I didn't say you had. It was WB who called her a "one hit wonder", but he did it in quotes, apparently to emphasize that she wasn't. It just wasn't clear in that post.
Yeah I was thinking you'd just quoted the term "one hit wonder" as a phrase, not as an indication she actually wasn't a one hit wonder...
Next #1 Funky Worm - Ohio Players Here is Ohio Players first major chart appearance, and they hit #1! This Ohio band has been around since the 50s as The Untouchables, and backed Wilson Pickett on his early singles for the Ric Tic label. (W.B. will correct me if i'm mistaken about the label.) As the Ohio Players, they had been around making albums since the late 60s on the Capitol label. They only became nationally successful when they signed with Westbound. Ohio Players is an interesting band. They never called themselves R&B. They did it all, pop, jazz, blues, and rock. They just played what they felt. They created a fine collection of albums on Westbound, but the cut that caught the public's attention just happened to be a novelty: "Funky Worm". But, what set themselves apart from the pack, much like their labelmates Funkadelic, their album covers were unusual, and could even be considered soft-porn by some. They usually featured S&M images, and the album titles followed suit. Westbound was a small, indie label, so i'm supposing there were no suits that were too outraged by the covers or tried so censor them. More on this when we get to 1974 (no jumping ahead, guys!).
That's okay, PW33 will correct you. The Ohio Untouchables backed up the Falcons on their singles for the Lupine label. And their lead singer at the time was Wilson Pickett.
Count me as one who never gets alerts on this thread. I really don't grasp why or when an alert happens since I'll often see a thread listed on the front page that I've participated in but get zero notice, yet they will alert me about a thread I haven't posted in for many months. It sometimes happens on the Pop thread, too but not as consistently as this one. I sheepishly admit I never thought to click on watched threads but I will now. To back up a scootch, I love Daddy Could Swear, maybe even more than Neither One Of Us.
Besides, I don't think Ric Tic was in existence until about 1965 - by which the His Wicked Self was already blazing his trail on Atlantic. The other Westbound acts who went places (besides Funkadelic and the Ohio Players) were the Detroit Emeralds and, on one record that had gone #1, Denise LaSalle. They also had Teegarden & Van Winkle.
I'm a huge Ohio Players fan but gotta admit I've slept on their Westbound material. Lawd, does this song live up to it's title! These guys could lay down a groove like no other. Plus the youngsters had to have gone nuts for the vocal - I know I would have if they'd played it in Squaresville. I feel certain that 8-year-old Andre Young was listening intently to that synth line.
I have zero memory of hearing Funky Worm in '73 and I'm fairly certain my 19 year old self would not have liked it. In my golden years, I can appreciate the funk! Can't wait for the Honey album.
This may've been the single that was certified gold by the RIAA. I did see an Ohio Players' single (of which this peaked at #15 on the Hot 100) on that list in the book I have.
I wonder if there is a bug in the system, of the software only sends alerts when a certain level of activity occurs...or if something else is going on here.
Right around this time Rufus released their first single - at least the first to appear on a chart - although it was only on the Bubbling Under chart. Slip N' Slide backed with I Finally Found You. They were still searching for a style and each side couldn't be more different. CHAKA KHAN / RUFUS ---- I FINALLY FOUND YOU
Is that them on "I Found A Love"? That's a real contender for the title of "first modern soul single".
Good call! That first album is stylistically all over the place, but i'm sure writer R. Stockert wasn't thrilled that "Slip & Slide" didn't take off. The sound that they found the public liked, however was a later single from that album called "Whoever Is Thrilling You Is Killing Me". With that, they had found part of the Rufus sound. Because of this, and issues that cropped up later, the band went through a lot of personnel changes throughout its existence. They had come a long way from The American Breed (Bend Me, Shape Me, and Any Way You Want Me).
Two questions about radio: 1) How many R&B / Soul stations were there in the U.S. in 1973? 2) There is much talk on this forum about classic rock radio stations, but are there classic R&B radio stations? As an example, does "Funky Worm" still receive airplay?
That's something we'd have to Google up, but they were mostly concentrated in metropolitan cities with sizable Black populations. But, where there wasn't, that's where the syndicated TV show "Soul Train" played a significant role. The reason R&B became so popular in the 70s is precisely because of "Soul Train", and, to a lesser degree "American Bandstand". White people were suddenly exposed to the music. Top 40 radio played more of the music, and more records were sold. Yes, there are classic R&B stations. Again, they are usually found in cities with large Black and Latino populations. There are programming differences between that, and classic rock, and the "good-time, great oldies" stations. Classic R&B stations tend to play more later-charting hits, and will thrown more "white" artists in to attract more listeners (this has actually been a point of contention with black audiences, and R&B radio programming). But, like the "good-time, great oldies" stations, they don't dig too deep with the playlists. I mean, how many times can you hear "Forget Me Nots" by Patrice Rushen? Sheesh! That wasn't even her best song!
Next #1 hit single: Leaving Me - The Independents First, I want to say that the videos on YouTube sound awful, much worse than the actual recording. This song never did it for me. It's OK, but it's a paint-by-the-numbers soul song. But, that's exactly why it went to #1 in 1973.
Love the Independents, love this song. Very underrated vocal group who had a short window of popularity between 1972-74. After B.J. Thomas and Dionne Warwick left Scepter Records, both the Independents and B.T. Express were their most consistent hitmakers until the company folded at the end of '75. As far as "Leaving Me," it wasn't breaking any new ground for soul music, but it was a feelgood number all the same, despite the slow tempo and the fact that the narrator is vainly trying to convince his lady not to break up with him. Like the Chi-Lites, the Independents were from Chicago. Both groups had the lockdown on smooth ballads during this same era, although they sounded just as good on uptempo numbers. It should be noted that this was the only Independents song to reach the pop Top 40, although they had several other hits on the soul chart (including the proto-disco "Arise & Shine," a fave of mine).
This release - which, on its RIAA gold award, listed the group as "Independence" - had two Wand label designs in the course of its active run. I naturally have the first, the 1960's label: It would seem that this song's chart performance on the Hot 100 matched your perception, going no higher there than #21. Certainly as Chicago soul went, this was more textbook than anything Curtis Mayfield or Jerry Butler were turning out. This group would be the first we would hear of Charles "Chuck" Jackson (no relation whatsoever to the "Any Day Now" singer who'd recorded for Wand in the early '60's) and Marvin Yancy, both of whom would produce a few hits for another act later in the 1970's - and one of whom would marry (for a few years) such individual. (No peeking or jumping ahead now .)
Meh. Paint by numbers nails it. I keep wanting to sing, "People get ready, there's a train a comin'..." No memory of this one from the time. I think my uncle was drifting away from contemporary R&B at this time...
