"Cecilia" follows their last hit, "Bridge Over Trouble Water," into the #1 spot on this week's chart for Simon and Garfunkel ... not a bad one-two punch to kick off the new decade. (With a move from #9 to #1, I'd say it's a pretty solid hit!)
The only new entries to this week's Top Ten have been two steady climbers ... "Up Around The Bend" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (which makes the move from #14 to #6) and "Get Ready" by Rare Earth, which climbs five places from #10 to #5.
Joe Cocker's version of "The Letter" is up ten places from #28 to #18, while "Make Me Smile" by Chicago makes a leap of eleven spots from #31 to #20.
Similar moves are noted for "Daughter Of Darkness" by Tom Jones (#37 to #26, a jump of 11 spots) and "Come Saturday Morning" by The Sandpipers, which climbs from #38 to #28.
The week's top new premier got played quite a lot around our house ... it's by a new band called Blues Image and their first (and only) hit is titled "Ride Captain Ride." (Vocalist / Guitarist Mike Pinera left the Garden of Eden with Iron Butterfly to start this new rock venture, which had more pop / soul leanings.)
Also new on the chart is Elvis Presley, with yet ANOTHER major comeback hit, "The Wonder Of You," a remake of the old Ray Peterson track.
TEST OF THE DAY: Does ANYBODY out there remember EITHER of this week's Hit Bound Picks??? Boy, I sure don't!
"So Much Love" by Faith, Hope and Charity and "Friends" by Feather are both songs I have absolutely no recollection of.
According to Ron Smith's book "WCFL Chicago Top 40 Charts, 1965 - 1976," both had brief runs at the bottom of the 'CFL chart, with "Friends" faring a little bit better, peaking at #29 during its six week run. The Faith, Hope and Charity single, "So Much Love," charted for a total of three weeks and stopped at #32. Nationally, "So Much Love" made The Top 40 in both Record World and Cash Box, peaking at #35. (It fell short in Billboard, where it only climbed to #51.) Feather's "Friends" never rose any higher than #76 in Cash Box and #79 in Billboard ... and never made the cross-town WLS Chart at all. ("So Much Love" did chart for a week on WLS, premiering ... and then disappearing ... at #38.)
I can't say that I consider EITHER to be "Forgotten Hits" ...as this is more a case of "Never Were"'s to me ... but hey, we're all about the memories here ... so if we can even spark one or two, I'd say it's a good day. Have a listen! (kk)
1970: May 4th – In yet another example of how out of control things were becoming here in America at the time, four students are shot and killed by The National Guard at Kent State University in Ohio during an anti-war demonstration. Nine others are wounded.
Neil Young is so outraged by these events that he writes the song “Ohio” (“four dead in O-hi-O”) the very next day, denouncing these senseless killings. He recruits his bandmates Crosby, Stills and Nash and they record the song the very same day.
