It’s been nearly six months since my last installment of the Decades series, wherein I feature notable albums from the years 1970 through 2009.
So far I’ve covered the first six years of each of those decades, so I’m more than halfway there. Over the next few weeks, I’ll set my sights on the year 1976.
As usual, I’ll count down my own favorite albums from the year before turning to ones I don’t know well or at all.
The Supremes’ ‘Stop! In the Name of Love‘ rules the Billboard Hot 100 the week of March 23, 1965. Right behind it was ‘Can’t You Heat My Heartbeat’ by Herman’s Hermits.
This was the British group’s first appearance in the top ten (and only their third single). Nine of their next eleven releases would repeat the feat, including two that reached #1 (‘Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter’ and ‘I’m Henry VIII, I Am’).
Throwing back to the week of March 22, 1955, we find Bill Hayes atop the Billboard chart with ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett.’ This novelty folk song was written by George Bruns (not Burns) and Thomas W. Blackburn for the show Disneyland (which was later retitled The Wonderful World of Disney).
Three versions of the song hit the charts around the same time, including one by Fess Parker that was #6 this week and one by Tennessee Ernie Ford that reached the top ten the following week. But it was this version by actor/singer Hayes that did the best, reaching #1 and holding the top spot for a month.
The final inductee I’ll cover from the supersized Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2012 is a twofer. Both Small Faces and Faces were inducted as one, 30 years after their initial eligibility.
Small Faces was an English pop band popular during the mid to late 60s, considered one of the earliest examples of Britpop. When founding member Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie, the remaining members teamed up with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood to form Faces. That lineup released four albums between 1970 and 1973 before disbanding. A few years later, the original Small Faces lineup reunited and they released two more albums under that name.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers were first eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 and were nominated that year but didn’t make the cut. They were passed over for a nomination in 2011 before being inducted the following year into the class of 2012.
The Los Angeles-based alternative funk rock band has sold more than 120 million albums worldwide since their 1984 debut. Five of their 13 studio albums have gone multi-platinum, with 1999’s Californication and 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik leading the way with more than 8 million sales each.
Meet Me In Montauk 