Rock & Roll Historical Perspective

[razorbacker]

Originally Posted by myrosiedog

Oh, I'm so glad someone else hates McArthur Park.

I just heard War on the radio earlier today. Great song.

The thing about AM radio back in the days was that you could turn on your favorite station & hear a bit of everything. Just look at the songs that made the charts this week:

Pop: Next To You by The Carpenters
Rock: Get Ready Rare Earth
Off Beat : Gimme Dat Ding The Pipkins
Blues: Steal Away Johnnie Taylor
R&B: Check Out Your Mind The Temptations
Folk: Tell it all Brother The First Edition
Soul: Ball of Confusion The Temptations
Metal: Mississippi Queen Mountain
Country: Teach Your Children CSNY
Protest: War Edwin Starr
Jazz: Spill the Wine Eric Burdon & War
Classical: A Song Of Joy Miguel Rios (taken from Beethovens 9th)
Skiffle: In the Summertime Mungo Jerry
Uplifting?: United We Stand The brotherhood of Man
Dreck: MacArthurs Park Richard Harris

Radio ain't like that now, you really have to work to get a dose of everything.

Gotta run. I got a cake out & it's beginning to rain.

[Google]

 

[myrosiedog]

Originally Posted by razorbacker

The thing about AM radio back in the days was that you could turn on your favorite station & hear a bit of everything. Just look at the songs that made the charts this week:

Pop: Next To You by The Carpenters
Rock: Get Ready Rare Earth
Off Beat : Gimme Dat Ding The Pipkins
Blues: Steal Away Johnnie Taylor
R&B: Check Out Your Mind The Temptations
Folk: Tell it all Brother The First Edition
Soul: Ball of Confusion The Temptations
Metal: Mississippi Queen Mountain
Country: Teach Your Children CSNY
Protest: War Edwin Starr
Jazz: Spill the Wine Eric Burdon & War
Classical: A Song Of Joy Miguel Rios (taken from Beethovens 9th)
Skiffle: In the Summertime Mungo Jerry
Uplifting?: United We Stand The brotherhood of Man
Dreck: MacArthurs Park Richard Harris

Radio ain't like that now, you really have to work to get a dose of everything.

Gotta run. I got a cake out & it's beginning to rain.

The "glory" days of radio are over. AM played it all and for those of us with a transistor radio, that was all you got.

I miss the AOR stations from the past. We have a classic rock station here that is closer to AOR classic than any classic station I've ever heard.

[razorbacker]

Rolling Stone Issue 65

Dated September 3, 1970. Mick Jagger on the cover.

Random Notes

The Beatles have closed all their Apple offices in London, laying off all employees. Ringo’s album continues apace in Nashville, George is still diligently working with Phil Spector in London (production was suspended temporarily due to the death of George‘s mother), & now word is that John has about 20 songs ready for his first solo effort, to begin production in a month or two.

Arthur Brown, in a huge bit of weirdness, lit his helmet on fire, & got naked on stage during his performance in Palermo Italy..& hence got arrested & thrown into prison.

A new group has been put together in England. It consists of former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine, Trevor Burton former guitar player for the Move, & Alan White drummer for the Plastic Ono Band. Tentative name…Balls.

Neil Young’s After The Gold Rush is now on the shelves.

While in London, John Kay of Steppenwolf, told Melody Maker magazine that he intends to run for LA city Council.

James Brown has a new single called Get Up. He was waiting backstage in Nashville when the inspiration came to him & he wrote the song on the back of a 14”X 20” poster.

Despite what was reported last issue, it has come to light that Crazy Horse, Nils Lofgrin’s Grin, nor Commander Cody have signed with North Spur Records.

The Dave Clark Five have called it quits.

There was a group in Canada called the Prodigal Sons, with a lead singer named Andy Taylor. The band had to break up because 46 of their entourage was arrested on drug trafficking charges. Andy himself escaped arrest. Turns out, he was an undercover Narc working with the police & turned in all his friends.

The sale of Elektra to Warner Brothers is complete. Elektra joins Atlantic, ATCO, Warner Brothers, Reprise, & Cotillion under the umbrella of Warner Bros. family of labels.

Blues master T. Bone Walker is experiencing some of his bigger success of his career lately. Unfortunately, it is all being put aside while he recovers from a car wreck & a possible case of Tuberculosis.

A new group is selling massive amount of albums without any airplay whatsoever. They are shaking up the entire rock community but especially the Black segment. They go by the name of The Last Poets & their message is rough, violent, profane & their audience is digging it.

Captain Beefheart is back in the studio recording his next, to be called Lick My Decals Off, Baby. It’ll be his last for Zappa’s Straight label as he moves over to Reprise.

There is an interview with Steve Miller. Here are some of the highlights:
He is taking over the management of his business affairs after years of live shows for incredibly low fees ($2,000 per night), & the loss of Royalty fees in the 7 figure range, he plans to do it all himself now.
He is putting together his own recording studio, starting his own production company & plans to give Capitol Records a finished product from now on without their help or hindrance. He claims to have earned $300,000 in the last year, but after expenses he actually brought home $23,000.
His new album is called 5 & it was recorded during breaks from touring when they would go back & forth to Nashville.
He formed his first band at the age of 12 in Texas. They called themselves The Marksmen Combo & even at that early age, the band included Boz Scaggs.
Capitol has already asked him for another album by October.

Ads for groups or albums this issue:

In a bit of symmetry with the Casey Kasem countdowns I have been putting up, RS for the first time is advertising Increase Records “Cruisin, the History of Rock & Roll Radio”. It’s 7 albums, each one dedicated to a specific year, beginning in 1956 & ending in 1962.

Little Richard - The Rill Thing his first for Reprise.

Donovan - Open Road on Epic Records

Canned Heat - Future Blues on Liberty Records

The Doors - Absolutely Live on the Elektra label

Blood Sweat & Tears - 3 on Columbia

Bread - On The Waters…Includes the Hit Single, Make it with You…on Elektra

Steve Miller - Number 5 on Capitol Records

Joe Cocker - Mad Dogs & Englishmen now available on A&M

Three Dog Night - It Ain’t Easy their fourth for Dunhill

Rare Earth - Ecology on Polydor

Cactus - Cactus on ATCO

Savoy Brown - Raw Sienna on London Records

John McLaughlin - Devotion

Uriah Heep - Uriah Heep their breakout album on Mercury

Album Reviews: (Lot’s of great new albums are beginning to appear, the future looks bright)

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmos Factory
It should be obvious that CCR is one great R&R band & Cosmos Factory is just more evidence of that. It’s another damn good album by a group that’s going to be around for a long time…John Grissim

Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die
It’s a good album, careful, well played, occasionally brilliant, but it never breaks it’s vinyl bounds to soar. “Glad” which opens the album, is so perfect, so exquisite, & so dull. Perhaps part of the problem is my high expectations of a Traffic album. Traffic-after all - was a light year jump from Mr. Fantasy, maybe their next will soar again…Jon Carroll

Eric Clapton - Eric Clapton
Bet you didn’t think I knew how to Rock & Roll. Sure I did Eric. And you play a mean guitar too…Ed Ward

Argent - Argent
The Zombies have parted ways. Rod Argent has formed his own band & put out a very nice first album. Since the group was only 6 months old at the time of recording this, their next album should really be something…Tim Moran

Rod Stewart - Gasoline Alley
This album is, for me, merely the second volume in what I hope to be a continually expanding “Collected Works” of a supremely fine artist…Langdon Winner

Jackson 5 - ABC
ABC, is an album, wholly in spirit with the great Jackson singles, two of which, ABC & The Love You Save, are included. The basic limitation of the album has to do of course, with the fact that it’s material is necessarily the kind that can be handled by young voices. I am happy to report that almost all the songs on ABC fills this bill…Arnold Brodsky

Other albums reviewed:

Blood Sweat & Tears 3

Procol Harum - Home

Buddy Miles - Them Changes

The Temptations - Psychedelic Shack

Edgar Winter - Entrance

Singles Reviewed:

There are a whole bunch of singles reviewed this issue, all by Ed Ward…

Slip on Through - The Beach Boys
Not nearly as good a song as the “B” side which is This Whole World

The Green Manalishi - Fleetwood Mac
Why Reprise is pushing a klunker like this is beyond me. It’s another of those heavy things that goes no where.

All Right Now - Free
Good beat, good chorus, good guitar, good melody. A sure FM winner & a AM winner for any station willing to overlook the 4:14 run time.

Mexico - Jefferson Airplane
It’s a rather too specific for airplay ditty about Nixon & Operation Intercept which closes with some unrelated thoughts about Woodstock.

The Witches Promise- Teacher- Inside- A Time For Everything - Jethro Tull
I ain’t much of a Tull fan, but if you like Tull you’ll love these & they aren’t going to be on an album anytime soon.

Lola - The Kinks
The first Kinks single in a long while. Unfortunately it’ll never be a hit because it runs 4:06. It’s subject matter is a bit controversial as well.

Let the Music Take Your Mind - Kool & the Gang
This is a nice instrumental workout & it sure sounds like The Gang had fun making it.

Mule Skinner Blues - Dolly Parton
If this doesn’t bring a smile to your face, then nothing will.

Sugar Mountain - Neil Young
This is a rather obscure Neil Young cut. Five minutes of Neil & his guitar weeping away acoustically.

[norealityhere]

I still have War on my MP3. It has a great beat for exercise and I've always loved the lyrics, of course.

I always wondered if anyone ever understood what MacArthur Park was about? I have never come across anyone who did. I did like the song though.

[myrosiedog]

Well it's too bad about that Kinks song Lola not making it big.

[AJane]

Originally Posted by razorbacker

The thing about AM radio back in the days was that you could turn on your favorite station & hear a bit of everything.

There are some FM stations up here - don't know if they run nation-wide but they're popular in Western Canada - that are playing a wide variety of genres. The station call letters use generic male names, i.e. "JoeFM" or "BobFM". They are pretty good about playing an eclectic mix...for instance, the last five songs played are:

Cake - Short Skirt/Long Jacket
C&C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat
INXS - Disappear
U2 - New Year's Day

Pretty diverse - the last hour included Blur, The Bangles, Madonna, Foo Fighters, Maroon 5...an interesting mix and not just "adult" or "soft" rock.

[razorbacker]

The forth American Top 40 show with Casey Kasem. Aired July 25, 1970

Playing the hits from Boston Harbor to Pearl Harbor, from the Atlantic Coast to the Kona Coast.

40) Check Out Your Mind - The Impressions

39) Do You See My Love - Jr. Walker & The All Stars
This is the last time we would see Jr. Walker on the Pop Charts. The song would get only to #32 & spend only 4 weeks on the chart.

38) 25 or 6 To 4 - Chicago
The groups first foray onto Casey’s countdown, but it is their second single following Make Me Smile. This one would become their first Top 5 peaking at #4.

37) Everybody’s Got a Right To Love - The Supremes
This was the girls second release post Dinah Ross & they weren’t fairing to well. In fact they would see the Top 10 only 1 more time, when Stoned Love went to #7. This one peaked at #21.

36) Mississippi - John Phillips

35) Maybe - The Three Degrees

34) The Sly, Slick & The Wicked - Lost Generation
An R&B Vocal group from Chicago. This was their only hit & it would last only 5 weeks, stopping at #30.

33) Summertime Blues - The Who
Written by Jerry Capehart & Eddie Cochran, the Who’s version would be the 3rd time this song had ventured into the Top 40. Eddie Cochran would go to #8 in 1958. Blue Cheer would go to #14 in 1968, & the Who would eventually ride the song to #27.

32) Love Land - Charles Wright

31) Mississippi Queen - Mountain

30) Get Up (I Feel like Being a) Sex Machine - James Brown
He wrote this on the back of a Concert Poster while waiting to go onstage in Nashville. It would go only to #15. He had not seen the Top 10 since Sept. of 1968 & the streak would continue until 1986 when he got to #4 with his final song, Living In America. ( Can I just add that I never got the whole James Brown thing.)

29) Patches - Clarence Carter
Pure schmaltz from start to finish, but everybody seemed to love it anyway. It stayed on the charts 12 weeks going all the way to #4 becoming the biggest hit in Clarence’s career.

28) Overture from Tommy - The Assembled Multitude
This is an Orchestral piece played by a group from Philadelphia. 16 was as good as it could do.

27) Tell it All Brother - Kenny Rogers & The First Edition

26) Westbound #9 - The Flaming Ember

25) Silver Bird - Mark Lindsay

24) The Wonder of You - Elvis Presley

23) Gimme Dat Ding - The Pipkins

22) In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry

21) Why Can’t I Touch You - Ronnie Dyson

20) A Song Of Joy - Miguel Rios

19) Lay a Little Lovin On Me - Robin McNamara

18) Just Can’t Help Believing - BJ Thomas

17) Ohio - CSN&Y

16) Teach Your Children - CSN&Y

15) Lay Down - Melanie

14) Are You Ready - Pacific Gas & Electric
On this particular show, Casey played the seldom heard extended version of the song.

13) Hitchin a Ride - Vanity Fare

12) War - Edwin Starr

11) Ride Captain Ride- Blues Image

10) O-o-o Child - Five Stairsteps

9) Tighter & Tighter - Alive & Kickin
Casey admitted to this being his favorite song on this countdown.

8) Ball Of Confusion - The Temptations

7) Spill The Wine - Eric Burdon & War

6) The Love You Save - The Jackson 5

5) Signed, Sealed, Delivered - Stevie Wonder

4) Band of Gold - Freda Payne

3) Mama Told Me - Three Dog Night

2) Make it With You - Bread

1) Close To You - The Carpenters

New Songs this week:
39) Do You See My Love - Jr. Walker & The All Stars
38) 25 or 6 To 4 - Chicago
37) Everybody’s Got a Right To Love - The Supremes
34) The Sly, Slick & The Wicked - Lost Generation
33) Summertime Blues - The Who
30) Get Up (I Feel like Being a) Sex Machine - James Brown
29) Patches - Clarence Carter
28) Overture from Tommy - The Assembled Multitude

Songs disappearing this week:
Trying to Make a Fool of Me - The Delfonics
Steal Away - Johnnie Taylor
Go Back - Crabby Appleton
United We Stand - The Brotherhood of Man
Save the Country - The 5th Dimension (written by a really young Laura Nyro)
Get Ready - Rare Earth
My Baby Loves Lovin - White Plains
Long & Winding Road - The Beatles

Biggest Gainer:
12) War - Edwin Starr Up 13 spots

Biggest Loser:
23) Gimme Dat Ding - The Pipkins Lost 10 spots

One Hit Wonders:
36) Mississippi - John Phillips
34) The Sly, Slick & The Wicked - Lost Generation
28) Overture from Tommy - The Assembled Multitude
23) Gimme Dat Ding - The Pipkins
22) In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry
20) A Song Of Joy - Miguel Rios
19) Lay a Little Lovin On ME - Robin McNamara
14) Are You Ready - Pacific Gas & Electric
11) Ride Captain Ride- Blues Image
9) Tighter & Tighter - Alive & Kickin
7) Spill The Wine - Eric Burdon & War

Debut Single:
35) Maybe - The Three Degrees
21) Why Can’t I Touch You - Ronnie Dyson
15) Lay Down - Melanie
4) Band of Gold - Freda Payne
2) Make it With You - Bread
1) Close To You - The Carpenters

Last Single:
39) Do You See My Love - Jr. Walker & The All Stars
29) Patches - Clarence Carter
25) Silver Bird - Mark Lindsay
13) Hitchin a Ride - Vanity Fare

Oldies Played
I’m Walkin - Fats Domino 1957
At the time of this broadcast, Fats had sold 50 million records worldwide. He had 17 Gold Records, but had never had a #1 hit on the Pop Chart…Nor would he ever achieve that.

Can’t Buy Me Love - The Beatles
When Can’t Buy Me Love hit the #1 spot in April 1964, The Beatles would also hold onto spots 2 - 4, making it the first time anyone had ever held all Top 5 spots at the same time.

Gentle on My Mind - Glen Campbell
Glen set a record of sorts. He won the Grammy for Top Country Song in 1967 for Gentle on My Mind. At the same time he also won the Grammy for Best Pop Song for By the Time I Get To Phoenix.

Alley Oop - Hollywood Arglyes
One of the biggest selling novelty songs of all time, it was based on the comic strip character.

Keep Your Feet on the ground & keep reaching for the stars!

[myrosiedog]

Thanks, I had forgotten about Patches and now can't decide if that one or You Light up my Life is the worst song EVER.

[razorbacker]

An interesting factoid about two of the artists on the list above. (I'm all about the trivial)

When Robin McNamara hit the charts with his song Lay a Little Lovin On Me, he was the current lead actor in the Broadway production of Hair & all the background vocals on the song were sung by the cast of the play.

Ronnie Dyson, on the other hand had, at one time, also been in the Broadway production of Hair & the song Age of Aquarius was written especially for him to sing in the play.

[razorbacker]

The fifth American Top 40 show with Casey Kasem. Aired August 1, 1970

Playing the hits from the Atlantic Coast to Waikiki Beach, from Canada to Mexico.

40) Groovy Situation - Gene Chandler
This was to be Genes final foray into the Top 40, but he had been around since 1962 when he saw his first hit go to #1. You might remember Duke Of Earl.

39) Gimme Dat Ding - The Pipkins

38) I Want To Take You Higher -Ike & Tina Turner
This version of the song had been roaming around the Top 100 for 12 weeks before it finally broke into the Top 40. It was previously charted by Sly & The Family Stone, who’s version had dropped out of the Top 40 just a few weeks prior.

37) A Song of Joy - Miguel Rios

36) Do You See My Love (For You Growing) - Jr. Walker & the All Stars

35) Hand Me Down World - The Guess Who
This was the follow up to their one & only #1 hit, American Woman. This one would only go as high as # 17. It was written by Kurt Winter who had joined the band as a replacement for the recently departed Randy Bachman. This was now Burton Cummings’ band.

34) Mississippi Queen - Mountain

33) Silver Bird - Mark Lindsay

32) Everybody’s Got a Right To Love - The Supremes

31) The Sly, Slick, & The Wicked - The Lost Generation

30) Big Yellow Taxi - The Neighborhood
The song was written by Joni Mitchell who would eventually record it herself & have a hit with it 5 years later. This version would stay on the charts only 4 weeks & peak at #29.

29) Maybe - The Three Degrees

28) Summertime Blues - The Who

27) 25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago

26) Ride Captain Ride - Blues Image

25) Overture from Tommy - The Assembled Multitude.

24) Patches - Clarence Carter

23) Westbound #9 - The Flying Ember

22) Tell It All Brother - Kenny Rogers & The First Edition

21) Teach Your Children - CSN&Y

20) Lay Down (Candles in the Wind) - Melanie

19) Hitchin a Ride - Vanity Fare

18) Are You Ready - Pacific Gas & Electric

17) Lay a Little Lovin On Me - Robin McNamara

16) Why Can’t I Touch You - Ronnie Dyson

15) Get Up (I Feel Like Being a ) Sex Machine - James Brown

14) Ohio - CSN&Y

13) I Just Can’t Help Believing - BJ Thomas

12) In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry

11) War - Edwin Starr

10) O-o-o Child - The Five Stairsteps

9) Ball of Confusion - The Temptations

8) The Love You Save - The Jackson Five

7) Tighter & Tighter - Alive & Kickin

6) Mama Told Me ( Not to come) - Three Dog Night

5) Band of Gold - Freda Payne

4) Spill the Wine - Eric Burdon & The Animals

3) Signed, Sealed, Delivered - Stevie Wonder

2) Make it With You - Bread

1) Close to You - The Carpenters


New Songs this week:
40) Groovy Situation - Gene Chandler
38) I Want To Take You Higher _ Ike & Tina Turner
35) Hand Me Down World - The Guess Who
30) Big Yellow Taxi - The Neighborhood

Songs disappearing this week:
Check Out Your Mind - The Impressions
Mississippi - John Phillips
Love Land - Charles Wright
The Wonder of You - Elvis Presley


Biggest Gainer:
15) Get Up (I Feel Like Being a ) Sex Machine - James Brown up 15 spots
This was the peak for this song & it took only 2 weeks to get there.

Biggest Loser:
37) A Song of Joy - Miguel Rios lost 17 spots

One Hit Wonders:
37) A Song of Joy - Miguel Rios
34) Mississippi Queen - Mountain
31) The Sly, Slick, & The Wicked - The Lost Generation
30) Big Yellow Taxi - The Neighborhood
26) Ride Captain Ride - Blues Image
25) Overture from Tommy - The Assembled Multitude
18) Are You Ready - Pacific Gas & Electric
17) Lay a Little Lovin On Me - Robin McNamara
12) In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry
10) O-o-o Child - The Five Stairsteps
7) Tighter & Tighter - Alive & Kickin
4) Spill the Wine - Eric Burdon & The Animals

Debut Single:
29) Maybe - The Three Degrees
20) Lay Down (Candles in the Wind) - Melanie
16) Why Can’t I Touch You - Ronnie Dyson
5) Band of Gold - Freda Payne
2) Make it With You - Bread
1) Close to You - The Carpenters

Last Single:
40) Groovy Situation - Gene Chandler
36) Do You See My Love (For You Growing) - Jr. Walker & the All Stars
33) Silver Bird - Mark Lindsay
24) Patches - Clarence Carter
19) Hitchin a Ride - Vanity Fare

Oldies Played
At the time this show aired the Motown label had seen 23 of their songs go all the way to the #1 spot. This was the very first one from Oct. 1961.
Please Mr. Postman - The Marvelettes

The song with the longest title to ever chart in the Top 40, this song was #1 10 years ago today.
Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini - Brian Hyland

Usually a single will cost between $500- $5,000 to produce. This song is reportedly the most costly single ever, coming in at $50,000. That is normally the cost to produce an entire album. It hit #1 in 1966.
Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys

This man was the youngest of an all brothers singing group & he even provided the singing voice for Lauren Bacall in the movie To Have & Have Not. The song would peak at #2 in 1963.
Can’t Get Used to Losing You - Andy Williams



Even though some would call his music square, the most successful accordion player ever would have a hit well into the Rock & Roll era as this song would spend 2 weeks at #1 in 1960.
Calcutta - Lawrence Welk


Keep Your Feet on the ground & keep reaching for the stars!