BIRMINGHAM RECORD COLLECTORS
DEDICATED TO THE COLLECTING OF MUSIC, ITS PRESERVATION AND LASTING FRIENDSHIP

THIS MONTH’S MEETING
MEETING THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH
HOMEWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY 2PM
NEXT MEETING, DECEMBER 12TH.

THIS MONTH’S MEETING
We had a great time last month meeting hearing from our special guests from The Bleus. Tony Lumkin and Paul Smith entertained us with their recollections of their time with the band. Sharing pictures and posters and stories about the traveling, the gigs, the recording and so much more. Thanks guys, not only for being with us but all the music you shared with people over the years.

This month we have scheduled as our guest, Rick Hester. Rick played in two well-known early and mid-60’s bands from Birmingham, The Epics and The Townsmen. Be sure to make plans to come meet and hear from Rick.

Our December meeting is fast approaching so don’t forget we will once again play our Dirty Santa game and have ‘free for all’. “Free for all’ is a chance to bring any vinyl, CD’s or even DVD’s you want to give away. So here is a chance to dig in and find some music and entertainment for free. At this month’s meeting there will be an early version of ‘Free For All’. There will be C/W 45’s and LP’s for the taking along with easy listening and pop/rock LP’s – ALL FOR FREE.

YOU CAN’T JUDGE A PERFORMER BY LOOKING AT THEIR #1 HITS
I am not a musicologist, ‘a music historian for those in Rio Linda’, but over the years as I have read about artists and their rankings on the national pop charts I have been surprised how many iconic and/or super groups or performers have never had a #1 pop chart hit. I thought I would list some of them and see if you are surprised as well. Now keep in mind the chart listings I will be using are from the national Billboard Pop Charts 1955-2012. Some of the artists mentioned may have had #1’s on the R&B or C/W national Billboard Charts but not the pop chart.

I am going to start with my biggest surprise of all and the group that got me wondering about other prolific recording acts who never reached the mountain top. Creedence Clearwater Revival had five #2 hits but never achieved a #1 hit. In fact CCR had a total of nine top 10 hits during their eight years together. They gave us lots of fun music that made people clap their hands, stomp their feet, sing along with and dance all night long but just couldn’t get a song to go #1. Maybe one day I can find out what songs kept them out of the top spot.

And then how about the guy who still today has a following of loyal fans and took guitar playing to another level. The best Jimi Hendrix did on the pop charts was to reach #20 with ‘All Along The Watchtower’. With all the fanfare he received during his short time as an iconic figure in the rock world one would think he was a chart topper, but no. His first LP was loaded with songs like the music scene had never ‘experienced’ before. Maybe that is why he never had much success on the charts. With two songs in the Grammy Hall Of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and an inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (1992) it would seem he did better on the charts. But I figure he didn’t really care about the charts.

A group that is similar to Hendrix in the following they had and even today that following continues is Led Zeppelin. The group is always high on lists of greatest rock bands of all time but they never had a #1 hit. ‘Whole Lotta Love’ hit #4 but other than that one they never had another top 10. During their eleven years together they only cracked Billboard ten times. But the LP’s constantly had cuts played on LP rock radio. In Whitburn’s Top Pop Singles book, he will list under the artist any song that didn’t chart but is what he calls Classic Non-Hot 100 Songs. Most of the artists in the book don’t have any listed but under Zeppelin there are thirty-two listed. Three of those are Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame songs. So if any group shows that the pop charts are not what they seem to be it would be Led Zeppelin.

Another group that mirrors Zeppelin in their following and even today has song after song played on classic rock radio would be AC/DC. This group never even broke the top 20. The highest ranking song they had was ‘Moneytalks’ which hit #23. They have two songs in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, they are Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame members themselves but never hit #1 on the charts. Once again, does the charts really matter?

A group that many have called the super group of the 1960’s because they had three of the most renowned musicians of their time would be Cream. And once again, with all their accolades, songs in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award the group never hit #1. Two top 10 songs, #5 ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’ and #6 ‘White Room’ was as close as they got. Eric Clapton (guitar), Jack Bruce (bass) and Ginger Baker (drums) produced a driving rock sound that listeners migrated to but record sales just never got them to the top. And it must be said that with all the notoriety Clapton received, people still mistake Clapton as the lead singer and songwriter when in fact for the most part is was Jack Bruce.

This is the time that we have to realize that these last four artists probably had a lot to do with the rise of LP rock. Remember the charts were for singles sold. Most fans went out and bought the LP’s that these and many other artists were putting out. The 45’s were not enough evidently for them. Thus their singles didn’t do as well. Hendrix’s first four LP’s were top 5. Zeppelin’s first nine LP’s were all top seven with six #1’s. AC/DC have had eight Top 10’s with two #1’s. And four of Cream’s first five LP’s all were top 4 with one #1. LESSON: You can’t judge a performer by looking at their #1 hits.

And speaking of selling more LP’s than 45’s The Ventures cannot be forgotten. The group had no #1 singles and only three top 10 hits but sold hundreds of millions LP’s. Of the thirty-seven LP’s that charted, twenty-nine made the top 100. They were probably more popular in Japan than in the U.S..

But if you go back a decade earlier there is a singer who never had a #1 pop hit even when singles were what people were buying. James Brown reached #3 with ‘I Got You (I Feel Good)’ nationally while the song did reach #1 in some local markets. Of course James did very well on the R&B Charts with seventeen #1’s. Even though he was such a big R&B artists, one would think he would have had at least one song to hit #1 on the pop charts.

Johnny Cash never had a #1 pop hit. Maybe you can win bet on that fact. With numerous top hits on the C/W charts the best he did on the pop charts was the novelty song, ‘A Boy Named Sue’ which made it to #2. In fact other than that Cash never had a top 10 pop hit. But like those listed above his songs are still on classic music radio stations.

Here’s another artist who you may be able to win a bet on. Fats Domino never had a #1 pop hit. ‘Bluberry Hill’ never got past #2. The song was on the pop charts for twenty-seven weeks. Fats did have nearly a dozen top 10 songs but not a #1. Of course he did better on the R&B charts with nine #1’s.

Before I run out of room let me list without details some of the artists that may surprise you without a pop #1. Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Wilson Pickett, Steppenwolf, Bruce Springsteen, Dusty Springfield, The Who, Jackie Wilson, Little Richard, Kiss, Crosby Stills & Nash, Van Morrison, Clyde McPhatter, Bo Diddley, Steely Dan, Jackie DeShannon, Aerosmith, Jimmy Buffett, Willie Nelson and Z Z Top. There are many more that may surprise people but I’ll end here. But let me quickly mention a few who had only one #1 that also came as a surprise. The super group Fleetwood Mac (‘Dreams’), Otis Redding (‘Dock Of The Bay’ which debuted after his death), Sam Cooke (‘You Send Me’ his first pop hit) and Chuck Berry (‘My Ding-A-Ling’ which was seventeen years after his first pop hit).

There is quite a list of artists who never had a #1 pop chart hit that had quite a following of fans but as far as the pop charts are concerned they never will be mentioned with those who had that infamous Top Of The Chart song.

HAVE YOU HEARD THESE SOULFUL SOUNDS!

Adorable One
Joe Simon

Somewhere
Willie Jones & Liza Smith

BRC RADIO
Check out our latest shows at birminghamrecord.com. Click on ‘RADIO’ and listen to some long lost music and even some new sounds. Along with the ones I do be sure to check out new shows hosted by Tom Faison and Joe Reddick. Tom gives you a ‘vinyl experience’ with some great sounds and Joe plays all kind of stuff with plenty of 45’s you probably never heard. Check out all our shows.

See ya,

Charlie