UK Music Chart: August 14, 1971

Number 13: Dawn with Tony Orlando

Marc Bolan's T. Rex continued its domination of the UK Top 20 this week in 1971 as the single Get It On completed its fourth and final week at the top of the chart.

The glam rock group remained at Number 1 on a relatively quiet listing with just two new discs managing to climb into the Top 20: the follow-up hit to Dawn's earlier Number 1 song, as well as the title tune to a controversial movie release of the era.

The Chart: 

• 01 (01) T. Rex - Get It On 
• 02 (02) The New Seekers - Never Ending Song of Love 
• 03 (08) Diana Ross - I'm Still Waiting 
• 04 (04) Atomic Rooster - Devil's Answer 
• 05 (11) Family - In My Own Time 
• 06 (06) Lobo - Me and You and a Dog Named Boo 
• 07 (07) New World - Tom-Tom Turnaround 
• 08 (03) Middle of the Road - Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep 
• 09 (10) The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again 
• 10 (05) The Sweet - Co-Co 
• 11 (09) Dave and Ansel Collins - Monkey Spanner 
• 12 (15) St. Cecilia - Leap Up and Down (Wave Your Knickers in the Air) 
• 13 (27) Dawn - What Are You Doing Sunday? 
• 14 (13) Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel / Hound Dog 
• 15 (12) Greyhound - Black and White 
• 16 (14) The Move - Tonight 
• 17 (17) Slade - Get Down and Get With It 
• 18 (21) Buffy Sainte-Marie - Soldier Blue 
• 19 (20) The Delfonics - La-La (Means I Love You)
• 20 (16) The Supremes and The Four Tops - River Deep, Mountain High 

*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold  
Intro image: By CBS Television [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

13: Dawn: What Are You Doing Sunday?

In the States, Tony Orlando's Dawn had seen a couple of minor hits (I Play & Sing and Summer Sand) since their Number 1 song Knock Three Times. In the UK, the big follow-up was What Are You Doing Sunday?, which entered the Twenty at Number 13 this week and would peak at an impressive Number 3. It fared less well at home though, barely scraping into the Billboard Top 40.

18: Buffy Sainte-Marie: Soldier Blue

The only time Canadian/American singer/songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie managed a UK Top 20 hit was with this wonderful title tune to the contentious US film, Soldier Blue. The massacre of innocent Native Americans by the US Cavalry was not a popular theme in Vietnam War-era America and this was one of the main reasons the film sunk without trace in American theatres. As a result, this theme also flopped.

Not in the UK, though. Soldier Blue was the third most popular movie at the British box office in 1971, pushing Buffy Sainte-Marie's song to a peak of Number 7.

The American Top 10 (w/e August 14, 1971)

• 01 (01) How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? - The Bee Gees 
• 02 (04) Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight
• 03 (06) Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver
• 04 (05) Draggin' the Line - Tommy James
• 05 (03) You've Got A Friend - James Taylor
• 06 (02) Indian Reservation - The Raiders
• 07 (08) Beginnings / Color My World - Chicago
• 08 (09) What the World Needs Now is Love/Abraham, Martin and John - Tom Clay
• 09 (10) Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye 
• 10 (15) Signs - Five Man Electrical Band

The UK Number 1 album this week:

• Every Good Boy Deserves Favour - The Moody Blues

UK Music Chart: April 17, 1971

 

Diana Ross - Buy This at Allposters.com

Hot Love by T.Rex was enjoying its fifth week at Number 1 in the UK and the group was hoping for big things to happen in America with the song, too. At this time, Marc Bolan and co had undertaken a promotional tour of the States to build upon the limited popularity of their previous disc. Unfortunately, Hot Love did not take off as hoped, peaking at a lowly Number 72 on the Billboard pop listing.

On British shores, new songs from two established acts entered the Top 20 for the first time, while some classical music with pop overtones became the highest new entry of the week.

The Chart:

• 01 (01) T. Rex - Hot Love 
• 02 (02) Ray Stevens - Bridget the Midget 
• 03 (03) Lynn Anderson - Rose Garden 
• 04 (17) Dave and Ansel Collins - Double Barrel 
• 05 (04) Clodagh Rodgers - Jack in the Box 
• 06 (13) Andy Williams - (Where Do I Begin?) Love Story 
• 07 (06) Elvis Presley - There Goes My Everything 
• 08 (12) Olivia Newton-John - If Not For You 
• 09 (07) CCS - Walkin' 
• 10 (08) John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band - Power to the People 
• 11 (05) Paul McCartney - Another Day 
• 12 (09) Perry Como - It's Impossible 
• 13 (10) Mungo Jerry - Baby Jump 
• 14 (26) Waldo De Los Rios - Mozart Symphony No. 40 
• 15 (20) The Sweet - Funny Funny 
• 16 (23) Frank Sinatra - I Will Drink the Wine (RE: See post) 
• 17 (11) Deep Purple - Strange Kind of Woman 
• 18 (28) Diana Ross - Remember Me 
• 19 (16) The Mixtures - Pushbike Song 
• 20 (32) Dawn - Knock Three Times

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

14: Waldo De Los Rios: Mozart Symphony No.40

The late Waldo De Los Rios was an Argentine composer and music arranger who discovered the knack of transforming classical music into rhythmical and popular contemporary tunes. He released an album in 1970 entitled Sinfonias, which included his adaptation of the composer's Symphony No.40. As well as climbing into the Top 10 in the UK, this single also soared to Number 1 in the Dutch charts.

 

18: Diana Ross: Remember Me

Remember Me became Diana Ross's second successive 45 to reach the UK Top 10 following the popularity of her previous disc, Ain't No Mountain High Enough. Released as the lead single from her third album, Surrender (I'm Still Waiting in the UK), this Ashford and Simpson-composed record performed better chart-wise in the UK than it did in the Billboard pop listing where it peaked at Number 16.

20: Dawn: Knock Three Times

Having already climbed to the top of the American charts in January, Knock Three Times by Dawn was preparing to repeat the feat in the UK. At this point, the vocal group were steadily ascending the pop listing in the States with I Play and Sing, a record that missed out on chart action over on British shores. Within a month, though, Tony Orlando and his two female singers would capture the UK Number 1 spot with this song.

The American Top 10 (W/E April 17, 1971)

• 01 (03) Joy to the World - Three Dog Night 
• 02 (02) What's Going On? - Marvin Gaye 
• 03 (01) Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) - The Temptations 
• 04 (04) She's A Lady - Tom Jones 
• 05 (08) Another Day/Oh Woman Oh Why - Paul McCartney 
• 06 (16) Put Your Hand in the Hand - Ocean 
• 07 (06) Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin 
• 08 (07) Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted - The Partridge Family 
• 09 (05) For All We Know - The Carpenters 
• 10 (10) One Toke Over the Line - Brewer & Shipley

The Number 1 album this week:

Motown Chartbusters Vol.5 - Various

UK Music Chart: January 30, 1971

Number 15: Ashton & Gardner (with Mick Liber)

After crashing into the Top 10 last week, George Harrison's first solo single, My Sweet Lord, sped its way to Number 1 for the first of five weeks.

Elsewhere, four new songs entered the Top 20, each of them becoming major hits.

Talking of hits, a new feature from this post onward is the inclusion of the American Top 10, when it is available.

The Charts:

• 01 (07) George Harrison - My Sweet Lord 
• 02 (01) Clive Dunn - Grandad 
• 03 (13) The Mixtures - Pushbike Song 
• 04 (02) T. Rex - Ride A White Swan 
• 05 (05) The Kinks - Apeman 
• 06 (04) The Jackson Five - I'll Be There 
• 07 (06) Dave Edmunds - I Hear You Knocking 
• 08 (08) Judy Collins - Amazing Grace 
• 09 (10) The Equals - Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys 
• 10 (14) Neil Diamond - Cracklin' Rosie 
• 11 (11) Johnny Johnson And The Bandwagon - Blame It On The Pony Express 
• 12 (18) Frankie Valli - You're Ready Now 
• 13 (16) Badfinger - No Matter What 
• 14 (09) Elvis Presley - You Don't Have To Say You Love Me 
• 15 (26) Ashton, Gardner And Dyke - Resurrection Shuffle 
• 16 (21) Tom Jones - She's A Lady 
• 17 (03) McGuinness Flint - When I'm Dead And Gone 
• 18 (12) Glen Campbell - It's Only Make Believe 
• 19 (24) The Supremes - Stoned Love 
• 20 (22) Dawn - Candida

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

15: Ashton, Gardner & Dyke: Resurrection Shuffle

Memories of carefree days come flooding back when I hear Ashton, Gardner and Dyke's Resurrection Shuffle. It was one of those songs that seemed to be everywhere and, in the process, became an instant classic of its genre. Most people tend to forget the name of the artists, but have no trouble in recalling what an absolutely storming pop single it was (or is)! Unfortunately, AG&D were unable to follow-up the track with another hit - the retread of this, Can You Get It, flopped. They recorded four albums in total, but none of the material came close to Resurrection Shuffle, leaving AG&D as One Hit Wonders.

   

16: Tom Jones: She's A Lady

Tom Jones recorded his own version of Resurrection Shuffle which failed to impress in the UK, but managed a respectable Number 38 in the US. It was included on his album She's A Lady, the title track of which entered the Top 20 this week in January, 1971. It peaked at Number 13 in the UK, but still remains Jones's highest charting single in the US where it rose to Number 2.

   

Number 19: The Supremes: Stoned Love

The Supremes' previous single, Everybody's Got the Right to Love, failed to impress British listeners and as a result missed out on a chart placing. However the splendid follow-up, Stoned Love, hit all the right buttons and saw Jean Terrell, Cindy Birdsong and Mary Wilson cruise into and up the UK Top 20. Peaking at Number 3, it also proved to be The Supremes' most successful post-Diana Ross hit in the US, where some radio stations had to be coerced into playing it. There was a belief the song was about drug abuse, rather than its intended message of love and peace at a time when the Vietnam War was still raging.

Number 20: Dawn: Candida

Dawn would become one of the most successful MOR vocal groups of the 1970s and Candida was the first in a string of hit singles that featured the vocals of Tony Orlando. At this point, the Dawn which we came to know did not exist as the vocalists were essentially a studio creation. Once the hits started to accumulate, Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson were invited to join Orlando, and thus Dawn was born. Candida was a worldwide hit, peaking at Number 9 in the UK and Number 3 in the US. 

The American Top 10 (W/E January 30, 1971)

• 01 (01) Knock Three Times - Dawn 
• 02 (02) My Sweet Lord - George Harrison 
• 03 (04) Lonely Days - The Bee Gees 
• 04 (03) One Less Bell to Answer - The 5th Dimension 
• 05 (09) Rose Garden - Lynn Anderson 
• 06 (07) Groove Me - King Floyd 
• 07 (16) I Hear You Knocking - Dave Edmunds 
• 08 (08) Your Song - Elton John 
• 09 (34) One Bad Apple - The Osmonds 
• 10 (06) Stoney End - Barbra Streisand

The Number 1 album this week:

Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel