A Top Ten Memoir: 1972 - "Some man's gone, he's tried to run my life..."
I’m amazed at how often weather turns up in my Top Ten song lists. In 1972, these included Chi Coltrane’s Thunder and Lightning: “I tell you it’s frightening!” Jonathan Edwards’ Sunshine: “go away today. I don’t feel much like dancing…” and Johnny Nash’s I Can See Clearly Now “the rain has gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It’s gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiny day.” None of these were songs that I “purchased” in my record buying days in 1972 but they’re all songs that reflect feelings I’ve had throughout my life. Weather often serves as a great metaphor in music. This is particularly true of Nash’s song and its optimistic lyrics. So often I’ve felt myself “come out of the rain” with hope for better days, or even for just a few hours of relief! I think Nash’s song goes beyond what could be Hallmark sentiment and really says something philosophical about “clearing the clouds away.” It's about gaining perspective and overcoming dark times. Even though I felt a certain sadness at such a young age, I still could see light around me.
My Top Ten of 1972 (I really did love most of these songs at the age of 9!):
1. Sweet Inspiration/Where You Lead – Barbra Streisand
2. American Pie – Don McLean
3. Thunder and Lightning – Chi Coltrane
4. I Can See Clearly Now – Johnny Nash
5. It’s Going to Take Some Time – Carpenters
6. The Way of Love – Cher
7. Where is the Love? – Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
8. Sunshine – Jonathan Edwards
9. Brand New Key – Melanie
10. I Saw the Light – Todd Rundgren
Chi Coltrane’s song is a vastly underrated gem that wasn’t even a big hit. The production and vocal are both bluesy, bold, and big. Its driving rhythm and powerful vocals by Coltrane make it endlessly enjoyable. I never understood why she didn't have more of a career.
Jonathan Edwards’ song is one for dark days. As I’ve mentioned I’ve always loved sun and summer months but there are times when dark days can be great for introspection or for just lying around the house watching TV. The sun has always given me energy. As far as the song Sunshine, sometimes I start liking a song because it sounds good and the lyrics are catchy.
Later I sort out the lyrics and begin to find some kind of connection that seems to be driving me to the song. This is an anti-authority tune written during the latter part of the Vietnam War. The images of that war were all over the airwaves and I began to fear what that whole experience would be like if I ever was drafted. Although that never happened, my feelings about authority have remained deep within me since that era. My stepfather John was a stern construction worker and, as I’ve previously mentioned, a bit scary to me. He wasn’t fond of my former acting up in front of my mother’s movie camera or of my apparent interest in new fashion choices which are noted in a Christmas home movie from 1972.
That’s my sister Judy, Busia, Grandfather , and Uncle Charlie looking on while Jeff and John played Operation on the floor. John wanted me to be a "real" boy and would take me outside to play catch. I hated it. Even by the age of 9 I knew that baseball, or any sports, were not for me. I'd see my neighborhood girlfriends across the street and feel embarrassed doing something I clearly didn't want to do. I've always thought John stifled that more expressive, artistic side of who I was and I became more and more introspective. Sunshine captures all of this in just over two minutes: "Sunshine go away today, don't feel much like dancing. Some man's gone, he’s tried to run my life. Don't know what he's asking. When he tells me I'd better get in line, can't hear what he's saying. When I grow up I'm gonna make it mine. These ain't dues I've been paying." I can’t even imagine what my life would have been like had John lived longer than he did.
As I previously mentioned, our family often had a lot of dogs. At one point, we had a beagle named Toby.
He was very sweet but didn’t like John who mostly kept him chained in the kitchen and beat him with a belt whenever he wasn’t behaving. As a result, Toby had issues with all men, including John’s brother Chuck who lived with us for a while and my sister’s boyfriend Mark who Toby trapped in a corner snarling and ready for a kill. Eventually Toby was “sent away to Mexico.” In our entire life with dogs before and after this we never had one that caused such grief. It would be safe to say that John’s disciplinary techniques didn’t help Toby’s disposition.
So, I enjoyed spending time outside during the day when I could. Melanie’s Brand New Key was also out at this time: “I ride my bike, I roller skate, don’t drive no car. Don’t go too fast but I go pretty far!” I’ve already expressed my dislike for fast cars and my pride in owning a bike with a banana seat. At the time, I wished I had a nickname. If Theodore Cleaver could have the name “Beaver” on Leave it to Beaver, why couldn’t I have an interesting name?! I thought about “Rider” but then didn’t really think anyone would actually call me that. It’s not like I only rode my bike! (Then again, in what way was Theodore a “Beaver?”) However, I did ride my bike a lot and occasionally attempted roller skates but this wonderfully quirky song might remind me most of the girls in my Chicago neighborhood: Lois, Paula, Irene, Annie, Debbie, & Dolly. They were such fun to have around as we had our various Oak Park Avenue adventures.
At night, my favorite pastime was watching TV, including the Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. Cher hit it big again with her torchy song The Way of Love. I remember my sister having the sheet music and attempting to play it on the piano. (I think she struggled.) The song is an interesting one with lyrics that I didn't pay attention to until many years later. She starts by singing to someone: "when you meet a boy that you like a lot and you fall in love but he loves you not." Towards the end she appears to still be singing to the same person but she sings: "The way of love is the way of woe, and the day may come when you'll see him go. Then what will you do when he sets you free, just the way that you said goodbye to me." If she's singing to a woman, then the perspective is one from a woman dumped by another woman. If she's singing to a guy than she's singing to a guy who left her for another man! Either would be pretty radical for pop song lyrics in '72 but I don't think anyone paid much attention to that twist in the song. At least, I never remember it coming up in the media! Still, it's one of Cher's best vocal performances. This was another big childhood favorite, in part, because it was Cher!
My love of the Carpenters music grew pretty intensely by this point. I not only listened to their albums but all of the singles I bought. It didn’t matter to me if I had one of their songs on an album AND a single, I wanted everything I could have that had the Carpenters name on it! It’s Going to Take Some Time was a Carole King song that the duo recorded for their A Song for You album in ’72. It’s a tune that really holds up. “It’s gonna take some time this time to get myself in shape. I really fell out of line this time. I really missed the gate.” I’ve often looked back on things I’ve said or done and felt the same way. Often these thoughts swirl in my head like a great obsession. (More on that later.) Karen's voice sounds great and the lyrics make an optimistic statement about getting back up after being knocked down: "It's one more round for experience and I'm on the road again."
Interesting for a kid, I was also attracted to great love songs, such as Where is the Love? and I Saw the Light. The former is about a relationship in which love has seemingly ended. I really didn't know anything about that at the age of 9 when I bought the 45. Instead I think I was responding to the catchy lyrics and the great vocal harmonies. It's sad that Donny Hathaway struggled with mental illness and ended up committing suicide a few years after this. He had such a great voice. (He also sang the Maude TV theme song.) I've never grown tired of this duet with Roberta Flack. Both were at the top of their games.
While I didn't own I Saw the Light in '72, I grew to appreciate the music of Todd Rundgren some years later. This one in particular has such a great melody and lyric that's it's been on regular rotation on my 70s playlists for years. It's one of his many songs that, like Carole King's music, explores relationships from a very mature perspective.
Because my mother had married in John in late ’71, we were no longer given free tuition at St. Monica School, which we had received after our father died in ’69. As such, I had to transfer back to Lucy Fitch Perkins Public School where I had gone to kindergarten. (The school, on Strong Street in Chicago, was torn down a few years later.)
I made some good friends there though including Dave who once joined us for one of our many trips up to John’s family farm in northern Wisconsin. I still wasn’t enjoying the trips though. Sometimes I’d come home from school on a Friday and my mother would tell me we were going for a ride. When I found out it was to Wisconsin I would beg to stay home with Mike and Judy. No, Jeff and I were “the little ones” and needed to come with. I’ll never forget being forced to ride on the back of one of John’s snowmobiles which he bought and stored in our garage.
The snow in northern Wisconsin got deeper than it did in Chicago and there were trails everywhere. But those fast-moving snowmobiles freaked me out. I would cry uncontrollably and called a “baby” for not wanting to do it. John’s response was always, “You’re going!” I don’t care how much he tried, I just didn’t enjoy the experience and feared for my life every time. During the trip in which my buddy Dave joined us, fast driving John hit a deer sending our Cadillac on a tailspin and leaving it full of deer blood and fur all over its exterior. We all survived without any physical injuries. Needless to say, Dave and I had a great time sharing the story with Miss Bain and our entire 4th grade class when we got home.
The only real saving grace for these trips was that car radio. American Pie was one of the key songs with all of its 8 minutes of verses and choruses that got played regularly over AM radio. I don’t recall John singing but my mother, Jeff, and I would sing it all the way through (or at least with as many words as we could remember or understand.) I still just really wanted to be home, in my neighborhood, with my friends, TV, and records.
The medley Sweet Inspiration/Where You Lead by Barbra Streisand is from her Live Concert at the Forum album released in '72. The latter song was featured on Carole King’s Tapestry album the year before. The vocals here are amazing and the live performance is filled with great energy. Streisand even received a Grammy nomination for this one. My mother played the album a lot in '72 which was also the year I really fell in love with Streisand after seeing her big movie, What's Up Doc? I loved everything about her from her hair to her eyes, nose, and of course, voice. In '72, the live album was my favorite of the year. It still stands up with great versions of Stoney End, Didn't We, On a Clear Day, Don't Rain on My Parade and even another medley featuring Sing - the song the Carpenters would make famous a year later.
Links to my Top Ten of 1972:
Next Up…1973…”I bet you think this song is about you…”