9-21-68 - WJAK - Jackson, Tennessee
This city in western Tennessee boast a modest 68,000 people and in 1968, may well have been more famous for the song "Jackson," which was a big hit just a year earlier. The "Big Jak Hit Pak" survey this week 50 years ago followed the national trend of smaller playlists, going top 30 only. It had its share of personal faves, however.
One was Dionne Warwick's #10 hit, "Who Is Gonna Love me" (mis-titled on the chart) which was actually a two-sided Bacharach - David winner, nationally, with the currently better known and much more recorded flip (a charter on last week's look back survey from KTKT!), "Always Something There (To Remind Me)."
Another song which spread a story was #22's "Birmingham" by the Movers. I first heard this as a "Rate-a-Record" tune on American Bandstand and instantly liked it. The tune was written by our own FH star Tommy Roe (with Freddy Weller)! It did not hit big, but somehow would seem to have inspired a followup tune written by Delaney Bramlett and Mac Davis in 1969, "Hello L.A., Bye-Bye Birmingham!" It actually WAS the Movers' followup single, too! Despite all the hit artists (Blue Cheer and Nancy Sinatra recorded the latter) involved here between the two songs, neither became hits.
-- Clark Besch
This very primitive looking chart (it looks like the logos and red borders are pre-printed ... and then each week's new chart is typed into this space (obviously in a "whatever will fit" method, at which they fail in several areas!!!)
Again, it's the heavy sounds that rule the day ... ("Hush" by Deep Purple at #1?!?! Who would have ever thought!!!)
Also in the Top Ten: The Who ("Magic Bus") and Big Brother and the Holding Company ("Piece Of My Heart"), who also have the #17 Hit this week ("Down On Me".)
Yet there's still room for The Bee Gees, Dionne Warwick, Sergio Mendes, The Vogues and The Association ... go figure!
A couple of Forgotten Hits stand-outs on the chart week ...
We've got the Don Fardon version of "Indian Reservation" sitting at #9 ... this one was also a Top Ten Hit here in Chicago ... and the #29 Hit "Shape Of Things To Come" by Max Frost and the Troopers was the very first Forgotten Hit we ever featured back in 1999!
"Revolution" is once again shown as the A-Side of The Beatles' new single ... and two songs that would go all the way to #1 here in Chicago (where "Hey Jude" only topped the chart for a week!) are also climbing the chart ... "Fire" by The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown" and "Over You" by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap sit at #'s 18 and 19 respectively. (kk)
This Week in '68:
9/16/68 – Future President
Richard Nixon says “Sock it to me” on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In
9/17/68 – Diana Ross
records “Love Child” (without any of the other Supremes present)
9/20/68 - Mickey Mantle hit his last major league home run (#536) at Yankee Stadium against The Boston Red Sox
9/20/68 - Mickey Mantle hit his last major league home run (#536) at Yankee Stadium against The Boston Red Sox
