Somers & Steel Musical Duo
Classic Rock


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Paradise by the
Dashboard Light
by Meatloaf

Written by Jim Steinman in 1977 for the album
"Bat Out of Hell",  Ellen Foley and Meatloaf traded
vocals in this classic rock opera.

Stairway to Heaven
by Led Zeppelin

Released in late 1971, the song was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album. Arguably the greatest rock and roll song of all time, Don spent over a week perfecting the drum, MIDI sequences alone.

The Doors Medley
by The Doors

Formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore, the band took its name from the title of Aldous Huxley's book The Doors of Perception. They were among the most controversial, influential and unique rock acts of the 1960s, mostly because of Morrison's lyrics and charismatic but unpredictable stage persona.

You  Keep Me
Hangin' On

by Vanilla Fudge

The original "Vanilla Fudge" classic spent 204 weeks on Billboard Magazine's album charts and changed rock and roll music forever. One week they played Marist High School in Bayonne NJ, and the next week they were immortal! A 1966 Fender Jaguar was used for these guitar parts, a 1961 Fender Jazz Bass, and, of course, a 1950 Hammond C series organ with Leslie.

Hotel California
by The Eagles

The American "Stairway to Heaven" was released as a single in February 1977. Writing credits for the song are shared by Eagles Don Felder, Don Henley, and Glenn Frey. The Eagles' recording of the song features Henley singing the lead vocals and concludes with an extended section of electric guitar interplay between Felder and Joe Walsh.

The Wreck of the
Edmund Fitzgerald

by Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Lightfoot's maritime dirge about the
November 10, 1975 sinking of the ore freighter
S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald.  Twenty two separate tracks, including gulls, wind, surf, bells and four separate
12 string tracks (two overdriven) punctuate this recording.  Don used a broad shouldered, '69 Fender Kingman, capoed to the 3rd fret for the acoustic parts.

Sweet Home Alabama
by Lynyrd Skynard

First released in 1974 on their second album, Second Helping the song reached #8 on the US charts in 1974 and was the band's second hit single. The song was written in reply to "Southern Man" and "Alabama" by Neil Young; Young is noted by name in the song's lyrics.

Taxi
by Harry Chapin

Harry Chapin's immortal classic, Don spent over 100 hours recording this track, mostly on bass and string lines.  Three guitars were used: a Guild F65CE for the acoustic parts, a Fender solid body "Hockey Stick" twelve string, and a Gretsch Viking. 

You Made Me So Very Happy
by Blood, Sweat and Tears

Released first as a single in 1967 by Brenda Holloway on the Tamla label, this song was later a huge hit for jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1969.

Born to Run
by Bruce Springsteen

If New Jersey had a "National Anthem", this would be it!  Bruce Springsteen's classic rocker about cruisin' the streets of Asbury Park, NJ in the 1960's.  Dr.Tom Posio (from Livingston, N.J.) played the sax on this number.

Mr. Tambourine Man
by Bob Dylan / The Byrds

Written, composed, and performed by Bob Dylan, who released his original version of it on his 1965 album 
Bringing It All Back Home, The Byrds also recorded a version of the song that they released in the same year as their first single on Columbia Records, reaching number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK Singles Chart, as well as being the title track of their first album,  Mr. Tambourine Man. The Byrds' recording of the song was influential in initiating the musical subgenre of folk rock, leading many contemporary bands to mimic its fusion of jangly guitars and intellectual lyrics in the wake of the single's success.

Mamas & Papas Medley
by The Mamas & the Papas

The Mamas & the Papas recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. They released five studio albums and seventeen singles, six of which made the top ten and sold close to 40 million records worldwide. The group was composed of John Phillips (1935–2001), Denny Doherty (1940–2007), Cass Elliot (1941–1974), and Michelle Phillips née Gilliam (b. 1944). Their sound was based on vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips the songwriter, musician, and leader of the group who adapted folk to the new beat style of the early sixties.

Like a Rolling Stone
by Bob Dylan

Like a Rolling Stone's confrontational lyrics originated in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted from a grueling tour of England. Dylan distilled this draft into four verses and a chorus. "Like a Rolling Stone" was recorded a few weeks later as part of the sessions for the forthcoming album Highway 61 Revisited.

American Pie
by Don McClean

Don McClean's classic outlines the death of rock and roll from Buddy Holly until 1971. Don used a 1969 Fender Kingman, tuned down a whole step, and doubled by a 1967 Fender Coronado XII 12 string, capoed to the 3rd fret, to get that fat, sweet acoustic sound.

Piano Man
by Billy Joel

Billy Joel's immortal classic, Don added a '67 Fender Coronado XII, 12 sting to sweeten it up a bit.

Aqualung
by Jethro Tull

With lyrics written by Ian Anderson's first wife, Jeannie, this politically incorrect masterpiece shows the range of views of contemporary British people toward the aging and decrepit, represented by that lecherous old soul, Aqualung.  Each varying perspective toward Aqualung is accompanied by a radical change in the music. Punctuated by the most recognizable "hook" of the last 30 years, and Martin Barre's articulate guitar solo, Aqualung is arguably the "Beethoven's 5th" of rock and roll.

The Legend of Billy the Kid
by Billy Joel

Henry McCarty (September 17, 1859 – July 14, 1881), better known as Billy the Kid, and also as William H. Bonney, was a 19th-century gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier outlaw in the American Old West. According to legend, he killed twenty-one men, but it is now generally believed that he killed eight. He killed his first man on August 17, 1877. McCarty was 5 ft 8 in. tall with blue eyes, blonde or dirty blonde hair, and a smooth complexion. He was described as being friendly and personable at times.