Music News

[CellarDweller]

Morris Mac Davis (January 21, 1942 – September 29, 2020) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and actor, originally from Lubbock, Texas; he enjoyed much crossover success. 

Davis became famous as a songwriter and got his start as an employee of Nancy Sinatra's company, Boots Enterprises, Inc. Davis was with Boots for several years in the late 1960s. During his time there, he played on many of Sinatra's recordings, and she worked him into her stage shows. Boots Enterprises also acted as Davis's publishing company, publishing songs such as "In the Ghetto", "Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife", "Home", "It's Such a Lonely Time of Year", and "Memories", which were recorded by Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra, B. J. Thomas, and many others. Davis left Boots Enterprises in 1970 to sign with Columbia Records, taking all of his songs with him.

Davis soon decided to pursue a career of his own in country music; he was signed to Columbia Records in 1970. After several years of enriching the repertoires of other artists, his big success came two years after signing with Columbia. He topped the Country and Pop charts with the song "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me". It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America in September 1972.

Some of Davis's lyrics invoked overtly sexual relationships. In the song "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me", he pleads with a woman not to become too enamored with him, because he does not want to commit to a full-time relationship. Other hit songs by Davis, such as "Naughty Girl" and "Baby Spread Your Love on Me", contained similar lyrics.

Billboard Top 40 Chart

Year            Title                               Peak Position on Chart

1972  -  "Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me"  -  1
1974  -  "One Hell of a Woman"  -  11
1974  -  "Stop and Smell the Roses"  -  9   
1975  -  "Rock 'N' Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life)"  -  15


Mac Davis was much more successful on the country music charts.


Billboard Top 40 Country Singles


Year            Title                               Peak Position on Chart


1972  -  "Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me"  -  26
1973  -  "Your Side of the Bed"  -  36
1973  -  "Kiss It and Make It Better"  -  29   
1974  -  "Stop and Smell the Roses"  -  40
1975  -  "Rock 'N' Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life)"  -  29
1975  -  "Burnin' Thing"  -  31
1976  -  "Forever Lovers"  -  17
1976  -  "Every Now and Then"  -  34
1980  -  "It's Hard to Be Humble"  -  10
1980  -  "Let's Keep It That Way"  -  10
1980  -  "Texas in My Rearview Mirror"  -  9
1981  -  "Hooked on Music"  -  2
1981  -  "You're My Bestest Friend"  -  5
1982  -  "Rodeo Clown"  -  37
1985  -  "I Never Made Love (Till I Made It with You)"  -     10
1985  -  "I Feel the Country Callin' Me"  -  34

[CellarDweller]

Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 1941 – 29 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress and activist. Born in Melbourne, Victoria, to a show-business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on radio and television and won a talent contest on the television program, Bandstand, in 1966; her prize was a ticket to New York City and a record audition, which was unsuccessful.

She pursued her international singing career by moving to Chicago and, subsequently, Los Angeles, where she made her debut singles "One Way Ticket" and "I Believe in Music" in 1968 and 1970 respectively. The B-side of the latter single, "I Don't Know How to Love Him", reached No. 8 on the pop chart of Canadian magazine RPM. She was signed to Capitol Records a year later.
During the 1970s, Reddy enjoyed international success, especially in the United States where she placed 15 singles on the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Six made the Top 10 and three reached No. 1, including her signature hit "I Am Woman".


Year              Song Title                       Peak Position on Billboard Top 40 Chart


1971  -  "I Don't Know How to Love Him"  -  13
1972  -  "I Am Woman"  -  1
1973  -  "Peaceful"  -  12
1973  -  "Delta Dawn"  -  1
1973  -  "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)"  -  3
1974  -  "Keep on Singing"  -  15
1974  -  "You and Me Against the World"  -  9
1974  -  "Angie Baby"  -  1
1975  -  "Emotion"  -  22
1975  -  "Bluebird"  -  35
1975  -  "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady"  -  8
1975  -  "Somewhere in the Night"  -  19
1977  -  "You're My World"  -  18   
1991  -  "Voices That Care"  -  11  **

**"Voices That Care" is not a Helen Reddy song.   It was a charity single released in 1991 in order to boost the morale of troops involved in Operation Desert Sheild, and supported the International Red Cross Organization.   Helen Reddy was one of many celebrities who  took part in recording the song.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Here's a little connection:  Helen recorded Mac's song "I Believe in Music", which didn't go anywhere. However, the B-side, "I Don't Know How to Love Him" (from JC Superstar) was a big hit for her in 1971, a year before "I Am Woman".

Now that you mention it, I remember that, too. Such a clear voice. Her greatest hits album is probably still out there somewhere.

[serious crayons]

"I Don't Know How to Love Him" (from JC Superstar)

Now there's one I can sing. I used to be able to sing the entire JCS start to finish without the accompaniment of the recording. I could still come pretty close.

I haven't heard the Helen Reddy version, though.

[southendmd]

[Jeff Wrangler]

Now there's one I can sing. I used to be able to sing the entire JCS start to finish without the accompaniment of the recording. I could still come pretty close.

I could do that with Oklahoma! because it was the spring musical my senior year in high school, and I was in it.

[CellarDweller]

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen (/væn ˈheɪlɛn/ van HAY-len; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was a Dutch-born American musician, songwriter, producer, and inventor. He was the main songwriter and founder—with brother and drummer Alex Van Halen, bassist Mark Stone, and singer David Lee Roth—of the American rock band Van Halen. In 2012, he was voted number one in a Guitar World magazine reader's poll for "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Eddie and Alex Van Halen formed a band in 1972.  In 1974, the band changed its name to Van Halen, and Van Halen became a staple of the Los Angeles music scene during the mid-1970s, playing at well-known clubs like the Whisky a Go Go.  In 1977, Warner Bros. Records offered the band a recording contract, and they released their debut album, Van Halen.

Upon its release, Van Halen reached No. 19 on the Billboard pop music charts, becoming one of rock's most commercially successful debuts.  It was highly regarded as both a heavy metal and hard rock album.  By the early 1980s, Van Halen was one of the most successful rock acts of the time.  The album 1984 went five-times platinum after a year of release.  The lead single "Jump" became the band's first and only No. 1 pop hit and garnered them a Grammy nomination.

The band won the 1992 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal for the album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.   As of March 2019, the band is 20th on the RIAA list of best-selling artists in the United States; it has sold 56 million albums in the States and more than 80 million worldwide. Additionally, Van Halen has charted 13 number-one hits in the history of Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. VH1 ranked the band seventh on a list of the top 100 hard rock artists of all time. In January 2007, Van Halen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Eddie Van Halen has received acclaim for his guitar work in the band.

Here are the Billboard Top 40 hits for Van Halen.


Year              Song Title                       Peak Position on Billboard Top 40 Chart


1978  -  "You Really Got Me"  -  36
1979  -  "Dance The Night Away"  -  15
1982  -  "(Oh) Pretty Woman"  -  12
1982  -  "Dancing In The Street"  -  28
1983  -  "Jump"  -  1
1984  -  "I'll Wait"  -  13
1984  -  "Panama"  -  13
1986  -  "Why Can't This Be Love"  -  3
1986  -  "Dreams"  -  22
1986  -  "Love Walks In"  -  22
1988  -  "Black And Blue"  -  34
1988  -  "When It's Love"  -  5
1988  -  "Finish What Ya Started"  -  13   
1988  -  "Feels So Good"  -  35
1991  -  "Top of The World"  -  27
1995  -  "Can't Stop Lovin' You"  -  30

[Front-Ranger]

I could do that with Oklahoma! because it was the spring musical my senior year in high school, and I was in it.

Oh, what part did you play! I would have given a tooth to see Hugh Jackman in that show!

[brianr]

Oh, what part did you play! I would have given a tooth to see Hugh Jackman in that show!

I have a link to Hugh Jackman on my blog (that I use to keep) where I write about my "musical career" (in 1991 long after high school). I did try out for 'Jud" but as usual was just in the chorus.
http://brianaralph.blogspot.com/2009/11/oklahoma.html

[Jeff Wrangler]

Oh, what part did you play! I would have given a tooth to see Hugh Jackman in that show!

I played Ado Annie's father. I opened the second act.