Time Machine week 78

Today was a very controversial day- June 17th, 1963.  Today the SCOTUS ruled 8-1 in the case of Abington School District v. Schempp.  This case was caused, I'm sorry to say, by Christian overreach- the state of Pennsylvania REQUIRED that each school open the day with a Bible reading.  Naturally, someone objected.  That someone was what was called a "Unitarian Universalist", which supposedly means he supports the " free and responsible search for truth and meaning"- except, of course, as it pertains to Christianity.  Nonetheless, the Justices agreed that it was not the State (and by extension, the Government) who got to decide who had to listen.  Which I have no problem with- the state requiring Bible reading clearly goes past the Establishment clause.  However... Justice Thomas Clark said that the Court was of the feeling that no matter the religious nature of the citizenry, the government at all levels, as required by the Constitution, must remain neutral in matters of religion "while protecting all, prefer[ring] none, and disparag[ing] none."  (Italics from Wiki).  I think that since then, we have went WAY beyond neutrality to eradication.  And my point- that perhaps this would have never become a deal- or at least, became one so soon- had not an overzealous legislature made it something that HAD to be addressed.  How unlike the bathroom battle we just went through.  But, that's just me.


And, this isn't a political post, it's a MUSIC post!  So welcome again to Time Machine, where we don't inquire about your political leanings to ride along, just that you make sure that your ring tone isn't the Doors, Aretha Franklin, or gangsta rap.  This week, the Panel stuck to the lower end of the charts, and we'll explore that;  connecting Tom Petty to Al Martino; and will the Monkees have what it takes to dethrone the Justad sisters from the top of the M10?  I'm banging the gavel on this trip, and away we go!

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This weeks' Panel consists of WJET Erie PA, WRNB New Bern NC, WHLO Akron, WLS Chicago, WSGN Birmingham, WBUT (the Big But?  Think of the possibilities...) Butler PA, KIMM Rapid City SD, KFJZ Ft Worth, KTKT Tucson, KFXM San Bernardino, WENE (the Big We... uh, never mind...) Endicott NY, and KJR Seattle.  They put together 26 different songs, and I'm gonna save the low charter this week for a bit.  They did post seven different number ones- three of which I'm also saving for later, and another which didn't make the P4 (which is a P5 this week as we have a tie for 4th) was Bobby Darin's 18 Yellow Roses, which was 13th nationally and top dog in New Bern.  The race at the top was quite close, with a couple of classics fighting for the top spot.  The Panel Four:

As I said, a fourth place tie with no #1s and 12 points-

Barbara Lewis (again this week, Shady!) with the national #10, Hello Stranger.

And... Nat King Cole with Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days Of Summer, the national #8.

At the third spot, with 19 points and the #1 from Erie, the Polish Prince, Bobby Vinton, with Blue On Blue, the national #11.

At the second spot, with 27 points and 3 #1s (Akron, Tucson, and the Big But), the national runner-up, Leslie Gore and It's My Party.

And at the top, with 36 points and the other four #1s, as well as the national top dog... stay tuned.

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So this week was a big one for the lower rungs of the national Cashbox chart amongst the Panel.  With 26 songs, only 26.9 % were top tens... but an even half of them were from #41 and below.  2 of those had just debuted nationally- Ray Stevens' Harry The Hairy Ape at 96, and the #1 song in Ft Worth, a catchy number by Kirby St Romain called Summer's Coming at 97. (The Harry vote was also Ft Worth, and they would have another low-bob coming up.)

I mentioned that we had THREE of these low charters get Panel #1s.  The other two were Jan and Dean's Surf City in San Bernie (#50) and Lonnie Mack's instrumental Memphis, which was #53 nationally and at the top in Seattle.  The other low-bobs included Marvin Gaye's Pride And Joy (#57), The Raindrops (I believe Shady featured this song once... nope, sorry, but he did feature the Raindrops here ) and What A Guy (#48), Johnny Mathis and Every Step Of The Way (#42), The Fleetwoods with Goodnight My Love (#83), Big Dee Irwin's Swinging On A Star (#65, the other Ft Worth low-bob), a pair from Tuscon- Joey Dee and the Starliters with Hot Pastrami and Mashed Potatoes (#59) and Little Peggy March's I Wish I Was A Princess (#63), and three from San Bernie- the aforementioned Surf City, Bobby Bare's Detroit City (#81), and the lowest of the week's lows- The Surfari's and Wipeout, which Cashbox had at 100.


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The first of the M10 debuts is a song that has been bopping around the lower rungs of the shuffle for quite a while, and manages to sneak in this week at last- the second single from the lp Hitch for The Joy Formidable:



TJF come in at the 10-spot this week.

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Tom Petty manages to start out the six degrees in part because he participated in an lp called Timeless: A Hank Williams Tribute back in 2001.  Petty saluted ol' Hank along with such acts as Bob Dylan, Beck, Sheryl Crow, Keith Richards, and Johnny Cash.  His contribution was a tune called You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave), a song that Williams took to #4 back in 1949- one of a string of 20 straight top tens that Hank ran until his death.  Ironically, 5 years later Petty would also cover the b-side of that single- an oft-covered Hank classic called Lost Highway.  Hank actually had that b-side itself make it to #12.  The original was recorded by the songwriter, Leon Payne, who took it to #1 that same year.  (All these Hank and Leon numbers are obviously the Country charts.)  And Leon Payne, who was more famous for his songwriting, also wrote the song that charted the highest nationally (#3) without a bit of Panel Love- Al Martino's recording of I Love You Because.



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I took a little extra time looking for a quote today, because today we received word of the brazen attack on and murder of  MP Jo Cox in the UK today.  An MP for barely a year, she was cut down because one of her positions was staying in the EU in the heated referendum debate over there.  A nutjob shouting Britain First! slogans shot and stabbed the 42 year old wife and mother of 2.


While from what I read about her, I suspect we might have been at loggerheads about many things, one thing you could say about her is that she wasn't in it for herself.  Here is what she had to say on the subject she died for...


Treasury experts estimate that we could be pushed into a recession with hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs. House prices would be hit, holidays made more expensive and shoppers forced to pay more for their groceries...

This uncertainty is not what businesses want nor is it what working people and families need.

And this is not a future I want to pass on to my children or grandchildren. A vote to leave is a risk that is simply not worth taking. 


So I believe that instead of doing the UK ten this week... let's just have a moment of silent prayer for her family and friends.

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And now, the rest of the M10...

Our second debut comes to us from a Philly girl named Eliza Hardy Jones.  She's beat around the Philadelphia scene for a while with various up-and-comers from the area.  But this year, she, her keyboard, and her drum machine put together a solo lp called Because Become.  And the first song from that lp that came my way comes in at #9:





Whitney moves up a pair to #8 with Golden Days.

The Jayhawks return to that old familiar 7-spot (three weeks out of 4) with Lovers Of The Sun.

Telekinesis becomes the ninth song to gather 50+ M10 points, even though Lean On Me sags to #6, a three-notch fall in week #7.

A big jump of 4 for Krewella and Surrender The Throne, to #5.

But Dami Im, she seems to be stuck, holding at #4 with Sound Of Silence.

Not surprisingly, Case/lang/Veirs also make a big 4-spot jump to #3 with Honey And Smoke.

And the answer to the earlier question- the Monkees hold at #2 with She Makes Me Laugh.

The #1s? On the M10:

Week #3 at the top for Tangerine and You'll Always Be Lonely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the winnah of the Panel vote?

Kyu Sakamoto with Sukiyaki!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Next up on our delicious list of time destinations- the Summer of '69!  I promise, no Bryan Adams, though!