[MPIPM 3/???] 1970 3rd Quarter Ranked
Jan. 12th, 2021 12:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
damontThe "summer" quarter of 1970 brings FIVE (5) songs to the Quarterly Top Hits List that did not make Billboard's year-end top 100. Now, my setting hard quarterly boundaries may be a bit unfair, since quite a few songs split their chart time between quarters which keeps them off BOTH quarterly lists. But I had to draw the line SOMEWHERE.
Anyway, with the previously posted ground rules in mind, let's look at the 3rd quarter of 1970: Billboard's weeks ending July 4th through September 26th, 13 weeks total. As I did last time, I'm looking at somewhere between the top 20 and 30, wherever the biggest gap in the ranking points happens to be. For this quarter, that obvious gap was between numbers 28 and 29, so the top 28 it is! (NOTE: Within a tier, the songs are listed in no particular order.)
(If You Let Me Make Love To You Then) Why Can't I Touch You? -- Ronnie Dyson
The main failing of this recording is that, despite good execution all around, it's just a weak song. The lyrics are sparse and repetitive, but they don't interact with the music in an interesting way which would make up for that. It's kept out of the Bad Tier by the good singing and backing, and decent production.
Julie, Do Ya Love Me -- Bobby Sherman
The hallmark of many of the weakest recordings of 1970 is that they are overblown. This isn't the worst such example, but it's down there. The producers are obviously trying to make up for the shortcomings of the songwriting by drowning it in overorchestration. To his credit, Sherman himself isn't oversinging, which saves it from the Bad Tier for now. But this number did not age well.
I Just Can't Help Believing -- B.J. Thomas
Here's another song I knew, just not by title -- I always thought this was called "This Time The Girl Is Gonna Stay" after the repeated line in the chorus. Nothing bad here, but nothing really distinguishing. Thomas would veer towards country-pop as the decade progressed, and we'll be hearing from him again in later years.
Patches -- Clarence Carter
And speaking of country, here's the biggest country crossover hit of the summer. It feels overproduced; the story it tells is sentimental enough without having to add too much syrupy instrumentation, A "cleaner" arrangement could have made the Good tier.
Overture From Tommy (A Rock Opera) -- The Assembled Multitude
If one is going to have a traditional "pop" version of this overture, this is about as well done as you'll find. It made the Top 20, which may have been a bit surprising all things considered, but it's a solidly decent cut.
Lay a Little Lovin' on Me -- Robin McNamara
Trying to ride the same "late bubblegum / teen idol" crossover trend as Bobby Sherman, McNamara was late to the game, probably not quite as good a singer either, and thus less successful. This is a pleasant enough song with a catchy chorus, but nothing distinguishes it enough to merit consideration for a better tier.
Everybody’s Got The Right To Love -- The Supremes
The second Supremes single after Diana Ross's departure reflects some things going on at Motown in 1970. It's not so much that Jean Terrell was a bad replacement; the vocals and especially the harmonies here are great. The trouble is that it's a weak song. The lyrics are unnecessarily repetitive and don't say much of importance. At Motown's peak this would have been only an album cut, not an A-side. But Motowwn had lost some of its best songwriters and artists were often left to scramble for covers of earlier Motown hits, do extra covers of outside songs, or settle for new in-house numbers whose average quality had dropped.
(They Long to Be) Close to You -- The Carpenters
Tha Carpenters' breakthrough hit, which took the number two spot on Billboard's year-end list. Hard to come up with anything to say about this song that hasn't already been said thousands of times in the past half century. For the Carpenters' second album, A&M Records brought in the Wrecking Crew to be the backing band on the two big singles (including this), and several Wrecking Crew members also appeared on the rest of the album.
Make It with You -- Bread
Bread's debut on the Hot 100 followed the Carpenters at number 1. The group's soft-rock sound was somewhat emblematic of the early 70s, but the songwriting was uneven. In retrospect this was one of their better tracks.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours -- Stevie Wonder
Hard to believe that Stevie had been charting hits since 1962 and he was still a teenager when he recorded this! (He turned 20 before the single was released.) This was the title track for Stevie's 1970 album. 1971 would see him start to really expand his horizons, which would lead to immense success later in the decade. In the meantime, this song is in the classic Motown style at a time when several other Motown artists were already moving away from it, but this remains a great example of the genre.
Spill the Wine -- Eric Burdon & War
The former frontman for The Animals changed to a more low-key Southern California style with his new backing band, which would later go off on their own. This is a fairly trippy track, in all the good ways.
War -- Edwin Starr
The Temptations weren't the only ones om the front lines of change at Motown. While this song was originally a Temptations album track, there was significant call to release it as a single. Both Berry Gordy and The Temptations were apprehensive, so at Starr's request Gordy gave the song to him to re-record as a single. The Norman Whitfield production is exactly what the song needed to match up with "Agent Double-O-Soul"'s vocals, Number 5 on the Billboard year-end list.
In the Summertime -- Mungo Jerry
About the last thing one might have expected in the pop music scene of 1970 was for an out-and-out skiffle song to make the charts, much less go to the Top 5. The last "pure skiffle" song to do this well was Lonnie Donegan's remake of "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor..." and that was in 1962! But the totally carefree vibe of this song just seemed to catch a wave at the right time. It's certainly the most SUMMER song in this quarterly listing.
Band of Gold -- Freda Payne
Holland-Dozier-Holland's Invictus Records label came out with another big hit, which ended up at Number 10 on the Billboard year-end list. Many of the backing singers would go on to successful careers in other groups, and Motown's legendary Funk Brothers provided the instrumentals.
Tighter, Tighter -- Alive N Kickin'
Another one-hit wonder! This song was written by Tommy James (late of And The Shondells) for this group who had been recording at Roulette Records along with James. The group was from Brooklyn, but they didn't get the support they really needed from the label and disappeared from the charts. Their one hit is quite solid, however, and sounds closer to a Philly soul sound than it does anything else.
Mama Told Me (Not to Come) -- Three Dog Night
Fun trivia fact #1: This was the number one song on the very first broadcast of American Top 40. Fun trivia fact #2: This is a cover -- the original is on a 1967 album billed to Eric Burdon & The Animals. Three Dog Night finally hit Number One with this Randy Newman song, though it wouldn't be the last time they did.
25 or 6 to 4 -- Chicago
Chicago's second Top 10 hit also came from their landmark second album, and leans more towards rock than jazz. Like every other track on that double album, it's solid and still sounds as good now as it did then. The success of this single (and "Make Me Smile" preceding it) led Columbia to re-release singles from Chicago Transit Authority, which fared much better on the charts the second time around, but may have overshadowed the singles from Chicago III, the band's 1971 album -- singles which peaked in the lower reaches of the Top 40 while two re-releases from earlier hit the Top 10.
Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) -- The Temptations
The Temps' followup to "Psychedelic Shack" was similar musically but the lyrics took a more socially conscious slant. Even if he was reluctant at first, it's to Berry Gordy's credit that he did allow this new direction at Motown, as over the next few years it would result in some of the best music the label would ever release. This example is no exception, though it is less remembered than its spiritual successor the following year.
O-o-h Child -- Five Stairsteps
Chicago soul and Philly soul were pretty closely related -- and in fact, this Chicago family band's first few singles on their original label (Windy City Records) were distributed by Philly's Cameo/Parkway label. This single came a few years later, and would be their only pop Top 40 hit. It was a good one, solid on all fronts -- singing, instrumentation, and production -- making the Top 10, and number 21 on the year-end list. They remained regulars on the R&B/Soul charts from 1966-72.
The Love You Save -- The Jackson 5
The boys from Gary certainly made their Motown debut memorable. This third single off their first album became the third to reach Number One. Stylistically it's very similar to the previous two -- not a big surprise since it came from the same set of recording sessions.
Groovy Situation -- Gene Chandler
The Duke of Earl returns! Chandler was a fixture on the R&B charts throughout the 1960s (and would remain so in the 1970s) but hadn't made the pop Top 40 since 1965. This would be his last big pop hit, and it easy to see why folks liked it. His vocals were smooth and soulful, the arrangement is full without getting in the way, and the production is great.
Ain't No Mountain High Enough -- Diana Ross
This song had originally been a hit for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, as an uptempo, danceable R&B number. I don't know that this is what actually happened. but Diana Roas recorded this slower, almost eulogistic remake on March 13, 14, and 18 of 1970 -- and Tammi Terrell died on the 16th of that month (fsck cancer). I can't help but wonder if Diana was recording this song in this fashion as a tribute to Tammi.
Hand Me Down World -- The Guess Who
1970 was The Guess Who's most successful year, but also one of the most tumultuous. Randy Bachman was too ill at the start of the American Woman tour to go with the band... and when the tour was over he was no longer in the band. Kurt Winter and Greg Leskiw subsequently joined the band, who then recorded and released another album, Share the Land. This was the lead single from that album, and the third of four Top 20 hits the band would have for the year. Of all the actual Guess Who singles from 1970, this is probably my favorite.
Tell It All Brother -- Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
This Alex Harvey composition is a bit gospel-inspired with lyrics that are part political and part in the "challenging inspirational" genre more common at this time than in later styles of contemporary religious music. This was the second-to-last Top 40 hit for The First Edition, though the band continued to record and tour until the mid-70s; it's mostly forgotten now but was very on topic for the time period when it was released.
Solitary Man -- Neil Diamond
There were a LOT of Neil Diamond singles out in 1970. SEVEN of them! This is because, in addition to his then-current label (Uni Records) releasing four singles from him in the US in 1970, Neil's previous label, BANG Records, remixed and re-released three of his older songs this year -- "Shilo" and "Do It" were the other two in addition to this, which had been his first-ever hit single in 1966, peaking at number 55 the first time around. This time the remix made it to number 20, and just missed the Billboard year-end list -- it was number 101. This folk-pop tune has held up amazingly well over the past half-century.
I Want to Take You Higher -- Ike & Tina Turner
This is a cover of a Sly and the Family Stone song that was originally released by that group as a B-side in 1969. In 1970 the DJs flipped the single and Sly and company's version actually hit the charts first, but Ike and Tine took the song higher (yes you see what I did there) and their version slow-burned its way up to number 34, staying on the charts long enough for Billboard to make it number 79 on the year-end list. It is exactly what I expect from Ike and Tina covering the Family Stone -- it's not a fast song but the energy level is through the roof.
Lookin' out My Back Door / Long As I Can See The Light -- Creedence Clearwater Revival
The third and last top 10 double-A-side off Cosmo's Factory and once again deservedly so. CCR put nine straight singles in the Top 10 in about a two year period (early 1969 through early 1971), and those eighteen songs on those nine 45s are all classics.
Snowbird -- Anne Murray
This single was the Canadian singer's debut on both the US and Canadian pop Top 40, though her previous single had made it to number 87 in Canada. She would spend much of the next two decades between the top and bottom of the pop and country charts, usually faring better on the country side of things. Murray wasn't the earliest crossover artist of the decade, but she was the first one of the 1970s to have consistent success on both sides for multiple years.
Even if there were no real all-time bests this quarter, the summer of 1970 was a great time to be listening to the Top 40, overall. Cheers? Jeers? Disagreements? Put 'em down in the comments. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more about 1970.
Anyway, with the previously posted ground rules in mind, let's look at the 3rd quarter of 1970: Billboard's weeks ending July 4th through September 26th, 13 weeks total. As I did last time, I'm looking at somewhere between the top 20 and 30, wherever the biggest gap in the ranking points happens to be. For this quarter, that obvious gap was between numbers 28 and 29, so the top 28 it is! (NOTE: Within a tier, the songs are listed in no particular order.)
TERRIBLE TIER -- empty!
BAD TIER -- empty?!
MEH TIER -- 2 songs
(If You Let Me Make Love To You Then) Why Can't I Touch You? -- Ronnie Dyson
The main failing of this recording is that, despite good execution all around, it's just a weak song. The lyrics are sparse and repetitive, but they don't interact with the music in an interesting way which would make up for that. It's kept out of the Bad Tier by the good singing and backing, and decent production.
Julie, Do Ya Love Me -- Bobby Sherman
The hallmark of many of the weakest recordings of 1970 is that they are overblown. This isn't the worst such example, but it's down there. The producers are obviously trying to make up for the shortcomings of the songwriting by drowning it in overorchestration. To his credit, Sherman himself isn't oversinging, which saves it from the Bad Tier for now. But this number did not age well.
DECENT TIER -- 5 songs
I Just Can't Help Believing -- B.J. Thomas
Here's another song I knew, just not by title -- I always thought this was called "This Time The Girl Is Gonna Stay" after the repeated line in the chorus. Nothing bad here, but nothing really distinguishing. Thomas would veer towards country-pop as the decade progressed, and we'll be hearing from him again in later years.
Patches -- Clarence Carter
And speaking of country, here's the biggest country crossover hit of the summer. It feels overproduced; the story it tells is sentimental enough without having to add too much syrupy instrumentation, A "cleaner" arrangement could have made the Good tier.
Overture From Tommy (A Rock Opera) -- The Assembled Multitude
If one is going to have a traditional "pop" version of this overture, this is about as well done as you'll find. It made the Top 20, which may have been a bit surprising all things considered, but it's a solidly decent cut.
Lay a Little Lovin' on Me -- Robin McNamara
Trying to ride the same "late bubblegum / teen idol" crossover trend as Bobby Sherman, McNamara was late to the game, probably not quite as good a singer either, and thus less successful. This is a pleasant enough song with a catchy chorus, but nothing distinguishes it enough to merit consideration for a better tier.
Everybody’s Got The Right To Love -- The Supremes
The second Supremes single after Diana Ross's departure reflects some things going on at Motown in 1970. It's not so much that Jean Terrell was a bad replacement; the vocals and especially the harmonies here are great. The trouble is that it's a weak song. The lyrics are unnecessarily repetitive and don't say much of importance. At Motown's peak this would have been only an album cut, not an A-side. But Motowwn had lost some of its best songwriters and artists were often left to scramble for covers of earlier Motown hits, do extra covers of outside songs, or settle for new in-house numbers whose average quality had dropped.
GOOD TIER -- 21 songs (!)
(They Long to Be) Close to You -- The Carpenters
Tha Carpenters' breakthrough hit, which took the number two spot on Billboard's year-end list. Hard to come up with anything to say about this song that hasn't already been said thousands of times in the past half century. For the Carpenters' second album, A&M Records brought in the Wrecking Crew to be the backing band on the two big singles (including this), and several Wrecking Crew members also appeared on the rest of the album.
Make It with You -- Bread
Bread's debut on the Hot 100 followed the Carpenters at number 1. The group's soft-rock sound was somewhat emblematic of the early 70s, but the songwriting was uneven. In retrospect this was one of their better tracks.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours -- Stevie Wonder
Hard to believe that Stevie had been charting hits since 1962 and he was still a teenager when he recorded this! (He turned 20 before the single was released.) This was the title track for Stevie's 1970 album. 1971 would see him start to really expand his horizons, which would lead to immense success later in the decade. In the meantime, this song is in the classic Motown style at a time when several other Motown artists were already moving away from it, but this remains a great example of the genre.
Spill the Wine -- Eric Burdon & War
The former frontman for The Animals changed to a more low-key Southern California style with his new backing band, which would later go off on their own. This is a fairly trippy track, in all the good ways.
War -- Edwin Starr
The Temptations weren't the only ones om the front lines of change at Motown. While this song was originally a Temptations album track, there was significant call to release it as a single. Both Berry Gordy and The Temptations were apprehensive, so at Starr's request Gordy gave the song to him to re-record as a single. The Norman Whitfield production is exactly what the song needed to match up with "Agent Double-O-Soul"'s vocals, Number 5 on the Billboard year-end list.
In the Summertime -- Mungo Jerry
About the last thing one might have expected in the pop music scene of 1970 was for an out-and-out skiffle song to make the charts, much less go to the Top 5. The last "pure skiffle" song to do this well was Lonnie Donegan's remake of "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor..." and that was in 1962! But the totally carefree vibe of this song just seemed to catch a wave at the right time. It's certainly the most SUMMER song in this quarterly listing.
Band of Gold -- Freda Payne
Holland-Dozier-Holland's Invictus Records label came out with another big hit, which ended up at Number 10 on the Billboard year-end list. Many of the backing singers would go on to successful careers in other groups, and Motown's legendary Funk Brothers provided the instrumentals.
Tighter, Tighter -- Alive N Kickin'
Another one-hit wonder! This song was written by Tommy James (late of And The Shondells) for this group who had been recording at Roulette Records along with James. The group was from Brooklyn, but they didn't get the support they really needed from the label and disappeared from the charts. Their one hit is quite solid, however, and sounds closer to a Philly soul sound than it does anything else.
Mama Told Me (Not to Come) -- Three Dog Night
Fun trivia fact #1: This was the number one song on the very first broadcast of American Top 40. Fun trivia fact #2: This is a cover -- the original is on a 1967 album billed to Eric Burdon & The Animals. Three Dog Night finally hit Number One with this Randy Newman song, though it wouldn't be the last time they did.
25 or 6 to 4 -- Chicago
Chicago's second Top 10 hit also came from their landmark second album, and leans more towards rock than jazz. Like every other track on that double album, it's solid and still sounds as good now as it did then. The success of this single (and "Make Me Smile" preceding it) led Columbia to re-release singles from Chicago Transit Authority, which fared much better on the charts the second time around, but may have overshadowed the singles from Chicago III, the band's 1971 album -- singles which peaked in the lower reaches of the Top 40 while two re-releases from earlier hit the Top 10.
Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) -- The Temptations
The Temps' followup to "Psychedelic Shack" was similar musically but the lyrics took a more socially conscious slant. Even if he was reluctant at first, it's to Berry Gordy's credit that he did allow this new direction at Motown, as over the next few years it would result in some of the best music the label would ever release. This example is no exception, though it is less remembered than its spiritual successor the following year.
O-o-h Child -- Five Stairsteps
Chicago soul and Philly soul were pretty closely related -- and in fact, this Chicago family band's first few singles on their original label (Windy City Records) were distributed by Philly's Cameo/Parkway label. This single came a few years later, and would be their only pop Top 40 hit. It was a good one, solid on all fronts -- singing, instrumentation, and production -- making the Top 10, and number 21 on the year-end list. They remained regulars on the R&B/Soul charts from 1966-72.
The Love You Save -- The Jackson 5
The boys from Gary certainly made their Motown debut memorable. This third single off their first album became the third to reach Number One. Stylistically it's very similar to the previous two -- not a big surprise since it came from the same set of recording sessions.
Groovy Situation -- Gene Chandler
The Duke of Earl returns! Chandler was a fixture on the R&B charts throughout the 1960s (and would remain so in the 1970s) but hadn't made the pop Top 40 since 1965. This would be his last big pop hit, and it easy to see why folks liked it. His vocals were smooth and soulful, the arrangement is full without getting in the way, and the production is great.
Ain't No Mountain High Enough -- Diana Ross
This song had originally been a hit for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, as an uptempo, danceable R&B number. I don't know that this is what actually happened. but Diana Roas recorded this slower, almost eulogistic remake on March 13, 14, and 18 of 1970 -- and Tammi Terrell died on the 16th of that month (fsck cancer). I can't help but wonder if Diana was recording this song in this fashion as a tribute to Tammi.
Hand Me Down World -- The Guess Who
1970 was The Guess Who's most successful year, but also one of the most tumultuous. Randy Bachman was too ill at the start of the American Woman tour to go with the band... and when the tour was over he was no longer in the band. Kurt Winter and Greg Leskiw subsequently joined the band, who then recorded and released another album, Share the Land. This was the lead single from that album, and the third of four Top 20 hits the band would have for the year. Of all the actual Guess Who singles from 1970, this is probably my favorite.
Tell It All Brother -- Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
This Alex Harvey composition is a bit gospel-inspired with lyrics that are part political and part in the "challenging inspirational" genre more common at this time than in later styles of contemporary religious music. This was the second-to-last Top 40 hit for The First Edition, though the band continued to record and tour until the mid-70s; it's mostly forgotten now but was very on topic for the time period when it was released.
Solitary Man -- Neil Diamond
There were a LOT of Neil Diamond singles out in 1970. SEVEN of them! This is because, in addition to his then-current label (Uni Records) releasing four singles from him in the US in 1970, Neil's previous label, BANG Records, remixed and re-released three of his older songs this year -- "Shilo" and "Do It" were the other two in addition to this, which had been his first-ever hit single in 1966, peaking at number 55 the first time around. This time the remix made it to number 20, and just missed the Billboard year-end list -- it was number 101. This folk-pop tune has held up amazingly well over the past half-century.
I Want to Take You Higher -- Ike & Tina Turner
This is a cover of a Sly and the Family Stone song that was originally released by that group as a B-side in 1969. In 1970 the DJs flipped the single and Sly and company's version actually hit the charts first, but Ike and Tine took the song higher (yes you see what I did there) and their version slow-burned its way up to number 34, staying on the charts long enough for Billboard to make it number 79 on the year-end list. It is exactly what I expect from Ike and Tina covering the Family Stone -- it's not a fast song but the energy level is through the roof.
Lookin' out My Back Door / Long As I Can See The Light -- Creedence Clearwater Revival
The third and last top 10 double-A-side off Cosmo's Factory and once again deservedly so. CCR put nine straight singles in the Top 10 in about a two year period (early 1969 through early 1971), and those eighteen songs on those nine 45s are all classics.
Snowbird -- Anne Murray
This single was the Canadian singer's debut on both the US and Canadian pop Top 40, though her previous single had made it to number 87 in Canada. She would spend much of the next two decades between the top and bottom of the pop and country charts, usually faring better on the country side of things. Murray wasn't the earliest crossover artist of the decade, but she was the first one of the 1970s to have consistent success on both sides for multiple years.
EXCELLENT TIER -- empty?!
Even if there were no real all-time bests this quarter, the summer of 1970 was a great time to be listening to the Top 40, overall. Cheers? Jeers? Disagreements? Put 'em down in the comments. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more about 1970.
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Date: 2021-01-12 08:56 pm (UTC)