8 Aug 2006--it's 1973!!!

[RGMike]

1.  Dr. John - Right Place, Wrong Time  
2.  Isley Brothers - That Lady  
3.  Stealer's Wheel - Stuck in the Middle With You  
4.  Tower of Power - So Very Hard to Go (BEST OF SET!!)  
5.  Greg Allman - These Days  
6.  Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand the Rain  
7.  Four Tops - Are You Man Enough?  
8.  Elton John - Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding  
9.  Spinners - One of a Kind Love Affair  
10.  Billy Preston - Will it Go Round in Circles  
 
BONUS TRACK:  Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show - The Cover of the Rolling Stone

[ggould]

What hits did Elvis release in '73?  "Burnin' Love" was '72 IIRC.  (And I think that was his last Top 10 hit, but I could be wrong.)  I'm not up to speed on his later hits except for "Way Down."

not a big year for the King -- "Steamroller Blues" got to #17.  Not a big singles year for Neil Diamond, either, tho' the execrable Jonathan Livingston Seagull LP sold well.

1973   "Steamroller Blues"   17   -   -
1973   "Fool"   17   15   
1973   "Polk Salad Annie"   -   23   -
1973   "Raised On Rock"   41   36   -
1973   "For Ol' Times Sake"

[ggould]

1.  Dr. John - Right Place, Wrong Time  
2.  Isley Brothers - That Lady  
3.  Stealer's Wheel - Stuck in the Middle With You  
4.  Tower of Power - So Very Hard to Go (BEST OF SET!!)  
5.  Greg Allman - These Days  
6.  Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand the Rain  
7.  Four Tops - Are You Man Enough?  
8.  Elton John - Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding  
9.  Spinners - One of a Kind Love Affair  
10.  Billy Preston - Will it Go Round in Circles  
 
BONUS TRACK:  Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show - The Cover of the Rolling Stone

Most of this takes me back to working in th Post Office down at Rincon Annex that year.  I can't separate this TOP and Still a Young Man from memories of that place!  Ann Peebles too, while sorting mail for xmas 73.

[RGMike]

What hits did Elvis release in '73?  "Burnin' Love" was '72 IIRC.  (And I think that was his last Top 10 hit, but I could be wrong.)  I'm not up to speed on his later hits except for "Way Down."

not a big year for the King -- "Steamroller Blues" got to #17.  Not a big singles year for Neil Diamond, either, tho' the execrable Jonathan Livingston Seagull LP sold well.

1973   "Steamroller Blues"   17   -   -
1973   "Fool"   17   15   
1973   "Polk Salad Annie"   -   23   -
1973   "Raised On Rock"   41   36   -
1973   "For Ol' Times Sake"

I'm guessing the second number is the country chart? And I believe "Fool" was the B-side of "Steamroller".

[ggould]

What hits did Elvis release in '73?  "Burnin' Love" was '72 IIRC.  (And I think that was his last Top 10 hit, but I could be wrong.)  I'm not up to speed on his later hits except for "Way Down."

not a big year for the King -- "Steamroller Blues" got to #17.  Not a big singles year for Neil Diamond, either, tho' the execrable Jonathan Livingston Seagull LP sold well.

1973   "Steamroller Blues"   17   -   -
1973   "Fool"   17   15   
1973   "Polk Salad Annie"   -   23   -
1973   "Raised On Rock"   41   36   -
1973   "For Ol' Times Sake"

I'm guessing the second number is the country chart? And I believe "Fool" was the B-side of "Steamroller".

I didn't look too close; I was mainly looking at the year, wondering when "Promised Land" was a hit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley_hit_singles

[RGMike]

What hits did Elvis release in '73?  "Burnin' Love" was '72 IIRC.  (And I think that was his last Top 10 hit, but I could be wrong.)  I'm not up to speed on his later hits except for "Way Down."

not a big year for the King -- "Steamroller Blues" got to #17.  Not a big singles year for Neil Diamond, either, tho' the execrable Jonathan Livingston Seagull LP sold well.

1973   "Steamroller Blues"   17   -   -
1973   "Fool"   17   15   
1973   "Polk Salad Annie"   -   23   -
1973   "Raised On Rock"   41   36   -
1973   "For Ol' Times Sake"

I'm guessing the second number is the country chart? And I believe "Fool" was the B-side of "Steamroller".

I didn't look too close; I was mainly looking at the year, wondering when "Promised Land" was a hit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley_hit_singles

Thanks -- it's the UK chart position.  They LURVES their Elvis, even tho' he never toured there.  And I was right about the B-side thing.

[Gazoo]

1.  Dr. John - Right Place, Wrong Time  
2.  Isley Brothers - That Lady  
3.  Stealer's Wheel - Stuck in the Middle With You  
4.  Tower of Power - So Very Hard to Go (BEST OF SET!!)  
5.  Greg Allman - These Days  
6.  Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand the Rain  
7.  Four Tops - Are You Man Enough?  
8.  Elton John - Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding  
9.  Spinners - One of a Kind Love Affair  
10.  Billy Preston - Will it Go Round in Circles  
 
BONUS TRACK:  Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show - The Cover of the Rolling Stone

WOS to the Stealer's Wheel, which has just become snoozy over time for me.

But BOS to TOP, a major, major sledgehammer that hits me today especially given my recent feelings of displacement melancholia.  I hope John was right when he sang "Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be."

[Gazoo]

Wow, I never noticed how much "Are You Man Enough" sounds like the Tavares hits of the period.  Same songwriter, I wonder?  Paul Revere and the Raiders had one of their last chartings this year with another song that sounds a lot like this, production/arrangement-wise, "Love Music."  Then, everything PR&tR did after 1971 was a knockoff of something or other.

[Alicat]

Wow, I never noticed how much "Are You Man Enough" sounds like the Tavares hits of the period.  Same songwriter, I wonder?  Paul Revere and the Raiders had one of their last chartings this year with another song that sounds a lot like this, production/arrangement-wise, "Love Music."  Then, everything PR&tR did after 1971 was a knockoff of something or other.

Sounded good the second time around, so does Elton.

[SFGuy]

Not my favorite set. Then again I really don't like 70's music much. I like some of the hard rock from that era but there seems to be way to much groups like Bread and the Carpenters type of music.

[RGMike]

Not my favorite set. Then again I really don't like 70's music much. I like some of the hard rock from that era but there seems to be way to much groups like Bread and the Carpenters type of music.

Which Dave rarely plays, actually -- he's got maybe one Carpenters song in his musical database. Ditto Bread; he usually plays "Mother Freedom", their only semi-rocker.

[RGMike]

Wow, I never noticed how much "Are You Man Enough" sounds like the Tavares hits of the period.  Same songwriter, I wonder?  Paul Revere and the Raiders had one of their last chartings this year with another song that sounds a lot like this, production/arrangement-wise, "Love Music."  Then, everything PR&tR did after 1971 was a knockoff of something or other.

Good ear, as always.  The early Tops ABC/Dunhill stuff was from the Lambert & Potter stable; they also produced Tavares. Dunno if they wrote AYME specifically, but check this out from AMG:

Dennis Lambert enjoyed a successful run working for the ABC-Dunhill label during the '70s, where he and partner Brian Potter helmed hit records for the Four Tops, Dusty Springfield, and Glen Campbell, among others. Lambert began his career as something of a folkie, forming a poppy folk-rock duo with fellow singer/guitarist Craig Nuttycombe in Los Angeles in 1968. The first Lambert & Nuttycombe album, At Home, was released on A&M in 1970, and actually was recorded in the duo's Sausalito, CA, living room. In the meantime, Lambert had formed a songwriting partnership with Brian Potter, with whom he signed a publishing deal with ABC-Dunhill in 1969. Lambert cut a solo album, Bags and Things, in 1972, and returned for a second and final Lambert & Nuttycombe album, As You Will, in 1973.

However, Lambert's songwriting and production work at ABC-Dunhill was beginning to make clear that his real fortune lay behind the scenes. He and Potter had their first taste of success writing for the Grass Roots in 1969, and struck gold penning Coven's antiwar protest hit "One Tin Soldier" that year. A few more hits followed, including Gayle McCormick's "It's a Cryin' Shame" and Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds' "Don't Pull Your Love (Out)." 1972, however, was their true breakout year, thanks to their work on the Four Tops' post-Motown LP Keeper of the Castle; the group went on to score hits with the Lambert/Potter-penned title track and "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I Got)," which revived their career. In the wake of that success, Lambert and Potter were teamed with new ABC-Dunhill signee Dusty Springfield for 1973's Cameo LP, and the following year they helped bring R&B group Tavares their first significant chart success. Lambert and Potter's biggest smash as producers came in 1975 with Glen Campbell's Rhinestone Cowboy LP, for which they also wrote four songs. By this point, Lambert and Potter had formed their own label, Haven, which was the mid-'70s home of the Righteous Brothers. Haven's greatest commercial success came in 1978 with one-hit wonder Player's "Baby Come Back," produced but not written by Lambert and Potter. Lambert's songwriting and production activity tailed off substantially in the '80s, but he occasionally resurfaced to work with the likes of Natalie Cole and the Commodores

[Gazoo]

Wow, I never noticed how much "Are You Man Enough" sounds like the Tavares hits of the period.  Same songwriter, I wonder?  Paul Revere and the Raiders had one of their last chartings this year with another song that sounds a lot like this, production/arrangement-wise, "Love Music."  Then, everything PR&tR did after 1971 was a knockoff of something or other.

Good ear, as always.  The early Tops ABC/Dunhill stuff was from the Lambert & Potter stable; they also produced Tavares. Dunno if they wrote AYME specifically, but check this out from AMG:

Dennis Lambert enjoyed a successful run working for the ABC-Dunhill label during the '70s, where he and partner Brian Potter helmed hit records for the Four Tops, Dusty Springfield, and Glen Campbell, among others. Lambert began his career as something of a folkie, forming a poppy folk-rock duo with fellow singer/guitarist Craig Nuttycombe in Los Angeles in 1968. The first Lambert & Nuttycombe album, At Home, was released on A&M in 1970, and actually was recorded in the duo's Sausalito, CA, living room. In the meantime, Lambert had formed a songwriting partnership with Brian Potter, with whom he signed a publishing deal with ABC-Dunhill in 1969. Lambert cut a solo album, Bags and Things, in 1972, and returned for a second and final Lambert & Nuttycombe album, As You Will, in 1973.

However, Lambert's songwriting and production work at ABC-Dunhill was beginning to make clear that his real fortune lay behind the scenes. He and Potter had their first taste of success writing for the Grass Roots in 1969, and struck gold penning Coven's antiwar protest hit "One Tin Soldier" that year. A few more hits followed, including Gayle McCormick's "It's a Cryin' Shame" and Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds' "Don't Pull Your Love (Out)." 1972, however, was their true breakout year, thanks to their work on the Four Tops' post-Motown LP Keeper of the Castle; the group went on to score hits with the Lambert/Potter-penned title track and "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I Got)," which revived their career. In the wake of that success, Lambert and Potter were teamed with new ABC-Dunhill signee Dusty Springfield for 1973's Cameo LP, and the following year they helped bring R&B group Tavares their first significant chart success. Lambert and Potter's biggest smash as producers came in 1975 with Glen Campbell's Rhinestone Cowboy LP, for which they also wrote four songs. By this point, Lambert and Potter had formed their own label, Haven, which was the mid-'70s home of the Righteous Brothers. Haven's greatest commercial success came in 1978 with one-hit wonder Player's "Baby Come Back," produced but not written by Lambert and Potter. Lambert's songwriting and production activity tailed off substantially in the '80s, but he occasionally resurfaced to work with the likes of Natalie Cole and the Commodores

Tres interressant!  But Player wasn't a one-hit wonder!  ("This Time I'm in It for Love," the follow-up that I've never heard, made #10.)  I only knew a fraction of Lambert-Potter's reach.

PS: I've never seen anyone subtitle "Don't Pull Your Love (Out)."  Makes it seem like a plea against coitus interruptus.  Or the rhythm method.

[RGMike]

Tres interressant!  But Player wasn't a one-hit wonder!  ("This Time I'm in It for Love," the follow-up that I've never heard, made #10.)  I only knew a fraction of Lambert-Potter's reach.

The "other" Player song is a sprightly little pop ditty. BTW, "Love Music" (we sure can use it, to turn the people on) was also recorded by the Four Tops.

[Gazoo]

Tres interressant!  But Player wasn't a one-hit wonder!  ("This Time I'm in It for Love," the follow-up that I've never heard, made #10.)  I only knew a fraction of Lambert-Potter's reach.

The "other" Player song is a sprightly little pop ditty. BTW, "Love Music" (we sure can use it, to turn the people on) was also recorded by the Four Tops.

OMFG!  You have just made my day.  Both for the tidbit and for the fact that you know that song.

I need a '70s Four Tops comp.  My "Ultimate Collection" only covers their Motown recordings.