Guaranteed You Don't Know All 4 Of These Songs! : Ciara, Black Sabbath, The Rockets, Delbert McClinton

"MAKE IT LAST FOREVER"  CIARA

A dream job of mine would be becoming an A&R guy for a record company, scouting and  choosing new artists to sign, deciding what singles to release, who to promote, and what direction an artist should take.   Ciara's CD, The Evolution, came out with the smash, "Get Up" (great move), then came "Promise" (slow jam, not as popular), "Like A Boy" (sexy video, picked up some momentum although the song wasn't Ciara's best), then came "Can't Leave Em Alone with 50 Cent" (he was losing his popularity at the time and the song died).   I would have released #2 "Make It Last Forever".   The song is a hip hop dance party in under 4 minutes.  Led by two prominent samples of James Brown and the Rob Base classic "It Takes Two", Ciara rocks the mic, one of her best songs ever, and her CD would have gone to higher levels.  

 

"SENDING ME ANGELS"  DELBERT McCLINTON

Delbert scored his biggest hit in the 80's with a J. Geils-styled jam called "Giving It Up For Your Love".   He's an accomplished multi-genre artist, skilled harmonica player, blues guitarist, and singer/songwriter out of Texas.   "Sending Me Angels" is a combination of a spiritual themed message with a simple love song.   Released in 1997, this hidden treasure song will uplift your day and the feel-good message will never go out of style.  Good friends are "our angels" that push us to higher goals.  Love the lyric:   "He keeps sending me angels, teaching me to fly". 

"OH WELL"   THE ROCKETS
"Don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you think I'll do, oh well". This song is well traveled.   Originally from Peter Green, original member of Fleetwood Mac before Stevie Nicks joined the group.   The song has been covered by artists as diverse as Tom Petty, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and RATT on MTV Unplugged.  The song has that great blues guitar jam intro then that those lyrics suck you in.   Based out of Michigan, this was the band's only big hit, but for a One Hit Wonder, it's a great song.

  

"I WON'T CRY FOR YOU"  BLACK SABBATH

It's a lost ballad from the grandfathers of Metal.  Even some huge fans of the band don't remember this song!   In 1995, after Ozzy and Ronnie James Dio had gone their separate ways, the band enlisted Tony Martin as their new lead singer.  It's been called the worst Black Sabbath CD, but there is no denying this POWER BALLAD.   The song stands up to the best of the hard ballads of the 90's.  Tommy Iommi's guitar work is solid and it's the top track on their "Forbidden" CD.

Randy Rhoads Gone Too Soon : Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Randy Rhoads

"LIFE WON'T WAIT"               OZZY OSBOURNE

This Tuesday, Ozzy will release the DVD, "God Bless Ozzy Osbourne" produced by his son, Jack.  Teenagers nowadays picture Ozzy as "that guy from the MTV Show" or see him acting silly in commercials with Justin Bieber.     Ozzy has been making incredible music for the last 40 years and he's STILL going strong.  This single from 2011's Scream CD is full of positive energy.  "Life Won't Wait" sounds current, relevant, and another great song in Ozzy's illustrious career.


Every second you throw away
Every minute of every day
Don't get caught in a myriad
Because life won't wait for you
No, life won't wait for you, my friend.


Stay strong stay true be brave - it all comes down to you

"CRAZY TRAIN (AFTER HOURS)"          OZZY (FT RANDY RHOADS)

An awesome extended version of Ozzy's anthem that features   Randy Rhoads' guitar magic.    Randy played lead guitar for Quiet Riot before joining Ozzy's band.   His style influenced by his classical guitar background changed rock music.   So many classic riffs in such a brief career.   Randy was reportedly "afraid of flying" and tragically died in a plane crash outside of Orlando.

"LONELY IS THE WORD"            BLACK SABBATH

Keeping on the Ozzy theme, Black Sabbath, along with Led Zeppelin, started the Heavy Metal genre.    When Ozzy was dismissed from Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio was brought in and they released "Heaven & Hell" in 1980.    The CD went multi-platinum and featured  "Lonely Is The Word" as a beautiful power ballad highlighted by Tommy Iommi's finest guitar solo.