The day is November 2nd, 1970. Tonight the expansion NBA team the Cleveland Cavaliers will set an NBA record. They have openned the season 0-10, a tally that will go to 0-15 before they finally win. But tonight in Philadelphia, they became the recipient of the biggest can ever opened on a team in league history, 141-87. Seven Philly players including Billy Cunningham hit double figures, including one guy (Bud Ogden) who would only average 2.4 points a game for the year! The team would follow up a 15-game losing streak with streaks of 12 (which put them at 1-27), 9, and 7 (twice) to finish at 15-67. Ironically, the Cavs broke that record in 1991 with a 148-80 rout of Miami- which in turn was ironic because it was losing LeBron James to Miami last year that sent them on a league-record 26 game losing streak. Funny business, basketball.
Welcome to Time Machine, and don't say you didn't have your chance. Nobody sent in any suggestions for the Martin Hall Of Fame, so you have to put up with my picks for the MHOF class #4. Also this week, see if you have an Elephant's Memory, The Three Little Fishies make an appearance, and a certain slowpoke song finally joins us in the top forty. So, away we go...
First category up is the top names. Joining the list are three acts.
With 11 top 40 hits, seven of them top ten, including the #1s A Horse With No Name and Sister Golden Hair- America!
and with 11 top 40s, five of them in the top ten, and a pair of #1s neither of which was their most famous hit, Bohemian Rhapsody- Queen!
This week, we have 12 songs debut in the hot 100, but only one of them gets mentioned today, the one at #95. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with the classic Mr. Bojangles. Also light this week are our birthday songs- again- with but 5 of them, all turning 30 this week. They would be: Supertramp's It's Raining Again; Don Henley's Dirty Laundry; Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing; Toto's Africa; and Peter Gabriel's Shock The Monkey. Blow out the candles...
Next category is the top guys. Again, I am adding three. With 14 top 40s, 6 of them top tens, and the #1 Take Good Care Of My Baby- Bobby Vee!
With a smaller list of 6 top 40s, 2 top tens- but the big #1 American Pie- Don McLean!
And with 12 top fortys (but 82 on the country chart, with 12 #1s)- Johnny Cash!
Our big movers this week- and for a change, they don't include the Partridge Family! - are on the upside, the Guess Who, who move up 25 spots to 52 with Share The Land; and falling 25 to #61, Anne Murray with Snowbird.
The really good ladies are a bit harder to find. So with 6 top fortys and the #1 Killing Me Softly- Roberta Flack!
At # 50 this week- and our Where Are They Now victim- is a group you've probably heard, but don't know by name. They are Elephant's Memory, and they are at #50 with their biggest hit on their own, called Mongoose. EM was an ever-changing Greenwich Village group, led by sax man Stan Bronstein and drummer Rick Franks, Jr. Formed in 1967-8, they boasted a ranged of musicians over their short career- including for a short time, Carly Simon as vocalist. In '69, they gained some fame with their songs Jungle Gym At The Zoo and Old Man Willow on the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack. But their real fame came when John Lennon and Yoko Ono moved to GV and needed a backup band for some concert dates. They picked the local boys (who became the "Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band" in concert), and they ended up being his band for the 1972 lp Sometime In New York City, which featured the infamously-named Woman Is The Nigger Of The World. The band kind of drifted into obscurity by 1975. I was unable to get anything about Franks, But Bronstein is in a bad way, nearly destitute and suffering from brain and lung cancer which has left him nearly incapacitated. He is being aided by a musician's help group called Sweet Relief Mucicians Fund, and if you are interested in helping, you can reach them at sweetrelief.org.
Next up is the not quite rock'roll category, and I have a couple of biggies to add here. With 229 top fortys (not a typo), 154 top tens, and 30 #1s- most famously White Christmas- Bing Crosby!
Our look back feature this week throws its spotlight on the Hal Kemp Orchestra. Kemp started out with a UNC college band, the Carolina Club Band, from 1924-27. He turned over the reins to classmate Kay Kaiser then to go pro. From 1930-41 he charted 58 top 40s, 29 top tens, and 4 #1s including 1937s This Years Kisses. This band was a classic case of turning a liability into a strength. Vocalist Skinnay Ennis had problems carrying a note, so arranger JS Trotter overcame that by having him shorten the note, and filling the space with a stattacco muted trumpet that according to Johnny Mercer sounded "like a typewriter", giving them a sound unique. The song they might be best known for came their way in 1939 when Kaiser (who had long since went pro and will be no doubt a lookback feature himself) came up with his #1 The Three Little Fishies. Kemp's band recorded it as well and took it to #5.
In December of 1940, Kemp was seriously injured in a car accident. In the hospital he quickly developed pneumonia, and died two days later at the age of 36.
Next up is the Chris's favorites category. With 5 top 40s and 2 top tens- one of which, A Long December, you'll usually find on my New Year's Morning posts- Counting Crows!
And with 3 big top 40s, 2 of them top 10s, including Georgy Girl- The Seekers!
Four new top 40s to tell you about today. Kenny Rogers and the First Edition hit at #40, up 12, with Heed The Call. Yellow River finally makes it's top 40 appearance after 18 trudging weeks in the hot 100, moving from 50 to 39. Elvis moves up 17 to #34 with his excellent cover of You Don't Have To Say You Love Me. And at 32, up 10 spots, is Bryan Hyland with Gypsy Woman.
Our last category is the golden oldies, and with 33 top 40s, 11 top tens, and 3 #1s, including I Can't Stop Loving You- Ray Charles!
And there you have them- the class of Fall 2012!
Only one song joins the top 40, so only one falls- and that is Out In The Country, dropping from 9 to 25. Also, an almost but not quite shoutout to El Condor Pasa, which peaked at 11 last week for Simon and Garfunkel, and slips to 14 this time around.
No six degrees this week, due to the MHOF and the fact that the only dropper in the top ten was the one we featured last week!
The New Seekers hold at 10 with Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma.
100 Proof Aged In Soul, a Motown quartet who featured Joe Stubbs, brother of the Four Tops' Levi Stubbs, comes from 14 to 9 with Somebody's Been Sleeping.
The Kinks remain at 8 for a second week with Lola.
Cracklin' Rosie slips from 3 to 7 this time around.
James Taylor moves up one- as do the next three songs- to #6 with Fire And Rain.
Sugarloaf moves to #5 with Green Eyed Lady.
R Dean Taylor is at 4 with Indiana Wants Me.
And the last song to actually move is All Right Now, from 4 to 3 for Free.
The runner up again this week is the Carpenters' We've Only Just Begun.
And spending their second week at #1- the Jackson 5 with I'll Be There!!!
But... rules is rules and you don't get yer picture posted for week #2. Come back next week for more musical fun!
CWM:
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda glad I didn't suggest any inductees into the MHOF...you seemed to have grabbed the best of the bunch (imho).
Can't say I'd have chosen ANY better.
Knew about Kay Kaiser (growing up), but never even heard of Hal Kemp (if my folks were alive, they probably WOULD have).
ALways watch White Christmas each year...tradition that goes back decades.
And a holiday without Nat Cole is a holiday not worth celebrating (again, imho).
R. Dean Taylor...LOVE THAT song! (used to have the 45...probably not any more)
My buddy and I used to sing that as we tooled around in his car...both of us never knew I'd wind UP in Indiana...
(which doesn't seem to want me after all...LOL)
Excellent ride this week
(hurricanes not withstanding)
Keep on Rockin', Boss!
(and rock safe up there)
I stayed away from the hurricane due to my time constraints- and as glad I did, as you did a marvelous job on it! BTW, I don't think it's Indiana that doesn't want you... although there are certain dark elements that always want to drive off men of character.
DeleteCan't argue with the NKC sentiment... though I was always more an Andy Williams guy, as you know.
Kay Kaiser will probably be next week. The fun of doing the lookback is learning about these guys' interesting lives, and listening to their tunes.
You do like to make me feel my age at times......notice I didn't say you make me feel old because I don't feel old just sometimes you make me realise I am turning 50..........lol
ReplyDelete50? Hah! Beat you there!
Delete