Chart Song Cinema: "Grand Central Shuffle" Mystery

"Grand Central Shuffle" (1973) - Johnny Griffith, Inc.
Written by Al Browne, Ernest Kelley, and James Butler * Produced by Johnny Griffith and Ernest Kelley * 45: "The Grand Central Shuffle"/"My Love" * Label: RCA Victor * Billboard charts: Regional breakout—New York City * Entered: 1973-01-20

Johnny Griffith was the keyboardist for the Funk Brothers, Motown's house band until the label moved from Detroit to Los Angeles in 1972. Left to his own devices, Griffith tacked on an "Inc." to his name (echoing Motown's practice of giving songwriting and production credits to "The Corporation"), and kept busy recording, arranging, and producing for the GeNEVA label in Dearborn. As far as I can tell, the "Shaft"-like "Grand Central Shuffle" was his biggest post-Motown record. Picked up by RCA, it racked up enough airplay and sales in New York City to get listed as a "breakout" hit in Billboard.

Mysteriously, the original label for the track shows the following: "From the Neil Sullivan movie, 'The Candidate'." No such movie exists, as far as I can tell, although one starring Robert Redford and directed by Michael Ritchie, about a Senatorial race in California, certainly did. This is the one Joel Whitburn lists under the single's heading in Top Pop Singles, but nothing in the soundtrack for the Redford film sounds remotely close to Griffith's slick number, nor would any scene seem to call for it. Some other Candidate movie—perhaps slated for direction by the same Neil Sullivan whose Why Russians Are Revolting got slammed by the New York Times in 1970—likely fizzled in time for RCA to give Griffith's single some attention on its own merits.

"Grand Central Shuffle"

"Mammy Blue" in the US: The Early '70s Charting Versions

A year before before Danyel Gerard's European singalong favorite "Butterfly" cracked the Billboard charts (see previous post), another one called "Mamy Blue" had done the same thing with somewhat better US results. Written by a Frenchman named Hubert Giraud in a Paris traffic jam, the song saw its first release as an Italian language rendering by the singer Ivana Spagna. A Spanish group called Los Pop Tops gave Giraud's song English lyrics after which most of the world pretty much went bonkers for it. A scan of Billboard's "Hits of the World" section in 1971 and 1972 shows additional international high charting versions—using the alternating spellings of "Mamy Blue" and "Mammy Blue"—by Joel Dayde, Nicoletta, Roger Whittaker, Charisma, Ricky Shayne, Johnny Dorrelli, Nanesse et les Nanas, and Kirka, among others.

Although US chart positions for "Mamy Blue" were comparatively modest, the song did make its mark. The original English version, credited to the name-tweaked Pop-Tops and using the original spelling of "Mamy Blue," hit #57, while a follow up by James Darren, spelled "Mammy Blue," bubbled under at #107. The song had a surprise revival in 1973, when Stories chose it as the follow up to their #1 smash "Brother Louie" and gave it its best US showing at #50. After that, I know from personal experience that the song lived on in US-marketed TV ads for the UK's beloved Roger Whittaker.

"Mamy Blue" (1971)

Pop-Tops

Written by Hubert Giraud and Phil Trim *  Arranged and conducted by Zack Laurence * 45: "Mamy Blue" / "Road to Freedom" * LP: Mamy Blue * Label: ABC/Dunhill * Billboard charts: Hot 100 (#57), easy listening (#28) * Entered: 1971-10-09 (both charts)

Under the name Los Pop Tops, this many-membered unit based in Spain had taken a reimagination of Pachelbel's Canon called "Lord, Why Lord" to Billboard's #78 in 1968. Lead vocalist Phil Trim—originally from Trinidad and Tobago—also wrote the English lyrics, expressing the remorseful words of a "forgotten son who wandered off at twenty-one" to a mother who has presumably died. Some cover versions of the song used the title "Mommy Blue." After this, all of the Pop-Tops' pop successes rose up charts closer to home. The Eurovision-friendly song "Road to Freedom" on the B side was also written by Trim and the Spanish songwriter Gefingal (Germán Luis Bueno Brasero).

Side A: "Mamy Blue"


Side B: "The Road to Freedom"

"Mammy Blue" (1971)

James Darren

Written by Hurbert Giraud and Phil Trim * Produced by Ritchie Adams * 45: "Mammy Blue" / "As Long as You Love Me" * LP: Mammy Blue * Label: Kirshner * Billboard charts: Bubbling under (#107) * Entered: 1971-10-30

James Darren, who grew up next door to Bobby Rydell in South Philly, was the heartthrob actor who played leading man Moondoggie in three Gidget films between 1959 and 1963. The sixties were his busiest music biz decade with hits like the borderline-novelty "Goodbye Cruel World" (1961, #3) and "Her Royal Majesty" (1962, #6). His 1971 outing with the international earworm "Mammy Blue," also the title track of an album that presented him on the cover as being ready for adult roles, would be his only early '70s chart hit. Producer Ritchie Adams got his first writing and production credits with songwriter Larry Kusik ("Love Story," "Speak Softly Love") on a 1966 record by "Link Cromwell," aka Lenny Kaye. Although Darren's filmography and discography are both sparsely populated throughout the seventies, he'd become a familiar face on TV again in the '80s as a regular on T.J. Hooker with William Shatner. Side B is a track co-written by the record's producer Ritchie Adams (who had also co-written Bobby Lewis's "Tossin' and Turnin'") and is overstated in every way, a difficult listen. But it's notable for a perfectly-reworked reggae cover version done by Jamaica's Maytones a year later.

Side A: "Mammy Blue"


Side B: "As Long as You Love Me"

"Mammy Blue" (1973)

Stories

Written by Hubert Giraud and Phil Trim * Produced by Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise * 45: "Mammy Blue" / "Traveling Underground" * LP: Traveling Underground  * Label: Kama Sutra * Billboard charts: Hot 100 (#50) * Entered: 1973-10-27

In early 1973, Stories—featuring the Rod Stewart-style vocals of Ian Lloyd—touched a nerve with "Brother Louie," a hit for the British-Jamaican Errol Brown and Hot Chocolate in the UK. It told of a white boy bringing home a black girl to meet his parents, then having a "terrible night." After the Stories record went to #1 in the US, the band reached out again for an across-the-pond hit and decided on "Mammy Blue," which had more of the swooping orchestral lines (used as an instrumental bridge) that helped "Brother Louie" sound so distinctive.

A connection exists between the first US charting version by the Pop Tops and this one: After the Pop Tops had scored a hit with a classical song ("Lord, Why Lord," based on Pachelbel's Canon), the group had expressed its admiration for the orchestral pop sounds of the Left Banke. By then, the Left Banke's main songwriter Michael Brown had left that band to form Stories with Ian Lloyd. So there you go. (Brown would move on after "Brother Louie").

After "Mammy Blue" stalled at #50, Stories tried "If It Feels Good, Do It," which peaked at #88. When one more daring single called "Another Love," dealing with bisexuality, could only make it to #100 in Cash Box, the band called it quits, allowing Lloyd to pursue a solo career.

Although the single for "Mammy Blue" was credited to Stories, the album it appeared on said "Ian Lloyd and Stories." The single is worth finding for a vinyl-only instrumental version of the album's title track (written by Ian Lloyd), with its space-glam guitar by Steve Love. The album version of the tune contains a vocal.

Side A: "Mammy Blue"


Side B: "Traveling Underground (Instrumental)"

The Charting Version of Danyel Gerard's "Butterfly"

Danyel Gerard - "Butterfly" (Billboard #78, entered 6/10/72). Written by Danyel Gerard, Ralph Bernet, Howard Barnes, Mike Curb and Mack David. Produced by Danyel Gerard and Don Costa. 45: "Butterfly"/"Let's Love" (MGM/Verve 1972). LP: Danyel Gerard (MGM/Verve 1972).

French singer songwriter Danyel Gerard made a lifelong career out of his widely-covered song "Butterfly," which had the melodic sentiment European schlager fans loved and also the kind of campfire singalong chorus US audiences in the early '70s ate up. Originally recorded in French, the song's popularity compelled Gerard to record versions in Spanish, English, and German (possibly more). The "butterfly, my butterfly" vocal hook, though, was sung in English on every version. This was a clever move on Gerard's part, who perhaps saw an international hit on the horizon. The words for "butterfly" in French (papillon), Spanish (mariposa), and German (schmetterling), all would have fit the song's musical cadence just fine.

After topping the charts all over Europe, Gerard found that his English version of the song, released on Columbia with lyrics credited to "P. Kent," would need to get a new label and subsequent lyrical makeover - for whatever reason - if it stood a chance in America. MGM label head Mike Curb, along with veteran lyricist Mack David (brother of Hal) helped with new words, making for some hyphen-heavy label credits on the new 45. Why the earlier Columbia 45 doesn't credit Ralph Bernet and H. Barnes, who presumably wrote the French lyrics and appear on that version's credits, while the MGM version does credit them, is a mystery. Perhaps disappointingly to Gerard and MGM, "Butterfly" would be Gerard's only US hit, peaking no higher than #78.

Spirit's early '70s chart action

Spirit's "Mr. Skin," which is either about pimping or pornography, crept into Billboard's Hot 100 three years after the release of their 1970 Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus album, thanks to a promotional boost from Epic's Best of Spirit compilation. Too bad the classic lineup of the LA quintet, after releasing four heady albums between 1968 and 1970, had disbanded by then: vocalist/ songwriter Jay Ferguson and bassist Mark Andes focused on their new boogie rock group Jo Jo Gunne; Ed Cassidy and John Locke joined forces with Texas brothers Al and John Staehely for a revamped boogie rock version of Spirit; and guitarist Randy California got busy with his Kapt. Kopter and the (Fabulous) Twirly Birds album, a future cult favorite.

Here's a chronological list of Spirit's early '70s singles chart appearances:

1. Spirit - "1984" (Billboard #69, entered 2/7/70). Written by Randy California. Produced by Lou Adler. 45: "1984"/"Sweet Stella Baby" (Ode 1970). LP: The Best of Spirit (Epic 1973).

Whatever the intention, this single comes off a bit as a cash-in on Zager and Evans's "In the Year 2525," but it does feature Randy California's distinctive lead guitar. It was Spirit's second-best charting performance, next to "I Got a Line on You" (#25 in 1969). Side B was a non-album groupie-tribute song.

2. "Animal Zoo" (Billboard #97, entered 9/12/70). Written by Jay Ferguson. Produced by David Briggs. 45: "Animal Zoo"/"Red Light Roll On" (Epic 1970). LP: Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus (Epic 1970); The Best of Spirit (Epic 1973).

The A-side is a city-gripe companion piece to "Nature's Way," which also appears on the Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus album. The B-side is an (uncharacteristically) crude non-album recording of a rocker written by Randy California about being given "the shaft."

3. "Nature's Way" (Billboard #111, entered 3/20/71). Written by Randy California. Produced by David Briggs. 45: "Nature's Way"/"Mr. Skin" (Epic 1970). LP: Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus (Epic 1970); The Best of Spirit (Epic 1973).

The ecology-tinged A-side peaked at #111. The appearance of "Mr. Skin" on the B-side tricked Billboard chart archivist Joel Whitburn into mistakenly listing the 1973 charting version of "Mr. Skin" as the "Nature's Way" B-side in his Top Pop Singles 1955-2010.

4. "Mr. Skin" (Billboard #92, entered 10/20/73). Written by Jay Ferguson. Produced by David Briggs. 45: "Mr. Skin"/"Soldier" (Epic 1973). LP: Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus (Epic 1970); The Best of Spirit (Epic 1973).

This was a fresh reissue of "Mr. Skin," not to be confused with its appearance as a B-side to "Nature's Way" in 1971. The confusing copyright date on the single's label is 1972, even though it charted in late '73 as a result of Epic's push for the 1973 Best of Spirit compilation.

Bonus:
Jo Jo Gunne - "Run Run Run" (Billboard #27, entered 3/18/72). Written by Jay Ferguson and Matthew Andes. Produced by Jo Jo Gunne. 45: "Run Run Run"/"Take It Easy" (Asylum 1972). LP: Jo Jo Gunne (Asylum 1972).

Although the band that ex-Spirit members Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes formed in 1972 scored a Top 40 hit right out of the gate with this hippie joyride, it would be their only chart appearance.

Three Budweiser Jingle Singles

One of the most recognizable American TV commercial tunes in its day was Steve Karmen's "You've Said It All," written for Budweiser. It debuted on TV in 1970 and featured an ad in which a Dionne Warwick lookalike sang solo, later to be joined by a growing chorus of cheerfully average people. The chord change to a flatted seventh in the bridge (at :43 in this clip), along with the singers' emphatic delivery, gives the beer ad an almost poignant, Jesus Christ Superstar aura.

A 45 record of this song credited to the Steve Karmen Orchestra sold well enough in the summer of '71 to register in Billboard magazine as a "breakout hit" in Chicago even though it never cracked the Hot 100. Oddly enough, "Budweiser" is mentioned nowhere on the label of Karmen's disc. Would that have helped or hurt its chances as a stand alone track, I wonder?

In 1972, the Nashville songwriting team of Jerry Foster and Bill Rice served up a song called "When You Say Love" to country/rockabilly veteran Bob Luman. They appropriated the Budweiser hook outright, giving it new words and a new bridge, and it bubbled right up to #6 on the country chart. Later that year it became Sonny and Cher's final Top 40 hit (#32). I'd always assumed "When You Say Love" was a knowing spin off of Karmen's jingle and that all parties had been in on it. No - it was an old-fashioned rip off, credited only to Foster and Rice, prompting the dumbfounded Karmen to (successfully) sue. (Karmen reports on this in his 2005 book Who Killed the Jingle? His name now appears on writer credits for reissues of this song, but it's often misspelled as "Carmen," for some reason.)

As for the adoption of the same Budweiser jingle by the Wisconsin marching band (and the legal aspects), that's a story you'll need to get elsewhere.   

Steve Karmen Orchestra - “You’ve Said It All (Tuba Version)” (Billboard Regional Hit: Chicago, entered 7/31/71). Written and produced by Steve Karmen. 45: "You've Said It All (Tuba Version)"/"You've Said It All (Four Feeling Version)" (Audio Fidelity 1971). LP: (No album appearance).

Don't miss the seventies noir version on the B-side!

Bob Luman - "When You Say Love" (Billboard country #6, 2/19/72). Written by Jerry Foster and Bill Rice (and Steve Karmen). Produced by Glenn Sutton. 45: "When You Say Love"/"Have a Little Faith" (Epic 1972). LP: When You Say Love (Epic 1972).

Sonny and Cher - “When You Say Love” (Billboard #32, entered 7/8/72). Written by Jerry Foster and Bill Rice (and Steve Karmen). Produced by Snuff Garrett. 45: "When You Say Love"/"Crystal Clear/Muddy Waters" (Kapp 1972). LP: Greatest Hits (MCA 1974).

Ten Wheel Drive and "Family Feud"

Although Genya Ravin only had one charting single with her group Ten Wheel Drive ("Morning Much Better," #74 in 1970), there's a lot more to her story than that, such as her '60s band Goldie and the Gingerbreads and her role in producing the Dead Boys' debut LP.

The thing about "Morning Much Better," though, is that I can't hear it without thinking of the game show Family Feud, which debuted in 1976 with Richard Dawson as its kiss-distributing host. Although the show's theme song (written by Walt Levinski) doesn't borrow any melodic ideas from the single (written by Ten Wheel Drive band members Michael Zager and Aram Schefrin), they both share a distinctive banjo + blaring horn DNA.

Ten Wheel Drive featuring Genya Ravin - "Morning Much Better" (Billboard #74, entered 7/25/70). Written by Michael Zager and Aram Schefrin. Produced by Guy Draper. 45: "Morning Much Better"/"Stay with Me" (Polydor 1970). LP: Brief Replies (Polydor 1970).

Side B is a cover of the Lorraine Ellison soul classic.

Ray Price's early '70s pop chart streak

 

Ray Price, who we lost today at age 87, was one of early '70s country radio's crossover kings. As the Billboard ads above illustrate, a country artist's ability to chart in multiple genres was something to brag about in an industry eager to bust out of an insular phase. Although there's much more to Price's extraordinary legacy than this, his streak of six pop chart appearances between 1970 and 1973 bear special notice here. The orchestrated countrypolitan sounds that led Price to the pop and easy listening charts during this era may still offend the ears of some hardcore country fans, but there's no denying the interpretive authority of a true master, whatever the genre, when you listen to these:

Ray Price - "For the Good Times" (Billboard #11, entered 8/29/70; country #1). Written by Kris Kristofferson. Produced by Don Law. 45: "For the Good Times"/"Grazin' in Greener Pastures" (Columbia 1970). LP: For the Good Times (Columbia 1970).

These six records also stand as memorials to Don Law's final years of prominence.

Ray Price - "I Won't Mention It Again" (Billboard #42, entered 3/20/71; country #1). Written by Cam Mullins, produced by Don Law. 45: "I Won't Mention It Again"/"Kiss the World Goodbye" (Columbia 1971). LP: I Won't Mention It Again (Columbia 1971).

Cam Mullins gets label credit as the arranger/conductor for this, but he took care of those roles for all of these.

Ray Price - "I'd Rather Be Sorry" (Billboard #70, entered 8/14/71; country #2). Written by Kris Kristofferson. Produced by Don Law. 45: "I'd Rather Be Sorry"/"When I Loved Her" (Columbia 1971). LP: I Won't Mention It Again (Columbia 1971).

Ray Price - "The Lonesomest Lonesome" (Billboard #109, entered 4/29/72; country #2). Written by Mac Davis. Produced by Don Law. 45: "The Lonesomest Lonesome"/"That's What Leaving's All About" (Columbia 1972). LP: The Lonesomest Lonesome (Columbia 1972).

Ray Price - "She's Got to Be a Saint" (Billboard #93, entered 1/6/73; country #1). Written by Joe Paulini and Mike DiNapoli. Produced by Don Law. 45: "She's Got to Be a Saint"/"Oh Lonesome Me" (Columbia 1973). LP: She's Got to Be a Saint (Columbia 1973).

Ray Price - "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me" (Billboard #82, entered 8/25/73; country #1). Written by Jim Weatherly. Produced by Don Law. 45: "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me"/"Like a First Time Thing" (Columbia 1973).

More crossing over: Gladys Knight and the Pips took their version of this song to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1974 and #1 on the soul chart. No more Price singles reached the Hot 100 after this, although his country chart success continued until 1982.

Miss Abrams: The Early '70s Charting Singles

Although the enchanting 1970 single "Mill Valley," credited to Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point School Third Grade Class, only peaked at #90, it seemed to awaken an ear for the voices of children in pop radio. In a 2010 San Francisco Chronicle retrospective, Joel Selvin describes it as a "turntable hit" that got more airplay than record sales, but it nonetheless ushered in an early '70s hit parade of songs featuring kid vocals, childhood images, or topics related to family living. Songs like these were all over Top 40 and MOR formats, functioning like a mass media dialogue between adults and children. A few more singles after "Mill Valley" also found their way to the easy listening singles chart, with a full album finally appearing in late 1972. A CD reissue on the Varese Sarabande label gathered everything up and tossed in an (uncharacteristically) unsettling child-vocal outtake called "Sad Night."

"Mill Valley" (1970)

Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point School Third Grade Class

Written by Rita Abrams * Produced by Erik Jacobsen and Rita Abrams * 45: "Mill Valley" / "The Happiest Day of My Life" * LP: Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class (1972) * Label: Reprise * Billboard charts: Easy listening (#13), Hot 100 (#90) * Entered: 1970-07-25 (easy listening) * 1970-08-01 (Hot 100)

Richie Unterberger's liner notes for the CD reissue of Rita Abrams' only album, billed to "Miss Abrams and Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class," report that Abrams, a Mill Valley transplant from Ohio, had written the song for the kindergarteners she taught. Producer Erik Jacobsen, an acquaintance of hers, then hatched the idea of making a studio recording with a musically tighter 3rd grade class (they were 4th graders by the time the album came out—hence the disparity between the billing on the 45 and LP), resulting in a track that drew out a standing ovation from the suits at a Warner Bros. sales meeting when they heard it.

Radio airplay and appearances by Abrams on the Steve Allen Show and Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour helped turn the single into a national hit. (It was Terry McGovern at KSFO in San Francisco who gave it its first spin.) The song lilted on a cloud of warm electric piano and the sound of a wooden recorder, which had a way of signifying "school" in listeners' minds, possibly because of its standard use in early-grade music classes; it also tootled in the theme music for the popular public school-themed TV show Room 222, which began a five-season run in 1969. Abrams' double tracked lead vocal found a doppelganger the following year on the self-titled debut album by fellow Northern Californian Judee Sill. The track and its promo clip (filmed by Francis Ford Coppola) still have the power to transport listeners to an idyllic Mill Valley of the mind. Side B contains another recorder-flavored charmer (which borrows a minor key musical figure from the Turtles' "You Baby") written by Abrams, but it would not appear on the 1972 album.

Side A: "Mill Valley"


Side B: "The Happiest Day of My Life"

"Buildin' a Heaven on Earth" (1970)

Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point

Fourth Grade

Written by Norman Greenbaum * Produced by Erik Jacobsen and Rita Abrams * 45: "Buildin' a Heaven on Earth" / "This Time of Life" * LP: Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class (1972) * Label: Reprise * Billboard charts: Easy listening (#39) * Entered: 1971-01-09

Miss Abrams' co-producer Erik Jacobsen was a studio veteran who had worked with the Lovin' Spoonful, Tim Hardin, and Sopwith Camel, and he was fresh off of doing "Spirit in the Sky," a massive #3 hit for Norman Greenbaum when he teamed up with the Mill Valley grade school teacher. This explains their access to an exclusive song written by Greenbaum called "Buildin' a Heaven on Earth," featuring slide guitar and a contemporary rock attitude. The flipside's "This Time of Life," with its bouncy feel similar to "Mill Valley," was a sung dialogue between Abrams and her kids about the contradictory human needs for dependence and independence.

Side A: "Buildin' a Heaven on Earth"


Side B: "This Time of Life"

"Wonder" (1970)

Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point

4th Grade Class

Written by Rita Abrams * Produced by Erik Jacobsen and Rita Abrams * 45: "Wonder" / "I Never Asked" * LP: Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class (1972) * Label: Reprise * Billboard charts: Easy listening (#37) * Entered: 1971-07-03

"Wonder," with its strings-and-flute arrangement, made for an easy transition to MOR playlists in the summer of '71. Side B featured no children, only Miss Abrams singing a major-seventh chord composition called "I Never Asked." Despite its title, it uses musical "question" techniques, such as the inclusion of a wavering Vox organ. After all three singles had run their course on radio, the Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class album, collecting all the singles (except for the "Mill Valley" B side "The Happiest Day of My Life") plus five more songs, would finally appear in September 1972. 

Side A: "Wonder"


Side B: "I Never Asked"

*Bonus*

"America (Let's Get Started Again)" (1975)

Miss Abrams and the  Strawberry Point 

Fourth Grade Class

Written by Rita Abrams * Produced by Erik Jacobsen, Rita Abrams, and Ken Melville * 45: "America (Let's Get Started Again) (Mono)" / "America (Let's Get Started Again) (Stereo)" * Label: Reprise * Billboard charts: —

The post-Nixon pre-Bicentennial year of 1975 called for one more offering—"America (Let's Get Started Again)"—by Abrams and her 4th graders. (The original group would have been 7th or 8th graders at this point.) A banjo points to the past while a synthesizer points to the "beautiful dream of all that our country could be" on this promo-only release.

"America (Let's Get Started Again)"

Jerry Wallace Covering All the Bases

Jerry Wallace's two countrypolitan crossover hits of the early 70s are most interesting for the accompanying format-conscious ad campaigns that showed him "covering all the bases." The ad above, especially, is a useful image representing the era's transitional country music industry.

Wallace's hit version of "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry," by the way, benefited from its being featured in an episode of Rod Serling's Night Gallery. The TV version, though, had a harder-edged honky tonk arrangement that's far more appealing. Is a full version of it hiding in a vault somewhere? (You can hear a comparison of the two over at my Boneyard Media blog.)

Also notable about Wallace's early '70s run and its accompaying images is his use of his Behee Lyric Harp Guitar, which he'd been appearing with in promo pics since the early '60s.

Jerry Wallace - "To Get to You" (1972, Billboard #48; country #12). Written by Jean Chapel. Produced by Joe Johnson. 45: "To Get to You"/"Time" (Decca 1972). LP: This Is Jerry Wallace (Decca 1971); To Get to You (Decca 1972).

The song first appeared on a Decca LP called This Is Jerry Wallace in 1971, the cover of which presented him with his hair greased back trucker-style. An image revamp for Wallace accompanied the song's reappearance on a new 1972 album bearing its name name.

Jerry Wallace - "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry" (Billboard #38, entered 8/19/72; country #1). Written Gerald Sanford and Hal Mooney. Produced by Joe E. Johnson. 45: "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry"/"What's He Doin' in My World" (Decca 1972). LP: To Get to You (Decca 1972).

1970 Association Ad

A Billboard ad (2/28/70) for the Association's "Just About the Same" featured one of early '70s pop's favorite subjects: children. The single was a cover of a song by the Millennium, a group led by Curt Boettcher, who had produced the Association's debut LP in 1966. "Just About the Same," which bubbled under at #106, also bore the imprint of the era's Caribbean music trend. The single's entire marketing angle saw a fuller realization in Three Dog Night's "Black and White" two years later.

The Association - "Just About the Same" (Billboard #106, entered 2/28/70). Written by Doug Rhoes, Michael Fennelly, and Joey Stec. Produced by Curt Boettcher and Keith Olsen. 45: "Just About the Same"/"Look at Me, Look at You" (Warner Bros. 1970). LP: (No album appearance).

Although the studio version of this song appeared on no album, a live version made the lineup for the 1970 The Association Live LP. 

The "My Sweet Lord" Chronicles

George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" is perhaps the most notorious plagiarism case in record biz history dues to its decades-long slog through courts concerning its similarities to the Chiffons' "He's So Fine." Most fascinating to me, though, are the possible effects the lawsuit had on the creativity of such an inventive songwriter. The "My Sweet Lord" saga likely informs everything Harrison wrote from 1971 onward.

A timeline:

The Chiffons - "He's So Fine" (Billboard #4, entered 2/23/63). Written by Ronnie Mack. Produced by Bright Tunes Productions. 45: "He's So Fine"/"Oh My Lover" (Laurie 1963). LP: He's So Fine (Laurie 1963).

The song Harrison was sued for plagiarizing when his "My Sweet Lord" became a hit had entered the US charts in 1963 and reached #12 in the UK that same year.

Edwin Hawkins Singers - "Oh Happy Day" (Billboard #4, entered 4/26/69). Written by Edwin R. Hawkins. Produced by La Mont Bench. 45: "Oh Happy Day"/"Jesus, Lover of My Soul" (Pavilion 1968). LP: Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord (Pavilion 1968).

This popular gospel recording by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, featuring the lead vocals of Dorothy Morrison, updated an eighteenth century hymn. It reached #4 in the US and #2 in the UK and most certainly influenced Harrison while creating "My Sweet Lord," but never came up in court. Hawkins claimed writer's credit for arranging the public domain piece (and also its B-side, Charles Wesley's "Jesus, Lover of My Soul").

Billy Preston - "My Sweet Lord" (Billboard #90, entered 2/13/71). Written by George Harrison. Produced by George Harrison and Billy Preston. 45: "My Sweet Lord"/"Little Girl" (Apple 1970). LP: Encouraging Words (Apple 1970).

Billy Preston's chugging interpretation of "My Sweet Lord," co-produced by Harrison, appeared on his Encouraging Words album two months before Harrison released his own version. The single entered Billboard's Hot 100, though, in early 1971.

George Harrison - "My Sweet Lord" (Billboard #1, entered 11/28/70). Written by George Harrison. Produced by George Harrison and Phil Spector. 45: "My Sweet Lord"/"Isn't It a Pity" (Billboard #1 [flip], entered 11/28/70) (Apple 1970). LP: All Things Must Pass (Apple 1970).

Harrison's glorious lead off single from his All Things Must Pass album.  It still stands as a distinct entity, no matter how much it may have borrowed from both "He's So Fine" and "Oh Happy Day." Harrison's - and co-producer Phil Spector's - awareness of its similarities with the recent public domain hit "Oh Happy Day" likely deflected notice that the song also shared marked similarities with "He's So Fine." How else to explain it? Spector had major girl group credentials, and it shouldn't have been lost on him. John Lennon in 1980: "He [Harrison] must have known, you know. He's smarter than that... Maybe he thought God would just sort of let him off."

The single's flipside, "Isn't It a Pity," clocked in at 7:10 and charted in tandem with "My Sweet Lord" as a double A-side, as per Billboard policy at the time. Its lyrics about heartbreak - then and now - sound like symbolic commentary on the dissolution of the Beatles and their era.

George Harrison - "Bangla Desh" (Billboard #23, entered 8/14/71). Written and produced by George Harrison. 45: "Bangla Desh"/"Deep Blue" (Billboard #23 [flip], entered 9/11/71) (Apple 1971). LP: The Best of George Harrison (Capitol 1976).

In February 1971, Bright Tunes Music, the company that owned "He's So Fine" at the time, filed suit against Harrison for plagiarism. It's unclear whether the suit was common knowledge before 1976, when stories about it finally appeared in Billboard, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times.

Harrison's "Bangla Desh" single, which featured complicated, non-intuitive chord changes and low memorability alongside a dour, uninviting demeanor, perhaps responded to the lawsuit as much as it did to the devastating famine in Bangla Desh. Harrison's post-1971 catalog would repeatedly tend toward unconventional, busy chord changes and elusive melodic turns in this way, as if to ensure ownership.

The flipside was called "Deep Blue," which earned charting status a month after "Bangla Desh" did. It made up for the A-side's severity with easy, major-to-minor acoustic guitar contentment. Oddly enough, the song hung in limbo as a non-album offering until just recently.

(The US picture sleeve used a "straight from the headlines" look that could have inspired the newspaper parody art for the sleeve of John Lennon's topical 1972 Some Time in New York City LP.)

Jody Miller - "He's So Fine" (Billboard #53, entered 6/26/71; country #5). Written by Ronnie Mack. Produced by Billy Sherrill. 45: "He's So Fine"/"You Number Two" (Epic 1971). LP: He's So Fine (Epic 1971).

The American country singer Jody Miller's version of "He's So Fine" verged on mockery, with an arrangement that borrowed blatant motifs from "My Sweet Lord."

The Chiffons - "My Sweet Lord" (did not chart). Written by George Harrison. Produced by Bill Frenz, Jr. 45: "My Sweet Lord"/"Main Nerve" (Laurie 1975). LP: (no album appearance).

One wonders whether Harrison viewed the Chiffons' sunny, pot-stirring 1975 cover of "My Sweet Lord" as a cheer or a jeer (or if he even knew of its existence).

George Harrison - "My Sweet Lord 2000" (did not chart): Harrison's 2000 revisitation of the song self-consciously alters the memorable melodic aspects that initially got him in trouble.

In the years following the "Bangla Desh"/"Deep Blue" 45, Harrison would release Living in the Material World (1973), Dark Horse (1974), Extra Texture (1975), and Thirty-Three and 1/3 (1976), albums that each include one or two memorable tracks among a majority of (deliberately?) unmemorable ones. In 1976, Harrison would be found guilty of "subconscious plagiarism" by the U.S. District Court with damages of $1.6 million. Harrison would later admit to having become "paranoid" about writing anything new.

In 1978, Allen Klein, who was Harrison's diabolical former business advisor, bought Bright Tunes and offered it to Harrison for exactly $1.6 million. In 1981, judges would decide that Klein had been duplicitous, ordering him to transfer ownership of Bright Tunes to Harrison for half a million. Although this ensured "He's So Fine" as Harrison's property, legal dickering regarding administrative fees and the like carried over into the 1990s.

In 2001, Harrison released an updated version of "My Sweet Lord" as a bonus track on the All Things Must Pass CD reissue, with his new lead vocal dancing purposefully around the original melody in a way that likely would not have attracted a lawsuit back in 1971.

Chart Song Cinema: Love Story (1970)

The theme from Love Story (1970), composed by Francis Lai and Carl Sigman, was the last song to have had at least five versions of it chart on Billboard within a two-year time frame. Could "Love Story" be considered the final entry, then, in the Great American Songbook? Before Elvis established personality as the controlling factor in popular music, it was mostly all about "the song." All hits behaved like "Love Story," getting interpreted by numerous artists and clogging up the charts. With only a few minor exceptions (as in "Whoomp! (There It Is)"), this really hasn't ever happened again. It's likely that the "songbook" conception finally met its death when the Bacharach-David songs for Lost Horizon (1973) were rush-recorded by a number of artists like Tony Bennett, who ended up being deeply embarrassed (along with Bacharach and David themselves) by the film those songs were written for.

Below are the five versions of "Love Story" to have charted on Billboard along with their chart positions. My personal favorite is the one by Nino Tempo and April Stevens, a top 5 hit in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Henry Mancini - "Theme from Love Story" (Billboard #13, entered 1/16/71). Written by Francis Lai. Produced by Joe Reisman. 45: "Theme from Love Story"/"Phone Call to the Past" (RCA Victor 1971). LP: Mancini Plays the Theme from Love Story (RCA Victor 1971).

As the album title declares, Mancini himself takes care of the piano solo. His version had the audacity to chart before before the official soundtrack version did and to climb to a higher position. The "phone call to the past" on side B was apparently a conference call with Floyd Cramer, Walter Wanderly, and Percy Faith.

Francis Lai - "Theme from Love Story" (Billboard #31, entered 1/30/71). Written by Francis Lai. Produced by Tom Mack. 45: "Theme from Love Story"/"Skating in Central Park" (Paramount 1971). LP: Love Story (Paramount 1971).

The official soundtrack single features French classical pianist Georges Pludermacher.

Andy Williams - "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story" (Billboard #9, entered 2/6/71). Written by Francis Lai and Carl Sigman. Produced by Dick Glasser. 45: "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story"/"Something" (Columbia 1971). LP: Love Story (Columbia 1971).

Williams won the release-date race with Tony Bennett on this one, which may be the main reason why, out of the two vocal versions, he sailed to the top.

Tony Bennett - "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story" (Billboard #114, entered 2/13/71). Written by Francis Lai and Carl Sigman. Produced by Teo Macero. 45: "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story"/"I'll Begin Again" (Columbia 1971). LP: Love Story (Columbia 1971).

Movie themes were the seventies strategy for Columbia's popular vocalists, hence the Andy Williams-Tony Bennett one-two punch in February. Note the B-side's A-side reference.

Nino Tempo and April Stevens - "Love Story" (Billboard #113, entered 12/9/72). Written by Francis Lai and Carl Sigman. Produced by Jeff Barry and Nino Tempo. 45: "Love Story"/"Hoochy Coochy-Wing Dang Doo" (A&M 1972). LP: (no album appearance).

Side B, the title and song itself, sounds like a lost shoo-in for the Ringo Starr catalog.


Bonus entries:

Sounds of Sunshine - "Love Means (You Never Have to Say You're Sorry)" (Billboard #39, entered 5/29/71). Written by Warner Wilder. Produced by Randy Wood and the Wilder Brothers. 45: "Love Means (You Never Have to Say You're Sorry)"/"Linda, the Untouchable" (Ranwood 1971). LP: Love Means You Never Have to Say You're Sorry (Ranwood 1971).

This Lettermen-style single, released on Lawrence Welk's Ranwood label, used the Love Story catchphrase that also appeared on the soundtrack album cover and movie poster. Fans of sunshine pop will want to give the B-side a spin.

The Whispers - "Can't Help But Love You" (Billboard #114, entered 2/19/72). Written by Mike Gately and Robert John. Produced by Ron Carson. 45: "Can't Help But Love You"/"A Hopeless Situation" (Janus 1972). LP: The Whispers' Love Story (Janus 1971).

This track appears on The Whispers' Love Story, the LA soul group's debut LP. It features a piano intro reminiscent of the film soundtrack and begins with the words "love means you never have to say you're sorry." The B-side, also written by Gately and John, sounds like something the mid-sixties Marvin Gaye would have recorded.