This is an alphabetical artist list of every song to make the top 40 during
any given week during this year and its peak highest position reached on the
national charts in USA
What are your favorite songs on this list?
My personal favorites are listed at the very bottom :
hoknes@hotmail.com
Addrisi Brothers We've Got to Get It On Again 1972 25
Al Green I'm Still In Love With You 1972 03
Al Green Let's Stay Together 1972 01
Al Green Look What You Done For Me 1972 04
Al Green You Ought To Be With Me 1972 03
Albert Hammond It Never Rains in Southern California 1972 05
Alice Cooper Elected 1972 26
Alice Cooper School's Out 1972 07
America A Horse With No Name 1972 01
America I Need You 1972 09
America Ventura Highway 1972 08
Andy Williams Love Theme from "The Godfather" (Speak Softly Love) 1972 34
Apollo 100 Joy 1972 06
April Wine You Could Have Been A Lady 1972 32
Aretha Franklin All the King's Horses 1972 26
Aretha Franklin Day Dreaming 1972 05
Argent Hold Your Head Up 1972 05
Arlo Guthrie The City of New Orleans 1972 18
Austin Roberts Something's Wrong With Me 1972 12
B.J. Thomas Rock and Roll Lullaby 1972 15
Badfinger Baby Blue 1972 14
Badfinger Day After Day 1972 04
Band Don't Do It 1972 34
Barbra Streisand Sweet Inspiration / Where You Lead 1972 37
Bee Gees Alive 1972 34
Bee Gees My World 1972 16
Bee Gees Run To Me 1972 16
Betty Wright Clean Up Woman 1972 06
Beverly Bremers Don't Say You Don't Remember 1972 15
Beverly Bremers We're Free 1972 40
Bill Withers Lean On Me 1972 01
Bill Withers Use Me 1972 02
Billy Paul Me and Mrs. Jones 1972 01
Billy Preston Outa-Space 1972 02
Bob Dylan George Jackson 1972 33
Bobby Vinton Every Day of My Life 1972 24
Bobby Vinton Sealed with a Kiss 1972 19
Bobby Womack & Peace That's the Way I Feel About 'Cha 1972 27
Bread Diary 1972 15
Bread Everything I Own 1972 05
Bread Sweet Surrender 1972 15
Bread The Guitar Man 1972 11
Buffy Sainte-Marie Mister Can't You See 1972 38
Bullet White Lies, Blue Eyes 1972 28
Carly Simon Anticipation 1972 13
Carole King Sweet Seasons 1972 09
Carpenters Goodbye to Love 1972 07
Carpenters Hurting Each Other 1972 02
Carpenters It's Going to Take Some Time 1972 12
Cashman & West American City Suite 1972 27
Cat Stevens Morning Has Broken 1972 06
Chakachas Jungle Fever 1972 08
Charley Pride Kiss An Angel Good Mornin' 1972 21
Cher Living in a House Divided 1972 22
Cher The Way of Love 1972 07
Chi Coltrane Thunder and Lightning 1972 17
Chicago Dialogue (Parts 1 and 2) 1972 24
Chicago Saturday in the Park 1972 03
Chi-Lites Oh Girl 1972 01
Chuck Berry My Ding-a-Ling 1972 01
Classics IV featuring Dennis Yost What Am I Crying For? 1972 39
Climax Precious and Few 1972 03
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen Hot Rod Lincoln 1972 09
Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose Don't Ever Be Lonely (A Poor Little Fool Like
Me) 1972 23
Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose Too Late To Turn Back Now 1972 02
Creedence Clearwater Revival Someday Never Comes 1972 25
Curtis Mayfield Freddie's Dead (Theme from "Superfly") 1972 04
Daniel Boone Beautiful Sunday 1972 15
Danny O'Keefe Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues 1972 09
David Cassidy Could It Be Forever 1972 37
David Cassidy How Can I Be Sure 1972 25
David Cassidy Rock Me Baby 1972 38
David Crosby and Graham Nash Immigration Man 1972 36
Delegates Convention '72 1972 08
Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band Scorpio 1972 06
Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band Taurus 1972 18
Derek & The Dominos Layla 1972 10
Detroit Emeralds Baby Let Me Take You (in My Arms) 1972 24
Detroit Emeralds You Want It, You Got It 1972 36
Don McLean American Pie (Parts 1 & 2) 1972 01
Don McLean Vincent 1972 12
Donna Fargo The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A. 1972 11
Donnie Elbert I Can't Help Myself 1972 22
Donny Osmond Hey Girl 1972 09
Donny Osmond Puppy Love 1972 03
Donny Osmond Too Young 1972 13
Donny Osmond Why 1972 13
Doobie Brothers Listen to the Music 1972 11
Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show Sylvia's Mother 1972 05
Dramatics In the Rain 1972 05
Eagles Take It Easy 1972 12
Eagles Witchy Woman 1972 09
Elton John Honky Cat 1972 08
Elton John Levon 1972 24
Elton John Rocket Man 1972 06
Elvis Presley Burning Love 1972 02
Elvis Presley Until It's Time for You to Go 1972 40
Emerson, Lake & Palmer From the Beginning 1972 39
English Congregation Softly Whispering I Love You 1972 29
Faces Stay with Me 1972 17
Fifth Dimension (Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All 1972 08
Fifth Dimension If I Could Reach You 1972 10
Fifth Dimension Together Let's Find Love 1972 37
Flash Small Beginnings 1972 29
Frederick Knight I've Been Lonely for So Long 1972 27
Gallery I Believe In Music 1972 22
Gallery Nice To Be With You 1972 04
Gary Glitter I Didn't Know I Loved You ('Till I Saw You Rock and Roll) 1972 35
Gary Glitter Rock and Roll (Part 2) 1972 07
Gilbert O'Sullivan Alone Again (Naturally) 1972 01
Gilbert O'Sullivan Clair 1972 02
Gladys Knight & The Pips Help Me Make It Through the Night 1972 33
Gladys Knight & The Pips Make Me the Woman That You Go Home To 1972 27
Godspell Day by Day 1972 13
Grand Funk Railroad Footstompin' Music 1972 29
Grand Funk Railroad Rock 'N' Roll Soul 1972 29
Grass Roots Glory Bound 1972 34
Grass Roots The Runway 1972 39
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes If You Don't Know Me By Now 1972 03
Harry Chapin Taxi 1972 24
Helen Reddy I Am Woman 1972 01
Hillside Singers I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony) 1972
13
Hollies Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress) 1972 02
Hollies Long Dark Road 1972 26
Honey Cone One Monkey Don't Stop No Show (Part 1) 1972 15
Honey Cone The Day I Found Myself 1972 23
Hot Butter Popcorn 1972 09
Isaac Hayes Do Your Thing 1972 30
Isaac Hayes The Theme from "The Men" 1972 38
Isley Brothers Pop That Thang 1972 24
J. Geils Band Looking for a Love 1972 39
J.J. Cale Crazy Mama 1972 22
Jackson 5 Corner of the Sky 1972 18
Jackson 5 Little Bitty Pretty One 1972 13
Jackson 5 Lookin' Through the Windows 1972 16
Jackson 5 Sugar Daddy 1972 10
Jackson Browne Doctor My Eyes 1972 08
James Brown Get on the Good Foot (Part 1) 1972 18
James Brown King Heroin 1972 40
James Brown Talking Loud and Saying Nothing (Part 1) 1972 27
Jerry Butler & Brenda Lee Eager Ain't Understanding Mellow 1972 21
Jerry Lee Lewis Me and Bobby McGee 1972 40
Jerry Wallace If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry 1972 38
Jim Croce Operator (That's Not the Way it Feels) 1972 17
Jim Croce You Don't Mess Around with Jim 1972 08
Jimmy Castor Bunch Troglodyte (Cave Man) 1972 06
Jo Jo Gunne Run Run Run 1972 27
Joe Cocker Feeling Alright 1972 33
Joe Cocker Midnight Rider 1972 27
Joe Simon Drowning in the Sea of Love 1972 11
Joe Simon Power of Love 1972 11
Joe Tex I Gotcha 1972 02
Joey Heatherton Gone 1972 24
Johnny Nash I Can See Clearly Now 1972 01
Jonathan Edwards Sunshine 1972 04
Led Zeppelin Black Dog 1972 15
Leon Russell Tight Rope 1972 11
Lighthouse Sunny Days 1972 34
Little Jimmy Osmond Long Haired Lover from Liverpool 1972 38
Lobo I'd Love You To Want Me 1972 02
Looking Glass Brandy (You're A Fine Girl) 1972 01
Love Unlimited Walkin' In the Rain With the One I Love 1972 14
Luther Ingram (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right 1972 03
Mac Davis Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me 1972 01
Main Ingredient Everybody Plays the Fool 1972 03
Malo Suavecito 1972 18
Mel & Tim Starting All Over Again 1972 19
Melanie Ring the Living Bell 1972 31
Melanie The Nickel Song 1972 35
Michael Jackson Ben 1972 01
Michael Jackson I Wanna Be Where You Are 1972 16
Michael Jackson Rockin' Robin 1972 02
Michael Martin Murphey Geronimo's Cadillac 1972 37
Mickey Newbury An American Trilogy 1972 26
Millie Jackson Ask Me What You Want 1972 27
Moody Blues Isn't Life Strange 1972 29
Moody Blues Nights In White Satin 1972 02
Mott the Hoople All the Young Dudes 1972 37
Mouth & MacNeal How Do You Do? 1972 08
Neil Diamond Play Me 1972 11
Neil Diamond Song Sung Blue 1972 01
Neil Diamond Walk On Water 1972 17
Neil Young Heart of Gold 1972 01
Neil Young Old Man 1972 31
New Seekers I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony) 1972 07
Nilsson Coconut 1972 08
Nilsson Jump Into the Fire 1972 27
Nilsson Spaceman 1972 23
Nilsson Without You 1972 01
O'Jays Back Stabbers 1972 03
Osmonds Crazy Horses 1972 14
Osmonds Down By the Lazy River 1972 04
Osmonds Hold Her Tight 1972 14
Partridge Family Breaking Up Is Hard to Do 1972 28
Partridge Family It's One of Those Nights (Yes Love) 1972 20
Paul Simon Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard 1972 22
Paul Simon Mother And Child Reunion 1972 04
Procol Harum Conquistador 1972 16
Rare Earth Hey Big Brother 1972 19
Raspberries Go All the Way 1972 05
Redbone The Witch Queen of New Orleans 1972 21
Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band Garden Party 1972 06
Rick Springfield Speak to the Sky 1972 14
Ringo Starr Back Off Boogaloo 1972 09
Robert John The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh) (Mbube) 1972 03
Roberta Flack The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 1972 01
Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway Where Is the Love 1972 05
Rod Stewart Angel 1972 40
Rod Stewart You Wear it Well 1972 13
Rolling Stones Happy 1972 22
Rolling Stones Tumbling Dice 1972 07
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Amazing Grace 1972 11
Sailcat Motorcycle Mama 1972 12
Sam Neely Loving You Just Crossed My Mind 1972 29
Sammy Davis, Jr.with the Mike Curb Congregation The Candy Man 1972 01
Santana No One to Depend On 1972 36
Seals & Crofts Summer Breeze 1972 06
Sly & The Family Stone Runnin' Away 1972 23
Sonny & Cher A Cowboy's Work is Never Done 1972 08
Sonny & Cher When You Say Love 1972 32
Spinners I'll Be Around 1972 03
Staple Singers I'll Take You There 1972 01
Staple Singers This World 1972 38
Stevie Wonder Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You?) 1972 33
Stylistics Betcha By Golly, Wow 1972 03
Stylistics I'm Stone in Love with You 1972 10
Stylistics People Make the World Go Round 1972 25
Stylistics You Are Everything 1972 09
Supremes Automatically Sunshine 1972 37
Supremes Floy Joy 1972 16
T. Rex Bang a Gong (Get it On) 1972 10
Temptations Papa Was A Rolling Stone 1972 01
Temptations Take a Look Around 1972 30
Think Once You Understand 1972 23
Three Dog Night Black and White 1972 01
Three Dog Night Never Been to Spain 1972 05
Three Dog Night The Family of Man 1972 12
Todd Rundgren I Saw the Light 1972 16
Tower of Power You're Still A Young Man 1972 29
Uriah Heep Easy Livin' 1972 39
War Slippin' into Darkness 1972 16
Wayne Newton Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast 1972 04
Who Join Together 1972 17
Wilson Phillips Fire and Water 1972 24
Wings Give Ireland Back to the Irish 1972 21
Wings Mary Had a Little Lamb 1972 28
Yes Roundabout 1972 13
THE MOODY BLUES - NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN (1972) hit #2
When first released in 1967, the song reached #19 on the
UK Singles Chart, a position that might have been higher
were it not for its seven-plus minute length. The song was
re-released in 1972 after the success of such longer-running
dramatic songs as "Hey
Jude" and "Layla",
and it charted at #2 on
Billboard and #1 on
Cash Box in the United States, earning a
Gold certification for sales of a million copies. It
also reached #1 in Canada. The song also holds the dubious
distinction of the highest complete Hot 100 disappearance
from the pre-digital download era, vanishing entirely from
the chart after falling to #17. It was also released in
Spanish as "Noches de Seda" at the same time. In the wake of
its US success, the song re-charted in the UK in late 1972
and climbed to #9. The song was re-released yet again in
1979, and charted for a third time in the UK at #14.
There are two single versions of the song, both stripped
of the orchestral and "Late Lament" poetry sections of the
LP version. The first edited version, with the songwriter's
credit shown as "Redwave", was a hasty sounding 3:06 version
of the LP recording with very noticeable chopped parts.
However, there are many versions of the single that are
listed on the labels at 3:06, but in fact are closer to the
later version of 4:26. Some versions, instead of ending cold
as most do, segue briefly into the symphonic second half
("Late Lament"), and, in fact, run for 4:33 (but are also
listed on the label as 3:06). For the second edited version
(with the song's writing credited to Hayward), the early
parts of the song were kept intact, ending early at 4:26.
Just about all single versions were backed with a non-LP
B-side, "Cities".
Band member
Justin Hayward wrote the song at age 19 in Swindon, and
titled the song after a friend gave him a gift of
satin bedsheets. The song itself was a tale of a
yearning love from afar, which leads many aficionados to
term it as a tale of
unrequited love endured by Hayward. The
London Festival Orchestra provided the orchestral
accompaniment for the introduction, the final rendition of
the chorus, and the "final lament" section, all of this in
the original album version. The "orchestral" sounds in the
main body of the song were actually produced by Mike
Pinder's
Mellotron keyboard device, which would come to define
the "Moody Blues sound".[citation
needed]
While largely ignored on its first release, the song has
since garnered much critical acclaim, ranking #36 in
BBC Radio 2's "Sold on Song Top 100" list
Following the first album, Mark Andes left the band and
was replaced by
Jimmie Randall. Randall introduced a brighter bass sound
and helped increase the band's overall volume. Matt Andes left after Jumpin' the Gunne, and he
was briefly replaced by Star Donaldson. A more permanent
replacement was found in John Staehely (born 25 January
1952,
Austin, Texas), who had played on
Feedback, the Spirit album that followed Ferguson
and Ande's departure. Staehely's overdriven guitar was a
complete change from Matt Andes's
Ry Cooder style
slide guitar.
After the band broke up, Ferguson recorded several
solo albums, including the
hit singles "Thunder Island" and "Shakedown Cruise", and
scored
TV shows and mostly non-notable
films. Andes joined
Firefall and, later,
Heart. Smith went on to have a successful career as a
session drummer, and also played with
Spirit in the 1980s and
Boston from 1994 to 2000. The original line-up reformed in 2005, and began
recording again.
Inspired by Clapton's then
unrequited love for
Pattie Boyd, the wife of his friend and fellow musician
George Harrison, "Layla" was unsuccessful on its initial
release The song has since experienced great critical and
popular acclaim, and is often hailed as being among the
greatest rock songs of all time. Two versions have achieved
chart success, the first in 1972 and the second (without the
piano coda) twenty years later as an acoustic "Unplugged"
performance. In 2004 it was ranked #27 on Rolling Stone's
list of "The
500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and the acoustic
version won the 1993
Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.
THE 5TH DIMENSION - LAST NIGHT I DIDN'T GET TO SLEEP (1972)
Some of the songwriters popularized by The 5th Dimension
went on to careers of their own, especially
Ashford & Simpson, who wrote "California
Soul". The group is also notable for having more success
with the songs of
Laura Nyro than Nyro did herself, particularly with "Stoned
Soul Picnic", "Sweet Blindness", "Wedding
Bell Blues", "Blowin' Away", and "Save the Country". The
group also covered music by well known songwriters such as
the song "One
Less Bell to Answer", written by
Burt Bacharach and
Hal David and the songs and music of
Jimmy Webb, who penned their hit "Up, Up and Away",
including an entire recording of Webb songs called
The Magic Garden
URIAH HEEP - EASY LIVING (1972)
Easy Livin'" is a song by the British rock band
Uriah Heep, released as the second single from their
1972 album
Demons and Wizards. It was the band's only hit in
the United States, peaking at #39 on the
Billboard Hot 100 in September 1972, and their
only single to reach
platinum status in the U.S. The song's greatest success
came in the Netherlands, where it reached #5 on the singles
chart. In 1988 the band released a live version of the song,
with new vocalist
Bernie Shaw, as a UK single from the album Live in
Moscow.
The song was written by
Ken Hensley and sung by
David Byron.The band members think that song is very
dynamic and fast and it is a really hit now too.It is the
first song of the album which is has been written only by
Ken Hensley.It is the third track on the album and it is the
best song on the album,since there was no music video for
this song because band has already released a music video
for the first single
The Wizard,but the song always has been sung in every
live concert of Uriah Heep.
The song was written and sung by
Pete Ham and produced by
George Harrison, who plays some of the
slide guitar parts of the song along with Ham. The
record also features
Leon Russell on piano. As the song was unfinished at the
time Harrison left the Badfinger album to produce the
Concert for Bangladesh, the final mix was done by
Todd Rundgren, who took over Straight Up after
Harrison's departure.
Released as a single in the US in November 1971 (January
1972 elsewhere), it would become the group's highest
charting single there, peaking at number 4 on the
Billboard Pop Singles chart. It also peaked at
number 10 on the
UK Singles Chart in January 1972. It remains the band's
best-known song, most notably for the slide guitar solos. It
went Gold in March 1972, becoming the band's first and only
gold single. "Day After Day" reached number 10 on
Billboard's
Easy Listening survey
Because of all of the overdubs, Badfinger was hesitant to
play this song live for years, since it was impossible for a
four-piece group to reproduce the single production.
However, the song was included in the setlist for
Badfinger's 1974 tour
A video shot in June 1972 shortly after
completing the song featured The Who miming to playback in
front of an excited audience. Roger Daltrey and Keith Moon
play
Jew's harps and Pete Townshend and John Entwistle play
chord and bass harmonicas respectively to mime to all those
instruments played by Townshend. Also during the video,
Townshend's hand is bandaged.
The song was first performed live on The Who's By Numbers
Tour from
1975-1976,
albeit more bluesy and abbreviated while attached to "My
Generation"; it was played in this same arrangement
early in the
1979 tour. It was performed once on the
1982 tour as well, tagged on to the end of "Magic
Bus".[1]
For the
1989 tour, it was brought back, this time in the same
arrangement as the studio version. On January 13, 2011, the
band played this song with guests
Debbie Harry,
Jeff Beck and
Bryan Adams as the show-closer for the Concert for
Killing Cancer benefit show.
HARRY CHAPIN - TAXI (1972)
Taxi" is a
song written and performed by
Harry Chapin from his 1972 album
Heads and Tales. Chapin debuted the song on
NBC's
The Tonight Show in 1972 which was followed by many
calls and telegrams sent from viewers to NBC demanding that
Chapin return to the show. It was the first time in the
show's history that host
Johnny Carson brought a performer back the very next
night for an encore performance. Taxi thus front-lined his
defining work. The single helped establish Chapin's musical
style and fame, and as a result many Chapin items feature
taxi-related imagery. Legendary
WMEX-Boston Radio Personality
Jim Connors is credited with a Gold record for
discovering Chapin and pushing his single "Taxi" to #24 on
the
Billboard charts, where it would last 16 weeks on
the
Hot 100, in the
United States.
The song tells the story of Harry, a
cab driver, on a rainy night in
San Francisco. He picks up a woman, his last fare for
the night, and she asks to be taken to her home at 16
Parkside Lane. Harry finds the woman familiar at first, but
she doesn't seem to recognize him until after she looks at
him in the
rear-view mirror and at his license. It is then revealed
that she is Sue, Harry's old lover.
In flashback, Harry remembers how he "used to take her
home in [his] car" and also how they "learned about love in
the back of a Dodge". Sue had wanted to be an actress, while
Harry was going to learn to fly (hinting at Chapin's earlier
real-life experience at the
United States Air Force Academy). Their relationship
ended when Sue "took off to find the footlights" and Harry
"took off to find the sky".
THE DOOBIE BROTHERS - LISTEN TO THE MUSIC (1972)
Listen to the Music" is a song recorded by
The Doobie Brothers on their second album
Toulouse Street. This song remains a concert staple
and is one of The Doobie Brothers' biggest hits.
The song
peaked at #11 on the
Billboard Hot 100 in November 1972. Its commercial
success helped the album Toulouse Street skyrocket on
the charts. The song remains a staple of
adult contemporary and
classic rock radio. The band also uses it as an encore
song during live shows. It was written and sung by guitarist
and vocalist
Tom Johnston.
Patrick Simmons, the second guitarist and vocalist in
the group, sings the bridge of the song.
During the 1982 'Farewell Tour,' the song was the last
one played on the setlist as the encore with drummer
Keith Knudsen singing the lead vocal
With its #13 peak on the
Billboard Hot 100, "Roundabout" ranks as the
second highest charting US single for Yes, after their 1983
#1 hit "Owner
of a Lonely Heart". The single version was edited down
to 3:27 for American pop radio airplay, although many
stations played the full version of the song. "Roundabout"
peaked at #23 on the
Dutch Top 40.
Anderson has said the lyrics to the song were inspired by
a long tour van ride from northern Scotland to north
England, which featured many traffic-clogged roundabouts
along with mountain and lake scenery.
On the commentary track for the DVD release of
School of Rock (2003), actor
Jack Black states that the solo is his personal
favourite keyboard solo. "Roundabout" was also used in the
1999 film
Outside Providence as it is heard through a sequence
of two scenes.
"Roundabout" is a playable track in the music game
Rock Band 3, where it is the hardest song for Keys,
Pro Guitar, and Band. "Roundabout" was used as the first song in Episode 20,
Season 2 of the TV Series
Fringe.
THE HOLLIES - LONG COOL WOMAN IN A BLACK DRESS (1972) hit #2
Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" (also called "Long
Cool Woman" or "Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress)")
is a song written by
Allan Clarke,
Roger Cook, and
Roger Greenaway and performed by the British
pop group
The Hollies. Originally appearing on the album
Distant Light, it was released as a
single in April 1972 (on
Parlophone in the United Kingdom), selling 1.5 million
copies in the United States and 2 million worldwide.
On
the day "Long Cool Woman" was recorded at AIR Studios, the
group's
producer,
Ron Richards, was ill and, as a result, the song was
produced by the group. The song is different from most
Hollies' songs in that there are no
three-part vocal harmonies, and the song features lead
guitar and lead vocal work by Allan Clarke. Upon his
return, Ron Richards
mixed the recording.
According to Clarke, the song was written "in about five
minutes". When the song made its mark in America, Clarke had
already left the band; but Clarke feels that "it wasn't
unfortunate", since he had written the song.
Lighthouse was formed in 1968 in
Toronto by vocalist/drummer
Skip Prokop (formerly of
the Paupers) and keyboardist
Paul Hoffert. The two met by coincidence on a flight
from
New York City to Toronto, and discussed forming a band
structured around a rock rhythm section, jazz horn section
and classical string section. Prokop had admired Ralph
Cole's playing when they shared the bill at the
Grande Ballroom in
Detroit, so he brought him to Toronto to be the band's
guitarist. Prokop and Hoffert assembled the rest of the
group from friends, studio session musicians and
Toronto Symphony Orchestra members, and proceeded to
make a demo recording. On the advice of
Richie Havens, Prokop and Hoffert took the demo to
MGM Records in New York, who signed the band. Two days
later they had a manager, Vinnie Fusco, out of Albert
Grossman's office, who overturned the MGM contract and made
a deal with
RCA Victor. Lighthouse made its debut on May 14, 1969 at
the Rock Pile in Toronto, introduced by
Duke Ellington with the words, "I'm beginning to see the
Light...house". The band originally consisted of 13 members
The band moved to the record label GRT and Toronto’s
Thunder Sound Studios. There were some other changes within
the band as well including the loss of a few members – down
to eleven musicians with seven original members still on
board. The most notable change was a new lead singer in
Bob McBride. In 1971, Lighthouse released One Fine
Morning and Thoughts of Movin' On. The title
track from One Fine Morning was a hit in Canada,
peaking at #2 on Canada's Singles Chart. The song was also
an international and American hit, peaking at #24 in 1971 on
the
Billboard Hot 100 chart, with both albums 'going gold'
in Canada. It was preceded on the Canadian charts by "Hats
Off to the Stranger
APRIL WINE - YOU COULD HAVE BEEN A LADY (1972)
April Wine is a
Canadian
rock
band formed in 1969. According to the band, they chose
the name 'April Wine' simply because members thought the two
words sounded good together. The band has released more than
twenty albums and forged a live performance reputation that
still sees them drawing devoted crowds across Canada and
around the world more than forty years after taking their
first steps into the
hard rock spotlight.
April Wine began in late 1969 in
Waverley,
Nova Scotia (a suburb of
Halifax). The original members were brothers
David Henman on guitar and
Ritchie Henman on drums. Their cousin
Jim Henman joined in on bass, and
Myles Goodwyn completed the sound on lead vocals and
guitar. In early 1970 the band relocated to
Montreal. Shortly after arriving in their new home the
band was signed by
Aquarius Records. They recorded and released their debut
self-titled album
April Wine in 1971. The album spawned their first
single, "Fast
Train", which received fairly steady airplay on radio
stations across Canada and established Myles Goodwyn as the
band's main songwriter. The single's success gave the band's
label confidence and work began on a second album, but not
before a change in the line-up (the first of many over the
course of the band's career). Jim Henman left the band in
the fall of 1971, and was replaced by
Jim Clench.
Under the guidance of producer
Ralph Murphy, April Wine recorded their second album,
titled
On Record. The first single from the album was a
cover version of the song "You Could Have Been a Lady",
originally by the band
Hot Chocolate. The record was a commercial success,
hitting number 5 on the Canadian charts, as well as cracking
the
Billboard Hot 100 chart in the
United States where it stayed for eleven weeks, peaking
at #32. Following quick on its heels, April Wine released a
second single from On Record, titled "Bad Side of the
Moon". This song, originally by
Elton John and
Bernie Taupin, also found success on Canadian radio
stations and was a minor hit in the U.S. as well. Both
tracks remain staples on
classic rock radio stations in Canada to this day. On
Record was certified Gold in Canada and the band, along
with Murphy, hit the studio to cash in on the promotional
momentum generated by their second release.
The Osmonds are an American family music group with a
long and varied career—a career that took them from singing
barbershop music as children, to achieving success as
teen-music idols, to producing a hit television show, and to
continued success as solo and group performers. The Osmonds
are devout members of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and
their religious values have influenced their careers.
When
it began as a barbershop quartet, the group consisted of
brothers
Alan Osmond,
Wayne Osmond,
Merrill Osmond, and Jay Osmond. They were later joined
by younger siblings
Donny Osmond and
Jimmy Osmond. Their only sister
Marie Osmond, who never sang with her brothers at that
time, launched a successful solo career in the 1970s, and
family friend
Ronnie Mund on tamborine and backing vocals. Older
brothers George Virl Osmond, Jr. (Virl) and
Tom Osmond were born deaf and did not originally
perform, although they later made occasional appearances,
most notably on the family Christmas specials from the
1970s. All of the Osmonds were born in their hometown of
Ogden, Utah except the youngest, Jimmy, who was born in
Canoga Park, California. The group have sold 102 million
records worldwide
The song's lyrics were written by
Keith Reid and its music was written by
Gary Brooker, who also sang. It was featured on the
band's 1967 album,
Procol Harum. The song is unusual in that the music
was written before the lyrics; according to Reid, "99 out of
100 of those Procol Harum songs were written the words
first, and then were set to music." He explained that
Brooker had written a piece of Spanish-flavored music before
the band had officially formed, and Reid decided to write
lyrics about a
conquistador. In August 1971, Procol Harum was invited
to perform with the
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in
Edmonton,
Alberta. "Conquistador" was added to the set with little
time to spare, and the orchestra had no time to rehearse.
Nonetheless, they began the concert with the song, and the
concert was captured on the
Procol Harum Live In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony
Orchestra, of which "Conquistador" was the lead
single.
Besides "A
Whiter Shade of Pale", "Conquistador" was the band's
highest charting single. It peaked at #16 on the
Billboard
Hot 100 in 1972, and helped catapult the album into the
top five. "Conquistador" peaked at #22 on the
UK Singles Chart. The song was generally well received
by
music critics.
Georgiy Starostin thought that it was the second-best
track on "Procol Harum" due to its "brilliant allegory of
the vanity of victory", and the best part was the chorus,
with its "scary descending guitar riff." Bruce Eder of
Allmusic praised it as "the most accessible song" on
Procol Harum Live In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony
Orchestra, adding that "nothing else [on the album] matches
it for sheer, bracing excitement. It was listed on Dave
Thompson's 1000 Songs that Rock Your World
This is one of the few songs solely written by
Starr. He composed the song himself, but
George Harrison produced it (and played lead guitar on
it). The
B-side is "Blindman".
In a 1977 interview, Starr explained that the phrase
"Back Off Boogaloo" was inspired when he and fellow musician
(and close friend)
Marc Bolan had dinner one night, and Bolan used the word
"boogaloo" multiple times in his sentences. Starr said that
after dinner, when he had been half awake and half asleep,
the beat and tune for the song had become stuck in his head.
He went to find a
tape recorder to record the song but had trouble when
all his tape recorders either were broken or had no
batteries, adding, "So, I stole batteries from the kids toys
and I got the song down."[citation
needed] Ringo also reiterated this
story in 1998 on
VH1 Storytellers. This would contradict a popular
legend that 'Boogaloo' was a nickname for
Paul McCartney and that the song was Starr's message to
McCartney to "back off" the lawsuits and return to making
good music (as the lyric says, "give me something tasty");
and not to "pretend that you're dead" as the "Paul is dead"
rumor had perpetuated
ELVIS PRESLEY - BURNING LOVE (1972) hit #2
Burning Love" is a
song written by
Dennis Linde, first recorded by
Arthur Alexander, who included it on his self-titled
1972 album, and made famous by
Elvis Presley, who took it to #2 in the
United States in 1972. It was Presley's final top ten
pop hit in the U.S.
Presley's version was released as a
single on August 1, 1972, with the
B-side "It's a Matter of Time", and it reached the Top
40 on the country charts, peaking at #36. Elvis had recorded
it at RCA's Hollywood studios on March 28, 1972. The
electric guitar opening and riffs were overdubbed and played
by Dennis Linde himself.
For the weeks of October 21 and 28, 1972, "Burning Love"
rose to #2 on the
Billboard Hot 100, being kept from #1 by
Chuck Berry's
novelty song "My
Ding-a-Ling." However, it reached #1 on Cashbox's Top 40
Charts for the week of November 11, which gave him 20 US #1
hits. The song was Elvis's 40th and last Top Ten hit on the
US charts. It was also one of the last real rock songs in
the last years of his life; from 1972 to 1977 the majority
of his songs were
ballads, and many of those placed on Billboard's
Hot Country Singles chart. "Burning Love" was one of the
few exceptions, along with "Promised
Land" in 1974.
Reportedly, Presley did not care for the song, and did
not feel comfortable performing it. Nonetheless, he
performed it in at least two high-profile productions: the
concert film
Elvis on Tour (during which he had to use a lyric
sheet as the song was still new to him), and the later
Aloha from Hawaii concert.
The song was also released on an album titled Burning
Love and Hits from his Movies: Volume 2 on November 1,
1972. Despite this album's subtitle, none of the movie songs
on it were ever hits. The only actual hit on the album was
the title song, "Burning Love".
HARRY NILSSON - WITHOUT YOU (1972) hit #1
Without You" is a song written by
Pete Ham and
Tom Evans of British rock group
Badfinger, and first released on their 1970 album
No Dice. The song has been recorded by over 180
artists, and versions released as singles by
Harry Nilsson (1971) and
Mariah Carey (1994) became international best-sellers.
Paul McCartney once described the ballad as "...the
killer song of all time."
Harry Nilsson, at the time best known for his hit "Everybody's
Talkin'" and for composing such hits as
Three Dog Night's "One",
heard Badfinger's recording of "Without You" at a party, and
mistook it for a
Beatles' song. After realising it was not, he decided to
cover the song for his album
Nilsson Schmilsson in 1971; it stayed at number 1 on
the U.S.
pop chart for four weeks, from 13 February to 11 March
1972. The song also spent five weeks atop the U.S.
adult contemporary chart. In the UK, the song spent five
weeks at number 1 on the
British pop chart, beginning on 11 March, and sold
almost 800,000 copies. It went to Number One in several
other countries, including Australia (for 5 weeks), Ireland
(3 weeks) and New Zealand (2 weeks).
The single was produced by
Richard Perry, who later explained, "It was a different
record for its time. It was a big ballad with a heavy
backbeat, and although many artists have cut songs like it
since, no one was doing it then."
Gary Wright, then known as a member of the British group
Spooky Tooth, and later a successful solo artist in his
own right, played piano on the recording. Also featured are
Klaus Voormann (bass),
Jim Keltner (drums) and Tom Plovanic (acoustic guitar).
The string and horn arrangements are by
Paul Buckmaster. In 1973, Nilsson won the "Best Male Pop
Vocal"
Grammy award for the song. While Nilsson rarely gave
live concerts, he did perform the song with
Ringo Starr and his
All-Starr Band at Caesar's Palace in
Las Vegas in September 1992
THE MOODY BLUES - ISN'T LIFE STRANGE (1972) hit #29
Album:
Seventh Sojourn (1972)
One of my favorite bands - but I learned this song very early on as
it appeared on a blank 8-track cassette that my dad had taped songs off
the radio in 1974 which included this song in the radio playlist that
night. I listened to that 8-track many times around 1982/1983 at
age 11.
Seventh Sojourn, released in 1972, is the
seventh studio album by
The Moody Blues in their "classic" lineup and their
eighth album overall. In Seventh Sojourn, The Moody
Blues used, besides the
Mellotron, a keyboard called the
Chamberlin, a device similar to the
Mellotron created by the original inventor of the
device, Harry Chamberlin. It could simulate orchestral
sounds more realistically and easily than the Mellotron.
Seventh Sojourn reached #5 in the United Kingdom,
and became the band's first American chart topper, spending
five weeks at #1 to close out 1972.
Several songs contain overt political references. Mike
Pinder's "Lost
in a Lost World" laments the brutality of revolution
("Revolution never won / It's just another form of gun") and
racial tension ("In their eyes it's nation against nation
against nation / With racial pride"). "You and Me," like "Question"
from two years earlier, alludes to ongoing wars and
conflicts, including
Vietnam ("There's a leafless tree in Asia"), Africa
("Under the sun there's a homeless man"), and the
Arab-Israeli conflict ("There's a forest fire in the valley
/ Where the story all began"). In the 1990 Documentary "The
Moody Blues: Legend of a Band," Bassist John Lodge described
"I'm
Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)" as a response
to fans who mistakenly read guru-like wisdom into the
Moodies' often philosophical lyrics. The song makes a clear
statement that the band is just as worried by the crises of
the modern world and has just as few answers as everyone
else.
THE OSMONDS - HOLD HER TIGHT (1972) hit #14
Record producer
Mike Curb saw the Osmonds (no longer called "The Osmond
Brothers") perform as a band and recognized that they
combined a rare mix of polished performing style,
instrumental skill, and vocal talent. He helped the Osmonds
get a record contract with
MGM, and arranged for them to record at
Muscle Shoals with R&B producer
Rick Hall. Under Hall's guidance, the Osmonds hit the
top spot on the pop chart with "One
Bad Apple" (Billboard No. 1) in 1971. The Osmonds soon
had hits with other light, R&B-style pop numbers like
"Double Lovin'" (Billboard No. 14) and "Yo-Yo"
(Billboard No. 3). In each of these hits, the formula was
the same; Merrill sang lead, and Donny was "co-lead" in
essence, singing the "hook" or "chorus" of the song.
At
this time the Osmonds also recorded several hits that were
billed to Donny, the lead soloist on the songs. They
included "Sweet
and Innocent" (Billboard No. 7), "Go
Away Little Girl" (Billboard No. 1), "Hey
Girl"/"I Knew You When" (Billboard No. 9), and "Puppy
Love" (Billboard No. 3). It was at this time, 1971 and
1972, that the Osmonds were at their peak of popularity.
After this early "bubblegum soul" phase, the Osmonds
began writing their own music, and their sound moved towards
rock and roll with hits like "Down by the Lazy River" (#4),
"Hold Her Tight" (Billboard No. 14), and "Crazy
Horses" (#14). The Crazy Horses album was the
band's first really personal statement—the brothers have
been quoted as saying that the title song refers to air
pollution from cars. They wrote all the songs and played all
the instruments with Alan on rhythm guitar, Wayne on lead
guitar, Merrill on lead vocals and bass, Jay on drums, and
Donny on keyboards. All the brothers sang back-up, with Jay
and Donny sometimes singing lead parts.
THE OSMONDS - DOWN BY THE LAZY RIVER (1972) hit #4
Record producer
Mike Curb saw the Osmonds (no longer called "The Osmond
Brothers") perform as a band and recognized that they
combined a rare mix of polished performing style,
instrumental skill, and vocal talent. He helped the Osmonds
get a record contract with
MGM, and arranged for them to record at
Muscle Shoals with R&B producer
Rick Hall. Under Hall's guidance, the Osmonds hit the
top spot on the pop chart with "One
Bad Apple" (Billboard No. 1) in 1971. The Osmonds soon
had hits with other light, R&B-style pop numbers like
"Double Lovin'" (Billboard No. 14) and "Yo-Yo"
(Billboard No. 3). In each of these hits, the formula was
the same; Merrill sang lead, and Donny was "co-lead" in
essence, singing the "hook" or "chorus" of the song.
At
this time the Osmonds also recorded several hits that were
billed to Donny, the lead soloist on the songs. They
included "Sweet
and Innocent" (Billboard No. 7), "Go
Away Little Girl" (Billboard No. 1), "Hey
Girl"/"I Knew You When" (Billboard No. 9), and "Puppy
Love" (Billboard No. 3). It was at this time, 1971 and
1972, that the Osmonds were at their peak of popularity.
After this early "bubblegum soul" phase, the Osmonds
began writing their own music, and their sound moved towards
rock and roll with hits like "Down by the Lazy River" (#4),
"Hold Her Tight" (Billboard No. 14), and "Crazy
Horses" (#14). The Crazy Horses album was the
band's first really personal statement—the brothers have
been quoted as saying that the title song refers to air
pollution from cars. They wrote all the songs and played all
the instruments with Alan on rhythm guitar, Wayne on lead
guitar, Merrill on lead vocals and bass, Jay on drums, and
Donny on keyboards. All the brothers sang back-up, with Jay
and Donny sometimes singing lead parts.
THE ROLLING STONES - TUMBLING DICE (1972) hit #7
Album: Exile On
Main Street (1972)
I received Tattoo You for Xmas 1981 at age 10 and then quickly
followed up with Big Hits for my 11th birthday on January 15th 1982 and
then sometime afterwards got More Hot Rocks and Aftermath. At age
11 these was the only songs I knew of the Stones but to this date would
say More Hot Rocks is my favorite Stones album. I was given a new
copy of Undercover for Xmas 1983 when it came out. Other than
those albums I have not appreciated any other Stones albums except hit
compilations. I saw The Rolling Stones in concert in Regina, SK in
2006 with Valerie I was dating plus my mother and sister and friends Dan
and Debbie. I sold my unique Regina concert t-shirt on ebay in
2007 for $56.00
The lyrics tell the story of
a gambler who cannot remain faithful to any woman. The music
has a blues
boogie-woogie rhythm. "Tumbling Dice" has been performed
in many of the band's concerts. Cover versions have been
created in such diverse styles as
reggae,
bluegrass and
noise rock. An updated version from a female perspective
was also a top 40 single for
Linda Ronstadt in 1978, which is included in the film
FM.
THREE DOG NIGHT - THE FAMILY OF MAN (1972) hit #12
Album:
Harmony (1971)
I saw Three Dog Night in concert finally in Saskatoon, SK in 2011 and
posted one video clip on youtube from the outdoor concert.
Black Dog" is a song by
English rock band
Led Zeppelin, the lead off track of their
fourth album, released in 1971. It was also released as
a single in the United States and
Australia with "Misty
Mountain Hop" on the B-side, and reached #15 on
Billboard and #11 in Australia.
In 2010, the song was
ranked #300 on
Rolling Stone's list of
the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Music sociologist
Deena Weinstein argues, "Black Dog" is "one of the most
instantly recognisable [Led] Zeppelin tracks".
Led Zeppelin bass player
John Paul Jones, who is credited with writing the main
riff, wanted to write a song that people could not "groove"
or dance to with its winding riff and complex rhythm
changes.
THE EAGLES - WITCHY WOMAN (1972) hit #9
Witchy Woman" is a song written by
Don Henley and
Bernie Leadon, and recorded by the American rock band
Eagles. Released as the second single from the band's
debut album
Eagles, it reached #9 on the Billboard Pop
singles chart and is the only single from the album to
feature Henley on lead vocals.
"Witchy Woman" was started
by guitarist Bernie Leadon who wrote it while he was a
member of The Flying Burrito Brothers. Upon joining the
Eagles, Bernie and Don Henley completed writing the song in
the signature Eagles style and it was one of Henley's first
songs he wrote for the Eagles. While the inspiration for the
title and lyrics was based on various women they had met and
remembered as seductive enchantresses, Henley had
Zelda Fitzgerald particularly in mind after reading her
biography. The muse and sometimes genius behind her
well-published author husband
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda was known as wild, bewitching
and mesmerizing and was the quintessential "Flapper",
as her husband dubbed her, of the
Jazz Age and the
Roaring Twenties. In his novel,
The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald embodies Zelda's
uninhibited and reckless personality in the character of
Daisy Buchanan. Theories and speculation on Zelda's
behavior were widespread, with lyrics in "Witchy Woman"
referring to Zelda's partying excesses being detrimental to
her psyche: "She drove herself to madness with the silver
spoon", is a reference to Zelda's time in a mental
institution and the special slotted silver spoon used to
dissolve sugar cubes with
Absinthe, the popular 1920s alcoholic beverage distilled
from the wormwood tree and called "the green fairy" for
sometimes inducing hallucinations. The song was conceived
while Don Henley was living in an old house near the
Hollywood Bowl, with his flat mate, Henry Vine (aka
'Blitz').