Bobby Goldsboro - "Watching Scotty Grow" (1970)

"Watching Scotty Grow" (1970) - Bobby Goldsboro 

Written by Mac Davis * Produced by Bob Montgomery and Bobby Goldsboro * 45: "Watching Scotty Grow"/"Water Color Days" * LPs: We Gotta Start Lovin', Watching Scotty Grow * Label: United Artists * Billboard charts: Hot 100 (#11), easy listening (#1), country (#7) * Entered: 1970-12-19 (easy listening), 1970-12-26 (Hot 100), 1971-01-23 (country)

Bobby Goldsboro's #1 hit "Honey" (1968), with its maudlin arrangement, gawky narrative, and crocodile tears, established him as one of pop music's emperors of melodrama. He'd been vying for the crown as far back as 1962, when his first charting single ("Molly") expressed the words of a soldier returning home and revealing to his family that he could no longer see.

Even so, throughout his entire eleven-year run of hits, Goldsboro's material would demonstrate the odd ability to yo-yo from bathos to pathos, drawing listeners into a realm of meaningful reflection against their better judgment. With "Watching Scotty Grow," for example, you hear its smiley-face trumpet hook and Mac Davis's lyrics about a little boy doing little boy things, and you grimace. But then you find yourself caught up in reflection. "You can have your TV and your nightclubs and you can have your drive-in picture show," Goldsboro sings. "I'll stay here with my little man near and we'll listen to the radio, biding my time and watching Scotty grow."

Because I considered the song, as I still do, to be a perfect signature record for the era's pop music preoccupation with children, I titled the first chapter of my Early '70s Radio book "Watching Scotty Grow: The New Top 40 and the Merging Spheres of Parents and Preteens." The song even presented the very scenario I was discovering, a world where kids and adults hung around together and listened to the same station, with everything that implies. ("This mutual radio-listening environment," as I put it then, "was a contradictory affair.")

"Watching Scotty Grow" originally appeared on a late 1970 Goldsboro album called We Gotta Start Lovin' but, presumably because of its radio success, it became the title song to a revamped early 1971 album (with the same track listing and United Artists serial number). Its new cover depicted Goldsboro and a youngster in father-son mode.

Billboard conducted a rather sloppy handling of this album's chart run. Released on November 20 (according to an 11/28/70 ad), it debuted on January 23, 1971, and resided on the chart all the way until March 6, 1971, as the mistitled "You Gotta Start Lovin'." On March 13, the album disappeared from the chart altogether, and on March 20, Watching Scotty Grow appeared as a new entry. On March 27, though, it appeared as an album that had been on the chart for nine weeks, ignoring the fact that it had vanished for one entire week. (It peaked at #120 on February 20, by the way.)

On the single's flipside is a badly dated paint stroke by Kenny O'Dell and Larry Henley. On November 11, 1970, Billboard had spotlighted this "potent interpretation" as the A side. (It also recommends a competing version by a vocalist named Randy Horan.)

Side A: "Watching Scotty Grow"


Side A: "Water Color Days"


See also: A KMPC Playlist circa 1971

Jim Pike - "Morning Girl" (1971)

Jim Pike - "Morning Girl" (1971)

Written by Tupper Saussy * Produced by Jim Pike and Tony Butala * 45: "Morning Girl"/"Here, There and Everywhere" * LP: Everything Is Good About You * Label: Capitol * Billboard charts: Easy listening (#34)

Although the label on the Capitol 45 label and the chart listings all credited "Morning Girl" to the Lettermen's Jim Pike, this version of the Neon Philharmonic's #17 hit from 1969 eventually showed up on the 1971 Lettermen album Everything Is Good About You. Pike and fellow group member Tony Batula get credit for the production, which might imply that they also did the shimmering, Percy Faith-conscious string arrangement, but perhaps Al DeLory, who's credited on five other songs, had a hand in it. This was the last chart entry for anything written by the Neon Philharmonic's Tupper Saussy; future teen idol Shaun Cassidy, though, would give a version of "Morning Girl" a whirl as his very first single in 1975. The B-side featured a rendition of the Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere," again billed to Pike even though it had appeared previously on the 1969 Lettermen album Hurt So Bad. Arranged by Perry Botkin, Jr., the track featured more of the A-side's alluring strings.

Side A: "Morning Girl"


Side B: "Here, There, and Everywhere"

The Early '70s Charting Singles of Sergio Mendes

America in the 1960s developed an ear for Brazilian bossa nova and the exotic Latin grooves of boogaloo thanks to hits by Joe Cuba, Ray Barretto, Mongo Santamaria, and Stan Getz. It was American jazz saxophonist Getz who popularized the compositions of Antonio Carlos Jobim with collaborative recordings of "Desafinado" and "The Girl from Ipanema," thereby setting the table for the late sixties success of pianist Sergio Mendes, a Jobim protege. Having released a number of poorly-selling jazz albums for Atlantic, Mendes organized a group with two American female vocalists and an evenly split English-Portuguese repertoire, resulting in the platinum album Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 (1966) for Alpert's A&M label.

Even so, Top 40 success remained elusive until 1968, when the group would perform "The Look of Love" (which Dusty Springfield had recently recorded for the Casino Royale soundtrack) at the Academy Awards, thereby sending it to #4 on Billboard. The pop chart path of Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 in the early seventies, though, follows a downward arc, with all nine singles released between their peak year of 1968 and 1973 charting at progressively lower positions, seeming to reflect the parallel waxing and waning of the bossa nova and boogaloo fads. They'd vanish from the singles charts altogether in 1973 until Sergio Mendes's 1983 resurgence as a wedding ballad VIP with his "Never Gonna Let You Go."   

"Norwegian Wood" (1969) - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66

Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney * Produced by Sergio Mendes * 45: "Norwegian Wood" / "Masquerade" * LP: Ye-Me-Le * Billboard charts: Bubbling under (#107), easy listening (#32) * Entered: 1970-02-21 (bubbling under), 1970-02-28 (easy listening)

"Norwegian Wood" was the fourth and final Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 Beatle cover, all of them worthwhile. (The other three: "Day Tripper," "The Fool on the Hill," and "With a Little Help from My Friends.") The arrangement accentuates the story's slow attraction > quick consummation > flight trajectory. As the music chugs along on its main two-chord rotation, you can hear Mendes (or someone) go "hyah!" four different times, as though playing the role of singer Lani Hall's lover, escaping on a horse.

The Ye-Me-Le album this song comes from (those are chant words from the title track) featured a painting on the cover by Brazilian folk painter Ivan Moraes. The other single to be released from it, Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman," had topped out at #95 in late 1969. The B side's "Masquerade" sounds like the work of veteran craftsmen, which makes the apparent absence of any meaningful info about its composers—Leonard Haynes, Jr. and Ron Rose—hard to swallow.

Side A: "Norwegian Wood"


Side A: "Masquerade"

"For What It's Worth" (1970) - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66

Written by Stephen Stills * Produced by Sergio Mendes and Herb Alpert * 45: "For What It's Worth" / "Viramundo" * LP: Stillness * Label: A&M * Billboard charts:  Bubbling under (#101), easy listening (#10) * Entered: 1970-08-22 (easy listening), 1970-08-29 (bubbling under)

Stillness was the album Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 were readying at the time they released their "For What It's Worth" single. It would be their last album before a label switch and a reboot as Sergio Mendes & Brasil '77. Halfway through the album's production, singer Lani Hall left the band to marry A&M label head and Mendes mentor Herb Alpert, leading to speculation that the group's subsequent collapse had to do with surrounding tensions. (The other female singer had been American actress Karen Philipp, who had appeared as "Nurse Dish" on a few M*A*S*H episodes.) The group's sultry cover version of Buffalo Springfield's 1967 protest anthem emphasized the song's "Stop!" motif, possibly in observance of the forthcoming album's "Stillness" title. "Viramundo" (turn around) from side B is an interpretation of a song that had appeared on the 1967 debut album of Brazilian force of nature Gilberto Gil.

Side A: "For What It's Worth"


Side B: "Viramundo"

Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - "Chelsea Morning" (1970)

Written by Joni Mitchell * Produced by Sergio Mendes and Herb Alpert * 45: "Chelsea Morning" / "Where Are You Coming From" * LP: Stillness * Label: A&M * Billboard charts: Easy listening (#24) * Entered: 1970-11-07

Written by Joni Mitchell and given a minor hit rendering in 1969 by Judy Collins, Sergio Mendes's recording of "Chelsea Morning" seemed to take its cues, in terms tempo and rhythms, from a version by Green Lyte Sunday, swapping their violins for congas. (The Dayton, Ohio group rose to #19 with it on the easy listening chart in the summer of 1970; the Stillness album and "Chelsea Morning" single appeared in November.) The other side contained an English version of a song (originally "De Onde Vens") by Dori Caymmi, the son of well-known Brazilian folk singer Dorival Caymmi. Its pensive manner, winding melody, jarring orchestration, and flat lead vocals by Mendes make for a difficult listen. After "Chelsea Morning" ran its course on the easy listening singles chart, Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 never again appeared under that name or as A&M Records artists.

Side A: "Chelsea Morning"


Side B: "Where Are You Coming From"

"Love Music" (1973) - Sergio Mendes and Brasil '77

Written by Brian Potter and Dennis Lambert * Produced by Bones Howe * 45: "Love Music" / "Walk the Way You Talk" * LP: Love Music * Label: Bell * Billboard charts: Easy listening (#24), bubbling under (#113) * Entered: 1973-03-31 (easy listening), 1973-04-14 (bubbling under)

The revamped Sergio Mendes and Brasil '77 included Mendes's wife Gracinha Leporace, among other changes in personnel. The switch to a new label (Bell) suggested further that the loss of previous vocalist Lani Hall, who had quit to marry A&M label head Herb Alpert and to launch a solo career, did not necessarily happen amicably.

The Potter and Lambert-penned "Love Music," a track from the Four Tops' 1972 Keeper of the Castle album, merged the Mendes sound with the Philly Soul-conscious string and horn arrangements of saxophonist Tom Scott. "Walk the Way You Talk" on side B is a Bacharach-David song introduced by Dionne Warwick in 1970; the Mendes version, with its Cuban piano, is the livelier of the two.

Side A: "Love Music"


Side B: "Walk the Way You Talk"

"Where Is the Love" (1973) - Sergio Mendes and Brasil '77

Written by Ralph MacDonald and William Salter * Produced by Bones Howe * 45: "Where Is the Love" / "Hey Look at the Sun" * LP: Love Music * Label: Bell * Billboard charts: #36 * Entered: 1973-07-28

Here was the final charting single for any of Sergio Mendes's "Brasil" outfits, a polite sashay through Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway's crossover smash from 1972, arranged by Bob Alcivar. An even more polite treatment of Brazilian songwriter Nelson Angelo's "Hey Look at the Sun," sung by Bonnie Bowden, appears on the flipside. Exactly ten years after this single, Mendes would bounce back in 1983 with the decidedly non-bossa nova Top 5 slow-dance hit "Never Gonna Let You Go."

Side A: "Where Is the Love"


Side B: "Hey Look at the Sun"

Gabor Szabo - "(They Long to Be) Close to You" (1971)

"(They Long to Be) Close to You" (1970) - Gabor Szabo

Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David * Produced by Tommy LiPuma * 45: "(They Long to Be) Close to You" / "Love Theme from Spartacus" * LP: Magical Connection * Label: Blue Thumb * Billboard charts: Easy listening (#40) * Entered: 1970-12-19

Prolific as the Hungarian guitarist Gabor Szabo may have been, he appeared only once as a singles artist in Billboard, reaching #40 on the easy listening chart with "(They Long to Be) Close to You)." Szabo mostly channeled Wes Montgomery in his reinterpretation of what was then the latest Bacharach-David standard, with his own distinctive style eventually manifesting itself in bends and chitters. "Close to You" had been floating around since 1963 in versions by Richard Chamberlain, Dionne Warwick, and Dinah Washington, but the Carpenters' 1970 hit recording became the definitive one, prompting this cover by Szabo. A moody take on Alex North's Spartacus film theme, with shimmering orchestral strings, fills up the flipside. Having lived in the US since he was 20, Szabo returned for a visit to his home country in 1982, where he died of liver and kidney disease at the age of 45.

Side A: "(They Long to Be) Close to You"


Side B: "Love Theme from Spartacus"

The Lettermen - "Everything Is Good About You" (1971)

The Lettermen - "Everything Is Good About You" 

Written by Eddie Holland and James Dean. Produced by Al DeLory. 45: "Everything Is Good About You"/"It's Over" (Capitol 1971). LP: Everything Is Good About You (Capitol 1971). Billboard #74, entered 1/30/71; easy listening #6.

"Everything Is Good About You" first appeared as a filler track on the Supremes' I Hear a Symphony LP. The Lettermen's twinkly recording of it, co-produced by the ubiquitous Al DeLory, ended up being the California vocal trio's second-to-last Hot 100 chart appearance. Also appearing on this album, though, is a worthwhile version of the Neon Philharmonic's "Morning Girl."

The Lettermen - "Everything Is Good About You"

See also: A KMPC Playlist circa 1971

Johnny Mathis - "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" (1970)

Johnny Mathis - "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" (did not chart). Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Produced by Robert Mersey. 45: "I'll Never Fall in Love Again"/"Love Theme from 'Romeo and Juliet' (A Time for Us)" (Columbia 1970). LP: Johnny Mathis Sings the Music of Kaempfert & Bacharach (Columbia (1970).

This double LP paired up a previously-released UK Bert Kaempfert tribute with a collection of Burt Bacharach renditions from previous Columbia LPs. (Too bad the title "Johnny Sings Bert and Burt" didn't make the cut.) Mathis had also recorded a number of Bacharach tunes for the Mercury label, none of which appear on this. With its minimalist arrangement built around a nylon string guitar and that familiar big-room echo on his voice, Mathis's version of Dionne Warwick's Top Ten hit from 1969 also showcased the song well, but it never charted.

Johnny Mathis - "I'll Never Fall in Love Again"

See also: A KMPC Playlist circa 1971

Gordon Lightfoot - "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970)

Gordon Lightfoot - "If You Could Read My Mind" (Billboard #5, entered 12/26/70; easy listening #1). Written by Gordon Lightfoot. Produced by Lenny Waronker and Joe Wissert. 45: "If You Could Read My Mind"/"Poor Little Allison" (Reprise 1970). LP: If You Could Read My Mind (Reprise 1970).

When Gordon Lightfoot entered the American charts for the first time in late 1970, he had already become an iconic Canadian chart fixture, with his first hit happening in 1962. But he'd also seen other performers' versions of his compositions do well in the U.S., such as Marty Robbins's 1965 country #1 "Ribbon of Darkness" and Peter, Paul and Mary's Top 40 version of "For Lovin' Me" (1965).

In 1969, Canadian hitmakers The Guess Who memorialized Phase One of the troubadour's career with a tribute song called "Lightfoot" on their Wheatfield Soul album. Lightfoot launched Phase Two with "If You Could Read My Mind" (a musical relative of the poignant Midnight Cowboy theme, with its root-to-flatted seventh opening chord sequence), which became an instant standard and role model for the forthcoming singer-songwriter era.

In 1977, the George Benson hit "The Greatest Love of All," with music by Michael Masser, plagiarized a key musical passage - chords and melody - from "If You Could Read My Mind." When Whitney Houston had an even bigger hit with it in 1985, Lightfoot finally broke down and lawyered up, only to withdraw the suit in the belief that it would do too much indirect damage to Houston.

Gordon Lightfoot - "If You Could Read My Mind"

See also: A KMPC Playlist circa 1971