Time Machine: Coordinates VV405122366

Today we fly to December 23rd, 1966- it's almost Christmas, and time to get together, right?  Well, we have all sorts of get-togethers this week, including the one that happened on this date.  The last episode of the UK TV music show Ready Steady Go!- appropriately titled Ready Steady Goes!- aired today, and they had quite the crowd.  Eric Burdon, Mick Jagger, the Who, Lulu, the Spencer Davis Group, the Yardbirds, Peter and Gordon, Cat Stevens, and of course, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich were all there.  And they closed the show with a group-sing of White Christmas- led by none other than Kenny Lynch, about whom I'm STILL awaiting word from Al Penwasser on!!!

(although I bet he and Ken Lynch are NOT the same person...)

Welcome to the near-Christmas episode of Time Machine, where we hit a hot spot from 1979; we actually have movement in the M10 (not a laxative thing) but still I'm debating on having co-#1s; and the next chunk of the M50- featuring both a current M10 song and one that just dropped off!  Oh, and two new debuts!  So why not start off rockin' with one of them?  It's rock, retro-soul, and jazz all mixed up into one.  Another white-boy band like Nathaniel Ratliff and the Night Sweats?  Not at all!  Prepare yourself for- Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears!!!





PTP debuts at #10 this week!

Hello all, I'm your co-president of the week.  My name is Clem Cattini and I was a founding member of the original Tornados, not that lot who are playing nowadays.  I have been asked to do my presidential duty and introduce you to the contestants for this week's top song.  Mr. Martin, if you would...


Thanks, Clem.  Here are your 10 contestants from a 50-station panel:

Coming Home Soldier by Bobby Vinton, the national #12;
The Beach Boys and Good Vibrations, currently sitting at #4;
The Monkees and I'm A Believer, at #1;
James and Bobby Purify and I'm Your Puppet, #11;
Donovan with Mellow Yellow, # 3;
The Royal Guardsman with Snoopy And The Red Baron, #5;
The Hollies and Stop Stop Stop, #19;
Donovan (again?) with Sunshine Superman (note: this was from a UK pirate station; this song peaked in September here);
Nancy Sinatra's Sugar Town, #9;
and the New Vaudeville Band with Winchester Cathedral, #2!  This did not count charting versions on a couple of our stations by a lady named Dana Rollin and a band called New Happiness...

So there you are!  Who do you think got it this time?  I can't say that this is a clue- but this was the biggest landslide we had so far, with the winner lapping the rest of the field combined!  Stay tuned for more results.


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At this point, let's do the next chunk of the year-ending M50!  We hit #s 50-41 last time, so here are #s 40-31- with one notable exception...


40- Brooke Annibale, Remind Me:  I do love this song, and I wish I coulda shoehorned it in higher- but Brooke lands here despite pointing at 16th.  Here's a live vid that might just give Brooke one of those two Beauty Contest slots still open!

39- Headbanging In The Mirror, Ducktails:  The second #1 to appear thus far, it was one of those "overlap the year" songs, which amazingly ends up right where it pointed!  I have another Ducktails song warming up in the M10 bullpen, but this was the first.  Watch it here.

38- The Monkees, She Makes Me Laugh:  One of 8 acts to make the M50 multiple times, and still one of my favorite videos of the year.  Watch the funny pages here.

37- Sound Of Silence, Dami Im:  One of a pair of acts that make both this week's M10 and this week's chunk of M50.  Her Eurovision winner from this summer is right here.

36- I can't tell you yet, because its in the M10 this week!

35- Ruth B, Two Poor Kids:  This tune has something in common with both Brooke Annibale and Ducktails!  With Ducktails, I have a new one in the M10 bullpen;  with Brooke, it took a hit on the M50, having pointed at #17.  Hopefully her spot already in the Beauty Contest will cheer her up.


34- Built To Spill, Living Zoo: If I was giving out "Earworm of the Year" this song would win it hands down.  Which moves it from its point position clear back in 50th.  Here's that strange video one more time.

33- Nada Surf, Cold To See Clear:  They nearly pulled off what the Shacks did a few weeks back- land two debuts on the chart in the same week.  Here's that very popular video one more time.

32- When We Were Good, Strawberry Runners:  The third #1 thus far, and the slowest, taking 8 weeks to hit the top.I sure wish they'd put up a better vid than this live one, though.

And 31- Billy Stewart, Strange Feeling:  Just this week dropping off the M10, the oldest M10 song in history plots just ahead of its point position of 35th.  Doo-wop with Billy here.


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And now, a few words from Sir Malcolm Arnold, composer of the score to Bridge Over The River Kwai:

Music is the social act of communication among people, a gesture of friendship, the strongest there is.

 Ain't THAT the truth!  And this week here's the tale of our friendship with the UK!

Both the #1 song, and the highest UK charter on the American hot 100 this week belong to Tom Jones with Green Green Grass Of Home, which was just starting its climb at #93 in the US of A.

The highest US song on the UK chart was Winchester Cathedral, runner up here and #30 there.

There were 7 common McGuffigans this week between the charts, including Presidential candidates Winchester Cathedral and Good Vibrations- as well as the unknown (to me) gem from Herman's Hermits that was #29 here and #37 there...






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Neil Young once had two lps ready to release, and played them back to back to choose.  He chose the slightly more hopeful Tonight's The Night over the more down Homegrown, which was recorded right after two friends died from heroin ODs.  One of the songs on Homegrown finally was recorded on 1977's Decade- Love Is A Rose.  Linda Ronstadt had a hit version of that tune, and a man by the name of David Linley was the fiddle player backing her up.  That same man was the high falsetto on the live version of Stay that was a hit from Jackson Browne's live Running On Empty lp.  The female vocal in between Brown and Linley was one Rosemary Butler, who also joined Browne and Bruce Springsteen in doing that same song on the famous No Nukes concert lp.  And Springsteen followed with what he called the "Detroit Medley"- which included Devil With A Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly.  And that tune- the version made famous by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels- is the 6D victim, receiving no votes despite riding the charts at #6 this week.

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And now, the rest of the M10:

The man with the long name- Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster- moves up a notch to #9 with Headed South.

And our other debut (betcha thought I forgot!) comes in at #8.  It is an older and slightly different formulation of the band Radiation City.  With the tune from the 2013 lp Animals In The Median:






NRBQ moves up a notch to 7 with Over Your Head.

And Radiation City still hangs on- the three time #1 is now a three week long #6 with Come And Go.

And here's Dami Im again, up a pair to #5 with Fighting For Love.

And here at 4, a one notch drop- along with being at #36 on the m50, Agnes Obel and Mary- or if you prefer, Agnes Obel, Mary:.

The Shacks take advantage of a lull and move into the #3 spot, up 2, with This Strange Effect.\

And before we get to that #1 tussle:


Here's your elimination round in the Presidential vote:  If you picked Bobby Vinton, either Donovan, the Beach Boys, the Purifys, Nancy Sinatra, or the Hollies, go sit down.  They did not record one of the songs that got more than one vote.


And back to the M10:

The last two weeks I could have easily cheated and called a first place tie, and not be lying.  I chose Strange Boy last week.  This week I choose Strange Boy- for #2.  And that means the number ones are:  from the M10;

...Melody Prochet and her Echo Chamber with I Follow You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the votes are in: Winchester Cathedral got 12 % for third;  The Royal Guardsmen got 24% of the vote for second; and with a whopping 52% of the vote, your new Presidents...

Why, it's Mickey, Davy, Mike, and Peter- the Monkees with I'm A Believer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Next week, the M50 grand finale!  See you then and have a Merry Christmas!