In 1971 in Netherland the duo Mouth and MacNeal (Big Mouth (born Willem Duyn, March 31, 1937) and Maggie MacNeal (born Sjoukje van’t Spijker, May 5, 1950) came together. They recorded a few songs and were more popular in Europe, especially Germany, than they were in the United States. How Do You Do, released in 1972 was their biggest US hit, reaching as high as Number 8 in July. It’s reported that Willem Duyn died on December 4, 2004,
Note:The following was originally published at 6 Things To Consider. We thank Steve Atkinson for allowing us to republish this.
It was on Friday the 13th, February 1970 that the album that many consider the first Heavy Metal album was released. It was released in the United Kingdom. The debut album of a band from Birmingham England. The band and the album shared the name Black Sabbath.
The album had seven tracks. Five were original songs written by the group and two covers.
Black Sabbath consisted of Tony Iommi on guitar, Ozzy Osbourne sang lead, Terry “Geezer” Butler was the bassman, and Bill Ward at drums.
The album was a commercial success reaching number 8 on the UK Albums Chart, and following its US release in May 1970 reached number 23 on the Billboard 200 staying on the charts for over a year. It was widely panned by critics partly because it was so much different than what had been heard before.
A few months later the band would record their second album. From that recording came two of the most popular and most familiar songs done by the group. The album’s title song, Paranoid and the album’s second single Iron Man.
The term Heavy Metal wasn’t used until a number of years after the album’s released. Once it did become a term for music with a heavy rock beat, it was determined that this album was the first.
Pinball Wizard
Baba O’Riley
Who Are You
See Me, Feel Me
Won’t get Fooled Again
As far as I am concerned this is the best song that Rod Stewart has recorded. It was written by him and Ron Wood while they were both members of Faces.
The song originally appeared on their 1971 album A Nod Is as Good as a Wink…To a Blind Horse
Have you seen the CVS commercial. The one about receiving Double Bucks. The song that they are using is Double Lovin’ by the Osmonds.
After their big success with their self titled Osmonds album and their single from it One Bad Apple they recorded a follow-up album. The album was called Homemade and the first single release from it was the song Double Lovin’.
The song wasn’t as successful as One Bad Apple nor the song that followed Yo-Yo. While both of these reached the Top 5, with One Bad Apple reaching the top spot, Double Lovin’ would peak at 14.
The 1970s began just like the 60s ended, at least at the top of the charts. Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head sung by B.J. Thomas, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid spent 4 weeks at Number 1. The first week was the last week of 1969 then topping the charts for the first 3 weeks of 1970.
It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Burt Bacharach’s score won for Best Score.
Some may think the song is called “Starry Starry Night”, since that line is repeated a few times throughout the song. But the song is titled Vincent. And the Vincent of the song is artist Vincent van Gogh.
The song was written by McLean in late 1970 and appeared on the American Pie album. He had been looking at a book about the painter and while looking at a picture of van Gogh’s “Starry Night” he was inspired to write a song about van Gogh through the imagery of the painting.
McLean’s followup to American Pie didn’t reach the Top 10 in the United States. It peaked at number 12. It was a chart topper in May of 1972 in the in the U.K.
Week Ending – Song; Artist
January 6, 13, & 20 – “You’re So Vain”; Carly Simon
January 27 – “Superstition”; Stevie Wonder
February 3, 10, & 17 – “Crocodile Rock”; Elton John
February 24, March 3, 10, & 17 – “Killing Me Softly with His Song”; Roberta Flack
March 24 – “Love Train”; The O’Jays
March 31 – “Killing Me Softly with His Song”; Roberta Flack
April 7 & 14 – “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”; Vicki Lawrence
April 21, 28, May 5 & 12 – “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree”; Dawn featuring Tony Orlando
May 19 – “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”; Stevie Wonder
May 26 – “Frankenstein”; The Edgar Winter Group
June 2, 9, 16 & 23 – “My Love”; Paul McCartney and Wings
June 30 – “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)”; George Harrison
July 7 & 14 – “Will It Go Round in Circles”; Billy Preston
July 21 & 28 – “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”; Jim Croce
August 4 & 11 – “The Morning After”; Maureen McGovern
August 18 – “Touch Me in the Morning”; Diana Ross
August 25 & September 1 – “Brother Louie”; Stories
September 8 – “Let’s Get It On”; Marvin Gaye
September 15 – “Delta Dawn”; Helen Reddy
September 22 – “Let’s Get It On”; Marvin Gaye
September 29 – “We’re an American Band”; Grand Funk
October 6 & 13 – “Half-Breed”; Cher
October 20 – “Angie”; The Rolling Stones
October 27 & November 3 – “Midnight Train to Georgia”; Gladys Knight & the Pips
November 10 & 17 – “Keep on Truckin’ (Part 1)”; Eddie Kendricks
November 24 – “Photograph”; Ringo Starr
December 1 & 8 – “Top of the World”; Carpenters
December 15 & 22 – “The Most Beautiful Girl”; Charlie Rich
December 29 – “Time in a Bottle”; Jim Croce
Elton John’s holiday song.
Sammy Davis Jr. singing the Theme from the TV Series Baretta – Keep Your Eye in the Sparrow
From the Carol Brunett Show. 1976 with Vicki Lawrence
from their show mid-1970s
The song was written by Bobby Russell. Russell was a popular songwriter in the late 60′s and early 70′s having written the hits Little Green Apples and Honey. He also wrote and recorded a a song about the everyday man having a normal Saturday titled Saturday Morning Confusion.
The song was offered to Cher, but her husband Sonny Bono turned the song down. Vicki Lawrence, one of the regulars on the Carol Brunett Show was married to Russell. She recorded a demo of the song and her version was finally release. The song plus the ones she recorded for an album of the same name were her only recorded songs.
The song reached Number 1 on the Pop charts, but barely charted on the country charts, although it was an obvious country song.
A movie based loosely on the song was made in 1981 and starred Mark Hamill and Kristy McNichol with the title song sung by Tanya Tucker.
10 years later Country Singer Reba McIntyre’s version reached the top of the country charts. The clip is not from the 70s but the 90s when Reba appeared on a Talk Show hosted by Vicki Lawrence.
The song about infidelity, first by the wife of the singer and then the singer himself towards his secretary Maria.
The song reached Number 2 on the Billboard charts towards the end of 1969 and really shouldn’t be classified as a song of the 1970s. But it was a favorite of this author’s and I always sat back to listen to it when it played on the radio. Still do.
It was Greaves only hit record. He had a couple of more low charting singles in the early 1970s including a remake of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me” and Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale”.
Greaves was a nephew of the late great Sam Cooke.
By the time of their fourth album, Crazy Horses, the brothers not only were playing all of the instruments they were also writing the songs. They were also moving away from the bubblegum pop of their first couple of albums to be more Rock and Roll. It can be considered their first real sophisticated album and although there was some hints on their third album, Phase Three, this was a real departure for them.
Hold Me Tight was the first track on the album as well as their first single from it. This song can really be considered a rock song. The opening riff has been compared, even by some as lifted, to Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song.
It peaked at Number 14 on the charts.
Too bad that by the time of the release of the fourth album they were entrenched in the bubblegum image. By just listen to the albums that they released under their own direction, one could see their music as acid rock. In fact as recalled by brother Merrill on his his brother Jay’s website, JayOsmond.com, when they appeared in a concert in France, the audience didn’t know of their wholesome image and “the whole audience was Zeppelin, with long hair and drugs all over the arena” .