Favorite BIG #1 HITS Through the Years: 1971 Pop

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Ah, what a nice, relaxing day. My back didn't appreciate that drive to and from Nashville. I'm going to have to modify things when I go back later this month. Meanwhile, here's another song that topped the pop charts as I go year by year through the first 25 years of my existence, just to show you that I do know popular songs. Here's the next one. 1971 (Pop): Gypsys, Tramps, and Thieves - Cher Great song. Bad spelling. Back in the Sonny & Cher days Cher's solo career had taken a back seat to the duo. In 1971 she released this song, and it quickly became "Cher and her little sidekick" instead of Sonny and Cher. And wow, what a song. This is a story song (see, those aren't just relegated to country music) about a teenager who lives in a "traveling show" that goes from town to town with carnival-type entertainment, from dancing for the customers ("every night all the men would come around and lay their money down") to selling snake oil ("sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good"). Of course, "gypsies" in the US means something different than in the rest of the world (where the term is used for Romani people [jazz guitar great Django Reinhardt was Romani]). But that's not for this discussion. Here we have a little statutory rape going on ("I was 16, he was 21, he rode with us to Memphis and papa woulda shot him if he knew what he'd done....three months later, I'm a gal in trouble"), showing in the third verse the cycle is repeating. Cher has enjoyed a number of careers: her Sonny & Cher era, her solo career (which rebounded with this song), and Oscar-winning actor. Yeah, and she dated pretty much everyone in rock and roll (e.g., Gene Simmons, Les Dudek [sad that most people only know him for being an ex-boyfriend of hers], Gregg Allman). But she is truly a legend. Gypsys, Tramps, and Thieves Written by Bob Stone Recorded by Cher From Cher (later retitled Gypsys, Tramps, and Thieves), 1971 #1 for two weeks Papa would do whatever he could: