UK Music Chart: September 25, 1971 Featuring Jethro Tull

Jethro Tull in Concert Buy This at Allposters.com

Hey Girl, Don't Bother Me from soul vocal group The Tams continued its grip on the Number 1 spot for a second week on this date in 1971.

Below them, four records took giant leaps up the chart as tracks by CCS, Marmalade, Middle of the Road and Rod Stewart made their debuts in the Top 10.

However, it was a quiet week for new entries to the listing, with just two discs managing to break into the Top 20. 





The Tams at Number 1

The Chart: 

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

*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold
 
17: Daniel Boone: Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast

Although devotees of 1970s music may be more familiar with Daniel Boone's later hit song, Beautiful Sunday, in fact Daddy, Don't You Walk So Fast was the record that became the singer's debut hit single. However, this was not the first time he had appeared on the chart.

Daniel Boone had briefly scraped into the UK Top 40 in 1963 under the name (Peter) Lee Stirling as part of the Birmingham group The Bruisers. Their record, Blue Girl, peaked at Number 31 and, chartwise, the band then disappeared. Later, Stirling reinvented himself as Daniel Boone and took this song to Number 17.

It was covered in the States by the dreadful Wayne Newton, who managed a Top 5 placing in the Billboard Hot 100 with his version.

19: Jethro Tull: Life is a Long Song 

Several Ian Anderson compositions appeared on this five-track Jethro Tull EP (or perhaps, maxi single) with the wonderful Life is a Long Song as the featured lead song. Sharing top billing on the A-Side (although not receiving as much airplay) was Anderson's excellent ode to Blackpool, Up the 'Pool.

The other three tracks making up the B-Side were Doctor Bogenbroom, For Later and Nursie.

All five of them were included on the band's upcoming compilation album, Living in the Past.


Jethro Tull: Up the 'Pool

JethroTull's Up the 'Pool, the second featured track on the A-Side of the disc.














The American Top 10 (w/e September 25, 1971)
*Press play > to listen to each track

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

The UK Number 1 album this week:

• Deep Purple - Fireball

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: September 11, 1971 Featuring James Taylor

Number 14: James Taylor : Buy This at Allposters.com

I'm Still Waiting completed its fourth and final week as the UK's bestselling record on this date in 1971.

Further down the chart, five new singles entered the Top 20, headed by You've Got A Friend, the then-latest offering by American singer/songwriter James Taylor.

It was also the week when one of rock's most enduring stars began his solo chart career.

Rod Stewart arrived with Reason to Believe, but the disc was soon flipped to reveal what has since become one of the public's favourite Rod tracks.

Elsewhere, new songs by Hot Chocolate and Marmalade debuted in the listing, while next week's new Number 1 edged ever closer to the top of the charts.


Diana Ross at Number 1

The Chart: 

• 01 (01) Diana Ross - I'm Still Waiting 
• 02 (03) The Tams - Hey Girl, Don't Bother Me 
• 03 (05) Dawn - What Are You Doing Sunday? 
• 04 (02) The New Seekers - Never Ending Song of Love 
• 05 (06) The Pioneers - Let Your Yeah Be Yeah 
• 06 (17) Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood - Did You Ever? 
• 07 (07) Buffy Sainte-Marie - Soldier Blue 
• 08 (19) The Supremes - Nathan Jones 
• 09 (12) Curved Air - Back Street Luv 
• 10 (08) Carole King - It's Too Late 
• 11 (04) Family - In My Own Time 
• 12 (11) George Harrison - Bangla Desh 
• 13 (10) T. Rex - Get It On 
• 14 (36) James Taylor - You've Got a Friend 
• 15 (25) Hot Chocolate - I Believe (In Love) 
• 16 (14) Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up 
• 17 (13) New World - Tom-Tom Turnaround 
• 18 (16) Gilbert O'Sullivan - We Will 
• 19 (31) Rod Stewart - Reason to Believe / Maggie May
• 20 (37) Marmalade - Cousin Norman 

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

14: James Taylor: You've Got A Friend

Having already charted at Number 1 on America's Billboard Hot 100 some weeks previously, it looked as if James Taylor's You've Got A Friend might repeat the feat in the UK.

Written and composed by Carole King, (already in the Top 10 with It's Too Late) and included on her bestselling album Tapestry, Taylor liked the track so much that he decided to record it himself.

It proved a wise decision as he later won the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance of the song, while King won the Grammy for Song of the Year.

Meanwhile, in the UK, You've Got A Friend eventually reached a peak of Number 4 and remains his only solo single to crack the British Top 40.



15: Hot Chocolate: I Believe (In Love)

After the relative failure of their previous single (You Could Have Been A Lady - Number 22), Hot Chocolate stormed back into the Top 20 with their latest release, I Believe (In Love).

At this point, Hot Chocolate was essentially a singles band and was fast on its way to becoming one of the UK's most successful funk/soul outfits of the decade.

This song followed their debut hit, Love is Life, into the Top 10 where it reached Number 8.



19: Rod Stewart: Reason to Believe

Having amassed several flop records in the 1960s, this was the single (together with its parent album) that truly launched the career of Rod Stewart - both in the UK and the US.

Reason to Believe was the record company's choice as the A-Side, but American DJs preferred to play the flip, Maggie May. For chart purposes, the latter title was later classified as the A-Side, meaning that Reason to Believe was only listed as the primary track for the disc's first week in the Top 20.

It would not be long before Maggie May was heading the UK chart concurrently with its American release. Stewart would shortly boast the UK and US Number 1 album as well, when Every Picture Tells A Story topped both charts at the same time as this single.

20: Marmalade: Cousin Norman

Junior Campbell, one of Marmalade's founding members and chief songwriters, had left the group earlier in this year and was replaced by the guitarist, Hugh Nicholson.

It was Nicholson who penned the band's next few singles, among them Cousin Norman. The song was highly memorable and clicked with record buyers at the time.

It became one of the group's most successful songs, peaking at Number Six on the chart within the next couple of weeks.


The American Top 10 (w/e September 11, 1971)
*Press play to listen to each track

• 01 (05) Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond 
• 02 (04) Spanish Harlem - Aretha Franklin
• 03 (03) Smiling Faces Sometimes - The Undisputed Truth
• 04 (06) Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
• 05 (10) Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Paul & Linda McCartney
• 06 (02) How Can You Mend A Broken Heart? - The Bee Gees
• 07 (10) I Just Want to Celebrate - Rare Earth
• 08 (07) Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver
• 09 (08) Signs - Five Man Electrical Band
• 10 (19) Maggie May/Reason to Believe - Rod Stewart

The UK Number 1 album this week:

• Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel

UK Music Chart: September 4, 1971 Featuring Curved Air

Number 12: Curved Air

Diana Ross with I'm Still Waiting continued to outsell all comers in the UK Top 20 this week in September 1971, as the track completed its third straight week at Number 1.

Elsewhere in the chart, three new songs appeared for the first time, as tracks by Curved Air, The Supremes and duo Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood made their debuts.

Image: Retrospective - Curved Air 




Diana Ross at Number 1

The Chart: 

• 01 (01) Diana Ross - I'm Still Waiting 
• 02 (02) The New Seekers - Never Ending Song Of Love 
• 03 (09) The Tams - Hey Girl, Don't Bother Me 
• 04 (05) Family - In My Own Time 
• 05 (03) Dawn - What Are You Doing Sunday? 
• 06 (06) The Pioneers - Let Your Yeah Be Yeah 
• 07 (08) Buffy Sainte-Marie - Soldier Blue 
• 08 (15) Carole King - It's Too Late 
• 09 (07) Atomic Rooster - Devil's Answer 
• 10 (04) T. Rex - Get It On 
• 11 (10) George Harrison - Bangla Desh 
• 12 (21) Curved Air - Back Street Luv 
• 13 (11) New World - Tom-Tom Turnaround 
• 14 (12) Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up 
• 15 (14) The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again 
• 16 (20) Gilbert O'Sullivan - We Will 
• 17 (25) Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood - Did You Ever? 
• 18 (17) Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel / Hound Dog 
• 19 (26) The Supremes - Nathan Jones 
• 20 (16) St. Cecilia - Leap Up and Down (Wave Your Knickers in the Air) 

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

12: Curved Air: Back Street Luv

Although Curved Air only ever once managed to crack the British Singles Chart, Back Street Luv is one of those tracks that is truly unforgettable if you were around in the early 1970s.

Curved Air may not be a band name that automatically springs to mind when you think of the music of the era, but the band's female lead singer, Sonja Kristina, left a lasting impression on many a teenage boy's mind.

She fronted the band through this, their most commercially profitable era, when not only Back Street Luv was a favourite with record buyers, but also their first three albums took the group into the UK Top 20. This single was included on their second, the uninspiringly named Second Album, peaking at Number 4 later in September.

17: Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazlewood: Did You Ever?

Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood's innuendo-laden Did You Ever? appealed to the Carry On/Benny Hill-style comedy that was so popular in the UK at the time.

The lyrics to this country pop song were...unintentionally...possibly...probably entirely innocent, but there was no doubt that you could read more into them if you so wanted.

Although country has generally never had much lasting impact in the UK, this twangy novelty certainly found its legs and raced all the way to a peak position of Number 2.



19: The Supremes: Nathan Jones

In a week when Diana Ross was heading the UK listing, her old group, The Supremes, entered at the other end of the chart with their latest hit, Nathan Jones.

Taken from their album Touch, the single employed some wonderful sychronised vocals from all three of the girls, as well as the use of intermittent phasing in order to give the record a unique sound.

However, Motown was not as enthusiastic about the group as it once was, instead preferring to promote some of its proven acts over The Supremes. As a consequence, the girls' records lost a lot of commercial traction in the States, where this song peaked at Number 16. Nevertheless, they remained a hot item in the UK and Nathan Jones became one of their most successful post-Ross singles.



The American Top 10 (w/e September 4, 1971)
*Press play > to listen to each track

• 01 (12) Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Paul & Linda McCartney 
• 02 (01) How Can You Mend A Broken Heart? - The Bee Gees
• 03 (08) Smiling Faces Sometimes - The Undisputed Truth
• 04 (09) Spanish Harlem - Aretha Franklin
• 05 (10) Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond
• 06 (13) Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
• 07 (02) Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver
• 08 (03) Signs - Five Man Electrical Band
• 09 (07) Liar - Three Dog Night
• 10 (18) I Just Want to Celebrate - Rare Earth

The UK Number 1 album this week:

• Top of the Pops Vol.18 - Anonymous Various Artists