“Engine Number 9” #14 11/28/1970

No, this isn’t a remake of the Roger Miller country song from 1965. Wilson Pickett, after recording virtually all of his music in either Memphis or Muscle Shoals, went to Philadelphia this time to work with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The result was a much less raw sound than his previous Southern soul records.

“See Me, Feel Me” #12 11/28/1970

One taken from a portion of the final passage in the Who’s rock opera “Tommy.” They performed this at Woodstock in 1969, and it was featured in the festival documentary movie released earlier in 1970. The group closed out the second night of the festival - well, maybe it was more like dawn of the third day. Rock and roll, baby.

“Patch It Up” #11 11/28/1970

The other side of Elvis’s current 45 was co-written by future country star Eddie Rabbitt, who co-wrote “Kentucky Rain.” Also co-written by Rory Bourke, who had a hand in writing “The Most Beautiful Girl” for Charlie Rich and “You Look So Good In Love” for George Strait. The King did what may be described as some scat singing at the end, which for me kinda detracted from the song.

“You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” (Elvis) #11 11/28/1970

We give you both sides of the current single from Elvis. This side was an Italian song first done in English by Dusty Springfield. She participated in the 1965 Sanremo music festival, heard this and it brought her to tears. The English words are nothing like the original Italian lyrics, but so what? Dusty did such a wonderful job on the song - Elvis put his own spin on it and racked up a #1 easy listening hit.

“Heaven Help Us All” #9 11/28/1970

The eleventh Top 10 single from Stevie Wonder was quite gospel-tinged. He had just married Syreeta Wright, who sang background on several Motown hits from the late 60’s. They co-wrote “It’s A Shame” with Lee Garrett for the Spinners. Stevie and Syreeta divorced after only 18 months but remained good friends.

“Montego Bay” #8 11/28/1970

There are sad stories in rock history, and Bobby Bloom’s story is right up there. He co-wrote “Mony Mony” which helped him land a gig collaborating with producer Jeff Barry. This would be his only hit as a performer. Such a happy song, but Bobby suffered from depression and was found to have accidentally killed himself in 1974 while cleaning his gun. His family disputed that finding, claiming it was a homicide.

“Wild Weekend” #8 3/9/1963

The theme to dozens of radio shows over the years was a rockin’ little instrumental, but it’s a little more complicated than that. Tom Shannon, a DJ at Buffalo’s WKBW, co-wrote the song in 1959 and used it for his show. A local group, the Rebels (named after Duane Eddy’s band) asked to record an instrumental version and Shannon agreed. The band became the Rockin’ Rebels to avoid any confusion. It became a local hit but languished for several years until a Syracuse DJ, Jimmy O’Brien, used the song. Long story short, the record finally caught fire nationally in the spring of 1963 and a one-hit wonder took off years after the fact. A personal fave.

“A Swingin’ Safari” #13 9/8/1962

Most people would recognize this as the opening theme to TV’s original “Match Game” hosted by Gene Rayburn. Billy Vaughn had a September 1962 hit with his version of an instrumental from German bandleader Bert Kaempfert. (In Hamburg, Bert was the first to record the Beatles.) There are numerous similarities to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” a.k.a. “Wimoweh.” That piccolo and that trumpet solo, though...

“Southern Man”

From Neil Young’s “After The Gold Rush” album, his scathing take on life down South. It ticked off a whole lot of folks and prompted a response from Lynyrd Skynyrd with “Sweet Home Alabama.” But the whole thing blew over; Young and Skynyrd’s Ronnie Van Zandt actually became good friends. Neil even wrote a couple of songs for Skynyrd, but their 1977 plane crash happened and that idea went away.

“I Can’t Believe That You Stopped Loving Me” #71 (#1 Country) 11/21/1970

A recent country #1 for Charley Pride (his fifth) snuck onto the pop charts as well. Before his music career took off Charley had a background in semi-pro and lower level minor league baseball along with a couple of major league tryouts. So it came as no surprise when he eventually became a part owner of MLB’s Texas Rangers.

“As The Years Go By” #31 11/21/1970

We’ve mentioned CanCon, the requirement by the CRTC (Canada’s version of the FCC) that to prevent the encroaching Americanization of their culture, a certain percentage of radio and TV programming had to have content from Canadian sources. One of the biggest beneficiaries was the band Mashmakhan from suburban Montreal. They racked up a #1 in their home country with this creepy-sounding tune. The band took their name from a strain of hashish sold in their area. Oooookay.

“Super Bad (Pts. 1 and 2)” #13 11/21/1970

More unmistakable funk from James Brown, and more evidence he had the tightest band in the business. This wasn’t one of those two-part singles that JB was famous for doing. Nope, you got Parts 1, 2 and 3 for your money. Parts 1 and 2 were on the same side of the 45 so that’s what became the hit, a #1 on the soul charts. Jump back! I wanna kiss myself! (Yes, he actually said that here.)

“I Think I Love You” #1 11/21/1970

I’ve spoken many times in this blog about the talented Wrecking Crew, L.A.’s top-flight studio musicians of the 60’s and 70’s. They could sound like anybody, even a fake Cowsills-type family act. The WC made the music throughout the Partridge Family TV show’s run. David Cassidy and Shirley Jones were the only cast members that actually sang on the records; the Ron Hicklin Singers handled the other vocals. I think the great Larry Knechtel played the harpsichord here. The Partridges joined the Chipmunks and the Archies as the only fictional groups to this point that had a #1 hit. (The Monkees eventually played their own instruments.)

“Thank God And Greyhound” #90 11/14/1970

A recent Top 10 country record from Roy Clark that also reached the lower end of the pop charts. It’s your basic tune about how much a guy loves his woman but she decides to leave him. The guy finally had enough, so as her bus pulls away he says “Thank God and Greyhound you’re gone!!” The stuff of a thousand country songs.

“Fifteen Years Ago” #81 (#1 Country) 11/14/1970

Next week’s #1 country single got into the lower reaches of the Hot 100 for Conway Twitty. It was his fifth chart-topper, or sixth if you count his pop #1 “It’s Only Make Believe” in 1958. Despite all of his success, Conway was never a member of the Grand Ole Opry. A glaring omission, but the Opry had a rule that required their members to appear on a given number of the Saturday night radio broadcasts. Some performers just didn’t want to give up those lucrative weekend concert gigs.

“And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind” (Mark Lindsay) #44 11/17/1970

In January 1969, Neil Diamond was all set to record in Memphis until Elvis decided at the last minute to use the same studio as a way of breaking Col. Parker’s iron grip on his career. The King did record this song of Neil’s as a sort of thank you for the inconvenience. Here’s Mark Lindsay’s version; the clip has an intro from Top 40 station CJME in Regina, Saskatchewan. Neil eventually cut “Holly Holy” and “Sweet Caroline” among others at those postponed sessions.

“Stand By Your Man” (Candi Staton) #24 11/14/1970

We’ve said many times in this space there isn’t much difference between country music and soul music, only in its presentation. Case in point: Candi Staton’s Top 5 soul remake of Tammy Wynette’s signature song. We’ll disregard the fact that she was married six times (Tammy only got hitched five). At that time Candi was married to hubby #2, Clarence Carter; they divorced several years later.

“Cry Me A River” (Joe Cocker) #11 11/14/1970

Another track from Joe Cocker’s live “Mad Dogs And Englishmen” LP, most famously done in 1955 by Julie London. Originally meant for Ella Fitzgerald, the song was written by Julie’s high school classmate Arthur Hamilton. She had just divorced Jack Webb, Sgt. Friday from “Dragnet.” Bobby Troup (famous for writing Nat King Cole’s “Route 66”) produced Julie’s million-selling version; they later married and would co-star on TV’s “Emergency!” produced and co-created by...her ex-husband Jack Webb.

“It Don’t Matter To Me” #10 11/14/1970

Sometimes an act will take one of their previous songs, re-do the track, and it will take off. The group Bread re-recorded one from their first album by doing the song slower and in a different key, and this time it became their second huge single. By now, David Gates had assembled a reasonably decent band around him.

“Somebody’s Been Sleeping” #8 11/14/1970

We revisit the one-hit wonder category, this time from a Holland-Dozier-Holland employed group called 100 Proof (Aged In Soul). One of the co-lead singers was Joe Stubbs, brother of Four Tops front man Levi Stubbs. Nope, these guys never had another hit. The fleeting price of fame...

“Percolator” #10 3/17/1962

I’m old enough to remember before automatic coffee makers, when that magic elixir could only be brewed on the stove or with an electric percolator. Music executive Lew Bedell suggested to several studio musicians (later part of the Wrecking Crew) that they record an instrumental Twist version of the Maxwell House ad jingle - “good to the last drop.” They had a previous hit as B. Bumble and the Stingers (“Bumble Boogie”) and did it again here in March 1962 as Billy Joe and the Checkmates.

“Let There Be Drums” #7 12/18/1961

Influential rock drummer Sandy Nelson had a few instrumental hits back in the day, like this one from December 1961. He went to high school with Jan and Dean and was once in a group with those guys along with future Beach Boy Bruce Johnston. Nelson found steady work as a session drummer until a 1963 motorcycle accident that required amputation of part of his right leg. Yikes.

“Something” (Shirley Bassey) #55 11/7/1970

One of the most recorded songs of the 20th century was this George Harrison composition. Frank Sinatra said it was the greatest love song ever written. Here’s a Top 10 easy listening take from Shirley Bassey, best known for her version of the “Goldfinger” theme. Shirley is still out there in her eighties doing gigs.

“Fresh Air” #49 11/7/1970

We spoke the other day about counterculture bands. Quicksilver Messenger Service was right up there in that field. Their lineup was, shall we say, rather loosely knit due to a lot of drug busts over the years leading to stays for several members at the Graybar Hotel. But hey, they were from San Francisco...

“Make It Easy On Yourself” (Dionne Warwick) #37 11/7/1970

A Top 5 easy listening hit from Dionne Warwick, a live remake of the 1962 Jerry Butler smash that she recorded at the Garden States Arts Center in New Jersey. She did the original demo for Burt Bacharach and Hal David before her stardom, but the label’s owner nixed putting out Dionne’s version and allowed Butler to release it instead. Bacharach and David promised a miffed Warwick another tune which became her first single, “Don’t Make Me Over.” Thus began a long association that resulted in many of Dionne’s hits until Burt and Hal dissolved their partnership in the early 70’s.

“Lucretia Mac Evil” #29 11/7/1970

As the 70’s progressed, record labels looked frequently for acts with counterculture credentials. Blood, Sweat and Tears once had quite the following in that demographic, but their standing may have taken a hit by doing a Caesars Palace gig and a State Department sponsored tour of Eastern Europe. Some now thought of the band as sellouts. This was written by David Clayton-Thomas before he joined BS&T.

“Indiana Wants Me” #5 11/7/1970

R. Dean Taylor was part of a songwriting collective known as The Clan which wrote a number of hits for Motown such as “Love Child.” This would be his only US hit as a performer but as he was born in Toronto, Taylor benefited from new rules (CanCon) giving preference in that country to Canadian acts. Part of the record’s success came thanks to heavy airplay on Windsor, Ont. (Detroit’s) 50,000 watt CKLW. The 45 had sirens at the beginning, and complaints soon came from motorists who pulled over upon hearing the record on the radio. A remix was provided omitting that part.

“Our House” (CSN&Y) #30 10/31/1970

You wouldn’t think the counterculture would produce a slice-of-life ditty, but this Graham Nash-written track from “Déjà Vu” did just that. Nash was involved with Joni Mitchell at the time and they had gone antiquing one day. Joni bought an inexpensive vase and when they got home Graham really did say a close approximation of "I'll light the fire while you place the flowers in the vase that you bought today.”

“Deeper And Deeper” #24 10/31/1970

The follow up to “Band Of Gold” from Freda Payne. She started out as a jazz singer and also did some acting in the theatrical field. Once again due to legalities from their ongoing litigation against Motown, the Holland-Dozier-Holland trio had to use the pseudonym Edythe Wayne as a co-writing credit here. The beat goes on...

“God, Love And Rock And Roll” #22 10/31/1970

Yet another one-hit wonder found its way onto the charts here. Drummer David Teegarden and organist Skip Knape (“Van Winkle”) were both from Tulsa and met in L.A. thanks to fellow Tulsan Leon Russell. They moved to Detroit and made a couple of albums, but this was their shining moment. Teegarden went on to become Bob Seger’s drummer for a few years.

“El Condor Pasa” #18 10/31/1970

Occasionally an act will rework an older song, but rarely will they reach back this far. Paul Simon first heard this 1913 Peruvian tune when he saw the band Los Incas in Paris back in 1965. He stayed in touch with them, and when he and Art Garfunkel recorded this they used the Los Incas instrumental version as a backing track. Of course, Simon would later adapt many other forms of world music, i.e., “Graceland.”

“Look What They’ve Done To My Song, Ma” #14 10/31/1970

After Judith Durham left the Seekers for a solo career in 1968 and the act broke up, group member Keith Potger assembled the New Seekers to carry on with a more pop-oriented vision. After a few tweaks in the lineup, they covered this tune (written and first done by Melanie) and found some success.

“Express Yourself” #12 10/31/1970

A Top 5 soul hit from Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band that you hear everywhere from TV commercials to video games to samples in rap records. The bass line is just unbelievable. The band went through many incarnations before splitting up shortly after this. Ahhh, the price of success.

“It’s Only Make Believe” (Glen Campbell) #10 10/31/1970

Boy, this one came out of nowhere given all that was going on in 1970 with society as a whole. Glen Campbell’s remake of Conway Twitty’s 1958 smash became a Top 5 country hit and Top 10 on the pop charts. Perhaps surprisingly, even though it was a signature song for Conway, Twitty’s ‘58 version never made it onto the country charts. Glen acquitted himself rather well here.

“Fire And Rain” #3 10/31/1970

The first hit single from James Taylor dealt with several events in his life. Susie Schnerr (Suzanne) was a childhood friend who committed suicide while James was in London completing his first album for Apple Records. “Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground” referred to an old band of his, not the British group that did “Smile A Little Smile For Me” nor a plane crash. He finished writing the song while in rehab for drug and mental health issues. Carole King played piano here.