Various Artists - 20 Star Tracks (Vol 1)

(Various International Artists 1970-1972)
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Another compilation, this time an early 70's T.V promotional album featuring a broad range of artists, some who went on to fame and fortune, and others who faded as quickly as they appeared.
What immediately drew my attention to this album (when I came across it at my local flee market) was the 'Ronco' record label, which I've never seen before. I'm thinking that the label is equivalent to our Australian budget 'Hammard Label' or the American K-Tel label.  The album itself is only in average condition, so where possible, I have included track rips from other sources. And now, a little information on each of the featured songs and artists:
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Cat Stevens
Writing credit for "Morning Has Broken" has occasionally been erroneously attributed to Cat Stevens, who popularised the song abroad. The hymn originally appeared in the second edition of Songs of Praise (published in 1931), to the tune "Bunessan", composed in the Scottish Highlands. The familiar piano arrangement on Stevens' recording was performed by Rick Wakeman, the classically trained keyboardist from the famous progressive rock band Yes.
When shaping "Morning Has Broken" for recording, Stevens had to start with a hymn which took around 45 seconds to sing in its basic form. Producer Paul Samwell-Smith told him he could never put something like that on an album, and that it needed to be at least three minutes in length, although an acoustic demo exists of Stevens playing an early version which lasts almost three minutes. Prior to the actual recording Stevens heard Wakeman play something in the recording booth. It was a rough sketch of what would later become "Catherine Howard". Stevens told Wakeman that he liked it and wanted something similar as the opening section, the closing section and, if possible, a middle section as well. Wakeman told Stevens he could not as it was his piece destined for a solo album, but Stevens persuaded him to adapt his composition. The familiar piano intro and general structure of the piece may be attributed to Stevens or to Wakeman.
In 2000, Wakeman released an instrumental version of "Morning Has Broken" on an album of the same title. That same year he gave an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live in which he said he had agreed to perform on the Cat Stevens track for £10 and was "shattered" to be omitted from the credits, adding that he never received the money either.
On his return to performance as Yusuf Islam, Stevens made a payment to Wakeman and apologized for the original non-payment, which arose from confusion and a misunderstanding on the record label's part. On a documentary aired on British television Wakeman stated that he felt Stevens's version of "Morning Has Broken" was a very beautiful piece of music that had brought people closer to religious truth. He expressed satisfaction in having contributed to this [extract from wikipedia]
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Middle Of The Road
Sally Carr (Vocals)
Ian McCredie (Guitar)
Eric McCredie (bass)
Ken Andrew (drums)
Middle of the Road were a Scottish pop group who enjoyed success across Europe and Latin America in the early 1970s. Three of their singles sold over one million copies each, and received a gold disc. The tracks were "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" (which went on to sell over 10 million), "Sacramento", "Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum" and "Soley Soley". By early 1972 the group had sold over five million records.
Lead singer Sally Carr, drummer Ken Andrew, guitarist Ian McCredie and his bassist brother Eric McCredie, founded the band on 1 April 1970.
The band had their first and biggest hit record in the United Kingdom with debut UK single, "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" to reach #1 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1971 and keep it for four more weeks. In all, Middle of the Road had five hit singles in the UK during 1971-1972, of which the featured song "Samson & Delilah" was the least successful [extract from wikipedia].

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Mott The Hoople
lan Hunter (vocals, piano).
Verden Alien (keyboards)
Dale 'Buffin' Griffin (drums)
Mick Ralphs (guitar, vocals)
Pete 'Overend' Watts (bass)
Formed in 1969 and named after a character from a Willard Manus novel, Mott the Hoople were heavily influenced by both Bob Dylan and traditional rock'n'roll. They achieved only modest sales with their first four album releases, with their material varying between two styles of writing, one from Ian Hunter and the other from Mick Ralphs. Mad Shadows (1970) was a darkly satanic collection of songs still under Dylan influence and represented the more forceful style of Hunter, while Wildlife (1971), was in essence a somewhat chaotic album, reflecting the softer style of Ralphs. After the commercial failure of their album 'Wildlife', the band decided it would be a good idea to record with the famous producer Shadow Morton and notably a song aimed at being a hit. It was a miss unfortunately and in Spring 1971, the single "Midnight Lady" faded unnoticed. The B-side, a wonderful Hunter's ballad ("The Debt") probably should have been the A-Side and the cover sleeve for the single was pretty average and typical for the early 70's.
However, David Bowie's association with the band revived their fortunes in 1972, just as they were about to quit. 'All The Young Dudes', written and produced by Bowie, resulted in a US Top 40 and UK Top 5 hit. [The Ultimate Encyclopedia Of Rock, 1994]
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Greyhound
Greyhound was a reggae band from the United Kingdom. They began as The Rudies in the late 1960s, with core members Danny Smith and Freddie Notes. They also released material as The Tilermen and Des All Stars. Under the name The Rudies, they issued a cover of "Patches" by Clarence Carter and also "Montego Bay" by Bobby Bloom. Billed as Freddie Notes and The Rudies, "Montego Bay" peaked at #45 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1970. After Notes's departure, Glenroy Oakley joined the band and they changed their name to Greyhound in 1970. Their first single was an Earl Robinson/David I. Arkin composition, "Black & White", later recorded by artists as diverse as The Maytones, Sammy Davis Jr and Three Dog Night; Greyhound scored a Top Ten hit with the tune in the UK Singles Chart. Two more singles, including a cover of Henry Mancini's "Moon River" #12 and "I Am What I Am" #20 followed, before the group's fame fade [extract from wikipedia]
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The Sweet
Brian Connolly (Vocals)
Steve Priest (Bass)
Andy Scott (Guitar)
Mick Turner (Drums)
The Sweet were a British rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s as a prominent glitter rock act. Sweet were formed in 1968 and achieved their first hit "Funny Funny" in 1971 after teaming up with songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and record producer Phil Wainman. During 1971 and 1972, their musical style followed a marked progression from the Archies-like bubblegum style of "Funny Funny" to a Who-influenced hard rock style supplemented by a striking use of high-pitched backing vocals.
The band achieved notable success in the UK charts, with thirteen Top 20 hits during the 1970s alone, with "Block Buster!" (1973) topping the chart, followed by three consecutive number two hits in "Hell Raiser" (1973), "The Ballroom Blitz" (1973) and "Teenage Rampage" (1974).
Sweet's first full LP album, Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be, was released in November 1971. A collection of the band's recent singles supplemented by some new Chinn/Chapman novelty tunes (including "Chop Chop" and "Tom Tom Turnaround") and pop covers (such as The Lovin' Spoonful's "Daydream" and The Supremes' "Reflections"), the album was not a serious contender on the charts. Their albums' failure to match the success of their singles was a problem that would plague the band throughout their career.
February 1972 saw the release of "Poppa Joe", which reached at number 1 in Finland, peaked at number 11 in the UK Singles Chart [extract from wikipedia]
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Atomic Rooster
Chris Farlowe (vocals)
Vincent Crane (keyboards)
John Cann (guitar, vocals)
Nick Graham (bass, vocals)
Paul Hammond (drums)
When Atomic Rooster formed from the ashes of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, there was a feeling that another Cream could be in the making. Despite two hit singles in 1971, however, the group never fulfilled its promise. Firmly entrenched in the progressive-rock idiom, the band debuted in 1970 with 'Atomic Rooster', winning considerable critical acclaim for their technical prowess. Soon after Graham and Palmer quit, the latter to become a third partner in ELP, and Crane reassembled a new group, recruiting drummer Paul Hammond and guitarist/vocalist John Cann. With Crane providing the bass on foot pedals, the sound became considerably heavier, and they made inroads into the singles chart with Tomorrow Night' and 'Devil's
Answer' in 1971. This line-up recorded the definitive Rooster album, 'Death Walks Behind You', before disintegrating shortly after the release of 'In Hearing Of. Once again, Crane was forced to pick up the pieces, recruiting a new line-up, including veteran R&B vocalist Chris Farlowe, to record the soul-influenced 'Made In England'. But after 1973's 'Nice'n'Greasy', the band split up, occasionally re-forming until Crane's death in 1989.
Their 1972 single "Stand By Me" (from Made In England LP) is definitely the band working in the Sly & The Family Stone vibe (not just because of the title), with some real hot funky guitar and a pretty catchy chorus. As well, I admire the way he carries the vocal melody in the chorus, gradually rising the voice to a goofy falsetto 'stand by me-e-e-e-e', and then brings it crashing down with 'I will set you free!'. Nice touch.
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Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie is a Canadian-American Cree singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Her singing and writing repertoire also includes subjects of love, war, religion, and mysticism.
The great Buffy Sainte-Marie has appeared at Elsewhere previously for her always timely song "The Big Ones Get Away", but this exceptional piece deserves to stand in its own right. Part political activism, part patriotic American anthem and a powerful plea underlining it all, "Soldier Blue" was the title song to a film of the same name which goes largely unseen these days.
The film -- by jobbing director Ralph Nelson from the novel Arrow in the Sun by Theodore V. Olsen -- is an account of a brutal massacre of Native Americans by a Cavalry unit and, like Sam Peckinpah's Wild Bunch of the previous year, renown for its graphic and unflinching portrayal of the violence.
"Soldier Blue" packs in as much information and emotion as a dozen songs, and served the political, social, historic and soundtrack purpose simultaneously.
The single failed to chart in the US and Canada, but it did make #7 on the UK charts. 
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Jethro Tull
lan Anderson (vocals, flute)
Mick Abrahams (guitar)
Glenn Cornick (bass)
Clive Bunker (drums)
The band first made its name at the Marquee Club in London early in 1968, their debut album, This Was', issued late that year establishing the band in the blues-rock idiom.
This, however, changed after Abrahams' departure as his replacement, Martin Barre, was more flexible, and Tull's popularity soared as 1969's 'Stand Up' gave them a #1 album and singles like "Living In The Past" and "Sweet Dream" fared well.
The more progressive 'Benefit' (1970) gave the group a US profile, and after some personnel changes, Tull delivered their classic hard-rocking 'Aqualung' set in 1971.  On this album, Anderson's lyrics included strong opinions about religion. The song "Hymn 43" was released as a single, and the album provided plenty of FM radio fodder with the tracks "Aqualung", "Cross-Eyed Mary" and "Locomotive Breath". The Aqualung album would become the band's first to crack the U.S. top ten, reaching No. 7 in June 1971. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in July 1971.
Because of the heavy touring schedule and his wish to spend more time with his family, drummer Bunker quit the group after the Aqualung album and was replaced by Barrie Barlow (who was rechristened "Barriemore" by Anderson) in early 1971. Barlow first recorded with the band for the EP "Life Is a Long Song" and made his first appearance on a Jethro Tull album with 1972's 'Thick as a Brick'.
Anderson's projects grew ever more grandiose, and their 1973 'A Passion Play' failed to repeat the success of the previous year's Thick As A Brick'.
After successful world tours, and a series of mixed albums, Tull re-established a direction in 1978 with 'Songs From The Wood', the first in a trilogy of folk-inspired albums. However, the group eventually fell apart after Anderson's solo album, 'A' (1980).
Only Barre remained, and in the Eighties Tull was rebuilt with Dave Pegg bass and Peter Vettese keyboards, whose hi-tech influence alienated some of the band's fans. More recently, the group has returned to its roots, particularly on 1991's 'Catfish Rising'.  [The Ultimate Encyclopedia Of Rock]
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Laurie Styvers
A young American Laurette Stivers landed in the multicoloured late 60s London and, through an advert in the press, joined Keith Trowsdale & John McBurnie, two musicians who were looking for a feminine voice for their project. The trio made a demo which soon had them a recording contract and in 1969 they released their first single with the name of Justine. This record was the first issue of the English branch of the American label Dot and was already produced by a man who would be very important for Laurie in the coming years, Hugh Murphy.
Though Laurie kept on doing some occasional gigs with the band, she eventually left Justine and prepared her own songs for a solo career, with the help of Murphy. Her first LP, “Spilt Milk”, was released in 1972 which yielded her first single "Beat The Reaper" and her second and last LP, “Colorado Kid”, was released the following year. Both records have a certain continuity in style and intention, and could have formed a double album, on hindsight. Her two albums received very good reviews… but very poor sales.
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Lindisfarne
Alan Hull (vocals, guitar, piano)
Ray Jackson (vocals, mandolin, harmonica)
Simon Cowe (guitar, mandolin, banjo)
Rod Clements (bass guitar, violin)
Ray Laidlaw (drums)
Lindisfarne were a British folk/rock group from Newcastle upon Tyne established in 1970 (originally called Brethren[1]) and fronted by singer/main songwriter Alan Hull and Ray Jackson.
They are best known for the albums Nicely Out of Tune (1970), Fog on the Tyne (1971) and Back and Fourth (1978), also for the success of songs such as "Meet Me On The Corner", "Lady Eleanor", "Run For Home" and "We Can Swing Together".
"Lady Eleanor" is a song written by Alan Hull, featured on the first Lindisfarne album, Nicely Out of Tune. Initially released as a single in 1970, it failed to chart. In 1972, following the success of the band's single "Meet me on the Corner" (which reached #5 in the UK), and the highly successful second album Fog on the Tyne, it was re-released and became their second consecutive hit single, reaching Number 3 in the UK charts. Its B-Side was "Nothing But the Marvelous is Beautiful". The song features the folk rock band Lindisfarne's characteristic combination of mandolin playing and close harmony singing. Its lyrics are inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's 1839 short story "The Fall of the House of Usher"[extract from wikipedia]
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Procol Harum
Gary Brooker (vocals, piano)
Matthew Fisher (keyboards)
Ray Royer (guitar)
Dave Knights (bass)
Bobby Harrison (drums)
Keith Reid (lyricist)
Formed early 1967 in Southend, Essex, from the ashes of R&B group the Paramounts, Procol Harum's first single, the ethereal Bach-influenced 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' gave them a huge international hit. Number 1 in the UK for six weeks, it stands as an immortal cornerstone of the celebrated 1967 Summer of Love. Royer and Harrison were replaced by Robin Trower guitar and B J Wilson drums during the recording of their first album, but Procol Harum received greater recognition (and healthier record sales) in the US than at home, where their first album to chart was 1969's 'A Salty Dog'. It was followed by 'Home' (1970) and 'Broken Barricades' (1971), after which guitarist Robin Trower, disillusioned with Procol's increasingly symphonic leanings, left to form the short-lived Jude (with Frankie Miller), before finding success with his own Hendrix-inspired trio.
Procol Harum's first album without Trower - 1972's live recording with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra - proved the most successful of their career, selling over one million copies in the US. Over the next few years the group released four more moderate selling albums, but by 1977 they had quietly split, recognizing a less favourable musical climate with the advent of punk rock.
After years in the wilderness - during which Brooker struggled with a semi-successful solo career - the best known Procol Harum lineup (with Trower) re-formed for their well-received 1991 album 'The Prodigal Stranger'
"Conquistador" was Written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, and it originally appeared on the band's 1967 self-titled debut album. It was released as a single off the band's 1972 album 'Procol Harum Live In Concert' with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and it is this version that is their most popular release. Note that  the version released on this compilation is the original studio version.
Procol Harum's lyricist Keith Reid told Songfacts that the music for "Conquistador" was written before the lyrics. He added that this was unusual as "99 out of 100" of the Procol Harum songs back then, "were written the words first, and then were set to music." [The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Rock & Wikipedia]
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Joan Baez
Joan Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Baez has a distinctive vocal style, with a strong vibrato and began her recording career in 1960. Her first three albums, Joan Baez, Joan Baez, Vol. 2, and Joan Baez in Concert all achieved gold record status, and stayed on the charts of hit albums for two years.
Her first album for Vanguard, "Joan Baez" (1960), was a huge success. The following year, she met Bob Dylan and released her second very successful album, followed the year later by many southern civil-rights performances and "Joan Baez in Concert" (a Grammy nominee). She launched a tax revolt as part of her protest of the Vietnam war, protested Pete Seeger's exclusion by ABC-TV, and joined in the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley and the civil rights march in Selma AL. In 1967, she spent two brief periods in jail for anti-war protests.
Baez has had a popular hit song with "Diamonds & Rust" and hit covers of Phil Ochs's "There but for Fortune" and The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" which was recorded in 1969. Joan Baez's cover of the song was a top-five chart hit when she released it in late 1971.
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Free
Paul Rogers (Vocals)
Paul Kossoff (Guitar)
Andy Fraser (Bass)
Simon Kirke (Drums)
After failed attempts to form new bands, Peace for Paul Rodgers, Toby for Andy Fraser and Kossoff, Kirke Tetsu & Rabbit (strangely the most successful of the 3), they reformed Free mainly (they said) for Paul Kossoff who was drowning more deeply in his psycho-pharmacologic ocean. They recorded a really great but totally depressing album called Free At Last that was rather a success too (#9 in the charts) and some weeks later "A Little Bit Of Love" was also a hit (#13 in the charts) and it deserved to be with its fantastic rhythm and riff arrangement. So many bands copied Free but none understood the magical touch of this band. On B-side, there was one of the most moving and depressing song of the LP (not an unissued one) called "Sail On". Free was able to win on both sides, the emotive and the efficient ones.
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Labi Siffre
London-born singer Labi Siffre has spent his career breaking down boundaries. The openly gay singer built a small cult following with works that dealt squarely with homophobia and racism. In addition to his many albums, the multi-talented Siffre has written several books of poetry and has also written for the stage. Musically, Siffre is known for his soulful, high-pitched voice and thought-provoking lyrics.
His recording debut in 1970 was released in the U.K. on the Pye International division of Pye Records. He had a "turntable hit" in 1970 with the single "Pretty Little Girl (Make My Day)/Too Late" which despite being heavily played on Radio Luxembourg never made it to the charts.
Six albums were released between 1970 and 1975, and four between 1988 and 1998. In the early 1970s, he had UK hits with "It Must Be Love" (No. 14, 1971) (later covered by and a No. 4 hit for Madness, for which Siffre himself appeared in the video); "Crying Laughing Loving Lying" (No. 11, 1972); and "Watch Me" (No. 29, 1972). Both "It Must Be Love" and "Crying Laughing Loving Lying" were released as singles in the U.S. by Bell Records but failed to chart.
The single "Get To The Country" / "A Feeling I Got"  was released in July 1971, on Pye records.  Both tracks were non-album at the time of release; the A-side turns up as a bonus track on "The Singer And The Song" 2006 EMI CD reissue; the B-side is unfortunately still unavailable on CD
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Mungo Jerry
Ray Dorset (vocals, guitar)
Colin Earl (keyboards)
Paul King (banjo, guitar)
Mike Cole (bass)
Tim Reeves (drums)
Mungo Jerry is a British rock group whose greatest success was in the early 1970s, though they have continued throughout the years with an ever-changing line-up, always fronted by Ray Dorset.
"In the Summertime" is a song recorded in 1970 by the British pop-blues band Mungo Jerry. Written by the group's leader Ray Dorset, it celebrates the carefree days of summer. It reached number 1 in charts around the world (including seven weeks in the UK, two weeks in Canada) and number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US. It is considered one of the highest selling singles of all time with an estimated 30 million copies sold. It was also the year-end top seller of 1970 in the UK singles chart. The song took Dorset only ten minutes to compose on a second-hand Fender Stratocaster while he was taking time off work from his regular job.
Mungo Jerry made their first trip to the United States in September 1970. On their return Mike Cole was fired and replaced by John Godfrey, who played bass on their second UK maxi-single, "Baby Jump", which also topped the UK chart in March 1971. The third UK single, another maxi, "Lady Rose", also in 1971, was also set to become another UK No. 1, but the record was temporarily withdrawn from sale and all existing copies were destroyed on the instructions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office after complaints about the inclusion of the traditional song "Have A Whiff On Me", to which Dorset had added some of his own lyrics, on the grounds that it advocated the use of cocaine.[extract from wikipedia]
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Traffic
Steve Winwood (vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass)
Dave Mason (guitar, bass, vocals)
Chris Wood (woodwinds)
Jim Capaldi (drums, vocals)
Traffic was a band with talent to burn. Its nominal figurehead, Stevie Winwood, powered the group with his searing blues singing and intelligent keyboard and guitar playing. Dave Mason, whose singing, song-writing and guitar playing would have made him the focal point of most other bands, was overshadowed here by Win-wood, and the lineup was completed by the angular funk drumming of Jim Capaldi and hipster fills from saxophone-flautist Chris Wood.
At its best. Traffic was a band to be reckoned with. The first two Traffic albums are late-Sixties classics, an eclectic combination of blues, folk, jazz and rock that was polyglot without ever becoming overextended. Mr. Fantasy, released shortly after Sgt. Pepper and masterfully produced in similar fashion by Jimmy Miller, is one of the most durable products of that very dated era. Traffic was more fully mature. "Feelin' Alright," "Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring" and "You Can All Join In" are timeless songs, some of the best moments of their era.
After Mason's departure for a solo career, Traffic was never really the same. John Barleycorn was Winwood's swan song as a major talent; the album concentrated more on the folk and jamming elements of the band, and it was particularly effective as a trio record. It includes three stand-out songs: the title track, "Empty Pages" and "Freedom Rider." Their live album 'Welcome To The Canteen' added a new rhythm section, Latin percussion and reunited Dave Mason with the band for a one-shot tour. The record's fairly good, especially in comparison to the prior lethargic live 'On the Road. Traffic's later work is desultory, with Winwood apparently just going through the motions after his disastrous flirt with superstardom in Blind Faith. He even wrote a song called "Sometimes I Feel So Uninspired," an accurate account of his creative powers. Some of the old spark seemed to return for When the Eagle Flies (1977), but nothing has appeared since then.
"Gimme Some Lovin'" was written by Steve Winwood, Spencer Davis and Muff Winwood, although solely credited to "Stevie Winwood" on the UK single label, and originally performed by The Spencer Davis Group.  In 1971 Traffic, with Winwood as lead singer, performed it on their live album 'Welcome to the Canteen' and this is the version included here.  [extract from The Rolling Stone Record Guide, 1979]
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Blue Haze
Written by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach, “Smoke gets In Your Eyes” has been recorded by everyone from Paul Whiteman (who first made it into a hit in 1934) to Louis Armstrong to a band from England called Blue Haze.  A remake of the song was made famous by the Platters in 1958.
There’s not much information available about Blue Haze, except that they were put together by the team of Johnny Arthey and Phil Swern, an English songwriting and production duo that recorded pop and reggae artists in the 1960s and 70s.
Blue Haze’s version of “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” was every bit a conglomeration of their forte: a poppified reggae song with an over-the-top, dance-orchestra accompaniment. Not the worst and by far not the best version of the song, it was nonetheless a hit in 1972, when it went to Number 27 on the Billboard chart.
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Scott English
Scott English is an American songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the co-writer of "Brandy" with Richard Kerr. This song became a #1 hit for Barry Manilow in 1974 under the revised title of "Mandy". English had also released a single of "Brandy", which reached #12 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1971 and entered the US charts in March 1972.
This is a unique situation and I am not certain how often something like this has occurred – if ever, where a song has been recorded under different titles yet each has its place in musical history.
In 1971, Scott English recorded a song that he and Richard Kerr had penned. “Brandy” did well in the UK charting, but was a stateside flop. The single was released in North America on the Janus label and was the original recording of a song that Barry Manilow would take to #1 in 1974 as “Mandy.”
A year after English’s dismal American chart action, another group named the Looking Glass released their #1 hit wonder – “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl). While the song only shared the name of the female lead in the song, it would have implications for English & Kerr’s composition.
In 1974, Arista Records owner Clive Davis suggested to Barry Manilow that he record the Kerr/English composition. Manilow agreed; however, feeling that the title was too similar to the 1972 hit by the Looking Glass, he changed the title to “Mandy.” The song became his first number one record as well as his first gold single. While he had originally recorded a version that was similar to Scott English’s release, he and producer Ron Dante thought that it would be better to be recorded as a ballad – and the rest as they say is history. [extract from Reading Between The Grooves ]
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Olivia Newton John
Actress/singer Olivia Newton-John was born on September 26, 1948, in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. She lived there until she was five years old, and her family relocated to Australia when her father was offered a job as the dean of a college in Melbourne. When she was a teen she returned to live in England with her mother, after winning a singing talent contest. She had many hit singles and appeared on TV series with Cliff Richard as well as in the film Tomorrow (1970). For a while she was engaged to Bruce Welch, a member of The Shadows, who backed Richard.
Newton-John released her first solo album, 'If Not For You' in 1971. The title track, written by Bob Dylan and previously recorded by ex-Beatle George Harrison for his 1970 album All Things Must Pass, was her first international hit (#25 Pop Charts). Her follow-up single, "Banks of the Ohio", was a top 10 hit in Great Britain and Australia.
Newton-John has been a long-time activist for environmental and animal rights issues. Since surviving breast cancer in 1992, she has been an advocate for health awareness becoming involved with various charities, health products and fundraising efforts. Her business interests have included launching several product lines for Koala Blue and co-owning the Gaia Retreat & Spa in Australia.
Olivia took the advice of a friend, and in the mid-'70s left Britain to take up residence in America to help further her singing career, and has lived there ever since.
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Post consists of MP3 rips mostly taken from vinyl, except where better reproductions could be sourced from other vinyl or CD. Full album artwork, single covers and label scans are included. Although there is no release date on the album, I suspect it was probably released around 1973, with all tracks  being released between 1970 and 1972.

Track Listing:
 01 Cat Stevens – Morning Has Broken
02 Middle Of The Road – Samson And Delilah        
03 Mott The Hoople – Midnight Lady
04 Greyhound – I Am What I Am        
05 The Sweet - Poppa Joe        
06 Atomic Rooster – Stand By Me        
07 Buffy Sainte Marie – Soldier Blue
08 Jethro Tull – Life Is A Long Song
09 Laurie Styvers – Beat The Reaper 
10 Lindisfarne – Lady Eleanor        
11 Procol Harum –     Conquistador        
12 Joan Baez – The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down        
13 The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards – Amazing Grace        

14 Free –     Little Bit Of Love        
15 Labi Siffre – Get To The Country
16 Mungo Jerry – In The Summertime
17 Traffic – Gimme Some Lovin'        
18 Blue Haze – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes        
19 Scott English – Brandy        
20 Olivia Newton-John – Banks Of The Ohio

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20 Star Tracks Link  (146Mb) New Link 17/10/2015
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