Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Music Column – The Breakfast Show Rewind with William Price King and Sally Cronin – Chart Hits 1972 Part One – Roberta Flack, Don McLean, Elton John, Helen Reddy

Welcome to The Breakfast Show and the top hits of the 1970s.

Both William and I are working on new projects and as we complete those we hope you will enjoy the series which began in January 2021 again, or for the first time if you are new to the blog.

Each week William and I selected two top hits from the charts starting with 1960 for two weeks followed by 1961 etc..through to 2005. We then did a retro series beginning in the 1940s. We also included some of the notable events in those years for the up and coming stars who were centre stage at the time.

Welcome to the show and we are excited to share decades of music with you again in 2024. Here is the first of my top 1972 hits which I hope you will enjoy.  William.

News Event:  January 27th World premiere of Scott Joplin’s rediscovered opera “Treemonisha” at Morehouse College in Atlanta

Roberta Flack – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” written by British political singer/songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, was covered by Roberta Flack in 1972 and topped the charts around the world, winning Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Billboard ranked it as the #1 Hot 100 single of the year. “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” was played as the wake-up music on flight day 9 to the astronauts aboard Apollo 17, on their last day in Lunar orbit (Friday, December 15, 1972) before returning to earth, thus ending the last manned explorations of the Moon. Clint Eastwood, in his directorial film debut “Play Misty for Me,” highlighted the song in a love scene featuring himself and Donna Mills. Roberta Flack

News Event:  February 13th “Cabaret”, directed by Bob Fosse, based on the musical of the same name and starring Liza Minnelli and Michael York, is released

Don McLean – American Pie

“American Pie,” composed by Don McLean, was a monster hit worldwide. It topped the charts in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The song was listed as the #5 song on the RIAA project “Songs of the Century” and was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry as being “culturally, historically, or artistically significant.” The repeatedly mentioned phrase “ the day the music died” refers to the plane crash in 1959 that killed rock and roll performers Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens.

News Event:  February 17th Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti receives record 17 curtain calls after his performance in “La fille du régiment” at New York’s Metropolitan Opera

Now time for my picks from 1972 and these are tracks that take me down memory lane and I danced to every week and are my particular favourites today

Elton John – Rocket Man

“Rocket Man” (officially titled “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time)”) is a song composed by Elton John and Bernie Taupin and originally performed by Elton John. The song first appeared on Elton John’s 1972 album Honky Château and as the lead single from the album. The song eventually rose to No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 6 in the US Billboard Hot 100 becoming a major hit single for John. Elton John

News Event:  June 6th David Bowie releases his breakthrough album “The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Helen Reddy – I am Woman

“I Am Woman” is a song written by Australian musicians Helen Reddy and Ray Burton. Performed by Reddy, the first recording of “I Am Woman” appeared on her debut album I Don’t Know How to Love Him, released in May 1971, and was heard during the closing credits for the 1972 film Stand Up and Be Counted. A new recording of the song was released as a single in May 1972 and became a number-one hit later that year, eventually selling over one million copies

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

 Next time 1972 Part two and we hope you will tune in.. as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.