Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Music Column – The Breakfast Show with William Price King and Sally Cronin – Chart Hits 1971 Part One – Ike and Tina Turner, James Taylor, Rod Stewart, Tom Jones

Each week William and I will select two top hits from the charts starting with 1960 for two weeks followed by 1961 etc..through to 1985. We will also include some of the notable events in those years for the up and coming stars who were centre stage at the time.

Welcome to this week’s show and we are excited to share decades of music with you in 2021. Here is my first selection of  top 1971 hits which I hope you will enjoy.  William.

News Event:  January 22nd John Lennon and Yoko Ono record “Power to the People”

Ike and Tina Turner  –  Proud Mary

“Proud Mary” was written by John Fogerty and first recorded by his band Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1968. Ike and Tina Turner covered the song in 1971 and had a major hit, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on Billboard’s R& B chart, earning the duo a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Group. The single was certified gold in the US and the UK.

News Event:  March 5th “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin first played live at Ulster Hall, Belfast by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones

James Taylor  –  You’ve got a friend 

“You’ve got a friend” was written by Carole King. Taylor recorded the song in 1971 and it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on the UK Singles Chart. “You’ve Got a Friend” won Grammy Awards both for Taylor “Best Male Pop Vocal Performance” and King “Song of the Year.”Billboard ranked it as the #17 song for 1971.

News Event:  March 22nd 6th Academy of Country Music Awards: Merle Haggard and Lynn Anderson win

Now time for my first chart picks from 1971 and they certainly bring back memories of my teenage years.

Rod Stewart – Maggie May

“Maggie May” is a song co-written by singer Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, and performed by Rod Stewart on his album Every Picture Tells a Story, released in 1971.In October 1971, the song went to number one in the UK Singles Chart (for five weeks), and simultaneously topped the charts in Australia (four weeks), Canada (one week), and the United States (six weeks). It was the No. 2 record for 1971 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles charts. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song number 131 on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Rod Stewart 

 

News Event:  April 4th Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies” opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 524 performances, then most expensive broadway musical

Tom Jones – She’s a Lady

 “She’s a Lady” is a song written by Paul Anka and was released on his album Paul Anka ’70s (RCA 4309, 1970). The most successful recording was performed by Tom Jones, and released at the beginning of 1971. It is Jones’ highest-charting single in the U.S. to date (and his final Billboard Top Ten hit). Jesus Ranero

Additional sources: On This Day – Music –  Wikipedia

Your Hosts for The Breakfast Show

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

Sally Cronin is an author, blogger and broadcaster who enjoyed four years as part of the team on Onda Cero International’s English speaking morning show in Marbella and then for two years as a presenter on Expressfm the local radio station in Portsmouth. She co-presented two ‘Drive Time’ shows a week with Adrian Knight, hosted the live Thursday Afternoon Show and The Sunday Morning Show guests including musicians and authors. Following this she became Station Director for a local internet television station for two years, producing and presenting the daily news segment, outside broadcasts and co-presenting the Adrian and Sally chat show live on Friday evenings.

She and her husband David have now returned to Ireland where they live on the Wexford Coast where she blogs and continues to write books.

Books :Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – More reviews: Goodreads – blog: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Twitter: @sgc58 – Facebook: Sally Cronin – LinkedIn: Sally Cronin

Thank you very much for joining us today and we would love you to join us in the spin off shows where we share your memories of the 1960s and your favourite music.. please read how you can take part: The Breakfast Show 2021

 

Next week 1971 Part Two. We hope you will tune in.. as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.