Time Machine co-ordinates VIXIX4469874

Welcome to September 8th, 1974- and for a change I didn't have to dig for a news item at all.  Today, President-unelect Gerald R Ford pardoned predecessor Richard M Nixon for whatever he did or didn't do in the Watergate mess.

Decades later, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation presented its 2001 Profile in Courage Award to Gerald Ford for his 1974 pardon of Nixon. In pardoning Nixon, said the foundation, Ford placed his love of country ahead of his own political future and brought needed closure to the divisive Watergate affair.   (History.com)

"Thanks, Jerry.  I didn't even realize I belched!"
"Sir, it's not that kind of..."
"Gotcha! Sock it to me, baby!"

And today, we have three new debuts- and one of them joins the growing crowd with 4 M10 hits!- including that guy that looks like me...

No, not THAT one...

And a trip through Saturday morning cartoons!  Plus, the top songs of two years of the M10!  I vote we get moving!


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First up is a gentleman who has three trips now to the M10 in his pocket, including a #1!  In this adventure, the title track to his new lp, he is aided by one Frankie Cosmos- also known as Greta Kline, daughter of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates!  Coming in at #10, the guy who kinda looks like me, the starship lounge singer- Dent May:





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Today I'd like to introduce you to Ian Lloyd, lead singer for the Stories, who won the POTM last week.

Hey, everyone.  Great to be here, especially since I'm actually alive to guest here.

I know what you mean.  We lost the great Walter Becker from Steely Dan this past week, and it got me to thinking how hard it would be to have REAL and ALIVE guests on the show.  It got me to looking.  I haven't a completed list- not sure when or if I finish it- but for the years of the 50's that are in the Martin Era 2.0, the only live #1 singers are Bill Hayes, Pat Boone, Tab Hunter, Don Everly, Jimmie Rogers, Johnny Mathis, Laurie London, Lloyd Price, Frankie Avalon, the members of the Fleetwoods, Paul Anka, Della Reese, and Dave "Baby" Cortez.

That's quite a few...

Until you look at it this way:  that's 1 of the eight acts to hit #1 in 1955; 1 of 10 in 1956; 4 of 11 in '57; 1 of 16 in 1958; and 6 of 13 in '59.

Ouch.

In fact, the year you guys hit #1, 1973, has lost #1 acts Hurricane Smith, Robert Lamm of Chicago, Philippe Wynne of the Spinners...

Wow.

...George Harrison, Karen Carpenter, Billy Preston....

Okay, got it...

...Jim Croce, Marvin Gaye, Charlie Rich...

Dude, you're scaring me!  I'm outta here!

...Greg Allman and three Pips!  Hey, wait, Ian... oh, fudge.  Guess I'll have to do this myself. 10 contestants on 45 stations, I can handle it.

The First Class was at #17 this week on Cashbox with Beach Baby.

Barry White's Can't Get Enough Of Your Love Babe was at #6.

Olivia Newton-John was at #13 with I Honestly Love You.

Eric Clapton's I Shot The Sheriff was at the top.

George McCrae was 44 on the way back down with Rock Your Baby.

The Rubettes were also on the lower end with Sugar Baby Love at #31.

Rufus featuring Chaka Khan everybody was at #3 with Tell Me Something Good.

The Lorenzo Marquez vote of the week is for Slade, who didn't chart here but hit #3 in the UK with The Bangin' Man.  Not surprising for Slade, for out of their 17 top tens in the UK, only six cracked the charts over here, with Run Runaway getting to 20 and My Oh My grazing the top 40.

Paper Lace was at #4 with The Night Chicago Died.

And finally, you have Paul Anka with Odia Coates and You're Having My Baby at #2.

So with just ten contestants, let's chop it down to the top ten charters- Paper Lace, Anka and Coates, Clapton, Barry White, and Rufus.  But I will tell you this- the top two outdid the other three 32-7.  And in a bit, I'll let you in on who THEY are.

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Debut #2 comes in on the M10 at #9- and this woman has also charted here at #s 2, 7, and 6!  Take a seat, Bobby G- it's Jana Kramer:






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Hearken back with me to the days of Saturday morning cartoons- days when the Friday night "new cartoon preview" shows were darn near as big as Christmas- where we find that the timeless themes to many of our faves were redone in 1995 by a stable of alt acts.  The Ramones covered Spider-Man; Sublime did Hong Kong Phooey; Butthole Surfers (trust me, they were better at music than names) did Underdog;  The Violent Femmes did Oop Ork Eep Ah-Ah from the Jetsons; Sponge did Speed Racer.  By far the best was Matthew Sweet's take on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?  Now the ORIGINAL theme was done by one Austin Roberts, who had top 20's in the early '70s with Rocky and Something's Wrong With Me.  Austin kept songwriting after the hits dried up, and one he co-wrote was top ten on the Canadian country charts in 1989- a tune by Michelle Wright called He Would Be 16, about a child having been given for adoption.  Her lp Now And Then also contained a #7 on Canada's country chart with a remake of the song that sat at #5 this week without any Panel Love- Andy Kim's Rock Me Gently.


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Squeeze had a good bit of success in the States with Tempted  (#8 MSR and lots of airplay), and had a spin with the M10 shuffle a while back when I found (but did not chart) their silly early hit Cool For Cats.  Of course, they were a bit bigger in the UK- 3 top tens and a dozen or so top 40s.  This week, they put out a brand new lp- their 15th since 1978, titled Knowledge.  And the first single is the high debut at #8:





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Stat Pack:  Our #101 this week was Waylon Jenning's 2nd country #1- I'm A Rambling Man.

Leon Heywood, who would hit the top 15 next year with I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You, was our #74 at '74 with Sugar Lump.

Once again it was Osmond fever in the UK- the group had the top spot with Love Me For A Reason, which was at #62 here on the way up in its second week.  Our top dog, I Shot The Sheriff, was at #28 there.

And I knew 48 songs this time- bet I'll break 50% next week!

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Oh, since you've been really good this week, I'll let you in on that 2-year list, but first- if you took Eric Clapton or Paul Anka, you are still alive...

So anyway, by the points here are the top ten after two years, from August 28, 2015 to August 30, 2017...

#10-

Lucius with Madness!!!!!!!!!!

#9-   

Real Estate and Serve The Song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#8-  

Radiation City's Come And Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#7-

Sweet with the Peppermint Twist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#6-

Flo and Eddie and Keep It Warm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#5-

Tangerine's You'll Always Be Lonely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#4, and #3-  

Beach House with Space Song at #4 and Traveller at #3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#2-

The Shacks and the El Michels Affair with Strange Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the winnah and still champeeen....

The Jayhawks and Quiet Corners And Empty Spaces!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Which brings us to the remainder of the M10:

Northern Faces slip to #7 in week 7 with Cops Come.

Up a spot to 6 is Howard Jones with Just Look At You Now.

Phoenix leaps 5 fast notches to # 5 with Telefono.

Alvvays moves up a pair to #4 with In Undertow.

Wayne Newton clings tenaciously to #3 with The Letter.

The Japanese House- in a battle I didn't consider official until I hit "save" on my computer archive- slips to #2 with Somebody You Found.

Which means the new #1 belongs to...

...Lucinda Williams with Six Blocks Away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next week is going to be a real pain trying to arrange this bunch of classics!  And the winner of the Panel vote, by a whopping 21- 11 (46.7% to 24.4%) margin....

...Paul Anka's Having My Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I was a kid, I remember Ron Gregory on the WOWO night show starting this song by saying, "Look, there's a strange man over there in the corner!  Sir, What are you doing?"

Havin' my baby...

Next week, join that strange man and I as we enter 1975!