Time Machine co-ordinates VILXXVI52311073

Today we find ourselves in January of 1973.  1973, you say?  Aren't we supposed to be in 1972?  Well, I forgot about the End Of Year Redundancy Transclaudication- that if you do the end of 1971 one week and the start of 1972 the next, you haven't moved one year, but one WEEK.  So I skipped ahead, and ramifications abound.  One of them is that we land in January 11th of 1973- the day baseball voted in the designated hitter.  Like it or not, it's here now (mostly in the AL), and it would be 115 days from now (give or take, I counted on my fingers) that Ron Blomberg of the Yankees would take that first fateful at-bat.

And with that, welcome to the first TM of 2019!  And to start out what will be a post full of surprises, I'm going to start out with- a 6D quiz!  Our song that was the highest nationally on Cashbox's survey without a #1 vote from the Panel was Curtis Mayfield's Superfly.  Among the things that I learned in trying to do a 6D on it was that it was in the 2012 movie version of Dark Shadows... how that works out, I'm not quite sure...

Anyway, the actual soundtrack lp had four songs that were in the movie and DIDN'T make the album- and Superfly was one of them!  So was a cover of the Raspberries' Go All The Way, redone by the Killers... and Black Sabbath's Paranoid... and one more song, that is actually one of this week's Panel Contestants!  So your first of three guessing games this week (including the usual Panel winner) is, which contestant was the song in the Dark Shadows movie but NOT on the soundtrack?

And while you wait with baited breath to see who you get to pick from, I would normally show you our one M10 debut this week- but I'm gonna have a little fun with that, too!  Here are four acts that in the last few months have had #1s on the M10:

Rosanne Cash
Anna Burch
The Beths
ELO

Each of them had a new to the M10 song vying for that one spot- and there were 2 newbies also in the mix!  So here's contest number two (and I'll just add that Laurie failed miserably on this, so don't feel bad):  Which act got the #10 spot this week?  I'll even be nice and tell you it WAS one of the acts listed above, and not a newbie.  But which one?  Answer in a little bit.

"Youse really make this hard on a guy!"

Don't worry, inspector- if you want, pick a win, place or show horse, and it will give you a 75% chance of at least being partly right!  (BTW, Laurie hit the "show" pick.)

And now, for your entertainment- and before I open the door to let them in- I have a special suprise!  This week is Melanie's job to do the M10- but I'm going to give her a couple of helpers that we sadly lost between last time and now.  Won't you all welcome...

Melanie...

Ray Sawyer from Dr Hook...

...and the Captain!!!

Nice to see you all!

M: Thank you!

R: Groovy!

C:.....

It is going to seem kinda funny to have three of you here since we had just 9 contestants from 46 stations, but hopefully, we can have some fun with it!  With this few contestants, I'm going back to the ol "alphabetical order" list, so here you go!  Any questions?

C: .....

R:  Yeah, I was just wondering about... you know, the.. hee hee, man it's SOMETHING in here!  I think that fat guy in the sequins got me buzzed... can I say buzzed here?

Sure, Ray!

R:  Cool, so like I was... well, hang on, I think I have a ding dong in my coat pocket... here it is!

Uh, Ray, you had a question?

R: OH, YEAH!  The signs, man.. the signs... at the food area... what was that stuff... balogna casserole... what's up with that?

Oh, there just a health department requirement.

R:  Oh... freakin' narcs...

M:  May I see the list, Ray?  Thanks.  Maybe I better start us off.  I see we have Gilbert O'Sullivan with Clair, which was at #4... Elton John had Crocodile Rock at #9... and a vote from South Africa for Johnny Nash's I Can See Clearly Now which was on the charts here back in November.  Captain, why don't you do the next three...


C:...

Um, I might want to add here that Lobo was the Laurenco Marques song this week, having peaked a month ago here; Last Song was climbing at #42; and Billy and the Mrs were at #3.

M:  Ray would you like to do the last three?

R...mmmbll ... pink puppy doggies.. mmmblll...

I'm thinking Ray passed out...

M; All right, let me do them.  Johnny Rivers had the Rockin' Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu at #5... Stevie Wonder had Superstition at #2... and Carly Simon was at #1 with You're So Vain.  That's it!

Thanks, Mel!  And hey, I'm sorry that Scrappy has stiffed you on the Beauty Contest so far...

M:  Don't worry.  I have a way with doggies...

R:  mmmm... li'l PINK doggies... mmmbll...

M:  ..and I'll bet NEXT year it will be a different story...

Hey waitaminit, he just picks the last four or five's winner- I'M the one that gets you there...

M:  Oh, Captain?  Don't you have something for him, to encourage him...?

C: ... 

"Hey, good looking..."

Oh, good grief... Allright, I'll do the best I can!  Meanwhile, while Nardole helps them wheel Ray out, have you made your picks?  Here's your help, both for the Panel winner and the 6D quiz!  Pick from Elton, Carly, Stevie, or Billy!  Remember, one vote for the winner, one for the song in the DS movie!  And now, let me give you the reveal on which act got the lone debut on the M10 at #10...






And I looked everywhere I could to figure out WHAT that 45 was... no luck yet, but you know me...


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One of the problems with the  End Of Year Redundancy Transclaudication is that I STILL owe a 1972 label game, as well as a 1973!  So, first off- the 1972.  This was a stubborn year!  It took till the #60 song of the year to get one label with the minimum 4- and when I got it, it went crazy, and NINE labels ended up making the cut!  It came down to a three way battle between little noticed United Artists, barely heard-from Sussex- and the winner ...

Epic Records!  Unlike a lot of these contests, Epic got it's 34.6 average from a variety of acts:  Looking Glass and Brandy (#9 for the year), Sly Stone's Family Affair (#11), The Hollies and Long Cool Woman (#20), Argent's Hold your Head Up (#60), and Bobby Vinton's Sealed With A Kiss (#73)!

1973 was a retrun to what we usually expect, with Columbia winning the number of hits with 9, and getting clobbered on position average by someone who had a lot fewer- and one dominant act-

...Bell Records!  They got two from Tony Orlando and Dawn (Tie A Yellow Ribbon at the top, and Sweet Gypsy Rose at 17) along with backup from Vicki Lawrence's The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia (23) and Sweet's Little Willy (51).

So, ready with your pick for which Panel contestant got on the Dark Shadows movie but not the soundtrack?  Why, it was...

Sir Elton Duck with Crock Rock!

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Stat Pack Time!

We had a three way tie on the big mover, and I have to say that two of them I really didn't know.  One of those was the 5th Dimension with Living Together, Loving Together, which leapt the 15 spots from 72 to 57.  It would have the lowest future, eventually peaking at #20.

The second was Bette Midler covering Do You Want To Dance, going from 62 to 47.  She would manage to squeeze up to #13.

But the one I knew was the biggest of the three- Lobo's Don't Expect Me To Be Your Friend, which went from 47 to 32 and would end up at #4.

The #73 in '73 was one of the last, low charting hits for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, called I Can't Stand To See You Cry.  It didn't get into the top 40.

Harry Chapin took the 101 spot with Better Place To Be.  This song, though, would never find it, as it began dropping the next week.

Little Jimmy Osmond was on top in the UK with Long Haired Lover From Liverpool.  I knew a whopping 19 of their top 50, including 4 of our contestants- You're So Vain (7) Crock Rock (20), Clair (27), and Me And Mrs Jones (42).  On the Cashbox chart, I knew 37- including our guest this week, Ray Sawyer, singing lead on Cover Of The Rolling Stone, at #54 and climbing slowly.

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The remaining M10:

The Parlor Mob hang on at #9 for a second week with 4th Of July- but they have a LOT of hands knocking at the door next week!

Sade will likely give up her spot- she dips 3 to #8 with The Big Unknown, 8 weeks on the chart.

Charles Bradley and friends jump 3 to #7 with Luv Jones.

Papa Roach makes a two notch climb to #6 with Not The Only One.

Tangerine slides up one to #5 with This Time Last Year.

And now for the "tell me if this sounds familiar" section:

The Beths at 4 with Future Me Hates Me;

Anna Burch at #3 with 2 Cool 2 Care;

The Decemberists at #2 with Travelling On;

And at the top for a second week:

...Castlecomer's She's So High!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(But don't tell Ray...)

And for your final guess, the Pannel winner and next week's President of Time Machine:

If you took Big Stevie Wonder, you got a little 6.5%...

If you took Elton for the win-win, you came up with but 15.2 %...

If you took Billy Paul and the Mrs- shame on you!  But you did get 21.7%...


But the winner, with a whopping 45.6%...

...Carly Simon and You're So Vain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And that's it for this time!  Next week, it's 1974, and I WON'T be asking Carly who the song was about!