Also in The Top Five is one of OUR favorites, Emitt Rhodes and Merry-Go-Round with their first chart hit, "Live", a track that did MUCH better on The West Coast than it did nationally.
Actually, you'll find quite a few hits on this survey that barely got noticed nationally ... a GREAT example of what these local surveys meant back then!
The Beatles and The Stones also made The Top Ten on this Cleveland Chart from the year before. (And there's Sonny Geraci yet AGAIN topping the charts!)
Unusual Top 20 Hits include "Time" by The Pozo-Seco Singers (I've always liked this song ... just never expected to see it in The Top 20!) and "From A Distance" by P.F. Sloan. Sloan is best known for his song-writing so it's rare to see him on the charts singing one of his own hits. In fact, the best this track could do in Billboard was to "bubble under" for exactly one week at #109!
Take a look at the bottom quarter of the chart and you'll find a decidedly country feel ... chart hits include the latest from Roger Miller, Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash and Slim Whitman, along with country-flavored tunes by Billy Joe Royal and B.J. Thomas.
It's also kind of surprising to see a Bobby Sherman record as one of the "Very Important Premiers" ... he wouldn't really break into the charts for another three years!
Man, why doesn't radio play this one?!? One of the finest recordings B.J. Thomas ever made in my opinion!
A couple of weeks ago we promised Canadian Forgotten Hits Reader Doug Thompson that we'd feature his March CHUM Chart when the date came up.
Canada was a little late to the party with their coverage of "I Want To Hold Your Hand". It had already held the top spot here in The States for six weeks by the time it finally reached #1 up north. But that's only because Canada jumped on a couple of OTHER Beatles hits first instead. (As we saw a few weeks ago, The Fab Four held down the #1 and #2 spot in January with "She Loves You" and "Roll Over Beethoven").
Here, they've captured SIX of the Top Ten positions (with seven tracks if you count the charted B-Side "I Saw Her Standing There".)
Still holding on to Top Ten positions are the aforementioned "She Loves You", "Roll Over Beethoven" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" ... but joining them this week are "Please Please Me", "From Me To You" and "Love Me Do". (You'll also find The Beatles at #30 this week with "All My Lovin'"!)
The biggest mover of the week, however, belongs to The Trashmen ... who leap from #50 up to #25 with their rock - novelty hit "Bird Dance Beat"! (I've got to admit that I'm a little bit perplexed by this one ... it's essentially the exact same song as "Surfin' Bird" ... only about 800% WORSE!!! The "novelty" was fun the first time around ... but this recording pretty much sucks!!!)
