American Top 40: The 70s - June 15, 2013
This week's presentation - June 16, 1979
A new rating system is in effect for the critiques. A 1 means it's a no, just no, while a 5 is a great song and my all time favorite. Anywhere in between is a judgement call and depends on my mood. Here we go...
40: DON’T EVER WANNA’ LOSE YOU – NEW ENGLAND (debut) - This one didn't last long, spending only one week in the Top 40. 3.5/5
39: DO IT OR DIE – ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION (debut) - Decent song here. I generally like most of their hits. 4/5
38: HEART OF GLASS - BLONDIE (27) - Still on the countdown, huh? Oh well, it's fairly decent, but quite overplayed. 3.5/5
LDD: I WILL STILL LOVE YOU - STONEBOLT - Aww, what a fitting dedication. 4.5/5
37: HOT NUMBER - FOXY (21) - Ok song, passable to me. 2.5/5
36: AIN’T LOVE A pregnant dog – ROD STEWART (22) - I think Watermark Inc. sent out an alert regarding this song at some point. 3.5/5
35: I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN’ YOU - KISS (debut) - Wow, I guess this group helped turned the high school's team around! If I came up with a plan to do that for my high school football team, I'd guess we'd win the championship trophy. 3.5/5
34: SHAKEDOWN CRUISE – JAY FERGUSON (38) - Another one of these songs that didn't last that long in the Top 40. 3.5/5
ARCHIVES: SUNDOWN – GORDON LIGHTFOOT - Despite overplay, this song has held up really well. 5/5
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SAD EYES - ROBERT JOHN - Love this song, but CKUL didn't play this one. Instead, they played "Fool For Love" by Adam Mitchell. I haven't heard this song at all. 4.5/5 for Premiere's optional extra and 3/5 for CKUL
33: DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW - ABBA (37) - Fairly good, not their best though. 3.5/5
32: YOU CAN’T CHANGE THAT - RAYDIO (39) - I like most of their hits, and this one's no exception. 4/5
31: HEART OF THE NIGHT - POCO (debut) - See my comment for #33. 3.5/5
30: DAYS GONE DOWN – GERRY RAFFERTY (debut) - Not much overplay compared to the overplayed hit from last year - so this one's pretty good. 3.5/5
29: DEEPER THAN THE NIGHT – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (11) - Trust me, the animal slaughter is still going on today - just ask Bob Barker on this. I haven't heard this song before in a while, but it is great IMO. Ouch on the huge drop though. 4.5/5
28: I CAN’T STAND IT NO MORE – PETER FRAMPTON (36) - At this point, it just wasn't what Peter used to be - 1976 and 1977 were his peak points where the fans would generally consist of teenagers (girls that is). 3.5/5 on the song though
27: AIN’T NO STOPPIN’ US NOW – McFADDEN AND WHITEHEAD (35) - This one's actually really good, considering why people dislike this type of music. 4/5
26: WHEN YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN – DR. HOOK (33) - Message to all future artists/groups: If you're planning a joke, do it efficiently and effectively. Disguising as another type right here can lead to booing from the audience. 3.5/5
25: IN THE NAVY – VILLAGE PEOPLE (17) - Casey promoting this special three weeks from now - I guess we heard this special before. 4/5 on the song - the previous song, YMCA is a love it or hate it category.
QL: MOST TOP 10 SINGLES WITHOUT HITTING #1 - When I heard that, all I can say is ouch! CCR did this in the late 60s and early 70s.
24: GOLD – JOHN STEWART (30) - I can hear Fleetwood Mac singers backing up on this song. Great song nonetheless. 5/5
23: DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY – VAN HALEN (29) - Decent song, with a 4.5/5 score.
ARCHIVES: ROCK THE BOAT – THE HUES CORPORATION - Many people consider this song to be the first disco record to reach #1. This song's decent IMO. 4/5
OPTIONAL EXTRA: GOOD TIMES - CHIC - See my comment for #37, though I'm liking it better than I used to. However, CKUL played "Daydream Believer" by Anne Murray. I'll take this over the Premiere optional extra, since this is one of my favorites by Anne. 2.5/5 on Premiere's extra and 5/5 on CKUL
22: RENEGADE - STYX (16) - Good song, but not their favorite. 3/5
21: GET USED TO IT – ROGER VOUDOURIS (23) - I guess you have to get used to this song, but it's decent. 4/5
20: SHINE A LITTLE LOVE – ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (25) - Now here's one that doesn't get much airplay. Nevertheless, I like this song, even though I haven't heard it in a while. 4/5
19: I WANT YOU TO WANT ME – CHEAP TRICK (24) - I guess Japan was the popularity of this band. The fans were going nuts! So was I - 5/5 on the score
18: MAKIN’ IT – DAVID NAUGHTON (20) - Commercials, I guess, were his main priority before this song came to use. 3.5/5
17: GOODNIGHT TONIGHT - WINGS (13) - Another solid song. 3.5/5
16: MINUTE BY MINUTE – DOOBIE BROTHERS (18) - Passable, but their previous hit was better. 2.5/5
LDD: WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS - QUEEN - I guess they deserved the title after so many years of trying, quote the dedication. It's a fantastic song, though I don't think AT40 played "We Will Rock You" like many radio stations do along with this song. 5/5
15: DISCO NIGHTS – G.Q. (12) - Another promotion on disco three weeks from now, but this one's OK - passable. 2.5/5
14: SHAKE YOUR BODY - JACKSONS (9) - See my comment for #15. 2/5 though - it's a little worse than usual.
13: ROCK ‘N’ ROLL FANTASY – BAD COMPANY (14) - Much better this time than the other songs above. 4.5/5
12: YOU TAKE MY BREATH AWAY – REX SMITH (15) - Your typical slow song from the late 70s - it's a great song. 4.5/5
ARCHIVES: ROCK YOUR BABY – GEORGE McRAE - This was denoted to Optional Extra status - fairly good song. CKUL didn't play it and instead played "Pilot" by Ian Thomas. I haven't heard this song either. 3.5/5 on both
11: BAD GIRLS – DONNA SUMMER (28) - Wow, what a huge jump! You know this was heading for - #1. There's another song at the end of the hour by the same artist. 5/5
10: BOOGIE WONDERLAND – EARTH, WIND & FIRE w/THE EMOTIONS (19) - Passable, but they've both had better songs than this. 2.5/5
9: REUNITED – PEACHES AND HERB (4) - 350 miles and $250 for his wife savings? That's quite lengthy for Herb to make it to the record company! This song here though is a 5/5 - my favorite song and a slow song too.
8: SHE BELIEVES IN ME – KENNY ROGERS (10) - The only advantage for AT40 was that they were a four-hour show while ACC hosted by Bob Kingsley at the time was just three hours. Great song nonetheless with the #1 country song this week. 5/5
7: CHUCK E’S IN LOVE – RICKIE LEE JONES (8) - Another great song - it ranked higher on R&R's chart. 4.5/5
6: THE LOGICAL SONG - SUPERTRAMP (7) - Despite overplay, this is one of my favorites by them. 5/5
QL: PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES IN THE TOP 40 - None to report, but the Hot 100 featured Mickey Mantle at #87.
5: LOVE YOU INSIDE OUT – BEE GEES (1) - Fairly decent song. 4/5
4: JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST – RANDY VANWARMER (5) - Depressing, but the melody is great, making it a decent song. 4/5
3: RING MY BELL – ANITA WARD (6) - I guess the record company was persuading to let her leave teaching school once more copies came into play. This song's not too bad - 3/5
OPTIONAL EXTRA: GETTING CLOSER - WINGS - OK song, not their best from the post 1974 era. CKUL didn't play their last optional extra, since they wanted to end the show at noon local time. 2/5
2: WE ARE FAMILY – SISTER SLEDGE (3) - Decent song - this is one I would listen to for guilty pleasure. 4.5/5
1: HOT STUFF – DONNA SUMMER (2) - Last week there was no bullet, now this week it regains its bullet. Tough call to decide which song's my favorite by her - I like both of her songs in the countdown this week. 5/5