This is what I heard on AM radio. Some of this music is not in the rotation on the oldies stations and fall into the category of you had to have been there to know these. I don’t have much r&b here because most of the songs out then are still being played today (Marvin, Al, Stevie Gamble & Huff etc). What is amazing is that R&B and Pop were played side by side.
This is a sample of the pop I heard on AM radio circa 1969-1972 on WABC NYC. Shout outs to my fave Dan Ingram. To put you in the right mood here are some of the jingles they used http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g63ZjTVP_TM
Emitt Rhodes- “Somewhere Someone” A lost song. The album has maybe two or three songs on it that are good but this one is magic, sounding like Paul McCartney on his first album and ironically it was recorded around the same time (1970) and Emitt played all the instruments like Paul did on his http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKux8DLxF0A
Ricky Nelson – “Garden Party” A song in which Ricky responded to the audience only wanting to hear his oldies and not his new songs He is essentially telling them FU LOL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PECmjB9df0w
Lee Michaels – “Do You Know What I Mean” One of the most soulful records out at that time. Great keyboard work. I bought the album years later but nothing stood out like this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NvZEXZTqLg&feature=fvwrel
Three Dog Night (TDN)- I liked this group at the time and still do. They were heard 24/7 and usually had or two or three hits a year. I later found out that most of their recordings were covers. In most cases they surpassed, or at the least matched the original, which was a testament to their producer/arranger. Their most popular song is still played today “Joy To the World” but they had many other hits as well:
“Liar”- Originally performed by Argent. The original version was more laid back but TDN made it a powerful anthem as they did with most of their covers, they amplified the melody and made it harder due to the powerful vocals. TDN version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMzNf5MehK4 Argent original - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9az6MMNZJl8
“Black & White” This (according to Wikipedia) is a cover of a cover of a cover LOL. Written as a response to Brown vs The Board of Education in 1956, it was originally recorded by Pete Seeger and Sammy Davis Jr. In the early 70’s it was recorded by The Maytones and Greyhound which is who TDN modeled their version after. This is one of the songs that send chills through me. It is great period. TDN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e4kDXsM6lk Greyhound http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4L2vMJnLU4 The Maytones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xbn0Glv-bs
“Out In The Country” Written by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams (Rainy Days and Mondays, We’ve Only Just Begun etc) This I think is not a cover. I always liked the haunting organ in the chorus. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ1tF6LgB40
Hot Butter – “Popcorn” Back in the day you could count on three or four instrumentals to crack the top 40. This track I recently learned is a cover version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBYjZTdrJlA
The Band – “Up On Cripple Creek” When this was out I never paid attention to the lyrics because I couldn’t really discern them. When I finally found out what they were I was rothflmao http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EisXJSsULGM&feature=related
The Bee Gees – “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” Before Saturday Night Fever, they were crafting some great songs as well. They sound like they are singing live over a backing track. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv1ZKJU6-rc
Bread – “It Don’t Matter To Me” A good representation of the “soft rock” (which included The Carpenters) at the time. This song has a harder kick to it though. The “empty room” part is amazing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvFf6yDwIrw
Paul McCartney –“Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” This was my introduction to Paul. Yeah I knew about The Beatles but to me this song was the shit. Nothing at the time sounded like this. I loved the tempo changes and shifts in the melody. The problem with Paul’s post Beatle work is his lyrics, which leave a lot to be desired but the music is still top notch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utmKUyMkttg
Last and least is a song that I was brain washed into liking I have a love hate history with this song. They played this song it seemed like 20 times a day.
4. "somewhat misleading title" In response to Reply # 0 Mon May-21-12 04:13 PM by lonesome_d
I was under the impression we were going to get actual AM playlists, which would be pretty fascinating.
Whoever compiled that list makes some nice connections and highlights a lot of worthwhile music, obviously, but unfortunately it stays in the realm of personal anecdotes rather than anything statistical in nature (which is what I was hoping for.)
5. "RE: somewhat misleading title" In response to Reply # 4
>Whoever compiled that list makes some nice connections and >highlights a lot of worthwhile music, obviously, but >unfortunately it stays in the realm of personal anecdotes >rather than anything statistical in nature (which is what I >was hoping for.)
fuck stats, I like reading the personal thoughts of folks music ventures..
Forgot about Looking Glass Didn't include groups like America cuz I assume everyone's heard theme LOL I moved onto FM when Ambrosia was doing top 40 I liked their more progressive stuff on the album Somewhere I Never Traveled
12. "Cool post!" In response to Reply # 0 Sat Jun-02-12 07:40 PM by Jakob Hellberg
Three dog night is one of those "flea-market records" type bands I find really underrated BTW...
EDI id you know that Brian Wilson's fabulous "Time to get alone" from beach Boys underrated "20/20"-album was originally recorded by Three Dog Night-precursor Redwood. Supposedly, Carl Wilson heard the track and thought it was so good that he just removed Three Dog Nights vocals from the multi-tracks and put Beach Boys there instead which made Brian sad because he felt he had made a hit outside of the Beach Boys and was really proud of the song. BB didn't even release it as a single so I understand why he got pissed off-it's a shame to let such a good song go to waste as an album "filler"...
14. "BTW, one thing worth pondering..." In response to Reply # 12
When people complain about racism and rockism and stuff with the rock'n'roll hall of fame and music-critics and shit, one thing is often forgotten:
Artists like the Temptations and the Four Tops get props despite relying on outside songwriters and covers.
Meanwhile, rock-bands who used a similar approach after 1967 or so has been written out of history completely even if they were genuinely successful and covered songs that were not particularly well-known...
Of course, I'm not comparing Three Dog Night to those acts in terms of quality or classic material but still, they had a SHITLOAD of hits and yet, it's as if they never existed...
And no, that doesn't mean that the rock'n'roll hall of fame and Rolling Stone etc. aren't racist or rockist or anything, just wanted to mention it...
I never heard about this. I am a big BB fan I like that song and most of the 20/20 album. The album was out of step as to what was going on in the country at that type socially and musically so I understand why it is under rated. The album itself wasn't really a proper album. They owed Capitol an album so they threw pieces together. I loved the two Smile cuts Our Prayer and Cabinessence. In fact I like all the orignal tracks on there I could have done without the covers especially Cotton Fields.
16. "The greatness of "AM Gold" has often been overshadowed by..." In response to Reply # 0
"classic rock". I am a huge fan of and am influenced by both. Growing up, depending on one's parents, you would usually hear all the stuff that was on AM, because FM was almost a "no zone" for kids. AM was what my parents knew, and it stayed that way. Then you realize "oh, my uncle loves the heavier stuff and oh... he listens to FM radio where they (used to) play 17 minute songs on a regular basis."
Point is, classic rock gets a slightly better reputation, and seems to work wonders for nostalgia and advertising. Yet the pop side will always be the stepchild everyone wants to neglect but always becomes a "guilty pleasure". Never guilty for me. There's a reason why shows like GLEE exists. It has to do with the music, and while some might consider GLEE cheese, there's that pop sensibility and accessibility that makes it work. Then, like now, you had artists who are genuine about it, and record company inventions that were created for the sole purpose of being loved and bought, which also meant "keeping pop money revenue within the company". But... never ignore the dollar bins and thrift stores for quality schmaltz, because a lot of those songs were and remain great.
Printer-friendly copy 
Email this topic to a friend
The Lesson 
id you know that Brian Wilson's fabulous "Time to get alone" from beach Boys underrated "20/20"-album was originally recorded by Three Dog Night-precursor Redwood. Supposedly, Carl Wilson heard the track and thought it was so good that he just removed Three Dog Nights vocals from the multi-tracks and put Beach Boys there instead which made Brian sad because he felt he had made a hit outside of the Beach Boys and was really proud of the song. BB didn't even release it as a single so I understand why he got pissed off-it's a shame to let such a good song go to waste as an album "filler"...
