“Baby Let’s Wait” #35 2/1/1969

A reissue of the first single by the Royal Guardsmen made the Top 40 after bombing  on its original go-round. It was their last chart entry - after the Snoopy/Red Baron stuff, they just couldn’t shake that novelty act label. They kept at it for a brief period around their home area of Ocala, FL but soon split up. An unexpected sound here.

“Blackberry Way” #1 UK

This week’s UK #1 single came from the Move, perhaps the best British Invasion-era band to never make a dent in America. The song might be the darker cousin to “Penny Lane.” The band took on a more progressive sound in the early 70’s. Several members, including later addition Jeff Lynne, became the nucleus as the group morphed into Electric Light Orchestra in a few years. This one’s a personal favorite.

“Hey Jude” (Wilson Pickett) #23 2/1/1969

It was Duane Allman’s suggestion to Wilson Pickett at the FAME studios in Muscle Shoals that he record this recent Beatles hit. At first, Pickett thought it was crazy to even try, but he came around. Duane’s guitar work impressed Eric Clapton so much that he contacted Allman to join him on the Derek & the Dominoes project. And that’s how “Layla” came to pass...

“Stand By Your Man” #19 (#1 Country) 2/1/1969

One of the defining country music songs of all time, twangy as can be, yet it still made the pop Top 20. Tammy Wynette was unsure of her songwriting ability; I believe those doubts were thoroughly dispelled. She and producer Billy Sherrill wrote the song in 15 minutes, and Tammy said she spent a lifetime defending it from feminists. But it’s actually rather empowering - ‘cause after all, he’s just a man...

“If I Can Dream” #12 2/1/1969

This was the final song of the Elvis comeback special, which aired in December 1968. Colonel Parker flatly said in a meeting it wasn’t his guy’s kind of material. The King, who unbeknownst to the Colonel had entered the room, said he wanted to try it. The song became one of the most powerful entries in the Elvis repertoire because he put his heart into it. Some lines directly quoted Dr. Martin Luther King.

“Worst That Could Happen” #3 2/1/1969

Johnny Mastrangelo was once the front man for the Crests (“16 Candles” the song, not the movie). A former bandmate was Patricia Vandross, Luther’s sister. They appeared on Ed Sullivan, who mangled his name into Johnny Maestro - it stuck. He then became part of an 11-person band; their managers said it would be easier to sell the Brooklyn Bridge than to book their act. That stuck, too. This was a note-for-note cover of a Jimmy Webb song first done by the 5th Dimension as an album cut. Johnny passed away in 2010. Great set of pipes, and I miss him.

“Crimson And Clover” #1 2/1/1969

Wonder how many parents named their kids after this song, which represented a total break from the bubblegum past for Tommy James and the Shondells. And this mix wasn’t what we were supposed to hear! Tommy had a gig in Chicago the day after the session and took a raw tape to WLS Radio for a private listening by a few staffers. However, someone at the station pirated the rough mix and put it on the air right after he left! The response was so great Tommy’s label didn’t let him change anything. Since albums were now trendy, a trippy extended version of C&C was created from the single (instead of a single edited from a longer take) and that LP took off - first album I ever bought! The LP mix had a few technical errors, like a change in pitch at the beginning of the guitar solo plus several iffy tape splices; thanks to digital editing, those were magically fixed decades later. The song was covered by everyone from Prince to Dolly Parton, but Joan Jett’s take kicks ass!