Rant #2,452: I Can't Get Next To You, Jean, But I'm Gonna Make You Mine, Sugar Sugar and Have Some Hot Fun in the Summertime

Nothing new on the employment front, so let's push that aside for now and look at something much more fun as we sashay into the weekend ...

Let's look back at the music charts, 50 years to the day on October 25, 1969.

We listened to WMCA and WABC in my house during this period, and I believe that WMCA had already dropped its Top 40 programming by this time, so we were listening to WABC pretty much full time way back when.

And these songs on the upper regions of Billboard's Hot 100 were the songs we were listening to.

Coming in at No. 10 for the week was Lou Christie's "I'm Gonna Make You Mine," one of the biggest bubblegum hits on the Buddah Records label. Christie had a long recording career, and had major hits on a number of record labels.

Yet another major bubblegum hit, "Tracy" by the Cuff Links, was in at No. 9. The Cuff Links at the time were vocalized by Ron Dante, who also had big bubblegum hits with the Archies. More on that later.

As opposed to bubblegum, hard rock was beginning to emerge off of FM radio and into the AM record charts, and the band named Smith had a huge hit with its cover of "Baby It's You," which hit No. 8 this week. The lead vocalist on the song was Gayle McCormick, and certainly the visuals in the band--tall, blonde, often dressed in faux-American Indian wear--helped this band to surge up the charts with this tune.

"Wedding Bell Blues" by the 5th Dimension was in the No. 7 spot. This act--one of the most popular pop acts of its time--covered this Laura Nyro tune and made it always lifelike, as the refrain "Marry me Bill!" came to life when group members Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. actually did marry in real life--and are still together to this day. The song, written by Laura Nyro, reached the top of the heap two weeks later.

Yet another bubblegum hit was next up on the chart. At No. 6 was "Little Woman" by Bobby Sherman. The singer had kicked around since the early 1960s, always on the verge of stardom, but when he--and his hair--starred on TV's "Here Come the Brides," his popularity soared, and he had a number of hits in the bubblegum spectrum during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Elvis Presley has his final top of the chart hit with "Suspicious Minds," this week at No. 5. The song would reach No. 1 just a week later, the last of his chart topping hits.

"Jean," featured in the award-winning film "The Pride of Miss Jean Brodie," was the No. 4 hit for the week. Sung by Oliver, the song was written by poet/singer/writer/ubiquitous TV personality Rod McKuen.

The Archies' former No. 1 hit, the bubblegum anthem "Sugar Sugar," was the No. 3 song for the week. The cartoon "act," formed by Don Kirshner after his dismissal by the Monkees, was led by female singer Toni Wine and lead singer Ron Dante ... yes, the same guy who vocalized the Cuff Links' "Tracy."

Another tune moving over from the FM dial to become a major hit on AM was Sly and the Family Stone's "Hot Fun in the Summertime," which was in the No. 2 runners up spot on this week's singles chart. The song was one of Sly Stone's tunes that blended rock, soul, funk and gospel, but in this case, in a more subtle way, and even in winter, it stnads as one of the great "summer: songs in rock history.

Topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart this week was--

Well, you didn't think the singles chart during the 1960s wouldn't have at least one song from Motown in the Top 10, and this week was no exception.

One of the biggest hits the label ever had was "I Can't Get Next To You" by the Temptations, which enjoyed its second, and final, week at No. 1 this week. The Motown act was far from through as a hitmaker, as in the early 1970s, it carried longer-form story songs to the top of the charts, but this song remains one of the acts and the label's biggest hits.

The highest debut single on this week's Hot 100 was sort of a precursor for what was going to be popular during the early 1970s, as yet another Laura Nyro song, "Eli's Coming," entered the chart at No. 61 as performed by Three Dog Night, who would go on to have numerous hits through the mid-1970s. The song would eventually hit No. 10 in December.

Motown was also present with the biggest mover on the chart this week. The song that moved up the most places from the previous week to the current week was "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday," by Stevie Wonder, which jumped from No. 94 in its first week to No. 59 in its second week. The song would eventually hit No. 7 in mid-December.

So there you have it. The Top 10 songs today, 50 years ago, were as elastic as bubblegum, as ferocious as hard rock, and as soulful as Motown.

But what, no Beatles?

Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.