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what stopped GATW?


BeatleJay

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I couldn't find the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, but these were the other songs on Cashbox from the same week:

1 BABY DON’T GET HOOKED ON ME - Mac Davis

2 BLACK AND WHITE - Three Dog Night

3 EVERYBODY PLAYS THE FOOL - Main Ingredient

4 MY DING-A-LING - Chuck Berry

5 GO ALL THE WAY - Raspberries

6 SATURDAY IN THE PARK - Chicago

7 BEN - Michael Jackson

8 BURNING LOVE - Elvis Presley

9 USE ME - Bill Withers

10 GET ON THE GOOD FOOT (pt. 1) - James Brown

Bernie

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Week of September 23, 1972:

(1) "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" - Mac Davis (1st week at # 1)

(2) "Black & White" - Three Dog Night

(3) "Saturday In The Park" - Chicago

(4) "Back Stabbers" - The O'Jays

(5) "Alone Again (Naturally)" - Gilbert O'Sullivan

(6) "Ben" - Michael Jackson

(7) "Everybody Plays The Fool" - The Main Ingredient

(8) "Honky Cat" - Elton John

(9) "Go All The Way" - Raspberries

(10) "Rock And Roll Part 2" - Gary Glitter

Week of September 30, 1972:

(1) "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" - Mac Davis (2nd week at # 1)

(2) "Black & White" - Three Dog Night

(3) "Saturday In The Park" - Chicago

(4) "Back Stabbers" - The O'Jays

(5) "Ben" - Michael Jackson

(6) "Everybody Plays The Fool" - The Main Ingredient

(7) "Go All The Way" - Raspberries

(8) "Use Me" - Bill Withers

(9) "Burning Love" - Elvis Presley

(10) "Popcorn" - Hot Butter

Week of October 7, 1972:

(1) "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" - Mac Davis (3rd week at # 1)

(2) "Ben" - Michael Jackson

(3) "Back Stabbers" - The O'Jays

(4) "Everybody Plays The Fool" - The Main Ingredient

(5) "Go All The Way" - Raspberries

(6) "Use Me" - Bill Withers

(7) "Burning Love" - Elvis Presley

(8) "Black & White" - Three Dog Night"

(9) "My Ding-A-Ling" - Chuck Berry

(10) "Popcorn" - Hot Butter

Week of October 14, 1972:

(1) "Ben" - Michael Jackson (1st week at # 1)

(2) "Use Me" - Bill Withers

(3) "Everybody Plays The Fool" - The Main Ingredient

(4) "Burning Love" - Elvis Presley

(5) "Go All The Way" - Raspberries

(6) "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" - Mac Davis

(7) "My Ding-A-Ling" - Chuck Berry

(8) "Nights In White Satin" - The Moody Blues

(9) "Back Stabbers" - The O'Jays

(10) "Popcorn" - Hot Butter

Week of October 21, 1972:

(1) "My Ding-A-Ling" - Chuck Berry (1st week at # 1)

(2) "Use Me" - Bill Withers

(3) "Burning Love" - Elvis Presley

(4) "Everybody Plays The Fool" - The Main Ingredient

(5) "Nights In White Satin" - The Moody Blues

(6) "Ben" - Michael Jackson

(7) "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" - Mac Davis

(8) "Garden Party" - Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band

(9) "Popcorn" - Hot Butter

(10) "Go All The Way" - Raspberries

By the way, the song "I Wanna Be With You" by The Raspberries debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at # 77 back in November 25, 1972

(Matt)

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There are some fine songs on the list of those that kept GATW from #1. I have always loved "Everybody Plays the Fool," in part because I actually associate the song with GATW because my older sisters had copies of both 45s and played them back to back constantly. "Back Stabbers" is one of the Philly Soul classic tunes. "Burning Love" is one of the most fun songs Elvis ever did and the "hunk-a hunk-a burnin' love" line if nothing else will ensure it goes down in history (as if "the flames are now lickin' my body" wasn't enough). "Use Me" was pretty cool--in a way it was like GATW for men--"OK, so all my friends say you're just using me--well, you go right on ahead, honey!"

However, how "Ben" and "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" made it up there I will never know. Yes, "Ben," a tender love song...to a rat. And Mac Davis should have his portrait hung in the Songwriters' Hall of Shame for all eternity for these two lines alone: "Girl, you're a hot-blooded woman-child/And it's warm where you're touching me." Say it with me, everyone:

EEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW.

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Back in the good ol' days of vinyl Billboard did it like this:

"Sales reports from retail outlets were taken over the telephone by Billboard staffers, who would ask store managers and clerks to rank singles via a point system. Other people in the Billboard chart depatrment would register airplay reports from key radio stations around the country. If a radio station listed a particular single at number one on its playlist, it would receive more points than a song ranked number two—even if the runner-up song was being played more often than the title in the pole position."

In other words, radio airplay was determined by a sliding scale system that could easily be manipulated by the record companies who were willing to "invest" more when pushing their new single.

As for record "sales" recorded by Billboard back then: their results were based on product "shipped" not "sold." In other words if, say, the record company wanted the horrible Bee Gees "Sgt. Pepper" sountrack LP to hit #1 on the Billboard charts, it would just ship a gazillion copies to retailers. A couple of months later those unsold albums would be marked down in the corner cut bin or sent off to the landfill.

That's how a single like "All By Myself" stops ust short of #1, where it by all rights should have landed. The same is true for "Go All The Way."

Bernie

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Bernie - I've ALWAYS loved your knowledge of the industry of the 'good old, bad old days'!

Here's what I find interesting (amidst my disappointment GATW didn't go to #1):

1. How often does Mac Davis ever come up in ANY conversations about 'the greatest musicians/bands/performers of all time'? NEVER!

Although...he was a great country/pop songwriter for others including Elvis and Eddie Rabbit, and scored one for himself. He even had that TV show for a year (remember at the halfway mark, he'd write a verse & a chorus for a song on the SPOT to audience members?)

2. Strength of a hit movie ALONG with a song - "Ben" - Michael Jackson

3. Not one but TWO instrumentals (and one hit wonders for the artists) were in the Top 10 - "Rock And Roll Part 2" and "Popcorn".

4. The 'over the hill gang' (Elvis, Rick Nelson and Chuck Berry) still had a buying audience

5. Finally, just like rock pioneer Johnny Cash with 'A Boy Named Sue', Chuckie B had to rely on a damn NOVELTY song to reach #1.

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