Having left behind the 1960’s we move into the 1970’s (sometimes known as the decade that taste forgot) for our next selection of songs that were popular in their day but are now only at edge of our memories.
“When I’m Dead and Gone” is a song written by Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle. It was one of the first hit singles to feature prominent use of mandolin, played by Lyle, who also took lead vocal. Gallagher played bass guitar and sang tenor harmony, while both he and Lyle also played kazoos and guitarist Tom McGuinness played the dobro solo. It was recorded and released in November 1970 as the debut single by McGuinness Flint, peaked at No. 2 in the UK charts the following month, and reached No. 47 in the US charts in February 1971. The song also peaked at No.5 in Ireland, No. 6 in West Germany, No. 39 in Australia and No.34 in Canada. According to McGuinness, “You can get to number one in England and sell 200,000 total. But [the single’s release] was over Christmas and it sold 400,000 … it sold a couple of hundred thousand in America, 100,000 in Germany, 50,000 in Japan.”
“Sugar Me” is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Green. The first version of this song to be released was recorded by de Paul as her first single on MAM Records in 1972. It was produced by Gordon Mills and the B-side was de Paul’s version of “Storm in a Teacup”, a song she had co-written and had been a hit for the Fortunes earlier that year. The single was a hit in many countries, notably reaching the top of the singles chart in the Netherlands (where it stayed for five weeks), Belgium, Sweden and Spain as well as the top 20 in the UK, Australia, Germany, Austria, Denmark and Japan. It also reached the no. 1 position on the Bangkok HSA chart in October 1972, and was play listed on some US radio stations. It also received favourable reviews in the United States, and was listed as being among the best 5 singles of 1972 by Cashbox.
“Pearl’s a Singer” is a song made famous by the British singer Elkie Brooks, as taken from her 1977 album Two Days Away which was produced by the song’s co-writers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The original version of “Pearl’s a Singer” had been introduced by the duo Dino and Sembello – also the song’s co-writers – on their 1974 self-titled album which Leiber and Stoller had produced. The song is a ballad, telling the story of a failed singer who still dreams of the success she might have had. “Pearl’s a Singer” afforded Elkie Brooks her debut chart single – thirteen years after she’d recorded her first track – reaching No. 8 in the UK in spring 1977.
“Love Machine” is a 1975 single recorded by Motown group The Miracles, taken from their album City of Angels. The song was No.1 on the Billboard, and the biggest-selling hit single of The Miracles’ career. Billy Griffin had replaced Miracles founder Smokey Robinson as lead singer in 1972. The song features a growling vocal by Miracle Bobby Rogers, with group baritone Ronnie White repeating “yeah, baby” throughout the song. he seven-minute song was split into two parts for its release as a single, with “Part 1” receiving most notoriety. It was also a Top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at No. 3 in the UK.
“Jig-a-Jig” was released in May 1970 by the East of Eden. It peaked at No. 7 in the UK in early 1971. It is also the title of a full length album by the band. The piece is actually a set of three traditional reels, not jigs, namely “The Ashplant Reel”, “Drowsy Maggie” and “Jenny’s Chicken”. The arrangement is based on electric violin with bass guitar and drums providing a rock rhythm backing. Electric guitar is used to underscore some of the high points of the fiddling.
