John Lester Nash was born in America in 1940 and was a minor film star in the 1950s and formed the record company JAD in 1965. He travelled to Jamaica in 1968 and met Bob Marley and it was Nash who signed them up to his label.
In the UK johnny had his first hit single with Stir It Up which was written by Marley in the 1960s for his then wife.
In the same year of 1972 Johnny had his second hit called I Can See Clearly Now, which was actually written by Johnny himself. The song went gold in the UK and reached No. 5.
We have to move on to 1975 for his next hit and his biggest single hit in the UK with the No.1 song Tears On My Pillow. The song was written by Ernie Smith who had nine albums himself in the 1970s.
Richard Street was born in Detroit the very home of Tamla Motown and joined the group in 1971. It was Richard who took the lead on the classic song Papa Was A Rollin' Stone, a song that the Temptations did not want to record.
The song was a global hit and a Grammy Award Winner too, and was co-written by the late Norman Whitefield. Richard left the group in 1993 and he died in February 2013 from an embolism.
Back in 1945 Labbi Siffre was born in war torn Hammersmith London. In 1964 he met his boyfriend and married him in 2004. In 1969 Labbi sent a tape of his songs to Radio One DJ Dave Cash and had his first very minor hit in 1970 with Pretty Little Girl (Make My Day) Too Late which gained huge airplay on Radio Luxembourg.
Labbi Siffre (Twitter account) released six acclaimed albums between 1970 and 1975 and had a hit with his own song called It Must Be Love in 1971 reaching No. 14 in the UK charts.
In 1972 he had a No. 29 hit with Watch Me and a number 11 hit with the classic Crying Laughing Loving Lying. The singles never charted in the Billboard charts.
Labbi moved to the U.S nd the back to the UK in the 1970s. He released several singles and even took part in the Song For Europe in 1978.
Time to take a time machine back to the charts of February 1976. The No.1s this month were Abba with Mama Mia. Forever And Ever by Slik,and December '63 (Oh What Night) by Frankie Valli.
The 70s music Christmas charts were so important in the 1970s, with not only the prestige of getting a Christmas hit, but a NUMBER One Christmas hit was the icing on the cake, the Christmas Cake.
During this 70s music Christmas Season we look at the music of Christmas Day 1971 and highlight those Christmas records to stir the memory of the 70s music.
Having to use a bit of editorial control here to decide what was a Christmas hit, so if it does not match your criteria, apologies.
This Chart is from 25th December 1971.
Not much in the snow and Christmas tradition in this chart, but the No1 was a Christmas novelty record, following on from a big hit with Grandad the previous year, another comedy actor the legendary Benny Hill managed to get the Christmas Number One with .
Benny Hill and Ernie, (The Fastest Milkman In The West)
The70s music Christmas charts were so important in the 1970s, with not only the prestige of getting a Christmas hit, but a NUMBER One Christmas hit was the icing on the cake, the Christmas Cake. During this70s music Christmas Season we look at the music of Christmas Day 1979 and highlight those Christmas records to stir the memory of the 70s music. Having to use a bit of editorial control here to decide what was a Christmas hit, so if it does not match your criteria, apologies. This chart comes from the 22nd December 1979. No.7 Paul McCartney and Wonderful Christmastime This record did not chart in the US, but in many places around the world its a Christmas must play record.
Paul was still in Wings, but this was a solo hit for him, and according to the Guinness book of records Paul has 60 gold discs, and sales 100 million just in the UK.
During the 1960s Ringo Starr could do no wrong as the drummer with worlds biggest band the Beatles. But following the split of the group Ringo really had only a modest chart presence in the 1970s.
Ringo was born in Liverpool in 1940 as Richard Starkey and in 1970 released his two solo albums called Beacoup Of Blues and Sentimental Journey which was partly produced by a very young Quincy Jones.
Only one single became a hit in the UK and that was Back Off Boogaloo which was a swipe at his Beatles colleague Paul McCartney or was it just a song he wrote after being inspired by Marc Bolan of T.Rex. The truth is out there.
Two more hits made No. 1 in the U.S. and did very well in the UK charts too. The song Photograph was written by Ringo and ex Beatle George Harrison and came from the album Ringo.
The second hit single was You're Sixteen which was a hit prior in 1961by Johnny Burnette. The lyrics are a little provocative when you listen back with 2013 ears. Ringo was also romantically linked to Lynsey De Paul.
In the U.S. he had several more singles but in his own country he had few hits. He did score a No. 4 hit in 1970 with It Don't Come Easy with George Harrison on guitar.
The lead singer was Tony Orlando who was born as Michael Anthony Orland Cassavitis in 1944 and had afew small hits in the 1960s.
The first hit in the 1970s was called Candida which Tony wanted to sing as a solo, but contractual problems prevented this so it was performed under the group Dawn and was written by Toni Wine and Irvine Levine, Toni was also on backing for Willie Nelson's Always On My Mind. Irwin died in 1997.
The B side to Candida was Knock Three Times, which also became the group’s next single release which became a UK and U.S. number one in 1970.
Moving on to 1971 and Dawn had more hits three more singles , which were I Play And Sing, Summer Sand both reasonable U.S. hits. The third single that year was a No. 3 hit in the UK called What Are you Doing Sunday?
1972 and another batch of singles released and three failed to really chart.The following year of 1973 saw the band produce their biggest hit called Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree,a global No. 1 and the song was was inspired bya 19th century tradition of ladies wearing a yellow ribbon to keep loved ones in mind whilst they were away at war.
The single sold over 3 million in just three weeks and was the subject to court cases that were later dropped.
Dawn had several more hits in the 1970s including Say Have You Seen My Sweet Gypsey Rose, Who’s In The Strawberry Patch With Sally? And many more. In fact in the U.S. Dawn had fourteen top twenty hits.
She is an O.B.E. and a firm favourite of dads all over the world. This English born and Australian resident, who was born in 1948, had a huge solo career before later teaming up with a Hollywood superstar in one of the biggest film musicals EVER.
Olivia’s first solo single in 1971 was If Not For You which was written by Bob Dylan and from the album of the same name. The Banks Of Ohio was the second UK top ten hit for Olivia that year. The song dates back to the 19th century and nobody really knows who wrote it, but it is about a man rejected in marriage and then kills her.
The next year 1972 saw a minor hit with What Is Life, but the next year she charted high once again.
Take Me Home Country Roads from the album Let Me Be There was initially a hit in 1971 by John Denver who co-wrote the song. John broke his thumb and was laid up. Whilst talking to his friends (the co-writers), they came up with this hit song.
Moving on to 1974 and Long Live Love was her next big hit. This song was the British entry that year for the Eurovision Song Contest being held in Brighton, UK. Of course Abba went on to win that one.
Later that year she scored a number 22 hit (No. 1 in many territories) with I Honestly Love You, the song won her two Grammy awards that year, and she sang it live on close friends TV show in September. He was Cliff Richard, and for a while they were both said to have been romantically involved.
1975 and 1976 saw no UK chart action, but in the States she scored many hits including Please Mr. Please, Come On Over and Every Face Tells A Story. 1977 gave us the beautiful Sam which was written by Don Black and also Hank Mavrvin of the Shadows.
The movie Grease was released worldwide in 1978 and Olivia had an enormous jump in popularity as she played the girlfriend of a very young John Travolta. The film produced so many singles that it took over the summer of 1978. It seemed every other record was related to the film.
Olivia had Summer Nights and You’re The One I Want which were both duet hits with John. Both getting to No.1 in the UK and both going gold in the U.S.
She also managed solo hits from the film too. Hopelessly Devoted To You was one of them, and it was written by John Farrar and was nominated for an Oscar, but failed to win. The second song A Little More Love and was ranked No. 17 in the chart of that year.
Olivia continued to have singles chart in the U.S. but for the UK it had come to the stop. But she would return in the 1980s with several hits including Physical. She has had seventeen top thirty hits in the UK during her career. She has beaten cancer and is a high energy devoted charity raiser too.
Stevie went blind before the age of one in 1950. He was born
as Stevland Hardaway Judkins and has won twenty two Grammy awards in an unprecedented
music career.The Wonder kid was so good
that he was signed with Tamla Motown at the ripe old age of eleven, where he
was signed up by Barry Gordy after being “discovered” by the Miracles singer
Gerald White.
By 13 Stevie had had his first hit at the age of 13 in 1963.
The 60s made him a huge star with classics like For Once In My Life and a
record that entered the 1970s singles chart Yester- Me Yester- You, Yesterday.
The song went to No.2 in December 1969 but stayed in the charts during January
1970.
The song was written by Bryan Wells and Ron Miller (Died in
2007) and came from Stevie’s album My Cherie Amour.
The first single to chart in 1970 was a No. 5 hit called Never Had A Dream come True another UK top ten for the Wonder kid. This was
written by Stevie and Henry Cosby (wrote Tears Of A Clown and died in 2002)
with Sylvia Moy. Both Sylvia and Henry appear in the Songwriters Hall Of Fame.
1970 was a great year for Stevie on both sides of the Atlantic.
His next single made the top twenty in the UK with Signed Sealed, Delivered I’mYours which was No.1 U.S. hit for six weeks in the R&B charts. Later in the
year Stevie would produce an album of the same name which included this track.
Stevie was still only twenty years old. The song was nominated for a Grammy
that year too.
Stevie told Jonathon Ross that the title actually came from
his mother who liked the song. The backing vocals were supplied by Lynda Tucker
Lawrence who went on to work in the Supremes, and Syreeta write who also helped
write the track. Syreeta had a few hit singles in the charts; she also was the
wife of Stevie for eighteen months from 1970 to 1972. Sadly she died in 2004 of
a heart condition.
The very last single hit of 1970 was Heaven Help Us All,
again written by Miller
In the 1970s Stevie had eighteen top twenty hits in the U.S.
alone, with five going to the top of the Billboard 100.
In the UK 1971 saw
Stevie hit the top thirty with We Can Work It Out, which was a cover of the
Beatles hit. The bigger hit that year was If You Really Love Me written by
Stevie and his then wife Syreeta from the album Where I Am Coming From. The
single did better in America getting to No. 10.
1972 saw Stevie keeping up the pressure on the music charts
with Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) a U.S. hit but failed to
even chart across the water in the UK. But the next single did chart. The next
song was a classic.
Superstition was the hit that made everybody sit up and
listen. Stevie did almost everything on this track. He wrote. He produced. He
sang and played instruments. This was the soul of Stevie. The original drum
sound was produced by Jeff Beck, but he did not actually play it on the single.
Stevie was using the Moog too. Al these sounds made this an
incredible record. Add in the powerful vocals of Wonder and great lyrics you
have the perfect recipe for success.
The song was obviously about superstitions. From walking
under a ladder and the No. 13.Now Stevie was over 21 he negotiated to have a
bigger share of the royalties, so not only did he do everything in the song, he
earns a great deal more from it. Tamla had no choice but to agree. For many
this was the biggest song Stevie had ever done.
In 1973 Stevie did it again with the beautiful You Are The
Sunshine Of My Life No. 1 in the U.S. and No.3 in the UK. The song came from
the album Talking Back and won Stevie a Grammy for best male vocalist of the
year. Not many people know that the opening lines are not sung by Wonder, but
in fact by James Gilstrap and Lani Groves. James would have a big hit in 1975
with Swing Your Daddy.
The song was about Syreeta, even though they were now
divorced.
Higher Ground was the follow up hit doing much better in the
U.S. charts. The song comes from the album Innervisions and was written and completed
in three hours only. The song is about taking control or having a second
chance.
Still in 1973 and still at the top of his game Stevie
produced the fantastic Living For The City which again came from Innervisions.
The song is about a small boy struggling with life in Mississippi. He is
suffering the racism and poverty and moves to New York City and ends up in jail
after drug trafficking. The sound of Stevie’s voice was so rough at the end.
Rough as in anger, as the producer deliberately messed about in the studio
causing Stevie to really lose his temper. The result showed in his voice, and
the song was perfect because of it.
The last hit in 1973 was Don’t You Worry About A Thing (did
not chart well in UK) and was about a man trying to impress women with words.
It was 1963 when Stevie had his first No. 1, now eleven
years later he was still going strong. 1974 the story continues with another
with a No. 10 hit in the UK (did not chart in the U.S.) He’s Misstra Know It All, which was the 4th hit from the album Innervisions. The song was
all about a very good
You Haven’t Done Nothing was a song he did with the Jackson
5, and was a politically motivated record against President Nixon. It is also
assumed the Nixon may have been the trickster in He’s Misstra Know It All. It
reached No.1 in the U.S. and only No. 30 in the UK.
Boogie On Reggae Woman was the last single hit of the year.
No. 3 in the U.S.and No. 12 in the UK.
From the strangely named album Fullfillingness’s First Finale. The song has
Stevie laying his harmonica throughout.
On to 1977, and this year would give Stevie TWO No.1 in the
U.S. the first being I Wish (No. 5 UK) coming from the amazing album Songs In
The Key Of Life. The song in part is about childhood.
The second No.1 (both were top ten singles in the UK) was
Sir Duke and was written as a tribute to Duke Wellington who had died recently.
Stevie also had the lyrics refer to other such classic musicians and singers
like Glenn Miller and Aretha Franklin. The song has a catchy trumpet at the
beginning.
The last two singles of the year were minor hits called Another
Star and AS. But the hit that never was has to be Isn’t She Lovely which
appeared on the album Songs In The Key Of Life that had radio play all over the
world, and actually featured Stevie’s child laughing during bath time. The
radio stations were demanding it be released. But Stevie never did release it
as a single. It was released in the UK as a single by David Parton and he
charted very high with a very inferior version of the song.
1979 and Stevie had one single hit in the U.S. with Send One
Your Love. But although the decade ended Stevie still moved on into the 1980s
and beyond. Stevie has had nearly forty singles in the top forty in his career
in the U.S. Eighteen top forty albums too.
Stevie has so many accolades that it would be impossible to
write them all here. But some would include.
Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
Billboard Century Award and Messenger of Peace for the United Nations. Stevie
still performs, and one of his most memorable last big performances was at the
Queens 60th Birthday Party in 2012.
Clive Robert Benjamin Dunn was born in London in 1920 and
died in November 2012 aged 92.
Clive was best known to British TV viewers as Corporal Jones
in the BBC series Dads Army from the 1960s and the 1970s. But he was also a sort
of pop star too when he charted with several records in the 1970s including the
big No. 1 called Granddad.
Clive Dunn OBE played a very old home guard volunteer during
world war two, he managed to bring that old man profile to the pop charts, and
had a huge hit with this novelty record. The song was written by Herbie Flowers
the co-founder of Blue Mink in the 1970s.
Back in 1977 this New York studio group were formed by Chris Hills and Danny Weiss. The group consisted of several session singers including Larry Coryell, Joe Farrell (died 1986), David Sanborn and James Mtume and many others.
The group covered the Trammps Disco Inferno, but it was with their own song they scored their biggest UK hit with Turn The Music Up a hit in March 1979.And that was their last UK hit in the 1970s.
The Cars were from the New Wave style of band and came from the U.S. in fact from Boston. It was 1978 that the group launched their first album called The Cars and that went PLATINUM. Ric Oasek was guitar and lead singer for the group and he joined the group when it was called Cap'n Swing. Benjamin Orr died of cancer in 2005 in his mid forties.
Other members included Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson.
Surprisingly despite having Gold and Silver albums the group only had two top thirty single hits in the 1970s and both in 1978. The first was Just What I Needed from The Cars album on Elektra. The song became a hit because it was played on a demo tape by an American radio station that forced the company to release it as a single.
The second hit that year was My Best Friend's Girl a song all about the love of a girl for his best friend, but she use to be his.
It was 1985 that the Cars would ave a huge global hit with Drive thanks to a Canadian TV News channel putting on a BBC news film about Ethiopia. The song was shown at Live Aid during the David Bowie performance.
This group only lasted five years, but are fondly remembered
all their songs with such love. This English group consisted of Roger Coulam
and Madeline Bell. Madeline was from the U.S. and once worked with the great
Dusty Springfield.
But perhaps the most famous member of the group was Roger
Cook. Roger born in 1940 was also a big song writer, and with his co-write
Roger Greenaway they wrote some of the 1970 classics like I’d Like To Teach The
World To Sing In Perfect Harmony by New Seekers, this of course started life as
a Coca Cola commercial in 1971.
Other 1970 hits including Blame It On The Pony Express by
Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon Doctors Orders by Sunny, and Like Sister And
Brother by the Drifters. Roger moved to the states in the mid-1970s and had a
hit with Talking In My Sleep by Crystal Gayle. He originally wrote that for the
Scottish group Marmalade.
The bassist for Blue Mink was no less than Herbie Flowers
who also worked with Bowie, T.Rex, Lou Reed and Jeff Wayne on his classic The
War Of The Worlds concept album. Herbie also as a joke and a bet at a party was
approached by Clive Dunn the TV star in Dad’s Army (played Corp Jones) and was
asked to write a record for Clive. He did. Granddad by Clive Dunn went onto be
a huge No.1 in the UK charts, and is much remembered even to today.
Barry Morgan the
drummer for Blue Mink died in 2007. Alan Parker was the guitarist and he
studied at the London Academy of Music before joining the group. Alan was also
the guitarist on the Walker Brothers No Regrets single in the 1970s, as well as
playing on the Top of the Pops theme, which was a cover of CCS Whole LottaLove.
Good morning world it's a brand new day I'm packin' my bags
and I'm getting away I'm movin' my legs and my city type bones I gotta get away
from the busy man's 'phones.
The very next hit was Our World again in 1970. But the
bigger hits came in 1971 with the fast paced Banner Man that got as high as No.
3 in the UK charts. Surprisingly the only song to chart in the U.S. was Our
World which only managed to sneak in at No. 64 of the Billboard 100.
1972 the group came out with the very laid back Stay With
Me. Again the groups harmonies were perfect here, and in part it was a much
more rocky sound then before. The single managed to get to No. 11 and had
perfect repeating lyrics.
“Stay with me, lay with me, love me for longer than just
your goodbye. I need a friend at the end of a long lonely day. All my
tomorrows, my yesterday sorrows have blown to the wind. Stay with me, lay with
me, love let your loving begin”
It was 1973 that saw the last year for the group and their last hits in the 1970s. The first
hit single was By The Devil I Was Tempted on their new EMI label. The song
managed to get to No. 26. The group was now definitely underperforming.
“ Open your eyes, my friend
I ask you not to pretend
I know you're lonely and blue
No doubt I probably am too
Our time has come to end
So please don't try and pretend
Now come on, let's both walk away
We really have nothing to say”
The group’s very last song was perhaps their finest. The
song called Randy made people listen just because of its title. Randy in the
70s was a little cheeky to say the least. The song was a very well put together
single, again the harmonies were perfect and it gave the group a deserve No.9
hit to go out on.
The group had half a dozen albums in the 70s, including a
very successful compilation album in 1978 simply called Collection; Blue Mink.
