April 17, 1971 Part Two

Concluding this week's proceedings.

20 - "If," Bread
19 - "Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes," The 5th Dimension
18 - "What is Life," George Harrison
17 - "Love Story (Where Do I Begin)," Andy Williams
16 - "No Love at All," B.J. Thomas

Like a meal at an Italian restaurant, we start with Bread. This is arguably their best-known hit, and as Bread goes, it's not bad. It's a sweet, earnest ballad, not too treacly, and I like the echoey guitar. Apparently, Kojak himself, Telly Savalas, went on to record this and actually went to #1 in Britain. I'm not sure I want to track it down, though.

Then it's Marilyn McCoo and her cohorts with a song that lays on a bunch of strange metaphors involving pendulums and triangles and other things that don't instantly make one thing of romance. I admire the ambition, and it's well sung, but it doesn't really work.

Next is the "quiet Beatle" with a song that questions where he would be without his lover. The Beach Boys did this better on "God Only Knows," but this is still an excellent effort from George. This would be his second Top 10, which made him the first solo Beatle to reach such heights more than once.

Returning from our last visit to this time period is Andy Williams with his vocal version of the theme from the movie that made Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal superstars. I don't love it, so I guess I don't have to say I'm sorry.

Rounding out this group is B.J. Thomas, who apparently was more of an MOR hit machine than I'd imagined. This song tells us that "a little bit of love is better than no love at all." Well, duh. But this is actually a decent little song. It might even be my favorite of his. This or "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head."

15 - "Help Me Make it Through the Night," Sammi Smith
14 - "Never Can Say Goodbye," The Jackson 5
13 - "Wild World," Cat Stevens
12 - "I Am...I Said," Neil Diamond
11 - "Proud Mary," Ike and Tina Turner

This group starts with Sammi Smith's tender reading of Kris Kristofferson's "pleasebabypleasebabybabybabyplease" ballad. One of the best of its kind. Sammi, if I could, I'd help ya.

It was years before I discovered that the Gloria Gaynor disco classic I loved so much was actually a Jackson 5 cover. I was pleasantly surprised. Even though I'll always prefer Gloria's version, the original more than stands on its own merits as an essential Motown standard. Young Michael was quite a little singer, wasn't he?

Next is Cat Stevens with his first American hit, a song he wrote after breaking up with American actress Patti D'Arbanville. Apparently, he wished her well, but I don't know about that line "I'll always remember you like a child, girl." Could be misinterpreted in unflattering ways, Cat.

Then it's our old friend Neil with a ballad about not belonging in either one's birthplace or one's adopted home, to the point where you are starting to question your very place in the world. This is what Neil's big, bombastic voice was made for.

Closing out this batch are Ike and Tina rippping up a great-but-tame CCR hit and turning it into a party. Can anyone not love this?

Submitted for your approval: Ten songs, linked only by their high levels of popularity. And yet, they all somehow find a commonality...in the Glovehead Zone.

10 - "One Toke Over the Line," Brewer and Shipley
Mike and Tim's only hit confused listeners. The title made it seem like a drug song, but the lyrics seemed almost gospelly. To demonstrate this dichotomy, Vice President Spiro Agnew decried the song as "subversive," while at the same time, none other than Lawrence Welk, for whom the Carpenters were presumably too heavy, allowed two of his regular singers to perform it on his show, even referring to it as a "modern spiritual." To me, it's just an okay folk-pop number.

9 - "For All We Know," The Carpenters
This song the duo borrowed from a movie has grown on me a bit, but mainly because of Karen's performance. It's still not much in and of itself

8 - "Doesn't Somebody Want to be Wanted," The Partridge Family
David Cassidy and his fake (except for Mom) family are back, singing about the desire to be desired. If you ask me, they should have let Bonaduce sing lead at least once, just for shits and giggles.

7 - "Me and Bobby McGee," Janis Joplin
More Kristofferson, this time interpreted by the late Great White Blues Mama. Still sounds fresh somehow.

6 - "Put Your Hand in the Hand," Ocean
This only hit by a Canadian band was a gentle folk rocker that asked listeners to put themselves in the grasp of "the Man from Gallilee. According to the book Precious and Few: Pop Music in the Early Seventies by Don and Jeff Breithaupt (a book I highly recommend if you can track it down), Ocean weren't really that religious, but they recorded this song anyway because at that time, with the phenomenon of "Jesus Freaks" and a certain Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, they felt it was the right commercial move. I don't think the religious leaders that Casey said were sending the band fan letters were aware of this.

5 - "Another Day," Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney had his first solo hit with this meditation on the mundane life of a single woman. Paul liked getting into women's heads in songs like "She's Leaving Home" and "Lady Madonna." Not a lot of male songwriters do that, and certainly not as often as Macca.

4 - "She's a Lady," Tom Jones
The hip-swingin' Welsh dynamo is back with this tribute to the class and femininity of some unnamed woman. And I'm sure the subject of this adulation was abundantly grateful. Tommy had that way about him.

3 - "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)," The Temptations
The one and only Temps, pining away for an unattainable life with the woman of their dreams on this former #1. Incurable heartbreak has never sounded more beautiful.

2 - "What's Going On," Marvin Gaye
This song was originally written by Obie Benson of the Four Tops after witnessing anti-war protesters being beaten by police. He had planned to have Joan Baez, but instead it ended up in the hands of Marvin, who, inspired in part by the horror stories his brother told upon returning from Vietnam, helped fill out the lyric and recorded it. Motown head Berry Gordy didn't want to release it, deeming it "too jazzy." But Marvin refused to record another song until it was released, and when the song leaked to deejays and started to gain popularity, Gaye was vindicated. Mr. Gordy, your track record is impreccable, but I don't see how you could get this so wrong. From note one, this is nothing but gold.

And at the top of the pile of vinyl, we find a black disc labelled...

1 - "Joy to the World," Three Dog Night
Here it is, the biggest and best 3DN had to offer: a fun, absurd singalong about wine-drinking bullfrogs, rainbow riders, and the fishes in the deep blue sea. No, it's not a great, important song, but it puts a smile on my face, so all credit to these guys. There's still a lot of mediocrity in their catalogue, though.

The NotCaseys were "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo" by Lobo and "Want Ads" by The Honey cone. Plus Casey played four extra songs for various reasons: "Half Moon" by Janis Joplin; "Mule Train" by Frankie Laine; "Sleep Walk" by Santo and Johnny; Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel;" and "Harper Valley P.T.A." by Jeannie C. Riley.

Another look back at a stack of wax next week, kids. Hang cool until then.