Dec 01 | This week in 1989

#1 at KUKQ/Phoenix: “Love Is A Shield” by German synth-pop group Camouflage. Their follow-up single, “One Fine Day,” is at #40. Big Audio Dynamite, Mick Jones’s post-Clash group, is at #2 with “Contact,” while fellow Clash man Joe Strummer is… Continue reading

Aug 11 | This week in 1971

#1 at KRIZ/Phoenix: “Sweet Hitch-Hiker” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, the 19th in their incredible string of 20 Top 40 radio hits before breaking up. It all began just three years earlier with “Suzi Q.” The band saturated the airwaves because… Continue reading

Jul 21 | This week in 1968

#1 at KRUX/Phoenix: “Lady Willpower” by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, The song was given another life in 2019 with a version by the Pope of Mope, Morrissey. The Gary & The Gap block out the Doors’ “Hello, I… Continue reading

Mar 31 | This week in 1965

#1 at KRUX/Phoenix: “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” by Herman’s Hermits, skyrocketing in from #23 last week. It knocks out the sonically similar “I’m Telling You Now” by Freddie & The Dreamers (both groups are from Manchester). In… Continue reading

Mar 17 | This week in 1974

#1 at KRIZ/Phoenix: “Sunshine On My Shoulders” by John Denver, from Greatest Hits, this week’s #2 album. The #1 album is Band On The Run by Paul McCartney & Wings, knocking off Bob Dylan & The Band’s Planet Waves from… Continue reading

Jan 27 | This week in 1972

#1 at KRUX/Phoenix: “Without You” by acclaimed songwriter (Harry) Nilsson — but this one is a Badfinger cover — from the great Nilsson Schmilsson album. Badfinger themselves are at #10 with “Day After Day,” produced by George Harrison, who also… Continue reading

Nov 18 | This week in 1967

#1 at KRUX/Phoenix: “Incense And Peppermints,” the psychedelic classic by the Strawberry Alarm Clock. Skyrocketing from #25 to #4 is next week’s #1, “Daydream Believer” (written by soon-to-be Phoenix favorite John Stewart) and the very cool flip side “Goin’ Down”… Continue reading

Oct 07 | This week in 1968

#1 at KTKT/Tucson: “Hey Jude” and “Revolution” by the Beatles, the group’s biggest single. This was a tumultuous time in the United States. The mood of the country in 1968 was bleak following the assassinations of Martin Luther King and… Continue reading

Sep 23 | This week in 1971

#1 at KRUX/Phoenix: “Do You Know What I Mean” by Lee Michaels for a second week. Holding at #2 is former #1 “Maggie May,” the first big solo hit by Rod Stewart. Two other bona fide future classics are on… Continue reading

Jun 17 | This week in 1971

#1 at KRIZ/Phoenix: “It’s Too Late” by Carole King, the lead single and instant classic from her landmark Tapestry album. She also wrote the song at #9, up from #21 last week: “You’ve Got A Friend” by James Taylor. Other… Continue reading