And it was knocked off the top spot by a Carly Simon tune, which in turn was knocked off the top spot by Stevie Wonder. The charts were all over the place musically at this time.
We have reached the end of '72, haven't we? Best #1: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" Worst: "My Ding-a-Ling" (sorry, Chuck) Most surprising: "The Candy Man" Most embarrassing 45+ years later (besides "My Ding-a-Ling"): "Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me" Most drama: "Without You" Most discussed (at the time): "American Pie" Best Neil Young impersonation: "A Horse With No Name" Best actual Neil Young #1: "Heart Of Gold" Most-dated (in a quaint way): "Brand New Key" Most-dated (in a horrific way): "Ben" The one that vanished the furthest down the memory hole: "Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me" The one that best points the way toward the future: "Me & Mrs. Jones" This last one is kind of tough actually, but while musically "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" to some degree points toward the dance-centric future of the '70s, it was also something of a message song, and those began dying out by the middle of the decade. Whereas "Me & Mrs. Jones" is all about bumpin' uglies, and there were a lot of songs about that in the disco era. It's also got a slow groove that predates the Smokey-inspired Quiet Storm to come on the R&B charts. Reggae heavily influenced several hits this year too ("I'll Take You There", "I Can See Clearly Now"), and while that got bigger in Europe going forward, it didn't really in America, so I can't say those pointed the way to the future. America's Neil Young-light sound was certainly dominant thru the middle of the decade (see also Bread), but was fading in importance after that, and anyhow we'd had singer/songwriters charting already the previous two years. So I can't really see them pointing the way toward the future. Definitely a transitional year on the charts. Is there another year where R&B is both so dominant and also represents the bleeding edge of pop advancement? Because a lot of the non-R&B cuts this year sound like '60s leftovers, novelty tunes, old showtunes, or not particularly challenging singer/songwriter material.
I think "I Am Woman" is the better record, but both pale in comparison to some of her later hits, which we will be discussing in a couple of months. But, radio played the hell out of it, and I got sick of hearing it for that reason. Yet, another in a looooooooong line of cheatin' songs. It's done in the style of music I grew up with by the likes of Nancy Wilson and Lou Rawls. I loved it immediately, and liked that there was nothing else like it on the radio or the pop and soul charts at the time. And, again, Philadelphia International Records hit it out of the pallpark with this one. The label would see at least four years of wild success. Unfortunately, Billy Paul's success didn't last as long. We'll get to that. There are two versions of the 45 out there. One 45 is the same as the album version, the one I have and have only ever seen, and there's an edited version that I understand was played on the east coast.
Now there's the irony - a song considered an anthem of the Women's Lib movement, replaced by (of all things) a cheating song. (One that, in theme, seemed to be Gamble/Huff's riff on Luther Ingram's "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right" from earlier in the year.) Someone must've had some kind of sense of humor to have that procession on the charts. Commercial pressings had two edits - the full 4:42 version, and a shorter version (that cut out the second verse) that timed at 3:37 (but the stocks still listed the 4:42 time). The short version is below: It should be noted that many contract pressings by other plants of this were made. One plant was the soon-to-be-doomed American Record Pressing plant in Owosso, MI, prior to the fire mentioned in connection with the look at The Temptations' #1 "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone." (I have such a copy, with 'ARP' stamped in the deadwax.) Evidently pressed before the fire. Another relatively common pressing was by Shelley Products, and yet another by the PRC plant in Richmond, IN.
And strangely, both edits were released commercially (the B side was the same, though - his cover of Elton John's "Your Song"). I have a vinyl CSM pressing (gold label) with the short 3:37 edit. That was the one on mono/stereo promos (albeit with the mono time listed as 3:41 - imagine).
"If You Don't Know Me By Now" was issued as a single (ZS7 3520) on Sept. 11, 1972 - just two days before "Me And Mrs. Jones" (ZS7 3521) which came out Sept. 13. The former had Pitman label fonts only on pressings from that plant (and contract pressings by Shelley Products); the latter, used Pitman typesetting at all three of Columbia's plants. It should also be noted that "If You Don't Know Me By Now's" B side was "Let Me Into Your World" - originally recorded three years before by the O'Jays on their first LP collaboration with Gamble/Huff, The O'Jays In Philadelphia (originally on the Neptune label, reissued on Philadelphia International in 1973). What's more, the Melvin/Blue Notes version uses the same exact instrumental backing as the O'Jays' recording. Recycling instrumental tracks for different artists' versions was a common practice on the Brunswick label (of Jackie Wilson / Chi-Lites fame) during Carl Davis' run as A&R head, but not as much elsewhere.
I think Billy Paul did a great job at performing Me & Mrs. Jones, but the record overall is just so d-r-a-m-a-t-i-c that I lost interest in it rather quickly. On the other hand, it was a giant hit to close out the year, so I give it respect for that. I haven't heard it in probably 10 years or more.
It's r&b but there's a jazzy vibe to it as well. I first heard this in the mid 80s on Finkleman's 45's, a radio show that ran on CBC radio.
I used to DJ at a cafe that became an oldies club at night. I played this song quite a bit. Good slow song....and I knew there must be some dancers who could relate to the lyrics.
Billy was a seasoned nightclub performer by this time so his vocal on M&MJ naturally has a bit of that vibe. His Wikipedia page is surprisingly thorough - he was actually in the same Army unit with Elvis and Gary Crosby.
Blues and folk? More like plenty of soul and country songs tackled this issue. And several of them crossed over pop, long before "Me & Mrs. Jones." Clarence Carter's "Steal Away" from 1968 comes to mind, but there must be others.
It should also be noted how The Eagles' Take It To The Limit (which would become a giant hit later) borrows heavily from the opening of If You Don't Know Me By Now.
Cheating songs are a mainstay of many genres of music. "Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town" is a good example. I'm sure there's a thread or two on these types of songs on the forum...or there should be!
Put me in the category of those who disliked "Me And Mrs. Jones" when it was played endlessly back in late 72. Nowadays, when I hear it, I get goosebumps. Go figure!
There have been other cases in the 70s where a single saw two or more commercial releases with different lengths/versions. We'll get to them...
Some of which formed the basis for a George Carlin routine about such songs on one of his later specials.