Pacific Gas & Electric formed in Los Angeles in 1967 and was named after the West Coast power company, which forced the band to change its name to PG&E in 1971. The New York Times at the time called them “among the best and most underexposed talent in the country.” PG&E’s acclaimed performance at the 1968 Miami Pop Festival earned them a contract with Columbia Records.

In early 1966, Sledge recorded “When a Man Loves a Woman” with some of the area’s finest musicians: Junior Lowe (bass), Spooner Oldham (organ), Roger Hawkins (drums), and Jimmy Johnson (lead guitar). The band was borrowed from Rick Hall’s FAME Studios, where the Muscle Shoals Sound was born.

“She Works Hard for the Money” is the title track of Donna Summer’s 1983 album. Released as the lead single, it was a №1 R&B hit that year. Summer wrote the song with producer Michael Omartian. Its inspiration came after the February 1983 Grammy Awards ceremony when Summer attended a party at Chasen’s restaurant in West Hollywood. Summer and manager Susan Muneo encountered an exhausted restroom attendant named Onetta Johnson.

“Bread and Butter” was a №2 hit in 1964 for the Newbeats: lead singer Larry Henley and brothers Dean and Mark Mathis. The group formed in Shreveport, LA, and was signed by Hickory Records on the strength of a demo of “Bread and Butter.”

Wilson’s high-pitched sound effects were inspired by Yoko Ono. “All of us really loved her, so it was definitely an inspiration when Cindy did her vocal part and some of the background parts,” Pierson told A.V. Club.

“Probably the thing that they had to twist my arm the hardest to do,” Cassidy told Lost 45s, “was ‘Doesn’t Somebody Want to Be Wanted.’

I had 18 sides, 9 bomb records before “Who’s Sorry Now.” So I didn’t think it was going to come. “Who’s Sorry Now” was going to be my last record for MGM. Of course, when Dick Clark played it, it became a hit.

“My comedy is rooted in family and observation, and I’ve always believed that if people are coming to a comedy show, they want an escape from the world news, the killings, the politics — this, that, and the other thing. That’s what I pride myself on.”

Dad used to wear a suit and tie and commute to his office downtown. Dad said work was like Christmas. He did all the work and a fat guy with a suit got all the credit.

Elton John incorporated elements of Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound production techniques in recording “Step Into Christmas.” “We wanted to make an homage to Phil Spector,” John told the Sunday Post. “Part of what made Phil Spector records were the rooms, the musicians and the ambience.”

The Drifters would place nine records in the R&B Top 10, including the greatest holiday song ever put on vinyl: “White Christmas.”

Things came to a head when one of the Drifters, who had been drinking, argued and cursed at Dr. Jive and Apollo owner Frank Schiffman. Treadwell fired the entire group backstage and offered four of the Five Crowns the opportunity to become the new lineup of the Drifters.

1. Roger McGuinn got a Dylan lyric wrong in A. “My Back Pages” B. “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” C. “Mr. Tambourine Man”

“Want to take a mind excursion? How ‘bout a little diversion? The hippest of all trips. The return to reality. Well, join me.”

The Hawks left Hawkins in 1964 and started working as Bob Dylan’s backing band a year later. After he suffered a motorcycle accident in 1966, Dylan invited the Hawks to join him in Woodstock.

The song only reached №63 but is a fan favorite. Its lyrics describe their arrest, along with Fagen’s girlfriend, Dorothy White, in a marijuana raid.

“One night, one of the guys jumped off the stage and opened up the cash register and started throwing money all around the place. That made the papers. After that, a couple of the cash registers would be stacked with ones. We did that in that one club, then in another club we’d tear out the ceiling tiles.”

Kip Cohen: Paul would come with Linda, who wasn’t well known, and they bought tickets to sit in the back of the orchestra. We would take a couple of the ushers who were on to it and we would bring them food and drinks and they would visit three or four times. They were very sweet about it.

The song was ‘Dancing in the Street’ and it became the Motown anthem “At first, I didn’t like it. But then I thought about my neighborhood and how we’d stay up all night, dancing in the street.”

Bleecker Bob’s was much more than an oldies record shop. Plotnik recognized new trends in music and it was the source of hard-to-find punk rock releases in the genre’s early days. Thousands of albums and singles were stacked in countertop compartments and posters and memorabilia covered the walls.