CoronaVinyl Day 453 (Various Artists): The Super Hits Vol. 4 by Various Artists

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Today's CoronaVinyl category is "Various Artists," and I recently picked up the 1969 Atlantic Records compilation The Super Hits Vol. 4 after spending far too much time thumbing through lots of crap at Salvation Army.  But hey, finding a couple diamonds in the rough for a couple bucks each is what keeps me alive.

Anywho, it was an easy sell when I saw the cover and the artists whose songs were on the album.  There's soul, pop, R&B, and rock songs, many of which are from future Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.  All of the songs were released in 1968.  We have two songs each from the Queen of Soul and Clarence Carter, a civil rights anthem from The (don't call me young) Rascals, pre-disco Bee Gees, some great late '60s soul, the husky-voiced magic of Dusty Springfield, proto-metal from the original and best power trio and supergroup, a song from the original shock rocker, and a Memphis soul legend turning out one of the best covers of a Beatles song ever, featuring a guitar solo from an up-and-coming Muscle Shoals session man named Duane Allman that was so good Eric Clapton called Atlantic Records to find out who it was.

Here's the list of tracks on each side, along with each song's chart positions on the Billboard Hot 100, any other relevant Billboard charts, and any foreign pop chart where it reached the Top 10.

Side 1
1.  "See Saw" by Aretha Franklin - #14 Billboard Hot 100; #9 Billboard R&B Singles
2.  "People Got to Be Free" by The Rascals - #1 Billboard Hot 100; #1 Canada pop chart
3.  "Slip Away" by Clarence Carter - #6 Billboard Hot 100; #2 Billboard R&B Singles
4.  "I Can't Stop Dancing" by Archie Bell & The Drells - #9 Billboard Hot 100; #5 Billboard R&B Singles
5.  "Can I Change My Mind" by Tyrone Davis - #5 Billboard Hot 100; #1 Billboard R&B Singles
6.  "Fire" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - #2 Billboard Hot 100; #1 UK and Canada pop charts; #3 Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland pop charts; #4 France and Netherlands pop charts; #7 Austria pop chart; #8 Ireland pop chart

Side 2
1.  "Too Weak to Fight" by Clarence Carter - #13 Billboard Hot 100; #3 Billboard R&B Singles
2.  "I Say a Little Prayer" by Aretha Franklin - #10 Billboard Hot 100; #3 Billboard R&B Singles; #3 Netherlands pop chart; #4 Sweden and UK pop charts; #7 Belgium pop chart; #8 Australia pop chart
3.  "White Room" by Cream - #6 Billboard Hot 100; #1 Australia pop chart; #2 Canada and New Zealand pop charts; #10 Finland pop chart
4.  "Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield - #10 Billboard Hot 100; #1 Singapore pop chart; #2 Malaysia pop chart; #3 Switzerland pop chart; #6 Australia and Netherlands pop charts; #7 New Zealand pop chart; #9 UK pop chart; #10 Austria pop chart
5.  "I Started a Joke" by The Bee Gees - #6 Billboard Hot 100; #1 Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, and New Zealand pop charts; #2 South Africa pop chart; #3 France, Indonesia, and Norway pop charts; #5 Switzerland pop chart; #7 Canada pop chart; #8 Belgium pop chart; #9 Netherlands pop chart
6.  "Hey Jude" by Wilson Pickett - #23 Billboard Hot 100; #13 Billboard R&B Singles

The album isn't on Spotify, but I'm embedding YouTube videos of my favorite songs from each side.

Favorite Song on Side 1:  "Fire" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
"I am the god of hellfire / And I bring you / Fire."  One of the greatest opening lines in rock history set the tone for British shock rockers The Crazy World of Arthur Brown's biggest hit.  Lead singer Arthur Brown was one of the first rockers to put on face paint on stage and use theatrics (like lighting his head on fire) on stage, and the band members wore costumes as well.  "Fire" is a psychedelic rock/soul song that presumably terrified a lot of parents, particularly if they saw Brown perform the song on TV.  The version I'm embedding is from when the band performed the song on Top of the Pops (though the song itself is the recorded version). 

Favorite Song on Side 2:  "White Room" by Cream
Side 2 has some great songs, like Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man," Aretha's version of "I Say a Little Prayer," and Wilson Pickett's amazing cover of "Hey Jude," but I couldn't pass over the song that made me fall in love with Cream, "White Room."  It's still as fresh and powerful as the first time I heard it, showcasing the musicianship of the greatest power trio of all time.  Separately, they are Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, and Eric Clapton.  Together, they are The Cream.  Or were.  RIP Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce.