February 1971

Time for the next in my ongoing series of reviewing the Top 40 songs from 50 years ago.  I've been doing this version of the review for For 14 months, plan to continue indefinitely.  

  So what was February 1971 like?

During the 4 weeks of January 1971, there were 56 songs that spent time in the Top 40. As usual, lots of great stuff.  But some not-so-great stuff, I think more than prior months.  It'll be interesting to see if that's a trend for the year.

Only 2 songs made it to #1 during the month.  Dawn (before Tony Orlando's name was split out) started the month at #1 with "Knock Three Times", finishing a 3 week run at #1.  It was followed by the Osmonds' "One Bad Apple" which spent the rest of the month at the top of the charts (on the front end of a 5 week stay).  I usually don't editorialize, but while "Knock 3 Times" is a fun bit of fluff, "One Bad Apple" is not.  Maybe if they had used the Wrecking Crew to record it; it might've had the charm of Jackson 5's "ABC".

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

• One Bad Apple - The Osmonds - 1.25
• Knock Three Times - Dawn - 2.00
• Rose Garden - Lynn Anderson - 3.75
• I Hear You Knocking - Dave Edmunds - 5
• If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot - 9.75
• Groove Me - King Floyd - 9.75
• Lonely Days - Bee Gees - 10.25
• Mama's Pearl - Jackson 5 - 10.75
• Watching Scotty Grow - Bobby Goldsboro - 11.5
• Mr. Bojangles - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - 11.75

Eighteen (21) songs made their Top 40 debut, here they are (listed by entering position):

• Sweet Mary - Wadsworth Mansion - 15
• She's A Lady - Tom Jones - 24
• Mama's Pearl - Jackson 5 - 25
• Me And Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin - 25
• Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) - The Temptations - 29
• (Theme From) Love Story - Henry Mancini And His Orchestra - 30
• Temptation Eyes - The Grass Roots - 31
• Have You Ever Seen The Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 32
• Cried Like A Baby - Bobby Sherman - 32
• Theme From Love Story - Francis Lai And His Orchestra - 33
• Burning Bridges - The Mike Curb Congregation - 34
• (Where Do I Begin) Love Story - Andy Williams - 35
• Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone - Johnnie Taylor - 36
• Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner - 37
• Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted - The Partridge Family - 37
• D.O.A. - Bloodrock - 38
• Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You - Wilson Pickett - 39
• For All We Know - Carpenters - 39
• Help Me Make It Through The Night - Sammi Smith - 39
• Your Time To Cry - Joe Simon - 40
• Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life) - Four Tops - 40

There were a lot of notable songs breaking into the Top 40, look for them in next month's Top 10!