Throughout the history of recorded music there are very few artists who possess the range of talents that Prince Rogers Nelson does.  In the studio he’s a virtual one man band writing, playing all the instruments, and producing.  And live, he’s as good on stage as anyone who’s ever taken to it: singing, dancing, and playing the hell out of the guitar.  His influences cover the spectrum of popular music and he is equally as funky as he is a rocker.  We usually don’t select a song that was released as a single, but “ America ” was not the stand out track from the 1985 album Around the World in a Day, and unless you’re a fan of the Purple one, it may have slipped past you.  The song is Prince’s take on mid-’80s, Reagan-era politics with lyrics that mention communism, the minimum wage, and the threat of nuclear war, counter-balanced by his hope for freedom, love, joy, and peace.

Recommended by: David Dorn

Before Todd Rundgren went on to greater success as a solo artist releasing critically acclaimed albums like Something/Anything? and A Wizard, A True Star, he fronted the short-lived British Invasion-inspired band The Nazz.  Kicking off the quartet’s 1968 debut Nazz was one of the album’s singles and today’s DFD gem “Open My Eyes.”  For those unfamiliar with the track you may think you’re hearing a twisted version of the intro for The Who’s “I Can’t Explain,” but that soon disappears as the song transforms into a shining example of early power pop with a bit of late-’60s psychedelia thrown in for good measure.

Recommended by: David Dorn

Recommended by: David Dorn

My first two song choices for today, Thanksgiving Day, were: 1) John Lennon’s “Cold Turkey” and 2) William S. Burroughs’ “A Thanksgiving Day Prayer.”  Lennon’s was ruled out due to the fact that his “people” do not allow any streaming of his music, so we’d only be able to give you a :30 second sample and that’s not the ideal experience here at DFD [note for people outside the U.S.: we know you can’t stream full songs, no need to post this to the comments board, we’re working on a solution].  Burroughs’ brilliant 1990 poem set to music was ruled out…well…let’s just say it might be a little intense for some.  In the end we decided on something a bit more upbeat and cheery, and what says upbeat and cheery better than sweet soul music: William Bell’s “Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday.”

Recommended by: David Dorn

Every great act has a breakthrough album and for U2 it was 1984’s The Unforgettable Fire.  The three studio albums that preceded it (Boy, October, and War) each stand the test of time, but it was The Unforgettable Fire where the group teamed up for the first time with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois that saw U2 ascend to global sensation.  “Pride (In The Name Of Love),” may have been the smash radio hit, but today’s DFD selection “Wire,” which immediately follows it on the track list, is a hard-charging, lead-the-troops-into-battle piece that foreshadows in style and attitude many songs that would come later.

Recommended by: David Dorn

In 1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience was forced back into the studio to quickly follow-up the extraordinary success of Are You Experienced, a studio album that in and of itself is the quality of a Greatest Hits title.  The result was the less commercial, but more experimental Axis: Bold As Love, which contained today’s DFD track, “Spanish Castle Magic,” a powerful kick-in-the-solar-plexus from the trio of Hendrix on guitar, Mitch Mitchell on drums, and Noel Redding on bass.  It was one of the only tracks from the album that would end up in the band’s live sets going forward.

Recommended by: David Dorn

We at Rhino realize that jazz is not the genre of choice for many DFD regulars, but the aim of Damn Fine Day is to expose you to music we think is great, even if that means leaving your comfort zone.  This track from Coltrane’s classic 1959 Atlantic Records debut Giant Steps, produced by the legendary Nesuhi Ertegun, features one of the greatest quartets ever: John Coltrane (tenor saxophone), Paul Chambers (bass, and the person for whom the song is named), Tommy Flanagan (piano), and Art Taylor (drums).  There are only a handful of jazz albums that have crossed-over into mainstream notoriety and success; Giant Steps is one of them and it’s an album that belongs in every music lover’s collection.

Recommended by: David Dorn

The release of The Final Cut in 1983 exposed the serious tensions between the members of Pink Floyd and led many to wonder about the future of the group.  The project (the follow-up to The Wall) was clearly the creative vision of Roger Waters who wrote every song on the album, and must have left time, one would imagine, on the hands of band guitarist, and creative writing force in his own right, David Gilmour, to pen the material for his second solo album About Face, released in 1984.  It’s easy to imagine “Murder,” today’s DFD track from that record, appearing on a Floyd album around that time with its quintessential PF acoustic-to-electric style.

Recommended by: David Dorn

There are at least a dozen Little Richard songs I wanted to feature today (and I promise to inject more of his genius into DFD in the future), but I finally settled on one of my faves, “Ooh! My Soul,” a raucous, rock ‘n’ roll romp that showcases just how intense (and brilliant) Richard and his band were.  It’s easy to forget in these days of multi-track recording, ProTools, and auto-tune tricks that songs like this were cut live to two-track: no overdubs, no fix it in the mix, no editing – you went into the studio and you played mutherf#%&@*!  One can only imagine how unbelievable it must have been to witness a session like this where every musician brought their A-game.  Richard doesn’t say much in the lyrics other than “don’t you know my love is true” and “get up off of that money” (whatever that means), but the power behind his drill sergeant-like vocals has never been matched, and he remains in this writer’s opinion a legend among legends.

Recommended by: David Dorn

Originally recorded with one set of musicians for the soundtrack album for the film Performance, and then re-cut soon after by members of The Rolling Stones and released later on the uneven 1975 outtakes collection Metamorphosis, “Memo From Turner” is a nasty, gut-wrenching blues-inspired number from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards that’s steeped in attitude. The version featured today is the original from the soundtrack with Ry Cooder on bottleneck slide, Jim Capaldi on drums, and Steve Winwood on bass.  Happy Monday!

Recommended by: David Dorn

Many would point to Who’s Next as Pete Townshend’s crowning achievement, and from a commercial standpoint it would be hard to argue. There are others though, myself included, who would submit that Quadrophenia was actually the height of his creative genius. Released in 1973, Quadrophenia evolved the rock opera form Townshend was perfecting from the whimsical Tommy to a more complex narrative about the multi-personalities we all have hidden deep within us. And hidden among the radio tracks on this brilliant double-album is the DFD gem we present today, “I’m One,” where the protagonist, Jimmy, battles between despair and euphoria.

Recommended by: David Dorn

Aretha Franklin is to pop singers what Everest is to mountains, what Jupiter is to planets. While certainly more famous for songs like “Respect” and “Chain Of Fools,” “The House That Jack Built,” released in the summer of ’68, demonstrates in less than two minutes and 30 seconds exactly why Aretha was crowned The Queen of Soul. Truth be told, this amazing track was the inspiration behind the creation of this daily newsletter and site: It occurred to me that every music fan on the planet needed to own this song. Listen to it right before you walk out the door in the morning, and I guarantee you’ll have a damn fine day.

Recommended by: David Dorn