This email gave me pause for thought last week ...
So I'm sharing some of those thoughts with you today.
Hello Kent –
I read today that you consider 1971 your runner up to 1967 as the greatest year for music. I do not recall reading this announcement. Would love to know why you changed your number 2 from 1969 to 1971.
By the way, 1966 is looking damn good so far on your Super Chart.
R Lovelock
I’ve always been partial to the music of 1971 … maybe because that’s the year I graduated high school and was very aware of the musical soundtrack of that time.
This past year, I’ve heard a lot of music from ’71 in a sort of “55 Years Ago Today” sort of way. (Our FH Buddy Sammy Tallerico has played a TON of great music from 1971 this past year on his "Lost And Found Oldies Show" [or LAFOS for short.] Album cuts, deep tracks, B-Sides and the full genre of pop, R&B, country and easy listening ... and I swear he has a way of picking out two or three of my absolute favorites each week that I haven't heard for years!!! Check him out [if you're not already a regular listener] here: https://www.mixcloud.com/LAFOS/) I also just recently read “Never A Dull Moment,” a VERY good book by David Hepworth, subtitled “1971: The Year That Rock Exploded.”
Classic Rock was VERY strong that year … “Led Zeppelin IV,” “Abraxas,” “Chicago II” (and their CTA album still holding strong), “Sticky Fingers” … plus classic albums like “Tapestry” and “Mud Slide Slim” … “Ram” and “Imagine” plus George’s “All Things Must Pass” and “Concert For Bangla Desh” soundtrack. Songs that came back stronger later like “Lucky Man” and “Layla.”
A short while back Phil Nee (WRCO) and I counted down our Top 71 Favorites from 1971 … personal choices irregardless of how these song actually charted. When compared to the ACTUAL Top 71 Songs of 1971, we certainly chose some favorites and “guilty pleasures” when compiling our personal lists … but still, you can’t argue with tracks like “Joy To The World,” “It’s Too Late,” Just My Imagination,” “Brown Sugar,” “Stairway To Heaven,” “You’ve Got A Friend,” “Ain’t No Sunshine” and many others. Then we've got our local hits to consider ... "L.A. Goodbye" by The Ides Of March and "Roll On" by The New Colony Six ... "Riders On The Storm," "Stay With Me" by The Faces, "I'd Love To Change The World," "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Bell Bottom Blues" ... the list goes on and on. (I think I could program an entire 3-day week of nothing but 1971 music that would just blow you away ... 'cause you couldn't go three songs in a row without being completely knocked out by "this one" or "the next one!"
I still love the music from 1969 … but I came to realize this past year that I’m more vested in the songs from ’71 … they’ve remained a very strong part of my life … so 1969 drops to third place now on my personal list of yearly favorites.
As for 1966, a LOT of people have selected this as their favorite year in music ... and attribute the changes to the overall sound kicking in this year. (I'll always argue that it was '67, 'tho, that REALLY pushed the envelope.) The Super Charts show the story as it was at the time ... there's no room for argument there because the charts don't lie. But '66 falls considerably lower on my own personal list of favorite years. (kk)
Based on a compilation of year end chart information gathered from all three major music trade publications (Billboard, Cash Box and Record World) along with Joel Whitburn's Record Research 1971 Pop Annual rankings and the book "Ranking The '70's" by Dann Isbell and Bill Carroll (as well as our own research of the weekly 1971 Super Charts), here is OUR final Year-End Chart annotating ....
THE TOP 71 RECORDS OF 1971
1 - Joy To The World - Three Dog Night
2 - It's Too Late - Carole King
3 - Maggie May - Rod Stewart
4 - Knock Three Times - Dawn
5 - Indian Reservation - Paul Revere and the Raiders
6 - How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - The Bee Gees
7 - One Bad Apple - The Osmonds
8 - Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond
9 - Just My Imagination - The Temptations
10 - Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver
11 - Want Ads - Honey Cone
12 - She's A Lady - Tom Jones
13 - Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight
14 - You've Got A Friend - James Taylor
15 - Me And Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
16 - Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones
17 - What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
18 - Never Can Say Goodbye - The Jackson Five
19 - Treat Her Like A Lady - Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
20 - Smiling Faces Sometimes - The Undisputed Truth
21 - Superstar - The Carpenters
22 - Rose Garden - Lynn Anderson
23 - Put Your Hand In The Hand - Ocean
24 - The Night They Drove Ole Dixie Down - Joan Baez
25 - Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves - Cher
26 - Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey - Paul McCartney
27 - Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
28 - Theme from "Shaft" - Isaac Hayes
29 - Don't Pull Your Love - Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds
30 - Family Affair - Sly and the Family Stone
31 - Signs - The Five Man Electrical Band
32 - It Don't Come Easy - Ringo Starr
33 - Rainy Days And Mondays - The Carpenters
34 - My Sweet Lord - George Harrison
35 - Draggin' The Line - Tommy James
36 - Yo Yo - The Osmonds
37 - Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted - The Partridge Family
38 - Mama's Pearl - The Jackson Five
39 - Tired Of Being Alone - Al Green
40 - A Brand New Key - Melanie
41 - Have You Seen Her - The Chi-Lites
42 - Do You Know What I Mean - Lee Michaels
43 - For All We Know - The Carpenter
44 - Spanish Harlem - Aretha Franklin
45 - Temptation Eyes - The Grass Roots
46 - Imagine - John Lennon
47 - Lonely Days - The Bee Gees
48 - One Less Bell To Answer - The Fifth Dimension
49 - Mercy Mercy Me - Marvin Gaye
50 - Chick-A-Boom - Daddy Dewdrop
51 - Bridge Over Troubled Water - Aretha Franklin
52 - Sweet And Innocent - Donny Osmond
53 - Amos Moses - Jerry Reed
54 - I've Found Someone Of My Own - Free Movement
55 - I Hear You Knocking - Dave Edmunds
56 - If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot
57 - Superstar - Murray Head
58 - Help Me Make It Through The Night - Sammi Smith
59 - Baby I'm-A Want You - Bread
60 - Mr. Bojangles - The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
61 - Black Magic Woman -Santana
62 - Groove Me - King Floyd
63 - If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight and the Pips
64 - An Old Fashioned Love Song - Three Dog Night
65 - Got To Be There - Jackson Five
66 - Whatcha See Is What You Get - The Dramatics
67 - Have You Ever Seen The Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival
68 - If You Really Love Me - Stevie Wonder
69 - That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be - Carly Simon
70 - Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who
71 - Proud Mary - Ike and Tina Turner
And here are The Top Twenty Albums of 1971:
1 - TAPESTRY - Carole King (how could it NOT be?!?!)
2 - JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR - Original Cast
3 - PEARL - Janis Joplin
4 - ABRAXAS - Santana
5 - CLOSE TO YOU - The Carpenters
6 - THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY ALBUM - The Partridge Family
7 - SWEET BABY JAMES - James Taylor
8 - CHICAGO III - Chicago
9 - ALL THINGS MUST PASS - George Harrison
10 - TEA FOR THE TILLERMAN - Cat Stevens
11 - GREATEST HITS - Sly and the Family Stone
12 - STICKY FINGERS - The Rolling Stones
13 - SANTANA 3 - Santana
14 - EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY - Rod Stewart
15 - LOVE STORY - Soundtrack
16 - IMAGINE - John Lennon
17 - CHAPTER TWO - Roberta Flack
18 - RAM - Paul McCartney
19 - SHAFT - Isaac Hayes / Soundtrack
20 - NATURALLY - Three Dog Night
And THESE were The Top 40 Fan Favorites as voted on by Forgotten Hits
Readers and the listeners of Phil Nee's WRCO "Those Were The Days"
radio program (where we counted these down earlier this year):
1 - BROWN SUGAR - The Rolling Stones
2 - IT'S TOO LATE - Carole King
3 - L.A. GOODBYE - The Ides Of March
4 - MIGHTY CLOUDS OF JOY - B.J. Thomas
5 - JOY TO THE WORLD - Three Dog Night
6 - WHAT IS LIFE - George Harrison
7 - IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN - Gladys Knight and the Pips
8 - IT DON'T COME EASY - Ringo Starr
9 - LUCKY MAN - Emerson, Lake and Palmer
10 - BELL BOTTOM BLUES - Derek and the Dominoes
11 - I'D LOVE TO CHANGE THE WORLD - Ten Years After
12 - LONELY DAYS - The Bee Gees
13 - ME AND YOU AND A DOG NAMED BOO - Lobo
14 - RIDERS ON THE STORM - The Doors
15 - DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN - Lee Michaels
16 - BLACK MAGIC WOMAN - Santana
17 - MAGGIE MAY - Rod Stewart
18 - BABY, I'M-A WANT YOU - Bread
19 - TEMPTATION EYES - The Grass Roots
20 - WOODSTOCK - Matthews' Southern Comfort
21 - JUST MY IMAGINATION - The Temptations
22 - WE GOTTA GET YOU A WOMAN - Runt
23 - ROLL ON - The New Colony Six
24 - GET IT ON - Chase
25 - SOONER OR LATER - The Grass Roots
26 - FRESH AS A DAISY - Emitt Rhondes
27 - RINGS - Cymarron
28 - WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN - The Who
29 - EIGHTEEN - Alice Cooper
30 - HAVE YOU SEEN HER - The Chi-Lites
31 - DRAGGIN' THE LINE - Tommy James
32 - LET YOUR LOVE GO - Bread
33 - I JUST WANT TO CELEBRATE - Rare Earth
34 - AIN'T NO SUNSHINE - Bill Withers
35 - WILD WORLD - Cat Stevens
36 - STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN - Led Zeppelin
37 - INDIAN RESERVATION - Paul Revere and the Raiders
38 - WALK AWAY - The James Gang
39 - IT' A CRYIN' SHAME - Gayle McCormick
40 - TREAT HER LIKE A LADY - Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
