Sunday 12 March 2017

UK Singles Chart: 1972

Now we're into the third year of the 70s, we do very much have glam rock and the teen idols leading the way, but some of the older acts show no sign of fizzling out just yet.

Elvis had another four hits, all reaching the top 10 and is now up to 82 hits. Cliff Richard adds another two hits brining his total to 60. Beyond that it's as you were with Lonnie Donegan and Frank Sinatra tied on 30.

Clocking up their 10th consecutive year of hits this year is the Hollies who had hits with "The Baby" and "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress". The only other 1963 debutant to have a hit this year was the Rolling Stones who had a hit with "Tumbling Dice" and had just gone one year without a hit since they debuted.

There were three 1957 debutants who returned to the charts this year, Jerry Lee Lewis with "Chantilly Lace", Jackie Wilson with "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" and Chuck Berry with "My Ding-A-Ling" which was a number one. Aside from reissues this would be the last we'd see og Jerry Lee Lewis and Jackie Wilson whilst Chuck Berry would have his final hit the following year.

Although they split the previous year, Simon and Garfunkel would have their final hit this year with "America". Paul Simon kicked of his solo career this year with "Mother And Child Reunion" and followed up with "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard".

Bidding farewell to the charts from Motown was Martha & The Vandellas who had their final hit with "Bless You". Making a return after a 5 year gap since their debut was Gladys Knight & The Pips with "Just Walk In My Shoes". The Four Tops were still clocking up the hits but this was the year they left Motown and had their first hit post Motown with "Keeper of the Castle". The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Temptations, Junior Walker & The All-Stars, Diana Ross and the Jacksons would all continue to have hits this year.

There was a significant Motown chart debutant this year though. It was the year Michael Jackson made his solo debut "Got To Be There" and had a further three hits, all making the top 10. One of Michael Jacksons other hits was his cover of "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers who also made his chart debut this year with "Lean On Me".

We also had the solo debut of David Cassidy this year with the double a side "Could It Be Forever/Cherish" which was then followed up by his first number one "How Can I Be Sure".

It was also the year that we saw the Osmond family for the first time. First up came The Osmonds who reached number 40 with "Down By the Lazy River". Then came Donny Osmond who reached number 1 with his debut "Puppy Love". Then making Christmas number one was Little Jimmy Osmond with his debut "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool".

After a 3 year absence David Bowie would return to the chart with "Starman" which would mark the beginning of a long run of hits for the rest of the decade. The Bowie penned "All the Young Dudes" gave Mott the Hoople their chart debut this year. We also saw Roxy Music make their first appearance with "Virginia Plain".

Arguably the biggest success story of the year came from T Rex. They scored two number ones with "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru" and their other two hits reached number two. It meant that since shortening their name to T Rex their chart record stood as 8 hits, 4 number ones and 4 number twos. It put them joint sixth in terms of most number ones alongside Frankie Laine, Guy Mitchell, Everly Brothers and Frank Ifield.

 It was also a good year for Slade with two number ones with "Take Me Bak Ome" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" and they also had a number two and number four.

This was the year Sweet transformed into a glam rock band when they released "Wig-Wam Bam". Also from the glam rock world came the debut of Gary Glitter with "Rock And Roll (Parts 1 And 2)".

It wasn't all about glam rock though, from the world of shock rock came Alice Cooper who scored a number one with his debut hit "Schools Out".

There were also some notable debutants from the soul world. We had Archie Bell & the Drells debut with "Here I Go Again", O Jays debut with "Backstabbers", Stylistics with "Betcha By Golly Wow" and Love Unlimited with "Walkin in the Rain with the One I Love". The latter was written and produced by Barry White who appears as a voice on the telephone at the end.

Neil Young made his debut with "Heart of Gold". It would be another 21 years until he would have his next top 40 hit.

Dr Hook & the Medicine Show had a number two hit this year with "Sylvias Mother" which would be their only hit prior to dropping the medicine show part of their name.

We also had arguably the most controversial artist of the 70s debut in 1972, British reggae artist Judge Dread. His hits this year were "Big Six" and "Big Seven". All of his hits were banned by the BBC.

So now glam rock and teen idols are all the rage in the charts the question is how long will it last?

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