“Love On A Two-Way Street” #3 5/30/1970

Sometimes a group’s history can be very convoluted. The Moments started out while attending Howard University in Washington, DC. After a few years and many personnel changes, this record was their first real success. After many more personnel changes (and for legal reasons) they became Ray, Goodman and Brown, scoring a #1 soul hit and Top 5 pop hit in 1979 with “Special Lady.”

“Everything Is Beautiful” #1 5/30/1970

Ray Stevens was known far more for his goofy novelty records than any serious stuff. So this very uplifting single came out of nowhere for his first #1 record. The kids singing the intro were from the elementary school in Nashville that two of Ray’s daughters attended. A good message for these times. Especially these times.

“I’ve Got A Feeling”

Another track from the “Let It Be” album, from the Beatles’ rooftop mini-concert. Much like “A Day In The Life,” it’s pieced together from two unfinished songs. McCartney’s contribution was a love song of sorts to Linda; John’s tune, frankly, was a bit more...meh. Still a down and dirty rocker.

“I Me Mine”

From the “Let It Be” LP, this is notable for being the last new song recorded until the 90’s by anything resembling the Beatles as a group. A snippet landed in the movie, so George (who wrote the tune), Ringo and Paul fleshed out the track almost a year (1/3/70) after the rest of the album was completed. John was on vacation and besides, he hardly played on George’s songs and already quit the band anyway. Phil Spector repeated a section to make it run longer than the original 94 seconds.

“The Seeker” #44 5/23/1970

The first Who single released after the success of the rock opera “Tommy.” It’s about Pete Townshend trying to find some semblance of spirituality, and actually rocks pretty good. Townshend said later he wrote the song while drunk out of his gourd stumbling around at 3 AM in a Florida swamp, covered in burrs and mosquito bites. Inspiration sometimes comes from strange circumstances.

“Viva Tirado” #28 5/23/1970

Only infrequently did a Latino group reach the easy listening Top 10. The first single from the band El Chicano did just that. These guys came from the heavily Hispanic area of East Los Angeles. This instrumental certainly shows influences from many sources - rock, salsa, you name it. Pretty cool little tune.

“What Is Truth” #19 5/23/1970

We give you a Johnny Cash single that was Top 5 on the country and easy listening charts and Top 20 on the pop side. It was considered a protest song of sorts, where the Man in Black questioned plenty of society’s norms. Not many country songs or country performers went out on a limb like that. Great Memorial Day message.

“Turn Back The Hands Of Time” #3 5/23/1970

The second major hit from Tyrone Davis. This one just grooves right on along, with backing vocals from Barbara Acklin and future Chi-Lites front man Eugene Record. Tyrone wouldn’t have much success on the pop charts after this, but kept having hits on the soul charts well up into the 1980’s. He passed away in 2005.

“Vehicle” #2 5/23/1970

It’s a little unfair to call the Ides of March a one-hit wonder. They barely missed the Top 40 with “You Wouldn’t Listen” in 1966. The horns that kick off this song are just GREAT. And 14 seconds of the master tape were accidentally erased! Lead singer Jim Peterik said they scrambled to find an alternate take to fill that gap. Listen closely from the second "Great God in heaven" up into the guitar solo, and it was spliced in perfectly. The band would break up, Peterik later began Survivor and co-wrote “Eye Of The Tiger” for the Rocky III movie. The Ides re-formed and are still doing gigs around their home area of Chicago. I absolutely love this record!

“Across The Universe”

Also from the “Let It Be” LP, this John song was first done in 1968 at the “Lady Madonna” sessions. It sat unreleased until the Beatles were asked to contribute a song to a charity album in late 1969. Phil Spector then slowed down the track, adding a choir and orchestra. He removed bird sounds from the intro and backing vocals by two girls Paul brought in off the street. The end of each chorus (“Jai guru deva, om”) is a Sanskrit phrase which roughly translates as “Victory to God divine.”

“Dig A Pony”

One off the “Let It Be” album and the famed rooftop concert, complete with a false start because Ringo was putting out a cigarette. It’s more of the Bob Dylan-like stream of consciousness lyrics John was leaning on heavily. He thought of it as just a throwaway, which he seemed to believe a lot toward the end of the Beatles.

“Proper Stranger”

From the “American Woman” album, we present the B-side to “No Time” from the Guess Who. It’s a pretty good rocker. Randy Bachman left the band just after this LP due to gall bladder issues and a conversion to Mormonism. He formed a group called Brave Belt, which morphed into Bachman-Turner Overdrive a few years later.

“Almost Cut My Hair”

Album tracks for the next few days, starting with one from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s “Déjà Vu.” David Crosby sounded positively angry on this counterculture anthem about not trimming one’s hair in order to conform. His girlfriend had just died in a car wreck, so he gets a pass. The band wasn’t exactly getting along by this point - imagine that.

“Hey Lawdy Mama” #35 5/16/1970

The last Top 40 single from Steppenwolf for over four years was one of the earliest records using a voice box hooked up to a guitar. Country music steel guitarist Pete Drake invented the effect a few years earlier. Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton and others would popularize the sound a few years later.

“Airport” Love Theme #31 5/16/1970

Vincent Bell was a session guitarist (he played the intro on “The Sounds Of Silence”) who helped bring unique electronic sounds onto records, like the watery guitar on this Top 5 easy listening single. The movie this was from spawned several sequels, and also one of the funniest parodies ever. “Airport” was a 1970 big-budget disaster flick with an all-star cast, and generally got bad reviews because it really was very overblown. “Airplane!” took the premise wayyyyy out into left field. Surely you can’t be serious...

“For The Love Of Him” #13 5/16/1970

I suppose the only thing weirder than being a one-hit wonder is being a two-hit wonder five years apart. Bobbi Martin got started in the Baltimore area clubs before “Don’t Forget I Still Love You” made the Top 20 in 1965. This decidedly non-feminist record was her last hit before she passed away in 2000.

“Lucifer” #84 5/9/1970

One from Bob Seger that just plain ROCKS. He was becoming legendary in his native Detroit, but still struggled to break through nationwide after “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man.” One night he’d be on a bill before 80,000 at the Silverdome in Pontiac, MI, then play to a few hundred in Chicago the next. Bob’s national success didn’t really happen until 1977 and “Night Moves.” But when it did happen...

“Ticket To Ride” (Carpenters) #54 5/9/1970

The first chart record from siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter, which also reached the easy listening Top 20, was a very slowed-down version of the Beatles classic. They had scuffled for years to make it; Karen had even auditioned to join Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. They were ready to do some ads for Ford when Herb Alpert offered them a record deal, so they turned down $50,000 each and a new car. Karen and Richard made a few demos at the home studio of Joe Osborn of the Wrecking Crew, who later played bass on almost all their hits.

“Oh Happy Day” (Glen Campbell) #40 5/9/1970

We give you Glen Campbell’s Top 10 easy listening version of the surprise 1968 hit by the Edwin Hawkins Singers. Glen was in the middle of his TV’s show’s successful four-season run on CBS, which was one of the few rural-themed shows to survive being cancelled in favor of programs geared to city slickers. Long running hits such as “The Beverly Hillbillies” and “Green Acres” weren’t so lucky.

“Woodstock” (CSN&Y) #11 5/9/1970

A song written about the most famous music festival ever, by someone who wasn’t even there! Joni Mitchell tried to attend the last day of Woodstock, but her manager felt it was more important to stay in NYC and appear on Dick Cavett’s show the next night. She saw news reports, called then-boyfriend Graham Nash (who was there performing) and wrote a tune that perfectly captured the vibe. Joni put it out as the B-side of “Big Yellow Taxi.” Meanwhile, Nash brought it to his bandmates Crosby, Stills and Young for the group to record. Jimi Hendrix played on an early demo with Crosby and Stills; man, I’d love to hear that.

“Reflections Of My Life” #10 5/9/1970

The only US hit for the Scottish group Marmalade. They were poised for bigger things over here, but their manager turned down a chance for the group to open for Three Dog Night on a tour. Nothing else they did came close to this one in the States. The song features a somewhat backwards guitar solo.

“No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature” #1 5/9/1970

The flip side of “American Woman” came from a situation where Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings had each written short, somewhat incomplete songs. They combined the two, except Burton’s “New Mother Nature” was edited out of the 45. Randy was in California when he encountered some biker types on the sidewalk. Just as he was ready to cross the street to avoid a bad scene, a car pulled up and a tiny woman got out to berate her significant other for running out and leaving the kids. Her last words were, “And you ain’t getting no sugar tonight!” “New Mother Nature,” included here, is considered to be pretty much of a pot song these days.

RIP, Little Richard

From the moment you heard one of his songs, you knew it was a Little Richard record. Verse-chorus-verse-chorus, then a sax solo that would peel the wallpaper right off the walls. Anyone’s Mt. Rushmore of the founding fathers of rock has to have Richard Penniman on it. Rock on, dude.

“American Woman” #1 5/9/1970

Once in a while a hit will come from odd circumstances. The Guess Who was doing a small club gig in Ontario when Randy Bachman broke a string. He developed the iconic riff while re-tuning his guitar and the others rushed back onstage to join in; lead singer Burton Cummings improvised lyrics on the fly. A guy in the crowd was secretly recording the show so the band refined the song from his tape. Cummings later said the words reflected how American girls seemed to mature and become jaded far quicker than Canadian girls, and wasn’t meant as a knock against the US. Hey, this just plain rocks. The album version here has a minute-plus preamble edited from the single.

“Two Of Us”

The opening track from the final album issued by the Beatles as a working group. It was written by Paul as an ode to hopping in the car and getting lost on a road trip to nowhere. The early sessions spotlighted tensions between Paul and George plus an issue between George and John where punches were supposedly thrown, which led to Harrison quitting the group for a week. Phil Spector, in one of a slew of questionable choices, included a random sound bite of John’s to kick off the song.

“Let It Be” Album - “Speaking words of wisdom”

After delays of well over a year, the final studio LP from the Beatles was issued on this date in 1970 in the UK (10 days later in America) along with an accompanying film. Since the band already split up, none of them even bothered to attend the movie premiere. At first after the White Album, they considered doing either a show from Mt. Everest or a live TV gig via satellite from an ocean liner in the middle of the Atlantic. Then the idea, mainly Paul’s, became a back-to-basics album along with a film documenting the process from conception to recording. Instead, it highlighted strains leading to implosion of the greatest rock band ever. The group spent all of January 1969 in the studio (during which George briefly quit and allegedly got into a fistfight with John) culminating in the Apple rooftop concert. Billy Preston was brought in to smooth things over, which seemed to help. Two prior attempts by Glyn Johns at assembling the LP were rejected. “Abbey Road” was even recorded and issued in the interim, after which John secretly left the group in September ’69.

Finally in March 1970 Lennon and Harrison invited Phil Spector to make sense of the tapes. He went wild, adding strings and backing singers, etc., reminiscent of his Wall of Sound productions; it sort of defeated the stated purpose of a stripped-down record. Sir George Martin and McCartney were left out of the loop. Martin half-jokingly said the credits should’ve read, “Produced by George Martin, over-produced by Phil Spector.” The omission of “Don’t Let Me Down” from the album was baffling. Spector also included snippets of random studio banter between some tracks, also somewhat puzzling. The 2003 “Let It Be...Naked” remix was more bare-bones and probably closer to the original concept. After he quit, Paul blocked release of “The Long And Winding Road” as a single in the UK. Some of the LP’s songs are classics, one or two are clunkers, and a few are in between. Altogether it didn’t quite turn out how the Beatles’ swan song should be remembered.

“Maybe I’m Amazed” (Studio Version)

For whatever reason, Paul McCartney chose to not release any singles from his first solo album after departing the Beatles. This track, however, was arguably the best tune from that LP and received lots of airplay on FM radio. A live version with his band Wings did reach the Top 10 in 1977. It’s a love song to his new wife Linda. Definitely a personal favorite.

“Them Changes” #87 5/2/1970

Buddy Miles was one of rock’s top drummers, working with everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Wilson Pickett to Carlos Santana. He was a member of Hendrix’s final group, Band of Gypsys. After a couple of prison stints he became lead vocalist of the animated California Raisins, one of the most popular ad campaigns of the 1980’s. This album rock fixture resurfaced a few weeks later and topped out at #81.

“Deeper (In Love With You)” #64 5/2/1970

The latest effort from the O’Jays. They bounced around on several different labels with limited success on the R&B charts, but never really had that huge pop breakthrough. It took a move several years later to Philadelphia International Records for them to achieve national success. Video is from “Soul Train.”

“You Need Love Like I Do (Don’t You)” #25 5/2/1970

A Top 5 soul smash from Gladys Knight and the Pips. Gladys started out at the age of 7 appearing on Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour, a prehistoric prototype of “America’s Got Talent.” She and several family members began winning talent shows in the Atlanta area. They based their name on a cousin, James “Pip” Woods.

“Something’s Burning” #11 5/2/1970

Pop songs were becoming a tad more daring by 1970. Here’s a prime example from Kenny Rogers and the First Edition of a tune with some overtly sexual content. Some radio stations were a little skittish about the lyrics, or else it would’ve done even better. The intro is based on a heartbeat played backwards. You could tell Kenny was destined for much bigger things as a solo act. RIP, Gambler.

“Love Or Let Me Be Lonely” #6 5/2/1970

The last big hit for the Friends of Distinction. Barbara Jean Love had taken some time off due to her pregnancy and was temporarily replaced by Charlene Gibson, who sang lead here. The group split up in 1975 but Floyd Butler and Harry Elston were re-forming the act when Butler died of a heart attack in 1980. Elston went ahead with the new group, which I think is still touring as of this writing.

“Nothing Succeeds Like Success” #62 4/25/1970

The final chart record from Bill Deal and the Rhondels. Their style garnered them a few national hits, but after this the group went back to the Carolina beach music circuit. The band had a gig in Richmond, VA in 1979 when their guitarist was shot and killed by a man who also sexually assaulted the dude’s wife. Bill soon got out of the business.