The "Insane World Of Mike Sain" airs every Wednesday at 9:00 AM Eastern Time on WPON-AM 1460 Detroit. Today's theme was "Ed Sullivan III, The Final Season," which featured songs by bands and artists that appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show during the later years (1969-1971). (Ed Sullivan's last show aired on 3/28/1971.)
The songs are listed below with their respective chart debut dates which, for comparison, are given alongside the date(s) they were performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. Other Ed Sullivan show data are also shown. (From: TV.com - The Ed Sullivan Show Episode List)
| Song | Artist | Chart debut | Date(s) song aired on EDS | EDS artist debut | Last show | # shows |
| It's All In The Game | Four Tops | 4/25/1970 | 11/8/1970 | 1/30/1966 | 11/8/1970 | 4 |
| Dizzy | Tommy Roe | 2/1/1969 | 11/15/1970 | 11/15/1970 | 11/15/1970 | 1 |
| Temptation Eyes | The Grass Roots | 12/26/1970 | 12/6/1970 | 10/31/1965 (?) | 12/6/1970 | 2 |
| Grazing In The Grass | The Friends Of Distinction | 4/5/1969 | 12/27/1970 | 12/27/1970 | 12/27/1970 | 1 |
| Little Green Apples | O.C. Smith | 8/17/1968 | 1/3/1971 | 1/3/1971 | 1/3/1971 | 1 |
| Keep The Customer Satisfied | Gary Puckett | 2/6/1971 | 1/17/1971 | 5/12/1968 | 1/17/1971 | 3 |
| Most Of All | B.J. Thomas | 11/28/1970 | 1/24/1971 | 1/25/1970 | 1/24/1971 | 2 |
| Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) | The Temptations | 2/6/1971 | 1/31/1971 | 5/28/1967 | 1/31/1971 | 7 |
| If I Were Your Woman | Gladys Knight And The Pips | 11/28/1970 | 2/7/1971 | 2/25/1968 | 2/7/1971 | 4 |
| Harper Valley P.T.A. | Jeannie C. Riley | 8/24/1968 | 3/9/1969; 3/7/1971 | 3/9/1969 | 3/7/1971 | 3 |
Notes:
- The Four Tops' 1970 hit, "It's All In The Game," first charted in 1951 for Tommy Edwards who later came out with a new version that topped both the R&B and pop charts in 1958. This song also became a pop hit for Cliff Richard (1964), an R&B chart hit for Isaac Hayes (1980), and a country chart hit for Slim Whitman (1974), Jerry Jaye (1975), Tom T. Hall (1977), and Merle Haggard (1983). The melody for "It's All In The Game" was taken from a 1912 composition by Charles Dawes, the Vice President under Calvin Coolidge, and the lyrics were written in 1951 by Carl Sigman.
- "Dizzy" topped the charts for Tommy Roe in 1969. Roe had a long string of hits from 1962-1973 that also included "Sheila" (1962), "Sweet Pea" (1966), and "Jam Up Jelly Tight" (1970).
- The Grass Roots were formed in San Francisco in 1964. From 1966-1975, they had a long string of hits including "Let's Live For Today" (1967), "Midnight Confessions" (1968), "Temptation Eyes" (1971), and "Sooner Or Later" (1971). The group's history is fairly complicated as they have had numerous personnel changes along the way. On 12/6/1970, the Grass Roots performed "Temptation Eyes" on the Ed Sullivan Show. The group lineup at that time consisted of five members that included lead guitarist Terry Furlong. The first time they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show was on 10/31/1965 (?) when they performed as backup singers for Barry McGuire's "Child of Our Times."
- "Grazing In The Grass" by the Friends of Distinction peaked at #3 in 1969 and was this group's chart debut song. A jazzy instrumental version of "Grazing In The Grass" previously topped the charts for Hugh Masekela in 1968. Many years later, this song became an R&B chart hit for George Howard (1993). The Friends of Distinction were a male-female group from L.A. with several hits from 1969-1971 that also included "Going In Circles" (1969) and "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely" (1970).
- O.C. Smith's 1968 smash hit, "Little Green Apples," also became a hit that same year for Roger Miller and Patti Page. Ben Colder also had a Country chart hit in 1969 with a parody version, "Little Green Apples No. 2."
- Gary Puckett formed the Union Gap in 1967 which was named after the town, Union Gap, Washington. Gary Puckett started recording solo in 1970. His very last charted song (in 1971) was Simon & Garfunkel's "Keep The Customer Satisfied."
- "Most Of All" became a hit for B. J. Thomas in 1971 and was one of several songs he performed as part of a medley on the Ed Sullivan Show on 1/24/1971.
- On 1/31/1971, the Temptations performed on the Ed Sullivan Show "Just My Imagination" plus several other hits. "Just My Imagination" topped both the R&B and pop charts for the Temptations in 1971 and later became an R&B hit for Lillo Thomas in 1984. The Temptations made a total of seven appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show that also included one show on 11/19/1967 with the Supremes in which each group sang medleys of each others hits.
- "If I Were Your Woman" topped the R&B charts and became a Top 10 pop hit for Gladys Knight and the Pips in 1971. This song later also became an R&B hit for Stephanie Mills in 1988.
- "Harper Valley P.T.A." topped both the country and pop charts for Jeannie C. Riley in 1968. King Curtis also charted with an instrumental version of this song that same year. There was also two parody versions, i.e., Ben Colder's "Harper Valley P.T.A. (Later That Same Day)" and Effie Smith's "Harper Valley P.T.A. Gossip," which became hits in 1968 on the Country and R&B charts, respectively. Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley P.T.A." was an inspiration for the 1978 movie, "Harper Valley P.T.A.," starring Barbara Eden.
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