American Top 40: The 70s - May 9, 2015
This week's presentation - May 8, 1976
Droppers:
CAN'T HIDE LOVE - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (39) - For the life of me, I can't remember how this one goes.
SWEET THING - RUFUS & CHAKA KHAN (27) - The third and final Top Ten hit for this soul group from the Windy City. This one was pretty good, though nothing special.
THERE'S A KIND OF HUSH (ALL OVER THE WORLD) - THE CARPENTERS (25) - This successful brother/sister duo did several remakes and this was one of them, originally done by Herman's Hermits. I liked both versions about the same.
DREAM WEAVER - GARY WRIGHT (24) - The first of three Top 40 hits for this singer from New Jersey. This wasn't bad, but I preferred his other two hits.
LONELY NIGHT (ANGEL FACE) - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (23) - This song, penned by Neil Sedaka, was the third hit from this now divorced couple. They actually replaced themselves on the countdown this week.
LIVIN' FOR THE WEEKEND - THE O'JAYS (20) - This was only the second of their seven hits (up to this point, anyway) to miss the Top Ten. It did hit the Top 20, however, albeit barely. I seem to remember this one wasn't anything to write home about. The only songs by them that I really like are "Love Train" and "Use Ta Be My Girl".
40: SHOP AROUND - THE CAPTAIN AND TENNILLE (debut) - Wow, 1976 was indeed a good year for remakes, as there were seven of them on this week's show! This was the first, originally done by the Miracles fifteen years before. Not sure which of them I prefer; they're both good.
39: I WANT YOU - MARVIN GAYE (debut) - Not a remake, but a song that ended up being remade fifteen years
later,by Robert Palmer. Everytime I hear this song, I keep expecting it to change back to "Mercy Mercy Me", since Palmer sang both songs as a medley. Not sure which of those versions I prefer either, since they sound very much alike.
38: BARETTA'S THEME - RHYTHM HERITAGE (debut) - The second of their two Top 40 hits. I preferred the other one, "Theme From S.W.A.T.", which hit #1 earlier in the year.
At this point, Casey talked about Zager & Evans, who had hit #1 in 1969 with "In The Year 2525". So glad that he did not play it, as that is definitely a "No. Just No" song, according to me.
37: MOVIN' - BRASS CONSTRUCTION (debut) - This was the only Top 40 hit for this Brooklyn disco ensemble. Nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to.
36: FALLEN ANGEL - FRANKIE VALLI (debut) - When this song started up, I thought it was "Lost Without Your Love" by Bread, and I was like, wait, wasn't that song from later in the year? Anyway, this was a great song, and I thought it was a shame that this was all the further it got on the charts.
35: ANYTIME (I'LL BE THERE) - PAUL ANKA (40) - My live stream cut out at this point and I didn't get it back until song #34, so I'll have to either listen to another broadcast of the show or check it out on YouTube.
34: HURT - ELVIS PRESLEY (38) - This wasn't bad, but it was far from being his best.
33: I'VE GOT A FEELING (WE'LL BE SEEING EACH OTHER AGAIN) - AL WILSON (37) - This man had a handful of chart singles, although most of them were mid-charters (the only one that wasn't, however, went all the way). This one was pretty good.
32: UNION MAN - CATE BROTHERS (33) - This was the only Top 40 hit for these twins. Like song #37, it wasn't anything exceptional, IMO.
31: SHOUT IT OUT LOUD - KISS (31) - This is one I remember from back in the day (so I'm surprised that this was all the higher it got). It was pretty good, but I prefer their slower songs, like "Beth" and "Forever" (and apparently, so did the Top 40 audience, as those two songs were their only Top Tens).
30: MORE, MORE, MORE - ANDREA TRUE CONNECTION (36) - The first and biggest of their two Top 40 hits, which would be sampled by the Canadian Rock Band Len in "Steal My Sunshine" in 1999. I forget how their other song, "NY, You Got Me Dancing" goes, so I can't really say which one I like best.
29: LOVE REALLY HURTS WITHOUT YOU - BILLY OCEAN (35) - Like Dan Hill, who we heard with one of the LDD songs on this week's 1982 show, this was a man who seemed destined to be a one-hit wonder. He, however, had a whole slew of hits starting with his comeback in 1984. This song wasn't bad, but I preferred most of his later hits.
28: LOVE IN THE SHADOWS - NEIL SEDAKA (34) - What a chart career he had! This was the 19th of 21 Top 40 hits for Mr. Sedaka. Though I preferred a few others from him, this wasn't bad at all!
27: DON'T PULL YOUR LOVE/THEN YOU CAN TELL ME GOODBYE - GLEN CAMPBELL (28) - Earlier, I mentioned Robert Palmer's medley of two Marvin Gaye classics. This is an example of that as well - Glen wove together these songs, by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds and the Casinos, respectively, very well - sounded like they were the same song (much like said Robert Palmer medley).
OPTIONAL EXTRA: AFTERNOON DELIGHT - STARLAND VOCAL BAND - LOL, this was apparently a song about running home during lunch break for a quickie! It was a great one - definitely one of the big summer hits from 1976!
26: YOUNG BLOOD - BAD COMPANY (32) - They sort of sounded like Elvis in this song (although the original of this was done by the Coasters). It wasn't bad, but I preferred most of their other hits.
25: DECEMBER 1963 (OH WHAT A NIGHT) - FOUR SEASONS (16) - Wow, this song was still hanging around? Then again, despite its hard fall from #1, it otherwise moved down somewhat slowly. Anyway, I liked this song a lot - too bad they chopped it down.
24: HAPPY MUSIC - BLACKBYRDS (30) - This was the second of two Top 20 hits from this soul group formed in 1973 in our nation's capital. This one was pretty good, but it didn't hold a candle to "Walking In Rhythm", which was a Top Ten hit the year before.
23: COME ON OVER - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (29) - Olivia had enjoyed a wave of chart success, with five consecutive Top Tens over a year and a half and, at this point, looked to be on her way down, chartwise, but the best was yet to come. This song, written by Barry and Robin Gibb, was pretty good, IMO, but definitely not her best.
22: SWEET LOVE - COMMODORES (5) - Wow, what a drop! I wasn't a huge fan of their earlier hits, like this, but did like many of their songs from the late-70s (as well as the early-80s, before Lionel Richie left the group to embark on a very successful solo career.
21: ONLY SIXTEEN - DR. HOOK (11) - I just noticed how all of their Top Ten hits peaked at #5 or #6.
20: FOOL TO CRY - ROLLING STONES (debut) - Wow, with a massive debut like this, it looked like this would be a cinch to hit #1. Not quite - it, in fact, barely touched the Top Ten. I can sort of see why it tanked so fast (spent only seven weeks in the Top Ten). It was definitely far from being their best. Then again, that's nothing but my opinion - I'm sure that many people liked this one. It just wasn't my cup of tea.
19: HAPPY DAYS - PRATT & McCLAIN (26) - LOL! This was posted in the oldradioshows website as "Harry Days". Anyway, this was the theme from definitely one of the best sitcoms of the 1970s! I liked both the sitcom and the theme!
18: RHIANNON (WILL YOU EVER WIN) - FLEETWOOD MAC (22) - This one looked like it could become their first Top Ten, but it just missed, peaking at #11 (it did hit the Top Ten on the R&R chart, though, getting as high as #8). They would finally hit the Top Ten in the spring of the following year with "Go Your Own Way".
17: MISTY BLUE - DOROTHY MOORE (21) - Hmm, lots of "two-hit wonders" on this week's show. This was the first and biggest for this Jackson, Mississippi native. It was a nice and mellow song. Can't say that I remember how her other hit "I Believe You" goes (but that's understandable, as it only got as high as #27).
16: STRANGE MAGIC - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (19) - This was the third of a total of twenty hits for this English orchestral rock band. It was OK, but not one of my favorites from them, especially since I associate it with the royally depressing movie "The Virgin Suicides", (since it is played during the prom scene).
15: I DO, I DO, I DO, I DO, I DO - ABBA (15) - One of the most successful Swedish acts to hit the chart. This wasn't bad, but I prefer several others by them, especially "Dancing Queen" and "The Winner Takes It All".
14: SARA SMILE - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (18) - This was the one that started it all off for possibly the most successful duo of all time. It wasn't their best, but it was indeed passable. I personally preferred their hit on this week's 1982 show, "Did It In A Minute".
13: TRYIN' TO GET THE FEELING AGAIN - BARRY MANILOW (17) - One of the best balladeers of all time! And this was one of his best hits, IMO! Unfortunately, this one was butchered, big time!
OPTIONAL EXTRA: MOONLIGHT FEELS RIGHT - STARBUCK - Wow, the two-hit wonders even appear in the Extras this week. I do, however, remember what their other Top 40 hit, "Everybody Be Dancin'" sounds like. It was a good one, but I prefer this one.
12: SHANNON - HENRY GROSS (14) - And now we're up to the infamous "Dead Dog Dedication" song. This was written about the death of Beach Boy Carl Wilson's Irish Setter (and correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Beach Boys sing back-up on this one?)
11: BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY - QUEEN (9) - SCHWING! This song had two chart runs - and it hit the Top Ten both times (on the R&R chart, anyway). But on both that chart and the Hot 100, it definitely hit the Top Ten the first time around and spent a long time in the Top 40! This is definitely one of my favorite songs by Queen.
10: DISCO LADY - JOHNNIE TAYLOR (6) - According to Casey Kasem, this was the biggest hit of the year so far. By year's end, however, two songs would end up surpassing it. This song was the very first song to be certified platinum by the R.I.A.A. This song was indeed a big hit, but it just wasn't quite my cup of tea.
9: LET YOUR LOVE FLOW - BELLAMY BROTHERS (1) - Wow, what a huge drop from #1! Almost amounts to the slew of large drops from #1 in the fall of 1974! Anyway, this was indeed a great song and one I remember quite well.
8: GET UP AND BOOGIE - SILVER CONVENTION (13) - Another two-hit wonder here. They seemed to limit their vocabulary in both songs, using only six words in both of them. I liked both songs about the same.
7: LOVE HANGOVER - DIANA ROSS (10) - This song was indeed number one bound, strong enough to interrupt the run at the top for the biggest song of 1976. Not quite her best song by any means - again, just my opinion - nothing more
6: SHOW ME THE WAY - PETER FRAMPTON (7) - This was the first of three songs from what would IIRC become the #1 album of 1976, Frampton Comes Alive. It was my favorite of the three (although I have started liking "Do You Feel Like We Do" a little more than I did previously).
5: SILLY LOVE SONGS - WINGS (12) - This was the aforementioned biggest song of 1976 - it would hit the top two weeks later for a total of five non-consecutive weeks at the top. I remember this song quite well, but don't like it quite as much as I did back in the day (most likely due to overplay).
4: FOOLED AROUND AND FELL IN LOVE - ELVIN BISHOP (8) - Of course everyone knows that Mickey Thomas sang lead on this one. Not sure if Elvin Bishop did any back-up singing or just played the guitar. This was another song I remember from back in the day, and I still like it as much as I did then!
3: BOOGIE FEVER - SYLVERS (3) - This song was gearing up to hit #1 the following week. It was the first of two Top Five hits for this family group from Memphis (but they were not a two-hit wonder, as they had a third hit, which didn't quite make the Top Ten, but peaked at #17. Anyway, this was my favorite of their trio of hits.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: I'M EASY - KEITH CARRADINE - Known more for his acting, Carradine also did a little singing. This was from one of the movies that he appeared in, called Nashville. I liked this one and always thought his voice and music style in this song greatly resembled that of the late Jim Croce.
2: RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED FROM - MAXINE NIGHTINGALE (2) - Another "two-hit wonder" (Don't worry, this is the last one in the show). She had two Top 40 hits, both of which hit the Top Five. My favorite one, however, was her other one, called "Lead Me On", which charted in the summer of 1979. This one was also pretty good, but quite overplayed.
EXTRA: DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC - LOVIN' SP00NFUL - The first of seven Top Ten hits for this rock group from New York City, led by the man who has this week's #1 song.
1: WELCOME BACK - JOHN SEBASTIAN (4) - And here he is, with the theme from Welcome Back Kotter. This song wasted absolutely no time hitting the top and it seemed like a logical assumption that this song would spend several weeks on top but the top part of the chart was just too strong at this point for any song to spend more than a single week on top. Nevertheless, this was, IMO, one of the best TV show themes of all time!
Coming up next week: Back to twofers. But at least my favorite of the two (May 12, 1979) is the A-show. The B-show is from May 15, 1971.