Redartz: Ah, hello again! We have made it once again to Tuesday, which means we reset the discuss-o-meter and start the chat anew. The BitBA crowd assembled awaits the brave soul who steps forward and reveals the subject! Will you be the one?
And what has your humble host been up to? It's been a fairly ordinary week, actually. Just a couple minor thoughts:
Sunday my wife and I were out running some errands, and had Sirius XM on the radio. Specifically, the "70's at 7" channel. They were running a broadcast of Casey Kasem's "American Top 40", for the week of July 20 1974. I was reminded why that particular year has always been a favorite for me (in comics, as well as musically). Gordon Lightfoot, Elton John, Anne Murray, Blue Magic, Golden Earring, and so many more- that week was an avalanche of classic pop music. No wonder young Redartz was glued to the radio during those weekly countdowns...
Then yesterday, I scanned another comic onto the tablet (ahead of a planned ebay sale). Detective Comics 388, with a rather odd Joker / moon cover. But the highlight was the Batgirl backup story with some nice art by Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson. Anderson's inks were quite flattering to Gil's pencilwork. A nice little visual treat.
Well, now you have the weekly update. So what's on your minds?
18 comments:
Not a new topic-- really just a riff on your mention of that shared era of pop/Top-40 radio. 'Cause, man, how many memories and associations does THAT bring to mind? Like Doug and a few of the other mid-Westerners 'round here, WLS from Chicago was the station of choice for just about any activity that needed to have music in the background. So certain songs do bring other activities right to mind, yeah? The Beatles GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE (when it was a surprise hit in the midwest); John Travolta's dreadful LET HER IN (I think that was the title)-- spending the entire summer painting a friend's parents' house. Wings' SILLY LOVE SONGS & LET HIM IN; Barry Manilow's COPACABANA-- summer working on the pig farm. Eagles' HOTEL CALIFORNIA-- several trips to the orthopedist, 'cause it hit BIG during that particular week, and it was still the era where the DJ's could play the same song several times an hour if they felt like it. . . And so on and so forth. . .
HB
I don't have any suggestions for topics of discussion but I have just looked at the UK chart for that week in 1974. To be honest, it's not filled with personal favourites but the stuff I do approve of is:
8. If You Go Away - Terry Jacks. One of those one-hit wonders who insisted on having two hits.
12. Wall Street Shuffle - 10cc.
13. Beach Baby - First Class. Possibly the only example of surf music ever to come out of the totally landlocked city of Birmingham, England.
38. There's a Ghost in my House - R Dean Taylor.
39. Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me - Elton John.
48. Judy Teen - Cockney Rebel.
Otherwise, it's filled with anomalously obscure songs by normally high-profile acts such as Slade, the Rubettes, Mott the Hoople, Roy Wood, Sweet, T Rex, Elvis Presley and Suzi Quatro. They all have hits on that chart that I've literally never heard of.
Charles Aznavour was Number One with She, a song I always like to imagine is about the Ursula Andress film of the same name, though I suspect it isn't.
Chart champions of that week were the Wombles who had two songs on the chart. It says it all that the Wombles didn't exist and were, literally, a puppet band.
HB, re: "Let 'Em In" and "Silly Love Songs." Yep, those songs really evoke strong memories for me, mainly of the whole bicentennial year 1976, when they were constantly played on the radio. Another song from that year that really triggers a wave of early childhood nostalgia is Gary Wright's "Dream Weaver," which I always associate with Super Team Family #4 (the one with the JSA and Solomon Grundy on the cover). The song must have been playing on the radio in my room when I first flipped through that issue.
Steve, your observation about Terry Jacks brought a smile to my face, as there are any number of solo musicians or bands who can be characterized as 'two-hit' or even 'three hit' wonders - Mr. Mister fits into the former category with "Kyrie" and "Broken Wings," while, say, Tears For Fears is an example of the latter, with "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," "Shout" and "Head Over Heels."
Edo-- Wait, didn't Tears For Fears also have a hit with "Mad World"-? Or was that a cover of someone else's hit with it? No, no--- that was theirs, right. I just SOOOO much LOOOOOVE Gary Jules' haunting-to-the-point-of-paralysis cover of it that all others pale in comparison.
Which--- hunh--- maybe there's a veryveryvery late topic suggestion us "closers" could return to over the rest of the week, if we've a mind to?
"Pop song cover hits that you prefer over the original hit (or--- at least original recording--)"
This topic, of course, is almost too easy the farther back into the Roots of Rock & Roll you go, 'cause EVERYBODY covered Chuck Berry and Ray Charles and Little Richard and Elvis and so on. Gets a little trickier when the original source material was recorded, say, after the mid-60's.
Example: Although it wasn't a hit single, Pat Benatar's "Don't Let It Show" on her IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT album surpasses the already beautifully poignant original on Alan Parsons Project's "I Robot" album. She tears your heart plumb out with her interpretation of what could arguably be a kinda goofy/geeky scenario. . .
HB (sucker for haunting, plaintive songs with lots o' minor 7th chords, me. . .)
Great job, guys; way to take a topic seed and run with it (to mix metaphors).
HB and Ed0- ah, the heady days of 1976. Yes, Wings seemed to own that summer. Another song that I will always mentally associate with that Bicentennial summer is, appropriately, "Summer" by War. "Rappin' on the CB Radio in the van..." : it just perfectly evokes that mellow 70's spirit...
Steve DC- I recognize many of the names you mentioned, but not so much the songs. R Dean Taylor- remembered in this corner for his "Indiana Wants Me", one of the very few pop songs that mention my state of residence. And "Beach Baby"- what a perfect bit of pop retro fun; it was retro before retro became a thing...
HB- love your expansion into cover versions. Never heard Pat's version, but always enjoy the APP and their version. I'll have to look it up on YouTube (how did we ever get by without that, anyway?)
My nomination for a superior cover version: Blue Swede's "Hooked on a Feeling". Great song, especially with the crucial addition of the "oooga chagga, oooga ooooga ooooga chagga"s. BJ Thomas' original version is absolutely obliterated in comparison...
Paul and Wings - in 76 they were the boss! I remember the May 31, 1976, Time magazine cover "McCartney Comes Back!" ($9 on ebay LOL!) And as HB said, "Got to get you into my life" charted (#1 I think). At one point there may have suddenly been 4 - 5 Beatles songs in the Top 40 that summer.
Red - As a fellow Hoosier, I too remember "Indiana Wants Me" if only because of the obvious reason of being a Hoosier, LOL. I actually heard it on the radio this past year, perhaps on METV FM which plays only 50s - 70s "top 40" stuff.
Hey HB - I was a WLS listener too! And, I still am! But not on the AM b/c that is all talk radio with enlightened folks like Hush Bimbo, LOL. Rather I listen on 94.7 FM. They play all the older 60s -80s Top 40 stuff but not as deep as METV FM. I think they still have dudes like Larry Lujack and Bob Sirrott do shows though Larry may now be expired?
HB, o.k., I stand corrected about Tears For Fears, but to be honest, I don't think I was ever aware that "Mad World" was by them - which is probably just a testament to my own out-of-touchness about certain things back in the '80s. I'll replace them as a 3-hit wonder with The Zombies ("She's Not There," "Time of the Season," and "Tell Her No").
As for your 'b' question about covers, my go-to for that is always Santana's so-aweseomely-overpowering-that-most-people-don't-even-know-it's-a-cover cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman."
Another similar one, in that many don't realize it's a cover, is Jimi Hendrix's cover of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower."
And no disrespect to Bo Didley, but the Doors' cover of "Who Do You Love", especially the live version is some next level stuff (Krieger in particular was on fire that day).
A very recent example is this astoundingly beautiful cover to Toto's "Africa" which almost makes you forget that the original ever existed.
Or this cover of the Michael Jackson's "Thriller" featuring the amazingly talented improv comedian Wayne Brady on vocals.
Tbh, edo, I didn't know "Mad World" was Tears For Fears either until 'WAY down the road. . . 'cause I do like that version. . . and I truly do NOT like TFF other hits much at all. (The lead singer's 4-note range-- all of them slightly under pitch-- grates me ears no end, I gotta say. . . ).
Y'know, does it seem like maybe being a 2-or-3 hit wonder in the pop music world is really pretty much the base-line? Maybe 4, if a group is lucky? Even groups that we think of as BIG can fall into that category upon closer scrutiny. MEN AT WORK comes immediately to mind on that score. . .
HB (no musicologist, me, mind you---)
"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and you have burned so very very brightly..."
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die."
Rutger Hauer, 75. RIP Roy...
Tears For Fears are actually a seven-hit wonder, with seven singles charting in the U.S. Top 40. Following up Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule and Head Over Heals, they had another huge hit with Sowing the Seeds of Love {#2). Also: Mother's Talk (#27), Woman in Chains (#36), Break it Down Again (#25). In the UK, Mad World, Change and Pale Shelter were also top 5 pop hits.
If you want to really great one-hit wonder: The Grateful Dead. They only had one top 40 hit, 1987's Touch of Grey (#9).
And I LOVE Pat Benatar's Don't Let it Show. Benatar recorded some interesting covers early in her career, including Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights. I discovered Bush's original years after hearing Benatar's. Bush's high-pitched wail hurt my ears.
CH47-- I did some quick checking, and Tommy Edwards is still out there doin' stuff (although semi-retired). Uncle Lar is gone, yes, but John "Records" Landecker is still alive. . .
Yeah, edo, I do love the ooga-chaka "Hooked on a Feeling"-- heh. (First time I heard it, over the house radio in Goldblatt's Dept Store, it stopped me DEAD in my tracks. . .I thought something had gone wildly wrong with the speakers--). But I do like BJ Thomas' full, wide-open high baritone on the original a heck of a lot as well-- no shade on my end.
Harry Nilsson wrote/recorded at least a couple of songs that went on to greater success in the hands of other artists: "One" was a terrific hit for Three Dog Night; and "River Deep/Mountain High" did great with (IIRC) Ike & Tina Turner. . .
And yeah, Rick-- the Dead's appeal has NEVER resonated with me. The only Classic Rock era song of theirs that comes to mind at all is "Truckin' "-- which I always found kinda "enh". "Touch of Grey" is easily my favorite hit of theirs, and it was more of a nostalgia/novelty effort, really. . .
HB
Yeah, the Grateful Dead may have had only one top 40 hit, but I wouldn't call them a one-hit wonder, because I'd define 'hit' as any song that got a decent amount of radio airplay. In that regard, a number of Dead songs were played on hard rock/AOR stations from the 60s onward (e.g. "Uncle John's Band," "Truckin," "Sugar Magnolia," "Casey Jones," "Mexicali Blues," etc.).
The thing about the Grateful Dead, though, is that you had to see them live. As someone who's seen them five times, I can say that it was just a whole separate phenomenon.
Forgot about "Casey Jones"-! That's another one I liked, yes.
Hunh-- I wonder if being a Top 40 hit (which was based on single/45 sales, yes?) and being popular on the radio weren't always in as close conjunction as was assumed? 'Cause another band along those lines- who you'd hear a LOT on non-Top 40/pop stations-- was JETHRO TULL, who had a ton of songs I liked, and were regularly heard on radio. But gosh, did they ever have an outright hit single? Even though they had enough popular material to fill two Greatest Hits LPs?
Ha-- and my apologies for dissing the Dead-- one should always assume there'll be at least a couple of true fans within hugging distance-!
HB
Jethro Tull's RING OUT SOLSTICE BELLS is one of my favourite Christmas songs. It was a UK Top 40 hit in 1976 (another mention of that year).
A cover that's better than the original? ALWAYS ON MY MIND by the Pet Shop Boys, a UK #1 hit in 1987. Their version was very uptempo and disco-ish, in contrast to the original (by Elvis?) which was a slow ballad. I like the original too but I prefer the cover.
I heard the "Tears In Rain" speech on the radio yesterday when Rutger Hauer's death was announced. It's a very poignant speech and, in my opinion, it's the only memorable thing about the boring and over-rated Blade Runner movie (am I being controversial and heretical?)...
When it comes to Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, the metric used during the '60s-'90s favored sales slightly over radio play, but both factored into chart placement. Thankfully, radio playlists weren't so rigid like they are now. Jethro Tull actually did land seven Hot 100 hits, with two going top 40 (Living in the Past (#11), Bungle in the Jungle( #12). Interestingly, Aqualung was never released as a proper single, but it did receive tons on airplay on Rock radio.
And about the Grateful Dead. I don't consider them an actual one-hit wonder. I was being something of a smart-ass. The metrics used to measure a chart hit are only in the short term. I find it amusing that one of the most successful, beloved touring bands in the history of rock technically only has one chart hit, even though they have many familiar songs. So many songs that never impacted the formal charts, can still be considered hits. Fleetwood Mac's 1975 song Landslide was never released as a proper single and never charted, but individual digital single sales have made it the band's best-selling song.
HB- Ike and Tina's "River Deep, Mountain High" is truly amazing. Phil Spector's "wall of sound" makes a great background to Tina's jawdropping vocals.
Rick- yes, on a given pop station 'back then' you might hear a country hit, followed by a rocker, followed by a bit of smooth R&B, and topped off with something by the Carpenters. Now you'd need 4 separate station playlists.
And you raise an intriguing question. Classic, well known songs that were never actually released as a single? Fodder for a future discussion...
It's bizarre to me how the Billboard Hot 100 relied so heavily on airplay when compiling the chart. The UK chart was SALES ONLY as it SHOULD BE in my opinion.
Colin J - You are spot on about Pet Shop Boy's "Always on my mind." As far as I recall, that song, or more precisely those few words from that song, were first in Charlie's memory via Willie Nelson and most-likely due to a TV commercial running through a list of Willie's or County Hits "greatest hits" that were being sold on record or CD! And I do prefer PSB's version!
Would Pink Floyd's "Money" be the muther of all massive "FM" hits that may not have got much "AM" play but charted? Anyhow, all us youngsters / young teens understood around 1975ish that AM was playing the 3 minutes sing-a-long hits at FM all the stuff you really couldn't sing a long to? (Perhaps "Stairway to Heaven" is the muther of all...?)
Charlie's theory: Once cars started adding the FM option to the radio, that was it, no? Mom listening to the Captain and Tonsils singing "Muskrat Love" or Dad listening to a ball game or and the kids saying "turn it to FM!" Once the kids started driving and controlling the radio buttons it was good bye to AM radio and its playlists? (This is pure speculation, mind you! Charlie is not a historian of pop culture!)
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