Music Deaths: Helen Reddy

HELEN REDDY, 78

Died 29 September 2020

Singer, pop and easy listening.

From Australia.  Made it big in U.S.  In the 1970s had 15 singles in the American Top 40.  Six made Top ten and three went to #1.  Her signature song was "I Am Woman."

Had 25 songs on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Her three Number 1's:

"I Am Woman" (1972)

"Delta Dawn"  (1973)

"Angie Baby"  (1974)  Quite a strange song.  Worthy of a scary movie.

I really liked the "Coach" episode when the women's basketball coach dumped the load of manure in his office with the words "I Am Cow, Hear Me Moo."

#1 Songs for the Week of September 11 Through the Years-- Part 2: "Help!"

1960   IT'S NOW OR NEVER--  Elvis Presley

1961   THE MOUNTAIN'S HIGH--  Dick & Dee Dee

1962   SHERRY--  Four Seasons

1963   MY BOYFRIEND'S BACK--  Angels

1964   THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN--  Animals

1965   HELP!--  Beatles

1966   CHERISH--  Association

1967--  ODE TO BILLY JOE--  Bobbie Gentry

1968  HARPER VALLEY PTA--  Jeannie C. Riley

1969   SUGAR, SUGAR--  Archies

Name That Tune (from the above):  "When You see Him Comin', Better Cut On the Double."  --RoadDog



"My Boyfriend's Back"

#1 Songs For the Week of September 11 Through the Years-- Part 1: "Tonight You Belong to Me"

From Oldies Music.com.

1950  GOODNIGHT IRENE--  Gordon Jenkins

1951  BECAUSE OF YOU--  Tony Bennett

1952  I WENT TO YOUR WEDDING--  Patti Page

1953  CRYING IN THE CHAPEL--  June Valli

1954  SKOKIAAN--  Ralph Meterie

1955  MOMENTS TO REMEMBER--  Four Lads

1956  TONIGHT YOU BELONG TO ME--  Patience & Prudence

1957  WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN' GOING ON--  Jerry Lee Lewis

1958  NEL BLU DIPINTO DI BLU (VOLARE)--  Domenico Modugno

1959  SLEEP WALK--  Santo & Johnny

Name That Tune (from the above):  "Last Saturday Night I Got Married."  --RoadDog

SIGNS AND NOTICES:  Road sign seen on the island of Cyprus (translation of the Greek):  "Caution: Road Slippery From Grapejuice."

"Goodnight Irene"

We're #2: Songs That Never Hit #1-- Part 5: "Purple Rain"

And the song that kept them from #1.

5.   EXPRESS YOURSELF--  Madonna   "If You Don't Know By Now" by Simply Red

4.  PURPLE RAIN--  Prince   "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"  by Wham!

3.  CHAIN OF FOOLS--  Aretha Franklin    "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)" by John Fred & His Playboy Band.

2.  LOUIE, LOUIE--  Kingsmen    "Dominique" by the Singing Nun

1.  LIKE A ROLLING STONE--  Bob Dylan

Name That Tune (From above):  "Once Upon a Time You Dressed So Fine."  --RoadDog


"Like a Rolling Stone"

We're #2: Songs That Never Hit #1-- Part 4: "Since U Been Gone"

And the song that kept them from #1.

10.  BOOGIE NIGHTS-- Heatwave   "You Light Up My Life" by Debby Boone was #1 for ten weeks.

9.  MANIC MONDAY--  Bangles   "Kiss" by Prince

8.  BURNING LOVE--  Elvis Presley   "My Ding-A-Ling" by Chuck Berry, his only #1 hit.

7.  SINCE U BEEN GONE-- Kelly Clarkson    "Candy Shop" by 50 Cent, #1 for nine weeks.

6.  NUTHIN' BUY A "G" THING--  Dr. Dre   "Informer" by  Snow  Only #1 hit.

Name That Tune (From above):  "Lord Almighty, I Feel My Temperature Rising."  --RoadDog


"Burning Love"

We're #2: Songs That Never Reached #1-- Part 3: "All I Wanna Do"

And the song that kept them from being #1.

15.  ALL I WANNA DO--  Sheryl Crow  "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men

14.  HURTS SO GOOD--  John Cougar   "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor and "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago.

13.  WITHOUT ME--  Eminem   "Hot in Here" by Nelly

12.  SOUL MAN--  Sam and Dave   "To Sir With Love" by Lulu.  Spend five weeks at #1.

11.  THE GIRL IS MINE--  Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney   "Maneater" by Hall & Oates

Name That Tune (From the above songs):"When I Was a Young Boy, Said Put Away Those Young Boy Things."  (Answer below)  --RoadDog

YOUR BANK'S IN TROUBLE WHEN:  You want to make a withdrawal, clerks suddenly don't speak English.


"Hurts So Good"

We're #2: Songs That Never Reached #1-- Part 2: "99 Luftballons"

Continued from April 1, 2016.

From the July 27, 2012, Rob O'Connor's List of the Day "We're #2! Part 2.  More Sings That Never Made It To #1."

This time he will also name the song that kept it from #1.

20.  MELLOW YELLOW--  Donovan   "Good Vibrations"  by the Beach Boys.

19.  99 LUFTBALLOONS--  Nena    "Jump" by Van Halen.  It still is the highest charting song by a German group in U.S. Pop History.

18.  19TH NERVOUS BREAKDOWN--  Rolling Stones   "Ballad of the Green berets" by SSgt. Barry Sadler

17.  DANIEL--  Elton John   "My Love" by Paul McCartney & Wings

16.  NEVER MY LOVE--  Association   "The Letter" by the Box Tops  "Cherish" and "Windy" both hit #1 for them.

Name That Tune:  "You Better Stop, Look Around."  --  RoadDog


"19th Nervous Breakdown"

We're #2!! More Songs That Never Made It to #1-- Part 1

From the July 27, 2012, Rob O'Connor's List of the Day "We're #2! Part 2.  More Songs That Never Made It to #1.  Rob will now also list the song that kept it from reaching #1 as per fan request.

25.  THE WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD--  Gordon Lightfoot--  "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" by Rod Stewart.  It was #1 for eight weeks.
24.  LYIN' EYES--  Eagles--  "Island Girl" by Elton John.
23.  SMACK THAT--  Akon--  "Money Maker" by Ludicris.

22.  BLUEBERRY HILL--  Fats Domino--  Had been #1 for Glenn Miller in 1940.
21.  DANCING ON THE CEILING--  Lionel Richie  "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin and "Stuck on You" by Huey Lewis & the News.

--RoadDog

1978 Songs That Almost, But Never Did, make it to #1-- Part 2

14.  THIS TIME I'M IN IT FOR LOVE--  Player  #10
13.  BAKER STREET--  Gerry Rafferty  #2  (One of my all-time favs.)
12.  IT'S A HEARTACHE--  Bonnie Tyler  #3

11.  LOVE IS LIKE OXYGEN--  Sweet  #8
10.  LAST DANCE--  Donna Summer  #3  (I ended more than a few deejay jobs with this song.)
9.  HOT BLOODED--  Foreigner  #3  DOUBLE VISION--  Foreigner  #2
8.  AN EVERLASTING LOVE--  Andy Gibb  #5

7.  HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU--  Olivia Newton-John  #3 // SUMMER NIGHTS--  Olivia Newton-John and John "Barbarino" Travolta  #5
6.  REMINISCING--  Little River Band  #3
5.  BEAST OF BURDEN--  Rolling Stones  #8
4.  I LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE (DISCO ROUND)--  Alicia Bridges  #5

3.  SHARING THE NIGHT TOGETHER--  Dr. Hook  #6
2.  YMCA--  Village People  #2  (I could not even imagine how many times I played this song while deejaying.
1.  HOLD THE LINE--  Toto  #5

Some of these songs did make #1 on other charts, though.  The songs are listed chronologically when they first appeared on the 1978 charts.  When artists had two such hits, the first one appears in front.

Some Good Stuff, Not #1.  --RoadDog


SIGNS OF OLD AGE:  Relatives smile benignly rather than interrupt you as you retell the same story for the zillionth time.

12 Hit #2 Songs That Surprisingly Didn't Make It to #1

From July 22, 2014, Yahoo! Music.

Close, but no cigar.

1.  GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN--  Cyndi Lauper  (Probably the guy with the rubber bands on his face.)
2.  BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY--  Queen  (Even Garth and Wayne couldn't get it for them.)
3.  TEARS IN HEAVEN--  Eric Clapton

4.  DANCING IN THE DARK--  Bruce Springsteen
5.  UNDER THE BRIDGE--  Red Hot Chili Peppers
6.  OPEN ARMS--  Journey

7.  START ME UP--  Rolling Stones
8.  FERGALICIOUS--  Fergie
9.  BORN TO BE WILD--  Steppenwolf  (Who'd have figured that.)

10.  COMPLICATED--  Avril Lavigne
11.  PROUD MARY--  Creedence Clearwater Revival  (All those great songs and no #1s.)
12.  YMCA--  Village People  No "Y" for You!!!

Heavy Metal Thunder.  --RoadDog

#1 Songs for Week of May 18th-- Part 2

1961--  RUNAWAY--  Del Shannon
1962--  STRANGER ON THE SHORE--  Mr. Acker Bilk
1963--  TWO FACES HAVE I--  Lou Christie
1964--  LOVE ME DO/PS I LOVE--  Beatles  (Beatlemania, don't you know.)
1965--  MRS. BROWN YOU HAVE A LOVELY DAUGHTER--  Herman's Hermits

1966--  MONDAY MONDAY--  Mamas and Papas
1967--  DON'T YOU CARE--  Buckinghams  (Chicago's own)
1968--  MONY MONY--  Tommy James & the Shondells  (Mutual of Omaha New York)
1969--  GET BACK--  Beatles featuring Billy Preston  (How would it be to get featured by the Beatles?)
1970--   CECILIA--  Simon and Garfunkel  (One of my favorite S&G songs.)

1971--  JOY TO THE WORLD--  Three Dog Night (What was the name of that bullfrog?)
1972--  THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE--  Roberta Flack
1973--  TIE A YELLOW RIBBON ROUND THE OLE OAK TREE--  Dawn featuring Tony Orlando
1974--  THE LOCO-MOTION--  Grand Funk
1975--  IT'S A MIRACLE--  Barry Manilow

1976--  WELCOME BACK--  John Sebastian  (Go, Sweat Hogs and Vinnie Barbarino.)
1977--  WHEN I NEED YOU--  Leo Sayer
1978--  NIGHT FEVER--  Bee Gees
1979--  REUNITED--  Peaches & Herb
1980--  CALL ME--  Blondie

I Know Everything After 1955.  --RoadDog


YOGI-ISMS:  "You can see a lot by observing."

#1 Songs for Week of May 18th Through the Years

From Oldies Music site.

1951  TOO YOUNG--  Nat "King" Cole  (And that was exactly what I was since I was born this week back in 1951.)
1952  HERE IN MY HEART--  Al Martino
1953  THE SONG FROM MOULIN ROUGE (WHERE IS YOUR HEART)--  Percy Faith
1954  LITTLE THING MEAN A LOT--  Kitty Kalen
1955  HONEY BABE--  Art Mooney

1956  HEARTBREAK HOTEL--  Elvis Presley
1957  I'M WALKIN'--  Ricky Nelson
1958  ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM--  Everly Brothers
1959  KANSAS CITY--  Wilbert Harrison
1960  SINK THE BISMARCK--  Johnny Horton

60s and 70s Next.  --RoadDog

#1 Songs in Chicago On January 12th From 1952-1980-- Part 2:

1964 DRAG CITY-- Jan and Dean // LOVE POTION #9-- Searchers // 1966 FIVE O'CLOCK WORLD-- Vogues // 1967 I'M A BELIEVER/ (I'M NOT YOUR) STEPPIN' STONE--Monkees // 1968 JUDY IN DISGUISE (WITH GLASSES)-- John Fred & His Playboy Band // 1969 I'M GONNA MAKE YOU LOVE ME-- Diana Ross & the Supremes and Temptations // 1970 VENUS-- Shocking Blue // 1971 KNOCK THREE TIMES-- Dawn // 1972 AMERICAN PIE-- Don McLean // 1973 YOU'RE SO VAIN-- Carly Simon // 1974 ONE TIN SOLDIER, THE LEGEND OF BILLY JACK-- Coven // 1975 PLEASE MR. POSTMAN-- Carpenters // 1976 CONVOY-- C.W. McCall // 1977 BLINDED BY THE LIGHT-- Manfred Mann and His Earth Band // 1978 WE WILL ROCK YOU/WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS-- Queen // 1979 LE FREAK-- Chic // 1980 ESCAPE (THE PINA COLADA SONG)-- Rupert Holmes.

#1 Songs in Chicago on January 12th From 1952-1980-- Part 1

Hot Songs in a Cold Month. //// From Oldies Music.com site. //// 1952 BERMUDA-- Bell Sisters // 1953 DON'T LET THE SUN GET IN YOUR EYES-- Perry Como // 1954 OH! MY PA-PA (O MEIN PAPA)-- Eddie Fisher // 1955 MR. SANDMAN-- Chordettes // 1956 LISBON ANTIGUA-- Nelson Riddle // 1957 BANANA BOAT SONG (DAY O)-- Harry Belafonte // 1958 AT THE HOP-- Danny & the Juniors // SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES-- Platters // 1960 WHY-- FRankie Avalon //// 1961 EXODUS-- Ferrante & Teicher // 1962 THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT-- Tokens // 1963 GO AWAY LITTLE GIRL-- Steve Lawrence //// AND THEN CAME THE BEATLES. --RoadDog

25 Years Ago There Were 33 Different #1 Singles in 1988-- Part 1

From the Nov. 12, 2013 Yahoo! Music "Twenty-five Years Gone-- 33 #1 Hit Singles of 1988" by Rob O'Connor. Always some interesting lists generated by this guy. Of course, he has pictures and more information. I'm just listing them.

The number 1 spot was held by 33 different songs in the 53 weeks (really, there were 53 weeks on the chart list in 1988) Steve Winwood's "Roll With It" was #1 for the longest time at four weeks.

In 2013 so far, there have been only 11 #1s with Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" the longest at 12 weeks. Bruno Mars' ""When I Was Your Man" was the only one #1 for just one week.

How many do you remember? There were a few that I couldn't remember at all.

1988 #1 Songs from Jan. to Dec. in order. The number behind it is the number of weeks at #1:

33.  FAITH-- George Michael (1)
32.  SO EMOTIONAL-- Whitney Houston (1)
31.  GOT MY MIND SET ON YOU-- George Harrison.

I Really Liked That George Harrison Song. Always My Favorite Beatle.  --RoadGeorge

Frankie Laine

He had the #1 Song this date in 1949.

He may not be well-known today, but at one time he was known as "America's Number One Song Stylist." He was born in Chicago May 30, 1913, and died February 6, 2007.

At one time, he had three consecutive #1s on the Billboard Charts 1949-1950 with "That Lucky Old Son," "Mule Train, " and "Cry of the Wild Goose."

Other big hits: That's My Desire, Jezebel, High Noon, I Believe, Cool Water, Rawhide, and Lord, You Gave Me a Mountain.

He married actress Nan Grey in 1950 and remained married for 43 years. Both of them were in the November 18, 1960, episode of "Rawhide" called "Incident on the Road to Yesterday" where they played long lost lovers.

Now You Know. --RoadDog

Top Songs This Date Through the Years

Using Josh Hosler's site, these are he NUMBER ONE songs this date, October 1st.

2009 Gotta Feeling-- Black Eyed Peas-- this is one of the hottest bands around these days. I like their music.

1999 Unpretty-- TLC
1989 Miss You Much-- Janet Jackson-- before the costume meltdown

1979 Sad Eyes-- Robert John-- one of the great s-l-o-w sons
1978 Kiss You All Over-- Exile-- although Dr. CC did the most thorough job
1977 Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band-- I know I met some of those dudes in some of the bars I've visited.

1976 Play That Funky Music-- Wild Cherry-- Who says white boys can't get funky?
1975 Fame-- Daniel Bower-- Isn't there a movie out by this name these days?
1974 I Honestly Love You-- Olivia Newton-John-- Real pretty Aussie

1973 Half Breed-- Cher-- wearing those d-r-e-s-s-e-s real slinky-like
1972 Baby Don't get Hooked on Me-- Mac Davis-- It's Hard to Be Humble
1971 Maggie Mae/Reason to Believe-- Rod Stewart-- Takes me right back to the Sig Ep house at UGA.

1970 Ain't No Mountain High Enough-- Diana Ross
1969 Sugar, Sugar-- Archies-- Stop sing it, I know you are.

1959 Mack the Knife-- Bobby Darrin-- Go ahead, cut me.
1949 That Lucky Old Son-- Frankie Laine-- Sure have been missing it around here lately.

1939 Over the Rainbow-- Glenn Miller-- Think it could have something to do with a movie?
1929 Am I Blue-- Ethel Waters
1919 A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody-- John Street

What Happened to September? It Sure Went By Fast. --RoadDog