Okay, I was only three when this countdown aired, but we haven't travelled back to '74 yet, so it'll do.
40 - "You Got The Love," Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
39 - "Nothing from Nothing," Billy Preston
38 - "After the Gold Rush," Prelude
37 - "Cat's in the Cradle," Harry Chapin
36 - "Angie Baby," Helen Reddy
35 - "Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)," Three Dog Night
34 - "Second Avenue," Art Garfunkel
33- "Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)," Al Green
32 - "People Gotta Move," Gino Vannelli
31 - "Wishing You Were Here," Chicago
If you're a regular reader, bells should have gone off when you saw what was at #36. I'll get to it at the end of this section.
Plenty of R&B in this section. Rufus and Chaka Khan kick things off with a song that was a Top Ten hit but is much less famous than their previous single, "Tell Me Something Good," (wah-wah!). One of the contenders for the mythic title of "Fifth Beatle," Billy Preston was enjoying one more week on the chart with his former #1 celebrating the easiest math problem ever. Al Green is here again. I'm still not as up on him as I'd like to be, but this one definitely reminds me why I should hurry up and do it. And Montrealer Gino Vannelli became just the second white artist to appear on Soul Train on the strenght of this respectable stab at funk. No word if he made Don Cornelius and co. "shake (their) behinds like it's dynamite."
Folk-pop is also here in abundance. Britsh group Prelude had their only hit with a surprisingly effective a capella take on a Neil Young classic. Harry Chapin debuted this week with what is now practically a standard, which reminded a generation of parents not to take their children's childhood for granted because they grow up so fast! And Art Garfunkel contributes a decent but hardly earth-shattering breakup ballad. Oh yeah, he missed Paul.
Two of the decade's hit factories check in. "Play Something Sweet," was Three Dog Night's twentieth Top 40 hit. There would only be one more. You can almost hear them running out of steam. Speaking of downshifting, Chicago's entry here is a slow one, but the band's spirit is still audible. It doesn't sound like "You're the Inspiration" at all.
Okay, here it is, the song I've been pimping ever since I started this: "Angie Baby," the pinnacle of Helen Reddy's "Crazy Lady Trilogy." In it, Helen sings of a girl who's "a little touched," and seems to have an unhealthy obsession with the songs she hears on the radio. Then one day, when her parents leave her home alone, a neighbor boy whose been harboring his own obesession with Angie invites himself over to her house with "evil on his mind." But instead of having his way with Angie, he somehow finds himself being sucked into her possibly-magic radio. He disappears, and is presumed dead by everyone except Angie, who seems to end up using him as some sort of radio-bound sex slave. The moral of the story: "It's so nice to be insane/No one asks you to explain." It's just amazing. Yes, it wins this week's Uneasy Rider Award, but unlike most of the other winners, it's not just an oddity, it's a stone classic. Somebody, maybe Quentin Tarantino, needs to use this in a movie and introduce the next generation to its greatness.
30 - "Rockin' Soul," Hues Corporation
29 - "So You are a Star," The Hudson Brothers
28 - "Distant Lover (Live)," Marvin Gaye
27 - "Honey Honey," ABBA
26 - "When Will I See You Again?" The Three Degrees
25 - "I Can Help," Billy Swan
24 - "I've Got the Music in Me," The Kiki Dee Band
23 - "Love Don't Love Nobody," The Spinners
22 - "Longfellow Serenade," Neil Diamond
21 - "Love Me for a Reason," The Osmonds
Another strong showing for R&B. Hues Corporation, who earlier in the year had topped the chart with the early disco breakthrough "Rock the Boat," avoided one-hit-wonderdom with the similar sounding "Rockin' Soul." Marvin Gaye provoked screams on a sultry live version of a track from Let's Get it On. The Three Degrees are here with a terrific song that I remember being quite enamored of as a child. "Ahhhhhhh, oooooooohhhh, precious moments!" And the Spinners are here again with a great variation on the "I broke up with my girlfriend, therefore, love sucks," theme. Those guys were everywhere, and deservedly so.
Two brother acts are in this bunch, one much less famous than the other. Bill, Brett and Mark Hudson had a couple hits that just missed the top 20, including this one begging someone famous not to forget the people they left behind. Bill, despite being a part of a band that had both prime time and Saturday-morning TV shows, was eventually left behind himself by someone more famous. Yep, he's the reason why Goldie Hawn's daughter is named Kate Hudson. Meanwhile, the boys from Utah are back again with their last Top 10. A passable ballad, but I hope to someday be presented with one of their attempts at hard rock, like "Crazy Horses."
Two more very prolific pop acts are in the mix. ABBA join us for the second straight week with their second U.S hit (following "Waterloo"). This one isn't nearly as memorable, but it is notable for being one of their few hits to feature some lead vocals from one of the male members (the other one I can think of is "Does Your Mother Know" And Neil Diamond seems to be trying to woo some lucky lady with the man who wrote that famous poem about Paul Revere's ride in his entry here. At least I think that's what he's doing. Wonder how that worked out.
We end this half of the chart by looking at a one-hit wonder and a one-and-a-half-hit wonder. Billy Swan was a behind-the-scenes veteran of both the Memphis and Nashville music scenes when he finally decided to put out his own record. A rockabillyish number distinguished by his hiccupy delivery, "I Can Help" made it all the way to #1, but although he would crack the country charts several more times through the years, there were no more pop hits. And Kiki Dee and her eponymous band had decent success with the soul-rocker "I've Got the Music in Me" (another one I know I used to sing along to in short pants), but Ms. Dee is now best remembered as Elton John's duet partner on the chart-topper "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart."
So that's Part One. Tomorrow: a very 70s song, another song I've mentioned I hoped I'd get to write about, and once again, I battle technical difficulties.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
October 23, 1976 Part Two
And now for the second half. But once again, I must provide a disclaimer. Just like during the 1977 countdown I covered, the radio station I was listening to played a block from the previous week's show at the end of the second hour, so I didn't hear song 18 through 15. Since this has happened before, I get the feeling that the station does this when there's a song in the group they don't want to play. Fortunately, I was able to look them up, and just as fortunately, they're all songs I know moderately to very well. So I'll be able to cover them all as intelligently as I do the rest of the songs. So here goes...
20 - "Fernando," ABBA
19 - "Nadia's Theme," Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr.
18 - "Muskrat Love," The Captain and Tennille
17 - "Beth," Kiss
16- "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," Blue Oyster Cult
We start off with another 70s hit machine making their BGC debut, the Swedish quartet that spawned Mamma Mia! In their first big hit, they compared falling in love to Napoleon's surrender at Waterloo. Here, they also go back into war history, as the song is sung from the point of view of a veteran of the 1910 Mexican Revolution reminiscing about combat with an old comrade. I don't think they try to make any comparisons to romance, though.
Next is the song that by this time had been the theme to The Young and the Restless for three years. But it wasn't the popularity of the soap that finally got it on the radio; rather, it was its use by ABC Sports to accompany footage of Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci at the Montreal Olympics that prompted a title change and the pressing of 45s. And Victor Newman has vowed revenge ever since (was he on the show then? I've never really watched it, but I know that guy's bad news).
The first of the ones I missed belongs to Toni Tennille and Daryl Dragon (why the hell did he feel the need to use a nickname with a real name that awesome?) It's a shame, really, because it would have had a real shot at the Uneasy Rider Award. It wouldn't have been a shoo-in, as you'll see when I reveal the winner, but come on. It's about muskrats! In love! Going on dates! Getting married! It even provides a euphemistic yet still evocative implication of muskrat sex! And there are even simulated muskrat chatters! But no, I'm not going to give the award to a song I didn't get to hear. It's paying for the sins of others, which isn't exactly fair, but hey, that's life.
Next are Kiss with a song the band didn't even play on. It's just drummer Peter "the Cat" Criss backed by piano and strings, singing about how he can't come home to his lady because he and his bandmates "just can't find the sound." I guess that's why they called in the orchestra. Poor Pete. He co-wrote and sang the band's biggest hit, which the rest of them got credit for even though they didn't do a damn thing on it, and yet he was, is, and always will be the least-loved member of the band's original lineup.
Rounding out this quintet are Blue Oyster Cult. "(Don't Fear) the Reaper" seems like the most likely reason for their section getting bumped by CKOC. what with its dark subject matter and those eeeeeeevil umlauts in their name. This song is now most closely associated with that Christopher Walken Saturday Night Live sketch in which he keeps demanding "more cowbell!" But I think more of its use of in the opening sequence of the miniseries of Stephen King's The Stand.
15 - "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," Gordon Lightfoot
14 - "Devil Woman," Cliff Richard
13 - "Magic Man," Heart
12 - "I Only Wanna Be With You," The Bay City Rollers
11 - "That'll Be the Day," Linda Ronstadt
We start with a Canadian folk legend and his epic ballad about a 1975 shipwreck on Lake Superior that killed all 29 men aboard. Apparently, new information from earlier this year that the wreck wasn't caused by crew error had caused him to change a line when he now performs it live. Good old Gord cares more about accuracy than some jounalists.
Okay, now we're back to what I heard last night. Cliff Richard was one of the first British rock stars, and over two decades, he had racked up dozens of hits in the UK. But he had only dented the U.S. chart a couple of times until he finally made the Top Ten with this state-of-the-art dance rocker about shady ladies and black cats. I often get it mixed up with ELO's "Evil Woman." I like the ELO song better overall, but I must admit I thought that stuttering guitar note in the middle of this one that sounds a bit like a heart monitor was pretty cool.
Ann and Nancy Wilson's band had their first Top Ten with this slinky rocker about a younger girl who just can't stay away from a seductive older man and his "magic hands" no matter how much her mama cries to her over the phone. Not quite "Barracuda," but I definitely liked this at five, and I still do.
Scotland's bubblegum heroes show up with a trifling cover of the Dusty Springfield classic. When Samantha Fox's version is better than yours, you know you sucked. And does anybody else remember that the Bay City Rollers had a Saturday morning show on NBC? I don't remember whether or not there was a cartoon aspect to it or it was just live-action. But I'm sure it sucked too. They should have quit after "Saturday Night." I did like that one.
We end this section with another cover, Linda Rondstadt's take on Buddy Holly. She did much better by the Everly Brothers with "When Will I Be Loved," both musically and on the charts. Just eight days until her old boyfriend finds out if he's going back to the governor's mansion in Sacramento.
Now the top ten...
10 - "Rock 'n Me," The Steve Miller Band
Ah, Steve Miller. He was all over the soundtrack to my childhood. I probably liked "Take the Money and Run" best, but this at least provided me with some early education in American city names. Phoenix, Tacoma, Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A.
9 -"Love So Right," The Bee Gees
The Brothers Gibb went back to balladry in the midst of their disco makeover, and proved they could still do the slow thing by taking this to the Top Ten. It's kind of in between the folkie love of "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" and the more R&B-influenced romanticism of "How Deep is Your Love."
8 - "She's Gone," Daryl Hall and John Oates
This song was first released in 1974, but only hit #60. But two years later, they had a hit on a different record label with "Sara Smile," so their old label gave this another shot, and it paid off. This is the better of the two to me, but only "Rich Girl" is on my playlist.
7 - "Shake Your Booty," KC and the Sunshine Band
The song that popularized yet another synonym for the human hindquarters. Harry and the boys probably did a lot of the work to make disco safe for Middle America, from their happy-sounding name to their upbeat, poppy hits that were suggestive but not dangerously so. They may not have been great, but you've got to give them credit for finding a formula that worked.
6 - "Play That Funky Music," Wild Cherry
Wild Cherry's only hit reflected pop music overall, as it told of a "white boy" rocker who was eventually persuaded to "lay down the boogie." For some reason, it always reminds me of being in a launddromat in Welland with my parents. Vanilla Ice used the hook from this song for his first single, but radio stations ended up being enamored with the flip side, and that became his big smash. You know the one I'm talking about, and if you don't, well, word to your mother!
5 - "Still the One," Orleans
A big hit that would go on to be used as a slogan for ABC and in car commercials. Not much more to say.
4 - "Lowdown," Boz Scaggs
First of all, let us all agree that "Boz Scaggs" is a cool-ass name. And this white boy could play that funky music. Yes, this was very disco, complete with flute, but it was also gritty, soulful and cool.
3 - "A Fifth of Beethoven," Walter Murphy.
A disco version of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony that went all the way to the top, and later appeared on the Satruday Night Fever soundtrack, performed by a man who would later do a lot of the music for Family Guy. In a lot of weeks, the combination of classical music and dance floor decadence would take the Uneasy Rider Award, but this week, it loses out to...
2 - "Disco Duck," Rick Dees and his Cast of Idiots
Rick Dees was a popular DJ in Memphis when he recorded this novelty record about a shy guy who morphs into a suave, boogieing waterfowl who sounds a lot like Donald Duck. The song somehow became an international #1 smash, and Dees eventually moved to L.A. When the radio station he was at there lost the rights to American Top 40, Rick started his own nationally syndicated countdown show, Rick Dees' Weekly Top 40. Little did Casey know that while he was documenting the rise of Dees and his silly little hit, he was witnessing the birth of a future competitor in the chart show game.
And the song of all songs 35 years ago was...
1 - "If You Leave Me Now," Chicago
After years of having big but not chart-topping hits with lightweight-but-fun jazz pop, they went all sappy and were rewarded with their first #1. And that would be the direction they would follow for much of the rest of their career. Because we encouraged them then, we only have ourselves to blame for "You're the Inspiration."
The Extras this week were "Stand Tall," the biggest post-Guess Who hit for Burton Cummings; Leo Sayer's falsetto disco "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing;" and Rose Royce's smash theme from the movie Car Wash.
There's another week in the books. I now know where to look to find out what the chart will be a few days in advance, so now I can prepare myself. It's not up yet, but I'm hoping for maybe 1974.
20 - "Fernando," ABBA
19 - "Nadia's Theme," Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr.
18 - "Muskrat Love," The Captain and Tennille
17 - "Beth," Kiss
16- "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," Blue Oyster Cult
We start off with another 70s hit machine making their BGC debut, the Swedish quartet that spawned Mamma Mia! In their first big hit, they compared falling in love to Napoleon's surrender at Waterloo. Here, they also go back into war history, as the song is sung from the point of view of a veteran of the 1910 Mexican Revolution reminiscing about combat with an old comrade. I don't think they try to make any comparisons to romance, though.
Next is the song that by this time had been the theme to The Young and the Restless for three years. But it wasn't the popularity of the soap that finally got it on the radio; rather, it was its use by ABC Sports to accompany footage of Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci at the Montreal Olympics that prompted a title change and the pressing of 45s. And Victor Newman has vowed revenge ever since (was he on the show then? I've never really watched it, but I know that guy's bad news).
The first of the ones I missed belongs to Toni Tennille and Daryl Dragon (why the hell did he feel the need to use a nickname with a real name that awesome?) It's a shame, really, because it would have had a real shot at the Uneasy Rider Award. It wouldn't have been a shoo-in, as you'll see when I reveal the winner, but come on. It's about muskrats! In love! Going on dates! Getting married! It even provides a euphemistic yet still evocative implication of muskrat sex! And there are even simulated muskrat chatters! But no, I'm not going to give the award to a song I didn't get to hear. It's paying for the sins of others, which isn't exactly fair, but hey, that's life.
Next are Kiss with a song the band didn't even play on. It's just drummer Peter "the Cat" Criss backed by piano and strings, singing about how he can't come home to his lady because he and his bandmates "just can't find the sound." I guess that's why they called in the orchestra. Poor Pete. He co-wrote and sang the band's biggest hit, which the rest of them got credit for even though they didn't do a damn thing on it, and yet he was, is, and always will be the least-loved member of the band's original lineup.
Rounding out this quintet are Blue Oyster Cult. "(Don't Fear) the Reaper" seems like the most likely reason for their section getting bumped by CKOC. what with its dark subject matter and those eeeeeeevil umlauts in their name. This song is now most closely associated with that Christopher Walken Saturday Night Live sketch in which he keeps demanding "more cowbell!" But I think more of its use of in the opening sequence of the miniseries of Stephen King's The Stand.
15 - "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," Gordon Lightfoot
14 - "Devil Woman," Cliff Richard
13 - "Magic Man," Heart
12 - "I Only Wanna Be With You," The Bay City Rollers
11 - "That'll Be the Day," Linda Ronstadt
We start with a Canadian folk legend and his epic ballad about a 1975 shipwreck on Lake Superior that killed all 29 men aboard. Apparently, new information from earlier this year that the wreck wasn't caused by crew error had caused him to change a line when he now performs it live. Good old Gord cares more about accuracy than some jounalists.
Okay, now we're back to what I heard last night. Cliff Richard was one of the first British rock stars, and over two decades, he had racked up dozens of hits in the UK. But he had only dented the U.S. chart a couple of times until he finally made the Top Ten with this state-of-the-art dance rocker about shady ladies and black cats. I often get it mixed up with ELO's "Evil Woman." I like the ELO song better overall, but I must admit I thought that stuttering guitar note in the middle of this one that sounds a bit like a heart monitor was pretty cool.
Ann and Nancy Wilson's band had their first Top Ten with this slinky rocker about a younger girl who just can't stay away from a seductive older man and his "magic hands" no matter how much her mama cries to her over the phone. Not quite "Barracuda," but I definitely liked this at five, and I still do.
Scotland's bubblegum heroes show up with a trifling cover of the Dusty Springfield classic. When Samantha Fox's version is better than yours, you know you sucked. And does anybody else remember that the Bay City Rollers had a Saturday morning show on NBC? I don't remember whether or not there was a cartoon aspect to it or it was just live-action. But I'm sure it sucked too. They should have quit after "Saturday Night." I did like that one.
We end this section with another cover, Linda Rondstadt's take on Buddy Holly. She did much better by the Everly Brothers with "When Will I Be Loved," both musically and on the charts. Just eight days until her old boyfriend finds out if he's going back to the governor's mansion in Sacramento.
Now the top ten...
10 - "Rock 'n Me," The Steve Miller Band
Ah, Steve Miller. He was all over the soundtrack to my childhood. I probably liked "Take the Money and Run" best, but this at least provided me with some early education in American city names. Phoenix, Tacoma, Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A.
9 -"Love So Right," The Bee Gees
The Brothers Gibb went back to balladry in the midst of their disco makeover, and proved they could still do the slow thing by taking this to the Top Ten. It's kind of in between the folkie love of "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" and the more R&B-influenced romanticism of "How Deep is Your Love."
8 - "She's Gone," Daryl Hall and John Oates
This song was first released in 1974, but only hit #60. But two years later, they had a hit on a different record label with "Sara Smile," so their old label gave this another shot, and it paid off. This is the better of the two to me, but only "Rich Girl" is on my playlist.
7 - "Shake Your Booty," KC and the Sunshine Band
The song that popularized yet another synonym for the human hindquarters. Harry and the boys probably did a lot of the work to make disco safe for Middle America, from their happy-sounding name to their upbeat, poppy hits that were suggestive but not dangerously so. They may not have been great, but you've got to give them credit for finding a formula that worked.
6 - "Play That Funky Music," Wild Cherry
Wild Cherry's only hit reflected pop music overall, as it told of a "white boy" rocker who was eventually persuaded to "lay down the boogie." For some reason, it always reminds me of being in a launddromat in Welland with my parents. Vanilla Ice used the hook from this song for his first single, but radio stations ended up being enamored with the flip side, and that became his big smash. You know the one I'm talking about, and if you don't, well, word to your mother!
5 - "Still the One," Orleans
A big hit that would go on to be used as a slogan for ABC and in car commercials. Not much more to say.
4 - "Lowdown," Boz Scaggs
First of all, let us all agree that "Boz Scaggs" is a cool-ass name. And this white boy could play that funky music. Yes, this was very disco, complete with flute, but it was also gritty, soulful and cool.
3 - "A Fifth of Beethoven," Walter Murphy.
A disco version of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony that went all the way to the top, and later appeared on the Satruday Night Fever soundtrack, performed by a man who would later do a lot of the music for Family Guy. In a lot of weeks, the combination of classical music and dance floor decadence would take the Uneasy Rider Award, but this week, it loses out to...
2 - "Disco Duck," Rick Dees and his Cast of Idiots
Rick Dees was a popular DJ in Memphis when he recorded this novelty record about a shy guy who morphs into a suave, boogieing waterfowl who sounds a lot like Donald Duck. The song somehow became an international #1 smash, and Dees eventually moved to L.A. When the radio station he was at there lost the rights to American Top 40, Rick started his own nationally syndicated countdown show, Rick Dees' Weekly Top 40. Little did Casey know that while he was documenting the rise of Dees and his silly little hit, he was witnessing the birth of a future competitor in the chart show game.
And the song of all songs 35 years ago was...
1 - "If You Leave Me Now," Chicago
After years of having big but not chart-topping hits with lightweight-but-fun jazz pop, they went all sappy and were rewarded with their first #1. And that would be the direction they would follow for much of the rest of their career. Because we encouraged them then, we only have ourselves to blame for "You're the Inspiration."
The Extras this week were "Stand Tall," the biggest post-Guess Who hit for Burton Cummings; Leo Sayer's falsetto disco "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing;" and Rose Royce's smash theme from the movie Car Wash.
There's another week in the books. I now know where to look to find out what the chart will be a few days in advance, so now I can prepare myself. It's not up yet, but I'm hoping for maybe 1974.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
October 23, 1976 Part One
Finally, I get my wish. I remember '76. The U.S. Bicentennial, Nadia Comeneci, Rocky, I have palpable memories of these things happening around me. And I know radios were frequently on around me. This should be fun.
40 - "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart," Elton John and Kiki Dee
39 - "You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)," Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr.
38 - "Say You Love Me," Fleetwood Mac
37 - "With Your Love," Jefferson Starship
36 - "Wham Bam Shang-a-Lang," Silver
35 - "Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright)," Rod Stewart
34 - "Get The Funk Out Ma Face," The Brothers Johnson
33 - "Getaway," Earth Wind and Fire
32 - "You Are My Starship," Norman Connors featuring Michael Henderson
31 - "A Dose of Rock n' Roll," Ringo Starr
Man, a lot of easy-listening here, interrupted near the end by a couple welcome blasts of funk.
Three massive hits by 70s powerhouses are in this batch. After a long run which saw them hit #1, Elton John and protegee Kiki Dee squeezed out one more week with this karaoke perennial that would Elton would later do again with RuPaul. Also on the way down was Fleetwood Mac's third single from the eponymous album that set the table for Rumours. The Christne McVie hits never did anything for me, but I do like "Songbird." Meanwhile, entering the chart on the way to the top was Rod the Bod with a slinky seduction jam. Clearly, he wasn't the innocent kid led astray by Maggie May anymore. And on this one, his then-girlfriend actually did contribute (Britt Ekland breathed a few French phrases near the end).
Three artists in the midst of the second acts of their careers pop up here. Marilyn McCoo and husband Billy Davis, Jr had broken away from the 5th Dimension, and "You Don't Have To Be A Star," would validate the decision by going right to number one. Jefferson Starship are back again, and good lord how I still resent the fact that they kept enough of their old name that dreck like "With Your Love," is associated with "White Rabbit. And while "A Dose of Rock n' Roll" is a pretty limp exit to Richard Starkey's 70s hitmaking days, when you look back, Ringo didn't do too badly for himself in the years immediately post-Beatles. Sure, his solo career is a distant fourth behind the rest of the lads, but if you offered most artists a four-year run including seven Top Ten singles and two #1s, I think most would take that.
Two one-hit wonders are in the mix. There's nothing that notable about Silver or their song, but the cover of the album was one of many designed during this period by a guy named Phil Hartman. You might remember him from such TV shows as Saturday Night Live and NewsRadio. Oh, and he frequently did voice work on some little cartoon show about yellow people before he died. Meanwhile, Norman Connors played drums and Michael Henderson sang on a song that was indeed spacey in both lyric and sound. The best way I can describe it is as the R&B equivalent of Gary Wright's "Dream Weaver."
Finally, there's the stuff that broke up this snoozefest. The Brothers Johnson got a little naughty with their song title here, but they back it up by grooving and grooving hard. And Earth Wind and Fire prove that even though disco was on the rise, good old funk could still move asses like nothing else.
30 - "This One's For You," Barry Manilow
29 - "Did You Boogie (With Your Baby)," Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids
28 - "A Little Bit More," Dr. Hook
27 - "The Rubberband Man," The Spinners
26 - "Do You Feel Like We Do," Peter Frampton
25 - "The Best Disco In Town," The Ritchie Family
24 - "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight," England Dan and John Ford Coley
23 - "Just to Be Close to You," The Commodores
22 - "You Are The Woman," Firefall
21 - "More Than A Feeling," Boston
Easy listening doesn't dominate this group, but still, it has four representatives. Barry Manilow had another hit covering ground that had already been handled better by Elton John's "Your Song" and Leon Russell's oft-covered "A Song For You" (The Carpenters did that one, which I mention because for once, they're not on the chart). Dr. Hook had dropped the "and the Medicine Show" tag they'd had when they had hits with "Sylvia's Mother" and "The Cover of the Rolling Stone," and they'd also dropped their scraggly sound to become a slightly more credible Seals and Crofst on "A Little Bit More." Later, they'd go disco. England Dan and John Ford Coley had a huge hit with this polite musical pickup line, then they'd go on to have a few more hits that I can't for the life of me remember. And Firefall suck, which is a shame, because you thnk they could have done better with two former members of the Flying Burrito Brothers.
Two songs tap into our longing for the familiar. Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids tapped into the same 50s nostalgia vein mined by Happy Days and American Graffiti (the latter of which they appeared in). Their only hit replicates a square version of early rock, but at least they try by using the word "boogie" as a sex euphemism. And the unrelated Ritchie Family try to give you the atmosphere of the title establishment by performing snippets of hits by the Four Tops and the O'Jays, as well as the theme from Soul Train.
A pair of soul vocal groups are here. The Spinners offer the loosey-goosey "The Rubberband Man." Back in the day I loved this song, both the original and the version Lynda Carter performed on The Muppet Show. And on "Just to Be Close to You," Lionel Richie's vocals are grittier and more intense than they were on later ballads like "Easy" and "Three Times a Lady." I enjoyed hearing that side of him.
This half ends with some rock. Peter Frampton and his talk-box got "Do You Feel Like We Do" on the pop charts and Frampton Comes Alive into millions of homes. Maybe the lack of that gimmick on subsequent studio albums contributed to his downfall. And Boston's run as less-than-prolific giants of generic rock began here with "More Than a Feeling." If the main riff from that song gets stuck in your head for the next few hours, I apologize in advance.
That (hopefully) wraps up the first half. Tomorrow: a soap opera theme, another radio-station glitch that may not have been a mistake at all, and songs #3 and #2 duke it out for the honor of being this week's Uneasy Rider.
40 - "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart," Elton John and Kiki Dee
39 - "You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)," Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr.
38 - "Say You Love Me," Fleetwood Mac
37 - "With Your Love," Jefferson Starship
36 - "Wham Bam Shang-a-Lang," Silver
35 - "Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright)," Rod Stewart
34 - "Get The Funk Out Ma Face," The Brothers Johnson
33 - "Getaway," Earth Wind and Fire
32 - "You Are My Starship," Norman Connors featuring Michael Henderson
31 - "A Dose of Rock n' Roll," Ringo Starr
Man, a lot of easy-listening here, interrupted near the end by a couple welcome blasts of funk.
Three massive hits by 70s powerhouses are in this batch. After a long run which saw them hit #1, Elton John and protegee Kiki Dee squeezed out one more week with this karaoke perennial that would Elton would later do again with RuPaul. Also on the way down was Fleetwood Mac's third single from the eponymous album that set the table for Rumours. The Christne McVie hits never did anything for me, but I do like "Songbird." Meanwhile, entering the chart on the way to the top was Rod the Bod with a slinky seduction jam. Clearly, he wasn't the innocent kid led astray by Maggie May anymore. And on this one, his then-girlfriend actually did contribute (Britt Ekland breathed a few French phrases near the end).
Three artists in the midst of the second acts of their careers pop up here. Marilyn McCoo and husband Billy Davis, Jr had broken away from the 5th Dimension, and "You Don't Have To Be A Star," would validate the decision by going right to number one. Jefferson Starship are back again, and good lord how I still resent the fact that they kept enough of their old name that dreck like "With Your Love," is associated with "White Rabbit. And while "A Dose of Rock n' Roll" is a pretty limp exit to Richard Starkey's 70s hitmaking days, when you look back, Ringo didn't do too badly for himself in the years immediately post-Beatles. Sure, his solo career is a distant fourth behind the rest of the lads, but if you offered most artists a four-year run including seven Top Ten singles and two #1s, I think most would take that.
Two one-hit wonders are in the mix. There's nothing that notable about Silver or their song, but the cover of the album was one of many designed during this period by a guy named Phil Hartman. You might remember him from such TV shows as Saturday Night Live and NewsRadio. Oh, and he frequently did voice work on some little cartoon show about yellow people before he died. Meanwhile, Norman Connors played drums and Michael Henderson sang on a song that was indeed spacey in both lyric and sound. The best way I can describe it is as the R&B equivalent of Gary Wright's "Dream Weaver."
Finally, there's the stuff that broke up this snoozefest. The Brothers Johnson got a little naughty with their song title here, but they back it up by grooving and grooving hard. And Earth Wind and Fire prove that even though disco was on the rise, good old funk could still move asses like nothing else.
30 - "This One's For You," Barry Manilow
29 - "Did You Boogie (With Your Baby)," Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids
28 - "A Little Bit More," Dr. Hook
27 - "The Rubberband Man," The Spinners
26 - "Do You Feel Like We Do," Peter Frampton
25 - "The Best Disco In Town," The Ritchie Family
24 - "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight," England Dan and John Ford Coley
23 - "Just to Be Close to You," The Commodores
22 - "You Are The Woman," Firefall
21 - "More Than A Feeling," Boston
Easy listening doesn't dominate this group, but still, it has four representatives. Barry Manilow had another hit covering ground that had already been handled better by Elton John's "Your Song" and Leon Russell's oft-covered "A Song For You" (The Carpenters did that one, which I mention because for once, they're not on the chart). Dr. Hook had dropped the "and the Medicine Show" tag they'd had when they had hits with "Sylvia's Mother" and "The Cover of the Rolling Stone," and they'd also dropped their scraggly sound to become a slightly more credible Seals and Crofst on "A Little Bit More." Later, they'd go disco. England Dan and John Ford Coley had a huge hit with this polite musical pickup line, then they'd go on to have a few more hits that I can't for the life of me remember. And Firefall suck, which is a shame, because you thnk they could have done better with two former members of the Flying Burrito Brothers.
Two songs tap into our longing for the familiar. Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids tapped into the same 50s nostalgia vein mined by Happy Days and American Graffiti (the latter of which they appeared in). Their only hit replicates a square version of early rock, but at least they try by using the word "boogie" as a sex euphemism. And the unrelated Ritchie Family try to give you the atmosphere of the title establishment by performing snippets of hits by the Four Tops and the O'Jays, as well as the theme from Soul Train.
A pair of soul vocal groups are here. The Spinners offer the loosey-goosey "The Rubberband Man." Back in the day I loved this song, both the original and the version Lynda Carter performed on The Muppet Show. And on "Just to Be Close to You," Lionel Richie's vocals are grittier and more intense than they were on later ballads like "Easy" and "Three Times a Lady." I enjoyed hearing that side of him.
This half ends with some rock. Peter Frampton and his talk-box got "Do You Feel Like We Do" on the pop charts and Frampton Comes Alive into millions of homes. Maybe the lack of that gimmick on subsequent studio albums contributed to his downfall. And Boston's run as less-than-prolific giants of generic rock began here with "More Than a Feeling." If the main riff from that song gets stuck in your head for the next few hours, I apologize in advance.
That (hopefully) wraps up the first half. Tomorrow: a soap opera theme, another radio-station glitch that may not have been a mistake at all, and songs #3 and #2 duke it out for the honor of being this week's Uneasy Rider.
Monday, October 18, 2010
October 17, 1970 Part Two
20 - "It's Only Make Believe," Glen Campbell
19 - "(I Know) I'm Losing You," Rare Earth
18 - "Still Water (Love)," The Four Tops
17 - "Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma," The New Seekers
16 - "Snowbird," Anne Murray
The second half begins with Glen Campbell covering a 1958 #1 by Conway Twitty. Completely unnecessary. Neither Glen nor the production add anything. The original is great, though.
Rare Earth's Temptation's cover isn't essential either, but at least it's more distinct from the original. But they went overboard with the echo effects at the beginning. I'm glad they won't be performing the theme song to the revolution.
The Four Tops were still with Motown when they recorded "Still Water (Love)." Smooth R&B balladry sung by Levi Stubbs is a can't-miss proposition.
Next are The New Seekers. You might be asking, "Mr. Glovehead, was there an old Seekers?" As a matter of fact, there was. They had several hits in their native Australia, and had a massive worldwide smash with the title song from the movie Georgy Girl. But then they broke up, and one of them decided to form a new group and give it a familiar name. This isn't usually a successful move, but the group scored with this cover of a wonderfully weird song by Melanie "Brand New Key" Safka (we never do find out what "they" did to her song, but whatever it was, it cooked her brain "like a chicken bone), and later, they had an even bigger hit by trying to teach the world to sing and buying it a Coke.
Last in the group is Anne Murray, wishing that she could fly away with a snowbird after her lover cheats on her. Who would cheat on Anne? She seems so nice.
15 - "Out In The Country," Three Dog Night
14 - "It's A Shame," The Spinners
13 - "Express Yourself," Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
12 - "Lola," The Kinks
11 - "Indiana Wants Me," R. Dean Taylor
First we have Three Dog Night. Never heard this song before, and I found it unremarkable. Did you know the band's name comes from a term for a really cold evening in the Australian outback? Well, now you do.
Next are The Spinners. Does anybody remember a female British rapper from the early 90s named Monie Love? I remember that she had a minor hit with a song in which she borrowed the chorus from this song (with her singing it). Isn't that fascinating?
Then there's Charles Wright et al. You've certainly heard this song in commercials. Or perhaps you've heard the N.W.A. song of the same name that samples it. And like Freda Payne's entry from yesterday, this also shares it's name with a Madonna hit. I'll take this song over Madge's, and the "Express Yourself"'s cumulatively over the "Deeper and Deeper"'s.
I love the Kinks. They were literate, but not pretentious, and they wrote great songs, like this one, which wins this week's Uneasy Rider Award by being a song about a guy who is cool about finding out his date is a transvestite and still racking up enough pop radio airplay to crack the U.S. Top Ten in 1970. An underrated achievement.
Finally, there's Canadian R. Dean Taylor, who in his only U.S. hit killed a guy that talked shit about his wife and was trying to write a letter to her when the cops caught up to him. I especially like the sirens and the cop with the bullhorn at the end. And apparently, this song came out on the Motown subsidiary Rare Earth. I did not expect that.
Here's the ten biggest:
10 - "Fire and Rain," James Taylor
The first big hit for this 70s folk hero. Two decades later, he would perform this song for three astronauts on a troubled Space Shuttle mission: Race Bannion, Buzz Aldrin, and Homer Simpson. He made a faux pas when he sang the inappropriate-to-the-occasion line about "flying machines in pieces on the ground," but he quickly realized the mistake and improvised a more pleasant image. That's why he was once President.
9 - "Julie, Do Ya Love Me?" Bobby Sherman
Really, teen girls of 1970, this did it for you?
8 - "Lookin' Out My Back Door," Creedence Clearwater Revival
Hey, all you happy creatures, get off my lawn! Nah, you can stay. John Fogerty says you're cool, and who am I to argue with him?
7 - "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," Diana Ross
I suppose the more epic scope of this version conveys the sentiment more accurately than Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's, but still, I'm not a fan.
6 - "Candida," Dawn
Question for the ladies: If Tony Orlando told you a gypsy predicted that you and he would get married and have children, would that be enough to convince you to run away with him? Remember, it's Tony Orlando we're talking about. And I just him refer to you as "first prize." He's objectifying you! Do you trust some possibly non-existent fortune teller enough to overlook that?
5 - "We've Only Just Begun," The Carpenters
We just can't get away from these two, can we? Not that I'm complaining. Besides, it's good to hear Karen sounding so optimistic on this wedding staple.
4 - "All Right Now," Free
I love how this song subverts the cliche by having the guy involved in the one-night stand wanting to talk about where the relationship is going and the woman not be interested in that shit. I wonder if people thought about that, or were just too busy rocking out.
3 - "Green-Eyed Lady," Sugarloaf
This song is pretty slinky, with the bass and the organ and all. And yet it's kind of dated-sounding, in that when I hear it, I picture go-go dancers dressed as mermaids doing The Swim. Overall, it's still pretty cool, but my memories of this band are more about their 1975 tale of record-industry frustration, "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You." And I must add that Sugarloaf is a much better band name than their first one, Chocolate Hair.
2 - "Cracklin' Rosie," Neil Diamond
I'm sure people hearing this song for the first time now hear the phrase "store-bought woman" and think Neil's singing about some sort of blow-up sex doll. No, kids, he's talking about wine. Get your minds out of the gutter.
And the most popular song of that time was...
1 - "I'll Be There," The Jackson 5
The brothers from Gary, Indiana were on an incredible hot streak, with their first three singles going straight to the top. But "ABC," "I Want You Back," and "The Love You Save," were all upbeat, danceable tunes. Some may have questioned whether or not slowing it down and putting out a ballad would keep the streak alive. But I'm sure all skeptics were silenced the moment they heard Michael deliver the opening lines to this one. The kid was something special right from the start.
There were no NotCasey Extras this week. Instead, Casey played the following older songs for various reasons: the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash;" the Ventures' instrumental "Walk Don't Run;" Eddy Arnold's counry classic "Make The World Go Away;" and "Twixt Twelve and Twenty," Pat Boone's not very angsty take on teen angst. Also, they twice played this little clip that sounded like a commercial touting "Billboard's regional breakout hit of the week, Number Three in New Orleans, 'Burning Bridges' by the Mike Curb Congregation. On MGM. In stores now." I'd never heard that song before, but I knew Mike Curb was a record executive and producer. What I didn't know until minutes ago was that Mike Curb was Lieutenant Governor of California at the same time Jerry Brown was Governor. Wow, another connection to yesterday's entry. Funny how these things work out.
So there's another one in the books. I've got a good feeling that next week will bring a chart from later in the decade. What am I basing that on? Nothing!
19 - "(I Know) I'm Losing You," Rare Earth
18 - "Still Water (Love)," The Four Tops
17 - "Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma," The New Seekers
16 - "Snowbird," Anne Murray
The second half begins with Glen Campbell covering a 1958 #1 by Conway Twitty. Completely unnecessary. Neither Glen nor the production add anything. The original is great, though.
Rare Earth's Temptation's cover isn't essential either, but at least it's more distinct from the original. But they went overboard with the echo effects at the beginning. I'm glad they won't be performing the theme song to the revolution.
The Four Tops were still with Motown when they recorded "Still Water (Love)." Smooth R&B balladry sung by Levi Stubbs is a can't-miss proposition.
Next are The New Seekers. You might be asking, "Mr. Glovehead, was there an old Seekers?" As a matter of fact, there was. They had several hits in their native Australia, and had a massive worldwide smash with the title song from the movie Georgy Girl. But then they broke up, and one of them decided to form a new group and give it a familiar name. This isn't usually a successful move, but the group scored with this cover of a wonderfully weird song by Melanie "Brand New Key" Safka (we never do find out what "they" did to her song, but whatever it was, it cooked her brain "like a chicken bone), and later, they had an even bigger hit by trying to teach the world to sing and buying it a Coke.
Last in the group is Anne Murray, wishing that she could fly away with a snowbird after her lover cheats on her. Who would cheat on Anne? She seems so nice.
15 - "Out In The Country," Three Dog Night
14 - "It's A Shame," The Spinners
13 - "Express Yourself," Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
12 - "Lola," The Kinks
11 - "Indiana Wants Me," R. Dean Taylor
First we have Three Dog Night. Never heard this song before, and I found it unremarkable. Did you know the band's name comes from a term for a really cold evening in the Australian outback? Well, now you do.
Next are The Spinners. Does anybody remember a female British rapper from the early 90s named Monie Love? I remember that she had a minor hit with a song in which she borrowed the chorus from this song (with her singing it). Isn't that fascinating?
Then there's Charles Wright et al. You've certainly heard this song in commercials. Or perhaps you've heard the N.W.A. song of the same name that samples it. And like Freda Payne's entry from yesterday, this also shares it's name with a Madonna hit. I'll take this song over Madge's, and the "Express Yourself"'s cumulatively over the "Deeper and Deeper"'s.
I love the Kinks. They were literate, but not pretentious, and they wrote great songs, like this one, which wins this week's Uneasy Rider Award by being a song about a guy who is cool about finding out his date is a transvestite and still racking up enough pop radio airplay to crack the U.S. Top Ten in 1970. An underrated achievement.
Finally, there's Canadian R. Dean Taylor, who in his only U.S. hit killed a guy that talked shit about his wife and was trying to write a letter to her when the cops caught up to him. I especially like the sirens and the cop with the bullhorn at the end. And apparently, this song came out on the Motown subsidiary Rare Earth. I did not expect that.
Here's the ten biggest:
10 - "Fire and Rain," James Taylor
The first big hit for this 70s folk hero. Two decades later, he would perform this song for three astronauts on a troubled Space Shuttle mission: Race Bannion, Buzz Aldrin, and Homer Simpson. He made a faux pas when he sang the inappropriate-to-the-occasion line about "flying machines in pieces on the ground," but he quickly realized the mistake and improvised a more pleasant image. That's why he was once President.
9 - "Julie, Do Ya Love Me?" Bobby Sherman
Really, teen girls of 1970, this did it for you?
8 - "Lookin' Out My Back Door," Creedence Clearwater Revival
Hey, all you happy creatures, get off my lawn! Nah, you can stay. John Fogerty says you're cool, and who am I to argue with him?
7 - "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," Diana Ross
I suppose the more epic scope of this version conveys the sentiment more accurately than Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's, but still, I'm not a fan.
6 - "Candida," Dawn
Question for the ladies: If Tony Orlando told you a gypsy predicted that you and he would get married and have children, would that be enough to convince you to run away with him? Remember, it's Tony Orlando we're talking about. And I just him refer to you as "first prize." He's objectifying you! Do you trust some possibly non-existent fortune teller enough to overlook that?
5 - "We've Only Just Begun," The Carpenters
We just can't get away from these two, can we? Not that I'm complaining. Besides, it's good to hear Karen sounding so optimistic on this wedding staple.
4 - "All Right Now," Free
I love how this song subverts the cliche by having the guy involved in the one-night stand wanting to talk about where the relationship is going and the woman not be interested in that shit. I wonder if people thought about that, or were just too busy rocking out.
3 - "Green-Eyed Lady," Sugarloaf
This song is pretty slinky, with the bass and the organ and all. And yet it's kind of dated-sounding, in that when I hear it, I picture go-go dancers dressed as mermaids doing The Swim. Overall, it's still pretty cool, but my memories of this band are more about their 1975 tale of record-industry frustration, "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You." And I must add that Sugarloaf is a much better band name than their first one, Chocolate Hair.
2 - "Cracklin' Rosie," Neil Diamond
I'm sure people hearing this song for the first time now hear the phrase "store-bought woman" and think Neil's singing about some sort of blow-up sex doll. No, kids, he's talking about wine. Get your minds out of the gutter.
And the most popular song of that time was...
1 - "I'll Be There," The Jackson 5
The brothers from Gary, Indiana were on an incredible hot streak, with their first three singles going straight to the top. But "ABC," "I Want You Back," and "The Love You Save," were all upbeat, danceable tunes. Some may have questioned whether or not slowing it down and putting out a ballad would keep the streak alive. But I'm sure all skeptics were silenced the moment they heard Michael deliver the opening lines to this one. The kid was something special right from the start.
There were no NotCasey Extras this week. Instead, Casey played the following older songs for various reasons: the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash;" the Ventures' instrumental "Walk Don't Run;" Eddy Arnold's counry classic "Make The World Go Away;" and "Twixt Twelve and Twenty," Pat Boone's not very angsty take on teen angst. Also, they twice played this little clip that sounded like a commercial touting "Billboard's regional breakout hit of the week, Number Three in New Orleans, 'Burning Bridges' by the Mike Curb Congregation. On MGM. In stores now." I'd never heard that song before, but I knew Mike Curb was a record executive and producer. What I didn't know until minutes ago was that Mike Curb was Lieutenant Governor of California at the same time Jerry Brown was Governor. Wow, another connection to yesterday's entry. Funny how these things work out.
So there's another one in the books. I've got a good feeling that next week will bring a chart from later in the decade. What am I basing that on? Nothing!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
October 17, 1970 Part One
My cries for a chart from after I'd started kindergarten continue to go unheeded, as this week the syndicate gods go as far back as they can. But at least it's been six weeks since the last 1970 list, so there's not an excessive amount of repetition.
40 - "Montego Bay," Bobby Bloom
39 - "See Me, Feel Me," The Who
38 - "Unite The World," The Temptations
37 - "Do What You Wanna Do," Five Flights Up
36 - "Deeper and Deeper," Freda Payne
35 - "Stand by Your Man," Candi Staton
34 - "Super Bad," James Brown
33 - "Lucretia MacEvil," Blood, Sweat and Tears
32 - "Our House," Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
31 - "It Don't Matter to Me," Bread
Nothing here from out last trip to forty years ago. A good start.
I'll start with the one-hit wonders. Bobby Bloom had a Pepsi jingle and a co-writing credit on "Mony Mony" (children of the 80s who remember the dirty chant that went along with the Billy Idol version represent) before he cracked the Top Ten with this calypso-lite ode to Jamaica's third-largest city. I remember Amazulu's version from the 80's, which was a hit in Canada around the same time as the similarly watered-down island rhythms of Sway's "Hands Up." Much less successful were Five Flights Up, who got no higher than 37 with their only hit. Both their name and their sound remind me a lot of the 5th Dimension. It may have been one of those cases where they snuck in between hits for a familiar band to fill pop radio's gap for that sort of sound until the real thing comes back. That used to happen quite a bit.
Two huge names in classic rock are present and correct. The second half of Tommy's closing track, "We're Not Gonna Take It," was sent out into the world on its own and did quite well for The Who, just missing the Top Ten. CSNY's effort didn't chat nearly as high, but the song Graham Nash wrote envisioning domestic bliss with Joni Mitchell (which didn't turn out, surprisingly enough) has lived on in movies and TV commercials ever since. Take that, Joni.
Two of the big names in soul are on the scene. The Temptations are in solid 70's funk form with a minor hit that came between the monster smashes "Ball of Confusion" and "Just My Imagination." The harmonica at the beginning makes it worth checking out, though. And James Brown drops by to remind us that he has soul and is super bad. We knew that already, but it never hurts to have that message repeated.
The other four songs I'll lump together just because. I didn't know Freda Payne had had hits other than "Band of Gold," and "Bring the Boys Home." "Deeper and Deeper," isn't much to write home about, but it might still win a head on duel with the Madonna song of the same name. R&B singer Candi Staton takes on Tammy Wynette and more than holds her own, although my favorite cover of this song is still Lyle Lovett's. Blood, Sweat and Tears may have been inspired by the name of the villain in 101 Dalmatians when they wrote about Ms. MacEvil, a "back seat Delilah," known for "tail shakin' (and) home breakin'" And Bread round out the group, doing their Breadly thing.
30 - "God, Love and Rock and Roll," Teegarden and Van Winkle
29 - "That's Where I Went Wrong," The Poppy Family
28 - "Somebody's Been Sleeping" 100 Proof (Aged In Soul)
27 - "Joanne," Mike Nesmith and the First National Band
26 - "Groovy Situation," Gene Chandler
25 - "Long, Long Time," Linda Ronstadt
24 - "Patches," Clarence Carter
23 - "Closer to Home," Grand Funk Railroad
22 - "War," Edwin Starr
21 - "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)," Simon and Garfunkel
Not as lucky with this group, as half are holdovers from six weeks ago: Mike Nesmith's attempt to put the Monkees behind him, Gene Chandler's brief return to relevance, Clarence Carter's poor-boy-does-dead-daddy-proud number, Grand Funk Railroad being much less wild and shirtless than I like them to be, and Edwin Starr ferociously railing at armed combat. I have nothing to add about any of these from the last time, so instead, I'll look at the other five songs individually.
I'd heard of neither Teegarden and Van Winkle nor their song until about 90 minutes ago, but apparently it was the highest debut of the week. This usually means big things ahead, but apparently "God, Love and Rock and Roll," was an exception, as it didn't even crack the top 20. As for the song, for me, the title is one-third right: It has kind of a gospelly feel, but it doesn't really rock, and I certainly didn't love it.
Next is the second and final US hit for the Canadian husband-and-wife duo of Terry and Susan Jacks. In their first hit, "Which Way You Goin', Billy?" lead singer Susan was begging a lover not to leave her. In "That's Where I Went Wrong," she's the leaver. Later in the decade, Terry would take the mic and go solo with the huge hit "Seasons In The Sun," in which the narrator is saying goodbye to his loved ones in such an annoying fashion that you wish he'd just hurry up and die already. Or maybe that's just me.
Then it's 100 Proof (Aged In Soul), one of the few bands with parentheses in their name. Their only hit is kind of a funky, man-suspects-his-lover-is-cheating version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. With a little Jack and the Beanstalk thrown in for good measure.
We get our first visit from one of the decade's musical icons at 25, as Linda Ronstadt shows up with her first solo hit. She wouldn't crack the Top 40 again until '75, and then boom, she's all over the radio and dating the governor of California. And that Governor, Jerry Brown, is trying to win that job again right now against the former CEO of eBay. First he followed Reagan, now he's trying to follow Ahnuld. I wonder if Jello Biafra will record a new version of "California Uber Alles," if Jerry wins. Oh wait, I'm just reading that Jello likes him now. Aw.
Last in this half of the chart are Paul and Art with an English-language cover of a song from a Peruvian stage musical written in 1913. I find its origins much more interesting than the song itself.
And there's the first part. Next time: Alcohol, murder, and transvestism!
40 - "Montego Bay," Bobby Bloom
39 - "See Me, Feel Me," The Who
38 - "Unite The World," The Temptations
37 - "Do What You Wanna Do," Five Flights Up
36 - "Deeper and Deeper," Freda Payne
35 - "Stand by Your Man," Candi Staton
34 - "Super Bad," James Brown
33 - "Lucretia MacEvil," Blood, Sweat and Tears
32 - "Our House," Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
31 - "It Don't Matter to Me," Bread
Nothing here from out last trip to forty years ago. A good start.
I'll start with the one-hit wonders. Bobby Bloom had a Pepsi jingle and a co-writing credit on "Mony Mony" (children of the 80s who remember the dirty chant that went along with the Billy Idol version represent) before he cracked the Top Ten with this calypso-lite ode to Jamaica's third-largest city. I remember Amazulu's version from the 80's, which was a hit in Canada around the same time as the similarly watered-down island rhythms of Sway's "Hands Up." Much less successful were Five Flights Up, who got no higher than 37 with their only hit. Both their name and their sound remind me a lot of the 5th Dimension. It may have been one of those cases where they snuck in between hits for a familiar band to fill pop radio's gap for that sort of sound until the real thing comes back. That used to happen quite a bit.
Two huge names in classic rock are present and correct. The second half of Tommy's closing track, "We're Not Gonna Take It," was sent out into the world on its own and did quite well for The Who, just missing the Top Ten. CSNY's effort didn't chat nearly as high, but the song Graham Nash wrote envisioning domestic bliss with Joni Mitchell (which didn't turn out, surprisingly enough) has lived on in movies and TV commercials ever since. Take that, Joni.
Two of the big names in soul are on the scene. The Temptations are in solid 70's funk form with a minor hit that came between the monster smashes "Ball of Confusion" and "Just My Imagination." The harmonica at the beginning makes it worth checking out, though. And James Brown drops by to remind us that he has soul and is super bad. We knew that already, but it never hurts to have that message repeated.
The other four songs I'll lump together just because. I didn't know Freda Payne had had hits other than "Band of Gold," and "Bring the Boys Home." "Deeper and Deeper," isn't much to write home about, but it might still win a head on duel with the Madonna song of the same name. R&B singer Candi Staton takes on Tammy Wynette and more than holds her own, although my favorite cover of this song is still Lyle Lovett's. Blood, Sweat and Tears may have been inspired by the name of the villain in 101 Dalmatians when they wrote about Ms. MacEvil, a "back seat Delilah," known for "tail shakin' (and) home breakin'" And Bread round out the group, doing their Breadly thing.
30 - "God, Love and Rock and Roll," Teegarden and Van Winkle
29 - "That's Where I Went Wrong," The Poppy Family
28 - "Somebody's Been Sleeping" 100 Proof (Aged In Soul)
27 - "Joanne," Mike Nesmith and the First National Band
26 - "Groovy Situation," Gene Chandler
25 - "Long, Long Time," Linda Ronstadt
24 - "Patches," Clarence Carter
23 - "Closer to Home," Grand Funk Railroad
22 - "War," Edwin Starr
21 - "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)," Simon and Garfunkel
Not as lucky with this group, as half are holdovers from six weeks ago: Mike Nesmith's attempt to put the Monkees behind him, Gene Chandler's brief return to relevance, Clarence Carter's poor-boy-does-dead-daddy-proud number, Grand Funk Railroad being much less wild and shirtless than I like them to be, and Edwin Starr ferociously railing at armed combat. I have nothing to add about any of these from the last time, so instead, I'll look at the other five songs individually.
I'd heard of neither Teegarden and Van Winkle nor their song until about 90 minutes ago, but apparently it was the highest debut of the week. This usually means big things ahead, but apparently "God, Love and Rock and Roll," was an exception, as it didn't even crack the top 20. As for the song, for me, the title is one-third right: It has kind of a gospelly feel, but it doesn't really rock, and I certainly didn't love it.
Next is the second and final US hit for the Canadian husband-and-wife duo of Terry and Susan Jacks. In their first hit, "Which Way You Goin', Billy?" lead singer Susan was begging a lover not to leave her. In "That's Where I Went Wrong," she's the leaver. Later in the decade, Terry would take the mic and go solo with the huge hit "Seasons In The Sun," in which the narrator is saying goodbye to his loved ones in such an annoying fashion that you wish he'd just hurry up and die already. Or maybe that's just me.
Then it's 100 Proof (Aged In Soul), one of the few bands with parentheses in their name. Their only hit is kind of a funky, man-suspects-his-lover-is-cheating version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. With a little Jack and the Beanstalk thrown in for good measure.
We get our first visit from one of the decade's musical icons at 25, as Linda Ronstadt shows up with her first solo hit. She wouldn't crack the Top 40 again until '75, and then boom, she's all over the radio and dating the governor of California. And that Governor, Jerry Brown, is trying to win that job again right now against the former CEO of eBay. First he followed Reagan, now he's trying to follow Ahnuld. I wonder if Jello Biafra will record a new version of "California Uber Alles," if Jerry wins. Oh wait, I'm just reading that Jello likes him now. Aw.
Last in this half of the chart are Paul and Art with an English-language cover of a song from a Peruvian stage musical written in 1913. I find its origins much more interesting than the song itself.
And there's the first part. Next time: Alcohol, murder, and transvestism!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
October 9, 1971
This is ridiculous. We're back to 1971 after just two weeks. There are ten years in a decade, Premier Radio Networks. Oh well, I'll just follow the pattern of the last time we were in this situation. Here's 40-11, with the ones that weren't around two weeks ago in bold:
40 - "Only You Know and I Know," Delaney and Bonnie
39 - "Breakdown Part 1," Rufus Thomas
38 - "MacArthur Park (Part 2), " The Four Tops
37 - "Saturday Morning Confusion," Bobby Russell
36 - "One Fine Morining," Lighthouse
35 - "Easy Loving," Freddie Hart
34 - "Peace Train," Cat Stevens
33 - "Won't Get Fooled Again," The Who
32 - "The Love We Had (Stays on My Mind)," The Dells
31 - "Stagger Lee," Tommy Roe
30 - "Never My Love," The 5th Dimension
29 - "Birds of a Feather," The Raiders
28 - "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves," Cher
27 - "Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)," Kris Kristofferson
26 - "I Just Want to Celebrate," Rare Earth
25 - "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)," Paul Stookey
24 - "What'cha See Is What'cha Get," The Dramatics
23 - "The Story In Your Eyes," The Moody Blues
22 - "Make It Funky," James Brown
21 - "Thin Line Between Love and Hate," The Persuaders
20 -"Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep," Mac and Katie Kissoon
19 - "Rain Dance," The Guess Who
18 - "Trapped by a Thing Called Love," Denise LaSalle
17 - "I've Found Someone of My Own," Free Movement
16 - "I Woke Up In Love This Morning," The Partridge Family
15 - "Stick Up," The Honey Cone
14- "So Far Away/Smackwater Jack," Carole King
13 - "Tired of Being Alone," Al Green
12 - "Spanish Harlem," Aretha Franklin
11 - "Smiling Faces Sometimes," The Undisputed Truth
An eight song turnover. A little low, but whatever
First of the newcomers are Eric Clapton pals Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett. The song didn't make much of an impression on me. Bonnie played a waitress on Roseanne for five years. But you may have known that.
Next are the Four Tops with their version of the most famous song ever written about a cake wreck, "MacArthur Park." I remember the Donna Summer version from the latter half of this decade. Then I discovered the truly strange original version by actor Richard Harris. Then I saw Dave Thomas lip-sync and dance spastically to it on SCTV's "Mel's Rock Pile." And finally, today, I heard this. Nothing great in and of itself, but hearing Levi Stubbs sing is never a waste of time.
Then it's Canada's Lighthouse with "One Fine Morning," It's not quite as much of a CanCon staple as "Sunny Days," but it's still embedded in my brain. I just learned two things looking this up: a) the cover of the One Fine Morning album looks like it should be on a Yes record, and b) their sax player was Howard Shore, who won three Oscars for scoring the Lord of the Rings movies. So I guess he's Canada's Danny Elfman.
The man now known as Yusuf Islam is here with his first U.S. Top Ten. There have been controversies surrounding him in the last 20 years or so, but right now, it seems like things are okay between him and overall Western culture. Whatever, "Peace Train," is a really good song.
The 5th Dimension are here with a cover of a song by The Association. I like it better than the original, but then again, I hate The Association. "Cherish," "Windy," "Along Comes Mary," ugh. They're just so the opposite of anything cool about music. Plus, I just learned that they turned down "MacArthur Park," which is how it got to Richard Harris. So there's one hit they missed out on. Good.
Then it's the Raiders (formerly Paul Revere and...). This is a lite-rock Romeo and Juliet story that was their follow-up to their wildly successful crack at protest music, "Indian Reservation." Meh, I'll take "Kicks" over either of them any day.
The then-Mrs. Sonny Bono brings us her immortal tale of travelling outcasts and the suave drifters who impregnate them. I was listening to this once, and for some reason, when it came to the chorus, I decided to try singing along in my best Cher voice. As it turned out, my Cher voice is a very good imitation...of Don Knotts. I sounded like Barney Fife running to Andy Taylor: "We've got to nip these gypsies, tramps and thieves in the bud! I caught Opie throwing money at one of them dancing girls! What'll I tell Aunt Bee?"
Finally, it's Kris Kristofferson poetically recalling an old lover. This song was on the album that Robert De Niro buys for Cybill Shepherd in Taxi Driver. Yeah, that's my brilliant insight on this song.
Let's see, anything to say about the holdovers? Well, I liked "Breakdown Part 1," a lot better the second time around. "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep," becomes the first repeat winner of the Uneasy Rider Award, again edging "Saturday Morning Confusion." I still have no idea what "Rain Dance" is about. And this time for the Carole King single, Casey played "Smackwater Jack," a song about a guy who shoots up a church full of people and then gets hanged. Not generally what I expect from her.
So now, the top 10:
10 -"Sweet City Woman," The Stampeders
Once again, it's this banjo-driven Canuck classic. You know, I could stand to have someone feed me "love and tenderness and macaroons" right about now. Anybody know anybody?
9 - "If You Really Love Me," Stevie Wonder
We love you, Stevie. We really love you.
8 - "Ain't No Sunshine," Bill Withers
Has anybody ever repeated two words several times to greater effect in song than Bill does with "I know" in this one? Can't think of anyone right now.
7 - "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey," Paul and Linda McCartney
I don't have anything to add to my last post about this song, so I'll use this space for two purposes: to wish a belated happy 70th birthday to Paul's late bandmate John Lennon, and to recall Paul and Linda's appearance on The Simpsons. I never did get around to finding out if playing "Maybe I'm Amazed," backwards gives you a recipe for "a really ripping lentil soup."
6 - "Do You Know What I Mean," Lee Michaels
I've never had a woman leave me for my best friend, so fortunately, Lee, I don't. But at least you got a hit out of it.
5 - "Yo-Yo," The Osmonds
You know what? Listening to this again, it's really not bad. A pretty good stab at soul for Mormons. It's certainly less of a flat out Jackson 5 rip than "One Bad Apple."
4 - "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," Joan Baez
Did you know that Joan had a tumultuous relationship with Bob Dylan? Oh, you did? Sorry to bother you.
3 - "Superstar," The Carpenters
Maybe someday I'll hunt down the biopic of Karen named after this song where her life is acted out with Barbie dolls.
2 - "Go Away Little Girl," Donny Osmond
No, this didn't grow on me the way "Yo-Yo" did. It's still as limp and disposable as ever.
And the song that ruled all of popdom in the USA 39 years ago was...
1 - "Maggie May," Rod Stewart
This song is about a May/December relationship. On a completely unrelated note, his current wife was almost seven months old when this countdown first aired.
There was one standard NotCasey Extra, "One Tin Soldier" by Coven. Then there were two Casey-introduced "Specials:" Rod Stewart's cover of "(I Know) I'm Losing You" from the then #1 album Every Picture Tells a Story; and the number one song from ten years ago that week, Ray Charles' "Hit The Road Jack."
So that's it for this week. How about a new year next time, whoever's in charge of these things?
40 - "Only You Know and I Know," Delaney and Bonnie
39 - "Breakdown Part 1," Rufus Thomas
38 - "MacArthur Park (Part 2), " The Four Tops
37 - "Saturday Morning Confusion," Bobby Russell
36 - "One Fine Morining," Lighthouse
35 - "Easy Loving," Freddie Hart
34 - "Peace Train," Cat Stevens
33 - "Won't Get Fooled Again," The Who
32 - "The Love We Had (Stays on My Mind)," The Dells
31 - "Stagger Lee," Tommy Roe
30 - "Never My Love," The 5th Dimension
29 - "Birds of a Feather," The Raiders
28 - "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves," Cher
27 - "Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)," Kris Kristofferson
26 - "I Just Want to Celebrate," Rare Earth
25 - "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)," Paul Stookey
24 - "What'cha See Is What'cha Get," The Dramatics
23 - "The Story In Your Eyes," The Moody Blues
22 - "Make It Funky," James Brown
21 - "Thin Line Between Love and Hate," The Persuaders
20 -"Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep," Mac and Katie Kissoon
19 - "Rain Dance," The Guess Who
18 - "Trapped by a Thing Called Love," Denise LaSalle
17 - "I've Found Someone of My Own," Free Movement
16 - "I Woke Up In Love This Morning," The Partridge Family
15 - "Stick Up," The Honey Cone
14- "So Far Away/Smackwater Jack," Carole King
13 - "Tired of Being Alone," Al Green
12 - "Spanish Harlem," Aretha Franklin
11 - "Smiling Faces Sometimes," The Undisputed Truth
An eight song turnover. A little low, but whatever
First of the newcomers are Eric Clapton pals Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett. The song didn't make much of an impression on me. Bonnie played a waitress on Roseanne for five years. But you may have known that.
Next are the Four Tops with their version of the most famous song ever written about a cake wreck, "MacArthur Park." I remember the Donna Summer version from the latter half of this decade. Then I discovered the truly strange original version by actor Richard Harris. Then I saw Dave Thomas lip-sync and dance spastically to it on SCTV's "Mel's Rock Pile." And finally, today, I heard this. Nothing great in and of itself, but hearing Levi Stubbs sing is never a waste of time.
Then it's Canada's Lighthouse with "One Fine Morning," It's not quite as much of a CanCon staple as "Sunny Days," but it's still embedded in my brain. I just learned two things looking this up: a) the cover of the One Fine Morning album looks like it should be on a Yes record, and b) their sax player was Howard Shore, who won three Oscars for scoring the Lord of the Rings movies. So I guess he's Canada's Danny Elfman.
The man now known as Yusuf Islam is here with his first U.S. Top Ten. There have been controversies surrounding him in the last 20 years or so, but right now, it seems like things are okay between him and overall Western culture. Whatever, "Peace Train," is a really good song.
The 5th Dimension are here with a cover of a song by The Association. I like it better than the original, but then again, I hate The Association. "Cherish," "Windy," "Along Comes Mary," ugh. They're just so the opposite of anything cool about music. Plus, I just learned that they turned down "MacArthur Park," which is how it got to Richard Harris. So there's one hit they missed out on. Good.
Then it's the Raiders (formerly Paul Revere and...). This is a lite-rock Romeo and Juliet story that was their follow-up to their wildly successful crack at protest music, "Indian Reservation." Meh, I'll take "Kicks" over either of them any day.
The then-Mrs. Sonny Bono brings us her immortal tale of travelling outcasts and the suave drifters who impregnate them. I was listening to this once, and for some reason, when it came to the chorus, I decided to try singing along in my best Cher voice. As it turned out, my Cher voice is a very good imitation...of Don Knotts. I sounded like Barney Fife running to Andy Taylor: "We've got to nip these gypsies, tramps and thieves in the bud! I caught Opie throwing money at one of them dancing girls! What'll I tell Aunt Bee?"
Finally, it's Kris Kristofferson poetically recalling an old lover. This song was on the album that Robert De Niro buys for Cybill Shepherd in Taxi Driver. Yeah, that's my brilliant insight on this song.
Let's see, anything to say about the holdovers? Well, I liked "Breakdown Part 1," a lot better the second time around. "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep," becomes the first repeat winner of the Uneasy Rider Award, again edging "Saturday Morning Confusion." I still have no idea what "Rain Dance" is about. And this time for the Carole King single, Casey played "Smackwater Jack," a song about a guy who shoots up a church full of people and then gets hanged. Not generally what I expect from her.
So now, the top 10:
10 -"Sweet City Woman," The Stampeders
Once again, it's this banjo-driven Canuck classic. You know, I could stand to have someone feed me "love and tenderness and macaroons" right about now. Anybody know anybody?
9 - "If You Really Love Me," Stevie Wonder
We love you, Stevie. We really love you.
8 - "Ain't No Sunshine," Bill Withers
Has anybody ever repeated two words several times to greater effect in song than Bill does with "I know" in this one? Can't think of anyone right now.
7 - "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey," Paul and Linda McCartney
I don't have anything to add to my last post about this song, so I'll use this space for two purposes: to wish a belated happy 70th birthday to Paul's late bandmate John Lennon, and to recall Paul and Linda's appearance on The Simpsons. I never did get around to finding out if playing "Maybe I'm Amazed," backwards gives you a recipe for "a really ripping lentil soup."
6 - "Do You Know What I Mean," Lee Michaels
I've never had a woman leave me for my best friend, so fortunately, Lee, I don't. But at least you got a hit out of it.
5 - "Yo-Yo," The Osmonds
You know what? Listening to this again, it's really not bad. A pretty good stab at soul for Mormons. It's certainly less of a flat out Jackson 5 rip than "One Bad Apple."
4 - "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," Joan Baez
Did you know that Joan had a tumultuous relationship with Bob Dylan? Oh, you did? Sorry to bother you.
3 - "Superstar," The Carpenters
Maybe someday I'll hunt down the biopic of Karen named after this song where her life is acted out with Barbie dolls.
2 - "Go Away Little Girl," Donny Osmond
No, this didn't grow on me the way "Yo-Yo" did. It's still as limp and disposable as ever.
And the song that ruled all of popdom in the USA 39 years ago was...
1 - "Maggie May," Rod Stewart
This song is about a May/December relationship. On a completely unrelated note, his current wife was almost seven months old when this countdown first aired.
There was one standard NotCasey Extra, "One Tin Soldier" by Coven. Then there were two Casey-introduced "Specials:" Rod Stewart's cover of "(I Know) I'm Losing You" from the then #1 album Every Picture Tells a Story; and the number one song from ten years ago that week, Ray Charles' "Hit The Road Jack."
So that's it for this week. How about a new year next time, whoever's in charge of these things?
Monday, October 4, 2010
October 7, 1972 Part Two
And we're off...
20 - "City of New Orleans," Arlo Guthrie
19 - "Get on the Good Foot Part 1," James Brown
18 - "Why/Lonely Boy," Donny Osmond
17 - "You Wear It Well," Rod Stewart
16 - "Tight Rope," Leon Russell
The second half kicks off with the biggest pop hit for Woody's son, a song that glorifies train travel. Apparently it was only written in 1970. I thought it was much, much older.
Then it's the Godfather of Soul again with another hit from his early 70s boom period, bringing "long-hair hippies and the Afro blacks" together through the magic of funk. Ow!
Next is Donny Osmond with one of those double sided hits. A cover of Frankie Avalon's "Why," is the side Casey played. The flip was Paul Anka's "Lonely Boy." Like him or not, the kid sold records with all these covers of what even then were considered "Golden Oldies."
Rod Stewart is here with his second U.S. solo hit, a cool little number in which he reminisces about an old flame while writing her a letter. He dates himself by namedropping "Madame Onassis" (do the kids these days even know Jackie Kennedy got married again to a Greek shipping magnate?), but that's all right.
Last in the group is Leon Russell. I'd heard of this song, but this was the first time I'd actually heard it. Like it much better than that one from the '75 chart. Nice groove, good lyrics. For some reason, I especially enjoy the phrase "rubber-neck giraffe."
15 - "Garden Party," Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band
14 - "Speak to the Sky," Rick Springfield
13 - "Saturday In The Park," Chicago
12 - "Nights in White Satin," The Moody Blues
11 - "Play Me," Neil Diamond
This section starts with the artist formerly known as Ricky, back in the days when he was making teen girls swoon on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and on the radio with hits like "Hello Mary Lou." His brief return to the pop charts was this sharply drawn portrait of a night when he played Madison Square Garden "Rock n' Roll Revival" show. He cryptically mentions some of the famous musicians that were also there, "American Pie"-style, and memorably sums up the crowd's reaction when he followed up two of his old hits with a Rolling Stones cover in the line: "I sang a song about a honky tonk, it was time to leave." A gem from a surprising source.
I had known pretty much ever since "Jessie's Girl" vaulted him to superstardom that Rick Springfield had had one hit in the early seventies, but last night was the first time I had ever heard "Speak to the Sky." It's an upbeat, almost jazzy testament to the power of prayer. This overtly religious number does serve to put the conflicted lust of his slow-in-coming next hit into an interesting context.
Next is Chicago. I covered "Saturday in the Park," on our last visit to '72, but it never hurts to go back to that wonderful place where "every day's the 4th of July."
Then it's the Moody Blues with a song that became a hit five years after it's original release. The single version, of course, cuts out the middle part in the poem. Apparently, this was considered to be used as the song over the opening sequence of Apocalypse Now before the filmmakers finally went with the Doors' "The End." Probably for the best.
This fivesome concludes with Neil Diamond in his early-seventies MOR mode. Not one of his best by a long shot. No, I will not play you.
Top Ten time...
10 - "Popcorn," Hot Butter
Ah, early Moog synthesizer workout, we meet again. Silly, dated, but still infectious.
9 - "My Ding-a-Ling," Chuck Berry
This week's Uneasy Rider Award winner, and easily the biggest hit among the honor's recipient's so far. It's one of the most wrong-seeming facts in all of pop music that this song that's about a toy on the surface but is quite obviously really about...something else was Chuck Berry's only U.S #1. It does have a certain silly charm, and the interplay between Berry and the English crowd does provide a kick, but still...
8 - "Black and White," Three Dog Night
If this song had truly fostered the racial harmony it attempted to, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder wouldn't have needed to do "Ebony and Ivory" nine years later. You failed, 3DN.
7 - "Burning Love," Elvis Presley
The King's biggest 70's hit. Yes, it's as garish and cheesy as the man himself was in the Vegas years, but still, how do you not love it? Besides, I once absolutely killed this at karaoke.
6 - "Use Me," Bill Withers
The last of Bill's three big ones that we've come across in these charts. It's a tribute to his versatility that in those songs he played three verydifferent roles: the shattered victim of love gone wrong in "Ain't No Sunshine," the supportive rock in "Lean on Me," and the smooth operator on the make in this one. And to think, there was a time when I just knew him as the singer on Grover Washington Jr.'s early 80s hit "Just the Two of Us."
5 - "Go All the Way," The Raspberries
Eric Carmen, why did you ever abandon power pop? Maybe that's why you ended up "All By Yourself." Ba-dum-bum *rimshot*
4 - "Everybody Plays The Fool," The Main Ingredient
A smooth, catchy song that attempts to cheer up the brokenhearted, sung by none other than Cuba Gooding...Sr. Can't argue with this one's success.
3 - "Backstabbers," The O'Jays
I don't think I have anything to add to what I said last time. It's just fantastic.
2 - "Ben," Michael Jackson
This song was written for a movie about an evil telepathic rat, and was originally intended for Donny Osmond. But the youngest member of that other band of brothers got hold of it, and he overcame both the bizarre subject matter and a limp backing track to make a genuinely moving classic. I feel confident in saying that Donny would not have been able to pull that off. But years later, a mental patient named Leon Kompowski did when singing it to roommate Homer Simpson.
And the song America loved above all others 38 years ago was...
1 - "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me," Mac Davis
I had no idea that this was a Number One. That this topped the chart and stuff like "Backstabbers," "Go All The Way," and "Garden Party" does not sit well with me at all. Pop is not a meritocracy, sadly.
This week's Extras were, "I Am Woman" by her majesty Helen Reddy, "If You Don't Know Me By Now" by Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, and "Summer Breeze" by Seals and Crofts.
Another one down. Still hoping for some late-decade action. Come back next week to see if I get it.
20 - "City of New Orleans," Arlo Guthrie
19 - "Get on the Good Foot Part 1," James Brown
18 - "Why/Lonely Boy," Donny Osmond
17 - "You Wear It Well," Rod Stewart
16 - "Tight Rope," Leon Russell
The second half kicks off with the biggest pop hit for Woody's son, a song that glorifies train travel. Apparently it was only written in 1970. I thought it was much, much older.
Then it's the Godfather of Soul again with another hit from his early 70s boom period, bringing "long-hair hippies and the Afro blacks" together through the magic of funk. Ow!
Next is Donny Osmond with one of those double sided hits. A cover of Frankie Avalon's "Why," is the side Casey played. The flip was Paul Anka's "Lonely Boy." Like him or not, the kid sold records with all these covers of what even then were considered "Golden Oldies."
Rod Stewart is here with his second U.S. solo hit, a cool little number in which he reminisces about an old flame while writing her a letter. He dates himself by namedropping "Madame Onassis" (do the kids these days even know Jackie Kennedy got married again to a Greek shipping magnate?), but that's all right.
Last in the group is Leon Russell. I'd heard of this song, but this was the first time I'd actually heard it. Like it much better than that one from the '75 chart. Nice groove, good lyrics. For some reason, I especially enjoy the phrase "rubber-neck giraffe."
15 - "Garden Party," Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band
14 - "Speak to the Sky," Rick Springfield
13 - "Saturday In The Park," Chicago
12 - "Nights in White Satin," The Moody Blues
11 - "Play Me," Neil Diamond
This section starts with the artist formerly known as Ricky, back in the days when he was making teen girls swoon on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and on the radio with hits like "Hello Mary Lou." His brief return to the pop charts was this sharply drawn portrait of a night when he played Madison Square Garden "Rock n' Roll Revival" show. He cryptically mentions some of the famous musicians that were also there, "American Pie"-style, and memorably sums up the crowd's reaction when he followed up two of his old hits with a Rolling Stones cover in the line: "I sang a song about a honky tonk, it was time to leave." A gem from a surprising source.
I had known pretty much ever since "Jessie's Girl" vaulted him to superstardom that Rick Springfield had had one hit in the early seventies, but last night was the first time I had ever heard "Speak to the Sky." It's an upbeat, almost jazzy testament to the power of prayer. This overtly religious number does serve to put the conflicted lust of his slow-in-coming next hit into an interesting context.
Next is Chicago. I covered "Saturday in the Park," on our last visit to '72, but it never hurts to go back to that wonderful place where "every day's the 4th of July."
Then it's the Moody Blues with a song that became a hit five years after it's original release. The single version, of course, cuts out the middle part in the poem. Apparently, this was considered to be used as the song over the opening sequence of Apocalypse Now before the filmmakers finally went with the Doors' "The End." Probably for the best.
This fivesome concludes with Neil Diamond in his early-seventies MOR mode. Not one of his best by a long shot. No, I will not play you.
Top Ten time...
10 - "Popcorn," Hot Butter
Ah, early Moog synthesizer workout, we meet again. Silly, dated, but still infectious.
9 - "My Ding-a-Ling," Chuck Berry
This week's Uneasy Rider Award winner, and easily the biggest hit among the honor's recipient's so far. It's one of the most wrong-seeming facts in all of pop music that this song that's about a toy on the surface but is quite obviously really about...something else was Chuck Berry's only U.S #1. It does have a certain silly charm, and the interplay between Berry and the English crowd does provide a kick, but still...
8 - "Black and White," Three Dog Night
If this song had truly fostered the racial harmony it attempted to, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder wouldn't have needed to do "Ebony and Ivory" nine years later. You failed, 3DN.
7 - "Burning Love," Elvis Presley
The King's biggest 70's hit. Yes, it's as garish and cheesy as the man himself was in the Vegas years, but still, how do you not love it? Besides, I once absolutely killed this at karaoke.
6 - "Use Me," Bill Withers
The last of Bill's three big ones that we've come across in these charts. It's a tribute to his versatility that in those songs he played three verydifferent roles: the shattered victim of love gone wrong in "Ain't No Sunshine," the supportive rock in "Lean on Me," and the smooth operator on the make in this one. And to think, there was a time when I just knew him as the singer on Grover Washington Jr.'s early 80s hit "Just the Two of Us."
5 - "Go All the Way," The Raspberries
Eric Carmen, why did you ever abandon power pop? Maybe that's why you ended up "All By Yourself." Ba-dum-bum *rimshot*
4 - "Everybody Plays The Fool," The Main Ingredient
A smooth, catchy song that attempts to cheer up the brokenhearted, sung by none other than Cuba Gooding...Sr. Can't argue with this one's success.
3 - "Backstabbers," The O'Jays
I don't think I have anything to add to what I said last time. It's just fantastic.
2 - "Ben," Michael Jackson
This song was written for a movie about an evil telepathic rat, and was originally intended for Donny Osmond. But the youngest member of that other band of brothers got hold of it, and he overcame both the bizarre subject matter and a limp backing track to make a genuinely moving classic. I feel confident in saying that Donny would not have been able to pull that off. But years later, a mental patient named Leon Kompowski did when singing it to roommate Homer Simpson.
And the song America loved above all others 38 years ago was...
1 - "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me," Mac Davis
I had no idea that this was a Number One. That this topped the chart and stuff like "Backstabbers," "Go All The Way," and "Garden Party" does not sit well with me at all. Pop is not a meritocracy, sadly.
This week's Extras were, "I Am Woman" by her majesty Helen Reddy, "If You Don't Know Me By Now" by Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, and "Summer Breeze" by Seals and Crofts.
Another one down. Still hoping for some late-decade action. Come back next week to see if I get it.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
October 7, 1972 Part One
Damn, another repeat week. But at least there's a six-week gap this time, so there should be plenty of new musical meat to chew on. We'll see how this goes.
40 - "I'll Be Around," The Spinners
39 - "Loving You Just Crossed My Mind," Sam Neely
38 - "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry," Jerry Wallace
37 - "Geronimo's Cadillac," Michael Murphey
36 - "Midnight Rider," Joe Cocker with the Chris Stainton Band
35 - "I Believe in Music," Gallery
34 - "Run to Me," The Bee Gees
33 - "I Can See Clearly Now," Johnny Nash
32 - "Power of Love," Joe Simon
31 - "If I Could Reach You," The 5th Dimension
29 - "Thunder and Lightning," Chi Coltrane
28- "Honky Cat," Elton John
27 - "Alone Again (Naturally)," Gilbert O'Sullivan
26 - "Don't Ever Be Lonely," Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
25 - "Starting All Over Again," Mel and Tim
24 - "Listen to the Music," The Doobie Brothers
23 - "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues," Danny O'Keefe
22 - "Beautiful Sunday," Daniel Boone
21 -"Freddie's Dead," Curtis Mayfield
Three repeaters from six weeks earlier in this bunch: Elton leaving the country behind for the city lights, Gilbert killing himself, and Daniel basking in a glorious weekend afternoon.
Two one-hit wonders in the group. Chi Coltrane made one contribution to North America airwaves with the sexy, soulful "Thunder and Lightning," before hopping the Atlantic and becoming a star in Europe. Danny O'Keefe seems to have gotten lost in the singer-songwriter shuffle of the time, but he did manage to make one impression on the masses with "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues," a song I had only heard part of before when it was plaved at the end of an episode of Night Court.
Classic rock makes two dents in this quarter in the form of the Eagles sultry evocation of a lady who may be able to show you a good time but probably won't be good for you long term, while the not-really-related Doobie Brothers simply want you to hear them. In a way, that sentence depicts those two bands in a nutshell.
This summary of the first half of the chart concludes with three R&B numbers. Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose's entry sounds a lot like their previous hit "Too Late To Turn Back Now." Mel and Tim, who had broken through three years earlier with the not-so-subtle metaphor for rear-end gyration, "Backfield in Motion," are on the scene with a "let's try to stay friends after the breakup," ballad that dates itself from the start by opening with a Western Union messenger presenting one of the cousins with a telegram. And then there's the indisputably awesome "Freddie's Dead," Curtis Mayfield's tragic tale of the drug trade from his indispensible Superfly soundtrack. This may not have been my greatest entry in this enterprise, but at least it goes out with me having one hell of a great song in my head.
End of Part One. In the conclusion: three 50s superstars, two solo efforts from the youngest members of brother acts go head to head (one wins decisively), and a guy who was looking like a one-hit wonder until 1981, when...you'll see.
40 - "I'll Be Around," The Spinners
39 - "Loving You Just Crossed My Mind," Sam Neely
38 - "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry," Jerry Wallace
37 - "Geronimo's Cadillac," Michael Murphey
36 - "Midnight Rider," Joe Cocker with the Chris Stainton Band
35 - "I Believe in Music," Gallery
34 - "Run to Me," The Bee Gees
33 - "I Can See Clearly Now," Johnny Nash
32 - "Power of Love," Joe Simon
31 - "If I Could Reach You," The 5th Dimension
A good start. Only two songs that were on the last '72 list: the Bee Gees' ballad and the Joe Simon hit, which grew on me some upon second listen.
Two artists I'd never even heard of are in this group. Sam Neely sounds like a sped-up recording of Jim Croce on the folky "Loving You Just Crossed My Mind." Jerry Wallace, meanwhile, topped the country charts with "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry," a song that became a hit after being played repeatedly on a mysterious jukebox on an episode of the Rod Serling TV series Night Gallery. Kind of like what happened in the 80s to Billy Vera and the Beaters after that one episode of Family Ties.
Two artists who are mainly known for one song are here with songs other than the ones that first come to mind for most people. Michael "Wildfire" Murphey is present with his first hit, a song about the injustice done to American Indians that was apparently inspired by a 1905 photograph of the native chief driving a car (which apparently was not a Cadillac but a Locomobile). Gallery are most famous for their quintisentially 70s "Nice to Be With You," but here they offer the idealistic Mac Davis composition, "I Believe In Music."
There are also two lesser-known singles by artists who had several hits. Joe Cocker, backed by the Chris Stainton Band (whoever they are) turns in a typically spirited cover of the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider." The 5th Dimension, the group who gave us "Up, Up and Away," "Wedding Bell Blues," and so many others, had their last signficant hit with the pleading ballad "If I Could Reach You." Later, singer Marilyn McCoo would co-host the cheesy but beloved music show Solid Gold.
Rounding out the section are two flat-out classics. The Spinners put their spin (yeah, I know) on the old "you can count on me" theme, but it doesn't sound cliched at all. And Johnny Nash produces one of pop's greatest busts of unbridled, unapologetic optimism with "I Can See Clearly Now." You can't not smile when that song is on. You just can't.
29 - "Thunder and Lightning," Chi Coltrane
28- "Honky Cat," Elton John
27 - "Alone Again (Naturally)," Gilbert O'Sullivan
26 - "Don't Ever Be Lonely," Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
25 - "Starting All Over Again," Mel and Tim
24 - "Listen to the Music," The Doobie Brothers
23 - "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues," Danny O'Keefe
22 - "Beautiful Sunday," Daniel Boone
21 -"Freddie's Dead," Curtis Mayfield
Three repeaters from six weeks earlier in this bunch: Elton leaving the country behind for the city lights, Gilbert killing himself, and Daniel basking in a glorious weekend afternoon.
Two one-hit wonders in the group. Chi Coltrane made one contribution to North America airwaves with the sexy, soulful "Thunder and Lightning," before hopping the Atlantic and becoming a star in Europe. Danny O'Keefe seems to have gotten lost in the singer-songwriter shuffle of the time, but he did manage to make one impression on the masses with "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues," a song I had only heard part of before when it was plaved at the end of an episode of Night Court.
Classic rock makes two dents in this quarter in the form of the Eagles sultry evocation of a lady who may be able to show you a good time but probably won't be good for you long term, while the not-really-related Doobie Brothers simply want you to hear them. In a way, that sentence depicts those two bands in a nutshell.
This summary of the first half of the chart concludes with three R&B numbers. Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose's entry sounds a lot like their previous hit "Too Late To Turn Back Now." Mel and Tim, who had broken through three years earlier with the not-so-subtle metaphor for rear-end gyration, "Backfield in Motion," are on the scene with a "let's try to stay friends after the breakup," ballad that dates itself from the start by opening with a Western Union messenger presenting one of the cousins with a telegram. And then there's the indisputably awesome "Freddie's Dead," Curtis Mayfield's tragic tale of the drug trade from his indispensible Superfly soundtrack. This may not have been my greatest entry in this enterprise, but at least it goes out with me having one hell of a great song in my head.
End of Part One. In the conclusion: three 50s superstars, two solo efforts from the youngest members of brother acts go head to head (one wins decisively), and a guy who was looking like a one-hit wonder until 1981, when...you'll see.
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