40 Hits, 40 Stories

Innovative sounds in pop, rock and soul in the 1960s and 1970s meant that music appealed to more people than ever before. While some songs appealed to a broad audience, some targeted a much narrower demographic, meaning songs on the pop charts might not do as well on the adult contemporary or soul charts, or vice versa.
This book examines forty songs featured on song charts of the 1960s and 1970s. Charts considered are Billboard Pop, Billboard Soul, Adult Contemporary, Cashbox and British Charts. Each listing includes discussion of the factors that contributed to the songs’ popularity. Author interviews with songwriters, musicians and artists such as KC (of KC and the Sunshine Band), Mark Farner (of Grand Funk), Jerry Butler, Ron Dante (of the Archies and the Cuff Links), Freda Payne, Lou Christie, Tommy Roe, The Spinners and others tell the stories behind some of the era’s most popular songs.

The author of more than 130 articles and reviews and seven books, Rick Simmons was formerly the George K Anding Endowed Professor of English at Louisiana Tech University, where he was director of Honors. He currently lives in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, and teaches at the Georgetown School of Arts and Sciences.

Rick Simmons
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 257
Bibliographic Info: 70 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8375-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4690-9
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments v
Preface 1
Introduction 3
#1. “Play That Funky Music” (1976), Wild Cherry 7
#2. “Band of Gold” (1970), Freda Payne 12
#3. “A Hundred Pounds of Clay” (1961), Gene McDaniels 17
#4. “Bad Time” (1975), Grand Funk 21
#5. “Grazing in the Grass” (1969), Friends of Distinction 28
#6. “Girl Watcher” (1968), The O’Kaysions 34
#7. “More Today Than Yesterday” (1969), The Spiral Starecase 41
#8. “Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely” (1974), The Main Ingredient 47
#9. “Tracy” (1969), The Cuff Links 52
#10. “Swing Your Daddy” (1975), Jimmy Gilstrap 57
#11. “Susan” (1967), The Buckinghams 62
#12. “The Cheater” (1965), Bob Kuban and the ­In-Men 67
#13. “Everlasting Love” (1967), Robert Knight 73
#14. “Mama Didn’t Lie” (1963), Jan Bradley 79
#15. “It’s a Shame” (1970), The Spinners 83
#16. “Oh How Happy” (1966), Shades of Blue 89
#17. “Private Number” (1968), Judy Clay and William Bell 95
#18. “Double Shot (of My Baby’s Love)” 1966, The Swingin’ Medallions  101
#19. “The Oogum Boogum Song” (1967), Brenton Wood 107
#20. “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” (1970), Edison Lighthouse 112
#21. “So Much in Love” (1963), The Tymes 117
#22. “Sugar, Sugar” (1969), The Archies 123
#23. “What Kind of Fool” (1969), Bill Deal and the Rhondels 128
#24. “Hey, Western Union Man” (1968), Jerry Butler 133
#25. “Searching for My Love” (1966), Bobby Moore and the Rhythm Aces 138
#26. “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy” (1968), The Tams 143
#27. “This Time It’s Real” (1973), Tower of Power 148
#28. “I Got Rhythm” (1967), The Happenings 153
#29. “­Mother-in-Law” (1961), Ernie ­K-Doe 159
#30. “Can’t Find the Time” (1971), Rose Colored Glass 165
#31. “Keep It Comin’ Love” (1977), KC and the Sunshine Band 172
#32. “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love” (1973), The Spinners 177
#33. “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” (1967), The Foundations 183
#34. “Smoke from a Distant Fire” (1977), The Sanford Townsend Band 189
#35. “I Love You 1000 Times” (1966), The Platters 195
#36. “There’s Gonna Be a Showdown” (1968), Archie Bell and the Drells 202
#37. “Rhapsody in the Rain” (1966), Lou Christie 209
#38. “Beach Baby” (1974), The First Class 214
#39. “Strawberry Shortcake” (1968), Jay and the Techniques 218
#40. “Jack and Jill” (1969), Tommy Roe 223
Works Cited 231
Index 235