Time Machine week 59

Today we roll into February 5th, 1976.  We just missed the news that a judge upheld the baseball arbitrator's ruling that ended the reserve clause, creating free agency.  We fly past a minor snowfall in San Francisco that had the city atwitter.  And we find something pretty familiar in Pensacola, Florida.


February 5th, 1976 – A riot erupts at Escambia High School in Pensacola because students voted to keep the new name Raiders instead of going back to the old name Rebels.The students who were in favor of changing it back to the Rebels, which was deemed “racially irritating” by the US District Court in 1973, went outside and attempted to hoist the “Rebel” flag even after losing. 30 students were injured and four were shot, including the quarterback. The riot lasted for four hours and the school building suffered extensive damage.

And we think we have problems in Fort Wayne trying to get North Side High School to trade in the name Redskins, because some PC Native American loser is offended because school kids want to celebrate his ancestor's bravery.


But we are not losers- we are on this week's Time Machine!  This week:  A story about the late Glen Frey leads off the six degrees; the panel has 8 different #1 songs; your favorite detectives, live from the UK top ten; and on the M10, a record streak is broken- but is it the streak of five different #1s in 5 weeks?   Plus Kojak, Columbo, and Steve McGarrett! And as of yet, no one from BBC has come after us for offending them, so climb in the musical Tardis and away we go!


__________________________________

The panel this week includes:  WRBR South Bend; WAKY Louisville; KEEL Shreveport; WFIL Philadelphia; WBAX Wilkes-Barre; KLIF Dallas; KEZY Anaheim; KFRC San Francisco (which should be clear of that whopping inch of snow by now); CKLW Detroit; WPGC Washington DC; WRKO Boston: and WCFL Chicago.  I believe they set a new record, or at least came close, with 30 different songs!  They included five songs that hit #1 on a panel chart but didn't make the Panel Four!  Those songs include the Eagles' Take It To The Limit (Louisville), The Theme from Mahogany by Diana Ross (Shreveport and Philadelphia, the second straight week that a song got 2 #1s and nothing else), Barry Manilow's I Write the Songs (San Fran and Chicago, but it did also get a 5th place vote from Dallas), Gary Wright's Dream Weaver (Detroit), and Queen with Bohemian Rhapsody (Boston).

The lowest charting song on the national chart that got panel love actually dropped from the charts 2 weeks ago- America's Woman Tonight, which was still #5 in Shreveport.  Another funny thing on this week's Panel is where they drew this large list of #1 songs from.  Take It To The Limit was at #12 nationally; Mahogany was at 45, Dream Weaver at 24, and Bohemian Rhapsody was down at 37!

And now, the Panel Four:

With 14 points and the #1 from South Bend, the national #33 (speaking of low charters) this week, Aerosmith and Dream On.

With 16 points but bereft of #1s, the national #2, CW McCall and the CB hit Convoy (The White Knight by Cletus Maggard also got panel votes this week).

With 16 points as well, but WITH the #1 vote of Wilkes-Barre, the national # 13, Rhythm Heritage and the Theme From SWAT.

And this week's winner, with 3 #1s and 25 points, the national chart topper as well... stay tuned.


______________________________________

I have to admit this week's M10 was a bit of a struggle.  One thing that was somewhat simple was the act of dropping Beach House's Beyond Love.  That means a 22-week streak is broken- since the second M10 back in September, there has ALWAYS been at least one Beach House song in the M10 until now.  I am planning on celebrating this by determining the longest top ten streak by one act in the Martin Era, and hope to have that ready next time*.  In addition, I had a lot of reservations about dropping anyone this week- and 6 songs begging to fight their way in!  By the time "choice night" was over, I was ranging from "screw it, I'm not dropping anybody" to "screw it, I'm having a top FIFTEEN this week!"  Just then, a wild card not in the six I was looking at presented itself- and everything fell together.  And now, at #8, I'd like to introduce you to the dark horse that snuck in to the M10- from a gent named Brian Fallon:





Fallon went solo this year after fronting a band called Gaslight Anthem (which I will have to do some digging into).  This is the second single from that solo lp, and was released just a couple of weeks ago.

* UPDATE- This was a far more tedious task than I was willing to complete, but I did find some notables.  I have to limit it to basically the Martin Era  because the longest ones that are current are all from the vastly changed music scene of the 2000's on, where songs can hang in place for months, even years.  But here are some of the longest I could determine, and they may well be the longest of the ME.

19 weeks- Donna Summer, May 12 to Sept. 8, 1979, with Hot Stuff and Bad Girls.

19 weeks- The Four Seasons, from Sept. 8, 1962, to January 12, 1963, with  Sherry and Big Girls Don't Cry.

23 weeks- The Beatles, from January 25, 1964, to June 27th- and but for two weeks between Love Me Do and A Hard Day's Night, would have been 35.  7 different songs made the top ten in this stretch, all but two hit #1.

28 weeks- The Bee Gees, from Nov. 19, 1977, to May 27, 1978, with the Saturday Night Fever trio of How Deep Is Your Love/Staying Alive/Night Fever.

And notable from just outside the era- Elvis put up a 22-week streak with All Shook Up and Teddy Bear from April 13th to September 7, 1957;  And on the other side, Michael Jackson posted 27 from February 12 to August 13, 1983, with Billie Jean/Beat It/Wanna Be Starting Something.  So Beach House's 22 is in pretty good company.
______________________________________

And now, a few words from Benjamin Disraeli:

Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.

And thus, we fearlessly declare it time for...

The UK top ten this week!

10- The man who hit big in the US of A, Mike (Tubular Bells) Oldfield, sat here with his tune In Dulce Jublio/On Horseback.


9- Here we find comedian Billy Howard, along with his "friends" (AKA his impressions of), TV detectives Columbo, McGarrett, Ironside, Cannon, McCloud, and especially Kojak, with this funny gem:






8- This spot was held by a tune that was at #30 over here this week, The Four Seasons with December 1963 (Oh What A Night), which had one vote in the Panel charts.

7- Several of the tunes this week are what I would call "typically British" in that they are poppy and nice enough, but would never make any dent over here.  The first of those was a band called Sailor.  Their biggest claim to fame (for me) was that leader George Kajanus holds the distinction of having wrote the song that snapped Cliff Richard's long British charts streak (54 songs from 1958-71) of never missing the top 30.  With Sailor he hit the UK ten twice, this week with a tune called Glass Of Champagne.

6- It was climbing in the US of A, but was already top ten Over There;  Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.

5- That brings us to the second of the "typically British" songs (henceforth to be designated with a "TB") on this week's ten.  R (for Russell) and J (for Joanne) Stone with We Do It.  They did not do it in America.

4- Donna Summer was on the UK charts again this week with Love To Love You Baby- it was #5 here this week.

3- The Miracles were at #9 here and #3 there with Love Machine (OOOOOOOH Yeahhhh...)

2- The final of the TB songs this week was a Scottish group that went by the name of Slik and their future #1 called Forever And Ever.

1- And at the top, a tune that wouldn't make it's American peak until the end of July...

...ABBA with Mama Mia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


________________________________________

Frey, Randy Meisner, Leadon, and Don Henley

One of the many Glen Frey stories I heard after his death was the one that involved founding Eagle Bernie Leadon's moment of resignation.  According to the tale, Frey and Don Henley "were arguing about who should do what and how to get them to do it," when Leadon stood up, poured a beer on Glen's head, told him to cool down, and walked out the door.  Leadon started his career with an outfit called the Scottsdale Squirrel Barkers.  Also in that entourage was Chris Hillman, whose many credits include the Desert Rose Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and of course the Byrds.  The FBB is where he met fiddler Byron Berline, who was from Stephen Stills' band Manassas.  Byron also played on the lp Windsong, which contained the highest charting song this week which the Panel ignored; John Denver's Fly Away at #15- which might be a new all-time lowest six degrees victim!


_________________________________________


And now, the M10!


I've been promising it for a while, and here it is debuting at #10- new stuff from Jana Kramer!






Ducktails, #1 just two weeks ago, holds on after a 5-notch fall to #9 with Headbanging In The Mirror.


You heard Brian Fallon at #8...

Diane Coffee holds on to its precarious spot, slipping to #7 with Not That Easy.

A song I really thought would hit the top falls back exhausted from #2 to #6- Nothing But Thieves and Trip Switch.

Brooke Annibale slips up 4 spots to #5 with Remind Me.

Quiet Hollers move up 3 spots with Mount Blanc to #4.

Alvvays holds at the 3-slot with Next Of Kin.

The big mover is Flo and Eddie with Keep It Warm- more like hot, leaping from #8 to the runner-up spot.


And this week's #1s?  Survey says...............

....Paul Simon and 50 ways To Leave Your Lover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, the M10 says..................

...Jack Wood, claiming a second week at the top with Born To Wander!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tune in next week, where we'll see if I can get that consecutive top ten list done before my eyes fall out, and the musical Tardis flies off to- 1962!  It's always a party there!