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 The 1974 Radio One All-Time Top 100, As voted for by listeners in 1974 |
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 May 11 2021, 05:28 PM
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#41
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 BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
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72. SOMETHING IN THE AIR - Thunderclap Newman (1969)
One of my all-time favourite records, the third single I ever bought (in Singapore), and a massive "time for change" message that mirrored fractured society at the time, with war, social movements aplenty, and injustice rife throughout the world. So you'd think that this rockballad anthem might still be relevant in 2021. Apparently not, it hasn't remained as popular as it once was by any stretch of the imagination, despite occasional covers and media spots - yet to me it's as fresh and moving and powerful as it was the day Pete Townsend produced it to grab the UK top spot that had been denied The Who. The Who are also not on the rundown. No My Generation. No I Can See For Miles. No Pinball Wizard. Boys records you see, for the most part, who weren't prepared to spend the price of a stamp for some radio poll. Not when there were actual records or ciggies or a pint you could buy instead. Hey ho. Anyway, I would easily have placed this inside my own top 30 All-Time in 1974, and I still don't see me excluding it from a top 100 as it means too much to me not to. Thunderclap Newman never had another hit, though writer & singer Speedy Keen did give it a go for a few years solo, and guitarist Jimmy McCulloch ended up in Paul McCartney's Wings before dying of a heroine overdose in 1979, and all 3 members are now sadly gone. |
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May 12 2021, 05:15 PM
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#42
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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71. SILENCE IS GOLDEN - The Tremeloes (1967)
Time for the Summer Of Love, 1967, everything hippie, Sgt. Pepper, All You Need Is Love and all that. Just kidding, it's this harmony pop song that was once very popular, but not so much these days: Silence Is Golden by The Trems. The one-time hitmaking rocking Brian Poole & The Tremeloes had split into two acts, with the backing band ending up with the hits, mostly jolly pop songs that kids and older folk could enjoy. I admit I loved this one, and The Tremeloes, but time has been less kind to the boys - better known for having Chesney Hawkes dad in the band these days. Silence Is Golden is a cover of a Four Seasons song - the US group were writing hit after hit throughout the 60's and into the 70's - but it wasn't until 2 years after this countdown that they got their own number one, by which time there had been yet another cover chart-topper from the then-popular Bay City Rollers, who were mercifully not eligible to be voted for, bar one track. The Four Seasons, sadly, with dozens of famous songs are not on the list, not even with the cracking number 2 hit Rag Doll. Unlike The Trems, The Four Seasons have stood the test of time - Jersey Boys, a musical based on their chaotic life story (The mafia! Bankruptcy!) ran for years and years and spun-off a movie directed by Clint Eastwood. The Trems have spun-off The One And Only (and mostly that's Nik Kershaw anyway). Me, I'll happily put on Me And My Life, Call Me (Number One) or their hit version of Cat Stevens Here Comes My Baby, any of which would have been better choices than this one, though admittedly they were never as popular as Silence Is Golden. I did catch them in the 80's, though, in a concert which might best be described as a "bit cabaret". |
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May 16 2021, 06:26 PM
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#43
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,127 User: 23,961
   
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This is a great read. My favourites so far : Build Me Up Buttercup, The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore, Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) and Something In The Air. I don't have a clue what topped this chart. I would guess at Hey Jude but as you've told us that there are only two Beatles songs and we've had one already, that seems unlikely so I'm going to predict it's Bridge Over Troubled Water.
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May 17 2021, 07:33 PM
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#44
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 Shakin Stevens
Joined: 29 December 2007
Posts: 46,114 User: 5,138
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‘Something in the Air’ is a great track, another song I know and have heard so many times and yet couldn’t have named the group!
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May 18 2021, 07:21 AM
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#45
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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QUOTE(King Rollo @ May 16 2021, 07:26 PM)  This is a great read. My favourites so far : Build Me Up Buttercup, The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore, Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) and Something In The Air. I don't have a clue what topped this chart. I would guess at Hey Jude but as you've told us that there are only two Beatles songs and we've had one already, that seems unlikely so I'm going to predict it's Bridge Over Troubled Water. Thanks Rollo  Your reasoning is sound, and your hunches are in the right ballpark, but the top 2 will surprise anyone who hasn't had a look at the UK charts of 1974 and 1975 - they were reissued as a result of the poll and became big hits again...  |
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May 18 2021, 07:23 AM
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#46
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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QUOTE(steve201 @ May 17 2021, 08:33 PM) ‘Something in the Air’ is a great track, another song I know and have heard so many times and yet couldn’t have named the group! Certainly one of my all-time faves to this day! When I get back to my top 800, expect it to be fairly high on the list as it's had ooh 3 chart runs in my charts
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Jun 2 2021, 04:52 PM
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#47
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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70. REACH OUT I'LL BE THERE - The Four Tops (1966)
It's a genuine classic at 70, as The Four Tops most famous record, a 1966 chart-topper, and timeless wonder, Reach Out I'll Be There drops in, if anything, a bit too low. It's unthinkable this wouldn't make the top 100 tracks of that era. Levi Stubb's lead vocal is stunning, he had one of the all-time great voices in music, ever, and it was my great pleasure to catch the original line-up who were around in the 50's and still having hits into the early 90's. Oddly, though I liked this record at the time of this poll, it took Gloria Gaynor's banging disco cover the following year to make me notice just how incredible the Holland-Dozier-Holland song is, and how great the songwriter/producers were. I already knew how great The Four Tops were, and Motown, as I'd just had 3 of their tracks top my charts in 1971 (Simple Game), and 1972 (Bernadette reactivated and Keeper Of The Castle). Thing is, Bernadette is even better, and Simple Game is first-rate epic drama. Sadly, not on the list though so this'll have to do as the sole pick from their great back catalogue. Can't grumble about this choice though. |
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Jun 2 2021, 05:02 PM
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#48
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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69. OH PRETTY WOMAN - Roy Orbison (1964)
The video that was linked before it got taken down is pretty representative of what I was watching and loving as a 6-year-old boy heavily into pop music of the day - black and white and Roy with dark glasses crooning effortlessly. Mum and dad adored Roy, and so did me and my little brother. We all still do. Cos he's timeless. This was Roy's most-popular singalong track, unquestionably, and again, as with The Four Tops, if anything it's surprisingly low-down the list. I'm not so sure it would make a top 100 these days, as Roy's tortured ballads have weathered better, but it's still stompingly good. If I were to have a personal choice, I'd go for It's Over (see 94) or In Dreams, or Runnin' Scared, or Crying, or Only The Lonely or...but hey at least he got 2 tracks on the rundown which is more than some greats can claim. No Like A Rolling Stone, f'r'instance, so lower those expectations Dylan fans. Yes, I know, how can you have a top 100 without that one? Cos the voters didn't vote for Dylan when they could vote instead for some jaw-dropping pap still to come!
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Jun 4 2021, 10:34 AM
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#49
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BuzzJack Climber
Joined: 4 August 2012
Posts: 126 User: 17,441
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Was this a broadcast show(s) on Radio 1 and if so are any recordings still available?
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Jun 5 2021, 08:49 AM
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#50
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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QUOTE(mick745 @ Jun 4 2021, 11:34 AM) Was this a broadcast show(s) on Radio 1 and if so are any recordings still available? Hi Mick, Yes it was broadcast over a day or a few days I think, I had to tune in to write them down in the back of my "1974 UK Top 30" notepad. I wrote down charts avidly, including my own. I'm not aware anyone would have bothered to record it as it was so spread out, so unless the BBC have a copy (which I doubt given their habits of deleting everything from the 60's and early 70's) I'd be surprised if it was available anywhere. I've not even been able to find a basic list of it anywhere, which is why I decided to post it for posterity. I've got some more from later years which I might get round to if they aren't already online
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Jun 5 2021, 01:04 PM
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#51
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BuzzJack Climber
Joined: 4 August 2012
Posts: 126 User: 17,441
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I for one am interested in any old miscellaneous chart countdowns, i did post the 1987 Radio 1 anniversary charts a while ago, again i hadnt been able to find them on line anywhere.
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Jun 5 2021, 02:27 PM
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#52
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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okey-doke I'll keep them coming
 I find the changing face of what's popular fascinating, what can be out of fashion one year is back in vogue 10 years later, and acts who never had success during their lifetime becoming cool and known, or vice versa, famous becoming obscure with time....I'll do a top 100 rundown chart at the end so it can be cut n pasted anywhere, I'd like it to get a minor little reference in popular music voting history
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Jun 5 2021, 02:43 PM
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#53
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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68. I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU - Ray Charles (1962)
Probably not as well known these days as it was back in the day, this track was almost genre-inventing as the wonderful Ray Charles moved away from jazz/blues and cut a classy strings-laden album of Country & Western songs (Don Gibson wrote this one), and the result: lush Soul. And it was a huge hit, topping the UK chart. I don't remember not knowing this song, it's always been there for me, and as both my parents loved Ray (dad bought his Hit The Road Jack EP in the 60's) I kept on the family tradition with his more contemporary post-70's stuff when he got cool again. Is it his best record? It's up there for sure, but I might opt for Come Rain Or Shine or Georgia On My Mind these days, they are achingly brilliant recordings. Timeless. |
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Jun 5 2021, 03:21 PM
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#54
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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67. THE GREEN GREEN GRASS OF HOME - Tom Jones (1966)
Easy-listening classic Green Green Grass Of Home was Tom's 2nd UK-chart-topper in late '66, and like Ray Charles' it's a cover of a country song from 1965 - Porter Waggoner had the hit, he of Dolly Parton's singing-partner fame - and like so many songs of the era (and in this countdown) it's a story-song dealing with death, in this case a man on death-row about to be executed. The lyrics belie the truth until half-way through, so it's kind of an "oh!" moment to what seems a gentle appreciation of the simple things in life - as opposed to being buried underneath them. Tom is, of course, a living legend, and oh what a voice. He's been in and out of fashion throughout his career, and has had a go at many genres, constantly re-inventing himself for the times. This song was a warning sign of things to come: Showbiz Las Vegas Tom was on the way, so that was his record charting career over for more than a decade from the mid-70's to the mid-80's. That said, I loved this song as a kid, and it was hugely popular in that era - but it hasn't weathered anywhere near as well as the UK chart-topper that kicked his career off, It's Not Unusual being so good it hit again in the 80's. Yet it's not in this chart. Nor is the much-better murder-song Delilah, that one had real oomph to it. So, instead, lay back, listen to this, and be grateful it's not Elvis Presley's later cover of it - where Tom's more-restrained vocals stayed the right-side of tasteful, Elvis was full-on cheese. An exercise in how to murder a murder ballad. |
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Jun 5 2021, 03:35 PM
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#55
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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66. CONGRATULATIONS - Cliff Richard (1968)
When is a Eurovision Song Contest Winner not a winner? When the judges allegedly get nobbled by General Franco of Spain, who pipped Cliff to the post with a song called La La La and which wasn't the huge hit across Europe and beyond that this little catchy ditty had already become by the time of the contest. Cliff was globally famous and it seemed a shoe-in. Instead it's the second-most famous Eurovision song not to win (after Volare). Gotta be honest, it wasn't my fave Cliff track by 1968, and certainly not by 1974 - I preferred his 1973 Eurovision attempt Power To All Our Friends, which people couldn't vote for in this rundown, and back in 1968 I'd have gone for Summer Holiday or Bachelor Boy in the jaunty-Cliff stakes, or The Day I Met Marie in the actually-much-better stakes. He wasn't cool in 1974 (his cool rebirth was still 5 years away) but his fan-vlub has never cared about being cool, so it's the 2nd of 4 on the rundown. It's a bit of condemnation of his fan club that this is the second-best of the bunch! All the great Cliff hits they could have voted for and they went for obvious twee! Ah well. |
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Jun 5 2021, 03:50 PM
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#56
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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65. BABY LOVE - The Supremes (1964)
The track that put The Supremes, Motown, and Holland-Dozier-Holland (songwriter-producers) onto the world stage, 3 giants of the 60's, and still timeless greats all three. The Supremes, or "Diana Ross & The Supremes" as they later became were the pop superstars of Motown (or Tamla Motown as the label was known in the UK until the 80's), with 9 US chart-toppers, most of them gems that I loved and have continued to love. Baby Love was their only UK chart-topper so it's logical that it'd be on the rundown - but even by 1974 it was blatantly obvious that it wasn't their greatest record (though it it's still great, don't get me wrong). Diana Ross & The Supremes had split into 2 acts, and a few months after this rundown Motown took notice and made Baby Love a hit all over again. This is a theme that will pop up again - record companies paid attention to the pent-up demand of voters! Diana Ross will appear again much later in the countdown, but for The Supremes, and genius records like You Keep Me Hangin' On, Love Child, Reflections, Stoned Love, Come See About Me, You Can't Hurry Love, Stop! In The Name Of Love, My World Is Empty Without You, or Nathan Jones, that's the end of the line. |
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Jun 5 2021, 04:04 PM
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#57
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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64. WHEREVER I LAY MY HAT (THAT'S MY HOME) - Marvin Gaye (1962)
OK, hands-up who was expecting this non-hit to be on the list? Me, neither. I'd never heard of it, being as it wasn't actually a hit, on the grounds it wasn't released until 1969, and then only as a B side. I'm assuming it was a cult Northern Soul success of sorts, but part of the reason I think voters probably had the option to vote for 3 tracks is the inclusion of obscure stuff like this that would appeal to fans of the monster classic still to come, and instead of spreading the votes about they went for the same artist. Paul Young's fabulous cover version was still 9 years in the future, and no disrespect to Marvin (who should have been on the list for What's Going On? alone, another UK flop, far and away Marvin Gaye's second-most-important track) but this is just not worthy. It's a B-side - the underlying song is great, but this version ain't. I could name 30 better Gaye recordings off the top of my head... |
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Jun 5 2021, 04:15 PM
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#58
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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63. (LET ME BE YOUR) TEDDY BEAR - Elvis Presley (1957)
Elvis was approaching the height of his popularity in 1957, the ground-breaking populariser of rock 'n' roll for the masses was hitting his stride. With this?! It's a jolly ditty. Cute and nothing more. So, here we are, 5 Presley tracks on and this is more-popular than Jailhouse Rock? I despair. That, I guarantee, would not be the case in 2021, amongst casual Elvis fans or hard-core fans. We have yet to hit rock-bottom, though, there's 5 more to come, including the best and worst! 50's songs from Elvis not on the list that should be? Heartbreak Hotel. That's All Right. Hound Dog. All Shook Up. Be worried....! |
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Jun 5 2021, 04:28 PM
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#59
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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62. MY GIRL - Otis Redding (1965)
Another puzzler for me, it's a great version of the now-more-famous Temptations original version of the Smokey Robinson song, very Stax, and a bigger UK hit than the Temps 43-peaking version (until the 1990's number 2 hit re-issue from the film of the same name), but Top 100 in 1974? I prefer the original myself, and this version was only a UK hit, and only a number 11 hit. Obviously there was a lot of love for the late Otis in 1974 (his young son Dexter was attempting a solo career with a song called God Bless), but errr, big albatross in the room - (Sitting On The) Dock Of The Bay, his signature tune in 1974 and every year since, is not on the list. WTF?! Dock Of The Bay is brilliant, My Girl at best is a very good version of a classic. I can only explain it by assuming some dodgy vote-fixing going on! Sour grapes courtesy of me...
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Jun 5 2021, 04:42 PM
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#60
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,796 User: 17,376
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61. LIVIN' DOLL - Cliff Richard (1959)
OK he's back again. Back in 1974 you could play this catchy unchallenging singalong without thinking of "Fies My Soul" chanting after Cliff sings "satisfies my soul". I was never much of a fan of it though, not as a kid, not as a teen, and not especially even when I bought the 1986 charity hit with The Young Ones on tow. That version is more entertaining than the original fairly bland monster hit. And it was huge. It sold bucketloads and remains one of Cliff's best-known songs. It's not, though, anywhere near as good as gorgeous The Next Time. Or Move It, his proper rock 'n' roll debut. I suppose I should be adding in The Shadows to this one of Cliff's. In this case they were still called The Drifters, and I wouldn't want to include either band in the dissing, both of them were fabulous in their own right, rather than just the backing band. The Shads have Apache at 97 (way better than this) but I'll give them credit on the final Cliff track, cos they actually play a decent part in the appeal of the track. |
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