“I Want You Back” #1 1/31/1970

The debut Motown single for the Jackson 5, also on the soundtrack of the first “Guardians Of The Galaxy” flick. Two other releases on a small label had flopped. Even though Gladys Knight and Bobby Taylor (front man of the Vancouvers) brought the family act to Hitsville U.S.A., Berry Gordy promoted them as being discovered by Diana Ross. Gordy wanted the bigger name involved to curry favor with the media, plus he felt it would help jumpstart Diana’s solo career. He and Ross were dating, too. 11-year-old Michael Jackson was the group’s front man.

“Also Sprach Zarathustra” #90 1/24/1970

One of the most polarizing movies ever made was “2001: A Space Odyssey.” People either absolutely loved it or absolutely hated it. The film was notable for using a number of classical pieces in the soundtrack. Example: a passage from Richard Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathustra” as the opening fanfare, done here by the Berlin Philharmonic. Elvis opened his shows for many years with this piece as well.

“When Julie Comes Around” #41 1/24/1970

The followup to “Tracy” for the fictional Cuff Links. Again, Ron Dante handled all the vocal parts - that isn’t Ron in the accompanying video, though. It’s a road band hired solely for work outside the studio. Dante had signed an exclusive contract with Don Kirshner which precluded him from any future Cuff Links recordings after their first album. The fake group had one more minor chart record and that was it.

“Cupid” (Johnny Nash) #39 1/24/1970

Here’s an interesting remake of the Sam Cooke classic, done reggae style by Johnny Nash. He wouldn’t see the Top 40 again in America for another couple of years until “I Can See Clearly Now.” A remake of a Bob Marley song would be his followup to that one. Nash helped Marley’s career considerably.

“She Belongs To Me” #33 1/24/1970

In rock and roll’s pre-Beatles days Ricky Nelson was one of its biggest stars, but by the time of the British Invasion the hits began to go away. This cover of a Bob Dylan song was his first Top 40 entry since 1964. He began calling himself Rick and started the Stone Canyon Band, whose California country-rock sound was a bit ahead of the times. Randy Meisner was in Rick’s band before joining the Eagles.

“Wonderful World, Beautiful People” #25 1/24/1970

Reggae was starting by now to spread from its homeland of Jamaica. Jimmy Cliff was in the forefront of that movement. He had several hits back home, but this was his breakthrough in America and elsewhere. Jimmy was poised for greater success, but his label threw its support behind another reggae singer named...Bob Marley.

“Ain’t It Funky Now (Pt. 1)” #24 1/24/1970

It wasn’t unusual in the 70’s for acts to go several years between issuing records. This Top 5 soul instrumental was the ninth single released in calendar year 1969 by James Brown. He certainly cranked them out. Around this time most of his band quit over - guess what? - money. Not the first or the last time that happened.

“She” #23 1/24/1970

The final Top 40 effort from Tommy James and the Shondells. After their next two singles flopped, things weren’t going all that smoothly. Tommy collapsed on stage in Birmingham, Alabama and his drug use was believed to be a factor. He and the band would soon go their separate ways. Tommy eventually got himself clean.

“The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)”

Everybody had to start somewhere. One of the top soft-rock acts of the 70’s, England Dan (Seals) and John Ford Coley (Colley), began as part of a band called Playboys Five. They became Theze Few, which became Southwest F.O.B. (“Smell Of Incense”) in their younger days back in Dallas. A remake of the 1967 Harpers Bizarre hit that got to #115 was the group’s last record. I couldn’t find the F.O.B. version on Google or YouTube, so we give you Simon and Garfunkel’s instead, the B-side of “At The Zoo.”

“I Started Loving You Again” #86 1/17/1970

A Top 20 easy listening remake of Merle Haggard’s country classic from Al Martino, born Jasper Cini. Al was another in a long line of Italian-American crooners. After initial success in the early 1950’s, he ran afoul of the wiseguys and fled to Britain for several years. When he returned to the States rock and roll had taken over, further derailing his career, but he recovered. Al later received acclaim for his role as Italian-American crooner Johnny Fontane in “The Godfather.” A real stretch, right?

“I Love You” (Otis Leavill) #63 1/17/1970

The West Side of Chicago was fertile ground for entertainers. Along with his pals Curtis Mayfield and Major Lance, Otis Leavill found success in the music biz, though his was mainly behind the scenes. He helped run Dakar Records and was co-credited with discovering the Chi-Lites and Chaka Khan. Eugene Record, soon to become front man of the Chi-Lites, co-wrote this Top 10 soul hit for Otis.

“I’m So Glad I Fell For You” #53 1/17/1970

By now, David Ruffin’s solo recording career was headed toward one of its many low points. After this gospel-tinged record, none of his singles even charted until 1975’s “Walk Away From Love.” In the 80’s he and Eddie Kendricks, who had his own issues with the Temptations, teamed up with Hall and Oates. Star power!

“Cold Turkey” #30 1/17/1970

As he was in the process of departing the Beatles, John Lennon was trying to give up his addiction to heroin, as was Yoko. The song describes the physical and mental anguish involved. Eric Clapton was on guitar; he’d been asked to join the Plastic Ono Band full time but declined. Ringo pitched in on drums here. The editing and syncing of a live performance by John into the other footage is first rate.

“Midnight Cowboy” #10 1/17/1970

Pianists Arthur Ferrante and Louis Teicher met in the 1930’s as child prodigies at NYC’s Juilliard School of Music. They played light arrangements of classical pieces, show tunes and movie songs, sometimes practicing at the home of Steven Tyler’s granny. F&T were quite successful on the easy listening charts but this was the last of their four Top 10 pop hits.

“Jam Up And Jelly Tight” #8 1/17/1970

The last of six Top 10 singles for Tommy Roe. He co-wrote this and “Dizzy” with Freddy Weller, like Roe a veteran of the 60’s Atlanta music scene. Weller spent six years as a guitarist with Paul Revere and the Raiders. Freddy also began a country music career at this point, using previously booked studio time when the Raiders canceled a recording session; Mark Lindsay agreed to act as his producer.

“Soul Sacrifice”

Rock promoter Bill Graham brought the unknown band Santana from San Francisco to perform at Woodstock. Their performance was absolutely electrifying and landed them a record deal. Turned out Carlos Santana was tripping his ass off at the time. He indulged in some psychedelics backstage, not knowing the band would perform much sooner than he was told. Santana thought (in front of 500,000 people) his guitar was turning into a snake. Yikes. This track from their first album was the centerpiece of that show. 

“Cotton Fields” (CCR)

We recently featured “Midnight Special,” Creedence Clearwater Revival’s version of a blues song from Leadbelly. They also did another of his tunes on “Willy And The Poor Boys.” This became a hit first in 1961 for a folk group, the Highwaymen (not the country supergroup). The Beach Boys had a huge hit outside of America in 1968 with their take. Many, many others have done this song as well.

“Six White Horses” #79 1/10/1970

It’s always tough having a mega-famous sibling. Tommy Cash was the baby brother of the Man in Black. And yes, Tommy had some success in the country music field. Think a countrified “Abraham, Martin And John” here. This was his biggest hit and also snuck onto the Hot 100. He eventually got into real estate and brokered the sale of Johnny and June’s lakefront house near Nashville to Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, who planned massive renovations until a fire destroyed the place in 2007.

“She Lets Her Hair Down” (Tokens) #61 1/10/1970

The Tokens were a doo-wop group that really did try to adapt with the times. But by now they weren’t having a lot of luck on that front. This would be one of their last chart entries. There were at least three versions of this one on the charts in early 1970. Three of the Tokens recorded as Cross Country and made the Top 40 in ‘73 with a much slower remake of Wilson Pickett’s “In The Midnight Hour.”

“Point It Out” #37 1/10/1970

Smokey Robinson was once asked about his songwriting method. He said, “The same notes and chords and basically the same words, except for a few slang words, have been used since the days of Beethoven and Bach. So I just try to say it in a different way and make the best of what I have to work with.” Simple, yet he’s made it work for all these years.

“Evil Woman (Don’t Play Your Games With Me)” #19 1/10/1970

Minnesota wasn’t exactly a hotbed of pop music, at least until Prince came along. Crow was a one-hit wonder from Minneapolis; their drummer, Dennis Craswell, was with the Castaways (also a Twin Cities act) for their sole hit “Liar, Liar.” The record dealt with a guy denying to a woman he was the baby daddy. Sounds like the basis of “Billie Jean” in the 80’s. Black Sabbath (!) recorded this for their first UK album, but it was left off the US release. Ozzy actually did a decent job on that one.

“La La La (If I Had You)” #9 1/10/1970

Bobby Sherman got his first show biz break as a cast member on “Shindig!” before landing a starring role on “Here Come The Brides.” This was his second major hit record, cementing his place as a teen idol. In 1971 Bobby landed another TV series, “Getting Together.” Unfortunately, it was scheduled against “All In The Family” and thus cancelled after only 14 episodes.

“Her Majesty”

A happy accident closed out “Abbey Road.” Paul intended for the 23-second “Her Majesty” to fit between “Mean Mr. Mustard” and “Polythene Pam” in the side 2 medley. But he didn’t like the flow and asked that it be thrown out. However, studio engineer John Kurlander said the staff had strict instructions to never toss anything Beatle-related. So he tacked about 20 seconds worth of blank leader tape and “Her Majesty” onto the end of the album master reel, planning on moving it later. Well, Kurlander forgot. Everyone was startled when this appeared on an early playback, long after “The End.” The boys left it in, creating the first hidden album track. But the still-unreleased “Get Back” album lingered. The drama around that, though...

“The End”

“And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make..." Such a fitting ending to “Abbey Road.” Sucks that they didn’t follow that advice, though, as the Beatles would soon break up. Not only did this close out the LP (sort of) but it contains Ringo’s only extended drum solo with the Beatles, which led into some tasty riffs with Paul, George and John (in that order) trading eight-beat lead guitar runs. But there was a hidden track remaining...

“Carry That Weight”

The next piece of the side 2 “Abbey Road” medley is notable for Paul lamenting the impending breakup of the band - and for Ringo’s prominent vocals. At times McCartney must’ve felt like he was the only one interested in keeping things together long enough to finish the album. This even incorporates elements of “You Never Give Me Your Money” as a way of helping tie a neat little bow on the medley.

“Golden Slumbers”

The concluding section of the “Abbey Road” side 2 medley commences with Paul’s adaptation of a 17th century lullaby written by Thomas Dekker. McCartney was at his dad’s house and saw sheet music for the lullaby on the piano but he couldn’t read music, so he sat down and created his own melody. In a word, this is beautiful. John was still recovering from his car accident and didn’t appear on the track.

“She Came In Through The Bathroom Window”

Sometimes songs come from weird things that happen in one’s life. Paul wrote this piece of the “Abbey Road” medley based on groupies who actually broke into his house. They found a ladder against a wall and yes, came in through the bathroom window. Later, he was in a NYC taxi and saw the cabbie’s last name of Quitts on the license, right above “NY Police Department.” Subliminal influence, perhaps? They later gave the song to Joe Cocker, who had a great remake in a few months.

“Polythene Pam”

Another Lennon song that was considered but not used for the White Album. Polythene is a form of plastic used for trash bags, etc., and John knew a girl that actually ate the stuff. After the band broke up, Lennon was quite dismissive of many songs he wrote with the Beatles. John called it “a bit of crap I wrote while in India.” I don’t understand that mindset, but then I don’t have the inner demons most creative people do, either.

“Mean Mr. Mustard”

Speaking of odd humor, this Lennon song fragment became part of the “Abbey Road” medley. He wrote it while the band was in India; the tune almost made it onto the White Album. John changed Shirley to “his sister Pam” to properly lead into “Polythene Pam.” This was supposed to segue into “Her Majesty,” but Paul had that song edited from the final cut. Most reissues return that track to its original place.

“Sun King”

Several months before “Abbey Road” took shape, Fleetwood Mac released the UK #1 instrumental “Albatross.” This was John Lennon’s response. The original title was “Here Comes The Sun King” but was changed to avoid confusion with George’s similarly named track. It has some spacey guitar with phrases in broken Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. The Beatles’ sense of humor was a little odd that way.

“You Never Give Me Your Money”

By now the Beatles’ outside business ventures were hemorrhaging money. The accountants kept saying the Fab Four were still multimillionaires and would produce figures about this or that investment (“you only give me your funny paper”). But the boys kept wondering where the cold, hard cash was. They brought in Rolling Stones manager Allen Klein as a financial adviser over Paul’s objections. McCartney took a few veiled shots at Klein in the first song of the “Abbey Road” side 2 medley.

“Abbey Road” Side 2 Medley

Yesterday we spoke about when multiple songs should be played as a unit. The 15-minute-plus medley that closes side 2 of “Abbey Road” can be separated into its eight individual tracks (nine if you count “Her Majesty”) but it would sound choppy and disjointed. They deserve to be listened to as one. All were song fragments that the Beatles decided could be combined seamlessly. Here’s a 2009 remastered version of “The Long One” (the medley’s working title), with “Her Majesty” back in its original place before Paul had it edited out. We’ll follow up with some short blurbs and a link for each track. Stand by for a bunch of posts today.

“Heartbreaker”/“Living Loving Maid (She’s Just A Woman)”

These tracks from Led Zeppelin’s second LP are forever linked because album rock radio would always play them together. “Heartbreaker” has one of the greatest guitar solos ever - and Jimmy Page threw it in as an afterthought! Zep made that a huge part of their concerts but “Living Loving Maid” was never done live. Page HATED that song, perhaps because it was about a groupie. Bad vibes, maybe?

“Let It Bleed”

The title track from the Rolling Stones’ current album was a celebration of things the Stones knew something about - namely sex, drugs, and rock and roll. If you listen to this at work you may need the earbuds, since some of the lyrics are a bit NSFW. Mick’s vocals are almost lazy; the slide guitar just plain rocks.

“Midnight Special” (CCR)

We serve up some album tracks over the next few days, starting with CCR’s version of a traditional prison song from the early 20th century. The blues singer Leadbelly had a well-known take on this in the 1930’s; Johnny Rivers had a hit with his in 1965. The term was said to represent many trains that passed near prisons across the South. One popular theory ties the song to a train that carried family members of inmates from Jackson to the Mississippi State Prison in Parchman.

“Come Saturday Morning” (original issue) #83 1/3/1970

A Top 10 easy listening hit for the Sandpipers from the movie “The Sterile Cuckoo.” It got an Oscar nomination for Best Song but lost out to B.J. Thomas. Co-written by Dory Previn, who also co-wrote the theme to “Valley of the Dolls.” This stiffed on the Hot 100 here at first, but lingered and would do much better in a few months.

“Up On Cripple Creek” #25 1/3/1970

A standard of classic rock radio from the Band. It has an incredibly funky clavinet hooked to a wah-wah pedal. Many songs use that same effect, i.e., Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground,” but this was the first one I can recall. The lyrics are a bit disjointed but so what? The B-side was the original of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”

“I Me Mine” (Alternate Version)

January 3, 1970 marked a milestone in Beatles history. George, Paul and Ringo went into the studio to record “I Me Mine” as a last minute addition to the still-unreleased “Get Back” LP and movie. (Our track here is the “Let It Be...Naked” version without the strings added later by Phil Spector.) It was the final time until the 1990’s they recorded as anything resembling a group. They were all, either quietly or in John’s case very publicly, working on solo projects. Lennon privately quit a few months earlier; he had the Plastic Ono Band, and likely wouldn’t have participated on a Harrison-written track anyway. Paul was recording his first album in secret, George was assembling material for his “All Things Must Pass” LP, and even Ringo was working on a solo album of standards. Shortly after this session, a second attempt was made by Glyn Johns to assemble the “Get Back” LP but the group again rejected it. Spector was asked a few months later to make sense of the tapes, albeit without consent and/or full knowledge of George Martin or Paul McCartney. Just another of the many things which led to the band’s breakup.

“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” #1 1/3/1970

Billboard’s first #1 of the 1970’s came from the Paul Newman/Robert Redford movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” The tune won an Oscar for Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and was the initial #1 for B.J. Thomas. He wasn’t the first choice to record the song, however. It was originally offered to Ray Stevens, then to Bob Dylan; both turned it down. Dionne Warwick recommended her label mate B.J. to Burt and Hal. Chuck Findley played the famous trumpet solos.

“Don’t Let Him Take Your Love From Me” #45 12/27/1969

Much like Gladys Knight and other older Motown artists, the Four Tops were slowly being nudged aside by the label in favor of newer, hipper acts. Definitely a familiar refrain in American business. When Motown moved their operations to L.A. in 1972, many of those folks stayed behind in Detroit, including the Tops.

“Gimme Shelter”

We begin 1970 with one from “Let It Bleed,” an eerie Rolling Stones track (recorded months before their disastrous Altamont show) which correctly foretold the end of 60’s peace and love. During the late night overdubs, Mick and Keith decided they needed a female voice so they called in a pregnant Merry Clayton, who showed up in pajamas and curlers. She hit some ridiculous high notes; the stress reportedly caused a miscarriage. Merry also sang backup on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and the final #1 of the 1960’s, “Someday We’ll Be Together.”