"Over the years, some bands who've released recording debuts have launched their careers with a single from the album that, in many cases, was the first song on the first side of their record. In the business, these songs are called 'lead-off tracks,' denoting the first in a series of songs on an album. Many of these tracks spawned major hits: from Beyoncé's 'Crazy In Love,' 'Chuck E's In Love' by Rickie Lee Jones and Norah Jones' 'Don't Know Why,' to Foo Fighters' 'This Is A Call' and 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes' by Crosby, Stills & Nash. Still others, while not major radio hits, have had lasting influence on pop music. 'Radio Free Europe' by R.E.M., 'Illegal Smile' by John Prine, 'Push It Along' by A Tribe Called Quest and 'Sunday Morning' by The Velvet Underground come to mind. From rock and soul to R&B and rap, we've collected 150 of these lead-off tracks into one playlist. Listen below."
NPR (Audio)
No comments:
Post a Comment