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Post by Hervard on Aug 19, 2017 12:37:09 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - August 19, 2017
This week's presentation - August 19, 1978
Droppers: RUNAWAY - JEFFERSON STARSHIP (38) - I believe this was their final Top 40 hit featuring Marty Balin on lead vocals. I liked this song, but slightly preferred "Count On Me", which had charted earlier in the year. Both are great songs, IMO. THE GROOVE LINE - HEATWAVE (37) - aka "Boogie Nights Part 2". No big loss, as I wasn't a huge fan of the song (or the one to which it was the sequel), but their ballad "Always And Forever", which charted between those two songs, was a great one. MR. BLUE SKY - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (35) - Not one of their more successful hits by any means, which is a shame, as this was IMO one of their best songs ever! I'VE HAD ENOUGH - WINGS (25) - I forget how this song goes, but I seem to remember it was mediocre - in any case, not as good as their #1 hit from earlier in 1978. STILL THE SAME - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (23) - Well, he dropped out this week, but he replaced himself with his second hit from Stranger In Town. This song was by far my favorite single from Seger's Stranger In Town album, as well as one of my favorite songs by him/them of all time! USE TA BE MY GIRL - THE O'JAYS (22) - One of two droppers this week that was in the Top Ten two weeks prior (Bob Seger being the other one). I was never a huge fan of the O'Jays, but I actually liked this song a lot - possibly my all-time favorite from them.
40: OH DARLIN' - ROBIN GIBB (debut) - The first Top 40 hit from Gibb as a solo artist. This is one of the three Top 40 hits from the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band soundtrack (the first of two in the countdown this week). This one wasn't bad, but I preferred his other Top 40 hit from four years later, entitled "Boys Do Fall In Love". 39: WHENEVER I CALL YOU FRIEND - KENNY LOGGINS & STEVIE NICKS (debut) - YES!! This is possibly my favorite song on this week's chart - definitely one of my favorites from both artists involved! 38: HOLLYWOOD NIGHTS - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (debut) - I don't remember this song from its chart run as I remember hearing it on the Stranger In Town album, which my Mom played all the time back in 1979. It's a pretty good song, but the only single from the album that I really liked was "Still The Same". Too bad that song dropped out this week. There were several other songs on the album that I felt should have been released as singles. 37: ROCK & ROLL FANTASY - THE KINKS (debut) - Their comeback Top 40 hit, after being absent from the chart since their Top Ten anthem "Lola". This song got as high as #30, but they'd be back about four and a half years later with what would become their biggest hit ever, "Come Dancing". As for this song, it was pretty good, but I preferred Bad Company's song of the same title from the following summer. 36: YOU'RE A PART OF ME - GENE COTTON W/ KIM CARNES (36) - This was the one that put Carnes on the map, but the best was yet to come for her. However, that was more than could be said for Gene Cotton, as he only had one more chart entry after this. Anyway, this song's OK, but I preferred other songs from both artists. 35: YOU NEEDED ME - ANNE MURRAY (debut) - Murray's only #1 hit on the Hot 100. It was a rather slow climber - it wouldn't hit the top until three months later (ironically, the song it knocked out of the top spot held the record at the time for THE slowest climb to #1). As for my opinion of this song - well, it was during her heyday, which started with this song, so I liked it a lot - one of my all-time faves from her! 34: JUST WHAT I NEEDED - THE CARS (39) - This song has aged quite well. Given all the airplay it receives on oldies and rock stations, I'm surprised that it peaked so low. 33: BAKER STREET - GERRY RAFFERTY (16) - This song almost made it to #1 (in fact, it has been said that the original version of one of the charts at which this song was #2 (may have been the previous week) had this song at #1, but a last minute revision placed it at #2. Anyway, I used to really like this song, but overplay pretty much did it in. 32: CLOSE THE DOOR - TEDDY PENDERGRASS (40) - This was pretty much your typical old school R&B. It was pleasant, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. 31: RIVERS OF BABYLON - BONEY M (33) - The third Top 40 hit that borrowed passages from the bible to use in their lyrics (in this case, Psalm 137). 30: SHADOW DANCIN' - ANDY GIBB (15) - With eighteen Top 40 weeks so far, seven of those at #1, it's no wonder that this song became the top song of 1978. The song wasn't bad, but it didn't hold a candle to his song that's coming up later in the show. 29: SUMMER NIGHTS - JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (debut) - The second of two top 40 duets for the stars of the movie Grease. Of those two songs, it would be my favorite (though "You're The One That I Want" is a great one as well). 28: REMINISCING - LITTLE RIVER BAND (34) - The first of two Top Ten hits from their album Sleeper Catcher. It's a great one but, of course, I preferred "Lady". OPTIONAL EXTRA: DON'T LOOK BACK - BOSTON - Casey mentioned how this was their highest ranked song so far. It would hold that honor for eight years, until their successful comeback in 1986. I've somehow come to like this song better than I had previously (as I never cared for it). 27: MACHO MAN - VILLAGE PEOPLE (31) - Meh, not a big fan of this one. It's more tolerable than their next top 40 hit, though 26: TWO TICKETS TO PARADISE - EDDIE MONEY (30) - As usual, they played a different version of this song than was usually heard on the radio (the single version, I would imagine). I remember hearing this one quite regularly back in the day. I liked it, but I preferred several others from the Money Man. 25: YOU - RITA COOLIDGE (27) - I noticed that this song's verses have a slightly similar melody as that of "Mr. Blue Sky" by ELO (which, of course, drops out this week). Though not quite as good as her two 1977 Top Ten hits, it's still a great song nevertheless. 24: LOVE IS IN THE AIR - JOHN PAUL YOUNG (32) - As we know all too well, I'm not a disco fan, but this song was actually a pretty good song - one I remember from back in the day. 23: STUFF LIKE THAT - QUINCY JONES (26) - Meh, nothing special - sounds like most of the disco material from the late-70s. 22: YOU AND I - RICK JAMES (28) - And another such song right here by a man who had the most success on the R&B chart. He he did have a handful of Top 40 hits, though, and this was the most successful of them, peaking at #13. 21: HOT CHILD IN THE CITY - NICK GILDER (24) - This was the song I was talking about earlier that set the record for the longest climb to #1 - a record it held by itself until a little less than a year later. It was a good song - had that summertime feel to it. Had Gilder known how long it was going to take to reach the top, I wonder if he would have released it several months earlier. 20: STAY - JACKSON BROWNE (20) - Interesting how Browne changed the lyrics around to be addressing his audience instead of a loved one, like in the original. As for the song, it's not bad, but I preferred "The Load Out", which some radio stations play right before this song, as that's how Browne usually does this song in his concerts. 19: GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (29) - Of course, the best version of this one was the one by the Beatles (which we heard on last week's 1976 show), but this one was actually a good version too. 18: FOOL IF YOU THINK IT'S OVER - CHRIS REA (21) - Here's a good song I remember quite well. About ten years after he charted with this, he recorded a new version, which did not do justice to the original at all. 17: KING TUT - STEVE MARTIN (19) - Glad he didn't quit his acting job! Just saying! 16: KISS YOU ALL OVER - EXILE (18) - 1978 was definitely a good year for producer Mike Chapman, as he had at least two songs that topped the chart that fall (back-to-back, nonetheless. This was the first of them. Of the two, I preferred the Nick Gilder song. 15: SHAME - EVELYN "CHAMPAGNE" KING (19) - Her first of four Top 40 hits. It's not bad, but my favorite song from her is "Love Come Down", which hit the Top 20 in the fall of 1982. 14: I'M NOT GONNA LET IT BOTHER ME TONIGHT - ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION (14) - I thought most of their songs were good, but this one was somewhat mediocre. Definitely nowhere near as good as "So In To You" or "Imaginary Lover". OPTIONAL EXTRA: BACK IN THE USA - LINDA RONSTADT - I can't say whether I prefer this or Chuck Berry's version, since I've never heard the latter. Linda's version was so/so, but definitely not one of her best. 13: MY ANGEL BABY - TOBY BEAU (13) - It was a group, not a solo male, like many people thought (such was the case with Pablo Cruise, coming up in the Top Ten). The song was pretty good. 12: LIFE'S BEEN GOOD - JOE WALSH (12) - Not sure why, but this song never really did anything for me. I wasn't a huge Joe Walsh fan anyway. 11: HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (11) - This week's chart was extremely tight at the top half - in fact, the entire Top 14 was in holding pattern this week. That means that, even after a nice jump of seven places last week, this song holds in place (don't worry, this is not where it peaked). Anyway, this was a special song between my former girlfriend and myself - it took awhile to be able to enjoy this song once again after we broke up, but that all changed back in May of last year, when our paths crossed and she and I actually recently had a brief conversation, letting me know that we were at least back on speaking terms again. 10: EVERLASTING LOVE - ANDY GIBB (10) - This song wasn't peaking this week neither, although it didn't quite make it to the top, breaking Gibb's #1 streak. This would be a close second to "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" as my favorite song from Gibb. 9: MAGNET & STEEL - WALTER EGAN (9) - This song lost its bullet this week, so it looked like it might be done. However, it did manage to climb one spot higher. Stevie Nicks, who this song was said to be about, was heard singing back-up on this song, which somehow, I associate more with the fall of 1978 instead of the summer (probably because that was when WLS played the song; it peaked on their survey in late October). 8: COPACABANA - BARRY MANILOW (8) - Definitely a departure from his usual ballad style. In fact, the rush release of this song while "Even Now" was still on its way up the chart caused the latter to tank (which wasn't really a bad thing, as "Even Now" wasn't one of his better hits anyway, IMO). This was a good one. 7: LOVE WILL FIND A WAY - PABLO CRUISE (7) - Here is that song I mentioned earlier. I remember this one quite well from back in the day. A great song, though I slightly preferred "What'cha Gonna Do", from the previous summer. 6: BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE - A TASTE OF HONEY (6) - Even an eleven-spot move the week before didn't stop this song from hitting the brick wall that the entire Top 14 hit this week. But, like most of those songs, this one happened to recover, and went all the way to the top. Glad that they played this song intact (as they seemed to cut out the second verse more often than not), as it was a great song - my favorite of their two Top Ten hits. ELVIS PRESLEY TRIBUTE: MYSTERY TRAIN - Not bad, but I generally preferred his #1 songs. 5: HOT-BLOODED - FOREIGNER (5) - Of course, this song's intro is very similar to the Pablo Cruise song back at #7. Of their three singles from Double Vision, this would be my least favorite, but it's a great song nevertheless. 4: MISS YOU - ROLLING STONES (4) - This song must have had a little juice left in it if it was able to keep so many fast-rising songs at bay on the chart. I was not a big fan of this song by any means, but I liked their other disco song, which would hit the Top Five two years later. 3: LAST DANCE - DONNA SUMMER (3) - I like this song, though it’s somehow kind of depressing - probably since I always associate this with the end of the summer and school starting again (since I heard it a lot when I was starting first grade - one of the toughest transitions ever!) 2: GREASE – FRANKIE VALLI (2) - The title track to one of the biggest movie soundtracks ever was on its way to the top. It's OK, but I prefer several other songs from him, both solo and with the Four Seasons. 1: THREE TIMES A LADY - COMMODORES (1) - Over on the R&R chart, this song was in the midst of a six-week run at #1. Here on the Hot 100, it would be #1 for two weeks (and spend the next four weeks in the runner-up position after falling out). I loved this song - so did a lot of other people, as it became a very popular LDD song (and was played at many wedding receptions as well). Coming up next week: Given that it's been almost exactly 40 years since the death of Elvis Presley, the August 27, 1977 show, containing the Elvis tribute, would be ideal. Well, that and the fact that we haven't had a 1977 "A" show since late April. So that will be my first guess, with August 25, 1979 as a back-up guess.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Aug 22, 2017 1:50:37 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - August 19, 2017 This week's presentation - August 19, 1978 Droppers: RUNAWAY - JEFFERSON STARSHIP (38) - I believe this was their final Top 40 hit featuring Marty Balin on lead vocals. I liked this song, but slightly preferred "Count On Me", which had charted earlier in the year. Both are great songs, IMO. I agree that both are great songs, as is the entire "Earth" album. But of course, JessieLou likes it more than either of us (and she'll probably be angry that Grace fell off!) THE GROOVE LINE - HEATWAVE (37) - aka "Boogie Nights Part 2". No big loss, as I wasn't a huge fan of the song (or the one to which it was the sequel), but their ballad "Always And Forever", which charted between those two songs, was a great one. I like this one, definitely one of my favourites from them. MR. BLUE SKY - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (35) - Not one of their more successful hits by any means, which is a shame, as this was IMO one of their best songs ever! I like this one but they've had better. Still, surprised this peaked so low as it does receive occasional airplay to this day. I'VE HAD ENOUGH - WINGS (25) - I forget how this song goes, but I seem to remember it was mediocre - in any case, not as good as their #1 hit from earlier in 1978. Yeah, this was alright but "With A Little Luck" was better. STILL THE SAME - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (23) - Well, he dropped out this week, but he replaced himself with his second hit from Stranger In Town. This song was by far my favorite single from Seger's Stranger In Town album, as well as one of my favorite songs by him/them of all time! Yeah, this was a great one, like most of their stuff. USE TA BE MY GIRL - THE O'JAYS (22) - One of two droppers this week that was in the Top Ten two weeks prior (Bob Seger being the other one). I was never a huge fan of the O'Jays, but I actually liked this song a lot - possibly my all-time favorite from them. I like several of their songs, this being one of the best. 40: OH DARLIN' - ROBIN GIBB (debut) - The first Top 40 hit from Gibb as a solo artist. This is one of the three Top 40 hits from the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band soundtrack (the first of two in the countdown this week). This one wasn't bad, but I preferred his other Top 40 hit from four years later, entitled "Boys Do Fall In Love". Yeah, this was alright but I think he recorded his best stuff with the Bee Gees. 39: WHENEVER I CALL YOU FRIEND - KENNY LOGGINS & STEVIE NICKS (debut) - YES!! This is possibly my favorite song on this week's chart - definitely one of my favorites from both artists involved! Agreed - what an excellent song, one of 1978's best! 38: HOLLYWOOD NIGHTS - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (debut) - I don't remember this song from its chart run as I remember hearing it on the Stranger In Town album, which my Mom played all the time back in 1979. It's a pretty good song, but the only single from the album that I really liked was "Still The Same". Too bad that song dropped out this week. There were several other songs on the album that I felt should have been released as singles. Another great song! One of his best, love the energy here. 37: ROCK & ROLL FANTASY - THE KINKS (debut) - Their comeback Top 40 hit, after being absent from the chart since their Top Ten anthem "Lola". This song got as high as #30, but they'd be back about four and a half years later with what would become their biggest hit ever, "Come Dancing". As for this song, it was pretty good, but I preferred Bad Company's song of the same title from the following summer. Agreed. 36: YOU'RE A PART OF ME - GENE COTTON W/ KIM CARNES (36) - This was the one that put Carnes on the map, but the best was yet to come for her. However, that was more than could be said for Gene Cotton, as he only had one more chart entry after this. Anyway, this song's OK, but I preferred other songs from both artists. Agreed. 35: YOU NEEDED ME - ANNE MURRAY (debut) - Murray's only #1 hit on the Hot 100. It was a rather slow climber - it wouldn't hit the top until three months later (ironically, the song it knocked out of the top spot held the record at the time for THE slowest climb to #1). As for my opinion of this song - well, it was during her heyday, which started with this song, so I liked it a lot - one of my all-time faves from her! Yeah, this is one of my favourites from her as well. Glad it hit #1! 34: JUST WHAT I NEEDED - THE CARS (39) - This song has aged quite well. Given all the airplay it receives on oldies and rock stations, I'm surprised that it peaked so low. Agreed, I'd have assumed it was a huge top 5 hit! I guess the world wasn't ready as they'd hit bigger chart success in the 80's. Great song, like most of their stuff. 33: BAKER STREET - GERRY RAFFERTY (16) - This song almost made it to #1 (in fact, it has been said that the original version of one of the charts at which this song was #2 (may have been the previous week) had this song at #1, but a last minute revision placed it at #2. Anyway, I used to really like this song, but overplay pretty much did it in. I still love this, go figure. 32: CLOSE THE DOOR - TEDDY PENDERGRASS (40) - This was pretty much your typical old school R&B. It was pleasant, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. Agreed. 31: RIVERS OF BABYLON - BONEY M (33) - The third Top 40 hit that borrowed passages from the bible to use in their lyrics (in this case, Psalm 137). Great song! Given how huge they were internationally, I'm surprised the US never caught on to them! 30: SHADOW DANCIN' - ANDY GIBB (15) - With eighteen Top 40 weeks so far, seven of those at #1, it's no wonder that this song became the top song of 1978. The song wasn't bad, but it didn't hold a candle to his song that's coming up later in the show. Great song - very well deserved for the #1 of the year! 29: SUMMER NIGHTS - JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (debut) - The second of two top 40 duets for the stars of the movie Grease. Of those two songs, it would be my favorite (though "You're The One That I Want" is a great one as well). Great song! I love both Grease duets about the same. 28: REMINISCING - LITTLE RIVER BAND (34) - The first of two Top Ten hits from their album Sleeper Catcher. It's a great one but, of course, I preferred "Lady". I really like pretty much all of their big hits, but this is likely my favourite. OPTIONAL EXTRA: DON'T LOOK BACK - BOSTON - Casey mentioned how this was their highest ranked song so far. It would hold that honor for eight years, until their successful comeback in 1986. I've somehow come to like this song better than I had previously (as I never cared for it). Great song - one of their best! 27: MACHO MAN - VILLAGE PEOPLE (31) - Meh, not a big fan of this one. It's more tolerable than their next top 40 hit, though I like this but prefer their other hits. 26: TWO TICKETS TO PARADISE - EDDIE MONEY (30) - As usual, they played a different version of this song than was usually heard on the radio (the single version, I would imagine). I remember hearing this one quite regularly back in the day. I liked it, but I preferred several others from the Money Man. Great song - possibly my favourite from him, and another I'm surprised peaked so low. 25: YOU - RITA COOLIDGE (27) - I noticed that this song's verses have a slightly similar melody as that of "Mr. Blue Sky" by ELO (which, of course, drops out this week). Though not quite as good as her two 1977 Top Ten hits, it's still a great song nevertheless. One of my favourites from her ever. Good song! 24: LOVE IS IN THE AIR - JOHN PAUL YOUNG (32) - As we know all too well, I'm not a disco fan, but this song was actually a pretty good song - one I remember from back in the day. Good song! 23: STUFF LIKE THAT - QUINCY JONES (26) - Meh, nothing special - sounds like most of the disco material from the late-70s. I prefer his James Ingram collaborations but this was nice too. 22: YOU AND I - RICK JAMES (28) - And another such song right here by a man who had the most success on the R&B chart. He he did have a handful of Top 40 hits, though, and this was the most successful of them, peaking at #13. Great song - one of his best, very funky! 21: HOT CHILD IN THE CITY - NICK GILDER (24) - This was the song I was talking about earlier that set the record for the longest climb to #1 - a record it held by itself until a little less than a year later. It was a good song - had that summertime feel to it. Had Gilder known how long it was going to take to reach the top, I wonder if he would have released it several months earlier. Great song, holds up very well (though his falsetto vocals made me think it was a woman singing it at first!) 20: STAY - JACKSON BROWNE (20) - Interesting how Browne changed the lyrics around to be addressing his audience instead of a loved one, like in the original. As for the song, it's not bad, but I preferred "The Load Out", which some radio stations play right before this song, as that's how Browne usually does this song in his concerts. Yeah, this is an example of "the cover changes the meaning". Good song, nonetheless! 19: GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (29) - Of course, the best version of this one was the one by the Beatles (which we heard on last week's 1976 show), but this one was actually a good version too. Agreed, they did the Beatles justice like very few of their covers do (Elton John doing Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds and Aerosmith doing Come Together come to mind too.) 18: FOOL IF YOU THINK IT'S OVER - CHRIS REA (21) - Here's a good song I remember quite well. About ten years after he charted with this, he recorded a new version, which did not do justice to the original at all. Great song! Given how good this was and how big he was in the UK, I'm surprised this was his only top 40 hit. 17: KING TUT - STEVE MARTIN (19) - Glad he didn't quit his acting job! Just saying! I thought this was pretty funny myself, but I prefer him as an actor/comedian. 16: KISS YOU ALL OVER - EXILE (18) - 1978 was definitely a good year for producer Mike Chapman, as he had at least two songs that topped the chart that fall (back-to-back, nonetheless. This was the first of them. Of the two, I preferred the Nick Gilder song. Great song! 15: SHAME - EVELYN "CHAMPAGNE" KING (19) - Her first of four Top 40 hits. It's not bad, but my favorite song from her is "Love Come Down", which hit the Top 20 in the fall of 1982. I like both of those songs about the same. 14: I'M NOT GONNA LET IT BOTHER ME TONIGHT - ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION (14) - I thought most of their songs were good, but this one was somewhat mediocre. Definitely nowhere near as good as "So In To You" or "Imaginary Lover". I like this one, but prefer said two other songs. OPTIONAL EXTRA: BACK IN THE USA - LINDA RONSTADT - I can't say whether I prefer this or Chuck Berry's version, since I've never heard the latter. Linda's version was so/so, but definitely not one of her best. I really like this one myself, though I think she's done better. 13: MY ANGEL BABY - TOBY BEAU (13) - It was a group, not a solo male, like many people thought (such was the case with Pablo Cruise, coming up in the Top Ten). The song was pretty good. Agreed. 12: LIFE'S BEEN GOOD - JOE WALSH (12) - Not sure why, but this song never really did anything for me. I wasn't a huge Joe Walsh fan anyway. Great song! One of my favourites from him though I prefer him in the Eagles. 11: HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (11) - This week's chart was extremely tight at the top half - in fact, the entire Top 14 was in holding pattern this week. That means that, even after a nice jump of seven places last week, this song holds in place (don't worry, this is not where it peaked). Anyway, this was a special song between my former girlfriend and myself - it took awhile to be able to enjoy this song once again after we broke up, but that all changed back in May of last year, when our paths crossed and she and I actually recently had a brief conversation, letting me know that we were at least back on speaking terms again. Great song! 10: EVERLASTING LOVE - ANDY GIBB (10) - This song wasn't peaking this week neither, although it didn't quite make it to the top, breaking Gibb's #1 streak. This would be a close second to "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" as my favorite song from Gibb. Another great song - still, I prefer his #1 year-end songs (though I do prefer this over his #1 that wasn't a year-end #1!) 9: MAGNET & STEEL - WALTER EGAN (9) - This song lost its bullet this week, so it looked like it might be done. However, it did manage to climb one spot higher. Stevie Nicks, who this song was said to be about, was heard singing back-up on this song, which somehow, I associate more with the fall of 1978 instead of the summer (probably because that was when WLS played the song; it peaked on their survey in late October). Great song! Shame it was his only hit (on the top 40 of Billboard at least.) 8: COPACABANA - BARRY MANILOW (8) - Definitely a departure from his usual ballad style. In fact, the rush release of this song while "Even Now" was still on its way up the chart caused the latter to tank (which wasn't really a bad thing, as "Even Now" wasn't one of his better hits anyway, IMO). This was a good one. I normally find him boring, but uptempo songs like this I really enjoy - great song! Of course, its pop culture proliferation doesn't hurt either... 7: LOVE WILL FIND A WAY - PABLO CRUISE (7) - Here is that song I mentioned earlier. I remember this one quite well from back in the day. A great song, though I slightly preferred "What'cha Gonna Do", from the previous summer. Agreed - those two and "Cool Love" are all good. 6: BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE - A TASTE OF HONEY (6) - Even an eleven-spot move the week before didn't stop this song from hitting the brick wall that the entire Top 14 hit this week. But, like most of those songs, this one happened to recover, and went all the way to the top. Glad that they played this song intact (as they seemed to cut out the second verse more often than not), as it was a great song - my favorite of their two Top Ten hits. Great song! A true disco classic! ELVIS PRESLEY TRIBUTE: MYSTERY TRAIN - Not bad, but I generally preferred his #1 songs. Agreed. 5: HOT-BLOODED - FOREIGNER (5) - Of course, this song's intro is very similar to the Pablo Cruise song back at #7. Of their three singles from Double Vision, this would be my least favorite, but it's a great song nevertheless. Great song! Definitely one of their most enduring! 4: MISS YOU - ROLLING STONES (4) - This song must have had a little juice left in it if it was able to keep so many fast-rising songs at bay on the chart. I was not a big fan of this song by any means, but I liked their other disco song, which would hit the Top Five two years later. Great song, one of their best! 3: LAST DANCE - DONNA SUMMER (3) - I like this song, though it’s somehow kind of depressing - probably since I always associate this with the end of the summer and school starting again (since I heard it a lot when I was starting first grade - one of the toughest transitions ever!) Still love this one, one of many great songs from her. 2: GREASE – FRANKIE VALLI (2) - The title track to one of the biggest movie soundtracks ever was on its way to the top. It's OK, but I prefer several other songs from him, both solo and with the Four Seasons. Yeah as good as this was, I prefer a few others from him. 1: THREE TIMES A LADY - COMMODORES (1) - Over on the R&R chart, this song was in the midst of a six-week run at #1. Here on the Hot 100, it would be #1 for two weeks (and spend the next four weeks in the runner-up position after falling out). I loved this song - so did a lot of other people, as it became a very popular LDD song (and was played at many wedding receptions as well). Yeah, this was a great song, and one of many prototypes for the classic Lionel Richie love ballad style. One of their best! Coming up next week: Given that it's been almost exactly 40 years since the death of Elvis Presley, the August 27, 1977 show, containing the Elvis tribute, would be ideal. Well, that and the fact that we haven't had a 1977 "A" show since late April. So that will be my first guess, with August 25, 1979 as a back-up guess. Well, looks like we're getting 1979.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Aug 30, 2017 2:12:56 GMT -5
Better late than never... August 25, 1979Falling off: The Jones Girls - You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else (38) - wtf did this sound like again? Cheap Trick - I Want You To Want Me (31) - This live-energy live recording has remained a staple of classic rock playlists ever since, and deservingly so! Blondie - One Way Or Another (27) - Given how much this is played these days, I'm surprised this peaked so low - great song! Donna Summer - Hot Stuff (19) - Wow, what a drop! Great song - deserving of all its time at #1! 40. Triumph - Hold On (debut) - They only had two top 40 hits, but both are memorable. Great song - I also like some of their big AOR hits that missed the top 40. 39. M - Pop Muzik (debut) - His only top 40 hit, but what a great one it was! Sorry Hervard.... 38. Bram Tchaikovsky - Girl Of My Dreams (39) - This wasn't bad, but very faceless 37. Journey - Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' (debut) - While the "Infinity" album gave us 2 AOR classics, this was their first top 40 hit. Great song - stands up very well. 36. Diana Ross - The Boss (40) - Best known for her Motown classics, this was one of several disco hits for her. Great song - one of her most underrated! 35. John Stewart - Gold (18) - A former top 5 hit on its way down here, this was a great song helped by several members of Fleetwood Mac. 34. Herb Alpert - Rise (debut) - This was his first hit since the 1960's and would make history when it hit #1 becoming the first artist with both a vocal and an instrumental #1. Great song - one of his best! 33. The Rockets - Oh Well (35) - This was alright, but again, rather faceless. 32. Maureen McGovern - Different Worlds (36) - This was so-so, much like her big #1. 31. David Naughton - Makin' It (15) - great song! This may have been from a flop TV show but at least we got a good song out of it! 30. Nick Lowe - Cruel To Be Kind (33) - Another one hit wonder here, but this one remains in rotation to this day. Great song! 29. Sniff 'n' the Tears - Driver's Seat (34) - Wow, a lot of one hit wonders on this chart! This is another great one I still hear from time to time. 28. Patrick Hernandez - Born To Be Alive (32) - Yet another one hit wonder, this one a disco artist from France. Great song! 27. Blackfoot - Highway Song (29) - The first of two hits from this Southern rock band - this was alright. 26. Robert Palmer - Bad Case Of Loving You (30) - While he really hit his stride in the 80's, he had two top 40 hits in the 70's as well. Great song! 25. GQ - I Do Love You (28) - Another short-lived group, this was their second hit. I like it. 24. Spyro Gyra - Morning Dance (26) - Yet another one hit wonder - this was so-so, I prefer the other instrumental on the chart. 23. The Commodores - Sail On (37) - They were on a roll, and this had more of a country feel than their usual funk style, or a typical slow ballad either. Good song! 22. Bonnie Pointer - Heaven Must Have Sent You (25) - The first top 40 hit from this former Pointer Sisters member - good upbeat disco song! 21. Joe Jackson - Is She Really Going Out With Him (21) - Another classic rock staple I'm surprised peaked so low! Great song, but I generally prefer his 1980's hits. 20. Night - Hot Summer Nights (24) - Another decent enough song, I like it. 19. Little River Band - Lonesome Loser (22) - These Australian guys were on a hot streak here and the "First Under The Wire" album continued it. Great song - among their very best! 18. Supertramp - Goodbye Stranger (20) - Another rock band at their peak here, the "Breakfast In America" album was loaded with hits - great song! 17. The Cars - Let's Go (23) - Despite all the airplay that their singles from their self-titled debut got, this lead single from "Candy-O" outpeaked them all - and they clearly weren't done yet as their 80's track record shows. Great song! 16. KISS - I Was Made For Lovin' You (11) - Normally a glam rock band, this New York-based quartet with the distinctive make-up went in a disco direction here. Great song - the sound worked well for them! 15. Eddie Rabbitt - Suspicions (17) - An early country crossover from him, this was pretty good but I prefer his 80's songs. 14. Dionne Warwick - I'll Never Love This Way Again (16) - After hitting #1 with the Spinners during her Dionne Warwicke period, she dropped the latter e from her last name and got back on track here. Great song - one of her best vocal performances ever! 13. Raydio - You Can't Change That (9) - A mix of jazz and soul, Ray Parker Jr. and his group had several great songs during the late 70's and this was definitely one of them! 12. Anita Ward - Ring My Bell (7) - Her only big hit, but what a hit it was - great disco classic! 11. Dr. Hook - When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman (6) - Their songs may have had a cheese factor to them, but this New Jersey band sure knew how to make hits! Great song - one of their best! 10. Robert John - Sad Eyes (12) - One of the slowest rising #1 hits ever, this sure wasn't done its climb yet! Great song! 9. Elton John - Mama Can't Buy You Love (10) - Wow, back to back artists with the last name John (though in Elton's case, it wasn't his real last name!) Great song - one I find is often underappreciated in his back catalogue. 8. Maxine Nightingale - Lead Me On (13) - She only had two hits, both made the top 10 - I like this but prefer her other big hit. 7. Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down To Georgia (8) - A fiddle standard, this was one of my favourites from this Southern country-rock musician. 6. ELO - Don't Bring Me Down (14) - A straight-up rock anthem from a band who ruled the latter half of the 70's - great song, one of their absolute best! 5. Donna Summer - Bad Girls (4) - The title track from her best-known album, this became another #1 hit - one of her best ever! 4. Earth, Wind & Fire - After The Love Has Gone (5) - Their "I Am" album gave us two huge hits, and this ballad became a standard for them - great song! 3. Barbra Streisand - The Main Event/Fight (3) - Normally an AC artist, this theatrical queen gave us a taste of her disco self! The departure in sound worked for her, as this was pretty decent. 2. Chic - Good Times (1) - A disco classic with one of the greatest bass lines ever - great song! 1. The Knack - My Sharona (2) - They only had a few hits, but when they arrived, they sure took no time getting to #1! Great song! Chicago update: They had just released the flop album Chicago 13. Next week: 1974
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Post by Hervard on Sept 1, 2017 14:12:08 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - August 26, 2017
This week's presentation - August 25, 1979
As always, this will be a building commentary over the next few hours...
DROPPERS: YOU'RE GONNA MAKE ME LOVE SOMEBODY ELSE - THE JONES GIRLS (38) - wtf did this sound like again? I WANT YOU TO WANT ME - CHEAP TRICK (31) - I definitely remember this one from back in the day! WLS played it all the time, plus I heard it on the juke box at the beach house that I went to a lot that summer. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER - BLONDIE (27) - No big loss - I was never a big fan of this song - I found it annoying and obnoxious sounding. HOT STUFF - DONNA SUMMER (19) - Well, I guess people had finally gotten tired of this song, which had spent most of its chart run in the Top Ten, three of those at #1, definitely living up to its title! This was my favorite of Summer's big hits in 1979!
LW#3: THE MAIN EVENT/FIGHT – BARBRA STREISAND LW#2: MY SHARONA – THE KNACK LW#1: GOOD TIMES – CHIC 40: HOLD ON - TRIUMPH (debut) - The first of two chart entries from this hard rock band from Canada. They were more of an album rock band than anything, as they only had two pop Top 40 hits, neither of which hit the Top 20. Both of them were really good songs, IMO - not sure if I prefer this or "Somebody's Out There". 39: POP MUZIK – M (debut) - Robin Scott tied the band Q for the act with the shortest name - and you sure can't get much shorter than one letter! Anyway, I think that we all know that I'm not a big fan of this song. But many people here do like it and really, more power to you. It just doesn't do anything for me. 38: GIRL OF MY DREAMS – BRAM TCHAIKOVSKY (39) - Like M, a one-hit wonder, only the former went all the way to the top, but this song ran out of gas at #37. Too bad, since it was a good song. 37: LOVIN’, TOUCHIN’, SQUEEZIN’ - JOURNEY (debut) - Remember, they say "na" exactly 154 times in the song. Yes, there was a time that I was so bored that I actually counted them. 22 na's in each group, and there are seven groups of na's, so do the math from there. Anyway, the song is a good one - one of my favorites from them. LDD: TO SIR WITH LOVE - LULU - Billboard's top song of 1967 - and IIRC, this song was used as a LDD request on more than one occasion. It was a good song, and fitting for the LDD. 36: THE BOSS – DIANA ROSS (40) - No surprise that this was the top disco song in the country, as Ross was indeed a hot disco artist. I wasn't generally a big fan of her disco songs, but I actually liked this one (probably because it wasn't overplayed like some of her other songs). 35: GOLD – JOHN STEWART (18) - Here's one I remember from back in the day! This one featured Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham on background vocals - making an already great song even better! 34: RISE – HERB ALPERT (debut) - Instrumental songs weren't quite as popular as they were earlier in the decade, but there were still a few that hit the charts - two of them in this week's Top 40. This was the biggest instrumental to chart in 1979, hitting #1 in October. I was glad, as this was my favorites from Alpert. ARCHIVES: BEST OF MY LOVE – THE EAGLES - They were in the midst of the string of one-week chart toppers in early 1975. It was a good song, though kind of depressing. I generally prefer their upbeat songs led by Henley, like "Hotel California". OPTIONAL EXTRA: DIM ALL THE LIGHTS - DONNA SUMMER - The Optional extras were a little on the meh side this week. But that is just an opinion and nothing more. This would actually be my favorite of the four. I preferred Summer's other big 1979 hits over this one, but I still liked it better than her duet with Barbra Streisand, which would hit the chart later on that year. 33: OH WELL – THE ROCKETS (35) - Originally recorded by Fleetwood Mac in the late 1960s, this song saw chart action ten years later as recorded by this Detroit rock band. It was pretty good, but nothing exceptional. 32: DIFFERENT WORLDS – MAUREEN McGovern (36) - You could definitely tell that this was a TV show theme - from the somewhat short-lived TV show Angie. I liked this song - possibly my favorite song from her. 31: MAKIN’ IT – DAVID NAUGHTON (15) - This song was more of a gimmick than anything, IMO, but it was passable. 30: CRUEL TO BE KIND – NICK LOWE (33) - Here's another one I remember from back in the day! It was a good one - too bad they cut out the second verse. 29: DRIVER’S SEAT – SNIFF ‘N’ THE TEARS (34) - Hmm, I wonder how they came up with a band name like that? As for the song,The song wasn't bad, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. 28: BORN TO BE ALIVE – PATRICK HERNANDEZ (32) - Interesting story about Hernandez's experience in France, where he went to college. His parents sure were less than enthused when they found out he was going to be a rock star instead of a teacher, which was the career he went to school to study for. I wonder if he reconsidered that when this became his only Top 40 hit? 27: HIGHWAY SONG - BLACKFOOT (29) - This was your typical late-70s southern rock song. It was pretty decent, IMO. 26: BAD CASE OF LOVING YOU (DOCTOR, DOCTOR) – ROBERT PALMER (30) - Given how much this song is played on oldies stations today, it's a surprise that this song never hit the Top Ten (though it did peak at #7 on R&R). The song's not bad, but I've never been a huge fan of Robert Palmer (though I did like his two Top 40 remakes). 25: I DO LOVE YOU - GQ (28) - The second of two Top 40 hits, both in 1979, from this soul group from the Bronx. Their first hit was a dance/disco song and this one was more mellow. I preferred this song of the two. 24: MORNING DANCE – SPYRO GYRA (26) - This was the second of the two instrumentals on this week's chart. I preferred this one - a great song with sort of a Caribbean flavor, with the congas and marimba. 23: SAIL ON – THE COMMODORES (37) - This one had sort of a country feel to it. It apparently worked, as it was not only this week's biggest mover, but it also hit the Top Five (and spent three weeks at #1 on R&R). This was definitely one of my favorite songs by the Commodores. ARCHIVES: HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN MELLOW – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN - Another one-week #1 (though it fared much better on R&R, spending five weeks on top there). My favorite of her 1975 hits, by a fair margin. OPTIONAL EXTRA: DON'T STOP 'TIL YOU GET ENOUGH - MICHAEL JACKSON - His first of four Top Ten hits from Off The Wall. Not a big fan of this one at all. 22: HEAVEN MUST HAVE SENT YOU – BONNIE POINTER - She was a former member of the Pointer Sisters, but left the group the year before to pursue a solo career. This song, her only solo Top 40, was pretty good, but I generally preferred songs by the Pointer Sisters. 21: IS SHE REALLY GOING OUT WITH HIM – JOE JACKSON (21) - This is one I remember from back in the day. Sugar Ray did a remake of this song back in 2003, but the original is definitely the best. 20: HOT SUMMER NIGHTS - NIGHT (24) - The first of two hits from this L.A. band. It was a great one, but I preferred the follow-up, which featured Chris Thompson on lead vocals. 19: LONESOME LOSER – LITTLE RIVER BAND (22) - Here's one I remember hearing a lot during the fall of 1979. It was pretty good, but I preferred LRB's two other 1979 hits by a fairly wide margin. 18: GOODBYE STRANGER - SUPERTRAMP (20) - The second of three Top 20 hits from Supertramp's multi-million selling album Breakfast In America. It was actually about this time back in '79 that I bought this album (at a discount store known as T G & Y), so I heard this song all the time back then, mainly on said album. LDD: THE GAMBLER – KENNY ROGERS - I used to like this song, but that annoying Geico ad that used it a year or so back has actually dimmed my fascination for this song. 17: LET’S GO – THE CARS (23) - I remember hearing this one at the beach every now and again back in the summer of 1979. It's a good song, but I generally preferred their 80s hits (mainly from Heartbeat City). 16: I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN’ YOU - KISS (11) - The band had gone disco by this time and that didn't really work for them, as this was their only Top 40 single with a disco beat. I myself prefer their slow songs (as did the general Top 40 audience, as their two Top Ten singles were both ballads). 15: SUSPICIONS – EDDIE RABBITT (17) - Possibly Rabbitt's most un-country sounding song ever. It had more of a smooth jazz sound to it, but it was a great one, IMO. 14: I’LL NEVER LOVE THIS WAY AGAIN – DIONNE WARWICK (16) - A member of a very musical family and, at the time, she was the most successful, but little did anyone know that Warwick's first cousin would come along six years later to give her a run for her money. As for the song, it's a great one - one of my favorites from her. 13: YOU CAN’T CHANGE THAT – RAYDIO (9) - This song and their 1981 song "A Woman Needs Love" sounded very similar. I slightly prefer this one though (but both of them are great songs!) ARCHIVES: BLACK WATER – THE DOOBIE BROTHERS - They had their second number one song earlier in the year, and this was their very first. Both are great songs and among my favorites from them. OPTIONAL EXTRA: PLEASE DON'T GO - KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND - Gee, KC, would you like a little cheese and crackers to go along with your whine? 12: RING MY BELL – ANITA WARD (7) - I heard this one a few times at the local skating rink back in the day. It was OK, but nothing special. 11: WHEN YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN – DR. HOOK (6) - As we all know, my favorite song from them was "Better Love Next Time", but this was a good one too - and it became one of their most successful hits. 10: SAD EYES – ROBERT JOHN (12) - With all the baby steps this song was taking (though it had made a few large moves a few weeks earlier), who knew that it was going to go all the way to the top? This song would tie "Hot Child In The City" by Nick Gilder as the slowest climb to #1 - a total of 21 weeks each - a record that would stand for about two and a half years. Anyway, this is definitely my favorite of the two songs. 9: MAMA CAN’T BUY YOU LOVE – ELTON JOHN (10) - I'm surprised that we don't hear this song much anymore, given that it was a Top Ten hit. I liked this one - one of his best late-70s hits. 8: LEAD ME ON – MAXINE NIGHTINGALE (13) - A true two-hit wonder here, as her only other song was "Right Back Where We Started From", a song I used to like, but now not quite as much, due to overplay. This is definitely my favorite song from her. 7: THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA – CHARLIE DANIELS BAND (8) - Interesting about Charlie Daniels challenging Stan Kenton to cut a decent country record - and welching on the bet by not even listening to the record. And how's this for irony - on the day that this show aired, Kenton passed away. 6: DON’T BRING ME DOWN – ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (14) - With the chart momentum of this song (which was in only its third week in the Top 40), this song looked like a sure-fire #1, but, in fact, the song climbed only two spots higher. I liked the song back in the day, but quite overplayed. I preferred their other 1979 Top Ten, which is sadly ignored by radio anymore. 5: BAD GIRLS – DONNA SUMMER (4) - As "Hot Stuff" stepped off the chart after a good, long run, this song was still going strong in the Top Five. Although I preferred "Hot Stuff", this was a good one as well. 4: AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE – EARTH, WIND & FIRE (5) - One of their most successful hits ever - in fact, according to the R&R chart, it was their most successful, as it was #1 there. The song did well on the Hot 100 as well, peaking at #3. used to be one of my favorite songs, but now, I find it mediocre. 3: THE MAIN EVENT/FIGHT – BARBRA STREISAND (3) - Interesting to hear an upbeat song by Streisand (though this was the only one that I liked - I think you all know that I did not like her duet with Donna Summer from later that year). OPTIONAL EXTRA: DEPENDIN' ON YOU - Michael McDonald had handled the lead vocals on the first two singles from the Minute By Minute album, but they went with a Patrick Simmons song as the third single. The song was pretty good, but nowhere near as good as "What A Fool Believes". 2: GOOD TIMES - CHIC (1) - This one is kind of overplayed, but I do prefer it over "La Freak". But my favorite of their 1979 hits, as you probably know all too well, was "I Want Your Love" 1: MY SHARONA – THE KNACK (2) - This song was in its first of six weeks at #1. Despite the fact that this song was played ad nauseum in 1979, I actually didn't really get tired of it, but somehow, a few years ago, I somehow decided that I'd tired of it many years before and didn't even know it. I preferred "Good Girls Don't", which charted about a month later. Thankfully, they played the single version of the song, with the shorter instrumental bridge (and didn't they cut out the second verse as well?)
Coming up next week: The show hasn't been announced as of yet. We haven't heard 1977 as an "A" show since April, but I'm hoping that they hold off on that year until mid-September, as the 9/17/77 show hasn't been played yet. 1973 hasn't been played as an "A" show since early July, but since 9/1/73 was already aired last year, that one's obviously out (but is a possibility as a "B" show next week), most likely if they were doing 1977 then. It's also been awhile since the last 1974 show, so I'll go with September 7, 1974, with September 3, 1977 as a back-up prediction (though, as I stated earlier, I hope I'm wrong with that guess).
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Post by Hervard on Sept 16, 2017 11:08:42 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - September 16, 2017 This week's presentation - September 20, 1975 Droppers: GIVE IT WHAT YOU GOT - BT EXPRESS (40) - Meh, no big loss. This one was way too repetitive, but very representative of the disco music of this era. That said, I'm surprised that this song didn't get any higher than #40. SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT - ELTON JOHN (33) - This was one of my all-time faves from him! Sort of a bittersweet listen anymore, as it was a special song between myself and a girl I used to date. No, not because she found someone else, but she died in a car wreck back in 1999. ONE OF THESE NIGHTS - THE EAGLES (29) - This is the song that spent the most weeks in the Top Ten during 1975 - ten weeks in all. Oddly enough, only one of those weeks were spent at #1. Anyway, of their two #1's during 1975, this was my favorite. JIVE TALKIN' - THE BEE GEES (15) - Is it me, or was there an unusually high number of songs dropping out of the AT40 chart from up in the teens in 1975? Sort of like 1982, only most of the songs were falling down into the 40s (like this one, which dropped to #44), instead of down to the lower half of the Hot 100. Anyway, this song wasn't bad, but was one of my least favorite of their disco hits. 40: WHO LOVES YOU – THE FOUR SEASONS (debut) - Their comeback hit, and the last with Frankie Valli singing lead. It was a great song - one of their best, IMO. 39: WHAT A DIFF’RENCE A DAY MAKES – ESTHER PHILLIPS (debut) - Meh - her grating voice negates any redeeming qualities that this song might have. 38: YOUR LOVE – GRAHAM CENTRAL STATION (39) - The only Top 40 hit from this San Francisco band headed up by former Sly & The Family Stone bass player Larry Graham. I had only heard this song before (on the 9/13/75 show - the only other one besides this one that it was on - and it was a pretty good one. I do, however, prefer Graham's solo hit "One In A Million You", which hit the Top Ten five years later. 37: YOU’RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY – TONY ORLANDO & DAWN (debut) - This Motown classic was given a great makeover, IMO. Really, the song did not sound much different than the original. 36: DO IT ANY WAY YOU WANNA – PEOPLES CHOICE (38) - This one was quite repetitive. Not a fan of it at all. 35: THEME FROM “JAWS” – JOHN WILLIAMS (37) - This song was battling it out with Dickie Goodman's' novelty song from the movie, as both songs debuted on the chart the previous week. The latter, however, was clearly winning. I liked both songs about the same - in different ways, of course. 34: CAROLINA IN THE PINES – MICHAEL MURPHEY (36) - One of two Top 40 hits for Murphey in 1975. I slightly prefer "Wildfire", but this one is a great one as well! 33: LADY BLUE – LEON RUSSELL (35) - I remember Leon most from the Bangla Desh benefit album from earlier in the decade, on which he sang a few songs. As for this song, it was a great one - nice and mellow. 32: BAD BLOOD – NEIL SEDAKA (debut) - Ironic that the man Sedaka was tied with as the male singer with the most Top 40 hits in 1975 was singing back-up on this song. A few weeks later, they'd tie once again, as Elton would debut on the chart with "Island Girl". 31: MIRACLES – JEFFERSON STARSHIP (34) - Marty Balin had taken over as lead singer at this point. This wasn't bad, but I preferred the two 1978 songs with him singing lead. 30: BLACK SUPERMAN/MUHAMMAD ALI – JOHNNY WAKELIN & THE KINSHASA BAND (21) - One of several one-hit wonders on this week's chart. The song was not bad, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. R.I.P. to the subject of this song 29: HOW SWEET IT IS (TO BE LOVED BY YOU) – JAMES TAYLOR (16) - I still hear this one from time to time on oldies stations - it is indeed a great one - very upbeat and positive sounding. 28: GONE AT LAST – PAUL SIMON & PHOEBE SNOW (30) - With the fast beat and the Dixie Hummingbirds singing along, this sounds like an upbeat gospel choir tune. It's a great, energetic song! OPTIONAL EXTRA: HEAT WAVE - LINDA RONSTADT - She was definitely the queen of remakes (though I believe that, at this point, Aretha was still in the lead for the most Top 40 cover versions of previous hits) 27: BRAZIL – THE RITCHIE FAMILY (32) - This was a pretty good Philly music here, with an interesting remake of the big band classic from the 1940s. 26: ROCKY – AUSTIN ROBERTS (28) - This song was pretty cheesy, but still a good song. 25: IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE - TAVARES (27) - Well, as they say, third time's a charm, as this song, the week's #1 R&B song, was their third Top 40 hit and their first (and only) Top Ten. It was actually pretty good, considering I'm not generally a big fan of this kind of music. 24: HOW LONG (BETCHA GOT A CHICK ON THE SIDE) – THE POINTER SISTERS (26) - Meh, I preferred Ace's Top Ten hit "How Long" from earlier in the year. That is all. 23: GAMES PEOPLE PLAY – THE SPINNERS (25) - Interesting story about how they unexpectedly won a talent contest (as the Domingos), but some imposters walked off with the prize. Oh well, the rightful winners of the prize likely had the last laugh, as the Spinners had a ton of chart success - this was their 13th out of a total of 17 Top 40 hits. 22: THE PROUD ONE – THE OSMONDS (24) - This song reminds me a little of "Someday At Christmas" by Stevie Wonder. It was a good song, though I prefer a few others from them (Donny and Marie duets included). 21: DAISY JANE – AMERICA (23) - I've mentioned how much "Let's Wait Awhile" by Janet Jackson and "Heart Hotels" remind me of this song, and there is a third song but, for the life of me, I can't remember which one. Anyway, this is my second favorite of their three 1975 hits, behind "Sister Goldenhair". A fairly close second, I might add, because I really like the song. 20: FEELINGS – MORRIS ALBERT (22) - This cheese factor indeed abounds in this song, but I've actually learned to like it better than I used to (a few years back, it always got "No. Just no" status, but not anymore). 19: MR. JAWS – DICKIE GOODMAN (31) - This is the parody I mentioned back at #35. One of Goodman's famous break-in type songs that became his trademark. This song used brief clips of about a dozen songs from 1975, most of them from earlier in the year to "answer" comedic questions posed by voice actors. It was a good song, but I'd probably get tired of it if I heard the song over and over again (such was the case with the general public, as this song kind of came and went, which was somewhat typical of novelty songs like this. 18: I BELIEVE THERE’S NOTHING STRONGER THAN OUR LOVE – PAUL ANKA & ODIA COATES (20) - His fourth and final single with Odia Coates. It was pretty good, but I preferred his 1983 hit "Hold Me 'Til The Morning Comes", which was another team-up, with Peter Cetera, only he didn't receive label credit. 17: SOLITAIRE – THE CARPENTERS (18) -They had been charting for five years and were still going strong, with two Top Ten hits so far in 1975 and it looked like this one might follow suit, but it ran out of gas at #17. It was a great song, but I preferred their last hit before this one, "Only Yesterday". 16: DANCE WITH ME - ORLEANS (19) - They may have had only three Top 40 hits, but all three were great! I don't even know which of them is my favorite. 15: GET DOWN TONIGHT – K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (4) - Well, this song wasted absolutely no time hitting #1, and it fell just as fast, spending nine weeks in the Top 40, an unusually short term for a #1 song. Its run on the R&R chart was much longer, where it spent nine weeks in the Top TEN! It was a good song - my favorite of their two #1 hits during 1975. 14: THIRD RATE ROMANCE – THE AMAZING RHYTHM ACES (14) - Another one-hit wonder on this week's chart, but what a great song it was! OPTIONAL EXTRA: BLUE EYES CRYIN' IN THE RAIN - WILLIE NELSON - This was his first Top 40 hit. It wasn't bad, but I preferred his 80s hits. 13: AIN’T NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY – HELEN REDDY (17) - Like most of her songs, the cheese factor is definitely present, but compared to several of her more cringe-worthy songs, this one was actually a good song. 12: THAT’S THE WAY OF THE WORLD – EARTH, WIND & FIRE (13) - Their second hit of the year and by far the best - as well as one of my favorites from them of all time! Anyone ever notice the similarity between this song and "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over" by Lenny Kravitz? 11: BALLROOM BLITZ - SWEET (12) - Sorry, but I'm not a fan of this one at all. 10: FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE – BAD COMPANY (11) - One of two Top Ten hits from them. It was a good one, IMO - still receives recurrent airplay today on oldies and classic rock stations. 9: WASTE DAYS AND WASTED NIGHTS – FREDDY FENDER (10) - Meh, I didn't care much for this one - his voice was kind of annoying. 8: FALLIN’ IN LOVE – HAMILTON, JOE FRANK & REYNOLDS (2) - This former #1 song was much better than the two remakes from the 1990s that I’ve heard (La Bouche and another one I remember hearing in 1995 - not sure who it was by, but it had rap in it). 7: RUN JOEY RUN – DAVID GEDDES (9) - No. Just no. 6: COULD IT BE MAGIC – BARRY MANILOW (7) - His third of many big hits. ased on the melody of Chopin's Prelude In C Minor. This song, based on the melody of Chopin's Prelude In C Minor, was by far my favorite of his three 1975 hits 5: FIGHT THE POWER PART 1 – THE ISLEY BROTHERS (6) - "I got knocked on the ground/With all this bullsh*t going down" At least that was what was heard on the first two weeks that this song was on the countdown! Even though this one was the roof-raising R&B music that I generally hate, this one was actually not bad. 4: I’M SORRY – JOHN DENVER (8) - Casey correctly predicted this song to go to #1 the following week. The song only stayed up there for a week, but after falling out, it spent quite awhile down in the runner-up position, which is cool, since I really like this song, as well as the flipside, "Calypso", which also started receiving airplay later on down the line. 3: AT SEVENTEEN – JANIS IAN (3) - The song wasn't bad, but quite overplayed IMO. I don't think that I need to remind y'all that my favorite songs from him are his two songs from 1987, do I? OPTIONAL EXTRA: THIS WILL BE - NATALIE COLE - It's impossible not to think of the eHarmony.com commercials when hearing the intro to this song. It's not bad, but I prefer many others from her. 2: RHINESTONE COWBOY – GLEN CAMPBELL (1) - This was on its way to becoming one of the biggest songs of the entire year, and worthily so, as it was one of Campbell's best. 1: FAME – DAVID BOWIE (5) - The song wasn't bad, but quite overplayed IMO. I don't think that I need to remind y'all that my favorite songs from him are his two songs from 1987, do I? No word yet on what show will be. I have a suspicion that 1972 will be next week's "A" show. I'll tell you why. Many people here expected 9/17/77 to be played this week, but they went with another new show instead. You'd think it would be more logical for them to have run the 1977 show this week and 1975 next week. But 9/23/72 is also a new show and next week would be the right week for it, so that's why I'm predicting that to be the "A" show next week. The "B" show? I was thinking possibly 9'22/1979, but they don't usually do that year as the "B" show. It could be 9/24/1977, to make it up to us for skipping that year this week. 9/23/1978 would also be a good bet if not for the fact that it was a "B" show last year, so I'll go with 9/24/1977 as the "B" show - that is, if 9/23/1972 is, indeed, what Premiere decides to go with as the "A" show.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Sept 17, 2017 13:08:54 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - September 16, 2017 This week's presentation - September 20, 1975 Droppers: GIVE IT WHAT YOU GOT - BT EXPRESS (40) - Meh, no big loss. This one was way too repetitive, but very representative of the disco music of this era. That said, I'm surprised that this song didn't get any higher than #40. wtf did this sound like again? SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT - ELTON JOHN (33) - This was one of my all-time faves from him! Sort of a bittersweet listen anymore, as it was a special song between myself and a girl I used to date. No, not because she found someone else, but she died in a car wreck back in 1999. Great song - one of his best! ONE OF THESE NIGHTS - THE EAGLES (29) - This is the song that spent the most weeks in the Top Ten during 1975 - ten weeks in all. Oddly enough, only one of those weeks were spent at #1. Anyway, of their two #1's during 1975, this was my favorite. Same here, love this one and most of their stuff in general. JIVE TALKIN' - THE BEE GEES (15) - Is it me, or was there an unusually high number of songs dropping out of the AT40 chart from up in the teens in 1975? Sort of like 1982, only most of the songs were falling down into the 40s (like this one, which dropped to #44), instead of down to the lower half of the Hot 100. Anyway, this song wasn't bad, but was one of my least favorite of their disco hits. Great song! One of my favourites from them - the disco sound worked perfectly for them. 40: WHO LOVES YOU – THE FOUR SEASONS (debut) - Their comeback hit, and the last with Frankie Valli singing lead. It was a great song - one of their best, IMO. Agreed - just as Frankie Valli had made a great solo comeback, he brought back the Four Seasons for some of their best stuff ever! 39: WHAT A DIFF’RENCE A DAY MAKES – ESTHER PHILLIPS (debut) - Meh - her grating voice negates any redeeming qualities that this song might have. This was ok. nothing special. 38: YOUR LOVE – GRAHAM CENTRAL STATION (39) - The only Top 40 hit from this San Francisco band headed up by former Sly & The Family Stone bass player Larry Graham. I had only heard this song before (on the 9/13/75 show - the only other one besides this one that it was on - and it was a pretty good one. I do, however, prefer Graham's solo hit "One In A Million You", which hit the Top Ten five years later. I tend to like some of their stuff - a nice continuation from Sly & the Family Stone. Definitely better than Drake's uncle's solo hit! 37: YOU’RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY – TONY ORLANDO & DAWN (debut) - This Motown classic was given a great makeover, IMO. Really, the song did not sound much different than the original. Given your description, I feel I probably won't have to "wtf did this sound like again". Still, I haven't listened to the show yet but I'd bet the original would be better (as it was for a lot of karaoke-style remakes in the 70's.) 36: DO IT ANY WAY YOU WANNA – PEOPLES CHOICE (38) - This one was quite repetitive. Not a fan of it at all. Nice song, not surprised you don't like the "roof-raising R&B" 35: THEME FROM “JAWS” – JOHN WILLIAMS (37) - This song was battling it out with Dickie Goodman's' novelty song from the movie, as both songs debuted on the chart the previous week. The latter, however, was clearly winning. I liked both songs about the same - in different ways, of course. A classic movie theme, really gives me the chills! 34: CAROLINA IN THE PINES – MICHAEL MURPHEY (36) - One of two Top 40 hits for Murphey in 1975. I slightly prefer "Wildfire", but this one is a great one as well! Agreed, the "Blue Sky, Night Thunder" album was overall pretty good, this included. 33: LADY BLUE – LEON RUSSELL (35) - I remember Leon most from the Bangla Desh benefit album from earlier in the decade, on which he sang a few songs. As for this song, it was a great one - nice and mellow. Decent enough song, R.I.P. 32: BAD BLOOD – NEIL SEDAKA (debut) - Ironic that the man Sedaka was tied with as the male singer with the most Top 40 hits in 1975 was singing back-up on this song. A few weeks later, they'd tie once again, as Elton would debut on the chart with "Island Girl". Great song, though I know not all agree as JessieLou finds this one to be very off key. 31: MIRACLES – JEFFERSON STARSHIP (34) - Marty Balin had taken over as lead singer at this point. This wasn't bad, but I preferred the two 1978 songs with him singing lead. I really like this one (one of my favourites of any of their incarnations), but I know JessieLou likes this one A LOT more - possibly her favourite song of all time, or at least one of them. 30: BLACK SUPERMAN/MUHAMMAD ALI – JOHNNY WAKELIN & THE KINSHASA BAND (21) - One of several one-hit wonders on this week's chart. The song was not bad, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. R.I.P. to the subject of this song I like this one, I can go either way on 70's novelty songs, but this is on the good end for me. 29: HOW SWEET IT IS (TO BE LOVED BY YOU) – JAMES TAYLOR (16) - I still hear this one from time to time on oldies stations - it is indeed a great one - very upbeat and positive sounding. Agreed - ironic that someone best known as a singer-songwriter had so many hits with cover songs! I really like this too, my favourite version of it that I know of. 28: GONE AT LAST – PAUL SIMON & PHOEBE SNOW (30) - With the fast beat and the Dixie Hummingbirds singing along, this sounds like an upbeat gospel choir tune. It's a great, energetic song! This was good but I prefer the other singles from this album. OPTIONAL EXTRA: HEAT WAVE - LINDA RONSTADT - She was definitely the queen of remakes (though I believe that, at this point, Aretha was still in the lead for the most Top 40 cover versions of previous hits) And in most cases, I tend to like her remakes more than the original. This is a close one but I'd say I prefer Linda's version. 27: BRAZIL – THE RITCHIE FAMILY (32) - This was a pretty good Philly music here, with an interesting remake of the big band classic from the 1940s. This was alright, not the best out there but I'd listen to it. 26: ROCKY – AUSTIN ROBERTS (28) - This song was pretty cheesy, but still a good song. Agreed. 25: IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE - TAVARES (27) - Well, as they say, third time's a charm, as this song, the week's #1 R&B song, was their third Top 40 hit and their first (and only) Top Ten. It was actually pretty good, considering I'm not generally a big fan of this kind of music. I really like this one myself, one of my favourites from them. 24: HOW LONG (BETCHA GOT A CHICK ON THE SIDE) – THE POINTER SISTERS (26) - Meh, I preferred Ace's Top Ten hit "How Long" from earlier in the year. That is all. I tend to prefer their 1979-86 hits - this was alright, but I do agree Ace's song was much better. 23: GAMES PEOPLE PLAY – THE SPINNERS (25) - Interesting story about how they unexpectedly won a talent contest (as the Domingos), but some imposters walked off with the prize. Oh well, the rightful winners of the prize likely had the last laugh, as the Spinners had a ton of chart success - this was their 13th out of a total of 17 Top 40 hits. Great song - one of their best ever, if not my absolute favourite from them. 22: THE PROUD ONE – THE OSMONDS (24) - This song reminds me a little of "Someday At Christmas" by Stevie Wonder. It was a good song, though I prefer a few others from them (Donny and Marie duets included). It doesn't compare to "One Bad Apple", "Soldier Of Love" or ESPECIALLY the legendary rock and rool anthem "Crazy Horses", but this was pretty decent. 21: DAISY JANE – AMERICA (23) - I've mentioned how much "Let's Wait Awhile" by Janet Jackson and "Heart Hotels" remind me of this song, and there is a third song but, for the life of me, I can't remember which one. Anyway, this is my second favorite of their three 1975 hits, behind "Sister Goldenhair". A fairly close second, I might add, because I really like the song. America had a lot of great songs during their career, and this is definitely one of them. Still, I prefer "Sister Golden Hair". 20: FEELINGS – MORRIS ALBERT (22) - This cheese factor indeed abounds in this song, but I've actually learned to like it better than I used to (a few years back, it always got "No. Just no" status, but not anymore). EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW GEEZER GET THIS FUNGUS AWAY FROM ME. Seriously, this dude can't sing and the song is so incredibly BORING! Easily one of my most hated songs of all time. 19: MR. JAWS – DICKIE GOODMAN (31) - This is the parody I mentioned back at #35. One of Goodman's famous break-in type songs that became his trademark. This song used brief clips of about a dozen songs from 1975, most of them from earlier in the year to "answer" comedic questions posed by voice actors. It was a good song, but I'd probably get tired of it if I heard the song over and over again (such was the case with the general public, as this song kind of came and went, which was somewhat typical of novelty songs like this. LOL, this is a fun one to listen to from time to time, as is most of his stuff. 18: I BELIEVE THERE’S NOTHING STRONGER THAN OUR LOVE – PAUL ANKA & ODIA COATES (20) - His fourth and final single with Odia Coates. It was pretty good, but I preferred his 1983 hit "Hold Me 'Til The Morning Comes", which was another team-up, with Peter Cetera, only he didn't receive label credit. No. Just no. 17: SOLITAIRE – THE CARPENTERS (18) -They had been charting for five years and were still going strong, with two Top Ten hits so far in 1975 and it looked like this one might follow suit, but it ran out of gas at #17. It was a great song, but I preferred their last hit before this one, "Only Yesterday". This is a nice one, but I think other covers of it might be just as good (I know Clay Aiken and Joe McElderry both covered it after this.) 16: DANCE WITH ME - ORLEANS (19) - They may have had only three Top 40 hits, but all three were great! I don't even know which of them is my favorite. Agreed, love all three of their hits. 15: GET DOWN TONIGHT – K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (4) - Well, this song wasted absolutely no time hitting #1, and it fell just as fast, spending nine weeks in the Top 40, an unusually short term for a #1 song. Its run on the R&R chart was much longer, where it spent nine weeks in the Top TEN! It was a good song - my favorite of their two #1 hits during 1975. Love this one! Just a feel-good disco classic that still sounds fantastic today. 14: THIRD RATE ROMANCE – THE AMAZING RHYTHM ACES (14) - Another one-hit wonder on this week's chart, but what a great song it was! Yeah, this was pretty good. OPTIONAL EXTRA: BLUE EYES CRYIN' IN THE RAIN - WILLIE NELSON - This was his first Top 40 hit. It wasn't bad, but I preferred his 80s hits. No. Just no. 13: AIN’T NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY – HELEN REDDY (17) - Like most of her songs, the cheese factor is definitely present, but compared to several of her more cringe-worthy songs, this one was actually a good song. Yeah, I don't mind this one - I'd take it over horrible crap like "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)" and "You And Me Against The World" any day! 12: THAT’S THE WAY OF THE WORLD – EARTH, WIND & FIRE (13) - Their second hit of the year and by far the best - as well as one of my favorites from them of all time! Anyone ever notice the similarity between this song and "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over" by Lenny Kravitz? Love this one, one of their best! And I do kinda hear the similarity now that you mention it. 11: BALLROOM BLITZ - SWEET (12) - Sorry, but I'm not a fan of this one at all. Great song, one of their best! Ironic that due to the shoutout at the start of the song, I know the names of all the band members EXCEPT the lead singer. 10: FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE – BAD COMPANY (11) - One of two Top Ten hits from them. It was a good one, IMO - still receives recurrent airplay today on oldies and classic rock stations. I like pretty much all of their big hits, this included. Great song! 9: WASTE DAYS AND WASTED NIGHTS – FREDDY FENDER (10) - Meh, I didn't care much for this one - his voice was kind of annoying. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW GEEZER GET IT AWAY FROM ME. Another dude who just couldn't sing! 8: FALLIN’ IN LOVE – HAMILTON, JOE FRANK & REYNOLDS (2) - This former #1 song was much better than the two remakes from the 1990s that I’ve heard (La Bouche and another one I remember hearing in 1995 - not sure who it was by, but it had rap in it). Love this one, another 70's soft rock classic! 7: RUN JOEY RUN – DAVID GEDDES (9) - No. Just no. Despite how overdramatic this is, I don't mind it (the Glee version, ironically enough, may have helped there!) 6: COULD IT BE MAGIC – BARRY MANILOW (7) - His third of many big hits. ased on the melody of Chopin's Prelude In C Minor. This song, based on the melody of Chopin's Prelude In C Minor, was by far my favorite of his three 1975 hits 1975 was easily my favourite year of his career, as three of my favourites of his were all hits in 1975. This was one of them - great song with an epic buildup! 5: FIGHT THE POWER PART 1 – THE ISLEY BROTHERS (6) - "I got knocked on the ground/With all this bullsh*t going down" At least that was what was heard on the first two weeks that this song was on the countdown! Even though this one was the roof-raising R&B music that I generally hate, this one was actually not bad. Great song - one of my favourite funk groups was on their best here! 4: I’M SORRY – JOHN DENVER (8) - Casey correctly predicted this song to go to #1 the following week. The song only stayed up there for a week, but after falling out, it spent quite awhile down in the runner-up position, which is cool, since I really like this song, as well as the flipside, "Calypso", which also started receiving airplay later on down the line. No. Just no. 3: AT SEVENTEEN – JANIS IAN (3) - The song wasn't bad, but quite overplayed IMO. I don't think that I need to remind y'all that my favorite songs from him are his two songs from 1987, do I? I think you have the wrong comment here Anyway, this song was really good, a nice introspective singer-songwriter tune, and I've also liked remakes by Jann Arden and Celine Dion. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THIS WILL BE - NATALIE COLE - It's impossible not to think of the eHarmony.com commercials when hearing the intro to this song. It's not bad, but I prefer many others from her. Yeah that kinda gives the song a new meaning. Great song - nice gospel feel to this (which shouldn't surprise me given her dad's origins in music!) 2: RHINESTONE COWBOY – GLEN CAMPBELL (1) - This was on its way to becoming one of the biggest songs of the entire year, and worthily so, as it was one of Campbell's best. Great song - my favourite from him. R.I.P. 1: FAME – DAVID BOWIE (5) - The song wasn't bad, but quite overplayed IMO. I don't think that I need to remind y'all that my favorite songs from him are his two songs from 1987, do I? He sure changed genres a lot in his career, and this song fit 70's radio perfectly. Great song - easily one of my favourites from him! As for Chicago... wasn't this around the time of their first greatest hits album? No word yet on what show will be. I have a suspicion that 1972 will be next week's "A" show. I'll tell you why. Many people here expected 9/17/77 to be played this week, but they went with another new show instead. You'd think it would be more logical for them to have run the 1977 show this week and 1975 next week. But 9/23/72 is also a new show and next week would be the right week for it, so that's why I'm predicting that to be the "A" show next week. The "B" show? I was thinking possibly 9'22/1979, but they don't usually do that year as the "B" show. It could be 9/24/1977, to make it up to us for skipping that year this week. 9/23/1978 would also be a good bet if not for the fact that it was a "B" show last year, so I'll go with 9/24/1977 as the "B" show - that is, if 9/23/1972 is, indeed, what Premiere decides to go with as the "A" show. I'm hoping to hear 1977 next week, would be a good time for it (I'd likely skip 1972.)
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Sept 23, 2017 23:30:09 GMT -5
September 23, 1978This was just before we started doing critiques three years ago, so it's a new recycled-from-last-year commentary! Falling off: Toby Beau - My Angel Baby (39) - good song, but rather faceless Eddie Money - Two Tickets To Paradise (38) - great song! One of his best, I'm surprised it wasn't a bigger hit as it's one of his most played today Pablo Cruise - Love Will Find A Way (37) - great song, one of their best! The Kinks - A Rock 'N Roll Fantasy (30) - wtf did this sound like again? Teddy Pendergrass - Close The Door (25) - this was alright but he had better 40. Dolly Parton - Heartbreaker (debut) - this was ok but I prefer most of her other hits 39. Meat Loaf - Paradise By The Dashboard Light (40) - good song, even if it's rather overplayed 38. Carly Simon & James Taylor - Devoted To You (debut) - I like this, but both artists have had better; it's easy to tell this is a remake of an oldie from the style of the song 37. Michael Johnson - Almost Like Being In Love (debut) - it's ok but I prefer his other hits 36. Steely Dan - Josie (Debut) - great song, like most of their stuff 35. Rolling Stones - Beast Of Burden (debut) - great song! One of their best 34. Walter Egan - Magnet And Steel (22) - great song! Shame it was his only hit 33. Rolling Stones - Miss You (20) - also a great song, 2 of their best are on this show 32. City Boy - 5-7-0-5 (36) - not bad but rather faceless 31. Crystal Gayle - Talking In Your Sleep (34) - it's ok but I prefer most of her other hits 30. Alicia Bridges - I Love The Nightlife (33) - great song, a disco classic! 29. The Who - Who Are You (35) - great song! One of their best 28. Captain & Tennille - You Never Done It Like That (32) - meh 27. The Cars - Just What I Needed (27) - great song! Also surprised this peaked so low as it's one of their most played these days 26. Billy Joel - She's Always A Woman (31) - great song, one of his best! Sometimes the simple songs like this are the most effective 25. Aerosmith - Come Together (29) - great song, one of my favourite Beatles remakes 24. Linda Ronstadt - Back In The USA (26) - great song! Songs like this are where her vocal skills really excelled 23. Frankie Valli - Grease (18) - great song, from a great soundtrack 22. Barbra Streisand - Love Theme From Eyes Of Laura Mars (23) - No. Just no. 21. Foxy - Get Off (28) - good song! LOL @ the club owner not wanting them to play this 20. Gerry Rafferty - Right Down The Line (24) - great song, one of his best! 19. Evelyn "Champagne" King - Shame (10) - great song! 18. Robin Gibb - Oh Darling (21) - it's alright, but the other songs from the Sgt. Pepper's soundtrack were better 17. Earth, Wind & Fire - Got To Get You Into My Life (9) - see what I said above, great remake here! 16. Kenny Loggins & Stevie Nicks - Whenever I Call You Friend (19) - great song! One of my favourites from both artists 15. Bob Seger - Hollywood Nights (17) - great song, one of his best upbeat songs 14. Anne Murray - You Needed Me (16) - great song! One of her best 13. Rick James - You And I (14) - great song, one of my favourite funk songs 12. Chris Rea - Fool If You Think It's OVer (12) - great song! 11. John Paul Young - Love Is In The Air (13) - good song, even if it's kinda overplayed 10. Little River Band - Reminiscing (15) - great song! One of their best 9. Nick Gilder - Hot Child In The City (11) - great song, also still good despite overplay 8. Foreigner - Hot Blooded (3) - great song, one of their best! 7. Boston - Don't Look Back (8) - great song! One of their best 6. John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John - Summer Nights (7) - great song, one of my favourites from Grease 5. Andy Gibb - An Everlasting Love (6) - great song, one of his best! 4. The Commodores - Three Times A Lady (2) - great song, as cheesy as it is 3. Olivia Newton-John - Hopelessly Devoted To You (4) - I like this but prefer the other Grease songs on the chart 2. Exile - Kiss You All Over (5) - great song! 1. A Taste Of Honey - Boogie Oogie Oogie (1) - great song, another disco classic! Chicago update: 4 weeks away from "Alive Again" on the Hot 100 JessieLou: Linda was #24, Carly was #38. Heart debuted at #79 with "Straight On". And while Grace had left Jefferson Starship, they'd release a greatest hits the following January. Next week: It was 1977 last week, will we get it again?
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Post by Hervard on Sept 24, 2017 22:13:50 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - September 23, 2017
This week's presentation - September 23, 1978
Droppers: MY ANGEL BABY - TOBY BEAU (39) - It was a group, not a solo male, like many people thought (such was the case with Pablo Cruise, who was also among this week's droppers). The song was pretty good. TWO TICKETS TO PARADISE - EDDIE MONEY (38) - During this song's chart run, they generally played a different version of this song than was usually heard on the radio (the single version, I would imagine). I remember hearing this song quite regularly back in the day. I liked it, but I preferred several others from the Money Man. LOVE WILL FIND A WAY - PABLO CRUISE (37) - Here is that song I mentioned earlier. I remember this one quite well from back in the day. A great song, though I slightly preferred "What'cha Gonna Do", from the previous summer. ROCK AND ROLL FANTASY - THE KINKS (30) - Their comeback Top 40 hit, after being absent from the chart since their Top Ten anthem "Lola". This song got as high as #30, but they'd be back about four and a half years later with what would become their biggest hit ever, "Come Dancing". As for this song, it was pretty good, but I preferred Bad Company's song of the same title from the following summer. CLOSE THE DOOR - TEDDY PENDERGRASS (25) - This was pretty much your typical old school R&B. It was pleasant, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to.
40: HEARTBREAKER – DOLLY PARTON (debut) - Her third Top 40 single to chart in 1978 (including "Here You Come Again"). I preferred that song, but prefer this one over "Two Doors Down". All three are good songs, though. 39: PARADISE BY DASHBOARD LIGHTS – MEAT LOAF (40) - This one was kinda weird - pretty much several different songs in one. 38: DEVOTED TO YOU – CARLY SIMON & JAMES TAYLOR (debut) - I wonder if the Everly Brothers were inspired by the church hymn "For The Beauty Of The Earth" when they wrote this song, since it sounds so much like it. I don't remember the original so I cannot fairly compare the two. 37: ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE – MICHAEL JOHNSON (debut) - This song had sort of a smooth jazz sound to it. It was good, but I preferred his other two Top 40 hits. 36: JOSIE – STEELY DAN (debut) - This was a typical Steely Dan song with their traditional jazz/rock sound. It was a good one, but I preferred a few others from them. 35: BEAST OF BURDEN – THE ROLLING STONES (debut) - Well you better never leave my pizza burning, especially if I'm paying for it! But seriously, this song wasn't bad - I definitely prefer it over their recent #1 hit, which is a few songs ahead. 34: MAGNET AND STEEL – WALTER EGAN (22) - Stevie Nicks, who this song was said to be about, was heard singing back-up on this song, which somehow, I associate more with the fall of 1978 instead of the summer (probably because that was when WLS played the song; it peaked on their survey in late October). I liked this song, but oreferred Egan's "Fool Moon Fire", a mid-charter in 1983. 33: MISS YOU – THE ROLLING STONES (20) - This was said other Rolling Stones song, which I was not a big fan of by any means. I did like their other disco song, which would hit the Top Five two years later (and was heard on last week's 80's "B" show). 32: 5-7-0-5 – CITY BOY (36) - They apparently chose to omit the prefix from the number, to spare people who happened to have such a number all the nuisance calls. Anyway, this song wasn't anything I'd go out of my way to listen to. 31: TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP – CRYSTAL GAYLE (34) - She was mainly a country artist, but she did have a handful of songs that crossed over to the Pop charts. This was my favorite of the four that hit the Top 40 - a great song indeed! 30: I LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE (DISCO ROUND) – ALICIA BRIDGES (33) - As we all know, I'm not a big disco fan, but this one is an exception - in fact, it is one of my favorite songs on this week's chart. There's just something about it that I really like. It sure got a lot of mileage on the charts - debuted two weeks before, but wouldn't peak until Christmastime. 29: WHO ARE YOU – THE WHO (35) - What I really want to know is who is the person whose idea it was to include the falsetto for the chorus of this song? It is supremely annoying and negates any redeeming qualities the song might have. But that's just me; the song did hit the Top 20 and still gets a lot of recurrent airplay on classic rock stations today, so it's all good. I just don't care for the song, that's all. 28: YOU NEVER DONE IT LIKE THAT – THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (32) - Of course, love didn't keep them together and they got divorced several years back. As for this song, it definitely wasn't their best, but it's still better than the barf-inducing "Muskrat Love" (which I imagine we'll hear on a fall, 1976 show in the next month or so). OPTIONAL EXTRA: DOUBLE VISION - FOREIGNER - The second single from the album of the same title. This song is in a horse race with "Blue Morning, Blue Day" as my favorite song from the album. 27: JUST WHAT I NEEDED – THE CARS (27) - This song has aged quite well. Given all the airplay it receives on oldies and rock stations, I'm surprised that it peaked so low. 26: SHE’S ALWAYS A WOMAN – BILLY JOEL (31) - The final release from The Stranger. This was possibly my favorite of them, but it would be in a horse race, as all four singles from that album were great, IMO. 25: COME TOGETHER - AEROSMITH (29) - A remake of a Beatles classic, and it doesn't sound much different than the original. Because of that, I like both versions about the same. 24: BACK IN THE U.S.A. – LINDA RONSTADT (26) - This is a similar situation to "Devoted To You", as I can't say whether I prefer this or Chuck Berry's version of this song, since I've never heard the latter (that I know of). Linda's version was so/so, but definitely not one of her best. 23: GREASE – FRANKIE VALLI (18) - Though I still prefer the other charted songs from Grease, I've actually found myself liking the song a little better than I did previously. 22: LOVE THEME FROM EYES OF LAURA MARS – BARBRA STREISAND (23) - She was six weeks away from debuting with her whiny duet with Neil Diamond. This song peaked at #21, which was a shame, since I thought it was a great one - reminded me a little of "Wildflower" by Skylark. 21: GET OFF – FOXY (28) - Not a huge fan of this one, since it's the roof-raising R&B of which I'm not a huge fan. Interesting story about how the owner of the club that they played at got pissed at them for playing this song, despite his orders not to. 20: RIGHT DOWN THE LINE – GERRY RAFFERTY (24) - This was his second chart entry, as well as his second highest charting song. Of the songs of his that I'm familiar with, this would be my favorite. Too bad they butchered the heck out of this one. 19: SHAME – EVELYN “CHAMPAGNE” KING (10) - Her first of four Top 40 hits. It's not bad, but my favorite song from her is "Love Come Down", which hit the Top 20 in the fall of 1982. 18: OH DARLIN’ – ROBIN GIBB (21) - The second of three hits on this week's chart from the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band soundtrack. This one wasn't bad, but I preferred his other Top 40 hit from four years later, entitled "Boys Do Fall In Love". 17: GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE – EARTH, WIND & FIRE (9) - And right here is the third song from that same soundtrack. This was also the most successful of those songs, having peaked at #9 the week before (as well as this week's #1 soul song). This was an interesting rendition of the Beatles classic. Of course the original was the best, but this one was pretty good too. 16: WHENEVER I CALL YOU “FRIEND” – KENNY LOGGINS & STEVIE NICKS (19) - YES!! This is possibly my favorite song on this week's chart - definitely one of my favorites from both artists involved! 15: HOLLYWOOD NIGHTS – BOB SEGER (17) - I don't remember this song from its chart run as I remember hearing it on the Stranger In Town album, which my Mom played all the time back in 1979. It's a pretty good song, but the only single from the album that I really liked was "Still The Same". There were several other songs on the album that I felt should have been released as singles. 14: YOU NEEDED ME – ANNE MURRAY (16) - Murray's only #1 hit on the Hot 100. It was a rather slow climber - it wouldn't hit the top until three months later (ironically, the song it knocked out of the top spot held the record at the time for THE slowest climb to #1). As for my opinion of this song - well, it was during her heyday, which started with this song, so I liked it a lot - one of my all-time faves from her! 13: YOU AND I – RICK JAMES (14) - Meh, nothing special - sounds like most of the disco material from the late-70s, by a man who had the most success on the R&B chart. He he did have a handful of Top 40 hits, though, and this was the most successful of them, peaking at #13. His second biggest hit, "Super Freak" was heard on this week's 80s "A" show, from 1981. 12: FOOL IF YOU THINK IT’S OVER – CHRIS REA (12) - Here's a good song I remember quite well. About ten years after he charted with this, he recorded a new version, which did not do justice to the original at all. He also had an AC hit in the summer of 1989, entitled "On The Beach". That is actually my favorite of the two hits, although this one was a good one as well. 11: LOVE IS IN THE AIR – JOHN PAUL YOUNG (13) - Another disco song that I don't really mind, though nowhere near as good as the Alicia Bridges song, IMO. 10: REMINISCING – THE LITTLE RIVER BAND (15) - The first of two Top Ten hits from their album Sleeper Catcher. It's a great one but, of course, I preferred "Lady". 9: HOT CHILD IN THE CITY – NICK GILDER (11) - Of course, this song was about to set the record for the longest climb to the top. It was a good one. It's a good thing that the show extended to four hours the following week, as they butchered both this one and the Little River Band song. 8: HOT BLOODED - FOREIGNER (3) - Of course, this song's intro is very similar to the Pablo Cruise song that falls out this week. Of their three singles from Double Vision, this would be my least favorite, but it's a great song nevertheless. 7: DON’T LOOK BACK - BOSTON LDD/6: SUMMER NIGHTS – JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (7) - A very appropriate song for the LDD, as it was about a summer romance. 5: AN EVERLASTING LOVE – ANDY GIBB (6) - At first, this one looked like it was going to be another #1 for him, but as soon as it hit the Top Ten, it was unable to climb more than one spot at a time. But it was a Top Five hit, so that's cool. This was definitely one of my favorites from him - it's a close race between this and "I Just Want To Be Your Everything". 4: THREE TIMES A LADY – THE COMMODORES (2) - On the corresponding R&R chart, this song was dropping out of the top spot after an impressive six weeks on top. The song became a very popular wedding song (and it did get a few LDD requests, as I recall). Good reason, as it's a great song - one of their best! 3: HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (4) - As I've mentioned before, this was a special song between me and my ex-girlfriend, so it's been sort of hard to listen to, but you know what, we never really listened to it that often, so I guess it's not as bad as it could have been, and I have been able to appreciate the natural beauty of this song more and more as the years have passed (especially since our paths crossed in May of last year and she and I actually had a brief conversation, letting me know that we were at least back on speaking terms again). 2: KISS YOU ALL OVER - EXILE (5) - This song was pretty good, but after the situation in the movie "Happy Gilmore" involving this song, I've never been able to look at this song in the same light ever again 1: BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE – A TASTE OF HONEY (1) - This is another one of my favorite disco songs. Glad that this one made it to #1! I always thought that the bridge of the song (where they sing 'Get down, Boogie Oogie Oogie x 3) would have worked great for the chorus. Too bad they cut out the second verse and skipped right to said bridge. You don't do that with a #1 song!
Coming up next week - we jump back in time to exactly a year earlier. Yes, you read right - we actually get a 1977 show next week, for the first time since April. I think it's a pretty safe bet we don't hear any songs that were on that April show!
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Sept 29, 2017 12:45:23 GMT -5
September 24, 1977Time for recycled commentary from 3 years ago! Falling off: Carole King - Hard Rock Cafe (30) - wtf did this sound like again? Heart - Barracuda (25) - great song! Shame to see it fall off Crosby, Stills & Nash - Just A Song Before I Go (22) - good song, but I prefer their late 60's/early 70's hits The Commodores - Easy (17) - great song! Shame it fell off 40. Alan Parsons Project - I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You (debut) - I like this but prefer their 80's hits 39. Eric Carmen - She Did It (debut) - similarly, this was good, but I prefer some others from him 38. Crystal Gayle - Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue (debut) - good song, definitely one of her best! Extra: The Spinners - Rubber Band Man - great song! One of their best 37. Little River Band - Help Is On The Way (debut) - I like this but prefer several others from them 36. John Williams - Star Wars (10) - good song, one of the most iconic movie themes ever 35. Stevie Wonder - Another Star (38) - I like this but I prefer his #1's from the same year 34. Dorothy Moore - I Believe You (36) - well, at least it isn't awful like "Misty Blue"! 33. Leif Garrett - Surfin' USA (39) - cheesy remake, I prefer the original 32. Firefall - Just Remember I Love You (37) - good song, definitely one of their best! 31. Ted Nugent - Cat Scratch Fever (34) - great song! A definite classic rock staple 30. Leo Sayer - How Much Love (29) - good song, but much like with Stevie Wonder, I prefer his #1's from 1977 29. Kenny Rogers - Daytime Friends (32) - No. Just no. 28. Ronnie McDowell - The King Is Gone (40) - it's ok, very sad though as it's about Elvis's death 27. George Benson - The Greatest Love Of All (31) - I like this but Whitney Houston did it better 26. Paul Nicholas - Heaven On The Seventh Floor (33) - good song! 25. Sanford-Townsend Band - Smoke From A Distant Fire (9) - also a good song! 24. Steve Miller Band - Jungle Love (26) - this is good, but one of my least favourites from them 23. Peter Frampton - Signed, Sealed, Delivered (27) - I like this but prefer Stevie Wonder's version 22. Ronnie Milsap - It Was Almost Like A Song (24) - meh, he was better in the 80's 21. Debby Boone - You Light Up My Life (35) - No. Just no. 20. Rita Coolidge - Higher And Higher (11) - I like this but Jackie Wilson did it better 19. Commodores - Brick House (28) - great song! One of their best 18. Elvis Presley - Way Down (21) - I like this, sad that this was his last hit released while he was alive At least he came back in remixed form with "A Little Less Conversation" in 2002. 17. B.J. Thomas - Don't Worry Baby (19) - it's ok but much like with Leif Garrett's song, the Beach Boys did it better Extra: Captain & Tennille - Love Will Keep Us Together - their only good song 16. Donna Summer - I Feel Love (23) - good song, but I prefer her 1978-80 stuff 15. Heatwave - Boogie Nights (18) - good song, nice disco tune 14. Johnny Rivers - Swayin' To The Music (16) - good song, definitely one of his best 13. Stephen Bishop - On And On (15) - great song! Likely my favourite from him 12. Carly Simon - Nobody Does It Better (20) - great song! One of the best James Bond themes 11. James Taylor - Handy Man (4) - meh, he's had many better 10. Foreigner - Cold As Ice (12) - great song! One of his best Extra: Wild Cherry - Play That F***ing Music - great song! One of the best one hit wonders of the 70's 9. Shaun Cassidy - That's Rock And Roll (14) - another cheesy teen idol but I like this 8. Meco - Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band (13) - great song! For some reason, the main theme from Star Wars didn't sound too odd as a disco song 7. Electric Light Orchestra - Telephone Line (8) - good song, but I prefer others from them 6. Andy Gibb - I Just Want To Be Your Everything (1) - great song! While this was the #1 song of the year, I do feel some others would've been worthier 5. Brothers Johnson - Strawberry Letter 23 (7) - good song, for me the best version of this song 4. KC & the Sunshine Band - Keep It Comin' Love (6) - good song, but I prefer their first four #1's 3. Fleetwood Mac - Don't Stop (5) - great song! One of their best 2. The Floaters - Float On (2) - I used to hate this but I don't really mind this now 1. The Emotions - Best Of My Love (3) - great song! I guess it was so good it had to go back to #1 Chicago update: They debuted at #70 with "Baby, What A Big Surprise". JessieLou - Linda Ronstadt was #64 with "Blue Bayou". "Barracuda" fell to #46. Prediction for next week: I'll say either 1971 or 1975, possibly both.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Oct 6, 2017 11:12:55 GMT -5
October 9, 1976Falling off: Eric Carmen - Sunrise (34) - wtf did this sound like again? Ohio Players - Who'd She Coo (27) - it's alright but I prefer their #1's Bee Gees - You Should Be Dancing (22) - great song! One of her best Lou Rawls - You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine (21) - great song! A definite soul standard 40. Barry Manilow - This One's For You (debut) - No. Just no. 39. Peter Frampton - Do You Feel Like We Do (debut) - great song! I usually like his stuff, this is no exception 38. Norman Connors - You Are My Starship (39) - it's ok 37. Commobores - Just To Be Close To You (debut) - No. Just no. 36. John Denver - Like A Sad Song (36) - No. Just no. 35. The Spinners - Rubber Band Man (40) - great song! Probably my favourite from them 34. Flash Cadillac - Did You Boogie With Your Baby (38) - it's ok 33. Elton John & Kiki Dee - Don't Go Breaking My Heart (28) - great song! Still love this 32. Craptain & Tennille - Muskrat Hate (debut) - No. Just no. I'm awaiting JessieLou's rant about this, so let's just tell these divorced geezers to take their muskrat fungus somewhere else for now! 31. The Richie Family - The Best Disco In Town (37) - it's ok 30. Brothers Johnson - Get The Funk Out Of My Face (31) - not bad, but "Strawberry Letter 23" and "Stomp" are better 29. Beach Boys - It's OK (29) - the title describes how I feel about this song - I prefer their 60's stuff and "Kokomo" 28. Barry De Vorzon & Perry Botkin Jr. - Nadia's Theme (35) - good song, but I prefer Mary J. Blige's sampling of this. Seems like Mary J. Blige is a 70's whore, she samples/remakes A LOT of 70's music. 27. Firefall - You Are The Woman (33) - great song, likely my favourite from them 26. Diana Ross - One Love In My Lifetime (25) - good song, but she's had better 25. War - Summer (7) - good song, but they had better 24. ABBA - Fernando (30) - great song! One of my favourites from them 23. Bee Gees - Love So Right (32) - good song, but I prefer their dropper 22. Jefferson Starship - With Your Love (15) - great song! I'm sure JessieLou was delighted to hear Grace Slick on here 21. Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald (26) - good song, and interesting real-life story that inspired it 20. KISS - Beth (24) - great song, even if it's totally different from their usual hard rock style 19. Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear The Reaper (23) - great song! I like both of their top 40 hits 18. Silver - Wham Bam (16) - good song! 17. Bay City Rollers - I Only Want To Be With You (19) - good song, but I prefer the Samantha Fox version 16. Heart - Magic Man (20) - great song! Another JessieLou favourite, still remains a favourite of mine too 15. Fleetwood Mac - Say You Love Me (11) - great song! I like most of their hits, this is no exception 14. Linda Ronstadt - That'll Be The Day (17) - great song! She definitely did Buddy Holly justice here 13. Steve Miller Band - Rock'n Me (18) - great song, though slightly overplayed 12. Earth, Wind & Fire - Get Away (13) - good song, though I prefer others from them 11. Dr. Hook - A Little Bit More (12) - I like this but prefer some others a little bit more. 10. Hall & Oates - She's Gone (14) - great song! I prefer their 80's stuff though 9. KC & the Sunshine Band - Shake Your Booty (9) - great song! One of their best! 8. England Dan & John Ford Coley - I'd Really Love To See You Tonight (2) - great song, definitely my favourite from them though I like a few others 7. Orleans - Still The One (10) - great song! Also my favourite from them 6. Cliff Richard - Devil Woman (6) - great song! My favourite from him too! 5. Chicago - If You Leave Me Now (8) - great song! Definitely one of their best, glad this hit #1 4. Rick Dees - Disco Duck (4) - great song! I was hoping that we'd hear the week AFTER this so Casey could introduce his future countdown rival at #1 It's hilarious how Rick always made fun of this on his show too 3. Boz Scaggs - Lowdown (3) - good song, but I prefer a few others from him, most notably "Lido Shuffle" 2. Wild Cherry - Play That F***ing Music (1) - great song! One of my favourite 70's one hit wonders 1. Walter Murphy - A Fifth Of Beethoven (3) - I like this but it's odd hearing a Beethoven classic in disco style. Clearly it worked then as it was #1! Chicago update: They were #5. Prediction for next week: For some reason I think they will go with 1974.
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Post by Hervard on Oct 7, 2017 12:30:53 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - October 7, 2017 This week's presentation - October 9, 1976 DROPPERS: SUNRISE - ERIC CARMEN (34) - I vaguely remember this one - it was pretty good, but I preferred his other two hits from earlier that year. WHO'D SHE COO - THE OHIO PLAYERS (27) - Meh, no big loss. I think we all know why I don't care much for this song... YOU SHOULD BE DANCING - THE BEE GEES (22) - This was one of two songs responsible for blocking the above song from the top spot. This song was so/so, IMO, but I preferred other hits from them, especially from Saturday Night Fever. YOU'LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER LOVE LIKE MINE - LOU RAWLS (21) - Darn, we just barely missed hearing this one (as it was at #41 this week). This song just missed hitting #1, which is a shame, since this was a great song! At least it did hit the Top Five and was Rawls' biggest hit ever. 40: THIS ONE'S FOR YOU - BARRY MANILOW (debut) - I'm surprised that Budweiser didn't use this for their commercials back in the 70s (after all, Barry would only have to change one word). Like most of Barry Manilow's songs, I liked it a lot, only I felt that this one was underrated. 39: DO YOU FEEL LIKE WE DO - PETER FRAMPTON (debut) - I tuned in late, so I don't know how much of this song was played, but usually, AT40 showed no mercy when editing this song. Most of the time, it couldn't have been much, if any, longer than three minutes. Of course, the entire single version is more than twice that long (and the album version - twice as long as that!) Anyway, I never used to like this song, but now, I think it's great - has a very distinct bassline. 38: YOU ARE MY STARSHIP - NORMAN CONNORS (39) - A typical 70s slow jam, but I liked it - nice and relaxing. Sounds like something George Benson might do. 37: JUST TO BE CLOSE TO YOU - COMMODORES (debut) - Meh, not a big fan of this one. They didn't really get good until the following year, even with their ballads. 36: LIKE A SAD SONG - JOHN DENVER (36) - He was beginning to burn out at this point, but he was sure a big success earlier in the 70s - especially 1975, when he was the most successful male artist. However, that success pretty much ended in 1975, as, after his double-sided hit "I'm Sorry/Calypso", he would never again hit the Top Ten, and by now, he was done even hitting the Top 30. As for this song, I thought it was pretty good, but generally preferred his earlier material. 35: RUBBER-BAND MAN - THE SPINNERS (40) - What, does he shoot rubberbands at unsuspecting victims? But seriously, this song's OK, but definitely far from being my favorite song from them. 34: DID YOU BOOGIE WITH YOUR BABY - FLASH CADILLAC AND THE CONTINENTAL KIDS (38) - Great song! That is, if you’re into R&B disco, which, unfortunately, I’m not. But I realize that a lot of people are, so they probably like this song - and really, more power to them. It just doesn't do anything for me. 33: DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART - ELTON JOHN & KIKI DEE (28) - This song wasted absolutely no time hitting #1, but didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave the Top 40, as its drop was rather slow. As a result of its tenacity, the song was the second most popular song of 1976, behind "Silly Love Songs" by Wings. Of course, I think we all know that I prefer this one, right? Too bad Casey faded this one out during the instrumental bridge, before the final chorus. 32: MUSKRAT LOVE - THE CAPTAIN AND TENILLE (debut) - BLEGH!! The song is bad enough, but must they try to give us a visual during the bridge with those disgusting sound effects? Yes, muskrats f**k one another - just like pretty much any other animal! We get it! OK, I'm done with my rant - now on with the countdown. 31: THE BEST DISCO IN TOWN - THE RICHIE FAMILY (37) - Stars on 45 were the ones that kicked off the medley crazy proper, but there were a few of them in the 70s as well, including this one, a collection of pop and R&B hits. It was a good one. 30: GET THE FUNK OUT OF MY FACE - THE BROTHERS JOHNSON (31) - See #33. 29: IT'S OK - THE BEACH BOYS (29) - The title pretty much matches my opinion of the song. I preferred their Top Ten hit, "Rock And Roll Music" from earlier in the year, as well as 28: NADIA'S THEME (THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS) - BARRY DE VORZIN & PERRY BOTKIN, JR & (35) - A great chill-out type song. I never knew that the music from this song OPTIONAL EXTRA: MORE THAN A FEELING - BOSTON - This song was a week away from debuting way up at #24. Not bad for a brand-new group. No wonder their debut album sold so many copies and AOR stations played just about every song from the album on the radio. This was definitely one of my favorite songs from Boston. 27: YOU ARE THE WOMAN - FIREFALL (33) - Oddly enough, this, Firefall's first hit, was their only Top Ten. They had two songs that just barely missed, however. This was a great song, but I preferred one of the near-misses, "Just Remember I Love You". 26: ONE LOVE IN MY LIFETIME - DIANA ROSS (25) - Well, I do prefer this over her second of two #1 songs during 1976, but I do prefer many others from her, such as her first #1 from this year. 25: SUMMER - WAR (7) - Looks like everyone realized that summer was indeed over, as this song took quite a dive this week. Of course, I like this song at any time of year. 24: FERNANDO - ABBA (30) - The beginning of this song reminds me of "El Condor Pasa" by Simon & Garfunkel. This is definitely one of my favorite songs by Abba, and it did not seem to be quite as edited as it usually is, IIRC. 23: LOVE SO RIGHT - THE BEE GEES (32) - This song was moving up the chart rather quickly and looked like it might be another #1 like "You Should Be Dancing", but not quite. It did peak at #3, which is good, too. This was one of my favorite songs from the Brothers Gibb. 22: WITH YOUR LOVE - JEFFERSON STARSHIP (15) - A high point in the show for our friend JessieLou. This one sounded very much like their big hit "Miracles", from the year before. I liked it, but I preferred their two 1978 hits when Marty Balin was still lead singer. 21: THE WRECK OF THE EDMOND FITZGERALD - GORDON LIGHTFOOT (26) - A true story about an ore freighter that was caught in a fierce storm in Lake Superior the year before, and ultimately sunk, killing all 29 crewmen on board. They edited this song, as usual, cutting from the verse about the wreck to the one about the memorial for the ship's crew. As depressing of a story as it is, I like the song - one of my favorite of his Top 40 hits. 20: BETH - KISS (24) - They may be more known for their hard rock songs, but their two Top Ten hits were ballads, and those are among my favorites from them. I like this song and "Forever" about the same. 19: DON'T FEAR THE REAPER - BLUE OYSTER CULT (23) - A classic rock staple here. The one that radio usually plays features the instrumental bridge, but it was cut out in this song. 18: WHAM BAM - SILVER (16) - Track 11 on Volume 2 of Barry Scott Presents: Lost 45s of the 70's & 80's, a CD I've listened to many a time, so I've heard this song many times as a result. It's a good one! 17: I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU - BAY CITY ROLLERS (19) - The first of two remakes of this song to make the Top 40. The second one came in early 1989 for Samantha Fox. I like both of them about the same. 16: MAGIC MAN - HEART (20) - Another high point for JessieLou! This was their second Top 40 hit, and it made the Top Ten, unlike the first. Both songs still get regular airplay on classic rock and oldies stations (and I remember both from back in the day, since WLS played them constantly). 15: SAY YOU LOVE ME - FLEETWOOD MAC (11) - Their self-titled album had been out for over a year and would finally hit #1 on the album chart a few weeks later, setting a record for the slowest climb to #1 on that chart. As for this song, I thought it was good, though I slightly preferred "Rhiannon". OPTIONAL EXTRA: I NEVER CRY - ALICE COOPER - Like Kiss, Cooper was more famous for his hard rockers, but he did release a few ballads - in fact, this was the second of three in a row. My favorite was "Only Women", and I'm not sure if I prefer this one or "You And Me" as my second favorite. 14: THAT'LL BE THE DAY - LINDA RONSTADT (17) - Their self-titled album had been out for over a year and would finally hit #1 on the album chart a few weeks later, setting a record for the slowest climb to #1 on that chart. As for this song, I thought it was good, though I slightly preferred "Rhiannon". 13: ROCKIN' ME - STEVE MILLER BAND (18) - Another one I remember from back in the day! Glad this one got to sneak in a week at the top before Rod Stewart began his marathon run up there. 12: GETAWAY - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (13) - Indeed, one of the biggest R&B acts of the 1970s! Though this wasn't quite as good as "That's The Way Of The World" and "September", it was still a good song nevertheless. 11: A LITTLE BIT MORE - DR. HOOK (12) - Meh, this used to be one of my favorite songs from them, but for some reason, such is not the case anymore. Give me "Better Love Next Time" any day! 10: SHE'S GONE - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (14) - Cry me a river, guys! 9: SHAKE YOUR BOOTY - KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND (9) - Wow, kind of odd that this song was pausing (and it actually moved back up the following week, despite being on its way down and having been on the chart for so long). This song wasn't bad, but it was my least favorite of their three songs up to this point. 8: I'D REALLY LOVE TO SEE YOU TONIGHT - ENGLAND DAN & JOHN FORD COLEY (2) - In the beginning, it looked like this song might hit #1, but was shut out of the top by "Play That Funky Music", which was a shame, since this was a great song - my favorite of their six Top 40 hits. 7: STILL THE ONE - ORLEANS (10) - They had three Top 20 hits, and I really liked all three of them about the same, but this one would be my favorite by a thin margin over the other two. 6: DEVIL WOMAN - CLIFF RICHARD (6) - This song was charting at an appropriate time of the year, due to its references to Halloween characters, such as black cats and witches (and back then, many kids dressed as devils - a costume that's generally frowned upon anymore). This song was pretty good, but I generally preferred his 80s hits. 5: IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW - CHICAGO (8) - Casey correctly predicted this song becoming their biggest hit ever, an honor that was currently held by "Just You 'N Me", which had peaked at #4, a spot lower than their highest peaking song, "Saturday In The Park", but it spent a month longer in the Top 40). This was a song I heard at least once a day back in the fall of 1976! But I don't think I ever got tired of it. Has a very haunting melody to it (so I guess it was fitting that it would hit #1 on Halloween weekend). 4: DISCO DUCK - RICK DEES (4) - OK, how in the world did this get to #1? Oh yeah, disco was all the rage back in 1976. Whatever... 3: LOWDOWN - BOZ SCAGGS (5) - He had a few low charters in the early-70s and a minor Top 40 hit earlier in 1976, but this is that song that really put him on the map. The song wasn't bad, but I preferred most of his other hits that charted after this. OPTIONAL EXTRA: YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A STAR (TO BE IN MY SHOW) - MARILYN McCOO & BILLY DAVIS, JR - This was the very first #1 song of 1977. It was a pretty good song, but I prefer many other songs on this week's chart. 2: PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC - WILD CHERRY (1) - Ever since Vanilla Ice went and messed up this song in early 1991, I never was able to look at this song in the same light ever again! 1: A 5TH OF BEETHOVEN - THE WALTER MURPHY BAND (3) - This was an interesting disco version of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. One of the most successful instrumentals of all time. Coming up next week: I'm predicting something from the early half of the 1970s - possibly 10/19/74 paired with 10/16/71, as @wahoo mentioned over in the AT40: The 70s thread.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Oct 14, 2017 0:57:00 GMT -5
Time to recycle my replies from 4 years ago! So today I discovered that my local oldies station, Sunny FM, airs AT40: The 70's. THANK YOU FreakyFlyBry AND Hervard FOR HIDING THIS FROM ME. GOD. October 18, 1975 Off: Idk According to Hervard's post from the AT40 boards, they were: HOW LONG (BETCHA GOT A CHICK ON THE SIDE) - POINTER SISTERS (35) - wtf did this sound like again? COULD IT BE MAGIC - BARRY MANILOW (31) - I usually don't like him, but this is a huge exception, as somehow, I actually love this. One of his best! AT SEVENTEEN - JANIS IAN (28) - Good song! GONE AT LAST - PAUL SIMON & PHOEBE SNOW (23) - wtf did this sound like again? 40: THE AGONY AND THE ECSTACY - SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES - wtf did this sound like again It was alright, but he's had many better. 39: JUST TOO MANY PEOPLE - MELISSA MANCHESTER - wtf did this sound like again It was alright, but I prefer "Midnight Blue" and "You Should Hear How She Talks About You". 38: NIGHTS ON BROADWAY - THE BEE GEES - wtf did this sound like again This was good, but I prefer most of their other 70's hits. 37: WASTED DAYS AND WASTED NIGHTS - FREDDIE FENDER - wtf did this sound like again No. Just no. 36: ISLAND GIRL - ELTON JOHN - good but not one of his best Great song! I do agree he's had better though. 35: THERE GOES ANOTHER LOVE SONG - THE OUTLAWS - wtf did this sound like again It was okay but nothing overly memorable. 34: SWEET STICKY THING - THE OHIO PLAYERS - wtf did this sound like again They've definitely had better, such as "Love Rollercoaster". But this wasn't bad. 33: BLUE EYES CRYIN' IN THE RAIN - WILLIE NELSON - EWWWWWWWW GEEZER Yeah, this wasn't very good. 32: RUN JOEY RUN - DAVID GEDDES - wtf did this sound like again Glee-TASTIC! It was because of Glee that I discovered this - good song! 31: SKY HIGH - JIGSAW - love it Yeah, this was a good one. 30: ROCKIN' ALL OVER THE WORLD - JOHN FOGERTY - wtf did this sound like again Not bad, but I prefer his CCR hits. 29: I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU - ART GARFUNKEL - wtf did this sound like again Not bad, but I prefer his Simon & Garfunkel hits (one of which would make the chart by the end of the year). 28: BORN TO RUN - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - overrated. Love it! One of my favourites on the chart. 27: RHINESTONE COWBOY - GLEN CAMPBELL - meh Great song! Glad it made it to #1! 26: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES - ESTHER PHILLIPS - wtf did this sound like again Nothing special. 25: YOU - GEORGE HARRISON - wtf did this sound like again It was alright but I prefer many others from him. 24: S.O.S.- ABBA - wtf did this sound like again Great song! I usually like their stuff, this is no exception. 23: LOW-RIDER - WAR - horrible. reminds me of the George Lopez show which is also horrible. I love this! One of their best! 22: CAROLINA IN THE PINES - MICHAEL MURPHY - wtf did this sound like again Not quite as good as "Wildfire" but it was alright. 21: THE WAY THAT I WANT TO TOUCH YOU - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE - so does every song from the Craptain & Tennille have an incredibly disturbing song title? First 'Do That To Me One More Time' and now this. No. Just no. 20: THIS WILL BE - NATALIE COLE - meh, not a fan Good song - possibly my favourite from her, which says a lot as I like her 80's comeback. 19: LADY BLUE - LEON RUSSELL - wtf did this sound like again It was alright but nothing special. 18: DO IT ANY WAY YOU WANNA - PEOPLES CHOICE - wtf did this sound like again Again, nothing special here. 17: SOMETHING BETTER TO DO - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN - wtf did this sound like again This was alright, but she had many better. 16: MR. JAWS - DICKIE GOODMAN - wtf did this sound like again Hilarious use of samples from popular songs of the time all to capitalize on the success of Jaws! Still, I wouldn't want to hear this too often. 15: ROCKY - AUSTIN ROBERTS - wtf did this sound like again As I recall, this was pretty good. 14: HEATWAVE - LINDA RONSTADT - wtf did this sound like again Just like the Martha & the Vandellas version, just not quite as good. 13: BRAZIL - THE RICHIE FAMILY - wtf did this sound like again Nothing special. 12: FAME - DAVID BOWIE - I like it Same here! Always liked this. 11: IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE - TAVARES - wtf did this sound like again This was pretty good for 70's R&B stuff. 10: WHO LOVES YOU - THE FOUR SEASONS - meh I prefer their next single (which, of course, got to #1), but this was pretty decent too. 9: GAMES PEOPLE PLAY - SPINNERS - also meh I liked this! One of their best! 8: AIN'T NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY - HELEN REDDY - wtf did this sound like again My mom's a fan of hers. This song was actually not bad but she had better (my favourite from her would likely be "Angie Baby") 7: FEELINGS - MORRIS ALPERT - EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW SUPER GEEZER. HORRIBLE!!!! Totally agreed - one of the worst songs of all time. 6: DANCE WITH ME - ORLEANS - wtf did this sound like again Great song! I like all of their big hits, this included. 5: BALLROOM BLITZ - SWEET - love it, the Krokus cover from the 80's was good too Great song! One of their best! 4: LYING EYES - THE EAGLES - great song Agreed. 3: MIRACLES - THE JEFFERSON STARSHIP - F*ckING AMAZING! ONE OF THE MOST FLAWLESS SONGS EVER RECORDED. PERFECTION, BETTER THAN YOUR FAVES, LEGENDARY, ICONIC, ETC. Yeah, this was a great one! One of their best! 2: CALYPSO - JOHN DENVER - ew no he prevented my Grace (and Marty) from #1 Not a big fan of this - he clearly had better. 1: BAD BLOOD - NEIL SEDAKA - ew no he also prevented by Grace (and Marty) from #1. I also think he had better (particularly "Laughter In The Rain"), but this was alright too. They had just flopped with "Brand New Love Affair". Queens update: Grace was #3, although she should've been #1, Heart were working on 'Dreamboat Annie', Lita was working on the first Runaways album, and Pat Benatar was somewhere in New York learning to sing opera when she really just wanted to sing rock and roll. Of course we know how that turned out. LOL @ the idea of Pat doing opera! Glad her career took a better path towards rock. Prediction: Another 1976 show would be great. Yeah, I've heard that it is one of two shows offered for next week. At least "With Your Love" was still on then. Well, that is what I predicted then, but I'll say now that 1972 or 1973 is possible for next week though I'd like 1979.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Oct 21, 2017 1:57:08 GMT -5
After a few weeks of recycled commentaries, I'm back with something brand new! October 21, 1978Falling off: Dolly Parton - Heartbreaker (40) - One of her more forgotten hits, I like it but prefer most of her other top 40 hits (as well as a few that missed.) Aerosmith - Come Together (35) - It takes a lot to faithfully remake a Beatles song and still have it sound great, but a legendary band like Aerosmith really pulled it off here - love this remake! Robin Gibb - Oh! Darling (34) - This was alright too, but I tend to prefer the Bee Gees stuff. Andy Gibb - An Everlasting Love (28) - Speaking of the Bee Gees, here's their brother! Great song - one of his best songs! City Boy - 5.7.0.5. (27) - a faceless one, but I do remember liking it. 40. Pablo Cruise - Don't Want To Live Without It (debut) - This San Francisco band had a nice streak of hits from 1977 to 1981 - this was pretty typical for them, I like most of their hits, this included. 39. Wings - London Town (39) - Title track from their album that year, I like this but prefer the other singles from this album. 38. Styx - Blue Collar Man (debut) - Already an established rock band, this Chicago band was well on their way to continuing their superstar status. Great song that still gets classic rock airplay. Extra: Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive - great song! At this point, Saturday Night Fever was the best selling album ever, which it held for five more years. 37. Meco - Themes From The Wizard Of Oz (debut) - He must've been a big movie buff, as Meco takes music from the classic Wizard of Oz and spins it into a disco medley! This was alright but I prefer the Star Wars theme from the previous year. 36. Paul Davis - Sweet Life (38) - Earlier in 1978, he broke longevity records with "I Go Crazy". This one, while nowhere near as far-reaching, was also a good song. 35. Player - Prisoner Of Your Love (debut) - Their forgotten third single, this was a good one. 34. Al Stewart - Time Passages (debut) - My favourite song from this Scottish star who had a few hits over the late 70's and into 1980. 33. David Gates - Took The Last Train (36) - While most of his hits were with Bread, he had a few solo hits too. This was another good one. 32. Michael Johnson - Almost Like Being In Love (33) - Another short-lived star, this was alright but I prefer his other hits. 31. The Commodores - Three Times A Lady (21) - This would go on to be one of 1978's biggest hits, as well as one of many huge hit ballads by lead singer Lionel Richie. Great song that has held up very well! Archive: The Jackson 5 - ABC - Michael and his brothers were off to a hot start in 1970 and this song was one of their greatest ever - it's endured very well since. 30. Stonebolt - I Will Still Love You (32) - An obscure Canadian band with their only top 40 hit, this was a really sweet song. 29. Bob Seger - Hollywood Nights (12) - Singles-wise, "Stranger In Town" had to have been this Detroit rock legend's biggest album, and songs like this show why - great song! 28. Sylvester - Dance (Disco Heat) (30) - A disco star who sadly died of AIDS, this was alright but I prefer his 1979 hits. LDD: Shaun Cassidy - Hey Deanie - wasn't this letter a little creepy, being sent out to Shaun Cassidy himself? Sounds like a typical stan. Good song, a true guilty pleasure. 27. Dr. Hook - Sharing The Night Together (37) - One of the most defining 70's soft rock bands, I feel their later 70's stuff was their best, and this is one of my all-time favourites from them! 26. Steely Dan - Josie (26) - From their landmark album Aja, this was one of many great classics from this jazz-rock duo. R.I.P. Walter Becker 25. Barry Manilow - Ready To Take A Chance Again (31) - No. Just no. 24. Gino Vannelli - I Just Wanna Stop (29) - This Canadian star only had a few top 40 hits stateside, but all were memorable, this is one of my favourites from him! 23. Hall & Oates - It's A Laugh (25) - One of their more obscure hits, this was a good one. 22. Rolling Stones - Beast Of Burden (24) - "Some Girls" was one of their most defining albums, and a classic like this is one reason why. Great song! 21. Crystal Gayle - Talking In Your Sleep (23) - This was a nice enough song from the singer with one of the most recognizeable hairstyles in music, but I prefer a few others from her. Archive: The Guess Who - American Woman - The only #1 by this legendary Canadian band, but what a great song it was! I also like the Lenny Kravitz remake. 20. Alicia Bridges - I Love The Nightlife (Disco Round) (22) - A disco classic, still love this song! 19. Olivia Newton-John - Hopelessly Devoted To You (10) - 1978 was the year of the mega-soundtrack for John Travolta movies - Grease had its fair share of classics, and this was one of the best! 18. The Who - Who Are You (19) - While their 60's-early 70's stuff is seen as definitive, they were still delivering classics in 1978! Great song - one of their best! 17. Billy Joel - She's Always A Woman (17) - "The Stranger" was the first Billy Joel album to have four top 40 hits, and this simple love song shows off a sensitive side of his songwriting. Great song! 16. Linda Ronstadt - Back In The U.S.A. (16) - Continuing with remaking of early rock and roll hits, Linda did justice to Chuck Berry here - great song! Extra: Stevie Wonder - Superstition - A #1 hit from 1973, this has always remained one of my favourite songs from him! 15. Captain & Tennille - You Never Done It Like That (18) - No. Just no. 14. Foxy - Get Off (15) - As filthy as this may sound, I like this song - disco/funk classic! Shockingly, despite going top 10 Billboard, it missed the R&R chart entirely! 13. Foreigner - Double Vision (20) - Title track from their second album - great song that stands as a classic rock staple alongside their other big hits! 12. Gerry Rafferty - Right Down The Line (13) - The follow-up to "Baker Street" and another great song from him! 11. Ambrosia - How Much I Feel (14) - After a few moderate hits, this soft rock band really came into their own here with their first eventual top 10 hit - great song! Archive: Ray Stevens - Everything Is Beautiful - I tend to hate his novelty songs such as "The Streak"... this wasn't anything impressive either, but didn't have the hurl factor that his novelty songs do. 10. John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John - Summer Nights (9) - Another Grease classic here! A karaoke standard. 9. Boston - Don't Look Back (4) - An instantly identifiable rock band with their signature sound, this became one of their biggest hits - and deservingly so! 8. Donna Summer - MacArthur Park (11) - A remake of a 60's classic, Donna took a disco spin with this and it would go on to become her first #1. Great song - one of her best, though her best overall was to come the following year. 7. John Paul Young - Love Is In The Air (7) - The only hit by this Australian star, but what a hit it was - great song! Extra: Natalie Cole - This Will Be - Casey mentioned how she snapped Aretha Franklin's eight-year streak winning the Best R&B Female Vocal Grammy. Great song - one of her best! 6. Kenny Loggins & Stevie Nicks - Whenever I Call You Friend (8) - Originally hitting with Loggins & Messina, Kenny went solo here, teaming up with Stevie Nicks on this one - great song that stands as one of his best. 5. Anne Murray - You Needed Me (6) - This Canadian singer had been off the charts for a few years but came back stronger than ever here - deservingly so as this is one of my favourites from her! LDD: Chicago - Colour My World - Seems like this was dedicated a few times over the years - great song, one of many all-time classics from them! 4. Little River Band - Reminiscing (5) - These Australians were well on their way here as this became one of their biggest hits - great song, possibly my favourite from them! 3. A Taste Of Honey - Boogie Oogie Oogie (3) - Another disco classic with a silly title, I like this one. 2. Nick Gilder - Hot Child In The City (2) - He sure took his time to rise up the charts! Great song - one that holds up well with a distinctive falsetto vocal. 1. Exile - Kiss You All Over (1) - Before they became country superstars, these guys had their big pop hit here - great song! Chicago update: Highest debut on the Hot 100, at #63, is "Alive Again". Prediction for next week: For some reason I think they may go with 1970, or 1974.
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Post by Hervard on Oct 22, 2017 16:36:17 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - October 21, 2017 This week's presentation - October 21, 1978 Droppers: HEARTBREAKER - DOLLY PARTON (40) - She just narrowly missed being heard on both shows this weekend. Her duet with Kenny Rogers,"Islands Of The Stream" was on its way up the 1983 countdown. I forget how this song goes, but I seem to recall that I preferred said duet. Either way, it was nowhere near as good as "Here You Come Again", IMO. COME TOGETHER - AEROSMITH (35) - One of three Beatles renakes released from the Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band soundtrack. I liked both versions of the song about the same. OH! DARLING - ROBIN GIBB (34) - Another of the three hits from the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band soundtrack. This one wasn't bad, but I preferred his other Top 40 hit from four years later, entitled "Boys Do Fall In Love". AN EVERLASTING LOVE - ANDY GIBB (28) - Wow, two of the four Gibb brothers dropped off the survey this week! At first, this one looked like it was going to be another #1 for him, but as soon as it hit the Top Ten, it was unable to climb more than one spot at a time. But it was a Top Five hit, so that's cool. This was definitely one of my favorites from him - it's a close race between this and "I Just Want To Be Your Everything". 5705 - CITY BOYS (27) - They apparently chose to omit the prefix from the number, to spare people who happened to have such a number all the nuisance calls. Anyway, this song wasn't anything I'd go out of my way to listen to. 40: DON'T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT IT - PABLO CRUISE (debut) - The follow-up to their big hit "Love Will Find A Way" (which has to be the song of theirs that receives the most recurrent airplay). It was a pretty good song, but I preferred that other song, along with a few others by them. 39: LONDON TOWN - WINGS (39) - This was the third and final single, as well as the the title track to Wings' sixth studio album. I believe this was the first time I've ever heard the song (since it was only on for two weeks, and it appears I did not make a critique for the 10/14 show (although I could have sworn that I did). Anyway, this song was pretty good, but I preferred the first single from the album, "With A Little Luck". 38: BLUE-COLLAR MAN - STYX (debut) - A song from an album (Pieces Of Eight) that yielded two Top 40 hits - both with lead vocals by Tommy Shaw. This was my favorite of the two. EXTRA: STAYIN' ALIVE - THE BEE GEES - This was played to tie in with a story of the biggest selling album in history. Of course, it was the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, and this was one of three #1 hits for the Bee Gees from the album. 37: THEMES FROM "THE WIZARD OF OZ" - MECO (debut) - Interesting disco rendition of the movie's theme, as well as "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". It was a good one - sounded a lot like the Star Wars theme. 36: SWEET LIFE - PAUL DAVIS (38) - A beautiful song about a couple who just had a baby and it reminds them of what a great life they have. One of my favorite Paul Davis songs of all time! 35: PRISONER OF YOUR LOVE - PLAYER (debut) - Like Wings, this band had three Top 40 hits in 1978, one of them a #1. This song was off to a promising start, but it hit a brick wall, peaking at #27 its third week on and falling out of the Top 40 the following week. This song was OK, but nothing exceptional. The only song I by them that I can say that I like is "Baby Come Back". 34: TIME PASSAGES - AL STEWART (debut) - I liked most of his songs, but this one was my favorite. They played the short version, but I remember a few times, they went with the album version, which was over six minutes long. 33: TOOK THE LAST TRAIN - DAVID GATES (36) - This definitely does not sound much like Gates. It's a good song, but I preferred other hits by him, solo and with his band Bread. 32: ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE - MICHAEL JOHNSON (33) - This song had sort of a smooth jazz sound to it. It was good, but I preferred his other two Top 40 hits. 31: THREE TIMES A LADY - COMMODORES (21) - I heard this song right before the broadcast of this show, on a show run by WSQL, called "Taking You Back". It was the final song on the show, and they played the long version of it. As usual (if not always), AT40 played the single version of the show (you'd think they'd go with the long version, especially since they had a lot of excess time having recently expanded to four hours). Anyway, this one became quite popular in the LDD department (not to mention for the traditional first dance at wedding receptions). It was indeed a great song! ARCHIVES: ABC - THE JACKSON FIVE - The seventh #1 hit from the 1970s, which AT40 played in chronological order at the rate of three a week as the AT40 Archives, as a way of filling up said excess time. Anyway, the Jackson Five were definitely a hot item in 1970, as they had many #1 songs that year. This was the second of them. Not sure if I prefer this or "I Want You Back". OPTIONAL EXTRA: INSTANT REPLAY - DAN HARTMAN - The countdown chant at the beginning of this song reminds me of the beginning of Casey's Top 40 (and, later, the newer AT40). Anyway, Hartman was a one-hit wonder, for about five years, but he had a decent comeback, with a Top Ten hit, and two more mid-charters. I preferred said mid-charters over this one. 30: I WILL STILL LOVE YOU - STONEBOLT (32) - The first time I heard this was back in 2002, when it was a LDD on an AT40 Flashback show from 1980. I've heard it many times since then, as it is one of the songs on my David Scott's Lost 45's CD. A great song and quite underrated. Too bad that, due to technical difficulties, the WSQL news and commercials were run in conjunction with the song. I'm thinking that they jumped the gun in starting off Hour 2 of the show. 29: HOLLYWOOD NIGHTS - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (12) - I don't remember this song from its chart run as I remember hearing it on the Stranger In Town album, which my Mom played all the time back in 1979. It's a pretty good song, but the only single from the album that I really liked was "Still The Same". There were several other songs on the album that I felt should have been released as singles. 28: DANCE DISCO HEAT - SYLVESTER (30) - This was typical late-70s disco music. Nothing exceptional. LDD: HEY DEANIE - SHAUN CASSIDY - This LDD was from a teenager from West Virginia who was obsessed with Cassidy - so much that she said that, as soon as she graduated from high school, she would move out to California to be with Shaun. I wonder if she followed through with her plans? 27: SHARING THE NIGHT TOGETHER - DR. HOOK (37) - They seemed to have a thing about the number six, as that was all the higher they got with four of their hits. The streak was broken in 1980, when "Sexy Eyes" climbed to #5. As for this song, it was pretty good, but it didn't hold a candle to "Better Love Next Time", my favorite song from them of all time. 26: JOSIE - STEELY DAN (26) - This was a typical Steely Dan song with their traditional jazz/rock sound. It was a good one, but I preferred a few others from them, such as "Peg", which I heard earlier today at Johnnie's Round The Clock, a restaurant in Merrillville, Indiana, where I ate lunch this afternoon. 25: READY TO TAKE A CHANCE AGAIN - BARRY MANILOW (31) - Well, he indeed took a chance with an upbeat song, which proved to be worthwhile, as it hit the Top Ten. This time around, he returned to his usual ballad style with a song that came close to hitting the Top Ten, but only got as high as #11. Such a shame, as it's a great song - one of his best 70s hits. 24: I JUST WANT TO STOP - GINO VANELLI (29) - Hard to believe that he only had two Top Ten hits here in the states (but I believe he was more successful in his native Canada). I liked this song, but preferred "Livin' Inside Myself". 23: IT'S A LAUGH - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (25) - The verses to this had an interesting melody. I wasn't too crazy about the choruses, however (since it sounds like music that would stick in my head all day). 22: BEAST OF BURDEN - THE ROLLING STONES (24) - Well you better never leave my pizza burning, especially if I'm paying for it! But seriously, this song wasn't bad - I definitely prefer it over their recent #1 hit. 21: TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP - CRYSTLA GAYLE (23) - She was mainly a country artist, but she did have a handful of songs that crossed over to the Pop charts. This was my favorite of the four that hit the Top 40. ARCHIVES: AMERICAN WOMAN - THE GUESS WHO - Another #1 hit from 1970. I wasn't a big fan of this one, however, as it was quite overplayed. I preferred several others from them, such as "Laughing" and "Undun". OPTIONAL EXTRA: BREAKDOWN - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS - R.I.P. 20: I LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE - ALICIA BRIDGES (22) - Yup - once again, they started Hour 3 prematurely as the news and commercials ran along with the show for the first five minutes. Guess this isn't a very reliable station, except maybe for catching the first hour of AT40s that are in four-hour format. Anyway, as we all know, I'm not a big disco fan, but this one is an exception - in fact, it is one of my favorite songs on this week's chart. There's just something about it that I really like. 19: HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (10) - As I've mentioned before, this was a special song between me and my ex-girlfriend, so it's been sort of hard to listen to, but you know what, we never really listened to it that often, so I guess it's not as bad as it could have been, and I have been able to appreciate the natural beauty of this song more and more as the years have passed - even more so as of May of last year, when our paths crossed and she and I actually recently had a brief conversation, letting me know that we were at least back on speaking terms again. 18: WHO ARE YOU - THE WHO (19) - What I really want to know is who is the person whose idea it was to include the falsetto for the chorus of this song? It is supremely annoying and negates any redeeming qualities the song might have. But that's just me; the song did hit the Top 20 and still gets a lot of recurrent airplay on classic rock stations today, so it's all good. I just don't care for the song, that's all. 17: SHE'S ALWAYS A WOMAN - BILLY JOEL (17) - He had many great singles albums and The Stranger was definitely one of them, and all four releases were great, but this one would be my favorite. 16: BACK IN THE USA - LINDA RONSTADT (16) - I can't say whether I prefer this or Chuck Berry's version, since I've never heard the latter. Linda's version was so/so, but definitely not one of her best. EXTRA: SUPERSTITION - STEVIE WONDER - A filler extra that AT40 played. Going into this song, Casey told of its success at the Grammy Awards. The song's OK, but quite overplayed. I preferred many of his other songs. 15: YOU NEVER DONE IT LIKE THAT - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (18) - Was this what Tennille wanted the Captain to do to her one more time? 14: GET OFF - FOXY (15) - Typical roof-raisng R&B music that isn't quite my cup of tea (but you already know that, right?) 13: DOUBLE VISION - FOREIGNER (20) - My second favorite from the album of the same name, behind "Blue Morning, Blue Day", which would be their next single after this one. 12: RIGHT DOWN THE LINE - GERRY RAFFERTY (13) - Well, this one didn't quite measure up to the success of the (overplayed!) "Baker Street", but it was his second biggest hit, peaking at #12 - and it did peak at #7 (for a whole month, no less) on the R&R chart, which is good, because it was a great song - my favorite song from him. 11: HOW MUCH I FEEL - AMBROSIA (14) - The first of two Top Ten hits from them. Both songs are my two favorite songs from them - and, as you may have guessed, I'm not sure which of the two I prefer. EXTRA: EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL - RAY STEVENS - Known more for his novelty songs, he went with a more serious one here (starting out with a children's chorus singing "Jesus Loves His Little Children". It's a pretty good song. OPTIONAL EXTRA: HOW YOU GONNA SEE ME NOW - I heard one of his other power ballads, "You And Me", at the Round The Clock restaurant I mentioned earlier. As I've said many times, I prefer his ballads over his heavy metal songs, and this is no exception. Still, it does not hold a candle to "Only Women Bleed". 10: SUMMER NIGHTS - JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (9) - Well, that does it; I'm not listening to AT40 past the first hour on this station anymore... Anyway, this was the second of two top 40 duets for the stars of the movie Grease. Of those two songs, it would be my favorite (though "You're The One That I Want" is a great one as well). 9: DON'T LOOK BACK - BOSTON (4) - Having peaked at #4 for the past two weeks, this was their highest ranked song so far. It would hold that honor for eight years, until their successful comeback in 1986. Now that AT40 was an hour longer, they decided to play the long versions of some songs and this week, they did that with this song (though they faded it out a little early). I have somehow come to like this song better than I had previously (as I never cared for it). 8: MacARTHUR PARK - DONNA SUMMER (11) - As we all know, I'm not a big disco fan, but the saving grace for this song is the fact that it IS disco. (though I certainly don't know why Summer screams like a witch at the end of each chorus). 7: LOVE IS IN THE AIR - JOHN PAUL YOUNG (7) - Another disco song that I don't really mind, though nowhere near as good as the Alicia Bridges song, IMO. EXTRA: THIS WILL BE - NATALIE COLE - It's impossible not to think of the eHarmony.com commercials when hearing the intro to this song. It's not bad, but I prefer many others from her. 6: WHENEVER I CALL YOU FRIEND - KENNY LOGGINS & STEVIE NICKS (8) - YES!! This is possibly my favorite song on this week's chart - definitely one of my favorites from both artists involved! 5: YOU NEEDED ME - ANNE MURRAY (6) - This was her first hit in over four years, but it was worth the wait, as this song made it all the way to the top. LDD: COLOR MY WORLD - CHICAGO - This song seemed fitting for the dedication, as it was a favorite song between the author and her friend from, was it Indonesia? Anyway, the author was an exchange student there and she missed her friend that she stayed with, and this song was sort of fitting in that manner as well. 4: REMINISCING - LITTLE RIVER BAND (5) - The first of six consecutive Top Ten songs from them (and after that, they would never again hit the Top Ten). It was a good one, but I preferred a few of the other Top Tens 3: BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE - A TASTE OF HONEY (3) - Their first hit, and the biggest, having recently spent three weeks on top. It was also my favorite of their two big hits. OPTIONAL EXTRA: NEW YORK GROOVE - ACE FREHLEY - I heard somewhere that he has a brother who's an author, whose all time best-seller is "The Yellow River". As for this song, it was so/so, but nothing special. 2: HOT CHILD IN THE CITY - NICK GILDER (2) - This song was a week away from setting a record for the slowest climb to the top, previously held by two 1976 songs that finally hit the top in their 20th weeks ("Love Machine" by the Miracles and "A Fifth Of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy). This one eclipsed that record by one week. It would be tied a little less than a year later by "Sad Eyes" by Robert John. This was a good song - sounded more like a summer song (that said, if it were released a month or so before, it might have topped the chart in the summer - and not taken quite as long to reach #1). 1: KISS YOU ALL OVER - EXILE (1) - This one always reminds me of a funny scene from Happy Gilmore when he somehow ends up sleeping with an older woman. Well, as of yet, no word on what show is coming up next week. In a heartbeat, I would guess 10/27/79 for next week, since it's a new show, but they don't usually run four-hour shows on back-to-back weekends. Stranger things have happened, though. Still, I'll guess 10/26/74, since that's a new show (and it's been almost two months since the last 1974 show). In that case, it will probably be a stand-alone show. My secondary prediction will be the 10/31/70 show, last run in 2011. The B-show to go along with that might be 10/29/77, although that show hasn't been played since 2009; they don't generally choose shows that haven't aired for that long as "B" shows. They might go with 1979, though it would likely be either 10/20 or 11/3. Theoretically, we should find out what they're gonna be doing before the weekend is over.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Oct 29, 2017 23:13:20 GMT -5
October 26, 1974Songs falling off: Kool & The Gang - Higher Plane (37) - wtf did this sound like again? The Guess Who - Clap For The Wolfman (35) - great song! One of their best Earth Wind & Fire - Devotion (33) - wtf did this sound like again? Brownsville Station - Kings Of The Party (31) - wtf did this sound like again? Steppenwolf - Straight Shootin' Woman (29) - wtf did this sound like again? Cat Stevens - Another Saturday Night (25) - great song, one of his best! Cheech & Chong - Earache My Eye (23) - LOL, this was funny but I wouldn't want to hear it too often 40 Gino Vannelli - People Gotta Move (NEW!) - great song, one of his best! 39 Chicago - Wishing You Were Here (NEW!) - great song! Still, they've had better 38 Marvin Gaye - Distant Lover (NEW!) - this was alright but he had better 37 Hues Corporation - Rockin' Soul (NEW!) - not bad but I can see why it flopped compared to Rock The Boat 36 Billy Swan - I Can Help (NEW!) - it's ok, nothing special 35 Hudson Brothers - So You Are A Star (NEW!) - it's ok 34 Art Garfunkel - Second Avenue (+4) - this was ok but I prefer him with Simon & Garfunkel 33 Blue Swede - Never My Love (-26)* - not bad but clearly riding on the coattails of Hooked On A Feeling 32 Three Degrees - When Will I See You Again (+8) - great song! 31 Spinners - Love Don't Love Nobody (NEW!) - I like this but prefer others from them 30 Kiki Dee - I've Got The Music In Me (+6) - great song! 29 Neil Diamond - Longfellow Serenade (+10) - good song, one of his best 28 First Class - Beach Baby (-2) - not bad but very cheesy 27 ABBA - Honey Honey (+7) - good song but they had better 26 Carl Carlton - Everlasting Love (+6) - great song, arguably my favourite version of it 25 The Tymes - You Little Trustmaker (-13) - I like this one 24 Raspberries - Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) (+6) - great song, one of their best! 23 Ohio Players - Skin Tight (-10) - I like this but I prefer their #1's 22 Jim Weatherly - The Need To Be (+6) - No. Just no. 21 Bobby Vinton - My Melody Of Love (+6) - No. Just no. 20 Righteous Brothers - Give It To The People (0) - I like this but prefer others from them 19 Olivia Newton-John - I Honestly Love You (-15) - great song! 18 B.T. Express - Do It (Til You're Satisfied) (+6) - great song, a funk classic! 17 Gordon Lightfoot - Carefree Highway (+5) - great song, one of his best! 16 Reunion - Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me) (+5) - great song, love the name-drops! 15 Billy Preston - Nothing From Nothing (-14) - great song, but OUCH! 14 John Denver - Back Home Again (+5) - No. Just no. 13 The Miracles - Do It Baby (+1) - I like this but prefer most of their other hits 12 John Lennon - Whatever Gets You Thru The Night (+6) - great song, one of his best! 11 America - Tin Man (+5) - great song, one of their best! 10 Osmonds - Love Me For A Reason (0) - I like this, kinda cheesy but it works 9 Mac Davis - Stop And Smell The Roses (+2) - No. Just no. 8 Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama (+7) - great song, even if overplayed 7 Tony Orlando & Dawn - Steppin' Out (Gonna Boogie Tonight) (+2) - this was cheesy but alright 6 Bad Company - Can't Get Enough (+2) - great song, a true classic rock staple! 5 Elton John - The Bitch Is Back (+1) - great song, amazed it did so well despite the title 4 Carole King - Jazzman (+1) - great song, one of her best! 3 Bachman-Turner Overdrive - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet (+14)* - great song, definitely destined for #1 here! 2 Stevie Wonder - You Haven't Done Nothin' (+1) - great song, good to see him tackling political issues 1 Dionne Warwicke & Spinners - Then Came You (+1) - great song! Of course, Dionne Warwicke is a legend. Next week: 1970 and 1976, I'll listen to 1976 of course.
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