Latest weekly posts

Let’s discover which Beatle is missing from our charts this month by tuning into April, 1971….

Songs of the month

• “(Where Do I Begin) Love Story” – Andy Williams
• “Amos Moses” – Jerry Reed
• “Another Day” – Paul Mccartney
• “Blue Money” – Van Morrison
• [new] “Bridge Over Troubled Water / Brand New Me” – Aretha Franklin
• [new] “Chick-A-Boom” – Daddy Dewdrop
• “Cried Like A Baby” – Bobby Sherman
• “Doesn’t Somebody Want To Be Wanted” – Partridge Family
• [new] “Eighteen” – Alice Cooper
• “For All We Know” – Carpenters
• “Free” – Chicago
• “Have You Ever Seen The Rain / Hey Tonight” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
• [new] “Heavy Makes You Happy” – Staple Singers
• “Help Me Make It Through The Night” – Sammi Smith
• [new] “I Am I Said” – Neil Diamond
• [new] “I Don’t Blame You At All” – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
• [new] “I Play And Sing” – Dawn
• [new] “If” – Bread
• [new] “Joy To The World” – Three Dog Night
• “Just My Imagination” – Temptations
• “Love’s Lines Angels And Rhymes” – 5Th Dimension
• “Mamma’s Pearl” – Jackson 5
• “Me And Bobbie Mcgee” – Janis Joplin
• [new] “Me And You And A Dog Named Boo” – Lobo
• [new] “Never Can Say Goodbye” – Jackson 5
• “No Love At All” – B.J. Thomas
• “One Bad Apple” – Osmonds
• “One Toke Over The Line” – Brewer & Shipley
• “Oye Como Va” – Santana
• [new] “Power To The People” – John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band
• “Proud Mary” – Ike & Tina Turner
• [new] “Put Your Hand In The Hand” – Ocean
• “She’s A Lady” – Tom Jones
• “Soul Power” – James Brown
• [new] “Stay Awhile” – Bells
• “Temptation Eyes” – Grass Roots
• [new] “Timothy” – Buoys
• [new] “We Can Work It Out” – Stevie Wonder
• “What Is Life” – George Harrison
• “What’s Going On” – Marvin Gaye
• “Wild World” – Cat Stevens
• “You’re All I Need To Get By” – Aretha Franklin

[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 16th computer scientist Abhay Bhushan wrote RFC 354, the first File Transfer Protocol for ARPANET, the U.S. Department of Defense computer communication network that was the predecessor to the Internet. FTP allowed the easy movement of files between remote computers and is still in use to this day, as well as being the software sold by my first job back in the ’90s.

Then on the 19th the first space station in Earth’s history, Salyut 1, was launched by the Soviet Union from Baikonur at 6:40 in the morning local time (0140 UTC). On June 7, the crew of the ill-fated Soyuz 11 mission would be the first humans to enter a space station, staying until their disastrous return on June 30 when all 3 cosmonauts were lost in a decompression incident. Salyut 1 would remain in orbit only until October 11.

New York City became the first government in the United States to require that a definitive expiration date be placed on packages of perishable foods on the 23rd. While food distributors had information printed on packages to allow store managers to determine the date of shipment of an article of food as part of knowing when to withdraw it from the shelf, these had been in the form of “codes indecipherable to the average shopper.” Violations of the law were punishable by fines ranging from $25 to $250.

What’d Sadie think?

Two weeks at the top for “Just My Imagination” by the  Temptations before a couple for “Joy To The World” by Three Dog Night.

Loved ’em

With John Lennon’s “Power to the People” entering our chart we are one Beatle short of a full set this week!

• “Bridge Over Troubled Water / Brand New Me” – Aretha Franklin
• “Eighteen” – Alice Cooper
• “If” – Bread
• “Joy To The World” – Three Dog Night
• “Never Can Say Goodbye” – Jackson 5
• “Power To The People” – John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band

Liked ’em

• “Chick-A-Boom” – Daddy Dewdrop
• “Heavy Makes You Happy” – Staple Singers
• “I Am I Said” – Neil Diamond
• “I Don’t Blame You At All” – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
• “I Play And Sing” – Dawn
• “Me And You And A Dog Named Boo” – Lobo
• “Put Your Hand In The Hand” – Ocean
• “We Can Work It Out” – Stevie Wonder

Leave ’em

• “Stay Awhile” – Bells
• “Timothy” – Buoys

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

We’re running late this week so straight into the hits of March, 1971!

Songs of the month

• [new] “(Where Do I Begin) Love Story” – Andy Williams
• “Amazing Grace” – Judy Collins
• “Amos Moses” – Jerry Reed
• [new] “Another Day” – Paul Mccartney
• [new] “Blue Money” – Van Morrison
• [new] “Cried Like A Baby” – Bobby Sherman
• “Doesn’t Somebody Want To Be Wanted” – Partridge Family
• “Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You” – Wilson Pickett
• “For All We Know” – Carpenters
• [new] “Free” – Chicago
• “Groove Me” – King Floyd
• “Have You Ever Seen The Rain / Hey Tonight” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
• “Help Me Make It Through The Night” – Sammi Smith
• “I Hear You Knockin’” – Dave Edmunds
• “If You Could Read My Mind” – Gordon Lightfoot
• “Jody’s Got Your Girl And Gone” – Johnnie Taylor
• “Just My Imagination” – Temptations
• “Knock Three Times” – Dawn
• [new] “Love’s Lines Angels And Rhymes” – 5Th Dimension
• “Mamma’s Pearl” – Jackson Five
• “Me And Bobbie Mcgee” – Janis Joplin
• “Mr. Bojangles” – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
• [new] “No Love At All” – B.J. Thomas
• “One Bad Apple” – Osmonds
• [new] “One Toke Over The Line” – Brewer & Shipley
• [new] “Oye Como Va” – Santana
• “Proud Mary” – Ike & Tina Turner
• “Push And Pull” – Rufus Thomas
• “Rose Garden” – Lynn Anderson
• “She’s A Lady” – Tom Jones
• [new] “Soul Power” – James Brown
• “Sweet Mary” – Wadsworth Mansion
• “Temptation Eyes” – Grass Roots
• “Theme From Love Story” – Henry Mancini
• “Watching Scotty Grow” – Bobby Goldsboro
• [new] “What Is Life” – George Harrison
• [new] “What’s Going On” – Marvin Gaye
• [new] “Wild World” – Cat Stevens
• [new] “You’re All I Need To Get By” – Aretha Franklin

[new] = New to the chart this week.

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

This month in history

On March 5th Led Zeppelin performed “Stairway to Heaven” live for the first time, at Belfast’s Ulster Hall. Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones would recall later that the first listeners “were all bored to tears waiting to hear something they knew”.

On the 7th The American Safety Razor Company put an actual razor blade in its advertisements in the Sunday newspapers in 37 U.S. cities in order to get customers to try its new “Tungsten Steel” Personna 74 blade, billed as “the sharpest, longest-lasting razor blade” made, with each sharp object covered by a small paper that said “Contains razor blade. Keep away from children.” After criticism and protests, the company called off the promotion six days later. Advertising has gotten so safe these days!

The science fiction movie THX 1138, the first theatrical film directed by George Lucas, was released by Warner Brothers and premiered in the United States on the 11th. The dystopian futuristic thriller, with a story set in the 25th century, was not initially successful but became a film classic

What’d Sadie think?

It’s two weeks at the top for”One Bad Apple” by the Osmonds before Janis Joplin has a posthumous number one with “Me And Bobbie Mcgee” for the next two weeks.

Two ex-Beatles in the charts this month – we’ll pick George Harrison’s tune over Paul Mccartney’s in this case!

Loved ’em

• “Free” – Chicago
• “Me And Bobby Mcgee” – Janis Joplin
• “No Love At All” – B.J. Thomas
• “Soul Power” – James Brown
• “What Is Life” – George Harrison
• “What’s Going On” – Marvin Gaye
• “Wild World” – Cat Stevens
• “You’re All I Need To Get By” – Aretha Franklin

Liked ’em

• “(Where Do I Begin) Love Story” – Andy Williams
• “Another Day” – Paul Mccartney
• “Blue Money” – Van Morrison
• “One Toke Over The Line” – Brewer & Shipley
• “Oye Como Va” – Santana

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

It’s a mere 6 years till my own birth…yikes! Let’s hear what February, 1971 sounded like quick smart!

Songs of the month

• “Amazing Grace” – Judy Collins
• [new] “Amos Moses” – Jerry Reed
• “Black Magic Woman” – Santana
• “Born To Wander” – Rare Earth
• [new] “Doesn’t Somebody Want To Be Wanted” – Partridge Family
• [new] “Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You” – Wilson Pickett
• [new] “For All We Know” – Carpenters
• “For The Good Times” – Ray Price
• “Groove Me” – King Floyd
• [new] “Have You Ever Seen The Rain / Hey Tonight” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
• [new] “Help Me Make It Through The Night” – Sammi Smith
• “I Hear You Knockin’” – Dave Edmunds
• “I Really Don’t Want To Know” – Elvis Presley
• “I Think I Love You” – Partridge Family
• “If I Were Your Woman” – Gladys Knight & The Pips
• “If You Could Read My Mind” – Gordon Lightfoot
• “Immigrant Song” – Led Zeppelin
• “It’s Impossible” – Perry Como
• [new] “Jody’s Got Your Girl And Gone” – Johnnie Taylor
• [new] “Just My Imagination” – Temptations
• “Knock Three Times” – Dawn
• [new] “Let Your Love Go” – Bread
• “Lonely Days” – Bee Gees
• “Love The One You’re With” – Stephen Stills
• [new] “Mamma’s Pearl” – Jackson Five
• [new] “Me And Bobbie Mcgee” – Janis Joplin
• “Mr. Bojangles” – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
• “My Sweet Lord / Isn’t It A Pity” – George Harrison
• “One Bad Apple” – Osmonds
• “One Less Bell To Answer” – 5Th Dimension
• [new] “Precious Precious” – Jackie Moore
• [new] “Proud Mary” – Ike & Tina Turner
• [new] “Push And Pull” – Rufus Thomas
• “Remember Me” – Diana Ross
• “Rose Garden” – Lynn Anderson
• [new] “She’s A Lady” – Tom Jones
• “Stoned Love” – Supremes
• “Stoney End” – Barbra Streisand
• [new] “Sweet Mary” – Wadsworth Mansion
• [new] “Temptation Eyes” – Grass Roots
• [new] “Theme From Love Story” – Henry Mancini
• “Watching Scotty Grow” – Bobby Goldsboro
• “We Gotta Get You A Woman” – Runt
• “Your Song” – Elton John

[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 first performance of the musical Grease took place at the Kingston Mines Theater in Chicago. The show would move to New York City and become a long-running hit on Broadway and a popular film.

On February the 10th, banks in the UK closed at 3:30 p.m. in order to rewrite all 25,000,000 bank accounts in the nation in preparation for Decimal Day, not reopening until the following Monday. As a reporter pointed out to non-Britons, “The old currency, the most complicated in the world, divided the pound into 20 shillings and the shilling into 12 pence…”

And on the 16th, in what was later dubbed the “fuddle duddle incident”, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was accused of mouthing obscenities at Opposition MPs in the Canadian House of Commons in Ottawa. News reports tastefully reported that MPs sitting across from Trudeau had “accused him of mouthing a two-word expression commonly translated without profanity to mean ‘get lost’” and that “The prime minister later told reporters that he had said ‘fuddle-duddle or something like that’.”

What’d Sadie think?

It’s one more week at the top for “Knock Three Times” by Dawn before”One Bad Apple” by Osmonds takes the spot for three weeks.

Loved ’em

• “For All We Know” – Carpenters
• “Have You Ever Seen The Rain / Hey Tonight” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
• “Just My Imagination” – Temptations
• “Me And Bobbie Mcgee” – Janis Joplin
• “Precious Precious” – Jackie Moore

Liked ’em

• “Amos Moses” – Jerry Reed
• “Doesn’t Somebody Want To Be Wanted” – Partridge Family
• “Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You” – Wilson Pickett
• “Help Me Make It Through The Night” – Sammi Smith
• “Jody’s Got Your Girl And Gone” – Johnnie Taylor
• “Let Your Love Go” – Bread
• “Mamma’s Pearl” – Jackson Five
• “Proud Mary” – Ike & Tina Turner
• “Push And Pull” – Rufus Thomas
• “She’s A Lady” – Tom Jones
• “Sweet Mary” – Wadsworth Mansion
• “Temptation Eyes” – Grass Roots
• “Theme From Love Story” – Henry Mancini

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

It’s already 1971 in our journey through the charts, so let’s hear what January sounded like…

Songs of the month

• “5-10-15-20 (25-30 Years Of Love)” – Presidents
• [new] “Amazing Grace” – Judy Collins
• “Be My Baby” – Andy Kim
• “Black Magic Woman” – Santana
• [new] “Born To Wander” – Rare Earth
• “Can’t Stop Loving You” – Tom Jones
• “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is” – Chicago
• “Domino” – Van Morrison
• “For The Good Times” – Ray Price
• [new] “Games” – Redeye
• “Groove Me” – King Floyd
• “Gypsy Woman” – Brian Hyland
• “He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother” – Neil Diamond
• [new] “I Hear You Knockin’” – Dave Edmunds
• [new] “I Really Don’t Want To Know” – Elvis Presley
• “I Think I Love You” – Partridge Family
• “I’ll Be There” – Jackson Five
• “If I Were Your Woman” – Gladys Knight & The Pips
• [new] “If There’s A Hell Below” – Curtis Mayfield
• [new] “If You Could Read My Mind” – Gordon Lightfoot
• “Immigrant Song” – Led Zeppelin
• “It’s Impossible” – Perry Como
• “Knock Three Times” – Dawn
• “Lonely Days” – Bee Gees
• [new] “Love The One You’re With” – Stephen Stills
• [new] “Mr. Bojangles” – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
• “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison
• “No Matter What” – Badfinger
• [new] “One Bad Apple” – Osmonds
• “One Less Bell To Answer” – 5Th Dimension
• “One Man Band” – Three Dog Night
• “Pay To The Piper” – Chairmen Of The Board
• [new] “Remember Me” – Diana Ross
• “River Deep Mountain High” – Supremes & The Four Tops
• [new] “Rose Garden” – Lynn Anderson
• [new] “Santana” – Santana
• “Stoned Love” – Supremes
• “Stoney End” – Barbra Streisand
• [new] “Stop The War Now” – Edwin Starr
• “Tears Of A Clown” – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
• [new] “Watching Scotty Grow” – Bobby Goldsboro
• [new] “We Gotta Get You A Woman” – Runt
• “We’ve Only Just Begun” – Carpenters
• “Your Song” – Elton John

[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 day of the new year the last cigarette commercials on U.S. television and radio were broadcast, and tobacco manufacturers spent US$1,250,000 for the farewell advertising prior to the ban that went into effect at midnight. The last commercial was a 60-second ad for Virginia Slims that was run by the Philip Morris company at 11:59 during a break on The Tonight Show on NBC. The company had bought the last pre-midnight ads on the late night talk shows of all three networks, with ads for Marlboro on CBS on The Merv Griffin Show and for Benson & Hedges on ABC on The Dick Cavett Show. And here’s that ad…

On the 3rd the BBC Open University, allowing older, working students to obtain an undergraduate university degree through distance learning, began operations in the United Kingdom, with the broadcast of early morning television courses (on BBC-2) to supplement written and audio materials provided to the students. In the first year, 25,000 students applied for the program. The first bachelor’s degrees would be awarded on January 11, 1973

And on the 12th the sitcom “All in the Family” premiered on CBS. Based on the British television comedy series Till Death Us Do Part), the TV series starred Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker, an openly-bigoted factory worker in Queens, with Jean Stapleton, Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner as his wife, daughter and son-in-law living in the same house. The critics’ reactions varied; Cynthia Lowry of the Associated Press called it “a half hour of vulgarity and offensive dialogue” with “little humor and considerable embarrassment” and of The New York Times observed Archie Bunker’s remarks and said “None of these is funny. They shock because one is not used to hearing them… They don’t make one laugh so much as they force self-conscious, semi-amused gasps.” And yet it resonated…

What’d Sadie think?

Three more weeks at the top for “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison, before two at the top for Dawn’s “Knock Three Times”.

Loved ’em

• “Amazing Grace” – Judy Collins
• “Born To Wander” – Rare Earth
• “If There’s A Hell Below” – Curtis Mayfield
• “If You Could Read My Mind” – Gordon Lightfoot
• “Love The One You’re With” – Stephen Stills
• “Mr. Bojangles” – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Liked ’em

• “I Hear You Knockin’” – Dave Edmunds
• “I Really Don’t Want To Know” – Elvis Presley
• “One Bad Apple” – Osmonds
• “Remember Me” – Diana Ross
• “Rose Garden” – Lynn Anderson
• “Stop The War Now” – Edwin Starr
• “Watching Scotty Grow” – Bobby Goldsboro
• “We Gotta Get You A Woman” – Runt

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

We’re running late this month, so let’s rush to the end of 1970 with the songs of December, 1970…

Songs of the month

• “5-10-15-20 (25-30 Years Of Love)” – Presidents
• “After Midnight” – Eric Clapton
• [new] “Be My Baby” – Andy Kim
• “Black Magic Woman” – Santana
• [new] “Can’t Stop Loving You” – Tom Jones
• “Cry Me A River” – Joe Cocker
• “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is” – Chicago
• [new] “Domino” – Van Morrison
• “Engine Number 9” – Wilson Pickett
• “Fire And Rain” – James Taylor
• “For The Good Times” – Ray Price
• “Green-Eyed Lady” – Sugarloaf
• [new] “Groove Me” – King Floyd
• “Gypsy Woman” – Brian Hyland
• [new] “He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother” – Neil Diamond
• “Heaven Help Us All” – Stevie Wonder
• “I Think I Love You” – Partridge Family
• “I’ll Be There” – Jackson Five
• [new] “If I Were Your Woman” – Gladys Knight & The Pips
• [new] “Immigrant Song” – Led Zeppelin
• “Indiana Wants Me” – R. Dean Taylor
• “It Don’t Matter To Me” – Bread
• [new] “It’s Impossible” – Perry Como
• [new] “Knock Three Times” – Dawn
• “Let’s Work Together” – Canned Heat
• [new] “Lonely Days” – Bee Gees
• “Montego Bay” – Bobby Bloom
• [new] “My Brother” – Neil Diamond
• [new] “My Sweet Lord / Isn’t It A Pity” – George Harrison
• “No Matter What” – Badfinger
• “One Less Bell To Answer” – 5Th Dimension
• [new] “One Man Band” – Three Dog Night
• [new] “Pay To The Piper” – Chairmen Of The Board
• [new] “River Deep Mountain High” – Supremes & The Four Tops
• “See Me Feel Me” – Who
• “Share The Land” – Guess Who
• “Somebody’s Been Sleeping” – 100 Proof Aged In Soul
• “Stoned Love” – Supremes
• [new] “Stoney End” – Barbra Streisand
• “Tears Of A Clown” – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
• “We’ve Only Just Begun” – Carpenters
• “Yellow River” – Christie
• “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” – Elvis Presley
• [new] “Your Song” – Elton John

[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 “What Color Is Your Parachute?”, an early example of the, now massive, self-help industry was first published by the author Richard Nelson Bolles . In 1991, the Library of Congress would name Bolles’ book as one of “25 books that have shaped readers’ lives”.

Then on the 21st Elvis Presley was welcomed to the White House by U.S. President Nixon. The meeting would become the subject of several books and two films, “Elvis Meets Nixon” in 1997 and “Elvis & Nixon” in 2016. Despite the fame of both Nixon and Presley, the meeting was not reported in the media at the time and went unnoticed for more than a year until Jack Anderson’s nationally syndicated newspaper column of January 27, 1972.

On the 31st Paul McCartney filed a lawsuit against John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in London to dissolve The Beatles’s legal partnership.

What’d Sadie think?

A week extra at the top for the Partridge Family with “I Think I Love You” before two for”Tears Of A Clown” by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, with the month rounded out by the first hit for ex-Beatle George Harrison with “My Sweet Lord / Isn’t It A Pity”.

Loved ’em

• “Groove Me” – King Floyd
• “If I Were Your Woman” – Gladys Knight & The Pips
• “Immigrant Song” – Led Zeppelin
• “Lonely Days” – Bee Gees
• “Pay To The Piper” – Chairmen Of The Board
• “Your Song” – Elton John

Liked ’em

• “Can’t Stop Loving You” – Tom Jones
• “Domino” – Van Morrison
• “It’s Impossible” – Perry Como
• “Knock Three Times” – Dawn
• “One Man Band” – Three Dog Night
• “River Deep Mountain High” – Supremes & The Four Tops
• “Stoney End” – Barbra Streisand

Leave ’em

• “He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother” – Neil Diamond

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

Let’s tune into the sounds of October, 1970…

Songs of the month

• “25 Or 6 To 4” – Chicago
• “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – Diana Ross
• “All Right Now” – Free
• “Band Of Gold” – Freda Payne
• “Candida” – Dawn
• [new] “Closer To Home” – Grand Funk Railroad
• “Cracklin’ Rosie” – Neil Diamond
• [new] “Cry Me A River” – Joe Cocker
• “Don’t Play That Song” – Aretha Franklin
• [new] “El Condor Pasa” – Simon & Garfunkel
• [new] “Engine #9” – Wilson Pickett
• “Express Yourself” – Charles Wright
• [new] “Express Yourself” – Charles Wright & Watts 103Rd Street Rhythm Band
• [new] “Fire And Rain” – James Taylor
• [new] “Gh Enough” – Diana Ross
• [new] “God Love And Rock And Roll” – Teagarden & Van Winkle
• “Green Eyed Lady” – Sugarloaf
• “Groovy Situation” – Gene Chandler
• “I Know I’m Losing You” – Rare Earth
• [new] “I Think I Love You” – Partridge Family
• “I Who Have Nothing” – Tom Jones
• “I’ll Be There” – Jackson Five
• “Indiana Wants Me” – R. Dean Taylor
• [new] “It Don’t Matter To Me” – Bread
• “It’s A Shame” – Spinners
• [new] “It’s Only Make Believe” – Glen Campbell
• “Joanne” – Michael Nesmith & First National Band
• “Julie Do Ya Love Me” – Bobby Sherman
• “Lola” – Kinks
• “Long Long Time” – Linda Ronstadt
• [new] “Look What They’ve Done To My Song Ma” – New Seekers
• “Lookin’ Out My Back Door / Long As I Can See The Light” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
• “Make It With You” – Bread
• [new] “Montego Bay” – Bobby Bloom
• “Neanderthal Man” – Hotlegs
• [new] “Our House” – Crosby Stills Nash & Young
• “Out In The Country” – Three Dog Night
• “Patches” – Clarence Carter
• “Rubber Duckie” – Ernie
• [new] “See Me Feel Me” – Who
• “Snowbird” – Anne Murray
• [new] “Somebody’s Been Sleeping” – 100 Proof Aged In Soul
• [new] “Stand By Your Man” – Candi Staton
• [new] “Still Water” – Four Tops
• [new] “Super Bad” – James Brown
• [new] “Tears Of A Clown” – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
• [new] “That’s Where I Went Wrong” – Poppy Family
• “War” – Edwin Starr
• [new] “We’ve Only Just Begun” – Carpenters

[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 singer Janis Joplin dies of an overdose aged 27. By some, noted, coincidence Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison all also died at the age of 27 between 1969 and 1971. At the time, the coincidence gave rise to some comment  but, according to Charles R. Cross, a biographer of Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, “it wasn’t until Kurt Cobain took his own life in 1994 that the idea of the 27 Club arrived in the popular zeitgeist.”

On the 20th  the North Tower of the World Trade Center became the world’s tallest building when a piece of framework was fitted into place, bringing the tower’s height to 382 m , higher than the 380 m height of the Empire State Building. It’ll come up again in a few decades time, when the charts will sound very different…

Then on the 27th, “Jesus Christ Superstar” was first placed on sale as a two-disc record album of the studio recording of a rock opera written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, without having been performed before a live audience. Initially unable to get backing for a stage production, the composers released it as an album, the success of which led to stage productions premiering in 1971.

What’d Sadie think?

One last week at the top for”Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Diana Ross before Neil Diamond’s “Cracklin’ Rosie” gets one at number one and then its two at the top for”I’ll Be There” by the Jackson Five.

Loved ’em

• “Express Yourself” – Charles Wright & Watts 103Rd Street Rhythm Band
• “Fire And Rain” – James Taylor
• “It Don’t Matter To Me” – Bread
• “Look What They’ve Done To My Song Ma” – New Seekers
• “Our House” – Crosby Stills Nash & Young
• “Super Bad” – James Brown
• “We’ve Only Just Begun” – Carpenters

Liked ’em

• “Cry Me A River” – Joe Cocker
• “El Condor Pasa” – Simon & Garfunkel
• “I Think I Love You” – Partridge Family
• “It’s Only Make Believe” – Glen Campbell
• “Montego Bay” – Bobby Bloom
• “See Me Feel Me” – Who
• “Somebody’s Been Sleeping” – 100 Proof Aged In Soul
• “Stand By Your Man” – Candi Staton
• “Still Water” – Four Tops
• “Tears Of A Clown” – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

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