Ordinarily, I don't do critiques for pre-1975 shows, but a smart aleck comment in a different thread compelled me to reconsider. You people who have issues with my critique (two come to mind right now) might want to skip this critique. The ones who do not have issues with them - here we go!
American Top 40: The 70s - May 2, 2015
This week's presentation - May 4, 1974
Droppers:
JET - PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS - Glad I didn't have to hear THIS one! It was major league annoying!
PIANO MAN - BILLY JOEL (36) - This was his signature song! I wonder why it only got as high as #25? True, he wasn't quite an established artist yet, but still.
OUTSIDE WOMAN - BLOODSTONE (34) - Pretty good - your run-of-the-mill mid-70s slow jam.
40: TOUCH A HAND, MAKE A FRIEND - STAPLE SINGERS (27) - Say what?? What kind of title is that? I was thinking, OK, well, maybe it's a decent song. Hah! No such luck.
39: MY GIRL BILL - JIM STAFFORD (debut) - I won't say anything about this song except that it was total cheese, and the melody was pretty much a ripoff of Mary Wells' "My Guy".
38: THANKS FOR SAVING MY LIFE - BILLY PAUL (37) - You're very welcome. But I prefer Elton John's song of the same subject from the following year.
37: I'M A TRAIN - ALBERT HAMMOND (31) - Are you serious? This sounds like something you'd hear at a kiddie singalong! Next song, please!
36: I'M IN LOVE - ARETHA FRANKLIN (debut) - Well, this was a little better, but anything's better than that last song.
35: MIGHTY, MIGHTY - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (40) - Remember line-dancing to this on Soul Train? Thankfully, I don't.
34: TELL ME A LIE - SAMMI JOE (28) - OK, I'll tell you a lie to break up the monotony of crap song comments - this is a good song. (Remember, that was a lie).
33: MOCKINGBIRD - CARLY SIMON & JAMES TAYLOR (26) - Another ripoff song, like the one back at #39, only this one was not so much of a melody, but rather a popular lullaby (you know, the one that begins with "Hush little baby, don't say a word...")
32: FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY - O'JAYS (debut) - Oh great, now I got that "Money money money money - muhhh-nehhh" chant going through my mind.
31: A VERY SPECIAL LOVE SONG - CHARLIE RICH (25) - Well, this one was indeed tolerable, but still, there's better on this week's...wait, that might not be true. I got 30 more songs to muddle through.
30: THE PAYBACK (PART #1) - JAMES BROWN (32) - I'm not a big fan of his music, this song included.
29: LET IT RIDE - BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE (23) - This song was OK, but the title kinda describes what I should have done with this show.
28: SEASONS IN THE SUN - TERRY JACKS (24) - No. Just no.
27: DON'T YOU WORRY 'BOUT A THING - STEVIE WONDER (33) - UGH! This was one of his worst songs ever!
26: KEEP ON SINGING - HELEN REDDY (15) - NOOOO! Please DON'T keep on singing! I beg you!
25: THE LORD'S PRAYER - SISTER JANET MEAD (17) - The first GOOD song in this show! That's gotta be a record.
24: OH VERY YOUNG - CAT STEVENS (30) - I rather like this song too, although Stevens had several better hits.
23: HELP ME - JONI MITCHELL (29) - Hey, this show was off to a rocky start, but now it's starting to get good! I liked this song a lot!
22: BAND ON THE RUN - PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS (debut) - Wow, they replaced themselves on this show! Anyway, this isn't exactly my favorite song from them, but it's sure not as cringe-worthy as their song that drops off the chart.
21: I WON'T LAST A DAY WITHOUT YOU - THE CARPENTERS (35) - Great song! One of their best!
20: SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS - JOHN DENVER (14) - Another great song! Wow, maybe I should start getting pre-1974 shows a chance.
19: MY MISTAKE WAS TO LOVE YOU - DIANA ROSS & MARVIN GAYE (20) - Ugh, I spoke too soon!
18: LOOKIN' FOR A LOVE - BOBBY WOMACK (10) - Indeed, that batch of good songs was merely a fluke! This guy's voice was grating - he basically shouted this song instead of singing it.
17: YOU MAKE ME FEEL BRAND NEW - THE STYLISTICS (21) - Well, this is another brief reprieve from the crap songs, as I generally liked the Stylistics and this was one of my favorites from them.
16: I'LL HAVE TO SAY I LOVE YOU IN A SONG - JIM CROCE (9) - Hey, two great songs in a row! I liked most of Jim Croce's songs, especially from the I Got A Name album. My favorite from that album is "The Hard Way Every Time". Too bad that was never released as a single.
15: MIDNIGHT AT THE OASIS - MARIA MULDAUR (22) - The melody of this song is pretty good, but the lyrics are just the opposite. Cactus is our friend? Not if you accidentally run into one. Reminds me of a segment I saw on "Untold Stories of the ER". And send your camel to bed? He's a bigger animal than you - he can put himself to bed!
14: COME AND GET YOUR LOVE - REDBONE (7) - *SIGH* Back to the crap songs. The title of this is almost as dumb as "Jump For My Love".
13: OH MY MY - RINGO STARR (5) - My feelings exactly, as the crap songs far outnumber the great ones! This song was OK, but definitely not his best.
12: (I'VE BEEN) SEARCHIN' SO LONG - CHICAGO (16) - This was a pretty decent song. Most of their early and mid-70s songs were actually pretty good.
11: THE ENTERTAINER - MARVIN HAMLISCH (18) - No. Just no.
10: JUST DON'T WANT TO BE LONELY - MAIN INGREDIENT (11) - It's okies. (You knew it would only be a matter of time before I used that comment, didn't you?)
9: THE SHOW MUST GO ON - THREE DOG NIGHT (13) - I guess so; that's why I'm still listening to this show. This song was another screamfest, like the Bobby Womack song back at #18.
8: TUBULAR BELLS - MIKE OLDFIELD (12) - This was an eerie song! Reminds me of the Niles Haunted House Scream Park (in Niles, Michigan), where they had this song playing near the entrance.
7: HOOKED ON A FEELING - BLUE SWEDE (6) - Now this is a song that should have been left as is, not turned into something that sounds like a cannibal ritual! No, give me BJ Thomas' original any day!
6: THE STREAK - RAY STEVENS (19) - WHAT?? Streaking can get you arrested and labeled as a sex offender! Oh wait, my mistake; this was back in 1974. My bad.
5: DANCING MACHINE - JACKSON FIVE (8) - Blegh! I generally liked them with the "Five" as part of their name, but this was an exception. Actually, this is when their songs were beginning to go downhill. Their earlier songs were much better.
4: BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME - GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS (3) - This song was pretty good, though definitely not their best song by any means.
3: BENNIE AND THE JETS - ELTON JOHN (2) - This was OK (I liked the way that they made the song sound live), but I prefer many others from him.
2: T.S.O.P. - M.F.S.B. (1) - SOOOOOOOUUUUUL TRAIN! This song wasn't too bad, but it just seemed to go on and on and on.
1: THE LOCO-MOTION - GRAND FUNK (4) - Well, at least the show ended on a decent note, as this was my favorite version of this song.
The station on which I listened to this show did not play the Optional Extras, so I hopped on over to YouTube:
HOLLYWOOD SWINGING - KOOL & THE GANG - Meh, not one of my faves from them by any stretch of the imagination!
YOU WON'T SEE ME - ANNE MURRAY - Too bad they didn't play the Extras - we needed as many good songs as possible, with all the crap songs in the countdown!
ANOTHER PARK, ANOTHER SUNDAY - DOOBIE BROTHERS - Another good song that would have broken up the monotony of crap songs.
And THAT, my friends, is why I do not listen to pre-1975 editions of American Top 40. Now, to go wash all this dreck out of my minds by listening to the May 3, 1997 show that dukelightning mentioned below...