This Week's Top 10 - March 23, 1971

"What's Going On", edging out the Temptations. I'm not that crazy about any of them, although I really don't dislike any of them except "One Bad Apple". I'm certainly not a fan of the Jacksons, Janis or the Carpenters, so those three at least put in passable efforts. I can think of two or three other Partridge Family songs that I would have picked in an instant! The Andy Williams track I may or may not have ever heard.

 

I've written about this here in detail before, but Marvin's "What's Going On" is the song which caused a 3rd Grader on a swing during recess to take a personal evolutionary leap in his musical thinking (while it was playing in his head). It was the song which made me explore what it was really about and knowing that I had been spending a couple of years watching newscasters count up the score of the Vietnam War everyday on television. "What's Going On" is probably the one song I can point to which had the greatest and most influential impact on my being.

 

I voted for Marvin Gaye's What's Going On.

Lotta other good stuff on this chart as well. Tom Jones came up with his best song IMO with She's A Lady. Mama's Pearl from The Jackson Five is good early 70's soul, And The Carpenters For All We Know is one of my favorites of theirs.

 

Easy choice for me. What's Going On is a league above the rest, IMO.

 

1, 2 & 3 are good. 10 is acceptable. The rest is total dreck...

 

Marvin Gaye would be happy to have read this thread. He died without ever feeling anyone truly respected his work on that album.

Every time I hear Tom Jones' She's a Lady, I crank it up. To this day, it sounds so unique. I think it's perhaps the best he's ever done. Great song written by Paul Anka!

But, you know, since no one else is going to pick it, i'm going to give a sympathy vote to the Partridge Family. I liked this song as a kid, and it was featured in one of the funniest episodes of that show.

 

Thanks for posting that! It's the station I was listening to back then. Even on vacation, at night you could pick it up if the atmosphere was right.

 

Voted for Me And Bobby McGee. Gives me chills to this day.

 

A great chart from a time in which music was still rich with good songs and great artists. I voted for Andy Williams, but I could have gone for any of these except the Jackson 5 record, which strangely enough I can't recall!

 

It was a toss-up between the Marvin Gaye and Janis Joplin songs; I ended up choosing Janis' best single, but I could just as easily have chosen Marvin's best single.

"What's Going On" is best heard in its mono single version; "Me and Bobby McGee" has a strange edit near the end of the 45 that cut maybe 15-20 seconds from the song and doesn't make it better, so I prefer the LP version ... The stock 45 was issued in stereo, by the way.

 

I'm with you on the Partridge Family. I loved the first record back then (though I don't think this song is from that). There's sort of a Monkees connection to me, regarding the talent that was involved. I was also happy to see the Osmond Bros get some interest here. I haven't heard that song in ages.

 

For those who do not recall the Jackson 5 song, here is a sample of the mono single mix:
http://download.yousendit.com/758260A541D2AC57

 

Here are the top 30 songs from WFIL, "Famous 56" radio in Philadelphia, for March 29, 1971, one week later:

1. Me and Bobby McGee / Janis Joplin
2. She's a Lady / Tom Jones
3. Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) / The Temptations
4. Temptation Eyes / The Grass Roots
5. Proud Mary / Ike & Tina Turner
6. For All We Know / Carpenters
7. Superstar / Murray Head
8. Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted / The Partridge Family
9. Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes / The Fifth Dimension
10. Have You Ever Seen the Rain/Hey Tonight / Creedence Clearwater Revival
11. What Is Life / George Harrison
12. Free / Chicago
13. Help Me Make It Through the Night / Sammi Smith
14. Wild World / Cat Stevens
15. Another Day/Oh Woman, Oh Why / Paul McCartney
16. Amos Moses / Jerry Reed
17. If You Could Read My Mind / Gordon Lightfoot
18. What's Going On / Marvin Gaye
19. One Toke Over the Line / Brewer and Shipley
20. Joy to the World / Three Dog Night
21. Stay Awhile / The Bells
22. Theme from Love Story / Henry Mancini
23. I Am ... I Said / Neil Diamond
24. Blue Money / Van Morrison
25. Right on the Tip of My Tongue / Brenda and the Tabulations
26. No Love at All / B.J. Thomas
27. Light as a Feather / Redbone
28. Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream) / Glen Campbell
29. Power to the People / John Lennon
30. If / Bread

 

Temptations.

 

A pretty good chart, "What's goin on" is in another league from the rest of it.

 

Here is the top 20 from the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending March 27, 1971:

1. Me and Bobby McGee / Janis Joplin
2. Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) / The Temptations
3. She's a Lady / Tom Jones
4. Proud Mary / Ike and Tina Turner
5. For All We Know / Carpenters
6. Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted / The Partridge Family
7. What's Going On / Marvin Gaye
8. Help Me Make It Through the Night / Sammi Smith
9. One Bad Apple / The Osmonds
10. What Is Life / George Harrison
11. Love Story (Where Do I Begin) / Andy Williams
12. Amos Moses / Jerry Reed
13. If You Could Read My Mind / Gordon Lightfoot
14. Another Day/Oh Woman, Oh Why / Paul McCartney
15. Oye Como Va / Santana
16. Temptation Eyes / The Grass Roots
17. Have You Ever Seen the Rain / Creedence Clearwater Revival
18. Mama's Pearl / The Jackson Five
19. Wild World / Cat Stevens
20. Cried Like a Baby / Bobby Sherman

 

Same here, and same here.

A few years later, I would discover the Kris Kristofferson version, and find it even chillsier.

 

Of this list, in my collection are #1-3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13-15, 17 and 19. As for the Stevens single: It was available both in mono and stereo on the original 45 release, though it depends on who did the lacquer mastering. The stereo copies of "Wild World" (A&M single #1231) were mastered by Sterling Sound (probably by Lee Hulko, though it's unsigned; some of the characters in the hand-etchings appear consistent with Hulko's writing), while the mono lacquers originated from A&M Studios.

 

I went with "For All We Know" - The Carpenters

It was a tough decision between that one, Marvin and the Temptations. All great songs

 

As much as I like 'What's Going On', I had to go with 'She's A Lady'.

 

Here are the top 20 albums from the Billboard Top LP's chart for the week ending March 27, 1971:

1. Janis Joplin / Pearl (Columbia KC 30322)
2. Movie soundtrack / Love Story (Paramount PAS 6002)
3. Jimi Hendrix / The Cry of Love (Reprise MS 2034)
4. Chicago / Chicago III (Columbia C2 30110)
5. Studio cast / Jesus Christ Superstar (Decca DXSA 7206)
6. Santana / Abraxas (Columbia KC 30130)
7. Andy Williams / Love Story (Columbia KC 30497)
8. Elton John / Tumbleweed Connection (Uni 73096)
9. George Harrison / All Things Must Pass (Apple STCH-639)
10. Barbra Streisand / Stoney End (Columbia KC 30378)
11. Three Dog Night / Golden Bisquits (ABC-Dunhill DSX-50098)
12. Cat Stevens / Tea for the Tillerman (A&M SP 4280)
13. Sly and the Family Stone / Greatest Hits (Epic KE 30325)
14. The Partridge Family / The Partridge Family Album (Bell 6050)
15. Black Sabbath / Paranoid (Warner Bros. WS 1887)
16. Carpenters / Close to You (A&M SP 4271)
17. Gordon Lightfoot / If You Could Read My Mind* (Reprise RS 6392)
18. David Crosby / If I Could Only Remember My Name (Atlantic SD 7203)
19. Creedence Clearwater Revival / Pendulum (Fantasy 8410)
20. The Osmonds / The Osmonds (MGM KE-4724)

* originally released under the title Sit Down Young Stranger, but the title was changed when "If You Could Read My Mind" became a hit

 

Thanks, Grant. This is a good one, but I still don't remember it at all. Very strange.

 

1. Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) - The Temptations
Beautiful A-
2. What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
My Pick A+
3. Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner
Every bit as good as the original. A
4. One Bad Apple - The Osmonds
Hmmm C
5. Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
Fantastic A
6. She's a Lady - Tom Jones
Great single B
7. For All We Know - The Carpenters
???
8. Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted - The Partridge Family
???
9. (Where Do I Begin) Love Story - Andy Williams
Make it stop F
10. Mama's Pearl - The Jackson 5
???

 

1971 was, and still is, my favorite year in music. "What's Going On" was an easy pick - it's one of the all-time greats; "Just My Imagination" was not far behind. I clearly remember hearing those songs on my tiny Sony transistor radio that I took with me everywhere.

 

What's Going On is probably my favorite album of all time. Timeless.