Some baseball historical landmarks

From voice recording #186, Dec. 13.
My seventh day on the '70s?
Robert Palmer, "Bad Case of Loving You", 1979. 3,600.
Dobie Gray, "Drift Away", I don't know the year. 4,400.
Johnny Rivers, "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu", '72. Johnny had a number of pretty good, memorable songs during the early '70s. This one is old-time rock with a piano. 3,500.
Barry Manilow, "Copacabana", '78. It tells a story about Lola, a showgirl. But I have to admit while I was listening to it, I was thinking of the big dust-up a bunch of Yankees had at the Copacabana in 1956 or '57, maybe '58. A number of Yankees got into an altercation with some other patrons, and as a result Billy Martin was exiled to Kansas City. I read about it when we were visiting my cousins in Springville. I'll have to do some research. And here's the result: It was May 16, 1957, Martin's 29th birthday. Ralph Terry also was traded to KC, but was brought back after he had some success with the Athletics -- in time to give up the 1960 World Series-winning home run to Bill Mazeroski. It seems that a group of bowlers were heckling, somewhat racially inappropriately, Sammy Davis Jr., a friend to several Yankees. One of the bowlers might or might not have been punched by Hank Bauer, and came away with a broken jaw. Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra also were at the birthday celebration, but they and Bauer were too good to trade. 4,100.
The Carpenters, "Hurting Each Other", '72. A typical Carpenters song, better than some. 4,350.
Grass Roots, "Sooner or Later", '71. I don't think Grass Roots made it over the hump from the late '60s to the early '70s very well. They were past their peak by the time of this song. 4,200.
Sanford Townsend Band, "Smoke from a Distant Fire", '77. Not sure the lyrics hit home on this one. It's a breakup, somebody-done-somebody-wrong song, so maybe the girl's eyes were weepy. But "from the smoke of a distant fire"? 4,800.
Jim Stafford, "Spiders and Snakes", '73. This is another strange sort of mating song. Apparently, the girl he's trying to woo is a sophisticated country girl -- it's a country song -- you can't win her heart by giving her spiders and snakes, putting them down her dress or whatever. 4,650.
Bee Gees, "Love You Inside Out", from '79. It is unmistakably Bee Gees. Some of the song is half notes or even whole notes, but I don't think the drum beat changed one bit. 4,450.
Eagles, "Desperado", 1973. A nice song, but it lacks energy. 2,750.
Elton John, "Bitch Is Back", '74. 4,700 or lower.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, "Mr. Bojangles", 1970. I liked the version by Jerry Jeff Walker better, but I like this one too. It's a good song about a man and his dog. I never saw Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, but I did one time see Stepin Fetchit. It was 1969. I traveled to Louisville to cover the Rochester Red Wings. I don't know if Stepin Fetchit worked at the hotel where we stayed or was a guest there, but when I registered, the desk clerk pointed him out to me. He spent some time in Louisville helping Muhammad Ali, who called Fetchit his "secret strategist." 1,500.
Boston, "Don't Look Back", '78. Boston was a fairly hard rock group for the late '70s. Pretty good, not their best. 3,000.
Jacksons, "Shake Your Body", '79. This grouping was somewhere between The Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson. The song is just OK. 4,550.
Peter Frampton, "I Can't Stand It No More", not sure of the year. By the time I finished this song, I couldn't stand it. Frampton never became a superduperstar, as Time magazine prematurely and inaccurately billed him on a cover. That must have been a slow news week -- get it, Newsweek? 4,850.
KC and the Sunshine Band, "Keep It Comin' Love", I believe '77. KC had his heyday during the '70s. He was enthusiastic, but his act wore thin pretty quickly. 4,600.
Badfinger, "Day After Day", 1972. I'm not sure whether I've done this one before, if I did I probably gave it in the 2,200-2,400 range. So I'll say 2,300.
The Staple Singers, "Respect Yourself", 1971. Their music is kind of gospel rock. Not bad. 4,050.
Eagles, "One of These Nights", 1975. I'm not sure whether I've already reviewed this. I'll say 2,600.
Bill Withers, "Use Me", '72. 4,200.
Olivia Newton-John, "A Little More Love", '78. 3,900.
The Bellamy Brothers, "Let Your Love Flow", I think '76. I've done this one before, and I think I gave it about 3,600.
Coven, "One Tin Soldier", didn't see the year. I think it was the theme to "Billy Jack". It's a catchy tune and it had a good message, which was used somewhat self-righteously in the movie. 3,800.
Leo Sayer, "You Made Me Feel Like Dancing", '76. The first time I saw Leo Sayer on TV, in 1974, he was dressed in a clown costume -- with bright red, rosy cheeks. I remember that year because I was in Baltimore at the time to cover the Orioles' playoff series against Oakland. 4,000.
Doobie Brothers, "Take Me in Your Arms", '75. 4,300.