CTS Blues

Released in 1971 on Rod Stewart's third studio album, Every Picture Tells a Story, "Maggie May" was originally intended to be the B-side of the single "Reason to Believe." However, radio stations quickly began favoring "Maggie May," turning it into Stewart's breakthrough solo hit. The song reached No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, while also topping the charts in Australia and Canada. Its distinctive mandolin performance, played by Ray Jackson of the folk-rock band Lindisfarne became one of the song's most recognizable elements and helped establish it as one of the defining recordings of the early 1970s.

“Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood” is from The Animals' 1965 album The Animals on Tour. Originally written for Nina Simone and released by her in 1964, the song was transformed by The Animals into a blues-rock classic driven by Eric Burdon's powerful, emotional vocals. Their version became an international hit, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart, #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 in Canada. The song was never intended for a rock band at all. Songwriters Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell, and Sol Marcus originally wrote it as a dramatic ballad for Nina Simone, who considered it a deeply personal statement. The Animals accelerated the tempo and gave it a much more urgent, guitar-driven arrangement, creating what many listeners consider the definitive rock version. Its enduring legacy was further reinforced decades later when Santa Esmeralda's 1977 disco-flamenco reinterpretation was used by Quentin Tarantino during the memorable duel between The Bride and O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill: Volume 1, introducing the song to an entirely new generation.

"Runaway" was released in 1961 and became the biggest hit of Del Shannon's career. Written by him and Max Crook, the track has a classic '60s rock and roll sound with an iconic Musitron organ riff (an instrument created by Crook, based on a modified organ). Released as a single, it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. Del Shannon's signature falsetto and Musitron's innovative sound helped define early '60s rock. The song is a timeless classic, has been covered by various artists and to this day is considered one of the greatest songs of the pre-Beatles era.

Billy Idol wrote "Rebel Yell" inspired by a wild night and a bottle of Rebel Yell whiskey he saw at a party. Released in 1983 as a single from the album Rebel Yell, it became one of the biggest hits of Billy Idol's career, reaching #6 on UK. nitter.gq/Lady_FanAccount/status…

"Total Eclipse of the Heart" was written by Jim Steinman (the same as Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell) especially for Bonnie Tyler. Bonnie recorded with that characteristic hoarse voice (the result of vocal cord surgery years earlier) and the result was the biggest hit of her career: #1 in the US, the UK and several countries in 1983. The epic video, shot in a castle in Wales with candles, dancers and gothic atmosphere, became one of the most iconic and expensive videos of the 80s.

"Gloria" is a cover of Umberto Tozzi's 1979 Italian song. Laura Branigan listened to the demo and recorded the English version for her debut album Branigan (1982). The track reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, spent 36 weeks on the chart (record at the time for a female solo artist)