#1 at KRIZ/Phoenix: “Sunshine On My Shoulders” by John Denver, from Greatest Hits, this week’s #2 album.
The #1 album is Band On The Run by Paul McCartney & Wings, knocking off Bob Dylan & The Band’s Planet Waves from the summit. The Wings album produces the #4 single, “Jet,” and the title track at #21.
Fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr also scores two hits: “Oh My My” (#7) and “You’re Sixteen” (#16), both from his #5 album, Ringo.
Another singer with two hits — both posthumously — is Jim Croce with “I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song” (#15) and the former #1 song “Time In A Bottle” (#17), the latter from his 1972 debut album, You Don’t Mess Around With Jim (#10), which experienced a resurgence after his death.
Elton John has three songs on the hit list, all from his #7 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. The title track falls to #32 while “Bennie And The Jets” is at #27. The third hit, “Grey Seal,” debuts at #22 and includes the lyrics, “if the Phoenix bird can fly, then so can I.” It’s one of several album tracks that generated significant radio airplay. Over at progressive rock KDKB another Elton non-single, “Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding,” was burning up the airwaves.
Among other notable hits this week:
- “Mockingbird” (#3), James Taylor and Carly Simon’s cover of the 1963 soul hit by Inez and Charlie Foxx, from Carly’s #6 album, Hotcakes;
- “Showdown” (#8) by the Electric Light Orchestra, lead single from On The Third Day;
- “Theme From The Exorcist” (#10), an eerie instrumental by Mike Oldfield that’s actually a shortened version of the title track from the #8 album, Tubular Bells;
- “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)” (#18) by the Rolling Stones, a seemingly nonsensical title for a serious song about murder and drug addiction.