Kicking off a brand new month, September takes us to New Hampshire!
9-1-68 - WKBR - Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the state with just over 100,000 today. This survey is not one with many obscurities, but we'll choose two female vocals for our Forgotten Hits.
Manchester is the largest city in the state with just over 100,000 today. This survey is not one with many obscurities, but we'll choose two female vocals for our Forgotten Hits.
Chicago's Barbara Acklin's "Love Makes a Woman" is truly a forgotten hit at #2. After being a backup singer for Chess Records artists like Etta James, she got her own contract with Brunswick Records and this was her first and biggest national hit, yet despite being a national top 15 record, how many of us remember it today?
Also, a strong vocal outing is Merrilee Rush's "That Kind of Woman." You would be hard pressed to guess this was the followup to the big hit "Angel of the Morning," but it is a different sounding vocal, a bit like Barbara Streisand, IMO. It's a great tune that flopped nationally while at #29 here. She had performed this on American Bandstand about a month earlier.
This chart proves again the diversity of Top 40 Radio back in the '60's ... what an incredible list and variety!
You've got the hard rock / underground sounds of The Iron Butterfly ("In A Gadda Da Vida," #30), "On The Road Again" by Canned Heat (#18), Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes at #8 with "Journey To The Center Of Your Mind", Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild" (#16), "Magic Bus" by The Who (#6) and Deep Purple's version of "Hush" (#4) playing right alongside the acoustic interpretation of Jose Feliciano's "Light My Fire" (#5), the Bossa-Nova Jazz sound of Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66 ("The Fool On The Hill," #7), the soulful sounds of Aretha Franklin ("The House That Jack Built," #3 ... with no mention of its far more popular flipside, "I Say A Little Prayer"), the aforementioned Barbara Acklin tune "Love Makes A Woman" sitting at #2, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "You're All I Need To Get By" (#14) ... and how about "Naturally Stoned" by Avant Garde, brand new on the chart this week at #19?!?!
Then you've got tunes almost impossible to classify ... everything from The Moody Blues' "Tuesday Afternoon" (#25) to "Time Has Come Today" by The Chambers Brothers (#22) to "Mr. Businessman" by Ray Stevens ... and there's still room for '60's mega-acts like The Beach Boys ("Do It Again," #15) and The Beatles (new on the chart this week with "Revolution" / "Hey Jude," #13, "Revolution" listed first, showing as the A-Side!)
Yet bigger than ALL of them is the Jeannie C. Riley #1 Hit "Harper Valley P.T.A."!!! Amazing stuff! (kk)
THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS ...
This Week in 1968:
8/26/68 – The first Beatles single released on their own Apple Records label, “Hey Jude” / “Revolution,” hits stores today
8/26 – 8/ 28 / 68 – The Democratic Convention (and complete chaos) is held right here in Chicago. (Some would argue that we STILL haven’t recovered!)
8/27 – Forgotten Hits Publisher Kent Kotal turns 15 years old today!
For those of you concerned about his future, it’s already too late … he has been a full-blown musicaholic for over four years now … and it is a habit that will stay with and consume him until his dying day.
Seeing Elvis’ NBC Singer Comeback Television Special later this year will open up a whole new door to him in researching the music of The King … and a few years later, after catching “American Graffiti” in a movie theater … and then stopping to buy the 2-LP Soundtrack on the way home from the show … all hope was gone.
The music of the ‘50’s, the ‘60’s, the ‘70’s and even the ‘80’s would become a lifetime obsession … and something he still feels passionately about some 50 years later.
Stop Livin’ In The Past???
NEVER!!!
8/28/68 – On the final day of The Democratic Convention, Hubert H. Humphrey and Edward Muskie are selected to be their party’s representatives in the race for the Presidency of The United States.
8/30/68 - The Byrds release their “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” album. Also released on this date … “Crown of Creation” by Jefferson Airplane.
9/1/68 - Sly and the Family Stone enter the Billboard Hit Parade with their “Dance to the Music” LP.
