American Top 40: The 70s - March 5, 2016
This week's presentation - March 3, 1979
Droppers:
MY LIFE - BILLY JOEL (40) - Definitely my favorite single from 52nd Street - by a fairly wide margin, as well as one of my favorites from him of all-time.
SEPTEMBER - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (35) - And this was one of my favorite from EW+F. Too bad it dropped off.
BABY I'M BURNIN' - DOLLY PARTON (25) - I forget how this song goes, but I seem to remember that I liked it.
EVERY 1'S A WINNER - HOT CHOCOLATE (21) - Wow, two weeks ago this song was at #6, and this week it falls clean off. No big loss, though; I'm not a big fan of them.
LW#3: A LITTLE MORE LOVE - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
LW#2: FIRE - THE POINTER SISTERS
LW#1: DO YA THINK I'M SEXY - ROD STEWART
40: MUSIC BOX DANCER - FRANK MILLS (debut) - I heard this song constantly back in 1979 and thought my parents had the radio tuned into the easy listening station. It wasn't until over ten years later when one of my fellow HS choir members was playing it on the piano and I casually asked what it was. When he told me the title, I recognized the title as being a Top 40 hit. I liked this song - the high piano notes indeed make it sound like a music box being set to disco.
39: EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE - EDDIE RABBITT (debut) - I remember seeing this movie about 20 years ago and thought it was pretty good. As for the song, it's not bad, but definitely not Rabbitt's best hit ever.
38: I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S RIGHT - EVELYN "CHAMPAGNE" KING (debut) - The second of four Top 40 hits for this singer from the Bronx. It was pretty good, but my favorite song from her would be "Love Come Down".
LDD: SO FAR AWAY - CAROLE KING - A classic Carole King song that was very fitting for the dedication.
37: MAYBE I'M A FOOL - EDDIE MONEY (39) - The only Top 40 hit from Money's sophomore album Life For The Taking, but a great song it was! One of his all-time best!
36: YOU MAKE ME FEEL MIGHTY REAL - SYLVESTER (36) - I wonder if Tweety Pie had any songs out around this time?
35: TOO MUCH HEAVEN - THE BEE GEES (30) - They were indeed in the midst of a #1 streak at the time. I personally preferred "Tragedy", as well as "Love You Inside Out".
34: SOUL MAN - THE BLUES BROTHERS (14) - Their two biggest remakes that charted have several things in common; they both peaked in the top 20 and the week after they spent their last week at the peak, they both fell 20 spots. Anyway, this song wasn't bad, but I preferred the other remake ("Gimme Some Lovin'), which charted the following year.
ARCHIVES: PAPA WAS A ROLLING STONE - THE TEMPTATIONS - I liked many of their songs, but this ain't one of them. The long version seems to take forever to get to the lyrics. Fortunately, they shortened the song this week (as I imagine they did during its chart run, even though the single version was seven minutes long).
OPTIONAL EXTRA: TAKE ME HOME - CHER - This was a comeback hit for her, as she hadn't had a single Top 40 hit in nearly five years. Anyway, this was a good song.
33: SHAKE IT - IAN MATTHEWS (13) - Another huge drop like the Blues Brothers song. Anyway, this song had the MOR sound that would become more commonplace in the early-80s, shortly after the death of disco. I liked this song - I vaguely remember hearing this one back in the day.
32: STORMY - SANTANA (32) - The first of at least two covers originally done by the Classics IV that hit the chart in 1979 (the other would be Atlanta Rhythm Section's remake of "Spooky"). I liked this version of "Stormy" - not sure if I prefer it or the original.
31: SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT - BARRY MANILOW (9) - Wow! Any other time, a song that drops 20 spots would be the biggest dropper, but this week, a song makes an even bigger fall. Anyway, as we all know, I like most of Manilow's slow songs, this one included although it's definitely not his best.
30: STUMBLIN' IN - SUZI QUARTO & CHRIS NORMAN (37) - Another MOR type hit. It was a good one, though nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to.
29: SONG ON THE RADIO - AL STEWART (33) - This song definitely bears resemblance to Carole King's Jazzman. It's a great song, though I slightly preferred "Time Passages".
28: FOREVER IN BLUE JEANS - NEIL DIAMOND (34) - This was a good song, but it sure didn't last long on the chart, did it? It climbed to #20 and then dropped off the week after it peaked! Perhaps the Top 40 audience was still down on him for doing that awful duet with Barbra Streisand.
27: HAVEN'T STOPPED DANCING YET - GONZALEZ (31) - Meh, just another disco tune...
26: I WAS MADE FOR DANCING - LEIF GARRETT (10) - And here's another. I preferred his two remakes from 1977. Wasn't this used in a TV commercial back in the day?
25: CRAZY LOVE - POCO (28) - One of two songs that they charted with in 1979. I like both about the same, but neither of them hold a candle to "Nothin' To Hide" - by far my favorite Poco song.
24: KNOCK ON WOOD - AMII STEWART (38) - With a large jump like that, it's no wonder this song made it to #1. Not one of my personal favorites, but a disco classic that has stood the test of time.
23: BIG SHOT - BILLY JOEL (debut) - Wow, with a debut like that, it looked like this might be a big Top Five like "My Life", but the song only got as high as #14 and spent only six weeks in the Top 40. His next hit, "Honesty" hit a similar brick wall a few months later. Indeed, 52nd Street was a huge seller, but was definitely not his best singles album.
22: I JUST FALL IN LOVE AGAIN - ANNE MURRAY (27) - 1979 was definitely her heyday, as she had three Top 40 singles that year, and bookended the year with two others. This was possibly the best of the bunch, though "Shadows In The Moonlight" would be a close second.
ARCHIVES: I AM WOMAN - HELEN REDDY - This song was the subject of a Final Jeopardy question earlier this week. Nobody got it, however, even though Alex gave them a hint before the timer started. Anyway, this song wasn't bad - it sure wasn't as cheesy as many of her other songs, but nothing exceptional.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SHAKE YOUR BODY (DOWN TO THE GROUND) - JACKSONS - Meh, I wasn't generally a big fan of their later songs, like this one.
21: LADY - LITTLE RIVER BAND (24) - As you probably know all too well, this is my all-time favorite song from them! I prefer the album version, which, in some AT40 rebroadcasts, is edited in, but not this week; the chopped down single version that leaves a lot to be desired was featured.
20: WHAT YOU WON'T DO FOR LOVE - BOBBY CALDWELL (26) - Interesting how this song was available in limited quantities in red vinyl and heart-shaped. Anyway, this was his only Top 40 hit, but he had a handful of other AC and smooth jazz hits. This song was covered by Go West in 1993, but I preferred this version.
19: EVERY TIME I THINK OF YOU - THE BABYS (22) - They had two Top 20 hits on the Hot 100, and this is my favorite of the two (though "Isn't It Time" is also a great one).
18: DANCIN' SHOES - NIGEL OLSSON (20) - With such a title, one would expect an upbeat, disco song, but this one is a slow dance song. I liked it.
17: DON'T CRY OUT LOUD - MELISSA MANCHESTER (19) - Her second of three Top Ten hits. This one is my favorite of those.
16: THE GAMBLER - KENNY ROGERS (17) - I used to like this song, but that annoying Geico ad that used this song has actually dimmed my fascination for this song.
15: BLUE MORNING, BLUE DAY - FOREIGNER (16) - The third and final single from Double Vision, as well as my favorite.
14: NO TELL LOVER - CHICAGO (15) - Sort of a childish sounding title, but it apparently worked, as the song did well on the chart. Did even better on the AC chart, where it hit the Top Five. I like the song, but it's definitely not their best.
13: SULTANS OF SWING - DIRE STRAITS (29) - Wow, I thought that maybe Amii Stewart had the biggest mover of the week, but this song had her beat by one. This song, on the other hand, didn't quite make it to #1. But it did peak at #4, which is also nothing to sneeze at. As for the song, it is my favorite of all their charted hits.
LDD: PLEASE MR. POSTMAN - THE CARPENTERS - Wow, the author of this LDD was a modern day Casanova! He had a whole slew of women that he regularly wrote to (and I believe he'd met them in person as well). This song was indeed fitting for the dedication, as he hadn't gotten as many return letters from these woman (who had probably since found special someones who lived closer) as he had in the past, so he was probably asking the postman to check his bag to see if he could find a stray letter.
12: GOT TO BE REAL - CHERYL LYNN (12) - A song that was apparently inspired by "Best Of My Love" by the Emotions, since the bass line sounded similar. This was a pretty good song - was sampled twelve years later in Father MC's "I'll Do 4 U".
ARCHIVES: ME AND MRS. JONES - BILLY PAUL - An instance of an artist's debut single hitting #1. He almost became a disappearing act, but had a minor hit in early 1974. Anyway, this was a good song IMO.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: ROXANNE - THE POLICE - Meh, I'd actually rather hear "Every Breath You Take"...
11: SHAKE YOUR GROOVE THING - PEACHES & HERB (18) - Indeed a comeback hit, as they had charted several times in the late-60s, and the best was yet to come. This song hit the Top Five, and the follow-up, which is my favorite from them, went all the way to the top!
10: WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES - THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (23) - Wow, several big movers this week. Unsurprisingly, this song went to #1 - and deservedly so, as it was my favorite song from them. What I didn't like is that they butchered this song, cutting out the second verse. The song couldn't have been much more than a minute long!
9: LOTTA LOVE - NICOLETTE LARSON (8) - Casey mentioned that Nicholette recorded this song, as well as the others on the album, wearing roller skates. The song does sort of sound like a good roller skating rink song. It's a good one.
8: Y.M.C.A. - VILLAGE PEOPLE (5) - As I've said before, I used to like this song, but it, along with the popular dance to it, got run into the ground big time. Now I generally reach for the station tuner when it comes on - except for on countdown shows, of course
7: LE FREAK - CHIC (7) - Another song that was way overplayed, but is indeed a disco classic - in fact, according to AT40, it was the biggest disco hit of all time.
EXTRA: BYE BYE LOVE - THE EVERLY BROTHERS - One of those "biggest hit by (insert artist)" features that AT40 adopted in the case that the LW Top 3, Archives, and LDDs didn't quite fill up the extra time created by adding Hour 4. This song wasn't bad, but not anything special.
6: HEAVEN KNOWS - DONNA SUMMER W/ BROOKLYN DREAMS (11) - As I've said before, "Love Never Felt So Good" by Justin Timberlake & Michael Jackson sounded a lot like this song, which was possibly my favorite of Donna Summer's many 1979 hits.
5: A LITTLE MORE LOVE - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (3) - She just came off of a great year, with three Top Five hits, all from the movie Grease, in which she starred with John Travolta, and started off 1979 quite well also, with another Top Five hit - one of her best!
4: TRAGEDY - THE BEE GEES (6) - This song was definitely on its way to the top, as it was in only its fourth week on the entire Hot 100 with one of their best hits ever, IMO!
3: I WILL SURVIVE - GLORIA GAYNOR (4) - The anthem for abused women was poised to take over the top spot the following week. This one used to be so/so, but now is one of my favorite disco hits ever!
2: FIRE - THE POINTER SISTERS (2) - Bruce Springsteen had only had two Top 40 hits at this point, but he wrote many songs for other artists, like this song. It was a great one - one of my favorite songs by the Pointer Sisters.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: HEART OF GLASS - BLONDIE - Another artist who hit #1 their first time out. Only they didn't stop there - they had three more #1 songs, including the song that won out for the entire year of 1980! As for this song, it was my third favorite of their #1 hits, behind "Call Me" and "Rapture".
1: DO YA THINK I'M SEXY - ROD STEWART (1) - This song was in its fourth and final week at #1. It's not a bad song, but I'll never forgive it for beating out "What A Fool Believes" for R&R's top song of 1979!
Coming up next week: Once again, we get a twofer - shows from 1972 and 1977. I think you can guess which show I'll be listening to!