September 25, 1971 Part Two

Second verse, hopefully better than the first.

20 - "So Far Away," Carole King
19 - "Yo-Yo," The Osmonds
18 - "Sweet City Woman," The Stampeders
17 - "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart," The Bee Gees
16 - "Tired of Being Alone," Al Green

We start with easily the best Carole King song we've come across so far. Not surprisingly, it's from the multi-million-selling Tapestry album. Just a solid singer-songwriter ballad.

Next are Ogden, Utah's finest with their follow-up to "One Bad Apple," a song that I have found out was near the top of the charts around my-birthday. It's not as much of a Jackson 5 ripoff as their first hit. Coincidentally(?), it's nowhere near as good.

Then there's Canada's Stampeders with the banjo-heavy "Sweet City Woman." They topped the pop and country charts at home, and made the Top 10 in the U.S. They would have several more Canadian hits until they would barely scrape into AT40 again four years later with a cover of "Hit The Road Jack." I can't say America missed much.

The Bee Gees show up again with their only pre-disco U.S. #1. "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" is amazing cry-in-your-beer material. Barry can convey desperation and heartbreak with the best of them. Laugh if you will, but I think he's one of the greats.

Last in this quintet is Al Green. Another week, another awesome song I'd never heard before. Really, I've got to get more familiar with this man's work.

15- "Won't Get Fooled Again," The Who
14 - "If You Really Love Me," Stevie Wonder
13 - "I Woke Up In Love This Morning," The Partridge Family
12 - "Do You Know What I Mean?" Lee Michaels
11- "Stick Up," The Honey Cone

This section starts with a song that started life as part of what was to be a sprawling rock opera called Lifehouse, but ended up being the weekly mood-setter for David Caruso's hammy acting as the theme song to CSI: Miami. But "Won't Get Fooled Again" stil manages to retain its power. And that's why The Who are The Who.

Then it's more Stevie Wonder. "If You Really Love Me," is really two songs in one: the peppy, horn-drenched jam that are the choruses; and the torchy jazz balladry of the verses. I tend to enjoy songs like this, as you'll learn if and when we come across the Bee Gees' "Nights On Broadway."

Well, it's taken a while, but at last we've run into that television-spawned pop machine that was The Partridge Family. This is probably their third best-known tune, after the theme to their show and "I Think I Love You." It's really pretty good. And I stand by the statement I made a few weeks back that David is easily the better singer among the Cassidy brothers.

Next is Lee Michaels. This not-bad slice of white soul was by far his biggest hit. And he once backed up Jimi Hendrix as a session musician. Nothing more to say, really.

Rounding out the bunch are the girl group The Honey Cone. Earlier in the year, they had topped the chart with "Want Ads." In their follow-up, they compare being spurned by a lover to being robbed. But the song's narrator seems to be plotting revenge in the end by getting him to sleep with her again ("he'll return to the scene of the crime."), thus impregnating her and forcing him to marry her. How progressive.

Et maintenant, the Top Ten:

10 - "I Just Want To Celebrate," Rare Earth.
Motown's most prominent white rock signing had previously only scored hits with covers of past label hits. Finaly, the band was allowed to try their luck with a song not previously popularized, and they hit the Top Ten. Unfortunately, they'd never get back there. But this song lives on whenever people want to rejoice over something. Or sell crackers.

9 - "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get," The Dramatics
This funky declaration of honesty was probably inspired by the catch phrase of TV comedian Flip Wilson's drag character Geraldine. That phrase also inspired the computer acronym WYSIWIG. That's all I got.

8 - "Superstar," The Carpenters
They're back again, with one of their most enduring hits, a tale of desire for a travelling musician. Sonic Youth did a pretty great cover of this, but you still can't beat Karen.

7 - "Smiling Faces Sometimes," The Undisputed Truth
The Undisputed Truth was apparently Motown's attempt to create a R&B/Rock hybrid band along the lines of Sly and the Family Stone. This ballad about deceptive people was their only Top 40 hit, but they did record "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone," before The Temptations did.

6 - "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey," Paul and Linda McCartney
Speaking of two songs in one. This pre-Wings effort is probably my favorite post-Beatles Paul track. If I were to pick an Uneasy Rider Award for the entire decade with the field restricted to songs that hit Number One, this would certainly be a contender. Later, of course, Paul would top the charts with the three songs in one smash "Band on the Run."

5 - "Spanish Harlem," Aretha Franklin
This song was co-written by Phil Spector, was first a hit for Ben E. King, then a bigger hit for Aretha the Queen. Just killer.

4 - "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," Joan Baez
I'll admit it, it was a very long time before I realized that this Civil War story song was actually a cover of The Band. And yes, I like Robbie Robertson & co.'s version better. But I know I heard Joan's version on the radio quite a few times in my youth, and unlike some covers that reached my ears before the original, I refuse to disown it.

3 - "Ain't No Sunshine," Bill Withers
You remember when I declared that Barry Gibb could convey heartbreak with the best of them? Let me amend that by saying most of the best of them, because on this classic, Bill blows Barry out of the water. You can almost feel the sun itself setting into misery. Barry, you're still great overall, but you can't do this.

2 - "Maggie May," Rod Stewart
Everybody knows Rod the Mod's breakthrough, which was basically The Graduate reduced to a four-minute pop song. A funny thing happened while I was listening to it on the show: At the end of the song, Casey said something which I thought was to the effect of "That's Amanda Lynn accompanying Rod Stewart on this song." So I'm thinking, "Who the hell is Amanda Lynn? Did one of the many leggy blondes he's had on his arm over the years actually play an instrument on this song? That's interesting." Seconds later, I figured out that Casey had said "a mandolin," not "Amanda Lynn." I suck.

And the #1 song in the USA when I was 7 1/2 months old was...

1 - "Go Away Little Girl," Donny Osmond
This song is connected to songs 20 and 19. The latter connection is obvious, but the former is due to the fact that Carole King co-wrote it with longtime collaborator Gerry Goffin. It was previously a #1 for Steve Lawrence. It's your basic, "don't come near me because you make me want to cheat on my girlfriend with you" song, but little Donny doesn't really pull it off. As I listened to it, the one word that came to mind regarding his vocal and the backing track was "flimsy." There really isn't much there.

There were two NotCasey Extras: the Canadian staple "One Fine Morning," by the Blood Sweat and Tears-ish Lighthouse that I was surprised to learn actually did crack America; and "Birds of a Feather," the lesser-known follow-up to the Raiders' hit ode to the Cherokee Nation, "Indian Reservation." Plus, at the end of the second hour, Casey for some reason played the Bobby Vee oldie "Take Good Care of My Baby."

Another one in the books. As usual, I'm hoping next week will bring a chart from a year when I was going to school. But whatever it brings, I'll be here with my thoughts and smart-ass comments.