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Next 100 TOP SONG OF 1969 - #1 Back In The USSR - The Beatles (1 Viewer)

Bracie Smathers said:
#65  People Got To Be Free - The Rascals

I was a big fan of the group initially known as the Young Rascals.  This song came about when their touring bus broke down in a conservative part of Florida when they had long hair and beards.  The Rascals would only perform at concerts that featured an African American act; if those conditions were not met, the Rascals canceled several shows in protest.

Two decades after it came out writer Dave Marsh included it as number 237 in his book Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles of All Time.
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Seems to me...you’ve got to solve it individually

 
#60 Moby **** (instrumental) - Led Zeppelin

Their were drum circles, drum jazz improvs, and then their was John Bonham whose solos would last up to 20 minutes, while the rest of the band would leave the stage to grab a smoke. Bonham sometimes drew blood performing this from beating his hands on his snare and tom toms.

I can't draw the words so here is a fantastic write-up on John Bonham's drum solo.

Old school jazz and lacerated hands: the secrets of Led Zeppelin's Moby ****

John Bonham’s marathon solo Moby **** was one of the high spots of every Led Zeppelin show in the 1970s and inspired countless aspiring drummers

It was a dramatic moment when Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones relinquished the stage and the spotlights beamed onto the beefy, moustachioed man in a red vest, crouched over a glittering drum kit in the shadow of a huge gong. 

Audiences already sated by Page’s dazzling guitar and Plant’s emotion-drenched vocals would now be overwhelmed by a virtuoso performance from Led Zeppelin’s mighty drummer. Fans knew that John Henry ‘Bonzo’ Bonham would not stint. He’d draw blood in the ensuing battle with his kit as he unleashed a maelstrom of crashing cymbals and thundering tom toms. 

Remember, this was the golden age of drum solos when creative improvisation was encouraged and drummers were stars. In those days vast stadiums echoed to the cataclysmic sounds of Carl Palmer with ELP and Ian Paice with Deep Purple. 

Yet however fast they played and whatever effects they used, when it came to transfixing an audience with sheer power, Bonham was unbeatable. There was a primeval element to Bonzo’s playing that touched the soul and quickened the pulse. ...
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Go to the link for the rest of the read.

 
I dunno how much Zep you were gonna leave for me, but I wasn't taking that one regardless. I can't with long drum solos -- especially the Song Remains the Same version of this. 

 
#59  Superstar (Jesus Christ Superstar song) - Murray Head With The Trinidad Singers

People may not realize how controversial this rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber was at the time.  They released this song first in December of 69 before the rest of the album in 70.  The single didn't do much when it was originally released but charted much better when the entire album came out.

Andrew-Lloyd Webber recounts the writing of the song. After being awake all night working up ideas for a song, "The melody came to me and I jotted it down on a napkin." Tim Rice's lyrics were written one Sunday while he was waiting for his mother to make lunch. The word "superstar" had been lodged in his brain due to the fact that many pop stars of that time were calling themselves "superstars."

The Story of "Jesus Christ Superstar" is Tim Rice's interpretation of the last week of the life of Christ.  He explained: "For a long time, I'd had a great interest in Judas Iscariot, whom I thought was a fascinating character. Even before I met Andrew, I thought it would be great to write a play about Judas in which Jesus is only a minor character. Or tell the story with Jesus as a major character but tell it from Judas' point of view. If you study the Bible, which I did as a result of writing Superstar, you'll find that the character of Judas doesn't really have any motives. He doesn't say anything, and he's only mentioned a couple of times. The Gospels were written some time later and it was convenient and easy to make Judas 100 percent bad. It was obviously helpful to the story to have it blamed on one guy, but I couldn't believe that this was plausible. After our first success with Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, one realized that one could mix modern music and the Bible, so we thought, let's have a go at writing a play on Judas."

 
I've got a master list in place. Now just waiting to see what you pick off from it. I'll start arranging an order when you're closer to finishing. 

 
Pip's Invitation said:
I've got a master list in place. Now just waiting to see what you pick off from it. I'll start arranging an order when you're closer to finishing. 
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I've got at least three songs that were released on albums in 1967 or early 1968 but were not released as singles until 1969, or were re-released in 1969 and became hits after flopping earlier. I don't think I encountered that for 1975 -- a few "released in the UK earlier but not in the US until '75," but that's not the same thing. 

 
#57 Sugar Sugar - The Archies

Has to make the list since it was the #1 song of 1969 in the US, populate by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jackson 5, Elvis Presley, and Stevie Wonder.  Logging more weeks on the Hot 100 (22) than any other song that year.  Without a doubt worthy and memorable for the year.  

Don Kirshner created the Monkees and the Archies and would sue knockoff groups who tried to capitalize on the success of this hit.

Undeniably catchy but radio stations refused to play it because they said it was only a cartoon group so Kirshner used this tactic to get it airplay.

Kirshner hired an experienced promotion man to work the stations. His tactic was to visit the stations, play the song for the program directors, but not reveal the artist until they agreed to play it. In some cases, he could only get them to play it once, but that was all he needed because the phones would light up: "That was the best part of being in the music world then - you really had such an active audience response to what they hear. And you didn't have that many choices. So, if the audience loves it, you play it. And that started what became a wildfire all across this planet. When I toured, no matter where I was, I'd start the song and everyone would sing along."

Audience demanded the song get played so take that you Jugheads.

 
I'm glad you picked that so I wouldn't have to. You can't really tell the story of music in 1969 without that song, but it's lightweight, to say the least. And I have plenty of frothy pop on my list for consideration, but that's a whole nother level. 

 
Bracie Smathers said:
#56 The Lemon Song - Led Zeppelin

Agghhh.  I thought for sure Lets Work Together - Canned Heat was released in late 68 but I must have misread the release date.  I also thought it possible that this was/is on Pip's list.  He probably had THIS  Canned Heat tune released December of 68, lol

I had the Lemon Song off to the side just in case and use it here.
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LOL, no. 

Lemon Song sounds so much like Killing Floor that the test pressings had it listed as such (with proper credit).

 
Bracie Smathers said:
#57 Sugar Sugar - The Archies

Has to make the list since it was the #1 song of 1969 in the US, populate by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jackson 5, Elvis Presley, and Stevie Wonder.  Logging more weeks on the Hot 100 (22) than any other song that year.  Without a doubt worthy and memorable for the year.  

Don Kirshner created the Monkees and the Archies and would sue knockoff groups who tried to capitalize on the success of this hit.

Undeniably catchy but radio stations refused to play it because they said it was only a cartoon group so Kirshner used this tactic to get it airplay.

Kirshner hired an experienced promotion man to work the stations. His tactic was to visit the stations, play the song for the program directors, but not reveal the artist until they agreed to play it. In some cases, he could only get them to play it once, but that was all he needed because the phones would light up: "That was the best part of being in the music world then - you really had such an active audience response to what they hear. And you didn't have that many choices. So, if the audience loves it, you play it. And that started what became a wildfire all across this planet. When I toured, no matter where I was, I'd start the song and everyone would sing along."

Audience demanded the song get played so take that you Jugheads.
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There was much written about the members of The Monkees and their musical ability or lack thereof. But, I don't recall reading/hearing much about The Archies. Were they session musicians, did they go on to record other music in other bands or as solo artists?

ETA- As always, wiki has the answers: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Archies

 
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northern exposure said:
There was much written about the members of The Monkees and their musical ability or lack thereof. But, I don't recall reading/hearing much about The Archies. Were they session musicians, did they go on to record other music in other bands or as solo artists?

ETA- As always, wiki has the answers: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Archies
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A fifty year anniversary article gives more detail.

50 Years Later, The Archies' 'Sugar, Sugar' Is Still 'Really Sweet' 

 
northern exposure said:
There was much written about the members of The Monkees and their musical ability or lack thereof. But, I don't recall reading/hearing much about The Archies. Were they session musicians, did they go on to record other music in other bands or as solo artists?
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Session musicians. Most of the lead vocals were by Ron Dante. Other vocalists included Brill Building songwriter Jeff Barry and Andy Kim, who would have a No. 1 hit in '74 with "Rock Me Gently"; those two wrote Sugar, Sugar. 

 
#55  Tommy Can You Hear Me - The Who

The Who's live shows were a spectacle where they would destroy guitars and blow up drum sets etc...  They realized they were living large and were actually losing money after years of touring so they rolled the dice on one big gamble, a rock opera.  It hit a note with public who were probably burnt out on most rock themes and were looking for something new or different, the media loved it as well. 

Now it isn't novel but I was a kid at the time and this simple song, the acoustic guitar, the vocal harmonies, very simple-short tune, almost like it was written to appeal to a child.   

 
#54 Blackbird - The Beatles

 Paul McCartney wrote this about the civil rights struggle for African Americans after reading about race riots in the US. He penned it in his kitchen in Scotland not long after an incident in Little Rock when the federal courts forced the racial desegregation of the Arkansas capital's school system.

"I was sitting around with my acoustic guitar and I'd heard about the civil rights troubles that were happening in the '60s in Alabama, Mississippi, Little Rock in particular," he told GQ. "I just thought it would be really good if I could write something that if it ever reached any of the people going through those problems, it might give them a little bit of hope. So, I wrote 'Blackbird.'"

 
Bracie Smathers said:
#54 Blackbird - The Beatles

 Paul McCartney wrote this about the civil rights struggle for African Americans after reading about race riots in the US. He penned it in his kitchen in Scotland not long after an incident in Little Rock when the federal courts forced the racial desegregation of the Arkansas capital's school system.

"I was sitting around with my acoustic guitar and I'd heard about the civil rights troubles that were happening in the '60s in Alabama, Mississippi, Little Rock in particular," he told GQ. "I just thought it would be really good if I could write something that if it ever reached any of the people going through those problems, it might give them a little bit of hope. So, I wrote 'Blackbird.'"
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Unfortunately, Charles Manson also loved this song - to the point of making it part of his theory and subsequent murderous rampage.

 
Bracie Smathers said:
#54 Blackbird - The Beatles

 Paul McCartney wrote this about the civil rights struggle for African Americans after reading about race riots in the US. He penned it in his kitchen in Scotland not long after an incident in Little Rock when the federal courts forced the racial desegregation of the Arkansas capital's school system.

"I was sitting around with my acoustic guitar and I'd heard about the civil rights troubles that were happening in the '60s in Alabama, Mississippi, Little Rock in particular," he told GQ. "I just thought it would be really good if I could write something that if it ever reached any of the people going through those problems, it might give them a little bit of hope. So, I wrote 'Blackbird.'"
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I knew this was coming given your other White Album selections. I'm just surprised it's not higher (Binky: lower). 

 
#53  Riverman - Nick Drake

Their were two songs I was shocked that Tim did not include on his list, this is one of those songs.  From the album 'Five Leaves Left'.  The album title referred to the warning found towards the end of a packet of Rizla cigarette papers, that there were only five leaves left.  

Nick Drake lived to just 26 and released only three albums, but decades later, musicians were still discovering his work and citing him as an influence. "River Man" is a song that comes up a lot in Drake discussions: when we spoke with Duncan Skeik, he talked about how the song gave him musical direction. "That song blew me away," said Sheik. "This is the sound I was looking for: this golden gem that's been hiding under a rock for two decades. It kind of crystallized a lot of things I wanted to do in terms of using string arrangement and acoustic guitars, and the possibility of that sonic palette."  

Great string arraignment, backed by a 12-strong string section heavy on violas. 

 
Bracie Smathers said:
#55  Tommy Can You Hear Me - The Who

The Who's live shows were a spectacle where they would destroy guitars and blow up drum sets etc...  They realized they were living large and were actually losing money after years of touring so they rolled the dice on one big gamble, a rock opera.  It hit a note with public who were probably burnt out on most rock themes and were looking for something new or different, the media loved it as well. 

Now it isn't novel but I was a kid at the time and this simple song, the acoustic guitar, the vocal harmonies, very simple-short tune, almost like it was written to appeal to a child.   
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Got a feeling '21 is gonna be a good year.

 
So here’s the thing about Riverman- I’m not much of a fan of Nick Drake pre- Pink Moon. It’s too orchestrated for me, doesn’t sound like the same guy. 

 
#52  Wooden Ships - Crosby, Stills, and Nash

Crosby wrote this dystopian tune about a post apocalyptical nuclear war landscape while on his boat.  I didn't realize that every description had the meaning spelled out.  I heard an interview in the 80s about the meaning of the song and would tell people and they would say no, lol.  Yes.  Now its easy to look it up so here's a bit of trivia not as well known.

 If you smile at me, I will understand
'Cause that is something everybody everywhere does in the same language

Crosby stole those lines from the kiosk of a Baptist church in Florida that had this message on their sign.

 
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timschochet said:
So here’s the thing about Riverman- I’m not much of a fan of Nick Drake pre- Pink Moon. It’s too orchestrated for me, doesn’t sound like the same guy. 
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It is orchestrated.  

He was trying to emulate the English composer Frederick Delius who used a ton of strings.  

Here is one of Delius' light evocative works called Daybreak. 

 
Bracie Smathers said:
#52  Wooden Ships - Crosby, Stills, and Nash

Crosby wrote this dystopian tune about a post apocalyptical nuclear war landscape while on his boat.  I didn't realize that every description had the meaning spelled out.  I heard an interview in the 80s about the meaning of the song and would tell people and they would say no, lol.  Yes.  Now its easy to look it up so here's a bit of trivia not as well known.

 If you smile at me, I will understand
'Cause that is something everybody everywhere does in the same language

Crosby stole those lines from the kiosk of a Baptist church in Florida that had this message on their sign.
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Some of the lyrics were written by Stephen Stills and Paul Kantner. In the 70s, Kantner was not credited on the CSN version but obviously he was on the Jefferson Airplane version. Eventually he did get credit on the CSN version - I think when their box set came out.

As I mentioned in my Neil countdown, my first exposure to him and CSN was a cassette my parents had of the So Far compilation. This song is another one from that that made a big impression on me when I was very young.

 
Pip's Invitation said:
Some of the lyrics were written by Stephen Stills and Paul Kantner. In the 70s, Kantner was not credited on the CSN version but obviously he was on the Jefferson Airplane version. Eventually he did get credit on the CSN version - I think when their box set came out.

As I mentioned in my Neil countdown, my first exposure to him and CSN was a cassette my parents had of the So Far compilation. This song is another one from that that made a big impression on me when I was very young.
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Probly kept them both alive....

 
One of the things I love about these projects is coming across stuff I'd never heard before. This morning I found a single from '69 by [artist name redacted] and I LOVE it. It'll be on my list if it's not on yours. 

 
Bracie Smathers said:
#52  Wooden Ships - Crosby, Stills, and Nash

Crosby wrote this dystopian tune about a post apocalyptical nuclear war landscape while on his boat.  I didn't realize that every description had the meaning spelled out.  I heard an interview in the 80s about the meaning of the song and would tell people and they would say no, lol.  Yes.  Now its easy to look it up so here's a bit of trivia not as well known.

 If you smile at me, I will understand
'Cause that is something everybody everywhere does in the same language

Crosby stole those lines from the kiosk of a Baptist church in Florida that had this message on their sign.
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Not much of a CSN fan, but this is a brilliant song.

 
#51 Elenore - The Turtles

Banff Canada circa August 1986 on a bicycle tour of the Canadian Rockies on a down day.  We started drinking around noon and I think we finished around midnight in a karaoke bar.  Some guy sand this song to perfection and was undeniably great and it always stuck with me. 

Took me over a decade till the Internet before I could track down the tune.  I love it.

 
Bracie Smathers said:
#51 Elenore - The Turtles

Banff Canada circa August 1986 on a bicycle tour of the Canadian Rockies on a down day.  We started drinking around noon and I think we finished around midnight in a karaoke bar.  Some guy sand this song to perfection and was undeniably great and it always stuck with me. 

Took me over a decade till the Internet before I could track down the tune.  I love it.
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watched a documentary on the Turtles a while back and really enjoyed it ...didn't know this song was a parody

As a demonstration of their musical versatility, the Turtles recorded the album ...the Battle of the Bands, which featured performances in a wide variety of different musical styles.[2] The band recorded "Elenore" as a parody of the type of happy-go-lucky pop songs they themselves had been performing, but with deliberately clichéd and slapdash lyrics such as: "Your looks intoxicate me / Even though your folks hate me / There's no one like you, Elenore, really"; and "Elenore, gee, I think you're swell / And you really do me well / You're my pride and joy, et cetera..."[3]

The original lyrics used the phrase "Fab and Gear", which got replaced by the phrase "Pride and Joy".

This was one of the first pop songs that make use of the Moog synthesizer, which is heard during the last half of the second verse, featuring Kaylan's double voiced track, plus Volman's harmonic supporting track.

Howard Kaylan later said:

Elenore was a parody of "Happy Together." It was never intended to be a straight-forward song. It was meant as an anti-love letter to White Whale [Records], who were constantly on our backs to bring them another "Happy Together." So I gave them a very skewed version. Not only with the chords changed, but with all these bizarre words. It was my feeling that they would listen to how strange and stupid the song was and leave us alone. But they didn't get the joke. They thought it sounded good. Truthfully, though, the production on "Elenore" WAS so damn good. Lyrically or not, the sound of the thing was so positive that it worked. It certainly surprised me.[4]

 
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