Author: Thomas Scovell

A busy week/end so it’s straight into the songs of May, 1972…

Songs of the month

• “A Cowboy’s Work Is Never Done” – Sonny And Cher
• “A Horse With No Name” – America
• [new] “Ain’t That Loving You” – Isaac Hayes And David Porter
• [new] “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” – Allman Brothers Band
• [new] “An American Trilogy” – Elvis Presley
• [new] “Ask Me What You Want” – Millie Jackson
• “Baby Blue” – Badfinger
• “Back Off Boogaloo” – Ringo Starr
• “Betcha By Golly Wow” – Stylistics
• [new] “Changes” – David Bowie
• [new] “Day By Day” – Godspell
• “Day Dreaming” – Aretha Franklin
• [new] “Diary” – Bread
• “Doctor My Eyes” – Jackson Browne
• [new] “Don’t Want To Say Goodbye” – Raspberries
• “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” – Roberta Flack
• [new] “Francene” – Zz Top
• [new] “Giving Up” – Donny Hathaway
• “Heart Of Gold” – Neil Young
• [new] “Hot N Nasty” – Humble Pie
• “Hot Rod Lincoln” – Commander Cody & Lost Planet Airmen
• [new] “How Do You Do” – Mouth And Macneal
• [new] “I Can’t Turn You Loose” – Edgar Winter’s White Trash
• [new] “I Didn’t Get To Sleep At All” – 5Th Dimension
• “I Gotcha” – Joe Tex
• [new] “I Had It All The Time” – Tyrone Davis
• [new] “I Saw The Light” – Todd Rundgren
• “I’ll Take You There” – Staple Singers
• “In The Rain” – Dramatics
• [new] “It’s Going To Take Some Time” – Carpenters
• [new] “Jubilation” – Paul Anka
• “Jump Into The Fire” – Nilsson
• [new] “Layla” – Derek And The Dominos
• [new] “Life And Breath” – Climax
• [new] “Little Bitty Pretty One” – Jackson 5
• [new] “Living In A House Divided” – Cher
• “Look What You’ve Done For Me” – Al Green
• [new] “Love Theme From The Godfather” – Nino Rota
• “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard” – Paul Simon
• [new] “Me Andulio Down By The Schoolyard” – Paul Simon
• “Morning Has Broken” – Cat Stevens
• [new] “Nice To Be With You” – Gallery
• “Oh Girl” – Chi-Lites
• [new] “Outa Space / I Wrote A Simple Song” – Billy Preston
• [new] “Powder Blue Mercedes Queen” – Raiders
• “Puppy Love” – Donny Osmond
• [new] “Questions” – Bang
• “Rockin’ Robin” – Michael Jackson
• “Run Run Run” – Jo Jo Gunne
• “Slippin’ Into Darkness” – War
• [new] “Song Sung Blue” – Neil Diamond
• [new] “Speak Softly Love” – Al Martino
• “Suavecito” – Malo
• [new] “Superwoman” – Stevie Wonder
• [new] “Sylvia’s Mother” – Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show
• [new] “Taxi” – Harry Chapin
• [new] “Telegram Sam” – T. Rex
• “The Candy Man” – Sammy Davis Jr.
• “The Family Of Man” – Three Dog Night
• “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” – Roberta Flack
• [new] “The Young New Mexican Puppeteer” – Tom Jones
• [new] “Troglodyte” – Jimmy Castor Bunch
• [new] “Tumbling Dice” – Rolling Stones
• [new] “Upsetter” – Grand Funk Railroad
• “Vincent / Castles In The Air” – Don Mclean
• [new] “Walkin’ In The Rain With The One I Love” – Love Unlimited
• [new] “We’re Free” – Beverly Bremers
• [new] “Woman Is The Nigger Of The World” – John Lennon
• [new] “Woman’s Gotta Have It” – Bobby Womack
• [new] “You Said A Bad Word” – Joe Tex
• [new] “You’re The Man” – Marvin Gaye

[new] = New to the chart this week.

You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

This month in history

On the 10th in a referendum, voters in Ireland overwhelmingly approved the Accession Treaty for Ireland to join the European Community. Five out of six (1,041,880 to 211,888) voted yes on a constitutional amendment. And for that reason I still get to be a citizen of the EU despite Brexit… Thanks!

Then on the 16th the first financial derivatives exchange, the International Monetary Market (IMM), opened on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. With greater fluctuation of currency exchange rates, the IMM opened a new era in trading by allowing purchase of futures on three currencies. The first trades were for the British pound, the Deutschmark, and the Japanese yen.

And on the 28th the Watergate burglars succeeded in their second attempt to break into the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., placing wiretaps on two telephones, and escaping undetected. When it became clear that the “bug” on DNC Chairman Larry O’Brien was not working, the men broke in again three weeks later and were caught. The botched June 17, 1972, burglary was the beginning of the Watergate scandal that eventually led to Nixon’s resignation as President of the United States.

What’d Sadie think?

Three weeks at the top for”First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack before the Chi-Lites round out the month with “Oh Girl”.

Loved ’em

• “Changes” – David Bowie
• “Diary” – Bread
• “Francene” – Zz Top
• “I Didn’t Get To Sleep At All” – 5Th Dimension
• “I Saw The Light” – Todd Rundgren
• “It’s Going To Take Some Time” – Carpenters
• “Layla” – Derek And The Dominos
• “Little Bitty Pretty One” – Jackson 5
• “Living In A House Divided” – Cher
• “Me Andulio Down By The Schoolyard” – Paul Simon
• “Telegram Sam” – T. Rex

Liked ’em

• “Ain’t That Loving You” – Isaac Hayes And David Porter
• “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” – Allman Brothers Band
• “An American Trilogy” – Elvis Presley
• “Ask Me What You Want” – Millie Jackson
• “Day By Day” – Godspell
• “Don’t Want To Say Goodbye” – Raspberries
• “Hot N Nasty” – Humble Pie
• “How Do You Do” – Mouth And Macneal
• “I Had It All The Time” – Tyrone Davis
• “Life And Breath” – Climax
• “Love Theme From The Godfather” – Nino Rota
• “Nice To Be With You” – Gallery
• “Powder Blue Mercedes Queen” – Raiders
• “Questions” – Bang
• “Song Sung Blue” – Neil Diamond
• “Superwoman” – Stevie Wonder
• “Sylvia’s Mother” – Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show
• “Taxi” – Harry Chapin
• “The Young New Mexican Puppeteer” – Tom Jones
• “Troglodyte” – Jimmy Castor Bunch
• “Tumbling Dice” – Rolling Stones
• “Upsetter” – Grand Funk Railroad
• “Walkin’ In The Rain With The One I Love” – Love Unlimited
• “We’re Free” – Beverly Bremers
• “Woman Is The Nigger Of The World” – John Lennon
• “Woman’s Gotta Have It” – Bobby Womack
• “You Said A Bad Word” – Joe Tex
• “You’re The Man” – Marvin Gaye

Leave ’em

• “Giving Up” – Donny Hathaway
• “I Can’t Turn You Loose” – Edgar Winter’s White Trash
• “Jubilation” – Paul Anka
• “Speak Softly Love” – Al Martino

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

It’s feeling a little like summer in October, 2025 so let’s take the win and tune our ears back to the sounds of April, 1972…

Songs of the month

• “A Cowboy’s Work Is Never Done” – Sonny And Cher
• “A Horse With No Name” – America
• “Ain’t Understanding Mellow” – Jerry Bulter And Brenda Lee Eager
• [new] “Baby Blue” – Badfinger
• [new] “Back Off Boogaloo” – Ringo Starr
• “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” – T. Rex
• “Betcha By Golly Wow” – Stylistics
• “Crazy Mama” – J.J. Cale
• [new] “Day Dreaming” – Aretha Franklin
• [new] “Do Your Thing” – Isaac Hayes
• [new] “Doctor My Eyes” – Jackson Browne
• “Down By The Lazy River” – Osmonds
• [new] “Every Day Of My Life” – Bobby Vinton
• “Everything I Own” – Bread
• [new] “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” – Roberta Flack
• [new] “Give Ireland Back To The Irish” – Wings
• “Heart Of Gold” – Neil Young
• [new] “Hot Rod Lincoln” – Commander Cody & Lost Planet Airmen
• “I Gotcha” – Joe Tex
• [new] “I’ll Take You There” – Staple Singers
• “In The Rain” – Dramatics
• [new] “Jump Into The Fire” – Nilsson
• “Jungle Fever” – Chakachas
• [new] “Look What You’ve Done For Me” – Al Green
• [new] “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard” – Paul Simon
• [new] “Morning Has Broken” – Cat Stevens
• “Mother And Child Reunion” – Paul Simon
• [new] “Oh Girl” – Chi-Lites
• “Precious And Few” – Climax
• “Puppy Love” – Donny Osmond
• “Rock N Roll Lullaby” – B.J. Thomas
• “Rockin’ Robin” – Michael Jackson
• “Roundabout” – Yes
• [new] “Run Run Run” – Jo Jo Gunne
• “Runnin’ Away” – Sly And The Family Stone
• [new] “Slippin’ Into Darkness” – War
• [new] “Suavecito” – Malo
• [new] “Take A Look Around” – Temptations
• [new] “Taurus” – Dennis Coffey
• [new] “The Candy Man” – Sammy Davis Jr.
• [new] “The Day I Found Myself” – Honey Cone
• [new] “The Family Of Man” – Three Dog Night
• “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” – Roberta Flack
• “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” – Robert John
• “The Way Of Love” – Cher
• [new] “Vincent” – Don Mclean
• “We’ve Got To Get It On Again” – Addrisi Brothers
• “Without You” – Nilsson

[new] = New to the chart this week.

You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

This month in history

On the third Silent film legend Charlie Chaplin returned to the United States after more than 20 years of self-imposed exile over “political differences” with the USA. “The Little Tramp” had been invited back for an honorary award at the Academy Awards.

On the 21st American astronauts John W. Young and Charles Duke became the ninth and tenth people to walk on the Moon, after the lunar module Orion had landed as part of the Apollo 16 mission. The mission was the only one to the lunar highlands, near the Descartes crater.

On the 25th Photographs that developed “right before your eyes” with the launch of the Polaroid SX-70 film and camera. Previously “instant” cameras had required significant work, like coating images with a liquid to develop them, whereas the new model ejected pictures that developed with no intervention within minutes.

What’d Sadie think?

3 weeks at the top for newcomer “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack and then a week for the Chi-Lites with “Oh Girl”.

Loved ’em

• “Day Dreaming” – Aretha Franklin
• “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” – Roberta Flack
• “I’ll Take You There” – Staple Singers
• “Morning Has Broken” – Cat Stevens
• “Oh Girl” – Chi-Lites

Liked ’em

• “Baby Blue” – Badfinger
• “Back Off Boogaloo” – Ringo Starr
• “Do Your Thing” – Isaac Hayes
• “Doctor My Eyes” – Jackson Browne
• “Give Ireland Back To The Irish” – Wings
• “Jump Into The Fire” – Nilsson
• “Look What You’ve Done For Me” – Al Green
• “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard” – Paul Simon
• “Run Run Run” – Jo Jo Gunne
• “Slippin’ Into Darkness” – War
• “Suavecito” – Malo
• “Take A Look Around” – Temptations
• “Taurus” – Dennis Coffey
• “The Candy Man” – Sammy Davis Jr.
• “The Day I Found Myself” – Honey Cone
• “The Family Of Man” – Three Dog Night
• “Vincent” – Don Mclean

Leave ’em

• “Everyday Of My Life” – Bobby Vinton
• “Hot Rod Lincoln” – Commander Cody & Lost Planet Airmen

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

Let’s rock straight into the sounds of March, 1972…

Songs of the month

• [new] “A Cowboy’s Work Is Never Done” – Sonny And Cher
• [new] “A Horse With No Name” – America
• [new] “Ain’t Understanding Mellow” – Jerry Bulter And Brenda Lee Eager
• “American Pie” – Don Mclean
• “Anticipation” – Carly Simon
• “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” – T. Rex
• [new] “Betcha By Golly Wow” – Stylistics
• “Black Dog” – Led Zeppelin
• [new] “Crazy Mama” – J.J. Cale
• “Day After Day” – Badfinger
• “Don’t Say You Don’t Remember” – Beverly Bremers
• “Down By The Lazy River” – Osmonds
• “Everything I Own” – Bread
• “Floy Joy” – Supremes
• “Heart Of Gold” – Neil Young
• “Hurting Each Other” – Carpenters
• “I Can’t Help Myself” – Donnie Elbert
• [new] “I Gotcha” – Joe Tex
• [new] “In The Rain” – Dramatics
• “Joy” – Apollo 100
• “Jungle Fever” – Chakachas
• “Let’s Stay Together” – Al Green
• “Mother And Child Reunion” – Paul Simon
• “My World” – Bee Gees
• “Never Been To Spain” – Three Dog Night
• “Precious And Few” – Climax
• [new] “Puppy Love” – Donny Osmond
• [new] “Rock N Roll Lullaby” – B.J. Thomas
• [new] “Rockin’ Robin” – Michael Jackson
• [new] “Roundabout” – Yes
• [new] “Runnin’ Away” – Sly And The Family Stone
• [new] “Softly Whispering I Love You” – English Congregation
• “Sweet Seasons” – Carole King
• [new] “Talking Loud And Saying Nothing” – James Brown
• [new] “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” – Roberta Flack
• “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” – Robert John
• “The Way Of Love” – Cher
• [new] “Way Of Love” – Cher
• [new] “We’ve Got To Get It On Again” – Addrisi Brothers
• “Without You” – Nilsson

[new] = New to the chart this week.

You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

This month in history

On the 23rd the Australian soap opera Number 96 made its debut on Network Ten, after an ad campaign with the slogan “Tonight at 8:30, Television loses its virginity!”. During its five-year run, the show would break taboos against showing nudity and sexual intercourse.

Then on the big screen, “The Godfather”, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, debuted in five cinemas in New York City, and would set a record (which stood until 1975) for the highest-grossing film in history, taking in $87,500,000 in its first release.

And on the 23rd, the first media event surrounding the recently discovered, cave-dwelling Tasaday people took place in the Philippines as reporters, scientists, and VIPs  were brought in by helicopter to meet a group of people who had never made it out of the Stone Age. It was not until after the 1986 overthrow of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos that it was discovered that the 26 Tasaday “cavemen” had been ordinary people going along with a hoax… except even later reports indicate the true story probably lay somewhere in between.

What’d Sadie think?

“Without You” by Nilsson is number one for two weeks before”Heart Of Gold” by Neil Young and  “A Horse With No Name” by America each get it for a week.

Loved ’em

• “A Horse With No Name” – America
• “Rockin’ Robin” – Michael Jackson
• “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” – Roberta Flack

Liked ’em

• “A Cowboy’s Work Is Never Done” – Sonny And Cher
• “Ain’t Understanding Mellow” – Jerry Bulter And Brenda Lee Eager
• “Betcha By Golly Wow” – Stylistics
• “Crazy Mama” – J.J. Cale
• “I Gotcha” – Joe Tex
• “In The Rain” – Dramatics
• “Puppy Love” – Donny Osmond
• “Rock N Roll Lullaby” – B.J. Thomas
• “Roundabout” – Yes
• “Runnin’ Away” – Sly And The Family Stone
• “Softly Whispering I Love You” – English Congregation
• “Talking Loud And Saying Nothing” – James Brown
• “Way Of Love” – Cher

Leave ’em

• “We’ve Got To Get It On Again” – Addrisi Brothers

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

My how time flies – we’re only 5 years away from my own birth now, as we listen to the songs of February, 1972…

Songs of the month

• [new] “Ain’t Understanding Mellow” – Jerry Bulter And Brenda Lee Ea
• “American Pie” – Don Mclean
• “Anticipation” – Carly Simon
• [new] “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” – T. Rex
• “Black Dog” – Led Zeppelin
• “Brand New Key” – Melanie
• “Clean Up Woman” – Betty Wright
• [new] “Daddy’s Home” – Jackson 5
• “Day After Day” – Badfinger
• [new] “Don’t Say You Don’t Remember” – Beverly Bremers
• [new] “Down By The Lazy River” – Osmonds
• “Drowning In The Sea Of Love” – Joe Simon
• [new] “Everything I Own” – Bread
• “Fire And Water” – Wilson Pickett
• [new] “Floy Joy” – Supremes
• [new] “Footstompin’ Music” – Grand Funk Railroad
• [new] “Heart Of Gold” – Neil Young
• “Hurtin’ Each Other” – Carpenters
• [new] “I Can’t Help Myself” – Donnie Elbert
• “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing” – Hillside Singers
• “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing” – New Seekers
• “Joy” – Apollo 100
• [new] “Jungle Fever” – Chakachas
• “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” – Charley Pride
• “Let’s Stay Together” – Al Green
• “Levon” – Elton John
• “Make Me The Woman You Go Home To” – Gladys Knight And The Pips
• [new] “Mother And Child Reunion” – Paul Simon
• [new] “My World” – Bee Gees
• “Never Been To Spain” – Three Dog Night
• “Precious And Few” – Climax
• “Scorpio” – Dennis Coffey
• “Stay With Me” – Faces
• “Sunshine” – Jonathan Edwards
• [new] “Sweet Seasons” – Carole King
• “That’s The Way I Feel About Cha” – Bobby Womack
• [new] “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” – Robert John
• [new] “The Way Of Love” – Cher
• “The Witch Queen Of New Orleans” – Redbone
• “Without You” – Nilsson
• “You Are Everything” – Stylistics

[new] = New to the chart this week.

You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

This month in history

Exactly 5 years before I’m born, on the 10th, David Bowie opened his concert tour with his new alter ego of “Ziggy Stardust”, starting at the Toby Jug Pub in Tolworth.

The next day, as the nationwide strike of British coal miners continued, Secretary for Trade and Industry John Davies told the House of Commons that the government was ordering a massive shutdown of Britain’s industry. Davies added that “Many, many people—perhaps millions—will be laid off.”

Across the Atlantic on the 19th the TV show “All in the Family” first aired what became its most famous episode, which ended with black musician Sammy Davis Jr. giving a kiss on the cheek to America’s ‘most popular bigot’, Archie Bunker.

What’d Sadie think?

A week more at the top for “American Pie” by Don McLean, followed by a week for Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” and then Nilsson gets number one for the remainder with “Without You”.

Loved ’em

• “Everything I Own” – Bread
• “Heart Of Gold” – Neil Young
• “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” – Robert John

Liked ’em

• “Ain’t Understanding Mellow” – Jerry Bulter And Brenda Lee Ea
• “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” – T. Rex
• “Daddy’s Home” – Jackson 5
• “Down By The Lazy River” – Osmonds
• “Floy Joy” – Supremes
• “Footstompin’ Music” – Grand Funk Railroad
• “I Can’t Help Myself” – Donnie Elbert
• “Jungle Fever” – Chakachas
• “Mother And Child Reunion” – Paul Simon
• “My World” – Bee Gees
• “Sweet Seasons” – Carole King
• “The Way Of Love” – Cher

Leave ’em

• “Don’t Say You Don’t Remember” – Beverly Bremers

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

The ytmusicapi library is still broke, so we’re making playlists like its 2022 at the moment…oh the humanity!

But we have also had time to work on a related project, a hardware music player. We have half a dozen Sonos speakers across our apartment, which provides lovely whole-home music listening and one of these is in Sadie’s room of course. I wanted a way to allow her to control her own room’s music, but without giving her a distracting screen or infinite options of what to play.

So the “SayDeeJayBox” player uses a Raspberry Pi microcomputer with an NFC hat to allow her to tap mini “records” to activate playback of specific albums just on her speaker.  The records themselves are printed/cut on a Cricut machine and affixed with an ntag NFC sticker that is programmed with the activation URL on my phone. The Pi simply sits there listening for an NFC tap and then uses that URL to activate a web script that is authorised to control our home Sonos.

tl;dr tap record, music plays in sadie’s room!

I’ve had a 3D printed case that encloses the whole thing made since this picture was taken!

It’s probably quite a specific use-case, but we’ve opensourced the code and design, which you can check out  on github at SayDeeJayBox.

Now, geeking out done, its time to listen to the first sounds of 1972…

Songs of the month

• “All I Ever Need Is You” – Sonny And Cher
• “American Pie” – Don Mclean
• [new] “An American Trilogy” – Mickey Newbury
• “An Old Fashioned Love Song” – Three Dog Night
• [new] “Anticipation” – Carly Simon
• [new] “Baby I’m A Want You” – Bread
• [new] “Black Dog” – Led Zeppelin
• “Brand New Key” – Melanie
• “Cherish” – David Cassidy
• “Clean Up Woman” – Betty Wright
• “Day After Day” – Badfinger
• “Drowning In The Sea Of Love” – Joe Simon
• “Family Affair” – Sly And The Family Stone
• [new] “Fire And Water” – Wilson Pickett
• “Got To Be There” – Michael Jackson
• “Gypsies Tramps And Thieves” – Cher
• “Have You Seen Her” – Chi-Lites
• [new] “Hey Big Brother” – Rare Earth
• “Hey Girl” – Donny Osmond
• [new] “Hurtin’ Each Other” – Carpenters
• “I Know I’m Losing You” – Rod Stewart
• “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing” – New Seekers
• [new] “It’s One Of Those Nights” – Partridge Family
• [new] “Joy” – Apollo 100
• [new] “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” – Charley Pride
• “Let’s Stay Together” – Al Green
• [new] “Levon” – Elton John
• [new] “Make Me The Woman You Go Home To” – Gladys Knight And The Pips
• [new] “Never Been To Spain” – Three Dog Night
• [new] “Old Fashioned Love Song” – Three Dog Night
• [new] “Once You Understand” – Think
• “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show” – Honey Cone
• [new] “Precious And Few” – Climax
• “Respect Yourself” – Staple Singers
• “Scorpio” – Dennis Coffey
• [new] “Stay With Me” – Faces
• “Stones” – Neil Diamond
• [new] “Sugar Daddy” – Jackson 5
• “Sunshine” – Jonathan Edwards
• “Superstar” – Temptations
• [new] “That’s The Way I Feel About Cha” – Bobby Womack
• [new] “The Witch Queen Of New Orleans” – Redbone
• “Theme From Shaft” – Isaac Hayes
• “Where Did Our Love Go” – Donnie Elbert
• [new] “White Lies Blue Eyes” – Bullet
• [new] “Without You” – Nilsson
• “You Are Everything” – Stylistics

[new] = New to the chart this week.

You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

This month in history

On the 4th the first scientific electronic pocket calculator, the HP-35 was introduced by Hewlett-Packard and priced at $395USD (equivalent to more than $3000+ in 2025). Although hand-held electronic machines, that could multiply and divide (such as the Canon Pocketronic) had been made since 1971, the HP-35 could handle higher functions including logarithms and trigonometry.

And on the 8th Dmitri Shostakovich’s, last symphony, No. 15 in A Major was performed for the first time, at the Moscow Conservatory.

In a great month for electronics, on the 27th Magnavox introduced the first home video game system, Odyssey. Designed by Ralph Baer, the console could be hooked up to a television set for two players to play a tennis-like game, similar to Nolan Bushnell’s game Pong.

What’d Sadie think?

Two weeks at the top for Melanie with “Brand New Key” before soon-to-be classic “American Pie” by Don Mclean takes three weeks at number one.

Loved ’em

• “Baby I’m A Want You” – Bread
• “Black Dog” – Led Zeppelin
• “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” – Charley Pride
• “Make Me The Woman You Go Home To” – Gladys Knight And The Pips
• “Without You” – Nilsson

Liked ’em

• “An American Trilogy” – Mickey Newbury
• “Anticipation” – Carly Simon
• “Fire And Water” – Wilson Pickett
• “Hey Big Brother” – Rare Earth
• “It’s One Of Those Nights” – Partridge Family
• “Joy” – Apollo 100
• “Levon” – Elton John
• “Never Been To Spain” – Three Dog Night
• “Precious And Few” – Climax
• “Stay With Me” – Faces
• “Sugar Daddy” – Jackson 5
• “That’s The Way I Feel About Cha” – Bobby Womack
• “The Witch Queen Of New Orleans” – Redbone
• “White Lies Blue Eyes” – Bullet

Leave ’em

• “Once You Understand” – Think

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

And here we are at the end of another year in our sped up journey through musical history. It seems like an age since we had Bing Crosby’s White Christmas on every December chart and indeed there’s not a festive song in sight… but let’s hear what there is on the charts of December, 1971!

Songs of the month

• “A Natural Man” – Lou Rawls
• “All I Ever Need Is You” – Sonny And Cher
• [new] “American Pie” – Don Mclean
• “An Old Fashioned Love Song” – Three Dog Night
• “Baby I’m-A Want You” – Bread
• [new] “Baby I’m-Want You” – Bread
• [new] “Brand New Key” – Melanie
• “Cherish” – David Cassidy
• [new] “Clean Up Woman” – Betty Wright
• [new] “Day After Day” – Badfinger
• “Desiderata” – Les Crane
• [new] “Drowning In The Sea Of Love” – Joe Simon
• “Easy Loving” – Freddie Hart
• “Everybody’s Everything” – Santana
• “Family Affair” – Sly And The Family Stone
• “Got To Be There” – Michael Jackson
• “Gypsies Tramps And Thieves” – Cher
• “Have You Seen Her” – Chi-Lites
• [new] “Hey Girl” – Donny Osmond
• [new] “I Know I’m Losing You” – Rod Stewart
• [new] “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing” – New Seekers
• “Imagine” – John Lennon
• “Inner City Blues” – Marvin Gaye
• [new] “Let’s Stay Together” – Al Green
• “Maggie May / Reason To Believe” – Rod Stewart
• [new] “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show” – Honey Cone
• “Peace Train” – Cat Stevens
• “Respect Yourself” – Staple Singers
• “Rock Steady / Oh Me Oh My” – Aretha Franklin
• “Scorpio” – Dennis Coffey
• “Stones” – Neil Diamond
• [new] “Sunshine” – Jonathan Edwards
• “Superstar” – Temptations
• “Theme From Shaft” – Isaac Hayes
• “Theme From Summer Of ’42” – Peter Nero
• “Two Divided By Love” – Grass Roots
• “Where Did Our Love Go” – Donnie Elbert
• “Wild Night” – Van Morrison
• “Yo-Yo” – Osmonds
• [new] “You’re My Everything” – Stylistics

[new] = New to the chart this week.

You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

This month in history

On the 2nd The United Arab Emirates was founded by the six of the seven Trucial Sheikhdoms (Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain; Ras Al Khaimah joined later) of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

And on the 4th The Montreux Casino, located on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at Montreux, Switzerland, burned down during a Frank Zappa concert, after a concertgoer fired a flare gun into the ceiling, which was covered with rattan, destroying the casino and the equipment of Zappa and his band, The Mothers of Invention. Members of the band Deep Purple, who had planned to do a recording session the next day inside the building, watched as it burned down and later memorialized the event in the classic rock song “Smoke on the Water”.

Then on the 19th the made-for-television film “The Homecoming: A Christmas Story”, was broadcast as the CBS Sunday Night Movie and achieved high enough ratings to be adapted to a long-running television series, “The Waltons”.

What’d Sadie think?

It’s three weeks at the top for “Family Affair” for Sly And The Family Stone before Melanie take’s the top spot with “Brand New Key”.

Loved ’em

• “American Pie” – Don Mclean
• “Baby I’m-Want You” – Bread
• “Brand New Key” – Melanie
• “Day After Day” – Badfinger
• “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing” – New Seekers
• “Let’s Stay Together” – Al Green
• “You’re My Everything” – Stylistics

We have to pause a moment on “I’d Like To Teach The World to Sing” – which holds a special place in the hearts of advertising folk like us. Here’s a nice little telling of some of the back story behind what was not only a massive chart hit, but the most expensive advert made up to that time.

And no “Don Draper” didn’t come up with it…the idea originally came to Bill Backer, an advertising executive working for McCann Erickson, the agency responsible for Coca-Cola. Backer, Roger Cook and Billy Davis were delayed at Shannon Airport in Ireland. After a forced layover with many hot tempers, they noticed their fellow travelers the next morning were talking and joking while drinking Coca-Cola. Backer wrote the line “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” on a napkin and shared it with Cook and Roger Greenaway.

The melody was derived from a previous song by Cook and Greenaway, originally called “True Love and Apple Pie”. Cook, Greenaway, Backer and Billy Davis reworked the song into a Coca-Cola radio jingle, which was performed by British pop group The New Seekers.. The radio jingle made its debut in February 1971 before being adapted for the Coca-Cola “Hilltop” television commercial later that year.

Liked ’em

• “Clean Up Woman” – Betty Wright
• “Drowning In The Sea Of Love” – Joe Simon
• “I Know I’m Losing You” – Rod Stewart
• “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show” – Honey Cone
• “Sunshine” – Jonathan Edwards

Leave ’em

• “Hey Girl” – Donny Osmond

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.