Today, we land in October 25th, 1968- just in time for the very first concert by what had been the New Yardbirds- now for the first time, Led Zeppelin. " It was at Surrey University in Guilford. There was a huge banner outside that read: 'Tonight! The Ex-Yardbirds'. Underneath in smaller lettering, it said 'Led Zeppelin'. "- from Reg Jones's book Way Of Life. The setlist is not QUITE remembered, but "(the band's website) believe that five songs from their not-yet released debut -- 'Communication Breakdown,' 'I Can't Quit You Baby,' 'You Shook Me,' 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You' and 'How Many More Times' -- were played. Also probably performed were some Yardbirds cuts, like 'Train Kept a Rollin',' 'Dazed and Confused' and 'White Summer' (and maybe 'For Your Love') and a cover of Garnet Mimms' 'As Long As I Have You.'"- Ultimate Classic Rock.
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| Again, thanks to UCR. |
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This week I have three debuts PLUS something special, PLUS something else special, PLUS a special stand-in for the POTM! So rather than talking about it, let's get to it!
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One site I follow on Twitter is Best Classic Bands, and they fed me a story I just have to horn in here, even if it makes things a bit video-heavy for the week. And with the Led Zep story above, it's just too perfect of timing. Once upon a time in 1977, a band nobody knew called Little Roger and the Goosebumps put a bit of a twist on a cover they were doing- they took the music of Led Zep's classic Stairway To Heaven- and the words to the theme of Gilligan's Island! Somehow, this mashup got recorded, and in March of '78 was released on a local San Francisco station. Within a month, it had spread like wildfire, hitting the east coast- where lawyers for Led Zep's record company heard it, and decided the credits they put on the label weren't good enough. So they got the lawyers for GI creator Sherwood Schwartz in on it and filed a cease and desist, threatened every station playing it, and tried to destroy every single copy of the tune.
And failed.
Years later, another record outlet put it on their 'best of' disc, and it got onto YouTube as well. So here, if you dare, is that record- Stairway to Gilligan's Island:
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And in honor of this 'momentous occasion, Bobbie Gentry has graciously consented to step aside and let the crew and passengers of the SS Minnow do this week's Panel! C'mon in, gang!
Hello, everybody, and it's a real honor to have you here!
Skipper: It's an honor to be here... say, where ARE we?
Well, that's a little problematic, but what's going on is, I have this list of songs that were #1 on radio stations around the world in 1968...
Gilligan: But wait, isn't it 1966?
Yes, but this is a Time Machine, so it's okay...
Professor: Impossible! Why do you have any idea of the disparate technologies, the years of study...
Yeah, but I borrowed it, so that's covered too. Anyway, all you all have to do is read the three lists...
Maryann: Ooh, sounds like fun!
Ginger: And I would be perfect to do it! Directors tell me I have a purrrfect voice...
You all get a turn. So what I like to do is start off with the songs that got just one vote- we call them one-vote-wonders...
Gilligan: How many songs are there?
SK: Gilligan, that's a stupid question...
No, not really. 18 contesting songs from 80 stations this week.
Mr Howell: Is there anything by Glen Miller on there? I do love Moonlight Serenade...
Sorry Mr H, no Glen Miller. Mostly rock and roll... Here's the list, who wants to start?
(Castaways all shout me at once, Skipper and Gilligan try to grab the paper, it rips in two. Skipper shouts at Gilligan, others grumble...)
No worries, guys. While I tape the list and hand it to ONE person, let's enjoy the first of three M10 debuts. John 'Bo Duke' Schneider just released a gospel lp called Recycling Grace, and the first M10 single debuts at #10...
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MA: Wow, I really liked that! I bet he was cute when he was... well, back when WE came from...
When you came from, he was a 6-year old... Anyway, Mrs Howell, would you do the honors?
Mrs H: Certainly, let me get my spectacles... oh, this handwriting is simply atrocious!
I've heard that...
Mrs H: The one vote wonders start with: er, Sookie Sookie by... Steppenwolf? This says it was the b-side to Magic Carpet Ride, whatever that means.
Then we have The Tymes with People, a Barbra Streisand cover...
Mr H: I believe she was at that garden party that the Eleanor Phillipses had in '1963...
Mrs H: Hmmm... this says it won't debut on the, er, Cashbox Hot 100, until November.
Next is Derek... Derek who?
Just Derek, ma'am...
Mrs H: And his song is called Cinnamon, and it is at #86... Thurston, you do these next.
Mr H: Very well, Lovey, let me see... egad, this IS bad penmanship! The next song is Diana Ross and the Supremes...
Gilligan/Maryann: I LOVE THEM!
Mr H: ...and their song is called, Love Child, at #52.
Following that is a South African singer by the name of Cornelia with Picking Up Pebbles. Here, Captain, you do the next.
Sk: Thank you, Mr Howell, but I'll admit I don't listen to much music, ha ha!
Gil: What about when we go down to Salty Jacks and you start singing after you've had a few...
SK: Never mind, that, Gilligan! So the next song is The Royal Guardsmen and Baby Let's Wait... hey, this says it doesn't debut until next February- that would be February of '69 right?
Yep.
Sk: So how does it get on a chart in... what it this, October?
Prof: I would estimate that the geosynchronous nature of sound as it travels through chronal disruptions, combined with...
ACTually, Professor, we just call it, 'didn't get the memo', and leave the science for later.
Prof: Hmmm...
Sk: Thank you, Professor (sideways scowl). Then we have Credance Clearwater Revival and Susie Q at #10- that's the end of this list...
Okay, so we'll be back right after we play the next M10 debut at #9- more new stuff from Saint Asonia:
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Mrs H: That was a bit noisy, don't you think?
Mr H: Beastly, Lovey, beastly!
Mrs H: Oh Thurston, that was a witty one, wasn't it?
Okay, so now we go to the "also receiving votes" list- everybody who didn't make our four song final: Skipper, you had one more turn?
Sk: Aye aye, Doctor! Ha Ha, with two votes we have Gary Puckett and the Union Gap with Over You at #7. How about you, Ginger?
Gin: Thank you, Skipper... with three votes we have The Beatles...
Gil/MA: We LOVE them!
Gin:... Me too, especially that adorable Paul McCartney...
Shhh, we don't wanna get Elvis started...
Gin: Their song is Revolution at #17. Then we have Cream with White Room at #14...
...and the Grass Roots with Midnight Confessions at #8. Maryann?
MA: Ooh, thanks, Ginger! Let's see... I have Johnny Nash with Hold Me Tight at #29...
Oh, here's that Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf at #42...
...aw, and that's it!
Just the final four to go! Why don't you do one of them, and pass it to Gilligan for the rest?
Prof: Then I won't get a turn?
Um, Nardole, why don't you take the Professor down, and show him the BACKUP engines?
Nardole: But sir, the backups are currently non-functio...
(Whispers) I know, I know. And let him touch NOTHING, understood? (Speaking) Off you pop, you two! Okay Maryann, kick off the final four...
MA: Sure! Your first choice is OC Smith and Little Green Apples at #4... Gilligan?
Gil: Oboy oboy oboy! Then we have The Beatles- I LOVE the Beatles!
Sk: We KNOW, Gilligan!
Gil: They have Hey Jude at #1...
then it's Mary Hopkin and Those Were The days... those were WHAT days?
SK: Gilligan, never mind, and just read the song!
Gil: Okay, Skipper, that song is at #13...
And the last one is The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown and Fire at #2!
Sk: Nice job, Little Buddy!
Yes it was, and I'm going to help with a little clue later- and that clue is this: The number 1 and 2 on the Panel list are #s 2 and 1 on this week's UK chart! So stay tuned for the stat pack to see the choices chopped in two! In the mean time...
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Our last M10 debut is all the way up at #5 this week! Returning after last hitting #2 back in February of '16, here's Brooke Annibale with the piano version of her latest hit...
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Let's hit that stat pack, then I have one more surprise in wait...
Debuts this week in '68 included the aforementioned Love Child at #52, the Ohio Express and Chewy Chewy at #84, the Classics IV with Stormy at #87, Dion's Abraham Martin And John at 90, and Johnny Taylor's Who's Making Love at #94.
The big mover was a tie- Magic Carpet Ride went up 18 from 60 to 42, and so did Jose Feliciano's High Heel Sneakers from 64 to 46.
The #68 in '68 is a song I know we've had before on TM- Peggy Scott and Jo Jo Benson's Picking Wild Mountain Berries; Eddie Harris, a jazz sax-man, took the #101 with It's Crazy.
And my favorite? Easy, it's at #25- Max Frost and the Troopers and Shape Of Things To Come.
Now, here's that clue- the top 2 in the UK, alphabetically by act, were the Beatles and Hey Jude, and Mary Hopkins and Those Were The Days. One of them is the UK #1- and the other is next week's POTM. But which is which?
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So we've ran a little long, so I'll save the OTHER something special for next time- it's the Songs of October list! Yes I worked myself bleary eyed to figure up the best songs of the Martin Era 2.0 for this month, and we will show them all next week! Just one more thing: We could subtitle the list 'Revenge of the 70's'!
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The remaining M10:
Barbara Lewis slips 3 to #8 with 1963's Straighten Up Your Heart.
The Explorer's Club slides from 2 to 7 with The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore.
Loup (Hide It Away) moves up 3 to 6 for Quiet Hollers.
Last week's #1, Geowulf with Lonely, falls to #4.
7 weeks for White Reaper, as 1F sneaks up one more spot to 3.
The big leap for The Japanese House and Something Has To Change at #2, up 8 spots.
And the new #1?
...Silversun Pickups with Neon Wound!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That makes Nikki Monninger the 75th contestant for this years Beauty Contest! (And yes, I did include Mrs Howell, Ginger, and Maryann!)
And finally, the Panel pick...
As you know Fire (6.25%) and Little Green Apples (8.75%) didn't quite make the cut.
The #1 song in the UK, Those Were The Days, got 25%....
So that means our winner- the #2 song in the UK this week...
...with 30%, the Beatles and Hey Jude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Next week, 1969 and the songs of October!
Apart from the Bubble Gum (Chewy Chewy, hahaha!), 1968 was a GREAT year for music. Not surprised to see Hey Jude make #1, as it usually does with these "best of" things. I kind of liked the Led Zep/Gilligan mashup. Not nearly as bad as I was expecting! As for the M10s: John Schneider has a great voice and the mandolin was cool. LOVED the beastly BEAST (no surprise there, yes?). Collided had a lovely arrangement but the vocals were a bit grating. Never heard of Silversun Pickups before. Neon Wound is catchy! You've outdone yourself with this post, Chris. Good stuff! P.S. All the videos are displaying with the right side cut off. Have you ever considered widening the body of your page to make them fit? Just a suggestion...Have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteThat side thing kinda falls into the "If I ever get around to figuring it out" category, but Laurie figured out if you just double-click the video it will go full screen while you watch. I have loved JS since he first broke into Country music, At The Sound Of The Tone always tears me up. Silversun PUs I met back on their last lp when I had Nightlight at #1. Brooke is a taste I acquired early on with Remind Me back in 2016. A heads up for next week: If you love Hey Jude wait'll you see the five songs that beat it out for top song of October! Thanks for the wonderful comment, it always helps these days, with my 'best customer' gone on to his final reward, to get the positive reinforcement.
DeleteYes, I know you can click the video and watch it on Youtube, but why have people leaving your page? Changing the width is easy. Just go to your Blogger account and look on the left-hand side. Click on LAYOUT - THEME - CUSTOMIZE - ADJUST WIDTH. ☺
DeleteCan't wait to see who beat Hey Jude! It was bound to happen, eventually. Sorry you lost a dedicated fan! That's sad.
So I actually did try that and it told me "not applicable with this theme..." Blogger's just not as versatile, it would seem, as having your own site. And yes, I am a curmudgeon- not changing the theme anytime soon, lol!
DeleteThose instructions were as per Blogger. (I maintain a one page blog on there. Click HERE to view.) Therefore, the issue is with your theme. It's a little outdated, but, I guess there's no convincing a curmudgeon. ☺
DeleteYup, that's what it said, can't do it with this theme. But as you may have heard, FB wants me to make changes against my will, and I'll be darned if change is happening here! (There's only so many areas the Good Lord lets me be stubborn anymore...)
DeleteWhat is Facebook's issue with your blog, anyway? What kind of changes do they want you to make?The whole thing seems so bizarre!
DeleteI wish I knew! Something flagged it as spam and I'm still waiting on the review. As usual, they tell you zip zing nada.
DeleteI know, they never say anything. Your blog is listed as not secure (http) and I wonder if that has anything to do with it. That's really easy to fix! Go to settings, then HTTPS (middle of the page). Select YES and you're good to go. Worth a try.
DeleteY'know, I did see that, but wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not. If you vouch for it, it shall be done!
DeleteAll websites and blogs should be secure, but sadly, it doesn't seemed to have helped with Facebook. They still won't let me share a link from here. :(
DeleteThis is exhausting. Gilligan's Island + Stairway? That is criminal.And that Led Zep lost the lawsuit is even more so. At least Ginger and Mary Ann are still alive, which makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteActually they never sued, the band technically 'ceased and desisted'... it was just all those stations and djs that said, yeah, right..."
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