Post by Hervard on Mar 1, 2013 23:06:10 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - March 9, 2013
This week's presentation - March 11, 1978
I know I'm kind of jumping the gun, but here's a recycled commentary for the 1978 show for next week: (I'll revise the Optional Extras later on, if need be)
40: IT’S YOU THAT I NEED - ENCHANTMENT (debut) - Good song, your typical late 1970s R&B slow jam.
39: WE’LL NEVER HAVE TO SAY GOODBYE AGAIN – ENGLAND DAN & JOHN FORD COLEY (debut) - Great song, one of their best. I have no idea why it zipped up and down the chart so fast, though.
38: YOU REALLY GOT ME – VAN HALEN (debut) - OK song, not sure if I like this or the original by the Kinks better (in the latter, it sounds like they’re singing, “You Really Got Mad”.)
37: RUNNIN’ ON EMPTY – JACKSON BROWNE (40) - Great song, one of my favorites by him!
36: THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND – ANDREW GOLD (39) - Heh, I liked Casey’s clever remark that “a lonely boy has found a friend”. Of course, he was referring to Gold’s last hit, his Top Ten hit from 1977 “Lonely Boy” as well as this song, which became a very popular Long Distance Dedication song, until around 1986, when “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne & Friends and the like stole its thunder. As for this song, I like it.
35: HOT LEGS – ROD STEWART (debut) - Meh, this song’s OK, but I prefer other songs by him, such as the one that dropped out this week, “You’re In My Heart”.
34: LADY LOVE – LOU RAWLS (36) - Great song, one of my favorites from him.
33: BEFORE MY HEART FINDS OUT – GENE COTTON (35) - Great song! Short, but sweet.
32: SWEET TALKING WOMAN – ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (debut) - Great song! One of my favorites by them, and possibly the inspiration for Huey Lewis’ breakthrough hit “Do You Believe In Love” four years later.
31: POOR POOR PITIFUL ME – LINDA RONSTADT (32) - Pretty good song, though I prefer a few others by her.
30: FLASHLIGHT - PARLIAMENT (33) - Meh, there’s better on this show...
29: WHICH WAY IS UP - STARGARD (34) - See my above comment.
28: GOODBYE GIRL – DAVID GATES (30) - Great song! One of my favorites by him with or without Bread. This one sounds similar to “We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again”.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW - CHICAGO - Great song! This song was originally placed between songs 38 and 37.
27: THEME FROM CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND – JOHN WILLIAMS (13) - OK song, but I seem to recall that Meco’s version was a tad better.
26: WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS - QUEEN (11) - Great song! One of their best!
25: DUST IN THE WIND - KANSAS (26) - Great song! One of my favorites by them. Surprised that it only moved up one, this low on the chart, especially since it was a Top Ten hit.
24: EBONY EYES – BOB WELCH (27) - Great song, though I prefer “Sentimental Lady”.
23: ALWAYS & FOREVER - HEATWAVE (25) - Beautiful song. This one is on just about every “love song” compilation CD.
22: JACK & JILL - RAYDIO (28) - Ah, the PG-13 version of the classic nursery rhyme. This one’s among my favorite by Raydio. They sure chopped down the song good, though.
21: IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU – YVONNE ELLIMAN (29) - Great song! This was the biggest mover of the week.
20: THE WAY YOU DO THE THINGS YOU DO – RITA COOLIDGE (22) - Good rendition of the Temptations classic. Still, I prefer her two 1977 releases.
19: OUR LOVE – NATALIE COLE (23) - Great song, though I prefer a few others by her.
18: WONDERFUL WORLD – ART GARFUNKEL WITH JAMES TAYLOR & PAUL SIMON (20) - Good remake, but I prefer the original by Sam Cooke.
17: FALLING – LeBLANC & CARR (21) - Great song.
16: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY – LITTLE RIVER BAND (18) - OK song, but one of my least favorite songs by them. Everytime I hear this song, I think of Delilah’s goofy “Happy Anniversary” song that she sings on her show, to the tune of the William Tell Overture.
15: HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE – THE BEE GEES (10) - Wow, I forgot that this song was still around. Anyway, as I stated in my topic about the 1980 show, this is my favorite single by the Brothers Gibb from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: ON BROADWAY - GEORGE BENSON - This was OK, but I prefer a few of his AC-only hits (i.e. “Breezin’” and “I Just Want To Hang Around You”)
14: THUNDER ISLAND – JAY FERGUSON (16) - Good song. I believe this is the only song by him that I know.
13: WHAT’S YOUR NAME – LYNYRD SKYNYRD (15) - Good song, though I’m generally not a big Lynyrd Skynyrd fan.
12: NAME OF THE GAME - ABBA (14) - Meh, not a big fan of this one.
11: PEG – STEELY DAN (12) - Great song! One of my favorites by them!
10: CAN’T SMILE WITHOUT YOU – BARRY MANILOW (17) - This is what my grandmother said the time I hid her teeth No, seriously, I like this song.
9: JUST THE WAY YOU ARE – BILLY JOEL (8) - Great song! All four releases from The Stranger are great.
8: I GO CRAZY – PAUL DAVIS (9) - Good song, though I generally prefer his later songs.
7: DANCE, DANCE, DANCE, YOWSAH, YOWSAH YOWSAH - CHIC (6) - No. Just no.
6: STAYIN’ ALIVE – THE BEE GEES (2) - My second favorite Bee Gees single from Saturday Night Fever. Oddly enough, the following week, with “Night Fever” at the top spot, this song got a second wind and moved back to #2.
5: LAY DOWN SALLY – ERIC CLAPTON (7) - Good song, though I prefer several other songs by him. But hey, as long as it isn’t the grossly overplayed “Change The World”...
4: EMOTION – SAMANTHA SANG (4) - Good song, though kind of overplayed.
3: SOMETIMES WHEN WE TOUCH – DAN HILL (3) - Good song, though I preferred his late-80s and early-90s material.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: MORE THAN A WOMAN - TAVARES - Good song. There were two versions of this song and this was actually the most obscure. The one people are more familiar with, of course, is the one by the Bee Gees. That song got the airplay, but since it wasn’t released as a single, that helped this song get all the sales points. Not sure which version I prefer.
2: NIGHT FEVER – THE BEE GEES (5) - Meh, this song was quite overplayed. It’s OK, but nothing I’d go out of my way to listen to.
1: LOVE IS THICKER THAN WATER – ANDY GIBB (1) - Good song, but I prefer other songs by him such as “I Just Want To Be Your Everything” and “An Everlasting Love”.
Predictions for next week: I'll get around to this sometime next week - I feel it's a little too soon to make predictions.
This week's presentation - March 11, 1978
I know I'm kind of jumping the gun, but here's a recycled commentary for the 1978 show for next week: (I'll revise the Optional Extras later on, if need be)
40: IT’S YOU THAT I NEED - ENCHANTMENT (debut) - Good song, your typical late 1970s R&B slow jam.
39: WE’LL NEVER HAVE TO SAY GOODBYE AGAIN – ENGLAND DAN & JOHN FORD COLEY (debut) - Great song, one of their best. I have no idea why it zipped up and down the chart so fast, though.
38: YOU REALLY GOT ME – VAN HALEN (debut) - OK song, not sure if I like this or the original by the Kinks better (in the latter, it sounds like they’re singing, “You Really Got Mad”.)
37: RUNNIN’ ON EMPTY – JACKSON BROWNE (40) - Great song, one of my favorites by him!
36: THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND – ANDREW GOLD (39) - Heh, I liked Casey’s clever remark that “a lonely boy has found a friend”. Of course, he was referring to Gold’s last hit, his Top Ten hit from 1977 “Lonely Boy” as well as this song, which became a very popular Long Distance Dedication song, until around 1986, when “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne & Friends and the like stole its thunder. As for this song, I like it.
35: HOT LEGS – ROD STEWART (debut) - Meh, this song’s OK, but I prefer other songs by him, such as the one that dropped out this week, “You’re In My Heart”.
34: LADY LOVE – LOU RAWLS (36) - Great song, one of my favorites from him.
33: BEFORE MY HEART FINDS OUT – GENE COTTON (35) - Great song! Short, but sweet.
32: SWEET TALKING WOMAN – ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (debut) - Great song! One of my favorites by them, and possibly the inspiration for Huey Lewis’ breakthrough hit “Do You Believe In Love” four years later.
31: POOR POOR PITIFUL ME – LINDA RONSTADT (32) - Pretty good song, though I prefer a few others by her.
30: FLASHLIGHT - PARLIAMENT (33) - Meh, there’s better on this show...
29: WHICH WAY IS UP - STARGARD (34) - See my above comment.
28: GOODBYE GIRL – DAVID GATES (30) - Great song! One of my favorites by him with or without Bread. This one sounds similar to “We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again”.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW - CHICAGO - Great song! This song was originally placed between songs 38 and 37.
27: THEME FROM CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND – JOHN WILLIAMS (13) - OK song, but I seem to recall that Meco’s version was a tad better.
26: WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS - QUEEN (11) - Great song! One of their best!
25: DUST IN THE WIND - KANSAS (26) - Great song! One of my favorites by them. Surprised that it only moved up one, this low on the chart, especially since it was a Top Ten hit.
24: EBONY EYES – BOB WELCH (27) - Great song, though I prefer “Sentimental Lady”.
23: ALWAYS & FOREVER - HEATWAVE (25) - Beautiful song. This one is on just about every “love song” compilation CD.
22: JACK & JILL - RAYDIO (28) - Ah, the PG-13 version of the classic nursery rhyme. This one’s among my favorite by Raydio. They sure chopped down the song good, though.
21: IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU – YVONNE ELLIMAN (29) - Great song! This was the biggest mover of the week.
20: THE WAY YOU DO THE THINGS YOU DO – RITA COOLIDGE (22) - Good rendition of the Temptations classic. Still, I prefer her two 1977 releases.
19: OUR LOVE – NATALIE COLE (23) - Great song, though I prefer a few others by her.
18: WONDERFUL WORLD – ART GARFUNKEL WITH JAMES TAYLOR & PAUL SIMON (20) - Good remake, but I prefer the original by Sam Cooke.
17: FALLING – LeBLANC & CARR (21) - Great song.
16: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY – LITTLE RIVER BAND (18) - OK song, but one of my least favorite songs by them. Everytime I hear this song, I think of Delilah’s goofy “Happy Anniversary” song that she sings on her show, to the tune of the William Tell Overture.
15: HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE – THE BEE GEES (10) - Wow, I forgot that this song was still around. Anyway, as I stated in my topic about the 1980 show, this is my favorite single by the Brothers Gibb from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: ON BROADWAY - GEORGE BENSON - This was OK, but I prefer a few of his AC-only hits (i.e. “Breezin’” and “I Just Want To Hang Around You”)
14: THUNDER ISLAND – JAY FERGUSON (16) - Good song. I believe this is the only song by him that I know.
13: WHAT’S YOUR NAME – LYNYRD SKYNYRD (15) - Good song, though I’m generally not a big Lynyrd Skynyrd fan.
12: NAME OF THE GAME - ABBA (14) - Meh, not a big fan of this one.
11: PEG – STEELY DAN (12) - Great song! One of my favorites by them!
10: CAN’T SMILE WITHOUT YOU – BARRY MANILOW (17) - This is what my grandmother said the time I hid her teeth No, seriously, I like this song.
9: JUST THE WAY YOU ARE – BILLY JOEL (8) - Great song! All four releases from The Stranger are great.
8: I GO CRAZY – PAUL DAVIS (9) - Good song, though I generally prefer his later songs.
7: DANCE, DANCE, DANCE, YOWSAH, YOWSAH YOWSAH - CHIC (6) - No. Just no.
6: STAYIN’ ALIVE – THE BEE GEES (2) - My second favorite Bee Gees single from Saturday Night Fever. Oddly enough, the following week, with “Night Fever” at the top spot, this song got a second wind and moved back to #2.
5: LAY DOWN SALLY – ERIC CLAPTON (7) - Good song, though I prefer several other songs by him. But hey, as long as it isn’t the grossly overplayed “Change The World”...
4: EMOTION – SAMANTHA SANG (4) - Good song, though kind of overplayed.
3: SOMETIMES WHEN WE TOUCH – DAN HILL (3) - Good song, though I preferred his late-80s and early-90s material.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: MORE THAN A WOMAN - TAVARES - Good song. There were two versions of this song and this was actually the most obscure. The one people are more familiar with, of course, is the one by the Bee Gees. That song got the airplay, but since it wasn’t released as a single, that helped this song get all the sales points. Not sure which version I prefer.
2: NIGHT FEVER – THE BEE GEES (5) - Meh, this song was quite overplayed. It’s OK, but nothing I’d go out of my way to listen to.
1: LOVE IS THICKER THAN WATER – ANDY GIBB (1) - Good song, but I prefer other songs by him such as “I Just Want To Be Your Everything” and “An Everlasting Love”.
Predictions for next week: I'll get around to this sometime next week - I feel it's a little too soon to make predictions.