August 1970

 Fifty years ago this month, what what happening on the music charts?

Well, during the 5 weeks of August 1970, there were 58 songs that spent time in the Top 40. Lots of great stuff.

Three (3) songs made the Top spot: The Carpenters' "Close To You" topped the charts for the first 3 weeks (completing a run of 4 weeks atop the charts).  Bread took the top for a week with "Make It With You", and Edwin Star's "War" was #1 at month's end.

Here's the top 10 songs of the month, ranked by average chart position over the 4 weeks of the month:

• (They Long To Be) Close To You - Carpenters - 1.6
• Make It With You - Bread - 1.8
• Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder - 4.6
• Spill The Wine - Eric Burdon And War - 4.6
• War - Edwin Starr - 6.8
• Band Of Gold - Freda Payne - 7.4
• In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry - 9.6
• Tighter, Tighter - Alive & Kicking - 10.0
• Mama Told Me (Not To Come) - Three Dog Night - 11.8
• I Just Can't Help Believing - B.J. Thomas - 12.6

I made a Spotify playlist of the Top 10, if anybody wants to listen:  August 1970

A whopping 26 songs made their Top 40 debut, here they are (listed by entering position):

• Lookin' Out My Back Door - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 23 
• Don't Play That Song - Aretha Franklin with The Dixie Flyers - 23
• Hi-De-Ho - Blood, Sweat & Tears - 25
• Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Diana Ross 26
• Overture From Tommy (A Rock Opera) - The Assembled Multitude - 28
• Patches - Clarence Carter - 29 
• I (Who Have Nothing) - Tom Jones - 29
• Get Up (I Feel Like Being Like A) Sex Machine (Part 1) - James Brown - 30 
• Big Yellow Taxi - The Neighborhood - 30
• Summertime Blues - The Who - 33 
• Candida - Dawn - 33
• The Sly, Slick, And The Wicked - The Lost Generation - 34 
• Solitary Man - Neil Diamond - 34
• Hand Me Down World - The Guess Who - 35 
• I've Lost You/The Next Step Is Love - Elvis Presley - 36 
• Rubber Duckie - Ernie (Jim Henson) - 36
• Everybody's Got The Right To Love - The Supremes - 37
• (I Know) I'm Losing You - Rare Earth - 37
• 25 Or 6 To 4 - Chicago - 38 
• Julie, Do Ya Love Me - Bobby Sherman - 38 
• Snowbird - Anne Murray - 38
• I Want To Take You Higher - Ike & Tina Turner & The Ikettes - 38
• Do You See My Love (For You Growing) - Jr. Walker & The All Stars - 39
• Groovy Situation - Gene Chandler - 40
• It's A Shame - The Spinners - 40
• Cracklin' Rosie - Neil Diamond - 40