"The Freshman Class" on Billboard's Hot 100 for the Week Ending April 29, 1972

For me, it's less than a month away from another solo cross-country hitchhiking excursion.


50, 23, 11, 8. 7. 7, 11, 14, 24. 33.  (10 weeks)


77, 59, 47, 39, 33, 31. 31, 50, 68.  (9 weeks)


79, 43, 34, 29, 17, 15, 12, 12, 25, 35.  (10 weeks)


80, 78, 77, 80.  (4 weeks)


81, 79, 79.  (3 weeks)

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82, 76, 75, 73, 75.  (5 weeks)

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87, 85, 85.  (3 weeks)


90, 88, 86.  (3 weeks)


92, 86, 80, 85.  (4 weeks)

"I Wanna Be Your Friend" by Lighthouse.

93, 93.  (2 weeks)


98, 92, 78, 65, 58, 55, 50, 34, 29, 19, 13, 11, 8, 8, 8, 9, 15, 26, 36.  (19 weeks)
Never understood this song's popularity.  Did my best to avoid it.


98, 96, 89, 88, 68, 65, 61, 59, 53, 48, 43, 43, 40. 40, 48.  (15 weeks)

"Young New Mexican Puppeteer".  Could there be a more uninteresting song title?

99, 91, 88, 83, 80, 80, 82.  (7 weeks)


100, 99.  (2 weeks)

Some Two Smash Hits Among the "Freshman Class" on Billboard's Hot 100 for the Week Ending April 22, 1972

Full disclosure: Was never much of a Jackson 5 fan. But they always put the Osmond Brothers to shame.

62, 32, 26, 17, 15, 13, 13, 21, 39.  (9 weeks)


78, 74, 68, 67, 70.  (5 weeks)

Sly & the Family Stone - (You Caught Me) Smilin'

79, 64, 56, 48, 45, 42, 52.  (7 weeks)


81, 51, 40, 30, 25, 19, 16, 15, 15, 20, 41.  (11 weeks)


82, 69, 58, 46, 43, 39, 33, 32, 31, 30, 28, 27, 31, 37.  (14 weeks)


83, 75, 71, 61, 42, 36, 26, 20, 10, 7, 4, 1, 1, 1, 9, 11, 15, 25, 31.  (19 weeks)


85, 70, 64, 60, 52, 52, 62.  (7 weeks)


88, 86, 81, 81.  (4 weeks)


89, 60, 47, 39, 36, 32, 30, 29, 29, 39.  (10 weeks)


90, 65, 57, 40, 34, 28, 17, 9, 6, 3, 3, 2, 3, 14, 22, 27, 36.  (17 weeks)

April 22, 1972

TIME, April 24, 1972

Brewers get their butts kicked.

Some Big Names, All Underachievers: "Freshman Class" on Billboard's Hot 100 for the Week Ending April 15, 1972

 
86, 75, 71, 75, 91.  (5 weeks)


89, 86, 83.  (3 weeks)


90, 87, 85, 84, 84.  (5 weeks)


95, 94.  (2 weeks)


96, 77, 72, 70, 66, 72, 74.  (7 weeks)


98, 96, 89, 89, 94.  (5 weeks)


99, 97, 94.  (3 weeks)

Billboard Hot 100 Debuts for the Week Ending January 15, 1972

#74.  From A Space in Time.


#76.  Spent 2 weeks at #2.
.

#83.  "B" side of "Rock Steady".


 #91. Reached the top 10. When this song came on the radio, I reached for the tuner.

#95. "Music from Across the Way" by James Last. YouTube crashes when I try to access this video. Don't remember a note of this song.

#96.  Strangers on the Hot 100.  Much more at home on AOR.
 .

#99.
 .

Don McLean: No 'Pie" Credit for You

For 'American Pie,' a Twist To the Legend of Its Birth. (The New York Times, 11/30/2011)

Excerpt: Mr. McLean put the legend to rest last weekend in an article in The Post-Star of Glens Falls, N.Y. He also debunked a parallel tale that claimed he first performed the song at Caffè Lena around the corner from the Tin & Lint.

Mr. McLean, 66, speaking from his home in Maine, laughed when asked about the story.

“ ‘American Pie’ is a little bit like the Mayflower,” he said on Monday. “Everybody’s on it.”

Has it been 40 years already?!



"American Pie" debuted at #69 on Billboard's Hot 100 for the week ending November 27, 1971. In spite of its 8:33 length, it immediately went into heavy rotation on most radio stations that featured a Top 40 format.

Here's the song week-by-week progress.

69. 34, 25, 9, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 7, 9, 12, 19, 20, 22, 56.  

A total of 19 weeks on the chart.  11 of them in the top 10.  Quite a feat.

If you can't get enough of this story, there's always Don McLean Online.

Not an Impressive Class: New Songs on the Billboard Hot 100 for the Week Ending October 2, 1971

Debuted at #79. Peaked at #49. 6 weeks on the chart.


Debuted at #81. Peaked at #39. 12 weeks.


Debuted at #89. Peaked at #39. 9 weeks.


Debuted at #90. Peaked at #31. 8 weeks.


Debuted at #92. Peaked at #52. 8 weeks.


Debuted at #94. Peaked at #65. 8 weeks.


Debuted at #97. Peaked at #53. 11 week.s


Debuted at #98. Peaked at #72. 5 weeks.


Debuted at #99. Peaked at #99. 2 weeks.

Debuted at #100. Peaked at #96. 4 weeks.

"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" vs. "Bangladesh"

Both Paul McCartney and George Harrison make strong debut appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending August 14, 1971.  While "Uncle Albert" raced to the top spot in four weeks and spent another six weeks in the top ten, "Bangla Desh" supported at #23 and quickly slid off the chart, not a surprise, really, as it had two strikes against.  It was a live recording that clocked in at nearly 6 minutes.  Not a radio programmer's delight.