125. Maggie May - Rod Stewart
Stats:
- #1 for 5 Weeks in 1971 (October - November)
- Replaced: Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond
- Replaced by: Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves - Cher
- Sample Headline from its Reign: The Democratic Republic of Congo renamed Zaire. This name does not last.
- #2 Hits It Prevented from Reaching #1: Superstar - Carpenters
- Top 200 #1 Hits 1955-2000 Rank: Not Listed
There are two things to say about Rod Stewart generally. He was very, very popular for a long time and I don't much care for his stuff. But Maggie May is different in so many ways from the vainglorious and wrongheaded stuff that followed. It seems to capture a moment and tell a story without necessarily betraying right and wrong answers. It revels in the absurdity and precariousness of its moment. And it provides a mandolin solo that seems to actually use that instrument to great effect. Plus, Stewart's rasp here is able to express both naivete and exasperation in a way that Tonight's The Night, for example, doesn't need. If this had been Stewart's only #1, that would have been fine with me. (Pointless aside: I love the opening thump thump of the drums, and once hit a dashboard so hard that it made the cassette eject.)
Coming up: #124 - "You got me stressing, incessantly pressing the issue"
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