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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Nov 3, 2017 11:41:45 GMT -5
November 6, 1976Recycled commentary from 2 years ago! Falling off: Earth, Wind & Fire - Getaway (39) - good song, they were generally excellent England Dan & John Ford Coley - I'd Really Love To See You Tonight (33) - great song! My favourite from them Cliff Richard - Devil Woman (32) - great song! Likely my favourite from him Dr. Hook - A Little Bit More (27) - I like this, one of their best Orleans - Still The One (26) - great song! 40. Tyrone Davis - Give It Up (Turn It Loose) (40) - not bad, but I prefer En Vogue's song of the same title 39. Little River Band - It's A Long Way There (debut) - good song but "Reminiscing", "The Night Owls", etc. are better 38. Yvonne Elliman - Love Me (debut) - good song! Not sure whether I prefer this or the Bee Gees version 37. John Valenti - Anything You Want (38) - it's alright 36. LTD - Love Ballad (debut) - I like this but prefer "Back In Love Again" 35. Burton Cummings - Stand Tall (debut) - kinda weird that this was his only solo top 10... it's alright but I prefer him in The Guess Who 34. Leo Sayer - You Make Me Feel Like Dancing (debut) - great song! One of my favourite falsetto vocals 33. Boz Scaggs - Lowdown (25) - great song! One of his best 32. Salsoul Orchestra - Nice 'N' Naasty (36) - this was alright but I prefer "Tangerine" 31. Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. - You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show) (35) - great song! This is how 70's husband and wife duets should be done... well, this and "Mockingbird" of course. 30. Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids - Did You Boogie (With Your Baby) (31) - good song 29. Barry Manilow - This One's For You (29) - No. Just no. 28. Alice Cooper - I Never Cry (34) - it's weird to hear him do such a soft ballad but I like it 27. Norman Connors - You Are My Starship (30) - I like this, was it about Grace Slick? 26. Ringo Starr - A Dose Of Rock 'N' Roll (28) - good song, like most of his solo hits 25. Linda Ronstadt - That'll Be The Day (11) - great song! One of her best 24. England Dan & John Ford Coley - Nights Are Forever Without You (37) - good song but I prefer a few others from them 23. KC & the Sunshine Band - Shake Your Booty (13) - great song! I prefer their 1975 hits but this is excellent too 22. Bay City Rollers - I Only Want To Be With You (12) - good song, possibly my favourite version of this that I've heard 21. The Ritchie Family - The Best Disco In Town (23) - I usually hear a mix of this with Motown songs so it was weird to hear a version with disco songs! 20. Wild Cherry - Play That F***ing Music (8) - great song! 19. Walter Murphy - A Fifth Of Beethoven (5) - I like this but I still think it's odd that classical music mixed so well with disco. Extra: Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine - great song! One of his best 18. Firefall - You Are The Woman (20) - great song! Possibly their best 17. Boston - More Than A Feeling (19) - great song! One of their best, despite the overplay, it's held up well 16. ABBA - Fernando (18) - great song, one of their best! 15. The Spinners - The Rubberband Man (21) - great song! Probably my favourite from them 14. Barry DeVorzon & Perry Botkin Jr. - Nadia's Theme (16) - good song, one of my favourite 70's TV themes 13. KISS - Beth (15) - great song! Another hard rock band with a very un-typical soft ballad 12. Blue Oyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper (14) - great song! 11. Peter Frampton - Do You Feel Like We Do (24) - great song, one of his best! 10. The Commobores - Just To Be Close To You (17) - No. Just no. 9. Heart - Magic Man (10) - great song! One of their best 8. Rod Stewart - Tonight's The Night (22) - great song! One of his best 7. Hall & Oates - She's Gone (7) - great song! One of their best 6. Craptain & Tennille - Muskrat Fungus (9) - EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW DIVORCED GEEZERS One of the worst songs of the 70's, the muskrat noises in this song are just way too disturbing! 5. Bee Gees - Love So Right (6) - great song! One of their best 4. Chicago - If You Leave Me Now (1) - great song! One of their best 3. Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald (4) - I like this, and how it was based on a true story (and how he keeps in touch with relatives of the victims of the shipwreck) 2. Rick Dees - Disco Duck (2) - great song! A fun novelty tune, even if Rick himself constantly has made fun of it on his top 40 show. 1. Steve Miller Band - Rock'n Me (3) - great song, despite the overplay Chicago update: See #4. JessieLou: See #9, #25. "St. Charles" was a month away from the Hot 100. Prediction for next week: I don't know what it'll be yet, but it's about time we got to make fun of "Why Me" so I'll say 1973.
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Post by Hervard on Nov 4, 2017 12:03:56 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - November 4, 2017 This week's presentation - November 6, 1976 Droppers: GETAWAY - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (39) - This was not a premake of the song that you sometimes hear at the end of "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago. I seem to recall that it was a good song, but not quite their best. I'D REALLY LOVE TO SEE YOU TONIGHT - ENGLAND DAN & JOHN FORD COLEY (33) - The first of a handful of big hits for them. This would probably be my favorite, but most of the others aren't far behind. This was also their biggest pop hit, peaking at #2. DEVIL WOMAN - CLIFF RICHARD (33) - Sort of appropriate that this song's last week on the chart was Halloween weekend (since 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. A LITTLE BIT MORE - DR. HOOK (27) - No big loss - oddly enough, this used to be one of my favorites from them. STILL THE ONE - ORLEANS (26) - Awww, why did this great song fall off this week? Even worse, it was at its peak of #5 just two weeks before. Did people really get tired of it that fast? 40: GIVE IT UP (TURN IT LOOSE) – TYRONE DAVIS (40) - No, this is not the same song that En Vogue charted with in 1992. I like this one better. Too bad the song only got as high as #38 (though at first, it looked like this was where the song would peak). 39: IT’S A LONG WAY THERE – LITTLE RIVER BAND (debut) - This was the song that started it all off for them here in the states. However, this is possibly my least favorite song from them. It seems to just go on and on. 38: LOVE ME – YVONNE ELLIMAN (debut) - You can hear the Bee Gees influence on this one (as they were the ones who produced it). It wasn't bad, but I preferred another Bee Gees produced song 37: ANYTHING YOU WANT – JOHN VALENTI (38) - He reminds me of Stevie Wonder - both his voice and music style. This was a good song, IMO. 36: LOVE BALLAD – L.T.D. (debut) - The only two songs I know by them are this one and "Back In Love Again". This is my favorite of the two, but I prefer a few of Jeffrey Osborne's solo hits. 35: STAND TALL – BURTON CUMMINGS (debut) - Definitely recognized him as the lead singer of the Guess Who, and this one sounds a little like their hit "Laughing", which is one of my favorites from them Needless to say, I liked this song. 34: YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE DANCING – LEO SAYER (debut) - This would be the first of two #1 songs from him, during the same year, no less. This would be my favorite of the two songs, by a fair margin. 33: LOWDOWN – BOZ SCAGGS (25) - OK, how did this song stick around for another week after such a hard fall? Especially when "Still The One", which made as big of a drop, fell out of the survey this week! As you may have guessed, I wasn't a huge fan of this song. I mean, it was OK, but possibly my least favorite song from him. 32: NICE ‘N’ NASTY – SALSOUL ORCHESTRA (36) - Your typical mid-70s Philly song. It was a good one, though - I loved the way they said, "Ooh, that was naaaasty!" They sounded a lot like a girl I used to know in high school. 31: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A STAR (TO BE IN MY SHOW) – MARILYN McCOO & BILLY DAVIS JR. (35) - 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. 30: DID YOU BOOGIE (WITH YOUR BABY) – FLASH CADILLAC & THE CONTINENTAL KIDS (31) - This song couldn't seem to make up its mind which direction it wanted to go on the chart. After peaking at #29 the week before, it dropped back to #31, and this week, moves back up a spot. The song was OK, but nothing exceptional. 29: THIS ONE’S FOR YOU – BARRY MANILOW (29) - 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. 28: I NEVER CRY – ALICE COOPER (34) - 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". 27: YOU ARE MY STARSHIP – NORMAN CONNORS (30) - A typical 70s slow jam, but I liked it - nice and relaxing. OPTIONAL EXTRA: HOT LINE - THE SYLVERS - One of two Top Ten hits from them. It wasn't bad, but I preferred "Boogie Fever". 26: A DOSE OF ROCK AND ROLL – RINGO STARR (28) - When he first started out as a solo artist, he did quite well - his first seven songs hit the Top Ten, but then he burned out quite fast - his last three songs came nowhere near the Top 20. This was the highest peaking of those, peaking right here at #28. The song was OK, but definitely not his best. 25: THAT’LL BE THE DAY – LINDA RONSTADT (11) - One of many remakes from her. It wasn't bad, but I preferred the original by Buddy Holly. 24: NIGHTS ARE FOREVER WITHOUT YOU – ENGLAND DAN & JOHN FORD COLEY (37) - Wow, with a jump like that, it looked like this one was on their way to becoming their first #1 song. Unfortunately, it didn't quite make it - it did peak at #10, however, which was nothing to sneeze at. 23: (SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE) SHAKE YOUR BOOTY – K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (13) - I never know that they wrote and produced George McCrae's "Rock Your Baby", but it indeed does sound like one of their songs. As for this song, it's not bad, but I preferred their two 1975 #1s. 22: I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU – BAY CITY ROLLERS (12) - We heard Dusty Springfield's original as a LDD on this week's 80s B show from 1982 and on this show, we hear what could be my favorite version of the song (although Samantha Fox's 1989 cover might give it a run for its money). 21: THE BEST DISCO IN TOWN (MEDLEY) – RITCHIE FAMILY (23) - 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. 20: PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC – WILD CHERRY (8) - This song was pretty good - Vanilla Ice didn't do justice to this at all with his awful cover in 1991. 19: A FIFTH OF BEETHOVEN – WALTER MURPHY & THE BIG APPLE BAND (5) - This was an interesting disco version of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. EXTRA: AIN’T NO SUNSHINE - BILL WITHERS - Interesting story about how he won the Gold Toilet award. Glad that they went with this song instead of "Lean On Me", which is a "No. Just no" song in my book. 18: YOU ARE THE WOMAN - FIREFALL (20) - 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". 17: MORE THAN A FEELING - BOSTON (19) - Here's one I remember from back in the day - I thought they were singing "Poor little Felix, so I sent all the apples to work". Too bad radio stations usually play the single version of the song, which is chopped down way too much, IMO. Definitely one of my favorite songs by Boston. 16: FERNANDO - ABBA (18) - The beginning of this song reminds me of "El Condor Pasa" by Simon & Garfunkel. This is definitely one of my favorite songs by Abba, but it seems to me that they always butcher this song - it seemed that they edited out half of the song. 15: THE RUBBERBAND MAN – THE SPINNERS (21) - What, does he shoot rubberbands at unsuspecting victims? But seriously, this song's OK, but definitely far from being my favorite song from them. 14: NADIA’S THEME (THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS) – BARRY DE VORZON & PERRY BOTKIN JR. (16) - A great chill-out type song. 13: BETH - KISS (15) - Like Alice Coopers, they're more known for their hard rockers, but they have done a few ballads, two of which have hit the charts, and they're both among my favorites (although this one gets the slighter edge). OPTIONAL EXTRA: HELLO OLD FRIEND - ERIC CLAPTON - Not quite one of my favorite songs from him, but passable. 12: (DON’T FEAR) THE REAPER – BLUE OYSTER CULT (14) - A classic rock staple here. The one that radio usually plays features the instrumental bridge, but it was cut out in this song. 11: DO YOU FEEL LIKE WE DO – PETER FRAMPTON (24) - Don't let its huge jump fool you - this song only got one spot higher. Perhaps radio didn't like to play this one since it was so long (over seven minutes long - and that was the single version). AT40 showed no mercy when editing this song. It couldn't have been much, if any, longer than three minutes. Anyway, I never used to like this song, but now, I think it's great - has a very distinct bassline. 10: JUST TO BE CLOSE TO YOU – THE COMMODORES (17) - I didn't like many of their earlier hits, this one included. Their quality began going up with their song from the following summer, "Easy". 9: MAGIC MAN - HEART (10) - 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 8: TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT (GONNA BE ALRIGHT) – ROD STEWART (22) - Wow, this song was racing up the chart like nobody's business! The song would hit #1 the following week and would be up there for two months! It was a great song! 7: SHE’S GONE – HALL & OATES (7) - Cry me a river, guys! 6: MUSKRAT FUNGUS – THE CRAPTAIN & TENNILLE (9) - 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 5: LOVE SO RIGHT – THE BEE GEES (6) - Ahh, this is more like it. Love can indeed be right without talking about rodents doing the naughty. 4: IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW - CHICAGO (1) - Now here's one 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 was #1 on Halloween weekend). 3: THE WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD – GORDON LIGHTFOOT (4) - 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 cut this one short and get this - they edited out the part about the ship sinking; it cut right from the part about the freezing rain during the afternoon to where he talks about the Great Lakes, eliminating two verses (the one about the wreck and the one about what might have been had things been done differently) in the process. Generally, it goes right from the wreck to the memorial service. OPTIONAL EXTRA: LIVIN' THING - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - Their fourth of 20 Top 40 hits - and one of their best - in fact, it was my favorite song from them up to this point. 2: DISCO DUCK (PART 1) – RICK DEES & HIS CAST OF IDIOTS (2) - No. Just no. 1: ROCK’N ME – THE STEVE MILLER BAND (3) - 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.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Nov 14, 2017 3:33:09 GMT -5
November 10, 1973I'll add commentary later if I feel like it. Songs falling off: Joe Walsh - Rocky Mountain Way (39) Jackson 5 - Get It Together (37) Doobie Brothers - China Grove (36) Edgar Winter Group - Free Ride (31) 40 Bette Midler - Friends (NEW!) 39 Kool & The Gang - Funky Stuff (-7) 38 Staple Singers - If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) (NEW!) 37 Roberta Flack - Jesse (-4) 36 Todd Rundgren - Hello It's Me (NEW!) 35 Tavares - Check It Out (+3) 34 Grand Funk - We're An American Band (-9) 33 Gilbert O'Sullivan - Ooh Baby (NEW!) 32 B.W. Stevenson - My Maria (-4) 31 Ohio Players - Ecstasy (+3) 30 Paul Simon - Loves Me Like A Rock (-8) 29 Cheech & Chong - Basketball Jones (-8) 28 Charlie Rich - The Most Beautiful Girl (+7) 27 Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (+13)* 26 Millie Jackson - It Hurts So Good (+1) 25 Pointer Sisters - Yes We Can Can (-5) 24 Ike & Tina Turner - Nutbush City Limits (+6) 23 Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground (-7) 22 Seals & Crofts - We May Never Pass This Way Again (+4) 21 Bobby Goldsboro - Summer (+2) 20 Johnnie Taylor - Cheaper To Keep Her (+9) 19 Isley Brothers - That Lady (-5) 18 Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On (-10)* 17 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - The Love I Lost (+7) 16 Kris Kristofferson - Why Me (+3) 15 Bob Dylan - Knockin' On Heaven's Door (-3) 14 Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye - You're A Special Part Of Me (+4) 13 Allman Brothers Band - Ramblin' Man (-6) 12 Chicago - Just You N Me (+5) 11 Jim Croce - I Got A Name (+4) 10 Carpenters - Top Of The World (+3) 9 Art Garfunkel - All I Know (+1) 8 Cher - Half-Breed (-4) 7 Billy Preston - Space Race (+2) 6 Ringo Starr - Photograph (+5) 5 Marie Osmond - Paper Roses (0) 4 DeFranco Family - Heartbeat, It's A Lovebeat (+2) 3 Rolling Stones - Angie (-1) 2 Gladys Knight & The Pips - Midnight Train To Georgia (-1) 1 Eddie Kendricks - Keep On Truckin' (+2)
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Post by Hervard on Nov 19, 2017 16:08:42 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s -November 18, 2017 This week's presentation - November 15, 1975 Droppers: DANCE WITH ME - ORLEANS (39) - 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. ROCKIN' ALL OVER THE WORLD (34) - Fogerty's third hit since the disbanding of Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was okies, but I preferred his three 1985 hits (including the Top 40 near-miss "Centerfield") as well as several others by CCR. BORN TO RUN - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (23) - This was definitely one of his signature songs! Given that fact, it's hard to believe that this song didn't get any higher than #23! 40: I'M ON FIRE - 5,000 VOLTS (debut) - The only hit for this British disco trio. It was OK, but nothing exceptional. I preferred Springsteen's 1985 hit of the same title by a fair margin. 39: YOU - GEORGE HARRISON (20) - This was possibly my least favorite of his solo hits. You couldn't understand what he was saying half the time. 38: IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE - TAVARES (38) - Hard to believe that this was their only Top Ten hit, since a few of their other songs still get recurrent airplay on oldies stations. As for this song, it wasn't bad, but nothing special. It looked like this song would drop off this week, but it managed to hold on for another week. EXTRA: 100 LBS. OF CLAY - GENE McDANIEL - A "whatever happened to..." kind of story about this man, who had a #3 hit with this song. In 1963, when he was no longer hitting the charts, the became a writer and producer of several chart hits, including "Feel Like Makin Love" for Roberta Flack and also worked with Gladys Knight & The Pips. Melba Moore and Merry Clayton The song of Moore's that was played was pretty good. 37: I LOVE MUSIC - O'JAYS (debut) - This one wasn't bad, but rather repetitive. I preferred a few other songs by them, such as "Love Train" and "Use Ta Be My Girl". 36: VENUS AND MARS ROCK SHOW - WINGS (debut) - One of five Top 40 songs they charted with in 1975 (including the double-sided "Junior's Farm/Sally G" as separate chart entries). It was OK, but my favorite of their 1975 hits was the number one "Listen To What The Man Said". 35: DIAMONDS AND RUST - JOAN BAEZ (40) - As pointed out in another thread, Jewel's "Foolish Games" sounds a lot like this songs, especially in the verses. It was a good song, definitely with her trademark folk rock song. 34: LADY BLUE - LEON RUSSELL (14) - 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. 33: BRAZIL - RITCHIE FAMILY (30) - This was a pretty good Philly music here. 32: SECRET LOVE - FREDDY FENDER (35) - Any other time, I might post a comment like "one good remake deserves another", but that is not the case here. You know, he might sound better if he sang an octave lower. If not for his grating voice, this would be a really good song. 31: PEACE PIPE - B.T. EXPRESS (31) - Despite its good sized move last week, this song, the flipside of their #40 hit from September "Give It What You Got" didn't get any higher than #31. It was OK, but nothing exceptional. 30: JUST TOO MANY PEOPLE - MELISSA MANCHESTER (32) - This one sounded a little out of place for 1975; it seemed more like an early-80s hit. A great song! 29: OUT DAY WILL COME - FRANKIE VALLI (37) - Wow, he was on the chart both as a solo artist and with his old band the Four Seasons! I thought both of them were great. 28: I WANT'A DO SOMETHING FREAKY TO YOU - LEON HAYWOOD (33) - The second of two Leons on this week's chart. This song was OK, but not quite my cup of tea. OPTIONAL EXTRA: I WRITE THE SONGS - BARRY MANILOW - His somewhat ironically titled song, since it was actually Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys that wrote it. Though I generally like his songs, this one is actually one of my least favorites from him. It's passable, though. 27: SATURDAY NIGHT - BAY CITY ROLLERS (36) - Huh huh, they spelled “turd”. But seriously, I was not a huge fan of this song, or them in general (though they did have a few songs that I did like). 26: OPERATOR - MANHATTAN TRANSFER (29) - Their first of four Top 40 hits. This song was OK, but I prefer several others by them (including a few of their AC-only songs (i.e. “Mystery”). 25: BLUE EYES CRYIN' IN THE RAIN - WILLIE NELSON (27) - Another artist who was enjoying his first Top 40 hit. It wasn't bad, but I preferred his 80s hits. 24: BAD BLOOD - NEIL SEDAKA (16) - Today, this song would be billed as being by Neil Sedaka featuring Elton John (and, ironically, the featured artist would unseat this song from the top spot). It was a good song - one of my favorite songs from Sedaka and one I remember quite well from back in the day. I like the way they replace the questionable word with "promises", which is mentioned only once elsewhere in the song, but sung with the right notes. 23: EIGHTEEN WITH A BULLET - PETE WINGFIELD (26) - This song would hit the #18 position on the Hot 100 - with a bullet a few weeks later. It also was #18 on the R&R chart, but had lost its bullet by then. Due to the irony of the title, I would have bulleted the song just for the heck of it, even if it hadn't earned one that week - after all, the song would climb a spot higher the following week instead of dropping. As for the song, I wasn't a big fan of it - his voice sounds like someone kicked him in the nards. 22: I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU - ART GARFUNKEL (25) - A classic golden oldie that has been covered many times over! This is one of the best renditions of it that I've ever heard. 21: LET'S DO IT AGAIN - STAPLE SINGERS (28) - Your typical mid-70s slow jam. It was pretty good, but nothing exceptional. This song was one of two songs cheated out of its #1 week on AT40 due to their year-end wrap-up being played over two weeks (the other one was "Saturday Night", which we heard back at #27. Starting the following year, Billboard took a week off, so that unfortunate slight wouldn't happen quite as much. 20: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES - ESTHER PHILLIPS (21) - Like the Freddy Fender song, this song would be great had it not been for the grating voice singing it, since I like the melody. 19: MY LITTLE TOWN - SIMON & GARFUNKEL (24) - The week before, Art had passed himself with this song. Paul was between singles at the time, so they just missed being on the chart as a duet and with separate chart singles. I liked this song, which appeared on both of their solo albums (and by the time Paul hit the Top 40 with "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" the first week of 1976, Garfunkel's solo hit had left the survey (but Casey wouldn't have been able to announce the chart first, since it would have happened on a year-end chart week, so it didn't really make any difference, unless it had become the subject of a question letter). 18: DO IT ANYWAY YOU WANNA - PEOPLES CHOICE (11) - This one was quite repetitive. Not a fan of it at all. 17: SOMETHING BETTER TO DO - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (13) - Sort of a disappointing chart single, especially based on its strong debut at #19 a month earlier, but the song would take baby steps all the way to its peak of #13. Not sure what happened there - apparently, they stopped promoting the song once it hit the chart. As for my opinion of the song, it was a good one - reminded me a little of her #1 "Have You Never Been Mellow" from earlier in 1975. 16: FLY ROBIN FLY - SILVER CONVENTION (22) - Though not taking baby steps, this song had a chart run typical of your average Top Ten hit. Who knew that the following week, the song would jump all the way into the runner-up position. If not for the song that was #1 that week, the song might have set a record for the biggest jump into the top spot during the 1970s (would have matched the 15-1 jump of "Paperback Writer" by the Beatles). Anyway, I thought this song was great, though, to this day, I still haven't learned all the lyrics! 15: S.O.S. - ABBA (15) - I liked the way Casey introed this song with the morse code (with the dits and dahs). This song wasn't bad, but definitely not one of my favorites from them (among my favorite Abba hits would be "Dancing Queen" and "The Winner Takes It All"). 14: NIGHTS ON BROADWAY - BEE GEES (18) - This one didn't have as much of a disco beat as "Jive Talkin'". Of those two songs, I preferred this one (as "Jive Talkin'" was way overplayed). Still, I prefer many other songs from them. OPTIONAL EXTRA: FOX ON THE RUN - SWEET - What did Larry say about this song in the intro? I didn't quite catch it. 13: SKY HIGH - JIGSAW (17) - Often thought of as a one-hit wonder, they did actually have another minor Top 40 hit in 1976 called "Love Fire". I preferred this one, though - one of my favorite hits from 1975! 12: CALYPSO - JOHN DENVER (3) - They intermittently played this song and the flipside, "I'm Sorry" during its chart run (although I think they played this one more often by this point, since it became the "A" side shortly after "I'm Sorry" fell out of #1. I slightly preferred the latter, but this one was pretty good as well. 11: THEY JUST CAN'T STOP IT (GAMES PEOPLE PLAY) - SPINNERS (7) - This was their lowest peaking song to hit the Top Ten. That's right; they either hit the Top Five or missed the Top Ten altogether. This was one of my favorite songs from them. 10: LOW RIDER - WAR (12) - Meh, I was never a big fan of this one - way too repetitive. 9: THE WAY I WANT TO TOUCH YOU - CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (10) - While I do prefer this song over the ad nauseum played "Love Will Keep Us Together" (not to mention the barf-inducing "Muskrat Love"), it's definitely not my favorite from them (that honor, of course, goes to "Do That To Me One More Time"). 8: FEELINGS - MORRIS ALBERT (9) - Not too surprised to see this one move back up, given the fact that it was played ad nauseum during its chart run. This song used to get a "No. Just no", but, though it is indeed a very cheesy song, I've actually started liking it better over the past few years. 7: THIS WILL BE - NATALIE COLE (8) - 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: THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT - K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (19) - With a jump like that, it was clear that this was going to be a second #1 for them (and no surprise that they arm-wrestled for a short while with Silver Convention for the top spot). 5: HEAT WAVE - LINDA RONSTADT (6) - Glad that this song became the A-side of the 45. Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against "Love Is A Rose", which was played on the last 1975 show (with "Heat Wave" as an Optional Extra), but it didn't hold a candle to this song, which I also preferred over the original by Martha & The Vandellas by a sizeable margin. 4: MIRACLES - JEFFERSON STARSHIP (5) - Wow, for two weeks in a row, two of JessieLou's divas appear on the chart back-to-back! (Even though Marty Balin had taken over as lead singer at this point instead of Grace Slick, who was still with the band). This wasn't bad, but I preferred the two 1978 songs with him singing lead. EXTRA: DON'T THINK TWICE - THE WONDER WHO - YECCH!! What the hell? I'd rather hear fingernails on the chalkboard! It was, however, interesting how this song was recorded as a joke and became a Top 20 hit anyway. Of course, I preferred the original version (that hit the chart, anyway, as I know it was written by Bob Dylan) by Peter, Paul & Mary, for obvious reasons. 3: WHO LOVES YOU - FOUR SEASONS (4) - Their comeback hit, and the last with Frankie Valli singing lead. It was a great song - one of their best, IMO and refreshing to hear after the trainwreck above - definitely a "No. Just no" song. OPTIONAL EXTRA: LOVE ROLLERCOASTER - THE OHIO PLAYERS - This song would become their second #1 hit, almost a year to the date after their first. I wasn't generally a fan of them, but this song wasn't too bad. 2: LYING EYES - EAGLES (2) - This is a great song, but I preferred the album version of the song - the single version seems way too chopped down. I can see why, however, as the album version runs for six and a half minutes, and radio stations generally frowned on that back then, not to mention that AT40, already beginning to outgrow its three-hour format, would have a hard time fitting that in and would most likely edit it anyway. This week, however, they only included the first verse and chorus, skipping ahead to when they repeated "there ain't no way to hide your Lyin' Eyes" to the ending. If only they hadn't felt the need to play that awful song to which I cannot believe that Bob Dylan gave the green light! 1: ISLAND GIRL - ELTON JOHN (1) - This song wasted absolutely no time hitting #1 - it was in its third week at #1 after being on the chart for only five up to now! This was also his third song to hit #1 this year (fourth, if you include "Bad Blood", which Casey did not, as that was not his own hit). Of his #1 songs, this was the only one to be featured on an album - "Rock Of The Westies", which was also at #1 this week, where it had debuted the week before. Anyway, even though, of his #1 1975 songs, "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" is my favorite, this would definitely be a close second, as it is a great song as well! As yet (3:25 CST, Sunday, November 19, 2017), we don't yet know what show is coming up next week, but it's high time for a 1979 show, and there are three consecutive yet-to-be-aired shows from that year, starting with the November 24 show, which would fit perfectly next week. So that will be my primary prediction. My back-up prediction would be 11/25/1972 if not for the fact that it last aired in 2015, so I'll go with another new show - 11/26/1977 (that jazz about no more new shows in November seems to have been disproven at this point).
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Nov 19, 2017 16:32:17 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s -November 18, 2017 This week's presentation - November 15, 1975 Droppers: DANCE WITH ME - ORLEANS (39) - 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. Yeah all three are equally great. ROCKIN' ALL OVER THE WORLD (34) - Fogerty's third hit since the disbanding of Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was okies, but I preferred his three 1985 hits (including the Top 40 near-miss "Centerfield") as well as several others by CCR. Same here, this was nice enough but he's had better. BORN TO RUN - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (23) - This was definitely one of his signature songs! Given that fact, it's hard to believe that this song didn't get any higher than #23! Yeah, I'm surprised this peaked so low! Great song - Casey's prediction that, after his Time and Newsweek covers that he'd be the next massive rock star turned out to be true given how huge he'd become in the 80's especially. 40: I'M ON FIRE - 5,000 VOLTS (debut) - The only hit for this British disco trio. It was OK, but nothing exceptional. I preferred Springsteen's 1985 hit of the same title by a fair margin. Agreed. 39: YOU - GEORGE HARRISON (20) - This was possibly my least favorite of his solo hits. You couldn't understand what he was saying half the time. I really like this but he had better. 38: IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE - TAVARES (38) - Hard to believe that this was their only Top Ten hit, since a few of their other songs still get recurrent airplay on oldies stations. As for this song, it wasn't bad, but nothing special. It looked like this song would drop off this week, but it managed to hold on for another week. Great song, one of their best! EXTRA: 100 LBS. OF CLAY - GENE McDANIEL - A "whatever happened to..." kind of story about this man, who had a #3 hit with this song. In 1963, when he was no longer hitting the charts, the became a writer and producer of several chart hits, including "Feel Like Makin Love" for Roberta Flack and also worked with Gladys Knight & The Pips. Melba Moore and Merry Clayton The song of Moore's that was played was pretty good. This was ok but nothing special. 37: I LOVE MUSIC - O'JAYS (debut) - This one wasn't bad, but rather repetitive. I preferred a few other songs by them, such as "Love Train" and "Use Ta Be My Girl". Love this one, one of my favourites from them! 36: VENUS AND MARS ROCK SHOW - WINGS (debut) - One of five Top 40 songs they charted with in 1975 (including the double-sided "Junior's Farm/Sally G" as separate chart entries). It was OK, but my favorite of their 1975 hits was the number one "Listen To What The Man Said". Great song! I do feel "Listen To What The Man Said" was their best 1975 hit but this is great too. 35: DIAMONDS AND RUST - JOAN BAEZ (40) - As pointed out in another thread, Jewel's "Foolish Games" sounds a lot like this songs, especially in the verses. It was a good song, definitely with her trademark folk rock song. Yeah, this was pretty good - a highlight of JessieLou's 1975 Book Club show. 34: LADY BLUE - LEON RUSSELL (14) - 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. Yeah, this was alright. 33: BRAZIL - RITCHIE FAMILY (30) - This was a pretty good Philly music here. Not bad considering it's a remake of a pre-rock era hit. 32: SECRET LOVE - FREDDY FENDER (35) - Any other time, I might post a comment like "one good remake deserves another", but that is not the case here. You know, he might sound better if he sang an octave lower. If not for his grating voice, this would be a really good song. No. Just no. 31: PEACE PIPE - B.T. EXPRESS (31) - Despite its good sized move last week, this song, the flipside of their #40 hit from September "Give It What You Got" didn't get any higher than #31. It was OK, but nothing exceptional. Yeah, this was alright but I prefer their two top 10 hits. 30: JUST TOO MANY PEOPLE - MELISSA MANCHESTER (32) - This one sounded a little out of place for 1975; it seemed more like an early-80s hit. A great song! Nice song but I generally prefer her top 10 hits. 29: OUT DAY WILL COME - FRANKIE VALLI (37) - Wow, he was on the chart both as a solo artist and with his old band the Four Seasons! I thought both of them were great. Yeah, this was another good song from him, but I prefer his other song on the chart. 28: I WANT'A DO SOMETHING FREAKY TO YOU - LEON HAYWOOD (33) - The second of two Leons on this week's chart. This song was OK, but not quite my cup of tea. I liked this one, particularly for its use as a sample. OPTIONAL EXTRA: I WRITE THE SONGS - BARRY MANILOW - His somewhat ironically titled song, since it was actually Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys that wrote it. Though I generally like his songs, this one is actually one of my least favorites from him. It's passable, though. Meh, was never into this one, I only like a handful of his songs and this isn't one of them. 27: SATURDAY NIGHT - BAY CITY ROLLERS (36) - Huh huh, they spelled “turd”. But seriously, I was not a huge fan of this song, or them in general (though they did have a few songs that I did like). Great song - a true guilty pleasure! 26: OPERATOR - MANHATTAN TRANSFER (29) - Their first of four Top 40 hits. This song was OK, but I prefer several others by them (including a few of their AC-only songs (i.e. “Mystery”). I prefer their 80's stuff but this was good too. 25: BLUE EYES CRYIN' IN THE RAIN - WILLIE NELSON (27) - Another artist who was enjoying his first Top 40 hit. It wasn't bad, but I preferred his 80s hits. No. Just no. 24: BAD BLOOD - NEIL SEDAKA (16) - Today, this song would be billed as being by Neil Sedaka featuring Elton John (and, ironically, the featured artist would unseat this song from the top spot). It was a good song - one of my favorite songs from Sedaka and one I remember quite well from back in the day. I like the way they replace the questionable word with "promises", which is mentioned only once elsewhere in the song, but sung with the right notes. Good song, even if JessieLou thinks it's an off key anthem. 23: EIGHTEEN WITH A BULLET - PETE WINGFIELD (26) - This song would hit the #18 position on the Hot 100 - with a bullet a few weeks later. It also was #18 on the R&R chart, but had lost its bullet by then. Due to the irony of the title, I would have bulleted the song just for the heck of it, even if it hadn't earned one that week - after all, the song would climb a spot higher the following week instead of dropping. As for the song, I wasn't a big fan of it - his voice sounds like someone kicked him in the nards. No. Just no. THIS is what I call an off key anthem! 22: I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU - ART GARFUNKEL (25) - A classic golden oldie that has been covered many times over! This is one of the best renditions of it that I've ever heard. Yeah, this was pretty decent. 21: LET'S DO IT AGAIN - STAPLE SINGERS (28) - Your typical mid-70s slow jam. It was pretty good, but nothing exceptional. This song was one of two songs cheated out of its #1 week on AT40 due to their year-end wrap-up being played over two weeks (the other one was "Saturday Night", which we heard back at #27. Starting the following year, Billboard took a week off, so that unfortunate slight wouldn't happen quite as much. I like this but prefer others from them. 20: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES - ESTHER PHILLIPS (21) - Like the Freddy Fender song, this song would be great had it not been for the grating voice singing it, since I like the melody. This was ok but nothing special. 19: MY LITTLE TOWN - SIMON & GARFUNKEL (24) - The week before, Art had passed himself with this song. Paul was between singles at the time, so they just missed being on the chart as a duet and with separate chart singles. I liked this song, which appeared on both of their solo albums (and by the time Paul hit the Top 40 with "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" the first week of 1976, Garfunkel's solo hit had left the survey (but Casey wouldn't have been able to announce the chart first, since it would have happened on a year-end chart week, so it didn't really make any difference, unless it had become the subject of a question letter). Great song! One of my favourites from them. 18: DO IT ANYWAY YOU WANNA - PEOPLES CHOICE (11) - This one was quite repetitive. Not a fan of it at all. This was alright but I do agree it's repetitive. 17: SOMETHING BETTER TO DO - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (13) - Sort of a disappointing chart single, especially based on its strong debut at #19 a month earlier, but the song would take baby steps all the way to its peak of #13. Not sure what happened there - apparently, they stopped promoting the song once it hit the chart. As for my opinion of the song, it was a good one - reminded me a little of her #1 "Have You Never Been Mellow" from earlier in 1975. Nice enough song, but she's had better. 16: FLY ROBIN FLY - SILVER CONVENTION (22) - Though not taking baby steps, this song had a chart run typical of your average Top Ten hit. Who knew that the following week, the song would jump all the way into the runner-up position. If not for the song that was #1 that week, the song might have set a record for the biggest jump into the top spot during the 1970s (would have matched the 15-1 jump of "Paperback Writer" by the Beatles). Anyway, I thought this song was great, though, to this day, I still haven't learned all the lyrics! Great song! I like both of their big hits about the same. 15: S.O.S. - ABBA (15) - I liked the way Casey introed this song with the morse code (with the dits and dahs). This song wasn't bad, but definitely not one of my favorites from them (among my favorite Abba hits would be "Dancing Queen" and "The Winner Takes It All"). Yeah, that was a pretty clever intro (and it was referred to in a 2007 Rick Dees show I was just listening to as the Jonas Brothers song of the same title was charting then). Great song - one of my favourite ABBA songs! 14: NIGHTS ON BROADWAY - BEE GEES (18) - This one didn't have as much of a disco beat as "Jive Talkin'". Of those two songs, I preferred this one (as "Jive Talkin'" was way overplayed). Still, I prefer many other songs from them. Great song - one of their best! OPTIONAL EXTRA: FOX ON THE RUN - SWEET - What did Larry say about this song in the intro? I didn't quite catch it. I didn't hear the extras but I think this might be my favourite song from them. 13: SKY HIGH - JIGSAW (17) - Often thought of as a one-hit wonder, they did actually have another minor Top 40 hit in 1976 called "Love Fire". I preferred this one, though - one of my favorite hits from 1975! I prefer this by default as their other hit is "wtf did this sound like again" for me. Great song! 12: CALYPSO - JOHN DENVER (3) - They intermittently played this song and the flipside, "I'm Sorry" during its chart run (although I think they played this one more often by this point, since it became the "A" side shortly after "I'm Sorry" fell out of #1. I slightly preferred the latter, but this one was pretty good as well. I never got into "I'm Sorry" and this wasn't much better. Had no idea it was about Jacques Cousteau though! 11: THEY JUST CAN'T STOP IT (GAMES PEOPLE PLAY) - SPINNERS (7) - This was their lowest peaking song to hit the Top Ten. That's right; they either hit the Top Five or missed the Top Ten altogether. This was one of my favorite songs from them. Same here. 10: LOW RIDER - WAR (12) - Meh, I was never a big fan of this one - way too repetitive. Great song - probably the one I hear the most these days though they have a few that still get played. 9: THE WAY I WANT TO TOUCH YOU - CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (10) - While I do prefer this song over the ad nauseum played "Love Will Keep Us Together" (not to mention the barf-inducing "Muskrat Love"), it's definitely not my favorite from them (that honor, of course, goes to "Do That To Me One More Time"). No, you divorced geezers, you just DON'T touch me! 8: FEELINGS - MORRIS ALBERT (9) - Not too surprised to see this one move back up, given the fact that it was played ad nauseum during its chart run. This song used to get a "No. Just no", but, though it is indeed a very cheesy song, I've actually started liking it better over the past few years. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW GEEZER Easily the worst "song" on the entire chart and one of my most hated of the 70's overall. 7: THIS WILL BE - NATALIE COLE (8) - 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. Great song, one of her best! 6: THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT - K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (19) - With a jump like that, it was clear that this was going to be a second #1 for them (and no surprise that they arm-wrestled for a short while with Silver Convention for the top spot). Yeah, this was a great one, glad it became their second #1! 5: HEAT WAVE - LINDA RONSTADT (6) - Glad that this song became the A-side of the 45. Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against "Love Is A Rose", which was played on the last 1975 show (with "Heat Wave" as an Optional Extra), but it didn't hold a candle to this song, which I also preferred over the original by Martha & The Vandellas by a sizeable margin. Great song! One of her best (and she had so many great songs!) 4: MIRACLES - JEFFERSON STARSHIP (5) - Wow, for two weeks in a row, two of JessieLou's divas appear on the chart back-to-back! (Even though Marty Balin had taken over as lead singer at this point instead of Grace Slick, who was still with the band). This wasn't bad, but I preferred the two 1978 songs with him singing lead. Great song! One of my favourites from any incarnation of Jefferson Whoever (and I'm sure JessieLou loves this the most as it's possibly her favourite of the 70's overall!) EXTRA: DON'T THINK TWICE - THE WONDER WHO - YECCH!! What the hell? I'd rather hear fingernails on the chalkboard! It was, however, interesting how this song was recorded as a joke and became a Top 20 hit anyway. Of course, I preferred the original version (that hit the chart, anyway, as I know it was written by Bob Dylan) by Peter, Paul & Mary, for obvious reasons. Eek, this was AWFUL! This sounded like something JessieLou would've played as a "token bad song" on the Book Club. I can see why it wasn't released as a Four Seasons song as this was VERY off key! 3: WHO LOVES YOU - FOUR SEASONS (4) - Their comeback hit, and the last with Frankie Valli singing lead. It was a great song - one of their best, IMO and refreshing to hear after the trainwreck above - definitely a "No. Just no" song. Agreed - love this one and it was good to hear Frankie Valli singing more normally on this one compared to that awful Wonder Who whinefest! OPTIONAL EXTRA: LOVE ROLLERCOASTER - THE OHIO PLAYERS - This song would become their second #1 hit, almost a year to the date after their first. I wasn't generally a fan of them, but this song wasn't too bad. Great song! I like both of their #1 hits about the same, very funky! 2: LYING EYES - EAGLES (2) - This is a great song, but I preferred the album version of the song - the single version seems way too chopped down. I can see why, however, as the album version runs for six and a half minutes, and radio stations generally frowned on that back then, not to mention that AT40, already beginning to outgrow its three-hour format, would have a hard time fitting that in and would most likely edit it anyway. This week, however, they only included the first verse and chorus, skipping ahead to when they repeated "there ain't no way to hide your Lyin' Eyes" to the ending. If only they hadn't felt the need to play that awful song to which I cannot believe that Bob Dylan gave the green light! Same here, I always enjoyed this song played out in full the best (same with the Jefferson Starship song, which is over six minutes in its album version, but was shortened even more from the radio edit - why, oh why, did Casey HAVE to play that awful Wonder Who "song"?) 1: ISLAND GIRL - ELTON JOHN (1) - This song wasted absolutely no time hitting #1 - it was in its third week at #1 after being on the chart for only five up to now! This was also his third song to hit #1 this year (fourth, if you include "Bad Blood", which Casey did not, as that was not his own hit). Of his #1 songs, this was the only one to be featured on an album - "Rock Of The Westies", which was also at #1 this week, where it had debuted the week before. Anyway, even though, of his #1 1975 songs, "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" is my favorite, this would definitely be a close second, as it is a great song as well! Great song! I can see why it climbed so fast to #1 as he was on a hot streak then. As for Chicago... wasn't this around the time of their first greatest hits album? And the JessieLou queens... Grace and Linda were both top 5. Next week: I hope we finally get another 1979 show, but they'll probably give us 1970 or something like that.
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Post by Hervard on Nov 19, 2017 17:30:08 GMT -5
Next week: I hope we finally get another 1979 show, but they'll probably give us 1970 or something like that. I doubt it will be 1970, since we just got that year two weeks ago (though that would be yet another new show, like the two I mentioned).
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Post by Hervard on Nov 25, 2017 12:09:38 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - November 25, 2017 This week's presentation - November 26, 1977 40: HEY DEANIE - SHAUN CASSIDY (debut) - The third of four Top 40 hits from this singer/actor from L.A. I liked it, but preferred his first two hits, both of which hit the Top Ten (as did this song) and one of which is coming up later in the countdown. 39: SERPENTINE FIRE - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (debut) - Another L.A.-based act that had quite a few hits during the 70s (though they didn't hit the Top 40 until 1974). This was a pretty good song, but not quite their best (I don't think I need to remind you that my two faves from them are "That's The Way Of The World" and "September", do I? 38: YOU'RE IN MY HEART - ROD STEWART (debut) - This song would become his second #1 on R&R, but it didn't quite make it on the Hot 100 (basically, if you weren't the Bee Gees or at least on the RSO label in the first half of 1978, you were pretty much S.O.L. EXTRA: THEN CAME YOU - DIONNE WARWICK AND THE SPINNERS - These two acts united in 1974 for a one-time duet, and got a #1 song out of it. This, of course, was one of two consecutive songs to fall to #15 from the top spot, which is the biggest drop from the top spot (that I know of anyway; I stopped following the Hot 100 very soon after 11/30/91. 37: BRICK HOUSE - THE COMMODORES (debut) - I've mentioned how the Commodores started getting really good with their song "Easy". This song, however, could be an exception - I used to like it, but after hearing it at virtually every wedding reception I went to, as well as overplayed on oldies stations, I'm quite burned out on it at this point. 36: THE WAY I FEEL TONIGHT - THE BAY CITY ROLLERS (40) - They went with a slow song this time around. Reminded me a little of "Without You" by Harry Nilsson. It wasn't bad, but nothing exceptional. 35: WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS - QUEEN (debut) - Not sure whether or not radio was playing "We Will Rock You" with this one yet, but they certainly were by the time 1978 rolled in - every radio station I listened to were playing both songs and never one or the other. 34: DO YOU WANT TO GET FUNKY WITH ME - PETER BROWN (18) - This might not be roof-raising R&B, but it's definitely loud and quite repetitive. Not a big fan. 33: SHE'S NOT THERE - SANTANA (37) - This remake of the Zombies 1965 hit sounded very much like the original. Both are good songs. 32: CALLING OCCUPANTS OF INTERPLANETARY CRAFT - THE CARPENTERS (33) - They had pretty much already had their day in the sun, as their two 1977 songs didn't even hit the Top 30. This one wasn't bad, but I can see why this one didn't do as well as their earlier songs. 31: THAT'S ROCK & ROLL - SHAUN CASSIDY (13) - This was his second of three Top 40 hits during 1977 and possibly my second favorite behind "Da Doo Ron Ron". 30: YOU CAN'T TURN ME OFF - HIGH ENERGY (34) - This one reminds me a little of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Diana Ross. It was a pretty good song. 29: JUST REMEMBER I LOVE YOU - FIREFALL (11) - They only had one Top Ten, but two of their songs just barely missed. This was one of those songs, peaking at #11 and taking a hard fall this week. One of my favorite songs by Firefall! 28: I GO CRAZY - PAUL DAVIS (29) - Very odd that Casey answered a question letter about slow climbing songs when he got up to one of the ultimate. Now even though this song did not go to #1, nor was it by a woman (which the QL was about), but this song took 30 weeks to reach its peak of #7. I liked this, but preferred several others by him. OPTIONAL EXTRA: MORE THAN A WOMAN - TAVARES - Of course, the more known version of this song was the one by the Bee Gees, but, since that one was not released as a single from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, they decided to go with this one as the sales track (if it got any airplay, it had to be very little, as I think radio went with said Bee Gees version). 27: GONE TOO FAR - ENGLAND DAN & JOHN FORD COLEY (31) - Their fourth of six Top 40 hits and possibly their most obscure of those. I liked it, just like their other hits. 26: SWINGTOWN - THE STEVE MILLER BAND (36) - This was their fourth Top Ten hit during 1977 (although the first of them came from a different album). Of the three Book Of Dreams singles, it would be a close race between this and "Jet Airliner" for my favorite - both are great. 25: YOUR SMILING FACE - JAMES TAYLOR (27) - The second of two Top 40 songs from his JT album. Both were great songs and I'm not sure which of them I prefer. 24: HERE YOU COME AGAIN - DOLLY PARTON (30) - Chiefly a country act, Parton did have a few crossover hits and this was the first of them. It's definitely one of my favorite songs from her. 23: COME SAIL AWAY - STYX (25) - Of course, the single version of this song was cut down more than necessary. Of all three versions I've heard, I like the one that's about four minutes long; the only thing cut from that part is the bridge, with the weird spacey sound effects. I'm thinking that Casey said that Styx had met a close encounter of the third kind since that movie had just been released a week earlier (possibly the same day that this show was aired). 22: SLIP SLIDIN' AWAY - PAUL SIMON (26) - This song would become his fifth Top Ten solo single (yes, I thought he'd had more than that up to this point as well). His next Top 40 solo entry would be "Late In The Evening", in 1980. 21: SENTIMENTAL LADY - BOB WELCH (32) - Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, for whom Welch was the former guitarist, is heard singing back-up on his first solo hit. It was a great song IMO. 20: ISN'T IT TIME - THE BABYS (22) - Their first of three Top 40 hits. Of those, my favorites would be their two songs that peaked at #13 (the other being "Everytime I Think Of You" from 1979) - not sure which I prefer, as I think both are great. 19: SEND IN THE CLOWNS - JUDY COLLINS (21) - Interesting that this song started its chart run similar to that of its original one - moving 40-36. It would deviate from it the following week, as, in its original release, it didn't get any higher, but this time around, would continue to climb the chart, peaking at #19 this week. I guess you could call this one a guilty pleasure, as I like it. 18: DUSIC - BRICK (19) - Doesn't the beginning of this song sound a lot like the intro to "Band Of Gold". Well, anyway, even though this would probably be classified as "roof-raising R&B", this one was actually not bad. EXTRA: MOCKINGBIRD - JAMES TAYLOR & CARLY SIMON - Up to then, they were the only married couple to score individually and then with a duet (I believe Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston matched that feat in 1993 with "Something In Common", although that song didn't hit the Top Ten like this one, a good rock and roll adaptation of the "hush little baby..." lullaby. 17: BABY COME BACK - PLAYER (38) - Wow! What a leap there, especially for a debut single! It was clear where this song was going! 16: I FEEL LOVE - DONNA SUMMER (12) - Part 2 of "Love To Love You Baby". I wasn't a huge fan of this one - I preferred Summer's 1978-80 era. 15: NOBODY DOES IT BETTER - CARLY SIMON (10) - 1977 was definitely the year for movie songs! This one, from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me, was one of many songs held out of #1 by - well, this week's #1 song (it did sneak in a week at #1 on the R&R chart). It is one of my favorite songs by Carly Simon, as well as one of my faves on this week's chart. OPTIONAL EXTRA: DANCE DANCE DANCE (YOWSAH YOWSAH YOWSAH) - CHIC - Meh, not a big fan of this song, or them in general. 14: HELP IS ON IT'S WAY - LITTLE RIVER BAND (14) - This is a song that they seemed to butcher more often than not, but this week, the song was left intact. Good thing, because it was a good song. 13: YOU MAKE LOVIN' FUN - FLEETWOOD MAC (15) - This song started its chart run with two large chart jumps, but by this point, were taking baby steps all the way up to their peak of #9. This is the second of two songs on which Christine McVie is involved with on this week's countdown - aside from singing back-up on Bob Welch's "Sentimental Lady", she handles the lead vocals on this song - easily my favorite single from the Rumors album. 12: WE JUST DISAGREE - DAVE MASON (17) - This one sounds kind of dated. It's not bad, but it somehow doesn't sound anywhere near as fresh as it did back in 1977. 11: BACK IN LOVE AGAIN - LTD (24) - This would become the biggest of their three Top 40 hits, peaking at #4 in December. It wasn't bad, but I generally preferred lead singer Jeffrey Osbourne's solo hits. 10: IT'S SO EASY - LINDA RONSTADT (16) - Ronstadt was competing with herself on the chart with two hits - one upbeat song and one ballad (the disparity may have been instrumental in how well they did on the chart). This was the former of the two and, though I did prefer her other song, this was a great one as well! 9: IT'S ECSTASY WHEN YOU LAY DOWN NEXT TO ME - BARRY WHITE (4) - This song was usually edited down to about a minute and a half, this week being no exception (which was just as well to me, since I wasn't a fan of it). 8: BLUE BAYOU - LINDA RONSTADT (9) - This song was also edited down as well, jumping from the first verse straight to the second verse. But when you try to squeeze 14 songs into an hour, unless you plan on running no commercials, a few songs have to be shortened. But anyway, as stated earlier, this is my favorite of her two songs on this week's chart. 7: WE'RE ALL ALONE - RITA COOLIDGE (8) - This was her second Top Ten hit. And what do you know, they edited this one down too! Truly, a four-hour show was called for a few years before it finally became a reality. Anyhoo, I like both songs about the same. I remember buying the 45 of "We're All Alone" in March, 1983 - and "Higher Than Higher" was on the flipside! 6: HEAVEN ON THE 7th FLOOR - PAUL NICHOLAS (7) - Since this song was less than three minutes long, they apparently deemed it safe to play the entire thing. This was melodically a great song, but the lyrics were sort of questionable - the guy was stuck in an elevator with someone who wanted nothing to do with him - and he was happy nonetheless. I'd have felt very awkward and, like the girl in the elevator with me, I'd want them to have us out ASAP. But that's just me. As I said, the music itself was great. It looked like this song might join the elite club of songs that peaked at the number mentioned in the title, but that was blown out of the water the following week when it climbed to #6. 5: BABY WHAT A BIG SURPRISE - CHICAGO (5) - At first, it looked as if this song could become their second #1 song, but it only managed to climb one spot higher, as the Top Three was just too strong for it. Interesting story about how the band went to visit two fans, hospitalized with injuries sustained in a train crash who had tickets to see them in concert, but, being in plaster casts, that obviously wasn't gonna happen. 4: BOOGIE NIGHTS - HEATWAVE (2) - aka Part 1 of this song (part 2 would chart the following summmer). Both songs bookended about the only Heatwave song that I like, the more mellow "Always And Forever". 3: HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE - THE BEE GEES (6) - It was fairly obvious that this was going to be one of their bigger hits, but little did anyone know just how big a hit this would be! Who knew that it would still be on the chart at the beginning of spring? Definitely one of my favorites from them! OPTIONAL EXTRA: MY WAY - ELVIS PRESLEY - A great rendition of the Frank Sinatra classic! My favorite of the ones I've heard (though the only other one I've heard, other than the two listed here, is the one from Kermit The Frog, and even that one had different lyrics and a slightly different melody - it was called "This Frog" 2: DON'T IT MAKE MY BROWN EYES BLUE - CRYSTAL GAYLE (3) - Since this song's playing time was about two and a half minutes, there was no need to edit it (though I seem to recall that at least once, they did just that). Anyway, I liked this song, as well as all of Gayle's other crossover hits, including a few that didn't quite make the Top 40 chart, but did well at AC. 1: YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE - DEBBY BOONE (1) - The previous week, this song was in a three-way tie (with "The Wayward Wind" by Gogi Grant and "Yawn City" by Roberta Flack for the longest-running #1 song by a solo female. This week, it pulls into first place to have the title all to itself. It seemed to try and make sure that it would stay that way, by spending three more weeks on top. Oddly enough, the next song to spend that long at #1 was also by a female soloist, putting the song back into a tie. Anyway, this song was definitely a guilty pleasure of mine - as cheesy as it is, I just can't help but love the song! Coming up next week: We do not yet know what show is on deck for next week, but I'm hoping that is the December 1, 1979 show - or maybe even December 8, since both songs have yet to be played, plus we haven't had a show from that year since late August (matching the 1985 drought, which, of course, was ended this week). My back-up prediction is one of the two yet-unplayed December, 1972 shows, since it's getting to be time for that year as well.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Nov 25, 2017 12:31:45 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - November 25, 2017 This week's presentation - November 26, 1977 Falling off: Foreigner - Cold As Ice (39) - great song! One of my favourites from them! Meco - Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band (35) - great song! As weird as Star Wars theme music done disco sounds in theory, it actually worked here Seals & Crofts - My Fair Share (28) - I seem to remember I liked this, as I like most of their stuff Barry Manilow - Daybreak (23) - No big loss. 40: HEY DEANIE - SHAUN CASSIDY (debut) - The third of four Top 40 hits from this singer/actor from L.A. I liked it, but preferred his first two hits, both of which hit the Top Ten (as did this song) and one of which is coming up later in the countdown. Yeah, this was nice enough. 39: SERPENTINE FIRE - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (debut) - Another L.A.-based act that had quite a few hits during the 70s (though they didn't hit the Top 40 until 1974). This was a pretty good song, but not quite their best (I don't think I need to remind you that my two faves from them are "That's The Way Of The World" and "September", do I? Great song! One of my favourites from them, though I do also prefer said two songs you mentioned. 38: YOU'RE IN MY HEART - ROD STEWART (debut) - This song would become his second #1 on R&R, but it didn't quite make it on the Hot 100 (basically, if you weren't the Bee Gees or at least on the RSO label in the first half of 1978, you were pretty much S.O.L. Great song! One of my favourites from him. EXTRA: THEN CAME YOU - DIONNE WARWICK AND THE SPINNERS - These two acts united in 1974 for a one-time duet, and got a #1 song out of it. This, of course, was one of two consecutive songs to fall to #15 from the top spot, which is the biggest drop from the top spot (that I know of anyway; I stopped following the Hot 100 very soon after 11/30/91. Um.... her name back then was spelled Dionne Warwick e Great song - one of my favourites from both artists! 37: BRICK HOUSE - THE COMMODORES (debut) - I've mentioned how the Commodores started getting really good with their song "Easy". This song, however, could be an exception - I used to like it, but after hearing it at virtually every wedding reception I went to, as well as overplayed on oldies stations, I'm quite burned out on it at this point. Great song! As much as they're known for their ballads, it was good to hear some funk from them here. 36: THE WAY I FEEL TONIGHT - THE BAY CITY ROLLERS (40) - They went with a slow song this time around. Reminded me a little of "Without You" by Harry Nilsson. It wasn't bad, but nothing exceptional. Yeah this was alright but I prefer their uptempos. 35: WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS - QUEEN (debut) - Not sure whether or not radio was playing "We Will Rock You" with this one yet, but they certainly were by the time 1978 rolled in - every radio station I listened to were playing both songs and never one or the other. Great song! Of course, it always sounds best with "We Will Rock You" leading into it, but I don't think Casey ever played that one during the chart run. 34: DO YOU WANT TO GET FUNKY WITH ME - PETER BROWN (18) - This might not be roof-raising R&B, but it's definitely loud and quite repetitive. Not a big fan. I like this one but prefer "Dance With Me". 33: SHE'S NOT THERE - SANTANA (37) - This remake of the Zombies 1965 hit sounded very much like the original. Both are good songs. Agreed. 32: CALLING OCCUPANTS OF INTERPLANETARY CRAFT - THE CARPENTERS (33) - They had pretty much already had their day in the sun, as their two 1977 songs didn't even hit the Top 30. This one wasn't bad, but I can see why this one didn't do as well as their earlier songs. Interesting story about the songwriters of this song - Klaatu, and the mystery behind their identity. This song was alright but I can see why it flopped - I prefer their earlier 70's stuff. 31: THAT'S ROCK & ROLL - SHAUN CASSIDY (13) - This was his second of three Top 40 hits during 1977 and possibly my second favorite behind "Da Doo Ron Ron". Yeah, this was pretty good. 30: YOU CAN'T TURN ME OFF - HIGH ENERGY (34) - This one reminds me a little of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Diana Ross. It was a pretty good song. Agreed. 29: JUST REMEMBER I LOVE YOU - FIREFALL (11) - They only had one Top Ten, but two of their songs just barely missed. This was one of those songs, peaking at #11 and taking a hard fall this week. One of my favorite songs by Firefall! Same here and one that became an LDD favourite. 28: I GO CRAZY - PAUL DAVIS (29) - Very odd that Casey answered a question letter about slow climbing songs when he got up to one of the ultimate. Now even though this song did not go to #1, nor was it by a woman (which the QL was about), but this song took 30 weeks to reach its peak of #7. I liked this, but preferred several others by him. Yeah, this was pretty good but I prefer his 1982 hits. OPTIONAL EXTRA: MORE THAN A WOMAN - TAVARES - Of course, the more known version of this song was the one by the Bee Gees, but, since that one was not released as a single from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, they decided to go with this one as the sales track (if it got any airplay, it had to be very little, as I think radio went with said Bee Gees version). Yeah, the Bee Gees version was the one that made the R&R chart. I do like both versions though. 27: GONE TOO FAR - ENGLAND DAN & JOHN FORD COLEY (31) - Their fourth of six Top 40 hits and possibly their most obscure of those. I liked it, just like their other hits. Yeah, this was nice enough but I prefer their other hits, all of which are excellent. 26: SWINGTOWN - THE STEVE MILLER BAND (36) - This was their fourth Top Ten hit during 1977 (although the first of them came from a different album). Of the three Book Of Dreams singles, it would be a close race between this and "Jet Airliner" for my favorite - both are great. Yeah, I really like this one too (it also helped that isn't as overplayed as their other stuff but still does get decent play.) 25: YOUR SMILING FACE - JAMES TAYLOR (27) - The second of two Top 40 songs from his JT album. Both were great songs and I'm not sure which of them I prefer. It's an easy choice for me - even when I wasn't really into much 70's, this is one James Taylor song I have always liked. Great song - possibly his best ever! 24: HERE YOU COME AGAIN - DOLLY PARTON (30) - Chiefly a country act, Parton did have a few crossover hits and this was the first of them. It's definitely one of my favorite songs from her. Same here. 23: COME SAIL AWAY - STYX (25) - Of course, the single version of this song was cut down more than necessary. Of all three versions I've heard, I like the one that's about four minutes long; the only thing cut from that part is the bridge, with the weird spacey sound effects. I'm thinking that Casey said that Styx had met a close encounter of the third kind since that movie had just been released a week earlier (possibly the same day that this show was aired). Great song - I tend to prefer the full six minutes of this song (which is what classic rock radio has stuck with). 22: SLIP SLIDIN' AWAY - PAUL SIMON (26) - This song would become his fifth Top Ten solo single (yes, I thought he'd had more than that up to this point as well). His next Top 40 solo entry would be "Late In The Evening", in 1980. Yeah, especially given this was the lead single from a solo greatest hits collection. Great song - one of his best! 21: SENTIMENTAL LADY - BOB WELCH (32) - Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, for whom Welch was the former guitarist, is heard singing back-up on his first solo hit. It was a great song IMO. Agreed - I like all of his big hits about the same, but I'd say "Ebony Eyes" might be my favourite. 20: ISN'T IT TIME - THE BABYS (22) - Their first of three Top 40 hits. Of those, my favorites would be their two songs that peaked at #13 (the other being "Everytime I Think Of You" from 1979) - not sure which I prefer, as I think both are great. I'd say I slightly prefer this one but all of their top 40 hits were great. 19: SEND IN THE CLOWNS - JUDY COLLINS (21) - Interesting that this song started its chart run similar to that of its original one - moving 40-36. It would deviate from it the following week, as, in its original release, it didn't get any higher, but this time around, would continue to climb the chart, peaking at #19 this week. I guess you could call this one a guilty pleasure, as I like it. This was alright but I prefer "Both Sides Now". 18: DUSIC - BRICK (19) - Doesn't the beginning of this song sound a lot like the intro to "Band Of Gold". Well, anyway, even though this would probably be classified as "roof-raising R&B", this one was actually not bad. I like this but prefer "Dazz". EXTRA: MOCKINGBIRD - JAMES TAYLOR & CARLY SIMON - Up to then, they were the only married couple to score individually and then with a duet (I believe Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston matched that feat in 1993 with "Something In Common", although that song didn't hit the Top Ten like this one, a good rock and roll adaptation of the "hush little baby..." lullaby. Great song! One of my favourites from both artists! 17: BABY COME BACK - PLAYER (38) - Wow! What a leap there, especially for a debut single! It was clear where this song was going! And what a deserving #1 it turned out to be - great song! 16: I FEEL LOVE - DONNA SUMMER (12) - Part 2 of "Love To Love You Baby". I wasn't a huge fan of this one - I preferred Summer's 1978-80 era. I guess you could say this was the blueprint for today's EDM sound - great song, though I do prefer her 1978-80 hits as well. 15: NOBODY DOES IT BETTER - CARLY SIMON (10) - 1977 was definitely the year for movie songs! This one, from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me, was one of many songs held out of #1 by - well, this week's #1 song (it did sneak in a week at #1 on the R&R chart). It is one of my favorite songs by Carly Simon, as well as one of my faves on this week's chart. Great song - one of my favourite Bond themes. OPTIONAL EXTRA: DANCE DANCE DANCE (YOWSAH YOWSAH YOWSAH) - CHIC - Meh, not a big fan of this song, or them in general. I like this but prefer their three other top 10 hits. 14: HELP IS ON IT'S WAY - LITTLE RIVER BAND (14) - This is a song that they seemed to butcher more often than not, but this week, the song was left intact. Good thing, because it was a good song. Great song - I like pretty much all of their top 40 hits. 13: YOU MAKE LOVIN' FUN - FLEETWOOD MAC (15) - This song started its chart run with two large chart jumps, but by this point, were taking baby steps all the way up to their peak of #9. This is the second of two songs on which Christine McVie is involved with on this week's countdown - aside from singing back-up on Bob Welch's "Sentimental Lady", she handles the lead vocals on this song - easily my favorite single from the Rumors album. Great song - the entire album is excellent (and several other tracks do get classic rock airplay too.) 12: WE JUST DISAGREE - DAVE MASON (17) - This one sounds kind of dated. It's not bad, but it somehow doesn't sound anywhere near as fresh as it did back in 1977. I really like this one, a nice mellow tune. 11: BACK IN LOVE AGAIN - LTD (24) - This would become the biggest of their three Top 40 hits, peaking at #4 in December. It wasn't bad, but I generally preferred lead singer Jeffrey Osbourne's solo hits. Great song - one of my favourites from them. 10: IT'S SO EASY - LINDA RONSTADT (16) - Ronstadt was competing with herself on the chart with two hits - one upbeat song and one ballad (the disparity may have been instrumental in how well they did on the chart). This was the former of the two and, though I did prefer her other song, this was a great one as well! I prefer this one - probably my favourite from her overall, though she could do no wrong in the 70's, especially from 1975 on. 9: IT'S ECSTASY WHEN YOU LAY DOWN NEXT TO ME - BARRY WHITE (4) - This song was usually edited down to about a minute and a half, this week being no exception (which was just as well to me, since I wasn't a fan of it). This was alright but he had better. 8: BLUE BAYOU - LINDA RONSTADT (9) - This song was also edited down as well, jumping from the first verse straight to the second verse. But when you try to squeeze 14 songs into an hour, unless you plan on running no commercials, a few songs have to be shortened. But anyway, as stated earlier, this is my favorite of her two songs on this week's chart. Great song! 7: WE'RE ALL ALONE - RITA COOLIDGE (8) - This was her second Top Ten hit. And what do you know, they edited this one down too! Truly, a four-hour show was called for a few years before it finally became a reality. Anyhoo, I like both songs about the same. I remember buying the 45 of "We're All Alone" in March, 1983 - and "Higher Than Higher" was on the flipside! I prefer this one myself - definitely one of my favourites from her. 6: HEAVEN ON THE 7th FLOOR - PAUL NICHOLAS (7) - Since this song was less than three minutes long, they apparently deemed it safe to play the entire thing. This was melodically a great song, but the lyrics were sort of questionable - the guy was stuck in an elevator with someone who wanted nothing to do with him - and he was happy nonetheless. I'd have felt very awkward and, like the girl in the elevator with me, I'd want them to have us out ASAP. But that's just me. As I said, the music itself was great. It looked like this song might join the elite club of songs that peaked at the number mentioned in the title, but that was blown out of the water the following week when it climbed to #6. I like this one - definitely a guilty pleasure for me. 5: BABY WHAT A BIG SURPRISE - CHICAGO (5) - At first, it looked as if this song could become their second #1 song, but it only managed to climb one spot higher, as the Top Three was just too strong for it. Interesting story about how the band went to visit two fans, hospitalized with injuries sustained in a train crash who had tickets to see them in concert, but, being in plaster casts, that obviously wasn't gonna happen. Yeah, that story was very touching! Great song though - one of my favourites from them! 4: BOOGIE NIGHTS - HEATWAVE (2) - aka Part 1 of this song (part 2 would chart the following summmer). Both songs bookended about the only Heatwave song that I like, the more mellow "Always And Forever". Great song - a disco classic! 3: HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE - THE BEE GEES (6) - It was fairly obvious that this was going to be one of their bigger hits, but little did anyone know just how big a hit this would be! Who knew that it would still be on the chart at the beginning of spring? Definitely one of my favorites from them! Agreed, the Saturday Night Fever era had some of their best songs ever. OPTIONAL EXTRA: MY WAY - ELVIS PRESLEY - A great rendition of the Frank Sinatra classic! My favorite of the ones I've heard (though the only other one I've heard, other than the two listed here, is the one from Kermit The Frog, and even that one had different lyrics and a slightly different melody - it was called "This Frog"I prefer the Sinatra version but this was good too (very appropriate timing considering he had just died a few months before.) 2: DON'T IT MAKE MY BROWN EYES BLUE - CRYSTAL GAYLE (3) - Since this song's playing time was about two and a half minutes, there was no need to edit it (though I seem to recall that at least once, they did just that). Anyway, I liked this song, as well as all of Gayle's other crossover hits, including a few that didn't quite make the Top 40 chart, but did well at AC. Yeah, this was a good one - definitely one of her best. 1: YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE - DEBBY BOONE (1) - The previous week, this song was in a three-way tie (with "The Wayward Wind" by Gogi Grant and "Yawn City" by Roberta Flack for the longest-running #1 song by a solo female. This week, it pulls into first place to have the title all to itself. It seemed to try and make sure that it would stay that way, by spending three more weeks on top. Oddly enough, the next song to spend that long at #1 was also by a female soloist, putting the song back into a tie. Anyway, this song was definitely a guilty pleasure of mine - as cheesy as it is, I just can't help but love the song! No. Just no. (This has to be one of the biggest thuds ever - considering I like all the songs from 40 to 2, the only song on the chart I don't like is at #1!) Coming up next week: We do not yet know what show is on deck for next week, but I'm hoping that is the December 1, 1979 show - or maybe even December 8, since both songs have yet to be played, plus we haven't had a show from that year since late August (matching the 1985 drought, which, of course, was ended this week). My back-up prediction is one of the two yet-unplayed December, 1972 shows, since it's getting to be time for that year as well. I'm hoping for 1979 as well.
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Post by Hervard on Nov 25, 2017 14:35:08 GMT -5
^There are a few countdowns like that for me, with the worst song being #1. Just do what I do in that case; in place of the #1 song, hop over to YouTube and pull up one of your favorite songs, or a song from the same year as the countdown in question that you really like (such as one of the droppers, or a song that's poised to debut on AT40 - sort of your own, built-in Optional Extra).
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Post by Hervard on Dec 3, 2017 17:17:25 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - December 2, 2017
This week's presentation - December 8, 1979
DROPPERS: PRETTY GIRLS - MELISSA MANCHESTER (39) - This song only lasted two weeks on the chart, so it has yet to be heard on the series. I am not familiar with the song, so I must say it - wtf did this sound like again? IF YOU WANT IT - NITEFLYTE (37) - See my comment above, as the very same thing applies to this song. GOOD GIRLS DON'T - THE KNACK (33) - Well, they never quite equalled the success of "My Sharona" (then again, given how massive that song was, that would be very tough). This song was definitely my favorite of the two. RISE - HERB ALPERT (32) - Instrumental songs were becoming fewer and further between at this point, but there were still a few of them charting – and this one went all the way to the top. I'm glad it did, because it was a great one! RAINBOW CONNECTION - KERMIT THE FROG (26) - From the Muppet Movie (which remains my favorite of their movies, though somewhat by default, as the only other one I saw was "The Great Muppet Caper", and even that one was ruined by a screaming kid throughout much of the first half and hour - as after he finally calmed the hell down, I was too agitated to enjoy the rest of the movie, due to the stupidity of the parents just sitting there letting him carry on instead of taking him outside until he calmed down). Anyway, I remember this song both from its movie, as well as choir class, where this was usually part of our spring concerts. It was a pretty good song. PLEASE DON'T LEAVE - LAUREN WOOD (24) - Michael McDonald is clearly heard on backup vocals on this song, as he had done on many others around this time while the Doobie Brothers were between albums. As for this song, it was your typical MOR song from the late-70s, but I liked that kind of music (but you already know that, right?)
LW#3: STILL - THE COMMODORES LW#2: BABE - STYX LW#1: NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) - BARBRA STREISAND & DONNA SUMMER 40: I WANNA BE YOUR LOVER - PRINCE (debut) - His success was almost exclusively in the 80s (and beyond) - he was climbing the charts with this one at the end of 1979, but peaked in 1980 - and then, of course, we all know that, as of 1983, he became one of the biggest artists of the 1980s and was successful in the 1990s as well. This song wasn't bad, but I preferred many others from him. 39: CHIQUITITA - ABBA (debut) - Definitely one of Sweden's most successful acts. I thought that this song deserved a higher peak than #29, since it was one of their best, IMO. 38: THIRD TIME LUCKY (FIRST TIME I WAS A FOOL) - FOGHAT (debut) - I was never a huge fan of them, but this one was actually a great one! 37: DON'T DO ME LIKE THAT - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS (debut) - Like Prince, they definitely were most successful in the 80s, where this song carried over into - up to now, their only hit was "Breakdown" - and that only song got to #40. This song would end up being their biggest hit (by themselves) for almost exactly ten years - until "Free Fallin'" outpeaked it by three spots (still, their biggest hit ever was "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", on which they teamed up with Stevie Nicks). 36: DON'T LET GO - ISAAC HAYES (debut) - Ah, the voice of Chef on South Park. I'm not a big fan of his music, however, although this one wasn't too bad. 35: WAIT FOR ME - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (40) - They were making another attempt at riding high on the charts (and this actually did quite well, being their first hit to peak above #20 since "Rich Girl" nearly three years before, but they would really hit pay dirt in 1981, with three Top Five hits, two of those being big #1s. This one was actually a really good one - I vaguely remember it from back in the day, but I don't think the stations I listened to played it very often. 34: LOVE PAINS - YVONNE ELLIMAN (38) - I felt that this song was quite underrated, but it was a disco tune and that type of music was on its way out. Had this song charted a year or two before, it might have been more successful (since Yvonne herself had a #1 hit during that time). I liked this song and said #1 hit ("If I Can't Have You", of course) about the same, though I generally preferred the latter. 33: THE LONG RUN - THE EAGLES (debut) - With its debut on the entire Hot 100 way up here, it looked like they would chalk up another #1 hit - actually, on the R&R, this did make it to the top, but it peaked at #8 on the Hot 100 (which is still good). I preferred this song over "Heartache Tonight", but my favorite single from the Long Run album is the LP cut "The Sad Cafe". ARCHIVES: DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART - ELTON JOHN & KIKI DEE - Ah, here's one I remember quite well from its chart run (even though I was but four and a half back in 1976). In August, it was virtually impossible to listen to any Top 40 station for an hour without hearing this song. Despite all the overplay, however, I never got tired of it. It is a great song that has stood the test of time! OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE SECOND TIME AROUND - SHALAMAR - The biggest of their four Top 40 hits, and my favorite of the bunch - by far! 32: D@MNED IF I DO - ALAN PARSONS PROJECT (34) - Another band, like Prince and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, that didn't have much chart success in the 1970s, but improved in the 80s. This was their very first Top 30 hit, but they would hit the Top 20 in 1981 and then had their first and only Top Ten hit the following year. I preferred most of their 80s songs, but this was a good one as well. 31: DREAMING - BLONDIE (27) - Their debut single, "Heart Of Glass" may have hit #1, but they seemed to have a little trouble matching that success, as the next two songs failed to even hit the Top 20. This song was pretty good; I preferred it over the annoying "One Way Or Another", but the song was not quite as much as their next Top 40 after this song, "Call Me". 30: COWARD OF THE COUNTY - KENNY ROGERS (36) - Ah, the story about Tommy (aka "Yellow") putting the Gatlin Boys in their place. I definitely preferred this over Rogers' other song on the survey this week. 29: I NEED A LOVER - JOHN COUGAR (31) - Wow, lots of artists on the chart this week whose chart success in the 1970 was mediocre at best, but excelled in the 1980s. Here's another one of those - this was Cougar's breakthrough hit, and it got only one spot higher - but by 1982, he was knocking them dead, with two of the biggest hits of that year. This song was pretty good, though - I'm kind of surprised this one didn't peak higher. 28: IF YOU REMEMBER ME - CHRIS THOMPSON & NIGHT (17) - The theme from the movie "The Champ", which contains possibly THE most heartbreaking scene ever in film-dom. As for the song, it's a great one - possibly my favorite song from Barry Scott's Lost 45's. 27: THIS IS IT - KENNY LOGGINS (35) - This song ranked at #30 on the Top 100 of 1980, an unusually high position for a song that had missed the Top Ten, but its chart longevity helped it achieve its position. The song wasn't bad, but I preferred many others from him, including most of his movie hits. 26: JANE - JEFFERSON STARSHIP (30) - This was their first Top 40 hit with Mickey Thomas singing lead after Marty Balin had left the band. It was a good one, but I preferred many of their others. 25: YOU DECORATED MY LIFE - KENNY ROGERS (19) - I liked most of his Top 40 hits, but this wasn't one of them. I mean, it's tolerable, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. 24: CRUISIN' - SMOKEY ROBINSON (28) - This one sounds very dated, even for late 1979, but not bad. Still, I preferred the Huey Lewis/Gwyneth Paltrow cover from 2000. 23: I WANT YOU TONIGHT - PABLO CRUISE (25) - I liked most of their Top 40 hits, this one included. 22: TUSK - FLEETWOOD MAC (16) - Well, this song sure came and went quickly, and I can see why - they'd been absent from the chart for awhile, and people were eager about their new hit, which I'm sure was heavily promoted upon its release and it rocketed up the chart. But, since it was such a weird song, its chart climb lasted but a month (it peaked in its fifth week on the chart) and then the song fell fast. I was never a fan of the song myself - I much preferred "Sara", which would hit the charts two weeks later. ARCHIVE: YOU SHOULD BE DANCING - BEE GEES - What if I my legs are tired? No, seriously, this song was so/so, but I preferred other hits from them, especially from Saturday Night Fever. OPTIONAL EXTRA: YES I'M READY - TERI DeSARIO w/KC - This was by far my favorite of the two early 1980 songs in which KC was involved (the other one, unfortunately, is coming up later in the show. 21: ROCK WITH YOU - MICHAEL JACKSON (29) - It definitely looked like Michael had himself a second #1 in a row with this - and indeed, that did happen, as this spent a month at #1 shortly after the new year. This one used to be mediocre IMO, but now I think it's a great one - my second favorite hit from Off The Wall behind "She's Out Of My Life". 20: BETTER LOVE NEXT TIME - DR. HOOK (22) - Like "This Is It", this song also placed respectably high on the 1980 year-ender for a song that didn't make it to the Top Ten, coming in at #53. And, I think we all know it's my all-time favorite song from them. 19: DIM ALL THE LIGHTS - DONNA SUMMER (8) - As I mentioned earlier, disco was burning out, but Donna Summer, an established artist, was still going strong. I did prefer this over her duet with Barbra Streisand, but still, it wasn't one of my favorite songs from her. 18: HEAD GAMES - FOREIGNER (23) - The title track from one of their album that wasn't quite as successful as many of their others, in terms of singles (as neither of the two Top 40 hits from this album hit the Top Ten). No matter; their next album would make up for that, with two Top Ten hits, including the infamous Wf*gLY, which spent ten weeks in the runner-up position. Anyway, this was a great song - by far my favorite of the two Head Games hits. 17: WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE - CLIFF RICHARD (20) - He was definitely much more successful over in England, his home country, but he did have a decent amount of success here in the states, with nine Top 40 hits, three of which hit the Top Ten, including this one, which just might have been his most successful - pointwise, that is; it peaked a spot lower than "Devil Woman", but spent two more weeks in the Top 40. I liked most of his hits (that I've heard), this one included. 16: HALF THE WAY - CRYSTAL GAYLE (21) - Well, this song had lived up to its title the week before, but went a little further this week. It's a good song, like most of the songs I've heard from her, including Country and AC only hits. 15: COOL CHANGE - LITTLE RIVER BAND (18) - They were really on a roll, with the fourth of six Top Ten hits in a row. Of those, this is possibly my second favorite from LRB, behind "Lady", from earlier that year. 14: POP MUZIK - M (10) - Yes, I know that I'm in the minority here - but I'm sorry; this song just doesn't do anything for me. LDD: TO LOVE SOMEBODY - BEE GEES - Of course, I'm more familiar with Michael Bolton's cover version of this song, which hit #1 on the AC chart almost exactly twenty-five years ago. 13: LADIES NIGHT - KOOL & THE GANG (15) - Of course, my favorite Kool & The Gang song was about two months away from charting, but this one wasn't bad either. The beginning reminds me a little of "Car Wash" by Rose Royce. 12: BROKEN HEARTED ME - ANNE MURRAY (12) - Even though this song's chart run was mainly in 1979 (and its Top 40 run didn't even last into 1980), this one, along with many others that peaked in late 1979, ranked on the 1980 year-ender - in fact, it was the song that kicked it off. Anyway, this was one of my favorite Anne Murray songs of all-time, including her two other 1979 hits. ARCHIVE: (SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE) SHAKE YOUR BOOTY - K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND - Like the Teri DeSario song, I prefer this over their song coming up in Hour 4, but I still preferred their two 1975 #1's. OPTIONAL EXTRA: DEJA VU - DIONNE WARWICK - She'd recently made a comeback after an absence of nearly five years and, with this song, proved that it wasn't a fluke. I preferred said comeback hit, but this was very close behind, as it was a great one as well. 11: TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME - SUPERTRAMP (13) - For some odd reason, this song was replaced by the above KC & The Sunshine Band song on the oldradioshows website. This was a pretty good song, but I preferred several of the unreleased tracks from the Breakfast In America album, which should have also been singles, IMO. 10: DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (14) - Of course, this is my all-time favorite from them, as you probably know all too well! 9: SHIPS - BARRY MANILOW (9) - Wow, what bad luck Ian Hunter and his band had with recording their album Overnight Angels which, after all the hoopla, turned out to be a dud. Hunter did have a song that got sporadic airplay earlier in the year, around May or so, called "When The Daylight Comes". He was also the writer and orginal performer of this song, which, like most of Manilow's songs, I thought was a great one - my favorite of his two 1979 hits. 8: YOU'RE ONLY LONELY - J.D. SOUTHER (11) - This was his only solo Top 40 hit (his other entry was his duet with James Taylor, a little over a year later). Anyway, that's too bad, because both songs were great. I preferred this one. 7: HEARTACHE TONIGHT - THE EAGLES (5) - Well, they sure did a hack job on this one, didn't they? It's just as well, though, as I was never a big fan of this song. 6: SEND ONE YOUR LOVE - STEVIE WONDER (7) - This one was very hypnotic. I liked it a lot! 5: ESCAPE - RUPERT HOLMES (6) - I was glad that they played the entire version of this song, instead of cutting out the second verse, which they did a few times during its chart run (including the following week). Story songs like this should be left intact, IMO. 4: PLEASE DON'T GO - K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (4) - UGH, who could blame her for leaving, what with this whinefest. I'd run for the hills, daring not to look back! 3: STILL - THE COMMODORES (3) - This song had hit #1 a month earlier, and wasn't in any hurry to head down the chart - in fact, it actually moved back into the runner-up position the following week, looking like it could possibly return to the top, but that was not to be. Anyway, I used to dislike this song due to how depressing it was, but now I think it's a pretty good song. Still (no pun intended), I preferred their other fall, 1979 hit. OPTIONAL EXTRA: AN AMERICAN DREAM - THE DIRT BAND f/LINDA RONSTADT - I don't care if Linda did not receive label credit, as she should have, since her voice was clearly heard on this song - my favorite of the Dirt Band's two 1980 hits. 2: NO MORE TEARS- BARBRA STREISAND & DONNA SUMMER (1) - I used to hate this song with a passion, but now, I don't mind it quite as much. Still, I could take it or leave it. 1: BABE - STYX (1) - Since they were from Chicago, they got tons of airplay on WLS, so I heard this song many, many times back in the day, and the song hasn't lost its luster at all. One of my favorites from them!
Coming up next week: We don't know yet, but I'm thinking that they'll go with the December 9, 1972 show. Failing that, my back-up prediction is December 11, 1976. Actually, that is a strong possibility, as we haven't had a 1976 show since early October, and this would be the last chance for a 1976 show this year - December 18 was already done last year and December 25 was the start of the 1976 year-ender, which somehow, I don't think they'll be doing this year (I'm predicting 1977 to be the year-ender, given the dearth of 1977 shows this past year). So I'm thinking that either of my predictions for next week could be correct - it seems to be a 50/50 chance.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Dec 3, 2017 18:02:29 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - December 2, 2017 This week's presentation - December 8, 1979 DROPPERS: PRETTY GIRLS - MELISSA MANCHESTER (39) - This song only lasted two weeks on the chart, so it has yet to be heard on the series. I am not familiar with the song, so I must say it - wtf did this sound like again? wtf did this sound like again? IF YOU WANT IT - NITEFLYTE (37) - See my comment above, as the very same thing applies to this song. wtf did this sound like again? GOOD GIRLS DON'T - THE KNACK (33) - Well, they never quite equalled the success of "My Sharona" (then again, given how massive that song was, that would be very tough). This song was definitely my favorite of the two. Well, this one I definitely remember! Great song - I find it quite underrated compared to "My Sharona" though I do still hear it a fair bit. RISE - HERB ALPERT (32) - Instrumental songs were becoming fewer and further between at this point, but there were still a few of them charting – and this one went all the way to the top. I'm glad it did, because it was a great one! Yeah, this was pretty good. One of his best though I do like his 1987 comeback too. RAINBOW CONNECTION - KERMIT THE FROG (26) - From the Muppet Movie (which remains my favorite of their movies, though somewhat by default, as the only other one I saw was "The Great Muppet Caper", and even that one was ruined by a screaming kid throughout much of the first half and hour - as after he finally calmed the hell down, I was too agitated to enjoy the rest of the movie, due to the stupidity of the parents just sitting there letting him carry on instead of taking him outside until he calmed down). Anyway, I remember this song both from its movie, as well as choir class, where this was usually part of our spring concerts. It was a pretty good song. Yeah, I remember my grade 8 graduating class sang this at our graduation. Good song though! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE - LAUREN WOOD (24) - Michael McDonald is clearly heard on backup vocals on this song, as he had done on many others around this time while the Doobie Brothers were between albums. As for this song, it was your typical MOR song from the late-70s, but I liked that kind of music (but you already know that, right?) wtf did this sound like again? LW#3: STILL - THE COMMODORES LW#2: BABE - STYX LW#1: NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) - BARBRA STREISAND & DONNA SUMMER 40: I WANNA BE YOUR LOVER - PRINCE (debut) - His success was almost exclusively in the 80s (and beyond) - he was climbing the charts with this one at the end of 1979, but peaked in 1980 - and then, of course, we all know that, as of 1983, he became one of the biggest artists of the 1980s and was successful in the 1990s as well. This song wasn't bad, but I preferred many others from him. I really like this one myself, but prefer most of his 1983-87 hits, as well as some of his 90's hits. 39: CHIQUITITA - ABBA (debut) - Definitely one of Sweden's most successful acts. I thought that this song deserved a higher peak than #29, since it was one of their best, IMO. Yeah, this was a great song, should've been a bigger hit. 38: THIRD TIME LUCKY (FIRST TIME I WAS A FOOL) - FOGHAT (debut) - I was never a huge fan of them, but this one was actually a great one! I like this but prefer "Slow Ride". 37: DON'T DO ME LIKE THAT - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS (debut) - Like Prince, they definitely were most successful in the 80s, where this song carried over into - up to now, their only hit was "Breakdown" - and that only song got to #40. This song would end up being their biggest hit (by themselves) for almost exactly ten years - until "Free Fallin'" outpeaked it by three spots (still, their biggest hit ever was "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", on which they teamed up with Stevie Nicks). Great song! I've always liked this one, and still do a lot - one of their best! (Interestingly on R&R, this was their highest peaker outside of the Stevie Nicks collaboration - and "You Don't Know How It Feels" would match this song's peak in 1995.) 36: DON'T LET GO - ISAAC HAYES (debut) - Ah, the voice of Chef on South Park. I'm not a big fan of his music, however, although this one wasn't too bad. Yeah, I like this one too - nice disco tune. 35: WAIT FOR ME - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (40) - They were making another attempt at riding high on the charts (and this actually did quite well, being their first hit to peak above #20 since "Rich Girl" nearly three years before, but they would really hit pay dirt in 1981, with three Top Five hits, two of those being big #1s. This one was actually a really good one - I vaguely remember it from back in the day, but I don't think the stations I listened to played it very often. Great song - one of their best! 34: LOVE PAINS - YVONNE ELLIMAN (38) - I felt that this song was quite underrated, but it was a disco tune and that type of music was on its way out. Had this song charted a year or two before, it might have been more successful (since Yvonne herself had a #1 hit during that time). I liked this song and said #1 hit ("If I Can't Have You", of course) about the same, though I generally preferred the latter. Yeah, this was pretty good though it's no "If I Can't Have You". 33: THE LONG RUN - THE EAGLES (debut) - With its debut on the entire Hot 100 way up here, it looked like they would chalk up another #1 hit - actually, on the R&R, this did make it to the top, but it peaked at #8 on the Hot 100 (which is still good). I preferred this song over "Heartache Tonight", but my favorite single from the Long Run album is the LP cut "The Sad Cafe". Great song - one of their best! ARCHIVES: DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART - ELTON JOHN & KIKI DEE - Ah, here's one I remember quite well from its chart run (even though I was but four and a half back in 1976). In August, it was virtually impossible to listen to any Top 40 station for an hour without hearing this song. Despite all the overplay, however, I never got tired of it. It is a great song that has stood the test of time! Love this one too! One of Elton's best ever! OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE SECOND TIME AROUND - SHALAMAR - The biggest of their four Top 40 hits, and my favorite of the bunch - by far! Same here - ironically enough, considering its title, it was their second time around in the top 40, following "Uptown Festival". 32: D@MNED IF I DO - ALAN PARSONS PROJECT (34) - Another band, like Prince and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, that didn't have much chart success in the 1970s, but improved in the 80s. This was their very first Top 30 hit, but they would hit the Top 20 in 1981 and then had their first and only Top Ten hit the following year. I preferred most of their 80s songs, but this was a good one as well. Agreed. 31: DREAMING - BLONDIE (27) - Their debut single, "Heart Of Glass" may have hit #1, but they seemed to have a little trouble matching that success, as the next two songs failed to even hit the Top 20. This song was pretty good; I preferred it over the annoying "One Way Or Another", but the song was not quite as much as their next Top 40 after this song, "Call Me". Great song, one of their best! 30: COWARD OF THE COUNTY - KENNY ROGERS (36) - Ah, the story about Tommy (aka "Yellow") putting the Gatlin Boys in their place. I definitely preferred this over Rogers' other song on the survey this week. Same here but that shouldn't be surprising considering what I think of the other 29: I NEED A LOVER - JOHN COUGAR (31) - Wow, lots of artists on the chart this week whose chart success in the 1970 was mediocre at best, but excelled in the 1980s. Here's another one of those - this was Cougar's breakthrough hit, and it got only one spot higher - but by 1982, he was knocking them dead, with two of the biggest hits of that year. This song was pretty good, though - I'm kind of surprised this one didn't peak higher. Good song, but I prefer Pat Benatar's cover of this, which was on "In The Heat Of The Night", which was her hit album at the time. 28: IF YOU REMEMBER ME - CHRIS THOMPSON & NIGHT (17) - The theme from the movie "The Champ", which contains possibly THE most heartbreaking scene ever in film-dom. As for the song, it's a great one - possibly my favorite song from Barry Scott's Lost 45's. Yeah, this was pretty good - got some mileage as an LDD song too. 27: THIS IS IT - KENNY LOGGINS (35) - This song ranked at #30 on the Top 100 of 1980, an unusually high position for a song that had missed the Top Ten, but its chart longevity helped it achieve its position. The song wasn't bad, but I preferred many others from him, including most of his movie hits. Yeah, this was a great one - typical "yacht rock". 26: JANE - JEFFERSON STARSHIP (30) - This was their first Top 40 hit with Mickey Thomas singing lead after Marty Balin had left the band. It was a good one, but I preferred many of their others. Yeah, I really like this one too - but despite the lack of Grace Slick on its album "Freedom At Point Zero", I believe JessieLou loves this the most. 25: YOU DECORATED MY LIFE - KENNY ROGERS (19) - I liked most of his Top 40 hits, but this wasn't one of them. I mean, it's tolerable, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. No. Just no. 24: CRUISIN' - SMOKEY ROBINSON (28) - This one sounds very dated, even for late 1979, but not bad. Still, I preferred the Huey Lewis/Gwyneth Paltrow cover from 2000. I like both versions - I do slightly prefer this one though. 23: I WANT YOU TONIGHT - PABLO CRUISE (25) - I liked most of their Top 40 hits, this one included. Same here. 22: TUSK - FLEETWOOD MAC (16) - Well, this song sure came and went quickly, and I can see why - they'd been absent from the chart for awhile, and people were eager about their new hit, which I'm sure was heavily promoted upon its release and it rocketed up the chart. But, since it was such a weird song, its chart climb lasted but a month (it peaked in its fifth week on the chart) and then the song fell fast. I was never a fan of the song myself - I much preferred "Sara", which would hit the charts two weeks later. Yeah, I can see why this faded so fast - who would've thought they do a song with a marching band? I like this but I also prefer "Sara". ARCHIVE: YOU SHOULD BE DANCING - BEE GEES - What if I my legs are tired? No, seriously, this song was so/so, but I preferred other hits from them, especially from Saturday Night Fever. Great song - probably my favourite single from "Children Of The World". OPTIONAL EXTRA: YES I'M READY - TERI DeSARIO w/KC - This was by far my favorite of the two early 1980 songs in which KC was involved (the other one, unfortunately, is coming up later in the show. No. Just no. He should've stuck with the disco sound that his previous top 2 hits had (and reverted to for his last top 40, "Give It Up"). 21: ROCK WITH YOU - MICHAEL JACKSON (29) - It definitely looked like Michael had himself a second #1 in a row with this - and indeed, that did happen, as this spent a month at #1 shortly after the new year. This one used to be mediocre IMO, but now I think it's a great one - my second favorite hit from Off The Wall behind "She's Out Of My Life". Great song! One of his best! 20: BETTER LOVE NEXT TIME - DR. HOOK (22) - Like "This Is It", this song also placed respectably high on the 1980 year-ender for a song that didn't make it to the Top Ten, coming in at #53. And, I think we all know it's my all-time favorite song from them. I like a fair bit of their stuff - definitely one of their best here! 19: DIM ALL THE LIGHTS - DONNA SUMMER (8) - As I mentioned earlier, disco was burning out, but Donna Summer, an established artist, was still going strong. I did prefer this over her duet with Barbra Streisand, but still, it wasn't one of my favorite songs from her. Great song - one of her best! 18: HEAD GAMES - FOREIGNER (23) - The title track from one of their album that wasn't quite as successful as many of their others, in terms of singles (as neither of the two Top 40 hits from this album hit the Top Ten). No matter; their next album would make up for that, with two Top Ten hits, including the infamous Wf*gLY, which spent ten weeks in the runner-up position. Anyway, this was a great song - by far my favorite of the two Head Games hits. Great song - one of their best! (Though I do still occasionally hear "Dirty White Boy", I hear this one more.) 17: WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE - CLIFF RICHARD (20) - He was definitely much more successful over in England, his home country, but he did have a decent amount of success here in the states, with nine Top 40 hits, three of which hit the Top Ten, including this one, which just might have been his most successful - pointwise, that is; it peaked a spot lower than "Devil Woman", but spent two more weeks in the Top 40. I liked most of his hits (that I've heard), this one included. Great song - possibly my favourite from Sir Cliff ever! 16: HALF THE WAY - CRYSTAL GAYLE (21) - Well, this song had lived up to its title the week before, but went a little further this week. It's a good song, like most of the songs I've heard from her, including Country and AC only hits. Yeah, this was a nice song - one of her best. 15: COOL CHANGE - LITTLE RIVER BAND (18) - They were really on a roll, with the fourth of six Top Ten hits in a row. Of those, this is possibly my second favorite from LRB, behind "Lady", from earlier that year. They had so many great songs and this has to be one of my absolute favourites from them! 14: POP MUZIK - M (10) - Yes, I know that I'm in the minority here - but I'm sorry; this song just doesn't do anything for me. Great song - one of my favourite 70's one hit wonders! LDD: TO LOVE SOMEBODY - BEE GEES - Of course, I'm more familiar with Michael Bolton's cover version of this song, which hit #1 on the AC chart almost exactly twenty-five years ago. I like both versions but I do prefer this original. 13: LADIES NIGHT - KOOL & THE GANG (15) - Of course, my favorite Kool & The Gang song was about two months away from charting, but this one wasn't bad either. The beginning reminds me a little of "Car Wash" by Rose Royce. Great song - one of their best! 12: BROKEN HEARTED ME - ANNE MURRAY (12) - Even though this song's chart run was mainly in 1979 (and its Top 40 run didn't even last into 1980), this one, along with many others that peaked in late 1979, ranked on the 1980 year-ender - in fact, it was the song that kicked it off. Anyway, this was one of my favorite Anne Murray songs of all-time, including her two other 1979 hits. This was ok but I prefer probably all of the other songs from her Greatest Hits LP, which included all of her top 40 hits up to its 1980 release. ARCHIVE: (SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE) SHAKE YOUR BOOTY - K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND - Like the Teri DeSario song, I prefer this over their song coming up in Hour 4, but I still preferred their two 1975 #1's. Yeah, this was one of my favourites from them, but I do prefer their 1975 #1'stoo. OPTIONAL EXTRA: DEJA VU - DIONNE WARWICK - She'd recently made a comeback after an absence of nearly five years and, with this song, proved that it wasn't a fluke. I preferred said comeback hit, but this was very close behind, as it was a great one as well. Yeah it took her a while to get back on the track after ditching the final "e" from "Warwicke", but the "Dionne" album sure did it! I like this but prefer the previous hit. 11: TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME - SUPERTRAMP (13) - For some odd reason, this song was replaced by the above KC & The Sunshine Band song on the oldradioshows website. This was a pretty good song, but I preferred several of the unreleased tracks from the Breakfast In America album, which should have also been singles, IMO. This was a great one but it sure does get overplayed to this day (as do most of their big hits). 10: DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (14) - Of course, this is my all-time favorite from them, as you probably know all too well! Meh, I only really like "Love Will Keep Us Together" from them. I prefer Amber's remake of this. 9: SHIPS - BARRY MANILOW (9) - Wow, what bad luck Ian Hunter and his ban d had with recording their album Overnight Angels which, after all the hoopla, turned out to be a dud. Hunter did have a song that got sporadic airplay earlier in the year, around May or so, called "When The Daylight Comes". He was also the writer and orginal performer of this song, which, like most of Manilow's songs, I thought was a great one - my favorite of his two 1979 hits. No. Just no. 8: YOU'RE ONLY LONELY - J.D. SOUTHER (11) - This was his only solo Top 40 hit (his other entry was his duet with James Taylor, a little over a year later). Anyway, that's too bad, because both songs were great. I preferred this one. I like this but prefer "Her Town Too". 7: HEARTACHE TONIGHT - THE EAGLES (5) - Well, they sure did a hack job on this one, didn't they? It's just as well, though, as I was never a big fan of this song. Great song - one of their best! 6: SEND ONE YOUR LOVE - STEVIE WONDER (7) - This one was very hypnotic. I liked it a lot! I like this, but prefer most of his other big 70's hits. 5: ESCAPE - RUPERT HOLMES (6) - I was glad that they played the entire version of this song, instead of cutting out the second verse, which they did a few times during its chart run (including the following week). Story songs like this should be left intact, IMO. Yeah, you do miss a bit of the story without that second verse. Great song! 4: PLEASE DON'T GO - K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND (4) - UGH, who could blame her for leaving, what with this whinefest. I'd run for the hills, daring not to look back! LOL... give me the KWS version over this any day, THAT is how the original should've sounded! 3: STILL - THE COMMODORES (3) - This song had hit #1 a month earlier, and wasn't in any hurry to head down the chart - in fact, it actually moved back into the runner-up position the following week, looking like it could possibly return to the top, but that was not to be. Anyway, I used to dislike this song due to how depressing it was, but now I think it's a pretty good song. Still (no pun intended), I preferred their other fall, 1979 hit. No. Just no. OPTIONAL EXTRA: AN AMERICAN DREAM - THE DIRT BAND f/LINDA RONSTADT - I don't care if Linda did not receive label credit, as she should have, since her voice was clearly heard on this song - my favorite of the Dirt Band's two 1980 hits. Great song - I like both of their 1980 hits more than their only other top 40 hit "Mr. Bojangles". 2: NO MORE TEARS- BARBRA STREISAND & DONNA SUMMER (1) - I used to hate this song with a passion, but now, I don't mind it quite as much. Still, I could take it or leave it. Great song - I do prefer several other Donna Summer songs but this is my favourite from Streisand (it's no coincidence most of my favourites from her, except for stuff like "Stoney End" and "Woman In Love", are duets that I tend to like more due to the other artists on them.) 1: BABE - STYX (1) - Since they were from Chicago, they got tons of airplay on WLS, so I heard this song many, many times back in the day, and the song hasn't lost its luster at all. One of my favorites from them! Great song - typical of a lot of hard rock bands that their sappy ballad was their only #1. Though, unlike Cheap Trick or Boston, both of whom fit this pattern, I do prefer several of Styx's rockers over this. Coming up next week: We don't know yet, but I'm thinking that they'll go with the December 9, 1972 show. Failing that, my back-up prediction is December 11, 1976. Actually, that is a strong possibility, as we haven't had a 1976 show since early October, and this would be the last chance for a 1976 show this year - December 18 was already done last year and December 25 was the start of the 1976 year-ender, which somehow, I don't think they'll be doing this year (I'm predicting 1977 to be the year-ender, given the dearth of 1977 shows this past year). So I'm thinking that either of my predictions for next week could be correct - it seems to be a 50/50 chance. I'm kinda hoping for 1976 myself.
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Post by Hervard on Dec 31, 2017 18:16:23 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - December 31, 2017 This weekend's presentation - December 24-31, 1977 (Top 100 Songs of 1977) 100: SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD - ELTON JOHN - This song just barely squeaked in because, even though it peaked at #6, some of its chart run, which itself wasn't very long, was in the 1976 survey period (at least it made it, though, which is more than can be said for several even bigger hits ("Rock'N Me" and "Edmund Fitzgerald come to mind). As for the song, I like it, as melancholy as it is. 99: GIVE A LITTLE BIT - SUPERTRAMP - This song was edited at the beginning and near the end (taking out several of the instrumental parts), but the main part of the song was left intact, which is good, since it's one of my favorite Supertramp songs ever! 98: YEAR OF THE CAT - AL STEWART - He may have only had four Top 40 hits, but I liked each one of them! Not sure where this one ranks - possibly second behind "Time Passages". 97: DON'T IT MAKE MY BROWN EYES BLUE - CRYSTAL GAYLE - Since this song's playing time was about two and a half minutes, there was no need to edit it (though I seem to recall that at least once, they did just that). Anyway, I liked this song, as well as all of Gayle's other crossover hits, including a few that didn't quite make the Top 40 chart, but did well at AC. 96: I FEEL LOVE - DONNA SUMMER - I liked many of her disco hits, but this sure wasn't one of them - way too repetitive. Basically the same three sentences sung over and over and over again 95: CHERCHEZ LA FEMME - DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND - One of three songs in a medley that charted at the beginning of 1977 (the others were "Whispering" and "C'est Si Bon" 94: SOMEBODY TO LOVE - QUEEN - Definitely not my favorite song from them by any means. I seem to recall that I liked George Michael's live remake of the song in 1993. 93: LIDO SHUFFLE - BOZ SCAGGS - Definitely one of the hits that I associate with the spring of 1977 (and the station that I listened to played it well into the summmer as well). My favorite of his hits! Glad that they played it intact instead of cutting out the second verse or instrumental bridge like they usually do (then again, with an extra hour allotted for the year-ender, there's not quite as much editing needed), 92: WALK THIS WAY - AEROSMITH - Their second Top Ten (and last one for another eleven years). I liked this song, but actually preferred Run DMC's cover from 1986, which might sound weird from me, considering that I'm not a big rap fan. 91: FLOAT ON - FLOATERS - Wow, we're up to the first #2 song (well, that peaked mid-year anyway). This song inspired a Sesame Street segment that came out in early 1978, with a song called "Give Me Five", performed by Bob, Gordon, David and Luis. It featured each of them introducing themselves (like the Floaters group members did in this song) and then singing a verse. I actually preferred that version (since it was by people that I saw on TV regularly back in the day). This song was pretty good as well. 90: DO YOU FEEL LIKE WE DO? - PETER FRAMPTON - The third and final release from Frampton Comes Alive, the top selling song for all of 1976. Since the single version of this was over seven minutes long, AT40 generally showed no mercy when editing this song (usually cutting the talkbox schtick short). Anyway, I never used to like this song, but now, I think it's great - has a very distinct bassline. 89: NIGHTS ARE FOREVER WITHOUT YOU - ENGLAND DAN & JOHN FORD COLEY - Their second release and, like the first, it hit the Top Ten. I liked the first one slightly better, but both songs were great! 88: YOU MADE ME BELIEVE IN MAGIC - BAY CITY ROLLERS - Their third and final Top Ten hit (in fact, after this, they'd have one last Top 40 hit before fading into obscurity). Anyway, this is about the only song by them that I like. OPTIONAL EXTRA: LIFE IN THE FAST LANE - THE EAGLES - Not sure if this was where the extra was placed, since WTOJ played the first two after the second hour. Anyhoo, his is a pretty good example of "Third Single Syndrome", as the first two songs from Hotel California were #1 hits, yet this song didn't even make it into the Top Ten (though it didn't miss by much, peaking at #11 back in June. I preferred said #1 songs from Hotel California, but this was a good one. Larry mentioned how this song just missed the Top 100, but based on its stats, I don't know about that (spent eight weeks in the Top 40 and 14 on the Hot 100. Its quick chart run was probably because a vast majority of the Eagles fans already had the album by that time. 87: CARRIELLE - GENE FREEDMAN - LOL! Actually, the song is "Ariel" by Dean Friedman, but I decided to leave the mistitle (as posted on the oldradioshows website), because of its hilarity. Anyway, this was the lowest peaking song on the survey (only got as high as #26, but its tenacious chart run gained it enough points for it to place among the year's biggest hits). Anyway, as this is Track #2 on my Barry Scott's Lost 45s CD, I've heard it many a time and love it! 86: JUST TO BE CLOSE TO YOU - COMMODORES - I didn't really like many of their earlier hits, this one included. Their quality began going up with their song from the following summer, "Easy". 85: SMOKE FROM A DISTANT FIRE - SANFORD TOWNSEND BAND - I just vaguely remember hearing this song on the radio back in the day, but Sunny 101.5 used to play this song occasionally back in 1990 and it became one of my favorite songs. Still sounds great today. 84: BOOGIE NIGHTS - HEAT WAVE - . This one was also repetitive, and was basically duplicated in 1978 (the melody, anyway) with their song "The Groove Line". The only song by Heatwave that I really like was their love song from the following spring, "Always And Forever". 83: LOVE ME - YVONNE ELLIMAN - You can hear the Bee Gees influence on this one (as they were the ones who produced it). It wasn't bad, but I preferred another Bee Gees produced song from her (that, of course, would be "If I Can't Have You", which became her biggest hit ever). 82: IT WAS ALMOST LIKE A SONG - RONNIE MILSAP - His very first pop hit and his only one to chart in the 70s. He would have more pop success in the 80s but, of course, the format he excelled at the most was Country. Anyway, this was a great song - one of my favorites from Milsap. 81: JET AIRLINER - STEVE MILLER BAND - The second of four Top 40 hits during 1977 (and the lead-off single from Book Of Dreams). Definitely one of their best hits, though I preferred their song coming up later in the countdown. 80: LOST WITHOUT YOUR LOVE - BREAD - They were mainly an early-70s band, but they did have a comeback hit in late 1976, which hit the Top Ten and was a great song indeed - one of my favorites from them! 79: LIVING THING - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - Here's one I remember hearing back in the day. 78: NOBODY DOES IT BETTER - CARLY SIMON - 1977 was definitely the year for movie songs! This one, from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me, was one of many songs held out of #1 by Debby Boone's eternal #1 hit (it did sneak in a week at #1 on the R&R chart). It is one of my favorite songs by Carly Simon, as well as one of my faves on this week's chart. 77: WAY DOWN - ELVIS PRESLEY - Here's a song that originally peaked at #31, but after his unexpected death in August, the song resurged and got as high as #18. Its long chart run helped to place it way up on the survey. It's a great song, but I preferred his other 1977 song, which was peaking at #22 this very week. 76: KEEP IT COMIN' LOVE - KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND - Their only Top Ten hit that did not go to #1 (it didn't miss by much, though; it peaked at #2 for three weeks, but couldn't quite get past Meco; then, when Debby Boone leapfrogged this song, of course, there was no hope). I never used to like this song very much, but now I think it's one of their best. 75: YOU'RE MY WORLD - HELEN REDDY - This song peaked at #18, just like the Elvis Presley record and had an almost identical chart run (just a week longer on the Hot 100). This song reminds me a little of Joni James' 1955 hit "How Important Can It Be" (my aunt had the 45 of the song, so that's how I know it). The song is quite cheesy, like most of Reddy's songs, but still pretty good. OPTIONAL EXTRA: HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE - THE BEE GEES - This song may have charted too late in 1977 to be included on the big list (in fact, it was just hitting #1 this very week), but it was definitely worth the wait, as the song was ranked #6 on the Top 100 of 1978. Anyway, of their three Saturday Night Fever hits (four, if you count the album cut "More Than A Woman"), this would be my favorite. 74: WEEKEND IN NEW ENGLAND - BARRY MANILOW - Not sure I'd want to spend this weekend in New England, what with the cold snap they're experiencing right now (not that it's a great deal warmer here in the Great Lakes area). As for this song, like most of Barry Manilow's songs, I thought this was a great one. 73: HEARD IT IN A LOVE SONG - MARSHALL TUCKER BAND - Interesting story about how this band got their name. Anyway, this is by far their best known of their two Top 40 hits - and my favorite as well (though I seem to remember that "Fire On The Mountain" was pretty good as well). 72: STRAWBERRY LETTER #23 - BROTHERS JOHNSON - This one wasn't quite my cup of tea, although it wasn't exactly "roof-raising R&B" music - it was actually somewhat mellow. I guess it just didn't do anything for me. 71: MY HEART BELONGS TO ME - BARBRA STREISAND - Her second of two Top Five hits during the year 1977. Both are great songs, but I slightly prefer this one. 70: THAT'S ROCK & ROLL - SHAUN CASSIDY - Ah, the teen idol of the late-70s. I remember a girl who was in kindergarten with me had a huge crush on him. I liked most of his music - this and Da Doo Ron Ron are probably my two favorites from him. 69: BARRACUDA - HEART - A high point in the show for our friend JessieLou. I used to think this song was just OK, but I've recently gotten to like it a lot recently 68: JEANS ON - DAVID DUNDAS - Well, I should hope you have your jeans on! I don't want to see you in your briefs, thank you very much! But seriously, this song was pretty good. 67: COLD AS ICE - FOREIGNER - Their second hit - and there was a lot more where that came from! This would probably be my favorite of their two Top Ten hits from 1977 (though "Feels Like The First Time", coming up later on the chart, was also a great one!) 66: DON'T STOP - FLEETWOOD MAC - I used to like this song, but overplay sort of tarnished it for me (especially in late 1992, when Clinton used it as the theme for his first campaign and radio stations began playing it more often (surprised it didn't re-chart then) Indeed, this was possibly my least favorite release from "Rumors" (my favorite would be "You Make Lovin' Fun", which was beginning its descent on the Hot 100 this week). 65: YOU AND ME - ALICE COOPER - As we all know, I prefer his ballads over his rockers. "Only Women" is my absolute favorite from him, but his other three ballads are kind of in a revolving door as my second favorite from him 64: JUST A SONG BEFORE I GO - CROSBY, STILLS & NASH - They had been hitting the chart for nearly ten years but, oddly enough, this was their very first Top Ten hit. I myself preferred their later hits, like this one. 63: HANDY MAN - JAMES TAYLOR - The third incarnation of this song to hit the charts, and IMO the best. My mom used to be able to play this song on her guitar, so I remember it quite well - a great song indeed! 62: LONELY BOY - ANDREW GOLD - This may have been his biggest chart hit, but his other one, "Thank You For Being A Friend", from the following year, became a very popular LDD request. This was my favorite song from him, though his other one was great as well. This one was edited somewhat, by cutting out his goodbyes during the bridge and shortening the ending. At least the main part of the song was left intact. OPTIONAL EXTRA: BLUE BAYOU - LINDA RONSTADT - This song was also edited down, jumping from the first verse straight to the second chorus. 61: THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE - 10CC - This song, which sounds like something Queen might have done, still sounds as fresh as it did back in the day. I never got tired of this one! 60: LUCILLE - KENNY ROGERS - Four hundred children and crap in the field? Oh wait, that's something else... Anyway, this was pretty good, but I prefer many others from him. 59: CARRY ON MY WAYWARD SON - KANSAS - There are many instances where motion pictures inspire hit songs. For this song, however, it seemed to be the other way around, as this song was a hit nearly a year before a movie for which it was the theme (or at least it was featured). Anyway, this was Kansas' first Top 40 hit. I preferred the album version, which I don't believe AT40 ever played. 58: I'M IN YOU - PETER FRAMPTON - This song hit #1 on the R&R chart in July, and looked like it could do the same on Billboard, but didn't quite make it. It still became his biggest hit ever, and deservedly so, since it's my favorite song of his. 57: SO IN TO YOU - ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION - They had a handful of Top 40 hits and I thought most of them were great, like this one! Not sure if I prefer this one or the song where they featured Stevie Nicks as the vocalist 56: NIGHT MOVES - BOB SEGER - The title track from one of Seger's best albums ever! I preferred the next single from that album, "Mainstreet". 55: AFTER THE LOVIN' - ENGLEBERT HUMPERDINCK - This is my favorite song from him by default, as it's the only song I've ever heard by him - that I know of, anyway. So that's not really saying much, since the cheese factor on this one is quite strong. I mean, it's not quite a "No. Just no" song, but then again, it's nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. 54: STAR WARS - MECO - Well, here we are with the first #1 song on this show! One of two versions of this song that charted in 1977. The other song, by John Williams & the London Symphony Orchestra, also hit the Top Ten, but after this disco version was released, that song was pretty much left for dead. I actually preferred the John Williams version, but this one was pretty good too. 53: DA DOO RON RON - SHAUN CASSIDY - And here is the second #1 song. This one, however, was not affected by the cutoff date, like the Star Wars song above - its quick chart run (compared to the runs of the other songs) accounts for its somewhat low placing on the survey. Anyway, of the two charted versions of this song, I definitely prefer this one. 52: NEW KID IN TOWN - EAGLES - Wow! Here's another #1 song whose entire chart run was within the 1977 survey period! It is the lead-off single from the album for which the Eagles seem to be most famous. I mentioned earlier that I liked their two #1 songs from that album best, but I'm not sure which one I prefer, as both are great songs and among my favorites from them! OPTIONAL EXTRA: JUST THE WAY YOU ARE - BILLY JOEL - Not sure why they chose this one, as it had just debuted two weeks before and was more of a 1978 hit, but that's OK, as I really liked this song. The Stranger was indeed one of his best albums, IMO. 51: YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE - DEBBY BOONE - Now this one was really a victim of the cutoff rule! It spent ten weeks at #1, but only about half of them were during the 1977 survey period (depending where the cutoff date was - Casey said November, but that could have been any of the weeks. Whatever the case, many radio stations listed this as their #1 song of 1977 (as well as many publications, such as Radio & Records), which is not surprising, as big as this song was. Anyway, I guess you could call this a guilty pleasure, as I really like this song, despite the cheese factor. 50: I NEVER CRY - ALICE COOPER - His second of two hits on the year-end survey. This song, which Cooper wrote about his drug and alcohol addiction, was my favorite of the two songs (though, as I said earlier, it sort of fluctuates between this and "You And Me". Both of those songs tend to stick in my mind, and when one does, it tends to make me like the other better. 49: I'VE GOT LOVE ON MY MIND - NATALIE COLE - Another artist who had a serious drug and alcohol addiction, which she did recover from, but they seemed to take their toll on her in the long run. In fact, it was exactly two years ago that she passed away. R.I.P. Natalie 48: MORE THAN A FEELING - BOSTON - Here's one I remember from back in the day - I thought they were singing "Poor little Felix, so I sent all the apples to work". As usual, they went with the single version of the song, which is chopped down way too much, IMO. Indeed, this was definitely one of my favorite songs by Boston. 47: RIGHT TIME OF THE NIGHT - JENNIFER WARREN - Actually, her last name is Warnes. That typo is somewhat funny, though not as much as the one for song #87. Anyway, this was the first of two songs in this countdown written by Peter McCann (the other one, by Peter himself, is coming up next hour). This was my favorite of said two songs, as well as one of my faves from Jennifer Warnes. 46: DREAMS - FLEETWOOD MAC - I was always so surprised that this song was ranked so low, as it was one of the biggest hits of the year according to R&R (where it spent four weeks on top). This was the biggest single from one of the biggest albums of all time, Rumors. The song is my least favorite of the singles, however, presumably due to overplay. It's still a pretty good one, though. One thing I just recently noticed is that it would have made more sense to link the two verses together and play the instrumental bridge before the last chorus. I'm not complaining or anything; I guess they just like to do things different (like saving the title for "You Make Loving Fun" until the end of the song). 45: EASY - COMMODORES - This was when their musical quality began to improve, as, like I mentioned earlier, their first few hits were mediocre. This remains one of my favorite Commodores songs of all time! 44: COULDN'T GET IT RIGHT - CLIMAX BLUES BAND - They may have had only had two Top 40 hits, both were big hits that lasted quite awhile on the charts. This was a good song, but I preferred "I Love You", which charted four years later. 43: FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME - FOREIGNER - The first of many hits for this legendary band, and a great one at that - both the song and the band! This is another thing whose single edit was notably shorter than the album version, which is generally the one that I heard on the radio back in the day (since many of the stations I listened to were AOR-oriented). 42: LOOKS LIKE WE MADE IT - BARRY MANILOW - This was his third and final #1 hit. No matter; he'd have many more big hits. This was by far my favorite of his #1 songs, as well as my favorite of his two hits on this year-ender. 41: BETH - KISS - 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. Interesting how they had to drop this song from their concerts as they always got booed for it. I'm assuming that they still play "Forever", as that is a power ballad, while this is not (the only instruments in this one seem to be a piano, strings, and a horn). 40: ENJOY YOURSELF - JACKSONS - This is where the (heavily edited) version of the show run by Premiere at the end of 2009 started off. The Jacksons had been hitting the chart for years, but I wasn't a big fan of them by this point. They were much better in the early 70s, when they were known as the Jackson 5. 39: SWAYING TO THE MUSIC - JOHNNY RIVERS - Of course, the crickets (the creatures, not the band) help him out in the first verse of this song (his first Top Ten hit in about four and a half years). It wasn't bad, but I preferred a few others from him (i.e. "Summer Rain", "Secret Agent Man"). 38: STAND TALL - BURTON CUMMINGS - The former lead singer of the Guess Who managed to have two solo hits, and this was the biggest. It was a good one and, as I've said before, it would make a great closing theme for a movie whose plot dealt with a story of success. OPTIONAL EXTRA: LUCKENBACH, TEXAS (BACK TO THE BASICS OF LOVE) - WAYLON JENNINGS & WILLIE NELSON - This was the Billboard's Top Country single of 1977. This was Jennings' second of three Top 40 hits. It was a pretty good song, but I preferred his "Theme From Dukes Of Hazzard" theme song, which charted at the end of 1980. 37: DON'T GIVE UP ON US - DAVID SOUL - The only Top 40 single for Hutch. It's a pretty cheesy song, but not bad. 36: DAZZ - BRICK - Typical roof raising R&B music of the 70s that I wasn't a big fan of. 35: YOU ARE THE WOMAN - FIREFALL - Interesting how this song hit the Top 40 in September, 1976, yet lasted well into the 1977 survey period. As this song only peaked at #9, yet it's so high up, I'm assuming that they counted a song's entire chart run if it peaked within the survey period, which contradicts some of my speculation for why Elton John's song wound up way down at #100 despite peaking well in the Top Ten. Well, anyway... 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". 34: WHAT YOU GONNA DO? - PABLO CRUISE - This was their very first hit, and it became their biggest ever, peaking at #6 and lasting a half a year on the Hot 100! Very deservedly so, as it was a great song - one of their best IMO. 33: FLY LIKE AN EAGLE - STEVE MILLER BAND - This song soared all the way up to #2 in March, but couldn't seem to get past Barbra Streisand's #1 hit "Evergreen". The song was the third and final single from the album of the same name, as Miller would release Book Of Dreams soon after this song ended its chart run. This is one of my favorite Steve Miller songs ever! 32: MUSKRAT LOVE - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE - 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! Man, no wonder this song offended the Queen of England! This was easily my least favorite song from them! OK, I'm done with my rant - now on with the countdown. 31: I WISH - STEVIE WONDER - The first of two #1 hits he had in 1977. This song must hold the record for the most consecutive jumps of eleven spots, with three in a row. As for my opinion of the song, I liked it, but preferred his next hit, "Sir Duke", which would also hit #1 the following spring. 30: MARGARITAVILLE - JIMMY BUFFETT - Definitely his signature song. This was OK, but a little overrated, IMO. 29: DO YOU WANT TO MAKE LOVE? - PETER MC CANN - The second of two songs on the countdown that McCann wrote. As stated earlier, I prefer the other song; this one was way too schmaltzy, IMO. 28: WHEN I NEED YOU - LEO SAYER - One of three Top 20 hits that Leo charted with during the year. It was OK, but, like the above song, the cheese factor was indeed present. I preferred his other two songs, which bookended this one. 27: BLINDED BY THE NIGHT - MANFRED MANN - It was refreshing to hear the entire single version of this song, as they usually chopped this one down, big time, playing only the chorus that starts the song, the first verse, and then jumped right to the last chorus. I wonder if it was like that in the original broadcast. Anyway, this was a great song - one I remember from back in the day. 26: SOUTHERN NIGHTS - GLEN CAMPBELL - Campbell had many Top 40 hits, and two of those went all the way to #1, including this one. I like it, but preferred his other #1 hit, "Rhinestone Cowboy" from two years before. 25: GOT TO GIVE IT UP - MARVIN GAYE - I'm generally not a huge fan of Marvin Gaye, but for some reason, I like this one. Kind of a surprise, as this one has been compared to "Blurred Lines", which I hate with a passion. OPTIONAL EXTRA: GO YOUR OWN WAY - FLEETWOOD MAC - Larry counted down the Top Five albums of 1977 before playing this song. Rumors by Fleetwood Mac was #1 and here is a song that, by its stats, looks like it just barely missed making the list. With Lindsey Buckingham on lead vocals, this lead-off single from Rumors was my second favorite of the four, behind "You Make Lovin' Fun" (too bad that one missed making any of the year-enders. 24: ON AND ON - STEPHEN BISHOP - Kind of weird that this song ranks so high, as it never even hit the Top Ten (peaked at #11 in October). This was his second chart entry and clearly my favorite of his two 1977 hits, as well as one of my favorites from him of all time, right up there with "It Might Be You". 23: THEME FROM ROCKY - BILL CONTI - One of two versions of this song to hit the chart during 1977 (four, if you count the two #94 peakers by Rhythm Heritage and Current). This one, however, was the only song strong enough to make it onto the year-end chart. Of the two versions that hit the Top 40 (the only ones I've heard), this would definitely be my favorite, by none other than the man who wrote it. 22: TELEPHONE LINE - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - They actually played the entire medley of different telephone sound effects at the beginning of the song (as they generally start it off as the instruments start). This song had a rather slow climb up the charts; debuted in early July and peaked at #7 the last week of September. It was a great one; one of my favorites from them. 21: RICH GIRL - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES - Good; they didn't edit out the lines that contained the B-word. The song's short enough as it is, and IMO, it's only a bad word when you're calling someone a name or yelling "son of a b----" when you're mad. The context they use it in means a tough situation. But that is only my opinion and nothing more. As for my opinion on the song, I like it - glad it made it to the top. 20: HOTEL CALIFORNIA - EAGLES - The title track from one of their biggest albums ever and, as stated earlier, one of my favorites from them. A true classic which has aged quite well! And how about this - they actually played the full version (as they generally cut out the second verse and shorten the instrumental part at the end). They did the latter somewhat, but not as much as usual. That might be why there are only 24 songs in the last two hours of the show, so they won't have to cut any songs that rank in the top quarter. 19: SIR DUKE - STEVIE WONDER - Here's another song that's generally edited (although they usually cut the second chorus). They played the entire song on this show. Stevie dropped several names in this song, all of musical pioneers that time did not allow us to forget, including the king of all, Duke Ellington, to whom, of course, the title referred. Although I prefer several other songs by Mr. Wonder, this was a great one nonetheless. 18: RUBBERBAND MAN - SPINNERS - What, does he shoot rubberbands at unsuspecting victims? But seriously, they had hit the Top Five for five years in a row, which Casey mentioned going into this song. But he more or less jinxed them, as the streak ended with this song and they would not return to the Top Five until early 1980. As for this song, it's OK, but definitely far from being my favorite song from them. 17: CAR WASH - ROSE ROYCE - For a disco song, this one was pretty good. I remember that about 28 years ago, I started to watch the movie of the same name, but dozed off during the first half hour. Must not have made that big of an impression on me. 16: LOVE SO RIGHT - BEE GEES - 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. It did more or less get the last laugh on the year-ender, as it ranked higher than the two songs that kept them from making it to at least the runner-up position. This was one of my favorite songs from the Brothers Gibb. 15: HOT LINE - SYLVERS - I wonder how many kids who hear this song say, "WTF" to the woman near the beginning saying, "Number, please" As for this song, I like it and Boogie Fever about the same. 14: DANCING QUEEN - ABBA - It's a rather rare occasion when my favorite song by a certain act ends up being their biggest hit ever, but this is definitely an example. It seems that, more often than not, they did a hack job on this song which, IMO, is kind of pointless, as it's not like it's that long of a song in the first place. 13: I'M YOUR BOOGIE MAN - KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND - One of two Top Five hits from them in 1977. I preferred the other one, which just narrowly missed hitting #1 several months later (thus ending their streak of hitting #1 or missing the Top Ten altogether). This one was mediocre. 12: (YOUR LOVE HAS LIFTED ME) HIGHER & HIGHER - RITA COOLIDGE - This was an interesting disco rendition of the Jackie Wilson classic. This was her first big hit - couldn't quite break up the fight for the top spot between Andy Gibb and the Emotions, but still managed to sneak in a week at #2. This was definitely my favorite version of this song that I've heard., and possibly my favorite of Rita Coolidge's six Top 40 hits (though I'm not sure I've ever heard her early 1980 hit "I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love"). OPTIONAL EXTRA: STAR WARS THEME - JOHN WILLIAMS & THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA - Before playing this song, Larry counted down the Top Five films from 1977 before this song and, of course, Star Wars was by far the winner. As stated earlier, Meco's disco version pretty much stole this one's thunder, as it plummeted once the newer version hit the Top Ten. And also, as stated earlier, this was my favorite of the two. 11: YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE DANCIN' - LEO SAYER - This would be the first of two #1 songs from him, during the same year, no less. This would be my favorite of the two songs, by a fair margin. 10: UNDERCOVER ANGEL - ALAN O'DAY - This was his only charted hit of his own, but he did write several other big hits ("Angie Baby" by Helen Reddy, for instance, which Casey mentioned going into the song). As for this song, well, I love it! Definitely one of the best #1 hits of 1977, IMO. 9: TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVERS - MARY MC GREGOR - Casey mentioned how this song resembled a soap opera plot. To me, it sounds a lot like a confession on the Jerry Springer show, especially the first verse (you know, how the Jerry Springer guests butter up their lover before spilling the beans)? I was never a fan of this song, which is definitely a cure for insomnia. 8: ANGELS IN YOUR ARMS - HOT - Wow - two songs about infidelity back-to-back! In this one, it is from the point of view of the person who was done wrong. The lyrics to this song sound a lot like what the scorned person would say to the person who did unto her/him. Anyway, I used to like this song, which got a lot of mileage on the charts (which accounts for its high placing despite never climbing above #6), but I'm not a big fan of it anymore. 7: DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY - THELMA HOUSTON - Casey recited this song's Top 40 chart run up to #1 in the intro. Definitely one of the slowest climbs to #1 (and THE slowest climb for a song by a female singer up to that point). 6: I LIKE DREAMIN'- KENNY NOLAN - After years of writing big hits for other artists, Kenny wrote one for himself, and it proved to be worthwhile, as the song climbed all the way to #3. This song reminds me a little of "My Eyes Adored You", which would be no coincidence, as Nolan wrote that one as well. This is a good song - that is, when it doesn't stick in my mind all day, like it has done several times before. This, by the way, the highest ranked song on the survey that never made it to #1. 5: YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A STAR - MARILYN MC COO & BILLY DAVIS JR. - This was the very first #1 song of 1977 (though the second one in the survey period). It was a pretty good song, but I prefer many other songs on this week's chart. 4: THEME FROM "A STAR IS BORN" (EVERGREEN) - BARBRA STREISAND - The soundtrack of "A Star Is Born" hit #1 on the album chart in February and the song would do the same on the Hot 100 a few weeks later, and deservedly so, as this was one of Streisand's best songs ever! 3: BEST OF MY LOVE - EMOTIONS - The only two songs by groups in this week's Top Ten - and how about this - both are among the few female groups on the entire list. Anyway, this was one of the song involved in a back-and-forth battle for the #1 spot around late summer. I really liked this song - I definitely preferred it over the Eagles' former #1 song of the same title, since that one was a melancholy song about a dying relationship while the Emotions song was a fun, upbeat song about a love affair that was strong and flourishing. 2: TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT - ROD STEWART - This, of course, the song that led off the 28 #1 songs during the 1977 survey period, even though virtually all of its #1 weeks were in 1976. The song wasted absolutely no time hitting #1 and it held there for eight consecutive weeks. I can see why, as it was a great song! One of his best, IMO. His song from early 1990, “Downtown Train” sounds a lot like this one. OPTIONAL EXTRA: MONTAGE OF #1 SONGS FOR 1977 - There were 28 of them total and they all appear here on the big list. 1: I WANT TO BE YOUR EVERYTHING - ANDY GIBB - Even though this song was #1 only half as long as "Tonight's The Night", it far outlasted that song's run in the Top Ten (spent nearly as many weeks in that zone that Rod spent in the Top 40). Its Top 40 run of 23 weeks equaled Rod Stewart's run on the entire Hot 100, and finally, this song spent 31 weeks on the Hot 100, so it definitely was the biggest hit of 1977 and deservedly so, as it was a great song!
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Dec 31, 2017 20:07:08 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - December 31, 2017 This weekend's presentation - December 24-31, 1977 (Top 100 Songs of 1977) 100: SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD - ELTON JOHN - This song just barely squeaked in because, even though it peaked at #6, some of its chart run, which itself wasn't very long, was in the 1976 survey period (at least it made it, though, which is more than can be said for several even bigger hits ("Rock'N Me" and "Edmund Fitzgerald come to mind). As for the song, I like it, as melancholy as it is. Agreed - great song! 99: GIVE A LITTLE BIT - SUPERTRAMP - This song was edited at the beginning and near the end (taking out several of the instrumental parts), but the main part of the song was left intact, which is good, since it's one of my favorite Supertramp songs ever! I like this but due a bit to overplay, I've actually preferred the Goo Goo Dolls remake. 98: YEAR OF THE CAT - AL STEWART - He may have only had four Top 40 hits, but I liked each one of them! Not sure where this one ranks - possibly second behind "Time Passages". Yeah it's a toss-up between those two for me. 97: DON'T IT MAKE MY BROWN EYES BLUE - CRYSTAL GAYLE - Since this song's playing time was about two and a half minutes, there was no need to edit it (though I seem to recall that at least once, they did just that). Anyway, I liked this song, as well as all of Gayle's other crossover hits, including a few that didn't quite make the Top 40 chart, but did well at AC. Yeah this was a nice enough song. 96: I FEEL LOVE - DONNA SUMMER - I liked many of her disco hits, but this sure wasn't one of them - way too repetitive. Basically the same three sentences sung over and over and over again I like this - definitely better than a lot of the modern EDM it inspired. 95: CHERCHEZ LA FEMME - DR. BUZZARD'S ORIGINAL SAVANNAH BAND - One of three songs in a medley that charted at the beginning of 1977 (the others were "Whispering" and "C'est Si Bon" Yeah, this was an odd medley (what year is this again... 1981?) Still, not bad. 94: SOMEBODY TO LOVE - QUEEN - Definitely not my favorite song from them by any means. I seem to recall that I liked George Michael's live remake of the song in 1993. I like both versions, but I prefer this original, even if Freddie Mercury doesn't count. 93: LIDO SHUFFLE - BOZ SCAGGS - Definitely one of the hits that I associate with the spring of 1977 (and the station that I listened to played it well into the summmer as well). My favorite of his hits! Glad that they played it intact instead of cutting out the second verse or instrumental bridge like they usually do (then again, with an extra hour allotted for the year-ender, there's not quite as much editing needed), Great song! Easily one of my favourites from him! 92: WALK THIS WAY - AEROSMITH - Their second Top Ten (and last one for another eleven years). I liked this song, but actually preferred Run DMC's cover from 1986, which might sound weird from me, considering that I'm not a big rap fan. I'm not sure which version of this I prefer - both are great! I'd probably give Run DMC the edge as well, given it doesn't quite get as much play as this version (especially on classic rock). 91: FLOAT ON - FLOATERS - Wow, we're up to the first #2 song (well, that peaked mid-year anyway). This song inspired a Sesame Street segment that came out in early 1978, with a song called "Give Me Five", performed by Bob, Gordon, David and Luis. It featured each of them introducing themselves (like the Floaters group members did in this song) and then singing a verse. I actually preferred that version (since it was by people that I saw on TV regularly back in the day). This song was pretty good as well. Yeah, this was a good song. Interesting how it started out just as an intro for the band members then took on a life of its own, ironically becoming their only hit. 90: DO YOU FEEL LIKE WE DO? - PETER FRAMPTON - The third and final release from Frampton Comes Alive, the top selling song for all of 1976. Since the single version of this was over seven minutes long, AT40 generally showed no mercy when editing this song (usually cutting the talkbox schtick short). Anyway, I never used to like this song, but now, I think it's great - has a very distinct bassline. Yeah, this was pretty good, as were all of the Frampton Comes Alive singles. 89: NIGHTS ARE FOREVER WITHOUT YOU - ENGLAND DAN & JOHN FORD COLEY - Their second release and, like the first, it hit the Top Ten. I liked the first one slightly better, but both songs were great! Agreed - one of their best songs! 88: YOU MADE ME BELIEVE IN MAGIC - BAY CITY ROLLERS - Their third and final Top Ten hit (in fact, after this, they'd have one last Top 40 hit before fading into obscurity). Anyway, this is about the only song by them that I like. This was pretty good, though they have several I liked. OPTIONAL EXTRA: LIFE IN THE FAST LANE - THE EAGLES - Not sure if this was where the extra was placed, since WTOJ played the first two after the second hour. Anyhoo, his is a pretty good example of "Third Single Syndrome", as the first two songs from Hotel California were #1 hits, yet this song didn't even make it into the Top Ten (though it didn't miss by much, peaking at #11 back in June. I preferred said #1 songs from Hotel California, but this was a good one. Larry mentioned how this song just missed the Top 100, but based on its stats, I don't know about that (spent eight weeks in the Top 40 and 14 on the Hot 100. Its quick chart run was probably because a vast majority of the Eagles fans already had the album by that time. Yeah, this was a great song - one of their best! 87: CARRIELLE - GENE FREEDMAN - LOL! Actually, the song is "Ariel" by Dean Friedman, but I decided to leave the mistitle (as posted on the oldradioshows website), because of its hilarity. Anyway, this was the lowest peaking song on the survey (only got as high as #26, but its tenacious chart run gained it enough points for it to place among the year's biggest hits). Anyway, as this is Track #2 on my Barry Scott's Lost 45s CD, I've heard it many a time and love it! Nice story song here. 86: JUST TO BE CLOSE TO YOU - COMMODORES - I didn't really like many of their earlier hits, this one included. Their quality began going up with their song from the following summer, "Easy". No. Just no. 85: SMOKE FROM A DISTANT FIRE - SANFORD TOWNSEND BAND - I just vaguely remember hearing this song on the radio back in the day, but Sunny 101.5 used to play this song occasionally back in 1990 and it became one of my favorite songs. Still sounds great today. Yeah this was a good one. 84: BOOGIE NIGHTS - HEAT WAVE - . This one was also repetitive, and was basically duplicated in 1978 (the melody, anyway) with their song "The Groove Line". The only song by Heatwave that I really like was their love song from the following spring, "Always And Forever". I like this one, then again, I tend to like disco more than you do. 83: LOVE ME - YVONNE ELLIMAN - You can hear the Bee Gees influence on this one (as they were the ones who produced it). It wasn't bad, but I preferred another Bee Gees produced song from her (that, of course, would be "If I Can't Have You", which became her biggest hit ever). Agreed. 82: IT WAS ALMOST LIKE A SONG - RONNIE MILSAP - His very first pop hit and his only one to chart in the 70s. He would have more pop success in the 80s but, of course, the format he excelled at the most was Country. Anyway, this was a great song - one of my favorites from Milsap. Nice song but he got better in the 80's. 81: JET AIRLINER - STEVE MILLER BAND - The second of four Top 40 hits during 1977 (and the lead-off single from Book Of Dreams). Definitely one of their best hits, though I preferred their song coming up later in the countdown. Agreed. 80: LOST WITHOUT YOUR LOVE - BREAD - They were mainly an early-70s band, but they did have a comeback hit in late 1976, which hit the Top Ten and was a great song indeed - one of my favorites from them! Yeah, this was a good one - one of their best (including solo David Gates songs.) 79: LIVING THING - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - Here's one I remember hearing back in the day. Great song - one of their best! 78: NOBODY DOES IT BETTER - CARLY SIMON - 1977 was definitely the year for movie songs! This one, from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me, was one of many songs held out of #1 by Debby Boone's eternal #1 hit (it did sneak in a week at #1 on the R&R chart). It is one of my favorite songs by Carly Simon, as well as one of my faves on this week's chart. Great song - one of her best and one of the best James Bond themes ever. 77: WAY DOWN - ELVIS PRESLEY - Here's a song that originally peaked at #31, but after his unexpected death in August, the song resurged and got as high as #18. Its long chart run helped to place it way up on the survey. It's a great song, but I preferred his other 1977 song, which was peaking at #22 this very week. Yeah, for a 70's Elvis song this was pretty good. Still, I prefer his 50's and 60's classics. 76: KEEP IT COMIN' LOVE - KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND - Their only Top Ten hit that did not go to #1 (it didn't miss by much, though; it peaked at #2 for three weeks, but couldn't quite get past Meco; then, when Debby Boone leapfrogged this song, of course, there was no hope). I never used to like this song very much, but now I think it's one of their best. Great song - one of their best! 75: YOU'RE MY WORLD - HELEN REDDY - This song peaked at #18, just like the Elvis Presley record and had an almost identical chart run (just a week longer on the Hot 100). This song reminds me a little of Joni James' 1955 hit "How Important Can It Be" (my aunt had the 45 of the song, so that's how I know it). The song is quite cheesy, like most of Reddy's songs, but still pretty good. No. Just no. OPTIONAL EXTRA: HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE - THE BEE GEES - This song may have charted too late in 1977 to be included on the big list (in fact, it was just hitting #1 this very week), but it was definitely worth the wait, as the song was ranked #6 on the Top 100 of 1978. Anyway, of their three Saturday Night Fever hits (four, if you count the album cut "More Than A Woman"), this would be my favorite. Great song - the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack was clearly their commercial peak! 74: WEEKEND IN NEW ENGLAND - BARRY MANILOW - Not sure I'd want to spend this weekend in New England, what with the cold snap they're experiencing right now (not that it's a great deal warmer here in the Great Lakes area). As for this song, like most of Barry Manilow's songs, I thought this was a great one. No. Just no. 73: HEARD IT IN A LOVE SONG - MARSHALL TUCKER BAND - Interesting story about how this band got their name. Anyway, this is by far their best known of their two Top 40 hits - and my favorite as well (though I seem to remember that "Fire On The Mountain" was pretty good as well). Yeah I wonder what the piano tuner Marshall Tucker thought when they made it big? Yeah this was a good one. 72: STRAWBERRY LETTER #23 - BROTHERS JOHNSON - This one wasn't quite my cup of tea, although it wasn't exactly "roof-raising R&B" music - it was actually somewhat mellow. I guess it just didn't do anything for me. Great song - I also like Tevin Campbell's 1992 version though this is my favourite. 71: MY HEART BELONGS TO ME - BARBRA STREISAND - Her second of two Top Five hits during the year 1977. Both are great songs, but I slightly prefer this one. No. Just no. 70: THAT'S ROCK & ROLL - SHAUN CASSIDY - Ah, the teen idol of the late-70s. I remember a girl who was in kindergarten with me had a huge crush on him. I liked most of his music - this and Da Doo Ron Ron are probably my two favorites from him. Yeah I like both of them too. 69: BARRACUDA - HEART - A high point in the show for our friend JessieLou. I used to think this song was just OK, but I've recently gotten to like it a lot recently Great song - it's held up very well over the years. Still, I prefer their 80's stuff generally. 68: JEANS ON - DAVID DUNDAS - Well, I should hope you have your jeans on! I don't want to see you in your briefs, thank you very much! But seriously, this song was pretty good. Yeah, one of the best commercials turned songs to hit the charts. 67: COLD AS ICE - FOREIGNER - Their second hit - and there was a lot more where that came from! This would probably be my favorite of their two Top Ten hits from 1977 (though "Feels Like The First Time", coming up later on the chart, was also a great one!) Great song - one of their best, and another that holds up well. 66: DON'T STOP - FLEETWOOD MAC - I used to like this song, but overplay sort of tarnished it for me (especially in late 1992, when Clinton used it as the theme for his first campaign and radio stations began playing it more often (surprised it didn't re-chart then) Indeed, this was possibly my least favorite release from "Rumors" (my favorite would be "You Make Lovin' Fun", which was beginning its descent on the Hot 100 this week). Great song - I like all of the "Rumours" hits as well as some other tracks that get AOR airplay. 65: YOU AND ME - ALICE COOPER - As we all know, I prefer his ballads over his rockers. "Only Women" is my absolute favorite from him, but his other three ballads are kind of in a revolving door as my second favorite from him Nice song, though I tend to prefer his rock songs. 64: JUST A SONG BEFORE I GO - CROSBY, STILLS & NASH - They had been hitting the chart for nearly ten years but, oddly enough, this was their very first Top Ten hit. I myself preferred their later hits, like this one. I generally prefer their earlier 70's stuff but this was a great one too. 63: HANDY MAN - JAMES TAYLOR - The third incarnation of this song to hit the charts, and IMO the best. My mom used to be able to play this song on her guitar, so I remember it quite well - a great song indeed! I usually like James Taylor's stuff but I've never been able to get into this one (possibly being a remake of a geezer song hurt it?) 62: LONELY BOY - ANDREW GOLD - This may have been his biggest chart hit, but his other one, "Thank You For Being A Friend", from the following year, became a very popular LDD request. This was my favorite song from him, though his other one was great as well. This one was edited somewhat, by cutting out his goodbyes during the bridge and shortening the ending. At least the main part of the song was left intact. Yeah, this was really good. OPTIONAL EXTRA: BLUE BAYOU - LINDA RONSTADT - This song was also edited down, jumping from the first verse straight to the second chorus. Great song - I like most of her big hits, this is no exception. 61: THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE - 10CC - This song, which sounds like something Queen might have done, still sounds as fresh as it did back in the day. I never got tired of this one! Yeah this was a great song - one of their best! 60: LUCILLE - KENNY ROGERS - Four hundred children and crap in the field? Oh wait, that's something else... Anyway, this was pretty good, but I prefer many others from him. I actually like this, which is a surprise considering I don't usually like his slower stuff. 59: CARRY ON MY WAYWARD SON - KANSAS - There are many instances where motion pictures inspire hit songs. For this song, however, it seemed to be the other way around, as this song was a hit nearly a year before a movie for which it was the theme (or at least it was featured). Anyway, this was Kansas' first Top 40 hit. I preferred the album version, which I don't believe AT40 ever played. At least it's the album version that has endured on classic rock radio. Great song - I like several of their hits, this included. 58: I'M IN YOU - PETER FRAMPTON - This song hit #1 on the R&R chart in July, and looked like it could do the same on Billboard, but didn't quite make it. It still became his biggest hit ever, and deservedly so, since it's my favorite song of his. Great song - one of his best! 57: SO IN TO YOU - ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION - They had a handful of Top 40 hits and I thought most of them were great, like this one! Not sure if I prefer this one or the song where they featured Stevie Nicks as the vocalist Yeah those 2 are probably my favourites from them as well though they were generally very good. 56: NIGHT MOVES - BOB SEGER - The title track from one of Seger's best albums ever! I preferred the next single from that album, "Mainstreet". Great song - possibly my favourite from him ever! 55: AFTER THE LOVIN' - ENGLEBERT HUMPERDINCK - This is my favorite song from him by default, as it's the only song I've ever heard by him - that I know of, anyway. So that's not really saying much, since the cheese factor on this one is quite strong. I mean, it's not quite a "No. Just no" song, but then again, it's nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. No. Just no. 54: STAR WARS - MECO - Well, here we are with the first #1 song on this show! One of two versions of this song that charted in 1977. The other song, by John Williams & the London Symphony Orchestra, also hit the Top Ten, but after this disco version was released, that song was pretty much left for dead. I actually preferred the John Williams version, but this one was pretty good too. While the John Williams version is better known especially due to the movies' success, this song seemed to fit 1977 radio better. Great song - works surprisingly well as a discofied tune! 53: DA DOO RON RON - SHAUN CASSIDY - And here is the second #1 song. This one, however, was not affected by the cutoff date, like the Star Wars song above - its quick chart run (compared to the runs of the other songs) accounts for its somewhat low placing on the survey. Anyway, of the two charted versions of this song, I definitely prefer this one. Yeah same, though I do like the original, one of my favourite early 60's songs. 52: NEW KID IN TOWN - EAGLES - Wow! Here's another #1 song whose entire chart run was within the 1977 survey period! It is the lead-off single from the album for which the Eagles seem to be most famous. I mentioned earlier that I liked their two #1 songs from that album best, but I'm not sure which one I prefer, as both are great songs and among my favorites from them! I do prefer the other singles from this album but this is excellent too. OPTIONAL EXTRA: JUST THE WAY YOU ARE - BILLY JOEL - Not sure why they chose this one, as it had just debuted two weeks before and was more of a 1978 hit, but that's OK, as I really liked this song. The Stranger was indeed one of his best albums, IMO. Agreed - not a bad track on there! Great song indeed! 51: YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE - DEBBY BOONE - Now this one was really a victim of the cutoff rule! It spent ten weeks at #1, but only about half of them were during the 1977 survey period (depending where the cutoff date was - Casey said November, but that could have been any of the weeks. Whatever the case, many radio stations listed this as their #1 song of 1977 (as well as many publications, such as Radio & Records), which is not surprising, as big as this song was. Anyway, I guess you could call this a guilty pleasure, as I really like this song, despite the cheese factor. No. Just no. 50: I NEVER CRY - ALICE COOPER - His second of two hits on the year-end survey. This song, which Cooper wrote about his drug and alcohol addiction, was my favorite of the two songs (though, as I said earlier, it sort of fluctuates between this and "You And Me". Both of those songs tend to stick in my mind, and when one does, it tends to make me like the other better. I prefer his other song on the chart, but this is good too. 49: I'VE GOT LOVE ON MY MIND - NATALIE COLE - Another artist who had a serious drug and alcohol addiction, which she did recover from, but they seemed to take their toll on her in the long run. In fact, it was exactly two years ago that she passed away. R.I.P. Natalie Great song - I like most of her big hits, this included. 48: MORE THAN A FEELING - BOSTON - Here's one I remember from back in the day - I thought they were singing "Poor little Felix, so I sent all the apples to work". As usual, they went with the single version of the song, which is chopped down way too much, IMO. Indeed, this was definitely one of my favorite songs by Boston. Great song, though I do prefer others from them. 47: RIGHT TIME OF THE NIGHT - JENNIFER WARREN - Actually, her last name is Warnes. That typo is somewhat funny, though not as much as the one for song #87. Anyway, this was the first of two songs in this countdown written by Peter McCann (the other one, by Peter himself, is coming up next hour). This was my favorite of said two songs, as well as one of my faves from Jennifer Warnes. Yeah, this was a great one - one of her best! My Last.fm radio gives me a video of her Midnight Special performance of this (can it get more 70's than performing on Midnight Special?) 46: DREAMS - FLEETWOOD MAC - I was always so surprised that this song was ranked so low, as it was one of the biggest hits of the year according to R&R (where it spent four weeks on top). This was the biggest single from one of the biggest albums of all time, Rumors. The song is my least favorite of the singles, however, presumably due to overplay. It's still a pretty good one, though. One thing I just recently noticed is that it would have made more sense to link the two verses together and play the instrumental bridge before the last chorus. I'm not complaining or anything; I guess they just like to do things different (like saving the title for "You Make Loving Fun" until the end of the song). Yeah, I'm surprised, given how big of a 1977 they had, that this wasn't like top 10 for the year! Great song though! 45: EASY - COMMODORES - This was when their musical quality began to improve, as, like I mentioned earlier, their first few hits were mediocre. This remains one of my favorite Commodores songs of all time! Yeah, they really started to get good around this time - the first song that pretty much defined Lionel Richie as the balladeer of the 70's and 80's. Great song! 44: COULDN'T GET IT RIGHT - CLIMAX BLUES BAND - They may have had only had two Top 40 hits, both were big hits that lasted quite awhile on the charts. This was a good song, but I preferred "I Love You", which charted four years later. Yeah I like both of their big hits too - not sure which I prefer, depends on my mood at the time. 43: FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME - FOREIGNER - The first of many hits for this legendary band, and a great one at that - both the song and the band! This is another thing whose single edit was notably shorter than the album version, which is generally the one that I heard on the radio back in the day (since many of the stations I listened to were AOR-oriented). Great song - another that has endured well, and all I hear anymore is the album version. 42: LOOKS LIKE WE MADE IT - BARRY MANILOW - This was his third and final #1 hit. No matter; he'd have many more big hits. This was by far my favorite of his #1 songs, as well as my favorite of his two hits on this year-ender. No. Just no. 41: BETH - KISS - 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. Interesting how they had to drop this song from their concerts as they always got booed for it. I'm assuming that they still play "Forever", as that is a power ballad, while this is not (the only instruments in this one seem to be a piano, strings, and a horn). I like this one a lot, but much like fellow glam rocker Alice Cooper, I prefer their rock songs, include the power ballad "Forever". 40: ENJOY YOURSELF - JACKSONS - This is where the (heavily edited) version of the show run by Premiere at the end of 2009 started off. The Jacksons had been hitting the chart for years, but I wasn't a big fan of them by this point. They were much better in the early 70s, when they were known as the Jackson 5. Good song, but I prefer their 1970 hits as well as the "Destiny" singles. 39: SWAYING TO THE MUSIC - JOHNNY RIVERS - Of course, the crickets (the creatures, not the band) help him out in the first verse of this song (his first Top Ten hit in about four and a half years). It wasn't bad, but I preferred a few others from him (i.e. "Summer Rain", "Secret Agent Man"). Great song - one of my favourites from him! 38: STAND TALL - BURTON CUMMINGS - The former lead singer of the Guess Who managed to have two solo hits, and this was the biggest. It was a good one and, as I've said before, it would make a great closing theme for a movie whose plot dealt with a story of success. Yeah, this was pretty good, though I prefer him in the Guess Who. OPTIONAL EXTRA: LUCKENBACH, TEXAS (BACK TO THE BASICS OF LOVE) - WAYLON JENNINGS & WILLIE NELSON - This was the Billboard's Top Country single of 1977. This was Jennings' second of three Top 40 hits. It was a pretty good song, but I preferred his "Theme From Dukes Of Hazzard" theme song, which charted at the end of 1980. No. Just no. 37: DON'T GIVE UP ON US - DAVID SOUL - The only Top 40 single for Hutch. It's a pretty cheesy song, but not bad. Agreed, I'll take it. 36: DAZZ - BRICK - Typical roof raising R&B music of the 70s that I wasn't a big fan of. I like this one, not bad for a band that liked to make up words for their titles. 35: YOU ARE THE WOMAN - FIREFALL - Interesting how this song hit the Top 40 in September, 1976, yet lasted well into the 1977 survey period. As this song only peaked at #9, yet it's so high up, I'm assuming that they counted a song's entire chart run if it peaked within the survey period, which contradicts some of my speculation for why Elton John's song wound up way down at #100 despite peaking well in the Top Ten. Well, anyway... 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". Yeah, this was a great one, I tend to like their three biggest hits about the same. 34: WHAT YOU GONNA DO? - PABLO CRUISE - This was their very first hit, and it became their biggest ever, peaking at #6 and lasting a half a year on the Hot 100! Very deservedly so, as it was a great song - one of their best IMO. Agreed - though I do really like "Love Will Find A Way" as well. 33: FLY LIKE AN EAGLE - STEVE MILLER BAND - This song soared all the way up to #2 in March, but couldn't seem to get past Barbra Streisand's #1 hit "Evergreen". The song was the third and final single from the album of the same name, as Miller would release Book Of Dreams soon after this song ended its chart run. This is one of my favorite Steve Miller songs ever! Agreed - I also like Seal's remake of this. 32: MUSKRAT LOVE - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE - 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! Man, no wonder this song offended the Queen of England! This was easily my least favorite song from them! OK, I'm done with my rant - now on with the countdown. Yeah, that rant sums up what I feel about this too. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW MUSKRATS F***ING For that, I'd take the America version over this - as they didn't include those annoying muskrat noises! 31: I WISH - STEVIE WONDER - The first of two #1 hits he had in 1977. This song must hold the record for the most consecutive jumps of eleven spots, with three in a row. As for my opinion of the song, I liked it, but preferred his next hit, "Sir Duke", which would also hit #1 the following spring. I really like both about the same - "Songs In The Key Of Life" really felt like his creative apex. 30: MARGARITAVILLE - JIMMY BUFFETT - Definitely his signature song. This was OK, but a little overrated, IMO. Agreed. Nice summery feel here. 29: DO YOU WANT TO MAKE LOVE? - PETER MC CANN - The second of two songs on the countdown that McCann wrote. As stated earlier, I prefer the other song; this one was way too schmaltzy, IMO. Good song! 28: WHEN I NEED YOU - LEO SAYER - One of three Top 20 hits that Leo charted with during the year. It was OK, but, like the above song, the cheese factor was indeed present. I preferred his other two songs, which bookended this one. Great song! The "Endless Flight" era really had his best stuff overall. 27: BLINDED BY THE NIGHT - MANFRED MANN - It was refreshing to hear the entire single version of this song, as they usually chopped this one down, big time, playing only the chorus that starts the song, the first verse, and then jumped right to the last chorus. I wonder if it was like that in the original broadcast. Anyway, this was a great song - one I remember from back in the day. Great song - I actually prefer the regular single version over the long album version here. 26: SOUTHERN NIGHTS - GLEN CAMPBELL - Campbell had many Top 40 hits, and two of those went all the way to #1, including this one. I like it, but preferred his other #1 hit, "Rhinestone Cowboy" from two years before. SAme here. 25: GOT TO GIVE IT UP - MARVIN GAYE - I'm generally not a huge fan of Marvin Gaye, but for some reason, I like this one. Kind of a surprise, as this one has been compared to "Blurred Lines", which I hate with a passion. I like this one but tend to prefer his socially conscious stuff as well as some of his love-making songs. OPTIONAL EXTRA: GO YOUR OWN WAY - FLEETWOOD MAC - Larry counted down the Top Five albums of 1977 before playing this song. Rumors by Fleetwood Mac was #1 and here is a song that, by its stats, looks like it just barely missed making the list. With Lindsey Buckingham on lead vocals, this lead-off single from Rumors was my second favorite of the four, behind "You Make Lovin' Fun" (too bad that one missed making any of the year-enders. I am completely dumbfounded that this didn't make the top 100 of the year! I guess people must've bought the album instead. Great song - one of their absolute best, and most enduring classics! 24: ON AND ON - STEPHEN BISHOP - Kind of weird that this song ranks so high, as it never even hit the Top Ten (peaked at #11 in October). This was his second chart entry and clearly my favorite of his two 1977 hits, as well as one of my favorites from him of all time, right up there with "It Might Be You". Great song! I'm glad it ranked this high - perfect example of why so much 70's soft rock was good. 23: THEME FROM ROCKY - BILL CONTI - One of two versions of this song to hit the chart during 1977 (four, if you count the two #94 peakers by Rhythm Heritage and Current). This one, however, was the only song strong enough to make it onto the year-end chart. Of the two versions that hit the Top 40 (the only ones I've heard), this would definitely be my favorite, by none other than the man who wrote it. Yeah, this was pretty good - classic movie tune! 22: TELEPHONE LINE - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - They actually played the entire medley of different telephone sound effects at the beginning of the song (as they generally start it off as the instruments start). This song had a rather slow climb up the charts; debuted in early July and peaked at #7 the last week of September. It was a great one; one of my favorites from them. Yeah, this was one of many great songs they've had! 21: RICH GIRL - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES - Good; they didn't edit out the lines that contained the B-word. The song's short enough as it is, and IMO, it's only a bad word when you're calling someone a name or yelling "son of a b----" when you're mad. The context they use it in means a tough situation. But that is only my opinion and nothing more. As for my opinion on the song, I like it - glad it made it to the top. Agreed - one of my favourite songs from them ever! 20: HOTEL CALIFORNIA - EAGLES - The title track from one of their biggest albums ever and, as stated earlier, one of my favorites from them. A true classic which has aged quite well! And how about this - they actually played the full version (as they generally cut out the second verse and shorten the instrumental part at the end). They did the latter somewhat, but not as much as usual. That might be why there are only 24 songs in the last two hours of the show, so they won't have to cut any songs that rank in the top quarter. Oh wow, I know this is usually edited on AT40 - glad they played it in full, as that's the best way to hear it, and what classic rock has stuck with. Great song - one of the best of the 70's! 19: SIR DUKE - STEVIE WONDER - Here's another song that's generally edited (although they usually cut the second chorus). They played the entire song on this show. Stevie dropped several names in this song, all of musical pioneers that time did not allow us to forget, including the king of all, Duke Ellington, to whom, of course, the title referred. Although I prefer several other songs by Mr. Wonder, this was a great one nonetheless. Great song - one of my favourites from him! 18: RUBBERBAND MAN - SPINNERS - What, does he shoot rubberbands at unsuspecting victims? But seriously, they had hit the Top Five for five years in a row, which Casey mentioned going into this song. But he more or less jinxed them, as the streak ended with this song and they would not return to the Top Five until early 1980. As for this song, it's OK, but definitely far from being my favorite song from them. Great song - possibly my favourite from them ever! 17: CAR WASH - ROSE ROYCE - For a disco song, this one was pretty good. I remember that about 28 years ago, I started to watch the movie of the same name, but dozed off during the first half hour. Must not have made that big of an impression on me. Great song - still holds up very well. 16: LOVE SO RIGHT - BEE GEES - 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. It did more or less get the last laugh on the year-ender, as it ranked higher than the two songs that kept them from making it to at least the runner-up position. This was one of my favorite songs from the Brothers Gibb. Agreed - despite how big a hit it was, it seems like a lot of their slower stuff tends to be underrated these days. 15: HOT LINE - SYLVERS - I wonder how many kids who hear this song say, "WTF" to the woman near the beginning saying, "Number, please" As for this song, I like it and Boogie Fever about the same. Same here. 14: DANCING QUEEN - ABBA - It's a rather rare occasion when my favorite song by a certain act ends up being their biggest hit ever, but this is definitely an example. It seems that, more often than not, they did a hack job on this song which, IMO, is kind of pointless, as it's not like it's that long of a song in the first place. Great song - while many of their songs have endured well, this probably has the best of all. 13: I'M YOUR BOOGIE MAN - KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND - One of two Top Five hits from them in 1977. I preferred the other one, which just narrowly missed hitting #1 several months later (thus ending their streak of hitting #1 or missing the Top Ten altogether). This one was mediocre. Great song, like most of their disco stuff. 12: (YOUR LOVE HAS LIFTED ME) HIGHER & HIGHER - RITA COOLIDGE - This was an interesting disco rendition of the Jackie Wilson classic. This was her first big hit - couldn't quite break up the fight for the top spot between Andy Gibb and the Emotions, but still managed to sneak in a week at #2. This was definitely my favorite version of this song that I've heard., and possibly my favorite of Rita Coolidge's six Top 40 hits (though I'm not sure I've ever heard her early 1980 hit "I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love"). I prefer a few others from her - this was ok though. OPTIONAL EXTRA: STAR WARS THEME - JOHN WILLIAMS & THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA - Before playing this song, Larry counted down the Top Five films from 1977 before this song and, of course, Star Wars was by far the winner. As stated earlier, Meco's disco version pretty much stole this one's thunder, as it plummeted once the newer version hit the Top Ten. And also, as stated earlier, this was my favorite of the two. Great song - appropriate intro to count down the top movies of the year. 11: YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE DANCIN' - LEO SAYER - This would be the first of two #1 songs from him, during the same year, no less. This would be my favorite of the two songs, by a fair margin. I really like both of said #1 hits myself. Which one I prefer depends on my mood at the time. 10: UNDERCOVER ANGEL - ALAN O'DAY - This was his only charted hit of his own, but he did write several other big hits ("Angie Baby" by Helen Reddy, for instance, which Casey mentioned going into the song). As for this song, well, I love it! Definitely one of the best #1 hits of 1977, IMO. Agreed. 9: TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVERS - MARY MC GREGOR - Casey mentioned how this song resembled a soap opera plot. To me, it sounds a lot like a confession on the Jerry Springer show, especially the first verse (you know, how the Jerry Springer guests butter up their lover before spilling the beans)? I was never a fan of this song, which is definitely a cure for insomnia. No. Just no. 8: ANGELS IN YOUR ARMS - HOT - Wow - two songs about infidelity back-to-back! In this one, it is from the point of view of the person who was done wrong. The lyrics to this song sound a lot like what the scorned person would say to the person who did unto her/him. Anyway, I used to like this song, which got a lot of mileage on the charts (which accounts for its high placing despite never climbing above #6), but I'm not a big fan of it anymore. This was alright but not the best song out there. 7: DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY - THELMA HOUSTON - Casey recited this song's Top 40 chart run up to #1 in the intro. Definitely one of the slowest climbs to #1 (and THE slowest climb for a song by a female singer up to that point). Great song - one of the greatest disco songs ever! 6: I LIKE DREAMIN'- KENNY NOLAN - After years of writing big hits for other artists, Kenny wrote one for himself, and it proved to be worthwhile, as the song climbed all the way to #3. This song reminds me a little of "My Eyes Adored You", which would be no coincidence, as Nolan wrote that one as well. This is a good song - that is, when it doesn't stick in my mind all day, like it has done several times before. This, by the way, the highest ranked song on the survey that never made it to #1. Yeah, this was pretty good. 5: YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A STAR - MARILYN MC COO & BILLY DAVIS JR. - This was the very first #1 song of 1977 (though the second one in the survey period). It was a pretty good song, but I prefer many other songs on this week's chart. Great song - I like this better than most of the 5th Dimension hits. 4: THEME FROM "A STAR IS BORN" (EVERGREEN) - BARBRA STREISAND - The soundtrack of "A Star Is Born" hit #1 on the album chart in February and the song would do the same on the Hot 100 a few weeks later, and deservedly so, as this was one of Streisand's best songs ever! No. Just no. 3: BEST OF MY LOVE - EMOTIONS - The only two songs by groups in this week's Top Ten - and how about this - both are among the few female groups on the entire list. Anyway, this was one of the song involved in a back-and-forth battle for the #1 spot around late summer. I really liked this song - I definitely preferred it over the Eagles' former #1 song of the same title, since that one was a melancholy song about a dying relationship while the Emotions song was a fun, upbeat song about a love affair that was strong and flourishing. Great song! A true classic (clearly Mariah Carey agrees, given this inspired one of her #1 hits!) 2: TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT - ROD STEWART - This, of course, the song that led off the 28 #1 songs during the 1977 survey period, even though virtually all of its #1 weeks were in 1976. The song wasted absolutely no time hitting #1 and it held there for eight consecutive weeks. I can see why, as it was a great song! One of his best, IMO. His song from early 1990, “Downtown Train” sounds a lot like this one. Great song! Still one of my favourites from him. OPTIONAL EXTRA: MONTAGE OF #1 SONGS FOR 1977 - There were 28 of them total and they all appear here on the big list. 1: I WANT TO BE YOUR EVERYTHING - ANDY GIBB - Even though this song was #1 only half as long as "Tonight's The Night", it far outlasted that song's run in the Top Ten (spent nearly as many weeks in that zone that Rod spent in the Top 40). Its Top 40 run of 23 weeks equaled Rod Stewart's run on the entire Hot 100, and finally, this song spent 31 weeks on the Hot 100, so it definitely was the biggest hit of 1977 and deservedly so, as it was a great song! Can't argue that - a well-deserved year-end #1! Still love this one.
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Post by Hervard on Jan 20, 2018 19:35:19 GMT -5
Wow! Nobody has posted here yet this year! I'll get this thread started again, first with last week's show...
American Top 40: The 80s - January 13, 2018
This week's presentation - January 14, 1978
40: TOO HOT TO TROT - THE COMMODORES (debut) - I have pointed out that their music began to improve with 1977's "Easy", but I still wasn't much for their funk/soul hits, like this one. I prefer their more "laid-back" songs. 39: YOU'RE MY SOUL AND INSPIRATION - DONNY & MARIE (39) - Of course, this was a cover of the Righteous Brothers second #1 hit. 38: AS - STEVIE WONDER (re-entry) - Casey said that this song "re-debuted" on AT40. It seemed to have peaked at #39 about a week earlier, then got a second wind and managed two more weeks in the Top 40, reaching a new peak of #36. It was a great song IMO, but I have a feeling that the fact that most fans had Wonder's year-old album Songs In The Key Of Life, so there was no need to buy the single or request it on the radio. I still feel it was underrated. 37: LONG, LONG WAY FROM HOME - FOREIGNER (debut) - Third Single Syndrome definitely applied here, as this song only got as high as #20, after the first two songs from their self-titled album hit the Top Ten. I actually preferred said first two hits - this one was kinda just there. 36: PEG - STEELY DAN (40) - They did an odd hack job with this song, by cutting out the second verse (or the second half of the first verse, if that's what you'd call it) and the first chorus. Anyway, this was one of my favorite songs from them of all time! 35: MY WAY - ELVIS PRESLEY (22) - A great rendition of the Frank Sinatra classic! This was my favorite of the ones I've heard (though the only other one I've heard, other than the two listed here, is the one from Kermit The Frog, and even that one had different lyrics and a slightly different melody - it was called [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIOqwCGoJwU"This Frog"[/url]). 34: WHAT'S YOUR NAME - LYNYRD SKYNYRD (38) - A great classic rock group here! This one, as well as most of their others, gets tons of recurrent airplay on classic rock stations today. This was one of my favorites from them. 33: GIRL'S SCHOOL - WINGS (34) - The first of four Top 40 songs during 1978 (and the only of those not featured on their London Town album - I believe it was a non-album track. The song was OK, but I preferred a few others from them, including their next release "With A Little Luck" which, of course, became one of their biggest hits ever. EXTRA: MIDNIGHT BLUE - MELISSA MANCHESTER - Interesting story about how she managed to join an elite group of nine students to take a music course taught by Paul Simon. She got a successful recording career out of it, too, including this song - one of her best! 32: NATIVE NEW YORKER - ODYSSEY (33) - This was their only Top 40 hit. The song was OK, but nothing exceptional - sounded a little like the Bee Gees. 31: EMOTION - SAMANTHA SANG (37) - Now THIS song sounded a lot like a Bee Gees song, but there's good reason for that, as they're prominently heard singing on the backing vocals. That was definitely instrumental in how well this song did, hitting the Top Five at the same time that two of the Bee Gees' own song, as well as an Andy Gibb hit. This was a good song IMO. 30: IT'S SO EASY - LINDA RONSTADT (15) - Ronstadt had been competing with herself on the chart with two hits - one upbeat song and one ballad (the disparity may have been instrumental in how well they did on the chart). This was the former of the two and, though I did prefer her other song (coming up a little later on), this was a great one as well! 29: POINT OF NO RETURN - KANSAS (30) - I’m surprised that this song didn’t get any higher than #28, as I heard it all the time back in the day (mainly on WLS). Perhaps it was one of those songs that received sporadic airplay and did well where played. Whatever the case, this was a great song IMO and one I definitely associate with early 1978. 28: DON'T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD - SANTA ESMERELDA (33) - An interesting disco rendition of the classic by the Animals. Coincidentally, both songs peaked at #15 on the Hot 100. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE WAY YOU DO THE THINGS YOU DO - RITA COOLIDGE - Like Foreigner's hit earlier in the show, this song was an example of Third Single Syndrome - peaked at #20 after two Top Ten hits from her Anytime...Anywhere album. 27: GETTIN' READY FOR LOVE - DIANA ROSS (27) - Here's a song that I don’t remember ever hearing (though I'm sure I did at least once, since the show from the week before with the song on it was featured back in 2011. It’s a good one and surprisingly, it’s doesn’t have the disco beat of most of her upbeat songs. 26: DESIREE - NEIL DIAMOND (29) - This may not been one of his biggest hits, but it holds the distinction of being the very first Long Distance Dedication song on AT40. It was a pretty good song. 25: DON'T IT MAKE MY BROWN EYES BLUE - CRYSTAL GAYLE (16) - One of four country crossover hits from her (yes, I thought she had more as well!) I liked all four songs about the same - all of them are great songs IMO. 24: THE WAY I FEEL TONIGHT - THE BAY CITY ROLLERS (24) - They went with a slow song this time around. Reminded me a little of "Without You" by Harry Nilsson. It wasn't bad, but nothing exceptional. 23: DANCE DANCE DANCE - CHIC (26) - Meh, not a fan of this one, mostly since it is quite repetitive. I preferred other songs from them, especially "I Want Your Love" from the following year. 22: SOMETIMES WHEN WE TOUCH - DAN HILL (25) - After a gigantic chart jump the week before (40-25), this song makes a more modest move this week. Hill seemed destined to be a one-hit wonder, a title he held for nearly ten years, but the day was saved in the late summer of 1987, when his duet with Vonda Shepard "Can't We Try" came along and broke the curse. I preferred that song, as well as a few other Dan Hill songs, over this one, but it still is a good one. 21: I GO CRAZY - PAUL DAVIS (21) - This song just would not give up. On many occasions, it appeared to have peaked, but it just kept inching up the chart all the way to its peak of #7, which it reached in its 30th week on the Hot 100. Unsurprisingly, the song would end up breaking the record for the longest run on the chart - an even 40 weeks! I liked this, but preferred several others by him. 20: (LOVE IS) THICKER THAN WATER - ANDY GIBB (23) - The first of three #1 songs in a row for Gibb. It wasn't quite as good as "I Just Want To Be Your Everything", but I prefer it over "Shadow Dancing". 19: SERPENTINE FIRE - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (19) - An L.A.-based act that had quite a few hits during the 70s (though they didn't hit the Top 40 until 1974). This was a pretty good song, but not quite their best (I don't think I need to remind you that my two faves from them are "That's The Way Of The World" and "September", do I?) 18: TURN TO STONE - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (20) - They also had a ton of hits in the 1970s, including this one, which peaked at #13 (but made it all the way to #5 on the R&R charts). This is one I remember quite well from back in the day, though for some reason, I associated it more with summer than winter. It is one of my favorite songs from them 17: STAYIN' ALIVE - THE BEE GEES (30) - It's definitely no surprise that the biggest jump of the week was by the Bee Gees, as they were on a roll at this point. This one was on its way to #1, where it would stay for four weeks (and then would spend six non-consecutive weeks in the runner-up spot). This was my second favorite song from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack behind their other song on the chart this week). 16: JUST THE WAY YOU ARE - BILLY JOEL (18) - The first of four releases from one of his best singles albums ever. I liked all four of the songs and, though "She's Always A Woman" was my favorite of those, the others, including this one, were great as well. Did they ever play the full album version of the song during its chart run? (I'm fairly sure I remember them playing that one as a LDD one time). 15: SHORT PEOPLE - RANDY NEWMAN (17) - Despite its small chart move this week, the song would break wide open the following week, jumping into the Top Five, and peaking at #2 the week after that. Of course, it's pretty common knowledge that this song's meaning was misinterpreted, until the bridge. I thought it was a great song. 14: RUNAROUND SUE - LEIF GARRETT (14) - He had charted the previous fall with a cover version of the Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA" and returned to the chart a few weeks back with another remake, this one, an old Dion classic. Of course, the original was the best version, but I also liked this version of the song. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THUNDER ISLAND - JAY FERGUSON - The first of two Top 40 hits by this man from the San Ferdinando Valley. I'm sure I've heard his other hit, "Shakedown Cruise" before, but wtf did it sound like again? This was a good song that I vaguely remember hearing back in the day. 13: BLUE BAYOU - LINDA RONSTADT (3) - Like usual, this song was edited down, jumping from the first verse straight to the second verse. But when you try to squeeze 13 or 14 songs into an hour, unless you plan on running no commercials, a few songs have to be shortened. But anyway, as stated earlier, this is my favorite of her two songs on this week's chart. 12: YOU CAN'T TURN ME OFF (IN THE MIDDLE OF TURNING ME ON) - HIGH ENERGY (12) - This one reminds me a little of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Diana Ross. It was a pretty good song - pretty much your typical 70s R&B slow jam. 11: YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE - DEBBY BOONE (6) - Amazing that, with all the records this song set, that it was her sole Top 40 hit. This song was definitely a guilty pleasure of mine - as cheesy as it is, I just can't help but love the song! 10: WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS - QUEEN (13) - By now, many radio stations were playing "We Will Rock You" with this one. In fact, I'm fairly sure every radio station I listened to were playing both songs and never one or the other. Of course, I prefer this one - one of my all-time favorites by Queen! 9: COME SAIL AWAY - STYX (11) - This song appeared to have peaked here at #9, holding at that position the following week, but it did manage to climb just one more spot the week after that. Of course, the single version of this song was cut down more than necessary, IMO. Of all three versions I've heard, I like the one that's about four minutes long; the only thing cut from that part is the bridge, with the weird spacey sound effects 8: SENTIMENTAL LADY - BOB WELCH (8) - Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, for whom Welch was the former guitarist, are heard singing back-up on his first solo hit. It was a great song IMO. 7: HEY DEANIE - SHAUN CASSIDY (10) - The third of four Top 40 hits from this singer/actor from L.A. I liked it, but preferred his first two hits, both of which hit the Top Ten, as well as this song) 6: SLIP SLIDIN' AWAY - PAUL SIMON (7) - This song would become his fifth Top Ten solo single (yes, I thought he'd had more than that up to this point as well). His next Top 40 solo entry would be "Late In The Evening", in 1980. I liked both songs about the same, but preferred a few others from him. 5: BACK IN LOVE AGAIN - L.T.D. (4) - This would become the biggest of their three Top 40 hits, peaking at #4 in December. It wasn't bad, but I generally preferred lead singer Jeffrey Osbourne's solo hits. 4: YOU'RE IN MY HEART- ROD STEWART (9) - This song would become his second #1 on R&R, but it didn't quite make it on the Hot 100 (basically, if you weren't the Bee Gees or at least on the RSO label in the first half of 1978, you were pretty much S.O.L. Anyway, this was a great song - one of my favorites both back in the day and now. As is usually the case, they edited this one, jumping from the first verse to the second chorus. Truly, a four-hour show was called for a few years before it finally became a reality, which, of course, was later on in the year. 3: HERE YOU COME AGAIN - DOLLY PARTON (5) - Chiefly a country act, Parton did have a few crossover hits and this was the first of them. It's definitely one of my favorite songs from her. OPTIONAL EXTRA: THE NAME OF THE GAME - ABBA - I really liked many songs from Abba, but this wasn't one of them. One of my least favorite songs from them. 2: HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE - THE BEE GEES (1) - This song had just spent the last three weeks at #1 (though only one of them was counted down by Casey, since the Top 100 of 1977 was being run over the last two weeks of 1977, which happened to be the first two weeks of this song's reign. No matter; the song was in no hurry to go anywhere; in fact, it would still be in the Top Ten when March rolled around! This song held the record for the longest top ten run for fourteen years! 1: BABY COME BACK - PLAYER (1) - This was pretty much the only song for the first few months of 1978 not connected with the Gibb family or the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack that managed to hit #1. They played a slightly longer version of this song than usual, with longer instrumental breaks. I assume that was the album version.
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Post by Hervard on Jan 20, 2018 19:36:36 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - January 20, 2018 This week's presentation - January 20, 1979 DROPPERS: I WILL BE IN LOVE WITH YOU - LIVINGSTON TAYLOR (30) - The Taylors are obviously a very musical family! James, of course, is the most successful, but Livingston also had moderate success, with two Top 40 hits (as well as a few AC-only hits). This was a great one! INSTANT REPLAY - DAN HARTMAN (29) - He 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. TIME PASSAGES - AL STEWART (25) - The previous week, this song had actually reversed course, moving back up a notch. This week, it took a hard fall to #62 - what year does THAT remind you of? Anyway, I loved this song; I would often hear this on WHFB in early 1993 - one time, while I was playing Back To The Future 2 & 3 on my NES, which I found somewhat appropriate, given all the time travel and passages to the different streets in the game - just a random thought - now back to the countdown. BICYCLE RACE - QUEEN (24) - While not quite as good as other songs from them like "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are The Champions", this one was pretty good nonetheless. I LOVE THE NIGHT LIVE (DISCO ROUND) - ALICIA BRIDGES (23) - Wow, kind of a hard fall there! But it had been on for over a half a year, so I guess many stations were dropping it from their playlists at the same time. It is definitely one of my favorite disco songs of all time! 40: HEAVEN KNOWS - DONNA SUMMER (debut) - As I've said before, "Love Never Felt So Good" by Justin Timberlake & Michael Jackson reminded me of this song, which was possibly my favorite of Donna Summer's many 1979 hits. 39: YOU TOOK THE WORDS RIGHT OUT OF MY MOUTH - MEAT LOAF (debut) - A one-week wonder here, as this song dropped out of the 40 the following week. Such a shame, as this was a great song - almost as good as "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad". 38: ONE LAST KISS - J. GEILS BAND (debut) - Wow, this was definitely a different music style than they had in the 80s - more of a pop sound than AOR. I thought this was a great song - too bad it didn't get any higher than #35. 37: BLUE MORNING, BLUE DAY - FOREIGNER (debut) - The third and final single from Double Vision, as well as my favorite of the three (although the other two were great as well!) 36: BABY I'M BURNIN' - DOLLY PARTON (40) - She was primarily a country artist, as we all know, but she did have seven pop hits. This one was pretty good, but I preferred most of her other hits, including a few AC-only hits. 35: I WILL SURVIVE - GLORIA GAYNOR (debut) - This anthem for abused women was on its way to becoming one of the biggest hits of 1979. This one used to be so/so, but now is one of my favorite disco hits ever! 34: LOVE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE - ROSE ROYCE (39) - This one was your typical 70's mid-tempo ballad. It was OK, but quite repetitive. 33: SHATTERED - THE ROLLING STONES (37) - I'm actually more familiar with Steve Dahl's parody of this one, called "Skylab". This song is okies, but I prefer many others from them. 32: HOME AND DRY - GERRY RAFFERTY (35) - His third of five Top 40 hits. I like this and "Right Down The Line" about the same. 31: A MAN I'LL NEVER BE - BOSTON (31) - They were done hitting it big for nearly eight years at this point (in fact, this was their final Top 40 hit until that very successful 80s comeback. This song sounds like it was edited, but I think I know why... ARCHIVE: AMERICAN PIE - DON McLEAN - ...and that is this song. As Casey mentioned, it was the #1 song with the longest playing time, beating "Hey Jude" by the Beatles by over a minute. I believe they generally played a shortened version of the song (a few verses and the chorus repeated to the fade-out), but Casey actually opted to play the entire song. This is a true classic and I'm glad that it was the top song of the week (for a third week) the very day I was born! OPTIONAL EXTRA: DANCIN' SHOES - NIGEL OLSSON - With such a title, one would expect an upbeat, disco song, but this one is a slow dance song. I liked it. 30: TAKE ME TO THE RIVER - TALKING HEADS (34) - This one isn't quite as good as "And She Was", but it's worlds better than their annoyance from 1983 (come on, you know the title!) 29: DON'T CRY OUT LOUD - MELISSA MANCHESTER (33) - This was her second of three Top Ten hits, and it just barely made it - the week after it peaked at #10, it took a hard fall to #29. I'm glad it made the Top Ten, as it's a great one - possibly my all-time favorite song from her! 28: THE GAMBLER - KENNY ROGERS (32) - Given that this song peaked at #16, it's a surprise that this one actually ranked on the Top 50 of 1979. (Yes, I know very well that's nothing compared to Kris Kardashian's 1973 hit). Anyway, this song's pretty good, but definitely not his best. I especially don't like that blessed Geico ad using this song that used to run every single commercial break. LDD: READY TO TAKE A CHANCE AGAIN - BARRY MANILOW - I'll have to take a listen to the LDD again before I post my comment. 27: NO TELL LOVER - CHICAGO (38) - This one sounded a lot like their older hits, with the horn section heard on many of those hits. This one was a good one, but definitely not their best. 26: PLEASE COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS - EAGLES (18) - Sounds a little out of place to be hearing this in mid-January, but that's OK; definitely a great song! 25: HOW YOU GONNA SEE ME NOW - ALICE COOPER (12) - One of his slower numbers that I generally prefer over his heavy metal songs. Still, it doesn't hold a candle to "Only Women Bleed". 24: DON'T HOLD BACK - CHANSON (26) - Though I'm not a big disco fan, this one wasn't too bad. 23: GOT TO BE REAL - CHERYL LYNN (36) - After a modest, four-spot move last week (on an unusually slow chart), this song breaks wide open this week, making the biggest move of the week. This bass line in this song reminds me a little of "Best Of My Love" by The Emotions. Ironically, both songs' bass lines were used in two different Top 40 hits from 1991. This one was sampled, but I don't think that Mariah Carey sampled "Best Of My Love" for her song "Emotions", since it was a tad different. Anyway, I preferred this song over "I'll Do 4 U" by Father MC, which, of course, was the song that sampled this song's bass line 22: (OUR LOVE) DON'T THROW IT ALL AWAY - ANDY GIBB (9) - A song originally sung by the Bee Gees (who sing back-up on this song) for the Saturday Night Fever sessions, but not chosen for the soundtrack. I liked this song, but preferred a few others from Andy, such as "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" and "An Everlasting Love", the latter of which was inadvertently played in place of this song on the countdown two weeks before. 21: SOUL MAN - THE BLUES BROTHERS - John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd's rendition of the Sam & Dave classic from the sixties. Most famous for their acting, they had a few charted hits. This song wasn't bad, but my favorite of their cover versions was, by far, "Gimme Some Lovin'", from the following summer. ARCHIVE: LET'S STAY TOGETHER - AL GREEN - I'm not generally a big fan of his, but I actually thought this song was pretty good. Tina Turner did a decent remake of this song as her comeback hit in 1984. OPTIONAL EXTRA: SHAKE YOUR GROOVE THING - PEACHES & HERB - Speaking of comeback hits, this was a good example of one, as this duo had charted several times in the late-60s, and the best was yet to come. This song hit the Top Five, and the follow-up, which is my favorite from them, went all the way to the top! 20: SHARING THE NIGHT TOGETHER - DR. HOOK (6) - This song was pretty good, but it doesn't hold a candle to "Better Love Next Time". 19: SHAKE IT - IAN MATTHEWS (21) - This song had the MOR sound that would become more commonplace in the early-80s, shortly after the death of disco. I liked this song - I vaguely remember hearing this one back in the day. 18: I WAS MADE FOR DANCING - LEIF GARRETT (20) - This was his first original song to hit the Top 40, and it apparently worked, as this was his first Top Ten. 17: SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT - BARRY MANILOW (27) - This song, originally recorded by Helen Reddy three years prior, was on its way to becoming Manilow's eighth Top Ten hit. I like it a lot; sadly, it doesn't get much in the way of recurrent airplay. 16: NEW YORK GROOVE - ACE FREHLEY (17) - 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. EXTRA: WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD - GORDON LIGHTFOOT - Wow, two songs with long playing times played as extras. Then again, since the show had recently grown to a four-hour format, there was plenty of excess time. Anyway, this was apparently one of Casey's favorite songs, as was his oft-told story of how Lake Superior had two other major shipwrecks on the same day, November 11. Mental note: Stay away from Lake Superior on Veteran's Day. 15: LOTTA LOVE - NICOLETTE LARSON (16) - A great song from someone who, sadly, passed away at the end of 1997 14: FIRE - THE POINTER SISTERS (19) - After an absence of more than three years, they came back in a major way, with one of their biggest hits ever. One of my favorites from them as well! 13: WE'VE GOT TONIGHT - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (13) - The third of four Top 40 hits from the Stranger In Town album. The only of those that I really liked was "Still The Same". 12: SEPTEMBER - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (14) - Their fourth Top Ten hit, and one of their best ever! This one still gets a decent amount of recurrent airplay on oldies stations. 11: EVERY 1'S A WINNER - HOT CHOCOLATE (15) - Meh, not a big fan of this one, or them in general. ARCHIVE: WITHOUT YOU - NILSSON - This one wasn't bad, but rather schmaltzy. I preferred Mariah Carey's cover from early 1994, though even that one isn't something I'd go out of my way to listen to. OPTIONAL EXTRA: WHAT YOU WON'T DO FOR LOVE - BOBBY CALDWELL - Larry made a slight faux pas in the intro to this song - he said that Go West would have a minor hit with this song eleven years later. It was actually in 1993, which was fourteen years later, when Go West's cover charted. Eleven years later is when Go West would have their biggest hit ever, "King Of Wishful Thinking". Anyway, this was Caldwell's only Top 40 hit, but he had a handful of other AC and smooth jazz hits. I liked both versions of this song, but slightly preferred this one. 10: DO 'YA THINK I'M SEXY - ROD STEWART (22) - This song just missed being the biggest moving song for three weeks in a row, as this song fell a spot short to Cheryl Lynn's "Got To Be Real" this week. No matter; it would still be a big #1 hit. This song was OK, but certainly not Stewart's best. I still haven't forgiven it for beating out "What A Fool Believes" for the top song of 1979 on the R&R year-ender 9: PROMISES - ERIC CLAPTON (10) - For some reason, I have just never been a fan of this song at all. 8: A LITTLE MORE LOVE - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (11) - She indeed had a great year in 1978 and 1979 was pretty good to her as well, as she had, with two Top 40 hits. This was the biggest of them, peaking at #3 in February, and deservedly so, as this was a great song! LDD: MY WAY - ELVIS PRESLEY - This song was in reply to a recent LDD, from someone who had to say goodbye to a friend who moved away, like this LDD was about. Does anyone know on which show the LDD in question was played? Well, anyway, this was a great rendition of the Frank Sinatra classic! This was my favorite of the ones I've heard (though the only other one I've heard, other than the two listed here, is the one from Kermit The Frog, and even that one had different lyrics and a slightly different melody - it was called "This Frog") 7: OOH BABY BABY - LINDA RONSTADT (8) - One of many covers that Linda charted with, in this case, the classic by the Miracles. It was pretty good - I liked both versions about the same. 6: YOU DON'T BRING ME FLOWERS - BARBRA STREISAND & NEIL DIAMOND (4) - Sorry, honey, but the next door neighbors told me to keep out of their yard. 5: HOLD THE LINE - TOTO (5) - Their very first Top 40 hit. It was pretty good, but definitely not their best. EXTRA: SUPERSTAR - THE CARPENTERS - Definitely one of the top acts of the 1970s, especially in the early half of the decade. This song was OK, but one of my least favorite songs from them. 4: Y.M.C.A. - THE VILLAGE PEOPLE (7) - I realize that I've been way too harsh with this song in my past commentaries - to tell the truth, I actually used to like this song, but it's just that the goofy dance to this song, with everyone forming the letters, has been run into the ground, big time. Before that, it used to be a decent song, but after every single dance or wedding reception I've gone to over the past 25 or so years felt that they couldn't possibly go without playing this song, that dimmed my fascination for this song. I realize that there are still many people who like the song and really, more power to them (after all, as I said, I used to be one of them), but I could definitely go for the rest of my life without hearing this song. 3: MY LIFE - BILLY JOEL (3) - Definitely my favorite single from 52nd Street - by a fairly wide margin, as well as one of my favorites from him of all-time. As usual, they played the single version, which I never cared for. The way they edited it for the 45 made it sound so abrupt. OPTIONAL: YOU NEED A WOMAN TONIGHT - THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE - This was definitely a curveball extra, as it was a one-week wonder on AT40 (peaking at #40 the following week). The song wasn't bad, but it was no "Do That To Me One More Time". 2: TOO MUCH HEAVEN - THE BEE GEES (1) - I liked most of their slow songs (from 1975 on, that is), but this is possibly my least favorite of them. Not sure; I just have never gotten into this song. 1: LE FREAK - CHIC (2) - And back into the #1 spot it goes! This was the first song to hit #1 three times in a single chart run. And everytime it hit #1, it would spend a week longer at the top than the last time. With a grand total of six weeks on top, this was the biggest disco hit of all time, according to AT40's Top 40 Disco Songs countdown the following summer. I was never a big fan of the song, but it is tolerable. Coming up next week: It has been the longest since we've heard 1976 as an "A" show, and the last time that January 31, 1976 was played was 2010 so that is a definite possibility. Personally, I'm actually hoping for January 29, 1972 because, as stated earlier, that was the day I was born. But, from what I've heard, they may be backing off of early-1970s shows, which any other time I wouldn't mind, but it would be great to hear my birthday show. Of course, they could pair those two shows together (1972 would likely be the "B" show, since its first and so far only run was back in 2007, while the 1976 show was run twice). We'll find out for sure later this weekend.
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