33. JUST MY IMAGINATION (RUNNIN' AWAY WITH ME) - The Temptations (1971)

 

 

Talking of Motown, here's The Temptations' latter gorgeous soul ballad, after the original line-up had split up with David Ruffin leaving and Eddie Kendricks (on lead here) also about to jump ship for a solo career. Up to this point they had gone full classic funk, but personnel changes didn't impact the hits at all. The lack of songs did them in from 1974 onwards, but in 1971 they still had access to the best Motown writer-producers, in this case Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, who wrote many a classic not eligible for the rundown. So, no Papa Was A Rolling Stone, no Can't Get Next To You or Ball Of Confusion, no classic 60's Get Ready or My Girl on the rundown, just this one. It is a goodie though, and yet another one I was aware of but not familiar with till this rundown - and one that has also grown in stature with time for me. So lovely!

32. WHERE DO YOU GO TO (MY LOVELY) - Peter Sarstedt (1969)

 

 

Eden Kane might not have made the countdown, but brother Peter Sarstedt does, with his wonderful French-inspired Jet-set lifestyle arrangement and lyrics chart-topper. I was in full nostalgia-mode for 1969 by 1974, with fond memories of watching this on Top Of The Pops and still loving the record. Nobody recalls the follow-up (but I rather loved Frozen Orange Juice too) so poor Peter is largely regarded as a one-hit wonder - but this is a great one to remembered for, out of time even in 1969, and remaining that way since. The pay-off of the song is of course that the rich girl comes from the same humble roots as the singer, but the charts would feature the Sarstedt name again - in two years when younger brother Robin got on the 40's revival bandwagon and covered My Resistance Is Low. I saw all 3 Sarstedt's on a tour in the 80's, which was nice.

31. MY SWEET LORD - George Harrison (1970)

 

 

Classic. In the absence of all but 2 Beatles records we get compensation from George getting on the list at 31 with the sublime My Sweet Lord (only slightly like that Chiffons song, so there), and which was half a Beatles song with Ringo on it, and other Apple label acts like Billy Preston and Badfinger. It's very in the Hare Krishna and Oh Happy day gospel chanting tradition, and it's simplicity and building is part of the charm of the record. It's pure Singapore-tropical-honeysweet-nostalgia for me, and I loved it in early 1971, in 1974, in 2002 when it topped the chart all over again following the sad passing of George, and now. George hit the ground running after The Beatles split, the first Ex-Fab to top the charts in the UK and US - and the only one to feature in the rundown even though John's Imagine was eligible. Spoiler alert: as it was never a single until 1975, it wasn't then well enough known to get votes. George would keep on making good records right up to his death, and unlike John, managed to survive an assassination attempt. Both those tragedies would have sounded like pure fiction in 1974, sadly they weren't. I still miss George.

Good to see this back. Out of the last ten, I like Dedicated To The One I Love, Band Of Gold, Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) and My Sweet Lord.

Good to see this back. Out of the last ten, I like Dedicated To The One I Love, Band Of Gold, Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) and My Sweet Lord.

 

Thanks Rollo! :) I'm still surprised by the passage of time and how some records stay popular and some come and go, and some come back again, and how an obscure track can come from nowhere and suddenly be regarded as a classic of the time - even when it wasn't at the time! :D

back on the listing again. Still tons of stuff to do but I'm putting it off to do this...

 

30. THIS OLD HEART OF MINE (IS WEAK FOR YOU) - The Isley Brothers (1966)

 

 

A Tamla Motown classic, the 1966 US hit was a big hit in the UK in late 1968, as good as the follow-up Behind A Painted Smile, which is sadly absent from the list. The song was covered by Rod Stewart a year after the 1974 rundown (badly, as a slow ballad) and then again by Rod with Ronald Isley in the 80's (better), and was reissued again in 1976 along with a bunch of Motown classics, and it became a hit again (best) doubled with Behind A Painted Smile. Both tracks seriously hit the beats at a frantic pace, and set up The Isleys for the 70's as soul-funk guitar virtuoso hitmakers a mile away from early hits like Twist & Shout, as covered by The Beatles to greater effect, and Shout (as covered by Lulu) - both those brilliant covers are absent from the chart, so there's a certain poetic justice that the Isleys are in with this, a true great I adore. The drum section and Ronald Isleys vocals cannot be praised enough. And the song.

 

 

29. RELEASE ME - Engelbert Humperdinck (1967)

 

 

Ol' Eng was enormous in 1967 with this million-seller, the one that famously spoilt The Beatles record-breaking run of consecutive number ones when it denied Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields the number one. For that I'll never forgive it! It's a shock to see it this popular on Radio 1 - OK it was big, and only 7 years later, but even so, no Penny Lane on the list and this Jim Reeves-soundalike is 29th Fave? That certainly never happened again in listener polls that younger music fans like me took part in as time went by. MOR, is what it used to be called. Middle Of The Road. Not cool enough for Easy Listening. That's not to say I dislike the former Gerry Dorsey, I loved A Man Without Love in 1968, and still rate it highly, and singles like Les Bicyclettes De Belsize were faves of mine too. Not Release Me though.

28. TELL LAURA I LOVE HER -Ricky Valance (1960)

 

 

Back in the 50's and 60's Death-story discs were all the rage, none better than Leader Of The Pack, a hit in 1965, 1972 and 1976 for The Shangri-Las. Sadly that's not on the list so we'll have to make do for now with another vehicular-crash-lament, a lame, 1950's-country-ballad-styled song called Tell Laura I Love Her from wannabe hitster Ricky Valance who took the death-obsession to a new level by naming himself after the aircrash-killed late teen-star Ritchie Valens, who had a similar-sounding ballad hit with the way better Donna. Donna is also not on the list. Some voters clearly just had no concept of good taste in more ways than one. I'll take Ritchie's La Bamba over Ricky's dirge any day....

27. PLEASE STAY - The Cryin' Shames (1966)

 

 

Well, I expected to go runnin' to wikipedia for this one as it didn't ring a bell at all. I swear I haven't heard this record since 1974's rundown, yet it seems familiar to me, so I must have heard it as a kid. Let's put it this way, it's not been regarded as a classic oldie over the last 50 years, it's never played on the radio, oldies or otherwise, and yet....this is rather fab! So I resorted to Wikipedia and sure enough, it's an early Burt Bacharach melody from 1961, The Drifters getting the original version. Other versions include Duffy, The Love Affair, Marc Almond and Elvis Costello, but the only UK hit version was this one by The Cryin' Shames, and that only got to 26 in the charts. There's more though, the producer was Joe Meek of Telstar, Johnny Remember Me and have I The Right fame, the British Phil Spector with his own futuristic wall of sound. That accounts for the spooky, echoey sound, but the smokey vocals are also terrific. By a bizarre unlucky twist of fate, Beatles manager Brian Epstein offered to produce them, but they turned him down. Both Epstein and Meek were dead inside a year and a bit of this leaving the charts. I'm wondering if that gave this record a pathos to fans of it at the time that ultimately didn't stick beyond this music poll. If a record ever needed a Movie showpiece to get back some lost ground.....

 

26. EVERLASTING LOVE - The Love Affair (1968)

 

 

Golden oldie alert! Loved this one in 1968, and the cool Love Affair with Steve Ellis on vocals, and I adored the follow-up My Rainbow Valley even more, and the song is just timeless. This topped my charts for the first time in early 2022, as it predated my charts by a few months and following selling on itunes for several weeks all over again. So why is it so great that it was popular in 1968, 1974, and 2022? It's got a classic Motown vibe. It's soaring. Steve Ellis' vocals are terrific. And yet it's British, and it's even better than the original Robert Knight version which barely scraped into the UK chart in 1968. Songwriters Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden are pretty much unknown but they struck gold with Everlasting Love, a song that can be given any treatment and still sound good. Robert Knight got his hit in the UK eventually - as follow up to Northern Soul oldie B side smash Love On A Mountain Top in 1974 - but it's since been hits for Sandra, Gloria Estefan, Rachel Sweet & Rex Smith, Carl Carlton, Worlds Apart, The cast of Casualty, and has been covered by U2. Most recently, and the reason for the sales push, it features strongly in Kenneth Brannagh's film Belfast. So still a classic, then.

25. YOUR SONG - Elton John (1971)

 

 

By 1974 Elton John was huge, especially in North America - but this was the only Elton hit that was eligible to be voted for, I'd have been fairly sure that Rocket Man or Goodbye Yellow Brick Road would have been on the list too if they'd allowed 1972/3 tracks in. Still very famous, well-covered, and Elton is having his biggest singles chart 12 months in early 2022 - totally against the odds - since 1997. That's what comes with palling around with up and coming new acts and promoting them and staying enthusiastic about new music. Your Song is a lovely love ballad - but I wouldn't place it amongst my top 20 Elton faves. F'rexample, by the time of this poll Elton had topped my personal charts with Crocodile Rock and Bennie & The Jets, and had peaked at 2 with Rocket Man and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 4 with Daniel. Your Song was a good top 10, though!

To think I thought 'Everlasting Love' was by a soul / motown black group whenever I heard it on the radio and then to play it on guitar a couple of years ago, looking up the video to find they are British :kink: A great song though.

Edited March 27, 20223 yr by Roba.

To think I thought 'Everlasting Love' was by a soul / motown black group whenever I heard it on the radio and then to play it on guitar a couple of years ago, looking up the video to find they are British :kink: A great song though.

 

 

I think they would take that as a great compliment, Tamla Motown (as the UK knew it back then) was highly regarded! :D

OK hoping to get this finished, it's been a while...

 

24. SPIRIT IN THE SKY - Norman Greenbaum (1970)

 

 

Late Hippie Anthem, this one, and one I missed in 1970, being out the UK and all. I came across it first on this 1974 rundown and very much liked the sound of it, all electric guitar and gospel uplifting sounds, with humorously darker lyrics. So much so, that within a few months I spied a record stall inside Gloucester's indoor market having it for sale, still new and shiny. So I bought it. It's still a classic, and hit the top spot again for Doctor & The Medics in 1986, on their hilarious camp hippie piss-take, and Gareth Gates in the Noughties for Comic Relief, and with The Kumars doing the comedy bits. The original is still the best. Ol' Norman never had another hit, but he's still going aged 79 and no doubt has the satisfaction of getting some regular royalties in the knowledge he penned a genuine pop classic.

23. FAREWELL IS A LONELY SOUND - Jimmy Ruffin (1970)

 

 

Motown soul classic in the crooning Jimmy Ruffin style of his 1966 huge hit (more soon). This one returned Jimmy to the UK charts for a hat-trick of top 10's in 1970, and remained popular enough to chart again later in 1974 - as follow-up to another top 10 return of said earlier classic Motown. Spoiler alert! That track is at number 22, supporting my suspicions that fans were voting for 2 tracks by their fave artists. I didn't know this one until 1974, but his follow-up It's Wonderful (To Be Loved By You) I did love and would have preferred to be on the countdown. Splitting hairs, though this one is still a goodie, but not as well known 52 years later as t'other one. Jimmy would still have further hits in him, notably 1980's Hold On To My Love, gifted to him by Bee Gee Robin Gibb in his classic Motown style. Oh, and Jimmy was the brother of the Temptations' David Ruffin, he of the gritty vocals on greats like My Girl or his own fab Walk Away From Love.

22. WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKENHEARTED - Jimmy Ruffin (1966)

 

 

Stone-cold Motown soul heartbreak classic, twice a top 10 hit, in 1966 and again in 1974 following this voters poll, What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted is Jimmy Ruffin's piece of pop immortality, the song being eminently coverable. Flawlessly produced by the Motown stable, emoted by Ruffin, and the song bringing hits to acts like Colin Blunstone (of The Zombies and solo success) as guest vocalist on Dave "It's My Party" Stewart's revamp, Paul Young, and errr, Robson & Jerome taking it all the way to the top spot in 1996. None of them come close to matching the original, though. Still sounds classic.

21. TEARS OF A CLOWN - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (1970)

 

 

Talking of timeless emotional Motown classics....here's the brilliant Smokey Robinson getting a career revival thanks to UK Motown fans. This 1967 album track was jaw-droppingly ignored by Berry Gordy at Motown - granted Smokey was knocking out classic song after classic song in the 60's, so many he donated them to many of Motown's other acts, like The Temptations (My Girl) and Mary Wells (My Guy) while also having hits of his own inside The Miracles. Regarded by wordsmiths like Bob Dylan as a poet, ol' Smokey had a gift with imagery in the context of heartbreak (see The Tracks Of My Tears) and a smooth angelic emotional voice to match this melodies. from the opening circus-styled calliope intro through to the dance-classic fade, it's a gem of record. Credit also to Stevie Wonder, then still a teenager, co-writing the instrumental with his producer Hank Crosby, with Smokey adding lyrics and the rest. By 1970 Motown oldies belatedly hitting the UK charts was quite the thing, as UK label Tamla Motown had a knack for making non-hits or minor hits into major hits in the ever-popular dance clubs ahead of The Northern Soul movement, and singles out Tears Of A Clown. Cue a UK number one, Smokey reuniting his Miracles for Phase 2 of their career and a whopping US hit subsequently too. This hit again in 1976, was a hit ska cover in 1979 for The Beat, and the inspiration for ABC's 1987 hit When Smokey Sings, among many other versions.

20. A WHITER SHADE OF PALE - Procol Harum (1967)

 

 

The Summer of Love, '67, the era of the Hippie and Progrock and this anthem based on Bach's Baroque music, and Procol Harum smashed the charts with this perennial classic. It's made the charts many times since it topped the UK charts for 6 weeks, notably in 1972 a mere 5 years after smashing. That won't have hurt it's chart position on this list as people voted in 1974 - if anything, one might have expected it to placed higher than 20. The late Gary Brooker and his band had other hits, like Homburg, Conquistador and Pandora's Box, and I'll be honest: I prefer the latter two anyday to A Whiter Shade Of Pale - for some reason I have never rated as much as the public and critics do, maybe it's the sombre mood and plodding pace. When I was 9 I thought it was OK, when I was 14 I quite liked it (but not as much as Conquistador), and I've pretty much stayed in the "I quite like it" camp ever since. I can appreciate why it's beloved, but my massive love from the summer of '67 anthems is still to come, cos back in 1974 people voting agreed with me, even if these days it's the other way round.

19. ONE BAD APPLE - The Osmonds (1971)

 

 

WTAF I suspect is the response to this being at 19, when the track in question has never been a UK hit, though it topped the US charts in 1971, and clearly Crazy Horses is their classic (with options on Going Home, Let Me In, Love Me For A Reason or The Proud One being better and bigger hits in the UK, though not in the US where they got less successful as Osmondmania increased in the UK). The reason, though, is Osmondmania was still a thing amongst teenybop girls in 1974 and they couldnt vote for anything released after 1972, so they went the theme tune to their cartoon TV show. Yes The Osmonds, like The Jackson 5, were cartoon characters trying to get some of the David Cassidy/Partridge Family popstar/TV star action. I'm going to commit heresy now by saying, cough, I love this re-write of The Jackson 5's I Want You Back more than I love the original, the song is fab, the performance is fab, and the fashions are fab. To me, this is what I was watching on American variety shows in 1971 when I lived in Singapore, and The Osmonds were trying to become less barbershop quartet for grandparents and more relevant to the pop scene. They wrote Crazy Horses, went rocking, and pulled it off. One Bad Apple was a great stepping stone to that, and it showcased what a great lead singer Merrill was with pre-pubescent Donny as co-lead. Donny's voice changed at the same time mine did (circa late 1972) what with being the same age (he's a week older) and the end result wasn't as good as Merrill's. Fortunately Osmonds records were way better than solo Donny, Jimmy or Marie's, as they conspired to invade the UK singles chart. And I still stand by this one, love it.

18. HEY JUDE - The Beatles (1968)

 

 

Talking of WTAF moments, here's one. The Beatles. The Greatest Band Of All-Time. The Most Influential Band Of All-Time. The band that remain relevant and huge 52 years after they stopped existing and 2 of them are dead, and had a recording career of only 7 years. Cultural icons who changed the face of popular music. Yes them. They only have 2 tracks on the list, and Hey Jude is the highest. Certainly my fave Beatles track at the time, the one that got me obsessed with the UK singles chart when it got to number one in 1968, and Paul McCartney's definitive singalong tune, a song for John's young son Julian Lennon that broke records in terms of how long a single could be and still get airplay, the longest record to top the charts and far and away the most-popular Beatles record well into the 21st Century - it got to 12 in the Uk charts in 1976 when all the Beatles singles were reissued at once, the highest-charting - though these days it's Here Comes The Sun and maybe Let It Be that would top polls of the best Beatles song. I still remember this video on Top Of The Pops and Paul spear-heading a one-two in number ones and my love with Mary Hopkin's Those Were The Days (also not on the list). So, what's up with The Beatles in 1974? Not popular? Not at all, the double album Red & Blue albums had just been out, Band On The Run was topping the album charts for Wings, and George, John & Ringo all had number one singles in the USA in 1973/74. My theory remains that it's the sheer number of classic tracks that did them in, fans had around 30 or 40 to pick from (not to mention solo stuff) so votes would have been spread out widely amongst many a classic, whereas Osmonds fans only had the one they could vote for....