UK Music Chart: September 18, 1971 Featuring Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart: Buy This at Allposters.com

After four weeks, Diana Ross relinquished the UK Number 1 spot in favour of a track from 1964, which had been buoyed by the popularity of Britain's Northern Soul scene.

Hey Girl, Don't Bother Me was a long forgotten record by The Tams, an American soul vocal group which had not had a substantial hit on either side of the Atlantic for seven years. It suddenly started to gain popularity in Northern clubs and this provided the traction for it to cross to mainstream radio.

Elsewhere, a collection of records covering the spectrum of music genres made their debuts in this week's chart - headed by a now-classic tune from Rod Stewart.

The Tams at Number 1

The Chart: 

• 01 (02) The Tams - Hey Girl, Don't Bother Me 
• 02 (01) Diana Ross - I'm Still Waiting 
• 03 (06) Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood - Did You Ever? 
• 04 (09) Curved Air - Back Street Luv 
• 05 (08) The Supremes - Nathan Jones 
• 06 (10) Carole King - It's Too Late 
• 07 (04) The New Seekers - Never Ending Song of Love 
• 08 (15) Hot Chocolate - I Believe (In Love) 
• 09 (07) Buffy Sainte-Marie - Soldier Blue 
• 10 (03) Dawn - What Are You Doing Sunday? 
• 11 (**) Rod Stewart - Maggie May 
• 12 (14) James Taylor - You've Got a Friend 
• 13 (05) The Pioneers - Let Your Yeah Be Yeah 
• 14 (14) Family - In My Own Time 
• 15 (21) Shirley Bassey - For All We Know 
• 16 (23) Middle of the Road - Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum 
• 17 (20) Marmalade - Cousin Norman 
• 18 (26) CCS - Tap Turns on the Water 
• 19 (28) Ken Dodd - When Love Comes Round Again 
• 20 (18) Gilbert O'Sullivan - We Will

*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold
 
11: Rod Stewart: Maggie May

This classic track from Rod Stewart featured as a hit in its own right beginning with this chart from September, 1971.

Previously the B-Side to Reason to Believe (which entered last week's chart at Number 19), the popularity of Maggie May forced radio stations to feature it on their playlists instead.

By default, it became the A-Side and, in the process, one of Stewart's biggest hits of his career. Not only did it top the charts in the UK, but also concurrently in the USA - making Rod Stewart one of the few artists to achieve that feat. He also captured the Number 1 spot on the album charts in both countries with the single's parent album Every Picture Tells A Story, again concurrently.

15: Shirley Bassey: For All We Know

Originally featured in the movie Lovers and Other Strangers, The Carpenters covered For All We Know and took it into the Top 3 of America's Billboard Hot 100.

Their version was released in the UK as well, but Dame Shirley's interpretation of the song won the ensuing chart battle, peaking at Number 6.

The Carpenters would also enter the UK Top 20 with For All We Know, but to try and bolster sales  it was coupled with Superstar, which helped it up to Number 18.

The song won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 1971 Academy Awards ceremony.

16: Middle of the Road: Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum

Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum was Middle of the Road's follow-up to their mega-hit, Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep.

Like the latter, part of the songwriting was due to the late Lally Stott, who went on to compose further hits for Middle of the Road.

Trivia: In Italy this song was used to advertise the then-new Fiat 127, while in France a French version by Sheila called Les rois mages (The Magi) became a big hit on that country's music chart.



18: CCS: Tap Turns on the Water

If you love your music brassy, bluesy and gravelly, then you'll enjoy this track from CCS entitled Tap Turns on the Water.

CCS (or Collective Consciousness Society), headed by blues man Alexis Korner, was a short-lived musical conglomerate of mainly session musicians who had formed primarily for recording purposes. This was their third hit in approximately eighteen months and proved to be the biggest of them all.

It peaked at Number 5 and became the group's final Top 20 hit.



19: Ken Dodd: When Love Comes Round Again

His first Top 20, Love is Like a Violin, had appeared in the UK charts in the summer of 1960 and When Love Comes Round Again would prove to be Ken Dodd's final brief appearance.

He often covered successful Italian language songs and this was another of them. Originally recorded by Sergio Endrigo under the title L'arca di Noè, it was an entry at the 1970 Sanremo Festival where it finished in third place.







The American Top 10 (w/e September 18, 1971)
*Press play > to listen to each track

• 01 (01)  Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond
• 02 (02) Spanish Harlem - Aretha Franklin
• 03 (04) Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
• 04 (10) Maggie May / Reason to Believe - Rod Stewart
• 05 (05) Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey - Paul & Linda McCartney
• 06 (03) Smiling Faces Sometimes - The Undisputed Truth
• 07 (07) I Just Want to Celebrate - Rare Earth
• 08 (12) The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - Joan Baez
• 09 (06) How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? - The Bee Gees
• 10 (11) Whatcha See is Whatcha Get - The Dramatics

The UK Number 1 album this week:

• The Who - Who's Next

UK Music Chart: December 19 & 26, 1970

Number 15: Johnny Johnson & His Bandwagon

The final newly compiled UK Top 20 of 1970 was this one which covered a two week period over Christmas. Dave Edmunds continued his grip on the top of the charts, registering his fourth and fifth weeks as the UK Number artist with I Hear You Knocking.

As one would expect, the chart was its normally quiet self at this time of the year. However, there was a little upward movement with three new releases making their debuts in the Top 20.

The Chart:

• 01 (01) Dave Edmunds - I Hear You Knocking 
• 02 (02) McGuinness Flint - When I'm Dead And Gone 
• 03 (03) Neil Diamond - Cracklin' Rosie 
• 04 (04) Glen Campbell - It's Only Make Believe 
• 05 (13) The Jackson Five - I'll Be There 
• 06 (17) Clive Dunn - Grandad 
• 07 (07) Andy Williams - Home Lovin' Man 
• 08 (11) Gilbert O'Sullivan - Nothing Rhymed 
• 09 (12) Gerry Monroe - My Prayer 
• 10 (08) Chairmen Of The Board - (You've Got Me) Dangling On A String 
• 11 (05) Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Chile 
• 12 (06) T. Rex - Ride A White Swan 
• 13 (09) Don Fardon - Indian Reservation 
• 14 (10) Elvis Presley - I've Lost You 
• 15 (22) Johnny Johnson And His Bandwagon - (Blame It) On The Pony Express 
• 16 (14) White Plains - Julie, Do Ya Love Me? 
• 17 (16) Peter Noone And Herman's Hermits - Lady Barbara 
• 18 (30) Ken Dodd - Broken Hearted 
• 19 (19) Jimmy Ruffin - It's Wonderful (To Be Loved By You) 
• 20 (26) The Motown Spinners - It's A Shame

*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold

15: Johnny Johnson & His Bandwagon: (Blame It) On The Pony Express

For the second time in 1970, Johnny Johnson made an appearance in the UK Top 20, this time with this Cook/Greenaway/Macaulay penned stomper, which was not only popular with the average record buyer but also with fans of the burgeoning Northern Soul scene. By this time though, Johnson was the only constant amongst the Bandwagon, as the group had merely become a rotation of singers employed solely for recording sessions and appearances. Sadly, however, (Blame It) On the Pony Express was to be the final time the act would appear in the British charts.

18: Ken Dodd: Broken Hearted

Back in the UK Top 20 for the seventh time this week in 1970 was British comedian, actor and singer, Ken Dodd. Broken Hearted was another in the "translated from the Italian" ballads in which he specialised and would peak at Number 15 in the weeks to come.

 

20: The Motown Spinners: It's A Shame

This was the first time that The Spinners, or The Motown Spinners as they were known in the UK at this time, had appeared in the UK Top 20. It's A Shame was also the first song that Stevie Wonder had produced for another act, as well as having written it along with his then wife Syreeta Wright and associate Lee Garrett. Unfortunately, the song didn't stay around too long but The Detroit Spinners, as they would later become known, would return to the Top 20 in 1973.

Until next time...