Time Machine co-ordinates VIXXXVII47011971

Today, we slip unnoticed into January 19th, 1971- the day that the Beatles' Helter Skelter is played as evidence in the Manson murder trials.  Did the Beatles influence the Manson "family"?

"Sure... that's what it was.  Let's go with that..."

Other than that, it was a pretty quiet day- and frankly, it's a pretty quiet Time Machine, too, as I never had the time (while healthy) to snoop up a neat feature or two.  But we do have something the M10 hasn't seen since August;  how one misprint can cause a lot of problems; and I get to do the Panel picks with a former Beauty Contestant!  So fire up the turntable and away we go!


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So what is it we haven't seen on the M10 since August 16th?  Not one, not two, but THREE new debuts!  And this first one at number 10 is a Scottish band- but when you here the song, you'll swear that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers joined forces with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band!  They call themselves the XCERTS, and their latest is...





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Today, I get to share the TM mike with POTM Mariska Veres of Shocking Blue!

Hello, pretty lady!  How are you today?

M:  I am very happy to being here!

Great.  So what we do here is you read the Panel votes off of this list here and...

M: I am very happy to being here!


UH-oh.  Sounds like somebody isn't real good at English....

M: I am very happy to...

Yeah, okay, I tell you what.  Give me the list, and I'll just go ahead and read them.  You just sit here and keep me company, okay?

M: (nods head)

So we start this week's list of 18 candidates from 60 stations with Ray Stevens' Bridget The Midget at #56.

Closer to the top, we have Van Morrison's Domino at #22.

King Floyd was at #4 with Groove Me.

Gladys Knight and the Pips are at #11 with If I Were Your Woman.

Dave Edmunds is at #29 with I Hear You Knockin'.

The Partridge Family had I Think I Love You at #15.

Tony Orlando and Dawn were at the top of the Cashbox charts with Knock Three Times.

Canned Heat got a "didn't get the memo" vote for Let's Work Together, which peaked in the top 30 around Thanksgiving.

The Bee Gees were at #7 with Lonely Days.

In South Africa, a band that had two hits covering Monkees album cuts, calling themselves the Dealians, were at the top there with Look Out Tomorrow.

Stephen Stills was at #19 with Love The One You're With.  I wonder if he sang that alone?

George Harrison was in the runner-up spot with My Sweet Lord.

A song that doesn't get near enough play at #52- Liz Damon's Orient Express with 1900 Yesterday.

A lot of 50s this week- the Osmonds were at 57 with One Bad Apple.

The Fifth Dimension were at #3 with One Less Bell To Answer.

Three Dog Night held #13 with One Man Band.

Lynn Anderson was at #12 with Rose Garden.

And Todd Rundgren, under the name of "Runt" was at #33 with We Gotta Get You A Woman.

So I gotta tell you, this was a two-song race until near the end, but just to mix you up, I'll throw in a few more for your picking pleasure.  Choose from Dawn, George, the 5D, the Bee Gees...

"Or ME!"

Yes, or Dave Edmunds.  Mariska, I'm sorry we didn't get you a translator or anything, maybe next time around.

M (laughing): Elvis zei dat dit zou werken...*

* "Elvis said this would work..."

DAMNIT, ELVIS!!!!

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Well, at least Elvis can't bugger up the next debut at #8.  This is a gentleman from Michigan named Garrett Borns, who goes professionally as BØRNS, and his first time on the M10 goes like this...

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Stat Pack time!

The big mover was ... er.. Bobby Goldsboro's Watching Scotty Grow- up 26 spots from 62 to 36.

I knew 44 of 'em, including the #71 in '71- Jerry Reed's Amos Moses  While it was the fourth single off his lp Country Sunshine, it was the only one that cracked the pop charts.  The others placed #14, 16, 16, and 16 on the country charts- this one made #8 on pop.

We didn't have a bubbling under this week for some reason, so #100 was Betty (the Shoop-Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)) Everett with I've Got To Tell Somebody.  Nobody was listening, though, and it peaked at #98.  Despite this long a career, Betty only made the top 40 3 times- once with Jerry Butler- and this was her last time in the 100.


And in the UK, we find another actor at the top.  This time it was Clive Dunn, a star on the BBC's Dad's Army, who one night ran into veteran studio bassist Herbie Flowers (who played the bass on, among others, David Essex's Rock On), and challenged Flowers to write a song for him.  The result, Granddad, was at the top of the UK chart this week.


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Ready for some help?  The top two are My Sweet Lord and Knock Three Times.  But who won?


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Our third debut, at #7, is by the act that was numero uno last week- The Shacks:






The new lp, to be called Haze, hits stores end of March.

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So how do you put a song behind the 8-ball with a misprint?  Well, you start with a teenager named Kenny Thomas who entered a Detroit talent competition with some songs he wrote.  One of them got the attention of producer Frank Wilson, who had the young man play it for him on his old beat up two-string guitar.  Frank reworked a few lyrics and presented it to the Supremes 2.0, who took the song - Stone Love- onto the chart.  HOWever, the record label pressed it as STONED Love- and immediately some radio idiots took it to be a "coded-word drug song" and refused to play it.  Thankfully, enough DJs with brains actually listened to the lyrics (about a love strong enough to make peace possible) that it sat at #5 this week, despite the lack of Panel love.


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The rest of the M10:


Strawberry Runners spend their 8th week on the chart at #9, down 6, with Garden Hose.

Getting pushed down a notch were Sunflower Bean's I Was A Fool at 6 and Shilpa Ray's former #1, Manhattanoid Creepazoids at 5.

Dent May climbs 3 to #4 with Take Me To Heaven.

The Shacks' former number one, Audrey, slips to #3.

Roaring (or, I guess, skating) to #2 on a 4 notch jump is illuminati hotties with (You're Better) Than Ever.

Which means the new #1 is the second #1 for...

Mo Kenney, with On The Roof!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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And on the Panel front, George Harrison got 23% of the vote, but the winner with 36.7 % is...

Dawn, with Knock Three Times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Next time, 1972!