Featured Songs Saturday 14 November 2009

missed from before
The Monkees
LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE, US#1(1), 5 November 1966, a UK#23 in early 1967 and a Monster Hit in N.Z.
The group's first million seller written by Tommy Boyce/Bobby Hart (as was a lot of their material). Their TV show was partly inspired by The Beatles 'Hard Day's Night film and this track was considered a knock-off of the Beatles' "Paperback Writer"

*Hugo Montenegro & Orch. – The Good The Bad And The Ugly. UK#1(4) from 13 November 1968
Bachman-Turner Overdrive – You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet US#1, 9 November 1974
Eagles – Heartache Tonight. US#1, 10 November 1979

Gilbert O’Sullivan
Clair. UK#1(2) from 11 November 1972. ‘Clair’ was not an obvious love story but was inspired by the young daughter of O’Sullivan’s manager, Gordon Mills, for whom Gilbert babysat. The angle gave the song a wider audience than it would have received had it been a traditional romance. Irish man O’Sullivan’s first No 1, almost two years after his record debut with his UK Top 10, “Nothing Rhymed”.


Donna Summer
MacArthur Park. US#1(3) from 11 November 1978. Donna Summer is an American singer and songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of music, earning the title "The Queen of Disco". Summer trained as a gospel singer before her introduction to the music industry and has always been known for her "powerhouse" vocal delivery. A cover of the Jimmy Webb-penned "MacArthur Park", originally made famous by the late actor-singer Richard Harris. Summer's recording, which was included as part of the "MacArthur Park Suite" on her double album Live and More, ran to 8:40 in its full-length version. The shorter single edit of the song was Summer's first single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The 17:47 long medley "MacArthur Park Suite", which incorporates the songs "One of a Kind" and "Heaven Knows", was also issued as a 12" (30 cm) promo, which stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for five weeks in 1978.

*Johnny Rivers - Poor Side Of Town, US#1(1), 12 November 1966 didn't sell a million.
*Hugo Montenegro & Orch. – The Good The Bad And The Ugly. UK#1(4) from 13 November 1968
Slade – Coz I Love You. UK#1(4) from 13 November 1971
(not really suitable for Coast)
*Chicago – If You Leave Me Now. UK#1(3) from 13 November 1976

Rod Stewart
Tonight’s The Night. US#1(8) from 13 November 1976
The song features whispers from Britt Ekland who was Stewart's girlfriend at the time. From his 1976 album 'A Night On The Town'

*Nino Tempo & April Stevens - Deep Purple US#1, 16 November 1963, (15 weeks in Top 100) A famous oldie from 1939 originally composed by Peter de Rose for piano solo, then with words added by Mitchell Parish, became a great favourite for over 30 years with orchestras. A million-seller for this brother and sister from Niagara Falls, New York.
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band – Whatever Gets You Thru The Night US#1, 16 November 1974
David Essex – Gonna Make You A Star. UK#1(3) from 16 November 1974 (didn’t make the US Top 100 – “Rock On” and “Lamplight” did in 1973/74) N/A
*The 4 Seasons - Big Girls Don't Cry, US#1(5) from 17 November 1962 (16 weeks in Top 100), Au#1(1) 5 Jan 1963 and a MONSTER HIT in N.Z.
*Beach Boys – Good Vibrations. UK#1(2) from 17 November, US#1, 10 December 1966 and NZ#1(2) from 12 January 1967 and from the Pet Sounds album.
Gary Glitter – I Love You Love Me Love. UK#1(4) from 17 November 1973. His second UK No 1 and a million seller. N/A

Commodores
Still. US#1, 17 November 1979. The group is best known for their ballads, such as "Easy" and "Three Times a Lady", but, for the most part, the group mainly recorded funky, driven dance-floor hits which include "Slippery When Wet" and "Brick House". This song came from their hit album Midnight Magic and reached the top of both the pop and R&B charts. It is one of the group's most popular singles and is also notable for being their last big hit before Lionel Richie went solo.