With Chicago radio legends set to reconvene at WLS on Monday, it’s a happy accident that this survey is the newest acquisition at ARSA this week—the WCFL chart from the week of May 25, 1967. The picture on the back features new ‘CFL overnight jock, Larry Lujack. According to his book Superjock, Lujack had been talking with WLS about joining them, but took the gig at WCFL mostly to get out of Boston, which he hated. It didn’t go all that well. ‘CFL had been running a jazz show overnights, and Lujack discovered pretty quickly that its fans disliked both A) the pop music he’d started to play and B) him. Another reason why Lujack wasn’t all that happy at WCFL is right there in the picture—that necktie. WCFL jocks were required to wear ties while on the air, even on the overnight show, while Lujack was (and is) a Levis-and-boots guy. It was only a few months before WLS came back and offered him the afternoon show, which he was eager to take.
Record charts from 1967 never fail to astound with the sheer volume of tunes that are considered timeless classics today, and this one is no exception: “Respect,” “Somebody to Love,” “Windy,” “Groovin’”—there were, as we have often said, giants in the earth in those days. Here are five to note from the chart:
1. “Somebody to Love”/Jefferson Airplane. (peak) To ease the transition from the jazz show, Lujack was allowed to play only light pop on his overnight show—stuff he described in his book as “Brenda Lee shit.” And the Airplane wouldn’t have made the cut.
9. “Sweet Soul Music”/Arthur Conley. (holding) In which Conley name-checks several soul superstars without actually becoming one himself, despite the exuberant groove he’s in.
15. “The Happening”/The Supremes. (falling) In which Berry Gordy’s goal of making the Supremes Vegas-respectable comes into view. This is more old-time showbizzy than any of the dozen hits the Supremes had put into the Top 10 in the previous three years, and marks the end of that white-hot phase of their career.
22. “Creeque Alley”/The Mamas and the Papas. (debut) In which the group describes its history to that point, but it’s not necessary to know that to enjoy the wordplay in the lyrics.
29. “Let’s Live for Today”/Grass Roots. (debut) The first hit for the group, sort of. Producers Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan released some records under that name, but the group was strictly a studio creation. A group called the Bedouins was recruited to become the Grass Roots, but most of its members quit when they were told only their lead singer would be needed on their first single. A group called 13th Floor submitted a demo to the record label not long afterward and were offered a unique opportunity—get a contract on their own or take over the name “Grass Roots” and work with Sloan and Barri. Since there had already been a couple of hits by the Grass Roots at this time, the choice was easy. “Let’s Live for Today” was the first hit by the former 13th Floor.
“Sweet Soul Music”/Arthur Conley (buy it, along with other fine 60s soul hits, here)
(Lujack’s book is terrific, but it’s been out of print for years. I have a copy, and it’s worth a fortune. Lucky me.)
Filed under: Record Charts, Tracks
