Time Machine co-ordinates VICIX54762174

Today we arrive in June 21, 1974, and y'know, PC is a funny thing.  Today, Judge W Arthur Garrity ordered Boston schools to desegregate- at the tip of the federal pike, as the law passed for the same purpose by the State Legislature had gone ignored for NINE YEARS.  It was as simple as racial hate- and it wasn't so simple.  From an article by WBUR:

Some facts are not in dispute. Boston schools were segregated. Some schools in Roxbury were 90 percent black. In South Boston, nearly 100 percent of the students were white.

The Boston School Committee said that was just the way it was; it's where people chose to live. But black parents in the city wanted more for their kids.

"This all started in the black community," (Jim, author of a book on the subject) Vrabel said, "because although the schools were not providing a good education for anyone, they were providing a particularly bad one for students in the black community."

Some white schools lacked libraries and cafeterias. Some black schools lacked classrooms, books, even teachers. In the mid 1960s, just one Boston school teacher in 200 was black.

"The reason Boston schools began to deteriorate was that the school system became less of an educational system and more a patronage system," Vrabel said. "Teachers and administrators were hired based on who they knew rather than what they knew."

This is a fascinating article, and I would love to go on, but that isn't our purpose here.  Instead, let me juxtapose this huge story with what Wikipedia, that bastion of liberalism, has to say about today:

Károly Polinszky becomes Hungary's Minister of Education.

That's it.  Wow.

Károly Polinszky : more far reaching impact than mere integration...
"Hey, don't pick on me!  The bastards at Wiki only gave ME a 19-word bio!"

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Okay, time to leave this scene and head for music, as we have Sir Paul McCartney on the show (well, you know, but pretend it is), along with two new M10 debuts, a 6D that brings us info on the supergroup that was MFSB, not to mention the Godfather of Disco!  Get on the bus- er, the Musical Tardis- and let's go!


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Let's open with one of our debuts- and in usual M10 style, we work our way backwards!  Before Maybird came out with their #1 Don't Keep Me Around a few months ago, they put out a 2017 EP called Unraveling.  From it, here they are with our debut at #9...






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Paul McCartney accepts the POTM for himself and Wings this week!  After 7 times with the Beatles, this is the first time apart from them.  How does it feel?

Well, you know after a while, and you got all these different awards and gold records and such, but... has John won one yet?

No, sir, not solo...

Oh, well, in that case, it's a right honor, and it just goes to show that all that political nonsense, it does grate on one's nerves after a while, wot?  Let's just have some fun!

So we won't be mentioning Give Ireland Back To The Irish, then?

My, look at the time.  We'd best be about this, how big is the queue?

17 songs, 48 stations.  Here's the one-vote wonder list...

Ah, yes... We have, from Laurenco Marques, a version of Gypsy Man by local act the West Coast Giants...

Ray Stevens with The Streak at #8... that's about that running about starkers fad, innit?

Yep.

He doesn't do the song thus, does he?

No- he pretty much uses cartoons...

Good idea.  Oh, here's Cliff Richard's old bird, Olivia Newton-John, with If You Love Me at #9...

KISS with Nothing To Lose... did not chart?

Their first single, and a popular song at their shows.

Maria Muldaur and Midnight At The Oasis, #28...

Hughes Corporation, Rock The Boat, # 6...

Gladys Knight and the Pips, On And On, #19...

Good heavens, The Night Chicago Died?  This is by Paper Lace, some lads from  from Nottingham, and it is at #78 in its second week on the list...

Ah, here's a vote from South Africa for a fine tune, Andy Williams with Solitaire- and it din't chart in the states?

'Fraid not.

Pity, that... Finally, we have Elton John and Harmony- you say this was a b-side in the states?

Yep, a big hit everywhere else, but here they put it as the flip of Benny And The Jets.  Interestingly enough, this was a vote from WBZ in Boston, and they had his Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me at #2, and Candle In The Wind at #3!

They certainly did love him!  Are you ready with the next queue?

Yeah, here's your also receiving votes list.

Thank you, and with 2 votes we have Marvin Hamlisch and The Entertainer at #22, and with three votes each, William DeVaughn and Be Thankful For What You've Got at #4, as well as You Make Me Feel Brand New by the Stylistics at -seriously?  The #1 song doesn't make the finals?

No, but both of those 3-vote songs will be involved in the 6D coming up.  And now...

Yes, let's have a look at the finalists... Hmmmm... You may choose from John Denver and Annie's Song at #22...

Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods with the song they stole from Paper Lace, Billy Don't Be A Hero at #3...

Ack, here we are for another shot at it, with Band On The Run at #5...

...and Gordon Lightfoot and Sundown at #2!

Okay, thanks again, Paul!  So it's John, Bo, Paul, or Gordon this week, and it was a pretty solid win this week.  Though not a romp by any means!

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Our 6D song was the O'Jays with For The Love Of Money at #7.  This record- in fact most of their hits- were backed up by the Philly Sound's musicians of choice, MFSB- who had their own hit with TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia).  Several other acts depended on them in the early 70's as well- the Stylistics (there's one mention), William DeVaughn (there's another), the Spinners, the Delfonics, and Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, for a few.

A lot of these guys had been around together a long time- clear back to Barbara Mason's Yes I'm Ready!  Among them were Earl Young, founder of the Trammps (Disco Inferno), and possibly the first to do disco-style drumming, on the Bluenotes' hit The Love I Lost;  Norm Harris, the cousin of Major Harris (Love Won't Let Me Wait), as well of the second leg of a very popular producer/arranger triangle with Young and fellow Trammp Ronnie Baker; Bobby Eli, who took songwriting honors for the above mentioned Major Harris tune, as well as the Main Ingredient's Just Don't Want To Be Lonely; and TJ Tindall, whose guitar credits included Lou Rawls' You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine and the Jacksons' Enjoy Yourself, along with 30 hits and 38 gold and platinum records.

But where you really hit the meat of the story is the Godfather of Disco, Vibraphonist/percussionist/producer/arranger Vincent Montana Jr....

This dude has an amazing backstory which I can't begin to cover here- as an up-and-coming kid, he was cool enough to sit in with Charlie Parker!  Let me steal just one story about him from an interview by Bernard Lopez...

Vince recalls a time when he was wheeling in his vibraharp into the studio and saw Leon Huff sitting patiently in the lobby. Leon was a songwriter and piano player and both were friends so Vince Montana asked what he was waiting for to which Leon replied "I've been waiting for four hours to show Bernie Lowe (then head of the studio) some music I've been working on." He then asked Vince that if he saw Bernie, to tell him that he has been waiting and could he please see him to which Vince replied "Don't worry, some day you'll own the building." Sure enough Leon teamed up with Kenny Gamble to form the legendary Philadelphia International record label and now owns the studio.

Huff's future partner Gamble would come into the studio and sing backup along with his future wife Dee Dee Sharp. Vincent Montana says the whole experience was almost like magic and they never stepped on anyone else's toes. Who could argue when such great talents as Norman Harris on guitar, Ron Baker on bass, Leon Huff on piano, Earl Young on drums and Vincent Montana on vibes were creating music? These were just a few of the many session musicians that made up the rhythm section of the "Philly Sound." Others included the late Larry Washington who played congas and who many of today's DJ/remixers unknowingly sample.


Montana would later split with Philly Int'l over royalties, taking much of MFSB with him to his new-founded Salsoul Records, and eventually hitting the chart with the guys again as the Salsoul Orchestra.  So anyway, Wiki has this list of the songs he's known to have played on.  I suspect it's not complete, but even not complete I count 22 top 10 pop records!  I thought I would share with you the top ten- keeping in mind that his MFSB brethren played on some, most, or all of these, as well...


7-(4-way tie)

-Spinners, I'll Be Around, #3 (as are the others)
- Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, If You Don't Know Me By Now
- Stylistics, Betcha By Golly Wow
-O'Jays, Backstabbers

6- Eddie Holman, Hey There Lonely Girl, #2 (so too the next one)
5- Cliff Nobles and Co., The Horse
 and at the #1 spot on the charts...

3(tie)
-Love Train, O'Jays
-MFSB, TSOP
2- #1 3 weeks, Billy Paul, Me And Mrs Jones

And the rabbit in my hat that really blew me away, with 5 weeks at the top...

...Frankie Avalon's Venus!


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Next debut is at #8, and it's a bit of a supergroup as well, drawing its members from shoegaze vets Lush, new wavers Modern English (I'll Melt With You), and alt-rockers Elastica (Connection)!  They call themselves Piroshka, and they chart with a song I have been trying to shoehorn in since the end of April, no lie!  I had a choice of live videos, but as Bobby G pointed out a couple weeks back, live doesn't make up for not turning up the vocals.  Which gives the choice of a still photo or a lyric vid, and I chose the lyric one- even if it gets a tad 'flashy'.  From the lp Brickbat (which will explain why that keeps coming up)...







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Stat pack time!

Big mover, 21 spots from 69 to 48 for James Brown and My Thang.

The #74 in '74  was Smokey Robinson's third solo effort, It's Her Turn To Live.  It didn't get this high on Billboard; Smokey didn't dent the pop chart very successfully until he finally had a big hit with Cruisin' some 6 years later.  Before that, he averaged charting solo about #58, with only 3 top 40's out of 13, plus 7 no-shows.


Our #101 this week was Curtis Mayfield's Kung Fu.  The UK #1 was good ol' Gary Glitter with Always Yours.

The notable debuts included Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me at #66, Chicago's Call On Me at 80, and Rufus and Chaka Khan with Tell Me Something Good at 84.

And what would I have had at the top?  Not a hard choice this week- this was often a member of my childhood 'mythical top ten'- Steely Dan at #14 with Rikki Don't Lose That Number.


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The remaining M10:

I presume but haven't checked that this is a record- a third week at #10 for Pure Bathing Culture and Veil.

Idlewild tumbles in week 6 from 3 to 7 with You Held The World In Your Arms.

Okey Dokey and Dent May move up one to 6 with Thick And Thin; Geowulf gains 3 to #5 with I See Red.

Moon Taxi clings to #4 for a second week with Now's The Time.

King Leg, satisfied with one week at the top, slips to #3 with Seeing You Tonight.

ELO is at #2, up 3, with Mama.

And at #1- a month shy of three years since her first #1...

...Agnes Obel and Riverside!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And the POTM vote? 

Annie's Song got you 10.4%...
Sorry, Paul, Band On The Run got 12.5%...
Sundown netted you 14.5%...

But the winner, with 25% even...

...Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods and Billy Don't Be A Hero!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


That is a wrap- no muss, no fuss this week!  See you next time for 1975!