For some reason I just recalled “Spiders And Snakes” by comedian and musician Jim Stafford, which reached Number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1974.
Not that I remembered that, but a little research goes a long way….
In fact at first I just remembered the line “I don’t like spiders and snakes but that ain’t what it takes to love me like I wanna be loved by you”.
Some things just stick in your mind :-).
Then I found that it was sung by Jim Stafford, and the name was instantly familiar.
So here’s “Spiders And Snakes”:
The previous year, i.e. 1973, he had a chart hit with “Swamp Witch”, another familiar title, which was produced by his friend Kent LaVoie, otherwise known as Lobo:
And in 1975 “Wildwood Weed” peaked at Number 7:
A year later Jim Stafford reached the Top 40 with a song in a similar vein, “I Got Stoned And I Missed It”:
In 1978 English band The Motors reached Number 4 on the UK charts with their single “Airport”.
This was another song I got to know through it being played by the resident band at the Majestic Hotel in Palmerston North, New Zealand, when I was a student.
The Motors reached Number 13 in the UK with “Forget About You”.
This is the album version of “Airport”:
I also found this live version of “Airport” from 1978:
Here’s “Forget About You” live:
Both of these tracks are from the album “Approved By The Motors”, as I have just confirmed by looking at my record collection.
And for something a little different, from the previous year, here’s “Dancing The Night Away” (later also covered by Cheap Trick):
In 1974 while visiting my older brother in Invercargill at the very bottom of New Zealand’s South Island, I bought the Ringo Starr album “Ringo”, featuring the single “Photograph”, which went to No. 1 in America.
Another song from the album, also a Number 1 hit in the USA, was “You’re Sixteen”.
I also rather like “Six O’Clock”, penned by Paul McCartney.
Here is the album version of “Photograph”, which was co-written by another former member of The Beatles, George Harrison, and produced by Richard Perry:
I’m not sure when this live version of “Photograph” was performed, it is Ringo Starr & His All-Star Band, featuring John Entwistle of The Who on bass, Billy Preston on keyboards and Ringo’s son Zak Starkey on drums (at least I think it is, I had to change the video, this one is 1995 apparently):
As both John Entwistle and Billy Preston are no longer alive, it must have been a while ago.
And here is “Six O’Clock”, not a hit, but I like it:
I have found an interesting connection with Ringo Starr: a fellow (earlier) graduate of Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand, the late Dave Jordan, wrote one of the songs on his 1976 album “Rotogravure”.
I only really know one song by American country singer Crystal Gayle, but I really like it, especially the piano accompaniment: “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue”.
The song was a hit worldwide in 1977, reaching Number 1 on the U.S. Country charts and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album it was taken from , “We Must Believe In Magic”, went platinum.
This performance of “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” by Crystal Gayle appears to have been in Australia, judging by the accent of the announcer (or is it South Africa?):
Apparently Crystal Gayle, who is the younger sister of Loretta Lyn (never knew that till now), has blue eyes.
In April 1979 I attended a live concert of reggae musicians Bob Marley and The Wailers that was part of the Babylon By Bus Tour, featuring songs like “Positive Vibration”, “I Shot The Sheriff”, “No Woman, No Cry”, “Lively Up Yourself”, “Is This Love?”, “Get Up, Stand Up” and “Exodus”.
It was an afternoon concert at Easter, at the Western Springs Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.
I was actually in Auckland with a van full of other students from Massey University in Palmerston North, selling “capping magazines” – a collection of largely rude jokes with a list of that year’s graduates in the centre.
The entrance area to Western Springs was an ideal place to offer the magazines – at 50 NZ cents each – to passersby on their way to the concert.
When the time was right, we stopped selling, went in and enjoyed the concert, then carried on again afterwards as the crowds slowly headed off to cars and buses.
This was the same venue where exactly two years earlier I had experienced the Alice Cooper “Welcome To My Nightmare” concert, and in December 1978 David Bowie (“Station To Station”), so it was interesting to see it in the daytime.
The setlist of the Babylon By Bus Tour reflected the album of the same name, which the tour through Asia and Oceania (New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii) was promoting.
These are the more well known songs from the album and tour (well, more well known to me at least…).
“Positive Vibration” (sometimes called “Rastaman Vibration”:
“Rastaman Vibration”:
“I Shot The Sheriff”:
“No Woman, No Cry”:
“Lively Up Yourself”:
“Is This Love?”:
“Get Up, Stand Up”:
“Exodus”:
More than anyone else Bob Marley is identified with reggae music, and I guess I was privileged to see him in 1979 – just over two years later he died. The legacy remains.
