September 1971

I'm running behind, but the month hasn't ended quite yet, so I'm calling it GOOD (enough)...  Here's 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 over a year now, plan to continue indefinitely.  

  So what was September 1971 like?

There were 4 weeks of September '71, and there were 55 songs that spent time in the Top 40. As usual, lots of great stuff.  1971 was a pretty outstanding year!

Only 2 songs topped the charts in September '71, but that is 1 more than August. Paul  McCartney opened the month with a 1 week run at #1 with "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey".Donny Osmond took over and spent the rest of the month at #1 with his version of the Goffin/King written "Go Away Little Girl".  The song made the Top 15 three times between 1963 and 1971, and was the first song to het #1 twice by two different artists.  That said, I'm not a fan.  Actually, that's an understatement.  Donny Osmond's version of "Go Away Little Girl" is a perfect example of where early 70's pop could go wrong.  Oh well, at least I'm not bitter.

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

• Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond - 2.00
• Spanish Harlem - Aretha Franklin - 3.25
• Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers - 4.00
• Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Paul McCartney - 4.25
• Smiling Faces Sometimes - The Undisputed Truth - 4.75
• I Just Want To Celebrate - Rare Earth - 8.50
• How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - Bee Gees - 8.50
• Maggie May - Rod Stewart - 8.75
• Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - The Dramatics - 10.25
• The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - Joan Baez - 10.50

Twenty Three (23) songs made their Top 40 debut, a couple of pretty notable songs.  Here they are (listed by entering position):

• Superstar - Carpenters - 17
• Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep - Mac And Katie Kissoon - 30
• Make It Funky (Part 1) - James Brown - 30
• The Story In Your Eyes - The Moody Blues - 31
• Do You Know What I Mean - Lee Michaels - 34
• The Breakdown (Part I) - Rufus Thomas - 34
• Sweet City Woman - Stampeders - 35
• Thin Line Between Love & Hate - The Persuaders - 35
• Trapped By A Thing Called Love - Denise LaSalle - 35
• Wedding Song (There Is Love) - Paul Stookey - 36
• The Love We Had (Stays On My Mind) - The Dells - 36
• If You Really Love Me - Stevie Wonder - 37
• I Ain't Got Time Anymore - The Glass Bottle - 37
• Stagger Lee - Tommy Roe - 37
• Rain Dance - The Guess Who - 38
• So Far Away - Carole King - 39
• All Day Music - War - 39
• I've Found Someone Of My Own - The Free Movement - 39
• K-Jee - The Nite-Liters - 39
• Surrender - Diana Ross - 40
• I Likes To Do It - The People's Choice - 40
• Easy Loving - Freddie Hart - 40
• Yo-Yo - The Osmonds - 40