WLS Top 40 for May 12, 1969-- Part 6: "Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In"

These are taken from WLS YEAR--  Oldies Loon.

15.  MORNING GIRL--  Neon Philharmonic      #17    Was that a moog at the beginning?  Another way-too-short song at just 2:17.   This was a chamber-sized orchestra of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.  Their only other Top 100 song was "Heighdy-Ho Princess  (#94-1970)

14.  TIME IS TIGHT--  Booker T & MGs      #9     Just as hood as their "Green Onions."  Title song from the movie starring Clint Eastwood.

13.  OH, HAPPY DAY--  Edwin Hawkins Singers      #4      Listen to them sing this and you have been to church today.  Their only Top 100 songs by themselves, though they got credit for being on Melanie's "Lay Down (Candles in the Wind)"  (#6-1970)

12.  I'VE BEEN HURT--  Bill Deal / Rhondells        #35     Hey!!  Beach Music!!!  Anytime.  Great horns, but also way-too-short at just 2:09.

11.  AQUARIUS / LET THE SUNSHINE IN--  Fifth Dimension--      #1      Be sure to watch the You Tube video of this by MrHaagsesjonny1.

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "Cause You Cheated (Cheated), Cheated (Cheated), Cheated (Cheated)."    Answer below.  --RoadDog



"I've Been Hurt"

About Last Weekend: It's a Burnin' Thing, Third Band in Three Days, the Chain and Four Bars Today

SUNDAY, MAY 6

After several failed efforts, I finally got a fire hot enough and managed top burn a lot of the accumulated limbs in the burn pile.

We then went to Cabana's to meet with several of our Usual Suspects group and enjoy the New Odyssey Guy.  He is the former drummer of New Odyssey who is out on his own now that the band retired.  We knew he would be good and he was.  Enjoyed sitting out in the grass, in the sun and with temperatures in the upper 70s.  A great way to kick off another summer on the Chain of Lakes here in Illinois.

With him, that makes three bands that we saw in the last three days.

And, I guess we finally really broke that long list of weekends destroyed weatherwise by the infamous Round Lake Spring Carnival.

We then went to Oak Park Lounge, a holdout from the original Chain, dating back to 1890s and it hasn't changed much.  It is a bona fide Dive Bar.  We love it, but don't go as often as we should.  Plus, they have one of the most spoiled bar dogs who has ever lived, Bomber.  He has every one trained well.

We ran into a couple who we found out had a lot in common with us.  He graduated from Fremd High School in 1974.  They have a house near where we were seriously looking at a lot on the Chain back in 1991.  They met each other in Panama City Beach.

We then went to Sunnyside for a pizza and $1.50 drafts and finished up with a lot of juke box playing at Sunnyside.

That's four bars today.

Too Much Fun.  --RoadFun

About Last Weekend: Who's Weather?, No Burn and a Band

SATURDAY, MAY 4

Somehow, someway, we ended up with an actual spring day, instead of this winter mix.  I took advantage, well, tried to take advantage of it, and work on my burn pile, which has never been higher with the trees, trimming trees and limbs that came down in winter storms.  But, no luck.  I couldn't get a fire going hot enough.

This was to be a great day at the Fox Lake American Legion as we were having a band, a Drinko de Mayo and Kentucky Derby party with all sorts of food and drink specials.  But, because of some problems, we just had the band, but they were a really good one called Joey Sunset Project.

Due to all the rain this last week the whole Chain of Lakes is No Wake.

--RoadDog

WLS Top 40 for May 12, 1969-- Part 5: "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby"

That's right, fifty years ago.   Geezers.  The number after the artist is how high the song got on the Billboard Hot 100.

20.  GRAZING IN THE GRASS--  Friends of Distinction      #3    So, that's how Hugo's song went.    Fifth Dimension II.  Their biggest hit.

19.  TOO BUSY THINKING ABOUT MY BABY--  Marvin Gaye     #4     How do you beat that classic Motown sound?  Easy to dance to, good beat.  I'd give it a 9.   Follow up to his biggest hit, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine."

18.  ATLANTIS--  Donovan     #7  OK, class.  Today's history lesson will be....   Builds and builds to the climax.   His last Top Ten.

17.  IT'S YOUR THING--  Isley Brothers     #2    Still can't listen to it and not start moving to it.  Their biggest Pop hit, but they had a real lot of songs on the R&B charts.

16.  MERCY--   Ohio Express     #30    Some more of that great, under-rated Bubblegum Music.   At 2:15 not nearly long enough.  Not a better-known song, though.  Really catchy words and music, but, B.M. is that way in all its songs.

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "Those Beautiful Sailors Journeyed To The South And North Americas With Ease."    Answer below.  --RoadDog


"Atlantis"

WLS Top 40 for May 12, 1969-- Part 4: "Hawaii Five-O"

25.  YOU'VE MADE ME SO VERY HAPPY--  Blood, Sweat & Tears     #2    Love those horns.  Horns just make any song better.  The first of three straight #2 songs.  They were like CCR who had five #2s and never a #1.

24.  I COULD NEVER LIE TO YOU--  New Colony Six     #50      This is WLS supporting local Chicago groups.

23.  DON'T GIVE IN TO HIM--  Gary Puckett /Union Gap      #15    More of this group's sex songs.   The Union Gap formed in San Diego in 1967.

22.  HAWAII FIVE-0--  Ventures     #4     One really cool instrumental.  That riff makes me see that huge wave.  From the TV series of the same name, starring Jack Lord.

21.  NOTHING BUT A HEARTACHE--  Flirtations       #34    When I saw this song, I didn't think I'd heard of it before, but I had.  What voices this trio had.  They should have been more than a one-hit wonder.  Not to be confused with the Supreme's "Nothing But Heartaches" which is a different song.

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "I Lost At Love Before, Got Mad And Closed The Door."  Answer below.  --RoadDog


"You've Made Me So Very Happy"

About Last Weekend: No Hardee's, Sammie's, The Curse of the Round Lake Spring Carnival, Magee Teachers and Legion Name That Tune

THURSDAY, MAY 2

Four straight days of rain and that grass is mocking me.  Lots of flooding and the lower Fox River is no wake.  I saw a real creepy movie in Fox Lake called "The Curse of La Llorana."  Then went to Round Lake Beach and found that the Hardee's was closed.  I'm disappointed, but not surprised as there were hardly any customers when I went.  I ended up at Sammie's on Rollins for one of their great gyro meals.

I saw that the infamous Round Lake Spring Carnival was setting up, so that explains all the horrible weather this week.  Stopped at the Legion on the way home.

FRIDAY, MAY 3

A day without rain.  Wow!!  Went to the Bristol 45 Diner in Bristol, Wisconsin, and met with former Magee teachers.  Later went to the Legion in Fox Lake for 50-50 and enjoyed playing Name That Tune with the deejay.

--Roaddog

Final Boating?, Civil War, SNOW, Stucky's and Sunnyside

FRIDAY, APRIL 26

Had my favorite breakfast meal at McDonald's, the steak, egg and cheese bagel.  And, they use real steak.  And those caramelized onions!!    Drove to Hebron and picked up the boat where we kept it in a barn over the winter.  Since we are planning on selling it this spring, this could be the last time.  We have been boaters since 1985, but that time is ending. Met the Usual Suspects at the Legion for 50-50.

SATURDAY, APRIL 27

Drove to Crystal Lake for the McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group, topic the Battle of Shiloh.  Then took the truck into the emission testing station where it passed.  All week the weather had predicted a snow storm.  The rain turned  to snow about 10:30, but didn't stick on the roads.  We ended up with three inches on the deck rails and a white covering on the grass.

SUNDAY, APRIL 28

Big meltdown of the snow.  None left by evening.  We went to Stucky's and watched NASCAR and the Chicago Cubs and White Sox games..  A couple we know came in with their two six-month-old huskie (NIU spelling) puppies so had to go out and play with them on the deck.  Also, a former student of mine came in and remembered "Demerit Points."  Something all my former students remember.

Snow At the End of April?  Don't Even Think About Calling It Warming!!  --RoadDog

A PLETHORA OF TIDBITS:  A cardigan worn by a man is sometimes called a mandigan.

WLS Top 40 for May 12, 1969-- Part 3: "Medicine Man"

Fifty Years Ago this week.

30.  PROUD MARY--  Solomon Burke    #45     Explaining the song and his ancestors to it.  Great Soul rendition of it.

29.  DAY IS DONE--  Peter, Paul and Mary     #21    Does get much more folky than this.    Facing your fears.   Their next-to-last hit.  Their last one was "Leaving On a Jet Plane"  which went to #1 at the end of the year.

28.  I CAN HEAR MUSIC--  Beach Boys       #24     Part of Bob Stroud's Rock and Roll Roots Show on Chicago's WDRV, 97.1 FM on Sundays.    Vocals by Carl Wilson, a very underrated guy in the group.  Watch the Fritz 5137 video.  Mike Love is way off on this one.

27.  MEDICINE MAN--  Buchanan Brothers     #22     Can't get too much of this song which I hadn't heard in years.   Group consisted of Terry Cashman, Gene Pistilli and Tommy West.  West and Cashman produced many Jim Croce songs.

26.  ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE--  Jerry Butler     #4   Ice Man cool here.  Listen to what Mother has to say.  She wouldn't lead her son wrong when it comes to women.   His biggest hit.

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "This Is The Way I Always Dreamed It Would Be."   Answer below.  --RoadDog


"I Can Hear Music"

WLS Top 40 for May 12, 1969-- Part 2: "Seattle"

(D) refers to a debut.  The number after the artist is how high the song got on the Billboard Hot 100.

And, remember, fifty years ago.

35.  SEATTLE--  Perry Como     #38   Blue skies in Seattle?  When?   More like rain.  Is this a tourism ploy?  Five Bucks anyone?   From the TV series "Here Come the Brides" starring Bobby Sherman.  Did Julie love him?

34.  MORE TODAY THAN YESTERDAY--  Spiral Staircase     #12   One of life's little pleasures like "Everyday With You."  A real show band doing a really catchy song.  Their biggest hit of three Top 100s.

33.  WILL YOU BE STAYING AFTER SUNDAY--  Peppermint Rainbow      #32   How's the group's name for a psychedelic name.     Mama and Papa Wannabes?    Watch the video for some really strange collars on the guys in the band.   From Baltimore.

32.  SPECIAL DELIVERY--  1910 Fruitgum Company    #38   Written by Bobby Bloom.  I LOVE my Bubble Gum Music.  It's really hard to sit still when that Bubble Hum is playing.    From New Jersey.

31.  GOODBYE--  Mary Hopkin      #13     What a great song  Written by Lennon-McCartney, but sounds more like a Paul song.  Follow up to "Those Were the Days."

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  " I Don't Remember What Day It Was, I Didn't Remember What Time It Was."  Answer below.  --RoadDog


"More Today Than Yesterday"

WLS Top 40 for May 12, 1969: "In the Ghetto"

These were the songs on the WLS top 40 fifty years ago.  The good old days of AM radio when they played a little bit of everything from country to pop back then.

(D)  means a debut song.  The number after the artist is how high the song got on the Billboard Hot 100.

40.  BAD MOON RISING--  Creedence Clearwater Revival     (D)      #2     My ringtone.  Enjoyed the video on You Tube by Driver Atomic.   Follow up to "Proud Mary" also #2.   One of five #2s.  No #1s.

39.  WHERE'S THE PLAYGROUND SUSIE--   Glen Campbell    (D)    #26   Not one of his better-known songs.  It was the first song on side two of his "Galveston" album.   Follow up to "Galveston."

38.  EVERY DAY WITH YOU--  Classics IV    (D)     #19   One of life's little joys.     He's s-o-o-o-o in love.   Follow up to "Traces."

37.  IN THE GHETTO--  Elvis Presley   (D)     #3    Elvis getting socially conscious about the Chicago ghetto.  Still very relevant today.

36.  LET ME--  Paul Revere & the Raiders   (D)      #20    Getting heavy.  Fuzz guitars.  Really like the false end and shout.

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "Don't Go Around Tonight.  Well, It's Bound To Take Your Life."

Answer below.    --RoadDog


"Bad Moon Rising"

Music of 1968: Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones

For these articles, I will only be writing a couple things mentioned in the articles about each artist.

JIMI HENDRIX:  UNBOUND BY THE RULES

"James Marshall Hendrix, the Stratocaster-burning, blues-bending left-hander who played a right-handed guitar upside down.  Hendrix came seemingly from nowhere, was discovered in New York, hustles off to London, where he became a star, and then returned to the U.S., where he introduced himself to Americans at the Monterrey Pop Festival."

THE ROLLING STONES:  GRITTY, RAW AND LOUD

"'Beggars Banquet' ...was released on Dec.6, 1968, the Rolling Stones were on fire.  Critics and fans who had skewered the band's previous album, 1967's psychedelic 'Their Satanic Majesties Request', forgave them everything.

"The band was entering its most creative period."

The next albums were "Let It Bleed",  "Sticky Fingers", "Exile On Main Street", and "Goats Head Soup."

Personally, though, I really liked "Their Satanic Majesties Request."

--RoadDog

Music of 1968-- Part 3: "Thank You For Letting Us Be Ourselves"

"Rock groups captured the feelings and thoughts of young and old around the globe.  The songs were defiant; they were joyous.  They were earsplitting and tenderly sweet.

"Some vented against Vietnam and injustice, but other rued love gone wrong and hoped for a better tomorrow.  When Sly Stone appeared on 'The Ed Sullivan Show,' he opened by telling the audience, 'Don't hate the black, don't hate the white.  If you get bitten, simply hate the bite,' and concluded with a simple 'Thank you for letting us be ourselves.'

"Rock 'n' roll helped change the  conversation in 1968.  It also changed the world."

--Road68

A PLETHORA OF TIDBITS:  (from "10 Things You Might Not Know About Nearly Everything" by Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkiofer)

**The folks who brought us Reddi-wip whipped cream had another brainstorm in the 1960s:  Reddi-Bacon.

WLS Top Ten for May 5, 1969: "Gitarzan"

These were the Top Ten songs in Chicago fifty years ago today according to WLS 890 AM.  That's HALF a CENTURY for those of you counting.

1.  THE BOXER--  Simon & Garfunkel
2.  GITARZAN--  Ray Stevens
3.  HAIR--  Cowsills

4.  SWEET CHERRY WINE---  Tommy James / Shondells
5.  GIMME, GIMME GOOD LOVIN'--  Crazy Elephant
6.  AQUARIUS / LET THE SUNSHINE IN--  Fifth Dimension
7.  THESE EYES--  Guess Who

8.  PINBALL WIZARD--  Who
9.  MERCY--  Ohio Express
10.  TIME IS TIGHT--  Booker T. & the MG's


DEBUTS

36.  GOODBYE--  Mary Hopkin
37.  MORE TODAY THAN YESTERDAY--  Spiral Staircase

38.  DAY IS DONE--  Peter, Paul & Mary
39.  PROUD MARY--  Solomon Burke
40.  MEDICINE MAN--   Buchanan Brothers

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "To California I'm Gonna Spend My Life Both Night And Day."  Answer below.  --RoadDog



"Gimme Gimme Good Lovin' "

Music of 1968-- Part 2: Beatles, Jimi, Janis, CSNY

"The Beatles, in spite of personal resentments and professional differences, followed "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with an LP that since has been embraced as even more iconic:  "The Beatles, a.k.a. the White Album.

"While Jimi Hendrix was torching guitars and putting the polishing touches on "Electric Ladyland, Janis Joplin was shedding Big Brother and the Holding Company and starting a band of her own.

""Out in Los Angeles's Laurel Canyon, Joni Mitchell's boyfriend casually walked into an impromptu jam session.  There he found two other like-minded musicians -- an encounter that led to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, probably the most famous supergroup ever.

"The lyrics these bands and solo artists produced were much more than an echo of the nightly news.  They comprised a story unto itself."

--RoadDog

TRIVIA:  Which governor's bid for the presidency in 2016 was hampered by the George Washington Bridge scandal?


Chris Christie

Music of 1968-- Part 1: A Year To Remember

From the Time Life Magazine/book "Music of 1968: Rock and Roll's Greatest Year.

I really enjoy these little magazine/books and spend more than I should on them.  Lots of great pictures, concise text an plenty of information and a surprising number of them of particular interest to me.  Most are just 100 pages long so they don't take too long to read.

Of course, I am really interested in music and especially music from 1968, which was a good high school year for at good old Palatine High School in Illinois (my junior/senior year).

Now that I am a year late, I will go through the magazine and write a little of what they said about each artist.

"1968:  A Year To Remember.

"Mick Jagger summed it up best:  "But what can a poor boy do, except to sing for a rock 'n' roll band?"

"For rock 'n' roll lovers, 1968 hit the mother lode.  Psychedelia ruled, and so did protest,  Motown and Johnny Cash's twang. The Rolling Stones blasted back onto the airwaves with "Beggars Banquet."  Heavy metal was ascendant."

Buy Me An Album.  --RoadDog

TRIVIA:  In which scandalous novel is literature professor Humbert Humbert obsessed with pre-teen Dolores Hazel?


"Lolita"

Music Deaths: Hal Blaine, Drummer for Wrecking Crew

HAL BLAINE, 90

Died March 11, 2019

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer played on about 40 #1 songs and roughly 150 Top Ten.  Played on Beach Boy's "Pet Sounds" album as well as with Elvis Presley, Sonny & Cher, Mamas and Papas, Simon & Garfunkel and the Byrds.

His drumming was also a key part of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound.

Some of the songs he played drums on:

Mr. Tamborine Man--  Byrds
Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In--  Fifth Dimension
Bridge Over Troubled Water--  Simon & Garfunkel
The Way We Were--  Barbra Streisand
Strangers In the Night--  Frank Sinatra
Good Vibrations and California Girls--  Beach Boys

Music Deaths: Doug Sandom, Original Who Drummer

DOUG SANDOM, 89

Died February 27, 2019

Was with the Detours, an early incarnation of the Who.  He was the drummer before Keith Moon joined the group.  The Detours were founded by Roger Daltry and also had Pete Townsend and John Entwhistle in it.  He was an excellent drummer, but considered to be too old as he was in his early 30s in the 1960s and the rest of the band were teens.

In February 1964, the Detours learned there was already a band named the Detours and on Valentine's Day, changed their name to the Who.

Music Deaths: Andy Anderson, Drummer with the Cure

ANDY ANDERSON, 68

Died February 26, 2019

Real name Clifford Leon Anderson

English drummer known for his work with the Cure.  The Cure were a British techno-rock group formed in 1977 by Robert Smith.  Known for their Gothic Rock.

Had three Top 40s:

Just Like Heaven (#40-88)
Love Song   (#2-89)
Friday I'm In Love  (#18-92)