EVERY Billboard #1 hit discussion thread 1958-Present

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by alphanguy, Jan 29, 2016.

  1. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I know. I think we can get by with casually mentioning religion/faith without getting into specifics. There's nothing wrong with the topic in and of itself, but there are people who have extremely passionate feelings and opinions about religion and faith which makes them a no-no here. Sometimes, there is no way around it if it relates to music, but we have to tread carefully. With "Imagine", I was worried that someone was going to come in and express strong views against the song for that one opening lyric.
     
    Hey Vinyl Man likes this.
  2. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    Well... there is a controversial act coming up very soon, that I think will go fine as long as nobody interjects personal argument into it and only discusses it in a historical perspective. I think it will be ok, but we can just remember ahead of time, to keep ourselves "pulled back" somewhat when discussing it.
     
    Grant likes this.
  3. ronm

    ronm audiofreak

    Location:
    southern colo.
    JCS? Anyway Melanie was good on Lay Down ...BNK was part of my earliest AM radio memories.
     
  4. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    No, it can't be that since nothing from that album hit #1 on the singles chart. I'm guessing it's the very next song though I don't consider it polarizing like some other songs we've discussed or will discuss in the future. Bye Bye.
     
  5. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    If it's the song I think it is, the artist in question did also have a hit with a song from JCS, although not the song we'll be discussing.
     
  6. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    OK, you guys motivated me to look and see what the next #1 song is. From my perspective, there is no controversy at all. There wasn't where I lived. If there was any controversy, it will be mentioned when the song is posted. I am not aware of any.:shrug:
     
  7. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    Well.. we might as well have fair warning, I am referring to Helen Reddy's Grammy speech. We can just remember to tread lightly when that time comes.
     
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  8. boyjohn

    boyjohn Senior Member

    Haha, I had forgotten about that. Today it just sounds like an awesome joke, especially for what she won the Grammy for. Maybe we have moved forward a bit after all.
     
  9. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I'm not familiar with her Grammy speech.:shrug:
     
  10. boyjohn

    boyjohn Senior Member

    She referred to god as "she" when giving thanks for the award. I think it's perfect, it gives the finger to the religious nutters and the misogynists all in one gracious sentence.
     
  11. SITKOL'76

    SITKOL'76 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colombia, SC
    I mean it fit perfectly with the theme of the song she won it for right?
     
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  12. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Ah! Yeah, that was back in 1972. The world was way different then, but we still have a lot of people around who still think the old way, especially in small-town/rural America.

    The song is almost a year away. I thought he was talking about the next #1 single.
     
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  13. Solitaire1

    Solitaire1 Carpenters Fan

    Although "Superstar" is not one of my favorites, I agree that Karen gave a great performance on the song. There's another song that might work as a companion to "Superstar": "Road Ode"

     
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  14. Solitaire1

    Solitaire1 Carpenters Fan

    I'd consider a song an instrument even if there are vocals as long as they function basically as punctuation within the song. An example I can point to is "One Step Beyond" by Madness, where (after the intro) the only lyrics are the words "One Step Beyond" (although someone pointed out that the words "Let's Go" also appear but like with "One Step Beyond" they basically function as vocal punctuation rather than lyrics)

    From what understand, Richard changed the line to "to be with you again" to keep it more in line with the Carpenters image. It had the side effect of making the song more likely to be covered since some performers might have been a bit uncomfortable with the original lyrics.

    Karen getting it right the first time doesn't seem to be that unusual considering the song "Trying To Get The Feeling Again." The released version is from a work lead for the song and is likely the first time Karen sang the song (the work lead has a flaw of Karen turning the page as she sings), yet she sings the song perfectly (it is one of my favorite Carpenters songs, fighting for the #2 position with "Goodbye To Love" and "Love Me For What I Am").

     
  15. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    The Carpenters were always at their best when Karen sang as though she was alone and casually singing to herself.
     
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  16. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    That could be my fault since I posited it was probably the next song up. OP stated another controversial tune would appear very soon. Looking over the #1 tunes of '72, the Helen Reddy song was the only one that fit that description but seeing as it appears late in the year, I dismissed it. I'll explain my reasoning for naming the next #1 as possibly controversial when it comes up.
     
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  17. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    Karen could sing with a head cold and a frog in her throat and still create a thing of beauty! :frog:
     
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  18. Victor/Victrola

    Victor/Victrola Makng shure its write

    I've not heard that version of "Feeling Again" before - I don't have the Voice of the Heart album - but I must agree that she in incredible on it. And you've nailed my two favorite Carpenters songs as well - Goodbye to Love and Love Me For What I Am.
     
  19. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I understand. We all want to get these songs going!:D That's partly why I went ahead and posted the first #1 single of 1972 on the Every #1 R&B thread this morning.
     
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  20. Black Thumb

    Black Thumb Yah Mo B There

    Location:
    Reno, NV
    In light of this Helen Reddy discussion, it's interesting to note that our current #1 contains the line "Some people think I done all right for a girl", and that only one other woman would hit #1 in '72 (Roberta Flack).
     
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  21. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    But that one other hit would enjoy the longest stay at #1 - six weeks - of the year. I think 1972 also marks the beginning of a trend we'll see throughout the seventies: songs that got to #1 that absolutely no one will admit to liking today (Chuck Berry, we're looking at you...).
     
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  22. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    I don't think this counts as "treading lightly." Disagreeing with groups of people doesn't mean they are nuts and creeps.
     
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  23. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Wrong! I freely state that I like "My Ding-A-Ling". The question is why people dislike it. I think it's a cute little song.
     
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  24. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    Ok.... next up is "American Pie" by Don McClean, #1 from January 9 - February 5, 1972.

     
  25. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    Actually, women hitting #1 were , for the most part, few and far between in the late 60s to early 70s time frame. Let's take the years '66 - '72 for example:

    '66 - Petula Clark, Nancy Sinatra & The Supremes
    '67 - Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Bobby Gentry & Lulu
    '68 - Jeannie C. Riley & The Supremes
    '69 - The Supremes
    '70 - Diana Ross
    '71 - Janis Joplin, The Honey Cone, Carole King, Cher & Melanie
    '72 - Melanie (carry-over from '71), Roberta Flack & Helen Reddy

    If Diana & The Supremes didn't exist, the number would drop to zero in '69 and '70 and drastically reduced during the years '64 through '68. A case could be made for including groups with female leads like The Carpenters or Shocking Blue but I went by stricter rules. Things were better in the pre-British Invasion years and later in the 70s.
     
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