Time Machine week 55

ANNNNNND we're back, and we return to a neighborhood we just recently visited, due to the vaguarities of trusting in timestream randomness- 1971, the 8th of January specifically.  Not a lot happening around here- the requisite plane crash, this one the training flight of an FB111-4 fighter on a training flight from Carswell AFB near Ft Worth, Texas.  It took 3 weeks to find the capsule of the plane, and I'm not surprised- it supposedly crashed "3 miles NNE of Mandeville"- a town so obscure that in a half-hour of searching, I came only as close as "a 150 mile radius of Ft Worth" to finding it.  In other news, 29 misnamed Pilot Whales beached themselves on San Clemente Island, in an attempt to speak to President Nixon.  And Elvis was a day away from getting an "one of the country's outstanding young men" award from the US JayCees.  Young at 33.  In fact, today WAS his 33rd birthday, which he celebrated by buying a police radio for his car.

One-Adam-Twelve, I need a location on Mandeville...what do you mean, Mandeville where?

And welcome to the year's first TM, featuring the 5th annual Beauty Contest!  Also this time, our six degrees starts off with Jesse James (yes, THAT Jesse James- well, sorta), Bloodrock takes another number one vote, and a brand NEW feature (which may or may not stick, at least for the next Martin Era-cycle).  So clear the runway, the FB111A's...er, the beauties- are on the way!

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But first, our panel.  This week we have KIKI Honolulu, KGB San Diego, WABC New York, KINK (heh, there's a set of call letters) Portland, OR, KQV Pittsburgh, WKY Oklahoma City, WHNX Saginaw MI, KTLK Denver, KLIV San Jose, WLOF Orlando, CKLG Vancouver BC, and WMID Atlantic City.  They rolled out 24 different tunes, including the #1 in Saginaw, the Magic Lanterns- a band that Shady introed me to- and a song I have yet to listen to called One Night Stand, which was at 115 on the national chart.  Annnnd... remember last time we were in 1971, Dallas had Bloodrock's DOA at the top?  Well, now it's Oklahoma City with the creepy Halloween classic at the top of their chart.  Which means the panel's top 4 divides up the other ten #1s- and the top two claimed 9 of those ten!  The panel picks:

At #4, with zero #1s and but 10 points, Stephen Stills with Love The One You're With, the national #21 (explaining the lack of #1 votes).

At #3, with the #1 of Atlantic City and 19  points, the national #3, The Fifth Dimension- starring finalist in the Beauty Contest Marilyn McCoo- and One Less Bell To Answer.

Runner up this week, collecting the top votes of Honolulu, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, and New York along with 34 points and the national runner-up spot as well, Dawn and Knock Three Times.

And in the top spot, the national #1 as well... stay tuned.

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Okay, so let's kick the battle off with the semi-finalists.  The list please, and no tears, if you would...

Anita Darien
Melanie Safka
Sheryl Crow
France Gall
Petula Clark
Angel Deradoorian
Joan Baez
...annnd Lulu.

And if we have that sharp a list of not-qualifiers, wait until you see the finalists!

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Our first video is the first of two M10 debuts for the week.  Those of you aficionados of the American Pie movies remember the theme song, Laid, by the singer James.  Back in the day, that tune hit #3 alternative and #61 on the hot 100.  What I heard was a remake from a band with a name I just couldn't resist- The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.  In fact, Alvvays got their start opening for TPOBPAH (Good grief, that's as long as the full name!) Their version of the song, off their 2015 lp Hell, comes in at #10 this week:




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And this week, the Bottom's Up gets laid... laid off, that is, for a while.

Thank God!  My chiropractor bills are absurd!

 In it's place, we'll be highlighting the target week's top ten from...

...yep, Jolly Old England!  The top ten across the pond this week included...


10- Andy Williams with Home Lovin' Man, which made top ten AC here.

9- Glen Campbell's cover of It's Only Make Believe, which was top ten here last November.

8- Gilbert O'Sullivan's first charting single (which only got to #114 here), Nothing Rhymed.

7- An American act that did bupkiss in their homeland but great in the UK, Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon sat here with Blame It One The Pony Express.

6 and 5- These are a pair of chart toppers from October 1970 in the US of A- 6 was Neil Diamond's Cracklin' Rosie, and 5 was the Jackson Five and I'll Be There.

4- T-Rex, who hit the big time here with Bang A Gong, but pretty much crapped out thereafter, was big in the UK, and their song Ride A White Swan (#95 here) is in this slot.

3- A former Shuffle Ten (remember that?) hit, McGuinness Flint's When I'm Dead And Gone (a #57 peak here).

2- That guy who looks like me (but not as much as Dent May), Dave Edmunds, is in the runner up slot with I Hear You Knocking, which got to #4 here.

1- The top tune was a novelty hit by actor Clive Dunn in the voice of his character (also the name of the record), Granddad.  Only charted there, and it was his sole hit.

And there you have it!  Hopefully you'll all enjoy this new feature, and shower me with compliments in the comment section!

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A little sub feature I'm thinking about is, who was the lowest charting hit on the panel charts that week.  The lowest one that charted I've already mentioned- The Magic Lanterns' One Night Stand at 115.  HOWever, there is a complication, as Saginaw had in their top five a song that was never released- but everyone knew from TV- the Partridge Family's I Can Feel Your Heartbeat, which gave them 2 songs in the panel bunch; I Think I Love You had 2 votes this week  and was 7th nationally.

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Jesse James kicks things off here on six degrees.  Or actually, Rob Lowe as Jesse James in the 1994 movie Frank And Jessie.  That movie had Randy Travis as Cole Younger (see, music related).  Cole was played (sung) by Charlie Daniels on the 1980 lp The Legend Of Jesse James.  It had Johnny Cash as Frank James and Levon Helm, former lead singer of The Band, as Jesse.  Former because he had a problem with main writer Robbie Robertson's acquisition of credit on a lot of the group's more collaborative efforts.  But their fight isn't our point;  we want to note that Robbie was among the many musicians that played on the hit duet Mockingbird by Carly Simon and James Taylor.  Also on that record on keyboards was the famous Dr John, and Dr John was a co-writer on most of King Floyd's first lp- and King Floyd's later single, Groove Me, was #10 nationally but got no panel votes.

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All right, let's bring out the final six!

Jewel...

Marilyn McCoo...

Yvonne Elliman...

Victoria Legrand of Beach House...

Natalie Imbruglia...

...and Molly Rankin of Alvvays!

Place your bets, and we'll see if you can match Scrappy's pick!


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So you have heard #10 on the M10 already, so let's get on with the next nine...


Number nine, a few of you have listened to from the comment link from last week, and the rest of you may have gotten a piece of this from its playing on a Ford Focus commercial... here's Sonny Cleveland:





8- The Equatics hold their #8 position from last week with Merry Go Round.

7- And this one is hard for me, Alvvays slips to #7 with Archie Marry Me.  The second time dropping a song about made me cry since I started the M10.

6- And dropping from the top spot, The Decemberists add "longest drop from the top" to their records with The Wrong Year falling all the way to #6.

5- Ducktails move up 4- one of 2 tunes to manage that feat- to #5 with Headbanging In The Mirror.

4- Little Green Cars drive their hit Harper Lee up a spot to #4.

3- Dent May roller coasters up a notch to #3 with Born Too Late.

2- Veteran Boz Scaggs cruises up 4 to #2 with Small Town Talk.

And now... the number ones!

Panel Says... George Harrison's My Sweet Lord, with 5 #1s and 46 points!!!!!!!

M10 says.... Victoria Legrand and Beach House with Beyond Love- moving up a notch to become the third number one for the duo!!!!!!!!!!

And now...

The contestants (well, their names) are lined up... Scrappy waits for my word... GO!

He moves with the speed of light (check out his tail if you don't believe me)...

And the winner is...

NATALIE IMBRUGLIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And with that excellent choice by Scrappy, that's a wrap!  Tune in all next week, as I go through SOME chunk of the Martin top 50 of 2015 each day- until you get the top songs of the year on next week's TM- and here's a teaser- the TOP song was NEVER on the M10!  (?)  Tune in all week to find out!