Time Machine co-ordinates VIXXVV67443069

 

Today, Jim Maloney of the Cincinnati Reds got his second no-hitter, and it was a strange one.  On a cold, wet night- just the kind that Jim hated- he struck out 13 batters of the worst team in the division (Houston), and got plenty of run support, from a seven-run fourth inning on 2 hit batters, 3 walks, 2 wild pitches (one to Maloney), oh, and a bases-clearing triple by Bobby Tolan.  In the 8th, he'd score the 10th Reds run, pull his groin, finish the 9th with a fly ball (just the 2nd ball to the outfield all game), a grounder, a walk, and a strikeout.  And then not pitch again for 2 1/2 months.

The Astros?  They complained he 'greased the ball', and went on to no-hit the Reds the next night.

Welcome to this week's Time Machine, and who did you line up for us this week in your "fake mistake" guest selection?

 Nardole:  Well, gee golly, I know you asked for "Gary Puckett", but I seem to have goofed and gotten...

...Kirby Puckett of the Minnesota Twins, selected from a reasonable time frame, and not our target year 1969, as he would have been 9 at the time...

KP:  Hi, everybody!  I don't know exactly why I'm here, or what is exactly going on, but I'm glad to be here!  Heck, I'm glad to be anywhere!

Well, Kirby my friend, you are what's preventing us from having Bobby Goldsboro here, and keeping us legal at the same time!  And what we're doing is a music show, and we are currently hovering over April of 1969!

Uh-HUH.  Well, I can't say as a kid I had much time- or money- for music, but I'm willing to try it if you are!  So what kind of show is it?

Truthfully, a set of unconnected special features that shift between two temporal poles- one side is the present, and my personal top ten for the week (which can contain anything from any era as long as I never heard it before I put it on my shuffle), and the other is the Panel, which is the #1 song from this week in the target year on a variety of radio stations, put together in an election-like form, whose winner gets to be the guest the next week- unless we fudge a little bit and bring in a ringer, like yourself.

Hmm.  Do know as I've ever been called a music 'ringer' before...  So what do we do first?

First, let's have the first of two debuts this week on my M10.  And that would be this little number, at #9, from an act who's been here just once before, Major Murphy:

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Cool, man!  Now what?

Well, now we do our musical 6 degrees, whose victim at the end of the trail is the highest ranked song on that week's Cashbox chart that didn't get a Panel vote.  And this song ought to be close to you, as it describes what you yourself were going through at the time, growing up.  And here to do the honors is another man connected to the other side of the story- our very own Elvis!

 

EP:  Now we start this here story with me singin' one of my big later-on hits, In The Ghetto...

KP:  I pretty much lived that one, too!

EP:  You an' too many others, my friend!  That song was on my From Elvis In Memphis album, which had a lot of old hits.  I did Johnny Tillotson's It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin', Glen Campbell's Gentle On My Mind, Hank Snow's I'm Movin' On...

Hey, I have a funny story about that one...

EP:  I'm sure you do, boss.  So anyway, one song was the old Chuck Jackson Any Day Now...

Which was a big #1 on the M10 by the Four Seasons last year...

EP:  Son, who's tellin' this story?  Anyhow, that song was the b-side to our 6D victim, as Chris likes to call 'em, Jerry Butler's Only The Strong Survive, #5 without a Panel vote...

KP:  Boy, I loved that one.  Your Panel's nuts!

EP:  So's the Boss, but we humor 'im...

Sure sounds like someone wants to do the Christmas Party with the Beatles again...

EP:  Er, yeah, sorry about that....

Or Bobby Goldsboro...

EP:  Man, if that ship hadn't sailed, you'd be scarin' me now...

Good.  Anyway, it's time for Mr Puckett to give us the Panel finalists.

KP:  Just the finalists?  Howcum?

Time.  We had 24 songs from 87 stations this week, including three that never charted nationally, and three that don't make the chart until next week.

KP:  Gotcha.  And we have four finalists, so choose from...

The Cowsills and Hair, #2 on Cashbox this week...

Mercy, Love Can Make You Happy, the big mover this week going from #66 to #20, 46 notches...

See, buddy, he don't have to take his shoes off to figure out the move...

EP:  Yep, just one big, happy family here...

KP:  Next, we have the Fifth Dimension and Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In at #1...

...and finally, the Isley Brothers and It's Your Thing at #3.  Imma have to take them, personally.

All right, there you go!  I will say it was a tight battle between 2 of these songs, so choose carefully.  And now, here's our high debut- up at #6.  This combines a M10 newbie- a duo known as Overcoats- and an M10 star act, the duo Tennis.  From the new Overcoats album called Used To Be Scared Of The Dark...

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KP: Okay, I liked the song... but the movie?  Not for me.  

Not for everyone, for sure.  But now we move on to a feature we call Overseas If You Please.  These are the number ones on the target week around the English speaking world, and by tradition, Kirby, these are yours to read off.

KP:  All right, so today's lineup starts with the UK batting leadoff with the Beatles and Get Back...

Up next is Canada with Blood Sweat and Tears doing You Made Me So Very Happy...

Australia in the three-hole with Paul Sarstadt and Where Do You Go To My Lovely....

Batting cleanup is New Zealand, featuring John Rowles and M'lady...

And in fifth is South Africa and the 1910 Fruitgum Company and Indian Giver!  Howsat?

Only thing I'd add was that Get Back was on the Panel and would hit the charts next week at #51, while You Made Me So Very Happy was also a Panelist at #4 on CB, and Indian Giver was a Panelist (since Springbok Radio is a Panelist) and was at #63.  And now, the rest of the M10...

10- and falling 4 is Rogue Wave and Aesop Rock.

8- and now the all time leader with 13 weeks on the chart, and the first song on the M10 to bust the 100-point mark, Home Free and Don McLean's American Pie, down one.

7- with a whopping 10 weeks on the chart, the Explorer's Club and Don't Waste Her Time, down 2.

5- Evanescence and Broken Pieces Shine, up 5.

4- Matthew Sweet with the third of this week's former #1s, Blown Away is down 2.

3- Maddie and Tae hold at 3 with Woman You Got.

2- Blackberry Smoke up a pair with Ain't The Same.

And at the top for a second week....

Redspencer and Happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

King, you want the picks?

EP:  Sure, so long as you got the per-cents already on there!  

If'n you took the Isleys, you got 8%.

Mercy got ya 10.3%...

The final battle was 22.9% to 19.5%, in favor of....

...the Cowsills and Hair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I 'spect that means things'll be a might crowded in here next week, so get a seat early!