By Del Leggett
Now Was
1. 3. BLANKET ON THE GROUND
Billie Jo Spears/United Artists UA· XW584-X
2. 1. ALWAYS WANTING YOU
Merle Haggard/ Capitol 4027
3. 4, STILL THINKING ABOUT YOU
Billy Crash Craddock / ABC 12068
4.1 0. (HEY WON'T YOU PLAY) ANOTHER
SOMEBODY DONE SOMEBODY WRONG SONG
B.J. Thomas/ ABC 12054
5. 13. I'M NOT LISA
Jessi Colter/ Capitol 4009
6. 11. ROLL ON BIG MAMA
Joe Stampley / Epic 8-50075
7. 5. HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN MELLOW
Olivia Newton-John / MCA 40349
8. 8. BEST WAY I KNOW HOW
Mel Tillis /M GM 147828
9, 9. IT DO FEEL GOOD
Donna Fargo / A BC·Dot DOA · 17541
10. 17. SHE'S ACTIN ' SINGLE
(I 'M DRINKIN' DOUBLES)
Gary Stewart / RCA PB · l0222
11 . 7. THE Pill
Lore\la Lynn/ MC A 40358
12. 15. (YOU MAKE ME WANT TO BE)
A MOTHER
Tammy Wynelle/ Epic 8·5001
13. 6. ROSES AND LOVE SONGS
Ray Price/ ABC 12084
14. 20. TOO LATE TO WORRY,
TOO BLUE TO CRY
Ronnie Milsap/ RCA PB · l0228
15. 22. I'D LIKE TO SLEEP TIL I GET OVER YOU
Freddie Hart / Capitol 4031
16.18. HE TOOK ME FOR A RIDE
LaCosta/ Capi tol 4022
17. 21 . THE TOPS OF MY FINGERS
Jean Shepard/ United Artists UA· XW591 · X
18.1 9. I CAN STILL HEAR THE MUSIC IN THE
RESTROOM
Jerry Lee Lew is/ Mercury 73661
19. 25. WINDOW UP ABOVE
Mickey Gilley /Playboy P 6031
20. 2. I JUST CAN'T GET HER OUT OF MY MIND
must say that
expected
"Tommy" (the soundtrack) to be one
of the most dynamic recorded pieces I
had ever heard. So you might say my
mind was not completely open when I
first sat down in my den to listen to
the soundtrack.
Several th ings contributed to my
premature appraisal of the soundtrack .
First, and most importantly. perhaps,
is that the original "rock o pera" reo
leased by Pete Townshend and The
Who in 1969 so ld me on progressive
rock and helped mold my musical
tastes, especially where rock music is
concerned.
And secondly, knowing that the
likes of The Who, Elton John. Eric
Clapton. Tina Turner and Ann· Margret
- some of the truly dynamic per·
formers in the music world today -
would be performing the music, made
my eyes glitter wi th anticipation.
Frankly. they are all among my fav-
orites. They are individually unique.
prolific and exciting performers.
What I did not realize until hearing
the album were th e " other" musicians
who have graced "Tommy" by their
presence. People like Nicky Hopk ins.
for example. Hopkins, long known in
music ci rcles as one of the very finest
of studio keyboard performers. has
added another feather to his already-
stuffed cap by his strong and heavy
contribution to the soundtrack. His
flowing, melodic piano interpretations
on cuts like " Chris tma s" and
" Amazing Journey" could indeed
make the deaf hear and the b(i nd see.
Meanwhile. guitar players Ron
Wood (who excels in backing up Ms.
Turner on "Acid Queen") and Caleb
Quaye (who turns in downright tjdi cu·
lous performances on " We're Not
Gonna Take It" and "See Me, Feel
Me" with spicy, bluesy riffs that dress
up other cuts on the album as well)
genuinely surprised me.
Other studio musicians also per-
formed admirably, bu t these I' ve men·
tioned excited me the most.
I was mildly afra id, though. that
even the li kes of these musicians
would not do justice to The Who 's
zany brainchild. My fears were un·
warranted.
" Dynamic" is the one word that
best sums up the entire " Tommy"
soundtrack . The original work offered
by The Who, whether in jest or serio
ousness, actually tut ned out to be one
of the true classic~ :n contemporary
rock and roll. The /artists who appear
in the movie and bn the soundtrack
complement the efforts of The Who.
Completely.
But in many cases. in order to fully
appreciate the individual artistic
achievements on , the soundtrack.
you've got to unt\erstand the indio
viduality of the art'sts who are doing
the jobs. Tak e Eri Clapton. Clapton
has never been
nown for giving
stereotyped interpretations of another
artist's work . In other words, when
Clapton plays a piece, the end result
makes the listener say, " That's Clap'
ton" - not " That sounds like The
Who." So I consider it in Clapton 's
character - and in his true form -
when " Eyesight to the Blind" ends up
sounding li ke it came straight from
Clapton's head and Clapton's guitar.
Johnny Rodr iguez/Mercury 73659
AL. PH AgET ICAL LlSTI NC
All RIGHT NOW Denny Di.nte & Spencer
Profler (Irv ing. BMI )
AM tE Robert A I.n Ringe
(McKenzie/ Dunbar , BMI)
AUTOBAHN R.lph Huner & Flori.n
Schneider (Int e,song·USA, ASCAP)
BABY THAT' S 8ACKATCHA Smokey
Rob inson (Bertram, ASCAP)
8AD LUCK G.mble· Huff (Mighty Three,
BMI )
BAD TIME J immy lenner (Cram RentaR ,
BM I)
8ERR BARREl POLKA Bob Mo rg.n
(Shapiro Bernstein, ASCAP)
BEFORE THE NEXT TEARDROP FAllS
Huey Me.ux (Shelby Singleton, 8M 1)
8EST Of MY LOVE (Kicking 8ear/
8ench mark, BM I)
BLACK SUPERMAN ·MUHAMMAD All
Rob in Blanchnower (Drummer BoY.
BMI I
BLACK WATER Ted Templem.n
(Landsdowne/WB, ASCAP)
BLOODY WelL RIGHT Ken Scon &
Supertramp (Almo/ De licate. ASCAPI
8UTTER BOY Vin i Ponda (Tinkle Tunes/
Braintree. 8MI)
CAN' T GET IT O UT OF MY HEAD
Jeff Lynn (Yellow Dog. ASCAP)
C~i~; 6n~ tJXl )Sente r & Larry Knechtel
CUT THE CAKE Ar if Mard in (Ave .. ge/
Cotillion. 8M1 )
DON' T CALL US, ' WE' LL CAll YOU
Frank Slay (Claridge/ Corben., ASCAP)
90
AM lOVE J . Mar ce lli no & M. larlon
(Jobete, ASCAP/ Stone Dilmond, 8MI )
37
DON ' T LIK E TO SLEEP ALONE
Rick HIli (Sp.nk., 8MI )
6.4
WANNA DANCE WIT 'CHOO
Bob Crewe (Heart ' s Del igh ,/ CI .. ymen/
Des iderata. 8MI )
I'M NOT LISA Ken M.nsfield & Waylon
Jennings (Baron, 8MI )
I' LL PLAY FOR YOU Lou ie Shelton
(Da wnbreaker , 8M 1)
I'V E ALWAYS HAD YOU Bill y Terrill
(Del ightfu l/Music In MoHon. 8MI )
24
IT' S A MIRACLE 8erry Mln il ow &
Ron Dante (K.mlkaze , 8M1 )
27
B9
53
45
47
92
35
n
33
66
7
68
34
J ACKIE 8LUE Glyn Johns & Dlvi d
Anderle (Lost C.bin, 8MI )
(J UST LI KE ) ROMEO & JULIET Tony
C.millo (Jobete. ASCAP / Stone Agare.
8MI )
52
23
73
SO
96
91
15
12
97
Ki llER QUEEN Roy Thom .. & Qu.en
(Feldman/Trident , ASCAP) ..
20
L·O .V· E \LOVE) W il lie Mitchell
(Jec/ A Green , 8M1)
LADY John RYln (Wooden Nickel, ASCAPI
16
46
LADY MARMALADE A . Touis .. n t &
V. Wickhlm (Stone Diamond. 8MI ;
fanny Boy/ Kenny Noli n. ASCAP)
LET THERE BE MUSIC (Borch, ASCAP/
Mo lohlnn.. 8M I)
LIVING A lITTLE t LAUGHING A LITTLE
Thom Bell (Mignty Three. 8M1)
72
LONelY PEOPLE George Martin
(WB. ASCAP)
...... ..... ..... .
80
6
88
TO P 1 ()O
DON ' T LEAVE ME IN THE MORNING
..
Rick Hall (Spink •• 8MI )
DON ' T TEll ME GOODN IGHT
Phil Gernhard (F.mous, ASCAP)
EASE ON DOWN THE ROAD S. Schelffer
& Harold Wheeler (Fox Fanfare, 8MI )
EMMA Mickie Mos' (Buddlh, ASCAP)
EXPRESS Jeff Lane
(Triple O / Joff Mar, 8MI )
FIRE Ohio PI.ye" (Ohio Pllyers/
Unichlppel1, 8MI )
GET DOWN. GET DOWN (GET ON THE
FLOOR) Rleford Gera ld & Joe Simon
(Glucho/ Be linda. 8MI )
GOOD LOVIN' GONE 8AD 81d Company
(8Idco. ASCAP)
GROWIN' Jim IUninl (Savonl/ Suglrtree.
8M I; Gnossos . ASCAP)
HANG ON SLOOPY Rick Derr inger
(Wren/ Robert Mellin. 8M1 ) .
HARRY TRUMAN J.mes W IIII.m Guercio
(L.mm inar iona/ 8 ig Elk, ASCAP)
HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN MElLOW
John Flrrar (ATV , 8M1 ) '
HE DON ' T LOVE YOU (LIKE I LOVE YOU)
H.nk Medre.. & DI.e Appell
(Conrad. 8MI )
(HEY WON ' T YOU PLAY) ANOTHER
SOMEBODY DONE SOMEBODY
WRONG SONG Chi ps Mom.n (Pre .. /
Tree, 8MI )
HOW LONG John Anthony (Amer ican
Bro.dcasting , ASCAP)
HIJACK Herbie Mlnn ( D~nbar. 8M1 )
9B
59
65
30
76
69
78
58
85
40
29
II
22
49
All of which is probably why
Clapton was cast as The Preacher in
the movie and why he performed the
song. Clapton, a soft-spoken singer
who saves his boisterousness for his
axe, turns in precisely that kind of
performance on the soundtrack.
The yelling and screaming are saved
for the likes of "Acid Queen " T ina
Turner and " Pinball Wizard" Elton
John, who are accustomed to yell ing
and screaming - with finesse . And.
again. what I like about the sound·
track is that Tina Turner sounds like
Tina Turner and Elton John sounds
like Elton John. Even though, in most
cases. the songs they're performing
came from Pete Townshend, the ac·
cidental genius behind it all.
Which brings us to. uh, oh yes. my
favorite tracks on the album. Those
would have to be " Chr istmas" featur·
ing the vocals of Ann·Margret and
Oliver Reed and the piano of Nicky
Hopk ins; " Eyesight to the Bl ind"
featu ri ng a singing and picking Eric
Clapton; "Extra. Extra. Extra" with
Town shend; " Pinball Wizard" with
Elton John on piano and vocals; ' 'I'm
Free" with Roger Daltrey turn ing in a
solid vocal contribution ; and. of
course, "listening to You I See Me,
Feel Me," with The Who, Nicky
Hopk ins et al.
I would say the soundtrack is a
success in every artistic realm . And
artists who are known for their acting
abilities rather than the ir singing
(Oliver Reed) have somehow done
extremely well.
If it doesn't sell a m illion copies,
don't ask me why .
Now Was
1. 2. SHOESHINE BOY
Eddie Kendricks/Tamla T54257F (Motown)
2. 3. L-O-V-E (LOVE)
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan/ABC 12066
4. 1. SHINING STAR
Earth. Wind & Fi re/ Columbia 3- 10090
5. 8. WHAT AM I GONNA DO WITH YOU
Barry Wh ile/ 20th Century 2 177
6. 14. SHAKEY GROUND
Temptations/ Gordy G7142F (Motown)
7. 7. WALKING IN RHYTHM
P'-A~ IIIETER
8
.3
2
79
B4
48
28
99
13
10
51
57
18
Ecstasy. Passio n & Paln/ Roulelle 7163
9.13. LIVING A LITTLE. LAUGHING A LITTLE
Spinners/ Atlanlic 3252
10. 11 . MY LITTLE LADY
Bloodstone/ London 5N · ' 061
11. 5. LOVE FI NOS ITS OWN WAY
Gladys Night & Ihe Pips/Buddah 453
12. 17. BAD LUCK (PART I)
Haro ld Mell/in & the Blu e NOles/ Phila. Int 'l ZS8 3562
(Columbia)
13. 6. LOVIN ' YOU
Minnie Riperton / Ep ic 8-50057
14. 9. EXPRESS
B .T . Express/ Roadshow 7001 (Scepter)
15. 19. WE'RE ALMOST HIERE
Michael Jackso n/ Motown M1341F
16. 26. BABY THAT'S BACKATCHA
Smokey Ro binson/ Tamla T54258F (Motown)
17. 1 5. SATIN SO U L
Love Unlimited Orchestra/ 20th Century TC 2 162
18.20. SUN-GODDESS
Ramsey Lewis and Earth. Wind & Fire/Columbia 3- 10103
19. 12. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME
Shirley (and Company)/Vibration 532 (All Platinum)
20.21 . I CAN'T SEE WHAT YOU SEE IN ME
REAL MAN Todd Rundgren (Elrmark, 8M1 )
REMEMBER WHAT I TOL D YOU TO
FORGET De nnis Lambert & Briln Poller
(A8C Dunh ill/One of • Kind. 8MI )
..
RESCUE ME Snuff Glrre" (Ch •• is. 8M1 ) .
RUNAWAY Neil Portnow & John Miller
(Vick i, 8M I) ...
SAD SWEET DREAMER Tony Hlrch & Des
Plrton (Leod./ J ackatone. ASCAP)
SA IL ON SAILOR Belch Boys (8roth ... .
8M /)
..................
SAT IN SOUL Barry Whit./ Soul Unlimited
(S.Ve"e / J.nuary. 8M I)
SHAKEY GROUND Jeffrey Bowe n &
Berry Gordy (Jobete. ASCAP) . . . .
SHAME, SHAME. SHAME Sy lv ia (8re ndi,
8M I)
SHAVI NG CREAM prod. not list.d
(Mad ison. 8MI )
SHINING STAR Ma urica Wh ite w . Charles
Stepney (SaggiRame. ASCAP)
SHOESHINE BOY Frink W il son, Leonard
C.Slon (Stone Diamond. 8M1)
SISTER GOL DEN HAIR George Marlin
(WB. ASCAP)
:Q
Joneses/Mercury 78668
~~
V\ORLD
95
82
87
THE 8ERTHA BUn BOOGIE Castor· Pruin
(J impire. 8M1 )
21
THE IMMIGRANT Ne il Sedlka &
Robert Appere (Don Kirshner , 8MI;
Kirshner Song •• ASCAP)
63
38
THE LAST FAREWELL Deni. Preston
(Arcolo. BM I)
THE SOUTH'S GONNA DO IT Plul
Hornsby (K.ma Surra/ R.do Darl, 8M1)
TRAMPLED UNDER FOOT J immy Poge
(Jo.nel ine. ASCAP)
WA LKING IN RHYTHM Dono ld Byrd
(8 1lckbyrd, BMI )
56
WE'RE ALMOST THERE Briln Holland
(Gold Forever/ Stone Diamond, BMI )
B3
32
WHAT AM I GONNA DO WITH YOU
Barry Wh ite (Sa·Verre/ Jan uary, 8M I)
14
42
WHEN WILL I 8E LOVED Peter A.her
(Acuff ·Rose, 8M1 )
67
55
36
94
9
44
74
54
93
SNEAKY SNAKE Jerry Kennedy (H.llnote,
8M1)
IDO
STAN D 8Y ME John Lennon (Hill &
Range/Trio/ ADT , 8M 1)
26
19
SWING YOUR DADDY Kenny Nolan
(Kenny Nolan/ Hea,.' . De light, 8M 1)
61
THANK GOD I' M A COUNTRY BOY Mi lt
Okun w . Kril O'Conner (Chlfry lane,
ASCAP)
25
81
BlackbVrds/Fantasy 736
8. 10. ONE BEAUTIFUL DAY
Charts courtesy of
LONG TAll GLASSES Adlm Fa ith &
D.v id Courtney (Chrysalis. ASCAP)
LOVE WON'T LET ME WAIT Bobby Eli
(Mlghly Three/ Fr id.y·s Chlld/WMOT.
8MI I
LOVIN ' YOU $corbu Prod. (Dicki e8 ird.
8M 1)
MAGIC Alln Plrsona (AI Gl lli
MISTY Ray Stevens (Vernon. ASCAP)
MY BOY (Colgem •• ASCAP)
MY EYES ADORED YOU Bob Crewe (Stone
Diamond/ Tinny Boy. 8M1 ; Kenny Nol.n.
ASCAP)
MY LITTLE LADY Mike Vernon (Crystll.
Jukebox. 8M 1)
NO NO SONG Richlrd Perry (Lldy Jane ,
8M1)
ONCE YOU GET STARTED Bob Monaco
(Sulur. ASCAP)
ONE 8EAUTIFUL DAY Bobby Ma rtin
(Big Seven/Stell. Bro... 8M1)
ONLY WOMEN Bob Ezr in
(Ezr./ Ear ly Frost. 8MI ) .......... ..
ONLY YESTERDAY Richard Carpenter
(Almo/ Sweet Harmony/ H.mmer & N.lIs ,
ASCAP)
.... ... ........
PHILADElPHIA FRfEOOM Gus Dudg eon
(Big Pig/ Leed •• ASCAP) .......
PICK UP THE PIECES Arif Mard in
(AW8, 8M 1) ...
PIN8All De l Newmln (Chrysalis, ASCAP)
POETRY MAN D. Aira ll. P. R.mon.
(Ta,ka, ASCAP) ............................... .
RAINY DAY PEOPLE Lenny Waronker
(Moose. CAPAC) .. .
AI Green/ Hi 2282 (London)
3. 4. ONCE YOU GET STARTED
71
60
70
17
WHO'S SORRY NOW Sonny Jomes
(Mill s. ASCAP)
.. 39
WILDFIRE Bo b Johnston (Mystery. 8M1)
66
YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL Jim Price
(Almo/Preston. ASCAP; Irv ing/WEP
8MI )
... 3t
YOU 8ROUGHT THE WO/MJ>I OUT Of Mf.
Denn il lambert & Br ioan POlfer
(A8C Dunhill/One of • Kind. 8M I)
.. 86
YOU ' RE NO GOOD Peter Asher
(E. H. Mo rris/ Joc/ 8 Iue Seu;U.S . Song ••
ASCAP) ....
. ........................... 7S
YOUNG AMERICANS Tony Visoon ti
(Ma lnMan , ASCAP) ...... ......... ............. ...... .1