Awww, goodbye 1973! It's been fun reliving you. Looking forward to 1974 and it's 35 (!) #1s. It's the first year I got serious about pop music and started my little collection of 45s, so I finally have some firsthand experiences to draw from.
All in all a pretty good year. Soul definitely provided a disproportionate percentage of its highlights, which I think was the case in '72 as well. Pop was still pretty dismal, suffering from far too many teenybopper acts and bubblegum leftovers, but there were still plenty of diamonds among the turdblossoms. You can tell pop was dragging because of all the country that managed to make it onto the pop charts ("Funny Face", "Danny's Song" , "Rocky Mountain High", "Delta Dawn", "Why Me" and Charlie Rich's power duo of "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl"). The Carpenters even hit paydirt with their countrified cover of "Top Of The World", topping the charts against formidable competition. If anything, this trend would accelerate in the new year. But another genre comes along in '74, one that ultimately mostly kicks country off of the pop charts, in combination with rock, which absorbs a great deal of the country and countrypolitan influence by mid-decade. Rock was rallying with harder, edgier, or more sophisticated stuff like "Space Oddity", "Angie", "Do It Again", "Reelin' In The Years", "Long Train Runnin'" and "Free Ride". Bowie, Steely Dan, Bette Midler and Carly Simon all demonstrated they were going to be acts to reckon with. Elton moved from success to success, establishing himself as maybe the most commercially-important rock star of this era. And after a rough start to the decade, Macca showed he could still rock out with "Live And Let Die", one of the best themes in the Bond franchise's lengthy history. But some rock acts were in the process of starting their transition to a lighter pop sound, too (the Cetera-ized Chicago, for example). And we reached peak Helen Reddy and Tony Orlando. In '73 they looked like superstars, but within just a couple of years they'd be yesterday's news, along with that early-'70s light pop sound that made acts like Maureen McGovern and The Carpenters stars and gave a string of story-song chart toppers to the likes of Vicki Lawrence and Cher. Other acts like Three Dog Night were on their last legs as well, although that wasn't obvious at the time. Still, if you want to look for the best material on this year end countdown, a ton of it is soul - Al Green, Stevie Wonder, War, instant classics like "Midnight Train To Georgia", "Killing Me Softly", and "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love", and proto-disco from Barry White, The O'Jays, Eddie Kendricks, The Isley Brothers and others. The '70s hadn't quite established their own identity yet - in mood and construction many of these songs could have come out in the late '60s and the whole thing strikes me as a hodgepodge without much direction - but this is probably the last year you can say that about. The country invasion of the charts would have an impact on rock for the remainder of the decade, while funk and Philly soul's evolution into disco would dramatically alter the composition of the charts over the next two years. You still have plenty of novelty pop and bubblegum in '74 and onward, but a clear direction of the chart becomes apparent, too. Break out your polyester leisure suits and gold chains, folks. We're about to get the party started.
People have forgotten that Olivia Newton-John had a country phase. In retrospect, she wasn't in the C&W bag for long; she was basically passing through. At least John Denver always had a folkish country strain running through his music.
The other songs you posted are more "country soul" than "The Most Beautiful Girl." On that tune, all of Charlie's jazz/blues influences went out the window.
Ironic that Mr. Rich was about as "country" as Mr. Denver or Ms. Newton-John . . . despite what his actions at the CMA's were perceived as . . .
Charlie had eclectic influences, but his approach to country was far more authentic than Denver or Newton-John. If you think about it, Willie Nelson is as jazzy as Charlie is, and Jerry Reed had an unavoidable R&B influence, but no one ever said they weren't part of the country canon.
I remember Black audiences accepting Charlie Rich. No, his stuff didn't get played on Black radio, and he never got an invite to Soul Train, but he was respected because is voice was quite soulful. Olivia Newton-John and John Denver: I certainly remember how Nashville raked them over the coals for not being authentic all the while giving them their country music accolades and rewards. And, Denver gave up his country flava before Newton-John did. Funny, they did a duet on his hit "Fly-Away". Nowhere in the discussion of 1973 did anyone mention The Pointer Sisters. They emerged out of nowhere with a cool little funk hit called "Yes We Can Can". It was was a a lot of scatting with nothing more than a prominent bass, drums, and wah-wah guitar. One could say that it was a precursor to rap music. The Pointer Sisters also has a single towards the end on 1973 with a Willie Dixon-penned song "Wang Dang Doodle". We will hear a lot from these sisters from Oakland California from here on out. They weren't soul. They weren't pop. They just did whatever the hell they wanted. That's what you call tru artists! Another artists I listen to a lot of in the fall of '73 is Curtis Mayfield. yeah, he was still a thing in '73. By brother came to visit after he was discharged from the army after two tours of Viet Nam. He had a tape of Mayfield's "Back To The World" that he loved, and I immediately loved, too. At first, I sat out in his car, played the 8-track while recording it onto my little cassette player with a microphone. That worked for a couple of weeks until I could earn enough money doing yard work (yuk!) to buy the vinyl album. I, of course, still have that album, along with a Scorpio pressing of it. But, neither the Scorpio pressing, nor the Charley CD, or even the download sound correct. So, I was forced many years ago to do my own needledrop of the original vinyl.
Are there multiple Charlie Rich recordings of "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World"? I have a vague memory of assembling a disc years ago that required that song, and I thought I had it on LP, but when I went to use it, it was the wrong version, and I had to find the correct one. Am I mistaken here?
I Thank you for posting this! Terry Gross is such a good interviewer. This thread has been a revelation for me as to Charlie Rich's talent. I recall (and enjoyed) the big hits he had in the 70s, "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl", and later discovered an earlier hit of his (in a completely different style) called "Lonely Weekends" that I really like (actually first heard it on a syndicated Wolfman Jack show in 1979). Charlie rich lonely weekends To me, he sounds a bit like Elvis Presley on this song. I also get a kick out of the over the top background vocals. Until reading this thread I hadn't heard any of his recordings made between the early 60s and 1973-1974.
I don't know the specific answer to your question, but generally, if an artist changes labels, it's not unusual for said artist to rerecord their big hits for the new label, if (for example) the old label won't license out the original hit version. In other words, it would not surprise me if what you saying is correct.
I love "Yes We Can Can" as well. It was actually my introduction to the great musician and songwriter Allen Toussaint...I'm sure you're aware that Lee Dorsey recorded the original version which is also excellent. I was just getting into Curtis Mayfield at the time myself in 1973. I had gotten two 45s of his that year, "Check Out Your Mind" and "I'm a Fool For You" (much more came later!) I later became a HUGE fan of Chicago soul music and Curtis is probably the king of that genre.
They came up briefly during the "pre-rock nostalgia" discussion around Tie A Yellow Ribbon. You know, that '40s vibe they had going on along with the funk and soul. But yeah, you really couldn't pin them down. They even have a country music hit coming up soon.
"Yes We Can Can" (which I have, B.T.W.), and much of their material when they were on Blue Thumb, were produced by David Rubinson, and Columbia's San Francisco studios did the lacquer mastering. I seem to remember they were the singers on some animated number counting sequences involving a pinball machine that aired for many years starting in the mid-1970's on Sesame Street (sandwiched somewhere in-between this hit and their later breakout success towards the end of this decade). They and Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick (who handled other animated counting numbers from the point of the show's debut in 1969).
First of all, sorry everyone for my horrible typos. Not only is my keyboard going bad, I didn't proofread, and I was in a hurry to take care of some work business. Also, some artists make re-recordings when they have copyright issues with the previous labels. I did not know that about Lee Dorsey doing the original. I do have quite a bit of his 60s output, though. I love his work. I also have high respect for Toussaint's work. But, I wouldn't discover who he was until a year later when he produced a massive Billboard hit for another female group. Hint: Steve Hoffman mastered it for AF a couple of years ago. I've said often that I grew up with Curtis Mayfield, and the Chi-town sound since I was a baby. My father was a huge fan of The Impressions, and my mom loved the stuff Chess Records released. Brunswick Records included. One thing you may already know is that Maurice White and Charles Stepney cut their teeth at Chess. In fact, White played drums on several hits. I'm pretty sure that he played drums on Fontella Bass' hit "Rescue Me". It's his drumming style. Future Earth Wind & Fire bassist Louis Satterfield also played bass on it.
In Colin Escott's book Good Rockin' Tonight (a history of Sun Records), there is a photo of Rich with Chicago R&B deejay E. Rodney Jones, suggesting that maybe at least one station played him in the sixties, when he recorded his most soulful discs.
It occurred to me after I wrote the GI Joe post I made that I had happened on an odd thing about Most Beautiful Girl in the World when I was still a child. Namely, that the song is framed as a conversation between Rich's narrator and an unseen person. I picture it happening in a bar, with Rich pouring out his tale of woe to whomever happened to listen. What's odd about it is just how demanding his character gets: tell her I love her! Tell her I need my baby! I can imagine the unseen listener at some point getting up to leave and telling him to tell her himself!
Photograph In many ways, Ringo Starr, not George Harrison, was the real Dark Horse of the Beatles. Pretty much everyone expected Paul and John to land on their feet after the split. George was more of a question mark, but he had just written one of the most covered songs in history (Something), so there was reason to believe he had something going for him. Ringo's claims to fame were Octopus' Garden and a funny name. Most believed he was going to have to get by with a little help from his friends. In the early going, Ringo focused on building his film career. In 1970 he appeared in the Magic Christian with Peter Sellers, and followed that up with a little-seen Western (!) called Blindman and an appearance playing Frank Zappa (!!) in 200 Motels (Ringo: a chameleonic acting talent). He surfaced on TV shows like Laugh-In and Cilla Black's variety show in England. His career looked like it might be going the Mama Cass route. Hippie but also all-around entertainer the mums could embrace? Maybe, but he didn't have the voice Cass had, so his work was cut out for him. Ringo: in chains but still ready for action, ready to dust some bad guys in Blindman Ringo on Laugh-In His solo musical career started weirdly, with first an album of standards, then a country album. Neither one set the world on fire. Already by 1971 he was releasing songs like 'Early 1970' which nostalgically looked back on the Beatles while hoping his pals could get together with him and play some more. Fortunately, his friends were some of the greatest rock songwriters the world had ever seen. George Harrison in particular helped out Ringo in the early going, gifting him the brilliant single It Don't Come Easy (yes, this was supposedly written by Ringo, but the whole thing screams George Harrison to me). In 1973, it came time for another album, and producer Richard Perry decided that Ringo's best bet was to go the all-Starr friends route. The cover of the Ringo album even calls back to Sgt. Pepper, but this time, instead of featuring Ringo's heroes, the crowd bolstering Mr. Starr was peopled with rock stars who had helped him on the album. And what a crowd! He managed to get all three of the other Fabs to participate (not at the same time, alas, but it was still the first time they had all been on the same record since the split). In addition, Ringo recruited Marc Bolan of T-Rex, whom Ringo had directed in the concert film Born To Boogie; four of the five members of the Band; Billy Preston, Klaus Voormann, and Harry Nilsson. As cool as that group was, the real buzz was around the fact that all the Beatles were involved in the sessions. The press reported the activity breathlessly while speculating what it meant for the long term prospects of a Beatles or partial Beatle reunion. John, George and Ringo all played on the Lennon track 'I'm the Greatest'. Later, Ringo flew to England to record a McCartney track with Paul and Linda, Six O'Clock. I've always liked that one, so I've included it below! Ringo also recorded two number one singles at this time, although we'll get to the second one later. The first was Photograph, written by George and Ringo. Once again, George came to the aid of his big brother, this time gifting him a #1 hit song that could have been his instead. The song is a beautiful and wistful number, and I think Ringo's hangdog voice is perfectly suited to the tale. In most songs of this ilk, there might be a late song twist seeing the guy united with his lost love. Not here. All he has left is a single photograph, and he has to live with the idea that she's not coming back anymore. Interesting that The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, soon to be #1, is also a song about a lost love. Must have been in the air at the time. The Ringo album is a perfect showcase for the qualities that have made Ringo so beloved for so many years. It's great that the Darkest Horse managed to experience the top reaches of the chart, and that it was his good friend George who helped him get there. Fun fact: the Ringo album reached #2 on the album charts. He is the only ex-Beatle who never had a number one album.
OK, I admit I am a true fanatic for Sesame Street, and I just decided to try and find the Pointer Sisters clip you mentioned, and sure enough here it is...I don't recall seeing it before (I mainly watched Sesame Street in 1973-1974 and it may have debuted after that) but needless to say it's terrific. As for Grace Slick, that really blows my mind, I had no idea she did anything on the show and I'm going to try and find her item as well.
Grace Slick did the weird counting segments that are known as the 'jazzy spies' because of the appearance of the creepy spies at the end of each segment. Here's one for 'ten' (they did one for each number from 2 to 10). These cartoons always blew my mind as a kid.
In reference to: "EMI evidently considered Ringo's (the 1973 album) success a fluke, so when the company's contractual hold on the former Beatles ended in 1976, Ringo was not offered a renewal. He moved to Atlantic for two albums....." We were discussing a couple different aspects of this - two of which are below and are mentioned in the quote I posted. First, was Ringo offered a contract by Capitol. It would appear from what I quoted that he was not offered one. I would think that whether or not Capitol offered him a contract would be relatively easy to verify (but I could be wrong). In my understanding, the "evidently" part (in the quote I posted earlier) to me only has to do with the first clause of the sentence, which appears to be the author's opinion (or guess) about "why" that happened. I don't think anyone outside of Capitol (and possibly Ringo himself, by way of Capitol) would really know the answer to that.
My take on all the #1s of 1973 ranked from worst to first: Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree Delta Dawn Half-Breed The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia The Morning After Touch Me In The Morning The Most Beautiful Girl Top Of The World My Love Crocodile Rock Angie Brother Louie Keep On Truckin' Love Train Bad, Bad Leroy Brown Photograph Killing Me Softly With His Song You're So Vain Frankenstein Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) We're An American Band You Are The Sunshine Of My Life Will It Go Round In Circles Let's Get It On Midnight Train To Georgia Superstition
Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree - HATED Delta Dawn - HATED Half-Breed - HATED The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia - HATED The Morning After - HATED Touch Me In The Morning - EXCELLENT The Most Beautiful Girl - HATED Top Of The World - HATED My Love - HATED Crocodile Rock - HATED Angie - HATED Brother Louie - EXCELLENT Keep On Truckin' - EXCELLENT Love Train - EXCELLENT Bad, Bad Leroy Brown - HATED Photograph - HATED Killing Me Softly With His Song - HATED You're So Vain - HATED Frankenstein - EXCELLENT Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) - HATED We're An American Band - EXCELLENT You Are The Sunshine Of My Life - HATED Will It Go Round In Circles - EXCELLENT Let's Get It On - EXCELLENT Midnight Train To Georgia - EXCELLENT Superstition - EXCELLENT
"Keep on Truckin'" didn't sound like anything else on the radio, it's still a very striking song. That said the 45 is edited like crazy--but that's the version that became the hit.
