The Beatles hold on to the #1 spot for the third week in a row with "Come Together" / "Something" ... but "Holly Holy" by Neil Diamond, "Eli's Comin'" by Three Dog Night, "Na Na, Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam (up another seven spots from #14 to #7) and "Fortunate Son" / "Down On The Corner" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (up ten from #19 to #9) all seem to be likely challengers to that throne.
Diana Ross and the Supremes climb eleven spots from #28 to #17 this week ... while an "oldie" by Johnny Cash (and by that I mean a track he recorded during his stint with Sun Records!) makes a ten point move from #35 to #25 as "Get Rhythm" seems to be riding the coattails of Johnny's big hit earlier this year, "A Boy Named Sue."
The top debut this week is by a brand new Motown act called The Jackson Five. (I don't know about you, but I think the little guy just may go on to be something!) Meanwhile movie music (from "Midnight Cowboy" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid") also premier on this week's chart.
THIS WEEK IN 1969:
November 12th – Journalist Seymour Hersh breaks the story of The My Lai Massacre
November 14th – Apollo 12 becomes the second manned space craft headed for the moon. It carries astronauts Alan Bean, Richard Gordon, Jr. and Charles Conrad, Jr., who brings a 90 minute tape of Jerry Lee Lewis to listen to after the launch. The trio will successfully land on the moon five days later on November 19th, approximately 950 miles away from where Apollo 11 landed back in June.
The objective of this mission was to conduct seismic experiments, studying the area for possible future moon landing sites and testing the ability for human man to work on the moon.
The crew tried to broadcast parts of the mission but the television camera was damaged by sun exposure soon after their landing. The crew left on November 20th and returned to Earth on November 24th, having spent 31 hours on the surface of the moon.
November 15th – Janis Joplin is arrested in her dressing room after her concert in Tampa, Florida. She is charged with using “vulgar and indecent language.” The incident began during the show when a policeman with a bullhorn ordered people in the audience to sit down, to which Joplin responded “Don’t fuck with those people! Hey Mister, what’re you so uptight about? Did you buy a five dollar ticket?”
When policemen station backstage instructed Joplin to tell the audience to take their seats, she replied “I’m not telling them shit.” After the incident, Joplin was released on bond … and all charges were dropped.
Also on this date … the very first album by The Carpenters is released by A&M Records. Titled “Offering,” the LP was not a very big hit … but did spawn their first charted single, a soft-rock version of The Beatles’ tune “Ticket To Ride,” which earned enough sales and airplay to peak at #54 on the charts. It would be their NEXT album and single, “Close To You,” that burst the dam wide open.
November 16th – Creedence Clearwater Revival performs both sides of their new single “Fortunate Son” and “Down On The Corner” on The Ed Sullivan Show. Jerry Lee Lewis (having just entertained the astronauts in outer space!) is also on hand to sing “Great Balls Of Fire,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “What’d I Say” and “You Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye.”
November 17th – Paul Anka performs his own version of his tune "My Way" on "Music Scene" this evening. The song will go on to become quite a hit for both Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. Also appearing on the program are R.B. Greaves, The Cowsills and B.B. King.
