Don’s Top 10 From August 4, 1973

(#14 last week) The only hit song I can think of with lyrics telling a dog how to act. Was a #1 song in the U.K.

(#2 last week) Although a one-hit wonder, Holmes has had quite a varied career. Initially a vocal music student at Fredonia State College, he left school for the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He spent his 3 year enlistment (1967–1969) with the elite United States Army Chorus, and then remained in the Washington, D.C. area to launch his civilian career, singing in nightclubs up and down the East Coast. Holmes was the announcer for The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers (1986–1988), the initial broadcast offering of the then-new Fox Broadcasting Company. Holmes has been a Las Vegas show attraction since the early 1970s. In 2006, he closed his headlining show at Harrah's Las Vegas Casino, which renamed its main showroom for him. From 1990 to 1995, he hosted Honda Campus All-Star Challenge on the BET network, and, after the event became non-broadcast, continued to host the final matches through 2008.

(#16 last week) Backup vocals by the other famous soft-rock 70s duo, England Dan & John Ford Coley (Dan was Dan Seals, Jim Seals's brother). David Paich & Jeff Porcaro, future members of Toto, play back as well here.

(#21 last week) Won an Oscar for Best Song but McGovern did not sing it for the movie ("The Poseidon Adventure"). That was actress Carol Lynley, playing ship singer "Nonnie".

(#10 last week) Remake of the 1941 smash by the Andrews Sisters, which was featured in the Abbott & Costello movie "Buck Privates" & was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. Bette's 2nd hit & 2nd remake

(#6 last week)  First released on their 1972 album "Machine Head". In 2004, the song was ranked number 434 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, ranked number 4 in Total Guitar magazine's Greatest Guitar Riffs Ever, & in March 2005, Q magazine placed "Smoke On The Water" at number 12 in its list of the 100 greatest guitar tracks.

(#5 last week) Surprisingly, perhaps, this is the Carpenters' biggest-selling record worldwide & their best-selling single in the U.K., peaking at number 2. Richard Carpenter admitted on a Japanese documentary that it is his favorite of all the songs he's written. He has performed an instrumental version at concerts. The album version takes up the entire side of the LP!

(#8 last week) After a very quiet (for her) almost two year period, Diana roared back with a spectacular one-two punch: an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for "Lady Sings The Blues" & this soon-to-be #1 smash.

(#1 last week) Contrary to popular belief, B.W. Stevenson ("My Maria") did NOT write this, but he DID record it & release it at the same time as the Dogs.

(#3 last week; 1st week at #1) Who knew? "Leroy Brown" was someone Jim met in New Jersey! He explained: "This is a song about a guy I was in the army with... It was at Fort Dix, in New Jersey, that I met this guy. He was not made to climb the tree of knowledge, as they say, but he was strong, so nobody'd ever told him what to do, and after about a week down there he said "Later for this" & decided to go home. So he went AWOL, which means to take your own vacation, & he did. But he made the mistake of coming back at the end of the month to get his paycheck. I don't know if you've ever seen handcuffs put on anybody, but it was SNAP and that was the end of it for a good friend of mine, who I wrote this tune about, named Leroy Brown".