Time Machine co-ordinates VICVI54453171

Today we land on the last day of May 1971, and we're in Comiskey Park, taking in the White Sox and Orioles.  Baltimore outfield Don Buford is up and gets hit- "in the behind", where Pete Rose always used to take 'em- by Sox pitcher Bart Johnson.  Buford went to the mound- bat in hand- but stopped before smacking him around.  Someone else wasn't so lucky, though- let's let Sox fielder Mike Andrews tell, "the rest of the story":

"I remember that vividly because I saw the whole thing from second base. It was a Memorial Day doubleheader and Bart threw a close one at Buford. Buford started out towards the mound with his bat. I don’t think Don intended using that bat though. It just happened that he started towards the mound and I don’t think he realized he still had the bat in his other hand. Don played football at USC. If he was going to do something, he didn’t even need a bat. Anyway nothing happened and Don went out to left field. The Sox fans in that lower deck just gave him hell. A few innings later he’s in the on deck circle watching the game when I see a fan jump over the wall and start towards him. This drunk was headed his way when a bunch of guys started yelling to Don to look out. Buford turned, saw the guy, and cold cocked him. Just dropped him with one punch. That’s when some of Don’s teammates from the Orioles headed out of the dugout and beat the guy. He was bloody from head to toe. I heard afterwards that when they took the guy into the medical room at the park to get worked on, the medics turned their back for a moment and the guy disappeared!" 

"You SURE you want some of this, son?"

Welcome to this week's Time Machine, where I have a special surprise feature, the POTMs get to help on our 6D victim, our 399th M10 song debuts...

"Yeah, you prolly messed up that count, too!"

...yeah, prolly, but I have the books in hand, so who's gonna go back through nearly four years of posts to dispute it?  Anyway, let's sit back with a box of Crackerjack and head out to the old song game!


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Because I'm all about having fun, let's start things out very unusually- with the #101 song this week!  Note:  This is NOT NOT NOT the 399th song on the M10-  but it is some fun with Hudson and Landry:






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Let's bring in that dynamic duo, the Princes of POTMs, Simon and Garfunkel!!!

(So, Horace, does that satisfy the clause?)

HB:  Considering no allegations of the defamation of Mr Simon were proved from his last 'invitation', as it were, I'd say that will do nicely.

Good, okay guys, I got a real treat in store for you...

AG:  Oh, goody!

PS:  "Goody?"  Geez, Art... Okay, so what's the treat?

Well, I'm going to give you some clues, and see if you can give me the 6D song this week!  Ready?

AG:  Sure!

PS:  Fire away...

Okay, so the 6D song this week- the one that charted highest without a Panel vote- Got these accolades when done by somebody OTHER than the original hit makers...

Buck Owens and the Buckaroos had a top 10 country hit with the song...
Aretha Franklin turned it into a #1 R&B and a top ten pop, and won a Grammy...
Johnny Cash also covered it, in a 2003 duet with Fiona Apple that got another Grammy nomination...
Linda Clifford hit the Disco charts with it in 1979...

PS:  I think I know where this is going...

In 2017, it was used for a benefit for those who lost everything in the Grenfell Tower fire, and the large celebrity list on that record included Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of the Who, Nile Rodgers of Chic, and Brian May of Queen...

AG:  Wow, impressive...

And the final clue, when the song's writer heard Elvis do it on stage, he was quoted as saying...

PS:  "...That's it, we might as well all give up now..."  It's Bridge Over Troubled Waters!

AG:  Hey, that's OUR song!

PS:  You mean it's MY song, which I stupidly let you sing...

AG:  Paulie, that's not very kind.  I know we're having some issues right now... 

PS:  ISSUES?  'PAULIE'?  I am SO tired of you ragging on how short I am!

AG:  Look, how many times do I have to apologize for that?  It's like I was telling Mike Nicholls the other day...

PS:  Don't bring that piece of human waste and that damn movie up around me!  "Oh, I'm Artie Garfunkel and I got a bit part in Catch-22 and Carnal Knowledge..."

AG:  I had a STARRING role in Carnal Knowledge, I'll have you know...

PS:  Oh, sure, if you don't mind being stuck behind Jack Nicholson...

AG:  Wasn't any worse than being stuck behind you... Of, course, I had to step AROUND Jack to be seen...

FELLOWS!  Is there some slight chance you could behave long enough to do the Panel Picks?

AG:  How many are there?

24 contestants from 65 stations...

P/A:  NOT A CHANCE!

Sigh.  Horace...

HB:  Gentlemen, I believe we can resolve this to everybody's satisfaction.  If you could both step over this way... a bit more to your left... there's the lads.  Alright, Mr Nardole?

N:  Of course...

VVVVWWHOOOOOOSH!
clunk

Thanks, guys, Simon and Garfunkel, everybody!  Now let me steamroll through our one hit wonders...

King Floyd got a vote for a song that peaked #19 earlier in the month, Baby Let Me Kiss You.
In South Africa, Allan Garrity got a vote for his cover of Put Your Hand In The Hand, a song charting here by the group Ocean.
Two stations had both an album and a song from the lp at their #1 for some reason.  One of them was Carole King's Tapestry, but the tune from it was her version (the original) of You Got A Friend, which was never released.
The band Daddy Cool from Australia had one of the biggest hits in Aussie history this week with Eagle Rock.  The song spent 10 weeks at the top, and their album was Australia's first 100,000 seller.
The Five Man Electrical Band was on a slow climb at #85 with Signs.
Ritchie Havens' take on the Beatle tune Here Comes The Sun was at #15.
Even slower than 5MEB's hit was John Denver, who had to eventually beg the record company not to give up on his eventual top seller Take Me Home Country Roads at #83.

Olivia Newton-John claims this week's Lorenco Marques song with If Not For You- it was #131 here.
Daddy Dewdrop's Chik-A-Boom (Don' Yew Jes Love It) was at #5.  I always preferred the Groovy Ghoulies version, myself.

Finally, the Doors get but one vote for the #7 Love Her Madly.


The "also receiving votes" gang includes:
Both Helen Reddy and Yvonne Eliman's versions of I Don't Know How To Love Him got 2 votes.  Yvonne was at 33, Helen at 23.
The 8th Day also got 2 for She's Not Another Woman at #40.
Harold Stott, better known as 'Lally', was charting on 2 Australian stations with his song Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep, which was charting here for Mack and Katie Sissons and in the UK by Middle Of The Road (who did it best IMHO).
Also getting 2 votes were the Carpenters with Rainy Days And Mondays at #19, and Lobo with Me And You And A Dog Named Boo at #8.
And a pair of songs rang up 3 votes:  The Buoys and their partially banned song involving cannibalism, Timothy, at #59 and dropping from a top 15 peak; and The Honey Cone and Want Ads at #6.

Our final was close for a long time, but not at the end.  Vote for:

3 Dog Night and Joy To The World, at the end of its 6 week run at #1;

The Stones and Brown Sugar at #3;

The Raiders and Indian Reservation at #41;

Carole King again with It's Too Late at #37;

and Donny Osmond's Sweet And Innocent at #11.


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The 399th debut I had to go looking for.  In searching former M10 acts for new stuff, I actually found something old- from her 2010 debut lp Philharmonics.  It was her debut single and it hit #2 in her Danish homeland.  Back from a nearly 2 1/2 year absence on the M10, here's Agnes Obel:





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So I got curious about who the biggest girl group of the Martin Era 2.0 was.  There's no real surprise at the top, but I thought I'd share what I found out.  I looked at their Billboard hits, gave them 10 pts for a #1, 7 for a top ten, 5 for a top 20, 3 for a top 40, one for anything else charting, and partial points if they sang back up (credited only) on someone else's hit.  I also decided in fairness that if you charted ME2.0 you were in and got credit for any hit outside the era (IOW all your career points).


Honorable mention goes to the Angels, Sister Sledge, the Emotions, and the Chantels who finished outside the top 10.

The top ten: 

10- The Ronnettes, 27 pts

9- the Dixie Cups, 29

8- the Chiffons, 31

7- the Shangri-Las, 40

6- the Crystals, 41

5- the Marvelettes, 64

4- Martha and the Vandellas, 73

3- the Shirelles, 81

2- the Pointer Sisters, 97

And at #1, with a whopping 235 points:

... recent POTMs, the Supremes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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Stat Pack time!

Carole King's It's Too Late got the big move this week, 22 spots from 59 to 37.

The powerful vocals of Joe Simon had the #71 in '71 with the country-classic-done-R&B Help Me Make It Through The Night.

In the UK, a song that was tops here back in January held the top spot- Tony Orlando and Dawn and Knock Three Times.

And what would have been my #1 at the time?  I identified three really strong candidates, but based on where they were and how long they had been there, I have to say Lobo's Me And You And A Dog Named Boo, would have tipped the Carpenters' Rainy Days and Mondays, and Nilsson's Me And My Arrow.


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The remaining M10:

Kacey and Clayton hold at #9 with The Light Of Day.

Then come the falling stars:  ELO one to #8 with Long Black Road, Skindred one to 7 with That's My Jam, Criminal Hygiene 2 to #6 with Hardly News, and Tame Impala 3 to #5 with Eventually.

Blasting up 4 to #4 is Idlewild and You Held The World In Your Arms.

Up 2 to #3 are Moon Taxi and Now's The Time.

King Leg slides up a spot to the runner-up position with Seeing You Tonight...

And that means a second week at the top for...

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


And now, the POTM race...


If you took the Raiders, Carole King, or Donny O, you got 7.7 %.

If you took the obvious favorite, 3DN, sit down; you got 10.7%.


But the winner, with 21.5%...

...it's the Stones and Brown Sugar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Well, other than our guests, hopefully everyone had a good time!  I'll be next week, after I retrieve said guests from wherever we flushed them, and have a Stone or two in for 1972!