Billboard's Hot 100/ Top 40 Motown Chronicles - 1974 - [Pt. 1]

[Boogiedown]

Billboard’s Hot 100/ Top 40
Chart #10
March 9, 1974
Number of singles reviewed this week: 105
last week: 94
including:

First Time Around:
*AL DOWNING - I'll Be Holding On [2:50]; producers: T.
Bongiovi, M. Monardo, J. Ellis for DCA: writers: Al Downing, Lance Quinn; Janus 234. This is a happy, bouncy kind of soul song done expertly by this fine vocalist with a punchy instrumental sound.

Cash Box Newcomer pick:

*GLORIA GAYNOR [MGM 14706]

Honey Bee [2:58] [ Steals, M. Steals, M. Ledbetter]
In utilizing that established hit making sound of early Freda Payne and more
recently The First Choice, Gloria delivers a hard driving, funky ton of funk certain
to rocket straight to the top of the r&b charts and come close to the top of thee`
pops as well. Strong vocal performance is aided by great background harmonies
are high flying strings. Everything works here and there's little room for disagreement.
* disco significant record

The Motown Review:

Eddie Kendricks is #2!
as BOOGIE DOWN advances two notches with a bullet. Marvin and Diana also bullet up this week to #67. Diana Ross alone is still Top 40 although with a big dive of 11 places, while LAST TIME I SAW HIM is pop Top Ten [#9] in Cash box. The other half of last week's charters fall off completely. With three gone, Motown has 3 records charting the Hot 100.

The Top 10:

SEASONS IN THE SUN by Terry Jacks shines again at #1, its 2nd week ablaze there. Underneath at #2 is BOOGIE DOWN by Eddie Kendricks. Cher's DARK LADY is the biggest internal mover, bulleting from #9 to #6. Two new ones : Carly Simon & James Taylor's remake of MOCKINGBIRD from 1963 by the Fox siblings enters at #8 from #13, and bolting to #10 from #17 is John Denver's SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS. Dropping out after just one week is PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER by The O'Jays now at #15 from #10, and Barry White's former #1, LOVE'S THEME eases down to #11 from #8.

The Top 40:

Motown:
Two 45s from Motown are on the Top 40:

^ BOOGIE DOWN - Eddie Kendricks builds to #2 with a bullet from #4 from #7 from #9 .
LAST TIME I SAW HIM - Diana Ross slips to #27 from #16 from #14
Offs : none

Biggest mover in the Top 40, 9 notches
BENNIE AND THE JETS - Elton John at #23 from #32

5 score, 3 US, 1 Scottish, 1 Australian, 3+Top 10 bound+, 0 PI related, 0 Motown, 1 by proxy, 1 Country
highest debut:
+THE LORD'S PRAYER + Sister Janet Mead - #31 up 19 from #50 [One Hit Wonder]

+ BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME +- Gladys Knight & the Pips #32 up 12 from #44 [20th Top 40 hit]
STAR - Stealers Wheel - #33 up 9 from #41 [2nd and final Top 40 hit]
A VERY SPECIAL LOVE SONG - Charlie Rich - #36 up 15 from #51 [6th Top 40 hit]
+ LOOKIN FOR A LOVE +- Bobby Womack - #37 up 9 from #46 [4th and final Top 40 hit]

The Hot 100:

9 debuts: 4 Top 40 bound, 3 first time to chart on the Hot 100, 0 Philly International related, 0 Motown, 0 by proxy, 0 Country
Highest debut:
2nd tier:
#65 - OH MY MY - Ringo Starr

#82 - LOCO-MOTION - Grand Funk Railroad
#86 - KEEP ON SINGING - Helen Reddy
#89 - SHE - Southcote
#90 - TOUCH AND GO - Al Wilson
#95 - MIGHTY MIGHTY - EW&F
#96 - PEPPER BOX - The Peppers
#98 - MR. NATURAL - Bee Gees
#100 - ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND - Think

Motown:

debuts: none
3rd week: ^MY MISTAKE WAS TO LOVE YOU - Marvin Gaye & Diana Ross #67 up 11 from #78, from #84
6th week: YOU SURE LOVE TO **** - Marvin Gaye OFF from #53, from #50
16th week: BABY COME CLOSE - Smokey Robinson OFF from #43 , from #34
17th week: LIVING FOR THE CITY - Stevie Wonder OFF from #42, from #33
OFFS : three
1] Marvin Gaye's mistake was to release this third single from his LET'S GET IT ON LP. It's off after getting halfway up the Hot 100.
2] Smokey Robinson came close to having a moderate hit with BABY COME CLOSE which seems to have caught Motown off guard , waiting too late to promote it. #27 is not a bad peak but Smokey will have to wait another five years before getting into the Top 20.
3] Stevie Wonder peaks at #8 [#1 Soul] with LIVING FOR THE CITY his first of four singles in this busy year for him.

A very good week for:
Canada
Six records charting including this week's #1 by Terry Jacks with SEASONS IN THE SUN while newscaster Byron MacGregor is at #30 with his former #4 record, AMERICANS. Anne Murray is just outside the Top Ten with A LOVE SONG. Wednesday is still Top 40 with their remake of LAST KISS and The Guess Who are at #78 with STAR BABY. Most intriguing is this new entry at #89 by Southcote out of Toronto:



***
They haven't quite convinced the world yet, but the production team of Tony Bongiovi, Meco Monardo, and Jay Ellis [DCA Inc*] has delivered a solid entry into what will soon be recognized as disco. The record is by Oklahoman Al Downing as heard here:



I'LL BE HOLDING ON will slip away unnoticed for now .... but toward the end of the year it'll get an extended remix by an as yet unknown shaker named Tom Moulton....and it will then do very nicely.....
as will their project with Gloria Gaynor.

* DCA Inc., established in 1973, is said to stand for Disco Corporation of America [wiki], which would be pretty remarkable [and unlikely.]

***
Lengthy article from Cash Box:

[HOLLYWOOD -MARTHA REEVES: STUDYING THE SINGULAR
opening:
It was anything but a "heatwave" during the near freezing conditions of
Detroit in the early sixties, yet in spite of this, Martha Reeves got on a bus every
morning and went to her thirty five dollar a week job at 2648 West Grand
Boulevard. To Martha and to everyone else, taking a bus to a thirty five dollar a
week job was something prestigious. Prestigious? Yes, if you happened to have
been working for a company called Motown Records which Martha was lucky
enough to be doing. Then the bus, the cold, the salary, didn't matter because
even Motown secretaries were the envy of the city. She wanted to be a singer but
had settled for a secretary in the A&R department, in the little house on West
Grand that brought hit after hit alive even though, oddly enough it was situated
next to a funeral home. Here she worked everyday with Eddie and Brian Holland,
Lamont Dozier, Mickey Stevenson, Smokey, and of course the company's founder
Berry Gordy, whom she considered a "genius maker." .....

ending:
.......Truth of the matter is that
the act had quite indeed been put on a shelf. Martha remembered that at this
point she felt so alienated that she had even given thought to finding another
secretarial job, but since her clothes were now all lavish performing gowns she'd
have to have found a pretty high class position. Fortunately she was approached
by Ron Strasner [Rare Earth's manager] with the idea of becoming a solo artist.
Martha relocated in Hollywood and with the help of her new manager negotiated
a new record deal with MCA Records. Her new single "Power of Love," is from the
soon to be released album produced by prodigal Richard Perry.
Martha Reeves is happy about the change of scenery. In comparing the two
cities she says that she'd never want to live in Detroit again. She explains that it
has the highest crime rate and shudders as she continued with "Detroit is
frightening." Then by memory and rather matter of factly she offers "Last year
alone there were 485 homicide deaths." Perhaps figuratively one could say 486
that is when you stop to think that there will never be a Martha and the
Vandellas again except on "oldies but goodies" repackages. The last time Martha
and the Vandellas performed together was Dec. 21, 1971 at the Cobo Hall, in
Detroit. She made her solo debut last November at Madison Square Garden. In
addition to just having completed her first solo album she is also taking acting
lessons in Hollywood with Lee Strasberg. She has been studying there how to
speak in the first person instead of the "we" and "us," which had been the idiom
Martha had become familiar using as the leader of a group for 12 years. Martha
Reeves reported that she feels like she has been "recycled." This dynamite singer
who is also featured on the score to the new movie "Willie Dynamite," concluded
with "I feel like I graduated from Motown, cum laude. And my degree has helped
me to further my career; to get another job