2/1/1975
Robbie Bachman RIP (1953-2023)
Now on American Top 40 I have the song by the Canadian group that was detained by US Customs for trying to smuggle bubblegum across the border, it happened to Bachman-Turner Overdrive whose homebase is Vancouver, British Columbia, but the studio they like to record in is in Seattle, so whenever they have a session they have to drive down across the border, well last year on a trip, as they were getting checked through US Customs one official thought he stumbled onto something big when he fished into Robbie Bachman's suitcase and pulled out a suspicious looking plastic bag, aha he says, a suspicious looking plastic bag, well now it happens that Robbie is a bubblegum freak, and he's never without a big supply of the stuff, the customs man has the boys detained while he proceeds with his inspection, he dumps the plastic bag, and out rolls 200 pieces of individually wrapped bubble type chewing gum, well that didn't delight the inspector who now had to unwrap, check, and then rewrap each piece, well he examined about 6 of them, all the while muttering to himself and, then he gave up, back went the gum in the plastic bag, and back went the bag into Robbie's suitcase, and he waved the boys on through, their latest hit debuts at #37 this week, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Roll on Down the Highway...
Comin' up on AT40, a Top 40 Hit by one of the most weirdly instrumented established rock groups in the business, among the regular members are two cello players and a violinist, Casey's Coast-to-Coast, you take a guitar, a bass, a keyboard instrument, and a set of drums, and you've got yourself a basic rock band, but if you add to that, two cellos and a violin, then you've got something called, The Electric Light Orchestra, a British group formed in 1972, their objective in going with odd instrumentation was pretty ambitious, as guitarist Jeff Lynne puts it, they wanted to create a fusion of pop and classical music that would make rock obsolete, so they released this single you're listening to right now, the following year, The Electric Light Orchestra remake of Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven, well, I don't think it'll make rock obsolete, but, it certainly was different, I like their latest hit, it moves up this week to #29, it's titled, Can't Get It Out of My Head, The Electric Light Orchestra...
Black Water - Doobie Brothers
Best of My Love - Eagles
Pick Up the Pieces - Average White Band
Don't Call Us, We'll Call You - Sugarloaf Jerry Corbetta
Bungle in the Jungle - Jethro Tull
Lonely People - America
Lady - Styx
Some Kind of Wonderful - Grand Funk
Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Fire - Ohio Players
Boogie on Reggae Woman - Stevie Wonder
#9 Dream - John Lennon
Ding Dong, Ding Dong - George Harrison
My Eyes Adored You - Frankie Valli
Laughter in the Rain - Neil Sedaka
Only You - Ringo Starr
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - Elton John
Sweet Surrender - John Denver
Mandy - Barry Manilow
Rock 'n' Roll (Gave You the Best Years of My Life) - Mac Davis
Please Mr. Postman - Carpenters
Lady Marmalade - LaBelle
You're No Good - Linda Ronstadt
Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell
I'm a Woman - Marie Muldaur
Never Can Say Good-bye - Gloria Gaynor
2/5/1977
Livin' Thing - Electric Light Orchestra
New Kid in Town - Eagles
Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac
I Wish - Stevie Wonder
Fly Like an Eagle - Steve Miller Band
Blinded by the Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Somebody to Love - Queen
Carry on Wayward Son - Kansas
Walk This Way - Aerosmith
The Things We Do for Love - 10cc.
Hard Luck Woman - Kiss
Night Moves - Bob Seger
Save It for a Rainy Day - Stephen Bishop
Weekend in New England - Barry Manilow
Stand Tall - Burton Cummings
Jeans On - David Dundas
Year of the Cat - Al Stewart
You Make Me Feel Like Dancing - Leo Sayer
Tonight's the Night - Rod Stewart
After the Lovin' - Englebert Humperdinck
Rich Girl - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Boogie Child - Bee Gees
Dancing Queen - Abba
You Don't Have to Be a Star - Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr
Car Wash - Rose Royce
Love Theme from A Star Is Born - Barbra Streisand
Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
Torn Between Two Lovers - Mary MacGregor
In the Mood - The Hen House Five Plus Two
2/9/1985
Neutron Dance - The Pointer Sisters
The Heat Is On - Glenn Frey
Easy Lover - Philip Bailey with Phil Collins
Keeping the Faith - Billy Joel
Only the Young - Journey
Too Late for Goodbyes - Julian Lennon
The Boys of Summer - Don Henley
Run to You - Bryan Adams
All I Need - Jack Wagner
Foolish Heart - Steve Perry
California Girls - David Lee Roth
The Old Man Down the Road - John Fogerty
Jamie - Ray Parker Jr.
I Would Die 4 U - Prince and The Revolution
Careless Whisper - Wham featuring George Michael
You're the Inspiration - Chicago
Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon
High on You - Survivor
I Want to Know What Love Is - Foreigner
Relax - Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Rockin' at Midnight - The Honeydrippers
Like a Virgin - Madonna
Private Dancer - Tina Dancer