Welcome to another Sun-Soaked episode of The Songs Of The Summer Series from friend and Contributing Author Ozmoe!
This week: Remembering 1972…
As a reminder or for those just joining us, I categorize a summer song basically as the fun tune you’d like to do at karaoke with your friends. It’s hummable, singable, danceable, and probably some other kind of optimistic labels I can’t think of right now.
tnocs.com summer charts expert ozmoe
1972 was a summer of extremes.
On the political side, President Richard Nixon seemed poised to easily win a second term in office in November. Yet on June 17 of that year, his administration authorized a break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., that would lead to his resignation from office two years later.
In sports, the Summer Olympics brought such triumphs as Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut winning three gold medals, and American swimmer Mark Spitz claiming seven gold medals—and setting world records with each win. But casting a pall on these achievements was the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches by Palestinian terrorists.
A similar dichotomy emerged on the US pop chart at the time. While classics like Lean on Me and Tumbling Dice made the top 10, so did records that didn’t merit that distinction like Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast and Troglodyte (Cave Man).
Luckily, between those polar opposites were some classic summer songs that made you want to sing and dance along and feel good, no matter what ups and downs were going in the world.
Here are what I consider to be the top candidates for the Song Of The Summer designation in 1972, listed chronologically based on their Billboard Hot 100 peak.
• Gallery: Nice to Be With You
A perfect slice of early 1970s soft rock pop, Nice to Be With You surprisingly was co-produced by Dennis Coffey, who a year earlier scored a top 10 hit with the much funkier instrumental Scorpio. Lead singer Jim Gold, who penned Nice to Be With You, did his best Neil Diamond impersonation on this tune, which does sound reminiscent of Diamond’s early hit Cracklin’ Rosie. Additionally, the song’s bridge had a memorable steel guitar solo that gave it a country flavor, yet somehow the song never made that chart even in a cover version.
• Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose: Too Late to Turn Back Now
So melodic. So natural sounding. Too Late to Turn Back Now was a record that flowed so smoothly, one would’ve thought it had been around earlier than 1972. In a sense, it was, having been recorded in 1970 before becoming a hit. Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose was a trio whose members as their name indicated were all related to each other, and their harmonies sounded great throughout this song. Too Late to Turn Back Now made the top 10 on the soul, adult contemporary and pop charts, kept out of number on the latter by Lean on Me.
• Elton John: Rocket Man
Yes, I know the commercial where people can’t figure out the second line of the chorus. Capitalizing on that confusion just shows how ubiquitous this song has become, from an artist who insisted in his autobiography Me that he crafted albums, and not singles. Maybe so. But along with Bernie Taupin, Elton John created a song so powerful that it’s had everything from a memorable cover by William Shatner to John himself doing it as a part of Cold Heart, a mashup with Dua Lipa that went to number 1 in the UK and number 7 in the US in 2021.
• The Eagles: Take It Easy
The verses alone on this classic are vividly memorable. The first one has our narrator talking about the stress of having seven women on his mind. The second one describes how he tried to pick up a woman at a certain street corner in Winslow, Arizona, which has become a tourist trap ever since this hit. And the third has the same guy looking for a lover who won’t blow his cover. Add to that a great guitar solo and strong chorus, and you’ve got a number whose only surprise is that it peaked only at number 12. Still, it’s one of the best debut singles ever by a supergroup.
Alice Cooper: School’s Out
Pity the many teachers and school administrators 50 years ago. They probably were ready to end their school year as peaceably as possible when their students confronted them with a new loud chant: “School’s, out, for, summer!/School’s, out, for-ever!” Couple that with his bizarre theatrics in concert which included a mock beheading and well, you can understand why some adults thought that Alice Cooper was the worst thing that could happen to their kids. That notion disappeared over time, but School’s Out remains a raucous banger.
The Hollies: Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress
How about this single by Creedence Clearwater Revival? Oh, wait. It’s actually the Hollies, getting their first top 10 US hit since He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother in 1969. But it doesn’t quite sound like the Hollies, as it eschewed their traditional three-part harmony in favor of lead singer and song co-writer Allan Clarke aping John Fogerty’s vocal delivery. Clarke also played the stomping lead guitar, another element not normally associated with the group. It ended up being the group’s biggest hit in America, peaking at number two behind Alone Again (Naturally).
Bread: The Guitar Man
An electric guitar solo from a traditional soft rock act? That was the twist in what Bread offered here, making it quite a departure from the group’s usual quiet, mellow mood on vinyl. Somewhat surprisingly, adult contemporary stations found listeners didn’t mind the wailing intrusion in the bridge, as The Guitar Man topped the chart of that format. On the Hot 100, it stalled at number 12. Favorite fun fact about this one: Listen closely at the applause at the end and you’ll hear a voice say, “The Doors!” That part came from a concert… obviously not featuring Bread.
Looking Glass: Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)
Clive Davis loved this song when he first heard it performed. And when that record company head loves a song, he’ll allow it to go through several producers before a version is ready to be released. Members of Looking Glass produced the hit rendition of their song and included overdubbing of strings and horns, a decision that would backfire on them when listeners expected more of the same from follow-up songs. Looking Glass cracked soon thereafter, but the compact story song Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl) endures as a favorite oldie to spin to this day.
Now, you know what to do… list which three you liked the most along with any other comments below.
And next week, we’ll look back at yet another slate of Summer Song contenders.
Thank You For Your Vote!
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The definitive version of “Rocket Man” was captured by Chicago’s public television affiliate. If you see Karen Black, you found it. The copyright date reads 1978. Elton John and Bernie Taupin broke-up after Blue Moves. Okay, that’s 1976. You can tell there was some bad blood between them. When he introduces William Shatner, he describes the song as “my ‘Rocket Man'”.
You know it’s a tough set when an Elton classic doesn’t make the final cut …. But that’s OK: I would put “Rocket Man” in that “song for all seasons” category.
So, from your list:
3) School’s Out
2) Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress)
1) Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)
“Nice to Be With You” and “Too Late to Turn Back Now” are fine runners-up. I would add Mouth and MacNeal’s “How Do You Do?” to that list of contenders, too.
Great job, Ozmoe.
I gotta go with Alice Cooper for #1! After that I’d go with The Hollies, and then Cornelius Bros & Sister Rose.
Other Hot 100 picks to consider: “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green, “I’ll Take You There” by The Staple Singers, “Popcorn” by Hot Butter, “Rockin Robin” by Michael Jackson, “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash, “Coconut” by Harry Nilsson. Oh, and “My Ding-a-Ling” by Chuck Berry. 😀
And some other summer-worthy tunes bubbling under the (US) charts: “Starman” by David Bowie, “All the Young Dudes” by Mott the Hoople, “Virginia Plain” by Roxy Music, “Metal Guru” by T.Rex, “Strawberry Letter 23” by Shuggie Otis, “Hallogallo” by Neu!, and “Pass the Peas” by The J.B.s.
I’m in the office today, sadly, so I can’t check my collection for 1972 favorites, but it looks like you’ve done the work for me! “All The Young Dudes” would be my choice from your list.
It’s not really a summer song though. I have to go with “Too Late To Turn Back Now.” The Cornelius Brothers And Sister Rose are often left out of retrospectives but their hits were stunners. “Treat Her Like A Lady” is a spectacular R&B Pop song. I think I’ll crank them up as soon as I get home.
“All the young dudes carry the noose…to the beach,” right? That’s not implied?
3 . Bros & Rose: A sweet, string-laden paean about how young love can grab you by the scruff of your neck, and refuse to let go. (Source: in the Summer of ’72, I was grabbed by the scruff of the neck.)
2 . Elliot Laurie & Co.: Publicly, me and all of my too-cool proggy gang would make fun of how syrupy this one sounded. Privately? We would never admit to anyone that we loved it and knew every word… and secretly wished that we could meet a girl as noble and wonderful as Brandy.
1 . The Coop. What can I say; I was 14. It was as rebellious a vibe as I could pull off at the time.
mt 58, are you sure we’re not brothers from different mothers?
I, too, was grabbed by the scruff of the neck and floated through the summer of ’72 on a blissful cloud of love. CB&SR was “our song”. But, then, in the fall, she gently let my scruffy neck go and turned back.
C’est La Vie.
Al of the others mentioned bring back nothing but great memories of that summer.
3. Elton John – Rocket Man
2. The Hollies – Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress
1. Alice Cooper – School’s Out
How can any other song beat screaming at the top of your lungs, “Schooooool’s Out. For. Summer! / Schooooool’s Out. For. Ever!”? How can any song so epitomize the freedom and possibility of the wasting your day at the pool or driving your Camaro unsafely or warm beer and crickets singing? Used well in Richard Linklater’s all-time classic Dazed and Confused, this is the definitive Song of the Summer for 1972.
The story of how Alice came up with one of the lines on School’s Out makes me laugh every time.
When writing the second verse, the “class” and “Princi- (ple) (pal) puns were pretty obvious and cute, and sort of wrote themselves. And then when it came up to the last line, he worked on it but couldn’t come up with a thing.
What to do?
Tell the truth, I guess:
Reminds me of Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
I think Tom Petty pulled a similar lyrical twist in “You Don’t Know How it Feels”: “Think of me what you will … I’ve got a little space to fill.”
I’d always thought the third line was “And we got no innocence…”
I did, too. I looked up four sources, and they were split on that word.
I think you’re correct.
Well it can only be School’s Out as my number 1 choice. Giving voice to the thoughts of kids every summer. Its part of the vocabulary, it goes through my head now whenever I’m signing off from work for a week or two.
After that its The Hollies and then Elton. Rocket Man doesn’t come off as a summer song to me but its so good I’ll take it anytime of the year.
Over here, the sound of the summer was, sigh, Donny Osmond with Puppy Love. 5 long weeks at the top. Its enough to put you off your ice cream. Fortunately he was blown away mid August by School’s Out. Other summer fun to be had courtesy of Hawkwind with Silver Machine reaching #3 juxtaposed with something called Sea Side Shuffle by Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs. Possibly not Terry’s real name. Actually nowhere near as bad as I thought it was gonna be having listened for the first time ever. Like a less problematic In The Summertime. And playing to the stereotypical view of a traditional British rainy summer Johnny Nash also made it to #5 with I Can See Clearly Now.
https://youtu.be/p62dmF2Bdpw
“Possibly not Terry’s real name…”
First coffee spit of the week.
Much gratitude.
Turns out Terry is Jona Lewie who a few years later had a massive Christmas hit and ongoing pension fund with Stop the Cavalry.
1) Brandy(You’re a Fine Girl): If you’re named Brandy, it must get annoying when people ask if you’re named after the song. Somewhere in America there must be a Brandy who responded: “No. My parents were winos.”
2) School’s Out: Alice Cooper is a great DJ. And as aforementioned, you can’t talk about this song without giving a shout-out to Richard Linklater. Probably lost some mystique with his hardcore fans when they discovered he was an avid golfer.
3) Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress: Doesn’t sound like the same band who recorded “Carrie Anne”. Inspired title. So specific. She’s probably pretty, too.
Great job as usual, Ozmoe. Thanks.
Almost all of these are GREAT songs — “Well we’ve got no class, and we’ve got no principals (principles)” is one of the greatest lyric lines in any rock song ever — but if we’re judging them on which best represented the summer of 1972, it’s either “Brandy” or one that you didn’t even list, “Lean On Me.” I like several of these songs more than “Brandy,” but the damn thing was EVERYWHERE that summer (I was 8 years old, and it soundtracked our two weeks of vacation at the Shore).
Ozmoe, another fine choice of a particular summer that meant a lot for me (see my post to mt58).
As to the two big stories that bracketed that summer, I was working as an intern for our fair city’s largest newspaper. The Watergate break in was just a small story at the time but as the months and years went along it became huge.
As to the Munich Massacre, my uncle and cousins were big track and field fans and my uncle arranged for us to all go to the US Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon that June.
I was supposed to get newspaper credentials to have access to the athletes but that plan went awry but as security was lax at that time and I was a defensive tackle on my college’s football team, I managed to convince the security detail I was one of the shot-put and discus athletes and had access to many of the aspiring contestants and filed several stories back to my newspaper.
We avidly watched the Olympics that September and was shocked and dismayed by the events of what happened in Munich that sad day. What made it even more tragic was that several of the US athletes interviewed on national television were the same athletes I had interviewed on a much happier occasion several months earlier.
Incredible story. Wow. Thanks for sharing.
1. School’s Out
2. Erm… a tie between all the rest Ozmoe mentioned? Honestly, I can’t accurately rank them, they’re all great songs (in different ways) and I don’t want to leave anyone out.
Also, a write-in for Todd Rundgren’s “I Saw the Light” (pairs nicely with the CB&SR tune).
Todd Rundgren’s son played high school baseball here. It’s a five-minute walk from the state university. I attended games, the wrong games. I used to keep a copy of Nearly Human in my backpack, just in case. Spent most of his MiLB career in the Red Sox organization, I think.
Oof, this is a tough one. My Top 3 picks are so close in Summertime-mood excellence, but I think I’m gonna go as follows:
1. School’s Out
2. Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress
3. Take It Easy
School’s Out has become so synonymous with Summertime freedom, that song will live forever. Even kids today who know nothing about music beyond what came out 8 months ago know this song! The great thing about it is how relatable is is for all ages too, breaking free of whatever is holding you down.
I’ve spent my entire life thinking The Hollies and CCR were the same group, even though I know better. LCWIABD is a fantastic song musically – that intro is one of the greatest ever. The jangly guitar with the drum accents? Fan-friggin-tastic. The song just breathes a noirish summer vibe to me – slightly dangerous, a bit wild, mysterious…
Like ’em or not, The Eagles crafted some terrific songs and knew how to sell a tale. The imagery is just so vivid in their lyrics, it really is a rare skill that few artists have ever matched.
Workplace funny – a few years ago I was working on map updates for the US aero navigation system, and this particular day had updates for the Winslow navaid and the Kokomo navaid listed right next to each other. My brain of course becomes a battleground between Eagles lyrics and Beach Boys the rest of the day.
The Eagles emerged as the victorious earworm that day. Arizona 1, Indiana zero.
I didn’t read anybody else’s post until after I posted mine. Fascinating how the majority vote wound up Alice Cooper at #1, The Hollies at #2. Have we all been that agreeable on ozmoe’s other years?!
Not to this extent to my knowledge.
I’m writing from memory. If I’m wrong, somebody can correct me. The plug was going to be pulled on the compact disc. But Wal-Mart sold a ton of Eagles “records”(new material or live album? I forget) and made it viable to keep the format going. This was before the K-pop explosion. BTS fans allow me to buy Damien Jurado on CD.
The Eagles had the good taste to cover Tom Waits, so there’s that. Don Henley comes across as a megalomaniac(he lambasted a female journalist for asking him a question about “Hotel California”), but nobody can accuse him of lacking talent. I know “The Heart of the Matter” is solo Henley, but it’s an all-time-favorite of mine, especially the MTV Unplugged version.
I’m going to be highlighting a lesser-known Henley track on the mothership in the next week or so, so, yeah, I co-sign the appreciation for the Eagles despite the group’s (and individuals’) flaws.
Just to add on something that hit me while reading the article yesterday… Invariably, I always do a double take when I see or hear “Take It Easy” on a chart from 1972. My brain always wants to say, this can’t be right, it sounds more like it belongs in 1975 or something (and my mind is all kinds of cluttered with pop chart trivia, so it’s weird that this one particular song does that to me).
Oh, was that a summer. First summer of my teens. Unlike MT58 and DanceFever, I didn’t fall in love that summer, although we did experiment a tiny bit with lust. Anyway…
#1 has to be “School’s Out.” Still played across the country every May and June.
#2 belongs to Brandy. She was a fine girl and she deserves it.
#3 The Hollies in a close race.
I always think that these can’t get any harder, and then they do. Thanks, Ozmoe! These are really fun.
Didn’t we all experiment a tiny bit when we first were attracted.
I do wish we could get a little more female reaction to these fabulous posts as we did on the mothership. Brigit and EdithG – are you out there?
I wish we had a few more women, too. Dutchg8r and I are pretty much carrying the flag for the female side unless I am forgetting someone.
Agreed.
I’m constantly reaching out to folks who operate women’s blogs. Admittedly, it’s slow progress.
Any suggestions of where or how to promote the site, so that more women will consider us?
What might I improve? Am I doing something wrong?
You are not doing anything wrong. You have created a beautiful space, an oasis in the middle of internet madness. Slow progress is still progress. I will try to mention it more on other sites that I use and will invite a few people that I think would fit in well with the group.
Much appreciation. I’ll talk a little about this tomorrow, in “The Weekend Files” bit.
As soon as I posted, I saw your name and went “Damn, I hope she forgives me.” And of course I also forgot Dutchg8r. Mea Culpa, ladies.
No worries. The main point, that women are underrepresented on the site, remains valid.
All good, DanceFever. 🙂
I would like to take this opportunity and apologize to our readers for providing such a terrible example of the Female Perspective here on tnocs Island. 😋
We certainly welcome more women to counterbalance my not-at-all-typical outlook on things…..
Not a terrible example at all. Individual outlooks welcomed. I don’t believe in “typical” anyway.
Agreed. Love is correct.
You are great the way you are. I suspect it was tongue in cheek, but there is nothing whatsoever for you to apologize about.