EMOTIONAL RESCUE
EPISODE 4

From Studio C Chicago this is “Emotional Rescue,” a tuneful tapestry of all things 1970 to 1980, with plenty of air time given to pop, soul, funk, postpunk, classic rock, Afrobeat, New Wave, film music, jazz, disco, and much more. I’m Andy Miles, and this is Aztec Two-Step.

Aztec Two-Step “The Persecution & Restoration Of Dean Moriarty (On The Road)” (1972)

Eric Clapton “Mainline Florida” (1974)

Dusty Springfield “I Believe In You” (1971)

Carly Simon “You Belong To Me” (1978)

That’s Carly Simon with her fifth and final top 10 hit of the ’70s, and her career, “You Belong To Me,” a song she co-wrote with Michael McDonald. McDonald’s band, The Doobie Brothers, took the first crack at the song, but Simon’s version emerged as the hit. Amazingly, McDonald didn’t sing backup on the song, as he did on so many songs from that time, but James Taylor did. The sax solo comes from David Sanborn.

Dusty Springfield before that, “I Believe In You,” a 1971 single that failed to chart. The plan was to include the track on a Springfield LP called “Faithful,” but it was shelved when her Atlantic Records contract was not renewed. She recorded tracks for “Faithful” over multiple sessions in the first half of 1971, and it’s actually her last studio album, even if it wasn’t released until 2015, 16 years after Springfield’s death at age 59.

We heard Eric Clapton, “Mainline Florida,” the closing track on his 1974 classic LP “461 Ocean Boulevard.” Yvonne Elliman sings backup along with the song’s composer, George Terry, who also handles guitar on the track. The distinctive guitar sound that Clapton uses on his song-ending solo comes from a talk box.

And at the top of the set the New York City folk-rock duo Aztec Two-Step with “The Persecution & Restoration Of Dean Moriarty (On The Road),” recorded and released by Elektra Records in 1972, just a year after the band was formed.

And you’re listening to “Emotional Rescue” from Studio C Chicago. I’m Andy Miles. Thanks for joining me. Lots of good stuff on the way, including Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Koko Taylor, David Crosby, and this from Al Green.

Al Green “Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)” (1974)

Paul Simon “St. Judy’s Comet” (1973)

Antônio Carlos Jobim “Children’s Games” (1970)

Stevie Wonder “Bird of Beauty” (1974)

Stevie Wonder, “Bird of Beauty,” a fine track from the multi-Grammy-winning “Fulfillingness’ First Finale” album of 1974. The female vocals on the song come from Shirley Brewer, Lani Groves, and Deniece Williams. The Brazilian Sérgio Mendes provided the Portuguese lyrics.

Before that, the Brazilian Antônio Carlos Jobim with the 1970 instrumental “Children’s Games.” It comes from album “Stone Flower.”

We heard Paul Simon with a song from the well-received album “There Goes Rhymin’ Simon,” released in the spring of 1973. It produced two number two Billboard singles, “Kodachrome” and “Loves Me Like A Rock.” The song we heard, “St. Judy’s Comet,” was the sixth and final single released from the album; it managed to hit the pop chart in just one country, France, where it reached the number nine position.

And Al Green got that set started. The song was “Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy),” from 1974. It hit the top 10 of both the U.S. pop and R&B charts, becoming Green’s eighth certified gold record of the ’70s, and his last.

From Studio C Chicago, this is "Emotional Rescue," a show devoted to one of the great decades in popular music: the 1970s. Next up, a set of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, each performing under his own name. David Crosby goes first; it’s a song from his excellent 1971 solo release, “If I Could Only Remember My Name.”

David Crosby “Laughing” (1971)

Stephen Stills “Old Times Good Times” (1970)

Graham Nash “Chicago/We Can Change The World” (1971)

Neil Young “When You Dance I Can Really Love” (1970)

Neil Young concluding a set of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, gone solo. The song is “When You Dance I Can Really Love,” released as both a single and album track, the album being “After The Gold Rush.”

Before that a classic from Graham Nash, “Chicago/We Can Change The World.” Like the Young song we heard, “Chicago” was released as both an album track and a single, and it was the best he’d do in either category: the LP, his debut “Songs For Beginners,” went gold and enjoyed top 20 success around the world; the single cracked the American top 40.

We heard Stephen Stills, “Old Times Good Times” from his 1970 self-titled debut solo album, released just eight months after the chart-topping Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young record “Déjà Vu” hit shelves in March of 1970. The Stills record spent 39 weeks on the album chart in 1970 and ’71, propelled by its hit opening track, “Love The One You’re With.”

And David Crosby from his solo debut, “If I Could Only Remember My Name,” probably the least successful and most offbeat of the four Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young solo albums I played cuts from in that set, and denigrated by critics writing in important publications like Rolling Stone and Village Voice, but it nonetheless earned a gold record certification the year of its release, 1971. It’s a record I heartily recommend.

From Studio C Chicago, this is “Emotional Rescue.” I’m Andy Miles, and this is George Benson.

George Benson “On Broadway” (1978)

Fela Kuti “Mr. Follow Follow” (1977)

The Eagles “One Of These Nights” (1975)

Koko Taylor “Let Me Love You Baby” (1971)

That’s 1972 music from Koko Taylor, “Let Me Love You Baby.” The album was “Basic Soul,” her second; it was released by Chess Records.

The Eagles before that, “One Of These Nights,” the chart-topping title track to their chart-topping quadruple platinum, Grammy-nominated 1975 LP. Don Henley co-wrote the song and sings the lead vocal.

We heard Fela with “Mr. Follow Follow” from the “Zombie” album, released in 1976.

And George Benson’s live recording of “On Broadway” at the top of the set, one of the many pop standards to have come out of New York City’s famous Brill Building. Fifteen years after The Drifters made the song a top 10 hit in 1963, Benson performed it live at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, included it on his million-selling live album “Weekend in L.A,” and also scored a top 10 single, just the second of his career at that point. It won him a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance at the 21st Annual Grammy Awards in 1979.

And you’re listening to “Emotional Rescue” from Studio C Chicago. I’m Andy Miles. Next up, a set of music from 1970.

The Spinners “lt’s A Shame” (1970)

George Harrison “Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)” (1970)

Van Morrison “Glad Tidings” (1970)

The 5th Dimension “Save The Country” (1970)

The 5th Dimension “Save The Country,” a song written by Laura Nyro in response to the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. She released different versions of the song in 1968 and ’69. In 1970 “Save The Country” was one of five singles released by The 5th Dimension from their album “Portrait.”

Before that, Van Morrison with the closing track from his 1970 classic album “Moondance,” “Glad Tidings.”

We also heard George Harrison with his “Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll).” Three of the session musicians who play on the track went on to become formidable hitmakers in the decade: Peter Frampton, Gary Wright, and Billy Preston, who had recently played with The Beatles on the “Let It Be” sessions.

And The Spinners at the top of the set, “It’s A Shame,” a song co-written by Stevie Wonder and Syreeta Wright, the first of several hits the two collaborated on. Wonder was also the producer and one of the session players on the track, which gave The Spinners their first big hit; they’d score another 10 top 20 hits in the decade.

And you’ve been listening to “Emotional Rescue” from Studio C Chicago. I’m Andy Miles. Thanks for joining me. We’re going to go out with one last track from 1970. It’s jazz from Alice Coltrane, “Turiya & Ramakrishna.”

Alice Coltrane “Turiya & Ramakrishna”

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