I wish this was for the top 10, because some songs I really like just missed the cutoff and some that I really don’t actually made it:
Week of March 4, 1973:
1 Killing Me Softly With His Song Roberta Flack
2 The Last Song Edward Bear
3 **Could It Be I’m Falling In Love ** The Spinners
4 Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001) Deodato
5 Rocky Mountain High John Denver
6 Love Train The O’Jays
7 Dueling Banjos Eric Weissberg
8 **The Cover Of The Rolling Stone ** Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show
9 Do It Again Steely Dan
10 Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye) Gladys Knight & The Pips
I was at a jam last weekend where an impromptu version of this song was performed. I was in the audience chiming in on the background vocals: “Rolling STO-O-O-ONE…” Fun.
1 My Sweet Lord/Isn’t It a Pity - George Harrison
2 One Less Bell to Answer - The 5th Dimension
3 Knock Three Times - Dawn
4 The Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
5 Black Magic Woman - Santana
Around this time they had us singing “My Sweet Lord” in church (although for some unexplained reason they omitted the “Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa” chant).
Remember “Knock Three Times”? You had to have been there or you won’t have any idea of it. It seemed to be all over the radio and everything for a brief while. It just fit with the Zeitgeist of pop-rock in that era and then is heard no more.
“Black Magic Woman” is and has always been one of my favorite songs! I still play my own guitar arrangement of it. ¡Santana reina! A great counterexample to all the grouching that the '70s hit parade sucked.
…And yet singles in the '70s don’t even begin to tell the whole story. September '71 saw the release of John Lennon’s Imagine.
1 3 I’M A BELIEVER –•– The Monkees (Colgems)-4 (1 week at #1) (1)
2 7 SNOOPY VS. THE RED BARON –•– The Royal Guardsmen (Laurie)-3 (2)
3 1 WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL –•– The New Vaudeville Band (Fontana)-10 (1)
4 4 THAT’S LIFE –•– Frank Sinatra (Reprise)-7 (4)
5 6 SUGAR TOWN –•– Nancy Sinatra (Reprise)-7 (5)
6 2 MELLOW YELLOW –•– Donovan (Epic)-8 (2)
I go to 6 because I loved, loved, loved that song.
I goofed on the above. I wasn’t paying attention and took the first ones I saw, from early January 1971. When I was still 11.
So I’d like a do-over for my actual 12th birthday week in September 1971:
1 Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond (Eeeww! I always hated that one)
2 Spanish Harlem – Aretha Franklin (Yes! Aretha! in Black and Spanish Harlem. She did this one to perfection)
3 Ain’t No Sunshine – Bill Withers (I know, I know, I know…)
4 Maggie May / Reason to Believe – Rod Stewart (not bad… fits with the Zeitgeist of '71 quite well)
5 Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey – Paul and Linda McCartney (Butter pie?!)
Wow. I had no idea that Gary Lewis & the Playboys had not one, not two, but seven Top 10 hits. And I don’t remember a single one of them other than “This Diamond Ring.”
Week ending July 15, 1972 (as it happens, my exact birthday)
1 LEAN ON ME –•– Bill Withers
Loved it at the time; got real sick of it later; now I like it again.
2 TOO LATE TO TURN BACK NOW –•– Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
Liked it at the time; like it even more now.
3 OUTA-SPACE / I WROTE A SIMPLE SONG –•– Billy Preston
I’m not much for pop instrumentals, but Outa-Space was okay.
I don’t recall the flip-side.
4 SONG SUNG BLUE –•– Neil Diamond
Ugh.
5 BRANDY (You’re a Fine Girl) –•– Looking Glass
Liked it at first, but it got way over-played. Still sick of it to this day.
Now I know why I listened to the Oldies until I was 20.
Week ending January 18, 1992 (#4 is a very good song, the rest is crap)
1 BLACK OR WHITE –•– Michael Jackson
2 ALL 4 LOVE –•– Color Me Badd
3 CAN’T LET GO –•– Mariah Carey
4 DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME –•– George Michael & Elton John
5 FINALLY –•– Ce Ce Peniston
Not too many that I care about, or remember.
The Week Ending 22nd November, 1959
1 MR. BLUE –•– The Fleetwoods
2 MACK THE KNIFE –•– Bobby Darin [like Ella’s version better]
3 DON’T YOU KNOW –•– Della Reese
4 PUT YOUR HEAD ON MY SHOULDER –•– Paul Anka [classic slow-dance number for years to come!]
5 HEARTACHES BY THE NUMBER –•– Guy Mitchell [don’t care for this one]
And then, all the way down here, the first record I ever necked to.
20 MISTY –•– Johnny Mathis
Not a whole lot of change in a week. Specifically the week ending January 25, 1992:
1 ALL 4 LOVE –•– Color Me Badd
2 CAN’T LET GO –•– Mariah Carey
3 DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME –•– George Michael & Elton John
4 BLACK OR WHITE –•– Michael Jackson
5 FINALLY –•– Ce Ce Peniston
Not a whole lot of change in a week. Specifically the week ending January 25, 1992:
1 ALL 4 LOVE –•– Color Me Badd
2 CAN’T LET GO –•– Mariah Carey
3 DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME –•– George Michael & Elton John
4 BLACK OR WHITE –•– Michael Jackson
5 FINALLY –•– Ce Ce Peniston
I would say this was the nadir of pop music, but I just came here from the Top Singles of 1974 thread.
