September 8, 1973

Okay, I'm not sure how I'm going to handle this. There's going to be a lot of crossover from the very first chart I covered, seeing as this is the countdown from just two weeks later. Going over a lot of the same territory seems kind of repetitive. But I do want to do at least one entry on it, so I'll start by laying out the first 30 songs, putting the new ones in bold and commenting on them, and then talking about as many of the others as I see fit. After that, we'll see.


40 - "I Was Checkin' Out, She Was Checkin' In," Don Covay
39 - "Hey Girl (I Like Your Style)" The Temptations
38 - "Believe In Humanity," Carole King
37 - "Free Ride," The Edgar Winter Group
36 - "I've Got So Much To Give," Barry White
35 - "Ramblin' Man," The Allman Brothers Band
34 - "Yes We Can Can," The Pointer Sisters
33 - "How Can I Tell Her?" Lobo
32 - "There It Is," Tyrone Davis
31 - "Stoned Out Of My Mind," The Chi-Lites
30 - "Ghetto Child," The Spinners
29 - "Nobody Wants You When You're Down And Out," Bobby Womack
28 - "Uneasy Rider," Charlie Daniels
27 - "Young Love," Donny Osmond
26 - "Why Me, Lord?" Kris Kristofferson
25 - "Monster Mash," Bobby "Boris" Pickett
24 - "Theme from Cleopatra Jones," Joe Simon and the Mainstreeters
23 - "Angel," Aretha Franklin
22 - "Half-Breed," Cher
21 -"Bad Bad Leroy Brown," Jim Croce
20 - "My Maria," B.W. Stevenson
19 - "I Believe In You, You Believe In Me," Johnnie Taylor
18 - "Higher Ground," Stevie Wonder
17 - "That Lady Parts 1 & 2," The Isley Brothers
16 - "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting," Elton John
15 - "Are You Man Enough," The Four Tops
14 - "Feelin' Stronger Every Day," Chicago
13 - "Get Down," Gilbert O'Sullivan
12 - "If You Want Me To Stay," Sly and the Family Stone
11 - "The Morning After," Maureen McGovern

So there was a turnover of nine songs over the two weeks. About what you'd figure.

First of the new ones is from the Temptations. They were a year removed from their last number one hit, "Papa Was A Rolling Stone," and earlier in '73, they'd scored a Top Ten with "Masterpiece." But after that, none of their singles would even crack the top 20, including this one. I can't say this struck me as anything special.

Then there's Edgar Winter, one of the biggest albino rock stars ever, with the classic rock staple "Free Ride." He and his group had hit #1 earlier in the year with the instrumental "Frankenstein," then went Top Twenty with this. Then...no more hits. These things happen.

Next is the first appearance of one of the decade's icons, Barry White. "I've Got So Much to Give" was his second Top 40 single. It's one of his slower jams, and it didn't get very far. But the best was yet to come, by which of course I mean his role as the Grand Marshal of Springfield's snake-abuse festival, Whacking Day.

Two "AT40 Extras," from the last '73 chart are here: the Allman Brothers Band's southern rock perennial and Cher's caught-between-two-worlds lament. I wonder how much someone would have bet me if I'd wagered them that Gregg Allman and Cher would be married two years later.

At 34 are the Pointer Sisters. Years later they'd get on a roll with songs like "He's So Shy," "I'm So Excited," "Neutron Dance," and my personal favorite, the Springsteen cover "Fire." But this was their first hit. I'd never heard it before, but I liked it a lot. It's a bouncy, positive number, written by New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint. Given its title, how it didn't get revived two years ago during a certain political campaign is a mystery.

Two R&B numbers are at 31 and 30. I'd heard the former in the form of a cover by the Jam, and the original revealed it to have been a faithful one. And no, it doesn't seem to be about drugs at all. I didn't get to hear much of "Ghetto Child" due to distractions, but it seemed to be your typical socially conscious soul song of the time, and I didn't feel like I ws missing anything.

Highest of the newbies is an undisputed classic. Last week I mentioned the beginning of Stevie Wonder's musical autonomy, and "Higher Ground," is an example of that independence in full flower. Funky, inspiring, just awesome.

As for the holdovers, I don't have a lot to say. For some reason, they played an instrumental only version of the Cleopatra Jones theme this week. "Monster Mash," Casey informed us, had just tied and was about to break the record for most total weeks on Billboard's Hot 100. I was less annoyed by the Isley Brothers Swiffer jingle this time. And naturally, "Uneasy Rider" wins this week's Uneasy Rider Award.

Okay, now for the Top Ten. It's all holdovers, so I don't know how much I'll have to offer. But here we go...

10 - "Here I Am (Come And Take Me)" Al Green

The more I hear of this man, the more pissed off I am that I'm so far behind in my knowledge of his canon. I've really got to do something about that.

9 - "Gypsy Man," War

Much more impressed with this song the second time around. It's even stuck in my head a little.

8 - "We're An American Band," Grand Funk Railroad

This anthem of sleaze and debauchery was given an ironic twist when Casey introduced it by telling about the band's then-recent donations to a chain of drug-treatment centres. Apparently, they'll come into your town, help you party down...then make sure you get all that partying down out of your system so you can resume a normal life. Helpful.

7 - "Live And Let Die," Wings
Damn, why did I already use my Simpsons reference on Barry White?

6 - "Loves Me Like A Rock," Paul Simon

The gospel group that backs up Rhymin' Simon on this song, the Dixie Hummingbirds, had been around in some form since 1928, and they're still around today. And people think the Rolling Stones are some sort of miracle of longevity.

5 - "Touch Me In The Morning," Diana Ross

Apparently, Gene Simmons got to do just that for five years. One of the weirder couplings in musical history.

4 - "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose?" Dawn featuring Tony Orlando

Bigger geek who once worked with Telma Hopkins: Tony Orlando or Steve Urkel?

3 - "Delta Dawn," Helen Reddy

Still waiting for "Angie Baby"...

2 - "Brother Louie," Stories

I wonder if Gene ever took Diana home to meet his mama and papa?

And the number one song that week was...

1 - "Let's Get It On," Marvin Gaye

Like with "That Lady," I came to this song with more of an open mind this time, and I was able to appreciate its greatness a little more. Still, I could stand not hearing it for a few years.

If this week's Extras were professional athletes, they'd all be first ballot Hall of Famers: "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight and the Pips; "Angie" by the Stones; and Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door." A Murderer's Row of musical might.

So that's this week's late-arriving, one-part entry. Hopefully next week they'll air a year I haven't covered yet, preferably '75 or later