Monday, August 10, 2020

August 10th, 1970

1970:  August 10th – The trial for Jim Morrison of The Doors begins in Miami.  Morrison is charged with exposing himself on stage.  He is found guilty and the presiding Judge Goodman then sentenced him to six months of hard labor and a $500 fine for public exposure plus six days of hard labor for profanity.  Morrison’s lawyer filed an immediate appeal and Jim was freed on $50,000 bond. 

Morrison would die in Paris, France a year later (on July 3rd) before this case was resolved.  However, in December of 2010, the Florida Clemency Board granted a full pardon.


Meanwhile, here at home ...


So much for my Soft Rock '70's theory ... 

The Top 20 this week includes tracks like "War"  by Edwin Starr, "Spill The Wine" by Eric Burdon and War, "Cottage Cheese" by Crow, "25 or 6 to 4" by Chicago, "Mississippi Queen" by Mountain and "I Want To Take You Higher" by Ike and Tina Turner. 

The softer side is also represented, however, by Bread and The Carpenters, who now sit at numbers 3 and 5 with "Make It With You" and "Close To You."

Diana Ross seems to be having much greater success with her second solo single as "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" jumps 16 places from #28 to #12.  It is a COMPLETE reworking of the Marvin Gaye / Tammi Terrell song from a couple of years ago, but provides the vocal showcase for Ms. Ross to shine, topping all three of the national charts ... and peaking at #2 here in Chicago on both WCFL and WLS.
 


"Lookin' Out My Back Door" is up ten places (from #36 to #26) and there's a brand new group making their first appearance on the chart this week as "Candida" premiers at #34 for Dawn.
 


Finally, Neil Diamond finds himself in competition with himself again as "Cracklin' Rosie" bows at #37.  His other hit, "Solitary Man," currently sits ten points higher at #27.