By Adam Waldman
Feel Good Friday is an ongoing feature on Hard Rock Daddy. Each Friday, we will be adding new songs to the “FEEL GOOD ROCK SONGS” playlist (see YouTube link below). You can go directly to the YouTube video for each song by clicking on link before the write-up.
THE MONROES – “What Do All The People Know?” (1982)
Long before the advent of YouTube and Wikipedia, The Monroes burst onto the scene with their infectious hit, “What Do All The People Know?” The song was played regularly on my favorite local rock station, but by the time that I got around to buying it, there were no copies left. It wasn’t until I read about what happened on Wikipedia that I found that the band’s Japanese label abandoned the U.S. market.
I remember traveling around to record conventions trying to buy the single or the album, but never had any luck. One day, while talking about the song to the manager of my local record store, he told me that the album was out of print, but that he had a copy. The dollar that I paid him to record one of my favorite songs (to this day) was well worth it.
Life happens, things change, and my copy of the tape had long since disappeared. Thankfully, in the age of YouTube, nothing is gone forever.
If you need a feel good rock song to lift your spirits and bring a smile to your face, there are few that will do the trick like “What Do All The People Know?” It may be the band’s only hit, but they can revel in the fact that they wrote one of the most memorable songs of the ‘80s.
HEAD EAST – “Never Been Any Reason” (1975)
I don’t remember exactly when I heard “Never Been Any Reason” (Head East’s biggest hit). I do know that it was several years after its release, probably at some point in the early ‘90s. To this day, hearing the song not only puts me in a good mood, it also makes me crave pancakes. Check out the album cover to see why.
Thanks to classic rock and satellite radio, this melodic treat isn’t necessarily a rarity. Over four decades after its release, “Never Been Any Reason” still gets radio airplay. This isn’t uncommon for the one-hit wonders of the ‘80s (because of MTV), but you don’t hear many of these types of songs from the ‘70s standing the test of time.
The signature keyboard sound and beautiful vocal harmonies help make “Never Been Any Reason” an ideal feel good rock song. Truth be told, before doing my research, I always thought that the lead vocals were shared by a male and female, but it turns out that the soaring vocals come courtesy of John Schlitt.
Interested in sharing your favorite feel good songs to help build this playlist?
Go to the Hard Rock Daddy Facebook page and send us a message letting us know which songs you would like to write about.
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