What is it about nice people that attract total idiots?Nice people are martyrs. Idiots are evangelists.

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Friday, July 10, 2015

Time Machine week 32



This week we go back to the ho-hum normalcy on Ti... Hey, waitaminit!  We're going back to 1966!  The sixties, dude!  And today, Martin Luther King is in Chicago, addressing a crowd variously described at 35-45,000 at Soldier Field.  The message is a broadside against housing discrimination, and the pivot point was:

We must not wait for President Johnson to free us.  We must not wait for the Supreme Court and Congress to free us.  We must not wait for Mayor Daley to free us...'the battle am in our hands' ."

He then marched to city hall where he posted a list of demands to real estate agents, financial institutions, the Mayor and others, for the removal of discrimination in housing, hiring, and wages.




Meanwhile on Time Machine, the shuffle ten returns...and half of it are album cuts!  Also, the summer 100 returns, with those who had multiple hits on the countdown; the tightest race bar none in panel history; a nutty anomaly on the Cashbox countdown; a much younger Bottom's Up than Last week, and a six degrees that starts with...


DR. ROBOTNIK!!!


A sonic of a different sort there, eh?  Climb in the musical Tardis and let's go!


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This week's groovy panel features for the first time not one, but TWO hoosier stations!  WBOW from Terre Haute (trust me, it's in Indiana), and WJOB Hammond (an ironic name for a station in a city currently with 7.0 unemployment).  Also this week we have WNWC Arlington Heights/Chicago; WTRX Flint MI; KNUZ Houston; WOKY Milwaukee; KJR Seattle; Our old pals WSGN Birmingham; WAKR Akron OH; KYNO Fresno; WLOB Portland ME; and KFWB Los Angeles.  And they put on a show the likes of which the panel has never seen before!  Each of the top three had a number one from the last three stations I checked; and for the first time there was a flat footed tie for second, with 27 points and two number ones!  Their votes included one for the Cryan Shames with a really good forgotten tune, Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice- which was a week away from cracking the national chart at #121; and the first chart hit for the Grass Roots, Where Were You When I Needed You.

Another oddity in the panel songs was a song we had in a recent story, Younger Girl by the Hondells.  Despite only being at #38 on Cashbox (its peak, while on Billboard it stopped at #52), it was at #5 in Terre Haute... but in Milwaukee, it was another version, by the Critters (known for Mr. Dieingly Sad) was at #5!  The second version peaked this week at 21 on Cashbox, but only 42 on Billboard.  There wasn't a whole lot of difference in the two, which means two good tunes divided but did not conquer.

Oh, and the number ones that didn't make the panel four:  Tommy Roe's Sweet Pea was tops in Seattle, The Platters' I Love You 1,000 Times topped Birmingham, and The Cyrkle's Red Rubber Ball was capital in the rubber capital of the world, Akron.

So anyway, onto the panel's dogfight.

At #4, with the number one from Fresno, it's the nation's #2 song, the Beatles with Paperback Writer.

One half of the second place tie, with the #1s of Terre Haute and Portland, is the nation's #1, Tommy James and the Shondells with Hanky Panky.

The other half of the tie, with the number ones of Arlington Heights and Hammond, the Troggs with Wild Thing, the nation's #7.

And if you think that's an odd selection, wait till I let you in on the (just barely) number one song on the panel list, and I'm going to let you in on it JUST a little early....

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But first, I had a slew of good candidates for unknown songs, but the winner is the #3 in Terre Haute, which in true Indiana tradition had dropped off the chart nationally at #56 a week ago.  The band in question was called Dee Jay and the Runaways, from "Spirit Lake in the state's Northwest corner".  And the band prolly should have went with the spelling Dee, Jay, and the Runaways, as the "Dee" was drummer Denny Storey, and the "Jay" was bass player John Senn.  Senn was the one who put together a investor group to build a state of the art studio in the state (in Milford), and their one big hit wonder, childrens-story-themed single came from it:







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This was certainly a week for unusual songs, and something I noticed in researching the Bottom's Up sure fits the bill.  You see, four weeks ago, Johnny Cash entered the charts with a tune called Everybody Loves A Nut:

Everybody loves a nut
The whole world loves a weirdo
Brains are in a rut
But everybody loves a nut...

Along comes a dude named Leroy Pullins, a fella trying to sound like Roger Miller and whose only known biographical info comes from the liner of one of his two albums.  Anyway, he seemed to be replying on the chart to Johnny with his one hit wonder- I'm A Nut!


I'm A Nut, I'm A Nut
My life don't ever get in a rut
Woot-woot-woot-woot
The head on my shoulders is sorta loose
and I ain't got sense God gave a goose
and I ain't crazy -but- I'm a Nut...


Johnny sat at 70 this week, while Pullins was at 77.


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And while we're on the subject, let's go Bottom's Up!



10- Bob Dylan comes in here with I Want You, at 45 after 2 weeks.

9- The first of our three debuts comes from a band shortly to star in our summer 100 feature- the Rolling Stones, coming in at 46 with Mother's Little Helper.

8- Here comes irony- a song done by one guy on the shuffle ten shows up here by someone else!  I'll hold the info until we hit the shuffle, just to build up the suspense.

7- Bobby Hebb's Sunny is at 54 after 5 weeks.

6- Neil Diamond claims this spot, at 60 after 9 weeks with Solitary Man, in its first try at the top 40- but it wouldn't make it until it's re-release in 1970.

5- A song I fell in love with when I first heard it during my "One Hit Wonders' Next Hit" feature a while back, the Ides Of March with You Wouldn't Listen, at 61 after five weeks.

4- Manfred Mann's Pretty Flamingo sits at 68 after 2 weeks.

3- The Lettermen are at #82 after three weeks with Only Have Eyes For You.

2- Our second debut comes in at #71 this week- the Loving Spoonful with Summer In The City.

And the top bottom?




...The Happenings with See You In September, debuting at #88!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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So it's time to let you in on another dozen songs from the summer 100!  There were a lot of acts with multiple hits on the countdown, but none more than the Rolling Stones.  They were the kings of summer, with FIVE hits in the countdown!  They put Jumping Jack Flash at #48; Honky Tonk Women 35; Paint It, Black, at #26; Miss You at #11... and one more in the top ten!  The Beatles couldn't match this- they managed just A Hard Day's Night at #28 and Get Back at #76.  Elvis couldn't do it; his lone score was In The Ghetto at #80.  The Beach Boys, ditto; they landed I Get Around at 22.

Three other bands that we haven't yet gotten to hit twice each.  Three Dog Night hit with One at #74 and Shambala at #85.  The Rascals, Young or otherwise, hit with Groovin' at #29, and People Got To Be Free at #56.  And the third has one of their two hits at the panel's number one slot- and I bet you wouldn't guess who it is in a million years!  So here, with the early panel #1...




Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs with Lil' Red Riding Hood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week's panel #1 sits at 66 on the summer 100, while Wooly Bully lays at 99.

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And now, it's time to play a little Sonic the Hedgehog....




On the cartoon Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Robotnik was voiced by one Long John Baldry, who played in the 60's with a few great up and comers.  In 1965-6, he was in a band called Bluesology, along with a young piano player named Reginald Dwight.  Dwight wrote their hit UK single Let The Heartaches Begin, and went on to become famous as...



...yep, Elton John.  Before that, he was in a band called Steampacket, whose vocalist was a young Rod Stewart.  Another member of that band was a keyboardist who became famous as a jazz artist and session man named Brian Auger.  Brian lent the harpsichord to the Yardbird's track For Your Love.  It was a harpsichord, because after they called him in, they found that their recording studio didn't have a keyboard, a piano, anything for him to play- except an old harpsichord.

Anywho, the 'Birds had a manager named Simon Napier-Bell, who co-wrote the English lyrics to a song first featured at the San Remo music festival, a song that sat at #5 this week on the Cashbox chart but got no love from the panel- Dusty Springfield's You Don't Have To Say You Love Me.


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And now, the return of the shuffle ten!

One of my all timers at our 10 spot, Henry Gross's Shannon.  It was #6 in '76.

Jackson Browne places his second S10 at our 9 spot, after placing it at #13 in 1983- Lawyers In Love.

And now, the song that hit both the Bottom's Up and the shuffle ten, by different artists.  On the BU, Jack Jones hit the top 40, landing this week at 48 in its 6th week.  Here, Andy Williams recorded it on the lp of the same name in 1971.  That song, at our 8 spot, is The Impossible Dream (The Quest).

Our second of five album cuts comes from the cult classic Odyssey And Oracle by the Zombies from 1968.  The cut is called Beachwood Park, and lands in the 7 spot.





Jethro Tull hits their second S10 from 1971s Aqualung.  The tune, a compliment to the title cut, was Cross-Eyed Mary, and lands at our 6 spot.

Laughing in the playground -- gets no kicks from little boys:
would rather make it with a letching grey.
Or maybe her attention is drawn by Aqualung,
who watches through the railings as they play.


A "letching gray", BTW is British for "dirty old man".  Personally, I'm among those that thought it said the little boys would rather make it with electric trains.  Learn something new every day.


Neil Young hits his fourth S10 with the hit Old Man from 1972, which made it to #31 here but was top five in Canada.  And so it is here, landing in spot 5.

Paul Revere and the Raiders' 1966 hit Good Thing is next.  #4 then, #4 now.

Alan Parsons Project's great 1980 lp The Turn Of A Friendly Card leads off with an instrumental called The Gold Bug.  It buzzes into the #3 slot, giving them 3 S10s.

Bob Dylan has now been in the Shuffle Ten twice, and both times from his 1981 CC album Shot Of Love.  This week, the title cut- which made #38 on the mainstream rock chart- is our runner up.

And with the panel number one already taken care of, that brings us to our Shuffle number one, and the S10's first appearance for Flogging Molly!  From 2004:






Well, that oughtta get yer blood up!  Next week, the second to last summer 100 post (in other words, everyone that's left except the top ten), and we travel to... 1962!

12 comments:

  1. Hi, Chris! Better decade! :) I often point to 1966 as the greatest year of my life and many of these songs are favorites. "Sweet Pea," "Red Rubber Ball," "Hanky Panky," "Paperback Writer," "Wild Thing" "Sunny," "Lil Red Riding Hood" and "Good Thing" were all jukebox hits at the Shady Dell.

    I loved the Cryan Shames and I regard "Where Were You When I Needed You" and "Let's Live For Today" as the two best recordings by The Grass Roots.

    I never heard "Younger Girl" by the Hondells. I just listened to it on YouTube and didn't like it nearly as much as the versions by John Sebastian's Lovin' Spoonful and by The Critters. To my ears The Critters recording is much closer to the Spoonful version than the Hondells version. Of the three, The Critters' waxing of "Younger Girl" is my Pick To Click.

    I am very familiar with "Peter Rabbit." As I told you on my blog, I own a couple of salvaged episodes of Where The Action Is, and this rarity by Dee Jay & The Runaways is on one of those reels:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB0oxXN8cFk

    Thanks, Chris, and have a great weekend!

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    1. I'll have to check out the Spoonful version. This song to me is a lot like I Can't Find The Time, I like no matter who does it. Let's live for today def does more for me than Where were you. I don't know as 1966 was the greatest year of MY life, as I was 4, but certainly it and 1975 hold my favorite music.

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  2. I am HUGE fan on Johnny Cash and honestly not sure if I've ever heard the Nut song. I am going to youtube right after I comment.
    My mom had the Allan parsons project album "Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe". As a kid it made huge impact on me and I learned about Poe thru these songs. I now have the CD and I still love it. The Raven is my favorite but the whole album is just so cool!

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    1. I just listened to the Nut songs myself, and while Johnny sings his better, the best line was on Leroys: "I didn't set the forest on fire while I was there, but remember only forest fires prevent bears..."

      Your APP lp is the one with the System Of Dr Tar and Prof. Feather, right? Have to investigate further...

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  3. I Love You 1,000 times?
    SOMEone's gonna get sore.

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    1. Never gave a time period... perhaps spread out over a week or two...

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  4. 1966! Yeah, I get to go to second grade!!

    Great, great post - but you made me go watch Neil Diamond sing "Solitary Man" again, which started a huge run of YouTube videos of Neil and a dollop of "Paperback Writer" from the Beatles.

    I may have ADD.

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    1. And as music grows into joy, I'm glad I could take you there. Next week is 1962, and my answer for "Where were you in '62?" is "Likely in a bassonette."

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  5. The year of my birth was a great one. Woohoo. Martin Luther King, Bob Dylan, Elton John in a duck costume...it doesn't get better. Roland posted about Dylan too. Bob Dylan was booed off the stage a few times in his earlier years as an artist. This gives me even more respect for him.

    Have a great weekend, Chris.

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  6. Chris:
    Wow..."Mr DIeingly Sad"...haven't heard THAT song in a VERY long time.
    (not bad at all,. either..seemed that was once a "theme song" of mine several lifetimes ago)

    I can see Paperback Writer & Wild Thing going "head-to-head".

    Gotta say that PETER RABBIT does have a catchy tune to it.
    (don't remember it AT ALL)

    Can't recall EITHER of those "nut" song, either.

    Interesting that Diamond's SOLITARY MAN got a "second wind" and did better four years later.

    And SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER...a favorite song form the old "high school" days for me.

    Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs...just TRY and create a band TODAY with that name (and look)...I miss those NON-PC days...lol.

    That was a great six-degrees (aka Sonic ) I remember Brian Auger.

    The Impossible Dream - yes, BOTH Jones and Williams did that song some SERIOUS justice.

    Aqualung...great Tull tune.

    Have to say that Flogging Molly song DOES put the fire in the belly.
    (heckuva toe-tapper...and good diction by the singer)

    Very good ride this week...better than ANY "E" ticket.

    Keep those hits comin' up there, brother.

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    1. Glad you liked FM. KC introduced me a while back with their lp "Within A Mile Of Home". Do a great song on it with Lucinda Williams called Factory Girls, and a fun video for Seven Deadly Sins.

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