Rant #2,493: Someday We'll Be Together Leaving On a Jet Plane With Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head Down On the Corner

How did Christmas go for you?

How about Kwanzaa?

What about the fourth and fifth days of Hanukkah?

Everything is percolating now in the holiday department, and it all leads up to New Year's Eve and New Year's Day next week.

Then, oh so suddenly, we return to some normalcy on January 2, and the holidays are but a distant memory for us, as we look forward to a busy 2020.

But first, at least here, we are going to look back 50 years, to the tail end of 1969, and revisit the Billboard Hot 100, and see what the general population was listening to on the radio on the AM dial.

Little did we know that just a few years later, Top 40 radio would be pretty much obliterated by the popularity of FM radio, and much of the music we listened to--whether pop or rock or whatever the latest permutation was--would be coming almost exclusively from the FM dial.

So let's go back to December 27, 1969, and some would consider this the last Top 10 chart of the 1960s as we veered on in to the 1970s decade.

Coming in at No. 10 was R.B. Greaves' "Take a Letter Maria," one of the great story songs of the decade, and the singer's biggest hit.

The next entry down the line at No. 9 was an interesting one. People do not remember that Led Zeppelin, the quintessential FM album rock band, released numerous singles during its reign. But they did, and perhaps their biggest AM radio hit was "Whole Lotta Love."

At No. 8 was the hottest act on the planet at the time. The Jackson 5 were red hot, and continued to sizzle with perhaps the best of their early Motown hits, "I Want You Back."

Some would argue that the Beatles were actually the hottest act on the planet at the time, and you really cannot argue with that thought. Their two-sided single, "Come Together/Something," came in at No. 7 for the week, and while the band was beginning to crumble, they had a bit more up their sleeves in the months to come.

One of the great songwriters of the 1960s had one of his biggest solo hits this week. Neil Diamond's "Holly Holy" came in at No. 6.

At No. 5 was a former No. 1 record, "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by the studio band called Steam, a song which has found its way into the sports pantheon as a "kiss off" tune for losing visiting teams.

Creedence Clearwater Revival never had a No. 1 hit in the United States, but they came close several times. Their two-sided single, "Down On the Corner/Fortunate Son," was one of these hits that just missed the top spot, coming in at No. 4 on this week's chart.

B.J. Thomas has had a long career with numerous hits, but "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" was probably his biggest single, coming in at No. 3 this week and then becoming the first No. 1 hit single of the 1970s the following week.

At No. 2 was one of the final hit singles by one of the acts that defined the 1960s. Peter, Paul and Mary's "Leaving On a Jet Plane," written by burgeoning singer songwriter John Denver, fell from the top spot the previous week to the followup spot this week.

And finally, at No. 1, and the final No. 1 single of the 1960s was--

"Someday We'll Be Together" by Diana Ross and the Supremes, the supposed farewell song for Diana Ross with this iconic trio. The Interesting thing was that Ross was the only Supreme to appear on the record, with other backup singers used to replace Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong, so, in effect, the song was less a farewell by Ross than the first hit of her solo career, even if it wasn't listed as such.

The highest debut single on this week's chart was Tom Jones' "Without Love (There Is Nothing)," which came into the Hot 100 at No. 50. The song would reach the No. 5 position in a few weeks' time.

The biggest mover on the Hot 100 this week--the single that moved up the most place from the past week to this week--was Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' "Point It Out," a pretty much forgotten tune of theirs that went from No. 64 to No. 40. The song only inched up to No. 37 during its run, perhaps diluted by the fact that some DJs played the flip, "Darling Dear," instead of the A side. The B side, however, only reached No. 100.

So there you have it, what some believe was the final Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 chart of the 1960s. Lots of good stuff on this chart, and there was more to come in 1970. a year when the Beatles and the Jackson 5 remained hot as could be, but there were other acts also making lots of inroads on the AM and FM radio music scene.

I hope you have a great weekend. Speak to you again on Monday.