28th June 1969It's 2 weeks on top for Thunderclap Newman, the first chart-topper in ages to manage more than one week as the same records continue to dominate. 50 years ago and the top of my chart was quite volatile, with records going up and down and back up again, and plenty of newies except the unshiftable Dizzy which dominated my life that summer as my Primary School days frittered away to the news soon that I had failed my 11-Plus. Not to worry, everyone else in the small village school also failed, bar one child of a teacher funnily enough - too many supply teachers, no consistency. I was genuinely surprised I had failed, to be honest, I was quite bright. No matter, RAF Seletar Secondary Modern in Singapore streamed kids and I passed the following year for Grammar School. My other new love was a teenage superhero group called The Legion Of Super-Heroes, published by DC Comics in Adventure Comics, set 1000 years in the future. Around 30 superheroes, they had been going strong since 1958, and on into the future, and were so exciting and groundbreaking Marvel Comics ripped most of them off. Wolverine? Nah, Timber Wolf had been going a decade by the time he turned up. Among many....
Highest new entries come from Clodagh, her second chart hit Goodnight Midnight was another fave, while Dylan's Lay Lady Lay seeped it's way into my awareness in Singapore later in the year without me really noticing - it was my fave Dylan track for many years once I did notice, though. These days Like A Rolling Stone anyday. Lower down and a second Tommy track pops in for The Who - I'm Free was a US hit, but didn't hit in the UK until 1973, for Roger Daltrey: he completely reinvented it, a masterpiece of orchestral powerhousing, and vastly under-rated. I blame John Inman. At 58, it had been a UK flop in 1968 (despite being a huge radio hit) but Marty Wilde gets a US chart hit with Abergavenny - who'd a thunk it! He had to alter his name to Shannon though. 15 years later he had a change of sex and ethnic grouping and became a massive influential dance diva. Who knew!?
The 5th Dimension are back with a song Patti Drew popped into my charts in my retro 1968 rundown, and as usual they improve on a cover, this time the Neil Sedaka song Working On A Groovy Thing. There is one melody line that he re-used in Laughter In The Rain for himself 5 years later, after his career took off all over again. Toots And The Maytals debut, Roger Miller is back with the folk song Me & Bobby McGee which the soon-to-be-late Janis Joplin would cover and posthumously hit with. I prefer Roger's version of the Kris Kristofferson song. He was great. At 74, another debut for 70's and 80's West Coast Rockers The Steve Miller Band. My Dark Hour is pretty much Steve and Paul McCartney rocking it up, after Macca had a fall-out at a Beatles recording session and threw himself into doing the drums and bass on this to get rid of the stress-aggression left-over. Finally, at 75, it's another Hair song. There can't be many left to chart....!
1 ( 1 ) SOMETHING IN THE AIR Thunderclap Newman # 1
2 ( 3 ) IN THE YEAR 2525 (EXORDIUM AND TERMINUS) Zager & Evans # 1
3 ( 7 ) BREAKAWAY The Beach Boys # 3
4 ( 4 ) SUGAR, SUGAR The Archies # 4
5 ( 2 ) CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION Tommy James & The Shondells # 2
6 ( 6 ) A WAY OF LIFE Family Dogg # 1
7 ( 5 ) THE BALLAD OF JOHN & YOKO The Beatles # 1
8 ( 9 ) RUBY DON’T TAKE YOUR LOVE TO TOWN Kenny Rogers & The First Edition # 8
9 ( 15 ) AH, HA, HA, DO YOUR THING The Hit Parade # 2
10 ( 8 ) GOOD MORNING STARSHINE Oliver # 111 ( 16 ) SWEET CAROLINE (GOOD TIMES NEVER SEEMED SO GOOD) Neil Diamond # 11
12 ( 13 ) BEHIND A PAINTED SMILE The Isley Brothers # 1
13 ( 12 ) WHAT DOES IT TAKE (TO WIN YOUR LOVE) Junior Walker & The All Stars # 1
14 ( 11 ) IT’S GETTING BETTER Mama Cass Elliot # 8
15 ( 18 ) GET TOGETHER The Youngbloods # 15
16 ( 10 ) BABY MAKE IT SOON Marmalade # 10
17 ( 14 ) LISTEN TO THE BAND The Monkees # 3
18 ( 17 ) IN THE GHETTO Elvis Presley # 1
19 ( 23 ) FROZEN ORANGE JUICE Peter Sarstedt # 19
20 ( 20 ) SNAKE IN THE GRASS Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich # 20
21 ( 27 ) MARRAKESH EXPRESS Crosby, Stills & Nash # 21
22 ( 25 ) CHOICE OF COLORS The Impressions featuring Curtis Mayfield # 22
23 ( 37 ) MAKE ME AN ISLAND Joe Dolan # 23
24 ( 19 ) OH HAPPY DAY The Edwin Hawkins Singers featuring Dorothy Combs Morrison # 1
25 ( 21 ) RING OF BRIGHT WATER Val Doonican # 5
26 ( 34 ) LIGHTS OF CINCINATTI Scott Walker # 26
27 ( 32 ) BOTH SIDES NOW Joni Mitchell # 27
28 ( 33 ) I CAN SING A RAINBOW/LOVE IS BLUE The Dells # 28
29 ( 24 ) LIVING IN THE PAST Jethro Tull # 10
30 ( 28 ) THE BOXER Simon & Garfunkel # 1
31 ( 29 ) FIRST OF MAY The Bee Gees # 1
32 ( NEW ) GOODNIGHT MIDNIGHT Clodagh Rodgers # 32
33 ( 36 ) YOU DON’T HAVE TO WALK IN THE RAIN The Turtles # 33
34 ( NEW ) LAY LADY LAY Bob Dylan # 34
35 ( 54 ) HELLO SUZIE Amen Corner # 35
36 ( 26 ) TRACKS OF MY TEARS Smokey Robinson & The Miracles # 15
37 ( 30 ) THE APRIL FOOLS Dionne Warwick # 30
38 ( 22 ) LOVE ME TONIGHT Tom Jones # 22
39 ( 40 ) I TURNED YOU ON The Isley Brothers # 39
40 ( 35 ) GALVESTON Glen Campbell # 1
41 ( 31 ) BAD MOON RISING Creedence Clearwater Revival # 9
42 ( 50 ) I’D WAIT A MILLION YEARS The Grass Roots # 42
43 ( 51 ) PUT A LITTLE LOVE IN YOUR HEART Jackie DeShannon # 43
44 ( 38 ) MY SENTIMENTAL FRIEND Herman’s Hermits # 10
45 ( 39 ) RAGAMUFFIN MAN Manfred Mann # 9
46 ( 60 ) CONVERSATIONS Cilla Black # 46
47 ( 44 ) MY CHERIE AMOUR Stevie Wonder # 5
48 ( 59 ) ALONG CAME JONES Ray Stevens # 48
49 ( 43 ) GET BACK The Beatles with Billy Preston # 6
50 ( 66 ) DELIA’S GONE Waylon Jennings # 50
51 ( 46 ) HURTING EACH OTHER Ruby & The Romantics # 5
52 ( 65 ) THAT’S THE WAY GOD PLANNED IT Billy Preston # 52
53 ( 61 ) IT MEK Desmond Dekker & The Aces # 53
54 ( 47 ) MAN OF THE WORLD Fleetwood Mac # 10
55 ( 55 ) CAPTAIN GROOVY AND HIS BUBBLEGUM ARMY Captain Groovy And His Bubblegum Army # 55
56 ( NEW ) I’M FREE The Who # 56
57 ( 45 ) JUST A LITTLE LOVIN’ Dusty Springfield # 12
58 ( NEW ) ABERGAVENNY Shannon aka Marty Wilde # 58
59 ( NEW ) WORKING ON A GROOVY THING The 5th Dimension # 59
60 ( 52 ) HARLEM SHUFFLE Bob & Earl # 2
61 ( 42 ) HIGHER AND HIGHER (YOUR LOVE KEEPS LIFTING ME) Jackie Wilson # 28
62 ( 56 ) AQUARIUS/LET THE SUNSHINE IN (THE FLESH FAILURES) (MEDLEY) The 5th Dimension # 1
63 ( 69 ) THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL AND JOHN THE DIVINE (SIX-SIX-SIX) The Cowsills # 63
64 ( 70 ) MELODY HILL The Archies # 64
65 ( 49 ) TOMORROW TOMORROW The Bee Gees # 49
66 ( 68 ) BIRDS OF A FEATHER Joe South # 66
67 ( 57 ) ISRAELITES Desmond Dekker & The Aces # 4
68 ( 72 ) WILLIE AND LAURA MAE JONES Dusty Springfield # 68
69 ( 73 ) WHEN TWO WORLDS COLLIDE Jim Reeves # 69
70 ( 74 ) HEY JOE Wilson Pickett # 70
71 ( 75 ) POLK SALAD ANNIE Tony Joe White # 71
72 ( NEW ) 54-46 WAS MY NUMBER Toots & The Maytals # 72
73 ( NEW ) ME AND BOBBY MCGEE Roger Miller # 73
74 ( NEW ) MY DARK HOUR The Steve Miller Band featuring Paul McCartney # 74
75 ( NEW ) WHERE DO I GO/ BE-IN (HARE KRISHNA) The Happenings # 75
My 4th Actual Chart this week 1969
1 ( 1 ) DIZZY Tommy Roe
2 ( 5 ) IN THE GHETTO Elvis Presley
3 ( 2 ) WAY OF LIFE The Family Dogg
4 ( 7 ) FROZEN ORANGE JUICE Peter Sarstedt
5 ( 3 ) OH HAPPY DAY The Edwin Hawkins Singers
6 ( 8 ) BIG SHIP Cliff Richard
7 ( 6 ) MY WAY Frank Sinatra
8 ( 4 ) THE BOXER Simon And Garfunkel
9 ( 9 ) THE BALLAD OF JOHN AND YOKO The Beatles
10 ( NEW ) GALVESTON Glen Campbell 11 ( NEW ) BABY MAKE IT SOON Marmalade
12 ( NEW ) HELLO SUSIE Amen Corner
13 ( 10 ) SOMETHING IN THE AIR Thunderclap Newman
14 ( NEW ) IT MEK Desmond Dekker
15 ( RE ) LOVE ME TONIGHT Tom Jones
16 ( 11 ) MAN OF THE WORLD Fleetwood Mac
17 ( 14 ) GET BACK The Beatles
18 ( 18 ) GIMME GIMME GOOD LOVING Crazy Elephant
19 ( NEW ) THE LIGHTS OF CINCINATTI Scott Walker
20 ( 13 ) BREAKAWAY The Beach Boys