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As May 1971 came to a close, Dawn's Knock Three Times continued its stranglehold at the top of the UK chart with the song now completing its the third straight week as the nation's Number 1. Further down the listing, four songs made their debuts in the Top 20, led by the latest release from Elvis Presley.
The Chart:
- 01 (01) Dawn - Knock Three Times
- 02 (02) The Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar
- 03 (03) R. Dean Taylor - Indiana Wants Me
- 04 (11) Free - My Brother Jake
- 05 (09) McGuinness Flint - Malt and Barley Blues
- 06 (08) The Elgins - Heaven Must Have Sent You
- 07 (07) East Of Eden - Jig-A-Jig
- 08 (04) Ringo Starr - It Don't Come Easy
- 09 (12) Séverine - Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue
- 10 (05) Dave And Ansel Collins - Double Barrel
- 11 (18) Neil Diamond - I Am...I Said
- 12 (06) Waldo De Los Rios - Mozart Symphony No. 40
- 13 (10) Diana Ross - Remember Me
- 14 (14) Sakkarin - Sugar, Sugar
- 15 (13) Gerry Monroe - It's A Sin To Tell A Lie
- 16 (23) Elvis Presley - Rags to Riches
- 17 (24) Tony Christie - I Did What I Did For Maria
- 18 (27) Perry Como - I Think of You
- 19 (20) Bruce Ruffin - Rain
- 20 (34) Peter Noone - Oh! You Pretty Things
16: Elvis Presley: Rags to Riches
A song originally taken to the top of the US Billboard pop chart in 1953 by Tony Bennett brought Elvis Presley back into the UK Top 20 this week in May 1971. Rags to Riches also provided David Whitfield with a British hit during the same year as Bennett. As for Presley, the song would become his fifth straight UK Top 10 hit.
17: Tony Christie: I Did What I Did For Maria
Christie had missed out on a Top 20 placing by a hair's breadth when his last single release, Las Vegas, had peaked at Number 21. However, there was no messing around with I Did What I Did For Maria, as the song motored up the chart to peak at Number 2 and become his biggest selling song of the 1970s. Christie's popularity would take an upturn in the 2000s when comedian Peter Kay got a hold of one of his songs and helped send it to Number 1.
18: Perry Como: I Think of You
The resurgence in the popularity of crooner Perry Como continued unabated in 1971 as he returned to the UK Top 20 singing the words of American songwriter and poet Rod McKuen on I Think of You. The song was also the lead track of Como's album that year, which was essentially his cover versions of recent easy listening hits.
20: Peter Noone: Oh! You Pretty Things
Following the break-up of Herman's Hermits earlier in the year, lead vocalist Peter Noone set out on a solo career. His first release (and only hit) was this David Bowie-penned song which Bowie would later include on his album, Hunky Dory. Noone's version of Oh! You Pretty Things has attracted a fair amount of criticism over the years for its bubblegum styling, although Bowie played piano on the recording thereby seemingly giving it his blessing.
The American Top 10 (W/E May 29, 1971)
- 01 (03) Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones
- 02 (01) Joy to the World - Three Dog Night
- 03 (02) Never Can Say Goodbye - The Jackson Five
- 04 (06) Want Ads - Honey Cone
- 05 (08) It Don't Come Easy - Ringo Starr
- 06 (04) Put Your Hands in the Hand - Ocean
- 07 (07) Bridge Over Troubled Water - Aretha Franklin
- 08 (13) Sweet and Innocent - Donny Osmond
- 09 (05) Me and You and a Dog Named Boo - Lobo
- 10 (10) Chick-A-Boom - Daddy Dewdrop
The Number 1 album this week:
Sticky Fingers - The Rolling Stones
