Doing it to Death (Part 3)

1970's #1s continue

“Don’t Play That Song,” Aretha Franklin with the Dixie Flyers (9/12/70)
This record made it the third year in four that Franklin had a pair of #1s, which makes perfect sense when you consider what an Imperial Phase the Queen was in the midst of at the time. This Ben E. King cover starts small and gets bigger, as does her vocal, with the Dixie Flyers (a studio combo) ably backing her up. On most scales this would be an “A” record, but I’m judging it against the rest of Franklin’s catalog, too; she had and would do better. B+

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” Diana Ross (10/3/70)
The moment when she went from being Diana Ross to Miss Ross. Obviously Ashford & Simpson’s song is magnificent, but the 1967 Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell version doesn’t have the magic of this; it’s more than that. It’s the Funk Brothers’ playing, it’s Paul Riser’s dramatic arrangements, it’s the brass and strings, and most of all it’s Ross’s spoken word “interludes.” This has drama. It’s high art. A genuinely perfect record. A+

“I’ll Be There,” The Jackson 5 (10/10/70)
Treacle. C

“Super Bad (Part 1 & Part 2),” James Brown (11/21/70)
The #1 R&B artist of the ‘60s, #1 of the ‘70s, and #1 of all time. Back when these numbers meant something (as opposed to Fucking Drake charting with all 25 songs off an album at once nowadays), Brown had the most top 10s on the chart (60), the most top 40s (a clean 100), and the most charted singles overall (118). “Super Bad” is the 10th of Brown’s 17 #1s, and holy shit he and the JB’s are on one on this tight, hot record. A

“The Tears of a Clown,” Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (12/5/70)
I don’t care for clowns, or circuses, or the woodwinds which open and persist through this record, presumably to mimic the sound of a circus calliope. I prefer Robinson’s lyrics to the Hank Cosby/Stevie Wonder music, but could really do without all of it. C-