1972 On The Charts - Last Look

 Over the past 12 months, I've posted lists of the songs that topped the US Top 40 Charts month by month.  If you missed it, you can see them here.

But what about the songs that didn't quite make the Top 40?  Or didn't come close?  There were 370 songs that cracked the Hot 100 in 1972, but did NOT make the Top 40.  Many were wonderful and notable songs.  And a lot I don't remember, or never even heard.

Here's a list of some of my favorites that didn't make the top 40, with their peak position:

• Tiny Dancer - Elton John - 41
• Lies - J.J. Cale - 42
• And You And I - Yes - 42
• After Midnight - J.J. Cale - 42
• Handbags And Gladrags - Rod Stewart - 42
• Rock And Roll - Led Zeppelin - 47
• Tupelo Honey - Van Morrison - 47
• Let It Rain - Eric Clapton - 48
• Rock Me On The Water - Jackson Browne - 48
• Be My Lover - Alice Cooper - 49
• Legend In Your Own Time - Carly Simon - 50
• Lucky Man - Emerson, Lake and Palmer - 51
• Duncan - Paul Simon - 52
• Iron Man - Black Sabbath - 52
• For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her - Simon and Garfunkel - 53
• Under My Wheels - Alice Cooper - 59
• It Doesn't Matter - Stephen Stills - 61
• Starman - David Bowie - 65
• Changes - David Bowie - 66
• Francene - ZZ Top - 69
• Truckin' - Grateful Dead - 69
• Nutrocker - Emerson Lake & Palmer - 70
• The Jean Genie - David Bowie - 71
• Iko Iko - Dr. John - 71
• Ain't Wastin' Time No More - Allman Brothers - 77
• I Just Want To Make Love To You - Foghat - 83
• Evil Ways - Carlos Santana  - 84
• Jamalaya (On The Bayou) - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - 84
• Vahevala - Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina - 84
• Ain't That Peculiar - Fanny - 85
• One Way Out - The Allman Brothers Band - 86
• Melissa - The Allman Brothers Band - 86
• Nobody But You - Kenny Loggins With Jim Messina - 86
• Goodbye Again - John Denver - 88
• Down On Me - Janis Joplin - 91
• Rock And Roll Crazies - Stephen Stills-Manassas - 92
• Couldn't I Just Tell You - Todd Rundgren - 93
• Rock & Roll Stew...Part 1 - Traffic - 93
• Celebration - Tommy James - 95
• America - Simon and Garfunkel - 97

A Good Crop - 2021

Regular readers may remember that I usually do a post of my favorite images from the previous year.  Titled "A Good Crop", after Amsel Adam's quote "Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop".  I was thinking about my "good crop" selections for 2022, and realized that I never got around to finishing / posting my selection for 2021!  I figured I should go on and do 2021 before thinking about 2022, and dug up my scratch sheet from 2021's photos.  So, a last pass at culling, and here you go:

In the spirit of Ansel Adams' quote, I've tried to pick my 12 favorite photos. I don't claim anything I've done to be "significant, especially by Ansel Adams standards.  So we'll stick with favorites)...

If you're interested, here's previous posts (I missed 2015):

2020 - A Good Crop

2019 - A Good Crop 

2018 - A Good Crop

2017 - A Good Crop

2016 - A Good Crop

2014 - A Good Crop

2013 - A Good Crop

2012 - A Good Crop

Or you can use the tag:  AGoodCrop

So here you go, my crop for 2020.  I've arranged them semi-randomly, but no "ranking" should be implied.  If you have a favorite (or two), let me know in the comments!  Click though to see larger versions over at my 365project site. 

Cathedral Of Learning

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Reflections

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Milkweed, Wind

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December Streaming

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Chaos

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Wind Power

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Grey Headed Coneflowers

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Cone Cap

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All Alone Together

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Bald Eagle

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Under The Bridge

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Dark Eyed Junko

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Cold Leaf...

On a recent walk in Green Space North, behind Schon Park, I noticed this faded, but not fallen, leaf, sporting a skirt of clinging snow.

 

Dark Eyed Junko Landing

 

It's been really cold the past week so I put out some extra food for the birds.  Including filling the tray of the thistle feeder.  The birds found it quickly and got busy.  Note that they're focusing on the right side, that's leeward (downwind) it was single digits and windy this day.

I like the spray / splash of seeds from the bird that was leaving as this one came in...

December 1972 on the Music Charts

December closes out 1972, and here's  the continuing series of Top music hits of the month.  November 1972, almost done with one of the greatest years in popular music!  Fifty years ago (Yikes!)

There were 5 weeks in December1972, and there were 58 songs that spent time in the the Top 40.  Over those 5 weeks, there were 3 songs that topped the charts:  Papa Was A Rollin' Stone byThe Temptations and I Am Woman by Helen Reddy each spent a week at #1, then Billy Paul's Me And Mrs. Jones took over for the last 3 weeks of 1972.

Here's the top 10 songs of the month, ranked by average chart position over the 5 weeks of the month. 

• Me And Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul - 2.25
• I Am Woman - Helen Reddy - 3
• You Ought To Be With Me - Al Green - 3.75
• Clair - Gilbert O'Sullivan - 5.5
• It Never Rains In Southern California - Albert Hammond - 5.5
• Papa Was A Rollin' Stone - The Temptations - 7.5
• If You Don't Know Me By Now - Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes - 7.75
• Funny Face - Donna Fargo - 9.25
• Rockin' Pneumonia - Boogie Woogie Flu - Johnny Rivers - 11
• I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash - 11.5

Meanwhile, Twenty-Four (24) songs made their Top 40 debut. Here they are, ranked by debut chart position:

• Hi, Hi, Hi - Wings - 27
• Crocodile Rock - Elton John - 30
• Keeper Of The Castle - Four Tops - 32
• Superstition - Stevie Wonder - 32
• Pieces Of April - Three Dog Night - 32
• Why Can't We Live Together - Timmy Thomas - 32
• Long Dark Road - The Hollies - 33
• Trouble Man - Marvin Gaye - 33
• Your Mama Don't Dance - Loggins and Messina - 34
• Sitting - Cat Stevens - 35
• Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - Blue Haze - 35
• The World Is A Ghetto - War - 35
• You're So Vain - Carly Simon - 37
• I Wanna Be With You - Raspberries - 37
• Alive - Bee Gees - 37
• Oh, Babe, What Would You Say? - Hurricane Smith - 37
• Do It Again - Steely Dan - 37
• Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight - James Taylor - 38
• I Didn't Know I Loved You (Till I Saw You Rock And Roll) - Gary Glitter - 38
• What Am I Crying For? - Dennis Yost And The Classics IV - 39
• Theme From The Men - Isaac Hayes - 39
• Been To Canaan - Carole King - 40
• You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio - Joni Mitchell - 40
• Angel - Rod Stewart - 40

So that wraps up 1972, one of the best years ever for the Top 40.  Lots of great stuff, and a variety you just don't hear these days.  

I can see for miles...

So...  A couple of months ago, I just could seem to get my glasses clean enough to see through.  I'd polish them with my shirt, or an appropriate polishing cloth, or even wash them with dish soap.  But I just couldn't get them clear.  I figured it was way past time to get new lenses, that I had probably put enough micro-scratches on these that they were useless.  

We ran up to the local glasses place, where they informed me there was nothing wrong w/ my glasses.  My eyes, however?  Not so good.  A referral to an eye doctor, an evaluation/diagnosis, and two surgeries (one per eye) and the world is a much brighter (and clearer) place!  Still healing up, but it is nice to be able to see again.

Anyway, I was in for a follow-up the other day, and while waiting for the doctor, I snuck a couple phone photos of the equipment. I especially like this one.

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The title is a reference to the old Who Song

in the Universe's Customer Service Abyss

 

The joys of (on-line) customer service.  Last night, I turned on 1 of our TV’s and after 30 seconds or so, the network interface box started cycling through reboots, over and over.  I verified that the problem was in the box (not the TV, nor signal into the house).  I decided to unplug it overnight, but this morning it is totally dead (won’t power up).

Not really a big deal, it happens.  So, this morning it’s a dive into the abyss that is customer service.  First try:  Online support.  After about 20 minutes of serval paths through the infinite loop of on-line help, I finally found a phone number.

Next step: Phone support.  We got hold of a real person withing just a couple of minutes, and then had to go through resetting our PIN and security questions, because we hadn’t needed either in years.  I explained our problem, the person was very understanding.  Then announced that he was in billing, and would need to re-route us to technical support.  And then (before transferring me) tried to see me now phones.

So, after 15+ minutes, I was transferred to Technical support.  Or more accurately, to Technical supprt’s hold music.  And I’ve been sitting on hold for 40+ minutes.  After 20 minutes in a computer voice told me they were busy, and my wait time might exceed 10 minutes.  Yeah, a little over 10 minutes.  After another 20 minutes they told me again that my wait time might exceed 20 minutes…

Finally, after just over an hour, I reached a nice support person who cheerfully ordered a new receiver which we should receive tomorrow.  The whole process took about 70 minutes, but less than 5 once I reached the right person!