My how time flies…its only 3 years in our journey before I, Thomas, am born! Which probably explains why I’m making mistakes like forgetting to drag Sadie’s intros to the _top_ of the playlist!
Anyway, we’ve now fixed that for a few months and this month indeed starts with Sadie’s lovely intro, so turn your ears back to February 1974…
Songs of the month
- “Americans” – Byron Macgregor
- [new] “Baby Come Close” – Smokey Robinson
- [new] “Boogie Down” – Eddie Kendricks
- [new] “Dark Lady” – Cher
- [new] “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo” – Rolling Stones
- [new] “Eres Tu” – Mocedades
- “Helen Wheels” – Paul Mccartney And Wings
- “I Love” – Tom T. Hall
- “I’ve Got To Use My Imagination” – Gladys Knight And The Pips
- [new] “Jet” – Paul Mccartney And Wings
- [new] “Jim Dandy” – Black Oak Arkansas
- [new] “Joy” – Isaac Hayes
- “Jungle Boogie” – Kool And The Gang
- [new] “Last Time I Saw Him” – Diana Ross
- “Let Me Be There” – Olivia Newton-John
- “Livin’ For You” – Al Green
- “Living For The City” – Stevie Wonder
- [new] “Love Song” – Anne Murray
- “Love’s Theme” – Love Unlimited Orchestra
- “Me And Baby Brother” – War
- [new] “Midnight Rider” – Gregg Allman
- [new] “Mockingbird” – Carly Simon And James Taylor
- [new] “My Sweet Lady” – Cliff Deyoung & Bill Mumy & Corey Fischer
- “Never Never Gonna Give Ya Up” – Barry White
- “Put Your Hands Together” – O’jays
- “Rock On” – David Essex
- [new] “Seasons In The Sun” – Terry Jacks
- [new] “Sexy Mama” – Moments
- “Show And Tell” – Al Wilson
- “Smokin’ In The Boys Room” – Brownsville Station
- “Spiders And Snakes” – Jim Stafford
- [new] “Sunshine On My Shoulders” – John Denver
- “The Americans” – Gordon Sinclair
- “The Joker” – Steve Miller Band
- “The Most Beautiful Girl” – Charlie Rich
- “The Way We Were” – Barbra Streisand
- “Time In A Bottle” – Jim Croce
- [new] “Trying To Hold On To My Woman” – Lamont Dozier
- “Until You Come Back To Me” – Aretha Franklin
- [new] “Until Your Come Back To Me” – Aretha Franklin
- “You’re Sixteen” – Ringo Starr
[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 10th British Commonwealth Games concluded in Christchurch. Dubbed the “Friendly Games,” the event was a massive success for New Zealand and was famously opened and closed by Queen Elizabeth II. The games are best remembered for the 1,500m final on the final day, where Tanzania’s Filbert Bayi broke the world record in what is often cited as the greatest middle-distance race of all time, closely followed by New Zealand’s own John Walker.
On the 7th of February, Mel Brooks’ satirical Western, Blazing Saddles, premiered and instantly became a comedy phenomenon. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, the film fearlessly parodied the tropes of the Old West while taking sharp aim at racism and Hollywood conventions. Its world premiere was a true pop culture spectacle: 250 invited guests, including the stars, watched the film from horseback at a drive-in theater in Burbank. It went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the decade, cementing Mel Brooks’ status as a master of the spoof genre.
The next day television history was made when Good Times premiered on CBS. A spin-off of Maude (which was itself a spin-off of All in the Family), it was the first sitcom to feature a two-parent African-American family. Set in a Chicago housing project, the show balanced humor with the harsh realities of urban poverty. While it was intended as a serious look at family life, Jimmie Walker’s character, J.J., and his catchphrase “Dyn-o-mite!” quickly became a national craze, making the show a definitive staple of mid-70s TV culture.
What’d Sadie think?
It’s three weeks at number one for “The Way We Were” by Barbra Streisand but interrupted in the middle of the month by Love Unlimited Orchestra with “Love’s Theme”.
Loved ’em
- “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo” – Rolling Stones
- “Last Time I Saw Him” – Diana Ross
- “Sunshine On My Shoulders” – John Denver
Liked ’em
- “Baby Come Close” – Smokey Robinson
- “Boogie Down” – Eddie Kendricks
- “Dark Lady” – Cher
- “Jet” – Paul Mccartney And Wings
- “Jim Dandy” – Black Oak Arkansas
- “Joy” – Isaac Hayes
- “Love Song” – Anne Murray
- “Midnight Rider” – Gregg Allman
- “Mockingbird” – Carly Simon And James Taylor
- “Seasons In The Sun” – Terry Jacks
- “Sexy Mama” – Moments
- “Trying To Hold On To My Woman” – Lamont Dozier
- “Until Your Come Back To Me” – Aretha Franklin
Leave ’em
- “Eres Tu” – Mocedades
Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.