No food, Elvis. I can't afford it every week, and your money... well, it ain't yours anymore.
Man, that blows. Ah eat one time a week...
You exist one time a week, be grateful! This week we're in 1958...
Bet I coulda got a burger back then...
And things were pretty screwy back then on our feature. But we also have 2 new songs- and one of them will be yet another M10 oddity. However, the first debut is just a flat good song. From her new lp Deeper Well, this is Kacey Musgraves at #10...
That wuz good, Boss! Reminds me of a nice juicy hot dog...
Enough with the food! Go rummage in the commissary if you have to! So this week we go to 1958. The top song in Australia was Johnny Mathis and The Twelfth Of Never. It was the b-side to Chances Are here, and Canada didn't chart it at all. Here? Depends on who you look at. One source claimed Billboard had it as high as #9... another said #51. On Cashbox, it both debuted and peaked at #44, and this was the year before, in '57. Canada had the Chordettes with Lollipop. It fought its way to #2 here, and topped off at #14 in Australia. Cashbox had the Champs at the top with Tequila, also a top dog in Canada and a #4 in Australia. Now, my top five for the week...
Don' fergit yer cadavers...
Caveats, buddy, caveats, and I think we've hit them enough times. If not, feel free to hit me with a-
- in the comments. So this week my top five would be...
5- The Four Preps, 26 Miles (Santa Catalina). Slipping on CB this week from 4 to 6, it peaked 6 on BB, 11 (or nowhere) in Canada, and 9 in Australia. I just saw Dent May did a version of this back in 2009...
Yeah, an' you made us lissen to it too, an' it wasn't pretty...
Not one of his better attempts, I'll admit.
4- Connie Francis, Who's Sorry Now. It moved from 6 to 3 on CB this week, and that's where it stayed. It became a top dog in Canada, #19 in Australia.
3- Maybe Baby by Buddy Holly's Crickets, moving from 17 to 11 this week- where IT stayed! 9 in Canada, 16 in Australia.
2- Don Gibson, Oh Lonesome Me. A country classic that we heard around our house a lot, it was #1 C&W and 7 on BB- moving up from 39 to 35 on Cashbox this week- and while Canada didn't appreciate it, Australia did to the tune of #5.
And, agreeing with Canada on the top:
...the Chordettes and Lollipop!
Moving onto the next story, my next debut at #8 marks the first time that an act has had two songs in my M10, neither of which are new stuff! Last week's debut Shark Smile is from 2017, and this one from 2019! The only song I like off Barack Obama's shared playlist, here's Buck Meek and Big Thief...
Ah love them live at KEXP videos! But, Ah gotta say, if I was to be asked, I woulda thought Buck woulda been the guy with the wolf hat an' not the guy in the suit....
Agreement all around there, buddy! And now, we can wrap it with the rest of this week's M10:
9- and holding for Talk and I'm One Of The Rest...
7- and down 4 for Juliana Hatfield and Secret Messages...
6- and up one for Blackberry Smoke and Whatcha Know Good...
5- and up 3 for the aforementioned Shark Smile...
4- and up a blistering 6 for Suki Waterhouse and Every Day's A Lesson In Humility...
3- and up 3 for Broken Bells and The Mall And Misery....
2- and holding for Dent May and Jordana with Coasting On Fumes...
Say, how come you never mention her last name?
Because she doesn't go by it! But to make you happy, her full name is Jordana Nye.
That ain't bad, I figured it was somethin' silly, like Shufflebottom....
Uh, no... and that means the top song this week- as it has four of the last six- goes to...
...Amira Elfeky, for a second week with A Dozen Roses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And now, let's go see what I got in the freezer....
Today I head into rough territory. There is not a Pastor I have listened to that doesn't admit to being... well, "scared", of preaching from Revelation, because it is the hardest- and the most necessary. Not wanting to bite off more than I can chew, I thought to tackle the very first part- the letters to the Seven Churches, which were not only meant for seven real churches in John's day, but for the 'types' of churches that exist even now. Even this is a tough task, and I really need to set the picture before I even start.
Now we start in around the year 95 or so, and John has been the last of the Apostles for a very long time. His brother James was beheaded first, way back in 44. Peter and Paul were executed in 67-68 by Nero; the latest date I found- by admittedly unsure sources- I believe was the death of Simon the Zealot in 74. Even Luke was dead by 84. Timothy was still around- though not much longer. John himself, who had been living and pastoring in Ephesus, had been exiled offshore to an island called Patmos by Emperor Domitian in the last few years of his reign (he would be freed two emperors later by Trajan just before John's own death around 98) and his disciple Polycarp was pastoring the church by then.
John came to Ephesus around 70. This was a church where Apollos got his start, Priscilla and Aquilla mentored him, and Paul taught us about grace. between about 85 and his exile, John wrote the Gospel in his name and the three letters that pounded over and over the same beat: Love one another. Now he was in a lonely exile, and one day he had a vision of the Resurrected Jesus. It wasn't a Jesus he knew from earlier...
Rev 1:12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
And He had something important to share with John, that he was to write down:
19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.
This in effect was the outline of the book. What he had seen was Christ in His glory; what was now was the letters to the seven churches; what was to come was going to follow the letters. This would be the last times the Church would be mentioned in the tale, leading many pastors to believe that the Church will be removed, or 'raptured', before the judgment on the earth, probably at the point in Revelation 4 when the voice told John, "Come up here". Before he started, Jesus had one last bit of information to share, to help John understand:
Rev 1:20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
By 'angels' here, logic and commentators agree that what is meant is the base meaning of 'angel'- a messenger- and that these were the pastors of the Seven. With that, the first letter is written...
Rev 2:1 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: 'The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
Rev 2:2 "'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.
Rev 2:3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary.
Rev 2:4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Rev 2:6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Rev 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.'
The first letter goes to Ephesus, the Church that John knew well. Jesus describes what they are doing as a church: They work hard, they don't compromise with evil, and have discerned and cast off many of the false Apostles of the type likely that we met in Hebrews. One of which was someone named Cerinthus, who taught that spirit was good, matter was bad, God had created angels, they had created lower angels, and eventually arose a set of angelic beings low enough from God that THEY created matter and the world. This kind of idiocy had no place in Ephesus. They have faced persecution- such as John's exile- and come through shining.
But, they had lost their "First love." And what was this? Many commentators admit they aren't sure- they assume it was love for Jesus Himself, that they were losing Him in the business of the work. Maybe, but I'm not so sure. Jesus doesn't paint these works as superficial. So I pondered- what are the first works? When one is saved, what do you want to do most? Then I thought of what the apostles did first.
In John chapter 1, what was the first thing John the Baptist did after Jesus revealed Himself? He told the crowd, then John and Andrew. Andrew went and told Peter; John presumably told James, and next we find Phillip telling Nathaniel. First works? YOU TOLD SOMEBODY.
This is what I think happened in this church- the were content amongst themselves and whoever wandered in, but they were not getting out and evangelizing. So content at loving friends, they forgot to love their enemies. So what happened next?
Well, first they had to deal with the Nicolaitans. Another term that experts disagree on, I found out that it may have come from 'Nicolaous'- the Greek form of Old Testament Baalam. And Peter described what Baalam was known for:
2Pe 2:15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,
2Pe 2:16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.
About 40 years before, the business of the seaport at Ephesus really exploded, and they became a hub of commerce. It would not be a stretch to see 'prosperity gospel' preachers trying to make a quick buck- and at this point, they were quick to turn them out. But time rolls on, and we can see in it a church that began to take on a sense of importance right along with the city. In 155, Polycarp- the last man standing who'd been trained by an Apostle- was martyred. And in 190, a 'bishop' named Ireneaus got involved in one of the idiotic debates of the day- whether the Lord's Resurrection should be celebrated on Passover ( and thus float around the calendar) or be pinned to a fixed date. Paul told the Church in Romans 14 that this kind of thing was a worthless division, but the church had forgot. Goths sacked the town in 262, but this did not keep the Ephesian Church from striving to be first among equals- but that came to an end in 330 when Constantine established his 'base church' in Constantinople, looting Ephesus for ecclesiastical artifacts- as well as the Lampstand, spiritually, that Jesus had warned them about.
Lesson to today's church. To grow, a church needs to be Evangelical- go out and bring people to the church, and to Christ. To forget this 'first love' is to court a slow death.
All right, we have moments before pizza gets here, so let's get set up...
Elvis: Ah'll get the plates...
I mean get the show set up!we have 2 debuts, a look at this week in 1959, and another death I have to mention from last week...
Also known as Lazy Week...
Lazy, my... well, maybe a little. Here's that first debut, coming in at #10. Actress, model, and singer Suki Waterhouse....
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Of course, you wouldn't have any idea about that...
Hardy har! I do have an idear about it... jus' don' PRACTICE it...
Anyway, we lost another one to rock and roll heaven a couple weeks back....
...Eric Carmen, who made us rock with the Raspberries and made us depressed with his All By Myself lp. He was 74, and died in his sleep.
There are worse ways ta go... an' before ya say it, yes, that one I DO know!
Heh, beat me to that one! Anyway, lets go to our target year of 1959...
I thought the pizza was coming!
Yeah, I think our dasher is getting carjacked in Canterbury Green right now. Anyway, this week's #1 here was Frankie Avalon's Venus- which it was also in Canada and would be in couple months in Australia. Australia, in the meantime, was six weeks into a ten week run for the Platters' classic Smoke Gets In Your Eyes- it would have 16 in Canada, but only 4 here on Cashbox last month. Hey, our dasher is finally moving again, so pretty soon now! And now, my top five for the week:
5- At #19 on this week's CB heading for a peak of 18, Tommy Edwards' version of Please Mr Sun. It would go to #6 in Canada, only 71 in Australia.
4- The CB and Canada #1, Venus, gets my 4th this week.
3- The Fleetwoods' first single, Come Softly To Me. It was at 5 this week on its way to the top; it would also top Canada, and come in at #7 in Australia.
2- At 24 this week, and on it's way to 7 here and 12 in Canada, but zip in Australia,
Suspenseful Pizza Break
The Skyliners and Since I Don't Have You.
Good stuff, friends! Ah'm full!
Y'know, I remember being used to be able to eat a lot more pizza than I do now....
Thankfully, Ah can eat myself into a coma with no further harm done!
Anyway, my pic at the top- it peaked at 2 here, 20 in Australia, and topped the chart in Canada...
...the Coasters and Charlie Brown!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ah love that song! "Why evahbuddy always pickin; on me?"
Yep, grew up with that 45! And our high debut this week comes from Buck Meek's bandmates in Big Thief! From 2017, and coming in at #8....
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I saw something in the HTML code about "strict origin", so just in case you can't see it here, the tune is called Shark Smile.
Man, I am food concussed!
That is so not a thing! Are you to stuffed to get the rest of the ten?
My belly's to big to let me get to the mike!
Remind me to make a special spot at the table in case Talk or Jelly Roll ever do a guest spot! Anyway...
9- Speaking of Talk, he holds at 9 with I'm One Of The Rest.
7- Up 3, Blackberry Smoke and Whatcha Know Good.
6- Up 2, Broken Bells with The Mall And Misery.
5- Down 2 for Camera Obscura and Big Love.
4- Holding here, Real Estate and Haunted World.
3- Last week's top, this week's 3 for Juliana Hatfield's Secret Messages.
2- Up 3, Dent May and Jordana with Coasting On Fumes.
And this week's topper- geez, she was only gone 2 weeks...
...Amira Elfeky with her 2nd #1, A Dozen Roses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The final chapter break lobs off something that should have went with our previous chapter- What is entailed in worshiping the Consuming Fire that is our God. Then we finish with a two part summary of EVERYTHING the author was getting at.
The first part, I noticed, nicely dovetails with the last six commandments- which makes sense, considering the Hebrew audience. Maybe for the first time, these people were seeing them as things to do, instead of 'do not's.
Heb 13:1 Let brotherly love continue.
This comes the closest to 'do not bear false witness' on the list. If you are loving everyone as your brother, you are looking for their welfare- and not lying to them, yes?
Heb 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
In addition to bring the subject of angels back where it should be, it also exemplifies the concept of, "do not steal". I take you to Proverbs:
Pro 3:27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
Pro 3:28 Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it"--when you have it with you.
Failing hospitality and charity is like robbery in God's eyes.
Heb 13:3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.
An analog of "do not murder". How often does a 'conviction' signal our, "Well, I can write that one off my list" response? Jesus said, "Love your enemies"; Paul said, "Pray for all men". The ending, "Since you are also in the body", might be taken well as, "But for the grace of God..."
Heb 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
I can't imagine I need to explain where this one hits on the Commandments list.
Heb 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Heb 13:6 So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"
Interestingly, my paper Bible puts this, "Keep yourself from covetousness", which tells you where this fits. Also, this one comes with a consequence- the less we covet, the more we can rely on God.
Heb 13:7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
This one is in the way of, "Honor your mother and father", and I would assume comes with the same promise of long life. Maybe not life in this world, though; and because of that, the author uses a binding sentence that connects this end with what it to come- his summation...
Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Now the author is going to sum up the book in 2 fell swoops. The first point is one of those "long way around" deals to our minds, but what he is getting at in vv 9-14 is simply this: Don't be afraid to be an outsider, to abandon the old, to get to the new. And not be pulled away with 'strange doctrines', as they had been with the 'angel worship' he/she was on them about at the beginning. Jesus is the same, the author reminds us, and everything they really needed to know about Him was right there in the word- they just had to open their eyes to see it in the proper way.
Heb 13:11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp.
Heb 13:12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.
Heb 13:13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.
Heb 13:14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
And the second part- worship God through Jesus Christ:
Heb 13:15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
Heb 13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Heb 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
The 'sacrifice of praise' is living out what they'd always been taught- as 'do's' and not as 'do not's'. We can assume that this was a problem for them, as flesh will tend to do lip service to the do nots, and ignore the dos. They had been told this by the prophets:
Hos 6:6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
But they were stuck in a religion of rituals; and you know where I always go on this subject:
When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is morality,
When morality is lost, there is ritual.
Ritual is the husk of true faith,
the beginning of chaos. (Tao Te Chang, chapt. 38)
The author finishes with a benediction; I will end with a prayer request, that God lead me next to where He wants these posts to go. Amen.
A lone man looking for means of expression in a tsunami of information. Seeking truth justice and the American way in the perspective of a Nixon conservative. And the Commissioner of the free world's smallest and best fantasy football league.
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