Up-to-dates

And here we are entering the last year of our second full decade in our journey through pop music history. My how time flies…

Songs of the month

[new] “A Ray Of Hope” – Rascals
“Abraham Martin And John” – Dion
[new] “Bella Linda” – Grass Roots
“Both Sides Now” – Judy Collins
“Bring It On Home To Me” – Eddie Floyd
[new] “Build Me Up Buttercup” – Foundations
[new] “California Soul” – 5Th Dimension
[new] “Can I Change My Mind” – Tyrone Davis
“Cinnamon” – Derek
“Cloud Nine” – Temptations
[new] “Crimson And Clover” – Tommy James & Shondells
[new] “Everyday People” – Sly & Family Stone
“For Once In My Life” – Stevie Wonder
“Going Up The Country” – Canned Heat
[new] “Hang ’em High” – Booker T & Mg’s
“Hey Jude” – Beatles
[new] “Hey Jude” – Wilson Pickett
“Hooked On A Feeling” – B.J. Thomas
“I Heard It Through The Grapevine” – Marvin Gaye
“I Love How You Love Me” – Bobby Vinton
[new] “I Started A Joke” – Bee Gees
“I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” – Diana Ross & Supremes & Temptations
“If I Can Dream” – Elvis Presley
“Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero” – Rene And Rene
[new] “Love Child” – Diana Ross & Supremes
“Magic Carpet Ride” – Steppenwolf
“Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” – Otis Redding
[new] “Scarborough Fair” – Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66
“See Saw” – Aretha Franklin
[new] “Showdown” – Archie Bell & Drells
“Son Of A Preacher Man” – Dusty Springfield
“Soulful Strut” – Young-Holt Unlimited
[new] “Stand By Your Man” – Tammy Wynette
“Stormy” – Classics Iv
[new] “This Is My Country” – Impressions
“Too Weak To Fight” – Clarence Carter
[new] “Touch Me” – Doors
“Who’s Making Love” – Johnnie Taylor
“Wichita Lineman” – Glen Campbell
[new] “Worst That Could Happen” – Brooklyn Bridge

[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 of January, Australian media baron Rupert Murdoch purchased the largest-selling British Sunday newspaper, The News of the World as shareholders of the News voted to accept his bid over that of British book publisher Robert Maxwell. Murdoch would purchase newspapers in the U.S. in the 1970s, notably the New York Post, and enter television in the 1980s with the founding of the Fox Network.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRSjBVqT0NY

On the 18th the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), charging the company with monopolizing the digital computer industry, programming hindering competitors and limiting the development of computer programming by its policy of selling its hardware, software and technical support as an inseparable package. The suit would continue until 1982, when it would be dropped because of changes in the industry (IBM having failed to parley their mainframe monopoly into a microcomputer one).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLI50ZbXeuQ

Then on the 20th The Beatles gave their last ever public performance in what is now called “the rooftop concert”, setting up their instruments on the roof of the London building that served as the corporate headquarters for their recording company, Apple Corps. Lasting for 42 minutes, the impromptu concert atop the five-story building at 3 Saville Row was filmed for their 1970 film Let It Be. The group opened with a few runthroughs of their soon-to-be-released single “Get Back” and its B-side, “Don’t Let Me Down”. After three more songs (and complaints from people in nearby buildings), London police arrived and allowed John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr to perform one final song. The group closed with the song that opened the concert, their last sung phrase being “Get back to where you once belonged.” Their parting words to the assembled crowd were from John Lennon: “I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves. I hope we passed the audition.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foigd26-Ync

What’d Sadie think?

A four full weeks for Marvin Gaye with “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” at number one, which after 3 weeks in December, makes for 7 weeks atop the charts so far.

Sadie was particularly liking, “Abraham, Martin And John” by Dion this week. I was this many years old myself when I discovered the song is referring to assassinated American political figures…duh! And “Build Me Up Buttercup” by Foundations was another Sadie favourite and a real family ear worm.

Loved ’em

• “A Ray Of Hope” – Rascals
• “Build Me Up Buttercup” – Foundations
• “Can I Change My Mind” – Tyrone Davis
• “Everyday People” – Sly & Family Stone
• “I Started A Joke” – Bee Gees
• “Love Child” – Diana Ross & Supremes
• “Touch Me” – Doors
  

Liked ’em

• “Bella Linda” – Grass Roots
• “California Soul” – 5Th Dimension
• “Crimson And Clover” – Tommy James & Shondells
• “Hang ’em High” – Booker T & Mg’s
• “Hey Jude” – Wilson Pickett
• “Stand By Your Man” – Tammy Wynette
• “The Worst That Could Happen” – Brooklyn Bridge
• “This Is My Country” – Impressions

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

It’s 2025 here in the present-day, so we are entering our 6th calendar year of this journey as we finish off our 18th sped-up year in musical history.

Songs of the month

[new] “Abraham Martin And John” – Dion
“All Along The Watchtower” – Jimi Hendrix Experience
[new] “Always Together” – Dells
[new] “Bang Shang-A-Lang” – Archies
[new] “Both Sides Now” – Judy Collins
[new] “Bring It On Home To Me” – Eddie Floyd
[new] “Chewy Chewy” – Ohio Express
[new] “Cloud Nine” – Temptations
“Court Of Love” – Unifics
[new] “Cycles” – Frank Sinatra
“Elenore” – Turtles
“Fire” – Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
“Fool For You” – Impressions
[new] “For Once In My Life” – Stevie Wonder
“Girl Watcher” – O’kaysions
“Harper Valley P.T.A.” – Jeannie C. Riley
“Hey Jude” – Beatles
“Hey Western Union Man” – Jerry Butler
[new] “Hi-Heel Sneakers” – Jose Feliciano
“Hold Me Tight” – Johnny Nash
[new] “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” – Marvin Gaye
[new] “I Love How You Love Me” – Bobby Vinton
“I’ve Got To Get A Message To You” – Bee Gees
[new] “In-A-Gadda-La-Vida” – Iron Butterfly
[new] “Keep On Lovin’ Me Honey” – Marvin Gaye And Tammi Terrell
[new] “Little Arrows” – Leapy Lee
“Little Green Apples” – O.C. Smith
“Love Child” – Diana Ross And The Supremes
“Magic Carpet Ride” – Steppenwolf
“Midnight Confessions” – Grass Roots
“My Special Angel” – Vogues
“Over You” – Gary Puckett And The Union Gap
“Piece Of My Heart” – Big Brother And The Holding Company
[new] “Promises Promises” – Dionne Warwick
[new] “Quick Joey Small” – Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus
“Revolution” – Beatles
“Say It Loud I’m Black And I’m Proud” – James Brown
[new] “See Saw” – Aretha Franklin
[new] “Shame Shame” – Magic Lanterns
“Shape Of Things To Come” – Max Frost And The Troopers
[new] “Stormy” – Classics Iv
“Suzie Q” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
“Sweet Blindness” – 5Th Dimension
“Those Were The Days” – Mary Hopkin
“Time Has Come Today” – Chambers Brothers
“White Room” – Cream
[new] “Who’s Making Love” – Johnnie Taylor
[new] “Wichita Lineman” – Glen Campbell

[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 14th, Yale University announced that it would admit women students for the first time in its 267 year history, beginning with the 1969–70 academic year. The Yale Corporation (the university’s board of trustees) had approved the proposal, made by university president Kingman Brewster, Jr., on November 9 and referred it to faculty for ratification. In the Thursday faculty meeting, the vote was 200 in favor, 1 against. Yale’s sister institution, the formerly all-women Vassar College, began admitting male students for the same year. But apparently all anyone remembers about Yale that year was a men’s football match, naturally!

On the 22nd the supposed first-ever interracial kiss on national television in the U.S. was shown on an episode of Star Trek, with white actor William Shatner (Captain Kirk) kissing black actress Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura) in “Plato’s Stepchildren”. The kiss attracted no notice in the media at the time. Which may have been because, despite this being a pop-culture trope, there had been numerous interracial kisses on TV during the 1960s.

Then on the 28th, Enid Blyton, 71, popular British children’s author who authored more than 300 books, including “The Famous Five” series of 21 adventure and mystery novels, died at a nursing home three months after having a heart attack. Her works had been translated into 63 other languages. At the time of her death, she had sold 30 million copies of books.

What’d Sadie think?

After all four weeks at number one last month, it’s another four this week for “Hey Jude” before “Love Child” by Diana Ross And The Supremes knocks it off its 9-week run!

Loved ’em

• “Bang Shang-A-Lang” – Archies
• “Both Sides Now” – Judy Collins
• “Cloud Nine” – Temptations
• “For Once In My Life” – Stevie Wonder
• “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” – Marvin Gaye
• “Say It Loud – I’m Black And I’m Proud” – James Brown
• “Wichita Lineman” – Glen Campbell

Liked ’em

• “Abraham Martin And John” – Dion

• “Always Together” – Dells
• “Bring It On Home To Me” – Eddie Floyd
• “Cycles” – Frank Sinatra
• “Hi Heel Sneakers” – Jose Feliciano
• “I Love How You Love Me” – Bobby Vinton
• “Keep On Lovin’ Me Honey” – Marvin Gaye And Tammi Terrell
• “Promises Promises” – Dionne Warwick
• “Quick Joey Small” – Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus
• “See Saw” – Aretha Franklin
• “Shame Shame” – Magic Lanterns
• “Stormy” – Classics Iv
• “Who’s Making Love” – Johnnie Taylor

Leave ’em

• “Chewy Chewy” – Ohio Express
• “Little Arrows” – Leapy Lee

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

It’s the beginning of a new year here in 2025, as we wrap up 1968 in our journey through time. We were busy holidaying last week so we didn’t post – so November can be found here, for those who want to hit every note for the year before you listed to December…

Songs of the month

“Abraham Martin And John” – Dion
“Bang-Shang-A-Lang” – Archies
“Both Sides Now” – Judy Collins
“Bring It On Home To Me” – Eddie Floyd
“Chewy Chewy” – Ohio Express
[new] “Cinnamon” – Derek
“Cloud Nine” – Temptations
[new] “Crimson And Clover” – Tommy James And The Shondells
“Cycles” – Frank Sinatra
“For Once In My Life” – Stevie Wonder
[new] “Going Up The Country” – Canned Heat
“Hey Jude” – Beatles
“Hold Me Tight” – Johnny Nash
[new] “Hooked On Feeling” – B.J. Thomas
“I Heard It Through The Grapevine” – Marvin Gaye
“I Love How You Love Me” – Bobby Vinton
[new] “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” – Diana Ross And Supremes And Temptations
[new] “If I Can Dream” – Elvis Presley
“Little Arrows” – Leapy Lee
“Little Green Apples” – O.C. Smith
[new] “Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero” – Rene And Rene
“Love Child” – Diana Ross And The Supremes
“Magic Carpet Ride” – Steppenwolf
“Midnight Confessions” – Grass Roots
[new] “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” – Otis Redding
[new] “Pickin’ Wild Mountain Berries” – Peggy Scott And Jo Jo Benson
“Promises Promises” – Dionne Warwick
“Quick Joey Small” – Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus
[new] “Scarborough Fair” – Sergio Mendes And Brasil ’66
“See Saw” – Aretha Franklin
“Shame Shame” – Magic Lanterns
[new] “Son Of A Preacher Man” – Dusty Springfield
[new] “Soulful Strut” – Young-Holt Unlimited
“Stormy” – Classics Iv
“Those Were The Days” – Mary Hopkin
[new] “Till” – Vogues
[new] “Too Weak To Fight” – Clarence Carter
“White Room” – Cream
“Who’s Making Love” – Johnnie Taylor
“Wichita Lineman” – Glen Campbell
[new] “Wichta Lineman” – Glen Campbell

[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 3rd The 50-minute television special Elvis, or “the comeback special”, (sponsored by American sewing machine manufacturer The Singer Company), taped in June with a live audience in Burbank, California, aired on NBC, marking the comeback of Elvis Presley after 7 years during which the legendary musician’s career had centered on the movie industry.

On the 11th the film Oliver!, based on the hit London and Broadway musical, opened in the U.S. after being released first in England. It would go on to win the Best Picture.

Then on the 21st, Apollo 8 became the first space vehicle to carry human beings beyond Earth’s orbit, and the three American astronauts on board — Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders — went further from away Earth than any people in history.

The next day…. astronaut Frank Borman vomited while in orbit, the day after taking a dose of the barbiturate drug Seconal, leaving the three astronauts with the task of avoiding the floating particles in a weightless environment. The episode marked the first experience of space-sickness by an American astronaut. In order to keep NASA from ordering the mission to be aborted before the spacecraft could pass the point where it could return without a slingshot trip around the Moon, Borman waited for a while to report that he was ill, and sent a taped message back to Earth.

What’d Sadie think?

A week at the top for Diana Ross And The Supremes with “Love Child” before a run of 3 for “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye

Sadie has been particularly enchanged by “Bang-Shang-A-Lang” by The Archies this week. I need to show her this video, “The Archies” being a fictional band from the Archie comic and TV show.

Loved ’em

• “Crimson And Clover” – Tommy James And The Shondells
• “Hooked On A Feeling” – B.J. Thomas
• “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” – Diana Ross And Supremes And Temptations
• “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” – Otis Redding
• “Scarborough Fair” – Sergio Mendes And Brasil ’66
• “Son Of A Preacher Man” – Dusty Springfield
• “Wichta Lineman” – Glen Campbell

Liked ’em

• “Cinnamon” – Derek
• “Going Up The Country” – Canned Heat
• “If I Can Dream” – Elvis Presley
• “Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero” – Rene And Rene
• “Pickin’ Wild Mountain Berries” – Peggy Scott And Jo Jo Benson
• “Soulful Strut” – Young-Holt Unlimited
• “Too Weak To Fight” – Clarence Carter
  

Leave ’em

• “Till” – Vogues

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

It’s a merry Xmas from the Scovells to all, from 2024, before we dive back to October of 1968 to hear the sounds.

Songs of the month

“1-2-3 Red Light” – 1910 Fruitgum Co.
[new] “All Along The Watchtower” – Jimi Hendrix Experience
“Born To Be Wild” – Steppenwolf
[new] “Court Of Love” – Unifics
[new] “Elenore” – Turtles
“Fire” – Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
[new] “Fool For You” – Impressions
“Girl Watcher” – O’kaysions
“Harper Valley P.T.A.” – Jeannie C. Riley
“Hey Jude” – Beatles
[new] “Hey Western Union Man” – Jerry Butler
[new] “Hold Me Tight” – Johnny Nash
“Hush” – Deep Purple
“I Say A Little Prayer” – Aretha Franklin
[new] “I’ve Got To Get A Message To You” – Bee Gees
“I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You” – Bee Gees
[new] “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” – Iron Butterfly
“Indian Reservation” – Don Fardon
“Light My Fire” – Jose Feliciano
“Little Green Apples” – O.C. Smith
[new] “Love Child” – Diana Ross And The Supremes
“Magic Bus” – Who
[new] “Magic Carpet Ride” – Steppenwolf
“Midnight Confessions” – Grass Roots
“My Special Angel” – Vogues
“On The Road Again” – Canned Heat
“Over You” – Gary Puckett And The Union Gap
“People Got To Be Free” – Rascals
“Piece Of My Heart” – Big Brother And The Holding Company
“Revolution” – Beatles
“Say It Loud I’m Black And I’m Proud” – James Brown
[new] “Shape Of Things To Come” – Max Frost And The Troopers
“Slip Away” – Clarence Carter
“Special Occasion” – Smokey Robinson And The Miracles
“Suzie Q” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
[new] “Sweet Blindness” – 5Th Dimension
“The Fool On The Hill” – Sergio Mendes And Brasil ’66
“The House That Jack Built” – Aretha Franklin
“The Snake” – Al Wilson
[new] “Those Were The Days” – Mary Hopkin
“Time Has Come Today” – Chambers Brothers
[new] “White Room” – Cream
“You’re All I Need To Get By” – Marvin Gaye And Tammi Terrell

[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 1st, “Night of the Living Dead” premiered in the United States. Originally titled “Night of the Flesh Eater”s, and filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the movie’s first showing was in that city at the Fulton Theatre with admission by invitation only. An advertisement for the first week of showings said that “If ‘Night of the Living Dead’ frightens you to death…. You are covered for $50,000”, with the disclaimer that the guarantee was valid only for death from a “heart attack only during performances October 2 thru 8, 1968” and that the insurance company reserved the right to require a medical examination before the viewing.

On the 11th , Apollo 7, the first American crewed space mission with three astronauts, was launched from Cape Kennedy at 11:02:45 a.m. local time. The purpose of the 11-day mission, the first with three astronauts (Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham) was to test the docking manoeuvres between the lunar module and the lunar orbiter to take men safely to the Moon and back. The flight was the first to feature a live television broadcast from inside an orbiting spaceship.

Then on the 20th, five years after the assassination of her husband, former U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis in a ceremony on the Greek island of Skorpios. In doing so, she forfeited $200,000 per year of financial support from the Kennedy family (part of a pre-nuptial agreement with John F. Kennedy) and a $10,000 widow’s pension from the U.S. government. Onassis provided her $3,000,000 and set up trusts of one million dollars apiece for Caroline Kennedy and John Kennedy Jr.; the marriage lasted until the death of Onassis on March 15, 1975.

What’d Sadie think?

The Beatles “Hey Jude” continues is number one spot from last month for all of October, might have a bit of longevity this one!

Naturally Sadie was a big fan of, “Born To Be Wild” by Steppenwolf this week. And clearly “Girl Watcher” by the O’kaysions is an earworm, as she spontaneously sung that during the week after hearing it. In a modern context the song is thematically a little out-of-touch of course, but more amusingly in 1987, the song was reworked as “I’m A Wheel Watcher” and was used to promote the TV game show, Wheel of Fortune.. This reworked version was performed by Kool & the Gang! This promo video has to be seen.

Loved ’em

• “All Along The Watchtower” – Jimi Hendrix Experience
• “Elenore” – Turtles
• “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” – Iron Butterfly
• “Those Were The Days” – Mary Hopkin
• “White Room” – Cream

Liked ’em

• “Court Of Love” – Unifics
• “Fool For You” – Impressions
• “Hey Western Union Man” – Jerry Butler
• “Hold Me Tight” – Johnny Nash
• “I’ve Got To Get A Message To You” – Bee Gees
• “Love Child” – Diana Ross And The Supremes
• “Magic Carpet Ride” – Steppenwolf
• “Shape Of Things To Come” – Max Frost And The Troopers
• “Sweet Blindness” – 5Th Dimension

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

It’s summer holidays here in New Zealand of 2024, so let’s head back to September, 1968 and relax!

Songs of the month

“1-2-3 Red Light” – 1910 Fruitgum Co.
“Born To Be Wild” – Steppenwolf
“Classical Gas” – Mason Williams
“Do It Again” – Beach Boys
“Dream A Little Dream Of Me” – Mama Cass
[new] “Fire” – Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
[new] “Girl Watcher” – O’kaysions
“Harper Valley P.T.A.” – Jeannie C. Riley
“Hello I Love You” – Doors
[new] “Hey Jude” – Beatles
“Hush” – Deep Purple
“I Can’t Stop Dancing” – Archie Bell And The Drells
“I Say A Little Prayer” – Aretha Franklin
[new] “I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You” – Bee Gees
[new] “Indian Reservation” – Don Fardon
“Journey To The Centre Of The Mind” – Amboy Dukes
“Light My Fire” – Jose Feliciano
[new] “Little Green Apples” – O.C. Smith
“Love Makes A Woman” – Barbara Acklin
[new] “Magic Bus” – Who
[new] “Midnight Confessions” – Grass Roots
[new] “Mr. Businessman” – Ray Stevens
[new] “My Special Angel” – Vogues
[new] “On The Road Again” – Canned Heat
[new] “Over You” – Gary Puckett And The Union Gap
“People Got To Be Free” – Rascals
[new] “People Gotta Be Free” – Rascals
[new] “Piece Of My Heart” – Big Brother And The Holding Company
“Please Return Your Love To Me” – Temptations
[new] “Revolution” – Beatles
[new] “Say It Loud I’m Black And I’m Proud” – James Brown
“Sealed With A Kiss” – Gary Lewis And The Playboys
“Slip Away” – Clarence Carter
“Soul Limbo” – Booker T And The Mg’s
[new] “Special Occasion” – Smokey Robinson And The Miracles
“Stay In My Corner” – Dells
“Stoned Soul Picnic” – 5Th Dimension
“Sunshine Of Your Love” – Cream
[new] “Suzie Q” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
[new] “The Eyes Of A New York Woman” – B.J. Thomas
“The Fool On The Hill” – Sergio Mendes And Brasil ’66
“The House That Jack Built” – Aretha Franklin
[new] “The Snake” – Al Wilson
[new] “Time Has Come Today” – Chambers Brothers
[new] “Tuesday Afternoon” – Moody Blues
“Turn Around Look At Me” – Vogues
“You Keep Me Hangin’ On” – Vanilla Fudge
“You’re All I Need To Get By” – Marvin Gaye And Tammi Terrell

[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 TV icon Lucille Ball premiered her third television situation comedy in a row, as “Here’s Lucy” debuted with Ball and co-star Gale Gordon as different characters than they had played on The Lucy Show. This time, however, her on-screen children (Kim and Craig) were portrayed by Ball’s real-life children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. Gordon,

The next day the CBS television news show “60 Minutes”, made its debut at 10:00pm, with Mike Wallace and Harry Reasoner as the hosts. One critic acknowledged Hewitt’s attempt to make the program “look as much as possible as a magazine” and concluded that it “was bright and breezy and went a long way in bridging the great gap between the ha-ha of TV entertainment and the dolorous solemnity of public affairs programs.”

Then on the 26th, censorship of plays was abolished in the United Kingdom as the Theatres Act 1968, went into effect and ended the existence of the position of Examiner of Plays in the Lord Chamberlain’s Office after 230 years. With the government approval no longer required, the rock musical Hair (which included a scene with a fully nude cast) made its British premiere on London’s West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre.

What’d Sadie think?

Two weeks at the top for “People Gotta Be Free” by the Rascals, before “Harper Valley P.T.A.” by Jeannie C. Riley takes it for two, leaving “”Harper Valley P.T.A.” – Jeannie C. Riley “Hey Jude” by the Beatles a week to reign this month.

Loved ’em

• “Hey Jude” – Beatles
• “Magic Bus” – Who
• “Midnight Confessions” – Grass Roots
• “My Special Angel” – Vogues
• “On The Road Again” – Canned Heat
• “Piece Of My Heart” – Big Brother And The Holding Company
• “Revolution” – Beatles
• “Special Occasion” – Smokey Robinson And The Miracles
  

Liked ’em

• “I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You” – Bee Gees
• “Indian Reservation” – Don Fardon
• “Little Green Apples” – O.C. Smith
• “Mr. Businessman” – Ray Stevens
• “Over You” – Gary Puckett And The Union Gap
• “People Gotta Be Free” – Rascals
• “Say It Loud I’m Black And I’m Proud” – James Brown
• “Suzie Q” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
• “The Eyes Of A New York Woman” – B.J. Thomas
• “The Snake” – Al Wilson
• “Time Has Come Today” – Chambers Brothers
• “Tuesday Afternoon” – Moody Blues

Leave ’em

• “Girl Watcher” – O’kaysions

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

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas in 2024, but back in our journey through musical history its just August of 1968. Let’s listen…

Songs of the month

[new] “1-2-3 Red Light” – 1910 Fruitgum Co.
[new] “Alice Long” – Tommy Boyce And Bobby Hart
“Angel Of The Morning” – Merrilee Rush
“Autumn Of My Life” – Bobby Goldsboro
[new] “Baseball Game” – Intruders
[new] “Born To Be Wild” – Steppenwolf
“Classical Gas” – Mason Williams
[new] “Do It Again” – Beach Boys
“Don’t Take It So Hard” – Paul Revere And The Raiders
“Dream A Little Dream Of Me” – Mama Cass
“Face It Girl It’s Over” – Nancy Wilson
“Grazing In The Grass” – Hugh Masekela
[new] “Halfway To Paradise” – Bobby Vinton
[new] “Harper Valley P.T.A.” – Jeannie C. Riley
“Hello I Love You” – Doors
“Here Comes The Judge” – Shorty Long
“Hurdy Gurdy Man” – Donovan
[new] “Hush” – Deep Purple
[new] “I Can’t Stop Dancing” – Archie Bell And The Drells
[new] “I Say A Little Prayer” – Aretha Franklin
“Indian Lake” – Cowsills
[new] “Journey To The Centre Of The Mind” – Amboy Dukes
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” – Rolling Stones
“Lady Willpower” – Gary Puckett And The Union Gap
[new] “Light My Fire” – Jose Feliciano
[new] “Love Makes A Woman” – Barbara Acklin
[new] “People Got To Be Free” – Rascals
“Pictures Of Matchstick Men” – Status Quo
[new] “Please Return Your Love To Me” – Temptations
“Reach Out Of The Darkness” – Friend And A Lover
[new] “Sealed With A Kiss” – Gary Lewis And The Playboys
“Sky Pilot” – Eric Burdon And The Animals
[new] “Slip Away” – Clarence Carter
[new] “Soul Limbo” – Booker T And The Mg’s
“Stay In My Corner” – Dells
“Stoned Soul Picnic” – 5Th Dimension
“Sunshine Of Your Love” – Cream
[new] “The Fool On The Hill” – Sergio Mendes And Brasil ’66
“The Horse” – Cliff Nobles And Co.
[new] “The House That Jack Built” – Aretha Franklin
“The Look Of Love” – Sergio Mendes And Brasil ’66
“This Guy’s In Love With You” – Herb Alpert
“Turn Around Look At Me” – Vogues
[new] “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” – Vanilla Fudge
[new] “You’re All I Need To Get By” – Marvin Gaye And Tammi Terrell

[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 9th U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Samuel C. Phillips, Director of NASA’s Apollo lunar landing program, announced that it was “clearly possible” for a crewed landing on the Moon to happen in 1969, fulfilling the goal announced by the late President Kennedy in 1962 to land a man on the Moon, and return him to Earth, “before the end of the decade”.

And in “things that didn’t happen this month” history… according to an urban legend which would begin circulating on the Internet around 2014, every television in America shut down for about 25 seconds on this date, during which a murmuring sound was heard. Snopes would rate this story as “False” in March 2023, stating that there was no historical or eyewitness evidence to support it. One of those videos that won’t embed about it here.

Then on the 30th, William Talman, 53, American actor best known for portraying “television’s biggest loser” as Los Angeles prosecutor Hamilton Burger, who was bested every week by the title character on the popular mystery and courtroom series, Perry Mason. Six weeks before his death from lung cancer, Talman— who had smoked three packs of cigarettes a day— filmed a 60-second television commercial for the American Cancer Society, urging viewers to avoid cigarette smoking and would set a trend for other such “warnings from beyond the grave”.

What’d Sadie think?

Two weeks at the top for “Hello I Love You” by the Doors before “People Got To Be Free” by the Rascals take it for the last three weeks of the month.

Loved ’em

• “Born To Be Wild” – Steppenwolf
• “Do It Again” – Beach Boys
• “Harper Valley P.T.A.” – Jeannie C. Riley
• “Hush” – Deep Purple
• “I Can’t Stop Dancing” – Archie Bell And The Drells
• “I Say A Little Prayer” – Aretha Franklin
• “Slip Away” – Clarence Carter
• “You’re All I Need To Get By” – Marvin Gaye And Tammi Terrell

Liked ’em

• “1-2-3 Red Light” – 1910 Fruitgum Co.
• “Alice Long” – Tommy Boyce And Bobby Hart
• “Baseball Game” – Intruders
• “Halfway To Paradise” – Bobby Vinton
• “Journey To The Centre Of The Mind” – Amboy Dukes
• “Love Makes A Woman” – Barbara Acklin
• “People Got To Be Free” – Rascals
• “Please Return Your Love To Me” – Temptations
• “Sealed With A Kiss” – Gary Lewis And The Playboys
• “The House That Jack Built” – Aretha Franklin
• “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” – Vanilla Fudge
  

Leave ’em

• “Light My Fire” – Jose Feliciano
• “Soul Limbo” – Booker T And The Mg’s
• “The Fool On The Hill” – Sergio Mendes And Brasil ’66

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