In The Year 2525 remains one of the top contenders for worst #1 song and it held that spot for weeks on end. #2 is Honky Tonk Woman and, no question, it is a great tune. But look at the next three slots. Junk from Tommy James and Neil Diamond (though the latter was given a second life by the Red Sox), and a terrible song by an artist I like, Johnny Cash. Going further down the list we have one of the weakest singles ever released by the great Stevie Wonder, a below-average entry from The Guess Who (an above-average band I need to do a post on), and Get Together by The Youngbloods, a soppy song from one of my favorite bands of that period.
You've got to get to #15 before there is something decent again, Green River, my favorite Creedence song. Dylan's Lay Lady Lay is another good one, as is Mother Popcorn. Then we close with more mediocrity, capped by the execrable Give Peace A Chance.
That's only four good songs in the Top 20, a poor batting average. No wonder I preferred FM to AM.
Am I way off base in liking Spinning Wheel? Maybe I’m just overrating it as a Blood, Sweat, & Tears hit. Sure, I’d prefer Without Her or their cover of Just One Smile, but Spinning Wheel is pretty good.
ReplyDeleteThat one raises the eternal issue of how one felt about a song at the time versus now. So let's do the time warp again! In 1969, I liked the second BS&T album and Spinning Wheel when it was released as a single. Then it was played to death and didn't want to hear it again. And, within a few years, I found the whole BS&T album tired and have not listened to it for decades. For me, it aged poorly. Without Her and Just One Smile are from the first BS&T album, Child is Father to the Man, released in February 1968. That album remains great to listen to today, though it was not nearly as popular as the second album.
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