Time Machine Co-ordinates VICXLXVI66012285

 So we're going today to January 22, 1985...

Elvis:  We're WHUT?  What happened while I was on Vacation?

You can read about it on last week's show, buddy, everyone else did!  Anyway, we missed by one day the Great Freeze of 1985, when a polar express slammed the Midwest and Deep South.  And I do mean slammed!  Here are the Highs at 7 pm on Sunday the 20th and the lows at 7 am on the 21st:

We were stuck at -15 to -16 F (-26 to -28 C), but a lot of southern cities had extreme drops- for example, that one on the North Carolina coast that dropped 64 degrees in 12 hours!  By today, we were back in the low 20's, but geez!

Izzat right?  Nashville was -17?

It said that that the U of Tennessee campus got down to -24!  Makes me fee bad for whining about the 20's this week!  Anyway, we're here in 1985, with Guy Mitchell...

I just hope you're not making me go out in that!

I wouldn't make Elvis go out in that!  Anyway, we took a detour to 1985 to put a little more distance between when we came to 1958 last time, and today I'll do my best to give you a great show from a year that I had begun to abandon pop for country... of course, you can't see what was on this week's country charts because Billboard has a paywall (and all the Panel C&W charts are Canadian)... but anyway, let's lead things off with the first of 2 debuts this week!  At #10, another charter for Pale Waves...

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So, I hear there's a story about how you got your name, Guy...

Yeah, back when Mitch Miller signed me to Columbia, some people say he gave me the stage name Guy Mitchell, say he told me,  "...my name is 'Mitchell' and you seem a nice 'guy', so we'll call you Guy Mitchell." Me, I don't rightly recollect why he didn't want me going by George Cernak.  I was 'George Romack' when I played with Audie Murphy on the 'Whisperin' Smith' TV show, so...

Well, Mitch was one of a kind, from what I understand... but I never realized how many shows you played in!

That was kind of a could have been, too... we had done 26 episodes of 'Whisperin' Smith', and they expected me to be the typical singing cowboy.  But I broke my darn arm, and couldn't play... kinda hard to sing, too.  So they suspended production till I healed up- but by that time NBC cancelled us.

That sucks. At least you had the singing career...

Well, sir, that was kind of fizzled out by then, too... I hadn't hit top 40 since '59, and 'Whisperin' Smith\' was in '61...

Ulp.  Okay, how about we just get to the music?  We had 12 contestants from 65 stations, and a funny coinkydink is that the same band got the big mover of the week and the 6D with 2 different songs!  But neither have to do with our finalists.  So, here's the list, Guy...

Yep.  Nice list.

Um, you want to read off the finalists?

Sure, I'm sorry.  Just kinda got depressed, lookin' back and all.  You might say...

Elvis:  Don't do it, Guy....

G:  ...you got me Singing The Blues!

E:  Man, that might be the worst song gag we EVER had on here!

At least the worst one not from you or Ringo Starr...

G:  Anyway, here's your finalists...

Wham at #16 on Cashbox with Careless Whisper...

Foreigner at #6 with I Want To Know What Love Is...

Madonna at the top with Like A Virgin...

(Crew and guest) Yeah, right!

Phillip Bailey and Phil Collins, Easy Lover at #10...

And Chicago with You're The Inspiration at #5!

Thanks, Guy!  And now... yes, Guy?

Well, I was kinda wondering, seeings as you let the last two guests do it...

You want to do the Overseas, If You Please?

Yessir.

Sure, why not?  So stay tuned for Guy with that in a bit, but first, our second debut at #9 is a bit different.  You remember El Michaels Affair from their own bits and production on The Shacks, including the main track to Strange Boy.  This week, he's producing a "Hindi Psych-pop" act named Piya Malik, and backing her on her new single!

And since EMA decided to hog all the credit on the video, here's Piya herself...

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This somewhat odd looking fellow is Syd Nathan, founder of King records, and its subsidiary Federal, which is where our story begins.  One of his prize signings was James Brown and the Fabulous Flames.  He and James had a love-hate relationship, and at least two of the hates for Syd were James's eventual biggest hits- the Live at the Apollo Theatre lp and the single Papa's Got A Brand New Bag.  Federal had a spate of legal difficulties and taste problems, not only with a young JB, but with a young vocal group who had a single they wanted to release and he rejected- the song was Only You (And You Alone) and the group was The Platters.  Because of the problems with Federal, a man whose name we've mentioned here not long ago- Buck Ram- took them to Mercury.  He was also managing the Penguins, who had just hit with Earth Angel on small label Dootone, and he swung a deal with Mercury that they would get the Penguins if they would also take the Platters. The Platters would net Mercury 19 top 40 hits, the Penguins 0.

Another act that recorded Earth Angel had similar problems with their original label and manager- a dude by the name of Maurice Starr- that led to their somewhat successful first lp netting each of the 5 members $1.87 each.  No such problems with new management, a new label, and that second lp for New Edition- their second single from it, the Ray Parker Jr- produced Mr Telephone Man was our big mover this week, from 57 to 41 for 16 spots- and the first single was at #3 without a Panel Vote- Cool It Down.

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Okay, Guy, letter rip!

Thank you, sir.  Now Australia and New Zealand both had the fundraising song Do They Know It's Christmas by Band-Aid at the top- it was #7 here this week.  Canada, like us, had Like A Virgin.  The UK had I Want To Know What Love Is, and South Africa, about 10 weeks behind us, had Stevie Wonder's I Just Called To Say I Love You.  Say, do you have charts from Croatia?  My folks came from Croatia... 

Sorry, I did look...

Aw, that's okay, hombre.

25 other countries, I can find...  Anyhow, here's the rest of this week's M10:

8- Ringo's Here's To The Nights tumbles 2.

7- Alkonost's Bird tumbles 3.

6- Firefall's A New Mexico climbs 1.

5- Jason Isbell, in week #9, falls from 3 to 5 with Dreamsicle.

4- Sir Elton up one with The Girl On Angel Pavement.

3- Our big mover is Lilly Hiatt's Brightest Star, from #9.

2- The three-week #1, Saintseneca's Ladder To The Sun, slips to #2.

And our new #1???

Credit ANCHR Magazine

...Molly Parden and Kitchen Table!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And now, the Panel picks- Elvis, you want 'em?

Naw, I'll pick 'em up next time.  You might say I'm having a blue Christmas...

Well, you might if it was a month ago- nice try, though.

G:  I don't get it...

E:  Shut up, Guy!

AHEM.  So if you took Phil and Phil, you got 7.6%...

Chicago got you 10.7%...

Wham and Foreigner each got 15.4%...

Which means your winner- a rather substantial winner with 38.4%....

...Madonna!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next week, the moment that you thought would never come!  Don't be surprised if the Lord returns before next Thursday, because Madonna's coming with us to 1958!