts and failed to make America’s billboard 100 at all. See the final time that David Bowie performed "Heroes" live on stage: faroutmagazine.co.uk

“Psycho Killer” was released on the Talking Heads’ 1977 debut, Talking Heads: 77...the reason the song was about a psycho killer is because David [Byrne] said that he got the inspiration for it from an Alice Cooper song. Alice Cooper was very big at that particular point in time with an album called Billion Dollar Babies. The band’s whole thing was about horror. So Alice Cooper was like the springboard for ‘Psycho Killer’.” americansongwriter.com

Released in June 1977! "This upbeat disco song was a US #1 hit for five weeks, at the time a record for a female group. It was written by Earth Wind & Fire members Al McKay and Maurice White, and also produced by White. Maurice knew The Emotions (the sisters Wanda, Sheila and Pamela Hutchinson) from his pre-Earth, Wind & Fire days when he regularly drummed for the then-teenage girl group on their gigs in the Chicago area...In 1979, White had The Emotions sing on Earth, Wind & Fire's hit "Boogie Wonderland." www.songfacts.com

"Supertramps' fifth album, Even in the Quietest Moments, in 1977, left an indelible mark in listeners’ ears, due in large part to Hodgson’s uplifting, magical hit single, “Give a Little Bit.” Roger Hodgson, co-founder of Supertramp, "explains, 'I’ve always known that love is what I long for, what I want, what I believe we’re here to learn, ultimately.' And as the love chant of the ’60s was fading, he says, 'Maybe it was an answer—‘Oh, just give a little bit.’” www.rogerhodgson.com

Written by L7 frontwoman Donita Sparks, this song is a call to action, making the point that doing nothing is exactly what the powers-that-be want from their opposition. bit.ly Read "7 Reasons Why L7 Rule" @i-d.vice.com

Second Skin is the second single by Seattle-via-Yellow Springs, Ohio punk rock band The Gits. (The band dissolved after the Capitol Hill murder of singer, Mia Zapata, as she walked home from the Comet Tavern.) The record was released as a limited edition 7" single by the San Francisco-based Broken Rekids Records who would later handle all of the band's discography. Included in the track listing were early versions of "Second Skin" (later included on the Frenching the Bully album) and "Social Love" (later re-recorded for the Enter: The Conquering Chicken album). bit.ly The Gits Memorial Show is today, July 7, 2023 6pm-12am @ the Skylark Cafe & Club in Seattle.

7 Year Bitch was an American punk rock band from Seattle, Washington that was active between 1990 and 1997. Their career yielded three albums, and was impacted by the deaths of their guitarist Stefanie Sargent and close-friend Mia Zapata of fellow Seattle punks The Gits.

First Aid Kit released this song on International Women's Day in 2017. ‘You Are the Problem Here’ isn’t a typical First Aid Kit-song,” Klara and Johanna Söderberg said in a statement. “It’s angry and direct. It’s a song written out of despair...." -- Here's a live performance: www.youtube.com

Number ONE(!) on the Top 90.3 Countdown of 2018 & one of Cheryl's Top 20 that year! From amazing Australian indie-rocker , Courtney Barnett sings her heart out on song "Nameless, Faceless". Courtney Barnett performed this track live in the KEXP studio in 2018. Watch the full session, hosted by Cheryl Waters: bit.ly. See a recent Full Performance (live on KEXP) from January 2022! courtneybarnett.bandcamp.com

"Wham!, Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael, took over a mini-block of 1980s culture. A new documentary (streaming as of July 5, 2023) about the duo ends with its acrimony-free breakup in 1986. See the Official Trailer @youtu.be" www.nytimes.com

"George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; (Greek: Γεώργιος Κυριάκος Παναγιώτου); 25 June 1963) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Michael rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley. His first solo single, "Careless Whisper", was released when he was still in the duo and sold about six million copies worldwide." www.lyrics.com

"Don't give up You've got a reason to live Can't forget We only get what we give..." -- Watch the official video for "the baby Friday song," which is also the New Radicals' signature song: www.youtube.com

Ahhh....the Friday song! Watch the official animated video @youtu.be LISTEN/STREAM mintroyale.ffm.to

Check out a few of The Thermals sessions Live at KEXP: www.youtube.com "The Thermals were a post-pop-punk trio from Portland, Oregon. In ten years, the band released seven records and toured fifteen countries. "www.thethermals.com

"Of all the garage bands that made a glorious racket in the 1960s, few if any were louder, wilder, or more raw than the Sonics, a Tacoma, Washington quintet whose over the top style, complete with roaring guitars, pounding drums, and the fevered howls of lead singer Gerry Roslie, anticipated the mania of punk and pushed rock & roll deep into the red zone during their 1963-1966 heyday. The Sonics were stars in Washington, but it took a while for the rest of the world to catch on, and in time they would become one of the most fabled bands on the Pacific Northwest rock scene." www.allmusic.com

Enjoying the Friday morning show as always. Listening with my two kids Ana and Milo who love the show as much as I do. Going to see Blur at Wembley Stadium on Sunday so would love to hear some Blur! Simon in the UK ====== This song wasn't supposed to keep its "Song 2" title, but the name stuck. It's two minutes and two seconds long, with two verses and two choruses. New album, The Ballad of Darren, out July 21, 2023!

"Originally released on March 22nd 1994, Devil Hopping was Inspiral Carpets’ fourth studio record, featuring the singles 'Saturn 5,' 'I Want You' and 'Uniform.' Regarded as one of the main components of the Madchester movement in the early 90s, the Inspirals released a further three albums on Cow Records (via Mute Records) before disbanding in 1995." www.plaidroomrecords.com

How about Sometimes Always by The Jesus and Mary Chain? I’d honestly be happy with anything by them… This is my first week of 12 staying home with our new daughter Coco. Taylor in Seattle shouting out wife Mandy. Stoned & Dethroned was the fifth album by Scottish group The Jesus & Mary Chain. This recording of "Sometimes Always" features the vocal support of Mazzy Star lead Hope Sandoval.

Good Morning John, I saw the trailer for Soffia Coppola's upcoming film "Priscila" and was mesmerized by the song playing in the background. A quick google search landed on "How You Satisfy Me" released in 1992 by Spectrum. Never heard the band or the song but very glad I did, it's now the favorite track in my summer rotation. If you get a chance, I would greatly appreciate it if you can play it this morning. Thanks for everything you and the good folks at KEXP provide each and every day. Best, Scott in Charlottesville, VA

Death In Vegas !!!!! Gawd I could just curl up in that song. Ken == This third album from the British group features Hope Sandoval, Liam Gallagher, Nicola Kuperus, and Paul Weller on a few tracks. "Girls" is featured on the soundtrack to the 2003 film Lost in Translation and 2004 film D.E.B.S.

"Built around Zinner's expectant single-note riff, the gradual crescendo of 'Despair' plays like a more muted take on Show Your Bones' best single, 'Cheated Hearts', though its refrain is even more poignant. 'Oh despair, you've always been there,' Karen sings with the perfect combination of exhaustion and defiance, 'You were there through my wasted years... there through my wasted life.'" pitchfork.com

Listen all day today (7/7/23) for your chance to win tickets to see Tears For Fears with Cold War Kids @ Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, July 27, 2023 @ 7:30pm. This is an all-ages event!

Listen all day today (7/7/23) for your chance to win tickets to see Tears For Fears with Cold War Kids @ Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, July 27, 2023 @ 7:30pm. This is an all-ages event! "Shout" is the opening track on 1985 album, 'Songs from the Big Chair'.

Here's Tears for Fears covering Animal Collective's "My Girls"! tearsforfears.com For comparison's sake, here's the original: www.youtube.com