EVERY Billboard #1 hit discussion thread 1958-Present

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

  1. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I heard this quite a bit on the radio back then.
     
  2. Glenpwood

    Glenpwood Hyperactive!

    The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia

    A few random thoughts...

    I always thought it was implied in the lyric that "little sister" killed her cheating sister in law and hid the body "that'll never be found" to make it appear she was Andy's killer and had skipped town. Her brother finding Andy's body and firing his gun to attract help was the mistake in the plan.

    I've always wondered if it bothers Reba McEntire that despite racking up 26 number ones and 58 top ten hits - almost all of them original compositions - her career records to most casual fans outside of "I'm A Survivor," the theme from her self titled sitcom are two covers - Bobbie Gentry's "Fancy" and of course Vicki's tune. The latter missing the top ten but both had such iconic videos that they became her signature tunes.

    Also, out of all of Vicki's attempts to land a second hit, I have a soft spot for this tune, which apparantly was never commercially released stateside despite prime positioning on the Burnett show. Only promo copies have turned up...

     
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  3. Dougd

    Dougd Forum Resident

    Location:
    Fla.
    Wow. What a powerful, upbeat & rockin' song.
    Sounds like my kind of song.

    A mystery why it only got to No. 62.
     
  4. Dougd

    Dougd Forum Resident

    Location:
    Fla.
    But then again... many of Lighthouse's singles scored relatively poorly.
    One of my fav's of theirs....



    Unfortunately, the great group's song only hit No. 53 on the national charts (the same year we're discussing here, 1973).
    In Canada, it hit No. 9.

    1971
    "One Fine Morning" (24/ 2 CAN) (US AC #30)
    "Take It Slow (Out In The Country)" (64/ 12 CAN)
    1972
    "I Just Wanna Be Your Friend" (93/ 54 CAN)
    "Sunny Days" (34/ 4 CAN)
    1973
    "Pretty Lady" (53/ 9 CAN) (US AC #38)

    One Fine Morning was one rockin' horn song, similar to Chicago, BS&T or Chase.
    Sunny Days & Pretty Lady should've done much better on the U.S. charts.
     
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2018
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  5. Black Thumb

    Black Thumb Yah Mo B There

    Location:
    Reno, NV
    Here's a question for any gear head present: I noted on the R&B thread that I'm not fond of the "sproingy" guitar sound that was so popular in this era - as on "Neither One of Us" and the most excessive example: "If" by Bread.

    How does a guitar player produce that sound? A Leslie speaker? Wah-Wah pedal?
     
  6. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    Ya beat me to it. Pretty Lady is a great Chicago Style, horn-driven Pop tune. I don't care for the edited single version , though.
     
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  7. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    I think Don Henley would like a word with you...
     
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  8. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    I had that one on my list upthread, then stupidly left it off!

    Anyways, I think HVM was talking about #1s up to the year under discussion - 1973. Hence the line "I can't recall any, at least as of 1973". He was honoring the no jumping ahead thing. :righton:
     
  9. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    A good record - I think the lead singer is a real weak link here, someone stronger might have gotten the song a lot further.
     
  10. Tim S

    Tim S Senior Member

    Location:
    East Tennessee
    That's a phase shifter with the rate turned way up to make it "warble." A leslie would be similar, in that it would give you the warbling, but the initial "sproingy" attack wouldn't be there.
     
  11. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    I saw a funny bit with Annie Lennox pertaining to the use of "Georgia" in a song. She'd covered "Georgia On My Mind" for her album Nostalgia a few years back, and asked the same question, why Georgia? She then humorously tried other states in place of Georgia in the song - Ohio or Connecticut or whatever - but none of them really worked. Georgia though? Perfect.

    Some words just have it, and some don't.
     
  12. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    Kansas City is a good one I forgot! I think Mitch doesn't count because, at least as far a this thread goes, we started a few years after that song.

    I also remembered a few more since I posted: Indiana Wants Me, which weirdly, like Lights Went Out, is a state song about a murder. And Kentucky Rain by Elvis is another good one. Did Mississippi Queen get released as a single? Arizona (take off your Indian braids). Massachusetts by the Bee Gees. Of course, none of those songs went to #1...
     
  13. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    I'm going to have a lot of fun when we get there... and you might be surprised what I'll be saying! :cool:
     
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  14. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    Wow, thanks for this! A whole Tommy suite, and even a music video to go with it! Very cool.
     
  15. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
  16. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    This seems more in sync with the nature of the song than Orlando's take... at least, until the rollicking ending, which laughably misses the point.
     
  17. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    Maybe it was a bus made out of a DeLorean?
     
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  18. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    Next we have "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" by Stevie Wonder, #1 from May 13 - May 19, 1973.

     
  19. Black Thumb

    Black Thumb Yah Mo B There

    Location:
    Reno, NV
    Awesome. Thanks, Tim!

    I don't know what it is that irks me about that effect - maybe because it feels kinda cartoonish to be using in a ballad.
     
  20. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Now, here is how this should sound, with the horns added on for the 45's, given this is about the #1 singles. Many places have the LP version without the horns. Me, I prefer this one.

    The two other vocalists heard here are Jim Gilstrap in the opening, followed by Lani Groves, before Mr. Wonder makes his grand entrance.

    It also is retro, in a way - the kind of songs Mr. Wonder did when under the thumb of the Motown production structure, dressed up with his "new" sound and ethos.
     
  21. Black Thumb

    Black Thumb Yah Mo B There

    Location:
    Reno, NV
    There was recently a poll (now closed) up on the board that asked "horns or no horns". (Horns won 62 - 48).

    I didn't vote cause I couldn't pick "both". Love the horns, but it's also a pleasant surprise when they don't come in and I realize it's the album version.

    Speaking of horns, the B-side is "Tuesday Heartbreak", featuring the inimitable sax sound of David Sanborn, who at that time had just come out of Paul Butterfield's horn section.
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2018
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  22. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I adore "You Are the Sunshine of My Life." A sentiment that could be cheesy in other hands, and with Stevie it is just joyful and life-affirming. The fact that it opens with two singers who are not Stevie seems like a brave choice for a major single. Prince did the same on "1999." Love this song. :righton:
     
  23. Glass Candy

    Glass Candy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Greensboro
    A great record, of course. I much prefer it on the album tho, where the lite-soul muzak quality is undercut by being followed with the angular, paranoid Maybe Your Baby.
    I know it had happened before with Beatles, Supremes, 5th Dimension etc. but I think of this as one of the first occurrences of the modern multi-#1 single off an LP.
    Is someone gonna post Sinatra's version of this one?? If so, choose The Main Event.
    See ya next year, Stevie!
     
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  24. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    As far as covers go, the one I remember earliest is by Bobbi Humphrey from her c.1974-75 album Satin Doll. I seem to recall their playing her version frequently on 107.5 WBLS.
     
  25. bare trees

    bare trees Senior Member

    That would be their drummer, Skip Prokop. The song was meant to feature the band's lead singer , Bob McBride (the guy on "One Fine Morning") but he didn't turn up for the session. He subsequently quit the band.
     

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