Today we journey to September 20th of 1963, where right off I found this interesting bon-mot on wiki:
At the United Nations, U.S. President John F. Kennedy proposed a joint moon mission between the US and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union Communist Party newspaper Pravda reported the speech, but commented that the idea as "premature". Kennedy would die two months later, and Soviet Chairman Khrushchev would be deposed within 13 months, and the United States would proceed alone in its lunar program.
Wow, there's a reminder that nothing's permanent...
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| "But even though we're dead, we can still do Time Machine, right?" |
Well, of course you can, and that takes on a new angle today, as we will be eulogizing two legends of the biz whom we lost in recent days: Eddie Money and the Cars' Ric Ocasek. In the meantime, we have a couple of POTM guests who are still very much alive- the Four Seasons' Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli! Plus a not-very-tight (but closer than last week) Panel race, and if I have room I'll do a LIVE 6D- or maybe just tell an amusing story, we'll see.
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| "Maybe we WILL see, maybe we won't..." |
Uh-oh, Ray, you might want to keep the blind gags down, before Bellbottom comes out here with some legal minutiae... In the meantime, let's go right to the video...
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Where we have, at #10, a song that originally hit #2 (or #1, I've seen both numbers) on the Hot Christian singles chart, but the act wanted to redo it for a video with a female lead- and the chose a great one! This is For King And Country, featuring Dolly Parton...
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Eddie Money's No Control lp was a big part of one of my best summers. Everything was a winner on that tape. My Friends My Friends and Hard Life have special spots that live forever in my memories- funny stories that I've not time to go into here. I decided the best Eulogy I can give is to pick my best ten of his songs. Not surprisingly, that album has prominent parts in the list...
10- Get A Move On, from 1979's Playing For Keeps. In the days before a Mainstream Rock chart, it was a #46 Hot 100 hit.
9- Gimme Some Water, from the earlier in 1979 lp Life For The Taking. Boy, in hunting up the albums the cuts came from, I realize I could have done a top 20- and that's without really knowing anything he did after Can't Hold Back in '88...
8- Maybe I'm A Fool, the opening single from Life For The Taking, which hit #22.
7- Can't Keep A Good Man Down, from Life For The Taking.
6- We Should Be Sleeping, from Can't Hold Back, made #18 MSR, only #90 Hot 100- you should be ashamed!
5- It Could Happen To You, another gorgeous cut from No Control.
4- Shakin', from No Control. #9 MSR.
3- Of course, I had to have the title cut from No Control. The neat thing on this lp was how it bookended a song about his own near death-from-drugs experience, with the one about a friend he lost at my #2....
2- Passing By The Graveyard, his tribute to John Belushi. Brings tears most every time, and I wasn't a big Belushi fan...
1- Not surprisingly, his biggest hit Take Me Home Tonight, with Ronnie Spector. So well put together, this was the movie Titanic of songs for me.
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Frankie, Bob, nice to have you here again!
F: Very glad to be here!
Bob, I didn't realize this, but we have one of your compositions in the M10 this week...
B: Yes, The Explorer's Club has done an excellent job on The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore...
F: I can't believe I bubbled under when I first did that...
B: C'mon, Frank, we've talked about this...
I didn't even know you had done it before this, and I'm certainly going to give it a listen. Who knows, maybe you'll be the second to have an M10 hit with the original after a cover hit...
F: It was my FIRST solo single since we made the big time... NOBODY cared...
B: Frank... I cared. Really.
Me too. Here, why don't you start us off with the Panel list...
F: Oh, sure, give ME the loser's bracket...
B: Oh, give it here, chrissakes, Frank. So with one vote each we have, Martha and the Vandellas with Heatwave at #5...
The Surfaris and Surfer Joe at #85...
Cliff Richard with a vote from Canada for his UK hit The Next Time...
The Jaynetts and Sally Go Round The Roses at #9....
F: Okay, Bob, I'm sorry, let me do some.
B: You sure, Frank?
F: Yeah, I don't know what gets into me, I.. I hear the name of that song... and it's like the sun ain't gonna shine... (sob)...
B: Best let me do the rest...
F: (nods)
B: So we left off with The Beach Boys and Little Deuce Coupe at #27...
Inez and Charlie Fox and Mockingbird at #14...
A local Seattle hit, Goin' Back To Granny's by the Viceroys...
And Los Trabajos Indios with Maria Elena at the bubble-under spot of #137. Frank, you wanna get the next?
F: Sure, so we're doing the, uh, the others receiving votes here... with two votes we have... wait! You put this in here to make fun of me!
B: Put WHAT in?
F: Cry Baby by Garnett Mims at #22!
B: Oh, fertheluvva...
F: Here! Take the stupid list, I'm leaving!
B: Sigh... I suppose I better go with him... sorry about all this. I really thought he was over that bubbling under thing.
I understand... needless to say, I think the "Trini Lopez- If I Had A Hammer" 6 Degrees is shot to hell, so let me try and get the list done.
More also receiving votes- Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs with Sugar Shack got 2 at #104...
and 3 for an Australian act called the Atlantics with the catchy number Bombora. Which leaves us with your finalists this week...
The Angels with My Boyfriend's Back at #1...
My favorite of the week, Bobby Vinton with Blue Velvet at #2...
The Beach Boys with Surfer Girl at #6...
and ironically enough, Ronnie Spector and the song from which Take Me Home Tonight was built, Be My Baby at #23.
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Our high debut comes up at #6- and it is the third single from the new lp (and second in the countdown this week) by Geowulf...
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The best investment my Dad and I ever made together was one day at a garage sale, we got the Cars debut vinyl and a swivel rocker for $5. The chair lasted until the night of Dad's wake... when my drunken sister managed to fall out of it and break a leg (the chair's, not hers). The lp lasted even longer, and much like with Eddie Money, I joked with Laurie that a top ten list from them would basically be this album and maybe one song. And yeah, it actually ends up being seven plus three others! Here we go...
10- Bye Bye Love, from the debut lp (henceforth noted by DA). "It's an orangey sky... always it's some other guy... it's just a broken alibi...
9- Tonight She Comes, a #7 hit from their 1985 Greatest Hits.
8- You're All I've Got Tonight, from the DA.
7- Moving In Stereo, from the DA.
6- Just What I Needed, that very first single, which had a far bigger impact than the #27 it charted at back in 1978.
5- My Best Friend's Girl, the second single which peaked at #35. "Suede-Blue eyes..." I'd like to see that...
4- All Mixed Up, from the DA, and I thought the most appropriate for his passing.
3- The Dangerous Type, from the second lp, Candy-O. I thought this had been released, but apparently not. It did get play on AOR.
2- Good Times Roll, the third single from DA, which just missed the top 40 but got big AOR play, and still does.
1- Touch And Go, the lead single from the third album Panorama. It charted here at #37, but I loved the video with the merry go round. Funny thing I see here is, while they were struggling to get top 40 airplay here, they collected 8 top tens in France, with Touch And Go the biggest at #2.
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Stat pack time...
In Beatles time, the UK was one year faster, and She Loves You was the #1 this week.
This would have been fun if Frankie hadn't got all bent earlier- a song originally written and recorded by Bob Dylan, charted at #12 in couple of years by the Four Seasons under the non-de-plume of The Wonder Who?, but this year- this week in '63, actually, Peter Paul and Mary (who would eventually go top ten with it) were at #101 with Don't Think Twice, It's All Right.
The big debut is by an act that always seems to get a measly vote or two everytime we pass this way- Sunny and the Sunglows with Talk To Me, which shot up 33 from #95 to #62.
The #63 in '63 was Mel Carter- the guy who hit big with Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me- and When A Boy Falls In Love, which would peak at #44.
And the big debut of the week was Dion with Donna The Prima Donna at #74.
Oh, and Bellbottom passed me a memo: "Last week, our host inadvertently credited Venus In Blue Jeans to Frankie Avalon. He places the blame on the "clown school of a job" he has, though it must be noted he only worked there two days during the week in question. The actual singer was Jimmy Clanton. We apologize for any inconvenience." Thanks loads, Horace.
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The rest of the M10, including the mini-Iron Ceiling we have going on:
The Rubinoos get pushed down a spot to #9 with January.
Mikaela Davis, a big part of the original Iron Ceiling, slips from 6 to 8 with Other Lover.
White Reaper bounces up 3 to #7 with 1F.
That song that made Frankie Cry moves up 4 to #5...
Saint Asonia beats its collective head against the ceiling for a second week at 4 with The Hunted.
The Orwells have now spent 7 of their 9 weeks on the chart inside the top three- and Last Days In August at #3 will join the all time top ten, as long as they don't fall to #10, next week.
Geowulf might soon join them with He's 31, in a second week at #2 after 3 at #1... unless they knock themselves out of the way, that is...
And that means a second week at the top for...
....Joy Downer and Stranger Places!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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And the Panel pick?
Both the Beach Boys and the Ronettes net 7.5%....
The Angels got ya 13.2%...
But our winner, with 39.6%....
...Bobby Vinton and Blue Velvet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Next week 1964- and late enough that we might hear something besides the Fab Four!
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