Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Jul 12, 2014 - JR - 1972





Rockin' Remnants




Rockin' Remnants is broadcast from WVBR-FM Ithaca. Check out our
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Date:  July 12, 2014
Host: JR
Feature:  1972



JR says:  

As I was putting together the songs, data, and trivia for this week’s chart date, I was hit with a flood of memories from the Summer of ’72: days spent on the golf course and nights spent at home listening to the radio and twirling the knob to find the big 50,000 watt AM stations that blasted out the big hits of the day every 90 minutes!  I couldn’t get enough of those hits from Bill Withers, Neil Diamond, Gallery, The Hollies, Argent, Alice Cooper, Mouth & Macneal, and so on and so forth.  It was truly part of the Golden Age of Top 40 radio.     

Along with the hits of ’72 we’ll check out the Birthday Calendar at 7:00, and also have a block of Summer-themed oldies.  I hope this show jogs some good memories for you, too.   

Sending out congratulations to Ruben who won the qualifier to Grass Roots, and Bill who correctly answered this week’s trivia question (below).










Birthday Calendar


Jul 6 – Bill Haley – born in 1925

Jul 7 – Ringo Starr (Beatles) – age 74

Jul 8 – Steve Lawrence – age 79

Jul 10 – Greg Kihn – age 64
           – Arlo Guthrie – age 67

Jul 12 – Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac) – age 71
           – Walter Egan – age 66





 Rock 'n' Roll Trivia



10 songs in the Remnants era (and beyond) have reached #1 on the BB Hot 100 in 2 different versions.  What are they?  (Name at least two…)   

(scroll down to find the answer below the playlist)




Playlist


[songs in bold are from the spotlight date of 7-12-72; yellow song titles are YouTube links; songs with * were requests; all chart information comes from the Billboard Top 100 (for chart dates before/during July 1958) or Billboard Hot 100 (for chart dates during/after Aug 1958) unless otherwise noted]





6-7pm  



OPENING THEME:  Good Old Rock ‘n’ Roll – Cat Mother & the All-Night Newsboys (1969, #29, produced by Jimi Hendrix)


Lean On Me (45 version) – Bill Withers – BB Hot 100 #1, 3 weeks.  A cover version of this by Club Nouveau peaked at BB Hot 100 #1, 2 weeks in 1987.  

 


Too Late To Turn Back Now – Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose – BB Hot 100 #4.  The second Top 40 hit for this Florida sibling quintet peaked at BB Hot 100 #2.


Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast – Wayne Newton – BB Hot 100 #8.  The only Top 10 hit for “Mr. Las Vegas” in a career that’s spanned over 5 decades, peaked at BB Hot 100 #4.


Nice To Be With You – Gallery – BB Hot 100 #11.  The highest-charting of 3 singles released by this Detroit band in 1972 (BB Hot 100 #4).  They hit the chart no more.


Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) (45 version) – Looking Glass – BB Hot 100 #12.  BB Hot 100 #1 for 1 week on 8/26/1972.



How Do You Do – Mouth And Macneal – BB Hot 100 #13.  “Mouth” was William Duyn and “Macneal” was Sjoukje Van’t Spijker.  This was the only Top Ten for this Dutch duo.


Rocket Man – Elton John – BB Hot 100 #7.  Elton’s career was blasting off in 1972, and he took this song to BB Hot 100 #6.  Recently used in a VW television commercial.


Take It Easy (mono 45 version) – Eagles – BB Hot 100 #17.  The first single released from The Eagles debut LP peaked at BB Hot 100 #12.  I remember hearing this on the radio and the DJ on the air gave the back story that it was actually The Byrds, who re-formed to do one album and were breaking up again.  Well, the 5 original Byrds did re-form to cut one album, but that wasn’t until 1973.  Apparently this DJ got his facts mixed up, which just goes to show you can’t always believe what you hear on the radio  :) 

 


People Make The World Go Round (45 version) – The Stylistics – BB Hot 100 #31.  Peaked at BB Hot 100 #25; one in a long string of 70’s soulful hits by this Philly quintet led by the falsetto vocals of Russell Thompkins, Jr.

 


Day By Day – Godspell – BB Hot 100 #28.  The original cast from the Broadway rock musical, featuring Robin Lamont on lead vocal (not credited on the 45); peaked at BB Hot 100 #13.


I’ll Take You There – The Staple Singers – BB Hot 100 #25.  There were some great soul sounds on the chart this date, and this was one of them! Led by Mavis and Pop Staples, and produced in Muscle Shoals, this peaked at BB Hot 100 #1 for 1 week.


Oh Girl – The Chi-Lites – BB Hot 100 #24.  One of the great soul bands of the 70’s, led by the late Eugene Record, took this winsome ballad to BB Hot 100 #1, the only chart-topper for this Chicago quartet.





7-8pm



Skokiaan (South African Song) – Bill Haley And His Comets, 1960.  Bill’s last charting single of his group’s original singles; BB Hot 100 #70. “Rock Around The Clock” re-charted in 1974 due to the inclusion in American Graffiti; BB Hot 100 #39.

 


Photograph – Ringo Starr, 1973.  BB Hot 100 #1 for 1 week on 11/24; George Harrison on harmony vocal and guitar.


Go Away Little Girl – Steve Lawrence, 1963.  Written by Goffin/King; BB Hot 100 #1, 1/12/1963, 2 weeks.


Jeopardy - Greg Kihn Band, 1983. 



The City Of New Orleans – Arlo Guthrie, 1972.  Arlo’s only Top 40 single peaked at #18.  Written and originally recorded by Steve Goodman; Bubbling Under #113, also in 1972.


Hold Me – Fleetwood Mac, 1982.  Christine McVie (nee Perfect) on lead vocals; peaked at BB Hot 100 #4, where it spent 7 straight weeks!


Magnet And Steel – Walter Egan, 1978.  Produced by Lindsey Buckingham, with him and Stevie Nicks on background vocals; peaked at BB Hot 100 #8.

 



It’s Summertime, Summertime!


Here Comes Summer – Jerry Keller, 1959



See You In September – The Tempos, 1959

 


Sealed With A Kiss – Brian Hyland, 1962

 


Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days Of Summer – Nat “King” Cole, 1963



Indian Lake – The Cowsills, 1968

 


In The Summertime – Mungo Jerry, 1970

 


Hot Summer Nights – Night, 1979

 



Magic – The Cars, 1984

 





8-9pm




More Chart Sounds From 7/12/1972


School’s Out – Alice Cooper – BB Hot 100 #16.  This song definitely struck a nerve with younger record buyers in the Summer of ’72, and propelled this “anthem” to BB Hot 100 #7.  It wasn’t until later we found out Alice was not a girl but a group, and that “Alice” was the moniker taken by lead singer Vince Furnier.


Song Sung Blue – Neil Diamond – BB Hot 100 #2.  Neil’s 2nd BB Hot 100 #1, tumbling down the chart this week after one week at the top.


Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress) – The Hollies – BB Hot 100 #33.  Lead singer Allen Clarke also played lead guitar on this CCR-ish sounding single.  I actually went out and bought the sheet music for this to decipher the lyrics!  Peaked at BB Hot 100 #2 for 2 weeks.

 


Hold Your Head Up (LP version) – Argent – BB Hot 100 #40.  The 45 version trimmed over 3 minutes from the LP version.  The Epic Records single peaked at BB Hot 100 #5.  I was going to play the 45 version but changed my mind and went for the full 6:15.  This is one of the songs I was dying to hear over and over again because of that guitar riff!


I Need You – America – BB Hot 100 #9.  The follow-up to their big #1 hit “A Horse With No Name”, this peaked at BB Hot 100 #9.   Original member Dan Peek passed away in 2011.


You Don’t Mess Around With Jim – Jim Croce – BB Hot 100 #50.  The late Jim Croce’s debut single peaked at BB Hot 100 #8.


Motorcycle Mama – Sailcat – BB Hot 100 #48.  A true “one-hit-wonder” band, the duo of Court Pickett and John Wyker took this Elektra Records 45 to a peak at BB Hot 100 #12.

 


The Runway – The Grass Roots – BB Hot 100 #45.  The last Top 40 hit for this SoCal pop group peaked at BB Hot 100 #39.  Despite its relatively poor national ranking, this was a “local” hit here in Central New York and played a lot on the radio in the Summer of ’72!


I’m Coming Home – Stories – BB Hot 10 #55.  Another “local” hit, this peaked below The Top 40 at #42, but was played in heavy rotation in Central New York.  I own the original Kama Sutra 45, temporarily lost in the JR-chives.


Powder Blue Mercedes Queen – Raiders – BB Hot 10 #54.  The chart hits were running out for this Pacific Northwest rock and roll outfit.  After this 45 peaked on the Hot 100 on this date, their next two singles checked in at #96 and #97, respectively, and the band headed straight to the Oldies Revival circuit.

 


Vanilla Olay– Jackie Deshannon – BB Hot 100 #80.  With the Atlantic Records power-production trio of Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin behind this single, it should have been a huge hit.  It wasn’t; peaked at BB Hot 100 #76.  This should have charted much higher; sweet, blue-eyed soul vocal and meticulous production.  Shame.

 


Delta Dawn – Tanya Tucker – BB Hot 100 #88.  The debut of this song by country teen torch singer Tucker, only made it to BB Hot 100 #72.  A cover version by Helen Reddy a year later made it all the way to #1 on 9/15/1973 for 1 week.


Sylvia’s Mother – Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show – BB Hot 100 #29.  The debut chart hit for this ragtag band from Union City, NJ, peaked at BB Hot 100 #5.  The band later shortened its name to just “Dr. Hook”.


When You Say Love – Sonny & Cher – BB Hot 100 #99.  Adapted from a Budweiser jingle, this single made its debut just one spot from the bottom of the chart, but eventually cracked that Top 40, peaking at #32, the last time the duo saw that chart height.


CLOSING THEME:  Sleepwalk – Santo & Johnny (1959, #1 for two weeks)






Trivia Answer


In addition to the chart-topping versions of “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers and by Club Nouveau, here are nine other songs that reached #1 by two different artists:



“Young Love” – Sonny James, 1957, #1, 1 week; Tab Hunter, 1957, #1, 6 weeks.


“Please Mr. Postman” – The Marvelettes, 1961, #1, 1 week; The Carpenters, 1975, #1, 1 week.


“The Loco-Motion” – Little Eva, 1961, #1, 1 week, Grand Funk, 1974, #1, 2 weeks.


“Go Away Little Girl” – Steve Lawrence, 1963, #1, 2 weeks; Donny Osmond, 1971, #1, 3 weeks.


“You Keep Me Hangin’ On” – The Supremes, 1966, #1, 2 weeks; Kim Wilde, 1987, #1, 1 week.


“When A Man Loves A Woman” – Percy Sledge, 1966, #1, 2 weeks; Michael Bolton, 1991, #1, 1 week.


“Venus” – The Shocking Blue, 1970, #1, 1 week; Bananarama, 1986, #1, 1 week.


“I’ll Be There” – The Jackson 5, 1970, #1, 5 weeks; Mariah Carey, 1992, #1, 2 weeks.


“Lady Marmalade” – LaBelle, 1975, #1, 1 week; Christina Aguilera w/ Lil’ Kim, Mya & Pink, 2001, #1, 5 weeks.


Congratulations to Bill for correctly naming at least two of these, and winning a prize!








Host Next Week (July 19):  Kim Vaughan with a spotlight on 1964





Thanks for tuning in! You can listen to Rockin' Remnants every Saturday night from 6-9pm on WVBR (93.5 FM in Ithaca, NY) or at wvbr.com/listen.



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