Today, we go to November 1, 1969, and the curious case of the longest hijacking in history, it began when a Purple-Hearted ex-Marine born in Italy named Raffaele Minichiello decided he got screwed out of $200 by his paymaster. He got drunk and stole $200 worth of stuff from the base, got court martialled, got on a plane bound for San Francisco, and forced it after many stops to go to Italy, where they "would understand why he considered the Marines’ $200 slight such a grave affront to his honor." (Slate.com) After landing in Denver, New York, Bangor, and Ireland, he made it to Rome, where he escaped by stealing a policeman and his car. Because of his good looks and his thumbing of the US, Italians (especially ladies) regarded him as a 'folk hero' (whose only real accomplishment was teaching other ne'er-do-wells that hijacking wasn't just for going to Cuba anymore), and was eventually captured. Slate says he was apprehended in a small church; English language Wiki claims he was "shivering in his underwear along the Appian Way"(crediting an AP report); Italian Wiki confirms the church story, but adds that the priest recognized him and turned him in.
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| What do you think, ladies? Underwear or no? |
Welcome to this week's Time Machine, where as not to wear the Beatles parodies out, I'll let the guys split up the Panel picks, which was a darn exciting battle for a change; we'll add one new M10 debut; and we'll do the Songs of October across the Martin Era 2.0! In fact, let's start out right there...
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So like last time when I did September, here's the plan: I took the top fives for every week in the years of the ME2.0 (1955-1976), from both Billboard and Cashbox, mashed them together, and came out with a top twenty songs of October. What I'd like to do here first is honor the songs that won their particular year, but didn't score high enough to make the 20. Note: all ties broken by MusicVF points, which ain't exactly kosher, but better than flipping a coin! So here are the songs that won their year, but missed the 20:
1957- Wake Up Little Susie, Everly Brothers
1961- Hit The Road Jack, Ray Charles
1969- Archies, Sugar Sugar
1972- My Ding-A-Ling, Chuck Berry
1974- I Honestly Love You, Olivia Newton-John ( one of those broken ties, this one with Billy Preston's Nothing From Nothing)
1975- Bad Blood, Neil Sedaka
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Okay, Guys, file on in here, and let's do this Panel!
Elvis: Oh, button it, Bellbottom! You know you enjoyed that! If you weren't so repressed, you wouldna got all drunk and had to have Rodney come in and save ya...
So we have 25 contestants from 85 stations, and it is a tight four-song race at the top? Who wants to start the one-vote wonders?
H: Allow me, gentlemen, as this is the area that caveats and restrictions come in, and that IS my bailiwick! First of all, I have to say that one station- a WMCA in New York, I believe- cheated and placed the entire album, Beatles- Abbey Road, as their #1. That vote was NOT counted, and is so noted.
Then comes a vote from the Netherlands for Percy Sledge's My Special Prayer.
One of two contestants that charted in the bubbling under category- the Poppy Family with Which Way You Going, Billy, at #117.
E: Okay, lemmee at the mike...
H: I am NOT done! I have three songs...
E: You DID three songs!
H: No, I did two songs AND an album. I have one more song...
N: Technically, he is right- the station was not counted in the 87...
E: Fine! Do one more...
H: Thank you. Finally, we have the Temptations with Can't Get Next To You at #7. Here, MISTER Presley...
E: Okay, Jack, we got the Archies with that Sugar song at #4...
we got the Street People with Jennifer Tompkins at #140...
and we got a buncha guys with...
Elvis, READ the names...
E: Sigh... Crosby Stills and Nash with Suite:Judy Blue Eyes at #35. Baldy?
N: I HAVE a name, sir... anyway, I have three Australian votes: One by Johnny Farnham, a cover of 3 Dog Night... Part 3 Into Paper Walls and The Girl That I Love by Russell Morris... and Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline, which was on last week's show in the US.
Okay guys, take five while I roll out the first set of Songs of October!
Honorable mention to Walter Murphy's A Fifth Of Beethoven, which lost in a 4-way tie for the last 3 spots.
20- Ronettes, Be My Baby from 1963...
19- Neil Diamond, Cracklin' Rosie, a true autumn song from 1970...
18- Oh Pretty Woman, Roy Orbison from 1964...
17- Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs lose this tie with their Sugar Shack, the winner from 1963...
16- ...to Cher's Half Breed, the winner of 1973.
15- A run of the tops, with the Four Tops and (Reach Out) I'll Be There, the winner from 1966...
14- ...and the Box Tops with The Letter, the winner of 1967.
Back to you fellows....
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H: we are still left with some one-vote songs. I start us off with a South African vote for the Bee Gees and Don't Forget To Remember...
E: Well, that's kinda stupid...
H: As you might well know. Then I have Talk With Me by the Chosen Few, a Muncie, Indiana grouping that would become one day local heroes the Faith Band. They would crack the Hot 100 then... now, they did not.
And finally, the Guess Who with Undun at #57. Mr. Presley?
E: Hm?, Oh, yeah, where're we at? Two more 1-voters... some cat named Oliver with Jean at #11 this week...
Then it's Blood Sweat n' Tears with And When I Die at #26- I don' like the SOUND o' that one...
And the 2-voters kick off with Bobby Sherman with Little Woman at #8. Hey, is he a sissy or what?
N: I wouldn't know, sir. At any rate, I then have Peter Paul and Mary with Leaving On A Jet Plane at ... Sir, you forgot these chart numbers!
Ooops, sorry, here you go...
N: yes, that song was at #50... what about this one?
Another one? Rats. Here...
N: Thank you, Steam with, er, Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye at #61.
Finally, I have CCR and Fortunate Son at #47...
All right, let's take a break and do the new M10 debut. A few week's back, Jeff Lynne's ELO (essentially Jeff Lynne solo but he calls it ELO so he can tour with a band) put out "their" second lp and released the title track, From Out Of Nowhere. It didn't especially grab me, but the second single did, and it's at #9...
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Here's a 6D question for you to kick around while the boys get ready for the rest of the Panel Picks: What do the Youngbloods hit Get Together (#5 in 1969), the Zombies Tell Her No (#6 in '65), Bo Diddley's Who Do You Love (famously covered by George Thorogood and the Destroyers in '79), The Stones hits, The Last Time (#9 in 1965) and Let's Spend The Night Together (flip of Ruby Tuesday and #55 in '67), and Muddy Waters' I Just Wanna Make Love To You (which Foghat took into the top 40 in '77) have in common? Answers in the Stat Pack coming up.
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H: I have been accorded the honor of giving the next set of the Songs of October before we proceed, gentlemen...
E: Hey, how does that work? I'm senior employee in this joint!
H: It's part of my substantial benefits package. At any rate, here are the next on the list...
13- The Yellow Rose Of Texas, which did NOT win the year 1957...however, the remaining dozen did win their respective years.
12- Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers, Monster Mash, 1962..
11- Connie Francis, My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own, 1960...
10- The Jackson Five, I'll Be There, 1970..
9- Rick Dees and his, er, cast of idiots, Disco Duck, 1976...
E: Son, you weren't kidding when you said 'revenge of the 70's' last week...
Just wait, unlike last time there's still one more from the 70's. Let's go ahead and get back to the Panel Picks...
E: Fine. So we only got two more before the finalists. They are the Cuff-Links and Tracy at #6 with 3 votes, and the Flying Machine an' Smile A Little Smile For Me at #10...
Which gets the nod for my #1 of the week.
E: So how you wanna split the last 4 up, shorty?
N: My name is... oh, never mind. Why don't you just go ahead and do them, sir?
E: Why, thanks a lot, Noodle! So choose from:
Fifth Dimension, Wedding Bell Blues at #1;
The Beatles twice, with one side, Come Together, at #16, an' the other side, Something, at #2...
An' yers truly at #3 with Suspicious Minds! Hey, I know who I'M votin' for!
Thanks guys! So let me give you one more round of the songs of October before we move on:
8- Love Is A Many Splendored Thing, The Four Aces, 1955...
7- It's All In The Game, Tommy Edwards, 1958...
6- Hey Jude, the Beatles, 1968...
5- Elvis, Don't Be Cruel, 1956...
E: YES!!!
4- Manfred Mann, Doo Wah Diddy Diddy, 1964...
3- The Beatles, Yesterday, 1965....
2- Bobby Darin, Mack The Knife, 1959...
And stay tuned for the reveal at the end!
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So what did those songs all have in common? They were all covered by a band called Smith, on their lp A Band Called Smith, which also held their biggest hit, a cover of the Shirelles' Baby It's You, which is our 6D Victim, sitting at #5 on Cashbox this week without a Panel vote.
And the Stat Pack?
Biggest mover was CCR's Down On The Corner, up 34 from 75 to 41; Fortunate Son was the flip side, moving 10 to #47.
The #69 in '69 was another cover, this time Isaac Hayes doing Walk On By.
And another cover, this time Little Anthony and the Imperials, redoing The Ten Commandments Of Love, was at #101.
Big debuts this week included the Grass Roots and Heaven Knows at #66, Ferrente and Teicher's Midnight Cowboy Theme at 98, and Original Caste's version of One Tin Soldier at 100.
The tops of the UK chart was Sugar Sugar by the Archies.
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The new M10 chart also includes:
The Explorers Club spends its 8th and presumably last week on the chart at 10 with The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore.
Ditto Geowulf at 7 weeks with Lonely at #8.
John Schneider's Stained Glass moves up 3 to #7.
Quiet Hollers are stuck at 6 with Loup (Hide It Away).
Barreling up 4 to #5 is Saint Asonia with Beast.
White Reaper spends an 8th week on the chart, slipping 1 to #4 with 1 F.
Silversun Pickups, satisfied with one week at the top, falls to 3 with Neon Wound.
Brooke Annibale collides her way to #2 with Collided.
And the new #1....
...The Japanese House with Something Has To Change!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The winner of the Songs of October is....
....Rod Stewart's Maggie May/Reason To Believe from 1971!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the Panel Picks?
Come Together got 13.8%...
Wedding Bell Blues got 14.9%...
Sorry, King, Suspicious Minds got 17.2 %...
Which means the winner, with 19.5%....
E: Don't say it, don't say it...
... the Beatles with Something!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
E: AUUUUUUUUUUGH!!!!!!!
As this, I believe, will be the third week in four that the Beatles won, or something along those lines, expect me to do some thing really clever with the Panel next... yes, Horace?
H: I don't believe that you will be able to get out of contractual obligations this time. THE BEATLES MUST APPEAR NEXT WEEK.
Sigh. Okay, next week, the Beatles and 1970!
Jeff Lynne is doing the same thing as Eric Burdon, touring with a different band, using their old name. That's a pretty good song; has a retro vibe. I remember the band named Smith. They were good. Happy to see Maggie May and Rod on here. Not surprised the Beatles won again. ☺ Late 60s, early 70s is my favourite era for music.
ReplyDeleteI hope all went well with your wife's surgery. Wishing her a speedy recovery!
The thing that gets me is that the total contributions of ANYBODY ELSE on the two 'Jeff Lynne's ELO' lps is his daughter singing a backup on one song on the first, and Richard Tandy playing piano on one song on the second- everything else is Lynne, and the band is only for the tours. I knew you'd love Rod winning October. Considering we've never had someone win the Panel two weeks in a row but once previously, winning three out of four (I still have to check if that's right, lol) is a monstrous achievement. Surgery went well and we are home, and Sunday Message will have a bit more on that. Thanks for the well-wishes!
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