It’s interesting as you get older to not only see how your musical taste evolves, not to mention music itself, but how you start to relate to the way you’d hear your parents reacting to the songs they used to like when one or more of those would start playing somewhere.
There’s an interesting exercise in thinking of albums you love – say, Elton John’s “Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player” or Electric Light Orchestra’s double studio album, “Out of the Blue,” in my case – and then doing an informal poll to see who has heard of it before. That’s a study to conduct over any period and targeted to people that are at least one generation after you.
If you watched yesterday’s Super Bowl, and particularly the halftime show, you saw and heard where music has come to in 2025. Let’s just say that my choice for who would’ve taken the big stage on the field of the Superdome in New Orleans yesterday would’ve been far different. But then, they didn’t ask me.
On the episode of my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast that comes out the day after tomorrow you’re going to hear me asking the guest (among other questions) how he discovers music in 2025. Spoiler alert – I reveal that I am a big fan of using the Shazam app when a song gets my attention, say, in a restaurant.
The point there is that I am open to discovering new music. However, I do definitely have an appetite for a lot of the great songs from years gone by.
And so it was that “Heaven’s In a Chevy Tonight” by Danny Peyronel got my attention when it was submitted to me, so much so that I had no problem attaching my name to it for a blog post.
In fact, to show you how quickly I liked it, he had me at the changing of the radio stations intro. Then, the opening vocals, dare I say, sounded McCartney-esque! I was waiting for a big crescendo maybe 90 seconds in, but I still like where it went. Those that aren’t only focused on the current music, listen to this track and you’ll hear that this single does, in fact, sound like a 70s and 80s song but pulls off being good (a much-needed callback) for audiences TODAY.
To Peyronel I say, well done, Danny. And maybe it is me thinking of the Concerto for a Rainy Day that is side three of the aforementioned “Out of the Blue” album but be sure to stick around for the nice touch at the end with the rain.
I’m even going to do you one better and say that even the TITLE of the song is great!
I have interviewed guests on the podcast who have said, ‘Don’t bother trying to write what’s hot right now because (a) it has already been done, and even more so, (b) by the time you’ve got something finished and ready, the trend is going to already have changed anyway.’
The point is that every songwriter is trying to find the new sound that’s going to be the next big thing. I’ve been hearing Nashville-based guests talk about ‘murder country’ having become en vogue, to cite one example.
But here’s a thought. What about winding back the clock and looking at what worked back in the day and trying your hand at that? That’s what Peyronel has pulled off with “Heaven’s in a Chevy Tonight.” He also manages to hold your interest because of the formula he followed rather than attempting to replicate what’s on the charts right now.
The curveball here is that Peyronel, 71, has been around long enough to see what works and what doesn’t. The Argentinian was in the rock group UFO and also wrote hit songs for Meat Loaf and David Gilmour, among others. So, you’re listening to a song by and learning from someone who has navigated these waters for decades and not someone who is getting lucky with their latest single.
Consider challenging yourself to listen to some of the music from the 70s and 80s but then putting a flavor on it that is true to your musicianship and show people the finished product. You just might find a combination of new and old that brings you joy and success!
For more than twenty years I have been helping indie music artists, authors, actors, entrepreneurs, podcasters, filmmakers, small business owners, and more. What challenges are you having in your creator career that I can lend some insight to? Get in touch with me so you can take advantage of all my experience, and I can help and keep you moving forward.