Time Machine co-ordinates VIXLII47522376

Today we find ourselves in February 23rd of 1976- the day that saw the start of the first trial of serial killer Ted Bundy.  He had been arrested and charged with the kidnapping of near-victim Carol Deronch, who escaped only because, in the fight to handcuff her, he got both cuffs on one wrist, and she escaped.  His second choice that night wasn't so lucky.  I wouldn't have shared this happy story, except virtually nothing else happened that day.  Not even a plane crash.  Nor a birthday worth making fun of.  So we start this week much as it has been all week for me- with a resounding THUD.


(BTW, I just turned spellcheck off once and for all.  It wanted me to spell Bundy "Buddy".  Not. Gonna. Happen.)


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So welcome to this week's Time Machine, where we have 3 new debuts; three of my favorite songs in the top ten that were IGNORED by the Panel this week, along with a third consecutive near miss of overtime; and who were Cycle V, and what did they have to do with Giorgio Moroder, Jane Birkin, or Fritz Lang's Metroplis?

"Truth be told, zey had nothing to do vith me..."

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First comes our first debut- a song I stuck into the top ten literally halfway through my first listen!  From Everett, WA, here are the Moondoggies...






They take the #10 slot with their latest.


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Today, we welcome Barry Manilow into the co-pilot's chair!  How goes it, Barry?

You know, playin' the piano, writin' the songs...

Now, your future self has actually had a hit on the M10 just recently- this might be a first for a POTM to be a M10er!

M10?

My non-time-limited weekly top ten.

Oh, really?  What song did I do?

Well, I can't tell you, because you haven't done it yet!  Uh, actually, I guess you've done half of it by this point...

I did half a song already... and the other half I did in...

It's a medley, and you put the two halves together last year my time- in 30 or so years, your time...

Good grief, I'm still doing music in thirty years?  And people still like it?

Sure!  I don't call you "the Sinatra of our generation" for nothing...

Sinatra... wow...  When do they start calling me that?

Um, well, I'm the only one so far doing it, but...

Hey, that's something, I guess.  So what are we doing here?

I give you the list of this week's contestants- 16 #s on 41 stations- and you read 'em.

Okay, let me have the list...  Eric Carmen is the first guy, with All By Myself at #4 on the week's Cashbox chart.  Hey, can I make comments if I like it?

I encourage it!

But if you get the "POTMs" from the year they won... and have them read a list from the NEXT year...

Let's not over-think this, B.  Okay?

Right.  Next is Queen- always did like their style...

So I've heard...

...with Bohemian Rhapsody, which is at #28.

This week has two songs about the CB radio fad.  The first one is CW McCall's Convoy, at #32.  Say, these songs are all charting pretty low...

Yeah, that seems to happen a lot in the '70s.

Gary Wright is at #16 with Dream Weaver.  Getting warmer...!

Paul Simon is at the top with 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover.  Say, I recall that having quite the chart contest with MY I Write The Songs.  Is that coming up?  

Funny story about that.  We'll pick it up in a bit.

Hmmm...  So Elton John has both sides of a double-A in the countdown.  Grow Some Funk Of Your Own is at #10; I Feel Like A Bullet In The Gun Of Robert Ford is at #27.

Larry Groce's Junk Food Junkie is at #30.  You know, I should do that in one of my shows...

Yeah, you'll kill 'em at the part about having a Big Mac on your breath...

(Cross look)  ANYway, the Miracles are at #5 with Love Machine.

The Ohio Players are at #29 with Love Rollercoaster.

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were at #17 with Oh What A Night (December 1963).

Dr Hook covers a classic, Only Sixteen, at #31.  Another low charter!

9 out of 16 were #15 or below...

Wow, lot of variety there.  Rhythm Heritage was at #2 with the Theme From SWAT.

Rufus and Chaka Khan was at #18 with Sweet Thing.  I mean, were.

The other CB song, Cledus Maggerd's White Knight, was at #22.

And that leaves us with Hot Chocolate's You Sexy Thing at #6.  Hey!  So were is I Write...

We're getting to that, hang on.  So this time, I'm going to twist the game a little bit.  I'll give you all the top 2- which were 12-11 in votes- and three ringers with only one vote each to choose from.  So your choices are:  You Sexy Thing;  SWAT; Bohemian Rhapsody;  Love Rollercoaster; and 50 Ways.  Pick out those top two, and I'll update you a bit later.

So now, about I Write...

No, now we get debut #2.  You remember her from Dent May's Across The Multiverse, and here she is on her own at #9- Frankie Cosmos:




This is a fan-made video so hopefully you'll all get to see it before some record company guy complains and it gets pulled.


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Now, getting to the point Mr Manilow was trying to make.  There were 4 songs on the Cashbox top ten that didn't get a Panel vote.  One was our 6D victim at #3, which we'll get to later.  The remainder were three of my favorites of all time- at #7, the Eagles and Take It To The Limit; at #8, I Write The Songs;

WHAAAAAT!?!

...and at #9 ELO's Evil Woman.  In fact, out of 41 stations, Take It appeared in the top 10 of a chart 15 times, with a high of #2;  Barry made the top ten 14 times with a high of #3; and ELO made the top ten 10 times with a high of #4.  Needless to say, I am a bit disappointed...

WE are a lot disappointed...

...with the Panel this week, but if it just went off the CB chart, what fun would that be?

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I know we are a bit early for video #3, but I have a surprise in the Stat Pack, so here is a new debut off a soon to be released lp by an act that becomes the second act to have SIX M10s under their belts...  this is... Beach House:





Note:  If you don't want to be hypnotized, you might wanna look away during the video.  And, this debuts at #8.


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The first (and basically only) national concert I saw (sorta) at the Memorial Coliseum was Joan Jett.  I didn't get to see Joan- my future ex-wife saw someone she apparently didn't want to be seen with me by, and made up a story about avoiding her "brother"- making us leave HALFWAY through the first act.  We can bash her some other time;  important thing is, the act I was TRYING to watch was called House of Lords, and they were led by one Greg Giuffria, who I would hear later as the leader of his own, self-named band, which had a hit with Call To Your Heart.  This becomes pertinent to our story as he was later (or earlier) bandmates with one Frank Dimino in an outfit called Angel.

Uh...yeah...

Later- or earlier, I never noted the timeframe- Frank was the lead singer for an outfit called Cycle V, a studio throw-together that did Seduce Me Tonight on the Flashdance soundtrack- and one other thing.  Producer Giorgio Moroder decided to do a modern soundtrack to the 1927 silent cult classic Metropolis by Fritz Lang.  Among those on the soundtrack were Freddie Mercury, Bonnie Tyler, Pat Benatar, Jon Anderson of Yes, Billy Squier, Adam Ant, Loverboy- and yes, Cycle V.  Moroder was much more known for a song which a singer of his had started a lead lyric to but had no idea where to go with it.  He thought about it- and then combined it with the near-orgasmic parts of Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsborough's Je T'aime Moi Non Plus- which is why Jane told us she wasn't really involved- and came up with the song at #3 without a Panel vote- Donna Summer's Love To Love You Baby.


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Sta Pack time- in a sec.  But first:  Your two songs that do the real duking out are- SWAT and 50 Ways.  If you took them, you are still in the running!

The top song in the UK this week is one of our Panel contestants- Oh What A Night!  Also charting from the Panel picks in Jolly Ol' are Bohemian Rhapsody (#36), Convoy- yes, Convoy (4), Love Machine (14), and our 6D victim from Ms Summer (#12).

The #76 in '76 goes to the Ozark Mountain Daredevils with If I Only Knew, a song from the lp strangely- well maybe not strangely- The Car Over The Lake Album...

No, that IS strange...

The #101 was a song by Anne Murray called, The Call.  It was top 5 Canadian Country, and was written by Gene McLellan, who also wrote Anne's Snowbird and Ocean's Put Your Hand In The Hand.

Big mover was Maxine Nightingale's Right Back Where We Started From, up 27 spots from #77 to #50.


I knew 58 songs in the hot 100 this week, and while I didn't see much I knew in the Bubbling Under, I found Terry Bradshaw, of all people, at #120...




What I wouldn't give to watch him look into Bill Shatner's eyes and sing this on Better Late Than Never...

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The remaining M10:

Moon Taxi stuck again, this time at #7 with Let The Record Play.

Shilpa Ray goes up 2 to #6 with Rockaway Blues.

Back down again, stopping at #5 again, for the Shacks and Follow Me.

Reversing direction in week #7 is illuminati hotties, one spot up at #4 with (You're Better) Than Ever.

The Decemberists get shoved down a very unwilling notch to #3 with Severed. 

Voodoo Children move into the runner-up slot with Tangerines And Daffodils.

Which means a second week at #1 for...

...Lucius with Neighbors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAND the winner of this week's election, with a mere 2.43% margin...

Paul Simon and 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next week, Rhymin' Simon and 1977!