Redartz: Hello again, fellow time travelers! We are off on another journey to the Bronze age, courtesy of the Retro Metro. Today's destination is one very close to my heart:: June of 1974. I only recently started collecting comics, and my interest is skyrocketing. And although the topic on everyone's mind these days is the Watergate tapes, the tapes I'm most interested in are the ones I've recorded off Casey Kasem's American Top 40. And speaking of the top forty, let's check out the apex:
On top of the US 'Billboard Pop Chart: Bo Donaldsen and the Heywoods, "Billy, Don't Be a Hero"
Apparently this song has been used in a recent "Billy Jack" movie, but it was actually written about an soldier in the U.S. Civil War.
Rounding out the top five:
2. The Stylistics, "You Make Me Feel Brand New"
3. Gordon Lightfoot, "Sundown"
4. Ray Stevens, "The Streak"
5. William DeVaughn, "Be Thankful For What You Got"
Man, I'm really loving the pop charts right now! Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" is my favorite song right now: "Sometimes, I think it's a shame, when I get feelin' better when I'm feeling no pain". Great. Then there's Ray Stevens and "The Streak": the king of novelty/comedy tunes strikes again. Everyone on the school bus just goes nuts for that song. And there are tons of ther cool hits: Wings, "Band on the Run"- an amazing song with three distinct sections; Paul still has it. The Hues Corporation, "Rock the Boat"- an incredibly catchy tune. Steely Dan, "Rikki Don't Lose that Number"-just getting to know these guys, and really like this tune. I'm planning to pick up their album "Pretzel Logic" (great name). ABBA, "Waterloo" (debuting this week on the top forty)- a new group from Sweden; this song is a prime piece of pop. May have to pick up their lp as well.
Tops in the UK: Gary Glitter, "Always Yours"
As it's Friday, chances are the tv viewing tonight will be good. Checking out the listings:
US Television Schedule:
ABC: The Brady Bunch, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Odd Couple, Toma
Our family is still following the Brady family. Personally, I'm more excited about the show following them: Lee Majors in "The Six Million Dollar Man". Kind of a superhero without a costume, but with appealing action and a great theme.
And after that, "The Odd Couple" is still going strong. Thanks to a perfect cast led by the incomparable Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, this show always promises laughs.
CBS: Dirty Sally, Good Times, The CBS Friday Night Movies
Afraid "Dirty Sally" is unknown to me. Many friends watch "Good Times", but as I'm pretty much tied into ABC's schedule, I never catch these shows.
NBC: Sanford and Son, Lotsa Luck, The Girl With Something Extra, The Brian Keith Show, The Dean Martin Comedy Hour
Same situation here; although my parents will sometimes tune in Dean Martin.
BBC1: The Friday Western: The Younger Brothers, Skywatch, The Nine O Clock News, A Man Called Ironside, The World of Stan Smith
BBC2: Gardener's World, The Money Programme, World Cinema: Detruire Dit-Elle, All the Buildings Fit to Print
But hey, what a month it's been on the Spinner racks! It's an embarrassment of riches; this new comics fan has waaaay too much to choose from. Just take a look:
Wow, where to begin? That Amazing Spider-Man issue is the first thing I grab. What a cover, what a villain, what a book. Andru's Goblin looks just fine. Then I also have to grab that great Spectre book. Not getting many DC's at this point, but that looks fantastic. And speaking of fantastic, I'm getting that Avengers issue- my first Avengers comic, and picking it due to the Fantastic Four appearance.
Then there's that Doctor Strange issue: have to get that, continuing the excellent Silver Dagger story. And now there's all these Giants and magazines to consider. Definitely need to get the Savage Sword of Conan; a beautiful Red Sonja story awaits within by Esteban Maroto and Neal Adams. Plus how can I resist the first issue of Planet of the Apes? Well, I can't. Could you?
And capping it all off, the first Marvel Treasury Edition; with Spidey no less! All the great Spider-man artists represented. And that cover just hypnotized me; I stared at it all the way home on the city bus the other day when I picked it up. I'm scrounging everywhere I can to gather the needed funds for this month's goodies.
Well, since we've probably spent our limits at the newsstand, guess it's time to head back on the Retro return trip. Hope you enjoyed this brief visit to the stellar year 1974; I sure did! And even if you're not old enough to fully remember that year's attractions, let us all know what you think of them...
closing
11 comments:
In the UK singles chart it was Paper Lace who reached #1 with "Billy, Don't Be A Hero" (their version was the original one) and to this day I've never heard the Bo Donaldson version. Ray Stevens's "The Streak" was also a UK #1. Gary Glitter's "Always Yours" was the last of his three #1 hits - in the late '90s Glitter (real name Paul Gadd) was convicted of paedophilia in Vietnam and various other sexual offences since then, so his records are never played anymore and he's become a national embarrassment.
Some great comics on display - Savage Sword Of Conan, Giant-Size Conan featuring "The Hour Of The Dragon" which was meant to be Robert E. Howard's first Conan novel but the British publisher went bust so the novel appeared in parts in Weird Tales magazine. And Planet Of The Apes, yay!! Marvel UK's POTA weekly was launched on October 19th 1974 and No.5 was my first ever Marvel comic.
In yesterday's comments B Smith complained that I'm always the first to pose a question in 'Follow The Leader' and wondered why. He claimed there's only been ONE WEEK that I haven't asked the question, a total exaggeration!! But for me BiTBA starts at noon and I realise this gives me a very unfair advantage which is why I now wait an hour or so before posing a question, to give anybody else a chance. However, I am obviously hogging the Tuesday slot so I won't be asking any more Follow The Leader questions for a while. I hope you are reading this, B Smith - you can now ask the question you claim I've been denying you!
I bought almost all of those Marvels off the stands — I WOULD have bought SAVAGE SWORD and the first Marvel Treasury if I’d seen them for sale somewhere — and two the DCs (KAMMANDI and ADVENTURE). IIRC, in addition to the great Spectre lead story, that issue of ADVENTURE also has Mike Grell’s DC debut on Aquaman. I remember being really impressed, thought he looked kinda like Neal Adams with slick Dave Cockrum-esque inking.
TONS of great stuff in that batch — POTA #1 is a strong favorite, as is the first GIANT-SIZE CONAN...ah, good times!
b.t.
When it comes to those comics, I'd go for the Weird Adventure Comics issue because I loved Jim Aparo's Spectre.
As for Billy Don't Be a Hero, it was one of the very first singles I ever bought.
When it comes to the TV offerings, I'd definitely prefer The Six Million Dollar Man and The Odd Couple to anything on the BBC that day, apart from BBC One's World Cup coverage which featured the build-up to the first ever game between East and West Germany. There's a reminder of how the world has changed in 44 years.
When it comes to the UK singles chart, the tracks I approve of are:
4. "There's A Ghost in My House" - R Dean Taylor.
5. "Judy Teen" - Cockney Rebel.
9. "This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us" - Sparks. I do always wonder how much of an influence it was on Bohemian Rhapsody, as it was also basically an opera in the form of a single.
12. "Sugar Baby Love" - The Rubettes.
13. "One Man Band" - Leo Sayer. I think he was still dressing as a clown for his public appearances when that came out, which was a somewhat disturbing sight.
17. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." - Elton John.
28. "Wall Street Shuffle" - 10 CC.
31. "Beach Baby" - First Class. Is it wrong of me that I've always preferred it to the Beach Boys records it was so obviously ripping off?
Interesting to see that the Wombles have three singles in the Top 50. They might only have been a bunch of puppets from a children's TV show but they could clearly give The Beatles a run for their money when it came to chart domination.
Steve I really enjoy your U.K. Insights!
Colin I've had several questions too... I don't know that you dominate and anyhow you're questions are fun!
The only two comics I had were Aparos Spectre and The Spirit mag! Both were magical!
Yeah, that Spidey Green Goblin story is a classic. I was only two years old at this point, so I don't remember what was going on. I did love Six Million Dollar Man later ... I think I might still have the lunchbox somewhere.
Red - great write-up and a great destination for the Retro Metro!
I remember all those TV shows and songs but what I remember most is that this was when I was a little over a year into being a heavy Marvelite!
I remember all the books you pictured plus (thanks to a little memory jogging at Mike's Amazing World of Comics) - Falcon goes it alone after Cap hangs it up after the events of the Secret Empire saga, Jungle Action is deep into Panther's Rage, Thing Cap and the Guardians in 2 in 1 (wait...Cap quit. Oh no, it was explained that these events took place before Cap quit. I think? Ah...the Marvel Universe and continuity). Also, Giant Sized MOKF #1, Kooky Quartet reprints, Spidey & DD Team-Up against the Unholy Trio (boy, were they worthless. Still fun), the wedding of Crystal and Pietro crashed by Ultron in an Avengers/FF crossover, and on and on and on...
Great times!
Tom
This was indeed the beginning of GREAT comics summer-! I read a huge amount of this month's offerings via my pal Bryan's older brother's cast-offs (he was the classic older read-it-and-toss-it-aside-forever type--). I was especially caught up in Avengers, Defenders, Kamandi, Spidey, WWBN (already purchasing), Hulk (of course), Marvel Team-up, Fantastic Four--- and probably several others I'm forgetting--- and the following month is when I was flush for the first time in my life with lawn-mowing cash. And I spent it ALL buying the issues that followed the ones pictured here. It's a HUGE dividing line in my collecting-memory.
On the TV end of things: Man, NBC was reeeeeally lagging behind the pop-culture curve, wasn't it? (Sanford & Son aside-) I mean, 1974 and they're still wheeling out the Dean Martin Comedy Hour? Holy Rat-Pack from 1959, Batman-- And that's such a weak evening of television overall. GIRL W/ SOMETHING EXTRA was a one-season sit-com starring Sally Field and John Davidson. Sort of a BEWITCHED/IDREAMOFJEANIE shtick, where the couple gets married, and the young wife reveals that she has POWERFUL ESP. Oh, the hi-jinks! And who knew that Brian Keith even had another show after FAMILY AFFAIR??
DIRTY SALLY over on CBS was a spin-off of GUNSMOKE, which itself would finally, FINALLY slowly set in the west at the end of the very next season. Dirty Sally was a good character and all--- but westerns were just about D-O-N-E at that point.
But, to be fair, that ABC Friday night schedule was so strong right then that any shows going up against it (w/ a couple of exceptions) were little more than sacrifices to the Soulless Television Gods. . .
HB
Colin J- thanks for sharing about Gary Glitter; I had no idea. Brings to mind the similar fate you revealed awhile back about Rolf Harris. And yes, those giant size books, Treasury Editions, and especially magazines that month were fabulous. And a big draw on the budget. Oh,and as for Tuesday questions- in my book, any questions submitted are a blessing! All are much appreciated, and your enthusiasm is heartening...
b.t.- good observation about Grell's early art. A couple years later, when he drew the relaunch of Green Lantern/Green Arrow, that Adams feeling struck me as well.
Steve D.C.- and a thanks again to you for your UK chart info; always look forward to your response to these posts! Also, your opinion of First Class and "Beach Baby" mirrors mine; it's just like all those 60's beach songs, but also different- more symphonic, perhaps.
Charlie- glad to hear you had that Spirit mag. Those Warren Spirits were a trove of comic artistry, and a fine introduction to the brilliance of Will Eisner.
Tom and HB- indeed,that month (and as you say, HB, that whole summer) was one of the greatest times for comics in the entire Bronze age. Sooooo much good reading, and all the debuts and formats. It's almost like they (the powers-that-be at Marvel, and a bit less so at DC) got together early in 74 and said, "Hey, some kids out there are starting to get into our comics, what can we do to REALLY hook'em?". And then they went out and did so.
Oh,and HB- thanks for filling us all in on "Dirty Sally". Your description of "Girl With Something Extra" elicited some familiarity- I must have seen it a couple of times. But as you mentioned, the ABC schedule was locking up the viewership pretty well. Which, at the time, was kind of a good thing- did anyone else find it a relief when your favorite shows were all lumped together on one network on a given night, freeing you up to catch appealing shows on other networks on other nights? With no vcr or later viewing options, I always hated it when networks would intentionally reschedule top shows to compete on other nights with winners on other channels.
Hi Y'all,
I was still a few months from getting my first comic, but I was in my second year of sports trading card collecting. Man, I must have had the Topps baseball cards completed 3 times over in '74. I still have a large tote of just the '74 season packed away.
I wasn't listening to much music at the time, but have vivid memories of hearing "The Streak", "Seasons In the Sun" and "Who Shot the Sheriff". Mainly thru my older cousins.
Thanks to an older neighbor boy a couple of years later I did end up getting 2 mags from June of '74. Spider-Man #136 and FF #150.
"Recent Billy Jack movie"? Are they still making those!?!
This was during my all Spider-Man, all the time, phase. Amazing, Team-Up, Marvel Tales. All I was buying. Eventually would branch out to Thor and Fantastic Four but that was a year away...
My two cents, for what it's worth. On one hand, 6:00 am is near the end of my work day. On the other hand, Tuesdays are our lightest days. When I can, I will find a computer, log on and post a question... mostly from work, mostly.
As I understand the rules, whomever gets in first, posts a question and that opens the floor for discussion. Though the rules are not explicit, there is no expressed condition that it has to be YOUR question. If I knew someone who usually had time during their day, say their day started much earlier than our day, I could ask said person: "Hey, can you do me a solid and ask a question for me?" Then said person could say either "Yep" or "Nope" or whatever they say over there. It's sometimes just as easy to reach over a barrier than it is to knock it down... sometimes.
(Listen children to a story
That was written long ago
Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley far below
On the mountain was a treasure,
Buried deep beneath the stone
And the valley people swore
They'd have it for their very own.
So go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven,
You can justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing,
Come the judgment day
But on the bloody morning after,
One tin soldier rides away.
So the people from the valley
Sent a message up the hill
Asking for the buried treasure,
Tons of gold for which they'd kill (Aaah)
Came an answer from the kingdom,
"With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of the mountain,
All the riches buried there."
Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses, draw your swords"
And they killed the mountain people,
So they won their just rewards (Aaah)
Now they stood beside the treasure,
On the mountain, dark and red
Turned the stone and looked beneath it,
"Peace on earth" was all it said.
So go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven,
You can justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing,
Come the judgment day
But on the bloody morning after,
One tin soldier rides away).
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