Ruby Anniversary Song of the Week: "Comin' Home" by Delaney, Bonnie & Friends

Delaney & Bonnie. Forgotten now. Underappreciated then.

If this jam session sounds familiar, well.... it should, dammit! The "Friends" include Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle, and Jim Gordon. Later in 1970, this foursome released an double album as Derek & the Dominoes. (Retiring Guy is sure you've heard of it.)

The two remaining "Friends" also deserve mention: George Harrison and Billy Preston. Yowsah! What a gathering.

This version of "Comin' Home" certainly wasn 't the one released as a single, but it certainly deserved better than a three-week stay on Billboard's Hot 100, running out of gas at #84.

Other songs making their debut for the week ending February 21, 1970.

"Gotta Hold on to this Feeling" by Jr. Walker & the All-Stars. (64, 21, 10)
Of the group's 21 singles that charted, only 2 reached the top 10. This one definitely should have been the third. It was all downhill from this point.

"Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" by Edison Lighthouse. (68, 5, 13)
It's one-hit wonder time again. Retiring Guy has never understood the initial and continuing appeal of this song.

"Gotta Get Back to You" by Tommy James & the Shondells. (79, 45, 8)
With 7 of their 8 top ten hits behind them, the group is looking forward to the oldies circuit.

"The Declaration" by the Fifth Dimension. (80, 64, 5)
Perhaps they should have recorded another Laura Nyro song.

"Until It's Time for You to Go" by Neil Diamond. (87, 53, 6)
I guess radio listeners and record buyers decided they wanted just one Neil Diamond hit at a time. Advantage: "Shilo".

"Take a Look Around" by Smith. (88, 43, 7)
Smith's vigorous reworking of the "Baby It's You", originally recorded by the Shirelles (and the version that Retiring Guy much prefers), was a huge hit in the fall of 1969 and is the group's only claim to fame.

"The Cat Walk" by the Village Soul Choir. (91, 55, 10)
The group's only appearance on the Hot 100.

"California Girl" by Eddie Floyd. (93, 45, 12)
Best known for soul classic "Knock on Wood", his first single, which never charted higher than #28 in 1966, Floyd makes his final appearance on the Hot 100.

"Just Seventeen" by the Raiders. (94, 82, 3)
No Paul Revere? On his own, Mark Lindsay had just scored a major hit with "Arizona", but the song would pretty much prove to be the beginning and end of his solo career.

"Baby Make It Soon" by the Flying Machine. (95, 87, 2)
By this time, the one-hit wonder is indeed "in pieces on the ground".

"Temma Harbour" by Mary Hopkin. (97, 39, 8)
The third of Hopkin's singles to reach the Hot 100. Here's their peak positions in chronological order: 2, 13, 39, 77, 87, 92. Goodbye.