EVERY Billboard #1 hit discussion thread 1958-Present

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by alphanguy, Jan 29, 2016.

  1. SITKOL'76

    SITKOL'76 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colombia, SC
    And like always here is a rundown of all the singles that JUST missed the top spot, peaking at the #2 position.

    1. The Carpenters - Hurting Each Other

    2. Joe Tex - I Gotcha

    3. Michael Jackson - Rockin' Robin

    4. Billy Preston - Outa-Space

    5. Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose - To Late To Turn Back Now

    6. The Hollies - Long Cool Woman In Black Dress

    7. Bill Withers - Use Me

    8. Elvis Presley - Burning Love

    9. The Moody Blues - Nights In White Satin

    10. Lobo - I'd Love You To Want Me

    11. Gilbert O'Sullivan - Claire

    11 #2 hits total, The Carpenters at this point must have been rather synonymous with #2 hits to chart enthusiasts.
     
    lightbulb and Black Thumb like this.
  2. SITKOL'76

    SITKOL'76 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colombia, SC
    Now for my pick of song that should've hit #1, The Spinners 'I'll Be Around', it's just such a beautiful song and one of my all time favorite records.

    As for the #2 hits that should've hit the top spot I'm giving it to Bill Withers 'Use Me'.
     
  3. SITKOL'76

    SITKOL'76 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colombia, SC
    Lastly, for the relative quietness that 1972 was for Motown (in comparison with years prior) 1973 was MAJOR for Motown. I'm looking forward to that this next year.
     
  4. Nipper

    Nipper His Master's Voice

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    I've been meaning to post before we leave 1972. It was the year that I started kindergarten, and the first that I remember liking current hit songs. My favorites were "Song Sung Blue" and "Black And White". I also recall hearing the Sammy Davis & Mac Davis songs.

    My current favorite is still "American Pie" - what a classic!

    With regards to Chuck Berry, I don't begrudge him his #1 record. In college, I had The Best Of The Best Of Chuck Berry on LP, and we loved to play the "Alma Mater" sitting in our dorm room, playing cribbage and drinking beer. It's just for fun! :shrug:
     
    lightbulb and Grant like this.
  5. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    I don't think it's been mentioned at all, but "Rocket Man" was a #2 that deserved the top spot.

    "Tiny Dancer" has grown in stature over the years but only made it to #70.
     
    lightbulb, Damiano54 and Endicott like this.
  6. Endicott

    Endicott Forum Resident

    Me and.... Mrs. Jooooooooones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones....

    Always loved that part. As well as the descending strings. Just a masterful record.

    I think Mr. Jones knew something was happening, he just didn't know what it was.

    As for previous R&B hits that dealt with infidelity, I can think of "Smoky Places" by the Corsairs, which sounds gloriously like its title.

    Since someone brought up "Take It To The Limit", and it didn't reach #1, I just wanted to say that (a) it's got a lovely melody, (b) it does borrow heavily from "If You Don't Know Me By Now", and (c) it's got the wimpiest lead vocal in the history of Western recorded music. :hide:

    "If You Don't Know Me By Now", btw, is another sublime track, and the fact that was outperformed on the charts by Simply Red's undernourished cover will forever be a blight on our society. Those harmonies on the original, though... :love:
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2018
    lightbulb, CliffL and Black Thumb like this.
  7. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    That's not the best collection of #2 hits, at least compared to other years.

    Of them, I'd say that the ones deserving of a #1 placement are:

    Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose - To Late To Turn Back Now
    The Hollies - Long Cool Woman In Black Dress
    Elvis Presley - Burning Love
    The Moody Blues - Nights In White Satin

    Best of that bunch is clearly "Nights In White Satin".

    "Rocket Man" only got to #6 in the US, but agree it's deserving of a #1 position.
     
    Manapua likes this.
  8. CliffL

    CliffL Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sacramento CA USA
    Just read Wikipedia's entry on "Tiny Dancer" after seeing your post...I can't believe it only made it to #41. I would've said it made the top ten based on my memory (which I pride myself on, but it can be foggy!) I bought the 45 in '72 and always considered it to be one of Elton's best songs, along with "Rocket Man". Either one would have been a worthy #1.
     
  9. pickwick33

    pickwick33 Forum Resident

    Before the light goes out on 1972, I wanna call attention to this goodie that stiffed at #25, but sounds real good to me...
     
    Endicott, Manapua and Craigman1959 like this.
  10. Endicott

    Endicott Forum Resident

    I agree that "Tiny Dancer" is one of Sir Elton's most memorable records -- my guess is its length kept it from getting the airplay it needed to be a big hit. (Of course, its length is essential to its slow-building effectiveness.) I don't think Elton quite had Beatles-level pull with radio programmers yet...
     
    Hey Vinyl Man likes this.
  11. Black Thumb

    Black Thumb Yah Mo B There

    Location:
    Reno, NV
    I'd call this one the C&W "Me and Mrs. Jones". Written by Tom T. Hall.

     
  12. Craigman1959

    Craigman1959 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Alabama, USA
    It's interesting too that Tiny Dancer didn't make the first or second greatest hits album.....but Levon did appear on Volume 2.
     
  13. boyjohn

    boyjohn Senior Member

    Just for comparison, here are the three major charts weekly #1's side by side for 1972.

    [​IMG]
     
    Cheevyjames and Black Thumb like this.
  14. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I would not that say "Me and Mrs. Jones" celebrates adultery by any means. "We both know that it's wrong." "We gotta be extra careful that we don't build our hopes up too high." "It hurts so much, it hurts so much inside." It's infused with the same sort of guilt, disappointment, and irresistable compulsion that are typical of country songs about the topic.
     
    Tim S and Black Thumb like this.
  15. Black Thumb

    Black Thumb Yah Mo B There

    Location:
    Reno, NV
    Man, Al Green did much better on the other two, especially Record World.
     
    Grant likes this.
  16. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    How odd that "Day After Day" was nearing its peak as the same time as Nilsson's cover of "Without You". "Day After Day" would be another song that shoulda hit #1 but didn't.
     
    lightbulb, Grant, Tim S and 2 others like this.
  17. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    "Tiny Dancer" got picked up by radio after Elton became a superstar and got heavily played on oldies radio and AOR radio. Given the amount of play it subsequently got it's easy to see why people would think it was at least a top 10 hit, if not a #1.
     
    Grant likes this.
  18. SITKOL'76

    SITKOL'76 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colombia, SC
    Rocket Man was #2 UK but #6 US
     
    sunspot42 likes this.
  19. SITKOL'76

    SITKOL'76 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colombia, SC
    I'm Still In Love With You, really should've hit #1 smh.
     
    sunspot42 and CliffL like this.
  20. CliffL

    CliffL Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sacramento CA USA
    Yes, every once in a while a song gets "rediscovered" or re-evaluated by the general public. With regard to "Tiny Dancer" I remember the publicity it got in the movie "Almost Famous". Anyone who's seen that movie knows what I'm talking about.

    I know it happened to a 1972 "non-hit" too, with Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" released that year and then becoming popular years later through use in a Volkswagen commercial. I'm one of those who discovered Nick Drake through that commercial...never heard of him in 1972 for sure (but would definitely have liked him if I had heard him then!)
     
    lightbulb and sunspot42 like this.
  21. CliffL

    CliffL Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sacramento CA USA
    That's true, I notice a lot of the protagonists in these songs are regretful about their behavior. Another classic I can think of along this line is "The Dark End of the Street" (James Carr, Flying Burrito Brothers).
     
  22. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Yes, the theme was common in R&B/soul music also.

    If there was no such emotion as guilt, country music probably would not even exist.
     
    pablo fanques and Grant like this.
  23. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    What would you call the sentiment in the lyrics of one part of Luther Ingram's "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right":
    "And are you wrong to give your love to a married man,
    And am I wrong for trying to hold on to the best thing I ever had?"
    I did see that on what a 1980 music almanac I've had for years, in the section of gold-certified records, referred to as "Mr. and Mrs. Jones" (as if!), there was a kind of "skating-around-the-edges" awareness of their respective situations and social mores about same.

    Some have noted a jazzy feel to "Me And Mrs. Jones," especially Mr. Paul's coming from within that genre. This would seem to have fit more like a glove for the Philly instrumentalists compared to, say, recording the instrumental backing for the Spinners' first real big hit "I'll Be Around."
     
  24. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    I heard Tiny Dancer quite a bit on the radio at the time but nationally, it didn't seem to register. Truth be told, after starting off strong with Your Song (#8), Elton went into a sort of slump in '71 despite the quality of the music he put out. My personal favorite Friends stalled at #34 while nothing from the excellent Tumbleweed Connection album managed a Hot 100 showing. In '72, Levon reversed that trend by placing at #24 but as been mentioned, the even stronger Tiny Dancer inexplicably missed the Top 40 altogether. Not to worry though, with the next single Rocket Man (#6), Elton would never miss the Top 10 (with the exception of 2 singles) for the next 4 years!
     
    Grant likes this.
  25. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    I could shine a Light on a late 70s recording that fits this description but that would be a boon to those who like to jump ahead. :hide:
     

Share This Page

molar-endocrine