Music Break

For the first music break of 2013, let's start off with the Bob Seger song Hands In The Air, which I completely missed when it came out in 1995 as the last track on his It's A Mystery album.

Last month, I found something by the original lineup of Yes.  Here's another one from Jon Anderson (lead vocals), Peter Banks (guitars, vocals), Tony Kaye (keyboards), Chris Squire (bass, vocals) and Bill Bruford (drums, percussion), called Looking Around.

One of the first new wave songs to become a hit is Pop Muzik by M.  The group was really a studio project by singer Robin Scott, who appears as a DJ in the video.  Two models lip-sinc the backing vocals, but they were really recorded by Brigit Novik, who intermittently appears dressed in blue and wearing headphones.

In 1972, the Hollies released the album Romany, which featured Swedish vocalist Mikael Rickfors, who replaced Allan Clark, who had left to go solo.  The other band members were guitarists Tony Hicks and Terry Sylvester, bassist Bernie Calvert and drummer Bobby Elliot.  Magic Woman Touch did not break the Top 40, but still got some airplay.  This video shows the band in the studio.

Speaking of Swedish vocalists, none have ever been as successful as Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus (also on guitar) and Benny Andersson (also on keyboards), collectively known as ABBA.  I remember hearing that they became the biggest corporation in Sweden, surpassing the auto maker Volvo.  While most of their songs featured lead vocals by either of the two women, Björn takes the lead on Does Your Mother Know.  Please pardon the dorky dancing, but that's the 70's for you.