* David Bowie wrote and produced a great number of songs, many of which he recorded, but also a few that went to other artists.  This particular song was recorded by a struggling group at the time.  They were on the verge of breakup and had alienated their record label, preventing them from doing any recording in that studio.  Bowie snuck them into another studio in the middle of the night and helped them record this song by playing guitar and singing with them.  Name the band and extra credit for the name of the track....
 
*The lead vocalist of this band wrote a song that was recorded and released in 1964.  He had listened to a track by the great Carl Perkins and decided to write a new song with the same title.  The song is known for its inclusion of 'thumps' that the frontman of the group said was needed to promote significant audience enjoyment and participation during live performances.  The effect became known as 'The Tottenham Sound".  Name the band that did the song and extra credit for the name of the track...
 
*This artist was in the studio recording trying to come up with song ideas for his album, when Sean Lennon stopped by with his buddy, who had just turned 21 and was lamenting over how tough his generation had it.  The artist who was approaching age 40 at the time (1989) commiserated with the young man, recalling hyow 21 was also a tough age for him with the Vietnam War, Civil Rights upheavals amidst other crises.  This song's lyrics tackle events of which the artist's generation experienced.  Name the artist and extra credit for the name of the song...
 
*We'll play a track from the early 60's that was this band's first single.  The song was actually written by two members of the band when they were teenagers in 1958.  Much of their songwriting took place while skipping school together.
The track was written about one of the artist's girlfriend at the time, a Miss Iris Caldwell.  Name the band, the songwriters and extra credit for the name of the song.
 
BATTLE OF THE BANDS
Fever by Van Morrison vs We Didn’t Start The Fire by Billy Joel
 
ANSWERS
1Mott the Hopple, All The Young Dudes
2. Dave Clark Five, Glad All Over
3. Billy Joel, We Didn’t Start The Fire
4. The Beatles, Love Me Do
Listeners picked Billy Joel by a 53% margin

*We'll play a song from one of the most smooth-voiced performers whose crossover sound straddles the line between contemporary R&B, soft rock and jazz.  This artist has been a star since landing on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts with the same 1978 hit.  While R&B remains a core component of this artist's sound, he has stretched himself by embracing jazz, big band and swinging traditional pop.  Oh, and this artist has 'legendary' status in Japan of all places.   Name the artist...

*The actress by the name of Mary Badham played a starring role in the 1970 film, To Kill A Mockingbird.  One of the famous members of this band fell briefly for Badham back in the day and the song we'll play is rumored to have been written about her.  And for the record, there was a short romance, but Mary Badham ended up dumping the truly famous artist.  The song was released in 1997.  Name the artist, the band and extra credit for the name of the song...
 
*We'll play a song by a singer/songwriter whose father was a bassoonist for the New York Metropolitan Opera, who began singing commercial jingles at the age of 15.  She went on to become a staff writer for Chappell Music while attending the High School of Performing Arts.  After taking a songwriting class at New York University taught by Paul Simon, she took her talents to the Manhattan club scene and was discovered by Bette Midler and Barry Manilow.  The two hired her as a back-up singer.  Name the artist...
 
*The members of this band were once part of Roy Orbison's backing band and they took that musical experience and married it to some rough-and-tumble blues and Southern-fried rock strains similar to The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd.  Name the band...
 
BATTLE OF THE BANDS
You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon vs Roxanne by Sting
 
ANSWERS
1. Bobby Caldwell
2. Mick Jagger, Rolling Stones, Anybody Seen My Baby?
3. Melissa Manchester
4. Atlanta Rhythm Section
Listeners picked Paul Simon by a 54% margin

​Jeff Weigl Beats Working Friday @ 4pm
(We’re Gonna) Rock Around The Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets
That song has the distinct honor of being the first rock song to top the charts, and generally considered the beginning of the Rock Era. 
When Bill Haley released that song, it went to #1 on three different charts tracked by Billboard, Best Seller in Stores, Most Played by DJs, and Most Played in Juke Boxes. 
I Dig Rock and Roll Music by Peter, Paul and Mary
That song references and parodies the vocal styles of the Mamas and the Papas in the first verse, Donovan in the second verse and the Beatles in the third verse. 
The Kids are Alright by The Who                                          
This track was written by Pete Townshend as a tribute to the Mods, who were trendy and often rebellious British youth.  The album was produced by Shel Talmy, who  coaxed a rich, energetic sound out of The Who, but they gave him the boot for their next album, breaking their production contract. This was costly: Talmy ended up receiving royalties on every Who song they recorded up to 1971.
That Lady by The Isley Brothers
That song was originally done by the Isley Brothers in 1964 as a Cha-Cha/Bossa Nova.  Ernie Isley did not want to re-record it but Ronald Isley convinced him it would be worthwhile, as they were going to change the melody, tempo, and lyrics and that it would showcase the guitar work of younger brother Ernie, who had become an excellent player.  Ernie Isley learned a lot about the guitar from Jimi Hendrix, who played with The Isleys back in 1964.
The Fever by Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
That song was written by Bruce Springsteen and was the first widely released version of the song.  Springsteen wrote and recorded the song in 1973, but did not release it until the 1999 compilation 18 Tracks. 
Steve Van Zandt who had been a co-founder of Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes left that band to join Springsteen’s E Street Band and felt guilty about it. Van Zandt convinced Springsteen to let Southside Johnny record two Springsteen Songs, The Fever and You Mean So Much to Me. 
Ten Men Working by Neil Young & the Blue Notes
In 1987 Neil Young began playing a short blues set between his acoustic and electric sets.  The crowd liked the songs and so he expanded the horn section, dubbing the new band, The Blue Notes.

*This American Midwestern artist released a song from an album in 1978 that was not issued in the States, but actually became a top ten hit upon its release in Australia.  One year later it did get released in the U.S.. becoming the 1st U.S. hit for the artist on the Billboard Hot 100 later that year.  The song is about a friend of the artist who was depressed and essentially living in his bedroom.  Name the artist and extra credit if you can name the track...
 
*This American artist had some quite prolific years of production in the 70's and 80's with plenty to say...all with sensitivity and poetic candor that was his stock-in-trade so to speak.  After that, albums didn't come around that often anymore, so when his 4th album of this millennium was issued in 2021, it was something to behold.  Name the artist who is defined as one of the voices of the boomer generation...
 
*Although this rocking number was first included on this artist's 1972 album, it has been featured as the zenith of his live performances prior to said release...remaining as a concerta staple throughout his career.  The song begins as a strong slice of Americana, but eventually unfurls to an accelerated fervent rave up.  It evolves into an authentic sounding revival gospel-driven number steeped in tradition.  Name the artist and extra credit for the song's name...
 
*This great American band's 2nd album in 1968 pretty well sums up the bona fide blend of amplified late-60's electric rhythm and blues, with an expressed emphasis on loose and limber boogie-woogie.  The band used a drone instrument, which gave the song a psychedelic feel.  One of the band's members had gained knowledge of Eastern music after studying the Veena (an Indian stringed instrument) while attending UCLA.  Name the band and extra credit for the track, arguably the band's greatest hit....
 
BATTLE OF THE BANDS
Burn Down the Mission by Elton John vs Best Of My Love by The Eagles
 
ANSWERS
1. John Mellencamp, I Need a Lover
2. Jackson Browne
3. Elton John, Burn Down the Mission
4. Canned Heat, On the Road Again
Listeners picked The Eagles by a 52% margin