Chart
|
1
|
Yester-Me,
Yester-You, Yesterday - Stevie Wonder (It would be one
of 4 No.2's for Stevie before his first solo No.1 with
I Just Called To Say I Love You. For 15 JJBIT points what
was the duet No.1 he had in 1982?) |
|
2
|
Yester-Me,
Yester-You, Yesterday - Stevie Wonder (It would be one
of 4 No.2's for Stevie before his first solo No.1 with
I Just Called To Say I Love You. For 15 JJBIT points what
was the duet No.1 he had in 1982?) |
|
3
|
Ruby
Don't Take Your Love To Town - Kenny Rogers and the First
Edition (Coward of the County and Lucille are overplayed
on the radio and some of his other gems like this rarely
heard. Such a shame!) |
|
4
|
(Call
Me) Number One - The Tremeloes (They tried but we could
only call them Number 2!) |
|
5
|
Two
Little Boys - Rolf Harris (Who would list this in their
Desert Island Discs favouries? Margaret Thatcher) |
|
6
|
Oh
Well - Fleetwood Mac (Part One to be precise…it was
used as the theme tune to the Radio One series - The Story
Of Rock and Roll) |
|
7
|
Melting
Pot - Blue Mink (It was always a fab record, long before
it became politically correct. An anthem for the United
Nations really) |
|
8
|
Come
Together - The Beatles (other side) (Was their popularity
waning? Only made No.4!) |
|
8
|
Something/
Come Together - The Beatles (Something written by George
Harrison) |
|
9
|
Sweet
Dream - Jethro Tull (This completes John's Journey having
featured all of their Top 20 hits - for the record the
other three were Living In The Past, The Witch's Promise
and Teacher, and Life Is A Long Song) |
|
10
|
Suspicious
Minds - Elvis Presley (Surprisingly wasn't among the five
Elvis songs that were selected by listeners in BBC Essex's
Top 100 Songs Of The Century. Always On My Mind, It's
Now Or Never, American Trilogy, Love Me Tender, and The
Wonder Of You were the five) |
|
11
|
Wonderful
World Beautiful People - Jimmy Cliff (Under rated reggae
star from the period though revered by lovers of the genre) |
|
12
|
Winter
World Of Love - Engelbert Humperdinck (His last Top 10
hit of an amazing three year chart career) |
|
13
|
The
Liquidator - Harry J and the All Stars (Great tune from
the Trojan label - heard in football grounds across Britain
each Saturday afternoon) |
|
14
|
Dollar
In The Teeth - The Upsetters (other side |
|
14
|
Return
Of Django/ Dollar In The Teeth - The Upsetters (Led by
Lee Perry, they also feature on our next song at No.13)
|
|
15
|
Nobody's
Child - Karen Young (John's Journey Back In Time was responsible
for bringing this back into the public consciousness some
years ago when we featured it. Now, it's one of the most
requested songs by the station's listeners) |
|
16
|
Leavin'
(Durham Town) - Roger Whittaker (Time to singalong to
this old camp fire folk favourite) |
|
17
|
The
Onion Song - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (Marvin recorded
some great duets with various female stars from the Tamla
stable….this one pretty special as it builds from
nothing into a crescendo) |
|
18
|
Love's
Been Good To Me - Frank Sinatra (Only made No.75 in the
US - here it made the Top 10. Good to hear Frank on BBC
Essex) |
|
19
|
Cold
Turkey - The Plastic Ono Band (Nothing to do with that
Christmas bird - it referred instead to drugs) |
|
20
|
What
Does It Take - Junior Walker and the All Stars (We'll
come across another group who reckon they were All Stars
a little later) |
News
Headlines
It was December 1969 and the death penalty in Britain
was about to become history. The House of Lords debated whether
a temporary ban on capital punishment introduced in 1965 should
become permanent. The Archbishop of Canterbury had told the
Lords that its abolition would create a more civilised society.
Doctor
Michael Ramsey said it would rebound to the advantage and
honour of the nation. However
opinion polls showed most people wanted to keep the death
penalty. MPs
had already voted to do away with it.
The
Man of the Decade vote results were published by the BBC.
The corporation's radio programme The World At One had asked
listeners to nominate their man of the sixties. Prime
Minister Harold Wilson came top followed by Conservative Enoch
Powell.
Meanwhile
the leader of the Conservative Opposition Edward Heath was
enjoying his spare time away from politics. He
had just acquired a new sailing boat - called Morning Cloud.
There
was a flu epidemic sweeping Britain. In one week in December
almost 300 people died. It had come from the Hong Kong A2
virus and by the end of the month it had caused more fatalities
than in any other winter since 1933. As January of 1970 turned,
almost 3,000 people had died in a week in Britain.
|
NOBODY'S
CHILD
Karen Young was born in Sheffield in 1946. As a teenager
she worked in a record shop and in 1964 joined a group
called The Counterbeats. She later went solo and recorded
on Pye and Philips in 1965 and 1967. She was spotted
by The Bachelors while they were touring.
They were on the Decca label but told their managers
Phil and Dorothy Solomon about her. Irishman Phil Solomon
ran his own record label called Major Minor and he signed
her up.
Karen Young recorded Nobody's Child, a well known song
north of the border and it was a big hit.
While the song was in the charts, the BBC decided to
ban another record which went on to become No.1 Je Ta'aime
by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin was on both the
Major Minor and Fontana labels and one or two pop newspaper
readers were upset when they were denied hearing it
on the radio.
One complained that the BBC thought it more beneficial
to play a song about a blind orphan, unfortunately sung
in English, than it is to play a French song about love.
Karen Young's Her follow up was expected to do well
too but it failed. Allentown Jail had done well for
Forties and Fifties singers Lita Roza and Jo Stafford,
but for Karen it didn't take off.
She returned to cabaret performances.
Twenty one years later Nobody's Child would be released
again, this time recorded by a group of legendary singers
and musicians. The Traveling Wilburys - Bob Dylan, Roy
Orbison, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty -
released the song for the Romanian Angels Appeal. On
the B side was With A Little Help From My Friends sung
by Ringo Starr, together with a track called Lumiere
by former Eurythmic, Dave Stewart.
The song included a dedication written by Olivia Harrison.
It made No.44 in the charts.
Below are the lyrics to Nobody's Child, written by Cy
Coben and Mel Foree
As I was slowly passing
an orphan's home one day,
I thought I'd stop a little while
just to watch the children play
Alone, a boy was standing,
and when I asked him why,
He turned with eyes that could not see,
And he began to cry.
I'm nobody's child, I'm nobody's child.
Just like a flower, I'm growing wild.
No mommy's kisses and no daddy's smiles.
Nobody wants me, I'm nobody's child.
People come for children,
And take them for their own.
But they all seem to pass me,
And I'm left here all alone.
I know they'd like to take me,
But when they see I'm blind,
They always take some other child,
And I am left behind.
I'm nobody's child, I'm nobody's child.
Just like a flower, I'm growing wild.
No mommy's kisses and no daddy's smiles.
Nobody wants me, I'm nobody's child.
No mommy's arms to hold me,
Or soothe me when I cry.
Sometimes it gets so lonely,
I wish that I could die.
I'll walk the streets of heaven,
Where all the blind can see.
And just like all the other kids,
There'd be a home for me.
I'm nobody's child, I'm nobody's child.
Just like a flower, I'm growing wild.
No momma's kisses and no daddy's smiles.
Nobody wants me, I'm nobody's child.
Nobody wants me, I'm nobody's child.
|
Join
John Hayes for his Journey Back In Time, a nostalgic look
back at music and memories from a chosen year, this Sunday
from 9am on 103.5 & 95.3FM - BBC Essex.
MISSED AN EDITION OF JOHN'S JOURNEY? WANT TO CHECK WHAT WAS
IN THE CHARTS? TAKE A LOOK AT OUR ARCHIVE
SECTION.
|
Get the