Time Machine co-ordinates VIV41212066

Boy, the problem with co-ordinates is that you have to be coordinated.  And I flipped one little number- the last one- and instead of the 1969 I promised, I landed us in 1966- and on Australia Day!  And, not just any Australia Day- but the one on which Robert Menzies, the longest serving Prime Minister in history, resigned to end his 16-and-change year second term as PM.  Great men have long bios, and I'm doing a music post, so I'll just share what I liked most in reading about him- an exchange between himself and a heckler:

While he was speaking in Williamstown, Victoria, in 1954, a heckler shouted, "I wouldn't vote for you if you were the Archangel Gabriel" – to which Menzies coolly replied "If I were the Archangel Gabriel, I'm afraid you wouldn't be in my constituency."


I'm guessing that retort left Menzies with more support in the crowd than that heckler!  But anyway, it's time for Time Machine, and we have a BUNCH of candidates in this week's election;  a visit to a WWI battlefield in the 6D; another first on the M10- though maybe not the one you were expecting ; and the return of the  two acts that brought you a #7 M10 last spring- both of them!

"One thing about bureaucrats is that they never swallow their young. Leave them alone and you'll find them increasing every year."  Robert Menzies

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Let's kick things off with the higher of our 2 debuts- and the story to the comment in the teaser.  Back in March/April, the Knocks peaked at #7 with a tune called Classic, featuring both rapper Fetty Wap and electronica duo POWERS (their caps), of whose Christina Ru was a Beauty Contest semi-finalist a few weeks back.  This week, POWERS' new single comes in at #8- the first new 2017 tune:






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Okay, so somehow my brain flipped a 6 when I went after the 1969 charts this past weekend, and I ended up with a week in the life of 1966.  And a BIG week- 68 stations gave me a whopping 24 candidates for next week's President! And I have to give a special shout out to one of those candidates right front- a cut from the Beatles' Rubber Soul lp that was NOT a single by the Fab Four.  That song is Michelle, and boy is it on the charts this week!  David and Jonathan have a version at #55 on Cashbox this week, as well as on the candidate list (and at #24 in the UK); the Spokesmen also have a candidate with their version, at #126 on CB; and KJR Seattle had their vote for "The Beatles and others", which gets a Beatles vote on the Presidential race.  In addition to the ones that made the ballot, Billy Vaughan and his Orchestra are at #78, Bud Shank at #99, and the Overlanders- a Brit folk trio- were at #11 in the UK and would hit the top there later on.


In the meantime, let's see who else got votes in this shindig:

The Rolling Stones are on twice- with As Tears Go By, our current #3 on CB, and Get Off My Cloud, which peaked last year.

The Toys, famous for A Lovers' Concerto, were at #25 with Attack.
The Beach Boys were at #8 with Barbara Ann.
The Seekers didn't chart here but made #27 AC with The Carnival Is Over.
Bob Kuban and the In-Men were just starting out at #111 with The Cheater.
Ray Charles was at #32 with Crying Time.
Bob Linde had just hit the hot 100 this week with Elusive Butterfly, an all-timer of mine.
The Vogues were at #4 with Five O'Clock World.
The Bobby Fuller Four with I Fought The Law was at 112 and just starting out.


Are you noting the number of "bubbling unders" we have as candidates this week?  Three of 'em!

Jenny Take A Ride by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels sits at CB #18.
Paul Revere and the Raiders were at #23 with Just Like Me.
The Knickerbockers were at #24 with Lies.
Lou Christie was at #33 with Lightning Strikes.
Herman's Hermits and Listen People got a vote despite not having even snuck into the BUs yet- it would peak in March.

(Just a reminder or a note to newbies- the candidate list is all songs that made #1 on any of the charts I found this week.)

Of course, the 3 versions of Michelle, in their various spots.
A band called Pinkerton's Assorted Colors- which would eventually morph into the Flying Machine and hit big with Smile A Little Smile- with Mirror Mirror, which didn't chart here but was #9 UK this week.
Petula Clark's My Love, which perched at #14.
The T-Bones with No Matter What Shape Your Stomach's In, the CB #9.
Gary Lewis and the Playboys were at #5 with She's Just My Style.
The runner up on CB this week, Simon and Garfunkel and The Sounds Of Silence.
ANNNNND finally, the Beatles (them again?) with the two sided We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper, which was at #1- and #12, as CB split the pair.

And in the interests of giving you a fighting chance, let's lob out the 1-vote wonders- so don't for the Seekers, Pinkerton's Assorted Colors, David and Jonathan, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Herman's Hermits, either of the Stones, ONE of the Beatles, the Spokesmen, the Bobby Fuller Four, the Toys, the Raiders, Bob Linde OR Kuban, or the Knickerbockers.  DO choose from ONE of the Beatles, Mitch and the Wheels, Lou Christie, the Beach Boys, S&G, the Vogues, or Petula Clark.  Got it?  Good.

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Our 66 in '66 belongs to Chris Montez, who was trying to make a comeback.  Since his rowdy top ten Let's Dance in '62, he had not returned to the top 40.  Herb Alpert suggested he turn to softer ballads, as he had such a smooth voice.  The result was the song in question, Call Me, which would eventually hit #22 and had an impact beyond its peak.  It also gave him the leg up he needed to log 4 more top 40s as well as hits in the UK, the Netherlands, and our own AC charts.

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So, why don't we get a few words from this week's President, Sir Elton John...

I've always wanted to smash a guitar over someone's head. You just can't do that with a piano. 

Well, that is true... do you have something a little more relevant to our readers, dude?

 I think people should be free to engage in any sexual practices they choose; they should draw the line at goats though. 


You know, I'm becoming a little concerned about you.  Maybe you could just tell us about this week's UK charts.

Certainly.  Spencer Davis was at the top with Keep On Running, which just ended We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper's 5 week run at number one here.  You blokes didn't like it much, apparently; you only took it to #76.  Considering you took my Bennie and the Jets to #1, I am a bit concerned for you as well...

Potato, potahto.  Thanks, EJ, you've been a pip!


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Our first debut, at #10, belongs to the Knocks themselves.  This time they pair with Jonathan Visger and his band Absofacto, from their new EP Testify:





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Credit Frank Hurley

This is the battlefield of Passchendaele, a town in Belgium that in July 1917 saw a cataclysm that led to 162 times the casualties on both sides as the town's current population.  This battle was memorialized by metal band Iron Maiden in the song Paschendale- one of the few IM songs I will admit to listening to.  Iron Maiden, like me, grew up watching Patrick McGoohan in The Prisoner, an iconic late sixties spy drama that left me quaking under my cover at the thought of being chased by the Rovers.

Those things were messed-up scary to me!  Anyway, the IM connection is that, with permission, they have done not one, but two songs about the show- Prisoner, and Back In The Village.  What it connects them to is McGoohan, who also starred in Secret Agent ( or Danger Man in the UK).  You all should know (that is, you old farts like me) that Johnny Rivers had the hit single theme of the show- Secret Agent Man.  This tune was written at first as a submission for theme requests, which the writers amazed themselves by winning.  Those writers were PF Sloan and Steve Barri, who also wrote our 6D victim- Herman's Hermits with A Must To Avoid, which was at #6 on CB but got no Panel love.  Which, given 68 stations and 24 different #1 votes, is also a bit messed-up.


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Do you need another clue before we roll on to the end?  Well, how about this: only four songs- We Can Work It Out, Lightning Strikes, Sounds Of Silence, and Jenny Take A Ride, got more than 6.3% of the ballot. And, our winner clobbered the rest combined by 14.4%!  Turn in yer final ballot and hang on...


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And now, the rest of the M10.

El Michels Affair spends a week at #9 twice with Detroit Twice.

Radiation City might have thought they were going to get a second #1... but time ran out, and Zombies falls to #7.

Charly Bliss climbs one spot to #6 with Ruby.

Sweet twists its way up 3 spots to #5 with Peppermint Twist.

Grab on to something- for the first time since Thanksgiving, Strange Boy is NOT in the top 2!  Last week's #1 collaboration between the Shacks and El Michels Affair slips to #4- but not before tying Quiet Corners for most points in M10 history!

Black Joe Lewis moves a notch to #3 with PTP.

The Hidden Cameras slide into the runner-up spot with Day I Left Home climbing one spot.

And the #1s?  M10 says...

...Puddle Of Mudd, leaping from #5 with Gimme Shelter- making it the first M10 #1 cover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the next President here on TM, with 39.7 percent of the vote...

... of course the Beatles with We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now next week is SUPPOSED to be 1967... but who knows?  Tune in to find out!