We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago….
Our final batch of hit singles from 1972
Trouble Man-Marvin Gaye
From the soundtrack of the blaxploitation film of the same name. Gaye plays drums and piano on the track and sings all the vocals. It wen to #7 on the Billboard chart.
They certainly didn’t spend alot of time editing the trailer for the film
Dueling Banjos-Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell
From the movie Deliverance but first made famous in an episode of the Andy Griffith Show featuring the Dillards. It was originally called “Feudin Banjos” and was written and performed by Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith.
It made it to #2 on the Billboard charts
No-Bulldog
It wasn’t a big hit but the song “No” by Bulldog was notable for who played on it. The Band was formed when ex-Rascals Gene Cornish and Dino Danelli joined with singer Billy Hochner and John Turi. They released two LPs that didn’t do much. This made it to #4 but I do remember it being played on the radio around here.
American City Suite-Cashmen & West
Perhaps better known for producing & playing on Jim Croce records (and Cashmen later did the “Talkin Baseball” song), Terry Cashmen & Tommy West had a moment with their paen to their dying hometown of New York City. The city at the time was a cesspool and things looked bleak. The song talks about that but also looks back to it’s glory days of both Cashmen & West’s childhood. It was one of those “long”songs that did get played on the radio and made to to #27 on the charts.
Dancing In The Moonlight-King Harvest
A classic “one-hit wonder”, the Paris France band King Harvest recorded it but it didn’t become a hit until much later after the band had broke up. Written by Sherman Kelly while recovering from a brutal beating by a gang of thugs. He pictured a better time. It went to #13 on the American charts
Keeper Of The Castle-Four Tops
The group’s first hit for ABC after leaving Motown earlier in the year. It made it to #10. The album of the same name included “Ain’t No Woman Like The One I Got”. The hits would be few and far between after these.
Burning Love-Elvis Presley
It had already been recorded by Arthur Alexander earlier in the year but THe King had his biggest hit on three years with a smoking recording of this. It was his 40th and last Top Ten record in America, ironically kept out of the top spot by Chuck Berry’s first #1, the crappy “My Ding A Ling”. He did a nice vesion of the tune on his Aloha from Hawaii satellite concert seen by millions worldwide in 1973. It features his great band, james Burton, Glen D. Hardin, Emory Gordy and Ronnie Tutt. The writer of the song, Dennis Linde, plays the guitar opening.
I’m going to be taking a few days off…the next music blog will be Monday Dec 19th.
