EVERY Billboard #1 hit discussion thread 1958-Present

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

  1. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    Decent song. Little slow for my tastes.
     
  2. pablo fanques

    pablo fanques Somebody's Bad Handwroter In Memoriam

    Location:
    Poughkeepsie, NY
    Yeah that guitar riff is the stuff of legend!
     
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  3. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    Perhaps tellingly, Sir Paul had nothing to do with the solo. Apparently he had a solo in mind, and at the session Henry McCollough asked if he could try something different. Paul said okay, and this was the result. And it's the only part of the song I find especially worthwhile.



    If it's any consolation, his next hit, "Live and Let Die", was #2 for three weeks and was blocked by a different song for each of those three weeks. What goes around comes around.
     
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  4. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    Yep, 4 weeks certainly seems excessive for this song. Point of fact, starting with the next #1, it will be a long slog through the next 3 or 4 years as a great many tunes will only notch one or two weeks at the top until around '78. Strap yourselves in folks and get comfortable, it's gonna be a long ride.
     
  5. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    "My Love" was the last single from 'Macca' with a "custom" label design, dating to "Give Ireland Back To The Irish," given his oft-publicized and well-known distaste for Allen Klein. Not long after "My Love" was released, Klein's (and ABKCO's) contract with Apple ran out. "Live And Let Die" was his first single on the regular full / sliced apple design since "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey." (This change was reflected in the back covers of Apple LP's. From 1970 to 1973, Apple's address was listed as 1700 Broadway [the HQ of ABKCO Industries]; in its last two years of existence, the address was cited as Capitol's New York outpost of 1370 Avenue of the Americas.)

    'Twas also the second song with that title in the Hot 100 era to top the charts - after the wholly different song by Petula Clark, whose U.S. chart fortunes by the time of this had gone way down south.
     
  6. Victor/Victrola

    Victor/Victrola Makng shure its write

    There's a bug in the system that makes your notifications stop for no reason. And not all of the notifications stop at the same time, just some of them. To react, just unfollow the thread and follow it again and the notifications should begin working once more. Until they stop again.
     
  7. Victor/Victrola

    Victor/Victrola Makng shure its write

    I don't hate My Love, but I do hate the "Whoa whoa whoa whoas" that permeate the track. Other than that, it's a perfectly good love song with a killer guitar solo. I never thought it was one of Paul's best singles, and the album it's from is pretty dismal (except for Big Barn Bed, which is one of my favorite Macca deep tracks).
     
    Mylene likes this.
  8. Craigman1959

    Craigman1959 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Alabama, USA
    I became an even bigger fan after seeing him perform My Love. Love the live version.
     
  9. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I love the melody and sentiment of "My Love." I used the version from Working Classical in my wedding ceremony:



    Beautiful song. One of my favorites from Paul's solo years.
     
  10. Black Thumb

    Black Thumb Yah Mo B There

    Location:
    Reno, NV
    "My Love" has a good melody but it's not Macca's finest hour as a lyricist - lazy moon/June rhymes, bad grammar ("does it good") and the aforementioned "whoa whoa whoa whoa"s.

    But what a magnificent guitar solo!

    Henry McCullough was on another huge 1973 release ... Dark Side Of The Moon. He appears on "Money". Not as a musician - he's the bloke at the end saying "I don't know, I was really drunk at the time".
     
    sunspot42 likes this.
  11. Black Thumb

    Black Thumb Yah Mo B There

    Location:
    Reno, NV
    We're finally at the big Hot 100 methodology change of 6/9/73, with it's heavier emphasis on airplay.

    Get ready for the infamous mid-70s #1 revolving door!
     
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  12. Glass Candy

    Glass Candy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Greensboro
    My Love may be MOR muzak, but it is as personal and heartfelt as anything off John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. This is Paul doing what he does, singing about Linda, the love of his life. Seeing him do this on the Driving Rain tour, with pictures of Linda on the screen behind him, was fairly devastating.
    The solo is obviously the best part of the record. This was a part of the first real Beatles revival in 1973, when #1s on the singles and/or LP chart for the band and three of their members happened in quick succession.
    And of course, after a couple years in the comparative sales wilderness, this is the record that made Paul and Wings a commercial juggernaut for the 70s. And I think that is a good thing. See you next year, Paul!
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2018
  13. CliffL

    CliffL Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sacramento CA USA
    Good lord, I bought this single in 1973 and never knew it was a number one song until today (been away for a few days and I'm catching up on the thread). Maybe if I'd known it hit number one I'd have given it a bit more respect over the years. "Frankenstein" still gets a good bit of airplay on radio these days...as I mentioned in an earlier post, I always associate it with another instrumental that was burning up the charts at the same time "Hocus Pocus" by Focus.
     
  14. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    Meanwhile, over in England...

    Back at the end of 1972, David Bowie released another big hit, the Jean Genie (it got to #2 on the British charts). It was the single that preceded his next album, Aladdin Sane, which came out in April, 1973 (so right around the time we are now in!). I love this album. If Ziggy was his sci fi ode to the kids, Sane has always reminded me of decadent European dukes in Weimar Germany. Must be the incredible piano playing by new addition to the backing band Mike Garson.

    Anyhoo, remember how I mentioned that the BBC was pretty quick back in the day to scrap their old programs, including countless hours of invaluable music performances? So many of the great TV appearances by 60s stars don't exist anymore; even the big names like the Beatles were not immune (one Beatles performance of Ticket to Ride only exists at all because a few seconds of it appears in a Dr. Who episode (!)).

    They kept it up in the 70s. David Bowie appeared on Top of the Pops right after New Year's 1973 to promote Jean Genie. But the clip was one of those that was thrown out, and was unseen for decades, until a miracle occurred. The cameraman who shot the film had employed an unusual fisheye lens effect for the performance, and wanted to keep the clip for his professional reel, kind of a resume for cameramen. And so he did. He kept the video to himself for 38 years, until he came to realize he had the only copy of this performance in existence. At that point he came forward and we all were once again able to see Bowie and the Spiders in their prime. Incredible!

     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2018
  15. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    It's not a track I seek out - probably because I've heard it plenty already thru my life - but I can see why it was an enormous hit. Like Stevie Wonder's "You Are The Sunshine..." it's a killer, classic pop melody. The guitar solo is brilliant. And you can hear how this could have gotten play on top 40 pop, rock and even easy listening stations, so the audience was incredibly broad.
     
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  16. Rojo

    Rojo Forum Resident

    I was about to post a similar comment -- maybe not so harsh. But it's one of my least favorite McCartney singles.
     
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  17. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    I think this is one of the last #1 hits from when we lived in the little mining town I was born in, before moving to the city. Curiously, even though it was a huge hit, I have no memory of it from that time. Indeed, to me "My Love" sounds more like a hit from the mid to late '70s for whatever reason, and I associate it with Phoenix. Maybe nobody in the household liked it and always changed the channel? Anyhow, it was inescapable on radio from the mid '70s into the mid '90s, unless you spun the dial to get away. And even then, it would likely crop up again later that day, depending on which stations you listened to...
     
  18. AppleBonker

    AppleBonker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    Frankenstein

    "That's Frunkensteen"

    Ah, so that's how the song Frankenstein sounds. I have seen this song namechecked in the #1 book I have, but as with most instrumentals, it's hard to match the name to the song.

    Of course, I have heard this one, but usually on classic rock stations. It's pretty cool (even a drum solo! On the top 40!), but my favorite aspect of it getting to the top is just seeing something from the album/rock side of the tracks get recognized on the pop charts for a change.

    Interesting that we've gotten so far into talking about Frankenstein and no one has yet mentioned Edgar's brother Johnny Winter, who was also a musician of some reknown. I'm probably the wrong person to bring him up, as I don't know much about him. I do know he played for a while with Rick Derringer of the McCoys, who had a number one with Hang On Sloopy, so there's yet another connection to this thread. Anyway, here's a clip of Johnny on British TV covering the Stones:



    Fun fact: the Winters sued DC Comics for defamation in the 70s! DC had a Western comic book called Jonah Hex which featured two brothers named Edgar and Johnny Autumn, who from what I understand were creepy bad guys. The Winters lost the suit.

    [​IMG]
     
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  19. pickwick33

    pickwick33 Forum Resident

    The only reason I bought the "My Love" single (ten years after it was a hit) was the flip side, "The Mess." Great McCartney rocker in the tradition of "Hi Hi Hi."
     
  20. Hoover Factory

    Hoover Factory Old Dude Who Knows Things

    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    I did the same thing!
     
  21. Black Thumb

    Black Thumb Yah Mo B There

    Location:
    Reno, NV
    Yeah, I was gonna give Johnny a shout out but I forgot.

    "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" was his biggest rock hit (Derringer was on that), but then he really got strung out on smack for awhile.

    After kicking, he went off into the blues - both as a leader and producing Muddy Waters' late '70s comeback albums.
     
  22. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    The funny thing had to come from Billboard, which in its Hot 100 listing for "My Love" listed the producer (I kid you not) as "The Gramophone Co. Ltd." ('Twas not long afterwards that said company reorganized as EMI Records Limited.)

    Another of the last records to mention The Gramophone Company Limited was an edited version of a song from the aforementioned The Dark Side Of The Moon a few posts back. Ladies and gentlemen, "Money" by Pink Floyd:

    Only peaked at #13 on the Hot 100 but did manage to break through to #10 in Cash Box.
     
  23. Grant

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

    The funny thing is that I listened to the song on a Phoenix FM radio station, probably KBBC. It's like they played it every hour.
     
  24. Endicott

    Endicott Forum Resident

    "My Love" isn't my favorite McCartney single, but it's not bad. It gets slagged a lot because of its banal lyrics, but (a) a lot of great pop songs have silly words (Little Richard made a career out of those), and (b) Paul has never been about great lyrics anyway (though he's certainly capable of a memorable lyric when he's up to it; it's just never been a huge priority for him, and given his melodic talents, it doesn't need to be).

    Paul's music has always been about the overall sound and effect, and on that level, "My Love" is a fine piece of work. I do believe he's written better melodies and put together more exciting arrangements (I do agree that the guitar solo here is outstanding), but this song is a worthy #1 as it is. Maybe not for multiple weeks, though. "Live And Let Die" is a better record on just about every measure...
     
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  25. tmoore

    tmoore Forum Resident

    Location:
    Olney, MD
    "My Love" is one I don't go out of my way to listen to nowadays. I don't hate it, but I heard it so much in the '70s that it's never going to leave my brain. About the only time I hear it in this day and age is if I play a McCartney compilation and it comes on (unlike some, I rarely skip tracks, so if it comes on my system, I'll listen to it).
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2018

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