Grand Funk circa 1970

Here's a photo of Times Square from June 1970. Grand Funk Railroad, from Flint, Michigan, were a true "rock for rock's sake" vehicle for the early '70s generation, too irritatingly apolitical for the tastes of the fading sixties counterculture. Here's an illustrative companion clip for this billboard image, capturing the band playing "Closer to Home (I'm Your Captain)" at Shea Stadium, a show they sold out faster than the Beatles had done a half-decade previous.

Grand Funk Railroad - "Heartbreaker" (Billboard #72, entered 2/14/70). Written by Mark Farner. Produced by Terry Knight. 45: "Heartbreaker"/"Please Don't Worry" (Capitol 1970). LP: On Time (1969).

The single and album versions both play for the full 6:30.

Grand Funk Railroad - "Closer to Home" (Billboard #22, entered 8/15/70). Written by Mark Farner. Produced by Terry Knight. 45: "Closer to Home"/"Aimless Lady" (Capitol 1970). LP: Closer to Home (Capitol 1970).

The 45 version of "Closer to Home" (linked to above) clocked in at 5:30, while the Closer to Home album version (confusingly titled "I'm Your Captain") stretched out to 9:47 on the album.

Grand Funk Railroad - "Mean Mistreater (live)" (Billboard #47, entered 10/12/70). Written by Mark Farner. Produced by Terry Knight. 45: "Mean Mistreater"/"Mark Say's Alright" [sic] (Capitol 1970). LP: Live Album (Capitol 1970).

Side B, spelled "say's" on both the album and single, is an instructive, polarizing document.

Early '70s Radio featured on The Little Lighthouse

Stanislav Zabic interviewed me over the phone from Cleveland for this week's episode of his Little Lighthouse radio show, which is syndicated throughout Europe and available as a podcast. He also talked me into sending him some home recordings of me singing and strumming a handful of early seventies medleys:

Early '70s Medley 1 (Rubber Duckie/Brand New Key/(You're) Having My Baby)
Early '70s Medley 2 (School's Out/We're an American Band/Walk on the Wild Side)
Early '70s Medley 3 (Close to You/Fire and Rain/I Am Woman)
Early '70s Medley 4 ((For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People/Living for the City/Me and Mrs. Jones)
Early '70s Medley 5 (The Fightin' Side of Me/Uneasy Rider/Behind Closed Doors).

The Little Lighthouse (4/26/12)

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.

Dean Martin's Early '70s Country Phase

Although the only Dean Martin song to reach the Billboard country singles chart was his "My First Country Song" (1983) (from his Nashville Sessions album), his big country phase actually happened between the years 1969 and 1973. His 1969 version of Merle Haggard's "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am" was his final Hot 100 charting single, while his versions of Glen Campbell's "Gentle on My Mind," Marty Robbins' "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife," Bobby Bare's "Detroit City," and Jerry Reed's "Georgia Sunshine" all bubbled under the Hot 100 between 1969 and 1971 (1971 being the year he bowed out of the pop charts for good). This chart activity, though, explains why trade paper op eds expressing worry about certain interlopers sneaking tastes of the country pie would mention his name.

For Martin, dabbling in country was good business sense. By the '70s, the abyss between classic middle-of-the-road vocalists and the pop charts was wider than ever, and country was an acknowledged stepping stone in the era of "cross-country" stations. Although the notion of cross-country seems to be remembered most in terms of country/rock hybridity, it was the MOR/country fusion that had the biggest influence. Country artists such as Charlie Rich, Tammy Wynette, and Ray Price crossed over easily to MOR stations, while MOR artists such as Martin, Bobby Vinton, and Patti Page transitioned almost as easily to country playlists. Martin's own television variety show, as a matter of fact, outlasted competing shows hosted by Johnny Cash and Glen Campbell, and aired into the mid-'70s, when he would also host specials on NBC called Dean Martin Presents Music Country and Music Country USA. (Two of his early seventies films—Something Big (1971) and Showdown (1973)—were westerns.)

This country aspect of Martin's legacy all makes sense in light of early '70s radio and record industry market calibration, but it does run counter to the Rat Pack Dino persona that prevails in the collective memory.

P.S. Dino also had a fullblown country phase in '63 which spawned the albums Country Style and Dean "Tex" Martin Rides Again, but no country hits.

"My Woman, My Woman, My Wife" (1970)

Dean Martin

Written by Marty Robbins * Produced by Jimmy Bowen * Arranged by John Bahler * 45: "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife" / "Here We Go Again" * LP: My Woman, My Woman, My Wife * Label: Reprise * Billboard charts: Bubbling under (#110) * Entered: 1970-08-01

Marty Robbins's #1 country single "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife" struck all the right chords for the older generation and the traditional mindset of country radio listeners. It delivered a touching message of spousal devotion, including a verse that addressed the couple's pain in enduring the death of their children. "Lord," he sings,"Give her that mansion up yonder, 'cause she's been through hell here on earth... Give her my share of heaven, if I've earned any here in this life."

Dean Martin's cover version of the song announced itself with a tone-deaf ad in the June 25, 1970, issue of Billboard, which read "An Open Letter to the Women's Liberation Movement from Dean Martin." What was that all about? Numerous possibilities, both positive and negative, and that was the problem. The country flavor Martin favored during this era manifested itself further on side B ("Here We Go Again"), albeit through a back door: Ray Charles had first recorded the song in 1967 with a soulful B-3 organ, but the track—written by country songwriters Red Steagall and Don Lanier—would have fit perfectly on either of his Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music LPs from the early '60s.

Side A: "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife"


Side B: "Here We Go Again"

"Detroit City" (1970)

Dean Martin

Written by Denny Dill and Mel Tillis *  Produced by Jimmy Bowen * Arranged by Billy Strange * 45: "Detroit City" / "Turn the World Around" * LP: My Woman, My Woman, My Wife * Label: Reprise * Billboard charts: Bubbling under (#101), easy listening (#36) * Entered: 1970-10-31 (both charts)

Dean Martin's version of "Detroit City," with its low tuning-peg guitar riff, just missed becoming the third version of the song to enter Billboard's Hot 100 by bubbling under at #101. (Bobby Bare's version reached #6 in 1963, while Tom Jones's rose to #26 in 1967.) Martin trills his way through Ben Peters's B side.

Side A: "Detroit City"


Side B: "Turn the World Around"

"Georgia Sunshine" (1971)

Dean Martin

Written by Jerry Hubbard * Produced by Jimmy Bowen * Arranged by Ernie Freeman * 45: "Georgia Sunshine" / "For the Good Times" * LP: For the Good Times * Label: Reprise * Billboard charts: Bubbling under (#118) * Entered: 1971-01-23

"Georgia Sunshine" was a #16 country hit in 1970 for Jerry Reed, who usually used his real name of Jerry Hubbard for songwriting credits. Martin's version adds barroom piano. The rendition of the Kris Kristofferson-penned "For the Good Times," a #1 hit for Ray Price, turned the 45 into a "tribute to the country hits of 1970" affair.

Side A: "Georgia Sunshine"


Side B: "For the Good Times"

"She's a Little Bit Country" (1971)

Dean Martin

Written by Harlan Howard * Produced by Jimmy Bowen * Arranged by Ernie Freeman * 45: "She's a Little Bit Country" / "Raining in My Heart" * LP: For the Good Times * Label: Reprise * Billboard charts: Easy listening (#36) * Entered: 1971-05-08

Producer Jimmy Bowen and arranger Ernie Freeman went out of their way to keep this composition by Harlan Howard, a stalwart country songwriter, from sounding too much like its title. A version from the same year by George Hamilton IV hit closer to the mark. The "Raining in My Heart" on the flipside is the Boudleaux and Felice Bryant song that Buddy Holly recorded, not the Slim Harpo one.

Side A: "She's a Little Bit Country"


Side B: "Raining in My Heart"

"New Jersey" (1971) and "Summer Breeze" (1972)

I’m sure it’s all water under the bridge, but I wonder how future country star Dan Seals, aka “England Dan” of duo England Dan and John Ford Coley, felt when his older brother Jim, of Seals and Crofts, stole the chord sequence and melody for the verses of Dan’s “New Jersey” (1971, #103) and used it for “Summer Breeze” (1972, #6) and had the bigger hit. Maybe they had worked out some kind of a deal. Or maybe Jim pointed out that England Dan shouldn't point the finger since he and John Ford Coley lifted the opening lick from Joe Cocker's version of  "With a Little Help from My Friends."

England Dan and John Ford Coley - "New Jersey" (1971, Billboard #103). Written by Dan Seals and John Ford Coley. Producer: Louis Shelton. 45: "New Jersey"/"Tell Her Hello" (A&M 1971). LP: England Dan and John Ford Coley (A&M 1971).

Seals and Crofts - "Summer Breeze" (Billboard #6, entered 9/9/72). Written by James Seals and Dash Crofts. Produced by Louie Shelton. 45: "Summer Breeze"/"East of Ginger Trees" (Warner 1972). LP: Summer Breeze (Warner 1972).

Both singles had the same producer...

Fire and Rain and the "James Taylor Controversy"

Before I talked about my Early ‘70s Radio book as part of the “Views and Brews” series at the Cactus Café last October, the notion of a “James Taylor controversy” managed to work its way into the promotional language of Austin's KUT, who sponsored the event. The phrase turned out to be a pretty crafty attention-getter, prompting a flurry of phone calls and emails. What could possibly be controversial about James Taylor?, people wondered. Why haven’t I ever heard about this?

Taylor’s non-controversial persona was the controversy. Many among those who have stretched out in JT's comfortable, musical hammock have likely never considered his powers to alienate those whose ears habitually crave the slightest dose of aggression and confrontation. While his immense popularity and poster boy status for what Life magazine called the “un-radical young” ran counter to the musical experimentation and political activism that characterized the late sixties, it was the vehemently apolitical early seventies heavy rock crowd that hated him loudest.

Rock critic Lester Bangs voiced their thoughts in his 1971 article, “James Taylor Marked for Death.” This is where he fantasized about twisting a broken bottle into JT’s guts as payback for the “bardic auteur crap” the singer-songwriter epitomized. “By the end of the decade it had become obvious that perhaps the one constant of our variegated and strung-out peer groups was a pervasive sense of self-consciousness,” wrote Bangs in that same essay. “[It was] as if all of this meant something greater than that we were kids who liked rock 'n' roll and came out to have a good time.”

Bangs’s notorious words, though, have overshadowed how different Taylor seemed to the sixties generation, for whom the term "singer-songwriter" did not yet exist. He was different enough to grace the cover of Time magazine as a symbol of the “new rock.” At the Cactus that night, KUT’s Jay Trachtenberg talked about a seemingly nationwide sigh of exhaustion one could sense in post-Kent State America. To the irritation of musical adventurers like Jay, the mellow sounds of Sweet Baby James and its ilk oozed out of college dorm rooms all at once. With his soothing musicality offset by a history of mental illness and drug abuse, Taylor embodied a widespread, broken-hearted pause for personal reflection.

David Browne’s Fire and Rain, which came out on Da Capo the same month as my Early ‘70s Radio, captures this aspect of Taylor’s appeal. Browne zeroes in on the musical and cultural interlacings of the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and James Taylor as vivid signposts for changing times. The book's overarching thread is the dismantling of a sixties “get together” ethos at the seemingly irresistible onset of the “me generation,” so called by Tom Wolfe only because it was true.

Browne supports this “lost story of 1970” with enough behind-the-music episodes to satisfy widely-read rock historians and dabblers alike: Paul Simon teaching songwriting courses at New York University while his increasingly AWOL partner racks up screen credits as “Arthur Garfunkel”; Simon’s first appearance as a solo entity in front of an apathetic crowd at Shea Stadium; Stephen Stills and Graham Nash fracturing the chances for CSNY’s survival by competing for Rita Coolidge; the touchy set list politics underneath the concerts CSNY audiences otherwise perceived as being “from the hip”; James Taylor on the set of Two Lane Blacktop, wherein we learn that the film is one of JT’s edgiest endeavors because he was extremely miserable; and narratives that depict all four Beatles as being alternately giddy and frightened about their forthcoming split.

Fire and Rain also serves as a useful one-stop summary of the very real onslaught of bombing and violence that was contaminating the New Left, the only resolution of which had to be a calming down of sorts, if not full cultural recalibration, by the end of 1970. “By then, the country, even the world, was exhausted after ten months of Vietnam-related anguish and homegrown terrorism, pandemonium and death on campus, and the collapse or failure of so much from the past decade, be it the Beatles or moon missions,” Browne writes. “The two previous years had jarringly demonstrated that social or political change was no longer in plain sight…the worlds of January 1970 and twelve months later felt like polar opposites.”

What this new mass impulse for personal reflection meant for pop music heavyweights like the Beatles, and "American Beatles" candidates like Simon and Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, was that it was time to go solo. For John Lennon this meant naked honesty, while for Paul McCartney it was home studio dabbling. The personal statement, however a given artist saw fit to express it, was the important part. As baffling as Dylan's Self Portrait might have seemed to many a listener, therefore, it did march in step with the times.

In Early ‘70s Radio, I address this new pop music climate in terms of “feminization,” and now that I've just finished Fire and Rain, I suggest that one might do well to follow up that book with Sheila Weller’s Girls Like Us for a look at the iconic early seventies female singer-songwriters Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon. James Taylor, who was in close platonic and/or romantic relationships with all three, is the perfect bridge between the two books, and Browne, after all (who titled his book after Taylor's most famous song), zooms in on JT as the book’s closing image. “For many, there was no better way to wind down from one year, one decade, and one moment, than with James Taylor,” Browne writes. And this brings us back to the provocative notion of a "James Taylor controversy": All of that early seventies clamoring for a "new Beatles" or a "new Dylan" was entirely misguided because, like it or not, James Taylor - according to the revamped standards of a new decade - was both.

The 25 Biggest Christmas Singles of the Early '70s

I've ranked the entries in this roundup of early seventies Christmas hits according to their initial Billboard U.S. chart positions and also their longevity in terms of repeat visits to the charts in subsequent years. To qualify, they all had to have charted for the very first time between 1970 and 1974. Bobby Helms and Charles Brown are here, therefore, because they charted with re-recorded versions of their own Christmas classics during that time. The Singing Dogs' 1955 "Jingle Bells" is here because it first charted as an A-side in 1971. Another rule: They had to have first charted during the Christmas season.

Many an early seventies trend can be seen here: proto-adult contemporary, singer-songwriters, downbeat realism, a preoccupation with children, progressive country, novelty songs, and more.

In accordance with Christmas numerology, I've made all of my comments in exactly 25 words.

1. The Carpenters - "Merry Christmas Darling" (Billboard Christmas 1970 #1, 1971 #1, 1972 #4, 1973 #1). Written by Frank Pooler. Produced by Jack Daugherty. 45: "Merry Christmas Darling"/"Mr. Gruder" (A&M 1970).

This touchstone sounds like it could have been released at any time post-1970 and is Exhibit A for today's "lite FM" stations' Christmas sound.

2. Merle Haggard - "If We Make It Through December" (Billboard #28, entered 11/24/73; country #1, Christmas 1973 #7). Written by Merle Haggard. Produced by Ken Nelson. 45: "If We Make It Through December"/"Bobby Wants a Puppy Dog for Christmas" (Capitol 1973). LP: Merle Haggard's Christmas Present (Capitol 1973); If We Make It Through December (Capitol 1974).

With this single, those who regretted Haggard's late sixties jingoism had reason to believe he was possibly back on track as a compassionate social observer.

3. The Jackson 5 - "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (Billboard Christmas 1970 #1, 1971 #1, 1973 #9). Written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie. Produced by the Corporation and Hal Davis. 45: "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"/"Christmas Won't Be the Same This Year" (Motown 1970). LP: Jackson 5 Christmas Album (Motown 1970).

It's virtually impossible not to hear this antsy, hustle-bustle single as the quintessential topper to an extraordinarily busy two years for the Jackson 5.

4. Elton John - "Step Into Christmas" (Billboard Christmas #1). Written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Produced by Gus Dudgeon. 45: "Step Into Christmas"/"Ho, Ho, Ho (Who'd Be a Turkey at Christmas?)" (MCA 1973).

Still remembering when rock was young, Elton John's "eat, drink, and be merry" foray into good-humored yuletide glitz has always sounded entirely well advised.

5. The Staple Singers - "Who Took the Merry Out of Christmas" (Billboard Christmas 1970 #2). Written by Deanie Parker. Produced by Al Bell. 45: "Who Took the Merry Out of Christmas"/"Who Took the Merry Out of Christmas (Instrumental)" (Stax 1970).

Multi-leveled, ingratiating finger-wagging that's at once a mistitled call for more "Mary" at Christmas and a rather hot-tempered rebuke of the joyless.




6. Charles Brown - "Merry Christmas, Baby" (Billboard Christmas 1973 #2). Written by Johnny Moore and Lou Baxter. 45: "Merry Christmas, Baby"/"Let's Make Every Day a Christmas Day" (King 1968).

Charles Brown's 1968 re-recording for the King label of his 1947 classic didn't chart until 1973, which was an especially fertile year for Christmas singles.

7. The Singing Dogs - "Jingle Bells" (Billboard Christmas 1971 #2). Produced by Don Charles. 45: "Jingle Bells"/"Oh! Susanna" (RCA Victor 1955; 1971).

This first appeared as a 1955 B-side, but crescendoing early '70s nostalgia, which also brought back 1962's "Monster Mash," turned it into a charting A-side.

8. John and Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir - "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" (1971) (Billboard Christmas 1971 #3). Written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Produced by John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Phil Spector. 45: "Happy Xmas (Was Is Over)"/"Listen the Snow Is Falling" (Apple 1971). LP: Shaved Fish (Apple 1975).

This single, the ultimate John Lennon/Phil Spector collaboration, manages to be simultaneously sentimental and serious while seamlessly incorporating the shrill voice of Yoko Ono.

9. Cheech and Chong - "Santa Claus and His Old Lady" (Billboard Christmas 1971 #4, 1972 #3, 1973 #3). Written by Cheech and Chong. Produced by Lou Adler. 45: "Santa Claus and His Old Lady"/"Dave" (Ode 1971).

Cheech and Chong's cozy Christmas conversation is their least jarring comedy single and also their funniest. The backing music is as funny as the chatter.

10. Leon Russell - "Slipping Into Christmas" (Billboard Christmas 1972 #4). Written by Leon Russell. Produced by Denny Cordell and Leon Russell. 45: "Slipping Into Christmas"/"Christmas in Chicago" (Shelter 1972).

His bluesy drawl and loping arrangements tended to give Leon Russell's records a uniquely melting-taffy effect. This oddball Christmas single is a perfect example.

11. Bill Withers - "The Gift of Giving" (Billboard Christmas 1972 #5). Written and produced by Bill Withers. "The Gift of Giving"/"Let Us Love" (Sussex 1972).

Few can take a seemingly one-dimensional title like "The Gift of Giving" and imbue it with contrasting layers of melancholy and congeniality like Withers.

12. Bobby Helms - "Jingle Bell Rock" (Billboard Christmas 1970 #5). Written by Joe Beale and Jim Boothe. Produced by Aubrey Mayhew. 45: "Jingle Bell Rock"/"The Old Year Is Gone" (Certron 1970).

This was Helms's fourth charting makeover of his 1957 signature song. Released on the Certron label, it could have been retitled "Jingle Bell Honky Tonk."

13. John Denver - "Please, Daddy" (Billboard #69, entered 12/22/73; Christmas #7, country #69). Written by Billy Danoff and Taffy Nivert. Produced by Milton Okun. 45: "Please, Daddy"/"Rocky Mountain Suite (Cold Nights in Canada)" (RCA 1973). LP: Farewell, Andromeda (RCA 1973).

Denver, a possible model for the yellow '70s smiley face, surprised listeners by sharing a gloomy tale of alcoholism, a la Commander Cody, for Christmas.

14. James Brown - "Santa Claus Is Definitely Here to Stay" (Billboard Christmas #7). Written by Nat Jones. Produced by James Brown. 45: "Santa Claus Is Definitely Here to Stay"/"Santa Claus Is Definitely Here to Stay (Instrumental)" (King 1970). LP: Hey America (King 1970).

The biggest single from Brown's Hey America Christmas album featured him tinkering with Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" in the style of the Impressions.

15. Donny Hathaway - "This Christmas" (Billboard Christmas 1972 #11). Written Nadine McKinnor and Donnie Pitts. Produced by Don-Ric Enterprises. Arranged by Donny Hathaway. 45: "This Christmas"/"Be There" (Atco 1970).

This flash of uptown Christmas brilliance showcases Donny Hathaway as one of the decade's greatest soul singers and a class act. Rest in peace, Donny.

16. Michael Holm - "When a Child Is Born" (Billboard #53, entered 12/14/74; easy listening #7). 45: "When a Child Is Born"/"Other Way Round" (Mercury 1974).

An Italian melody with English lyrics performed by a German singer. Johnny Mathis turned this into a UK smash hit, going number one in 1976.

17. Stan and Doug - "Christmas Goose (Snowbird)" (Billboard Christmas 1970 #7). Written by Gene MacLellan, Stan Boreson, and Doug Setterberg. 45: "Christmas Goose (Snowbird)"/"Christmas Medley" (Golden Crest 1970).

Not to be confused with Bob and Doug MacKenzie, this comedy duo saluted Yogi Yorgeson's Great White North to the tune of Anne Murray's "Snowbird."

18. Charley Pride - "Christmas in My Home Town" (Billboard Christmas 1970 #11). Written by Lassaye Holmes. Produced by Jack Clement. 45: "Christmas in My Home Town"/"Santa and the Kids" (RCA Victor 1970). LP: Christmas in My Home Town (RCA Victor 1970).

Christmas cookie-cutter hokum from country's preeminent African-American, who was on the verge of becoming the Country Music Association's 1971 Entertainer of the Year.

19. Dingo, The Most Lovable Elf of All - "Santa's Little Helper Dingo" (Billboard Christmas 1973 #11). Written and produced by Richard Doyle. 45: "Santa's Little Helper Dingo"/"Santa's Little Helper Dingo (mono)" (Perspective 1973).

Two Billboard ads pushed sales and airplay for this rather tuneless curiosity put together by Richard Doyle, an LA comedian later known as Shamus M'Cool.

20. Commander Cody - "Daddy's Drinking Up Our Christmas" (Billboard Christmas 1973 #19). Written by John Tichy. Produced by Ozone Productions with Pete Drake. 45: "Daddy's Drinking Up Our Christmas"/ "Honeysuckle Honey" (Dot 1973).

Commander Cody's Christmas single showcases three specific early '70s pop music trends: "progressive country," children's perspectives, and a willingness to wallow in reality (i.e., disappointment).

21. Love Unlimited - "It May Be Winter Outside (But in My Heart It's Spring)" (Billboard #85, entered 12/15/73; Soul #35). Written by Barry White and Paul Politi. Produced by Barry White. 45: "It May Be Winter Outside (But in My Heart It's Spring)"/"It's Winter Again" (20th Century 1973). LP: Under the Influence of Love Unlimited (20th Century 1973).

This "girl group" project featured producer Barry White reveling in musical '50s motifs skewed by slippery rhythm shifts. This single also borrows liberally from Bacharach.

22. Jim Croce - "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way" (Billboard #64, entered 12/29/73). Written by Jim Croce. Produced by Terry Cashman and Tommy West. 45: "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way"/"Roller Derby Queen" (ABC 1973). LP: Life and Times (ABC 1973).

This song closed the last album Croce released before perishing in a 1973 plane crash. Its elegiac realism made for a prototypical singer-songwriter single.

23. Dee Mullins - "Remember Bethlehem" (Billboard country #71). Written by Jake Thackery. Produced by Shelby Singleton, Jr. 45: "Remember Bethlehem"/"California, The Promise Land" (Plantation 1971).

This strange country polka in a minor key featured some of pop music's most cerebral lyrics. The title's implied sentiment was its deceptive calling card.

24. Perry Como - "Christmas Dream" (Billboard #92, entered 12/21/74). Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Timothy Rice. Produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Pete Spargo. 45: "Christmas Dream"/"Christ Is Born" (RCA 1974). LP: The Odessa File (Original Soundtrack) (MCA 1974).

One of Como's final Christmas outings was a cheerful accordion polka featuring children's voices. The song figured prominently in The Odessa File, starring Jon Voigt.

25. James Brown - "Hey America" (Billboard #105, entered 12/12/70). Written by Nat Jones and Addie Williams Jones. Produced by James Brown. 45: "Hey America"/"Hey America (Instrumental)" (King 1970). LP: Hey America (King 1970).

This minor-key workout captures Brown, at the height of his influence, mostly name-checking the nation, taking note of the peace movement, and improvising.

5 more:

Nilsson - "Remember (Christmas)" (Billboard Hot 100 #53). Written by Harry Nilsson. Produced by Richard Perry. 45: "Remember (Christmas)"/"The Lottery Song" (RCA Victor 1972). LP: Son of Schmilsson (RCA Victor 1972).

Having no overt musical or lyrical references to Christmas other than the title, Nilsson's tender ballad entered the charts on Dec. 23, peaking at #53.

Tony Bennett - "Tell Her It's Snowing" (Billboard easy listening #38, entered 5/5/73). Written by Nachum Heiman, Michael John Mallows, and Eddie Marnay. Produced by Tony Bennett. 45: "Tell Her It's Snowing"/"If I Could Go Back" (MGM/Verve 1973). LP: Listen Easy (MGM/Verve 1973).

This melodramatic number, which charted in May 1973, merges the "Love Story Theme" musical template with the fashionable theme of familial discord's effect on children.

Linda Clifford - "(It's Gonna Be) A Long, Long Winter" (Billboard soul #75, entered 2/23/74). Written by Curtis Mayfield. Produced by Curtis Mayfield and Rich Tufa. 45: "(It's Gonna Be) A Long, Long Winter"/"March Across the Land" (Paramount 1973).

A regular on the R&B and dance charts between 1973 and 1984, Linda Clifford took this Christmas afterthought to Billboard's soul chart in February 1973.

The Jackson 5 - "Christmas Won't Be the Same This Year" (Billboard Christmas 1970 #1 flipside). Written by Pam Sawyer and Laverne Ware. Produced by Hal Davis. 45: "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"/"Christmas Won't Be the Same This Year" (Motown 1970). LP: Jackson 5 Christmas Album (Motown 1970).

The B-side of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" charted alongside the A-side as per Billboard's custom at the time. Sounds hurried, like the A-side.

Sister Janet Mead - "The Lord's Prayer" (Billboard #4, entered 2/23/74; easy listening #2). Written by Martin Erdman. Produced by Lee Sands. 45: "The Lord's Prayer"/"Brother Sun and Sister Moon" (A&M 1973). LP: With You I Am (A&M 1974).

Although Australia's rocking nun hit the US charts in February 1974 and peaked at #4 during Holy Week, she's racked up years of Christmas airplay.