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Post by Milliways on Mar 1, 2015 11:39:55 GMT 1
I believe you are factually incorrect as to which number one kept out Waterloo Sunset, I believe it was kept out by A Whiter Shade Of Pale. The Tremeloes had the Mamas and Papas at #2 behind it with "Dedicated To The One I Love". Nope - not as far as the 'official' chart is concerned anyway. The top 3 in question, that of 31-May-1967 (it remains static the following week) is: 1 (1) Tremeloes - 'Silence Is Golden' 2 (9) Kinks - 'Waterloo Sunset' 3 (3) Mamas & The Papas - 'Dedicated To The One I Love' There is one week later on in June in which 'Waterloo Sunset' is above 'Silence Is Golden' while Procul Harum are at #1, but in that week the Kinks are at #3, not #2.
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Post by Earl Purple on Mar 1, 2015 12:25:31 GMT 1
I just looked it up. Mamas And Papas only one week at #2 then two weeks for the Kinks. Then Silence Is Golden fell to #2 and #4 whilst the Kinks were at #3 with Engelbert grabbing the #2 for a few weeks behind Procol Harum.
In my chart I am expecting Waterloo Sunset to take the top spot with most likely "Finchley Central" at #2 behind it. However I'm a long way off from 1967 at present.
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Post by rubcale on Mar 1, 2015 13:32:56 GMT 1
What an interesting project. I'll be following this with interest. Have to say that I don't think you've been especially generous with your scoring so far, but you're right that 1961 wasn't a vintage year. (3) Helen Shapiro - Walking Back To Happiness. Remarkably, she was only 14 when this was recorded. Helen's vocals are those of a much more mature woman. But let down by the shrill backing vox. Mt brother says there was a film made of the recording of this and the backing singers were three pretty old ladies.
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Post by rubcale on Mar 1, 2015 13:33:28 GMT 1
Only just discovered this thread - will have to look through it in depth.
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vastar iner
Member
I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,421
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 1, 2015 13:46:39 GMT 1
"Something Stupid"...one of the absolute worst songs ever to top the charts. And the idiot public put it on top twice. The second time of asking was the absolute worst single ever to top the charts. It's bad enough they took a cretinous song, but putting zero creativity, interest, thought, imagination, emotion, anything, in it, was the musical equivalent of genocide. I would be interested to see if there is anyone who actually still plays it. Unlike the majority of the 1967 chart-toppers.
Sandie Shaw's mike cut out at the start of POAS in Eurovision and she thought that would cost her. Nope. Far too good a song for that.
One chart-topping musician took part of his name from Long John Baldry, as they had both been in Bluesology together.
I've never thought of "Silence Is Golden" as being drab - more perhaps the best harmonizing of any British no. 1 single ever. Gorgeous stuff. It's interesting to stand that alongside the boy groups de nos jours...oh dear me God.
For once in chart history, though, the Americans had a sterling set of no. 1 singles as well - including a couple that were never hits in Britain. The most outstanding was Lulu's "To Sir With Love". Now, Mickie Most may have had an eye for a hit that has been one of the most acute in pop history, but how in the name of Buddah could he think it a waste of time for it to be released in the British market? It was the biggest seller in the US in 1967, and that may have made it the no. 1 single of the world for the year.
1967 was also the year of one of my favourite one-hit wonders - Whistling Jack Smith's "I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman". The Mike Sammes Singers, in disguise, and fronted by Billy Moeller, a Unit 4 Plus 2 roadie. And the absolute definitive version of "First Cut Is The Deepest" by PP Arnold - one of the great vocal achievements of humanity.
But there's an odd feature of the 1967 charts. Specifically, between 22 and 29 July. What on earth is going on here?
"If I Were A Rich Man" by Topol - up to the 22nd, it goes 17-14-11-10-9-9...and then plummets to 27.
"When You're Young And In Love" by The Marvelettes - up to the 22nd it goes 40-28-21-13...and then plummets to 24.
"Somewhere My Love" by the aforementioned Mike Sammes Singers goes from 31 to 14...and then drops right back to 31. In fact, in its 38 week chart run in Record Retailer, the 22nd July is its only week in the top 20.
"With A Little Help From My Friends" by The Young Idea goes 45-39-29-10...and then drops to 34.
"Marta" by The Bachelors goes 40-35-20...and then drops to 28.
"Let's Pretend" by Lulu looks like it's a flop, it goes 42-30-32-35...and then jumps to 11.
And on a slightly different note, "Groovin" by The Young Rascals goes 48-36-23-14-11-8-9-11, and then for the 22nd it drops down to 22...but for the 29th bounces right back to 15.
It's as if they changed the entire chart shop roster between the 22nd and the 29th, because there is consistency leading up to the 22nd, and consistency again from the 29th (Lulu doesn't drop straight back to the 30s and The Marvelettes don't leap straight back to the upper teens).
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Post by Shireblogger on Mar 1, 2015 15:06:55 GMT 1
Looking at the #1s of 1967, it is almost as if all the groovy kids had run out of money buying all the brilliant records from 1966, leaving it to the wealthier, older squares to decide what topped the charts the following year.
There are two stand-out numbers though.
"San Francisco", which was #1 on the day I was born, and is the classic Summer of Love song. Its melody is one of the best ever written, and the lyrics amongst the most gentle and evocative ever to top the charts.
"Massachusetts" is the other superb cut. Given their phenomenal success during the disco era, the BeeGees 60s songs often get overlooked. But this was one of about half-a-dozen songs they created in their first incarnation which demonstrate that, even if they hadn't been brilliant harmony singers, the Gibb Brothers would have cemented their place in music history, as songwriters.
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 1, 2015 15:12:52 GMT 1
Looking at the #1s of 1967, it is almost as if all the groovy kids had run out of money buying all the brilliant records from 1966, leaving it to the wealthier, older squares to decide what topped the charts the following year. Or maybe they were starting to spend their money on long playing albums instead.
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Post by Earl Purple on Mar 1, 2015 15:28:04 GMT 1
I don't think Silence Is Golden is drab but the only song you have compared it to is "Do You Love Me" which was Brian Poole & The Tremeloes and a cover of a US hit for the Contours (not sure if the Contours is the original but it's the other version I know).
"Silence Is Golden" was also a cover. The Four Seasons had it on the B-side to "Rag Doll".
The more wonderful "Here Comes My Baby". Cat Stevens wrote that and also had his debut hit "Matthew & Son" in 1967 - also brilliant.
My favourite Tremeloes song is probably "Suddenly You Love Me".
Brian Poole was the dad of Alisha's Attic, whilst the later Tremeloes were led by Chip Hawkes, dad of the one and only Chesney.
So "Waterloo Sunset" and "Sit Down" by James were both kept off #1 by members of the Hawkes family.
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Post by Earl Purple on Mar 1, 2015 15:31:12 GMT 1
Looking at the #1s of 1967, it is almost as if all the groovy kids had run out of money buying all the brilliant records from 1966, leaving it to the wealthier, older squares to decide what topped the charts the following year. Or maybe they were starting to spend their money on long playing albums instead. Nah, they were taping the songs off the radio, and spending the money on getting high instead...
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Post by rubcale on Mar 2, 2015 13:11:51 GMT 1
One thing - at least for me anyway is that you're listening to the songs in a different era.
I thought Silence Is Golden and Petula Clark's Sailor and in particular This Is My Song were great trqacks.
Summer Holiday is one of Cliff's most iconic hits but I prefer the B-side Dancing Shoes - I think it might have charted in its own right in NME.
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Post by Earl Purple on Mar 2, 2015 16:32:19 GMT 1
"This Is My Song" was actually composed by Charlie Chaplin and appeared in "Countess Of Hong Kong". There were 2 hits versions, Harry Secombe peaked at #2 with his.
As with Chesney later on, "Silence Is Golden" isn't a bad song but not as good as the one it kept off.
I think "The Last Waltz" isn't that bad, certainly a lot better than "Release Me". Not as good as "Flowers In The Rain", one of the songs it kept out of #1. "Excerpt From A Teenage Opera" was also kept out of #1 by that song.
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Post by Milliways on Mar 6, 2015 23:37:32 GMT 1
1968
GEORGIE FAME – “The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde” A peculiar year for #1 hits gets off to a suitably offbeat start. Before and since, film tie-ins have been a reliable route to the top spot but most of the time these have been songs that were used in the film or used to promote it. Not "Bonnie and Clyde", which rather was inspired by the controversial gangster movie of the previous year. This is one of the few late 60s number ones I'd never knowingly heard before embarking on this project and on listening it's not hard to discern why that is – it sounds clunky and gimmicky nowadays, and lacks charm to offset its stridence. Purely of historical interest 3
THE LOVE AFFAIR – “Everlasting Love” I did, on the other hand, have a passing familiarity with this song before this. It can't have been any more than that, as for some reason I thought it was by the Bee Gees – I did check, they've never even covered it. "Everlasting Love" was, however, the subject of quite a bit of negative comment in its time for not having been performed by the credited group (only the vocalist, Steve Ellis, performed on the recorded track). It didn't matter all that much to the record buyers of 1968, and indeed this brassy Motown-styled pop anthem was one of the stronger songs to top the singles chart in this mixed-up year 8
MANFRED MANN – “Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)” Bob Dylan never had a UK #1 in this own right, but not for the first time one of his songs reaches the top spot under someone else's name. Manfred Mann had already proven their mastery of the 'all together now' sing-along with 1964's "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" and, though Dylan may not have realised it at the time, "Quinn The Eskimo" could have been tailor-made as a follow-up to that song 7
ESTHER AND ABI OFARIM – “Cinderella Rockefeller” Eurovision meets music hall. The Ofarims, an Israeli husband and wife, finished 2nd in the Song Contest for Switzerland in 1963 (this preceding the debut entry of their country of origin by a decade) and went on to score hits across Europe for the remainder of the decade. "Cinderella Rockefeller" carries on in a similar light-hearted male-female call-and-response vein to 1962's "Come Outside". However, where that record feels slightly grubby this one overdoes the cutesiness such that one can't help but cringe 4
DAVE DEE, DOZY BEAKY MICK AND TICH – “The Legend Of Xanadu” Xanadu: the setting of Coleridge's Kubla Khan, a fabled place of exotic wonder. The perfect subject for a fabulous piece of late-60s pop excess. Its unabashed effervescence, whip-cracks and all, make what could have been an insubstantial fluff-piece into something quite spectacular. It should be noted that Dave Dee and co are no one-hit wonders, though this is their only #1 and the only song of theirs I was familiar with before this - "Bend It", "Zabadak" and "Last Night In Soho" all deserve a listen if this style of pop doesn't completely pass you by 9
THE BEATLES – “Lady Madonna” Despite having no chorus to speak of and an unconventional subject matter, "Lady Madonna" is a thoroughly engaging two-and-a-bit minutes of great pop. Scurrying piano, urgent riffs and nursery rhyme-referencing lyrics combine so well to portray the mother of the title, rushed off her feet. After "Penny Lane", this is right up there with Paul's best 9
CLIFF RICHARD – “Congratulations” Last year's UK Eurovision victory inevitably resulted in heightened interest in the Contest this year, and Cliff's performance as the representative of the host nation is suitably jubilant. So nearly did "Congratulations" give the UK back-to-back wins, but instead it was denied by just one vote, Spain's "La La La" taking the prize. While both songs are kitsch that has not aged well, for me the joyous bombast of "Congratulations" is far preferable to Shaw's flimsy winner 6
LOUIS ARMSTRONG – “What A Wonderful World” Well-meaning as it may be, particularly when expressed as sincerely as it is here, but I recoil from the sort of stodgy sentimentality represented by the likes of "What A Wonderful World". We'll go on to hear some far worse examples of that, of course, but few quite so ponderous as this 3
GARY PUCKETT AND THE UNION GAP – “Young Girl” Proof, as if it were needed, that the past is a foreign country where things were done differently. While we'll continue to encounter dubious sexual ethics in chart-toppers well into the 2010s, Puckett's portrayal of a repulsive lothario's struggle to restrain himself in the face of the charms of an underage temptress ("'cause I'm afraid we'll go so far") is surely unthinkable in a modern hit single. Unlike, say, "Sunny Afternoon", there's no hint in "Young Girl" that its audience is invited to do anything other than identify with the song's narrator; so, compelling as the melody may be, it is ultimately a disagreeable listening experience 3
THE ROLLING STONES – “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” "Jumpin' Jack Flash" sounds like the Stones' own answer record to 1965's "Satisfaction": where that song's Jagger was thwarted at every turn, this one's is carefree having overcome his struggles: "but it's all right now". The title remains a topic of debate, not all fans believing the 'official' story of its having been inspired by a gardener named Jack Dyer. Likewise, the "it's a gas" refrain, which may or may not refer to nitrous oxide (laughing gas). Like "Satisfaction", this song doesn't bowl me over the way it does some. It's just a bit too laid-back to really get the pulse racing 7
THE EQUALS – “Baby Come Back” Musically, this is one of the more straightforward #1s of the year, with its repeated six-note riff and marching drumbeat there's little to shout about here in terms of innovation. At the same time, with the benefit of hindsight, we're being treated here to a taste of things to come as Caribbean influenced music will go on to have an increasing impact on the charts. This is pop at its most basic, and most effective for it – so much so, of course, that the song would go on to receive a new lease of life during the 90s reggae boom 7
DES O’CONNOR – “I Pretend” Like Ken Dodd three years earlier and many more subsequently, the beloved TV star turning his hand to song was a good bet to top the charts no matter how awful the record. They do get more awful than this, which is rather about as middle-of-the-road as it gets. Good only for nodding off to 2
TOMMY JAMES AND THE SHONDELLS – “Mony Mony” Fortunately, you won't be slumbering for long, as Tommy James et al shake it up with one of the most vigorous rockers to hit the top spot for some time, a real dancefloor stomper. The 1981 Billy Idol cover is probably the more familiar recording to the modern listener, but that synthed-up version doesn't match the raw energy of the original 7
THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN – “Fire” The dawn of a new kind of rock showman. Hendrix may have set fire to his guitar the previous year, but when Arthur Brown announced his presence in shocking style, hair aflame, as the God of Hellfire, few could have guessed where it would lead. For the first time, the performance was paramount; the song itself – beyond that momentous opening – a distant second, a soundtrack for the theatrics on stage. Perhaps that's why Brown was never able to replicate its success, "Fire" a true one-hit-wonder but one whose importance is undeniable 8
THE BEACH BOYS – “Do It Again” The fun, fun, fun couldn't last forever. The familiar Beach Boys motifs are audible in "Do It Again", the handclaps, the harmonies, the chugging surf guitar, but the lyric is one of nostalgia tinged with regret. Their name, in combination with the themes of their best-known singles ("Good Vibrations", "Surfin' USA") might lead one to think the Boys one-dimensional. "Do It Again" is a creditable counter-example without ever threatening to become a classic 6
THE BEE GEES – “I Gotta Get A Message To You” In a way, a continuation of a theme. But while the Beach Boys perhaps needed to shake off an image, the Bee Gees were still to find the niche that would go on to define them. The cumbersome melodrama "I Gotta Get A Message To You" therefore sounds atypical through the distorted prism of hindsight. It's not a style I typically hold in high regard and, regardless, I'm aware of many more stirring examples than this overdone effort 3
THE BEATLES – “Hey Jude” "Hey Jude" has to be among the most divisive songs in the Beatles' canon. There are many who cherish it, whereas for others it is among the worst songs ever. For those who are fans, I'm afraid I identify much more with the latter camp than the former. At over 7 minutes in length, this is one of the longest songs ever to reach #1 and it doesn't have anywhere near the substance to justify it. Sweet as its back-story may be, on record it's the sound of a band who are the biggest in the world and don't half know it. Self-importance is seldom admirable, and this, for me, is one of the most objectionable examples in pop history. By a long chalk, the Beatles single I dislike the most 2
MARY HOPKIN – “Those Were The Days” For six weeks this occupied the top spot (admittedly in the face of not a lot of competition unless you count Leapy Lee), yet even in comparison to most of '68's other #1s it's surely one of the least-remembered today. "Those Were The Days" ought to be exhibit A for anyone making the case that reality TV pop is no 21st century phenomenon – it achieved its remarkable singles chart success following Hopkins' winning 1st prize on Hughie Green's Opportunity Knocks. Undoubtedly kitsch, the song nevertheless has a certain quaint charm. I'm sure if I was around in '68 I'd have become thoroughly fed up with it, though! 5
JOE COCKER – “With A Little Help From My Friends” It's received wisdom in pop commentary circles that covers of Beatles songs are generally unworthy. If a counter-example to that proposition is required, I'm unaware of a better one than this version of a song that originally appeared on Sgt Pepper's. Cocker slows down and jazzes up "With A Little Help...", borrowing heavily from gospel, and in doing so turns this Lennon/McCartney piece into the anthemic celebration of togetherness it deserved to be. Though it's certainly overblown in places, the uncredited female vocals go a long way to offsetting any over-exuberance, providing a crucial counterpoint to Cocker's gruff fervour 8
HUGO MONTENEGRO AND HIS ORCHESTRA – “The Good, The Bad And The Ugly” Of all the records so far encountered, this is by some distance the most enigmatic. With no affinity whatsoever for the genre from which this film score-inspired single is derived, it sounds like a foreign soundscape that somehow fits together despite its disparate elements. Most prominent, at least for me, among these are the clipped and indistinct vocals which I discovered only through reading actually recite the name of the composer. All in all, a puzzling listening experience but it obviously struck a chord with plenty back in '68 4
SCAFFOLD – “Lily The Pink” There are many records that I have a newfound or regained appreciation for as a direct result of this project, and not a lot which have gone down in my estimation. Here's one that has, though. I discovered "Lily The Pink" late – unlike the one that will kick off next year's post, and of course unlike the youngsters of late '68, I'm not aware of having heard it until adulthood – and I always had a degree of admiration for its wacky creativity. The Scaffold were certainly capable of such: behold their top 5 hit "Thank U Very Much" from the previous winter. However, "Lily The Pink" is a direct imitation of a much older folk song, its title a corruption of 'Lydia Pinkham', whose vegetable compound was renowned as a cure for women's ills in particular. It'll continue to be the song I begin to hum whenever I encounter the word "efficaceous", though 4
Other hits worth a mention
The Foundations - 'Build Me Up Buttercup' - The first of two examples of groups whose finest hour wasn't their #1. "Build Me Up Buttercup" was denied by "Lily The Pink" but is deservingly the Foundations' most enduring hit. Its use in 1998's There's Something About Mary gave it a new lease of life, and it remains a party favourite.
The Small Faces - 'Lazy Sunday' - I love the tongue-in-cheek British humour of "Lazy Sunday" - it's impossible to imagine a songwriter of any other nationality coming up with something like this. It's a tricky call between this and "Itchycoo Park" for the Small Faces' greatest single - one thing's for sure, both are far greater songs than their only #1.
OC Smith - 'The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp' - From everything I've said so far, I guess you wouldn't expect me to hold a song like this in any regard at all. Instead, this affectionate ballad (in the original sense of the word) is one of my favourite hits of 1968. It seems an unlikely one, a plainspoken song by a US musician with no prior UK chart record that tells the story of a single mother who turned to prostitution after the father of her children abandoned her. It's a song that deserves to be heard more often than it is today.
Honeybus - 'I Can't Let Maggie Go' and Reparata & The Delrons - 'Captain Of Your Ship' - Two songs that are probably best known for soundtracking TV adverts: the former for Nimble Bread in the 70s and the latter for Muller Rice in the 90s. I also chose "Captain Of Your Ship" as the best representative of the US bubblegum pop trend that saw several such records make appearances in the '68 charts; other examples included the 1910 Fruitgum Company's "Simon Says" and Ohio Express' "Yummy Yummy Yummy".
The Bonzo Dog Doo-dah Band - 'I'm The Urban Spaceman' - The Bonzos were a one-of-a-kind band, and hits as gloriously iconoclastic as this don't come along very often. A wonderful parody of the psychedelia of the time, it's a must-listen even if it struggles to stand up to repeat play.
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Post by Shireblogger on Mar 7, 2015 8:15:40 GMT 1
1968 - most notable for having some great little pop songs at #1 - alongside some awful shockers.
The only music history-changing chart-topper was Arthur Brown's "Fire", which some commentators (not me) have described as the world's first heavy metal song. It brought stage theatrics into rock music in a manner we hadn't seen before, and undoubtedly had a profound impact on prog and stadium rock.
But into the great pop song category we can throw "Congratulations", "Lady Madonna", "Do It Again", "I've Gotta Get A Message To You" - all of which are not very far short of their creators' best ever singles - plus "Everlasting Love" and "Baby Come Back".
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Post by raliverpool on Mar 7, 2015 15:52:05 GMT 1
1968THE BEATLES – “Lady Madonna”Despite having no chorus to speak of and an unconventional subject matter, "Lady Madonna" is a thoroughly engaging two-and-a-bit minutes of great pop. Scurrying piano, urgent riffs and nursery rhyme-referencing lyrics combine so well to portray the mother of the title, rushed off her feet. After "Penny Lane", this is right up there with Paul's best 9 THE BEATLES – “Hey Jude”"Hey Jude" has to be among the most divisive songs in the Beatles' canon. There are many who cherish it, whereas for others it is among the worst songs ever. For those who are fans, I'm afraid I identify much more with the latter camp than the former. At over 7 minutes in length, this is one of the longest songs ever to reach #1 and it doesn't have anywhere near the substance to justify it. Sweet as its back-story may be, on record it's the sound of a band who are the biggest in the world and don't half know it. Self-importance is seldom admirable, and this, for me, is one of the most objectionable examples in pop history. By a long chalk, the Beatles single I dislike the most 2 In a nutshell your two reviews of these singles sums up whilst a disagree with an awful lot of your reviews of #1 hits. For me Lady Madonna is a quickly written reductive Fats Domino knock off. As a result it was a very poor selling UK #1 hit; and in the USA where they had 20 #1's it only made #4 where it rightly got heavily got criticised ..... for being a Fats Domino rip off. As a result ....... (Memo to Madonna this is how you throw shade): When you add to the fact it was chosen as a single by EMI/Parlophone the band ahead of John's Hey Bulldog. John was rightly so mythed about this decision he pulled his composition as being the b-side allowing George's excellent The Inner Light to be the flipside. Whereas the follow up Hey Jude is in mind unquestionably the greatest composition Paul McCartney ever wrote; and certainly The Beatles best single. By now John was verbally guaranteed the lead single for one of his compositions (Revolution), but how could anyone turn this emotional moving musical masterpiece down. As a result it spent 9 weeks at #1 in the USA (a then record in the Hot 100 era) and was the third best selling single of the 1960s in the USA (I Want To Hold Your Hand was first); and internationally was their second biggest selling single of all time (including in Australia where it spent a record 13 weeks at #1 becoming the best selling single of the 1960s Down Under). Whilst it is a regular GOAT song contender on too many polls to mention. Sure I wish MacCa would have the balls to do what Bowie did when he rested some of his standards per tour, and not play the song as an audience singalong anthem near the end of the set, because it has been overplayed and over performed. But the last word must go to "an estranged fiancee" of his John Lennon interviewed by Andy Peebles for Radio 1 (Dec 6th 1980): "He said it was written about Julian. He knew I was splitting with Cyn and leaving Julian then. He was driving to see Julian to say hello. He had been like an uncle. And he came up with 'Hey Jude.' But I always heard it as a song to me. Now I'm sounding like one of those fans reading things into it... Think about it: Yoko had just come into the picture. He is saying. 'Hey, Jude' — 'Hey, John.' Subconsciously, he was saying, 'Go ahead, leave me.' On a conscious level, he didn't want me to go ahead. The angel in him was saying, 'Bless you.' The devil in him didn't like it at all, because he didn't want to lose his partner. It's his masterpiece..."
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vastar iner
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I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,421
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Post by vastar iner on Mar 12, 2015 0:21:13 GMT 1
But into the great pop song category we can throw "Congratulations", "Lady Madonna", "Do It Again", "I've Gotta Get A Message To You" - all of which are not very far short of their creators' best ever singles - plus "Everlasting Love" and "Baby Come Back". Agree that "Do It Again" is a superb, superb song. Surf rock gone melancholic and indie. Although it wasn't really a number 1; just benefitted from Record Retailer's habit of breaking tie-breaks in favour of the less likely song. Which also made "Fire" and "The Legend Of Xanadu" chart-toppers, and, less thankfully, Des O'Connor. But to be fair to Des, with Woolies, Boots and Smiths not contributing to the chart compilers, it's surely likely that a lot of older buyers whose one or two single buys per year would be from there would have been missed. It's actually a great year for no. 1s. I'd award 10s to "Everlasting Love", "Young Girl", LOX, DIA, "What A Wonderful World" and the absolute best of the lot - Tommy James' homage to the Municipal of New York Insurance Company. James and the Shondells never made much money out of their gigantic Stateside success though; their label was Mafioso... However, even that was not the best no. 1 of the year. In two other charts this absolute, total and utter masterpiece climbed all the way, and deserves to be credited as the chart-topper it surely was. I would disagree though with "Lady Madonna". Put out under anyone else's name and it would have got nowhere. Incidentally, Graham Nash of The Hollies contributed the Jennifer Eccles verse in LTP. Paul McCartney's brother, Roger McGough, and Tiswas' John Gorman. The unlikeliest chart-topping trio ever? Motown was beginning to show its social conscience, The Supremes' "Love Child" topping the US charts. Don Partridge, discovered busking outside a Tube station, scored an unlikely top 5. Another great single came from near-one-hit-wonders who tried to do what The Beatles did for Hamburg by going to Italy: Best single of the year though? This sublime glimpse of innocent heaven.
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Post by rubcale on Mar 12, 2015 19:21:47 GMT 1
Everlasting Love was a great song but Robert Knight's original was the better version - it was unfortunate to be 1 place outside the top 50.
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Post by Milliways on Mar 13, 2015 2:07:50 GMT 1
1969
MARMALADE – “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” As mentioned in last year's post (in the context of a notable exception), Beatles covers seldom improve on the originals. This is a case in point. Like "Michelle", it's a means to the end of getting a pop song that was about a sure a bet as could be at this time for a #1 out as a single. Paul McCartney intended to so release this, but this was vetoed by the rest of the band. What I really dislike about this cover is the intro or, more to the point, the lack of one. The piano flourish, followed by the onset of bouncing rhythm guitar and handclaps is my favourite part of the whole Beatles song, and is completely forsaken in the Marmalade cover which instead launches straight into "Obla-Di" 3
FLEETWOOD MAC – “Albatross” "Albatross" is the first truly instrumental #1 since the Shadows way back in '63, but few feet will have been tapping to its rhythm. This is music as ambience, and it fits right alongside several of the songs to come in the contemplative, apprehensive mood that seems to have overtaken record-buyers as the decade drew to a close. Fleetwood Mac would of course go on to change direction and achieve great success as mainstream pop-rock artists, recording one of the best-selling albums of all time in Rumours, but to date "Albatross" is their only UK #1 hit single 6
THE MOVE – “Blackberry Way” The title of the Move's only #1 single recalls earlier hits celebrating the beauty of the outdoors – but this is '69, not '67, and this record is decidedly gloomy. Though, outwardly, "Blackberry Way" concerns the aftermath of a breakup, it sounds like an elegy for the hippie dream. The contrast with "Penny Lane", in particular, is palpable; the cheer of that song replaced by drear 7
AMEN CORNER – “(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice” I find that the anticipation of listening to some songs is far more pleasurable than actually doing so. This is one of them: through the late 60s I was looking forward to coming to this record which I half-remembered as being one of the best pop records of the latter part of the decade. While the hook at its core remains a top-notch piece of songwriting, the song as a whole is a flimsy affair 6
PETER SARSTEDT – “Where Do You Go To My Lovely?” I didn't recognise the artist or title of this one at all - I wondered if it had something to do with the 1996 hit by No Mercy that shares the first half of its title but, alas, no relation. Kitschy pop songs with a continental flavour clearly held substantial appeal in the late 60s (see also Mary Hopkin last year), but this is so corny it defies belief. A laboured tale of a jet-setting socialite, the entirety of which is half-spoken, half-sung in a fake French accent. Worth one listen just for the comedy value, but not one for the collection 3
MARVIN GAYE – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” From the ridiculous to the sublime. This might just be the single most highly-regarded Motown record, but a cursory listen to either of the versions of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" that were recorded before this one makes clear just how much Marvin Gaye brings to this record. I don't recall ever hold this song in particularly high personal esteem, perhaps a case of familiarity breeding contempt as this may also be the most overplayed record of the entire decade. Over-exposure does few records any favours, but for a song as personal and emotional as this it has a particularly pernicious dulling effect 8
DESMOND DEKKER AND THE ACES – “Israelites” One of the great musical shifts in 1969 was the 'reggae boom', and with this Desmond Dekker became the first Jamaican reggae artist to top the UK charts. While "Israelites" was by some distance the most commercially successful example of the year, several other singles by artists of Caribbean origin reached the top 40. While young people in 1969 were enthralled by this new rhythm, it is unfortunate that those of us who were born a decade or three later more likely than not first encountered "Israelites" in desecrated form in an abject TV margarine ad 9
THE BEATLES WITH BILLY PRESTON – “Get Back” The Beatles' only UK single to credit a guest artist, Billy Preston played the electric piano on "Get Back". Emblematic of the 'back to basics' approach that represented the last throw of the dice for the Beatles as a band, it otherwise has a straightforward blues-rock sound. Lyrically it's arguably the weakest of the Beatles' hit singles. It sounds as though it was made up as they went along which isn't far off what actually happened during recording 5
TOMMY ROE – “Dizzy” Lord knows how I'd perceive this song if I'd never heard that cover version. This to me is so lacking; its components don't fit together at all well. It sounds as though it has been slowed down and stripped of the passion and effervescence that the lyrics demand. If a pop record ever hid its light under a bushel, this is it 3
THE BEATLES – “The Ballad Of John And Yoko” Not undeservedly, the most maligned of the Beatles' #1s. Even "Get Back" displays more musical inventiveness than we hear here; perhaps unsurprisingly since only half the band were involved in the recording of this song. Furthermore, the entirely self-referential lyrical theme (Tom, writing in 2006, described it as a 'glorified MySpace posting') is inevitably a magnet for criticism. Yet, I find a lot to like in this song. There's a dry humour in the lyrics that I enjoy: "say what are you doing in bed? We're only trying to get us some peace", and the Church-baiting reference to the 'bigger than Jesus' controversy. My favourite moment, though, is the final exasperated "Christ!" at 2:25 7
THUNDERCLAP NEWMAN – “Something In The Air” As mentioned earlier, the Who never had a UK #1. This could perhaps be said to be the closest they came, produced and arranged as it was by Pete Townshend who also played bass on the recording. Its original title was "Revolution"; the release the previous year of a Beatles song of the same name led to a rethink. A fusion of portentousness and hope, it's an apt chart-topper to have coincided with the Apollo 11 moon landing 6
THE ROLLING STONES – “Honky Tonk Women” It wasn't just the Beatles who sought a more minimal sound in 1969; "Honky Tonk Women" is a similarly straightforward song, built around its crowd-pleasing chorus. The influence on the Stones' sound of American blues rock is apparent throughout their back catalogue, but egregious in the title of this good-time single 6
ZAGER AND EVANS – “In The Year 2525 (Exordium And Terminus)” The space race, culminating in the aforementioned moon landing, naturally had its impact on popular culture. In terms of #1s, that zeitgeist is represented by "In The Year 2525". As well as having the most pretentious title for a top 5 hit that we'll encounter for a good thirty more years to come, it is, unfortunately, quite bad. This preposterous account of a dystopian future has aged about as well as an MST3K green-screen sci-fi flick. I would contrast another similarly-themed song that only reached #5, but we'll have to wait until 1975 to discuss that one... 3
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL – “Bad Moon Rising” Seldom did the end of the world sound like such a blast. This buoyant boogie is a Halloween party fixture thanks to its combination of doom-laden lyrics and rollicking beat, used to such good effect in An American Werewolf In London. Indeed, its lyrics were inspired by a scene of Biblical vengeance in a 1940s movie adaptation of the legend of Faust. "Bad Moon Rising" is the source of one of the all-time great mondegreens (misheard lyrics) of all time, the "bathroom on the right" version having been acknowledged in live performances by CCR vocalist John Fogerty, such is its prevalence 9
SERGE GAINSBOURG AND JANE BIRKIN – “Je T’Aime… Moi Non Plus” It took its time, but the sexual revolution finally had its impact at the top of the UK singles charts. "Je T'Aime", which was originally written by Gainsbourg for Brigitte Bardot, was of course banned by the BBC for Jane Birkin's porn-soundtrack vocals. Not, by a long chalk, for the last time, its infamy drove sales – despite the label on which it was originally released washing their hands of it. While it is unlikely that without that controversy it would have reached the top, this is an appealing pop song beyond the notoriety with its Hammond organ and bass contributing to an intimate mood 9
BOBBIE GENTRY – “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” One of several songs this year that I first encountered in a different guise in the 90s, in this case as part of Deacon Blue's "Four Bacharach & David Songs" EP in 1990. That wasn't the best introduction I could have had to Deacon Blue. I can't say that this version has led me to warm to the song, though the rougher-edged vocals do fit the embittered lyrics (apparently Gentry had a cold during recording). On the subject of the lyrics, aren't they rather clunky in places ("you get enough germs to catch pneumonia / after you do he'll never phone you")? 4
THE ARCHIES – “Sugar, Sugar” In which bubblegum pop eats itself. What might have started out as a fun diversion from the weighty material that overtook the singles chart for much of '69 thoroughly outstayed its welcome with an 8-week stay at #1. The song's obvious child appeal, combined with the novelty of a cartoon-as-band, proved irresistible. This is another one that I first encountered growing up in the 90s in the form of a mostly-forgotten reggae version by Duke Baysee, a bus conductor forerunner of £1 Fish Man. That version has the advantage over the original of suitably robust female vocals to serve as a counterpoint to the male lead's peculiarly pedestrian expression of delight - the "I'm gonna make your life so sweet" on the original seems somewhat lacking in conviction by comparison 6
ROLF HARRIS – “Two Little Boys” The last number one song of the 1960s can scarcely be described as as a song. Rather, this is a wartime fable written almost 70 years previously. The appeal of this bad old-fashioned glurge surely resided in Harris' status as avuncular national treasure. That appeal now thoroughly eviscerated, this is the first song so far encountered that is utterly devoid of any worth at all. I don't recall having heard "Two Little Boys" in full before this; I doubt I ever will again 0
Other hits worth a mention
The Who - 'Pinball Wizard' - The showstopper from the Who's rock opera Tommy proves that the most far-fetched of concepts can be the stuff of great rock.
Lulu - 'Boom Bang-A-Bang' - The first UK Eurovision entry in three years not to reach #1; unfortunately, as it has much more appeal than "Puppet On A String" and lacks the smugness of "Congratulations". It did 'win' the Contest, though... together with three other songs!
Max Romeo - 'Wet Dream' - The 'other' sexy hit of the year to be banned by the BBC – this went so far as referring to it on the top 40 as "a song by Max Romeo" – and receive a sales boost as a result. Beyond its title, this rude reggae track is explicit even by modern standards.
Jimmy Cliff - 'Wonderful World, Beautiful People' - Another Jamaican reggae tune, but there the similarity ends. This is a great feel-good peace-and-love anthem that puts "Give Peace A Chance" to shame. Also worth a listen are Harry J Allstars' instrumental "Liquidator", the Pioneers' "Long Shot Kick de Bucket" and the Upsetters' "Return to Django"
Mama Cass - 'It's Getting Better' - Simple, mood-lifting pop.
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Post by Earl Purple on Mar 13, 2015 17:33:57 GMT 1
This is the tune that inspired Albatross:
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Post by Milliways on Nov 14, 2017 15:03:20 GMT 1
Since I'm listening to #1s again for the Haven's Favourite UK #1s project, I thought I'd revisit this thread and post some ratings, even if without the detailed write-ups that ended up being too time-consuming to perservere with back in 2015. Firstly, the songs that have made my shortlist for the top 100 from prior to 1961 (i.e. would have rated at least an 8 had I started in 1952 rather than skipping the first 9 years of the 'official singles chart'): 1956TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD - "Sixteen Tons" FRANKIE LYMON & THE TEENAGERS - "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" 1957LONNIE DONEGAN - "Cumberland Gap" JOHNNIE RAY - "Yes Tonight, Josephine" 1958JERRY LEE LEWIS - "Great Balls of Fire" CONNIE FRANCIS - "Stupid Cupid" LORD ROCKINGHAM'S XI - "Hoots Mon" 1960EDDIE COCHRAN - "Three Steps To Heaven" JIMMY JONES - "Good Timin'" JOHNNY KIDD & THE PIRATES - "Shakin' All Over"
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Post by Earl Purple on Nov 14, 2017 15:51:09 GMT 1
I have nearly finished the 1960s. I'm on my final 1969 playlist now.
3 of the UK #1s from 1969 also topped my chart. I said 2 in the #1s topic because I'd forgotten Marvin Gaye was a UK #1 in 1969 having reached #1 in mine in 1968.
Two of my #1s from 1969 were UK #1s in 1975 and there's a strong possibility of another one that was a UK #1 in 1988.
The start of the year was relatively weak for me, and Peter Sarstedt ended up getting in my chart, and Rolf Harris probably will at the end. The weakest #1 for me is probably Je T'aime...
Bad Moon Rising is a classic of course, but the big one for me in that list is "Something In The Air"..
This is so much going to influence my #1s voting. I'd expect Something In The Air and Grapevine to easily make my list, Bad Moon Rising to be a contender but might miss the cut. None of the others will be on the shortlist.
And yeah, Hal David was normally such a great lyricist... what sort of rhyming line was that?
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