Time Machine week 23

I wondered, as I flipped aimlessly around the TV last night, is Thursday always this devoid of anything good to watch?  This morning on our walk, it hit me- I was supposed to be getting Time Machine ready and scheduled last night! D'oh!  So today you get a live version, and at this point as I type (8:15 AM), I have just ONE thing ready- but at least its pretty cool.  So no teaser today, sorry!

Just to get you in the mood of July 6th, 1970, I did my usual look around for what happened that day- but most of my sources listed stuff that, upon investigation, either happened much earlier in the year, or not for a couple of weeks.  Not sure why it is that when you google July 6, 1970, you get answers like "What happened on July 10th (or 12th), 1970", but whatever.  Here's one tidbit- the Manson family trial begins in 9 short days.  Here's another: the annual convention of the Universal Unitarian Church passed a resolution recommending that the war in Vietnam be PRIVATIZED, and mercenaries be hired to replace US troops.  Chew on that one for a moment, folks.

I counted ten debuts on the hot 100 this week, and noted two of them as something I know.  The Who's version of Summertime Blues comes in at #80.  And speaking of Vietnam, the coming-home song Yellow River by Christie comes in at 89. Christie had nothing to do with Lou Christie; instead, it was an Englishman named Jeff Christie who ran the outfit.  This song he offered to, of all people, the Tremeloes, who hadn't scored a hit in the states since 1968 (although they were much bigger in the UK, scoring 11 top tens).  The Trems did a backing track, then bailed on it and gave it back to Jeff, and the rest will be history.

That brings us to birthday song time!  Turning 30 this week. we have the aptly-timed Vacation by the Go-Gos; a hit by Kenny Rogers you may just have forgotten about, Love Will Turn You Around; and the late Laura Brannigan's semi-operatic hit Gloria.  Reaching 35 years old this week, Fleetwood Mac's Don't Stop (that's right, it did NOT spring full-blown from the mind of Bill Clinton in 1996); Bob Seger's Rock'n'Roll Never Forgets; Heatwave's Boogie Nights; and another little gem you might not remember- BJ Thomas' wonderful cover of the Beach Boys' Don't Worry Baby (with less cars and more romance).  Turning 40 this week, we have the Carpenters' Goodbye To Love; the Stones (with Keith Richards' first lead vocal), and Happy; Eric Carmen and the Raspberries' Go All The Way; the O'Jays with Backstabbers; and Everybody Plays The Fool by the Main Ingredient.  One of my favorites turns 45- Bobby Vee and the Strangers with Come Back When You Grow Up. Turning 55 is another of my all-timers- Debbie Reynolds and Tammy.  And finally, turning 60 this week is poor old Johnny Ray, backed by the Four Lads, with Cry.  Blow out the candles...

The big dropper this week is Tommy James' former WATN featuree- Come To Me, dropping 29 spots to #65.  The big mover- in fact, the four biggest movers- are in the top forty.  Speaking of the Where Are They Now feature, this week's victim, on it's way down from the top ten and pausing this week at 50- is CCR's Up Around The Bend.
CCR was all about the talent- and unfortunately, the ego- of John Fogarty.  While the ego broke up what was for a short time "the best band in the world" (according to Melody Maker magazine), the talent has carried him on, and in October he is expected to release an album called Wrote A Song For Everyone, with old songs redone with new friends, such as: the Foo Fighters on Fortunate Son; Bob Seger on Who'll Stop The Rain; Kid Rock on Born On The Bayou; and Alan Jackson on Have You Ever Seen The Rain. 
Brother Tom died in 1990 from blood-transfusion-acquired AIDS complications. Stu Cook and Doug "Cosmo" Clifford kept in touch, and still perform the old hits as Creedence Clearwater Revisited  (despite an injunction by John that was lost in court).  Though John has hinted in later years that he wouldn't be all that adverse to a reunion someday, these two have a different take on things:
 "...Cook and Clifford both stated in the February 2012 edition of Uncut Magazine that they aren't interested in a CCR reunion. "Leopards don't change their spots. This is just an image-polishing exercise by John. My phone certainly hasn't rung," Cook said. Added Clifford: "It might have been a nice idea 20 years ago, but it's too late."


Looking through a raft of Almost But Not Quite notations, I see Tony Burrows and the Brotherhood Of Man are spending the first of 3 weeks they will be at their peak of #13 with United We Stand; the Moody Blues are stalled at 19 with Question; and in one of the most amazingly low peaks for something I thought went much (ironically) higher, The Family Stone slides from 40 to 41 with (I Want To Take You) Higher.  Ike and Tina also see their version drop, from a peak of 66 to 84 this week.  Speaking of songs with 2 versions on the chart, remember a few weeks back when I noted that both the Fortunes and a one-hit-wonder bunch called Pickettywitch had hit with a song called That Same Old Feeling?  The Fortunes begin the road down, dropping from 59 to 74.  PW is still climbing, though, up 4 spots to 47. 


We got seven debuts to the top 40 this week, and as I said, they include the four fastest climbing songs in our countdown!  John Phillips is not one of those, but the former leader of the Mamas and the Papas comes in at 40, up 6, with Mississippi.  The fourth-fastest mover this week, up 25 spots to #39, is Bread with Make It With You.  Then comes a would-be WATN from a few weeks back, Marvin Gaye's The End Of Our Road, up 3 to 38.  Alive And Kicking takes the Tommy James composition Tighter, Tighter up 12 to #31.  Our third-fastest mover this week is Crosby Stills Nash and Young's Ohio, up 31 spots to 24.  Stevie Wonder claims second fastest, moving 35 spots to #23 with Signed Sealed, Delivered, I'm DiGiornos Yours.  And the highest and fastest debut flying from 56 to #18 this week, The Carpenters and (They Want To Be) Close To You.  WOW!

Two songs come in to the top ten, two fall out- one of which will lead us to that special feature I mentioned.  The one that doesn't is My Baby Loves Lovin', falling from 10 to 12.  The other, dropping from 7 to 11, is a song that was kept out of the top dog spot by the Beatles' The Long And Winding Road- Which Way You Going, Billy? 

This got me thinking, how many songs DID the Beatles keep from hitting #1?  On the Cashbox charts, I found 12- and two of those were also Beatles songs!  Leslie Gore's You Don't Own Me was stopped two weeks by I Want To Hold Your Hand, and a third when She Loves You passed her into second.  The Four Seasons' Dawn (Go Away)  got caught up in this logjam as well, spending three weeks behind those two, plus two more trailing those two PLUS Please Please Me and Twist And Shout.  Please Please Me also fell victim to the numbers game, spending the one week at third behind She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand, and another in fourth when Twist And Shout passed it.  Our fourth victim was Bobby Vinton's Mr. Lonely, spending one of its 2 weeks at #2 behind I Feel Fine.  The Temptations are #5, spending one of their weeks at #2 behind Eight Days A Week.  Eight Days also kept out our next victim, The Birds And The Bees by Jewel Akems.  James Brown was kept out one week by the Beatles when I Got You couldn't clear We Can Work It Out.  Hey Jude claimed our next victim; The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown's Fire.  Get Back held off Mercy's Love Can Make You Happy for three weeks, and CCR's Bad Moon Rising for another.  Come Together actually held off its own b-side, Something.  And Which Way You Going Billy? makes it an even dozen.

Elvis creeps up one notch into the top ten with The Wonder Of You.
Freda Payne's Band Of Gold leaps up 9 spots to #9 this week.
The aforementioned Beatles slip to 8th, down 5, with The Long And Winding Road.
Rare Earth drops from 2 to #7 with Get Ready.  And that brings us to the six degrees victim.

Vanity Faire falls from 4 to 6 with Hitchin' A Ride.  Hitchin' was written by veteran songwriters Mitch Murray and Pete Callander.  Mitch was the guy that wrote How Do You Do It? for George Martin to be the Beatles first big single, but they didn't like it and it became the first big hit for Gerry and the Pacemakers instead.  Years later, he teamed with Pete on a succession of big hits, and launched the career of British act Paper Lace.  We here in the US of A know them for The Night Chicago Died; but they were first known in the UK for the Murray-Callander song Billy Don't Be A Hero.  This was their big hit in the UK, but it got overrode here by the cover by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods.  The Heywoods' other hit here was Who Do You Think You Are (AKA the first single I ever bought), which had been written by Clive Scott and Des Dyer, the leaders of the group Jigsaw.  You know Jigsaw from the big hit Sky High, which was even bigger in Japan than here. In fact, it is still at #13 on Japan's all time foreign language list, tucked neatly between the Carpenters' Yesterday Once More and the Beatles' Let It Be (which had to be re-released in 1980 to get here).

Jigsaw performing in Japan, 1976.

Blues Image moves from 8 to #5 this week with Ride Captain Ride.
Melanie and friends climb 2 more to #4 with Lay Down (Candles In The Rain).
The Temps move up 6 big notches with Ball Of Confusion, landing at #3.
Three Dog Night march up 3 to the runner-up spot with Mama Told Me (Not To Come).
ANNNNNND.... #1 for a second straight week-

The Jackson Five with The Love You Save!!!

After last week I'm hesitant to say this, but tune in tomorrow for what I hope will be the eighties countdown!  Gday, Y'all!