EVERY Billboard #1 hit discussion thread 1958-Present

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

  1. John22

    John22 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northern Germany
  2. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    Psych/Pop was definitely on it's last legs on the singles chart and by summer, would not factor into the top of the charts going into the 70s. Crimson & Clover was a fine last gasp whether you like the short or long version but I've always preferred Sweet Cherry Wine. The band continued to churn out similar hits like She, Crystal Blue Persuasion and Ball Of Fire but they too were pretty much done by the start of the new decade.
     
  3. Grant

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

    You're right. #4. But, look at what kept it from #1: Carole KIng, Raiders, and James Taylor.
     
  4. Victor/Victrola

    Victor/Victrola Makng shure its write

    Technically, Draggin' the Line was a solo hit by Tommy James, not Tommy James and the Shondells. (Kind of like Tom Petty without the Heartbreakers; I fail to hear the difference.) That aside, I love Crimson and Clover. That weird vocal effect really caught my ear and I played that 45 so often that the grooves got visible wear damage. (Yeah, I had a lousy cheap turntable back then too...) I prefer the 45 short version but probably because it is more familiar, I don't mind the extended cut.

    I think my favorite non-#1 song of 1968 is Everything That Touches You by The Association. Another 45 I wore out.
     
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  5. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    Oh, no problem!! Let's go ahead and review all the songs of 1968, and we will roll into 1969 on Friday. What was NOT #1 that should have been?? My vote for the biggest one that was robbed is "Those Were the Days".
     
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  6. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    And those three just happened to make the #1 spot with their said numbers, at different times.
     
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  7. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Funny thing is, "Crimson And Clover," though credited to Tommy James and The Shondells, was apparently as close to a James solo record as one could get before he split from them; I'd read somewhere that at the juncture of its recording it was just him and Peter Lucia.

    As for "Everything That Touches You," my own pressing of that song (which I think was sped up a trifle for the 45 release) is, naturally, from CBS Pitman, on the orange label (it was while this was on the charts that the label design switched to the "W7" green label):
    [​IMG]
    Have yet to see a later "greenie" with those Pitman typefaces, though . . .
     
  8. Grant

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

    I just followed your post requesting someone post the next song by last Monday.:shrug: That's why we're talking about "Crimson And Clover".
     
  9. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    It is interesting what ended up winning Grammies. Considering what a big hit Love is Blue was, it's pretty cool that Classical Gas topped it for the awards. I like both songs, but I think Classical Gas is better... in fact it's a gassss (to cop a phrase from somewhere... :p ).
     
  10. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    Joan Jett is in the Rock and Roll Hall? Really? Why? Based on what I know about her, I don't see her as half the artist someone like Tommy James is (or any number of other acts that aren't in the Hall yet). Is there an explanation somewhere that explains the reasoning? I'm really curious...

    PS - I know she was in the Runaways. So? Lita Ford isn't in the Hall yet (at least I hope not...).
     
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  11. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    Crimson and Clover

    Now I don't hardly know her...

    This is one of those songs I've always been aware of, back to when I was a little infink. I think it must have gotten a lot of play on the radio even in the mid-seventies, long after it was a hit for Tommy James, as that was the first time I really became aware of what was popular.

    Back when we were talking about Tommy James circa Hanky Panky, I suggested that his career neatly divides into two parts: the earlier, poppier stuff, and the later, more psych numbers. This is the biggest hit of the latter group, and one of the best. I can totally see why someone would be annoyed with the vocal effects on this song, they are a bit offputting. But I love them; in fact, I think they make the song (I'm not nearly as fond of the Joan Jett cover). But it wasn't until thirty years later that I realized that bit at the end -- ha haa ha ha oo oo oo oo ah ah -- was actually him singing 'Crimson and Clover, over and over' run through a blender. :)

    [​IMG]

    I guess I'm just a sucker for psych pop; mellow, strange, occasionally raucous, usually surprising. The song is really oddly structured, even for 1969. You get a verse, a chorus, a little instrumental, then later a different instrumental, and finally a very odd fadeout that builds as it goes off into the infinite. The song starts and stops a couple of times as well. There are lots of shimmering harmonies, groovy organs, and I really like the instrumental portion that's led by the bass and stops suddenly when he goes 'Yeah!' The whole vibe of the song is just really cool and, dare I say it (I dare!), groovy!

    I like a whole bunch of what he did in the late sixties and early seventies. Sweet Cherry Wine is a favorite, and Crystal Blue Persuasion is almost as ubiquitous as Crimson and Clover. But the one I like the best is Ball of Fire. It's psychedelic and slightly over the top, but it also has a really interesting gentle quality to it; there's something soothing about thinking about the ball of fire watching over you and I. I especially like it when he talks about the angels calling, shouts out 'Listen!' and we get a beautiful little harmonic moment. Yeah, this one is a keeper.



    Tommy James not in the Hall? Put him there!!!!
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2017
  12. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    Heh heh. I'm sure he was right some of the time, too. But he sure blew it on this call!
     
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  13. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    I Heard it Through the Grapevine

    I really like Motown and many of the acts, but I think my favorite of all their artists is probably Marvin Gaye (I like Stevie Wonder tons, but his seventies stuff for me eclipses his sixties output). Gaye went from being a great solo singer, to great with Tammi Terrell, to a funky powerhouse with Grapevine, to a guy with something to say on What's Going On, all in the space of less than a decade. What a loss to the world that he did not live much longer than he did.

    [​IMG]

    As far as the different versions of this particular song go, I like Gaye's the best, but this is another one I've heard soooooo often that it has lost some of its luster. Never much liked the Pips' version; it's not bad, but it compares poorly to Marvin's IMO. Creedence are at their peak when they put out 2 to three minute pop gems; like with so many other artists, I can take or leave their stuff with long jams in it (see also Suzy Q). The non-instrumental parts are pretty good, though.

    Then there are the California Raisins. TBH, I'm not sure what to make of them. I like Will Vinton fine, but there's something a little squicky about the concept of raisins posing as black soul singers, at least to me there is. As long as it was limited to them singing Grapevine, it made perfect sense, since, of course, raisins were born on a grapevine, right? But once they started covering a scad of Motown songs and selling records and stuff, I think they lost the plot a little. Plus, I resent the fact that every time I hear Marvin sing 'Heard it through the Grapevine', I immediately think the next line will be 'raised in the California sunshine'. Thanks, raisins...

    Back to Marvin. He really sells this song, and it really does amaze me that the song was recorded so early, because it sounds like exactly the kind of thing that was about to become more popular in soul music. Besides Marvin, I also love the way the song starts. You know this song isn't going to be about a happy relationship from the first few bass notes. Credit also to the background singers, who again add an interesting counterpoint with their 'not much longer will you be mine baby' business. As with Love Child, these backing vocals show how valuable every element can be in achieving the goal of a song.
     
  14. SITKOL'76

    SITKOL'76 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colombia, SC
    I know we're just now getting to 1969 but I can't WAIT to get into the 70's.
     
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  15. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    Hey, remember the sock it to me in songs thing? I just found one I'd completely forgotten and it fits here as it came out in '69. See if you can find the line:

     
  16. California Couple

    California Couple dislike us on facebook

    Location:
    Newport Beach
    I think Creedence's American Indian dance epic puts the original to shame. And for an 11 minute track to get played on the radio as often as that one was, it was like the people's choice for their next single
     
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  17. Grant

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

    I love this song! I thought it was an old Black blues singer until I saw the album cover.:D It's still hard to believe that voice came out of that young White face! That constant throat-clearing gets old, though.
     
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  18. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    I do, too. It also fit with the swamp rock songs that became popular through CCR. He wrote Rainy Night In Georgia and Tina Turner's Steamy Windows in case you didn't know. He's made lots of good music over the years, even found room for some disco sounds in the 79/80 time-frame. I Get Off On It features some guitar licks that wouldn't have sounded out of place on a Chic song. When I had played the grooves off this single, I flipped the record over and discovered a great ballad not unlike Rainy Night:

     
  19. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Only it didn't get issued as a single (in mucho edited form) until five years after Cosmo's Factory came out. Go figure.
     
  20. I heard it through the grapevine

    1-Marvin's the definitive iconic version
    2-Gladys is great also and it has the one of the greatest bass playing ever!
    3-Credence rocked the song up
     
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  21. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    Dandelion and She's A Rainbow are fantastic songs. I personally love the 1965-67 Stones, and wish somehow they could have co-existed with the more rocking group, as they are both great and I wouldn't want to sacrifice one for the other.

    Oh well, I guess it's like wishing the Beatles had kept touring. It would have been amazing to see them try to tackle their Revolver/Sgt. Pepper stuff on stage. But if they had focused more on that, maybe they wouldn't have had enough bandwidth to do their magical studio albums. If you can't have both, I think historically it worked out for the best!

    PS: I've always thought parts of She's a Rainbow were 'borrowed' from Love, whom Jagger did apparently see on the Sunset Strip at some point in the 1966 timeframe. Love had this song from their second album, which has the 'comes in colors' line.

     
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  22. snepts

    snepts Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eugene, OR
    I will openly admit to having a bad attitude toward the RnR HOF, and that it's my own personal problem.
    But I do get the sense they need to augment it, or "pad" it as it were, so who knows who and why someone ends up there.
     
  23. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    Next we have "Everyday People" By Sly and the Family Stone, #1 from February 15 - March 14, 1969.

     
  24. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    A favorite from as far back as I can remember, and to me it still sounds like nothing else up to this point!
     
  25. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    One line in that song - "And so on, and so on, and scooby-dooby-dooby" - together with a minor charted record, "Feelin' So Good (S.K.O.O.B.Y-D.O.O)" by The Archies, may've been among the impeti for the naming of a certain cartoon Great Dane who highlighted the first of many cartoon series starting in the 1969-70 season - all beginning with a little series called Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

    But it was this two-minute, 19-second number that propelled Sly & The Family Stone to superstar status. Up until then, in-between albums and singles (after "Dance To The Music"), they were being put into service as backing band for whatever New York-based R&B acts were on Epic's and OKeh's roster. ("S. Stewart" was actually credited as conductor of a single that came and went in summer 1968, "Poor Man" by Johnny Robinson on OKeh; the instrumentation, though clearly traditional R&B/soul, nonetheless still bore the Family Stone imprint - the twin horns of trumpeter Cynthia Robinson and saxophonist Jerry Martini, Sly's organ [though the Hammond B3 was set differently from what was on his own recordings], the rhythm laid down by Greg Errico, the bass tone of Larry Graham, and the backing vocals of Rosie and Freddie Stone.) Those days were over once this hit big. (Honorary mention goes to the B side, "Sing A Simple Song," which depending on what pressing you got was in the full 3:54 time or edited 2:58 - Santa Maria copies of the single had the former, Pitman and Terre Haute pressings the latter.) In more ways than one, record buyers got more than their money's worth with this.
     
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