“Keem-O-Sabe” #16 9/27/1969

The talent level behind the only hit by a studio group, the Electric Indian, was rather impressive. They included members of what became MFSB, the house band for all those monster 70’s hits from Philadelphia International Records. Also appearing were Daryl Hall (before hooking up with John Oates) and Frank Virtue, who had a huge instrumental with “Guitar Boogie Shuffle” in 1959. Produced by Len Barry, a Philly music legend in his own right with the Dovells and as a solo act with “1-2-3.”

“Oh, What A Night” (1969 issue) #10 9/27/1969

A rarity in that the remake was performed by the same group 13 years later. The Dells had a Top 5 R&B hit in 1956 with the original. With a different tempo plus an added spoken intro, their remake topped the soul music chart and made the pop Top 10. They had more soul hits but didn’t chart this highly again on the pop side.

“Easy To Be Hard” #4 9/27/1969

The highest charting single to date for Three Dog Night was yet another song from “Hair.” It was sung by the character of Sheila in the musical; luckily the tune was genderless, making it easy to be (not so) hard for anybody to perform. Chuck Negron once again handled the lead vocals. Very soulful rendition here.

“Green River” #2 9/27/1969

A song about a place that didn’t quite exist. John Fogerty said he wrote this about a place in northern California called Putah Creek, but in his mind he called it Green River, borrowing the name from a fountain soft drink of his youth. Yet the record sounded as swampy as the backwoods of Louisiana. CCR was very prolific in 1969 with three albums all making the Top 10 and four singles all in the Top 3.

“Abbey Road” 50th Anniversary

The Beatles’ final studio LP, “Abbey Road,” was issued in the UK on this date in 1969 and five days later on 10/1/69 in America. After the acrimony of the White Album and the still-unreleased “Get Back” (the title was later changed to “Let It Be” - the drama around that LP led to the dissolution of the band), there was an unspoken acknowledgement this would be their last time in the studio as a group. ***ADDENDUM: An audio tape recently surfaced which casts doubt on this. John, Paul and George had apparently discussed recording another album after “Abbey Road.” Nothing came of it, and because of that and other issues (like John’s heroin addiction, and...well, Yoko), Lennon quit the band.*** So they put their differences mostly aside and gave it one last college try. The front cover is iconic. John was dressed in all white (the preacher), Ringo in all black (the undertaker), Paul was barefoot, out of step and holding a cigarette in his non-dominant hand (surely this was a body double - he was supposedly dead, right?) and George in all denim (the gravedigger). A cottage industry sprung up around the whole “Paul is dead” hoax. The boys strung together a handful of incomplete songs and turned them into a 15 minute+ medley to finish side 2. There was even a hidden track! George proved his songwriting was on a level with Lennon and McCartney’s efforts. Ringo was...well, Ringo. “Abbey Road” was, for me and many others, the Beatles’ finest effort. It was their last studio album, but not their final album release. The “Get Back”/“Let It Be” LP awaited...

“Armstrong” #74 9/20/1969

A tribute to the first man to walk on the moon mixed with some social commentary from John Stewart. He was with the Kingston Trio for seven years and wrote the #1 hit “Daydream Believer” for the Monkees, but success as a performer eluded him until 1979’s “Gold” with some help from Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.

“Muddy Mississippi Line” #53 9/20/1969

By now Bobby Goldsboro had one foot firmly planted in pop music and the other in country music. Here’s a Top 15 country record that didn’t do nearly as well on the pop side for him. Bobby had decent success as a songwriter. “The Cowgirl And The Dandy,” for instance, was a Top 10 country hit in 1980 for Brenda Lee.

“Daddy’s Little Man” #34 9/23/1969

O.C. Smith was one of those guys who took ten years or more to be an overnight success. He appeared on Arthur Godfrey’s TV show in 1955, struggled for a time, then landed a gig as Count Basie’s vocalist for several years. He finally broke through in 1968 with his cover of Roger Miller’s “Little Green Apples.” However, this was his last Top 40 record. O.C. eventually became a minister.

“Move Over” #31 9/20/1969

Sometimes rock music can get very preachy and heavy-handed when addressing social and political issues. That tended to happen with Steppenwolf after their first couple of albums. This tune is good, but one that got bogged down with lecturing instead of just rockin’. The band kind of disintegrated shortly thereafter.

“What Kind Of Fool (Do You Think I Am)” (Bill Deal) #23 9/20/1969

The third chart record for Bill Deal and the Rhondels was, like their previous “I’ve Been Hurt,” written by Ray Whitley. This was a Top 10 hit in early 1964 for the Tams just as Beatlemania was arriving on our shores. The Bill Deal version was that band’s biggest single and a great example of Carolina beach music.

“Hurt So Bad” (Lettermen) #12 9/20/1969

We give you a remake by the Lettermen of the Little Anthony and the Imperials hit from 1965. Linda Ronstadt had a really good remake in the 70’s. It was the last Top 40 showing for these guys, though they had success on the easy listening charts into the mid 70’s. Long-time member Jim Pike passed away in June 2019 from Parkinson’s disease complications.

John Lennon secretly quits the Beatles

John Lennon privately told his bandmates on this day in 1969 he was leaving the group. He agreed to not disclose it publicly until after the soon-to-be-issued “Abbey Road” and the still-shelved “Get Back” albums were released, thus fulfilling their recording contract. John actually decided the previous week to quit. He and Yoko were invited to a music festival in Toronto as guests, but Lennon told the promoter he’d assemble a band and play. On one day’s notice he called Eric Clapton, bassist Klaus Voormann (long-time friend of the Fabs) and drummer Alan White. They rehearsed on the plane and did the gig as the Plastic Ono Band before 200,000 people. But even before departing London for Canada, John concluded his days as a Beatle were over. Adviser Allen Klein asked that it be kept quiet, as he was negotiating a new contract with better royalty rates for the band. Klein’s name would resurface a lot before the group finally broke up. Stay tuned...

“Sugar, Sugar” #1 9/20/1969

Billboard’s #1 single of 1969 wasn’t by the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, but by a fictional cartoon group. The Archies were the brainchild of Don Kirshner, who had been fired as musical director of the Monkees’ TV show. This project had Saturday morning animated characters who couldn’t talk back. Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Andy Kim wrote most of the virtual group’s songs; Ron Dante and Toni Wine did the vocals. Toni’s friend Ray Stevens threw in some handclaps here. Wine agreed to a flat fee; when this record took off and she wasn’t profiting, she quit. Dante also sang lead on a simultaneous Top 10 record, which we’ll get to in a few weeks.

“Wine Me Up” #2 Country 9/13/1969

A Top 5 country hit this week in 1969 for Faron Young. He played a deputy sheriff in a 1956 movie titled “Hidden Guns.” Thus, his band was called the Country Deputies. At one time, Roger Miller and Willie Nelson were in his group. The story goes that in those days, the always broke Willie offered to sell Faron a song he’d written for $50. Young gave him $500 outright instead and said to keep the publishing rights, as Faron agreed to record what he felt was a hit. The tune was “Hello Walls” and the first royalty check was for nearly $10,000, launching Willie’s songwriting career.

“Red House” Album cut

A cut from one of the top albums this week in 1969, a greatest hits LP from the Jimi Hendrix Experience. This track was released several years earlier in the UK but didn’t show up on an American album at first. He went out of his way to not perform the same arrangement of this song twice. It’s one of many live versions on YouTube, as Hendrix’s studio recordings aren’t available there for some reason.

“Commotion” #30 9/13/1969

One of the harder rockin’ CCR songs was the flip of their current single. Two minutes and 44 seconds of controlled rage best describes this one. John Fogerty said even back then he was irritated at the pace of life and how much high tech was taking over. Creedence’s B-sides were just as good as their A-sides.

“The Nitty Gritty” (Gladys Knight and the Pips) #19 9/13/1969

Here’s a somewhat rearranged cover of the Shirley Ellis Top 10 hit from 1963. This version became the biggest pop chart entry in some time for Gladys Knight and the Pips. They were still doing quite well on the R&B/soul side of things, however. In late 1972 they left Motown for Buddah Records with continued success.

“I’d Wait A Million Years” #15 9/13/1969

The first Top 20 single from the Grass Roots since “Midnight Confessions” about a year earlier. Keyboardist Dennis Provisor had just joined the group; he remained for several years. He was part of a revolving door of musicians who passed through. Lead vocalist Rob Grill was the one constant until the hits stopped coming in 1976.

“Share Your Love With Me” #13 9/13/1969

Aretha Franklin remembered this Top 5 R&B hit from 1963 by Bobby “Blue” Bland and wanted to give it a try. She took the song to her label’s boss, Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records, who OK’d the project. Aretha recorded it with the usual gang from Muscle Shoals and racked up a #1 on Billboard’s newly retitled soul music chart.

“I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” (1969 reissue) #6 9/6/1969

Another record that did far better on reissue. The first time in 1967, this was a UK #2 for Tom Jones yet barely cracked our Top 50. Second time around, Tom had a Top 10 hit over here and a #1 on the easy listening chart. Co-written by skiffle king Lonnie Donegan (“Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor On The Bedpost Overnight?”), Britain’s most successful recording artist before the Beatles.

“MacArthur Park” (Waylon Jennings) #93 9/6/1969

One of the more curious remakes of this Jimmy Webb opus came from Waylon Jennings. It was almost aimed at the easy listening crowd and not the country music audience. Waylon was backed by an Oklahoma group, the Kimberlys. This received a Grammy but Jennings was less than thrilled with the out-of-character LP, and this may have begun his push toward a more outlaw musical approach.

September 11, 2001

We’ll return in this space tomorrow. May we never forget 9/11.

“Did You See Her Eyes” #32 9/6/1969

Another one-hit wonder. The band Illusion came from Long Island to take the music world by storm. Uhhhh, wait...not so fast. They were produced by famed songwriter Jeff Barry, whose credits would take days to list. But despite topping the charts in their home area, Illusion just couldn’t follow this one up and soon disbanded.

“Birthday” (Underground Sunshine) #26 9/6/1969

The Beatles’ White Album produced numerous cover versions of its songs. This one from a Montello, Wisconsin band called Underground Sunshine may have been one of the more unusual covers. Truth be told, by now it sounded a little outdated. The group never had another hit; their label, White Whale, soon went out of business.

“Give Peace A Chance” #14 9/6/1969

An iconic anti-war song credited to John Lennon’s new project, the Plastic Ono Band. It was recorded in a Montreal hotel room with Yoko (of course), Tommy Smothers on acoustic guitar and vocals, plus Timothy Leary, Petula Clark, and assorted others on backing vocals. John and Yoko were having a “bed-in” for peace and invited the press, who were hoping they would do the Wild Thing. All they did was eat, sleep, sit up, answer questions, lecture, and go back to sleep - for eight days. Paul McCartney got a writing credit here though he contributed nothing, as a thank you for helping with “The Ballad Of John And Yoko” on short notice.

”Lay, Lady, Lay” (Bob Dylan) #7 9/6/1969

A few weeks back we featured the Byrds version of this Bob Dylan song. Dylan hadn’t had a major hit in the three years since his near-fatal motorcycle accident. His voice sounded very different on this. He attributed that to quitting smoking, but some claim the vocals were sped up. Charlie Daniels (yeah, him) played guitar here.

“Get Together” (1969 reissue) #5 9/6/1969

Some songs have a convoluted history before becoming a hit, and this one is right up there. It was written by Dino Valenti (a.k.a. Chet Powers) in 1963 and done by everyone from the Kingston Trio to We Five to Jefferson Airplane. Early on, Powers had to sell his publishing rights so he could pay a lawyer to fight drug charges. The Youngbloods recorded it in 1967 but the single stalled at #62. Fast forward to 1969, when their version was used in a PSA for the National Conference of Christians and Jews. The 45 was re-released and became a huge Top 5 record.

“Can’t Find My Way Home” Album cut

Supergroups became a thing in the late 60’s. Some were quite successful; others, like Blind Faith, barely kept it together before splitting up. With only one LP, they suffered from a lack of material to perform as headliners at their concerts. This track still became an album rock radio standard. Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood have done a number of reunion shows since then.

“Living In The U.S.A.” (Wilmer and the Dukes) #114 8/30/1969

It was said that Wilmer and the Dukes, regional stars in western New York, were the inspiration for the fictional “Animal House” band Otis Day and the Knights. They got some radio airplay with this remake of a Steve Miller tune, but never broke through on a national level. They still had a dedicated following. TOGA! TOGA! TOGA!

“I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am” (Dean Martin) #75 8/30/1969

The last Hot 100 entry from Dean Martin was a country Top 5 hit the previous year for Merle Haggard. Dino gravitated into recording more country-sounding material over the next few years. He appeared in the “Cannonball Run” movies with an all-star cast. At various times his son-in-law was Beach Boy Carl Wilson and his daughters-in-law were Olympic skater Dorothy Hamill and actress Olivia Hussey.

“Simple Song Of Freedom” #50 8/30/1969

Folkie Tim Hardin wrote some great songs, like “If I Were A Carpenter” and Rod Stewart’s “Reason To Believe.” But this, his highest charting single, was written and first done by Bobby Darin. Hardin had some issues with stage fright (yet he played Woodstock!) and heroin, which finally got the better of him when he OD’d in 1980.

“Your Husband, My Wife” #46 8/30/1969

The final Top 50 record from Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge. Johnny started out as the front man of the Crests with such hits as “Sixteen Candles,” “Step By Step,” “The Angels Listened In” and “Trouble In Paradise.” The Bridge was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.