Whoo! Finally coming up for air. That’s what it seems like after working for eight straight days, feeding the news of the day to the web as it happens.
It comes with the territory when you work in journalism, but six of these last eight days have been wall-to-wall Wisconsin presidential primary coverage mixed in with a modest snowstorm and then an every-church-called-off winter storm on Sunday.
So now that I finally have a couple of days off, I’m ready to kick back with some tunes. Some ’70s tunes, to be precise.
But I need your wise counsel.
This weekend, I’m going to be burning seven CDs of ’70s music to be auctioned off at a benefit dinner next week. The themes probably will be chosen from this list — radio hits, soul, R&B, dance, funk, outlaw country, soundtracks, ladies, love songs, Christmas.
So I welcome your suggestions on ’70s tunes that aren’t the usual suspects. Either put a note in the comments or drop me an e-mail.
Enjoy seven from the ’70s as you think about it.
“Getting the Bills (But Not the Merchandise),” Clarence Carter, from “Patches,” 1970.
“Sugar, Sugar,” Tom Jones, from “Tom,” 1970. Not available on CD that I can find. (Yes, this is what you think it is. A cover of the tune by the Archies. Classic ’70s harmonic convergence, if you will.)
“What’d I Say,” Rare Earth, from “Rare Earth In Concert,” 1971.
“If You Can Hully Gully (I Can Hully Gully, Too),” Ike and Tina Turner, from “Feel Good,” 1972. (This entire side also featured over at our other blog, The Midnight Tracker.)
“Armed and Extremely Dangerous,” First Choice, 1973, from “The Original Funk Soul Brothers and Sisters!” a compilation CD included with the July 2005 issue of Uncut magazine.
“Silverbird,” Mark Lindsay, 1973, from “20 Rock Super Hits,” a Columbia House compilation. (Also available, as shown, on “Golden Classics: Arizona/Silverbird,” a 2-for-1 issue on CD.)
“They Say I’m Different,” Betty Davis, from “They Say I’m Different,” 1974.
Now you see my problem. It took no time to rack up seven, and we barely got halfway through the decade.
So you see why your wise counsel is welcome.
AM, Then FM 
How about Long John Baldry’s “Don’t Try And Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King Of Rock n Roll?” A classic recording. Elton John on piano, Maggie Bell and Rod Stewart on backing vocals. The spoken word intro is funny, and a bit long. But the rest of the song rocks.
Another one that still sticks in my head from that era is a group called Mothers Finest. They had a hit song called “Fire” that got some airplay on the alternative stations of the day.
Gracias and blessings to you for posting this hard-to-find song! :o)