Last Week Tonight (50 Years Ago) #3
taking it easy with this week's sonic trip to the seventies...
Welcome to Last Week Tonight (50 years ago), a weekly series from b*tchfork devoted to digging up old tunes. Each week I’ll be publishing an annotated playlist with the top tracks from the Billboard charts that week–just 50 years ago. Take a trip with me and see how these songs hold up!
This week, we’re taking it easy—not with the Eagles but with the top 10 songs on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart for the week ending Oct. 27, 1973.
The Playlist
“All I Know” by Art Garfunkel
Welcome to Art Garfunkel’s Eddie Kendricks moment.
Three years after the very dramatic breakup of Simon & Garfunkel in 1970, Garfunkel released his debut solo album, Angel Clare. “All I Know” would be the album’s biggest hit, and Garfunkel’s only U.S. top-10 charting hit as a solo artist. “All I Know” was number one on the Easy Listening chart for four weeks in October, and peaked at number nine on Billboard’s Hot 100. In this week’s list, Garfunkel charts above Paul Simon, but this would be one of the only times that would ever happen in their solo careers.
“All I Know” was written by the prolific Jimmy Webb, who won his first Grammy when he was just 21 years old (damn). The Wrecking Crew session musicians are on the track providing the instrumental backing, though the song’s solo piano is probably most notable. Garfunkel’s vocals shine on this track; it really is a ballad. Webb also recorded the song for his own album and another version of the song with Linda Rondstadt in 2010.
Fun fact: Five for Fighting recorded a rendition of the song for the film Chicken Little (2005). Watch a sketchy recording of that sequence here.
“Paper Roses” by Marie Osmond
This song was originally written and composed by Fred Spielman and Janice Torre for Anita Bryant. Bryant took the song to number five on the U.S. pop chart in 1960, and young Marie Osmond would take it straight to the top of the country charts in 1973.
After spending some time singing with her well-established brothers—The Osmonds—on tour, Marie decided to start her own music career and go a different way than her teen-idol siblings. Her debut album—entitled Papers Roses—was a country album, and she recorded her rendition of “Paper Roses” under the direction of Sonny James. When “Paper Roses” went to number one on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Marie became the youngest female artist and youngest overall solo artist to do so, at the age of 14. It was her first single release.
Fun fact: Marie’s “Paper Roses” has been adopted by fans of the Scottish football team Kilmarnock F.C. Watch a video of the stadium erupting into “Paper Roses” after winning the league cup here.
“Jesse” by Roberta Flack
The second track on Roberta Flack’s fabulous and well-known Killing Me Softly (1973), “Jesse” is definitely one of my favorite finds from making these playlists so far.
Like most folks who’ve heard of Flack, I’m very familiar with the title track of the album “Jesse” is from. Killing Me Softly (1973) is the fifth album in Flack’s discography, and got her her only Album of the Year Grammy nomination (she lost to Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions, which made an appearance on the first installment of this series). Flack’s voice is absolutely stunning on this track, and the song peaked at number 30 on the Hot 100.
“Jesse” was written by Janis Ian, who started writing the song when she was just 14 or 15 years old. Originally the song was going to be about a Vietnam War veteran, but Ian said that concept was a little limiting. Ian released her recording of “Jesse” on her album Stars (1974) the following year. Joan Baez also recorded the song for her album Diamonds & Rust (1975). While Ian and Baez bring their own special flairs to the song, there’s nothing quite like Flack’s near-flawless voice on “Jesse,” imbuing the track with so much emotion.
“We May Never Pass This Way (Again)” by Seals and Crofts
It’s time for some sexy soft rock.
Written by Jim Seals and Dash Crofts, “We May Never Pass This Way (Again)” was on the duo’s fifth studio album Diamond Girl (1973). The single reached number 21 on the Hot 100, but charted much higher on other Billboard charts (like this one). Complete with a funky breakdown section, some classic soft rock harmonies, and an unfortunate reference to Christopher Columbus that gave the pair pause to perform it later on, the track itself is a great example of what Seals and Crofts are musically known for.
The duo started out “big” as part of The Champs, which they left with Glen Campbell and Jerry Cole to form Glen Campbell and the GCs by 1963. Seals and Crofts became Seals and Crofts in 1969 when they signed as a pair with Talent Associates, and they later signed with Warner Bros. Summer Breeze (1972) brought them a top 10 hit with “Summer Breeze,” a song I deeply associate with blasting ’70s music while driving the PCH with my friends. Then came Diamond Girl, which featured a charting title track and this week’s highlight, “We May Never Pass This Way (Again).”
The history of the pair extends far beyond Diamond Girl (and far beyond their music) but we’ll stop here. What’s interesting about the artistic journey of Seals and Crofts is that it’s a microcosm of a larger trend of artists—especially in the 1970s, and especially in Los Angeles—working together in different combinations of bands over time. It was almost like musician musical chairs, with artists and session musicians continuously forming new bands. Seals and Crofts moving from The Champs with Glen Campbell to Campbell’s band to their own duo is a prime example of this.
Here’s a brief clip of Seals and Crofts performing “Summer Breeze” with Campbell on his show in 1975. Their outfits… I’m obsessed.
“Knocking On Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan
For the second week in a row, we have a song that was featured on a film soundtrack made by a popular musician! Crazy! Last week’s hit was not nearly as successful as this track, but I think the trend of artists as famous as Bob Dylan and James Brown composing soundtracks for movies is really interesting.
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) was Dylan’s first soundtrack album–and his 12th studio album. “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” was released as a single a couple of months before the film’s release, and became a global hit and one of Dylan’s most revered and covered tracks. Its place in this week’s list speaks for itself—this song was released in July of 1973 and was still charting three months later.
The song itself is not overtly complex and is a pretty straightforward death-scene ballad, and yet it’s still a masterpiece. It’s been consistently ranked in Rolling Stones’s 500 best songs—in the top 200, no less—and is one of Dylan’s most streamed and most popular songs today. Some especially iconic covers include a recording by Guns N’ Roses on their album Use Your Illusion II (1991) and Eric Clapton’s version. With covers that transcend the original’s genre, “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” is eternal.
Want to hear what this song sounds like when a woman sings it? Fantastic. Here’s Avril Lavigne performing it in 2003.
“The Most Beautiful Girl” by Charlie Rich
This song is proof that girls have always been pretty when they cry.
“The Most Beautiful Girl,” which was written by Billy Sherrill, Norro Wilson, and Rory Bourke, topped three U.S. Billboard charts in 1973, including pop and country. It appeared on Charlie Rich’s well-received and acclaimed country album, Behind Closed Doors (1973). Rich won the Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for the album, as well as various accolades at the CMAs and AMAs. “The Most Beautiful Girl” is a great example of Rich’s foray into countrypolitan, a variation of the Nashville sound.
There have been many covers of this track. Engelbert Humperdinck covered it on Engelbert: King of Hearts (1973). Slim Whitman and Andy Williams both recorded versions, as did ABBA’s Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
One eyebrow-raising thing about this song is that it’s actually a merging of two of Norro Wilson’s own songs. If you’re interested, the songs are “Hey Mister” and “Mama McCluskie.” It’s fascinating how Rich’s recording skyrocketed on the charts when these songs—especially “Hey Mister”—sound identical.
Surprise Seinfeld clip (the most culturally relevant cover).
“Let Me In” by The Osmonds
Let’s hear it for Marie’s brothers.
This religious-leaning ballad comes from The Osmonds’s 1973 album, The Plan. Their fifth studio album, The Plan featured songs focused on the Mormon faith. “Let Me In” simultaneously played up the group’s teen idol status as a love ballad while also serving as a plea to God. The song’s attempt at covering very different ground is representative of the album as a whole: with a lot of different genres across songs, and the very direct Mormon influence, The Plan was not nearly as commercially successful as some of The Osmonds’s other albums. Only two of the three singles from The Plan charted on the Hot 100—“Let Me In” and “Goin’ Home”—and both peaked at number 36.
I’ll be honest, I did not think I’d be bringing teen-idol Mormon music to the playlist this week, but here we are.
“Top Of The World” by the Carpenters
Like the Dylan track featured this week, this song is one of the most popular tracks ever released by the Carpenters. It has as much simple joy and love imbued into a song as one can imagine.
“Top Of The World” was originally recorded solely for the duo’s 1972 album A Song for You. Then, country singer Lynn Anderson released a cover that was really successful in mid-1973, and the Carpenters released the song as a single in September. Their released single topped the Hot 100 charts, the second of three Carpenters songs that would do so. “Top Of The World” was written by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis, who went on to write songs for Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, and more.
The messages of hope and perseverance present in the song’s lyrics have been used time and time again; The song was included on a NASA “wake-up” playlist for the Mars rover Spirit mission to get engineers and scientists ready for the day. On the day “Top Of The World” was played, the Spirit mission team had just gotten the rover to the rim of a crater for a 360-degree panoramic view—the top of another world. For another taste of the song’s impact, watch this clip from the “Naatu Naatu” acceptance speech at this year’s Oscar Awards. Kinda the best thing ever.
(This song also made an appearance in the fourth Shrek film. Watch that masterpiece here.)
“Half-Breed” by Cher*
Sigh. We cannot escape this song in the month of October (1973). I wrote about this track in my first installment of Last Week Tonight, and I think I pretty much covered it there.
“Loves Me Like a Rock” by Paul Simon*
Even after the breakup, we can’t have Garfunkel without Simon.
This song made an appearance on the first LWT, so you can read more about it there. One thing I’ll add is that “Loves Me Like a Rock” came from Simon’s third solo studio album—a stark comparison to Garfunkel’s “All I Know” coming from his first solo album.
I was told once that Simon was nothing without Garfunkel, and no part of me can get behind believing that is true.
A little treat for anyone who finished this week’s selection: My uncle sent me this hilarious video that’s in theme with a song on both previous LWT installments. I don’t even want to spoil what it is, I just think you should watch it.
Check out the issue of Billboard I used for this playlist here!
Tune in next week for another time travel adventure into music history. Thanks for groovin’ with me :)
~Annie