Rockin' Remnants is broadcast from WVBR-FM Ithaca. Check out our webpage, like us on Facebook, and tune in to 93.5 or stream the show every Saturday night from 6-9pm! (Or download the WVBR+ app now available for iOS and Android!)
Date: Nov 22, 2014
Host: JR
Feature: 1970
This week it’s the chart sounds of late 1970.
The Billboard Hot 100 had all kinds of great
hits, something for everyone: rock, pop, soul,
Motown etc. Neil Diamond was hot and had
2 solo hits and cover version both on the
chart, and also the first Top 40 hit for Neil
Young. We’ll check out the Birthday Calendar
at 7:00 and in the 45 Corner the single
version
of “All Right Now”, by Free, and one of the
truly great 45 “b-sides” from Led Zeppelin.
We’ll also play some Remnants trivia, with a
chance to win a $10 gift certificate to Angry
Mom Records on the Commons, just in time
for the Holidays
Playlist
[songs in bold are from the spotlight date of 11-9-58; 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
Green
Eyed Lady – Sugarloaf – BB Hot 100 #10
The first and biggest hit for this Colorado band peaked at
Hot 100 #3.
HeavenHelp Us All – Stevie Wonder – BB Hot 100 #9
Stevie was just one year from breaking out of the “Motown
Machinery” and recording his own musical visions, and this
fine single with its
deep lyrics and gospel choir definitely
indicated his move in that direction.
MontegoBay (45 version) – Bobby Bloom –BB Hot 100
#8
This peaked at Hot 100 #8 for this
singer/songwriter/producer. Bloom died
of an accidental
shooting on 2/28/1974 at the age of 28.
Indiana
Wants Me – R. Dean Taylor – BB Hot 100 #7
Canadian Taylor was a songwriter for Motown Records, and
one
of the first white solo artists to release a single on the
Rare Earth
subsidiary label. This was his biggest
hit
peaking at Hot 100 #5.
GypsyWoman – Brian Hyland – BB Hot 100 #6
Former teen star had not had a Top 40 hit since 1966, until
this single release of an Impressions cover, produced by
Del Shannon. Peaked at Hot 100 #3, Brian’s final Top 40
hit.
Fire
And Rain – James Taylor– BB Hot 100 #5
It was the dawn of the “Singer/Songwriter” era and one of
its
strongest voices was James Taylor.
His first charting single
peaked at Hot 100 #3.
We’veOnly Just Begun – The Carpenters – BB Hot 100
#4
The brother-sister duo was truly just beginning their chart
run in 1970, and it would last the whole decade into the
early 1980’s,
unfortunately ending with the tragic death of
Karen in 1983. The video link is the Crocker Bank
commercial, the genesis of this song, with vocals by Paul
Williams (also co-writer).
I’ll Be
There – The Jackson 5 – BB Hot 100 #3
weeks! A cover version by Mariah Carey
also topped the
Hot 100 in 1992 for 2 weeks.
TheTears Of A Clown – Smokey Robinson & The
Miracles – BB Hot 100 #2
Originally recorded in 1967,
this topped the Hot 100 for 2
weeks on 12/12/1970.
I Think
I Love You – The Partridge Family – BB Hot 100
#1, 3 weeks
This was released in October to coincide with the debut of
the TV series of ABC. The exposure made
the series a hit
right out of the box and shot their first single release to
the
top of the Hot 100. Subsequent
releases would chart lower,
and the series went off the air 1974.
More
Chart Hits from 11/22/1970
ShareThe Land – The Guess Who – BB Hot 100 #15
One of the buzzwords of the early 1970 was “The Ecology”,
about the earth and the things dwelling there. The
Guess Who had plenty of land to share where
they came
from, and they took this single to Hot 100 #10.
Somebody’s
Been Sleeping – 100 Proof Aged In Soul –
BB Hot 100 #18
One of the great soul bands of the early 1970’s on the Hot
Wax imprint, one of the labels founded by Holland-Dozier-
Holland after they
left Motown; peaked at Hot 100 #8.
It
Don’t Matter To Me – Bread – BB Hot 100 #19
The epitome of “soft rock” in the early 1970’s, this quartet
was led by David Gates, who penned and sang lead vocals
on all their Hot 100
single releases between 1970 and 1977;
this peaked at #10.
Stoned
Love – The Supremes – BB Hot 100 #21
Motown Records was still pretty relevant on the chart in
1970, and the revamped Supremes, with Jean Terrell on
lead vocals, took this
single to #7 on the Hot 100.
YellowRiver – Christie – BB Hot 100 #23
The only Top 40 hit for this British trio peaked this week
at
Hot 100 #23.
Today is the 51st anniversary, to the day, of the
assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, truly
one of the most
tragic historical events of the 20th Century.
On their 1965 LP, The Byrds recorded “He Was
A Friend
Of Mine”, and traditional folk song, rewritten as a lament for
the death of JFK.
7 - 8pm
Birthday Calendar
November 17th
– Gordon Lightfoot, 76
November 18th
– Graham Parker, 64
Hank Ballard, 1944
November 20th
– Kim Weston, 75
Norman Greenbaum, 72
Joe Walsh, 67
Duane Allman,
1946
November 21st
– Dr. John (Malcolm John Rebbenack), 74
“Sit Down Young
Stranger” – Gordon Lightfoot, 1970
His first release
on Reprise Records at the dawn of the “singer-songwriter” era did not chart here
in the U.S. on the singles chart, but the LP remains his best-selling to this
day.
“Hold Back TheNight” – Graham Parker And The Rumour, 1977
The first charting
single for this British combo was a cover version of a Philly soul classic,
originally recorded by The Trammps in 1976.
“The Twist” – Hank
Ballard And The Midnighters, 1959
The original
version of this, released as a “b-side” in 1959, became a hit only when covered
by a Philadelphia chicken-plucker named Ernest Evans, aka Chubby Checker…
“Take Me In Your
Arms (Rock Me A Little While)” – Kim Weston, 1965
A cover version of
this by the Doobie Brothers in 1975 peaked at Hot 100 #11, 39 spots higher than
this original version.
“Spirit In The Sky”– Norman Greenbaum, 1970
Norman had 2
follow-up singles hit the Hot 100 (“Canned Ham” #46, “California Earthquake”
#93), but this was his biggest hit peaking at #5.
“Rocky Mountain
Way” (45 version) – Joe Walsh, 1973
Joe’s first solo
hit after departing the James Gang, peaked at Hot 100 #23.
“Trouble No More” –
The Allman Brothers band, 1970
Duane Allman was
only 24 years old when he was killed in a motorcycle accident on 10/21/1971).
“Right Place, Wrong
Time” – Dr. John, 1973
The highest
charting single for the Good Doctor peaked at Hot 100 #9. This was a great song to hear on the AM radio
back over 40 years ago!
“Put A Little Love In
Your Heart” – Jackie DeShannon, 1969
The highest charting single of Jackie’s singing career
peaked at Hot 100 #4.
“The End Of The World” – Skeeter Davis, 1963
This mournful ballad was a Top 10 Hit on 4 different
Billboard charts: Hot 100 #2, Adult Contemporary #1,
Country #2, and R & B
#4!
Remnants Trivia
Q: According to music publisher ASCAP, what is the most
played song between Thanksgiving and Christmas every
year?
A: “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee,
originally released in 1960.
Congratulations to Bill calling in from Ithaca, and winning a
$10.00 Gift Certificate to Angry Mom Records on the
Commons!
45
Corner
AllRight Now – Free – BB Hot 100 #22
The Billboard chart debut single from these British rockers
has been released in many different versions, all with
different times: 3:12,
3:32, 3:45, 4:14 and 5:31! The version
in the Corner tonight is the stereo A&M Records commercial
version, running
4:14.
“Elusive Butterfly” – Bob Lind, 1965
Bob also penned “Cheryl’s Goin’
Home”, covered by Cher and The Blues Project.
This single was his only Top 40 hit, peaking at Hot 100 #5.
“Little
Bit O’ Soul” – The Music Explosion, 1967
The only Top 40 single for this Midwest band peaked at Hot
100 #2 for 2 weeks.
8pm
Seventies Happy Hour
More
Chart Hits from 11/22/1970
Cracklin’
Rosie – Neil Diamond – BB Hot 100 #32
Neil’s 1970’s chart run was just underway on the famous
UNI label, and he took this single to Hot 100 #1 on
10/10/1970 for 1 week.
And The
Grass Won’t Pay No Mind – Mark Lindsay – BB
Hot 100 #46
A Neil Diamond composition, covered by the Raiders lead
singer peaked at Hot 100 #44. Neil also
had a Bang
Records release on the chart on this date: “Do It” at #42.
Only
Love Can Break Your Heart – Neil Young – BB Hot
100 #44
Neil’s first Top 40 BB hit, peaked at #33. He followed this up
with “Heart Of Gold”
which climbed all the way to #1. In his
own words, he “headed quickly to the ditch”.
For The
Good Times – Ray Price – BB Hot 100 #30
It had been 14 years since Ray Price had a single on the BB
Pop Chart (“Crazy Arms” in 1956), in the meantime he had
charted over 70
singles on the C&W Chart; this song was off
the pen of Kris Kristofferson.
Lola(45 mono version) – The Kinks – BB Hot 100 #36
Ray Davies had to change the first line of this song on the
45 from “Coca-Cola” to “Cherry Cola” because the BBC
would not play any songs
containing “product
endorsements”, intentional or otherwise. That is how to
distinguish the two versions. Check out
the video and
watch Ray roll his eyes when he sings the opening line!
Classic…
Domino –
Van Morrison – BB Hot 100 #47
Van The Man was definitely considered more of an “Album
Artist” in the early 1970’s, but as was the protocol of the
time, there was
always a 45 release. This song about one
of his early influences (Fats Domino) peaked at Hot 100 #9.
Pay To
The Piper – Chairman Of The Board – BB Hot 100
#58
Another of the H-D-H artists on the Invictus Records label,
led by the late Norman “General” Johnson; this peaked at
Hot 100 #13, their
last Top 40 hit.
Knock
Three Times – Dawn – BB Hot 100 #65
“Dawn” was a studio project headed by The Tokens and
featuring former teen star Tony Orlando on lead vocals. It
was in 1971 that Telma Hopkins and Joyce
Vincent along
with Orlando became an actual group.
We
Gotta Get You A Woman – Runt – BB Hot 100 #68
“Runt” was Todd Rundgren; one of his early singles after he
split from The Nazz. This peaked at Hot 100 #20.
Chart
Debuts on this date
SweetLord – George Harrison – BB Hot 100 #72
The Hot 100 debut single of Beatle George, in 3 weeks this
would ascend to the top of the chart and stay there for 4
weeks. Yes, the listing of the title was yet another
Billboard
Magazine gaffe, but corrected on the 2nd week of the chart
run.
Your
Song – Elton John – BB Hot 100 #89
The 2nd Hot 100 release for the yet unknown Elton
John (the
first was “Border Song”). This
is the song that would begin
his long chart career here in the U.S.
45
Corner
ImmigrantSong/Hey Hey What Can I Do – Led Zeppelin –
Hot 100 #71
only became available on the compilation LP called The New Age Of Atlantic in 1972, and then not again until the CD release of the Led Zeppelin box set in 1990. The “a-side” was a Top 40 hit (Hot 100 #16), and listed in Billboard Magazine as “Immigration Song” the first week on the chart.
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