Latin – History of Music

12 min 0

At the Copa: Barry Manilow’s Glitzy Tragedy of Love, Fame, and the Dance Floor

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By the time “Copacabana (At the Copa)” hit the airwaves in 1978, Barry Manilow had already established himself as pop music’s reigning sentimentalist — the master of the tear-jerking ballad and the dramatic crescendo. He’d given the world “Mandy,” “Can’t Smile Without You,” and “Looks Like We Made It,” each one a heartfelt ode to…

9 min 0

The Sound of Fragile Beauty: How “Alone Again Or” by Love Turned Heartache into Psychedelic Perfection

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There’s something hauntingly timeless about “Alone Again Or” by Love — a song that seems to exist in its own delicate universe, shimmering somewhere between folk melancholy, orchestral pop, and psychedelic daydream. Released in 1967 as the opening track of Love’s masterpiece Forever Changes, it’s a song that defies every boundary of the late-‘60s counterculture.…

9 min 0

Mystical Rhythms and Guitar Fire: Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” and the Sound of 1970

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In 1970, Santana released a song that would become a defining moment in their career and a landmark in the fusion of rock and Latin music: “Black Magic Woman.” Originally written by Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, Santana’s version transformed the track into a hypnotic, sultry, and rhythmically complex masterpiece that showcased the band’s unique…