4x Life

One month in pop history, every week.

It’s May, 1971

Written by

Thomas Scovell

in

Let’s hear what May of 1971 sounded like…

Songs of the month

  • “(Where Do I Begin) Love Story” – Andy Williams
  • “Another Day” – Paul Mccartney
  • [new] “Baby Let Me Kiss You” – King Floyd
  • “Bridge Over Troubled Water / Brand New Me” – Aretha Franklin
  • [new] “Brown Sugar” – Rolling Stones
  • “Chick-A-Boom” – Daddy Dewdrop
  • “Doesn’t Somebody Want To Be Wanted” – Partridge Family
  • [new] “Don’t Knock My Love” – Wilson Pickett
  • “For All We Know” – Carpenters
  • [new] “Give More Power To The People” – Chi-Lites
  • “Help Me Make It Through The Night” – Sammi Smith
  • [new] “Here Comes The Sun” – Richie Havens
  • “I Am I Said” – Neil Diamond
  • “I Don’t Blame You At All” – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
  • [new] “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” – Helen Reddy
  • [new] “I Love You For All Seasons” – Fuzz
  • “I Play And Sing” – Dawn
  • [new] “I’ll Meet You Halfway” – Partridge Family
  • “If” – Bread
  • [new] “It Don’t Come Easy” – Ringo Starr
  • [new] “It’s Too Late / I Feel The Earth Move” – Carole King
  • “Joy To The World” – Three Dog Night
  • “Just My Imagination” – Temptations
  • [new] “Love Her Madly” – Doors
  • “Me And Bobby Mcgee” – Janis Joplin
  • “Me And You And A Dog Named Boo” – Lobo
  • [new] “Nathan Jones” – Supremes
  • “Never Can Say Goodbye” – Jackson 5
  • “No Love At All” – B.J. Thomas
  • “One Toke Over The Line” – Brewer & Shipley
  • “Power To The People” – John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band
  • “Put Your Hand In The Hand” – Ocean
  • [new] “Rainy Days And Mondays” – Carpenters
  • [new] “Reach Out I’ll Be There” – Diana Ross
  • [new] “Right On The Tip Of My Tongue” – Brenda & The Tabulations
  • “She’s A Lady” – Tom Jones
  • “Stay Awhile” – Bells
  • [new] “Stay While” – Bells
  • [new] “Superstar” – Murray Head
  • [new] “Sweet And Innocent” – Donny Osmond
  • “Timothy” – Buoys
  • [new] “Toast And Marmalade For Tea” – Tin Tin
  • [new] “Treat Her Like A Lady” – Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
  • [new] “Want Ads” – Honey Cone
  • “We Can Work It Out” – Stevie Wonder
  • “What’s Going On” – Marvin Gaye
  • “Wild World” – Cat Stevens
  • [new] “Woodstock” – Matthews Southern Comfort

[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 5th the English warship Mary Rose, which had sunk with 385 sailors on July 19, 1545, in the Battle of the Solent, was rediscovered after more than 425 years. A timber from the ship had become exposed in the bottom of The Solent, the strait separating the Isle of Wight from the English mainland. At age 8, on my first trip to the UK, I visited the ship – which was pulled from the ocean several years later.

And on the 11th Dallas restaurant operator Mariano Martinez invented the process that would make the frozen margarita “America’s most popular cocktail”. Adapting a soft-serve ice cream machine to hold gallons of pre-made frozen margarita mix, Martinez was able to serve margaritas that evening as soon as they were ordered, eliminating the process where each individual drink had to be made in a blender. Progress!

As the month ended, on the 30th, about 1,000 people who attended a concert of the Grateful Dead at the Winterland Auditorium in San Francisco sought medical attention after having ingested LSD from apple cider that had been passed around the crowd. Trippy!

What’d Sadie think?

This month we have four weeks at the top for”Joy To The World” by Three Dog Night before The Rolling Stones with “Brown Sugar” takes the top.

The family are loving the Jesus Christ Superstar songs on the charts this month, with Emily regaling Sadie with stories of how she was in the musical herself – prompting lots of singalong from Sadie.

Loved ’em

  • “Baby Let Me Kiss You” – King Floyd
  • “Brown Sugar” – Rolling Stones
  • “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” – Helen Reddy
  • “Rainy Days And Mondays” – Carpenters
  • “Right On The Tip Of My Tongue” – Brenda & The Tabulations
  • “Superstar” – Murray Head
  • “Sweet And Innocent” – Donny Osmond
  • “Woodstock” – Matthews Southern Comfort

Liked ’em

  • “Don’t Knock My Love” – Wilson Pickett
  • “Give More Power To The People” – Chi-Lites
  • “Here Comes The Sun” – Richie Havens
  • “I Love You For All Seasons” – Fuzz
  • “I’ll Meet You Halfway” – Partridge Family
  • “It Don’t Come Easy” – Ringo Starr
  • “Love Her Madly” – Doors
  • “Nathan Jones” – Supremes
  • “Reach Out I’ll Be There” – Diana Ross
  • “Stay While” – Bells
  • “Treat Her Like A Lady” – Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
  • “Want Ads” – Honey Cone

Leave ’em

  • “Toast And Marmalade For Tea” – Tin Tin

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

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