J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX, here again.
Here are the latest entries in the "albums that influenced me" series I started writing in May 2020.
Note: Just because an album appears on this list doesn't mean I give it a blanket endorsement. Many of the secular albums on this list are mainly there because they wound up being spoofed by ApologetiX.
1465. Best of Freda Payne: Ten Best Series - Freda PayneArguably the most famous Motown songwriting/producing team was Holland-Dozier-Holland — Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland — best known for writing many hits by The Supremes, The Four Tops, Martha and the Vandellas, and others. After they left Motown to strike out on their own, the three formed two record labels — Hot Wax (in 1968) and Invictus (in 1969). The biggest hits on Hot Wax were by the R&B trio The Honey Cone, who had four Top 40 hits, most notably "Want Ads" (#1 pop, #1 R&B). Other artists with pop success on that label included 100 Proof (Aged in Soul), The Flaming Ember, and Laura Lee. Meanwhile, on Invictus, the two big artists were Chairmen of the Board, whom I mentioned in my previous entry, and a great female R&B singer by the name of Freda Payne. Like Chairmen of The Board, Payne is best remembered for a huge #3 pop hit from 1970, "Band of Gold" (#3 pop, #20 R&B). That single did even better on the charts of
Billboard's rivals (#1
Record World, #2
Cash Box) and also topped the U.K. pop chart. Payne didn't have quite as many hits as Chairmen of the Board, but she did have three additional Top 15 R&B hits — two of which hit the pop Top 25 — "Bring the Boys Home" (#12 pop, #3 R&B), "Deeper and Deeper" (#24 pop, #9 R&B), and "Cherish What Is Dear to You (While It's Near to You)" (#44 pop, #11 R&B). They can all be found on
The Best of Freda Payne (part of the
Ten Best series), which also included "You Brought the Joy" (#52 pop, #21 R&B), "The Unhooked Generation" (#43 R&B) and "Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right" (#75 R&B). Her only Hot 100 hit missing was "The Road We Didn't Take," which just barely sneaked onto that chart (it stalled at #100) and never made the R&B chart. From 1976-79, Payne was married to singer Gregory Abbott, who went on to have a #1 pop and R&B hit in 1987 with "Shake You Down." The couple had a son together, Gregory Abbott Jr., who was born in 1977.
1466. Classic Masters - Cornelius Brothers & Sister RoseThe soul group Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose consisted of Edward and Carter Cornelius, and their sister Rose, who was later joined by another sister, Billie Jean, although the act's name remained the same. For the record, there were 15 Cornelius siblings, although there were only four
on the records. Their first two singles, both written by Edward, were both million-sellers — "Treat Her Like a Lady" (#3
Billboard, #2
Cash Box, #3
Record World in '71) and "Too Late to Turn Back Now" (#2
Billboard, #1
Cash Box, #1
Record World, #1 Canada in '72) — and deservedly so. As if that weren't enough, their self-titled debut LP contained three other chart hits: "Don't Ever Be Lonely (Poor Little Fool Like Me)" (#23), "I'm Never Gonna Be Alone Anymore" (#37), and "Let Me Down Easy" (#96). Unfortunately, that would be the last time CB&SR would ever hit the Hot 100. The singles from their '73 follow-up album came up short: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (#104 pop, #79 R&B) and "Big Time Lover" (#88 R&B). A greatest hits collection in '74 produced their last appearance on any major chart: "Since I Found My Baby" (#59 R&B) and a non-charting single, "Got to Testify (Love)." They're all on
Classic Masters, which I purchased in September 2005. Aside from the big two, my favorites on this collection are "Let Me Down Easy" and another track from their first album called "Good Loving Don't Come Easy." Lead singer Edward, also known as Eddie, eventually became a born-again Christian and pastor. He continues to write and produce gospel music. The intro on his
Facebook page says, "Some of you may remember me from the 70's group Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose. I now share a more important message. It's the good news of God's love demonstrated through Jesus Christ.” He published a memoir in 2020,
It's Not Too Late To Turn Back Now (Back To The Open Arms Of God).
1467. Classic Masters - A Taste of HoneyL.A.-based band A Taste of Honey had four members but are remembered for the two leading ladies in front, Janice-Marie Johnson on vocals and bass and Hazel Payne on vocals and guitars. They also had four Hot 100 hits but are remembered for the two that sold more than a million copies each: "Boogie Oogie Oogie" (#1 pop, #1 R&B) in 1978 and "Sukiyaki" in 1981 (#3 pop, #1 R&B, #1 adult contemporary), which itself was a remake of a 1961 chart-topper by Japanese male singer Kyu Sakamoto (#1 pop, #1 AC). The original was sung in Japanese, but A Taste of Honey's version was in English. Johnson, who wrote the new lyrics for "Sukiyaki," also co-wrote "Boogie Oogie Oogie" and co-founded A Taste of Honey ... and she was still leading and performing with them as of 2024. Released in 2002, the
Classic Masters compilation featured 12 tracks, including both of the blockbusters and all of their other pop and R&B charting singles: "I'll Try Something New" (#41 pop, #9 R&B), "Do It Good" (#79 pop, #13 R&B), "Rescue Me" (#16 R&B), and "Disco Dancin'" (#69 R&B). I got a copy in 2005.
1468. A Collection: Greatest Hits ... and More - Barbra StreisandReleased on October 3, 1989,
A Collection: Greatest Hits ... and More covers Barbra Streisand's career from 1975-1989. It's basically the way she was after "The Way We Were," since that song came out in 1974. There were two new tracks to sweeten the pot, "We're Not Makin' Love Anymore" with Michael Bolton (#10 adult contemporary) and "Someone That I Used to Love" (#25 AC).
A Collection: Greatest Hits ... and More included four Top 10 pop hits and one that just missed: "Woman in Love" (#1 pop, #1 AC), "The Main Event/Fight" (#3 pop, #2 AC), "Guilty" with Barry Gibb (#3 pop, #5 AC), "What Kind of Fool" with Barry Gibb (#10 pop, #1 AC), and "Comin' in and Out of Your Life" (#11 pop, #2 AC). There were three additional selections that didn't fare quite as well on the Hot 100 but made the AC Top 10: "The Way He Makes Me Feel" (#40 pop, #1 AC), "Somewhere" (#43 pop, #5 AC), and "Memory" (#52 pop, #9 AC). The other two tracks were "All I Ask of You" (#15 AC) and "By the Way," the only one not to appear on either chart. Babs put out 11 live albums between 1968 and 2022. Sadly, none of them were titled
Streisand in Iceland.
1469. Rock and Roll Heaven - The Righteous BrothersFrom 1963-68, The Righteous Brothers had 18 Hot 100 hits, including two #1s and five Top 10s. Then Bill Medley left for a solo career and his partner Bobby Hatfield carried on the group with Jimmy Walker of The Knickerbockers, best known for their '65 Beatles soundalike record "Lies" (#20 pop). Medley managed three chart entries in '68, but none reached the Top 40, and Hatfield and Walker missed the Hot 100 entirely, even with The Righteous Brothers name. In 1974, Medley and Hatfield reunited and saw immediate success with their comeback album,
Give It to the People, which yielded three Top 40 hits that year: "Rock and Roll Heaven" (#3 pop, #38 adult contemporary), "Give It to the People" (#20 pop), and "Dream On" (#32 pop, #6 AC) ... no relation to the famous Aerosmith song. Unfortunately, those would the only successful singles for the duo until 1990, when the movie
Ghost caused renewed interest in their old hit "Unchained Melody." Although that song had hit #4 on the pop chart in 1965, it re-entered the Hot 100 a quarter of a century later and went to #13 pop (and #1 adult contemporary) in October '90, while a newly recorded version went to #19 in November and sold a million copies. Released in 1991 and purchased second-hand by me in 2005, the
Rock and Roll Heaven compilation featured 10 tracks, primarily from the
Give It to the People LP and the 1975 follow-up,
Sons of Mrs. Righteous. Strangely, it does not include "Give It to the People," although it does have "Rock and Roll Heaven" (duh) which I needed for my playlist of #3 songs. That's a touching tune, although not a great one for theology. This album also has "Dream On," which starts out kind of wimpy, but isn't bad, either. Moreover, there's a rousing, surprisingly funky interpretation of the old Coasters hit "Young Blood," and a song called "Never Say I Love You" where the intro by Medley sounds a lot like Barry White, who was a hot commodity at the time. Speaking of time, I purchased and read Bill Medley's 2014 autobiography,
The Time of My Life, in 2022. It was very informative and entertaining.
1470. Goodnight Vienna - Ringo StarrRingo Starr's fun-filled fourth LP,
Goodnight Vienna, sported a cover that spoofed the 1951 flying-saucer sci-fi film
The Day the Earth Stood Still. The disc landed in stores on November 15, 1975 — a year and two weeks after his wildly successful third LP,
Ringo, which had reached #2 on the
Billboard 200, sold a million copies, and generated three hit singles: "Photograph" (#1), "You're Sixteen" (#1), and "Oh My My" (#5). That was a tough act to follow, but
Goodnight Vienna made it to #8 on the
Billboard 200, sold half a million copies, and also produced three singles. The biggest of those was the double-sided "No No Song" (written by Hoxt Axton and featuring Harry Nilsson on backing vocals) and "Snookeroo" (written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and featuring Elton on piano and backing vocals). It reached #3 on
Billboard but made it to #1 on
Cash Box and the Canadian chart. "No No Song"/"Snookeroo" was actually the second single released from the album, however; the first was a cover of the old Platters hit, "Only (And You Alone)." The Platters took it to #5 in 1955, and Ringo's remake almost matched that, stopping just short at #6 but topping the adult contemporary chart. It was noteworthy for featuring backing vocals and acoustic guitars by another ex-Beatle, John Lennon, who also wrote and played piano on the album's final single, "(It's All Down to) Goodnight Vienna" (#31). The flip side of that single, "Oo-Wee" (featuring Dr. John on piano), was counted on the Hot 100, too, bringing the total number of chart hits on
Goodnight Vienna to five — not bad for an album with only 11 tracks! I still remember the first time I heard "No No Song" as a kid on the local AM station my dad was listening to. I thought that tune was hilarious, and so did my kids when I played it for them many years later.
1471. The Jazz Singer: Original Songs from the Motion Picture - Neil DiamondWhat do Al Jolson, Danny Thomas, Jerry Lewis, and Neil Diamond have in common? They all played the lead role in
The Jazz Singer ... in 1927, 1952, 1959, and 1980, respectively. The '59 edition was made specifically for television, by the way. Diamond didn't get great reviews for his big-screen debut — in fact, he won the Razzie for worst actor at the first annual Golden Raspberry Awards — but I remember watching the previews on TV and being somewhat interested. Although I never did see the film, I did eventually purchase the accompanying album, which went to #3 on both the
Billboard 200 and the U.K. album chart and sold over five million copies in the United States alone. It was the second time Diamond created a successful soundtrack for a middling movie. In 1973, he'd done the music for
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and the album had gone to #2 on the
Billboard 200 and sold two million copies. Released on November 10, 1980 (over a month before the film),
The Jazz Singer: Original Songs from the Motion Picture spawned three singles, each of which made the Top 10 on the
Billboard pop chart and the Top Three on the
Billboard adult contemporary chart: "Love on the Rocks" (#2 pop, #3 AC), "Hello Again" (#6 pop, #3 AC), and "America" (#8 pop, #1 AC). Those songs did even better on the
Radio & Records chart, where they hit #1, #3, and #5, respectively. Of the three, my favorite was and still is "America." The other two were too grown-up for my tastes at the time, although I appreciate them now. I bought a used copy of this album in 2005, and it contains a number of other enjoyable tunes that I probably would have liked even back in 1980, particularly "Jerusalem," "Amazed and Confused," "You Baby," "Hey Louise," "On the Robert E. Lee," and "Acapulco," which is the closest I've heard Diamond get to Jimmy Buffett.
