April 11, 2026 - JH: Early '70s Soul Hits

April 11, 2026

Host: Jan Hunsinger (JH)

Spotlight: Early '70s Soul Hits

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Playlist

·     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

·     a glossary of terms is below the playlist

6:00 - 7:00

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

War - Edwin Starr (1970 - #1: song topped the charts for three weeks and Bruce Springsteen is performing it as the opening song on his current tour)

Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - The Dramatics (1971 - #9: first charting single for the soul group from Detroit)

You Brought the Joy - Freda Payne (1971 - #52: minor hit for the artist best-known for "Band of Gold")

*Keeper of the Castle - The Four Tops (1972 - #10: first charting single for the group after they left Motown and signed with ABC/Dunhill Records)

Oh Girl - The Chi-Lites (1972 - #1: Chicago quartet formed in 1959 when the members were in high school)

Everybody Plays the Fool - The Main Ingredient (1972 - #3: a million-seller for the Harlem group and one of 11 charting singles)

Clean Up Woman - Betty Wright (1972 - #6: song made its chart debut on 11/27/71 and peaked the following year)

Going in Circles - The Friends of Distinction (1969 - #15: the L.A. group was 'discovered' by football great Jim Brown)

Freddie's Dead - Curtis Mayfield (1972 - #4: song from the movie "Superfly") 

One Monkey Don't Stop No Show (Pt. 1) - The Honey Cone (1972 - #15: song made its chart debut on 11/20/71; we heard the 3:45 single version, Parts 1 and 2 together clock in at over 7:00)

Everything's Tuesday - Chairmen of the Board (1970 - #38: when the Holland-Dozier-Holland trio left Motown they signed this group to their new Invictus record label and produced this minor hit)

Too Late to Turn Back Now - Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose (1972 - #2: "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers kept this song out of the #1 spot)

Groovy Situation - Gene Chandler (1970 - #12: one of 27 charting singles the "Duke of Earl" had from 1961 - 79)

Use Me - Bill Withers (1972 - #2: Michael Jackson's "Ben" held down the top spot on the BB Hot100)

7:00 - 8:00 The Birthday Calendar

April 5:
Tony Williams (The Platters) - b. 1928
Crispian St. Peters [Robin Peter Smith] - b. 1939
Allan Clarke (The Hollies) - 84
Agnetha Faltskog (ABBA) - 76

April 6:
Merle Haggard - b. 1937
Louis Shelton - 85

April 7:
Bobby Bare - 91
Charlie Thomas (The Drifters) - b. 1937
Spencer Dryden (Jefferson Airplane) - b. 1938
John Oates - 78
Janis Ian - 75

April 8:
Steve Howe (Yes) - 79

April 9:
Carl Perkins - b. 1932

April 10:
Danny Woods (Chairmen of the Board) - b. 1944

April 11:
Richard Berry b. 1935

Twilight Time - The Platters (1958 - #1: song was originally a hit for The Three Suns in 1944)

The Pied Piper - Crispian St. Peters (1966 - #4: his claim that he was a better songwriter than the Beatles resulted in poor press and a decline in St. Peters' career)

45 Corner

Born to Run - Allan Clarke (1975 - DNC: we heard the original EMI 45, with the little hole, of Clarke's cover of the Springsteen (misspelled 'Springstein') tune)

Chiquitita - ABBA (1979 - #29: soprano Agnetha Faltskog has a solo)

Mama Tried - Merle Haggard (1968 - #1 C&W: one of his 38 songs to reach #1 on the C&W charts; the Grateful Dead covered this song in concert)

Valleri - The Monkees (1968 - #3: session guitarist Louis Shelton provided the flamenco guitar work on this hit)

Four Strong Winds - Bobby Bare (1964 - #60: better known as a country artist, Bare's cover of this Ian Tyson song crossed over to the pop charts)

Sweets for My Sweet - The Drifters (1961 - #16: Charlie Thomas was lead singer for the group from 1958-67)

White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane (1967 - #8: Spencer Dryden's drumming comes through on this classic, which ranks 478/RS500)

She's Gone - Hall & Oates (1976 - #7: song charted at #60 in 1974 and was re-released two years later)

Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking) - Janis Ian (1967 - #14: Ian wrote the song in 1965 when she was only 14)

Roundabout - Yes (1972 - #13: Steve Howe was guitarist for the group; we heard the 3:27 single version of the song)

Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins (1956 - #2: song ranks 95/RS500; Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" held the #1 spot, ironically Presley's cover of "Blue Suede Shoes" was a bigger hit than the original)

Give Me Just a Little More Time - The Chairmen of the Board (1970 - #3: the group's first charting single and their biggest hit)

8:00 - 9:00

Louie Louie - Richard Berry and the Pharoahs (1957 - DNC: Berry wrote the song in 1955, it would go on to be one of the most performed rock songs ever)

Smiling Faces Sometimes - The Undisputed Truth (1971 - #3: Motown producer Norman Whitfield put together the group to promote his "psychedelic soul" music idea)

Westbound #9 - The Flaming Ember (1970 - #24): the band's signature song; Jerry Plunk was the drummer and lead singer)

Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight (1971 - #2: "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" by the Bee Gees kept this tune out of the top spot)

I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash (1972 - #1: song was #1 for 4 weeks in November of that year; Nash wrote the hit)

Somebody's Been Sleeping - 100 Proof (Aged in Soul) (1970 - #8: another Detroit group signed by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team for their Hot Wax record label; song was a million-seller)

Theme From Shaft - Isaac Hayes (1971 - #1: song won Hayes an Oscar for Best Original Song and he had a cameo in the film)

Across 110th Street - Bobby Womack (1973 - #56: another title song from a film, this one starring Anthony Quinn)

Wake Up Everybody - Harold Melvin and the Blue notes (1976 - #12: we heard the 3:40 single version, the LP version runs 7:33)

Slippin' Into Darkness - War (1972 - #16: song was on the charts for 22 weeks, and again we heard the single version)

Turn Back the Hands of Time - Tyrone Davis (1970 - #3: the million-seller went to #1 on the R&B charts)

*Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) - The Temptations (1970 - #3: producer Norman Whitfield had given the group a new, "psychedelic soul" sound, and Dennis Edwards had replaced David Ruffin as lead singer)

*Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) - The Delfonics (1970 - #10: lead singer William Hart co-wrote this hit for the Philadelphia group)

*It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston (1967 - #14: a listener called this one in; it replaced Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On")

I've Found Someone of My Own - The Free Movement (1971 - #5: group was out of Los Angeles)

O-O-H Child - The Five Stairsteps (1970 - #8: song ranks 392/RS500 for the family group out of Chicago)

CLOSING THEME:  Sleepwalk – Santo & Johnny (1959 - #1 for two weeks; brothers Santo [steel guitar] and Johnny [rhythm guitar] Farina from Brooklyn)

Glossary of Terms:

dnc = did not chart

nr = not released as a single at the time

AC = Billboard’s chart for “Adult Contemporary” records

BB = Billboard Magazine, which publishes the Hot 100 chart (previously known as the Top 100), along with several other charts

Bubbling Under = songs that were ranked but fell below the top 100

C&W = Billboard’s chart for “Country & Western” records

R&B = Billboard’s chart for “Rhythm & Blues” records

RRHOF = Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

RS500 = Rolling Stone Magazine’s ranked list of the top 500 singles of all-time

Host: Kim Vaughan (KV) with the Best of the '50s, '60s, and '70s!

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