Golden Oldies, 1972 Edition, part 2, by Rich Paschall
Road to SERENDIPITY
This week’s sock hop will begin soon in the SERENDIPITY Gymnasium and Auditorium so it is time to hurry over. If you can not take your “Hot Rod Lincoln,” don’t be a “Motorcycle Mama.” Take a “Taxi” instead. And don’t stop off en route, just tell the driver to please “Go All The Way.” There’s no need to ring the bell when you arrive, just “Bang a Gong.”
Our security guard this weekend will be Jim and you all know “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.” He will keep us from “Hurting Each Other,” but don’t worry. He has a “Heart of Gold.” We know the boys and girls this week will not act like a “Troglodyte” or “The Witch Queen of New Orleans.” Our chaperones are “Vincent” and “Sylvia’s Mother,” so you better “Get On The Good Foot.”
We were going to have a “Garden Party” due to an early forecast of “Sunshine,” but now it looks like we could get caught “In The Rain.” No matter what the weather, it will be a “Beautiful Sunday.”
Before we begin with the countdown, we will start with an honorable mention. Any song that makes the Billboard Hot 100 for the year by two different groups deserves a special mention. The jingle “True Love and Apple Pie” was rewritten as “Buy The World A Coke.” The ad agency wanted The New Seekers, but there was a scheduling conflict so the agency created “The Hillside Singers” for their Coke ad on top of a hillside. The song was so popular, they changed the lyrics a bit and released it as a single “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing” and the rest is music history, almost. The New Seekers later released it as well to even greater success.
It’s “Too Late To Turn Back Now,” so let’s go ahead with my personal Top 10 for 1972.
10. Long Cool Woman In a Black Dress, The Hollies. I always liked The Hollies, although this has a much different sound than their earlier hits. They tried to sound more like Creedence Clearwater Revival on this. John Fogerty thought it sounded too much like the CCR hit “Green River” and sued. It was settled out of court.
09. Rocket Man, Elton John. The hit recording was written by the songwriting duo of John and Bernie Taupin. Rolling Stone magazine considers “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long, Long Time) one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
08. Anticipation, Carly Simon. The story goes that Simon wrote the song on guitar in 15 minutes while she waited for Cat Stevens to pick her up for a date! It was released in late 1971 and charted in early 1972.
07. Day After Day, Badfinger. The song was the rock band’s biggest hit. George Harrison produced and played guitar on the recording.
06. Nights In White Satin, The Moody Blues. “Breathe deep the gathering gloom, Watch lights fade from every room.” The song was part of the 1967 concept album, Days of Future Passed. It did not chart very high when released as a single in ’67 but did much better when released again in 1972. The lush sounds of the album were achieved by working with the London Festival Orchestra.
Chicago at Park West
05. Where Is The Love, Roberta Flack, and Donny Hathaway. The soulful tune was part of a duet album by the pair.
04. Vincent, Don McLean “Starry, Starry Night.” This was McLean’s tribute to artist Vincent Van Gogh. He wrote the song after reading a biography of the artist.
03. Roundabout, Yes. Written by singer Jon Anderson and guitarist Steve Howe. The single was released at 3:27, but the album version was at 8:30. If you were lucky, you may have heard the longer version on an FM station. I heard it in concert at the Rosemont Horizon (now Allstate Arena). I am not sure how long the concert version was. I guess I was dazzled by the laser light show.
02. Saturday In The Park, Chicago. I saw Chicago the band many times, including on a Saturday in the Park. OK, it was Soldier Field but it was a Saturday in the 1970s and the weather was perfect. They opened with this hit tune.
01. A Horse With No Name, America. This was a favorite road tune. A road trip would include a copy of America’s Greatest Hits to play several times along the highway. I liked the song 50 years ago and I still like it today. I guess in part because it goes along with certain memories. Isn’t that what your favorite tunes are all about?
Click on any song title above to play the music video or go to our Goldens Oldies, 1972 playlist HERE.
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Categories: Entertainment, Music, Rich Paschall, You Tube
SERENDIPITY: SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Boy, talk about past blasts! I also remembered why I don’t like “The horse with no name.” It’s the awkward phrasing. I know they were trying to make the rhythm of the poetry align, but it’s still awkward. I always want to rewrite it. “For to give you no pain” always makes me grind my teeth.
Besides, why don’t you GIVE THAT HORSE A NAME? Don’t you like him? I mean, he’s carrying you around the desert. He deserves a name and a carrot and some oats — and fresh water, please!
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Yes, the poor horse definitely needs a name. I guess I like the music, and I had a friend who loved the song so much that we had to have it with us. I guess it is a bit crazy. Anyway, your comments gave me a good laugh.
I left the top three selling songs of the year off the list because they drove me crazy. “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” played like a funeral dirge. “Alone Again (Naturally)” was not much better. I know people love “American Pie” but everytime he got to the chorus and boys were singing “This’ll be the day that I die,” I thought after 8 minutes they still seem to be alive.
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It’s the awkwardness of the wording. To make it fit the musical line they added words so it sound like someone whose native language isn’t English wrote it. Was he a secret alien from another continent?
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