The Nest sweeps the Meh Awards every year…
Does another Monday leave you fearing this week’s going to come up snake eyes? Well, don’t fold your hand yet, because The Nest is going to sweeten your pot with another lucky earworm! This is the day we go all in trying to turn up another lost hit that drowned on the river from that roulette wheel full of musical madness we like to call the Dusty Vinyl Archive! There’s always plenty of action to be found at DJ Scratchy’s turntable, while the Sponkies are too young for this type of entertainment and will just be given a handful of quarters dollars to play in the arcade. This song’s a sure bet, no bluffing….
Today’s date of 7/11 got me thinking of…..
Slurpees!!!!
No!!!! Not Slurpees! I have a sno cone machine, for crying out loud!
No, 7/11 had me thinking of luck, and I was wondering if I could pull a song with that theme for this week’s post. It didn’t take long for a song to pop in my head that was almost a perfect DVA selection!
-It was recorded by a well known artist.
-It was one of that artist’s lesser hits.
-It’s long since been buried under that artist’s other legendary hits.
-I like the song, and even consider it my favorite by that artist.
So what song is it?
Santana was formed by the acclaimed guitarist Carlos Santana in San Francisco all the way back in 1966! They got their big break when they were invited to play at THE Woodstock festival in 1969, and went on to have a string of Billboard charting songs in the early 70’s, like “Evil Ways” and “Black Magic Marker Woman.” After becoming somewhat irrelevant for about a quarter of a century, Santana came back with a vengeance in 1999 with the Album “Supernatural,” which spawned the international #1 hit “Smooth.”
Smooth operator.
But somewhere in between those two peaks of fame, the band recorded the 1981 album Zebop!, with “Winning” becoming that album’s biggest single, reaching #17 on the US Hot 100. “Winning” was written and originally recorded by Russ Ballard, who had a knack for reviving the careers of post-peak 70’s bands. Other than the signature guitar work of Carlos Santana, “Winning” hardly sounds like a Santana song at all…. partly because it’s more polished and commercially produced than their earlier songs, and partially because the band hardly resembled its classic early 70’s iteration at all by this point.
Want an eye opener for your Monday morning? Here’s the link to Santana’s Wiki page again. Scroll down to the bottom and check out the roster of their current and former members. I count 74. Yes, over Santana’s 55+ year history, they’ve had SEVENTY-FOUR different band members at one time or another! And the only one who’s been along for the entire ride….
I don’t know who these guys are behind me, but I’ll just keep playing my guitar til I die!
Carlos Santana is winning!
And you’ll be winning as well if you come back for another lost earworm next Monday!
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
thanks for the song… love it and it is perfect to sing it to my hooligans when we need a win (kate bush was way too much the fellow combatants thought I’m wounded and cry LOL)
LOL! I despise Kate Bush songs! Santana at least knew to find people who could actually sing for him…
That is a great song……..and Santana was a huge part my life starting in the 60s and onward. Amazing they had 74 people in and out of the band in all those years but the average musical life of most in the biz (other than the Stones and a few others anyway) is fairly short. They had a revolving door with Santana I guess!! Thanks for the pleasant ear-worm.
Pam
Imagine what the reunion tour would look like with 74 musicians on stage at once! That’s why you hire people like Keith Richards who you know ain’t going anywhere for a LOOOOOOOOOONG time….
Oooh, that is definitely a Santana favorite of mine too! Love the opening guitar riff. Happy Monday.
Yep! Santana’s guitar work sounded good even in the lighter rock of the early 80’s…
Yeah, it’s winning… the booby prize.
Aren’t boobies birds? You shouldn’t degrade your own kin like that…
One of my all time favorite artists, and I enjoyed the whole album in which “Smooth” was featured. Carlos rules.
Unlike a lot of older artists that tried to make comebacks in the last 25 years, Santana was one of the few who sounded even better in the new millennium. Loved a lot of those newer Santana songs, and the rotating selection of big name singers he brought on board to sing them…
Not a song I’d choose to listen to but not one which would drive me from the room, either!
(Retrieves rubber stamp) INOFFENSIVE (Puts stamp back in drawer)
Keep that stamp on standby!