When Diamond toured Australia (in the wake of A Hot August Night... the biggest selling album in Australian history). He introduced the song as a piece by Mozart and the audience groaned out loud. As soon as they recognised what he was playing the groans became rapturous cheers.
The film not only nearly ruined Mr. Newley's career, but also contributed to the end of his marriage to Ms. Collins. I think the "nose candy" was a reason why Mr. Davis, for a time, was estranged from Sinatra (who was good with smoking and drinking, but despised drugs). But after he died, one publication did a morose, almost tasteless "parody" entitled "The Cancer Man" (Davis was also a heavy smoker, and passed away from esophageal cancer in 1990; by the end of his life he almost, from full-face, looked like Benny Hill's little bald sidekick, Jackie Wright, in blackface). As for Wonka: Original source author, Roald Dahl (once married to Patricia Neal), was not exactly known as a children's book author.
I remember Playboy did a ten page spread on that film featuring most of the actresses in different stages of undress. Maybe Hef put money into it.
Another fun fact about Sammy: He was supposedly the basis for the "Sammy Maudlin" character played by Joe Flaherty on SCTV.
I like Song Sung Blue...but lost interest in Neil Diamond after Longfellow and If You Know What I Mean. I remember my mom liked this song. You always remember when your parents make comments on our music. Never thought they were paying attention.
Long as we are on Mr. Diamond, let us examine the official follow-up to "Song Sung Blue" . . . "Play Me": This is one where some of the lyrics were raked over the coals over the years. Particularly the "Song she brang to me" line. One wonders to what extent arranger Lee Holdridge's hand played in the direction Neil's music took after this point.
I think the culture right now might actually embrace something like that. Maybe not on the "pop" charts, whatever it is these days, but there does seem to be a place where its not all about glorifying the supposed "sexy and skinny" image. Although, encouraging more alternative social constructs of what defines beauty has its own strange commercial path. Watching that live footage of the Staples just makes me happy, nonetheless. Seeing Pops do his patriarchal thing, Mavis owning her gospel roots and the crowd digging it all, all dressed up in their early 70s best...it is, dare I say it, kinda sexy it its own way.
But here's the thing... being embraced by teenyboppers can get you HUGE record sales, although they might not last. By this time, boy bands being marketed to teenyboppers was a tried and true business model, once one falls out of favor, there is always another to take it's place. The Beatles transcended it, so other probably felt they could, too. But you had the Osmonds and Jackson 5 still having success, maybe they thought they would be the best of both worlds? But one can't fault them for that marketing strategy... it was working and rampant EVERYWHERE, hell, even Hong Kong had their own boy band, complete with screaming girls! That business model had infiltrated the whole world.
Another singer/songwriter having his first chart hit in '72 was Austin Roberts and Something's Wrong With Me.
The Chelsea label's (run by Wes Farrell) first release was a "comeback" hit for a certain Wayne Newton (of "Danke Schoen" and "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" fame), a song which is as much an object of derision in its own way among '70's haters as "The Candy Man" . . . "Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast":
"Daddy..." was previously, in Britain, a hit for a certain singer (ne Peter Stirling) who was going by the nom du disque "Daniel Boone" by this point. This year, he would have his biggest, best-known and for all practical purposes, only U.S. hit with this number - "Beautiful Sunday": And the label to go with it:
That song is one of my favorites of this year, or any others. He was highly underrated, IMO... although that song was written Bobby Hart and Danny Janssen. He also did (And wrote) the original version of a song Helen Reddy would have a big hit with, and I think Austin's version was much better, Helen's version is far too chipper for the lyrics.
Mr. Roberts, I.I.N.M., was one of the singers of the numbers heard in all but one episode of the second season (1970-71) of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! - the first on which the late Heather North began voicing "danger-prone" Daphne on the show.
"Go All the Way" was not the "biggest" or "last" hit 45 for the 1969-1972 red-orange "target' Capitol label. (I am aware that both earlier statements said "maybe"). The already-mentioned Helen Reddy #1 that is coming up at the end of the year was on that old label, at least initially. But if I am remembering right, there were no other Capitol #1s on that red-orange "target" label (the Beatles having moved to Apple in 1968). Of course, the old (pre-Apple) Beatles singles were all rereleased on that "target" label in 1969. Some of those 1969-released singles are quite valuable now since they are relatively rare -- as the versions of the 45s that were chart hits were all on the older "swirl label". In addition, those "target" 45s weren't around very long (a couple years at most) -- didn't the Beatles 45s get rereleased on Apple in the early '70s? -- and by the time the Beatles 45s were back on Capitol in 1976 (or so), they were on that (late 1972-1978) orange Capitol label.
Big Star's problem was distribution. That is why (almost) no one heard of them at the time. I didn't hear of them until 1992. I heard their music shortly thereafter, was moved to buy it by a glowing review.
Great post...I really liked "Play Me" and bought the single when it came out in 1972. It was the last record (chronologically) that I bought by Neil. I liked several other songs on Moods as well, like "Captain Sunshine". After that, though, it was like he lost his edge and appeal for me. One thing about "Play Me"...his use of the word "brang"...my mom got a kick out of his use of that word.
I remember buying "We Gotta Get You a Woman" circa January 1971...it was on the Ampex label. I gave the b-side medley "Baby Let's Swing" a lot of plays as well.
Speaking of Austin Roberts, here he is in the band River Deep with his song Shelly Tell Me Why. A good Zombies knock off that went nowhere, from 1969:
I've always loved the song Thirteen and could not understand why it didn't do much better. Wilco does it right, too.
In honor of Neil's announcement that he has Parkinson's and is retiring from touring, here's a live '72 clip of our current #1:
I know... what a bizarre coincidence that we are on one of his hits, and he announces his retirement. Neil Diamond Announces Retirement From Touring After Parkinson’s Disease Diagnosis
Wow! WTH are the odds of that? Poor Neil. I was aware he was still recording as well as touring, long after many of his peers had either retired or died. One thing I didn't mention in my earlier post about this song - I wonder if some of Neil's commercial decline by the late '70s had to do with the rise of replacement acts like Billy Joel. I don't know if Joel is widely acknowledged as a successor to Diamond, but he sure strikes me as the '70s answer. Same tuneful, middlebrow, self-composed material, same flair as a performer, similar white middle class audience.
