Post by slf on Mar 29, 2015 9:05:33 GMT -5
For The week ending March 31, 1973:
40. Daisy A Day/Jud Strunk--Although this entry was musically and lyrically anachronistic even for 1973, it has such heart, charm, and sweetness that you can't help but love it. (Even though Mr Strunk was only in his 30's at the time, he sounded like the type of kindly old man he was singing about.)
39. Wildflower/Skylark--Wow! Back-to-back flower-motif songs. What are the odds? Anyway, this is a delightfully dramatic, powerful, and somewhat sad soul ballad.
38. A Letter To Myself/The Chi-Lites--A lesser-known Chi-Lites hit that I was unfamiliar with, it blended the spoken-word bookend style of "Have You Seen Her" with that mournfully sweet harmonica from "Oh, Girl" to create an enjoyable, if derivative, release that doesn't deserve its forgotten status.
37. One Less Set Of Footprints/Jim Croce--It was somewhat catchy, but otherwise just so-so.
36. Drift Away/Dobie Gray--I can take it or leave it. I much prefer his brassy, Motown-inspired release from eight years earlier, "The In-Crowd".
34. Stuck In The Middle With You/Stealers Wheel--It's a fairly enjoyable song, with a sharp, yet understated guitar groove and mumbling, yet intriguing vocals by the late Gerry Rafferty.
33. Master Of Eyes/Aretha Franklin--It's a above-average record from the Queen Of Soul's later, '70's period. I found it unusually dramatic and lush, especially the intro.
32. Cook With Honey/Judy Collins--Clouds, clowns, and cooking. Ms Collins is probably the only artist to have Top 40 hits about all three subjects. Anyway, this is a gently sweet, if somewhat sappy, song embracing family love, harmony, and hospitality.
31. Walk On The Wild Side/Lou Reed--One of my ultimate Top 40 guilty pleasures. Hearing old Lou singing deadpan-style about "Sugar Plum Fairy" and Holly plucking his eyebrows makes me giggle every time. And how about that killer bass riff!
30. Do You Wanna Dance/Bette Midler--Usually songs this mellow lean to the boring side, but this early rock standard has a certain dramatic beauty when slowed down and when sung by a voice as fine as that of the Divine Miss M.
29. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life/Stevie Wonder--A sweet, yet rhythmically complex soul classic that has stood the test of time very well. It always takes me back to late Spring of '73.
28. Daddy's Home/Jermaine Jackson--So-so, at best. Shep & The Limelites did it better.
27. Big City Miss Ruth Ann/Gallery--A sharp, well-produced mid-tempo rocker.
26. Peaceful/Helen Reddy--The lush orchestral backup combine with Helen's exquisite vocals to create a very smooth, enjoyable release.
25. Little Willy/Sweet--I always thought "Little Willy" was, well, silly, in an embarrassingly way. (I even thought they were singing "Little Willy woollyworm" I have warmed up to the song somewhat in recent years, though, because it does rock out ably.
24. Could It Be I'm Falling In Love/The Spinners--From the gently plinking keyboard opening, to the introduction of those mighty, soulful strings, to Philippe Wynne's smooth, comforting vocals with solid backing by his vocalmates, this is one tremendous slice of musical comfort food that I appreciate more and more as the years go by.
23. The Twelfth Of Never/Donny Osmond--A sweet, slightly dramatic ballad, definitely one of Donny's better solo offerings. I seem to remember the late, great Bob Sievers of WOWO, Ft Wayne playing this and the Jud Strunk song a lot on his morning show back in the day.
22. I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)/The Moody Blues--This electrifying song is probably the hardest rockin' hit the Moodies ever had. Yet it still preserves the trademark orchestral sound. I am particularly intrigued by how the drummer starts slow then speeds up the tempo at the beginning, then in bookend fashion, slowed the pace at the end.
21. The Cisco Kid/War--Mildly funky and catchy, but otherwise just so-so.
20. Hummingbird/Seals & Crofts--Although they've had better songs, I still enjoy this song's harmony vocals, especially towards the end.
19. Stir It Up/Johnny Nash--I can take it or leave it.
18. Masterpiece/The Temptation--As psychedelic soul songs go, this is truly a masterpiece, even better than these guys' more well-known hits from that era, like "Cloud Nine" or "Ball Of Confusion".
17. Space Oddity/David Bowie--A very moody, ethereal, sonic-sounding hit with fascinating guitar work.
16. Dead Skunk/Loudon Wainwright III--Ah, yes, the funniest death song of all time. A "technicolor" masterpiece. My only quibble with him is this: he forgot to mention "dead Bambi".
15. Aubrey/Bread--Getting back to my serious self, this is another gently sweet, sad love ballad by the masters of that genre.
14. The Cover Of "Rolling Stone"/Dr Hook & The Medicine Show--Although not as irreverent and over-the-top as "Dead Skunk", this is still a very amusing, tongue-in-cheek novelty release. I'm almost surprised this song got mass airplay on the radio, what with the references to pills and cocaine.
13. Tie A Yellow Round The Old Oak Tree/Tony Orlando & Dawn--A massive hit that spring and deservedly so. It was irresistibly perky and peppy, with a very tasty harmonica part towards the end. And it tells a great story with the ultimate feel-good ending.
12. Dueling Banjos/Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell--An intriguing, fun release paying ultimate tribute to the only major musical instrument invented in the United States (or so I read somewhere.) At the time, I knew nothing about the "Deliverance" connection or the sexually perverse nature of certain scenes from that movie. If I did, it probably would have ruined this song for me.
11. Call Me/Al Green--Another fine, soulful Al Green release with a nice groove.
10. The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia/Vicki Lawrence--Although there are elements of this story song that are nonsensical (Why would Andy so brazenly admit to fooling around with that woman?), Ms Lawrence does such an authoritative narration that one cannot help but be drawn in. Plus, she's actually a pretty fine singer and Snuff Garrett's arrangement is powerful.
9. Sing/The Carpenters--This is one of their finest songs. It has a sweet, happy arrangement, complete with a flute and solo horn intro. And Karen's sweet vocals were in top form. And the kids' chorus was the perfect icing on the cake. It would have been easy for this song to be over-to-top cutesy, but Richard or whoever produced it maintained just the right balance of sentiment and restraint.
8. Danny's Song/Anne Murray--A fairly nice song with inspiring sentiments and typical soothing vocals by Ms Murray.
7. Last Song/Edward Bear--A very smooth, polished, enjoyable pop number with rather unique, yet fine vocals by Larry Evoy. (Edward Bear was the name of a group, not a person.) I wonder of Mr Evoy ever parlayed his limited success in this group into a singing career some other way. His voice, IMHO, was certainly good enough, if a bit unusual.
6. Break Up To Make Up/The Stylistics--It has the same lush harmonies as their other songs, but somehow it just doesn't rise to the quality of their previous hits.
5. Ain't No Woman (Like The One I Got)/The Four Tops--Although not quite as great as their stellar hits with Motown, it's still a lush, enjoyable soul ballad, with an elegant string arrangement.
4. Love Train/The O'Jays--Although this is one smooth, yet hard-chugging Philly Soul smash, I still maintain that, if this group was fated to have only one charttopper, it should have been the masterful "Back Stabbers".
3. Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)/Gladys Knight & The Pips--This is one profoundly sad song about an impending breakup. Gladys & the Pips do a fine job of capturing that mood of impending doom.
2. Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)/Deodato--With a delightfully unique, spacy, funky arrangement, this is one of my favorite songs of the countdown.
1. Killing Me Softly With His Song/Roberta Flack--It's a moderately pleasant, soothing song with intriguing lyrics, but it wasn't good enough to spend multiple weeks at #1.
And my favorite song of the countdown (drum roll):
On the other hand, "Tie A Yellow Ribbon..." and "Sing" were good enough (and the former actually DID spend multiple weeks at #1, four to be exact.)
Thank you for reading!
40. Daisy A Day/Jud Strunk--Although this entry was musically and lyrically anachronistic even for 1973, it has such heart, charm, and sweetness that you can't help but love it. (Even though Mr Strunk was only in his 30's at the time, he sounded like the type of kindly old man he was singing about.)
39. Wildflower/Skylark--Wow! Back-to-back flower-motif songs. What are the odds? Anyway, this is a delightfully dramatic, powerful, and somewhat sad soul ballad.
38. A Letter To Myself/The Chi-Lites--A lesser-known Chi-Lites hit that I was unfamiliar with, it blended the spoken-word bookend style of "Have You Seen Her" with that mournfully sweet harmonica from "Oh, Girl" to create an enjoyable, if derivative, release that doesn't deserve its forgotten status.
37. One Less Set Of Footprints/Jim Croce--It was somewhat catchy, but otherwise just so-so.
36. Drift Away/Dobie Gray--I can take it or leave it. I much prefer his brassy, Motown-inspired release from eight years earlier, "The In-Crowd".
34. Stuck In The Middle With You/Stealers Wheel--It's a fairly enjoyable song, with a sharp, yet understated guitar groove and mumbling, yet intriguing vocals by the late Gerry Rafferty.
33. Master Of Eyes/Aretha Franklin--It's a above-average record from the Queen Of Soul's later, '70's period. I found it unusually dramatic and lush, especially the intro.
32. Cook With Honey/Judy Collins--Clouds, clowns, and cooking. Ms Collins is probably the only artist to have Top 40 hits about all three subjects. Anyway, this is a gently sweet, if somewhat sappy, song embracing family love, harmony, and hospitality.
31. Walk On The Wild Side/Lou Reed--One of my ultimate Top 40 guilty pleasures. Hearing old Lou singing deadpan-style about "Sugar Plum Fairy" and Holly plucking his eyebrows makes me giggle every time. And how about that killer bass riff!
30. Do You Wanna Dance/Bette Midler--Usually songs this mellow lean to the boring side, but this early rock standard has a certain dramatic beauty when slowed down and when sung by a voice as fine as that of the Divine Miss M.
29. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life/Stevie Wonder--A sweet, yet rhythmically complex soul classic that has stood the test of time very well. It always takes me back to late Spring of '73.
28. Daddy's Home/Jermaine Jackson--So-so, at best. Shep & The Limelites did it better.
27. Big City Miss Ruth Ann/Gallery--A sharp, well-produced mid-tempo rocker.
26. Peaceful/Helen Reddy--The lush orchestral backup combine with Helen's exquisite vocals to create a very smooth, enjoyable release.
25. Little Willy/Sweet--I always thought "Little Willy" was, well, silly, in an embarrassingly way. (I even thought they were singing "Little Willy woollyworm" I have warmed up to the song somewhat in recent years, though, because it does rock out ably.
24. Could It Be I'm Falling In Love/The Spinners--From the gently plinking keyboard opening, to the introduction of those mighty, soulful strings, to Philippe Wynne's smooth, comforting vocals with solid backing by his vocalmates, this is one tremendous slice of musical comfort food that I appreciate more and more as the years go by.
23. The Twelfth Of Never/Donny Osmond--A sweet, slightly dramatic ballad, definitely one of Donny's better solo offerings. I seem to remember the late, great Bob Sievers of WOWO, Ft Wayne playing this and the Jud Strunk song a lot on his morning show back in the day.
22. I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)/The Moody Blues--This electrifying song is probably the hardest rockin' hit the Moodies ever had. Yet it still preserves the trademark orchestral sound. I am particularly intrigued by how the drummer starts slow then speeds up the tempo at the beginning, then in bookend fashion, slowed the pace at the end.
21. The Cisco Kid/War--Mildly funky and catchy, but otherwise just so-so.
20. Hummingbird/Seals & Crofts--Although they've had better songs, I still enjoy this song's harmony vocals, especially towards the end.
19. Stir It Up/Johnny Nash--I can take it or leave it.
18. Masterpiece/The Temptation--As psychedelic soul songs go, this is truly a masterpiece, even better than these guys' more well-known hits from that era, like "Cloud Nine" or "Ball Of Confusion".
17. Space Oddity/David Bowie--A very moody, ethereal, sonic-sounding hit with fascinating guitar work.
16. Dead Skunk/Loudon Wainwright III--Ah, yes, the funniest death song of all time. A "technicolor" masterpiece. My only quibble with him is this: he forgot to mention "dead Bambi".
15. Aubrey/Bread--Getting back to my serious self, this is another gently sweet, sad love ballad by the masters of that genre.
14. The Cover Of "Rolling Stone"/Dr Hook & The Medicine Show--Although not as irreverent and over-the-top as "Dead Skunk", this is still a very amusing, tongue-in-cheek novelty release. I'm almost surprised this song got mass airplay on the radio, what with the references to pills and cocaine.
13. Tie A Yellow Round The Old Oak Tree/Tony Orlando & Dawn--A massive hit that spring and deservedly so. It was irresistibly perky and peppy, with a very tasty harmonica part towards the end. And it tells a great story with the ultimate feel-good ending.
12. Dueling Banjos/Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell--An intriguing, fun release paying ultimate tribute to the only major musical instrument invented in the United States (or so I read somewhere.) At the time, I knew nothing about the "Deliverance" connection or the sexually perverse nature of certain scenes from that movie. If I did, it probably would have ruined this song for me.
11. Call Me/Al Green--Another fine, soulful Al Green release with a nice groove.
10. The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia/Vicki Lawrence--Although there are elements of this story song that are nonsensical (Why would Andy so brazenly admit to fooling around with that woman?), Ms Lawrence does such an authoritative narration that one cannot help but be drawn in. Plus, she's actually a pretty fine singer and Snuff Garrett's arrangement is powerful.
9. Sing/The Carpenters--This is one of their finest songs. It has a sweet, happy arrangement, complete with a flute and solo horn intro. And Karen's sweet vocals were in top form. And the kids' chorus was the perfect icing on the cake. It would have been easy for this song to be over-to-top cutesy, but Richard or whoever produced it maintained just the right balance of sentiment and restraint.
8. Danny's Song/Anne Murray--A fairly nice song with inspiring sentiments and typical soothing vocals by Ms Murray.
7. Last Song/Edward Bear--A very smooth, polished, enjoyable pop number with rather unique, yet fine vocals by Larry Evoy. (Edward Bear was the name of a group, not a person.) I wonder of Mr Evoy ever parlayed his limited success in this group into a singing career some other way. His voice, IMHO, was certainly good enough, if a bit unusual.
6. Break Up To Make Up/The Stylistics--It has the same lush harmonies as their other songs, but somehow it just doesn't rise to the quality of their previous hits.
5. Ain't No Woman (Like The One I Got)/The Four Tops--Although not quite as great as their stellar hits with Motown, it's still a lush, enjoyable soul ballad, with an elegant string arrangement.
4. Love Train/The O'Jays--Although this is one smooth, yet hard-chugging Philly Soul smash, I still maintain that, if this group was fated to have only one charttopper, it should have been the masterful "Back Stabbers".
3. Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)/Gladys Knight & The Pips--This is one profoundly sad song about an impending breakup. Gladys & the Pips do a fine job of capturing that mood of impending doom.
2. Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)/Deodato--With a delightfully unique, spacy, funky arrangement, this is one of my favorite songs of the countdown.
1. Killing Me Softly With His Song/Roberta Flack--It's a moderately pleasant, soothing song with intriguing lyrics, but it wasn't good enough to spend multiple weeks at #1.
And my favorite song of the countdown (drum roll):
On the other hand, "Tie A Yellow Ribbon..." and "Sing" were good enough (and the former actually DID spend multiple weeks at #1, four to be exact.)
Thank you for reading!