Rediscovering 1972

"I listen to CHUM."

In the early '70s, my local Top 40 outlet had a contest whereby if you answered your phone in this way and they were the caller, you'd win $1,000. It struck me as ill-mannered to say anything other than "hello" when picking up the phone, and anyway, CHUM never called. But despite my reluctance to give them free advertising whenever the phone rang, I certainly spent 1972 listening to CHUM. So, for the final instalment in the music-of-my-youth trilogy, I present my Top 100 of 1972, the last great year of the Top 40 era. And as good as 1972 is, intimations of the decay to come were already festering. To be blunt, the goop was overtaking the gold, and things would only get worse from here.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that the charts of 1973—and to a lesser extent, '74 and '75—contain many great songs. However, the goop-to-gold ratio had definitively tipped in the wrong direction, and by 1976 my Top 40 party was over. "Soft rock," an oxymoron if ever there was one, now dominated the airwaves, making them unbearably saccharine. If I recall, the last 45 I ever bought was "Afternoon Delight" by the Starland Vocal Band and I recall giving it a spin and asking, "Why did I buy this?" Sadder still, the dynamite, socially conscious soul and funk of the early '70s had now devolved into disco, which managed to dumb down the groove and the words. I suppose by then I had moved on in other ways, too. Like any self-respecting teenager in the mid-'70s, I'd discovered album rock and FM radio. Which, from this distance—scouring my collection for the Foreigner albums I parted with long ago—was no better than the Top 40; just a different flavour of slick, soppy pablum. All these years later, to paraphrase Mr. Johnny Nash, I can see clearly now why punk had to happen. That, though, is another post for another day.

If you've read this far, you may have noticed several number-one songs missing from my Top 100 of 1970, '71 and '72. I have nothing against chart-toppers as such, but especially then it seemed that the dreck rose to the top far too often. Countless killer songs stalled at #2 because The Osmonds, Tony Orlando & Dawn, The Bee Gees, Bread and their ilk hogged the top spot. When CHUM played any of these (and boy, they did), I changed the station, and you won't find them within miles of my Top 100. Anyway, for what it's worth, this time out I've bunched together five of 1972's number-one songs on my Top 100 below to give you a sense of what CHUM considered the crème de la crème, non-Osmond genus.

The songs are in no particular order, other than what makes sense to me as a playlist. Several singles released in 1972 didn't chart until 1973 on CHUM, and some very late in that year, too. Regardless, they properly belong to 1972 and so are included here. In brackets is the date the song debuted on the CHUM chart, followed by its peak chart position. Chart-topping songs are in bold. A few worthy songs didn't make the CHUM chart, but I heard them somehow. They may have charted on other regional stations I listened to. As for the rest, they're worthy tunes I encountered later that deserved a better fate. Explore, discover and enjoy the very best of 1972!

1. Joy - Apollo 100 (1/15/72, #6)
2. You Wear It Well - Rod Stewart (9/23/72, #11)
3. Sweet Seasons - Carole King (1/29/72, #12)
4. Doctor, My Eyes - Jackson Browne (4/8/72, #2)
5. Treetrunk - The Doors (did not chart)
6. Black and White - Three Dog Night (8/19/72, #1)
7. I Believe in Music - Gallery (10/14/72, #12)
8. Roundabout - Yes (3/18/72, #5)
9. I Gotcha - Joe Tex (3/4/72, #7)
10. You're Still a Young Man - Tower of Power (7/15/72, #17)
11. I'm Still in Love with You - Al Green (8/5/72, #12)
12. Hold Your Head Up - Argent (8/5/72, #6)
13. Me and Julio down by the Schoolyard - Paul Simon (5/13/72, #19)
14. Hello It's Me - Todd Rundgren (11/17/73, #7)
15. Do It Again - Steely Dan (1/27/73, #7)
16. Cousin Mary - Fludd (11/3/73, #19)
17. Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels) - Jim Croce (12/2/72, #18)
18. Old Man - Neil Young (5/6/72, #11)
19. Ventura Highway - America (11/25/72, #5)
20. Go All the Way - Raspberries  (8/12/72, #9)
21. How Do You Do - Mouth & MacNeal (6/3/72, #3)
22. Saturday in the Park - Chicago (8/5/72, #2)
23. Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed (4/14/73, #9)
24. School's Out - Alice Cooper (7/29/72, #1)
25. Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple (6/30/73, #5)
26. Long John Silver - Jefferson Airplane (did not chart)
27. We've Got to Get It on Again - The Addrisi Brothers (1/22/72, #5)
28. Superstition - Stevie Wonder (12/30/72, #3)
29. Oh Girl - The Chi-Lites (4/15/72, #1)
30. Could It Be I'm Falling in Love - The Spinners (2/3/73, #8)
31. Too Late to Turn Back Now - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose (6/10/72, #5)
32. Listen to the Music - The Doobie Brothers (10/21/72, #6)
33. Bad Side of the Moon - April Wine (7/8/72, #16)
34. Beautiful Sunday - Daniel Boone (7/15/72, #2)
35. Changes - David Bowie (did not chart)
36. Conquistador - Procol Harum (6/3/72, #7)
37. Clean Up Woman - Betty Wright (1/1/72, #4)
38. Superfly - Curtis Mayfield (did not chart)
39. Let's Stay Together - Al Green (1/1/72, #2)
40. Backstabbers - The O'Jays (8/19/72, #4)
41. The Cisco Kid - War (4/14/73, #4)
42. I'll Take You There - The Staple Singers (4/29/72, #10)
43. Take It Easy - The Eagles (6/10/72, #12)
44. Dunrobin's Gone - Brave Belt (7/1/72, #23)
45. Guns, Guns, Guns - The Guess Who (did not chart)
46. The Family of Man - Three Dog Night (3/25/72, #2)
47. Someday Never Comes - Creedence Clearwater Revival (5/13/72, #15)
48. Long Cool Woman - The Hollies (6/24/72, #3)
49. The Lion Sleeps Tonight - Robert John (1/22/72, #3)
50. Summer Breeze - Seals & Crofts (10/28/72, #1)
51. Precious and Few - Climax (1/15/72, #1)
52. I'm Gonna Love You Too - Terry Jacks (12/16/72, #12)
53. Masquerade - Edward Bear (6/3/72, #14)
54. (Make Me Do) Anything You Want - A Foot in Coldwater (7/1/72, #21)
55. Rock and Roll Song - Valdy (10/21/72, #21)
56. Sun Goes By - Dr. Music (7/8/72, #17)
57. Day by Day - Godspell (7/8/72, #8)
58. Time in a Bottle - Jim Croce (12/15/73, #8)
59. Goodbye to Love - Carpenters (8/5/72, #6)
60. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack (3/18/72, #1)
61. Betcha by Golly Wow - The Stylistics (3/18/72, #6)
62. Bang a Gong (Get It On) - T. Rex (2/5/72, #8)
63. Get Up, Get Out, Move On - Fludd (4/8/72, #18)
64. Rocket Man - Elton John (6/24/72, #7)
65. Beautiful - Gordon Lightfoot (5/27/72, #17)
66. Suavecito - Malo (3/18/72, #8)
67. If You Don't Know Me by Now - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (11/18/72, #4)
68. You Ought to Be with Me - Al Green (12/9/72, #20)
69. Lean on Me - Bill Withers (6/17/72, #1)
70. Why Can't We Live Together - Timmy Thomas (1/6/73, #1)
71. Heart of Gold - Neil Young (2/12/72, #1)
72. Alone Again (Naturally) - Gilbert O'Sullivan (6/24/72, #1)
73. I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash (10/14/72, #1) 
74. Sylvia's Mother - Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show (4/15/72, #2)
75. Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) - Looking Glass (6/10/72, #3)
76. I Saw the Light - Todd Rundgren (5/6/72, #18)
77. Baby Blue - Badfinger (4/1/72, #12)
78. Drowning in the Sea of Love - Joe Simon (1/8/72, #17)
79. Get on the Good Foot - James Brown (did not chart)
80. Troglodyte (Cave Man) - The Jimmy Castor Bunch (5/27/72, #3)
81. Runnin' Away - Sly & the Family Stone (2/19/72, #19)
82. Take the Blindness - Joey Gregorash (11/11/72, #17)
83. One More Chance - Ocean (9/16/72, #15)
84. Cotton Jenny - Anne Murray (2/12/72, #18)
85. Daytime Nighttime - Keith Hampshire (11/18/72, #6)
86. Runnin' Back to Saskatoon - The Guess Who (9/23/72, #5)
87. City of New Orleans - Arlo Guthrie (10/14/72, #6)
88. Use Me - Bill Withers (9/23/72, #9)
89. Everybody Plays the Fool - The Main Ingredient (8/26/72, #6)
90. Tumbling Dice - The Rolling Stones (4/22/72, #11)
91. You Could Have Been a Lady - April Wine (3/11/72, #6)
92. Mother and Child Reunion - Paul Simon (2/12/72, #4)
93. America - Yes (did not chart)
94. Isn't Life Strange - The Moody Blues (4/29/72, #17)
95. Never Been to Spain - Three Dog Night (1/1/72, #4)
96. Look What You Done for Me - Al Green (4/29/72, #19)
97. Freddie's Dead - Curtis Mayfield (11/11/72, #17)
98. Papa Was a Rollin' Stone - The Temptations (11/25/72, #1)
99. Vincent - Don McLean (4/22/72, #5)
100. Amazing Grace - The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (5/20/72, #1)

Rediscovering 1971

In my previous post on 1970, I mentioned that the transistor radio I received at Christmas was nothing short of a revelation. By 1971, the artists were my prophets and local Top 40 outlet CHUM and its charts, my bible. Perhaps because 1971 was my first full year of tuning in and turning on, I run out of superlatives to describe this extraordinary year in the annals of popular music.

And yeah, I know: everyone believes the music of their youth is the greatest music ever made. Fair enough, but dip into the hundred awesome songs below and tell me I'm wrong. If you're still unconvinced, David Hepworth's Never a Dull Moment: 1971—Rock's Golden Year might sway you. I mean, come on: what other year in rock history has its own book? Now, Hepworth's 1971 is, on the surface, not much like mine. He's a Brit, and as a 21-year-old then, his album-oriented listening overlapped little with that of a nine-year-old Canadian kid grooving to Top 40 radio. Still, we agree that in his words, "1971 saw an unrepeatable surge of musical creativity, technological innovation, naked ambition and outrageous good fortune that combined to produce music that still crackles with relevance today." Right on, brother.

In a more esoteric way, you know a year is special when three distinct songs named "Superstar" hit the charts within seven months. Of course, I couldn't resist placing them back-to-back-to-back on my Top 100, for they showcase the diversity and raw creativity that exemplifies 1971. And locally at least, the introduction of Canadian content regulations (CanCon) that January was to influence the CHUM charts in 1971 and beyond. Canadian radio now had to play at least 30% homegrown music, and as a result a few fabulous obscurities charted, if just barely. (Example: "You're Gonna Miss Me" by Toronto band Wishbone, which should have been a bigger hit and not just in Canada.) In tribute, I've sprinkled my Top 100 with a few CanCon clumps.

As is customary for the early '70s, 1971's charts are graced with some spectacular one-hit wonders. Say hello/goodbye to Ashton, Gardner & Dyke, King Floyd, The Beginning of the End, Wadsworth Mansion, The 8th Day, The Glass Bottle and Daddy Dewdrop. And as someone who heard King Floyd long before Pink Floyd, I should note that at this point I still hadn't heard The Beatles. Fortunately, the music that came in their immediate wake was so stunning that had I known about them, I'd not have missed them much. Nor would I have fretted over hearing Richie Havens' "Here Comes the Sun" (April 1971, #8 on CHUM) well before encountering the original on Abbey Road. Regardless, the individual Beatles arguably peaked as solo artists this year as well, and you'll find all four in their very own John, Paul, George and Ringo section of my Top 100 of 1971.

The songs are in no particular order, other than what makes sense to me as a playlist. A few songs released in 1971 didn't chart until early 1972 on CHUM. Regardless, they properly belong to 1971 and so are included here. For similar reasons, "Your Song," released in the dying days of 1970, has been bumped into 1971. In brackets is the date the song debuted on the CHUM chart, followed by its peak chart position. Chart-topping songs are in bold. A few worthy songs didn't make the CHUM chart, but I heard them somehow. Some were double-A sides; others probably charted on regional Top 40 stations I listened to. Come explore, discover and enjoy the sweet sounds of rock's golden year, 1971!

1. Sweet Hitch-Hiker - Creedence Clearwater Revival (7/17/71, #8)
2. Joy to the World - Three Dog Night (4/3/71, #1)
3. Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones (5/1/71, #1)
4. You're Gonna Miss Me - Wishbone (6/5/71, #22)
5. Broken - The Guess Who (did not chart)
6. Woodstock - Matthews' Southern Comfort (3/20/71, #4)
7. Draggin' the Line - Tommy James (6/19/71, #2)
8. Theme from Shaft - Isaac Hayes (10/2/71, #2)
9. For All We Know - Carpenters (2/27/71, #7)
10. Sunshine - Jonathan Edwards (11/20/71, #2)
11. Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers (7/31/71, #6)
12. Here Comes the Sun - Richie Havens (4/21/71, #8)
13. Morning Has Broken - Cat Stevens (4/22/72, #2)
14. Don't Pull Your Love - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds (6/12/71, #1)
15. Groove Me - King Floyd (1/2/71, #5)
16. Want Ads - Honey Cone (5/1/71, #4)
17. Rock Steady - Aretha Franklin (11/6/71, #4)
18. Funky Nassau (Pt. 1) - The Beginning of the End (5/15/71, #8)
19. Get It On - Chase (7/3/71, #16)
20. Resurrection Shuffle - Ashton, Gardner & Dyke (7/10/71, #7)
21. Everybody's Everything - Santana (10/30/71, #10)
22. It's Too Late - Carole King (5/22/71, #5)
23. Anticipation - Carly Simon (12/18/71, #7)
24. You've Got a Friend - James Taylor (6/26/71, #2)
25. Signs - Five Man Electrical Band (5/29/71, #3)
26. I'd Love to Change the World - Ten Years After (10/9/71, #4)
27. Sweet Mary - Wadsworth Mansion (1/9/71, #2)
28. Hey Big Brother - Rare Earth (12/11/71, #8)
29. (For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People - The Chi-Lites (5/29/71, #12)
30. Imagine - John Lennon (9/11/71, #3)
31. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Paul & Linda McCartney (7/17/71, #1)
32. What Is Life - George Harrison (2/27/71, #5)
33. It Don't Come Easy - Ringo Starr (5/8/71, #5)
34. Albert Flasher - The Guess Who (4/24/71, #5)
35. An Old Fashioned Love Song - Three Dog Night (10/30/71, #5)
36. Me and You and a Dog Named Boo - Lobo (4/24/71, #7)
37. What's Going On - Marvin Gaye (3/13/71, #10)
38. Respect Yourself - The Staple Singers (11/20/71, #12)
39. Turned 21 - Fludd (11/27/71, #16)
40. Lovin' You Ain't Easy - Pagliaro (11/6/71, #9)
41. Ain't It a Sad Thing - R. Dean Taylor (1/30/71, #21)
42. Carry Me - The Stampeders (3/6/71, #10)
43. Amos Moses - Jerry Reed (1/23/71, #5)
44. It's a Cryin' Shame - Gayle McCormick (11/13/71, #22)
45. Stay with Me - Faces (12/25/71, #7)
46. One Fine Morning - Lighthouse (9/4/71, #13)
47. Family Affair - Sly & the Family Stone (11/13/71, #8)
48. If You Really Love Me - Stevie Wonder (9/4/71, #4)
49. She's Not Just Another Woman - The 8th Day (6/19/71, #14)
50. Treat Her Like a Lady - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose (4/24/71, #13)
51. She's a Lady - Tom Jones (2/13/71, #1)
52. Love Her Madly - The Doors (4/17/71, #7)
53. Two Divided by Love - The Grass Roots (10/2/71, #3)
54. The Story in Your Eyes - The Moody Blues (8/28/71, #14)
55. Day After Day - Badfinger (12/4/71, #3)
56. So Far Away - Carole King (9/4/71, #12)
57. Fly Across the Sea - Edward Bear (12/25/71, #22)
58. Carey - Joni Mitchell (did not chart)
59. Fast Train - April Wine (6/12/71, #23)
60. Rain Dance - The Guess Who (8/7/71, #3)
61. Indian Reservation - Raiders (5/29/71, #1)
62. Do You Know What I Mean - Lee Michaels (8/21/71, #7)
63. Superstar - Carpenters (9/4/71, #3)
64. Superstar - Murray Head (5/8/71, #1)
65. Superstar - The Temptations (12/4/71, #13)
66. Mr. Bojangles - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1/23/71, #10)
67. One Toke over the Line - Brewer & Shipley (2/27/71, #11)
68. Moonshadow - Cat Stevens (8/7/71, #23)
69. Chick-A-Boom (Don't Ya Jes' Love It) - Daddy Dewdrop (4/3/71, #3)
70. Trapped by a Thing Called Love - Denise LaSalle (10/9/71, #21)
71. Have You Seen Her - The Chi-Lites (11/13/71, #1)
72. Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner (2/27/71, #3)
73. If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot (1/2/71, #6)
74. Jodie - Joey Gregorash (4/10/71, #11)
75. Absolutely Right - Five Man Electrical Band (10/9/71, #6)
76. Oh What a Feeling - Crowbar (3/27/71, #14)
77. I Ain't Got Time Anymore - The Glass Bottle (8/14/71, #17)
78. Maggie May - Rod Stewart (8/21/71, #1)
79. I Just Want to Celebrate - Rare Earth (8/7/71, #13)
80. Sweet City Woman - The Stampeders (7/10/71, #1)
81. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - Joan Baez (8/21/71, #2)
82. Wild Night - Van Morrison (10/30/71, #17)
83. Your Song - Elton John (12/26/70, #4)
84. Sour Suite - The Guess Who (10/30/71, #7)
85. Liar - Three Dog Night (7/10/71, #4)
86. Peace Train - Cat Stevens (10/9/71, #7)
87. Tired of Being Alone - Al Green (10/2/71, #8)
88. Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who (8/21/71, #6)
89. Lucky Man - Emerson, Lake & Palmer (5/8/71, #7)
90. American Pie - Don McLean (11/27/71, #1)
91. I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King (did not chart)
92. Heavy Makes You Happy - The Staple Singers (3/6/71, #19)
93. You Are Everything - The Stylistics (12/25/71, #4)
94. Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) - The Temptations (2/20/71, #13)
95. Smiling Faces Sometimes - The Undisputed Truth (7/31/71, #4)
96. Slippin' into Darkness - War (4/15/72, #4)
97. Riders on the Storm - The Doors (7/24/71, #1)
98. Put Your Hand in the Hand - Ocean (1/23/71, #1)
99. One More Mountain to Climb - Dr. Music (did not chart)
100. Wedding Song (There Is Love) - Paul Stookey (9/18/71, #7)

Rediscovering 1970

On Christmas Day, 1970, I received a Westinghouse transistor radio as a gift from my grandparents. I was nine years old, and little did they know what they were about to unleash. I inserted the supplied AA batteries, turned it on and tuned in 1050 CHUM, Toronto's Top 40 powerhouse. I discovered rock 'n' roll, and my life would never be the same.

What I heard that afternoon was probably something like this J. Michael Wilson aircheck from December 23. And if perchance CHUM was playing something drippy like The Partridge Family, four alternatives were on offer: 790 CHIC (Brampton), 1150 CKOC (Hamilton), 1280 CHAM (Hamilton) and 1430 CKFH (Toronto).

Fast forward 49 years and with the help of the CHUM Tribute site, I'm rediscovering the music of my youth, creating my personal Top 100 for 1970, 1971 and 1972. I consider these the prime years. From 1973 onward, the music grew increasingly saccharine. Then came disco. Regardless, I just downloaded every CHUM chart from January 3, 1970 till they stopped publishing them in mid-1975. I consider them pure gold: touchstones of my youth that I never expected to see again. I've been scouring the charts, especially their lower reaches, for obscurities I missed when I first assembled my playlists for the big three years, and I found some gems that fleshed out my Top 100.

So ... what can I say about 1970? I feel rather unqualified to discuss the year as a whole because I only signed up in the last week. I'm in the strange position of having heard The Beatles' debut solo singles before I'd heard of The Beatles. I remember thinking, sometime in 1973 maybe, "You mean John, Paul, George and Ringo were all in the same band once? Wow. I should check them out." And that, of course, sent me on another wonderful journey. Certainly, the breakup of The Beatles is the single biggest musical story of the year, followed by the deaths of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. But 1970 is, as you'll discover below, so much more than that. Here you'll find pile-driving rockers, bubblegum classics, killer pop songs and the first stirrings of soul mutating into funk, not to mention a few oddball novelties. This was a time when white and black musics sat side by side on the charts in their many guises: soul, funk, rock, gospel, pop, folk, country and more. Music wasn't segregated and segmented as it is now. From fuzzed-out guitars to funky grooves to lush orchestral passages, 1970 has it all.

My Top 100 is in no particular order, other than what makes sense to me as a playlist. The nine songs that kick it off are among the first I ever heard, which is why I've given them prominence. A few songs released in 1970 didn't chart until early or even mid-1971 on CHUM. Regardless, they properly belong to 1970 and so are included here. In brackets is the date the song debuted on the CHUM chart, followed by its peak chart position. Chart-topping songs are in bold. You'll note that a few songs in my Top 100 didn't chart at all. Some may have charted on the other Top 40 stations mentioned above; as for the rest, they're worthy tunes I encountered later that deserved a better fate.

But enough rambling—here's my Top 100 of 1970. Explore, discover, and enjoy the great sounds of a terrific year!

1. Games - Redeye (12/12/70, #10)
2. Love the One You're With - Stephen Stills (12/19/70, #1)
3. My Sweet Lord - George Harrison (11/28/70, #1)
4. Born to Wander - Rare Earth (1/9/71, #8)
5. I'm Eighteen - Alice Cooper (3/27/71, #6)
6. Express Yourself - Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band (9/26/70, #15)
7. Stoney End - Barbra Streisand (12/12/70, #6)
8. Hey Tonight - Creedence Clearwater Revival (did not chart)
9. We Gotta Get You a Woman - Runt (12/19/70, #7)
10. Evil Ways - Santana (2/7/70, #5)
11. Are You Ready - Pacific Gas & Electric (5/30/70, #24)
12. Celebrate - Three Dog Night (3/7/70, #16)
13. Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine - James Brown (did not chart)
14. Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) - Edison Lighthouse (2/21/70, #3)
15. Make Me Smile - Chicago (4/18/70, #5)
16. Bus Rider - The Guess Who (did not chart)
17. Spirit in the Sky - Norman Greenbaum (2/28/70, #4)
18. The Witch's Promise - Jethro Tull (did not chart)
19. Do What You Wanna Do - Five Flights Up (10/10/70, #22)
20. Turn Back the Hands of Time - Tyrone Davis (4/4/70, #11)
21. Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (10/24/70, #3)
22. Blue Money - Van Morrison (2/27/71, #16)
23. Who'll Stop the Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1/31/70, #1)
24. Ohio - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (7/25/70, #6)
25. Hitchin' a Ride - Vanity Fare (5/2/70, #4)
26. As the Years Go By - Mashmakan (7/4/70, #1)
27. We've Only Just Begun - Carpenters (9/26/70, #2)
28. Black Magic Woman - Santana (11/14/70, #2)
29. Cecilia - Simon & Garfunkel (4/25/70, #2)
30. Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell (6/27/70, #3)
31. In the Summertime - Mungo Jerry (7/18/70, #4)
32. ABC - The Jackson 5 (3/21/70, #3)
33. Somebody's Been Sleeping - 100 Proof Aged in Soul (11/14/70, #12)
34. Give Me Just a Little More Time - The Chairmen of the Board (1/24/70, #5)
35. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder (7/11/70, #14)
36. Mr. Monday - The Original Caste (4/25/70, #3)
37. No Time - The Guess Who (1/3/70, #9)
38. One Man Band - Three Dog Night (1/2/71, #20)
39. Travelin' Band - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1/31/70, #1)
40. Who Needs Ya - Steppenwolf (1/16/71, #17)
41. Mexico - Jefferson Airplane (did not chart)
42. You, Me and Mexico - Edward Bear (3/14/70, #3)
43. Temptation Eyes - The Grass Roots (2/20/71, #7)
44. My Baby Loves Lovin' - White Plains (4/11/70, #2)
45. 25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago (8/8/70, #1)
46. The Letter - Joe Cocker (5/2/70, #2)
47. Tighter, Tighter - Alive and Kicking (6/20/70, #6)
48. Corrina, Corrina - King Biscuit Boy & Crowbar (9/12/70, #23)
49. Band Bandit - Tundra (did not chart)
50. Yellow River - Christie (7/25/70, #5)
51. Wild World - Cat Stevens (did not chart)
52. All Right Now - Free (9/12/70, #2)
53. You're the One - Little Sister (4/11/70, #12)
54. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) - Sly & the Family Stone (1/24/70, #1)
55. The Long and Winding Road - The Beatles (5/23/70, #1)
56. No Sugar Tonight - The Guess Who (3/21/70, #1)
57. Reflections of My Life - The Marmalade (3/14/70, #7)
58. Question - The Moody Blues (5/9/70, #7)
59. Come Saturday Morning - The Sandpipers (5/2/70, #16)
60. Come Running - Van Morrison (4/4/70, #8)
61. Up Around the Bend - Creedence Clearwater Revival (5/2/70, #1)
62. Fire and Rain - James Taylor (10/3/70, #6)
63. Love on a Two-Way Street - The Moments (5/16/70, #3)
64. Ball of Confusion - The Temptations (5/30/70, #7)
65. I'll Be There - The Jackson 5 (9/26/70, #1)
66. O-o-h Child - The Five Stairsteps (6/28/70, #9)
67. Mama Told Me (Not to Come) - Three Dog Night (5/30/70, #2)
68. American Woman - The Guess Who (3/21/70, #1)
69. Vehicle - The Ides of March (3/28/70, #2)
70. Lucretia MacEvil - Blood, Sweat & Tears (10/24/70, #11)
71. Up the Ladder to the Roof - The Supremes (3/14/70, #13)
72. Go Back - Crabby Appleton (8/15/70, #10)
73. Lola - The Kinks (10/3/70, #2)
74. Ride Captain Ride - Blues Image (5/9/70, #8)
75. Teach Your Children - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (6/13/70, #5)
76. Oye Como Va - Santana (3/13/71, #19)
77. No Matter What - Badfinger (11/21/70, #3)
78. Indiana Wants Me - R. Dean Taylor (7/25/70, #4)
79. Joanne - Michael Nesmith and the First National Band (8/15/70, #6)
80. I Hear You Knocking - Dave Edmunds (1/16/71, #3)
81. Instant Karma! - John Lennon (2/28/70, #1)
82. Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin (2/20/71, #9)
83. Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin (12/5/70, #2)
84. (They Long to Be) Close to You - Carpenters (6/28/70, #1)
85. Hand Me Down World - The Guess Who (7/11/70, #3)
86. Out in the Country - Three Dog Night (9/12/70, #11)
87. Spill the Wine - Eric Burdon & War (7/4/70, #4)
88. Neanderthal Man - Hotlegs (9/5/70, #18)
89. Hey Lawdy Mama - Steppenwolf (did not chart)
90. Venus - The Shocking Blue (1/3/70, #1)
91. If I Were Your Woman - Gladys Knight & the Pips (12/26/70, #6)
92. 5-10-15-20 (25-30 Years of Love) - The Presidents (11/28/70, #7)
93. Colour My World - Chicago (7/7/71, #3)
94. One Tin Soldier - The Original Caste (1/3/70, #1)
95. War - Edwin Starr (7/18/70, #1)
96. Have You Ever Seen the Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival (2/20/71, #16)
97. Domino - Van Morrison (11/21/70, #4)
98. Bridge over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel (2/7/70, #1)
99. Share the Land - The Guess Who (10/17/70, #3)
100. Let It Be - The Beatles (3/21/70, #1)

The Westbury Wolves Official Playbook

After the frenzy of the CD release, I've been spending my much-needed downtime watching classic Grey Cup games from the '60s and '70s on YouTube. The '60s games were educational because I'd never seen them, but the early '70s are where the memories really start to kick in. The first CFL game I ever watched (on TV) was the 1971 Grey Cup. We had a new colour TV and rotary antenna, and Dad patiently explained the rules to my brother and me as we watched our hometown heroes, the Toronto Argonauts, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in a heartbreaking 14-11 loss to Calgary.

Fast forward through a lost 1972 season to November 11, 1973 and the Eastern Semi-Final at CNE Stadium. This was my first live game, again with Dad and my brother. Toronto, having finished in second place with a 7-5-2 record, hosted the Montreal Alouettes. We sat in the Grandstand, Section P, I believe, about 20 rows up. With two minutes left in the fourth quarter and the score 10-7 Montreal, the Argos have the ball on the Alouette 24. QB Joe Theismann, in what would be his final game in the CFL, drops back to pass. He finds rookie tight end Peter Muller open at the goal line—for the game-winning touchdown—and Muller drops the ball. The Boatmen tie the game on a field goal, but Montreal rolls over them in overtime, eventually winning 32-10. (Saving grace? The Als would lose the following week to the eventual '73 Grey Cup champion Ottawa Rough Riders.)

Around this time the neighbourhood kids and I started playing touch football, on the street, with modified CFL rules. For one, your average city street lacks goalposts, so we used the hydro wires attached to the telephone poles in lieu. (They were way up there and we were all lousy kickers, so I doubt many field goals were made.) Said telephone poles, about 30 yards apart maybe, also demarcated the goal lines, so our "field" was a tad shorter than the CFL's 110. A regulation CFL field is 65 yards wide; our street, including the sidewalks, might have been 10. If I recall correctly, the sidewalks were in bounds. Mrs. Shaw's lawn was definitely not, as she took great screeching pains to point out whenever the ball landed on it. (Hey, cool it, Mrs. S. At least we never broke your window.) I couldn't throw or kick, but had good hands and was a reliable tight end. Why, in my 12-year-old mind, I could've shown Peter Muller a thing or two.

All our offensive plays were pass plays. Running wasn't allowed, mainly because it would've been pointless in such a confined space. We mostly played against each other but on rare occasions, we'd challenge the kids who lived east of Bicknell Avenue. For these games we had to call ourselves something, hence the Westbury Wolves. And despite the sheer brilliance and cunning of our playbook (see below), as I recall we got our butts kicked whenever we ventured outside the neighbourhood for a not-so-friendly match.

So gather round, kids, and listen carefully, for Grandpa here is about to reveal the best-kept secret in the history of touch football—the Westbury Wolves Official Playbook. If you or your kids play touch football, give these a try. One or two of them might even work once in a blue moon. And if you've never heard of the CFL greats who are their namesakes, do look them up.

And speaking of namesakes: Hedge, Ec, Birdeen, Kojak, Cyc, Stick, Fuzz, the One-armed Bandit, The Ed, Dan & Don, this playbook is dedicated to you. (Yes, one of these is me. No, I'm not telling you which one.)

• Mike Eben: Run forward seven yards, then back two or three.
• Zenon Andrusyshyn: Line up wide left or right. Run forward seven yards, then cut outside.
• Peter Dalla Riva: Run a curl pattern in the shape of a question mark, starting from the bottom.
• Johnny Rodgers: Run forward three yards, stop, jump, then streak downfield.
• Tom Campana: Run forward five yards, cut in sharply for two yards, then cut back out (like a T-shape).
• George McGowan: Similar to the Dalla Riva, but instead of closing the question mark by curling in, run straight across the field.
• Rhome Nixon: Run forward two yards. Accept the short pass from the QB, lateral back to him, then streak downfield.
• Tom Forzani: Line up wide left or wide right. Run a 45-degree slant about five or six yards.

Fast forward, oh, 44 years, and the Argos are back on the CNE grounds, their new home a stone's throw from long-since-demolished CNE Stadium. What's more, the Double Blue are your 2017 Grey Cup champions, victors over Calgary, who themselves snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with a series of improbable blunders. I've rekindled my passion for football and splurged for a season ticket in the cheap seats. See you next June, Section 220! And, um, Coach Trestman? Feel free to borrow from the best.

Pilgrimage III: The Ballad of Emil Lewandowski

For those of you waiting for the final post in my "Pilgrimage" series, I apologize for the long delay. This one is rather late in coming, but it's clearly time.

Aside from his immediate family and, apparently, readers of the outdoor magazines in which his occasional fishing articles appeared, the world knows little of Emil Lewandowski, a Buffalo native who passed away in nearby Dunkirk, NY last week at the age of 74. But for those of us who came of age in the early '70s, Emil was a Top 40 titan whose soulful voice graced such hits as "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)," "Shambala" and "Let Me Serenade You." We knew him, of course, as Cory Wells of Three Dog Night.

Panned as a lightweight pop act who didn't write their own songs, 3DN sounded like manna from heaven to my boyhood ears. Here were three amazingly gifted lead singers backed by stellar musicians playing first-rate material. In my estimation Cory, Chuck Negron and Danny Hutton, the band's co-lead vocalists, were to the human voice what Jimi Hendrix was to the electric guitar. Period. The Vocal Group Hall of Fame, at least, agrees. As for the lightweight part, have a listen to Captured Live at the Forum and tell me this band—as evidenced especially by Michael Allsup's shred-o-rama guitar—doesn't tear the roof off the place. Cory's showcase on that record, Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness," is simply a tour de force, and don't get me started on the percussive genius that is Floyd Sneed. The guy drums with both ends of his sticks; maybe that's why he sounds like he has eight arms and six feet.

In the late summer of 2012, I heard that Three Dog Night was playing Buffalo, Kleinhans Music Hall to be precise, and they'd be backed by the Buffalo Philharmonic. Something told me this might be my only chance to hear my boyhood idols in concert, and the orchestral angle made it a must-see. Things were tight at the time, but I scraped enough together for the ticket, return bus fare and a one-night stay at the Hampton Inn, and on a chilly Friday night in October, there I was: last row, main floor, slightly right of centre.

Now, the band I saw was arguably Two Dog Night—Chuck having fallen out with his bandmates some years back—but especially in light of Cory's passing, I feel fortunate to have seen even that. Floyd and bassist Joe Schermie were also missing; Joe because he'd died some years back, Floyd for unknown reasons. Michael and since-deceased keyboardist Jimmy Greenspoon were in attendance, so that made four of the original seven members. And somehow, between Danny, Cory and bassist Paul Kingery, they managed to cover all Chuck's parts. That alone was quite impressive.

"The use of cameras and recording devices is strictly prohibited," warned the program. Nevertheless, your intrepid Mark Martian sneaked in a tiny device and fought the good fight. But the sheer volume of band and orchestra overwhelmed my mp3 player's built-in mic, and the 2/3 of the show I did record before the battery died is muddy, distorted and unlistenable. (I've kept it in case I someday encounter an audio restoration guru.)

I'd describe the show as workmanlike—well played but not transcendent—and predictably hit-heavy. (My fawning over Captured Live at the Forum aside, 3DN were never an album-oriented band.) After "The Family of Man," the evening's first song, Cory mentioned to rapturous applause that this was his homecoming and the band's first Kleinhans show since 1970. And to my surprise, Cory played rhythm guitar on several songs: decently, too (it definitely wasn't a prop). As for the orchestra, for the most part they were hard to pick out of the mix, though the horn section shone in "Celebrate" and "Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)."

Song I Wish Had Been Played: "Eli's Coming." Runner-up: "It's for You."

Bonus Points For: Cory's neon purple tie.

Mark Mars Moment: Well, this singles act played one song so obscure even your friendly neighbourhood Mark Martian had never heard it: "You Can Leave Your Hat On," a Randy Newman-penned album cut from 1975. Cory did a great job on it, but it's really not my kind of burlesque-style R&B.

Despite the preponderance of grey hair in the crowd, it struck me during "Joy to the World" that this is essentially thinking man's children's music. You see, it wasn't me singing along as Cory made these Vegas-like wave gestures over the "joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea" line; it was that nine-year-old whose dad brought home that record, my first-ever 45, in the summer of 1971. And in that little boy's world, Chuck, Danny and Cory were giants.

As a youngster I had a special fondness for Cory, who brought a gritty, bluesy edge to the band. And as it turns out, he and I have something rather profound in common as well, a quality that's quite rare in the music biz. From the Buffalo News obituary: "'My father never, ever took drugs, and he hated alcohol,' [daughter Dawn] Cussins said. 'He was totally against any of his songs being used in beer advertisements because he never wanted to encourage kids to drink.'"

Amen to that, and thanks for the music, Cory Wells. Along with your compatriots, you are the reason I'm a singer/songwriter today. Blessings and gratitude to you. Condolences to your family and fans.

As a tribute to Cory, I've worked up a version of "The Family of Man" that I'll debut this afternoon (Sunday, October 25, 3:00 p.m.) at the Lazy Cat Café. If you're in the area, please stop by and say hello.

Pilgrimage II: Put a Candle in the Window

You'll recall from my previous post the rock 'n' roll triumvirate of my youth: The Guess Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Three Dog Night, none of whom I'd seen perform in their prime. It's been 40 years since CCR's rancorous split, and an impromptu jam at guitarist Tom Fogerty's wedding aside, the band has not reunited. Bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford now tour as Creedence Clearwater Revisited—a tribute band, in essence—and Tom sadly died in 1990. That leaves the real deal, the man who wrote, sang, and strummed 98% of their material: guitarist/vocalist John Fogerty.

I found out in June that Fogerty had a mid-September date lined up at the Sony Centre; a combination of apathy and tight finances stopped me from splurging then. Alas, when a check of Ticketmaster's site on Labour Day showed but a few seats remaining, I laid down my $70. One last-row balcony ticket later, I was in.

I skipped the opening act (Luke and the Something-Or-Other) and hit the merch table, where a souvenir shirt and guitar pick set me back $40. And speaking of apparel, I was decked out in a Rickenbacker T-shirt that serves as the Creedence equivalent of "Mark Mars Army, Full Member." (Fogerty played a short-scale Rickenbacker 325 with CCR.)

A John Fogerty tour, it should be noted, is about as commonplace as Halley's Comet. In fact, this is a man who wrote nary a song and played zero gigs from 1975-1985 due to personal and professional demons. But as a shadowy, iconic figure emerged centre stage, cranking out the first bars of "Travelin' Band," the crowd's roar meant only one thing: J.C. Fogerty was back.

He bounced down the steps to the front of the stage, and at the same time a shift in lighting revealed the rest of the band: two guitarists, bassist, drummer, and keyboardist. A cursory "Good evening, Toronto!" was followed by "Lookin' Out My Back Door," Fogerty having swapped his Telecaster for an acoustic and the pianist switching to accordion.

I'd heard beforehand that Cosmo's Factory would be played in its entirety tonight. Apparently, he was alternating between Cosmo's and Bayou Country, though the guy beside me said Green River would be put in rotation as well, once the band headed west. Green River was the first album I ever bought—or more accurately, my parents bought for me—but to my mind, Pendulum is CCR's best, the album I'd most want to hear front to back. As any Mark Martian will tell you, though, CCR proper (the foursome) did not make a bad record, so Cosmo's Factory would certainly do.

Lesser-known gems from Cosmo's aside, I found the song selection predictable, a greatest-hits parade of CCR and solo material. Nothing was played from the first or last CCR albums. Similarly, the show's lone cover, Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman," struck me as an overly safe choice, though I'll bet the younger (read: 40s) segment of the audience was astonished to hear this Van Halen tune.

Mark Mars Moment: "Ramble Tamble," surely never played live until the first Cosmo's Factory show. I missed Cosmo's drumming, though. I'm thinking especially of the six-into-four hi-hat Cosmo bashed out going into the last verse. Fogerty's current drummer is technically better, I'm sure, but lacking in feel. Honourable Mention: "Keep on Chooglin'."

Bonus Points For: One of the guitarists switching to conga and cowbell for "Born on the Bayou." (Doubt they belong? Listen carefully to the record.) Oh, and the root-fifth-octave piano lick in "Ramble Tamble."

Song I Wish Had Been Played: "Walk on the Water," with a dedication to his late brother (who co-wrote it; Tom's only CCR writing credit). Runner-Up: "Effigy."

Fittingly, "Long as I Can See the Light" ends the Cosmo's portion of the set, just as it did the album. A mournful, gospel-tinged electric piano opens the song, setting a tone both stately and sombre. For some reason, the lyric always struck me as despondent, resigned even, despite the optimistic tag line at the end of each verse:

Put a candle in the window

'cause I feel I've got to move

Though I'm going, going
I'll be coming home soon
Long as I can see the light

My eyes welled up as I glanced at the empty seat beside me. Where my sweetheart should be, only a backpack. You'd put a candle in the window after a death, an ending. A wispy flicker lit to invoke the great light of God, a defiant insistence that all is not darkness, a simple plea for comfort, mercy and deliverance. It's been 19 years since Leilani died, and nearly a year since my estrangement from another dear one, a sweet woman who—in her brilliance, beauty and purity of heart—reminded me so much of my beloved.

"This used to be a sad song, but now it's a happy song, 'cause I just refuse to be sad," Fogerty says late in the set as a roadie hands him an acoustic guitar. "Spent 35 years being sad. That was enough. This is one of my daughter's favourites." He strums the opening bars to Pendulum's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain," and again, my tears come—for a lost youth, for dear ones now gone, for an uncertain future. Still moving, still going, no way home soon, no happy face to mask the sadness. Just a candle in the window.

Pilgrimage I: Old Mark Mars Is Alive and Well, Sir

And old, too, but let's not belabour that.

It's December 1970, and a nine-year-old boy has just opened a Christmas gift from his grandparents: a Westinghouse transistor radio. He turns it on and somewhere between the crude rotary dial's 9 and 12 finds CHUM, Toronto's Top 40 powerhouse. In no time—pun intended—he encounters what will become for him the Holy Trinity of Rock 'n' Roll: The Guess Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Three Dog Night.

By December 1975, two of these bands will have split acrimoniously; the third will plunge into irrelevance, lost in the pulsating throb soon to be called disco. And our boy, now a brainy, socially awkward teen, has moved on to prog rock and protractors. Fond memories of his first musical heroes are tempered with regret that he never saw any of them in concert.

Fast forward to 2000 and a warm summer's eve at the Ontario Place Amphitheatre. (Yeah, it has a spiffy corporate name; no, they won't get free advertising from me.) The Guess Who have reunited for a cross-Canada tour with, oddly enough, a new lineup: Bachman, Cummings, McDougall, Peterson, Wallace. It's almost the version of the band I remember best: the 1972-74 edition, with Randy Bachman subbing for the late Kurt Winter. (The idea of Randy subbing for anyone is borderline preposterous, but Kurt really was that superb.)

I'm in the main seating area, pretty much dead centre, about forty rows back. I've never liked sitting too close and have rarely had the cash to do so anyway, so this suits me fine. If memory serves "Runnin' Back to Saskatoon" opens the show. The band is tight, their harmonies spot-on, the onstage joie de vivre infectious. As is customary for boomer reunion tours, the setlist is hit-heavy. At this late date, most people don't pay fifty bucks to see The Guess Who warble some obscure tune off Artificial Paradise.

Most people. The devotees—for whom this is a pilgrimage—own every album, can sing every lick, know why (and when) a Greg Leskiw or a Don McDougall joined and left the band. We are the Mark Mars Army, and we want our moment.

What's a Mark Mars? You tell 'em, Burt: "There's this kid in Virginia who's been a fan since the beginning. He calls himself Mark Mars and he's always written to me. So I put this line in 'Road Food' about 'Old Mark Mars is alive and well, sir.' You know he must have dug hearing that. Stuff like that is just fun to do." (Burton Cummings, quoted in John Einarson, American Woman: The Story of The Guess Who, Quarry Press, 1995.)

And I'll be damned if the boys don't serve it up. Two-thirds of the way in, sandwiched between lesser-known-hits-but-still-hits ("Glamour Boy," "Rain Dance") the band chugs into an off-kilter boogie that can only be ... "Road food," Bill, Donnie and Randy croon. "Jollywood, Jollywood, chippa-chippa chee-chee," Burton answers, punctuated by piano stabs on the one and the three. I'm the only one singing along, I tell myself, but every Mark Martian feels this way. It'd be uncouth if we all sat together bellowing "drag queens, rhumba boogie, grabbin' for the prime time" in unison. Besides, coming to the show alone (as I have) is a badge of honour.

"Road Food" ends to the weakest applause of the night, a din so quiet that my clapping—and his, and his, and maybe even hers—reaches the stage. Bill takes a sip of water and, placing the glass on his amp, shoots a wink Burton's way. Burt grins—they know!—and counts in "Laughing," a hit from the prime years that kicks off the final lap, hurtling band and fans to the boomer-fuelled climax (probably "American Woman"; your friendly neighbourhood Mark Martian can't recall.)

No matter. The Army has had its three glorious minutes. "Old Mark Mars is alive and well, sir."