96) Little Stevie Wonder – “Fingertips Pt. 2″

Stevie Wonder was a welcome chart presence throughout the ’60s and ’70s, releasing singles that tempered the balance between pop and soul without forsaking either.  His best songs became instant classics, but even the minor singles display his able musicianship and joie de vivre.  But if the first Stevie Wonder record you heard was “Fingertips Pt. 2,” I’m not sure you could foresee his role as one of the great American songwriters.

“Fingertips” (the first part) was composed to show off the 12-year-old prodigy’s skills on harmonica and bongos.  The instrumental isn’t particularly catchy (at least in terms of the Hot 100), but Wonder’s already an electric showman.  The audience loves him and he’s soaking it up, exhorting them to “stomp your feet, jump up and down, do anything you want to do!”  Wonder spends the next few minutes applying his musical talents to the song at hand.  By the halfway mark, though, Wonder’s abandoned the already-loose structure of the song in favor of a freeform jam and lots more shouting.  “Everybody say yeah!” he cries. “Clap your hands just a little bit louder!” Surely this interplay with the audience was thrilling live.  But on cold vinyl (or mp3), all that stands out are two minutes of goodbyes and a couple measures of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” played on harmonica.  And yet, it was this second part of the recording that hit number one.  That the “personality half” of the record triumphed over the “musical half” suggests that “Fingertips Pt. 2″ succeeded strictly because of the nation’s fascination with Wonder, whether as a novelty or as a genuine new talent.  But much like a live bootleg, “Fingertips Pt. 2″ plays more like a tour souvenir – or an attempt to touch the hem of nascent pop nobility – than a record that demands repeat listens. 5

Liner Notes

• I acknowledge in advance that my judgment is far from popular. Rest assured this is likely the lowest grade Wonder will see from me till, oh, the ’80s.

Hit #1 on August 10, 1963; total of 3 weeks at #1
96 of 977 #1′s reviewed; 9.83% through the Hot 100

95) The Tymes – “So Much in Love”

In a post-Four Seasons world, where Motown artists regularly topped the charts, there wasn’t really a need for doo-wop anymore.  Yet the genre had one last gasp with The Tymes and “So Much in Love,” a completely straightforward, completely forgettable single.  “So Much in Love” returns doo-wop to its roots by going almost completely a capella – there’s nothing there but layers of vocals, finger snaps and seagull sound effects.  The simplicity is refreshing, but it makes the record extra-dependent on clever lyrics or a catchy melody, neither of which is present here.  Much like a beachside walk, it’s pleasant while it lasts – just don’t expect to remember it after the tide’s washed your footprints away. 5

Hit #1 on August 2, 1963; total of 1 week at #1
95 of 976 #1′s reviewed; 9.73% through the Hot 100

94) Jan & Dean – “Surf City”

As wicked as the snarl of a surf guitar sounds on an instrumental, I’ve never been able to embrace songs about surfing.  My beach-going is limited to childhood summer trips to the placid waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  Even if I had grown up within commuting distance of the Pacific Ocean, though, my wussiness, fair skin and distaste for/fear of popular people ensured that surfing would not have been one of my chosen pursuits.   Surfing was reserved for beautiful teenagers thousands of miles, and maybe even a few decades, away.

Of course, Brian Wilson didn’t surf either.  Neither did most Beach Boys fans, I’d wager.  But Wilson’s genius (well, one of his geniuses) was recognizing what surfing represented to millions of landlocked young people: endless summers, freedom from parents, girls in bikinis.  The premier statement of surfing as metaphor for teenage paradise is “Surf City,” a track Wilson co-wrote with Beach Boys tourmates Jan & Dean.  The lyrics detail the few things every guy could dream of: a set of wheels, a surfboard and “two girls for every boy.”  This last item seems particularly necessary, as it’s repeated several times throughout the verse and chorus.  That Surf City’s male-favorable ratio garners far more mentions than surfing does just proves the analogy of surfing is more important than the activity itself.

But it isn’t just the lyrical content that’s reminiscent of Wilson’s work with The Beach Boys.  Jan & Dean’s falsetto vocals were supplemented with backing singers to approximate the other band’s melodically-shifting, multi-part harmonies.  The resulting effect is somewhat eerie: a Beach Boys #1 before the Beach Boys actually had a #1.  Yet “Surf City” also works on its own terms as the feel-good hit of the summer – even if that summer is far away from any beach. 6

Hit #1 on July 20, 1963; total of 2 weeks at #1
94 of 976 #1′s reviewed; 9.63% through the Hot 100

93) The Essex – “Easier Said Than Done”

Before the Internet, home studios and alternative rock culture, the only way to become a nationally-famous musician was to devote your life completely to music.  You could play nightclubs and high school dances in hopes of getting discovered, or you could work within the system as a session player or songwriter for other musicians, biding time till you got offered a bite at the apple.  If you really needed a day job, you might turn to driving trucks, painting houses, flipping hamburgers – work that was easy to get and easy to quit when your break finally came around.  It might take you longer, but you’d be fine as long as you weren’t too tied down. What you couldn’t have was a career.

The members of The Essex not only had careers, they had perhaps the least-forgiving employer imaginable: Uncle Sam. They were Marines stationed in North Carolina who decided to try their luck with a singing group.   “Easier Said Than Done,” a B-side they rush-recorded as a favor to a fellow Marine songwriter, became a surprise #1 hit.    The group was flooded with offers for tours and TV appearances, but military obligations impeded their taking advantage of their hit.  Follow-up single “A Walkin’ Miracle” went Top 20, but with little promotional activity – and with one of the members now stationed in Okinawa – The Essex faded from the charts.

Yet while the military may have prevented the group from becoming stars, it also inspired one of the song’s most memorable elements.  Aspiring songwriter William Linton, assigned to work in the communications department at Camp LeJeune, borrowed the clacking rhythm of Teletype machines to form the basis of “Easier Said Than Done.”  What is otherwise a typical pop song of the era becomes instantly memorable, thanks to the syncopated beat and busy bassline.  Which isn’t to say that Linton is solely responsible for the record’s success.  Anita Humes’s clear, confident lead vocals recall a flirtier Darlene Love; a guy who’d make her “timid and shy” must be something special.  The men of The Essex also make an impression via the unusual emphasis on the baritone/bass.  Whether a conscious decision or (more likely) a miking accident from a rushed studio session, the cavernous boom of the vocals plays off Humes’s girlishness while accenting the record’s distinctive rhythm section.

Would The Essex continued to have hits if the group members weren’t tied down by their military commitments? “A Walkin’ Miracle,” an explicit rewrite of “Easier Said Than Done,” suggests perhaps not.  Still, with full attention devoted to the music, The Essex might have been able to generate some staying power.  Yet, without the Marines, there would have been no group and no “Easier Said Than Done.”  So while the pop music rule may be that careers interfere with success, The Essex prove that sometimes careers can create it as well. 7

Hit #1 on July 6, 1963; total of 2 weeks at #1
93 of 976 #1′s reviewed; 9.53% through the Hot 100