When I went to bed Sunday night, I was listening to a program that regularly discusses items that they consider, for want of a better way to put it, the conspiratorial side of the secular world's attack on the Church. It was one of their topics that upset me even though I shouldn't let it. You see, one of my crosses is occasionally having spells where "depression looking for something to be depressed about" sets in. And their talk on "how Marxists have an agenda to take control of America" led me into thoughts about where our country is headed. You see, I'm just not a conspiracy theorist- I'm more of an Isaiah 8:12 kinda guy. And I realize that what they try to explain as conspiracies can actually be no more than the natural result of fallen man falling farther away from God as the years go by. But one thing the guest on the show (filmmaker Curtis Bowers) said struck home. He said that when you consider the leftist education our children have been getting over the past 50 years, and the success rate for turning them to leftist thought, his experts calculate that 2016 is the last election that we will have any chance to get a conservative President in- after that, there will simply be too many voting age young people that have been turned to win without a large part of them not voting.
And that worried me. You know, we aren't talking "the guy you disagree with but can still have a decent discussion with" type of voters, we are talking the hardened "America is at fault for everything and if you don't agree then you are a racist/bigot/homophobe" type. Like the kind on last week's Martin World News post that thought that JFK's "Ask not..." line was the height of evil, because it puts you in the position of being a contributor instead of a parasite.
I know a LOT of little children. And my first thought in these times are, what chance do they have? How do we as parents, assuming we even care, educate our children to seek the TRUTH? And when we look at that question, we get some pretty decent answers.
First- DON'T ASSUME, CARE. As parents and grandparents, we ARE the first line, the ones that our children should trust the most. Which means you owe it to them to EDUCATE YOURSELF. Does that mean I should get on the conspiracy websites, watch all the debates and the Sunday morning news shows, etc.? Not necessarily. Let me come back to that when I tie my point up. What I do mean is this:
Deuteronomy 11:18"You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 19"You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. 20"You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,…
THAT is what they need to know- and YOU need to know how to do it.
Second- As Pontius Pilate said, "What is truth?" Well, that's where you need to examine what is being taught. I have been a voracious reader of history since second grade, and if you think even a Catholic education (Which was far superior to a public school education in my day) teaches you what you need to know, forget it. I have read two books in just the last few months- one on the aftermath of WWII, another on the formation of Israel- that really shook my own "got that part down" mentality and made me realize that there are yet layers that I don't know about things I was once sure of.
You know well the ongoing battle of whether America's Founding Fathers wanted or espoused a Christian Nation. People on both side look up sayings on BrainyQuote or ThinkExist (for the atheists out there) and parse them in order to make their point. If you want to use a quote to make a point on something controversial, read a biography or two first, so you know WHY the person said it. The fact that the majority of Americans would rather use shallow, easy to feel sources for their "information" tells you everything you need to know why Donald Trump was polling 63% as the winner of the past week's GOP debate and Rubio only 11%. Don't watch the show, don't listen to the responses and see what makes SENSE. Just vote your guy, hell or high water.
Which finally gets me to my point, which is: Shows like the one I listen to can be informative, but you need perspective. Line up the conspiracy arguments, the Constitutional arguments, the Founding Father arguments all you want. God does not place America- or anything else- above HIS plan, HIS goals. Get up from that debate, walk away from that facebook argument, and go outside. See God in His created world. Look at the sky, the sun, the stars, the clouds. Watch the leaves sprout, the animals going about their business, and realize- all that other stuff is meaningless. The BIG picture is just you and God. Our job is not to protect America for God. Our job is to give God ourselves, so that He can use us to BUILD a better America, or Australia, or where ever else on the big blue marble you live.
Today we drop by the 1967 Daytona 500. Mario Andretti, who started only 14 stock car races- and made it through only four of them without being in the garage- was a frustrated man. First, his "team" gave him a crappy engine to practice on... "Apparently, they had to figure, 'Well, he's here, he's going to have some fun,' and they didn't take me very seriously. But I started to find out from other drivers and so forth -- asking questions about what I should be pulling with the gear that I had, and I was at least 400 revs short -- so I started complaining. I went over the team's head and went to some individuals in Detroit and finally I got a decent engine, after I qualified." And then, when it looked like he was going to WIN the race, they held him up on the jack for an extra seven seconds, so that his teammate and NASCAR favorite Fred Lorenzen could turn Mario's several-second lead into Lorenzen's several second lead... "It was absolutely intentional," Andretti added. "They had orders to hold me, and they held me back for about seven seconds. I was furious because they held the car up on the jack. It dawned on me what they were doing because the work was done. I knew that the tires were changed and everything else, and they're all looking around and they let him go and he's already almost in Turn 1 when they dropped me off. "I put it in gear and I was about ready to raise havoc, and that's when they let the jack fly and I went. But I was a bit upset at the time, as you could imagine."
Once off the jacks, Mario made that deficit dissipate and won the race under caution after Richard Petty blew his engine with two laps to go.
Andretti would drive in three more NASCAR races in 1967, crashing out of all three and never finishing better than 19th. He then raced three times in 1968 before making his final NASCAR appearance at the 1969 Motor Trend 500 at Riverside. Four months later, he won the Indianapolis 500, and nine years after that, he won the Formula One World Championship.
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Welcome to this week's Time Machine, and this week we have: a nice tight battle for the Panel #1; another three way low charter; who remembers Falco?; and three new debuts on the M10! Gentlemen, start your Tardis!
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We start out with the Panel this week. They include WGEM Quincy IL; WPAG Ann Arbor MI; WIXY Cleveland; WGUY Bangor ME (Lord, that looks bad); KDKA Pittsburgh; KPOI Honolulu; KFWB Los Angeles; ironically, WROD Daytona Beach; WMCA New York; KYOS Merced CA; and WTOD Toledo. Wait, you say? That's only eleven panelists, you say? Well, that's what happens when you suddenly realize you put WMCA in TWICE! Those who remain clocked in 27 different songs, including 8 number ones! The five (yes, there is a song without a number one in the Panel Four) that didn't make the Four were: The Stones with Let's Spend The Night Together (Merced); Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels with Sock It To Me (Toledo); the Young Rascals and I've Been Lonely Too Long (Honolulu); the Monkees and She (Quincy); and Penny Lane by the Beatles (Pittsburgh).
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the chart- we have three candidates for the lowest charting song of the Panel week. One of them has an unusual name that made the TM annals once before- Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick, and Tich. The unusual sounding bunch was at # 3 in Toledo- and at #111 on Billboard- with a song called Bend It. We also had a did-not-chart song- The Rationals were #3 in Ann Arbor with Hold On Baby. And there was one song- the #5 in Merced, Roger Collins and She's Looking Good- that would finally wander onto the Cashbox charts at #80 in two weeks.
(WARNING: The Panel Four is about to be delayed, not once but twice! Stay tuned for more...)
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Here is the first of our three M10 debuts- from the 2014 album In My Dreams, I give you miss Mo Kenney:
Mo is from Nova Scotia and was named its rising star by The Scene magazine.
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Now, funny you should mention the difference between the Cashbox and Billboard charts. One of the big differences is that CB traditionally has a bigger turnover at the #1 slot. If my blurry eyes were correct, I counted 92 Martin Era songs that hit #1 on Cashbox but not on Billboard. The reverse was less dramatic- I counted 24 tunes that hit the top of Billboard but not Cashbox- and at a later time, we'll be discussing them. But what I decided to look into this week was- what was the longest that the two charts matched number ones- and what was the longest that they didn't? Well, I learned that streaks of ten weeks or more were extremely rare. In fact, in the 19-year span of the Martin Era, just three times did the two charts match for ten or more weeks- and just ONCE did they fail to match for ten weeks or more. And I will be sharing the results with you... soon.
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And now, the Panel picks, adjusted to take out the second time I put in WMCA:
With 13 points but bereft of top dog votes, Johnny Rivers with Baby I Need Your Loving, the national #17.
With also 13 points, but with the #1 from Daytona, The Supremes with Love Is Here And Now You're Gone, the national #3.
Marked down to 17 points and 2 #1s ( WMCA obviously, along with Bangor)- the national # 1... The Stones and Ruby Tuesday.
And the top Panel song... stay tuned.
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And now, a word from Cecil Rhodes...
I have found out one thing and that is, if you have an idea, and it is a good idea, if you only stick to it you will come out all right.
Here's a good idea...
The UK ten this week!
10- It had already peaked last December here... Donovan's Mellow Yellow.
9- Cat Stevens had his first charting song in the US of A- albeit it charted at 115- with the song at #9 in England, called Matthew And Son.
8- A single I had for years- The Royal Guardsmen with Snoopy And The Red Baron. It was at 21 and falling after its chart run here.
7- The New Vaudeville Band- responsible for one of those #1s on CB but not BB, Winchester Cathedral- held this spot with Peek-A-Boo ( a song that sat at #100 in the US).
6- Here we find the #1 song in Merced, California- Let's Spend The Night Together. It was the original a-side of Ruby Tuesday, and was falling at #33 this week.
5- The song here debuts this week at #50 in the US of A, and was already on two charts of the Panel (#2 in New York and #1 in Pittsburgh)- Penny Lane.
4- The Tremeloes were here with a tune that would peak in the US in May- Here Comes My Baby.
3- The Monkees were at #5 and climbing back home with this one- I'm A Believer.
2- Another tune that would peak in May in the US, Engelbert Humperdinck with one of my Mom's big earworms, Release Me.
And the top song in England, which would peak in April back home...
...Petula Clark with This Is My Song!!!!!!!!!!
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Here's another debut on the M10 and it comes from a new (last October) record from an old favorite... The Zombies!
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Now, back to that streak thing...
As I said, streaks of ten or more weeks that the two charts agreed in the ME happened three times. 10 weeks- April 28th to June 30th, 1974, with three weeks of Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Old Oak Tree, single weeks of You Are The Sunshine Of My Life and Frankenstein, 4 weeks of Wings and My Love, and one of George Harrison's Give Me Love. 11 weeks- March 18th to May 27th, 1978- eight weeks of Night Fever, one of If I Can't Have You, and 2 of Wings (again) and With A Little Luck. And it seems like Paul McCartney has more than just a little luck, because he's involved in the longest streak, too:
13 weeks- August 1st to October 24th, 1964- Two weeks of A Hard Days' Night, one of Everybody Loves Somebody, 2 of Where Did Our Love Go, three each of House Of The Rising Sun and Oh Pretty Woman, and two of Doo Wah Diddy-Diddy.
Now that longest streak without matching (11 weeks) was a funny story, because it involved only one song that wasn't on both charts- and the first four weeks were exactly reversed! Billboard started the streak with Fly Robin Fly on November 22, 1975 for one week, followed by That's The Way I Like It for 3, then single weeks of Let's Do It Again, Saturday Night, I Write The Songs, The Theme From Mahogany, and 3 weeks of Convoy ending on February 7, 1976. In the meantime, Cashbox started out with That's The Way I Like It, then 3 weeks of Fly Robin Fly, That's The Way again, Let's Do It Again, Saturday Night, Convoy, I Write The Songs, Mahogany- and one week of Love Rollercoaster!
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Falco was first heard of doing the original of the song Der Kommissar, which was a big hit for the German band After The Fire in 1983. Two years later, Falco made his name with Rock Me Amadeus. That big hit was co-written by a duo named Bolland and Bolland, brothers who were born in South Africa but lived in the Netherlands. So it makes perfect sense that their one big hit would chart at #1 in NORWAY- and that song was the original of the very first M10 #1, You're In The Army Now! Of course the M10 version was the cover by UK band Status Quo. Now Status Quo, a big act for decades in England hadn't always been Status Quo; they were for a short time known as Traffic (until they heard about Stevie Winwood's band), then Traffic Jam. Before that, they were the Spectres, and as the Spectres they covered the tune that was the highest charter this week ( at #7) without getting any Panel love. That song? The Blues Magoos and We Ain't Done Nothing Yet.
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That at last leaves us with the M10, and you heard the #10 song, Mo Kenney's Telephones, and the #8, the Zombies' Chasing The Past. In between them lies Jana Kramer, as Circles slips from #6 to #9.
That brings us to our highest debut... I give you Monster Truck at #7...
Santana moves up two spots to #6 with Anywhere You Wanna Go.
Built To Spill continues to be my big earworm, moving up a deuce to #5 with Living Zoo.
Brooke Annibale, frustrated at two weeks of knocking at the door at #2, slips a pair to #4 with Remind Me.
Also kinda bummed would be Brian Fallon, stuck at 3 for a second week with Nobody Wins.
But ripping up the charts from her debut at #9 to her present placement at #2...
...Eleanor Friedburger with Two Versions Of Tomorrow.
And now, the number ones! M10 says...
...three weeks of Flo And Eddie with Keep It Warm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
And the panel says (after the aforementioned adjustment, with 19 points...)
.... The Turtles, featuring Flo and Eddie before they went by that monniker, and Happy Together!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So I guess we can say we have a first- same act at #1 on the Panel Four and the M10! And if you think I can't beat that, tune into TM next week for a trip to- 1974!!!!!!!!!!!! There's a Ford In your Future, next week!
Y'know, I was going to do a Martin World News post, but sometimes you look at the level of sheer stupidity you find in everyday life, and say to yourself, "It just isn't even funny today." Today, I shall try to show you why I am currently in that mood.
Here's our first example: This was recently posted by a FB friend ( a relative of Laurie's)...
Okay, now I will admit not everybody might remember Mork and Mindy. But surely Robin Williams should be recognizable, right?
Here's the first answer he got...
Donnie and Marie Osborn Show???
Yeah, Donnie and Marie Osborn. They are Ozzie and Sharon's kids.
It reminded me of a few weeks back watching Jeopardy. There was this girl who was being asked to name the mountain range that runs down Italy. (Answer: Apennines.) Her answer:
What are the Urals?
Now I realize that not everyone knows geography, and technically she kept it on the same continent. How about this one?
Now there did used to be a comic book character named Ghoul who could touch a dead body and get them to talk, but he wasn't a cop.
Now, next up I have a real killer. Millennial Democrat Socialists at a FeelTheBern rally were given a phrase from American history. Before I give you the phrase, let me give you the responses:
"That's some right-wing Republican Bullshit, right there!"
"Who said that stupidity? Donald Trump?"
"You know who said that? Hitler said that! He hated socialism!"
"Wow, really? Who even thinks like that anymore?"
"No way! That is so un-American and goes against everything we stand for!"
So, what was the heinous statement?
Do you understand what I am trying to tell you? This nation is full of people so utterly unable to string two rational thoughts together, who have the "right" and WILL vote, that a Donald Trump candidacy makes more sense than any of them can even formulate. You want to know why Trump could "shoot someone in the street and still win the polls?" You wanna know why the party of "diversity" can field two 70-year-old white people and not miss a beat? Here's your sign.
I know there are smart people out there. I know the cause for our children and grandchildren is not yet hopeless. I know there are some people with voter registrations, or even Facebook accounts, who DON'T lose several IQ points every time they pick a bugger and don't eat it.
But seriously, people. I watched the South Carolina debate- I watched Jeb Bush hand Trump his ass SEVERAL times. And the next morning, I saw three different polls that had The Donald winning the debate by 67% or thereabouts.
It's no longer about what you say or do. Like Don Henley once sang, "I just have to look good, I don't have to be clear."
And don't start me on the major Presidential candidate that, after getting caught for the SECOND time sabotaging a fellow candidate with the most outrageous, most easily discovered of lies, NOW fires his PR man (aka "threw him under the bus"). I wonder if the Pope would like to do a "Christianity check-up" on him like he did on The Donald.
I recently stumbled onto the concept of using the "next blog" button for entertainment. Now, you Blogger bloggers know what this is; a button at the top of your page allowing you to travel through the blogosphere sort of at random. And a few of those I've followed over the years I have actually found in just that way.
But Friday morning I said to myself, "What does the next blog SAY about the blogger you just left?" I found some surprising answers.
Some of my follow-ees had rather tame "next blogs". Norma at Waiting For God had a next blog of "My Mirror", which was just a guy blogging about his family. Many others had much the same, including Hey Monkey Butt, whose next blog was "Kennedy, Payton, and Jack's Family Blog" purportedly by two little kids named Kennedy and Jack (no idea who Payton was) and consisted of nothing but kids' pictures. Some of those families were a bit unusual; the one that connected to Jo-Anne's Ramblings was a couple, "Dave and Babs", who spent 50 years living in the same small town- and then moved to Liberia to help orphaned children.
Some of them were more geared to specific interests. Some were more geared to the interests of the blogger; hence, Elsie's Mock Turtle's Musings led me to a place called "Addicts with Knives", by a lady working with addicts and as a clergy person in New York. Some were a bit farther off the blogger's path- A Beer For The Shower connected to Beerattitude- Beer/Music/Mayhem, written by a craft beer consultant; Roland Hansen Commentary linked to another basically political blog called "Weird and Pissed Off", run by someone who also had a cat blog. But some were WAAAY off. Juli at Surviving Boys was linked to "Lexxperience", a fan blog by a lady from Missouri that is addicted to a sci-fi show I'll admit has escaped me called Lexx; Arlee Bird's Tossing It Out links to "Musings of a Drama Queen", written by a chocoholic fashion buff from Lagos, Nigeria; Al Penwasser's Place hooks up to "Toeslayer's Movie Reviews", which is just what it says.
But I had to save you my three favorites- Bobby G's place, which actually started me on this whole thing, linked to "Happy Bear: Kuma's Country Life", a cooking blog by a lady from Hokkaido, Japan; Robyn's Life By Chocolate linked to "The Big Empty", written by a web developer from North Dakota who's into techno-trance music; and me.
2 Corinthians 12 7Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
A lesson by Mike Fabarez gave me a different way to look at this passage. On the surface it seems simple enough- God allows weakness that we should rely on Him. So what is that grace sufficient for? Not getting rid of the problem, obviously, because Paul never seems to have gotten rid of it. But is that even the point- that if we rely on Grace, we'll be rid of that which troubles us? That which makes us sin? Let's look at another passage:
Romans 7 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
Does this sound like a man who's had his thorn removed? The lesson I listened to made me look at this concept in light of another verse:
1 Corinthians 10 13 No temptation[a] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[b] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[c] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Okay, so now it sounds like we are working at cross-purposes. If God is going to give us a way out, why didn't he give Paul one? And why are we still "wretched men"? Here's where the lesson hit home to me.
Pastor Fabarez was teaching from Romans 1 and other passages (notably Psalms 81) speaking about how God gave sinful man over to his own dark side, if that's what man wanted to choose. God, he explained, gives us a long leash in deciding whether to obey or not- free will means God is not going to ride in and save the day, not in the way we think or would like. If you want to beat that sin, pluck that thorn, you can pray all you want for God to save you from that sin, but...
A blonde prayed one night, "Lord, let me win the lottery. I'm nearly broke and I might lose my home if I don't win." She didn't win that drawing; so she prayed again before the next, saying, "God you can do anything; let me win the lottery. I'm about to lose my home and my car. Please help me." Again the drawing came and went without a win. The night of the next drawing, she prayed one more time. "Lord, you have to let me win! I lost my home, I lost my car, I NEED money! Please let me win!!!"
Just then, a Voice from heaven said, "Help Me out. Buy a ticket!"
God wants us to help out. Paul went to God three times expecting a miracle cure, and walked away disappointed. Not because God wasn't willing, or that His Grace was not sufficient. But He required OBEDIENCE from Paul in the matter. He required Paul to fight the battle every day- a truth Paul eventually figured out:
1 Corinthians 9 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Paul learned that HE himself had to fight the fight of obedience- and thus fighting, THEN God gave a way out. Still, he was that "wretched man"; every day he fought the fight, training himself as an athlete would to win the battle. But he also realized his efforts would not bring victory. Hence we go back to the conclusion of the "wretched man" passage:
Romans 8 8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,[a] who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
The victory isn't in beating the thorn; the victory is already there, in the death and resurrection of Jesus. If we want to beat the thorn, though, first step isn't praying for the miracle cure; first step is standing up to the sin, and in that standing up drawing on God's grace. God never promises us a miracle cure- every day, every moment is another round in the battle. Sufficient unto the day is its own problems, Jesus told us; and that trouble is going to be waiting for us each morning. Nice thing is, we don't have to "stay undefeated" to win the day; we have the undisputed, undefeated heavyweight champion, Jesus Christ, in our corner.
Well, you know I had a hard time finding anything interesting that happened on our target date when I open with, "There were NO plane crashes today..." And today we are at February 19th, 1964, a day which sees the death of the inventor of the snowmobile... Gene Hackman's day old career as a stage actor in Any Wednesday... and the delivery of a half-ton of Beatles' wigs from the UK to the US of A.
JA Bombardier... and no, apparently he didn't die in a snowmobile accident.
And those mops should tell you what is in store for the panel here on Time machine, as we fly into the beginnings of Beatlemania... Although we do have OTHER things to talk about, including: a record number of #1 votes on the panel picks (How can you have a record when you have 12 stations each naming one #1? Wait and see); just like last time, a non-Beatle panel list as well; a non-6-degrees treatment of the unloved by panel song; and, the answer to the unasked (heretofore) question- what act in the Martin Era had the best batting average at getting hits into the top ten? Plus, a somewhat less dynamic Martin Ten, and maybe some leftover cake from the M10's birthday party Wednesday. So hop on and let's Ski-doo!
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The panel faced with the onslaught of the fab Four included WGH Newport News VA; WRIT Milwaukee; WNIA Buffalo; KSO Des Moines; WPVA Petersburg, VA; WJIM Lansing; KRIZ Phoenix; WJBK Detroit; WPRO Providence; WSGN Birmingham; WCOL Columbus; and our chum CHUM, Toronto. These lads racked up 27 songs, thanks mainly to the unusual situation at WPRO- and while the Beatles had all the #1 votes, they didn't ALL make the panel four- and here's why.
WPRO, in a classic cop-out move, had a six way tie for first between six Beatles songs! In addition to the two that split all the other 31s- and were the ones actually CHARTING at the time- they also included in their sextet:
Twist And Shout, currently at #18;
Please Please Me, which was 2 weeks away from hitting the Cashbox chart at #64;
All My Loving, which was FIVE weeks away from debuting at #80;
and Love Me Do, which was SIX weeks away from debuting at #77!
Talk about jumping the line! WPRO actually then listed OTHER people's songs from #2 on down, so I was left with little choice but to count it as a six way tie- and thus, this panel had 16 #1 songs out of twelve stations- and I fail to see a way to break THAT record!
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Our lowest charting song, at least, was not by the Beatles. It belonged to Canadian Shirley Matthews, whose song Big Town Boy was at #124 this week, but had a #4 vote from CHUM. It would go on to be one of canada's biggest hits of the year, selling over a million. However, the Beatles do get a honorable mention here, as CHUM also had Roll Over Beethoven at #5- and it was 4 weeks out from hitting CB at #75.
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So if it were't for the Beatles, who would have been in the panel picks? Well, Al Hirt woulda got 4th with Java (which was #5 on CB); Leslie Gore Woulda took #3 with You Don't Own Me (3); Diane Renay would have been second with Navy Blue (14); and the top one is the only one to crack the Beatles' monopoly- and the race at 1-2 was the only close part with one Fab Four disc taking 7 #1s and 56 points, and the other 6 top dogs and 51 points! In fact, only three stations didn't have them 1-2, and those three had them 1-3!
So now, the Panel Four...
With that #1 from WPRO and 8 points (WPVA had it at #3), The Beatles with Please Please Me.
With 0 number ones and 14 points, The Four Seasons and Dawn (Go Away), the national #4.
With 6 and 51, the national runner up, the Beatles and She Loves You.
And at number one... stay tuned!
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To break up the monotony, I'd like to introduce you to the latest young lady I have fallen in audio love with. Her name is Eleanor Friedburger, and she was once in a band with her brother called the Fiery Furnaces. Now doing the solo thing, her new record just came past my ears, and I think it will be joining the M10 for some time. Debuting at #9 this week:
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So I decided to do a little digging through the Martin Era a few weeks back, with the question in hand being: What act has the best percentage of landing charting hits in the top ten? Well, there are 851 acts (more or less) that made CB's top ten during the 917 weeks of the Martin Era. I figured that to narrow things down, I should require those I checked to have a minimum of 3 top tens by CB. That cut us down to a MERE 185 acts. Now you can imagine that there are some acts that have a low percentage because of their many charting hits. For example, the Beatles only managed 24 %, the beach Boys 31.1%, and Elvis 11.8. Faring even worse were acts that seemingly just threw stuff out to see what stuck, or had bigger success on the R&B or C&W Charts. Thus you see James Brown at 8.8 %, Wilson Pickett at 4.7%, and Frank Sinatra at 6.8%. So, who had the BEST percentages? Here we go...
10-, With 11 out of 20 for a 55% score, Herman's Hermits.
9- With a 4 of 7 for 57.1%, Chic.
8- With an 8 for 14 for that same 57.1, Donna Summer.
7- with a six-of-ten for 60% (remember, just the ME- 1962-79), Michael Jackson.
6- With 9-of-15 for a slightly better 60%, Credence Clearwater Revival.
5- With the most by number on both hits and charts (16/25) and a 64% score, Elton John.
4- With a 6 of 9 for 66.7 %, Gerry and the Pacemakers.
2- A flat footed tie at 5-7 for 71.4 %, The Buckinghams and Paul Revere and the Raiders.
And at #1- well guess WHICH Beatle took this one! Results later.
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And now, a word from the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell...
No one rises so high as he who knows not whither he is going.
And if you saw me typing this, you'd know how appropriate it is, since I thought I was done, but then realized I had forgotten to...
And so, a quick look at how the beatles WEREN'T dominating over there (because they had already done it and were finished...)
10- Cilla Black appears again, this time with her version of Anyone Who Had a Heart, which Dionne Warwick currently was at #18 back home with.
9- The Merseybeats were at this spot with a non-charter here called I Think Of You.
8- Don't blame Frank Ifield that his hit, Don't Blame Me, never charted here.
7- Brenda Lee had peaked in the US of A in January with her hit As Usual. (For the record, Brenda only batted 8.8%.)
6- The Dave Clark Five would hit #5 in the States in April with Glad All Over.
5- Manfred Mann's 5-4-3-2-1 was next. Another non-charter here.
4- The Swingin' Blue Jeans were here with Hippy Hippy Shake, a tune the Beatles would later do as well. The SBJ would make top 25 in the US of A in April as well.
3- The Bachelors were next with a song that wouldn't hit its American peak until mid-June- Diane.
2- Those rascals, Gerry and the Pacemakers, were at #2 with one of their songs that didn't make our top ten- in fact, didn't even make the top 80- called I'm The One.
And at the top in the UK this week?
... The Searchers with Needles And Pins, which wouldn't debut over here for a couple of weeks yet!
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So this week, the highest charting song that got no panel love was the Rip Chords at #7 with Hey Little Cobra. And this one was a story unto itself.
You see, the Rips started out as a duo made up of Ernie Bringas and Phil Stewart. They originally called themselves The Opposites, for a very good reason- Stewart was a private dick, and Bringas was a few weeks from going to seminary in Dayton Ohio, as soon as he graduated from Cal State Long Beach. They were discovered and introduced to the folks at Arwin Records- which were Doris Day and her hubby at the time Marty Melcher. Their son Terry (of Beach Boy and Charles manson fame) was a producer there, and he got the duo to work with. They were just vocalists, so the first thing that melcher did (after changing their name) was get them instrumental backing in the form of the legendary Wrecking Crew, including Hal Blaine and Glen Campbell. Their first hit was a tune called Here I Stand, which peaked at #51. Thinking they were missing something, on their second single Melcher brought in buddy Bruce Johnston (of later Beach Boy and I Write The Songs fame). Bruce helped with the layering vocals effect Melcher wanted, but the single, Gone, only got to #88.
At that point, Bringas had to leave to start seminary- and the bishop of his church at the time ruled against him continuing his Rock'n'Roll career. Rather than sit in limbo, Melcher himself joined in the next single, taking Bringas' lead spot- and wouldn't you know, that next song was Hey Little Cobra.
The hit status brought up a couple of interesting problems. One, the Bishop at Bringas' denomination was replaced by one that said it was all right to record for Ernie, but a sin to tour. So now, with Melcher and Johnston officially part of the group, the Rips were four voices- and Bringas says that was when they sounded the best. But with a hit, you have to tour, and Melcher, Johnston, and Bringas were too busy- or forbidden- to do so. Enter Rich Rotkin and Arnie Marcus. These two would tour with Stewart, do the promo stuff, work the interview circuit, even play on American Bandstand- but they would NOT record.
Then the Hey Little Cobra lp had to be put together, and Bringas and Melcher pretty much evenly divided the lead vocals on this and the next lp. Three Window Coupe, with Melcher on lead, made the top 30, but Bringas' One Piece Topless Bathing Suit (and I'd like to know how he snuck THAT one past the Bishop) barely grazed the hot 100. Melcher and Johnston began recording on their own, with indifferent success, and the Rips broke up. Years and years later, Rotkin and Marcus put a band together and hit the oldies circuit as the Rips- and apparently there were some things said at that point about who sang and recorded what. Ernie came out and told the true story; and while not disparaging the guys for going out as the Rips, made sure everyone knew that the records didn't have the two on them. I looked for these supposed pages glorifying Rotkin and Marcus unduly, but all I found was sites that named Melcher and Johnston as the Rips and giving Bringas and Stewart supporting roles, when in fact it was the other way around. As far as I could glean, Stewart is still an investigator somewhere in LA, while Bringas is teaching Divinity at Glendale Community College, and formerly at Arizona State.
For never having been in the studio, I sure found enough pictures of Ernie and Phil with Rich and Arnie...
Alvvays holds at 10 with the latest, Party Police.
You heard Eleanor Friedburger at #9 with Two Versions Of Tomorrow, the week's only debut.
Santana moves up one to #8 with Anywhere You Want To Go.
Built To Spill is the second of 5 songs holding their spot this week, with Living Zoo.
Jana Kramer moves up a pair with Circles at #6.
Quiet Hollers slip back a pair to #5 with Mont Blanc.
Refusing to fall any farther, Jack Wood holds at 4 with Born To Wander.
Moving up a pair to #3 is Brian Fallon with Nobody Wins.
Holding at #2- Brooke Annibale with Remind Me.
And the number ones this week?
Survey says...
...Duh, the Beatles and I Want To Hold Your Hand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
M10 says....
...Duh again, Flo and Eddie with Keep It Warm!!!!!!!!!!
And, who was that guy who knocked out the best average at getting songs in the top ten for the Martin Era? Why it was none other than...
...Ringo Starr with 8 out of 12 for 75%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's it for this week, kids! Tune in next time for the somewhat less Beatle crazy year of 1967! Birth of my Dad's '67 Impala, start of my scholastic career, and all around good egg!
A lone man looking for means of expression in a tsunami of information. Seeking truth justice and the American way in the perspective of a Nixon conservative. And the Commissioner of the free world's smallest and best fantasy football league.
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