Time Machine co-ordinates VILXXV518122171

Today, we fly into December 21st of 1971, the day the UN, in its usual right-on-time style, called for an immediate end to the war between India and Pakistan over the birth of Bangladesh- some 5 days after the Pakistan Army IN Bangladesh surrendered to the combined forces.  Which of course was mere power politics- because the USSR supported India, the US was willing to take a pass on what Pakistan was doing in East Bengal, and because the US didn't want Pakistan to be totally annihilated by India, the Soviets vetoed attempt after attempt to get such a resolution passed through the Security Council.  In the end, the facts on the ground gave the superpowers their compromise:  The Indians were brought to heel after getting what they wanted, and the Pakistani nation got to live another day.  The US got their resolution without having to use the conveniently located 7th fleet, the Russians got their boy to win, and Red China got to tell Pakistan, "We told you so..."


Oh, and Bangladesh got their Independence- which, as I recall, we schoolkids realized was the right thing to happen.  A lot of voices from "those days" like to bash US policy in Vietnam- but our real moral failures in the early 70s were in Bangladesh and Israel.

"Martin, I'm gonna belt you..."

Sorry, Dick, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em!  Anyway, it's time to get started on a Time Machine that includes yet another OT Panel battle, some Christmas stuff, the holiday schedule, and the return of George Harrison!   Bombs away, dream babies!


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Let's kick off some Christmas spirit with the first of 2 debuts this week.  While not strictly a Christmas song, it is certainly seasonal!  At #10, here's Tangerine...






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Welcome back to the Musical Tardis George Harrison!  How are you doing?

Well... uh... we aren't going to bring up last time, are we?

No.  Although I hope you noticed the new signs we've put up from the Board of Chronal Health about the bologna casserole...

Yes, I had seen that... though  the "in honor of G. Harrison" at the bottom of the plaques is a bit much...

NARDOLE:  Well, you didn't have to clean and launder the mess, did you?

Nardole, don't you have something else to do?  Anyway, it's 15 candidates- one of which I'm going to keep aside for a bit- and 63 stations.  And, a run-off between the top two!  Here is the one-vote wonder list...


Awl right, then, let us see...Why, there are only four of them...

Five actually, but one is the one I'm holding out...

Ah.  So first, dropping to #48 on Cashbox, the Grass Roots and Two Divided By Love...

Then the only one currently charting in me homeland, Cher with Gypsies Tramps And Thieves, #8 in the UK and 21 here.

Then, from the at-sea station from the Netherlands, Mouth and McNeil with How Do You Do, which charts in the States in July next year...

The Stylistics with You Are Everything at #19...

...and Al Green with Let's Stay Together at #22.  At least the top ten did better than usual!

That they did, so far.  All right, here's the "Also Receiving Votes"...

Thank you... we have two songs that got three votes.  Little Michael Jackson- I think he might just have a future in music- with Got To Be There at #3.

The other is Sly and the Family Stone with Family Affair at number one.

Then we have 3 songs that got two votes... the first being Rod Stewart's Maggie May, which got the Australian vote and peaked in the States in October....

...then we have the Lorenco Marques song of the week, Free Movement with I've Found Someone Of My Own, which peaked last month...

...and finally, Jonathan Edwards' Sunshine, which is at #17.


Okay, and that gets us to the final four...

Yes, here we have the Chi-Lites and Have You Seen Her at #9...

Don McLean's American Pie at #11...

Melanie and Brand New Key at #2...

...and Three Dog Night and An Old Fashioned Love Song at #4.


There you have it!  Pay attention, because I'll be cutting this list down to the two that each got 18 votes-  28.6% each- soon!  George, will you be popping off to the buffet?

Er, no... I packed a thermos...

Good idea!

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So the tune that I held out, with its one vote from South Africa, is a tune we've had on TM before, the international hit Mamy Blue (or Mammy, depending on the version/nation).  The most-known version here in the US was by the Stories of Brother Louie fame.  But the main act that carried the banner around the world were the Pop-Tops, a Spanish vocal group with a Trinidadian lead singer.  The Pop-Tops hit #57 here, #1 in France, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Austria, and Denmark, #2 in Japan, and top ten in many other countries.  However, the Pop-Tops struggled in English speaking areas, finishing outside the top 30 in the UK and outside the 40 in Canada.


But, as I said, this wasn't the end of the story.  A plethora of acts struck gold with this song, one of the most charted covers tune I've ever seen.  Frenchman Joel Dayde also hit the top in France, and #3 in Australia, and a lady going by the name Nicholetta was also top five in many countries.  In Argentina (of all places), where they did a Cashbox-like combining of versions, the #1 spot was claimed by versions by James Darren, Ricky Shayne, Roger Whitaker, an otherwise-unknown American quartet called Punch, and native sons Apocolyptis.

So here, Billboard, as I said, had the Pop Tops finishing at #57, and the Stories at #50, along with James Darren's take at #107.  But when you look at the two competing charts with BB, it gets a bit more spread out:

Darren hit #66 on Record World, and 77 on Cashbox;
the Pop Tops claimed 44 on RW and 68 on CB;
The Stories got a 38 on RW, and climbed all the way to 21 on CB;
And the Bob Crewe Generation, who also charted in Uruguay (!) hit RW's #107.

In Canada, the Pop Tops were joined both by a local act called the Oak Island Treasury Department (#48), and a French-language version by Roger Whitaker which was a #2 on the Canadian French-language chart.

So which one got the South African vote? NONE of 'em!

Their #1 was from a studio band calling themselves Charisma.  They were unnotable anywhere else, except for one detail- their lead singer...

Her name is Stevie Vann, and she was the lead singer on a song you MAY remember- working with Chris Thompson of Manfred Mann's Earth Band, she handled lead vocals for the band Night, which hit #18 back in '79 with Hot Summer Night.  Wow.


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Here's the secondary reveal- the two songs that went to the run-off were American Pie and Brand New Key.  I will tell you one thing about the run off (which won't help you):  The song that won was number two on 10 of the 18 times the loser got a #1;  the loser, by contrast, got NO #2s on the 18 the winner had.

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And now, the high debut at #6- my boys from Castlecomer:





I thought seeing them live was worth the extra stuff on the video.


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So, in nosing around Billboard this week, I noticed that there is one advantage to the age of streaming songs- a lot of the old Christmas classics, PC be damned, are charting again.  Lps for Christmas by Pentatonix (3 of 'em), and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (3 here, too) are being joined by Frank Sinatra (2), Dean Martin (2), the Carpenters, and Andy Williams (2), along with almost 2 dozen others.  And the hot 100 is not immune!  Here is where Christmas songs were on the latest Billboard hot 100:

7- All I Want For Christmas Is You, Mariah Carey;
16- It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, Andy Williams;
21- Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree, Brenda Lee;
22- A Holly Jolly Christmas, Burl Ives;
26- Jingle Bell Rock, Bobby Helms;
29- Christmas Song, Nat King Cole;
34- Last Christmas, Wham;
36- Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Gene Autry;
 and 41- Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Dean Martin!

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Stat Pack:

Well, let's see here... I knew 47 on CB's 100, and 17 on the UK 50.

The #101 was a bit of the holiday SAD from Ray Charles, What Am I Living For.

The #71 in '71 was a band called Dusk with the peppy Treat Me Like A Good Piece Of Candy.  Their lead vocal was Peggy Santaglia, of the Angels and "My Boyfriend's Back" fame.

The UK #1 is one we've seen before- Benny Hill's Ernie, The Fastest Milkman In The West.

Our big mover this week was the Jackson Five and Sugar Daddy, 40 spots from 60 to 20.

And the winner of the label game-

...MGM, who scored 32.7 average position on four hits from the Osmonds- One Bad Apple (9) and Yo-Yo (68) from the whole group, and Go Away Little Girl (8) and Sweet And Innocent (46) by Donnie solo.  Columbia once again got the most end-of-year hits with 7.


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The rest of the M10:

Holding at 9, Rad City's Foreign Bodies.

Slipping a spot to 8, Juanita Stein's Get Back To The City.

The Decemberists climb 3 to 7 with Travelling On.

Foster The People backs up one to #5 with Worst Nights.

And Charles Bradley takes that #4 slot with Slip Away.

Giving ground grudgingly is Sade's The Big Unknown, down one more to #3.

Anna Burch moves up to 2 with 2 Cool 2 Care.

And second week at the top for...

...the Beths and Future Me Hates Me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the winner of the run-off, by a 10-4 margin...

....Melanie and Brand New Key!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And now, about that schedule...  This is how I am seeing the next few weeks:  On the 27th, an M10 update; the 28th and 29th, I'll do the year's top 40 or 50, depending; on the 4th, we'll have the M10 AND the Beauty Contest; and be back to normal on the 11th, where, God willing, we will be doing Melanie and 1972!