FIRST HOUR
Let Your Yeah Be Yeah (The Pioneers)
(1971)... one of the many reggae-pop crossover hits in a breakthrough era which began in the late '60s and continued into the '70s
Rudi's In Love (The Locomotive)
(1968) ... band with a rock-steady ska sound which they would leave behind within a year or two, switching to prog rock
Jump To The Beat (Stacy Lattisaw)
... from the first of today's featured years ~ one of a long run of successes in the US, especially on the R&B chart, but her one and only in the UK
Motown toe tappers
The Way You Do The Things You Do (The Temptations)
(1964) ... their debut on the US Billboard Hot 100, written by Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers of The Miracles. The 'Temps' would have to wait a couple more years to make any impact on our chart. Success finally came with Ain't Too Proud To Beg (1966, # 21)
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) (Marvin Gaye) (1964) ... only a minor hit in the UK, just one week # 49 and then it was gone. Two years later Junior Walker and The All Stars' version had rather more staying power, with 10 weeks on the chart and a highest position of # 22. James Taylor covered the song in the mid '70s and had huge success in America
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Wherewithal (Clifford T Ward)
(1973) ...... very under-rated and sadly missed English singer-songwriter. (b 1944, d 2001) Wherewithal was a much-played turntable hit from his best known album Home Thoughts which also included Gaye, his only major hit (1973, # 8)
Newsround Tameside: 41 years ago ~ 1980
Modern Girl (Sheena Easton)
... millions had followed Sheena's quest for stardom on a BBC talent-spotting show with a difference ~ The Big Time, presented by Esther Rantzen
Summer Fun (The Barracudas)
... immediately grabs your attention with a spoof American radio ad and then turns into a good ol' punk-pop stomper
Start (The Jam)
... second of their two #1s that year, Going Underground was the previous chart-topper. Two more would follow ~ Town Called Malice and Beat Surrender, both in '82,
Feels Like I'm In Love (Kelly Marie)
... written by Mungo Jerry singer Ray Dorset, originally with Elvis Presley in mind. A decade on from In The Summertime, Feels Like I'm In Love gave him his second UK # 1 as a songwriter,
Tom Hark (The Piranhas)
... adding vocals to a '50s instrumental by the wonderfully, unforgettably named Elias & His Zig Zag Jive Flutes. The Piranhas' revival stayed true to the spirit of the original by featuring a flute, but much more to the fore on their version is the trumpet playing of lead singer and lyricist 'Boring'
Bob Grover
Me Myself I (Joan Armatrading)
... she had steadily built up a following during the '70s as a singer-songwriter, but with just the one big hit to her name, Love And Affection. After a four-year wait, that was finally about to change...
Could You Be Loved (Bob Marley & The Wailers)
... highest placed UK hit during his lifetime (#5), which would later be matched by the posthumous singles One Love / People Get Ready (1984) and Iron Lion Zion (1992)
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SECOND HOUR
B-A-B-Y (Carla Thomas)
(1966) ... classic '60s soul on the Stax label ~ the much played original version which was never a hit. Rachel Sweet took it into the Top 40 in '79.
Fool (Al Matthews)
(1975)... one hit wonder soul singer (1942-2018) who also had his own weekly show on BBC Radio 1 - *Discovatin', a title definitely 'of its time'. He was also an actor, best known for playing Sgt Apone the 1986 film Aliens
Curly (The Move)
... teaser for our second featured year ~ hearing those first few notes played on a recorder by the mighty Roy Wood might take you back to music lessons at primary school. Curly was the last Move single with Carl Wayne as lead singer
Absolutely Lyricless ~ the instrumental break
... thinking of treats you can eat and the man in a van who would have been selling at least one of them
Ice Cream Man (The Tornados)
(1963) ... the last - and lowest placed - of their four chart entries (# 18) ~ less than a year after their first and greatest Telstar (# 3)
Popcorn (Hot Butter)
(1972) ... catchy, synth-pop novelty hit which sold a million in France, 250,000 in the UK and over two million worldwide
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I’m Free (The Soup Dragons featuring Junior Reid)
(1990) ... only major hit for the Scottish band who took their name from a character in The Clangers, a popular kids' TV series in the '70s. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote the song for The Rolling Stones' 1965 album Out Of Our Heads
If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind (Agnetha Fältskog) (2004) ... after a long hiatus from the music world, Abba's Agnetha had her biggest solo hit to date ( UK # 11, Sweden # 2) with a well chosen song which most listeners would recognise from the hook in the lyric '(I Will Bring You) Flowers In The Morning'. Written in the late '60s by John Cameron, it was originally a hit for Cilla Black (1969, # 20)
Newsround pre-Tameside: 52 years ago ~ 1969
Bad Moon Rising (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
... American band who had three weeks as the UK's No.1, following on from their debut earlier in the year Proud Mary
Marrakesh Express (Crosby, Stills and Nash) *
... David Crosby, previously of The Byrds and Stephen Stills from Buffalo Springfield, teamed up with Salford-born Graham Nash, who had recently left The Hollies
Throw Down A Line (Cliff Richard & Hank Marvin)
... a year after Cliff and The Shadows went their separate ways, lead singer and lead guitarist were back in the studio. Hank wrote the song which undoubtedly had commercial appeal but had a harder-edged rock sound than you might have expected. Its credibility was boosted considerably when The Jeff Beck Group recorded it
I Second That Emotion (Diana Ross & The Supremes & The Temptations)
... cover of a Smokey Robinson song to follow up their previous coming together, I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
Honky Tonk Women (The Rolling Stones)
... # 1, single released the day after the death of Stones founder and original leader Brian Jones, who had recently left the band
I'll Never Fall In Love Again (Bobbie Gentry)
... much covered Bacharach and David song ~ for many people, this is probably still the best known version, although Deacon Blue did the duo proud with the version on their Four Bacharach and David Songs EP (1990)
Viva Bobby Joe (The Equals)
,,, formed in the mid '60s by Guyanese-British musician and future successful solo artist Eddy Grant, The Equals will always be remembered as one of the very first racially integrated bands in the music mainstream. Viva Bobby Joe made the Top 10 a year after they topped the chart with Baby Come Back.
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SHOW THEME:
Rhapsody In Blue (Rick Wakeman)
written by George Gershwin, arranged by Tony Visconti
from the album Rhapsodies (A&M Records, 1979
Please bear in mind: it's a live show and so, occasionally I might need to change the running order, leave a song out, or play an unplanned extra song which will not be shown in this weekly music blog.
- MW
