American Top 40: The 70s - December 24, 2011
This week's presentation: December 22, 1979
Well, here it is - the last weekly show of 2011, and this is the last possible weekly show that can be heard on this series, as it is the final one of the 1970s. The following week, of course, was the Top 50 of 1979. Listening to this show will be somewhat similar to the first 1980 show airable on the 80s version (January 19, which was heard in early 2010), as it contains many of the same songs. Well, as always, here is my commentary on this week's show, which includes the entire show, even though only the last three hours were played.
Droppers:
VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR - THE BUGGLES (40) - Great song! This song, of course, is more associated with the 1980s, since it was the first video ever showed by MTV when it launched on August 1, 1981.
TUSK - FLEETWOOD MAC (37) - Meh, I was never a huge fan of this song. I preferred their next hit, which was featured on this week's show as an extra.
DIM ALL THE LIGHTS - DONNA SUMMER (36) - This was OK, but I preferred her three other 1979 hits.
LOVE PAINS - YVONNE ELLIMAN (34) - Great song! This one was quite underrated. This one may have gotten higher than #34 had it been released a year or so earlier, since this was around the time disco was beginning to burn out.
LW#3: PLEASE DON'T GO - K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND
LW#2: STILL - THE COMMODORES
LW#1: BABE - STYX
Of course, we'll get to those songs near the end of the show.
40: ROTATION - HERB ALPERT (debut) - Good song, though I prefer a few others by him, including his recent #1 song "Rise".
39: I STILL HAVE DREAMS - RICHIE FURAY (39) - Never heard this one and unfortunately, I cannot find it on YouTube.
38: TRAIN, TRAIN - BLACKFOOT (debut) - It's okies, but nothing special. This was played as the second Optional Extra.
37: BROKEN HEARTED ME - ANNE MURRAY (24) - Great song! Too bad we didn't hear it on this show. This was the song that kicked off the Top 100 of 1980 (due to their goofy time frame at the time).
36: YES, I'M READY - TERI DE SARIO W/ K.C. (debut) - Great song! Much better than KC's whinefest, coming up later in the show (unfortunately)
35: SARA - FLEETWOOD MAC (debut) - Great song! One of their all-time best, and possibly my favorite song from them with Stevie Nicks on lead. This song was played as the final Optional Extra.
34: DÉJÀ VU - DIONNE WARWICK (38) - I know I'm sounding like a broken record, but this is another great song.
33: I NEED A LOVER - JOHN COUGAR (28) - Good song. This was played as the first Optional Extra.
ARCHIVES: IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW - CHICAGO - Great song! Oddly enough, it was their only number one song up to that point.
32: POP MUZIK - M (25) - Well, we all know what I feel about this song. But I will tell you, I was actually glad to hear it this time around, as that meant that there was actually a station running the show at the usual time I listen to the show.
31: CHIQUITITA - ABBA (35) - Great song! One of their best!
30: THIRD TIME LUCKY - FOGHAT (33) - Good song.
29: SHIPS - BARRY MANILOW (17) - Great song! Very interesting story about Barry being reunited with his Dad, who had walked out of his life when Barry was just a child. This song was inspired by that reunion.
28: DON'T LET GO - ISAAC HAYES (32) - This was OK, but not one of my favorite songs.
27: D@MNED IF I DO - THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT (29) - Great song! One of his best. (Too bad this board censors the questionable word)
26: WAIT FOR ME - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (30) - Great song! This one was quite underrated, compared to many of their others.
25: DON'T DO ME LIKE THAT - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS (31) - Great song! One of my all-time favorites by him/them.
24: HALF THE WAY - CRYSTAL GAYLE (15) - Great song. I like most of her songs and this is no exception.
LDD: THREE TIMES A LADY - THE COMMODORES - Great song, and very appropriate for the dedication. Bad editing job near the end, though - you can tell that the original version of this show included the long version of the song.
23: I WANNA BE YOUR LOVER - PRINCE (27) - Great song! This was the one that started it all off for him ("Soft And Wet" doesn't count, because that song barely even touched the Hot 100 and besides, nobody even remembers that song anymore).
ARCHIVES: ROCKIN' ME - STEVE MILLER BAND - Good song, though I preferred his follow-up to this song, which was played on AT40: The 70s just a few weeks ago, when they featured a show from 1976.
22: COWARD OF THE COUNTY - KENNY ROGERS (26) - Great song with an interesting story.
21: THIS IS IT - KENNY LOGGINS (23) - This song was pretty good, but far from being his best.
20: HEARTACHE TONIGHT - THE EAGLES (9) - It's okies, but one of my least favorite of their hits.
19: I WANT YOU TONIGHT - PABLO CRUISE (21) - Great song, like most of their Top 40 hits.
18: JANE - JEFFERSON STARSHIP (20) - Good song, but I prefer their more mellow songs.
17: THE LONG RUN - THE EAGLES (19) - Good song - much better than their other song in the countdown this week.
16: BETTER LOVE NEXT TIME - DR. HOOK (18) - Great song! Definitely my favorite song from them!
15: CRUSIN' - SMOKEY ROBINSON (22) - Wow, this was the biggest jump of the week? Record sales sure slowed down at the end of the year (IIRC, no songs on the entire Hot 100 moved up more than ten spots). Anyway, I liked this song, but I slightly preferred the 2000 remake by Huey Lewis & Gwyneth Paltrow.
14: HEAD GAMES - FOREIGNER (16) - Great song! Sounds a little like "Feels Like The First Time"
13: WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE - CLIFF RICHARD (14) - Great song! One of his best, right up there with "A Little In Love" and his holiday tune, "Little Town".
12: COOL CHANGE - LITTLE RIVER BAND (13) - Great song! One of their all-time best!
ARCHIVES: TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT (GONNA BE ALRIGHT) - ROD STEWART - Great song! Very deserving of being #1 for nearly two months! Too bad they heavily edited this song.
11: ROCK WITH YOU - MICHAEL JACKSON (12) - Wow, the Top Ten must have been really tight this week, as even this song, a future #1 song, was only moving up a single spot. Anyway, it was a great one! My second favorite from Off The Wall, behind "She's Out Of My Life".
10: TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME - SUPERTRAMP (10) - Great song! I liked all three releases from Breakfast In America, as well as a few unreleased songs (some of which were played as album cuts on AOR stations).
9: LADIES NIGHT - KOOL & THE GANG (11) - This song was OK, but I preferred many others by them, especially their next Top 40 hit, "Too Hot". Sounds like they played a different mix of this song than usual.
8: NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) - BARBRA STEISAND & DONNA SUMMER (6) - Meh, I'm not a fan of this one at all.
7: YOU'RE ONLY LONELY - J.D. SOUTHER (7) - Great song! My favorite of his two Top 40 hits.
6: DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (8) - Great song! Easily my favorite song by them!
5: STILL - THE COMMODORES (2) - This was OK, but quite depressing, which is why, at times, this gets a "No. Just no", depending on my mood at the time.
4: SEND ONE YOUR LOVE - STEVIE WONDER (5) - Great song! One of his best!
3: BABE - STYX (1) - Great song! Glad this made it to #1 as, it was one of few #1 songs in the latter half of 1979 that I liked.
2: PLEASE DON'T GO - K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (3) - No. Just no.
1: ESCAPE - RUPERT HOLMES (4) - Great song! I liked the story about a couple becoming so bored with one another that they decide to cheat on one another, only to wind up together at their meeting place.
Well, we all know what's coming up next week. It's a Top 40 year-ender that was indeed originally that small, due to a Christmas special the year before. That's all I'm gonna give you, although, for those who don't already know, that only leaves two possibilities.