Time machine week 109

Today is February 28th, 1972.  While Nixon and the "Chi-Coms" were issuing their "joint communique" and a band of Japanese communists were being forced out of their ski-lodge hidey hole with a wrecking ball and baseball pitching machines throwing rocks (look up "Asama-Sanso incident" if curious), George Harrison, just two days after getting his driver's license back (which he lost for a year for running up a cop's legs) goes for a 90 MPH drive- down a stretch of road under construction, during a blackout- and runs his car into a light pole in the middle of a spanking-new roundabout.  His passenger, former TM Beauty Contest winner Patti Boyd- ended up with a concussion and bruised ribs, while George had to get his head sewed up.  He ended up losing the license again, and fined £20 (he got £35 plus ten in costs the first time).

Baby you can crash my car...

Welcome to this week's slightly addled Time Machine, as I continue to shake off a round of sinus rebellion.  This week might be a bit skimpier than usual, but fortunately I came up with a double-special feature this week before the Green Death settled in.  Plus, yet more unusual places to find the Beatles (other than wrapped around light poles), and the continuing effects of Bloody Sunday.  So put on your anti-germ mask of choice and let's go!

Time Machine?  That's worse than Mucineeeeeeeexxxxx....

As I recall ( no mean feat today), we start with the tops of charts around the world.  We do have some interesting changes on the international scene this week.  South Africa has moved on to Brand New Key, along with the flip side Some Say I Got Devil ( a neat song on its own).   France has elevated one Gerard Lenorman, a French star of the seventies and early 80's, and his song De Toi ("It").  He was the Eurovision French contestant in 1988, and is still active, I gather.  One of these days I'm going to do a Eurovision Contest bit...

In Germany, a German by the name of Tony Marshall ( originally Herbert Bloeth) hits with the familiar double-sided hit Komm, Gib Mir Deinne Hand/Sie Liebt Dich.  What?  Not familiar to you?  The Beatles released these two songs in German in 1962, and Sie Liebt Dich hit #97 on the US charts in 1964.  Still confused?  Well, the Fab Four had bigger hits in 1964 with the English-language versions- I Want To Hold Your Hand and She Loves You.

Finally, in Ireland, the Bloody Sunday response The Men Behind The Wire was replaced by another Bloody Sunday response song.  This one was the first hit credited to Wings, and it was called Give Ireland Back To The Irish.  Despite being banned by the BBC and pretty much every other avenue for music in the UK, it climbed to #16 ( and Tops Of The Pops had to introduce it as "the song by Wings"), while here in the US of A... well, we'll be seeing it in a bit.

On the domestic front, Without You is on top in Detroit (both stations), LA, Chicago (WLS), Minneapolis (KDWB), and Pittsburgh.  Joy holds the other half of Chicago, while the other half of Minneapolis has The Lion Sleeps Tonite.

Meanwhile, out of the 11 new hot 100's I have just enough to mention to avoid another "guess where the debut finished" contest.  One of those debuts is the #1 song in the UK Chicory (without the "Tip" here) and Son Of My Father comes in at 94.  The other comes in at 91, and you may remember it...




Malo was a multi-talented group that included Carlos Santana's brother Jorge.


We have a good crop of Birthday Songs this week.  Turning 30 are Culture Club's Miss Me Blind, the sappy Lionel Ritchie ballad Hello, Yes' pounding Leave It, Julio and Willie's romantic To All The Girls I've Loved Before, and Bon Jovi's opening salvo Runaway.  Turning 35 are the Blues Brothers with Rubber Biscuit and April Wine's Roller.  Turning 40 are I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song from Jim Croce, the #1 TSOP by MFSB, BTO's Let It Ride, the Guess Who's Star Baby (coincidence?), and if you can believe it, Think's Once You Understand re-enters after a 2-year absence from the charts.  Turning 45 we have Steppenwolf with Rock Me, Glenn Campbell with Galveston, and Blood Sweat and Tears with You Made Me So Very Happy.

Turning 50, the Searchers with Needles And Pins, the Serendipity Singers with Don't Let The Rain Come Down (The Crooked Little Man), Chuck Berry's Nadine, and Betty Everett with The Shoop-Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss).  Finally, turning 55, Rick Nelson with There'll Never Be Anyone Else But You.  Blow out the candles...


Now for that double-feature I promised.  Last weekend, in researching other things, I tumbled onto a list of the top selling double-albums of all time courtesy VH1.  And now, whittled down to Martin Era lps (which kicks out several rap acts, a couple entries by He Who Won't Let You YouTube His Songs (AKA the artist formerly known as...), and Bruce Springsteen's The River, who watches longingly from the other side. So anyway, the top 20 (or so) double lps of the ME are...

20 (tie)- Bob Dylan, Self Portrait.  This lp, without top 40 singles, still made it up to #4 on the charts and sold around half-a-million units.

20 (tie)- Derek and the Dominoes, Layla And Other Love Songs.  The title song hit #10, Bell Bottom Blues also hit the hot 100, and the lp peaked at #16.

20 (tie)- Todd Rundgren, Something/Anything?.  Hello It's Me hit #5, I Saw The Light #16; the lp, #29.  With obviously a lot of after-chart sales.

19- Chicago, Chicago II.  One of four entries in the list for the Windy City kids.  25 Or 6 To 4 hit #4, Make Me Smile #9, and Color My World also came off of this #4 lp.  First of 8 on the list charted as selling 1 million + units.

18- Chicago, Chicago III.  Despite being the weakest of their four in singles (Free #20, Lowdown #35, the lp peaked at#2.

17- Allman Brothers Band, Eat A Peach.  No charting singles here, though Melissa hit 86 as an a-side, and later #77 from the b-side of Ain't Wastin' Time No More.  Hit at #4.

16- Rolling Stones, Exile On Main Street.  With Tumbling Dice hitting #7, and the Keith Richards vocal on Happy hitting #22, the lp made it to the top.

15- The Who, Quadrophenia.  One of two trips on the list for the band, it gave us no top 40 hits, though it did produce airplay hits The Real Me  (#92) and Love Reign O'er Me (#76).  The lp hit #2.

14- Chicago, Chicago VII.  This chart-topping lp contained Call On Me (#6), I've Been Searching So Long (#9), and my fave Wishing You Were Here (#11).

13- ELO, Out Of The Blue.  The soundtrack to my high-school years was the genesis of this project.  Turn To Stone (#13), Sweet Talkin' Woman (#17), and Mr. Blue Sky (#35) hit the top 40, It's Over also charted, and Wild West Hero was top ten in the UK.  The lp peaked at #4.

12- The Clash, London Calling.  The last of the million+ lps, this #27 charting lp had but one hit in the US of A, Train In Vain (#30).

11- Bob Dylan, Blonde On Blonde.  The second Dylan entry marks the start of five straight whose sales were in the 2 million + range.  It had the single hits Rainy Day Women #12 and 35 (#2), I Want You (#20), and Just Like A Woman (#35).


We'll pick up the top ten in a little bit.  In the meantime, the big dropper this week was Kiss An Angel Good Morning, falling 43 notches to 67.  The Big mover is upcoming, so to speak.

Our Almost But Not Quites this week are:  Wilson Pickett's Fire And Water, slipping from 17 to 20; the 5th Dimension's Together We'll Find Love slipping from 24 to 25; The Witch Queen Of New Orleans by Redbone drops from 19 clear out of the top 40, as does Joe Cocker's Feeling Alright from 33 (a peak I assure you this song topped in Fort Wayne).

#33... I'm sort of disappointed, here...

We have 5 new top 40's this week.  Moving up 13 to the leadoff spot is one of those "Guess where I finished" songs from a couple weeks back, David Cassidy's Could It Be Forever.  The big mover took a 34-notch leap to #39, America's A Horse With No Name.  Up 5 to #38, the Detroit Emeralds (originally from Little Rock, Arkansas) with You Want It, You Got It.  Climbing 12 spots to #36, BJ Thomas, with some help from Duane Eddy, and Rock'N'Roll Lullaby; and the high debut goes to the English Congregation, founded by writers Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway (I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, Long Cool Woman), and Softly Whispering I Love You, moving up 7 to #35.  They were known as the Congregation in the UK, but were given the descriptive here to avoid being mixed up with the Mike Curb Congregation (who had hit with Burning Bridges and apparently also did a cover of Softly Whispering, though I couldn't find any back up to that story.)

And with that- and several annoying interruptions as Blogger/Google tries to convince me that I "logged out from another site"- we move on to the top ten double albums of the Martin Era:

10- Jimi Hendrix, Electric Ladyland.  This chart-topper contained the #20 All Along The Watchtower, along with airplay hits Crosstown Traffic and Voodoo Chile.

9- Chicago, Chicago Transit Authority.  The debut lp for Chicago peaked at #17 and held the hits Questions # 67 & 68 (#24), Beginnings (#7), and Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is (also #7).

8- The Who, Tommy.  Tommy peaked at #4 and gave us Pinball Wizard (#19), See Me, Feel Me (#12), and I'm Free (#37).

7- Fleetwood Mac, Tusk.  This ambitious # 4 lp is the last of the 2 million + sellers, and had the title cut (#9), Sara (#7), and Think About Me (#20).

6- George Harrison, All Things Must Pass.  Actually a triple lp, this #1 lp (as all the remaining ones are) sold an estimated 6 million and gave us the hits My Sweet Lord (#1) and What Is Life (#10).

5- Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.  A 7 million seller, it contained the title cut (#2), plus the #1 Benny And The Jets and Saturday Night's All Right For Fighting (#12).

4- Stevie Wonder, Songs In The Key Of Life.  A 10-million seller, it had the hits I Wish and Sir Duke (both #1), Another Star (#32), As (#36), and the airplay hit Stevie refused to release as a single, Isn't She Lovely.

3- Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti.  A 16 million seller, it had one top 40 hit- Trampled Under Foot (#38).

2- Beatles, The Beatles ("the White Album").  A seller of 19 million units, there were no official releases from this two-disc set.  However, everyone knows the songs that were on it- Back In The USSR, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Rocky Raccoon, and Birthday, among others.

And the #1 double album of the Martin Era-

1- Pink Floyd, The Wall.  The tote board shows 23 million, the top 40 shows the #1 Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2, and the airplay hit Comfortably Numb.

The miserable, deceitful wretch...

Three new top tens mean three fall out.  The three droppers are American Pie (6 to 12), Never Been To Spain (5 to 15), and Black Dog (9 to 16).

Rod and the Faces stay at 10 with Stay With Me.

Carole King moves three to #9 with Sweet Seasons.

Bread rises (That one again?  Really?) to #8, up 5 with Everything I Own.

Apollo 100 edges up a notch to 7 with Joy.

Robert John takes the Tokens old hit The Lion Sleeps Tonite on a rampage, up nine spots to #6.

The Osmonds climb a pair to 5 with Down By The Lazy River.

Al Green slips from the top to #4 with Let's Stay Together.  No more Green Al jokes, sorry!

The Carpenters move up a notch to 3 with Hurting Each Other.

Nilsson moves up a spot to #2 with Without You.

And that means that the new #1 is.....

...Climaxx with Precious And Few!!!!


Ughh... ready for a break.  See you next time!