This Date in Rock Music History: September 7

1957:  Sam Cooke released the single "You Send Me" on Keen Records.
1958:  Georgia Gibbs and Johnnie Ray appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.  (Note:  some websites claim the performances were on September 6.  The show aired Sundays on CBS.  In 1958, Sunday fell on September 7.)

1959:  Frankie Avalon, the Coasters, Lou Rawls, Bobby Rydell and Annette Funicello performed on closing night of their four-day appearance at the Michigan State Fair as part a tour organized by Dick Clark.

1959:  Lloyd Price moved back up to #1 on the R&B chart with "I'm Gonna' Get Married".







1959:  Paul Anka glided up from #67 to #41 with "Put Your Head On My Shoulder".
1963:  The Beatles had the top song in the U.K. with "She Loves You".
1963:  Bobby Vinton took over #1 on the Easy Listening chart with "Blue Velvet".
1963:  Little Stevie Wonder remained at #1 on the R&B chart for the sixth straight week with "Fingertips Pt. 2".






                                                    Charlie and Inez Foxx...


1963:  The Angels remained at #1 with "My Boyfriend's Back".  Allan Sherman laughed it up with "Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh!" and Trini Lopez reached #3 with "If I Had A Hammer".  Bobby Vinton jumped from 11 to 4 with "Blue Velvet" while the 4 Seasons had song #5--"Candy Girl".  The rest of the Top 10:  Martha & the Vandellas moved from 14-6 with "Heat Wave", Inez & Charlie Foxx came in at #7 with "Mockingbird", Major Lance entered the list with "The Monkey Time", Peter, Paul & Mary were on their way down with the former #1 "Blowin' In The Wind" and Freddie Scott climbed into the Top 10 with "Hey, Girl".
1966:  Roy Orbison and Sam the Sham began filming The Fastest Guitar Alive in Culver City, California.




1968:  Creedence Clearwater Revival first appeared on the chart as their first single release "Suzie Q" debuted.
1968:  Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 reached #1 on the Easy Listening chart with their remake of the Beatles' song "The Fool On The Hill".
1969:  The Beatles Saturday morning cartoon show aired for the final time.  The show debuted on September 25, 1965.

1970:  Simon & Garfunkel released "El Condor Pasa" from the album Bridge Over Troubled Water.
1973:  Mike Curb, president of MGM Records, resigned at the age of 28, going on to become the Lieutenant Governor of California.
1974:  Soul great Barry White assumed the #1 spot on the R&B chart with "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe".










                                                     Chaka Khan and Rufus were up to #3...

1974:  Paul Anka made it three weeks at the top with "(You're) Having My Baby" but Eric Clapton was poised to take over with "I Shot The Sheriff".  Rufus had their biggest career hit--"Tell Me Something Good" at #3 and Andy Kim was up nicely with "Rock Me Gently".  The rest of the Top 10:  Donny & Marie Osmond with "(I'm Leaving It (All) Up To You", Barry White was up to 6 with "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe", Billy Preston moved from 12 to 7 with "Nothing From Nothing", the former Paper Lace #1 "The Night Chicago Died" was at #8, Helen Reddy edged up with "You And Me Against The World" and a collaboration between Dionne Warwick & the Spinners reached the Top 10 on this date--"Then Came You".






1975:  The Eagles released the single "Lyin' Eyes".
1975:  The Guess Who played their final concert before breaking up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
1976:  Paul McCartney paid tribute to Buddy Holly on what would have been his 40th birthday by organizing "Buddy Holly Week" in England.
1978:  Keith Moon, drummer of the Who, died in London after overdosing (32 tablets) on the prescription drug Heminevrin at the age of 32.  (Note:  several websites incorrectly say that Moon died after taking Hemenephirin.  There is no such drug.  Moon died after taking himinevrin, according to 'Billboard' magazine.  Himinevrin contains the active ingredient Clomethiazol, used to combat the effects of acute alcohol withdrawal, according to the book 'GC/MS in Clinical Chemistry' by Petra Gerhards, Ulrich Bons, and Jürgen Sawazki.)









1983:  Madonna released her first career single "Holiday".
1985:  Ringo Starr became the first Beatle to be a grandfather as his son Zak celebrated the birth of a son.
1985:  Newcomer John Parr hit #1 on this date with "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)", overtaking "The Power Of Love" from Huey Lewis & the News.  Tina Turner had #3--"We Don't Need Another Hero", swapping places with Aretha Franklin's "Freeway Of Love".  The rest of the Top 10:  Bryan Adams from Reckless with "Summer Of '69", Dire Straits with their biggest hit since "Sultans Of Swing" in 1979--"Money For Nothing", Kool & the Gang and "Cherish", Phil Collins with his fifth consecutive Top 10 song "Don't Lose My Number" and Prince registered his 16th hit "Pop Life", with exactly half of those reaching the Top 10.
1985:  Kool & the Gang remained at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with the classic "Cherish".
1986:  Michael Nesmith reunited with the other original members of the Monkees for the first time since the band broke up in 1969 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
1988:  Barry Sadler ("The Ballad Of The Green Berets") was shot at his home in Guatemala City, Guatemala.  The former Vietnam hero suffered brain damage and would die from those injuries the next year.
             
                                                     The Scorpions with their timeless song...

1991:  A pretty good Top 10 on this date--something you usually didn't find after about 1986--Bryan Adams scored week #5 at the top with "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You", Paul Abdul moved up to challenge with "The Promise Of A New Day" and Boyz II Men were up from 9 to 3 with "Motownphilly".  C+C Music Factory had the #4 song--"Things That Make You Go Hmmmm..." and KLF had song #5 with "3 A.M. Eternal".  The rest of the Top 10:  Color Me Badd moved from 15 to 6 with "I Adore Mi Amor", Seal's first release "Crazy" hit #7, the Scorpions owned the #8 position with "Wind Of Change", Michael Bolton enjoyed his 11th hit "Time, Love And Tenderness" and Hi-Five dropped with "I Can't Wait Another Minute".
1991:  Bryan Adams had one of the top Adult Contemporary songs of the 1990's as his song from the movie Robin Hood--"(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" was #1 again for the sixth straight week.


1992:  P.M. Dawn released the single "I'd Die Without You".  (Note:  some naive websites report that the song was released October 9.  According to 'Billboard' magazine, the single debuted on September 12.  It is physically impossible for a song to debuted on the Singles chart if it has not been released as a single.)
1993:  David Crosby appeared on The John Larroquette Show.
1994:  After a Pink Floyd concert at Stadion Strahov in Prague that drew 110,000, Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel invited the group to dinner.









               
                                                        Donna Lewis had a strong #2 hit...

1996:  Los Del Rio had the #1 song for a sixth week with "Macarena" and Donna Lewis remained at #2 with "I Love You Always Forever".  Alanis Morissette had the only new song in the Top 10 with the double-sided hit "You Learn"/"You Oughta' Know".
2000:  Timothy Commerford of Rage Against the Machine was arrested and ordered to jail.  Commerford decided to climb a scaffold during the MTV Music Awards Show at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, delaying the show by over 20 minutes.
2000:  Family members of Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of TLC were concerned after she missed a family barbecue and a press conference in Las Vegas.

2001:  Michael Jackson performed in the first of two 30-year anniversary concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City.  (Note:  several sources incorrectly report the date of this concert as being October 5, but the first was September 7, as you can see from the poster above.  There was a second concert on September 10.  Both shows were recorded by CBS-TV for airing in November.)









2003:  Warren Zevon ("Werewolves Of London") died in his sleep in Los Angeles at the age of 56 from mesothelioma.  (Note:  news reports at the time of his death claimed Zevon died from lung cancer, but according to the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, Warren died of mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos.)
2003:  The Black Eyed Peas had the top song in the U.K.--"Where Is the Love".
2003:  The Darkness topped the U.K. Album chart with Permission to Land.
2004:  Franz Ferdinand captured Britain's Mercury Music Prize given for the British or Irish debut album of the year at the Grosvenor House hotel in London.
2005:  Kanye West debuted at #1 on the Album chart with Late Registration.





2005:  Aretha Franklin was given a Lady of Soul award for career achievement at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. 
2007:  Connie Stevens began filming Saving Grace, her debut as a movie director, in Arrow Rock, Missouri. (Note:  some websites report that Connie began filming the movie in Boonville, Missouri.  Although Stevens spent time filming in Boonville, she began filming the movie at the Arrow Rock Country Store in Arrow Rock, according to the newspaper 'The Marshall-Democrat News'.)







2012:  Dorothy McGuire of the McGuire Sisters ("Sincerely" from 1955 and "Sugartime" from 1958) and noted actress for roles in Gentleman's Agreement, A Summer Place, Three Coins in the Fountain, Old Yeller, The Greatest Story Ever Told and Swiss Family Robinson, among others, died at age 84 of cardiac arrest after suffering from Parkinson's disease in Paradise Valley, Arizona.  (Note:  one website claims McGuire died on September 14.  The respected newspaper 'The New York Times' and 'CBS News' both reported that McGuire died on September 7.)


Born This Day:
1934:  Little Milton (Campbell) was born in Inverness, Mississippi; died August 4, 2005 after suffering a stroke in Memphis, Tennessee.





1936:  Buddy Holly (real name Charles Holley) was born in Lubbock, Texas; died February 3, 1959 in a crash of a light plane in Clear Lake, Iowa.
1939:  Latimore ("Let's Straighten It Out") was born in Charleston, Tennessee.
1940:  Ronnie Dove was born in Herndon, Virginia.
1946:  Alfa Anderson, vocalist for Chic and backup singer for Bryan Adams, was born in New York City, New York.
1947:  Morris Albert ("Feelings" from 1975) was born in São Paulo , Brazil.
1949:  Gloria Gaynor ("I Will Survive" from 1978) was born in Newark, New Jersey.







1951:  Chrissie Hynde, singer-songwriter, guitarist and leader of the Pretenders, was born in Akron, Ohio.
1954:  Benmont Tench, keyboard player of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, was born in Gainesville, Florida.
1957:  Margot Chapman of the Starland Vocal Band was born in Honolulu, Hawai'i.
1960:  Brad Houser, bassist of Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians, was born in Dallas, Texas.
1970:  Chad Sexton, drummer of 311, was born in Lexington, Kentucky.

Featured Unknown/Underrated Song*: "Talking In Your Sleep" from Crystal Gayle

Loretta Lynn's younger sister Crystal Gayle scored several big hits in her career.  This one stalled at #18, but should have been higher:

 

"Talking In Your Sleep"

Crystal Gayle

 

Written by Roger Cook and Bobby Wood

 

Three o'clock in the morning
And it looks like it's gonna be another sleepless night
I've been listenin' to your dreams and gettin' very low
Wondering what I can do

Maybe I'm being foolish
'Cause I haven't heard you mention anybody's name at all
How I wish I could be sure it's me that turns you on
Each time you close your eyes
I've heard it said that dreamers never lie

You've been talkin' in your sleep
Sleepin' in your dreams
Wish some sweet lover
Holdin' on so tight loving her the way
You used to love me
Talkin' in your sleep with lovin' on your mind 

Part Seventeen of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era

More great songs are featured here in The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*:

The Top 100 Adult Songs of the 70's*: #50-41

Inside The Rock Era has presented three homegrown music specials in rapid fire succession, with our latest being The Top 100 Adult Songs of the 70's*.  We began October 1, and are halfway through:

 

 

#50:

"Hello Stranger"
Yvonne Elliman
1977

Yvonne Elliman had an overall #1 hit with "If I Can't Have You", but among adults, this one was bigger.  It topped the Adult chart for four weeks, and spent seven in the Top 5.  The competition was relatively weaker, but it did face "It's Sad To Belong" and "Southern Nights".

#49:

"All I Know"

Art Garfunkel

1973

After leaving the duo Simon & Garfunkel, Art enjoyed good success on the Adult chart in the 70's.  This one went to #1 for four weeks, and spent seven in the Adult Top 5.  Other songs out at the same time included "The Most Beautiful Girl" and "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose?".

#48:

"The Way We Were"

Barbra Streisand
1974

 

Streisand's beautiful song was out the same time as fellow Top 100 Adult songs* "Love's Theme", "Time In A Bottle", "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)", "The Most Beautiful Girl" by Charlie Rich, "Last Time I Saw Him", and Anne Murray's "Love Song".  It's pretty impressive to score two weeks at #1 and eight in the Top 5 in such a productive period. 

 

 

#47:

"Just Remember I Love You"
Firefall
1977

Firefall landed this #1 song of two weeks that also spent seven inside the Adult Top 5.  Two great songs were right there battling with it--"Nobody Does It Better" and "How Deep Is Your Love". 

#46:

"Even Now"

Barry Manilow

1978

 

Manilow logged three weeks at #1 against tough competition--"We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again", Michael Johnson's "Bluer Than Blue", "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late", Roberta Flack's "If Ever I See You Again", and "Feels So Good".  "Even Now" also showed strength after it fell, and achieved seven weeks in the Adult Top 3. 

 

 

 

#45:

"Three Times A Lady"

Commodores

1978

The Commodores hit #1 for three weeks, and also spent two weeks at #2 and seven inside the Top 5 with this classic, probably more popular overall than it was on the Adult chart.  It competed with "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" from Chris Rea.

 

#44:

"Love's Theme"

Love Unlimited Orchestra

1974

As impressive as "The Way We Were" was, this song beat it out on the Adult chart (not true overall), taking over from Streisand at #1 at the tail end of 1973.  It was a dynamite time for Adult music, with songs like "The Way We Were", "Time In A Bottle", "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)", "Love Song" from Anne Murray, "Last Time I Saw Him", and "The Most Beautiful Girl".  Going against six of The Top 100 Adult Songs of the 70's* is a daunting task, but "Love's Theme" not only sailed right through for two weeks at #1, it also spent four weeks at #2 and eight weeks in the Top 5.  

#43:

"For All We Know"
Carpenters
1971 

This great Oscar-winning song from the movie Lovers and Other Strangers topped the Adult chart for three weeks in 1971, and hung around for a total of seven weeks in the Top 3.  It faced two of the biggest Adult songs of the decade in ringing up those numbers--Bobby Goldsboro's "Watching Scotty Grow" and "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story" by Andy Williams.

 

#42:

"Where Do I Begin (Love Story)"

Andy Williams
1971

Here's one of the biggest of the "Easy Listening" songs, which is what the Adult chart was called prior to 1978.  Andy Williams scored a #1 of four weeks, and seven total weeks in the Adult Top 5.  It competed against "For All We Know", "Watching Scotty Grow", and Bread's "If".

 

 

#41:

"American Pie"

Don McLean
1972

It bears repeating, especially here, that this is a ranking of The Top Adult Songs of the 70's*, not the overall Top Songs of the 70's*.  We say that because this classic obviously would be ranked much higher among the general population.  Keep in mind that the "adults" of 1972 are today's senior citizens.  As Adult radio blossomed with the Baby Boomers, the format got more popular, and included a much larger base than in 1972.  

 

"American Pie" nonetheless achieved three weeks at #1 among the older crowd, but only remained in the Adult Top 3 for four weeks, and logged only six total weeks in the Top 5.  Competition included Nilsson's "Without You" and "Hurting Each Other" by the Carpenters.


So ten more songs are in the books, and we have the best 40 Adult songs of the decade ahead of us!

This Date in Rock Music History: September 6

1959:  "Bad Boys" by the Miracles was the first single on Barry Gordy's newly-formed Motown Records.
1960:  Sam Cooke's daughter, Tracy, was born.

1961:  Bob Dylan performed at the Gaslight Cafe in New York City.




1968:  Eric Clapton recorded the guitar solo for the Beatles' song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at the Abbey Road Studios in London.
1969:  James Brown announced his retirement following a live performance at the Mid-Southern Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee.









                                              The timeless "Get Together"...

1969:  The Rolling Stones held on to #1 for a third week with "Honky Tonk Women".  Johnny Cash couldn't get past them with "A Boy Named Sue".  The Archies remained poised to move with "Sugar, Sugar" and CCR was up well with "Green River".  The rest of an excellent Top 10:  The Youngbloods with "Get Together", Jackie DeShannon's "Put A Little Love In Your Heart", Bob Dylan and "Lay Lady Lay", Three Dog Night was up from 13-8 with "Easy To Be Hard", Neil Diamond slipped with "Sweet Caroline" and Tom Jones had song #10--"I'll Never Fall In Love Again".
1972:  John Lennon appeared on the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon.
1975:  The Carpenters hit #1 on the Easy Listening chart with their remake of the great Neil Sedaka song "Solitaire".








1975:  "Mr. Jaws" from Dickie Goodman was the highest debuting song at #49.

1975:  Glen Campbell had the top song on this date with "Rhinestone Cowboy".  Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds were still hanging around at #2 with "Fallin' In Love".  K.C. and the Sunshine Band's former #1 "Get Down Tonight" was at #3 with Janis Ian moving up three with "At Seventeen".  The rest of the Top 10:  James Taylor's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", the Bee Gees with their former #1 "Jive Talkin'", David Bowie with his biggest career hit "Fame" at #7, the Isley Brothers and "Fight The Power", Barry Manilow's adaptation of Frederic Chopin ("Could It Be Magic") moved into the Top 10 and the former #1 from the Eagles--"One of These Nights" was #10.








1975:  Red Octopus completed an amazing comeback for Jefferson Starship, rising to the #1 album.  Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy by Elton John fell to 2 while Janis Ian enjoyed the biggest album of her career with Between the Lines.  The Eagles held steady at #4 with One of These Nights.
1978:  Tom Wilson, producer of the Bob Dylan album Highway 61 Revisted, died of a heart attack at the age of 47 in Los Angeles.
1980:  Diana Ross remained at #1 for a fourth week on the R&B chart with "Upside Down".






1980:  The 24th hit from Diana Ross became her fifth solo #1--"Upside Down".










1983:  Cyndi Lauper released the single "Girls Just Want To Have Fun", although it wouldn't become a hit until months later.
1986:  Gloria Loring & Carl Anderson reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Friends And Lovers".
1990:  Paul Anka was naturalized as a U.S. citizen.








1990:  Tom Fogerty, rhythm guitarist of CCR, died of AIDS at the age of 48 in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Fogerty had contracted HIV when he had blood transfusions for his back ailments. 
1993:  Don Henley, Elton John, Sting, Aerosmith and Jimmy Buffett performed in a benefit concert that Henley arranged in Boston for Walden Woods.









1994:  Nicky Hopkins died at the age of 50 in Nashville, Tennessee after complications following an operation for a stomach ailment.  Hopkins played piano for the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, John Lennon and the Kinks.  (Note:  some websites claim Hopkins died in London, but according the official website for Hopkins, he died in Nashville.)
1995:  Bruce Hornsby and Branford Marsalis performed the U.S. National Anthem in Camden Yards in Baltimore Maryland prior to the baseball game in which the great Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles set the all-time record for consecutive games played.
1997:  Elton John sang an updated version of "Candle In The Wind" at the funeral of England's Princess Diana at Westminster Abbey in London.  The song, which was named "Candle In The Wind '97"  would go on to become one of the top-selling singles of all-time.
1999:  Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots was sentenced to one year in jail for violating parole.
2008:  The Eagles performed at the BOK in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
2010:  Jane's Addiction announced that bass guitarist Duff McKagan was leaving the group.


Born This Day:
1942:  Dave Bargeron, trombone player of Blood, Sweat & Tears, was born in Athol, Massachusetts.

1944:  Roger Waters of Pink Floyd was born in Great Bookham, Surrey, England.
1961:  Pal Waaktaar, guitarist and songwriter with A-Ha, was born in Oslo, Norway.
1969:  CeCe Peniston ("Finally") was born in Dayton, Ohio.
1971:  Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of the Cranberries, was born in Limerick, Ireland.
1974:  Nina Persson of the Cardigans ("Lovefool") was born in Orebro, Narke, Sweden.
1978:  Foxy Brown was born in New York City.

Hits List: Eric Carmen

The former lead singer of the Raspberries who had classical music training at the Cleveland Institute of Music went solo in 1975.  His first hit, "All By Myself", was based on "Piano Concert No. 2" by Rachmaninov.  Carmen also had many Top Tracks* on his albums, so be sure to check those out as well.  Here is the complete Hits List* for Eric Carmen:

1976:  "All By Myself" (#2, #6 Adult)
           "Never Gonna' Fall In Love Again" (#11, #1 Adult)
           "Sunrise" (#34, #33 Adult)--underrated.
1977:  "She Did It" (#23, #26 Adult)
           "Boats Against The Current" (#88)--underrated.

1978:  "Change Of Heart" (#19, #6 Adult Contemporary)
1979:  "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'" (#62, #30 AC)
1980:  "It Hurts Too Much" (#75)
1985:  "I Wanna' Hear It From Your Lips" (#35, #10 AC)
           "I'm Through With Love" (#87, #16 AC)
1988:  "Hungry Eyes" (#4, #2 AC)
           "Make Me Lose Control" (#3, #1 for three weeks AC)
           "Reason To Try" (#87)

That's 13 career hits for Eric, with three reaching the Top 10.  Among adults, Carmen scored 10 hits, with six Top 10 songs.

Biggest Fans of the Rock Era By Country

There continues to be more fans of the Rock Era in the United States by far, but love of the music is definitely spreading around the globe.  Here are the biggest fans of Inside The Rock Era by country last month:

1.    United States
2.    Germany
3.    France
4.    United Kingdom
5.    Canada
6.    Ukraine
7.    Russia
8.    Turkey
9.    Australia
10.  Poland

The Top 100 Adult Songs of the 70's*: #60-51

 In our newest music special, Inside The Rock Era chronicles the growth of what would become the most popular music format in the 80's, Adult Radio.  The Top 100 Adult Songs of the 70's* is a fascinating contrast of the Easy Listening music which dominated Adult radio at the beginning of the decade, and Adult Contemporary, which pushed Easy Listening aside by the end of it.

 

 

#60:

"All I Ever Need Is You"

Sonny & Cher

1971

Here's one of the last big hits Sonny & Cher had.  It took over from Bread's "Baby I'm-A Want You" at #1 at the end of 1971 and remained there for five weeks.  "All I Ever Need Is You" logged eight weeks in the Adult Top 5, far better than it did on the Popular chart.  The song competed against "Peace Train" and "American Pie" to achieve its numbers.


 

#59:

"Ooh Baby Baby"
Linda Ronstadt
1978

Linda Ronstadt indeed had a knack for taking previous hits and making them better.  That's something that's extremely hard to do!  Linda only got to #2 with this one (for two weeks), but she hung around at #3 for an incredible five weeks, and spent nine weeks in the Adult Top 5, lodged behind Adult smashes such as "Time Passages" and "My Life".

 

 

 

#58:

"My Life"

Billy Joel
1978

 

In the business of ranking songs, you don't want to take the lazy man's approach and only go by song ranking--any third-grader could do that.  The most accurate rankings are going to come from a thorough analysis, such as looking at weeks at #2, weeks in the Top 3, weeks in the Top 5, weeks in the Top 10, and most importantly, what was the quality of competition out at the same time? 

 

This song for instance, only reached #2--a simple man would say that isn't as strong as a #1 song.  But you look deeper, and find out that it was #2 for five weeks behind "Time Passages", one of The Top Adult Songs of the Rock Era*.  In other words, in most other time periods, "My Life" would have multiple weeks at #1.  Taken into that context, you see why it should be ranked this high in the decade.  Other songs out at the same time included "Too Much Heaven" by the Bee Gees and Nicolette Larson's "Lotta' Love".  "My Life" spent seven weeks in the Adult Top 5.  



 

 

 

#57:

"My Love"

Paul McCartney & Wings
1973

Henry McCullough came up with the guitar solo in this song on the spur of the moment during recording.  To his credit, Paul McCartney, who usually didn't record this way, let McCullough give it a shot.  This huge hit reached #1 for three weeks against "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", "Yesterday Once More", and Elton John's "Daniel".  It only spent five weeks in the Adult Top 5, though, which is a strike against it for songs in this range.
 

#56:

"I Can See Clearly Now"

Johnny Nash

1972

Johnny Nash wrote "I Can See Clearly Now", which he recorded in London with the members of Average White Band, who would go on to have their own hit "Pick Up The Pieces" in 1974.  This smash racked up four weeks at #1 against competition from "Garden Party" and "Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me".  But it only spent one other week in the Top 5.

#55:

"Time In A Bottle"

Jim Croce

1973

Released after his tragic death, this song's strength was testament to how many loved Jim Croce's music.  It was released smack dab in the middle of heavy competition from Helen Reddy's "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)", "The Way We Were", "Love's Theme", and "The Most Beautiful Girl".  Still, "Time In A Bottle" posted respectable numbers of two weeks at #1 and six in the Adult Top 5. 

#54:

"Where Is The Love"

Roberta Flack & Donnie Hathaway

1972

Ralph MacDonald and William Salter originally wrote this for the 5th Dimension, but MacDonald was working on the session for upcoming album by Roberta Flack and Donnie Hathaway, and decided to let them record it.  Flack & Hathaway met while both attended Howard University in Washington, D.C.  "Where Is The Love" rose to #1 despite two huge hits ("Song Sung Blue" and "Alone Again (Naturally)") being out at the same time.  "Where Is The Love" also posted three weeks at #2 and six total weeks in the Top 5.

 

 

#53:

"Annie's Song"
John Denver
1974 

John from Denver scored one of his biggest career hits with this one--#1 for three weeks and seven weeks in the Top 5 against great songs like "Feel Like Makin' Love" from Roberta Flack, "You Won't See Me", "Please Come To Boston", and "Sundown".

 

 

#52:

"Love Is In The Air"

John Paul Young

1978
 

This Adult smash registered two weeks at #1, and seven in the Top 5, going against three huge Adult hits--"Time Passages", "Right Down The Line", and "Fool (If You Think It's Over".  John Paul Young performed this song at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

  

#51:

"Superstar"

Carpenters

1971

 

We're up to this fantastic song written by Leon Russell.  Richard Carpenter received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist for his magic.  We'll let on that "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is ranked in the upper half of The Top 100*.  This song went head-on against that one, and landed two weeks at #1.  It also faced down "Peace Train" by Cat Stevens, and added three weeks at #2, a total of seven weeks in the Top 3, and eight in the Top 5.

 

That's a great way to end this segment.  The Top 50 Adult Songs of the 70's* are what you have to look forward to as Inside The Rock Era kicks the special into high gear tomorrow!

This Date in Rock Music History: September 5

1964:  A new British group first appeared on the charts on this date.  Manfred Mann, which had released the single "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" on August 31, first appeared on the chart with that release.







1964:  After just five weeks, the Animals concluded a frantic race up the charts with "The House Of The Rising Sun" as the song hit #1.  The Supremes slipped with "Where Did Our Love Go".  
1964:  The Rolling Stones began a tour of the U.K. at the Astoria Theatre in Finsbury Park in London.








1965:  The Rolling Stones began recording "Get Off My Cloud" at RCA Studios in Los Angeles.
1966:  John Lennon flew to Hannover, Germany to begin filming the movie How I Won the War.
1970:  Cosmo's Factory by CCR was the #1 album for the third week.
1970:  Stevie Wonder landed a sixth week at #1 on the R&B chart with "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)".










1970:  Three Dog Night moved from #90 to #68 with "Out In The Country".
1971:  John Lennon and Yoko Ono offered the films Cold Turkey, The Ballad of John and Yoko, Give Peace a Chance, Instant Karma and Up Your Leg at the London Art Spectrum in Alexandra Palace.
1978:  Joe Negroni of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in New York City at the age of 37.
1981:  Bruce Springsteen came onstage at Perkins Palace in Pasadena, California to join the Pretenders in singing the Jackie Wilson song "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher".







1981:  Bella Donna from Stevie Nicks moved into the #1 position on the Album chart, taking over from Foreigner's 4, which slipped to 2.  Journey's great album Escape locked in the #3 spot while Pat Benatar was fourth with Precious Time and Billy Squier landed #5 with Don't Say No.  The rest of the Top 10:  Rickie Lee Jones with Pirates, Rick Springfield and Working Class Dog, Street Songs from Rick James, the Moody Blues fell to #9 with Long Distance Voyager and REO Speedwagon closed the list with Hi Infidelity in its 39th week of release.
1981:  "Endless Love" topped the AC chart by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie.









1981:  Rick Springfield moved from #65 to #43 with "I've Done Everything For You".
1981:  "Endless Love" by Ross & Richie made it four weeks at #1, holding off "Slow Hand" from the Pointer Sisters.  "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" from Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers came in third before the hard-charging "Urgent" from Foreigner.  The rest of the Top 10:  Ronnie Milsap and "(There's) No Gettin' Over Me", Juice Newton remained the same with "Queen Of Hearts", Journey was up to #7 with "Who's Crying Now", the Commodores with "Lady (You Bring Me Up)", "Jessie's Girl" from Rick Springfield and Joey Scarbury had #10--"Theme From Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)".
1982:  Fleetwood Mac, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, Hoyt Axton, Jerry Jeff Walker, and the Grateful Dead played to wrap up the highly successful US Festival near San Bernadino, California.












1985:  John Mellencamp released his great album Scarecrow.  (Note:  some websites falsely report the album was released November 4.  The album debuted on the charts in the U.S. on September 21, 1985.  It is physically impossible for a release to appear on the Album chart if it has not been released as an album.)
1986:  Dire Straits won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Video with "Money For Nothing". 
1987:  Bob Dylan performed at Park Hayarkon in Tel Aviv, Israel.






1987:  Dick Clark's American Bandstand was canceled after 30 years on television.
1987:  Los Lobos spent a second week at #1 with "La Bamba" but Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett were moving up with "I Just Can't Stop Loving You".  Madonna came in third with "Who's That Girl" and Debbie Gibson was up to #4 with "Only In My Dreams".  The rest of the Top 10:  Whitney Houston's "Didn't We Almost Have It All", Richard Marx on his way south with "Don't Mean Nothing", Dan Hill with Vonda Sheppard moved "Can't We Try" up to #7, Whitesnake's only Top 10 of their career "Here I Go Again" moved from 15 to 8, the Whispers were "Rock Steady" and Huey Lewis & the News landed their 11th Top 10 hit out of 14 releases with "Doing It All For My Baby".






1988:  Boy Meets Girl released the single "Waiting For A Star To Fall".

1992:  The Heights released the single "How Do You Talk To An Angel".
1992:  John Mellencamp married Elaine Irwin.  The two met while John was recording the video "Get a Leg Up".
1992:  Boyz II Men were up to three weeks at #1 with "End Of The Road".  TLC came in second again for the fourth week with "Baby-Baby-Baby" while Guns N' Roses had the #3 song--"November Rain".









1992:  Peter Cetera from Sun Valley, Idaho held down the #1 Adult Contemporary chart with "Restless Heart".












1993:  Guitarist Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
1996:  Capitol Records released the eight-disc Laserdisc set The Beatles Anthology, featuring over ten hours of video of the group.
2000:  Noel Gallagher, guitarist and songwriter of Oasis, split with wife Meg Matthews.
2000:  Tori Amos and husband Mark Hawley celebrated the birth of daughter Natashya "Tash" Lórien Hawley in London.
2002:  Bon Jovi, Alicia Keys, Eve, Enrique Iglesias and 'N Sync's Joey Fatone performed at the National Football League concert in Times Square in New York City prior to the opening game between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.

2003:  The Neil Young-directed film Greendale premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.
2003:  We haven't had an episode of Dangerous Inmates Run Rap Music in a few days--this should suffice.  Beanie Sigel had his bail revoked after the judge heard testimony that the rapper was threatening witnesses.
2005:  Sheryl Crow announced she was engaged to multiple Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
2012:  Joe South, singer, songwriter and guitarist who did "Games People Play" and "Walk A Mile In My Shoes", died of heart failure in Flowery Branch, Georgia at age 72.  South also wrote songs for Elvis Presley, Deep Purple, the Osmonds, Gene Vincent, Lynn Anderson ("Rose Garden") and Billy Joe Royal and worked with Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Tommy Roe and others.  (Note:  some websites report Joe died in Buford, Georgia.  According to the newspaper 'The New York Times', he died in Flowery Branch.)

Born This Day:



1939:  John Stewart, who wrote "Daydream Believer" for the Monkees and kept "Gold" for himself, was born in San Diego, California; died January 19, 2008 in San Diego after suffering a massive stroke.
1945:  Dean Ford, lead singer of Marmalade ("Reflections Of My Life" from 1969), was born in Coatbridge, Scotland.

1945:  Al Stewart was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

1946:  Freddie Mercury (real name Farookh Bulsara), lead singer of Queen, was born in Zanzibar, Tanzania; died November 24, 1991 of the AIDS virus.
1946:  Loudon Wainwright III ("Dead Skunk" from 1973) was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
1947:  Buddy Miles, drummer with Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys, Santana, Electric Flag and yes, the California Raisins, was born in Omaha, Nebraska.
1949:  Clem Clempson of Humble Pie was born in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England.
1966:  Terry Ellis of En Vogue was born in Houston, Texas.
1968:  Brad Wilk, drummer of Rage Against the Machine, was born in Portland, Oregon.