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Post by pgfromwp on Sept 3, 2012 16:08:57 GMT -5
^Hervard, re: your comment to #38 from 8/30/75 -- surprised that you've never heard Austin Roberts's previous AT40 hit, "Something's Wrong With Me" from late fall '72 through early winter '73, considering that you're a frequent contributor to this thread. It's worth a listen if poignant ballads are your guilty pleasure; if not, it's still worth a listen, IMHO .
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Post by Hervard on Sept 3, 2012 17:09:50 GMT -5
Elton has said that the album was too much of a concept and that all the other songs don't make as much sense on their own. I disagree and think that Bitter Fingers or We All Fall In Love Sometimes would have been good 45 choices... (The latter was released as a single in a few foreign countries) I totally agree with you about "Bitter Fingers". That is definitely one of my favorite songs from the album!
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jcs72
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Post by jcs72 on Sept 3, 2012 19:03:22 GMT -5
I like how Casey Kasem introduced The Spinners this week, 8/30/75, especially the following part, "their current hit is, Games People Play, not to be confused with that Joe South song"... I heard that, too! Of course, Joe South's version came out in 1969, before there was an "American Top 40".
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2012 19:23:22 GMT -5
I like how Casey Kasem introduced The Spinners this week, 8/30/75, especially the following part, "their current hit is, Games People Play, not to be confused with that Joe South song"... I heard that, too! Of course, Joe South's version came out in 1969, before there was an "American Top 40". Thanks, yeah, I was aware of that, just forgot to mention it, it's fixed now.
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Post by mrjukebox on Sept 4, 2012 21:07:47 GMT -5
Here's my critique of the countdown from 9/10/77 which Premiere is airing this weekend: #40-"I Believe You"-Dorothy Moore-Her second top forty hit-Great song. #39-"You Made Me Believe In Magic"-Bay City Rollers-A bonafide guilty pleasure. #38-"Cat Scratch Fever"-Ted Nugent-The signature song for this artist who's known as "The Motor City Madman"-A bonafide classic. #37-"Whatcha Gonna Do"-Pablo Cruise-The debut release for this San Francisco based group-Great song that still receives recurrent airplay. #36-"Daytime Friends"-Kenny Rogers-Great follow up to "Lucille". #35-"The Greatest Love Of All"-George Benson-This timeless classic was written by Linda Creed & Michael Masser for the Muhammad Ali biopic "The Greatest"-In 1986,Whitney Houston took her version to #1. #34-"Black Betty"-Ram Jam-The only top forty hit for this band that was based in Long Island,NY-Great song-FYI:Guitarist Bill Bartlett was a member of The Lemon Pipers who went to #1 in 1968 with their psychedelic smash "Green Tambourine". #33-"Signed,Sealed,Delivered (I'm Yours)"-Peter Frampton-OK,but I prefer the original version by Stevie Wonder which reached the top five in 1970. #32-"Hard Rock Cafe"-Carole King-One of her lesser known hits-Great song. #31-"So You Win Again"-Hot Chocolate-Decent song. #30-"Jungle Love"-Steve Miller Band-The second release from the album "Book Of Dreams"-Great song. #29-"I Feel Love"-Donna Summer-One of her best songs. #28-"It Was Almost Like A Song"-Ronnie Milsap-The first top forty appearance for this native of Robbinsville,NC-Great song that spent three weeks at #1 on the country chart. #27-"Give A Little Bit"-Supertramp-Great song that was also a hit for The Goo Goo Dolls in 2004. #26-"Edge Of The Universe"-Bee Gees-In 1975,this song appeared on their album "Main Course" but it wasn't released as a single-That situation was rectified two years later when it appeared on their album "The Bee Gees-Live At Last"-Great tune. #25-"Christine Sixteen"-Kiss-One of their lesser known hits-Decent song. #24-"Way Down"-Elvis Presley-This ranks as one of the King's best songs. #23-"Nobody Does It Better"-A timeless classic that was co-written by the late Marvin Hamlisch. #22-"Boogie Nights"-Heatwave-The first & biggest hit for this multinational & interracial group that was formed in Germany-An all time dance floor classic. #21-"How Much Love"-Leo Sayer-Great song. #20-"Don't Worry Baby"-B.J.Thomas-Great rendition of a Beach Boys classic. #19-"That's Rock & Roll"-Shaun Cassidy-Great song written by Eric Carmen. #18-"Star Wars Title Theme"-Meco-The debut release for this Pennsylvania native whose full name is Meco Menardo-OK,but I prefer the original version by John Williams & The London Symphony Orchestra which was also on the countdown for 9/10/77. #17-"Swayin To The Music (Slow Dancin)"-Johnny Rivers-His final top forty hit & a timeless classic. #16-"On & On"-Stephen Bishop-Another timeless classic. #15-"Keep It Comin Love"-KC & The Sunshine Band-Another all-time dance floor classic. #14-"Cold As Ice"-Foreigner-A bonafide rock & roll classic. #13-"Barracuda"-Heart-See above critique of "Cold As Ice". #12-"Just A Song Before I Go"-Crosby Stills & Nash-From the album "CSN"-Another timeless classic. #11-"Star Wars (Main Title)"-The London Symphony Orchestra featuring John Williams-The main theme from the movie of the same name that starred Mark Hamill,Harrison Ford,& Carrie Fisher-A classic instrumental. #10-"Smoke From A Distant Fire"-Sanford-Townsend Band-The only top forty hit for the Alabama based duo of Ed Sanford & John Townsend-Great song. #9-"Telephone Line"-Electric Light Orchestra-Great song. #8-"Strawberry Letter #23"-Brothers Johnson-A bonafide classic. #7-"Easy"-Commodores-Another bonafide classic. #6-"Don't Stop"-Fleetwood Mac-The third release from the "Rumours" album-A timeless classic that became synonymous with the 1992 presidential election. #5-"Float On"-Floaters-The only top forty hit for this Detroit based R&B group-Great song that was later parodied as "Bloat On" by Cheech & Chong. #4-"Handy Man"-James Taylor-The initial release from his album "JT"-Great rendition of a song that was a hit for both Jimmy Jones (1960) & Del Shannon (1964). #3-"I Just Want To Be Your Everything"-Andy Gibb-A bonafide guilty pleasure. #2-"Higher & Higher"-Rita Coolidge-Great rendition of a song that was originally a hit for Jackie Wilson ten years earlier. #1-"Best Of My Love"-Emotions-The biggest hit overall for this female R&B trio that was based in Chicago-Another bonafide classic.
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Post by reachinforthestars on Sept 4, 2012 21:43:26 GMT -5
#26-"Edge Of The Universe"-Bee Gees-In 1975,this song appeared on their album "Main Course" but it wasn't released as a single. Actually, it was. The B side of "Nights On Broadway".
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Post by Big Red Machine on Sept 5, 2012 10:33:16 GMT -5
30: THE PROBLEM - THE OSMONDS (34) - Good song. Reminds me a little of “Someday At Christmas” by Stevie Wonder. 1. It's actually called "The Proud One". 2. It's a great song, not a good song. LOL!!! That's funny Hervard, maybe you should change your name to Weird Al Hervard. ;D
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Post by Hervard on Sept 8, 2012 11:24:19 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - September 8, 2012
This week’s presentation - September 10, 1983
Darn! Both of my predictions were incorrect! I certainly hope that this isn’t the beginning of a 1983 lovefest, like the one for 1985 last year (after virtually ignoring that year for most of the first half of the year), since it’s only been slightly over a month since the last 1983 show (the last one was the show for July 30). We’ll have to see what happens. Anyway, this show is a repeat - but the good news is that it was first run in 2007 - the first repeat from that year so far in 2012. Frankly, I’m surprised that they didn’t go with the September 3 show, since that was run in 2009 - the year from which they’ve picked out the most repeats this year. This show is also a former Flashback show (the only difference, of course, is the inclusion of Hour 1). Anyway, here is my commentary.
Droppers: ROCK OF AGES - DEF LEPPARD (37) - Not one of my favorite songs by them, so not a huge loss. ROCK AND ROLL IS KING - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (31) - This also was mediocre at best, so no big loss here either. IS THERE SOMETHING I SHOULD KNOW - DURAN DURAN (29) - And I found this one annoying, so it should go without saying that I don’t mind saying goodbye to this one. Not that the debuts are much better. With the exception of song #37, the other two were tarnished by overplay.
40: HOLD ME ‘TIL THE MORNING COMES – PAUL ANKA (40) - Great song! One of my favorites by him and likely his most underrated (although it did very well on the AC chart - peaked at #2 in the summer of 1983). 39: AFTER THE FALL - JOURNEY (28) - Good song. One that radio stations virtually ignore nowadays. 38: ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER – THE FIXX (debut) - Meh, not a huge fan of this one, mainly due to overplay (not that I was crazy about it in the first place). 37: TELEFONE (LONG DISTANCE LOVE AFFAIR) – SHEENA EASTON (debut) - Great song! One of my favorite songs by her! 36: TONIGHT I CELEBRATE MY LOVE – PEABO BRYSON AND ROBERTA FLACK (38) - Great song! Definitely a guilty pleasure! 35: YOU’RE DRIVING ME OUT OF MY MIND – THE LITTLE RIVER BAND (36) - Great song! I was surprised that this peaked so low, since the stations I listened to back then played this one in medium rotation. 34: ISLANDS IN THE STREAM – KENNY ROGERS DUET WITH DOLLY PARTON (debut) - Another song that overplay sort of did in (the only difference is that I somewhat liked the song in the first place). 33: BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE – THE TALKING HEADS (39) - Barf time! 32: BIG LOG – ROBERT PLANT (34) - Great song! One of his best solo hits! 31: TELL HER NO – JUICE NEWTON (35) - Great song! Interesting remake of the old Zombies hit, rewording it to be appropriate for the female point of view. 30: LADY LOVE ME – GEORGE BENSON (33) - Good song - sounds like a cross between “Give Me The Night” and “Turn Your Love Around”. OPTIONAL EXTRAS: SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER - THE MOTELS - Great song! I don’t believe they had any Top 40 songs that I disliked. 29: HOT GIRLS IN LOVE - LOVERBOY (27) - Wow, kind of a small drop for a song that had taken such a big fall the week before. Anyway, I like this song, but I prefer several others by them. 28: KISS THE BRIDE – ELTON JOHN (32) - It’s okies, but far from being his best. LDD: I WOULDN’T HAVE MISSED IT FOR THE WORLD – RONNIE MILSAP - Great song, and very fitting for the dedication. 27: DON’T YOU GET SO MAD – JEFFREY OSBORNE (30) - Great song! I didn’t know that Michael Sembello helped in writing this song. 26: TAKE ME TO HEART - QUARTERFLASH (19) - Great song! Easily my favorite of their three charted hits. 25: DEAD GIVEAWAY - SHALAMAR (26) - Good song. Doesn’t hold a candle to “Second Time Around”, though. 24: STAND BACK – STEVIE NICKS (16) - Great song! I did, however, prefer “If Anyone Falls”. We heard this as an optional extra on this week’s show and, if my prediction in the intro of this critique holds true, we might hear it the next show and the one after that. 23: CHINA GIRL – DAVID BOWIE (12) - Good song, but I think we all know which songs by him I prefer. 22: TRUE – SPANDAU BALLET (24) - Good song, though those weren’t my sentiments after hearing this song on the radio every single hour back in the day. 21: KING OF PAIN – THE POLICE (25) - Great song. I think it goes without saying that this is my favorite of their two hits on the countdown this week. 20: HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU – LAURA BRANIGAN (23) - Great song! I do, however, prefer the version of the song by Michael Bolton who, of course, was the one who wrote it. OPTIONAL EXTRA: FOOLIN’ - DEF LEPPARD - Despite how low this song peaked, it still receives a little recurrent airplay, mainly on classic rock stations. 19: PROMISES, PROMISES – NAKED EYES (21) - Great song! I think we all know that this is my favorite of their two Top Ten hits. 18: HUMAN TOUCH – RICK SPRINGFIELD (20) - Meh, this was OK, but one of my least favorite songs by him. EXTRA: I SHOT THE SHERIFF – ERIC CLAPTON - Even though I’m not generally a huge fan of his, I rather like this song. 17: FAR FROM OVER – FRANK STALLONE (22) - Great song! This was the song that kicked off the Top 100 of 1983. 16: IT’S A MISTAKE – MEN AT WORK (8) - Great song! One of my favorite songs by them! 15: MAKING LOVE OUT OF NOTHING AT ALL – AIR SUPPLY (18) - Great song! One of two songs written by Jim Steinman, one of the greatest songwriters of all time, IMO. 14: (SHE’S) SEXY + 17 – STRAY CATS (17) - It’s okies, but possibly my least favorite of their hits. 13: LAWYERS IN LOVE – JACKSON BROWNE (14) - Good song, but I prefer several others by him, such as “Here Come Those Tears Again” and “Somebody’s Baby”. 12: (KEEP FEELING) FASCINATION – THE HUMAN LEAGUE (11) - Good song but, of course, “Don’t You Want Me” remains their best hit of them all! 11: DON’T CRY – ASIA (13) - Good song but easily my least favorite of their four Top 40 hits (not counting “Go”, which didn’t quite hit the Top 40). OPTIONAL EXTRA: IF ANYONE FALLS - STEVIE NICKS - We already know that I really like this song - one of her best solo hits ever. 10: I’LL TUMBLE 4 YA – CULTURE CLUB (9) - Great song, though I used to find this one annoying. 9: HUMAN NATURE – MICHAEL JACKSON (10) - Great song! One of my favorites from “Thriller”. 8: TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART – BONNIE TYLER (15) - Great song! Another Jim Steinman-penned hit. Not sure which of the two on this week’s chart I prefer; I think it’s a toss-up. LDD: DON’T CRY OUT LOUD – MELISSA MANCHESTER - Great song! Very moving dedication, too, as it was a dedication from the writer to her deceased cat. As a cat lover, it was very touching for me. 7: SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY – DONNA SUMMER (5) - One of my least favorite songs by her. 6: EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE – THE POLICE (3) - And I’m not too crazy about this one, neither, due to overplay, which continues today. 5: TELL HER ABOUT IT – BILLY JOEL (7) - Wow, it’s a sucky song hat trick! This was easily my least favorite song from the Innocent Man album, released or not. 4: PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ - TACO (4) - Great song! That list of artists that named themselves after food sure made me hungry, lol! 3: THE SAFETY DANCE – MEN WITHOUT HATS (6) - Great song, as they played the single version, as usual. OPTIONAL EXTRA: HEART AND SOUL - HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS - This song let us know that he/they weren’t a one-album wonder. There was definitely a lot more where that came from. Anyway, this song was OK, but definitely not their best. 2: SWEET DREAMS (ARE MADE OF THIS) – THE EURYTHMICS (1) - This song was OK, but far from being their best. Not sure we’ll hear my favorite song by them this year, as we just missed it, since they aired the 8/3/85 show, two weeks before it debuted, and it wasn’t on the chart for really long, so we’ll have to wait and see. 1: MANIAC – MICHAEL SEMBELLO (2) - Good song, though I preferred the follow-up, “Automatic Man”, but that was nowhere near as big as this one.
Predictions for next week: Well it looks like we could be in for a repeat show next week. There are not a lot of choices here, as there were four weeks (1981, 1982, 1984 and 1987) that Casey took a break in mid-September. Granted, all four of those years were heard recently. 1986 won’t likely be played, as the September 13 show was played just last year, and 1985 (aka the “Dead Dog Dedication” show) was heard two years ago. And, of course, 1983 is out, of course, so that leaves 1980, which I think is logical, since we haven’t heard anything from that year since late June. So my main prediction is September 13, 1980, with September 14, 1985 being my back-up prediction. Even though it’s rare for them to do a repeat show from two years before (and even more rare to do a “three-peat”), that is a landmark show, and really, there aren’t a lot of other logical choices. September 18, 1982 is possible (since it’s closer to next week’s date), but that year was just recently done. I doubt they’d do 1982 again so soon.
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Post by Hervard on Sept 8, 2012 21:43:12 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - September 8, 2012
This week’s presentation - September 10, 1977
40: I BELIEVE YOU – DOROTHY MOORE (debut) - Great song! This, I believe (no pun intended) was my first time hearing the song and I really liked it. 39: YOU MADE ME BELIEVE IN MAGIC – THE BAY CITY ROLLERS (33) - Good song. This had kind of a weird chart descent - it took a hard fall two weeks before, remained at #33 the next week, and then made a somewhat small drop this week. 38: CAT SCRATCH FEVER – TED NUGENT (debut) - A classic rock staple, though I’m not a huge fan of it. It is tolerable, though, and I did like Chicago DJ Steve Dahl’s parody of this, “Hump Day Fever”. EXTRA: CAT’S IN THE CRADLE – HARRY CHAPIN - Great song. This was played as the first Optional Extra. Since this was about Chapin winning an award for his radiothon, I’m surprised that they didn’t play WOLD. 37: WHATCHA GONNA DO – PABLO CRUISE (14) - Yikes! Big drop there! Anyway, this is a great song - possibly my favorite song by them. 36: DAYTIME FRIENDS – KENNY ROGERS (debut) - Good song, though not quite his best. 35: THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL – GEORGE BENSON (39) - Great song, but I definitely prefer Whitney Houston’s cover from 1986. 34: BLACK BETTY – RAM JAM (18) - This was OK, though I’m not generally a huge southern rock fan. 33: SIGNED, SEALED, AND DELIVERED – PETER FRAMPTON (debut) - Good song, but I preferred Stevie Wonder’s original. 32: HARD ROCK CAFÉ – CAROLE KING (34) - This was OK, but I prefer many others by her. 31: SO YOU WIN AGAIN – HOT CHOCOLATE (32) - Although I’m not generally a big fan of them, this one wasn’t bad. 30: JUNGLE LOVE – THE STEVE MILLER BAND (38) - This was pretty good, but I preferred “Fly Like An Eagle” and “Jet Airliner”. 29: I FEEL LOVE – DONNA SUMMER (40) - Basically a rehash of “Love To Love You Baby”, which I wasn’t too crazy about. 28: IT WAS ALMOST LIKE A SONG – RONNIE MILSAP (31) - Great song! Sounds a little like something Barry Manilow would sing. 27: GIVE A LITTLE BIT - SUPERTRAMP (15) - Great song! Definitely one of my favorites by them! 26: EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE – THE BEE GEES (26) - This was pretty good, but not their best by any means. 25: CHRISTINE SIXTEEN - KISS (25) - It’s okies, but not my favorite song by them. 24: WAY DOWN – ELVIS PRESLEY (35) - This song had indeed been on its “way down” and had actually fallen out of the Top 40. But shortly after Elvis had died, the song came back to the Top 40 and looked like it might be heading for the Top Ten. However, it only got as high as #18 two weeks later. 23: NOBODY DOES IT BETTER – CARLY SIMON (29) - Great song! Definitely one of her best! 22: BOOGIE NIGHTS - HEATWAVE (30) - Great song - was somewhat rehashed in “The Groove Line” about a year later. 21: HOW MUCH LOVE – LEO SAYER (17) - Great song! One of his best - quite underrated, IMO. 20: DON’T WORRY BABY – B.J. THOMAS (24) - Great song! I actually prefer this over the original. 19: THAT’S ROCK ‘N’ ROLL – SHAUN CASSIDY (23) - Great song - not sure if I prefer this or “Da Doo Ron Ron”. 18: STAR WARS TITLE THEME - MECO (27) - Good song - but did they ever chop it down. After the intro, they cut right to the Cantina Band portion of the song. The main title was heard only once, and that was during the fade. 17: SWAYIN’ TO THE MUSIC (SLOW DANCIN’) – JOHNNY RIVERS w/The Crickets (20) - This wasn’t bad, but I prefer a few others by him (“Secret Agent Man” comes to mind). 16: ON AND ON – STEPHEN BISHOP (19) - Great song! I think it's safe to say that this is my favorite song from him. 15: KEEP IT COMIN’ LOVE – K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (21) - I've grown to like this song a lot better than I used to. Now it's one of my favorites from them. 14: COLD AS ICE - FOREIGNER (16) - Great song! Not sure if I prefer this or "Feels Like The First Time" (Of course, I do prefer a few of their later hits). OPTIONAL EXTRA: YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE - DEBBY BOONE - Of course, we all know that I love this song. A true, bonafide guilty pleasure. BTW, did anyone listen to the show on CKOC on Saturday night? Is it me or did they skip a portion of the countdown? I was listening to song #17 when the player cut out on me. When I restarted it (took only five seconds), they were on a commercial break and when the countdown returned, they went to this song. 13: BARRACUDA - HEART (11) - Good song, but I generally preferred their 80s/90s hits. 12: JUST A SONG BEFORE I GO – CROSBY, STILLS & NASH (7) - Great song! One of my favorites by them! 11: STAR WARS (MAIN TITLE) – LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (13) - Great song! Easily my favorite of the two Star Wars themes on the chart this week! 10: SMOKE FROM A DISTANT FIRE – SANFORD-TOWNSEND BAND (12) - Great song! I heard this song played as a recurrent on Sunny 101.5 (WNSN, South Bend) from time to time in 1989 and 1990. Like many people I’ve talked to about this song, I think they definitely sound like Hall & Oates. 9: TELEPHONE LINE – ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (10) - Great song! One of my favorites by them! 8: STRAWBERRY LETTER #23 – THE BROTHERS JOHNSON (9) - If there was such a thing as a guilty displeasure, I think this would be a good example (as several people on these boards can’t believe I don’t like this song). 7: EASY – THE COMMODORES (4) - Great song! One of my favorites from them. Casey mentioned that they had released a new song called “Brick House” that looked “solid enough to hit the countdown in the next few weeks”. Not sure why he didn’t predict it to debut the following week, as it was right outside the countdown, at #42. 6: DON’T STOP – FLEETWOOD MAC (8) - This song was OK, but not one of my favorites by them by any means. 5: FLOAT ON – THE FLOATERS (6) - Good song, but not the best song on the countdown this week. 4: HANDY MAN – JAMES TAYLOR (5) - Great song! I liked both Top 40 hits from the JT album about the same. 3: I JUST WANT TO BE YOUR EVERYTHING – ANDY GIBB (2) - Great song! Very possibly my favorite song by him of all-time. It looked like this song was done, but it made a startling return to #1 the following week. It ended up as AT40's top song of 1977 and very deservedly so! OPTIONAL EXTRA: JUST REMEMBER I LOVE YOU - FIREFALL - Great song! I like this about the same as “You Are The Woman”. 2: (YOUR LOVE HAS LIFTED ME) HIGHER AND HIGHER – RITA COOLIDGE (3) - Great song! One of my favorites from her and my favorite version of this song. 1: BEST OF MY LOVE – THE EMOTIONS (1) - Great song! Several times throughout the show, Casey mentioned that this was the year’s longest running #1 song. Of course, that record would be beaten big time about two months later.
Predictions for next week: I’m going to predict an early-70s show - either September 16, 1972 with September 15, 1973 as my back-up predictions (as of the time I’m posting this, we still haven’t been given a clue for next week’s show).
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Post by mkarns on Sept 8, 2012 23:29:22 GMT -5
BTW, did anyone listen to the show on CKOC on Saturday night? Is it me or did they skip a portion of the countdown? I was listening to song #17 when the player cut out on me. When I restarted it (took only five seconds), they were on a commercial break and when the countdown returned, they went to this song. I think they did skip several songs. I needed to hear just the last hour (I heard the first two earlier today but had to go out) so I tuned into them at 9 PM, expecting to start at #13, and they were all the way up to #9 at that point.
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Post by atruefan on Sept 8, 2012 23:54:21 GMT -5
Here is my critique of the 9/10/77 American Top 40 show. As I’ve done in the past, I follow the original show, not the Premiere version.
40. “I Believe You” – Dorothy Moore. One of my two favorite songs on the countdown. This is one of those cases where I love the long forgotten second hit better than the well-known first hit. I never really liked “Misty Blue”. The song seemed very lethargic and boring to me. This song on the other hand is more “upbeat”; especially at the end with the horns. I have always thought that any version of a song sung by Karen Carpenter was the definitive version, but in this case, Dorothy Moore sings this way better than Ms. Carpenter. Casey was definitely right when he outroed this song by calling it a “winner”. In my ongoing attempt to insert Andrea True into any countdown I critique, I’ll say that Ms. Moore and Ms. True had top 40 histories that closely paralleled one another. They debuted with their first hits one week apart (3/13/76 and 3/20/76) and they peaked one notch apart from each other (3 and 4). Both hits also spent over 20 weeks on the Hot 100. While their second (and last) top 40 hits were 6 months apart (2/9/77 and 8/6/77) they both debuted at the same position (40) and peaked at the same position (27).
39. “You Made Me Believe In Magic” – Bay City Rollers. Conveniently this is my other favorite song on the countdown. The production on this song is impeccable, with a fantastic horn and string arrangement. Interestingly, this song was way more popular in the U.S. than in other countries. They had one more hit after this, the boring “The Way I Feel Tonight”, and then as with all teeny bopper groups, they hit their expiration date. After its disastrous fall two weeks earlier (10 to 33), it was very surprising that it hung on for two more weeks.
38. “Cat Scratch Fever” – Ted Nugent. I was always amazed that I liked this song. It had a far “heavier” sound than I usually listened to, but it definitely had a catchy sound. This (like “I Believe You”) was one of the many songs in the 70s that I only heard on AT40.
Extra – “Cat’s In The Cradle” – Harry Chapin. I always thought this was a bit maudlin. This song still definitely gets quite a bit of play. I much preferred another Hot 100 hit of his. “A Better Place To Be” only got to 86, but had a far more compelling story and fantastic instrumentation.
37. “Whatcha Gonna Do?” – Pablo Cruise. Despite the atrocious grammar, I have always loved this song. Most of their top 40 hits sounded similar, but when you hit on a winning model you beat it into the ground. Of course my least favorite song from them is one that didn’t sound anything like their other songs - “Cool Love”.
36. “Daytime Friends” – Kenny Rogers. Follow up to “Lucille” which paled in comparison. While certainly not as memorable or as fun to sing along with, I thought it was a good song that definitely deserved to peak higher than 28.
35. “The Greatest Love Of All” – George Benson. Obviously the majority of listeners are more familiar with Ms. Houston’s version than Mr. Benson’s. That being said, I always enjoyed Benson’s version more. Too often, Houston’s producers turned out hits that were bombastic and overblown, and her version of this song certainly fit that category. Benson’s laid-back interpretation was far more interesting to me. In 1987, Gordon Lightfoot sued composer Michael Masser, claiming one part of the song (the section that begins with “I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone’s shadow”), was the same as a part of his 1971 “If You Could Read My Mind” (the part that began “I don’t know where we went wrong…”). While I certainly can hear similarities, I wonder if you can call having a couple of verses sounding similar plagiarism. I found one article that suggested Lightfoot won his suit, but nothing specific. I guess Gordon didn’t listen to this week’s countdown when it first came out, or he wouldn’t have waited a decade to sue.
34. “Black Betty” – Ram Jam. Another “metallish” song that I enjoyed listening to (and I definitely enjoyed singing along with it.) Bill Bartlett , the leader of the group, was previously a member of The Lemon Pipers.
33. “Signed, Sealed Delivered (I’m Yours)” – Peter Frampton. I can remember my “rock” friends hated everything to do with the “I’m In You” album; from the album cover, to the title single (which many thought was a lame ballad), to this cheesy remake. Of course, I liked this version a lot. Clearly I was in the minority as it only peaked at 18, and Frampton only had one more top 40 hit after this one.
32. “Hard Rock Café” – Carole King. A wonderful, fun song that only got to 30. Casey led into the song talking about how Neil Sedaka’s first top 10 hit “Oh! Carol” was written about Carole King (though why he didn’t spell her name on the record correctly is up for debate). Casey also mentioned a response record that Carole made “Oh! Neil”, which he said wasn’t a hit. Listening to it on YouTube, I can understand why.
31. “So You Win Again” – Hot Chocolate. A fantastic song, which ridiculously peaked at this low number. The song hit #1 in England and was top 10 in several other countries. Sort of like the situation with a lot of Abba singles. And speaking of Abba, the writer of this song, Russ Ballard, also wrote both of the Abba women’s solo hits (Frida’s “I Know There’s Something Going On”, and Agnetha Faltskog’s “Can’t Shake Loose”).
30. “Jungle Love” – Steve Miller Band. The song itself is all right (though I didn’t like the gimmicky sound effects at the end), but it gets bumped up to enjoyable, since whenever I hear it now, I equate it with one of my favorite sitcoms, “Everybody Loves Raymond”.
29. “I Feel Love” – Donna Summer. A groundbreaking single that I rarely hear at all anymore. I mentioned previously that Watermark was criminally negligent in that they seemed to hack the song up for the majority of its chart run; although this week the standard length version was played. Someday I’m going to dig out my vinyl shows and see just how many times that occurred (I definitely remember the 2 minute version being played on the year end countdown). Also, was it just me, or did the drums at the end of the song sound different (by that I mean some of the drum beats seemed to be missing)?
28. “It Was Almost Like A Song” – Ronnie Milsap. I was admittedly never a big country fan, but as I reviewed all of Milsap’s top 40 pop hits, I found that I really liked all of them. Milsap is truly a country legend, having hit the top of the country chart 35 times!
27. “Give A Little Bit” – Supertramp. A pleasant song. I remember being surprised that it peaked as “high” as it did (15). It just didn’t seem to fit in with what was being played on the radio. I felt the same way about “Couldn’t Get It Right” by Climax Blues Band.
26. “Edge Of The Universe” – I always get annoyed when I hear a “live” version of a song when I’m only familiar with the studio version. In this case, I was only familiar with the live version, so when I heard the studio version, I didn’t like it. The song peaked this week and then beat a hasty retreat off the Hot 100. Just two weeks later, “How Deep Is Your Love” would debut. I wonder what would have happened it “Edge…” had continued to climb up the chart; would they have held off releasing “How Deep…”?
25. “Christine Sixteen” – Kiss. The closest I get to a “No. Just No.” song. I never really liked this song when it came out, and listening to it tonight, I still feel the same way. Surprisingly, this song actually showed up on Barry Scott’s “Lost 45s” Top 100 countdown – I don’t get it.
24. “Way Down” – Elvis Presley. Casey told a story how some people were lambasting Presley after he died for his weight and his lackadaisical performances. For me, his later singles were very good. I thought he did a nice job on “My Boy” and I liked “Moody Blue.” Obviously this song would never have rebounded had Presley not died, but I’m glad it got a second chance (although that low note sung at the end of the song by J.D. Sumner is very irritating [or should I say earatating]). According to the Guinness Book of World Records this is the lowest note ever recorded.
23. “Nobody Does It Better” – Carly Simon. A fantastic song co-written by the late Marvin Hamlisch. One of a number of songs prevented from hitting #1 because of Ms. Boone’s drivel.
22. “Boogie Nights” – Heatwave. And yet another song prevented from hitting #1 because of the aforementioned drivel. My best friend was obsessed with Heatwave, and played the 8-track all the time. Thankfully, I never got tired of Rod Temperton’s songs. I’ve listened to the song innumerable times, and I still believe I only hear them sing “Boogie Night” every time, instead of the title.
21. “How Much Love” – Leo Sayer. Another case of where I like the lesser hits of an artist far more than the bigger hits. Rather than the #1 peak of the previous two songs of his “Endless Flight” album, this one only hit 17, but I would rather hear this than the other two songs any day. His follow up album was a huge failure by comparison; but again, I’d rather hear “Thunder In My Heart” or “Easy To Love” than “When I Need You”.
20. “Don’t Worry Baby” – B.J. Thomas. The opening instrumentation of this song is absolutely perfect. That flourish of strings is just great. The rest of the song is very nice, but if I could just hear the intro for 3 and half minutes, that would be my preference.
19. “That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll” – Shaun Cassidy. I really liked all of Cassidy’s top 40 hits (even the remake of “Do You Believe In Magic”). It should come as no surprise that Michael Lloyd, the producer of this song, also produced songs for Leif Garrett and various Osmond iterations. Many people didn’t like his bubblegum sound; but I really liked it then, and I still enjoy it today.
18. “Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band” – Meco. Truly a phenomenal song. I’m apparently in the minority on this board, but I like this version way better than John William’s aka London Symphony Orchestra’s version. Nothing Monardo did, however, could compare to his album of “Wizard Of Oz” music.
17. “Swayin’ To The Music (Slow Dancin’) – Johnny Rivers. A pleasant song whose opening reminded me of “Lonely Night (Angel Face)” with all the “outdoor noises”. Casey mentioned that this was one of several remakes. While I’m sure most listeners had heard of the originals of the other remakes, I doubt anyone was aware of the original of this song. It was by Funky Kings from the previous year. What exactly constitutes a remake? Does the original have to make the top 40? The top 100? Simply be recorded by someone else?
16. “On And On” – Stephen Bishop. A pleasant song, but I liked his first hit, “Save It For A Rainy Day”, way better. This was one of those songs that stayed on for weeks and weeks. I really got sick of it at the time.
15. “Keep It Comin’ Love” – KC And The Sunshine Band. Another great song by the Florida group. However, I can’t say I’m a big fan of either of the leaders of the group. Harry Casey has always struck me as arrogant – you wrote fun songs with disposable lyrics, not “American Pie”. As for Rick Finch, the less said about him the better.
14. “Cold As Ice” – Foreigner. As I’ve mentioned previously, I grew up in Rochester, NY, the hometown of lead singer Lou Gramm. Subsequently, it seemed like every station, regardless of format, played their songs. While some of their later songs tended to sound like retreads of previous hits, they were new enough here that the sound seemed fresh.
13. “Barracuda” – Heart. I loved (and still love) this song. While I will always have an affinity for 70s music over 80s music, I suspect even some 80s aficionados like Heart’s 70s songs better than their by the book 80s sound.
12. “Just A Song Before I Go” – Crosby, Stills & Nash. Not a huge fan of this song. Thankfully, it’s seemingly over before it begins.
11. “Star Wars (Main Title)” – London Symphony Orchestra. I was never sure why John Williams didn’t have his name on the label (he used LSO again for his “Superman” theme single). As mentioned previously, I liked Meco’s version better. I can’t believe many top 40 stations were playing this classical sounding piece. Williams clearly saw how well Meco’s version did. His single release of “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” had a far more pop sound to it.
10. “Smoke From A Distant Fire” – Sanford/Townsend Band – A nice song that I still do hear on occasion. They were truly a one hit wonder, as they never had another single make the Hot 100.
9. “Telephone Line” – Electric Light Orchestra. My least favorite of all their top 40 hits, and yet I still like it. I enjoyed their upbeat songs a lot, but as their sole hit ballad, I liked the orchestration and the “dialing” sounds.
8. “Strawberry Letter 23” – Brothers Johnson. A great song. Quincy Jones’ production is fantastic. I was quite surprised at what an abbreviated chart career the act had.
7. “Easy” – Commodores. I believe I’m repeating what I said when I last reviewed a ’77 show, but for me, this is the last of their R&B ballads – and it’s a great one. Every ballad subsequent to this became pop and bland.
6. “Don’t Stop” – Fleetwood Mac. It was almost required that you not only had to like Fleetwood Mac, but you had to buy “Rumours”. I did neither. This song was all right, but I liked McVie’s other hit contribution “You Make Loving Fun” a lot more.
5. “Float On” – Floaters. Was there really anyone who thought this group would have another top 40 hit? The instrumentation had a nice ethereal, spacey, “quiet storm” sound to it (it reminded me of “You Are My Starship”); but oh my goodness, those lyrics. Absolutely atrocious.
4. “Handy Man” – James Taylor – A pleasant if almost non-descript remake. This was his final top 10 hit.
3. “I Just Want To Be Your Everything” – Andy Gibb. A great debut single. Since AT40 created their own year-end chart this year, Gibb managed to have the biggest song of ’77 and ’78.
2. “(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher And Higher – Rita Coolidge. I know I’m in the minority, but I like this remake far better than the original. For many people, this was the first time they’d ever heard Coolidge’s sultry voice. Thankfully, it wouldn’t be the last.
1. “Best Of My Love” – Emotions. A Very catchy song that battled it out with Andy Gibb for weeks. Casey mentioned it was the longest running #1 of the year, but it only made it to #3 for the year (behind the aforementioned Gibb song, and the song that topped Billboard’s year-end chart, Rod Stewart’s “Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright)).
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Post by torcan on Sept 9, 2012 10:32:19 GMT -5
[2: (YOUR LOVE HAS LIFTED ME) HIGHER AND HIGHER – RITA COOLIDGE (3) - Great song! One of my favorites from her and my favorite version of this song.]
An interesting fact about this - after three weeks at No. 3, each with a "star", the song moved up to No. 2 without a star this week. Usually that indicated the song was peaking and going to fall the next week. On the following week's countdown, it plummeted to No. 11.
This was the only song between 1974 and 1983 to peak at No. 2 for just one week.
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Post by Dale Latimer on Sept 9, 2012 10:54:40 GMT -5
The drop piece of "Help Me Rhonda" that Casey played was completely different. Wikipedia noted this in a section of its article about the song... what you heard was the first, album version, which preceded the more-familiar single. Some people I know that do syndicated oldies shows (e.g. Dick Bartley, the guy allegedly keeping Casey out of New York) loop that guitar intro from the album as a talk-over 'bed' for the host when introducing the single.
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jcs72
Full Member
Posts: 141
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Post by jcs72 on Sept 9, 2012 20:48:36 GMT -5
20: DON’T WORRY BABY – B.J. THOMAS (24) - Great song! I actually prefer this over the original. I used to think he sang "Everything's PUSHING OUT all right!" in the chorus! That set his version apart from that of the Beach Boys! No joke!
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jcs72
Full Member
Posts: 141
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Post by jcs72 on Sept 9, 2012 20:50:49 GMT -5
16: ON AND ON – STEPHEN BISHOP (19) - Great song! I think it's safe to say that this is my favorite song from him. They left out the verse that mentions the Chairman of the Board! ("Puts on Sinatra and starts to cry ...")
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