Time machine co-ordinates VICV54352470

Today, Mat, 24th, 1970,we arrive on the Kola peninsula in Russia to watch the beginning of the Kola Superdeep Borehole,  a Soviet attempt to see how deep they could drill into the earth's crust.  It took them till 1989 to reach over 7.6 miles- but 3 years later they stopped drilling because the ground temperature at that depth, which they expected to be around 212 degrees F, actually had reached over 350 degrees.

And after lunch, Mom made them fill it right back in...

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Welcome to Time Machine, where we feature the return of the Beatles to the Panel Picks- and they brought up a great idea which I had to work hard to put together- the top songs that were, at least originally, B-sides!  And a big debate by me on which song would have been my favorite back then!  Let's dig in!

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On a week with NO M10 debuts, let's kick right off by bringing in the Fab Four!

Hello, gentlemen, so good to have you back!

J: Yes, yes, glad to be here, etc, etc...

Even though we had a BIG Panel this week- 29 contestants and 66 stations- I had thoughts of doing a special feature involving you guys, but then I got the idea about...

R:  Wait, what good ideas?

Well, I had thought about doing your biggest hits that didn't hit number one...

P: Hold a moment... I thought they ALL hit number one...

J: Nah, that's just what we told the Apple people to bump up the royalties...

G:  Say, my royalties didn't get bumped up...

R:  Nor mine...

J:  Well, it was all tied into the songwriting credits...

G:  You mean that rubbish about all the songs being composed by 'Lennon-McCartney'?

P:  That's 'McCartney- Lennon'...

R:  Not according to the labels on the discs...

Gentlemen, the point is that I actually cut them down for the list I made of the biggest B-sides of all time!  Now, I had to weed out 'double-A-sides' which only charted together...

P:  Oy, wait, what about the thing about our songs that didn't hit #1?

Twist And Shout was the biggest one; and then I thought about just figuring your B-sides...

R:  Well, then, let's hear that..

Most of 'em are on the big list anyway...

J:  Then let's have at this 'big list'!

No, you guys are here for the Panel.  However, I am going to do the first set of the list of 27 B-sides that made the top ten before you get started.




All ties that couldn't be broken otherwise are broken by points on MusicVF, as usual- and are exclusively Martin Era 2.0 (1955-1977).

28- Beatles, PS I Love You, #10, flip of Love Me Do at #1.
27- Everly Brothers, Devoted To You, #10, flip of Bird Dog at #2.
26- Aretha Franklin, I Say A Little Prayer, #10, flip of The House That Jack Built at #6.
25- Ricky Nelson, Hello Mary Lou, #9, flip of Travelling Man at #1.
24- Beatles, Strawberry Fields Forever, #8, flip of Penny Lane at #1.
23- KISS, Beth, #7, flip of the uncharting but fan favorite Detroit Rock City.
And 22- Gene Vincent, Be Bop A Lula, #7, flip of the did-not-chart Woman Love.

P:  My, that was great sport, let us have a hand!

No, you guys have to start the one vote wonders from the Panel...

J:  No, I like the other thing.  Especially with us being on it twice already.

You want me to sic Bellbottom on you already?

R:  Good God, no, that man is a crashing bore... Let me have that list.  So first comes Vanity Faire with Hitching A Ride, at #26.  Then we have Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Section...

J: Cor, that's a mouthful!

R:  ...and their song Love Land at #47.  And Clarence Carter, who has I Can't Leave Your Love Alone at #50...

P:  Here, y'sodding song-hog, let me have a go.  Joe Cocker's The Letter at #13, Robin McNamara's Lay A Little Loving On Me all the way down at #99, and... say, who's this Heintje?

G:  You know, that Dutch boy, just a wee lad, child star...

P:  Oh, yes, he got a vote in Australia for I'm Your Little Boy...and here's a countryman you here little about now, Chris Andrews, who had a South African vote for Carol OK.  George, have a try?

G:  Why certainly.  AHEM, Crosby Stills Nash and Young...

R: Shame they couldn't na found a clever name...

G: ... are at #22 with Woodstock, Credence Clearwater Revival were at ... well, they peaked on Cashbox at #48 with Run Through The Jungle three weeks ago...

At this point I should point out that all of the double-A-sides for CCR charted as one entry on Billboard, and I found it too daunting a task to pry the info from the charts on my own.  So we will be going by the Billboard decision and they will NOT be on the B-Side list.

G: Well, I for one, have totally lost my train of zen thanks to that... John, here.

J:  You are a baby, George.  Let's see... at #21 on the big lis...

No, John!  You have to do the Panel picks!

J:  Mind your manners!  Do you know to whom you are speaking?

R: Well, a few weeks ago, he said you were an "arrogant pseudo-intellectual with a Messiah complex"...

P:  No, he said that about Todd Rundgren PLAYING John...

R:  Innit the same thing, ' the cute one'?

J: Actually, I rather fancy that...all right, Panel it is. Blues Image, Ride Captain Ride, #60; Can You Feel It, Bobby Goldsboro, peaked at #98 3 weeks ago, so apparently his answer is no; Diana Ross, another lady you've had a spot of trouble with, at #14 with Reach Out, Touch Somebody's Hand; Frijid Pink was at the top in Laurenco Marques with their House Of The Rising Sun which hit #6 here in April; and that dastard Elvis and his damnable casserole with The Wonder Of You at #37.  That concludes the one-vote-wonders.  Can we do a bit of the big list now?

No, but I do need to give the next seven.

21- Gary Glitter, Rock And Roll Pt 2, #7, flip of the DNC Rock And Roll Pt 1.

P: That fellow is a bit off..

J:  No, he's a flippin' pervo...

20- Everly Brothers, Walk Right back, #7, flip of Ebony Eyes at #8.
19- Donna Summer, I Feel Love, #6, flip of the DNC Can't We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over).
18- Beatles...

R: YAAAAAAAY!!!! Third time!

... Day Tripper, # 5, flip of the #1 We Can Work It Out.
17- Beatles...

R: YAAAY!!! Fourth time...
J:  Yes, Richard, we can all count...

... She's A Woman, #4, flip of the #1 I Feel Fine.
16- And this one is a funny story.  Seems that on every Righteous Brothers lp, each guy got to sing one solo.  Bobby and Bill each wanted this particular tune, and Bobby won the coin toss.  DJs loved the song on the back better than the A-side Hung On You, which hit #41; and despite producer Phil Spector's best efforts to stop it...

P:  Don't mention that man to me...

G: Was a bit of a control freak, yes?

... Unchained Melody hit #4.

15- Booker T and the MGs, Green Onions, #3, flip of DNC Behave Yourself.

All right, back to the countdown.

P: All righty, I get to start the also receiving votes list.  With 2 votes each, we have Melanie and Lay Down (Candles In The Rain) at #33, Chicago and Make Me Smile at #17, Tyrone Davis' Turn Back The Hands Of Time at #4, and... Hey!  Here we are at #20 with Let It Be??? Why so few votes?

Because Let It Be was on the way down at 20, and The Long And Winding Road was on the way up at #19- in fact, it was the week's big mover, 19 spots from #38.

J:  Jolly good!  Now, the three vote songs...

R:  A moment, John, I believe it's my turn..

J:  And I say, you can have when I'm done!  Rare Earth is at #12 with Get Ready, and Marmalade has Reflections Of My Life at #7... hey, there are no more!

R:  Hah hah, short straw!

J: I'll be having your short straw, you little...

Okay, that will do!  That leaves us the TIGHTEST race in some time- we have one with 6, and three each with 5 and four!  George, do you think you could...

G: Of course!  Choose from the following seven finalists:
Poppy Family, Which Way You Going, Billy, at #11...
Norman Greenbaum, Spirit In The Sky, # 5...
Ray Stevens, Everything Is Beautiful, # 8...
Credence Clearwater Revival, Up Around The Bend at #3...
Simon and Garfunkel, Cecilia, #2...
The Guess Who, American Woman, #1...
And the Ides Of March, Vehicle, at #10!

Nice work, fellows!  You all have your work cut out for you, folks, and I AIN'T gonna give no hints this time!  Ringo, you got left out a turn, how about doing the next set of the B-Sides list?

J: Say, you KNEW I wanted to have a go...

Shoulda let Ringo have his turn before!  Here ya go, mate...

R:  So there, "messiah'!  Here we go...

14- The Spinners, I'll Be Around, #3, flip of How Could I Let You Get Away, #77.

Chris's note says that one and this one were backed up by the instrumentalists of the band MFSB!  That next song at #13...

Actually, there's a bit more to this story- the song in question was the instrumental version of the A-side song, Love Is All Right, in which the leader of the band, Cliff Nobles, sang lead.  In the instrumental backside- renamed The Horse- it was just the rest of his band, with the horn section from MFSB...

R: ...which means #13 is The Horse, a #2 hit for Cliff Nobles and Co.- stress on the "and Co.".

12- The Surfaris, Wipe Out, #2, flip of the #62 Surfer Joe.
11- The Doobie Brothers, Black Water, the first of 11 number ones at the top of the list, flip of Another Park Another Sunday, which hit #32.
10- Stevie Wonder- er, Little Stevie Wonder, with Fingertips Pt 2, flip of Fingertips Pt 1.  Note says, "Marvin Gaye on drums".
9- Steam, Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye, flip of the DNC It's The Magic In You Girl.
 And my last one, 8- Why of course, it's the Beatles, with Come Together, flip of Something, one of just two discs on the list where both sides hit the top.

Okay, thanks again guys!


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Sorry to be so list heavy, but you have to do things up when the Beatles come to town!  (At least, that was part of the deal I worked out to hire Horace Bellbottom to work for me...)  Anyway, lets take a mad look at the Stat Pack before moving on!

UK top dog was the 1970 English World Cup Squad, in the first of a traditional series of such songs at WC time, with Back Home.

The #70 in '70 were the Fortunes with That Same Old Feeling.  It was not released at first in the UK; they had gotten back together after a well-received Coke jingle re-ignited their careers, and it was distributed to employees at a Coke meeting.  The band Pickettywitch recorded it then and took it to #5 in the UK.  That prompted the Fortunes to try their hand releasing it in the USA- and Pickettywitch did the same.  Cashbox ended up with the PW version making #40, and the Fortunes #59; on Billboard it was PW trailing the Fortunes 62-67.

The Beach Boys were at 101 with Cottonfields- a song that would cement their 70's trend of charting far better abroad than in America.

The notable debuts this week included the aforementioned Lay A Little Loving On Me, 3 Dog Night's Mama Told Me (Not To Come) (#63), the Jackson Five with The Love You Save at 59, and the Temptations with Ball Of Confusion at #51.

As for my favorite as it would have been back then, it would have been a toss-up between Rare Earth's Get Ready and Ray Stevens' Everything Is Beautiful.  Given that Ray got a lot more playing time, I give him the very slight nod here.

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Our quick whip through a familiar M10 this week:

Maybird hangs on for a 7th week, dropping 7 to 10 with the former top dog Don't Keep Me Around.

Kacey and Clayton nudge up one spot to 9 with The Light Of Day.

Idlewild holds at 8 with You Held The World In Your Arms.

Falling back 3 to #7 is ELO's Long Black Road.

Holding at #6 is Skindred and That's My Jam.

Shooting up 4 to #5 is Moon Taxi and Now's The Time.

Giving ground reluctantly is Criminal Hygiene's Hardly News (from a cd I got for my birthday!), falling one to #4

King Leg legs it up from 5 to 3 with Seeing You Tonight.

Tame Impala slips to #2 with Eventually, which means the new top dog is the second straight for...

... The Dig, and Moonlight Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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The final 7 of the B-Sides list:

7- Brenda Lee, I'm Sorry, flip of #6 That's All You Gotta Do.
6- Rolling Stones, Ruby Tuesday, flip of #55 Let's Spend The Night Together.
5- Drifters, Save The Last Dance For Me, flip of DNC Nobody But Me- a song that Dick Clark suggested to Doc Pomus that he flip it...
4- Bill Haley and his Comets, Rock Around The Clock, flip of a DNC song apparently about the end of the world- 13 Women (and Only One Man).
3- Rod Stewart, Maggie May, flip of #62 Reason To Believe.
2- Gloria Gaynor, I Will Survive, flip of the #107 Substitute.

And the only other double #1 on the list....

Elvis with Hound Dog, the flip of Don't Be Cruel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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And at long last, the Panel:

Picking Norman Greenbaum, Ray Stevens, or the Guess Who, got you 6.06% of the vote...

Picking the Poppy Family, CCR, or the Ides Of March netted you 7.57%...

But yer winnah, with 9.09 % of the vote...

....Simon and Garfunkel and Cecilia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Wow, what a finish!  Be here next time if God allows, for Paul and Art and 1971!