1975. The year Canada adopted the metric system for product labels as part of the overall measurement conversion of the country. Litres, kilograms, kilometres, Celsius temperatures, all that wacky stuff. This whole everything based on tens thing, pshaw! Too logical. But however it was measured, these were some of the hits of the day.
Bonus Track #1: #57 - "Judy Played the Juke Box," The Crescent Street Stompers (CanCon!)
I don't know much about these guys except that they are Canadian (despite their name being a New Orleans reference), their biggest hit was a cover of Sam Cooke's "Having a Party," and their other hit was this pop-rocker about a guy who couldn't leave a bar because a woman kept playing good songs on the record machine. This is really good. Very much a lost gem.
Bonus Track #2: #53 - "Make Me Do Anything Yout Want," A Foot in Coldwater (CanCon!)
The biggest hit for these Torontonians was this rock ballad about a guy who comes home from a long day at work and wants to be rewarded by having his lover dominate him sexually. Okay, maybe that's a crude interpretation, but it didn't take much for me to get there, so...
49 - "Happy People," The Temptations
This minor Temps hit is a disco-funk extention of the "utopian soul" genre. It was co-written by Lionel Richie, back when he was more interested in grooves than mush.
48 - "Changes," David Bowie
This Bowie classic was first released in 1972, but didn't chart in Britain until after his death. In North America, it only took three years for it to make the Top 40 here and just miss it in the States. It's a brilliant meditation about how every generation of youth has their own interpretation of the world, and when your time in that category is up, you need to respect that instead of blindly trying to impose your version of reality on them. That's a lot to say in three minutes, but he's Bowie, he can do that, And ironically, it's a timeless message.
45 - "Don't Cha Love It," The Miracles
A minor single released between bigger hits "Do it Baby" and "Love Machine," this offering from the Smokeyless ones is a funk jam that uses metaphors to convey romantic compatibility, including "I'm the beans and rice, and you're the gravy." I didn't know that was a thing, but okay.
44 - "Do You Dream of Being Somebody," Murray McLauchlan (CanCon!)
Murray Mac's fourth Top Twenty was this folk-pop ballad about feeling lost and unloved. Another fine effort.
43 - "California Jam," Klaatu (CanCon!)
The first hit for these future accidental Beatles impersonators was this deceptively sunny celebration of the Golden State that sneaks in a reference to the seemingly inevitable "Big One" earthquake that Dwayne Johnson made a movie about. Some nice psychedelia, but well short of fab.
41 - "Mother Earth," Ian Thomas (CanCon!)
Thomas' second #41 peaker since "Painted Ladies" was this sorta funky warning of future environmental doom. It's no "Mercy Mercy Me," but a worthy early effort on the subject.
40 - "Lady Ellen," James Leroy (CanCon!)
Our second visit with this tragic not-quite-star was this decent MOR love song. Pretty and heartfelt. This is better than similar Burton Cummings songs of the period.
35 - "Linda Put the Coffee On," Ray Materick (CanCon!)
Hailing from Brantford, Ontario, Materick got a break in the early 70s when he was signed by Asylum Records, home of emerging acts such as the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, and Jackson Browne. His best-remembered number was this country-rocker about the woman he always comes back to after he wanders. I wonder what Linda would do with that coffee if she knew the truth...
31 - "When a Child is Born," Michael Holm
This German singer, born Lothar Walter, had his biggest international success with this elaborately produced version of a song that doesn't specifically mention Jesus, but is about a child who will be born and grow up to change the world and end suffering. So Jesus, then. Not one of the more-played Christmas tunes in recent years, but I think that made me like it more than I otherwise would.
30 - "Renaissance," Valdy (CanCon!)
Ottawa-born, B.C. based Paul Valdemar Horsdal would probably rank third on the CanCon male follies depth chart behind Lightfoot and McLauchlan. The last of his four major hits was this country waltz about a couple growing old and content together. Domestic bliss doesn't often make for good music, but this is very nice.
27 - "Rock and Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life)," Terry Jacks (CanCon!)
This dinknoodle again, this time with a cover of a Mac Davis song about a failed rock musician. Well, compared to "Seasons in the Sun," it's the best thing I've ever heard. But I could same thing about a flushing toilet.
26 - "Dancin' on a Saturday Night," Bond (CanCon!)
This Toronto band had their only hit with a cover of Barry Blue's bubblegummy 1973 British hit. Bouncy and disposable.
20 - "Crazy Talk," Chilliwack (CanCon!)
The Vancouver band named after a city 100 km south had their second Top Ten with this lazy rocker about a woman who can confuse and manipulate men with her words. It's oddly relaxed for a warning.
19 - "Can You Give it All to Me," Myles and Lenny (CanCon!)
The Toronto folk duo of Myles Cohen and Lenny Solomon had their only hit with this violin-riff-driven tune that I think is about a lover who isn't as committed as she claims to be. It has a cool sound, kind of like pre-"Lady in Red" Chris DeBurgh. Both men continued in music afterward, with Solomon in particular making a name in both jazz and classical circles.
17 - "I Wouldn't Want to Lose Your Love," April Wine (CanCon!)
The Wine kept flowing on their fourth Top Twenty, this straightforward ballad. Made for slow dances and lighters.
The Top Ten, burent to a crisp, smothered in ketchup.
10 - "Roll On Down the Highway," Bachman Turner Overdrive (CanCon!)
Their fourth straight Top Five was this trucking song that was originally written for a Ford commercial, but was rejected. It also earns points for a sly break of the fourth wall: "I'd like to have a jet, but it's not in the song,"
9 - "You Beat Me to the Punch," Charity Brown (CanCon!)
Born Phyllis Boltz in Kitchener, Ontario, Brown was kind of a Canadian Linda Ronstadt, with three of her four Top Tens being Motown covers. The second of these was a version of a 1962 Mary Wells hit about having the object of one's affection approach you before you approach them. No punching involved. And Brown is a very capable soul singer who could have been bigger with the right push.
8 - "Get Dancin'," Disco Tex and His Sex-O-Lettes
This disco goof remembered for its sung nonsense and the proto-Flavor Flav patter of Monti Rock III was masterminded by Four Seasons producer Bob Crewe and songwriter Kenny "Lady Marmalade" Nolan. And I like it better than most of their higher profile moments.
7 - "Some Kind of Wonderful," Grand Funk
The Funksters' cross-border Top Ten Soul Brothers Six cover. I'll bear witness to its goodness.
6 - "Best of My Love," Eagles
Their sappy country ballad was their first #1 on both sides of the border. Britain ignores it completely. Cheers.
5 - "Pick Up the Pieces," Average White Band
The funk classic only got the American third of the Triple Crown. The other two shouldn't have left our chunks on the ground,
4 - "Please Mr. Postman," Carpenters
The mellow sibs' Marvelettes cover was another almost-Triple Crown, held to a #× by the U.K. Wait a minute, wait a minute...
3 - "Never Can Say Goodbye," Gloria Gaynor
Forget that other song, this is my Gaynor jam. We shouldn't have held it to #3. It deserved to top someone's chart. I would have helped if I had been older than four at the time.
2 - "Doctor's Orders," Carol Douglas
Now, we made this disco sex prescription a #1, while her American compatriots didn't even put it in the Top Ten. Good for us. And both this and "Never Can Say Goodbye," were produced by future Star Wars discofier Meco Menardo.
1 - "Mandy," Barry Manilow
Barry's big breakthrough was another cross-border #1 denied by Britain. But at least it hit #11, one place higher than Scott English's "Brandy."
No comments:
Post a Comment