Don’s Top 10 For August 19, 1972

(#11 last week) Surprise hit remake of an early 60s smash from Brian Hyland. Vinton was a consistant hitmaker himself from 1962-1968, but the chart appearances slowed down until this put him on the comeback trail.

(#6 last week) Aah. So "Mouth" was the guy. :-) They were the Dutch duo of Willem Duyn & Maggie MacNeal (born Sjoukje van't Spijker--good luck pronouncing that name). Only American hit; had a few others in Scandanavia. Sticks in your brain like glue.

(#10 last week) A shame I can't find any performance video of these folks from 1972. One of the most-loved, best-remembered & enduring soul songs of the 70s. Strange why they didn't endure as an act.

Another song with surprisingly no performance video out there. Did anyone have a better year than Al Green did in 1972? Four straight million selling singles (he actually had seven straight from 1971-1973). In 2005, Rolling Stone named him No. 66 in their list of the '100 Greatest Artists of All Time'.

(#4 last week) An R&B song with lyrics so vivid it became a country hit for Barbara Mandrell years later. The song is about an adulterous love affair, told from the point of view of either the mistress or the cheating husband, depending on the sex of the artist. Either way, both people involved express their desire to maintain the affair, while at the same time acknowledging that the relationship is morally wrong. Although it was first recorded by The Emotions, that recording were never released. Other well-known artists recording it included Isaac Hayes, Rod Stewart, Percy Sledge, Bobby "Blue" Bland, David Ruffin, Ramsey Lewis & Tom Jones.

(#5 last week) Was there ever a greater "intro" to a song? It was released soon after Allan Clarke, who was featured on lead guitar as well as lead vocal had left the group. As they had just left EMI/Parlophone & signed with Polydor, they did not promote the song. However it became a No. 2 hit in America, their greatest ever singles success here. It was inspired & in the style of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Psst....secret. This song inspired many a teenage boy to fantasize about the LCW in that black dress.....

(#2 last week) Sure, Wayne Newton was already Mr. Corny by 1972, but this came out in the middle of an epidemic of divorce in America & it really touched a nerve. Interesting trivia: Newton had a long-running feud with Johnny Carson, with Newton expressing bitterness even after Johnny's passing in 2005. Had something to do with both of them bidding on real estate. Newton's full legal name? Carson Wayne Newton.

(#7 last week) This sounded like nothing before it to be a hit on the charts. It really stood out in 1972. The single version of the song is a slightly sped-up mix of the album version with one major difference - the "turn-off" effect used upon the school bell & sound effects at the end of the album version is not used on the single version, allowing the school bell and effects to simply fade out. This video is from the long-running British show "Top Of The Pops".

(#3 last week) Supposedly, the true story of New Brunswick spinster Mary Ellis. Ms. Ellis, according to oral tradition, was seduced by a sea captain who vowed to return to marry her. He never returned and she would come to the spot where her grave now stands, each day, to look for his ship in the Raritan River in New Brunswick. Elliot Lurie's lyrics tell of Brandy, a barmaid in a port town. She wins the admiration of many of the sailors, but cannot return their feelings — the love of her life was unwilling to abandon his true love, the sea.

(#1 last week; 3rd week at #1) Talk about a downer of a song. And yet, the lyrics really connected with record buyers, starting with the singer telling of his plans to commit suicide after being left at the altar, & then telling about the death of his parents. One of the biggest hits of the decade, yet is rarely played today.