My Top Songs of All Time 876-900

876. Younger Girl                                               Critters
877. Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'                         Crazy Elephant
878. Be My Lover                                               La Bouche
879. Dirty Water                                                 Standells
880. Der Komissar                                              After the Fire
881. Change of the Guard                                    Steely Dan
882. Once in a Lifetime                                        Talking Heads
883. Lets Go Crazy                                              Prince
884. Inner City Blues                                            Marvin Gaye
885. Are You Ready                                            Pacific Gas and Electric
886. I Keep Forgettin                                          Michael McDonald
887 Sunday Bloody Sunday                                 U2
888 Love the One You're With                            Steven Stills
889. Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head            BJ Thomas
890. Vogue                                                          Madonna
891. Somebody's Watchin Me                              Rockwell
892. Lets Hang On                                               Four Seasons
893. System of Survival                                        Earth, Wind & Fire
894. Second Time Around                                   Shalamar
895. Little Child                                                   Curtis Mayfield
896. Stand Up                                                     Ludacris
897.You Know What I Mean                              Turtles
898. Cousin Dupree                                             Steely Dan
899. Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel              Tavares
900. Elected                                                        Alice Cooper

The Younger Girl is the first of two hits on my survey by the Plainfield, New Jersey based band The Critters.The band charted four time in 1966-67 with The Younger Girl (peaked at #42 and originally recorded by the Lovin' Spoonful), Mr Dieingly Sad(higher on my list and a #17 hit), Bad Misunderstanding(#55), and Don't Let the Rain Fall Down on Me(#39). Lead singer Bob Guccione(and two other band members) joined the Army. Later Guccione toured with the Four Seasons and Tommy James and the Shondells while guitarist Jim Ryan youred with Carly Simon.

Crazy Elephant was a true one-hit wonder as Gimme Gimme Good Lovin' was their only song to chart--peaking at #12. The band was a studio band creater by Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz. Former Cadillacs lead singer Robert Spencer was on lead vocals while Jerry Levine of Ohio Express fame(Yummy Yummy Yummy and Chewy Chewy) did background vocals.

La Bouche had four hoits in the mid-1990s of which Be My Lover was the biggest)peaking at #6 and the only song they did to make my survey. The group was formed in 1994 by Lance McCray and Melanie Thornton. Thornton left the group in 2000 to pursue a solo career and the group shortly folded. Thornton died in a plane crash in 2001.

The Standells are a punk rock group from Los Angeles and are sometimes referred to as the Godfathers of Punk Rock. They charted four times in 1966-67. Dirth Water waws their biggest hit, charting at #11 and their only song to make my survey. Lead vocalist Dick Dodd was an original Mouseketeer on the Mickey Mouse Club. The sonfg Dirty Water is played after every victory of the Red Sox,  Celtics, Bruins and Northeastern hockey win. The band is still active today led by original Standell Larry Tamblyn.

After the Fire is a British new wave-progressive rock band with one big hit(Der Komissar) and one minor hit. The band was founded in 1978 and charted in 1983 nwith both songs but the band dissolved around this time. There are mini-tours going on with original members.

Pacific Gas & Electric had one major hit(Are You Ready? which peaked at #14 in 1970 and two minor hits which peaked in the 90s. The group was founded by drummer/lead singer Charlie Allen. Other members includeed Glenn Schwartz from the James Gang, Frank Cook from Canned Heat and guitarist Tom Marshall. The band has a sad history however--Cook suffered a debilitating injury and had to leave the group, Marsghall became hopeless, Schwartz feft the group and Allen died at age 48.


                                        

Two Beautiful Jackie Robinson Cards

Above are my two favorite Jackie Robinson cards--the 1948 Leaf and the 1952 Topps--both in beautiful NM-MT condition

Halle Petro and the Jilt at the City Winery tomorrow night(4/23)

One of the best new bands to come on the scene in years is playing at the City Winery tomorrow night in New York City(4/23). The band is Halle Petro and the Jilt. Halle has an incredible voice and her bands style encompasses blues, country, jazz and rock. She lists her influences as among others Al Green, Otis Redding, Stevie Nicks, the Bee Gees and Patty Griffin. The show is at 9pm. If you are in or around the city check it out.

See halleandthejilt.com for more details.

My Top Songs of All Time 901-925

901 I Just Want to Celebrate                          Rare Earth
902 Unwell                                                    Third Eye Blind
903 The Boys of Summer                               Don Henley
904 No Matter What                                     Badfinger
905 Lowdown                                               Chicago
906 Pay to the Piper                                      Chairman of the Board
907 A Groove Will Make You Move             Jimmy Castor Bunch
908 Last Train to Clarksville                           Monkees
909 Dreams                                                   Fleetwood Mac
910 Breakfast at Tiffanys                                Deep Blue Something
911 Gey Outa My Dreams, Get Into My Car  Billy Ocean
912 Bang a Gong                                           T Rex
913 She'd Rather Be With Me                        Turtles
914 Mustang Sally                                          Wilson Pickett
915 You Wear It Well                                     Rod Stewart
916 Century's End                                           Steely Dan
917 I've Got to Use My Imagination                Gladys Knight and the Pips
918 Me and You and a Dog Naled Boo           Lobo
919 Bullet with Butterfly Wings                         Smashing Pumpkins
920 Satisfaction                                               Rolling Stones
921 Good Thing                                              Fine Young Cannibals
922 Rock Me Gently                                      Andy Kim
923 To  Sir With Love                                    Lulu
924 What Does It Take to Win Your Love      Jr Walker & the All Stars
925 Tha Rain, the Park and Other Things        Cowsills

Roland LaVoie or Lobo was one of my favorite singers of the 1970s--not so much this song which peaked at #5 but I'd Love You to Want Me(#2), Don't Expect Me to be Your Friend(#8) and How Can I Tell Her?(22) which are all higher on the charts. Lobo had 16 Top 100 hits in the 1970s and is currently semi-retired and lives in Florida. Last summer I walked into the Crimson Moon Cafe in Dahlonega, Georgia and talked about the red Georgia clay on my feet. Tom and Julie then started their first set with Me and You and a Dog Named Boo.

Badfinger was a UK band most popular 1969-72. They had 4 big hits and hit the Top 100 7 times. There was a close affiliation with the Beatles as Paul McCartney wrote their #7 hit Come and Get It and George Harrison played guitar on and produced their biggest hit--the #4 smash Day After Day. Also during this time singer-guitarist Pete Ham wrote the #1 hit Without You for Harry Nilsson. Sadly, Ham committed suicide in 1975 and Bassist Tony Evans did the same in 1983.

Who can forget the lyrics "You're dirty sweet and you're my girl"? T. Rex was founded by singer and guitarist Marc Bolan in 1967. Bang a Gong was their only big hit which peaked at #10   in 1972. The two singers for the Turtles sang background on this song.They had 3 other minor hits. The band dissolved after Bolan was killed in a car accident in 1977. Ironically another member of the band was also killed in a separate car accident in 1981.

Rare Earth formed as the Sunliners in 1960 and changed their name to Rare Earth in 1968 after signed by Motown's Rare Earth division. The band jokingly suggested the band change its name to Rare Earth and Motown agreed!   While this is the only Rare Earth song on my survey they had big hits covering two Temptations songs--Get Ready(#4) and I Know I'm Losing You(#7). In total they had 9 Top 100 hits. They also lost a number of their members at an early age. 

Chairmen of the Board was a soul band who had six Top 100 hits in the  early 1970s including Pay to the Piper(peaked at #13)   and their #3 smash Give Me Just a Little More Time which is further up my survey. The band was led by lead singer General Norman Johnson who recently passed away at age 57.

2 1909 Ramly's (T204) PSA 8 Hall-of-Famers

Two PSA 8 Hall-of-Famers from one of the most beautiful sets ever made.

My Top Songs of All Time 926-950

926. What I Am                                               Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians
927. One Hand in My Pocket                           Alanis Morisette
928. Rock of Ages                                           Def Leppard
929. Volunteers                                                Jefferson Airplane
930. You Little Trustmaker                               Tymes
931. Respectable                                              Outsiders
932. Solitary Man                                             Neal Diamond
933. White Rabbit                                            Jefferson Airplane
934. The Letter                                                Boxtops
935. Rhiannon                                                 Fleetwood Mac
936. Always Something There to Remind Me   Naked Eyes
937. Come and Get Your Love                        Redbone
938. Silence is Golden                                       Tremeloes
939. Bust a Move                                             Young MC
940.We Connect                                               Stacy Q
941. Sylvia's Mother                                          Dr. Hook
942. Life in a Northern Town                              Dream Academy
943. Drift Away                                                 Dobie Gray
944. Paradise by the Dashboard Lights               Meat Loaf
945. All Day Music                                            War
946. No Love At All                                          BJ Thomas
947. Rock the Boat                                            Hues Corporation
948. Whip It                                                      Devo
949. Since You've Been Gone                            Aretha Franklin
950. See You in September                               Happenings

The Hues Corporation was a trio from Santa Monica, Cal formed in 1969 and had 5 Top 100 hits over that time. Rock the Boat which hit number 1 was of curse the biggest and was the second disco song to hit #1 on the pop chart. The group named themselver after the (Howard) Hughes Corporation but due to the hue of their skin they decided on Hues Corporation. The original proposed name was "The Children of Howard Hues".

The Boxtops had 10 Top 100 songs from 1967-1970 with their #1 smash The Letter being the biggest followed by their #2 hit Cry Like a Baby. This blue-eyed soul band developed a large following in indie and alternative music and as recently as 1996 had an album of new material. Lead singer Alex Chilton went on to the band Big Star and performed as a solo artist. He recently passed away.

The Tymes also had 10 Top 100 hits including their #1 hit in 1963 So Much in Love. Three of the original four members are performing today. You Little Trustmaker is their only song on my survey.

Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians had 3 Top 100 hits of wihich What I Am was the biggest--hitting #3 on the Top 100. Edie married Paul Simon and plays with her stepson(Paul's son) in the band Heavy Circle. The band released an album in 2008 which Sean Lennon played on.

My Top Songs of All Time 951-975

951. Turn-Down Day                                   Cyrkle
952. King Kong                                            Jimmy Castor Bunch
953. Aqarius/Let the Sunshine In                   5th Dimension
954. Girlfriend                                              Pebbles
955. You Showed Me                                  Turtles
956. Life's Been Good                                  Joe Walsh
957. Mama's Pearl                                        Jackson 5
958. I'm Gonna Make You Love Me             Diana Ross ad the Supremes & the Temptations
959. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da                Police
960. Get Down                                             War
961. I Feel for You                                        Chaka Khan
962. Back on the Chain Gang                         Pretenders
963. Break Up to Make Up                           Stylistics
964. I Still Haven't Foung What I'm Lookin' For U2
965. I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better                     Byrds
966. Leavin' on a Jet Plane                              Peter, Paul & May
967. Vehicle                                                   The Ides of March
968. It's Too Late                                           Carole King
969. Eleanor Rigby                                         Beatles
970. My Life                                                  Billy Joel
971. Laughter in the Rain                                Neal Sedaka
972. I Want You Back                                   Jackson 5
973. We're an American Band                        Grand Funk Railroad
974. Higher Love                                            Steve Winwood
975. Everyday People                                     Sly and the Family Stone

This is the first of four songs on my countdown by the r&b group from Philadelphia The Stylistics led by the incredible voice of Russell Thomphins, Jr. The band had a string of hits in the early 1970s but when producer Thom Bell left the group the group faded. Today the group has splintered into two separate groups and both tour.

The Illonois-based Ides of March are not one hit wonders but Vehicle was their only hit to make the top 40, peaking at #2 in 1970. Vocalist/gitarist Jim Peterich went on to co-found the band Survivor(Eye of the Tiger). The band remnis on tour today.

Get Down by War is the third on nine songs on my countdown by War. The song was never rteleased as a single but their is a live version on one of my old 8 tracks that I love. Four original member of War now play in the Low Rider Band which doesn't seem to do too many gigs while original member Lonnie Jordan remains with War.

You Showed Me is the second of five songs on my list from The Turtles who had a great string of hits in the mid-to-late 1960s. For most of the time since the two singers(Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman) have toured as Flo & Eddie and the Turtles. This summer Flo & Eddie and the Turtles are touring on the Happy Together tour with the Buckinghams, the Grass Roots, Mark Lindsay(lead singer of aul Revre and the Raiders) and the Association. That is a can't miss event!