1973 In Music - October's Almost Made the Charts

  Continuing my look at songs that dropped off the charts during the month, but never made the Top 40.  And for October, I counted 26, a much more typical number.

Here they are, with peak position noted:

• Woman From Tokyo - Deep Purple - 60
• This Time It's Real - Tower Of Power - 65
• Everybody's Had The Blues - Merle Haggard And The Strangers - 62
• You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me - Ray Price - 82
• Blood Red And Goin' Down - Tanya Tucker - 74
• Slippin' Away - Jean Shepard - 81
• Kid Stuff - Barbara Fairchild - 95
• Rhapsody In Blue - Deodato - 41
• Loving Arms - Dobie Gray - 61
• Evil - Earth, Wind and Fire - 50
• Love Is All - Engelbert Humperdinck - 91
• Farewell Andromeda (Welcome To My Morning) - John Denver - 89
• Tonight - Raspberries - 69
• Sexy, Sexy, Sexy - James Brown - 50
• Muskrat Love - America - 67
• He - Today's People - 90
• Make Me Twice The Man - New York City - 96
• Sweet Harmony - Smokey Robinson - 48
• The Last Thing On My Mind - Neil Diamond - 56
• Freedom For The Stallion - The Hues Corporation - 63
• Send A Little Love My Way - Anne Murray - 72
• Parrty - Part I - Maceo And The Macks - 71
• That's Why You Remember - Kenny Karen - 82
• As Time Goes By - Nilsson - 86

September 2023: Nifty Fifty, Straight Out of Camera Pt.7 - Extras

Finishing up my summary of September's Nifty-Fifty-Straight-Out-Of-Camera challenge over at BetterPhoto.  Details HERE.  This is the 7th installment, covering some images that I posted beyond the 1 per day.  You'll notice that not all of these are b&w...

9/6:  Trust No 1

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9/15 Great Forest Pack Balloon Race

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9/16:  Triangle

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9/17:  Trees

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9/25:  Spots

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9/27:  Cave Of The Winds

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9/28:  Horse and Buggy

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So there you have it.  37 photos in a month, all Straight Out Of the Camera (no editing), and all shot at a 50mm (equivalent) focal length.  I had a lot of fun with it.

Hikers 365 Challenge

 I'm sure I've posted about it here, sometime during 2023, but I've officially finished the Hikers 365 Challenge this week.  The goal is to hike 365 miles in a year, with hikes (not just walking around) of at least 1 miles each.  It took me 9+ months, or 41.8 weeks to complete the 365.  I'll keep going, of course, but doubt I'll be able to make my goal of 500 miles in the year. (my pace works out to 466) .

A couple of interesting tidbits:

• My average Miles per Hike is only 1.81 miles per hike, but with 201 hikes in 293 days.  
• My longest hikes was a rather modest 5.68 miles
• I had hikes in 13 different states: IL, VA, NY, LA, ME, MO, NC, WV, OH, KY, PA, IN, MS (Listed in order of most->least miles)
• 38% of my miles were in/around my neighborhood.  That's a bit disappointing, but means I didn't have to drive to walk
• Not quite 16% of my walks were on the local bike trails

This has been a really good experience for me, I had fallen into a "work from home, sit in my office, move to the couch" trap.  I was shocked to look at my steps counter last December, and it spurred me to action.  My steps per year is over 2x what it was last year, and I'm feeling better for it.

GOALS:

• I'd like to get as close to 500 for the year as possible, but will be satisfied with anything over 450.
• I'm debating starting some of the other challenges from the same organization, starting with the Winter Challenge (which starts 11/1).
• I want to do the challenge again in 2024 (perhaps informally), and improve on 2323's performance
• I really want to get my overall steps (not just hikes) higher.

Ny suggestions?

September 2023: Nifty Fifty, Straight Out of Camera Pt.6

  Still finishing up my summary of September's Nifty-Fifty-Straight-Out-Of-Camera challenge over at BetterPhoto.  Details HERE.  This is the 6th installment of 5 photos, covering 9/26 through 9/30, finishing up the primary entries for the month.  I plan to add another post with some of the extras that I posted to my secondary gallery.

9/26: High Falls, Rochester, NY

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9/27:  Niagara Falls

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9/28:  Barn Wheel

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9/29: Middle Falls

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9/30:  The Stand

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19,144 Songs

 Not long ago, I mentioned to somebody that my iPod had over 16,000 songs on it, and asked “Do you even listen to all of them?”

We’ll, I think so, but wasn’t really sure.  So I decided to check (looking at iTunes):

First off. As of 10/13/2023, I have 19,144 songs on the iPod.  That’s a lot more than the 16k I had thought.  That covers all genres of music.

As to if they all get listened to?  Sorting the library by “Last Played”, I determined

• Almost 1/3 of my library (31.1%) has been played in the past year.    
• Not quite 1/2 (49.7%) has been played in the last 2 years.  
• Over 2/3 (67.9%) in the past 3 years
• Over 3/4 (76.2%) in the past 4 years
• Almost 4/5 (79.6%) in the past 5 years.

I figure that’s pretty decent.  There’s a lot of songs that I have more than 1 copy 

(like greatest hits albums and album versions).  

Or songs that I acquired as part of an anthology collection (but didn’t like).  

But it does flag that I should do a little cleanup.

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September 2023: Nifty Fifty, Straight Out of Camera Pt.5

 Still finishing up my summary of September's Nifty-Fifty-Straight-Out-Of-Camera challenge over at BetterPhoto.  Details HERE.  This is the 5th installment of 5 photos, covering 9/21 through 9/25.  Keep posed for the 6th edition covering 9/26 through 9/30.  Then (probably) a 7th covering "extras".

9/21: Hole

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9/22: On The Beach

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9/23: Coin

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9/24: R115

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9/25: The Beach Is A Place

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On The Charts - October 1973

 Continuing the review of songs that were on the Top 40 (US) charts 50 years ago (1973).  We're on to October; starting to wind it down.  

All of the 1973 music posts can be seen HERE, btw.

Following the normal format, here's the Top 10 songs for October 1973, based on the average chart position (US charts) over the 4 weeks in the month:

• Half-Breed - Cher - 1.75
• Angie - The Rolling Stones - 4
• Ramblin Man - The Allman Brothers Band - 4
• Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye - 4
• Midnight Train To Georgia - Gladys Knight And The Pips - 6.25
• That Lady (Part 1) - The Isley Brothers - 6.75
• Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder - 6.75
• Keep On Truckin' (Part 1) - Eddie Kendricks - 7.75
• Loves Me Like A Rock - Paul Simon (with The Dixie Hummingbirds) - 9.75
• We're An American Band - Grand Funk - 10

Three (3) songs topped the charts in October, 1973:  Hilf Breed, by Cher, opened the month at #1 for the first 2 weeks.  Rolling Stones took over the 3rd week of October, with Angie, and Gladys Knight and the Pip's Midnight Train to Georgia closed out the month at the top.  Another interesting month in the top 10, Angie and Midnight Train are 2 of the greatest songs of the 70's.  And Half Breed is solid, but the only song in this top 10 that I don't own.  

There were 53 individual songs on the Top 40 over the course of the 4 weeks in September, which is pretty much average.

18 songs made their Top 40 debut in October, which is pretty typical.  Several are especially notable, a few?  Not so much. Here they are, with their debut rank:  

• Paper Roses - Marie Osmond - 25
• Space Race - Billy Preston - 26
• Just You 'n' Me - Chicago - 28
• All I Know - Garfunkel - 29
• Photograph - Ringo Starr - 29
• We May Never Pass This Way (Again) - Seals and Crofts 31
• Top Of The World Carpenters 31
• Ecstasy - Ohio Players - 34
• You're A Special Part Of Me - Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye - 35
• Nutbush City Limits - Ike and Tina Turner - 36
• The Love I Lost (Part 1) - Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes - 37
• Jesse - Roberta Flack - 38
• Let Me In - The Osmonds - 38
• Cheaper To Keep Her - Johnnie Taylor - 38
• Summer (The First Time) - Bobby Goldsboro - 39
• Funky Stuff - Kool and The Gang - 40
• I Got A Name - Jim Croce - 40
• The Most Beautiful Girl - Charlie Rich - 40

So that's it, look for the post later this month of songs that dropped off the Hot 100 in September without having made the Top 40!

September 2023: Nifty Fifty, Straight Out of Camera Pt.4

 Well, we were out of town for almost 3 weeks, so I feel behind posting.  I did also kind of forget (hanging head in shame).  But, thanks to my iPad (and a card reader) I was able to keep up on Septembers Nifty Fifty - Straight Out Of Camera project.  After travelling,   This is part 4, covering 9/16 through 9/20.  I'll try and get Parts 5, 6 and 7 out asap,  

9/16: Showtime!

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9/17: Late In The Day

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9/18: Cloud Scape

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9/19: Bird Houses

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9/20: Scootering

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So that's Part 4, Parts 1, 2 and 3 can be found HERE

1973 In Music - September's Almost Made the Charts

 Continuing my look at songs that dropped off the charts during the month, but never made the Top 40.  And for August, I counted a whopping 50.  That's more than triple the normal (since I started logging)

Here they are, with peak position noted:

• Baby I've Been Missing You - The Independents - 41
• Sweet Charlie Babe - Jackie Moore - 42
• Love, Love, Love - Donny Hathaway - 44
• Clouds - David Gates - 47
• Everyone's Agreed That Everything Will Turn Out Fine - Stealers Wheel - 49
• Don't Let It End ('til You Let It Begin) - The Miracles - 56
• Billion Dollar Babies - Alice Cooper - 57
• Bongo Rock - The Incredible Bongo Band - 57
• Twisting The Night Away - Rod Stewart - 59
• Just Don't Want To Be Lonely - Ronnie Dyson - 60
• All I Need Is Time - Gladys Knight And The Pips - 61
• Show Biz Kids - Steely Dan - 61
• Slick - Willie Hutch - 65
• Sixty Minute Man/Mother-In-Law - Clarence Carter - 65
• Top Of The World - Lynn Anderson - 74
• One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack) - Coven - 79
• The Peacemaker - Albert Hammond - 80
• Hang Loose - Mandrill - 83
• They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! - Napoleon XIV - 87
• Queen Of The Roller Derby - Leon Russell - 89
• Stay Away From Me - The Sylvers - 89
• Sylvia - Focus - 89
• The Long Way Home - Neil Diamond - 91
• Make Me Twice The Man - New York City - 93
• Kid Stuff - Barbara Fairchild - 95
• Until It's Time For You To Go - The New Birth - 97
• Make Up Your Mind - The J. Geils Band - 98
• Soul Je T'aime - Sylvia And Ralfi Pagan - 99

Note that "One Tin Soldier" was a re-recording of the 1971 hit that had previously reached #26.

Note that "They're Coming to Take Me Away" is a re-release of the song that hit #3 in 1966. 

September 2023: Nifty Fifty, Straight Out of Camera Pt.3

  Over at 365project, they're doing a challenge for September.  Nifty Fifty, Straight Out of Camera.  More detailed explanation here.  But for the month, participants are challenged to present photos with no post-processing (straight out of camera or sooc), shot with a 50mm lens (or 50mm equivalent - nifty fifty or nf).

Continuing my reposts, here's part 3.

9/11: Power Line

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9/12:  Crossing

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9/13: Latched

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9/14:  Potted

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9/15:  Join Our Team

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There's Part 3.  Click for Parts 1 and 2. more parts to follow.

September 2023: Nifty Fifty, Straight Out of Camera Pt.2

 Over at 365project, they're doing a challenge for September.  Nifty Fifty, Straight Out of Camera.  More detailed explanation here.  But for the month, participants are challenged to present photos with no post-processing (straight out of camera or sooc), shot with a 50mm lens (or 50mm equivalent - nifty fifty or nf).

Continuing my reposts, here's part 2.

9/6:  Greenbrier River

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9/7:  New River

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9/8:  In The Woods

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9/9:  Blue Ridge Farm

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9/10:  Door, Flag

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There's Part 2.  Click for Part 1. more parts to follow.

September 2023: Nifty Fifty, Straight Out of Camera Pt.1

 Over at 365project, they're doing a challenge for September.  Nifty Fifty, Straight Out of Camera.  

The point of the challenge is to throw back to the old days:  

"when photography enthusiasts purchased a camera it was invariably either a 35mm range-finder or a 35mm SLR. In most cases it was fitted with a "standard" 50mm lens. A roll of film was then exposed and sent to the lab and several days later, when you got it back and viewed the prints (or slides) there were some good, some bad but you were stuck with the result of your initial in-camera composition and exposure.".   

So for the month, participants are challenged to present photos with no post-processing (straight out of camera or sooc), shot with a 50mm lens (or 50mm equivalent - nifty fifty or nf).

Anyway, as somebody who started photography back in the film days, I usually participate, at least part of the month.  This year, I've really stressed it, and added the constraint of shooting black-and-white for the challeneg, since that's most of what I shot back in the high-school / college days.

Without getting too geeky, on my camera (and many digital cameras) the focal length to match the old 50mm lens is 33.33mm.  Trust me or google it.   

Anyway, lots of words, need more photos.  As we wind down the month, I decided to spotlight my NF-SOOC photos here.  I'll do a handful at a time.  I should probably post them over at Happenstance, too...

9/1: Stop Ahead

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9/2: Rest Easy

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9/3:  4-Track

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9/4:  Pittsburgh, Monongahela River

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9/5:  St. Mary’s Of The Mount

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There's the first 5, stay tuned for more!

Wild and Wonderful

During recent trips to SW Virginia, I've driven (in pieces) old Route 52 from Bluefield, WV almost to the NC Border.  This is the route we drove (rode) when my family lived in WV (in the 60's) when visiting my mother's family (in NC).  Wytheville, Hillsville, Fancy Gap....  Into NC past Mout Airey and Pilot Mountain.  Up and down the mountains on 2 lane windy roads.  Back before the interstates cut straight through the mountains and bypassed the towns.  (Sheesh, I sound like a lecture from Cars!).

Anyway, the last section I drove was from the south end of the East River Mountain Tunnel, up and over the mountain.  I had missed this on our last trip, as the posted Rt 52 now goes through the tunnel.  A quick look at a map showed that the old Rt. 52 is now named 598.  There's an overlook at the peak, just into WV, with views into Bluefield and southern WV.  

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On The Charts - September 1973

Continuing the review of songs that were on the Top 40 (US) charts 50 years ago (1973).  We're on to September; 3/4 through the year!  

All of the 1973 music posts can be seen HERE, btw.

Following the normal format, here's the Top 10 songs for September 1973, based on the average chart position (US charts) over the 5 weeks in the month:

• Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye - 1.6
• Delta Dawn - Helen Reddy - 3
• Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose - Dawn Featuring Tony Orlando - 5
• Brother Louie - Stories - 5.2
• We're An American Band - Grand Funk - 5.4
• Loves Me Like A Rock - Paul Simon - 5.4
• Touch Me In The Morning - Diana Ross - 7.8
• Live And Let Die - Paul McCartney And Wings - 13
• Gypsie Man - War - 13.2
• That Lady (Part 1) - The Isley Brothers - 14.2 (Tie)
• Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting - Elton John - 14.2 (Tie)

Three (4) songs topped the charts in September, 1973.  Brother Louie, by Stories, opened the month at #1 but only for 1 week.  Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On took over the 2nd week of September, dropped out for a week, the rebounded for the 4th week of the month.  Delta Dawn, by Helen Reddy spent one week at #1, splitting Marvin Gaye's stay.  The month ended with Grand Funk's We're An American Band at the top.       Another eclectic month in the top 10, some great, some good, some...  well, not my favorite.  In fact, I only own 7 of the top 10 songs.  

There were 64 individual songs on the Top 40 over the course of the 5 weeks in September, which is pretty much average.

24 songs made their Top 40 debut in September, which is pretty typical.  But some are especially notable.Here they are, with their debut rank:  

• Angie - The Rolling Stones - 22
• China Grove - The Doobie Brothers - 24
• Basketball Jones Featuring Tyrone Shoelaces - Cheech & Chong - 26
• Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder - 30
• Keep On Truckin' (Part 1) - Eddie Kendricks - 30
• Ghetto Child - The Spinners - 30
• Half-Breed - Cher - 33
• Midnight Train To Georgia - Gladys Knight And The Pips - 33
• Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne - Looking Glass - 33
• Yes We Can Can - The Pointer Sisters - 34
• Ecstasy - Ohio Players - 34
• Ramblin Man - The Allman Brothers Band - 35
• You've Never Been This Far Before - Conway Twitty - 35
• Stoned Out Of My Mind - The Chi-lites - 36
• Rocky Mountain Way - Joe Walsh - 36
• Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan - 36
• Free Ride - Edgar Winter Group - 37
• I've Got So Much To Give - Barry White - 37
• To Know You Is To Love You - B.B. King - 38
• Hey Girl (i Like Your Style) - The Temptations - 39
• In The Midnight Hour - Cross Country 39
• Heartbeat - It's A Lovebeat - The DeFranco Family - 39
• Get It Together - Jackson 5 - 40
• Hurts So Good - Millie Jackson - 40

So that's it, look for the post later this month of songs that dropped off the Hot 100 in September without having made the Top 40!

1973 In Music - August's Almost Made the Charts

Continuing my look at songs that dropped off the charts during the month, but never made the Top 40.  And for August, I counted a whopping 50.  That's more than triple the normal (since I started logging)

Here they are, with peak position noted:

• Roll Over Beethoven - Electric Light Orchestra - 42
• Watergrate - Dickie Goodman - 42
• There's No Me Without You - The Manhattans - 43
• Soul Makossa - Afrique - 47
• Never, Never, Never (Grande, Grande, Grande) - Shirley Bassey - 48
• Over The Hills And Far Away - Led Zeppelin - 51
• Finder's Keepers - Chairman Of The Board - 59
• I'd Rather Be A Cowboy - John Denver - 62
• Tequila Sunrise - Eagles - 64
• Darling Come Back Home - Eddie Kendricks - 67
• Lord, Mr. Ford - Jerry Reed - 68
• It's Forever - The Ebonys - 68
• Didn't I - Sylvia - 70
• Blockbuster - The Sweet - 73
• He Did With Me - Vicki Lawrence - 75
• My Merry-go-round - Johnny Nash - 77
• Think - James Brown - 80
• There You Go - Edwin Starr - 80
• Friend Of Mine - Bill Withers - 80
• Roland The Roadie And Gertrude The Groupie - Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show - 83
• Sunshine - Mickey Newbury - 87
• Black Byrd - Donald Byrd - 88
• You Were Always There - Donna Fargo - 93
• Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) - Commander Cody - 94
• L.a. Freeway - Jerry Jeff Walker - 98

There's some real classics there, somewhat surprising.  Just goes to show....