Last Week Tonight (50 Years Ago) #7
a return to the biggest pop hits this week half a century ago
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 top tracks from the Billboard charts that week–just 50 years ago. Take a trip with me and see how these songs hold up!
We’ve finally returned to our beloved Hot 100 (sans Cher’s “Half-Breed”). This week, we’re digging into the top 10 songs from Billboard’s Hot 100 for the week ending November 24, 1973. We’re also joined this week by my friend1 and honorary b*tch, Zander Meyerson, an incoming music student at Hofstra who has graciously added some commentary to the playlist with Z’s Blurbz. Follow along on Spotify here.
The Playlist
“Photograph” by Ringo Starr
Please welcome to LWT the most wholesome Beatle, Ringo Starr!
“Photograph” was co-written by Ringo and George Harrison as the lead single on Ringo’s third studio album Ringo (1973). In fact, all four Beatles appeared on the album: John Lennon wrote “I’m the Greatest,” Paul and Linda McCartney wrote “Six O’Clock,” and Paul and George played and did backing vocals on other tracks. Even without the former Beatles, Ringo is a stacked album, with guest features including keyboardist Billy Preston and guitar legend Marc Bolan (of T. Rex).
“Photograph” took the radio airwaves by storm and topped the Hot 100 for a week (this one!). It was Ringo’s first number-one U.S. Hot 100 hit as a solo artist. The single fit right into the nostalgia fad at the time with an arrangement that fit Ringo’s (limited) vocal range, and, despite mournful lyrics, has a pull that keeps you in. Ringo may be a goofy guy, but he also made some serious hits. Peace and love xx
Z’s Blurb: Ringo is a solid album solidified by the host of incredible musicians crammed into it. This song “Photograph,” contains a snippet of the most attractive instrument in history… that's right! It’s the saxophone (see George Michael’s “Careless Whisper”). From 1:25 to 1:40 in the song, Bobby Keys plays the saxophone and it's the perfect interlude before the key change. For those who don’t know, Keys famously played saxophone for the Rolling Stones and is an extremely accomplished musician featured on many famous rock and roll ballads.
“Keep on Truckin’” by Eddie Kendricks*
At this point, “Keep on Truckin’” has been on the Hot 100 charts for 14 weeks (50 years ago), the most of any song on this list. The week prior, it held the number-one spot—quite a showing for the former Temptations member. “Keep on Truckin’” has appeared on LWT three times, so you can read much more about the hit here.
Z’s Blurb: Wait a minute, hold on a sec…is that a vibraphone I hear? Listen closely, because from 2:40 through 3:10 Gary Coleman is shredding those metal keys (or whatever the shredding equivalent is for the vibraphone). Gary Coleman was a percussionist and part of a group of session players called the Wrecking Crew who were considered some of the best in the business in the ’60s and ’70s. Coleman contributed to the soundtrack of the musical Hair, and Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970). However, his contribution to Eddie Kendricks’s “Keep on Truckin’” is unique, especially considering Kendricks’s style of music. The vibraphone adds another dimension to the song and I’d like to believe it was a significant factor in the single’s popularity.
“Top of the World” by The Carpenters*
With this repeat, we’re witnessing “Top of the World”’s chart rise in 50-year-old-real-time! Next week, The Carpenters hit would top the Billboard Hot 100 and stay there for two weeks. I wrote quite a bit about this song in the Easy Listening LWT installment a few weeks back, so I encourage you to go check out some fun facts and, as always, to give the song a listen. I can’t help but smile when I hear “Top of the World”; the love and joy is infectious.
Z’s Blurb: Karen and Richard Carpenter were masterfully talented musicians in their own right. The melodies, rhythm, and harmonies were unique and satisfying all at the same time. The song transports the listener into a sunny day of sublimity. John Bettis wrote the lyrics we were entranced by, and you can’t help but admire the emotional connection one feels to a simple love song.
“Space Race” by Billy Preston
“Space Race” was from Billy Preston’s 1973 album Everybody Likes Some Kind of Music and a sequel to his Grammy-winning “Outa-Space.” While we had our fair share of instrumental music in our Jazz LP installment, this is the first time we’ve had a song without lyrics on a mainstream pop chart. During the ’70s, instrumental songs breaking the top 10 of the Hot 100 was a pretty regular phenomenon.
It’d be difficult to overstate Preston’s musical impact on the foundations of funk, rock, R&B, and soul. During his time as a sought-after session keyboardist, he backed artists such as Sam Cooke, Little Richard, the Rolling Stones, and, famously, the Beatles. In fact, he is one of two non-Beatle musicians given credit on a Beatles record per their request: The Beatles’s 1969 single “Get Back” features Preston’s electric piano and is credited as “The Beatles with Billy Preston.” His collaboration with the group is featured in the Peter Jackson 2021 Beatles documentary.
Z’s Blurb: Billy Preston’s “Space Race” is truly a work of instrumental art, but instead of focusing on Mr. Preston’s undeniable musical ability I'd like to turn the spotlight onto one of the Funk Brothers, Paul Riser. Riser was responsible for the horns arrangement on Preston’s single and countless other horns and strings arrangements that knock my socks off (and probably yours too, list of some below). The Funk Brothers were a group of session players who primarily played on Motown recordings, and are considered the most successful session group in history. Another awesome fact about the Funk Brothers is that they had absolutely dope names, such as Richard “Pistol” Allen, Wah Wah Watson, and Eddie Bongo Brown.
Paul Riser arrangements: Diana Ross, “Aint No Mountain High Enough”; Stevie Wonder, “Signed Sealed & Delivered”; Marvin Gaye, “Soon I’ll Be Loving You Again”; And countless more…
“Heartbeat It’s A Love Beat” by The Defranco Family
“Heartbeat It’s A Love Beat” was the debut single for the DeFranco Family off the Canadian group’s debut album. (Don’t let the Canadian designation fool you, the DeFrancos are very Italian).
“Heartbeat” peaked at number three on both the U.S. and Canadian charts, and would be the quintet’s highest-ranking song. The family would only find success in the mid-1970s when lighthearted family groups were in favor; The DeFranco Family only released two albums: Heartbeat, It’s a Lovebeat (1973) and Save the Last Dance for Me (1974). “Heartbeat” continues on the LWT trend of teenagers singing about love: Just like Marie Osmond, lead singer Tony DeFranco was just 14 years old when this song was charting. Interestingly enough, the success of the DeFranco Family in 1973 came at the expense of the Osmonds.
Quentin Tarantino must’ve really been paying attention to the charts during the 1970s. Just like “Baby Blue” by the George Baker Selection, “Heartbeat” was referenced in Reservoir Dogs.
Z’s Blurb: This song is so fascinating to me because we have a baby singing lead vocals, and midway through the “silly love song” there is an alien transmission. If you didn’t hear it the first time go back and listen from 1:24. It’s a battle of dissonant futuristic synths for a couple of seconds, and then the strings bring it back to Tony Defranco’s pre-pubescent vocals. I can’t find anyone specifically responsible for this bizarre breakdown, but along with the DeFranco Family, it was arranged by Pete Carpenter, Tom Bahler, and Walt Mescell.
“Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight & The Pips*
Welcome back, Gladys’s stunning vocals. “Midnight Train to Georgia” was on the Hot 100 for 13 weeks, and was number two the week before this one. “Midnight Train to Georgia” has followed “Keep on Truckin’” these past couple of weeks, and has also appeared on LWT three times now. Read more about the song here and here!
"Just You 'N' Me” by Chicago
“Just You 'N' Me” was released as the second single from Chicago’s fifth studio album, Chicago VI (1973)—clever. The groovy track with trombone, trumpet, and sax peaked at number four on the Hot 100.
Chicago formed in 1967 and would become one of the most successful American rock bands. Their hits consistently made the charts, and Billboard named them in the top 20 of the greatest Hot 100 artists of all time—they had 20 top-10 singles on the Hot 100. One cool fact is that in 1971, Chicago became the first rock group to sell out Carnegie Hall for a week.
Truth time: I don’t really like this song. I normally don’t include negative takes here, but I am struggling to write about this song because I really am not that interested in it—save for the saxophone solo. Chicago’s James Pankow wrote the song after a fight with his future wife, and while I think it’s just okay, Pankow was elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017, so who am I to judge?
Anyway, please listen to “Saturday in the Park.”
“Paper Roses” by Marie Osmond*
I’ve listened to this song quite a few times now, and every time I think of the unofficial theme for the Kilmarnock Football Club in Scotland. A Scottish newspaper wrote about this phenomenon when Osmond visited Rugby Park to meet her fans in 2013, and, according to a club official, the story goes back to when “Paper Roses” was released. Legend has it that Kilmarnock was getting destroyed in a game against Dumbarton F.C., and “[the fans] decided to sing the worst song in the charts at the time, and [Osmond’s] was the worst song.” Despite the inciting incident, the fans now adore Marie.
This is also the third LWT appearance of “Paper Roses,” so you can read more about this track in Marie’s first LWT appearance.
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John
This song is why we’ve returned to the Hot 100 specifically this week. I’ve been waiting for “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” to break into the top 10 and we’re finally here!
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” comes from what is considered by some to be Elton John’s magnum opus album of the same name. Famously recorded at the Château d'Hérouville in France in just two weeks, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is as musically stunning as it was a near-instant classic. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” was released as the second single from the album, and peaked at number two on the Hot 100 in the U.S. The song is cinematic both in that it is a sweeping and shimmering ballad but also draws directly from L. Frank Baum's “The Wizard of Oz.” Bernie Taupin’s lyrical poetry matched with Elton John’s impeccable blend of layered harmonies and strings makes it one of Elton’s best songs.
This is easily in my top 100 songs of all time, and one of the first I attempted to sing and play on the piano. There is a lot to say about Elton John, but I want to let this song speak for itself.
Z’s Blurb: Something that stood out about this song is that it has recently been circling on TikTok accompanying “memes.” I love to see that some songs are completely and epically timeless. Warning: Do not try to sing the chorus of this song, may cause a voice crack and temporary embarrassment.
“The Love I Lost” by Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes
We’re rounding out this week with an absolute banger. A staple in funk, Philly soul, and even disco history, “The Love I Lost” from Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes peaked at number seven on the Hot 100.
When you think about some of the biggest names in soul, funk, and early disco, four of those appear on this track. “The Love I Lost” was written by iconic songwriting duo Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, pioneers of the Philadelphia soul music genre (Philly soul) and instrumental writers and producers in the development of early disco. Speaking of disco, legendary drummer Earl Young is featured on this track. Young is most known for his work with The Trammps (“Disco Inferno,” anyone?) and for popularizing the four-on-the-floor disco beat. The lead singer on “The Love I Lost”? Teddy Pendergrass. This track is stacked.
Beyond all the name-dropping, this song is just freaking good. There’s a reason some argue it was a precursor to the disco movement: “The Love I Lost” has the kind of infectious rhythm and groove that launches a music craze.
A little personal music plug: I’ll be DJing with dublab from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. PT next week on November 28. Tune in for my set, it’s gonna be a good time (spoiler alert: disco).
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
Technically, Zander is the best friend of my brother Charlie. However, I’ve known Zander since before he could form a complete sentence, so I think he counts as my friend, too.