Ruby Anniversary Song of the Week: "Instant Karma" by John Ono Lennon

Lennon's first top ten hit as a "solo" artist, Instant Karma debuted at #64 on Billboard's Hot 100 for the week ending February 28, 1970. It reached #3 and spent a total of 13 weeks on the chart. Notice what Yoko is doing in the video.

Other songs making their debut on the Hot 100 this week.

"Celebrate" by Three Dog Night. (48, 15, 9)
This song quickly jumped out of the blocks but ran out of gas before the top ten finish line.

"Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum. (63, 3, 15)
A one-hit wonder that just won't go away. It is, admittedly, a catchy little tune.

"Stir It Up and Serve It" by Tommy Roe. (83, 50, 6)
Roe's hitmaking days are, thankfully, over.

"To the Other Woman" by Doris Duke. (84, 50, 9)
Duke's only appearance on the Hot 100. A little too much soul?

"You're the One" by Little Sister. (86, 22, 11)
It's got that funky, Sly Stone beat. No surprise, he put together the group.

"Long Lonesome Highway" by Michael Parks. (88, 20, 12)
Parks' only appearance on the Hot 100. From the TV show Then Came Bronson, which Retiring Guy managed to miss during the 1969-1970 season, its only year in prime time.

"Rock Island Line" by Johnny Cash. (93, 93, 1)
Originally recorded in 1956.

"Silly, Silly Fool" by Dusty Springfield. (95, 76, 5)
Dusty's last solo appearance on the Hot 100. To her credit, she makes even this piece of soulful fluff sound good. Radio audience at the time, apparently, didn't agree.

"Love, Peace and Happiness" by the Chambers Brothers. (96, 96, 1)
Retiring Guy saw the Chambers Brothers in concert: Clark Gym, University of Buffalo, September 1968. I can't recall if they played this song, but I do remember a very extended version of "Time Has Come Today", complete with cowbell.

"Can't Help Falling in Love with You" by Andy Williams. (97, 88, 3)

"Tennessee Birdwalk" by Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan. (98, 23, 13)

"Message from a Black Man" by Whatnauts & the Whatnauts Band. (99, 99, 2)

"Sparkle and Shine" by the Clique. (100, 100, 1)
Their minor claim to fame is "Sugar on Sunday", from the fall of 1969.

Golden Anniversary Song of the Week: "This Magic Moment" by the Drifters

Most folks are probably more familiar with the serviceable remake by Jay & the Americans. The Drifters' version debuted at #67 for the week ending February 28, 1960, but reached no higher than #16 and dropped off the Hot 100 after just 11 weeks.

In Retiring Guy's opinion, the group is responsible for two of the most transcendent recordings of the 1960s: "Up On the Roof" and "On Broadway", songs that get airplay on oldies and soul stations -- not to mention SiriusXM's Little Steven's Underground Garage and the Music of Your Life programming format.

Other singles making their first appearance this week:

"(Welcome) New Lovers" by Pat Boone. (60, 18, 12)
After 16 top 10 hits in just over three years (April 1955 to 1958), Pat was well into the twilight of his career by this time.

"String Along" by Fabian. (61, 39, 8)
Not a one-hit, but certainly a one-year, comet-like wonder. After his 3 top 10 hits in 1959 -- "Turn Me Loose", "Tiger", and "Hound Dog Man" -- his career quickly flamed out.

"Puppy Love" by Paul Anka. (62, 2, 14)
His last really big hit until 1974's controversial "(You're) Having My Baby".

"Mama" by Connie Francis. (63, 8, 13)
From her 1959 album, Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites, which spent 81 weeks on Billboard album chart.

"O Dio Mio" by Annette. (68, 10, 12)
One of her 2 top 10 hits. Like millions of other 10 year olds in 1960, Retiring Guy had a HUGE crush on Annette.

"Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy" by Freddie Cannon. (70, 34, 7)
A dud for the "Boom Boom" guy.

"Don't Fence Me In" by Tommy Edwards. (86, 45, 8)
Tommy's first release, "It's All in the Game", spent 6 weeks at #1 in 1958. None of his subsequent songs came close to the success of his debut effort.

"Lawdy Miss Clawdy" by Gary Stites. (88, 47, 9)
Stites recorded one LP and quite a few singles for the Carlton label, in the late fifties and early sixties. His biggest hit was "Lonely For You" (# 24, spring 1959), the arrangement of which is very similar to Conway Twitty's "It's Only Make Believe"

"Anyway the Wind Blows" by Doris Day. (91, 50, 7)
From the film Please Don't Eat the Daisies. Doris's next-to-last appearance on tbe Hot 100.

Cover of Please Don't Eat the Daisies

"Angela Jones" by Johnny Ferguson. (92, 27, 15)
Freguson's only appearance on the Hot 100.

"Sleepy Lagoon" by the Platters. (93, 65, 5)
The "B" side of "Harbor Lights". Very classy tune, which probably deserved to step out on its own.

"Greenfields" by the Brothers Four. (94, 2, 20)
Fraternity brothers at University of Washington when they started. Of their 7 singles that charted, this is the only one that came anywhere near the top 10.

"Alvin's Orchestra" by David Seville and the Chipmunks. (98, 33, 5)
This song has an interesting chart history: 98, 71, 33, 33, 60. It's as though America's radio-listening audience suddenly woke up from a bad dream and said "Get that shit off the air." One of the major scourges of popular culture. But then what does Retiring Guy know. Their latest movie has grossed $215,581,073 as of February 21, 2010.

"El Matador" by the Kingston Trio. (99, 32, 11)
Surprisingly -- at least in retrospect -- the Kingston Trio had just 2 top 10 hits: "Tom Dooley" (1958) and "Reverend Mr. Black" (1963). Retiring Guy always found the group a little too earnest for his tastes.

"Let Them Talk" by Little Willie John. (100, 100, 1)
Thumbnail biography. R&B singer. Born William Edgar John on November 15, 1937, in Cullendale, Arkansas, raised in Detroit. Brother of Mabel John of the Raelets, Ray Charles' back-up singer. Convicted of manslaughter in 1966. Died of a heart attack in Washington State Prison on May 26, 1968. Elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

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.

Van Hise Hall From Various Angles

Hummer needs new shocks?

From today's Capital Times website:
Retiring Guy would prefer more public transportation options.

Retiring Guy would like to ride a rail/bus system that gets him from Middleton to the Wisconsin Library Association headquarters on the far east side in relatively trouble-free fashion, for example.

Retiring Guy would like his sons to be able to travel by train between Madison and Milwaukee and Madison and Stevens Point, for example. Hell, for now, he'd even settle for bus service between Madison and Stevens Point.

Retiring Guy hopes that some folks will soon find a cure for their "auto"-eroticism.