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Song Stories

“Tipitina”

Professor Longhair | 1972

The rhumba-style track "Tipitina" was first released as a single in 1953 and was re-released on Professor Longhair's classic 1972 album New Orleans Piano. The song provided the name for an iconic New Orleans nightclub and music venue when Tipitina's opened in 1977, and the album was named one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of all time. "Tipitina" has become a quintessential New Orleans standard and has been covered by many artists, including fellow New Orleanian Dr. John. It was added to the National Recording Registry in 2011.

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“1999”
Prince | 1982
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“Discoverer”
R.E.M. | 2011

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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