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Post by bobbo428 on May 31, 2016 15:34:30 GMT -5
This is the thread that I wanted to started when I began the one from 60 years ago. It was an active week on the Hot 100 on May 28, 1966, when I was roughly 100 days away from beginning Kindergarten:
Percy Sledge's classic "When a Man Loves a Woman" was on top. The Mindbenders were in the runner-up spot with "A Groovy Kind of Love." The Stones were sizzling, with "Paint It, Black" leaping 19-4. Simon & Garfunkel soar into the top 10 with "I Am a Rock." Lovin' Sthingyful also make an impressive move into the top 10 with "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind." James Brown also moved into the top 10 with his seminal "It's a Man's Man's Man's World." Gary Lewis & the Playboys soar with "Green Grass," an appropriate tune for late spring. Robert Parker's funky groove "Barefootin'" sprints 34-19. Unfortunately, the Byrds' eighth week on the Hot 100 wasn't good for them as their excellent tune drops 14-21. Shades of Blue are indeed happy as "Oh How Happy" sprints 55-26.
"Strangers in the Night," one of a handful of songs that I actually recall from the time (as a five-year-old) moves into the top 40. "Opus 17," one of my favorite Four Seasons songs, jumps into the top 40 in its second week on the chart. The 142nd fastest gun in the West, Irving, is at #34 and moving up slowly. The Outsiders' Excellent, urgent-sounding tune "Time Won't Let Me," has been on the chart for more consecutive weeks than any other--with a mere 15. These days, we'd be lucky to have an average (mean) number of 15 weeks on the chart. Neil Diamond made his Hot 100 debut 50 years ago last week with his stellar "Solitary Man." Dickie Goodman debuts with his excellent, hilarious spoof of the then-current TV craze with "Batman and His Mother." Ike and Tina debut with "River Deep, Mountain High."
In a little more than four years, this thread should be renamed "50 Years Ago This Week on AT40."
I haven't posted on any of the "This Week's Program" message boards because I don't want to know what I'm missing--I haven't even heard Casey's voice in 16 months because I am a freelance writer and work at home (and Internet would be too distracting and tempting). In addition, no local station has carried Casey in nearly 18 months.
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Post by bobbo428 on Nov 10, 2016 1:30:17 GMT -5
I am finally back online so I can post much more often.Johnny Rivers scored his sole number 1 pop hit with the well-written "Poor Side of Town," a song about struggling to make it so he can hold on to his woman. Rivers knocked the Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville" out of the number 1 spot. The Beach Boys were red hot, soaring 17-4 with "Good Vibrations." The New Vaudeville Band is right behind, vaulting 24-6. That was one of several songs in the top 40 that I actually recall hearing back them, when I was a mere five years of age and getting yelled at by my Kindergarten teacher. The Supremes also were red-hot with "You Keep Me Hangin' On."
I knew a neighbor named Renee at the time, so I enjoyed the Left Banke hit "Walk Away Renee," which was on its way down. Lou Rawls was at his peak with "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing," at #13. Peter & Gordon soared 29-21 with "Lady Godiva." The highest new entry was a song that I'd soon become familiar with called "Mellow Yellow," Donovan's latest smash.
Other songs that I recall hearing at the time including Roger Williams' "Born Free," the Association's "Cherish," which I thought was called "Cherries," and Sergio Mendes & Brazil '66's "Mas Que Nada," mostly because my mom had the local MOR station on. Most of my earliest memories are MOR hits from the 1960s.
I haven't posted on this thread in nearly six months--I hope to post more frequently.
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Post by dukelightning on Nov 10, 2016 7:49:51 GMT -5
For me anyway, probably not many other people, that is amazing that you were already exposed to pop music at that age. I was/am a year older than you and I was 5 years away from first getting exposed to it. That's why I say not many other people above because I have gathered that first getting exposed to pop music at the age of 11 is rather late in the game. Don't worry, I have long since made up for lost time!
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Post by mitchm on Nov 10, 2016 12:28:06 GMT -5
I didn't start listening to the radio regularly for music until about 49 years ago (when I was an 8th grader), but I started getting caught up fast listening to "golden oldies". So while I am familiar with all the songs spoken about above, I didn't hear them until 1967 or 1968. In 1966 my time was consumed with listening to major league baseball on the radio, watching TV, reading comic books, and playing sandlot baseball.
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Post by bobbo428 on Mar 6, 2017 18:45:51 GMT -5
Fifty years ago this past Saturday, on March 4, 1967, one of my favorite hits of the year, the Turtles' "Happy Together," jumped into the top 40, moving 41-21. It is one of the quintessential spring songs. The Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday" replaced the Buckinghams' "Kind of a Drag" at the top of the chart. One of my favorites of the winter, the Seekers' "Georgy Girl," was still in the top five. . Sonny & Cher were also in the top 10 with "The Beat Goes On." On the MOR station that my parents listened to at the time, Ed Ames's "My Cup Runneth Over," was very popular--and was a big pop success as well. That station was also airing Herman's Hermits' "There's a Kind of Hush," a tune I thought was a bit corny. They also enjoyed Tom Jones's somber "Green Grass of Home." Keith was still hanging in there with "98.6." It was around this time that I first heard the Fab Four's "Strawberry Fields Forever," which--as a kindergartner--I thought actually was about a field of strawberries. The most underrated tune on the Hot 100 was the Association's "No Fair at All," which stalled near the middle of the chart.
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Post by djjoe1960 on Mar 7, 2017 7:51:03 GMT -5
For anyone who enjoys 1967 pop music here is a website you might want to check out: www.forgottenhits.com/They are celebrating the music of 1967 with daily updates all year long.
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Post by bobbo428 on Mar 18, 2017 22:56:41 GMT -5
The Beatles' "Penny Lane" moved to the top of the chart 50 years ago this week, displacing another legendary act, the Supremes--with "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone." The Turtles zoom up to the runner-up spot with "Happy Together." Johnny Rivers' cover of the Four Tops' "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" holds at No. 3. The Four Tops themselves soar 65-23 with "Bernadette." Donovan is in the top 20 with his cryptic yet fun "Epistle to Dippy." Harper's Bizarre soar into the top 30 with "Feelin's Groovy." Martha & the Vandellas are also hot, with "Jimmy Mack" jumping from 50-29 with their springy "Jimmy Mack." Frank sinatra and his daughter Nancy, a big star in her own right, have the highest Hot 100 debut--at No. 50 with "Somethin' Stupid." I was at such an age when I wasn't supposed to use the word "stupid"--it was right up there with "d**n" and all the rest.
BTW, thanks for telling me about that site spotlighting songs from this week in 1967--I've checked it out and plan to check it out many more times.
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Post by bobbo428 on Jun 17, 2017 22:20:03 GMT -5
Fifty years ago this week, the Young Rascals returned to number 1 with “Groovin’”; it replaced Aretha’s ubiquitous anthem “Respect.” The Turtles soared to No. 3 with “She’d Rather Be with Me.” Jefferson Airplane flew to their peak with “Somebody to Love.” My personal favorite at the time, the Association’s “windy,” broke into the top 10, rising 12-7.
The Four Tops moved 19-14 with their underrated tune “7 Rooms of Gloom.” The Fifth Estate soared 33-17 with “Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead.” (In my own life, I could say that about my shrewish Kindergarten teacher, but in my case the ban was only temporary because I’d have to suffer a second year under her.) The Bee Gees made the top 20 for the first time with “New York Mining Disaster.” Scott McKenzie leaped into the top 20 with “San Francisco (Flowers in Your Hair).” Coincidentally, this weekend is the 50th anniversary of the Monterrey Pop Festival. Johnny Rivers soared 45-24 with his remake of the Miracles’ “Tracks of My tears.” Petula Clark jumped 49-26 with another of my favorites at the time, “Don’t Sleep in the Subway.” Janis Ian jumped into the top 40 with “Society’s Child,” her ode to an interracial romance. The 5th Dimension also jumped into the top 40 with a classic that I recall from that summer, “Up-Up and Away.” . Most of the songs from 50 years ago , I remember from my parents’ MOR station, including Al Martino’s “Mary in the Morning,” which also made its top-40 debut.
Stevie Wonder soared 68-43 with “I Was Made to Love Her.” Among the Hot 100 debuts was Smokey Robinson & the Miracles’ “More Love,” which Kim Carnes would turn into a top-10 hit 13 years later. The Tremeloes also entered the Hot 100 with “Silence Is Golden.” Both “A Whiter Shade of Pale (Procol Harum) and “Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie" (Jay & the Techniques) had their first weeks on the Bubbling Under char
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Post by mitchm on Oct 10, 2017 16:45:50 GMT -5
50 years ago this month is when I started listening to music on the radio daily. I was an 8th grader in Sioux Falls, SD. Following are some of the songs that were all over the radio that month, peaking on Billboard Hot 100 in October.
BB Week YE
1 1 2 Lulu-To Sir With Love 2 1 19 Association-Never My Love 4 1 Bill Cosby-Little Ole Man 4 2 44 Young Rascals-How Can I Be Sure 6 21 Jackie Wilson-Higher & Higher 9 1 31 Brenton Wood-Gimme Little Sign 11 12 Esquires-Get on Up 12 1 Buckinghams-Hey Baby 12 5 Doors-People Are Strange 14 6 Rolling Stones-Dandelion 18 8 Frankie Valli-I Make a Fool of Myself 19 8 Four Tops-You Keep Running Away 28 King Curtis/Kingpins-Ode to Billie Joe 31 11 Jimmie Rodgers-Child of Clay 41 7 Happenings-Why Do Fools Fall in Love 63 2 Music Explosion-Sunshine Games 65 Jimi Hendrix-Purple Haze
The first column is where the song peaked in Billboard. The second column is the peak on the local weekly Sioux Falls Top 50 Survey (Radio station 1230 AM KISD). The third column is the song's rank on the year-end Top 50. Only four of the October peakers made the year-end Top 50. The songs are in order by their Billboard peak.
My favorite song on this list would have to be "Never My Love" by the Association. I was really into slower songs with deep male voices back then - not so much anymore. My second favorite would be "How Can I Be Sure" by the Young Rascals.
The reason I listed the King Curtis song is because that was the biggest song nationally that never appeared on a local chart.
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Post by bobbo428 on Oct 30, 2017 12:58:03 GMT -5
50 years ago this month is when I started listening to music on the radio daily. I was an 8th grader in Sioux Falls, SD. Following are some of the songs that were all over the radio that month, peaking on Billboard Hot 100 in October. BB Week YE 1 1 2 Lulu-To Sir With Love 2 1 19 Association-Never My Love 4 1 Bill Cosby-Little Ole Man 4 2 44 Young Rascals-How Can I Be Sure 6 21 Jackie Wilson-Higher & Higher 9 1 31 Brenton Wood-Gimme Little Sign 11 12 Esquires-Get on Up 12 1 Buckinghams-Hey Baby 12 5 Doors-People Are Strange 14 6 Rolling Stones-Dandelion 18 8 Frankie Valli-I Make a Fool of Myself 19 8 Four Tops-You Keep Running Away 28 King Curtis/Kingpins-Ode to Billie Joe 31 11 Jimmie Rodgers-Child of Clay 41 7 Happenings-Why Do Fools Fall in Love 63 2 Music Explosion-Sunshine Games 65 Jimi Hendrix-Purple Haze The first column is where the song peaked in Billboard. The second column is the peak on the local weekly Sioux Falls Top 50 Survey (Radio station 1230 AM KISD). The third column is the song's rank on the year-end Top 50. Only four of the October peakers made the year-end Top 50. The songs are in order by their Billboard peak. My favorite song on this list would have to be "Never My Love" by the Association. I was really into slower songs with deep male voices back then - not so much anymore. My second favorite would be "How Can I Be Sure" by the Young Rascals. The reason I listed the King Curtis song is because that was the biggest song nationally that never appeared on a local chart. I was only six years old in 1967, but I remember hearing several of these songs back then on my parents' MOR station: "Never My Love," "To Sir with Love," and "Child of Clay," plus Bobbie Gentry's original of "Ode to Billy Joe," which I believe was off the chart by then. The station liked maudlin artists such as Bobby Vinton. I also recall enjoying Vikki Carr's "It Must Be Him," which I found oddly humorous. I also heard "Incense and Peppermint" around this time, though I probably knew it as simply the "Sha la la song." I also enjoy the Cowsills' "The Rain, the Park & Other Things," which I would have called "I Love the Flower" back then. My parents had just bought a stereo, and the first two records they bought that September day in 1967 were the Tijuana Brass's "Sounds Like" and the "My Fair Lady" soundtrack.
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Post by bobbo428 on May 6, 2018 17:14:10 GMT -5
This is my 500th post on this site--over a period of about five years and five months, and I decided to look at what was popular five decades ago this week. All the songs I mention were ones that I was familiar with in May 1968, so there is a MOR/soft rock slant because I was only seven years of age and the only then-current songs I knew were on the MOR station my parents listened to:
Bobby Goldsboro's maudlin story song "Honey" is still No. 1. I enjoyed Gary Puckett's "Young Girl," though at my age I had no idea how naughty the lyrics were. It reminded me of a trip our family had taken on April 20, 1968 (one of the first calendar dates I remember aside from birthdays or Christmas). The Beatles' "Lady Madonna" was getting a lot of airplay on the soft rock station--the Beatles were too big, even for the MOR stations to ignore. The station actually may have been a precursor to the Hot AC stations of two-decades-plus later. I thought the song was called "Baby Dudunner," however. "The Unicorn," which I thought was called "Green Alligators," jumped into the top 10 and was one of our favorites in our Irish household. Another favorite of mine was Hugo Montenegro's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" was one of my favorite instrumentals in what--in my opinion--was the best year ever for instrumental hits. I also enjoyed the Intruders' "Cowboys to Girls," which had a refreshing springtime feel. Another song with an excellent spring sound was the Rascals' "Beautiful Morning." This was around the time I began to watch another rascal show, "The Little Rascals," on New York City's WPIX TV. "Beautiful Morning" soared 19-9 on the chart.
Georgie Fame had "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde," a tune I thought was called "Barney and Clyde" when I first heard it. The Troggs moved into the top 20 with their haunting "Love Is All Around." Otis Redding was moving down the top 20 with his classic "Dock of the Bay." Dionne Warwick was moving up the top 30, 27-21, with "Do You Know the Way to San Jose." I enjoy the tune a lot more as a 57-year-old than I did as a 7-year-old. The scatting scared me as a child, but I find it cool now. The Delfonics were in their 11th and final week on the top 40 with their early spring-sounding classic "La La Means I Love You." Tom Jones moved 34-27 with his tale of a crime of passion called "Delilah." Manfred Mann was hanging in there with "Mighty Quinn," a tune I thought was titled "Come On Without, Come On Within."
Simon & Garfunkel was red hot with "Mrs. Robinson," a song I associate with Memorial Day of that year--a rainy day. The MOR station loved Bobby Vinton's saccharine cover of Bobby Vee's "Take Good Care of My Baby," a tune I found maudlin--even at age 7! "Love Is Blue" was still hanging in there at #35 in its 15th week on the top 40--a major feat in the fast-charting 1960s. It was another stellar instrumental. Simon & Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" was down to 36, meaning that the duo had 2 songs on the top 40. "The Graduate" was sizzling at the box office, though I never saw it until the 1980s. The MOR station liked Raymond Lefevre's "Soul Coaxing," an instrumental that was in the lower reaches of the top 40.. The Mills Brothers' final pop hit, "Cab Driver," was also in the top 40.
Below the top 40, New Colony Six was struggling to make the top 40 with "I Will Always Think of You." Spanky and Our Gang was just outside the top 40 with their late spring-sounding ballad "Like to Get to Know You." Donovan fell out of the top 40 with "Jennifer Juniper." Four Jacks and a Jill moved 75-63 with "Master Jack," a haunting, mysterious tune I thought was called "It's a Strange, Strange World." Jerry Butler debuted on the Hot 100 with "Never Give You Up," which would become one of my favorite songs of the summer. Another summer favorite would be Merilee Rush's "Angel of the Morning," a haunting song I first heard around the time Bobby Kennedy was assassinated, about a month later.
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Post by 1finemrg on May 6, 2018 18:35:58 GMT -5
Donovan fell out of the top 40 with "Jennifer Juniper." Ah! Another tale of unrequited love. Subject is Helen Mary "Jenny" Boyd, who would go on to marry Mick Fleetwood twice. They would have 2 daughters before their second marriage dissolved for good in 1978. Being the subject of rock and roll classics must run in the family. Her sister is Pattie (Layla).
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Post by djjoe1960 on Jun 2, 2018 22:44:21 GMT -5
Donovan fell out of the top 40 with "Jennifer Juniper." Ah! Another tale of unrequited love. Subject is Helen Mary "Jenny" Boyd, who would go on to marry Mick Fleetwood twice. They would have 2 daughters before their second marriage dissolved for good in 1978. Being the subject of rock and roll classics must run in the family. Her sister is Pattie (Layla). By the way, Something (written by George Harrison) recorded by the Beatles was also inspired by Patti (Boyd)--as well as the opening line lifted from a James Taylor tune. Oh yeah, one more thing, I will be featuring lots of 1967 & 68 tunes on some upcoming Cash Box Countdowns
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Post by bobbo428 on Jul 2, 2018 11:34:38 GMT -5
In honor of American Top 40's negative second birthday, here was what was going on on the Hot 100 this week in 1968:
Herb Alpert's "This Guy's in Love with You," a song very similar to the Carpenters' "Close to You," both of which spent 4 weeks at No. 1 and were written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. After leaping 15-2, Cliff Nobles remained at No. 2 with "The Horse," which I called "The Amusement Park Song" because our family went to a park in upstate NY called Frailey's around this time. The Stones soared 11-3 with "Jumpin' Jack Flash." Hugh Masekela surged 13-5 with "Grazing in the Grass," while Gary Puckett & the Union Gap moved 15-6. From the early July 1968 standpoint, there could have been four different No. 1 hits in as many weeks...Richard Harris had just missed the top with his melancholy early-summer opus "MacArthur Park," which dropped 3-9...The Monkees jump from 29-19 with their hit "D.W. Washburn," a quirky number...Jerry Butler jumps from 30-20 with one of my personal favorites, "Never Give You Up." Donovan moved up 14 to No. 23 with his haunting "Hurdy Gurdy Man." Hugo Montenegro's "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" is still hanging in there after 21 weeks in the Hot 100 and 14 weeks in the top 40--an 1980-like chart run to this point...1980 was also the Year of the Monkey...Even though it is only two weeks after the summer solstice, Bobby Goldsboro's "Autumn of My Life" jumps 9--44. that song actually sounded more like early summer than fall...Cream re-enters the Hot 100 with the psychedelic rocker "Sunshine of Your Love. Creeping up 69-66 is "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy," a song I never heard until another year of the monkey, 1992, when a singer named Sonya (sp) made the AC chart...One of the few chart entries with the word "baseball" in the title makes its Hot 100 bow at 99: "(Love Is like a) Baseball Game," by the Intruders. It was a huge year for Tigers pitcher Denny McLain (31 victories and the last time any pitcher won 30 games in a single season). The summer of 1968 remains my favorite for music, though judging by my age, you'd think it would be around 1976. Many of the 1970s summers had melancholy songs in the top 40--notably 1970, 1972, 1974 (early summer), 1976, and 1977--plus some 1980s summers as well.
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Post by mrjukebox on Jul 2, 2018 18:57:34 GMT -5
"D.W.Washburn" was first recorded by The Coasters-It's a great song.
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