We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
We will finish up 1971 with a collection of hit songs I haven’t got around to yet…..
The writing credit says Ringo wrote “It Don’t Come Easy” which was released in April. George Harrison actually co-wrote and produced the drummer’s first post-Beatles hit. They played it at the Concert for Bangla-Desh and it cracked the Top 5 in America and Britain while hitting #1 in Canada.
This Creedence hit was released as a single in 1971 even though the Lp it ended up on, Mardi Gras, wasn’t released until 1972. Sweet Hitchhiker, with its sizzling open, hit # 6 in the US.
A studio engineer is looking through a newspaper when he suggests to songwriter Greg Perry that someone should write a song about the ‘want ads”. Perry brought in Norman Johnson, who had co-written ” Somebody’s Been Sleeping In My Bed” which had cracked the Top 10 for the group “100 Proof (Aged In Soul). He recorded it with a a band led by Freda Payne sister Scherrie but it didn’t work. She suggested Edna Wright of Honeycone sing it. It clicked and was a million selling #1 pop hit. Ray Parker Jr plays some guitar on this.
One of those “story” songs that were so popular in the 1970’s. Telling a story in a 3 minute song was a skill. R Dean Taylor was a rare, white songwriter and musician working at Motown. They allowed him to record a solo album and it provided us with this tear-jerker and the ecological song “Ain’t It A Sad Thing”. It cracked the Top 10 on the Billboard chart and hit #1 on the Cashbox list.
For those who only remember this from the movie ‘Anchorman”, the song ‘Treat Her Like A Lady” was a Top 20 hit for the Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose who had a couple of big hits in the early 70’s. It sold a million copies in 1971.
The song “I Don’t Know How To Love Him”, sung by the character Mary Magdalene in “Jesus Christ Superstar”, was a hit in 1971 by two different artists. It had been recorded in 1970 by Yvonne Elliman for the soundtrack of the show but wasn’t released as single until Helen Reddy’s version began climbing the charts in the spring of 1971. Elliman’s reached # 28 while Reddy’s climed to #13. Elliman also portayed Mary Magdalene in the movie ande on Broadway.
The song “I Hear You Knockin” , a knock off of an old blues song, was first recorded in 1955 by Smiley Lewis. Welch guitarist Dave Edmunds, who would later go on to fame with the group Rockpile, liked the old 50’s stuff and cut it as a rock song. It went to # 1 in the UK in late 1970 and # 4 in the US in 1971 and I remember it being played on the radio here. It also got a shout-out from John Lennon in an interview. It sold over 3 million copies and Edmunds included it on his first solo LP in 1972.
Another story song….from Cher’s 7th solo LP…this song was written especially for Cher by songwriter Bob Stone and produced by Snuff Garrett. It was a comeback record for the singer. She was nominated for a Grammy and was her first solo record to hit #1. The crack LA musicians known as ther Wrecking Crew played on it
Written by the actor Clifton Davis, this is the original recording of a song that has been covered by many including Issac Hayes on his 1971 classic Black Moses and was a hit for Gloria Gaynor in 1974. 12 year old Michael singing a “serious” love song hit # 2 on the charts…from their Lp “Maybe Tormorrow”
Another “story” song from Kent LaVoie, better known as Lobo. He had tried to write the song in proper grammar singing “You and Me”…but he couldnt think of a rhyme…so he turned it around to “Me & You…and a Dog Named Boo”. He was from Florida and had never been to any of the places he wrote about except Georgia…hence the line “I can still recall, the wheat fields of St. Paul”
Let’s face it, by 1971 our involvement in Viet Nam was about as unpopular as it could get and soul singer Freda Payne and her producer Greg Perry noticed that a large number of soldiers being killed were African-American. The song though pleads for the powers that be to “bring all the boys home” now. It was added to her LP “Contact” late, after it became a hit. It was never a hit with the Armed Force Network that banned it claiming it would “benefit the enemy”.
I’ve really enjoyed reviewing the music of 1971. Starting on Monday we will begin another fruitful year in music….1972….sophomore year in high school and a music fanatic…and there was alot to be fanatic about.
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