I wanted to also make mention that during this time when Tony Orlando and Dawn were finishing up their run at #1, the song sitting atop the country chart, although it would only go to #3 on the hot 100 (It did hit #1 in BOTH Cash Box and Record World), is one of the most remembered songs of the 70's, and touched off an enormous wave of pop influenced country music... at the time referred to as "countrypolitan". It was originally just to be album cut, but Clive Davis heard it and insisted on it getting a single release, and serviced it to both pop and country markets, and his instincts were right. It got 3 Grammy nominations and 1 win, for Lynn Anderson best female country vocal. Joe South got nominations for best country song, and song of the year. It was also a huge international hit, reaching #1 in 9 countries.
When you look at all the stats on "Rose Garden", it's actually quite stunning and puzzling as to why it didn't follow "Knock Three Times" at the #1 spot. It's almost as if someone at Billboard magazine had something against it.
I like that. I noticed that the writers / producers were Tony MacAulay (who co-wrote Baby Now That I've Found You for the Foundations), and the two Rogers, Greenaway and Cook, who wrote the Fortunes' big hit You've Got Your Troubles. and numerous other songs, including the highly recommended Faith Hope and Charity by Tony Kingston.
My copy of "Knock Three Times" is painted-on. Even as a kid, I considered it one of the ugliest labels in my collection, though I did like the song.
One of my favorite songs as a tyke. My dad and grandmother listened to country, my uncles to rock and soul, so I was getting a pretty broad exposure. And this was a great era on the country charts, maybe the greatest. This should have been a #1 on the pop charts as well, it's just an incredible single.
I think this single paved the way for the subsequent pop crossover success of Linda Ronstadt and Olivia Newton John (altho Linda already had a taste of that on her own).
It's got the slide guitar and is paced like My Sweet Lord. Listen to the second verse. The studio version is even more so.
And then in late 1973, Bobby Goldsboro released this single whose arrangement owed everything to "Candida," even down to its title: Click here if you can get it
I'm reminded every time a chart is listed that payola was a force to be reckoned with if you were a tiny indie label with that one cool song you are trying to break into the top of the charts with. But again that is the beauty of the era, a small nothing label could surprise us and release a #1 hit single that is earth shaking and life changing. On the other hand Rose Garden might have been the bigger record than Knock Three Times. And Bell bought the #1 slot for some weeks with cash, grass, and whatever else would do the trick. I really don't trust these charts much, not until soundscan did it get much science involved.
All three of Columbia's plants used Pitman typesetting - even Santa Maria, whose thin vinyl of this I have. The layout here is especially pristine: I agree, it's a puzzlement why this would have been denied the top spot on Billboard's Hot 100, when Cash Box and Record World glid it up there . . .
It's not a slide guitar on Miller's version, it's a pedal steel, which was standard operating procedure for pretty much any country song of the time. Upon further listening though, I can hear the guitarist playing the My Sweet Lord riff a few times about one minute into Miller's recording, so you're right there was some conscious imitation going on.
Both Bell and Columbia (home of "Rose Garden") were major, corporate companies. I don't see how tiny indie labels figure into this.
A comment on Youtube Harrison claimed in an interview that "Somebody has made a recording' and it was like the company Bright Tunes; they had got this version recorded by Jody Miller of 'He's So Fine'... What they did was change the chords of 'He's So Fine', and to make them completely into the same chords as 'My Sweet Lord' ...and then also put on top if it the slide guitar part." If anybody should know he should.
After Spector and finished the album Harrison was still adding reverb. Harrison sent Spector his mixes and Spector replied that Harrison should redo most of his vocals. Whether Spector came back is debatable.
A small label could crack it on only a strong hook and hot lead vocal. Notice I said "then again" which means on the other hand. Please reread my post closely. But yes, Bell could come up with the scratch to keep K3T on the top for a couple extra weeks, no problem.
...Aree you saying you know, for sure, that Bell flat-out bought " KTT "'s superior chart position? Or hypothesising? " Rose ", in fact, was on the bigger label - Columbia (or Epic).. ksrt, post: 17599214, member: 2139"]I'm reminded every time a chart is listed that payola was a force to be reckoned with if you were a tiny indie label with that one cool song you are trying to break into the top of the charts with. But again that is the beauty of the era, a small nothing label could surprise us and release a #1 hit single that is earth shaking and life changing. On the other hand Rose Garden might have been the bigger record than Knock Three Times. And Bell bought the #1 slot for some weeks with cash, grass, and whatever else would do the trick. I really don't trust these charts much, not until soundscan did it get much science involved.[/QUOTE]
After going to my parent's house and looking at my "Knock Three Times"/"Home" single, I do have the painted-on variant!
