40 - "I Saw the Light," Todd Rundgren
Brilliant romantic pop from the Philly native. Top Twenty at home, only #36 here. Britain, you fucked up.
Brilliant romantic pop from the Philly native. Top Twenty at home, only #36 here. Britain, you fucked up.
39 - "See My Baby Jive," Wizzard
A repeater from a previous visit. Still a great glam moment.
38 - "Peek-a-Boo," The Stylistics
Philly soul that's supposed to be about endearing romantic admiration, but now sounds a bit like stalking. But I don't feel like their intentions were nefarious, so I would just recommend a different strategy.
37 - "Smarty Pants," First Choice
More from Philadelphia, this time with a proto-disco number about a woman who can get any man she wants, but it backfires and she ends up pregnant by a man who doesn't stand by her. Ah, the still-regressive sexual politics of less than fifty years ago.
36 - "Rising Sun," Medicine Head
The third of four hits for the Stafford group is this solid rocker about love and the open road and stuff. A good song to slip onto a summer classic rock playlist.
35 - "Rock-a-Doodle-Doo," Linda Lewis
Born Linda Fredericks in the West Ham area of London, this singer scored the first of four Top 40s with this soul-rocker about wanting to do certain things to a certain someone. Hey, there are only so many ways to describe the same premise. Very good song, even better singer.
34 - "Dancin' on a Saturday Night," Barry Blue
The first and biggest hit for the man ironically born Barry Green was this happy pop tune about inviting a lady out for some weekend rug-cutting. Pretty good retro-glam.
33 - "Honaloochie Boogie," Mott the Hoople
Mott's second U.K. hit was this celebration of rocking out thaillt uses similar slang to what was used in "All the Young Dudes." And yes, phrases like "screwdriver jiver" and "spider westsider" still sound cool now.
32 - "Summer (The First Time)," Bobby Goldsboro
This tale of teenager-on-older-woman action brought the G-man his second Top Ten here. I still think it's weird to hear this from the "Watching Scotty Grow" guy. And I still object to rhyming "julep" with "two lips."
31 - "I'm Doin' Fine Now," New York City
This group's biggest moment was this transatlantic Top 20 about finally being over someone. Your basic Philly-style soul, well-delivered.
30 - "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree," Dawn
Once again, Tony Orlando's out of jail and hoping his lover waited for him. Spoiler alert: she did.
29 - "Live and Let Die," Paul McCartney and Wings
I'm calling it once and for all: this is the best Bond theme. Paul had a job to do, and he did it well.
28 - "Finders Keepers," Chairmen of the Board
The last hit here for this Michigan soul band was this meaty slab of funk about loving a woman someone else took for granted. Fabulous. I didn't know I needed to hear this, but clearly I did.
27 - "And I Love You So," Perry Como
And the feeling still isn't mutual, Perry, even on your third attempt.
26 - "Albatross," Fleetwood Mac
In their original, blues oriented form, with guitarists Peter Green and Danny Kirwan joining the rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, this band hit #1 in 1968 with this languid instrumental, and a re-release five years later hit #2. Meanwhile, the band were in their awkward transition phase thathe culminated with the hiring of a couple of Americans and a move toward pop. I forget how that worked out.
25 - "Step by Step," Joe Simon
Louisianan Simon was a fixture on the U.S. pop and soul charts for much if the 60s and 70s, but his only hit on the other side of the Atlantic was this song about wanting to know and love a woman in spite of a negative reputation. This guy is an R&B reliable, and I'm surprised the soul-loving U.K. missed the boat on him.
24 - "Rubber Bullets," 10cc
Their second hit and first of three #1s was this jaunty tale of a scenario similar to that of Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock," but with more rioting and resistance from authority. It's just so good, and my favorite part is the section where the sheriff threatens the inmates that sounds like something off of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. Again I say, these guys are among the best pop groups ever. Every new exposure confirms that.
23 - "The Free Electric Band," Albert Hammond
Gibraltar native Hammond has the rare distinction of being a one-hit wonder in the U.S. and the U.K. with two different songs. Instead of "It Never Rains in Southern California," Britain got this tune about a guy rejecting a straight suburban life for rock n’roll. It's better than the one I'm more familiar with. Glad I found it.
22 - "Take Me to the Mardi Gras," Paul Simon
This wasn't a single in America, but here it became his second Top Ten. It's a midtempo acoustic number about escaping your troubles in New Orleans. For parts of this hemail adopts a Frankie Valli-ish voice for some reason. Other than that, very good.
21 - "All Right Now," Free
I think this is the third time we've encountered this in Britain alone. And it's still gritty greatness with a twist. All right already.
In Part Two: dogfights, nonsense, and what could be Matthew McConaghey's theme song, if he wanted one.
More from Philadelphia, this time with a proto-disco number about a woman who can get any man she wants, but it backfires and she ends up pregnant by a man who doesn't stand by her. Ah, the still-regressive sexual politics of less than fifty years ago.
36 - "Rising Sun," Medicine Head
The third of four hits for the Stafford group is this solid rocker about love and the open road and stuff. A good song to slip onto a summer classic rock playlist.
35 - "Rock-a-Doodle-Doo," Linda Lewis
Born Linda Fredericks in the West Ham area of London, this singer scored the first of four Top 40s with this soul-rocker about wanting to do certain things to a certain someone. Hey, there are only so many ways to describe the same premise. Very good song, even better singer.
34 - "Dancin' on a Saturday Night," Barry Blue
The first and biggest hit for the man ironically born Barry Green was this happy pop tune about inviting a lady out for some weekend rug-cutting. Pretty good retro-glam.
33 - "Honaloochie Boogie," Mott the Hoople
Mott's second U.K. hit was this celebration of rocking out thaillt uses similar slang to what was used in "All the Young Dudes." And yes, phrases like "screwdriver jiver" and "spider westsider" still sound cool now.
32 - "Summer (The First Time)," Bobby Goldsboro
This tale of teenager-on-older-woman action brought the G-man his second Top Ten here. I still think it's weird to hear this from the "Watching Scotty Grow" guy. And I still object to rhyming "julep" with "two lips."
31 - "I'm Doin' Fine Now," New York City
This group's biggest moment was this transatlantic Top 20 about finally being over someone. Your basic Philly-style soul, well-delivered.
30 - "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree," Dawn
Once again, Tony Orlando's out of jail and hoping his lover waited for him. Spoiler alert: she did.
29 - "Live and Let Die," Paul McCartney and Wings
I'm calling it once and for all: this is the best Bond theme. Paul had a job to do, and he did it well.
28 - "Finders Keepers," Chairmen of the Board
The last hit here for this Michigan soul band was this meaty slab of funk about loving a woman someone else took for granted. Fabulous. I didn't know I needed to hear this, but clearly I did.
27 - "And I Love You So," Perry Como
And the feeling still isn't mutual, Perry, even on your third attempt.
26 - "Albatross," Fleetwood Mac
In their original, blues oriented form, with guitarists Peter Green and Danny Kirwan joining the rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, this band hit #1 in 1968 with this languid instrumental, and a re-release five years later hit #2. Meanwhile, the band were in their awkward transition phase thathe culminated with the hiring of a couple of Americans and a move toward pop. I forget how that worked out.
25 - "Step by Step," Joe Simon
Louisianan Simon was a fixture on the U.S. pop and soul charts for much if the 60s and 70s, but his only hit on the other side of the Atlantic was this song about wanting to know and love a woman in spite of a negative reputation. This guy is an R&B reliable, and I'm surprised the soul-loving U.K. missed the boat on him.
24 - "Rubber Bullets," 10cc
Their second hit and first of three #1s was this jaunty tale of a scenario similar to that of Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock," but with more rioting and resistance from authority. It's just so good, and my favorite part is the section where the sheriff threatens the inmates that sounds like something off of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. Again I say, these guys are among the best pop groups ever. Every new exposure confirms that.
23 - "The Free Electric Band," Albert Hammond
Gibraltar native Hammond has the rare distinction of being a one-hit wonder in the U.S. and the U.K. with two different songs. Instead of "It Never Rains in Southern California," Britain got this tune about a guy rejecting a straight suburban life for rock n’roll. It's better than the one I'm more familiar with. Glad I found it.
22 - "Take Me to the Mardi Gras," Paul Simon
This wasn't a single in America, but here it became his second Top Ten. It's a midtempo acoustic number about escaping your troubles in New Orleans. For parts of this hemail adopts a Frankie Valli-ish voice for some reason. Other than that, very good.
21 - "All Right Now," Free
I think this is the third time we've encountered this in Britain alone. And it's still gritty greatness with a twist. All right already.
In Part Two: dogfights, nonsense, and what could be Matthew McConaghey's theme song, if he wanted one.
No comments:
Post a Comment