I like Love Machine but it can't stand up to the classics the Miracles had with Smokey back in the 60's. The one thing that bothered me was the lyric "To turn me on just set my dial and let me love you for a little while". A LITTLE while? If you were a love machine, I'd hope you'd go on longer than just a LITTLE while.
Out of all the old-school vocal outfits, who'd have expected the Smoke-less Miracles to adapt so successfully to the changing musical climes? They'd managed just 3 Hot 100 hits in the Billy Griffin years, only one of which hit the Top 40 ("Do It Baby", #13 in '74), and were only slightly more successful on R&B. And who'd have thought they'd do it by bringing the Philly sound to Detroit? (Yes, I know Motown had deserted for L.A. by then). "Love Machine" is just a wonder (no pun intended). What really makes it bang are the vocal interjections: the growling "hoo hoo hoo yeahhhh", the smooth "yeah baby", the high "push it push it baby ahhhh". (You'd be excused for thinking Eddie Kendrick had dropped by to add that last one.) The backing track just steams and glides, because who would want a clunky love machine? Unless you're into that kind of thing. And Victor's right - "a little while" ain't gonna cut it. But hey, they needed a rhyme for "file" and "dial". -------------- The B-side contained Part 2, as was the custom for these extended jams. Finally, a fellow who loved the song so much he named his six-four after it:
Meanwhile, Smokey's current single had stalled at only #67 but hey, they eventually named a whole radio format after it!
Love Machine- Great song! Also, one of the examples of an artist's last Top 100 hit being #1 and never charting in the Top 100 again despite comtinuing to release singles after.
I don't know why anybody would think that - besides, Billy Griffin sounded a bit more like Jermaine than Michael, comparatively speaking.
[/QUOTE] I wasn't 100% about my statement (I used the words "I think" rather than something like "It is definitely"). Also, to be clear, (although this is probably what is generally meant by all of us) I was thinking about songs that went to #1 at the time the show was on --- or stated differently, got to #1 with a major boost from the show --- ---- as opposed to something like Happy Days using "Rock Around the Clock" 19 years after it hit #1. That song did rechart in 1974, but didn't get to #1.
Something I just thought of --- for which I haven't thought of any answers --- even those that may be glaringly obvious if I could give some thought to it right now (which I can't). The group at #1 this week is (The) Miracles. There was a #3 song in 1975 called "Miracles" by Jefferson Starship. Has it ever occurred where a the title of a #1 song was also the name of a group that reached #1? My intent for this question is to restrict it to #1 songs and #1 groups already formally presented in this thread (17 1/2 years or so at this point). If there is an answer which utilizes later information for either the group or the song, might be better not to give specifics. As I said, this question just occurred to me -- so if there is a glaringly obvious answer to this, it is because I can't think about this right now.
...Grant, T .Moore...Yes, I meant a current/recent series, and it's theme song, which was, literally or effective, introduced in the series. Whatever the release time of MFSB's " TSOP " was (Hey, what if the old punk band T.S.O.L. the classic line-up of which once, when a later-years lineup of the band had the name, played as L O.S.T. jammed with MFSB? The Salsoal Orchestra with the Exploited? Answers in the POST * to"...) against the time it was the literally-that-week "ST " theme, it was recent, certainly. Before that train had come in, I had thought of two country chart r series #1s...by Flatt & Sruggs and Merle Haggard...and a coupla " not quites "...Issac Hayes and Joan Weber...and just now, Jim Croce for a " digging up an old LP cut " not-quite...........
By 1972, Michael's voice had already changed. No way he could have sung the ending ad-lib by then. Frankie Valli was never the leader of the group. But, they did spread the co-leads around more in the 70s. I would say Jackie. Jackie never did a lead.
A couple I did think of --- all of which are close but no cigar. Note (since I can't correct my earlier post) that I really mean "act" rather than just a "group". "Ringo" by Lorne Greene (1964) went to #1. Ringo Starr had a #1 song (multiple ones) in our timeframe. "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (1972) went to #1. Rolling Stones had a #1 song (multiple ones) in our timeframe. I doubt there'll be very many (if any at all).
I remember the chorus of "Love Machine" a lot more than I recalled the verses. Not bad. nothing I bought at the time, nor anything I'd go out of my way to hear now. If on the radio, and I've not heard it in a year or more, I'll listen. JcS
Did they spread lead vocals around much in the '60s? Maybe on some of the album tracks, but I can't think of any singles without Frankie very much in the lead.
It took "Love Machine" a then-record 20 weeks on the Hot 100 to hit the top. The current record is 33 weeks, for an annoying dance craze that struck in 1995.
...When IIwas first hanging around record delartdepa stores, more or less, a later album, " Last Night On Earth ", was in the same bin as The Ramones. I started a Pandory station for RHeritage some months ago andidtdnex to it akt then. " Last Night "'s tie track I'd like a 13 minute on epic, with fantasy cover art to match!!!!!!!!!!! Prog-disco. lac Thumb, post: 20129621, member: 70080"]Here's the album cover, Disco-fied. I like it! Along with S.W.A.T it has the Baretta theme as well as covers of "My Cherie Amour" and the jazz standard "Caravan". It's on Spotify (along with all three of the followup albums!) but I'm a bit afraid to stream it.[/QUOTE]
Theme from S.W.A.T. I always liked the theme from M*A*S*H better, as far as show titles with internal punctuations go, anyway. To be honest, I don't think I've ever watched an episode of S.W.A.T., and boy am I sick of typing all those periods! (S.W.A.T. -- argh, %^&%&* periods -- stands for Strategic Weapons and Tactics, which I guessed about half of before I looked it up. Using 'and' as one of your acronym letters is lame!). The 70s were the golden age of TV themes, and no question the best of those themes were written for cop shows. I do like a bunch of those themes, but the notion of buying them on a single seems really weird. For me, they are inextricably linked to the actual credits sequences; listening to them without seeing the groovy list of guest stars that week just seems *wrong*. Plus, nothing rules like a guest appearance by someone like Buddy Hackett in a serious role. Only in the 70s. The themes I liked the most were the shows my dad used to watch, as I would get to see the nifty openings with the cool songs over and over. He never watched S.W.A.T., so I only vaguely know it. I far prefer the Rockford Files theme, Baretta, and the really cool Streets of San Francisco ("a Quinn Martin production!" the narrator would solemnly intone), which made me always want to visit that city (I didn't get a chance until I was in my 20s, but you can bet that theme was running through my head when I did. No Karl Malden sightings, though). But my favorite was the king daddy of them all, Hawaii Five-O. Yes, that song dates a few years earlier, but the show was still on in 1976. The single greatest moment in all of TV theme/credits comes with that epic zoom to McGarrett standing on that hotel roof. The song and sequence set the tone for all that came after. [EDIT: I see someone else likes Streets as much as I do! Well, I'll keep my post up, anyway. ]
