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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Jan 20, 2018 20:40:27 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! wtf did this sound like again? 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. This was a good song but I prefer "I Can Dream About You". 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. Great song! One of his best. 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. Yeah, this was a good one, but not their best. 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! Great song! Definitely a memorable one hit wonder. 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. Great song! One of my favourites from her. 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". Yeah, this was a good one - considering how classic the album is and how much this still gets played, I'm surprised this peaked so low! 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. Yeah, this was alright but I prefer their 80's stuff. 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!) I really like all three - this was one of many excellent songs from them! 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. Interesting to hear her do disco - I prefer most of her other 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! Great song! One of the ultimate breakup anthems! 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. Not bad but I prefer Madonna's remake. 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. Yeah this was nice enough but I prefer the other "Some Girls" singles. 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. Yeah this was alright, but I do prefer his 1978 hits. 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... Good song but they had several better. 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! Wow, I'm surprised Casey played the full version! Great song, even if it's overplayed. 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. This was alright, but the title was very misleading! 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!) I like this but prefer their 80's stuff. 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! This was pretty good but I prefer her big 1982 hit. 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. I'm not normally a fan of his, but I really like this due to the sentimental value, and for being one of a very few songs of his that still get played outside of classic country. Great song! 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. No. Just no. 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. This was a good one, one of many underrated songs from them. 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! Yeah, this was a great one, but yeah, WTF at it lasting this long into January 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". I like this but I prefer his rockers. 24: DON'T HOLD BACK - CHANSON (26) - Though I'm not a big disco fan, this one wasn't too bad. Not bad, typical disco for this era. 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 Great song! 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. I like this but prefer his 1977-78 hits. 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. Great song, my favourite from them. 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. Great song! One of his best. 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! Yeah, this was a pretty good disco tune! 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". Agreed, though I really like this one too. 1979 was probably their best year! 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. Yeah, this was a good song. 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. My favourite from him, probably for that reason (as his covers felt too karaoke.) 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. No. Just no. (Though I'd still take it over Helen Not-Reddy's version!) 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. Great song! Just as good as lot of KISS songs. 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. Yeah, Casey told the story a lot! The song was good but I prefer others from him. 15: LOTTA LOVE - NICOLETTE LARSON (16) - A great song from someone who, sadly, passed away at the end of 1997 Yeah, this was a great song! Still enjoy hearing it a lot. 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! Agreed, great song! 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". I thought this era was one of his strongest overall, this song included. 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. Yeah, this was an excellent song - easily one of their best ever! 11: EVERY 1'S A WINNER - HOT CHOCOLATE (15) - Meh, not a big fan of this one, or them in general. I like this but prefer their earlier stuff. 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. Great song - but yeah, Mariah's version was better. 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. Yeah, I prefer this over the remake too. 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 Great song - as cheesy as it is, it's still one of my favourites from him. 9: PROMISES - ERIC CLAPTON (10) - For some reason, I have just never been a fan of this song at all. I like this one but he's had better. 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! Yeah, this was a great song! One of her best. 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") I prefer Frank Sinatra's version but this was good too. 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. Great song! While she has had several better songs, this was still pretty good. 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. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW GEEZERS We don't bring them flowers anymore because this song was so f***ing awful! There were so many "No. Just no." songs in the 70's but this has to be my most hated! 5: HOLD THE LINE - TOTO (5) - Their very first Top 40 hit. It was pretty good, but definitely not their best. Great song, but I prefer the big "Toto IV" singles. 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. I like this one as well, but prefer several others 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. Great song! The dance made it more iconic. 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. Yeah, this was a great song! I also prefer the album version over the radio edit with the piano solo left in. 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". wtf did this sound like again? 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. Great song! One of my favourite ballads from them. 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. Great song! A true disco classic! 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. I'm thinking 1976 is a possibility as well.
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Post by Hervard on Feb 9, 2018 11:04:41 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - January 27, 2018 This week's presentation - January 29, 1972 Generally, I don't do critiques for pre-1975 shows, but seeing as this show happened to be played the day I was born, I decided to make an exception. This won't be one of those hilariously scathing commentaries that I did for a few 1974 shows (well, with the exception of one terrible song that I know is on the countdown). Other than that, this will actually be like one of my regular critiques. 40: FLOY JOY - THE SUPREMES (debut) - They were clearly bigger in the 1960s, but they did have a few hits in the 1970s, by which time Diana Ross had left to pursue a solo career. I tuned in late, but from what I caught of this song, it sounded like a good song. 39: TOGETHER LET'S FIND LOVE - THE 5TH DIMENSION (debut) - One of several live recordings this R&B act headed up by Marilyn McCoo, who was the host of Solid Gold for several years. It was a pretty decent song; one I hadn't heard before. 38: THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT - ROBERT JOHN (debut) - For years, I thought that he was a one-hit wonder, as the only song I knew from him was "Sad Eyes", but he actually had two Top 40 hits that bookended this song, both remakes of 60s hits. This was the bigger one. It was OK, but I always thought this song was overrated. 37: BANG A GONG (GET IT ON) - T. REX (debut) - Anyone who has played Final Fantasy for the NES may know that this is one of the rarest enemies in the game. But seriously, I was never a big fan of this song. I preferred the Power Station's cover, which I heard before this one (that I know of, anyway). 36: FEELIN' ALLRIGHT - JOE C0CKER (debut) - I was never a huge fan of "Joe Thingyer", but this song was passable. 35: ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND - THINK (23) - What. The. Hell. Is. This. Crap? How did dialogue of parents arguing with their kids over a monotonous chorus repeating "Things get a little easier, Once You Understand" over and over and over and over and over again become a hit? What were the Top 40 listeners smoking back in 1972? As if that weren't enough, at the end, they stopped the chants so we could hear a parent, clearly with poor acting skills, crying after hearing his child had died. Another thing - how in the world did this song re-chart two years later? It didn't hit the Top 40, but still. 34: HEY BIG BROTHER - RARE EARTH (19) - Their last of five Top 40 hits. The song was OK, but I preferred "Get Ready". I do prefer it over the extremely repetitive "I Just Want To Celebrate", though. 33: DON'T SAY YOU DON'T REMEMBER - BEVERLY BREMERS (37) - The debut hit for this singer/actress from the Windy City. Unfortunately, it was her only big hit (her second hit, "We're Free" barely scraped into the Top 40). This was a good song; had a great melody! 32: DOWN BY THE LAZY RIVER - THE OSMONDS (debut) - One of the biggest hit for this family act from Ogden, Utah, on its way to #4. Great party music here! 31: GOT TO BE THERE - THE JACKSON FIVE (15) - He'd been heard singing with the Jackson Five for the past two years, but this was his very first solo hit. Of course, there was much, much more 30: ONE MONKEY DON'T STOP NO SHOW - HONEY CONE (17) - Well he sure would if he started flicking poo at the audience! But seriously, this was another of many songs on this chart that I don't remember hearing before. It was a good one! EXTRA: SINGIN' THE BLUES - GUY MITCHELL - This was a good song - played as the third Optional Extra. 29: THAT'S THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT YOU - BOBBY WOMACK (29) - Well, at least he didn't scream this song, like he did his biggest hit "Lookin' For A Love", which hit #10 in 1974. This was actually a good song, IMO. 28: MAKE ME THE WOMAN THAT YOU GO HOME TO - GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS (30) - Wow, several family acts on this week's chart. This was one of the biggest ones of all time, with a song that peaked at #27 the following week. I liked many of their songs, this included. 27: FIRE AND WATER - WILSON PICKETT (32) - The last of 16 Top 40 hits for this singer from Prattville, Alabama. It was pretty good IMO. 26: I KNEW YOU WHEN - DONNY OSMOND (16) - Looks like Casey alternated sides of this double-sided hit, as he played "Hey Girl" the previous week. Originally a hit by Billy Joe Royal, this song was covered twice, as Linda Ronstadt had a hit with this in early 1983. I preferred this one - the "yeah, yeah, yeah" chants were not grating like the ones in Ronstadt's version. 25: LEVON - ELTON JOHN (28) - His third Top 40 hit. Despite peaking at #24, this song still gets quite a lot of recurrent airplay. A great song indeed! 24: WITCH QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS - REDBONE (25) - Another act I thought of as a one-hit wonder (as the only song of theirs that gets any kind of recurrent airplay is their #2 hit from 1974, "Come And Get Your Love". This one was pretty good. 23: BLACK DOG - LED ZEPPELIN (27) - Their only Top 40 hit from their biggest selling album ever (the fact that it contains the iconic "Stairway To Heaven", which was never released as a single was largely instrumental in its immense success). This song wasn't bad, but I preferred most of the other tracks on the album, including said iconic hit. 22: KISS AN ANGEL GOOD MORNING - CHARLIE PRIDE (22) - As huge as he was on the country chart, I'm surprised this was his only Top 40 crossover hit. It wasn't bad, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. 21: STAY WITH ME - FACES (26) - Rod Stewart was definitely more successful as a solo artist than he was with this band. I preferred his solo hits as well - this one was mediocre at best. 20: IT'S ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS - THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY (20) - Another family act, and one that had their own TV show. Not a bad song. 19: I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING - THE HILLTOP SINGERS (13) - This song always makes me thirsty for a Coke. 18: FAMILY AFFAIR - SLY & THE FAMILY STONE (14) - No, this song was not the theme from the show with Mr. French, Jody, Buffy, Cissy - come on, you know them all. This song hit #1 in December of the previous year and was still holding on. It was okies, but not quite my favorite song on the chart. 17: ANTICIPATION - CARLY SIMON (18) - A good Friday type song - especially since, with my new job, I don't work weekends 16: PRECIOUS AND FEW - CLIMAX (34) - Wow, what a huge jump! Sort of a surprise that this song didn't hit #1, but it did peak at #3, which is great too. This was a nice, mellow song. 15: JOY - APOLLO 100 (35) - Any other time, the 18-spot jump of the Climax song would be the biggest mover of the week, but the song above it makes an even bigger leap - and surprisingly, it is also not the biggest mover. This was a modern adaptation of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, which Chopin set to music in the 18th Century. I've heard this song many times in church, but this was the first time I heard this version of it - I liked it. OPTIONAL EXTRA: EVERYTHING I OWN - BREAD - Wow, Casey actually announced this one as it debuted at #60 this week. I assume that this was from the 2007 broadcast of the then-new AT40: The 70s series. Whatever the case, this was a great song - one that my Mom says she remembers from when I had just been born. 14: WITHOUT YOU - NILSSON (21) - 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 13: HURTING EACH OTHER - THE CARPENTERS (38) - Now THIS was the biggest jump of the week! And it's no surprise, as it's by a duo that had been taking the charts by storm over the past few weeks. Though this isn't my favorite song from them, it was a good one nevertheless. 12: I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING - THE NEW SEEKERS (7) - *SIGH* As I finish off my bottle of Coke, this song gives me a craving for another Seriously, this was my favorite of the two versions of the song on the chart this week. 11: DROWNING IN THE SEA OF LOVE - JOE SIMON (12) - According to Stevie Nicks, this is where everyone would love to drown. Now whether or not that is true will call for further research. In the meantime, I can tell you that this song wasn't bad, though nothing exceptional. 10: SUGAR DADDY - JACKSON FIVE (10) - Like Donny Osmond, Michael Jackson is on the chart both solo and in his family band. Pretty good song, but I generally prefer their 1970 hits. 9: YOU ARE EVERYTHING - THE STYLISTICS (9) - They remind me of the Bee Gees, with their falsetto singing. They generally do ballads, this one included - a great song! 8: I'VE NEVER BEEN TO SPAIN - THREE DOG NIGHT (11) - One of two Top 40 songs from them written by Hoyt Axton (the other being the legendary "Joy To The World") 7: SCORPIO - DENNIS COFFEY & THE DETROIT GUITAR BAND (6) - Meh, average instrumental music... 6: CLEAN-UP WOMAN - BETTY WRIGHT (8) - One of two Top Ten hits for this R&B singer from Miami. Not bad. 5: DAY AFTER DAY - BADFINGER (5) - Joe Jackson apparently liked this song, as his 1983 hit "Breakin' Us In Two" sounds very similar. I used to like this song a lot, but now I find it depressing. EXTRA: BABYLON - DON McLEAN - This song was exchanged with "Vincent" for the first Optional Extra, which is good, as the latter is in a race with "American Pie" as my favorite Don McLean song. 4: SUNSHINE - JONATHAN EDWARDS (4) - The only Top 40 hit for this Minnesota native, but what a great song it was! 3: LET'S STAY TOGETHER - AL GREEN (3) - He had a successful R&B and Top 40 solo career. This was his first and only #1 hit on the Hot 100. It was a good one, as was Tina Turner's cover, which charted two years later. 2: BRAND NEW KEY - MELANIE (2) - Meh, this one was a little too bubblegum for my liking. 1: AMERICAN PIE - DON McLEAN (1) - I'd heard this song many a time growing up and liked it a lot - who knew it would be the #1 song the day I was born! I did, however, prefer the full album version instead of the chopped down version that AT40 always played, including this week. I did hear the full version on last week's 1979 show, where it was the first Archive song, so it's all good.
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Post by Hervard on Feb 9, 2018 11:05:23 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - January 27, 2018
This week's presentation - January 31, 1976
40: DECEMBER 1963 (OH WHAT A NIGHT) – THE FOUR SEASONS (debut) - They had several #1 songs in the sixties, and even managed one in the 1970s which, of course, was this one. It was a pretty good song, though quite overplayed. 39: BREAKAWAY – ART GARFUNKEL (debut) - I actually haven't yet listened to the show, since I've been busy (and will be around the time of the WIGH broadcast), so I'll have to take a listen to this one on YouTube, since this is the only chance we'd get to hear this song on the series (since 2/7/76 was guest-hosted) 38: LOVE OR LEAVE - THE SPINNERS (40) - I forget how this song goes as well, but I seem to recall that it was a good one. 37: DREAM WEAVER – GARY WRIGHT (debut) - Another one of my personal faves from back in the day. It has since lost some of its luster due to overplay, but it's still not bad. I do prefer his two other Top 40 hits, though. 36: DEEP PURPLE – DONNY & MARIE OSMOND (36) - It looked like they peaked, but this song was far from over, as it would peak at #14 and spend an unusually long time on the chart (enough to register at #42 on the year-ender). As I've said before, I preferred this song over the original. 35: LET THE MUSIC PLAY – BARRY WHITE (38) - I’m usually not a big fan of his, but I actually liked this song. 34: THE WHITE KNIGHT – CLEDUS MAGGARD (39) - Ugh! Nothing more than an annoying ripoff of "Convoy"! Next song, please... 33: TRACKS OF MY TEARS – LINDA RONSTADT (37) - There are quite a few remakes on this week's chart. This one was originally done by the Miracles, though Johnny Rivers had a slightly bigger hit with it a few years later. Not sure which of the three I prefer. 32: SLOW RIDE - FOGHAT (34) - As I've said many times before, this is a classic rock staple! I sort of remember this one from its chart run, though it wasn't really one of my favorites. 31: GROW SOME FUNK OF YOUR OWN – ELTON JOHN (debut) - I seem to remember that, since this was a double-sided song, they alternated the songs. Since "Grow Some Funk Of Your Own" was the A-side, I'm assuming they played that version as the record was starting out on the chart this weekend. I preferred the flipside, "I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford)", but GSFOYO was a good one too. Too bad it didn't last long on the chart, especially for a song that peaked as high as it did. EXTRA: THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE – SIMON & GARFUNKEL 30: GOLDEN YEARS – DAVID BOWIE (33) - Not a huge fan of him, though his two 1987 hits are good ones. 29: COUNTRY BOY (YOU GOT YOUR FEET IN L.A.) – GLEN CAMPBELL (11) - The follow-up to Campbell's biggest hit ever, "Rhinestone Cowboy". This song, which sounds a little like that one, just narrowly missed the Top Ten in early 1976. I like these two songs about the same. 28: FOX ON THE RUN - SWEET (18) - Their previous song, Ballroom Blitz was way too loud and repetitive for my liking, but this song was actually pretty good. 27: FANNY (BE TENDER WITH MY LOVE) – THE BEE GEES (32) - This song and their hit from later that year, "Love So Right" sounded a lot alike. I preferred the latter, but this was a good one as well. 26: PALOMA BLANCA – THE GEORGE BAKER SELECTION (27) - I thought it was "Oona Panoona Banka". Oh wait, that was Buckwheat's version - my bad. Anyway, this was a great song - I've heard it many a time on my Barry Scott's Lost 45s CD. 25: ALL BY MYSELF – ERIC CARMEN (31) - Eric started out studying classical music, then switched to rock, but he used both elements in this song, as the bridge used a piano concerto by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It was a good song - my second favorite song from him behind "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again", which charted later on in the year. EXTRA: WE CAN WORK IT OUT – THE BEATLES - This song was played as the second Optional Extra. I believe the story to tie in with this song was one of Casey's favorite factoids about the Beatles - how they occupied the entire Top Five of the Hot 100 in April 1964. For some reason, instead of playing one of those songs, he played one from two years later, which was their tenth biggest, according to the Beatles countdown they did in July, 1981. 24: TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT – THE EAGLES (28) - The newest hit from their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 album. It was also my favorite from that album - a great song indeed! 23: BABY FACE – THE WING & A PRAYER FIFE & DRUM CORPS (23) - This one had charted in some form or other for the past five decades in addition to this one. It was a good song. 22: SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT – HELEN REDDY (24) - This was the first of two versions of this song that hit the Top 20 during the 70s. Barry Manilow's cover from three years later would hit the Top Ten. I preferred that one, though this one wasn't bad either - not quite as cheesy as many other Helen Reddy songs. 21: WINNERS AND LOSERS – HAMILTON, JOE FRANK & REYNOLDS (21) - They hit #1 in August of the previous year with "Fallin' In Love" and were trying for a second #1. Unfortunately, this song only got as high as #21 and was their final Top 40 hit. I thought it was a good song. 20: WAKE UP EVERYBODY (PART 1) – HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES (22) - The last of four songs that they charted with in the 1970s. It was a pretty good song. 19: SQUEEZE BOX – THE WHO (26) - A comeback hit for them, as they hadn't charted for three years. This was one of their best songs ever, IMO. 18: LOVE HURTS - NAZARETH (19) - One of the best power ballads ever! Too bad it was their only Top 40 hit. 17: THEME FROM “S.W.A.T.” - RHYTHM HERITAGE (20) - 1976 was definitely the year for TV show themes on the chart, and this was indeed one of the biggest, topping the chart the following week. A great song it was! 16: BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO – NEIL SEDAKA (17) - The ballad version of this sixties classic. Of the two, I prefer this one. 15: LOVE MACHINE PART 1 – THE MIRACLES (16) - This song continued to inch up the chart, eventually becoming the slowest rising #1 song - up to that point, that is - it has since been beaten by several other songs. I thought this song was pretty good, but I preferred a few others from them. 14: EVIL WOMAN – THE ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (15) - Their second Top 40 hit, and it went Top Ten, like the first. I liked it, though it wasn't my absolute favorite from them. 13: FLY AWAY – JOHN DENVER (13) - As I've said many times before, I heard most of John Denver's songs when I was real little, since my Mom used to play his albums all the time, so I remember them quite well, including this one, which I really liked. What I never knew (until many years later) was that Olivia Newton-John sang back-up on this song. 12: ROCK AND ROLL ALL NIGHT (LIVE VERSION) - KISS (12) - This is where I joined the show in progress. Kiss hit the Top 40 for the first time with the live version of a song that had briefly charted on the Hot 100 back in 1975. This song was one of their best rockers, IMO. Poison did a good remake of this song back in 1987. 11: THEME FROM “MAHOGANY” (DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO) – DIANA ROSS (1) - Casey mentioned that this was the first song in well over a year to fall out of the Top Ten from #1. Of course, back in the fall of 1974, that was the norm. Anyway, this was one of my favorite songs from Diana Ross - by far my favorite of her 1976 #1's. 10: 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER -PAUL SIMON (14) - And right above a song that took a huge fall from #1, we have a song that took almost as big of a jump TO #1 - in fact, that would happen the following week. This was Simon's first #1 hit after parting ways with Art Garfunkel (who, sadly, never hit #1 on his own). I liked this song, but preferred his next hit, the title track from his album Still Crazy After All These Years. 9: WALK AWAY FROM LOVE – DAVID RUFFIN (9) - Of course, we all know he was the lead singer of the Temptations in the mid to late 1960s. He started a solo career in 1969 and had two Top Tens, both peaking at #9. This was the second of those songs and I thought it wasn't bad, but I generally preferred Ruffin's hits with the Temptations. 8: TIMES OF YOUR LIFE - PAUL ANKA (8) - This song is a tad on the cheesy side, but it's still not bad - very mellow and relaxing. 7: SING A SONG – EARTH, WIND & FIRE (10) - They had a pretty good year, with two Top 20 hits, including a #1, and a third song that would go on to hit #5 in early 1976. It was not bad, but I preferred many other songs from them. 6: CONVOY – C.W. McCall (7) - This song wasted no time hitting #1, but then it dropped out, but seemed to be doing so slowly - it even moved up this week. I guess the initial hype had burned out and it was resuming with a normal chart run - or perhaps it was just lack of competition around this point of the chart. Anyway, I thought this was a great song - one of the best truckin' song ever! 5: I LOVE MUSIC (PART 1) – THE O’JAYS (5) - This song wasn't bad, but rather repetitive. I preferred a few other songs by them, such as "Love Train" and "Use Ta Be My Girl". 4: YOU SEXY THING – HOT CHOCOLATE (6) - Meh, not a big fan of this song neither (but I do realize a lot of people were, as this was their biggest hit - it just never did anything for me, that's all). 3: LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY – DONNA SUMMER (4) - I'm sorry, but a prolonged orgasm is not a song. OPTIONAL EXTRA: SARA SMILE - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES - The only current song used as an OE this week, this was the one that started it all off for possibly the most successful duo of all time. It wasn't their best, but it was indeed passable. 2: I WRITE THE SONGS – BARRY MANILOW (2) - This was the song that Diana Ross had succeeded at #1, but as that song fell out of the Top Ten, this song actually managed to hold in place in the runner-up position. I wonder if anyone had happened to miss both songs #11 and #2 on this countdown - they might have assumed Ross was at #2 and Manilow had fallen out of the Top Ten. But I digress - this song is ironically titled, as, while Manilow did write most of his songs, this was not one of them (of course, Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys was the author of this song). Anyway, it's true that I liked most of his ballads, but this one was one of my least favorite of those, most likely due to overplay. 1: LOVE ROLLERCOASTER – THE OHIO PLAYERS (3) - I wasn't generally a fan of them, but this song wasn't too bad. One I remember from back in the day.
Coming up next week: It has been longest since we've heard anything from 1973 or 1974. The latter would be the best bet for next week's show since 2/3/73 was done just last year and 2/10 two years ago. February 3, 1974 was last played as an "A" show in 2010, so it is definitely ripe for a repeat, so I'll go with that as a stand-alone show, with February 1, 1975 as an "A" show (of course, with the revisions they seem to have made with the 80s shows, that could very well be a standalone show as well).
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Feb 9, 2018 12:24:36 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - January 27, 2018 This week's presentation - January 31, 1976 40: DECEMBER 1963 (OH WHAT A NIGHT) – THE FOUR SEASONS (debut) - They had several #1 songs in the sixties, and even managed one in the 1970s which, of course, was this one. It was a pretty good song, though quite overplayed. Great song! Obviously I wasn't around for its original release but I do remember it well from its 1994 re-release. 39: BREAKAWAY – ART GARFUNKEL (debut) - I actually haven't yet listened to the show, since I've been busy (and will be around the time of the WIGH broadcast), so I'll have to take a listen to this one on YouTube, since this is the only chance we'd get to hear this song on the series (since 2/7/76 was guest-hosted) This was alright but I generally prefer his stuff with Paul Simon. 38: LOVE OR LEAVE - THE SPINNERS (40) - I forget how this song goes as well, but I seem to recall that it was a good one. Indeed it was, though they had better. 37: DREAM WEAVER – GARY WRIGHT (debut) - Another one of my personal faves from back in the day. It has since lost some of its luster due to overplay, but it's still not bad. I do prefer his two other Top 40 hits, though. Great song - very hypnotic! 36: DEEP PURPLE – DONNY & MARIE OSMOND (36) - It looked like they peaked, but this song was far from over, as it would peak at #14 and spend an unusually long time on the chart (enough to register at #42 on the year-ender). As I've said before, I preferred this song over the original. No. Just no. 35: LET THE MUSIC PLAY – BARRY WHITE (38) - I’m usually not a big fan of his, but I actually liked this song. This was alright - I prefer his 1974-75 hits though. 34: THE WHITE KNIGHT – CLEDUS MAGGARD (39) - Ugh! Nothing more than an annoying ripoff of "Convoy"! Next song, please... Agreed - this was absolutely horrible! Easily the worst song on the chart. 33: TRACKS OF MY TEARS – LINDA RONSTADT (37) - There are quite a few remakes on this week's chart. This one was originally done by the Miracles, though Johnny Rivers had a slightly bigger hit with it a few years later. Not sure which of the three I prefer. This is definitely my favourite version of this song, though I enjoy the original too. 32: SLOW RIDE - FOGHAT (34) - As I've said many times before, this is a classic rock staple! I sort of remember this one from its chart run, though it wasn't really one of my favorites. Yeah, this was a great one! 31: GROW SOME FUNK OF YOUR OWN – ELTON JOHN (debut) - I seem to remember that, since this was a double-sided song, they alternated the songs. Since "Grow Some Funk Of Your Own" was the A-side, I'm assuming they played that version as the record was starting out on the chart this weekend. I preferred the flipside, "I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford)", but GSFOYO was a good one too. Too bad it didn't last long on the chart, especially for a song that peaked as high as it did. I like both songs, but neither is among my favourites of Elton's. EXTRA: THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE – SIMON & GARFUNKEL Great song! Definitely one of their best ever! 30: GOLDEN YEARS – DAVID BOWIE (33) - Not a huge fan of him, though his two 1987 hits are good ones. Great song - I can see why this was one of his biggest hits. 29: COUNTRY BOY (YOU GOT YOUR FEET IN L.A.) – GLEN CAMPBELL (11) - The follow-up to Campbell's biggest hit ever, "Rhinestone Cowboy". This song, which sounds a little like that one, just narrowly missed the Top Ten in early 1976. I like these two songs about the same. This was pretty good but I prefer his #1 hits. 28: FOX ON THE RUN - SWEET (18) - Their previous song, Ballroom Blitz was way too loud and repetitive for my liking, but this song was actually pretty good. Great song - a glam rock classic! 27: FANNY (BE TENDER WITH MY LOVE) – THE BEE GEES (32) - This song and their hit from later that year, "Love So Right" sounded a lot alike. I preferred the latter, but this was a good one as well. Yeah, both were very good ballads. 26: PALOMA BLANCA – THE GEORGE BAKER SELECTION (27) - I thought it was "Oona Panoona Banka". Oh wait, that was Buckwheat's version - my bad. Anyway, this was a great song - I've heard it many a time on my Barry Scott's Lost 45s CD. Good song - one that is often played at wedding dances where the geezers dance along to it. 25: ALL BY MYSELF – ERIC CARMEN (31) - Eric started out studying classical music, then switched to rock, but he used both elements in this song, as the bridge used a piano concerto by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It was a good song - my second favorite song from him behind "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again", which charted later on in the year. Yeah, this was a great one! I do slightly prefer Celine Dion's remake though. EXTRA: WE CAN WORK IT OUT – THE BEATLES - This song was played as the second Optional Extra. I believe the story to tie in with this song was one of Casey's favorite factoids about the Beatles - how they occupied the entire Top Five of the Hot 100 in April 1964. For some reason, instead of playing one of those songs, he played one from two years later, which was their tenth biggest, according to the Beatles countdown they did in July, 1981. Great song - one of their best! 24: TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT – THE EAGLES (28) - The newest hit from their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 album. It was also my favorite from that album - a great song indeed! Yeah this was a great song! And clearly they weren't done yet! 23: BABY FACE – THE WING & A PRAYER FIFE & DRUM CORPS (23) - This one had charted in some form or other for the past five decades in addition to this one. It was a good song. This was alright - weird to hear a disco remake of a pre-rock era song! 22: SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT – HELEN REDDY (24) - This was the first of two versions of this song that hit the Top 20 during the 70s. Barry Manilow's cover from three years later would hit the Top Ten. I preferred that one, though this one wasn't bad either - not quite as cheesy as many other Helen Reddy songs. No. Just no. (And you know you have a clunker when even Barry Manilow did it better!) 21: WINNERS AND LOSERS – HAMILTON, JOE FRANK & REYNOLDS (21) - They hit #1 in August of the previous year with "Fallin' In Love" and were trying for a second #1. Unfortunately, this song only got as high as #21 and was their final Top 40 hit. I thought it was a good song. This was alright but I prefer their other two hits. 20: WAKE UP EVERYBODY (PART 1) – HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES (22) - The last of four songs that they charted with in the 1970s. It was a pretty good song. Agreed. 19: SQUEEZE BOX – THE WHO (26) - A comeback hit for them, as they hadn't charted for three years. This was one of their best songs ever, IMO. This was ok, but I find the lyrics to be a little too silly and innuendo-filled at times. 18: LOVE HURTS - NAZARETH (19) - One of the best power ballads ever! Too bad it was their only Top 40 hit. Agreed, though given how classic rock continues to play stuff like "Hair Of The Dog", that is surprising that only this one was a pop hit! 17: THEME FROM “S.W.A.T.” - RHYTHM HERITAGE (20) - 1976 was definitely the year for TV show themes on the chart, and this was indeed one of the biggest, topping the chart the following week. A great song it was! I remember how JessieLou felt this was so faceless and wondered why we heard it on way too many 1976 shows in a short period of time. This was alright, but yeah, faceless. 16: BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO – NEIL SEDAKA (17) - The ballad version of this sixties classic. Of the two, I prefer this one. No why'd he have to ruin his own song? Give me the original any day! 15: LOVE MACHINE PART 1 – THE MIRACLES (16) - This song continued to inch up the chart, eventually becoming the slowest rising #1 song - up to that point, that is - it has since been beaten by several other songs. I thought this song was pretty good, but I preferred a few others from them. Great song! One of their best! 14: EVIL WOMAN – THE ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (15) - Their second Top 40 hit, and it went Top Ten, like the first. I liked it, though it wasn't my absolute favorite from them. Great song! Also one of their best. 13: FLY AWAY – JOHN DENVER (13) - As I've said many times before, I heard most of John Denver's songs when I was real little, since my Mom used to play his albums all the time, so I remember them quite well, including this one, which I really liked. What I never knew (until many years later) was that Olivia Newton-John sang back-up on this song. No. Just no. 12: ROCK AND ROLL ALL NIGHT (LIVE VERSION) - KISS (12) - This is where I joined the show in progress. Kiss hit the Top 40 for the first time with the live version of a song that had briefly charted on the Hot 100 back in 1975. This song was one of their best rockers, IMO. Poison did a good remake of this song back in 1987. Great song - arguably their signature song! 11: THEME FROM “MAHOGANY” (DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO) – DIANA ROSS (1) - Casey mentioned that this was the first song in well over a year to fall out of the Top Ten from #1. Of course, back in the fall of 1974, that was the norm. Anyway, this was one of my favorite songs from Diana Ross - by far my favorite of her 1976 #1's. Great song - one of her best ballads. 10: 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER -PAUL SIMON (14) - And right above a song that took a huge fall from #1, we have a song that took almost as big of a jump TO #1 - in fact, that would happen the following week. This was Simon's first #1 hit after parting ways with Art Garfunkel (who, sadly, never hit #1 on his own). I liked this song, but preferred his next hit, the title track from his album Still Crazy After All These Years. Great song - one of the ultimate kiss-off songs even if there aren't quite 50 ways mentioned in the song. 9: WALK AWAY FROM LOVE – DAVID RUFFIN (9) - Of course, we all know he was the lead singer of the Temptations in the mid to late 1960s. He started a solo career in 1969 and had two Top Tens, both peaking at #9. This was the second of those songs and I thought it wasn't bad, but I generally preferred Ruffin's hits with the Temptations. Yeah this was pretty good but I prefer his Temptations stuff. 8: TIMES OF YOUR LIFE - PAUL ANKA (8) - This song is a tad on the cheesy side, but it's still not bad - very mellow and relaxing. Meh, I never liked his 70's stuff. Thankfully this does beat "(You're) Having My Baby" though. 7: SING A SONG – EARTH, WIND & FIRE (10) - They had a pretty good year, with two Top 20 hits, including a #1, and a third song that would go on to hit #5 in early 1976. It was not bad, but I preferred many other songs from them. Yeah, this was pretty good but not their best. 6: CONVOY – C.W. McCall (7) - This song wasted no time hitting #1, but then it dropped out, but seemed to be doing so slowly - it even moved up this week. I guess the initial hype had burned out and it was resuming with a normal chart run - or perhaps it was just lack of competition around this point of the chart. Anyway, I thought this was a great song - one of the best truckin' song ever! LOL, I don't mind hearing this on the odd occasion but it's not something I'd want to hear too often. Definitely beats the annoying immitators (and especially those SQUIRRELS who charted with a CB radio song later that year - thankfully "Hey Shirley (This Is Squirrely)" missed the top 40.) 5: I LOVE MUSIC (PART 1) – THE O’JAYS (5) - This song wasn't bad, but rather repetitive. I preferred a few other songs by them, such as "Love Train" and "Use Ta Be My Girl". Great song - one of their best, among the other songs you mentioned. 4: YOU SEXY THING – HOT CHOCOLATE (6) - Meh, not a big fan of this song neither (but I do realize a lot of people were, as this was their biggest hit - it just never did anything for me, that's all). Great song! Definitely the song of theirs that gets the most recurrent overplay. 3: LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY – DONNA SUMMER (4) - I'm sorry, but a prolonged orgasm is not a song. I like this but I prefer her 1978-80 stuff as well as a few others. OPTIONAL EXTRA: SARA SMILE - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES - The only current song used as an OE this week, this was the one that started it all off for possibly the most successful duo of all time. It wasn't their best, but it was indeed passable. Great song - one of my favourites from them! 2: I WRITE THE SONGS – BARRY MANILOW (2) - This was the song that Diana Ross had succeeded at #1, but as that song fell out of the Top Ten, this song actually managed to hold in place in the runner-up position. I wonder if anyone had happened to miss both songs #11 and #2 on this countdown - they might have assumed Ross was at #2 and Manilow had fallen out of the Top Ten. But I digress - this song is ironically titled, as, while Manilow did write most of his songs, this was not one of them (of course, Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys was the author of this song). Anyway, it's true that I liked most of his ballads, but this one was one of my least favorite of those, most likely due to overplay. Yeah this never did anything for me (Especially considering it was a lie as he didn't write this song). Incidentally enough, two of his songs that he did write - "Copacabana" and "Could It Be Magic" (the lyrics, anyway) - are 2 of my favourites from him. 1: LOVE ROLLERCOASTER – THE OHIO PLAYERS (3) - I wasn't generally a fan of them, but this song wasn't too bad. One I remember from back in the day. Great funk song! Where was Chicago, by the way? Must've still been charting with their first greatest hits album. Coming up next week: It has been longest since we've heard anything from 1973 or 1974. The latter would be the best bet for next week's show since 2/3/73 was done just last year and 2/10 two years ago. February 3, 1974 was last played as an "A" show in 2010, so it is definitely ripe for a repeat, so I'll go with that as a stand-alone show, with February 1, 1975 as an "A" show (of course, with the revisions they seem to have made with the 80s shows, that could very well be a standalone show as well). Looks like it's 1971 and 1977 - and I will therefore critique 1977.
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Post by Hervard on Feb 10, 2018 19:01:12 GMT -5
American Top 40 - February 10, 2018 This week's presentation - February 12, 1977 Dropped: IN THE MOOD - HENHOUSE FIVE PLUS TWO (40) - A hilarious parody of the Glenn Miller classic, sung by a brood of chickens! I LIKE TO DO IT - KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND (37) - I seem to remember that this one was mediocre. YOU'VE GOT ME RUNNIN' - GENE COTTON (33) - I don't remember how this one goes either, but I do recall that I liked it almost as much as "Before My Heart Finds Out". 40: SAY YOU'LL STAY UNTIL TOMORROW - TOM JONES (debut) - Jones' first hit since the summer of 1971 (and his last until he was the featured artist in the Art Of Noise's remake of "Kiss" by Prince). It was a pretty good song - reminds me a little of Tennessee Ernie Ford's version of "You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry", which was on the flipside of his #1 hit "Sixteen Tons". 39: CRACKERBOX PALACE - GEORGE HARRISON (debut) - This song always takes me back to my college years, since I had the song on one of my favorite mix tapes that I compiled early in the school year, and listened to it all the time. I seem to recall that this one got edited occasionally, but it wasn't this week, which is good, because it was a great song, IMO! Definitely one of Harrison's best solo hits! 38: LIVIN' THING - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (34) - They must have heavily edited this song, because I got up to go get myself a drink and when I returned not much more than a minute later, it was over with. Anyway, it was a good song, though I preferred a few others from them. 37: MOODY BLUE - ELVIS PRESLEY (39) - Little did anyone know what would happen to the King about six months later Anyway, this song wasn't bad, but I generally preferred his earlier hits. 36: STAND TALL - BURTON CUMMINGS (31) - 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. 35: TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT (GONNA BE ALRIGHT) - ROD STEWART (30) - Casey mentioned that this song spent seven weeks on top - the most since "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye. I guess he didn't count the "frozen chart" week, which was Rod's last week on top. As for the song, it was a great one - one that I never got tired of. 34: SATURDAY NITE - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (29) - Meh, not one of their best hits by any means. 33: AFTER THE LOVIN' - ENGLEBERT HUMPERDINCK (24) - Wow, lots of descending songs outside the Top 30 this week! I wonder if the following week had a ton of debuts? Anyway, 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. 32: LONG TIME - BOSTON (debut) - With a high debut position, one might think that Boston was headed for their second Top Ten hit, but this one, in fact, didn't even hit the Top 20. WLS played this song quite a lot back in the day, so I remember hearing it all the time and am pretty surprised it didn't do any better than it did. 31: SOMEBODY TO LOVE - QUEEN (16) - 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. 30: CARRY ON WAYWARD SON - KANSAS (36) - Their first Top 40 hit. I preferred the album version, which I don't believe AT40 ever played. 29: LIVING NEXT DOOR TO ALICE - SMOKIE (32) - ALICE?? WHO THE F--- IS ALICE?? 28: RICH GIRL - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (38) - 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. OPTIONAL EXTRA: MAYBE I'M AMAZED - WINGS - I definitely preferred the live version of this over Paul's studio version from earlier in the 70s. 27: THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE - 10CC (35) - This song sounds like something Queen might have done, doesn't it? Anyway, this would be my favorite of their two Top Ten hits. 26: YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A STAR (TO BE IN MY SHOW) - MARILYN McCOO & BILLY DAVIS (23) - This song was in a two-way tie for the longest running song in the Top 40 (and the following week, they'd have that title all to themselves, as the other song, which, of course, was "Tonight's The Night", dropped out the following week). It's a good song. 25: SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY - STEPHEN BISHOP (27) - Not bad, but it doesn't hold a candle to "On And On", from later in 1977. 24: DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY - THELMA HOUSTON (26) - This song was taking baby steps up the chart and didn't really look like it would hit the top, but it definitely had perseverance! I like this, but preferred the Communards remake, which peaked at #40 ten years later. 23: JEANS ON - DAVIS DUNDAS (17) - 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. 22: BOOGIE CHILD - THE BEE GEES (25) - Not a fan of this one. I preferred their Saturday Night Fever hits. 21: AIN'T NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING - DONNY & MARIE OSMOND (21) - Wow, this sounds very similar to the original by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Not sure which of the two I prefer. 20: GO YOUR OWN WAY - FLEETWOOD MAC (28) - The first of four singles from one of the biggest albums ever, Rumors. It's my second favorite of the four, behind "You Make Lovin' Fun". 19: YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE DANCING - LEO SAYER (15) - Interesting story about how this song was born. It is my favorite of his two #1 hits. 18: WALK THIS WAY - AEROSMITH (10) - Their second Top Ten (and last one for another eleven years). I liked this song, but preferred Run DMC's cover from 1986. 17: HARD LUCK WOMAN - KISS (18) - Here's another song that had a cover version that hit the chart as well! I think I slightly preferred the cover, which Garth Brooks charted with in 1994. 16: DANCING QUEEN - ABBA (19) - Their biggest hit ever, and my absolute favorite from them! 15: YEAR OF THE CAT - AL STEWART (20) - 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". 14: NIGHT MOVES - BOB SEGER (22) - The title track from one of Seger's best albums ever! I preferred the next single from that album, "Mainstreet". AT40 really butchered this song this week, didn't they? OPTIONAL EXTRA: FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST - ROD STEWART - This song wasn't bad, but I preferred his song on the chart this week, as well as Sheryl Crow's 2003 cover. 13: WEEKEND IN NEW ENGLAND - BARRY MANILOW (14) - After hearing his song "Somewhere Down The Road" as an LDD on a 1984 show that was broadcast the same week as this one back in 2016, I noticed that songs similar to this one. Anyway, as we all know, I liked most of Barry's slow songs. 12: HOT LINE - SYLVERS (5) - 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. 11: FLY LIKE AN EAGLE - STEVE MILLER BAND (13) - The third Top 40 single from the album of the same name. It would also be the last, 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! 10: LOST WITHOUT YOUR LOVE - BREAD (11) - They were mainly an early-70s band, but they did have a comeback hit in early 1977, which, as you can see, hit the Top Ten. A great song indeed - one of my favorites from them! 9: I LIKE DREAMIN' - KENNY NOLAN (12) - 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. It's a good song when it doesn't stick in my mind all day, like it has done several times before. 8: I WISH - STEVIE WONDER (8) - This was the current #1 on the soul chart - kind of weird, as it had already hit #1 on the Hot 100. I liked this song, but preferred his next hit, "Sir Duke", which would also hit #1 several months later. 7: ENJOY YOURSELF - THE JACKSONS (9) - 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. 6: DAZZ - BRICK (3) - Typical roof raising R&B music of the 70s that I wasn't a big fan of. 5: LOVE THEME FROM "A STAR IS BORN" - BARBRA STREISAND (7) - The soundtrack of "A Star Is Born" was #1 on this week's album chart and the song would do the same on the Hot 100 three weeks later, and deservedly so, as this was one of Streisand's best songs ever! 4: CAR WASH - ROSE ROYCE (2) - For a disco song, this one was pretty good. I remember that about 25 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. 3: BLINDED BY THE LIGHT - MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND (6) - They played a drop piece of Bruce Springsteen's version, but they didn't play quite enough of it for me to give my opinion on it, but, from what I did hear, I think I like this version much better, even though they butchered it big time this week OPTIONAL EXTRA: DO YA - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - I remember hearing this one back in the day, thinking they were saying "She's The One I Love". Wow, they heavily edited this one - we didn't hear the chorus until the end of the song. 2: NEW KID IN TOWN - EAGLES (4) - This song looked like it would hit #1 the following week, but Manfred Mann leapfrogged over him. No matter; they'd hit the top the following week. Sort of poignant hearing this song, especially since we recently lost the Glenn Frey, who sang lead on the song. 1: TORN BETWEEN TWO GEEZERS - MARY MacGREGOR (1) - All I have to say is good for Manfred Mann, as they would dethrone this borefest from the top.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Feb 11, 2018 0:57:35 GMT -5
American Top 40 - February 10, 2018 This week's presentation - February 12, 1977 Dropped: IN THE MOOD - HENHOUSE FIVE PLUS TWO (40) - A hilarious parody of the Glenn Miller classic, sung by a brood of chickens! No. Just no. Still, Ray Stevens did worse in his own name/style - "The Streak", anyone? I LIKE TO DO IT - KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND (37) - I seem to remember that this one was mediocre. I usually like them and I seem to recall it was alright but not their best. YOU'VE GOT ME RUNNIN' - GENE COTTON (33) - I don't remember how this one goes either, but I do recall that I liked it almost as much as "Before My Heart Finds Out". wtf did this sound like again? 40: SAY YOU'LL STAY UNTIL TOMORROW - TOM JONES (debut) - Jones' first hit since the summer of 1971 (and his last until he was the featured artist in the Art Of Noise's remake of "Kiss" by Prince). It was a pretty good song - reminds me a little of Tennessee Ernie Ford's version of "You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry", which was on the flipside of his #1 hit "Sixteen Tons". This was ok but I prefer his 60's-early 70's classics. 39: CRACKERBOX PALACE - GEORGE HARRISON (debut) - This song always takes me back to my college years, since I had the song on one of my favorite mix tapes that I compiled early in the school year, and listened to it all the time. I seem to recall that this one got edited occasionally, but it wasn't this week, which is good, because it was a great song, IMO! Definitely one of Harrison's best solo hits! Yeah, this was a good one. 38: LIVIN' THING - ELECTRC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (34) - They must have heavily edited this song, because I got up to go get myself a drink and when I returned not much more than a minute later, it was over with. Anyway, it was a good song, though I preferred a few others from them. Great song! One of their best! 37: MOODY BLUE - ELVIS PRESLEY (39) - Little did anyone know what would happen to the King about six months later Anyway, this song wasn't bad, but I generally preferred his earlier hits. Agreed. 36: STAND TALL - BURTON CUMMINGS (31) - 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 with the Guess Who. 35: TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT (GONNA BE ALRIGHT) - ROD STEWART (30) - Casey mentioned that this song spent seven weeks on top - the most since "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye. I guess he didn't count the "frozen chart" week, which was Rod's last week on top. As for the song, it was a great one - one that I never got tired of. Great song - one of his best! 34: SATURDAY NITE - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (29) - Meh, not one of their best hits by any means. I like this but they've had many better. 33: AFTER THE LOVIN' - ENGLEBERT HUMPERDINCK (24) - Wow, lots of descending songs outside the Top 30 this week! I wonder if the following week had a ton of debuts? Anyway, 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. No. Just no. 32: LONG TIME - BOSTON (debut) - With a high debut position, one might think that Boston was headed for their second Top Ten hit, but this one, in fact, didn't even hit the Top 20. WLS played this song quite a lot back in the day, so I remember hearing it all the time and am pretty surprised it didn't do any better than it did. Great song - still gets classic rock play, especially the full version with the "Foreplay" instrumental intro. 31: SOMEBODY TO LOVE - QUEEN (16) - 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. This was pretty good but they had better. 30: CARRY ON WAYWARD SON - KANSAS (36) - Their first Top 40 hit. I preferred the album version, which I don't believe AT40 ever played. Great song, despite being overplayed on classic rock stations. 29: LIVING NEXT DOOR TO ALICE - SMOKIE (32) - ALICE?? WHO THE F--- IS ALICE?? Good song, but yeah, I'll always associate it with that version. 28: RICH GIRL - DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (38) - 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 - great song, definitely a worthy #1! OPTIONAL EXTRA: MAYBE I'M AMAZED - WINGS - I definitely preferred the live version of this over Paul's studio version from earlier in the 70s. Great song, either way you slice it. 27: THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE - 10CC (35) - This song sounds like something Queen might have done, doesn't it? Anyway, this would be my favorite of their two Top Ten hits. Great song - one of their best! 26: YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A STAR (TO BE IN MY SHOW) - MARILYN McCOO & BILLY DAVIS (23) - This song was in a two-way tie for the longest running song in the Top 40 (and the following week, they'd have that title all to themselves, as the other song, which, of course, was "Tonight's The Night", dropped out the following week). It's a good song. Yeah, I like this one too. Glad it got to #1. 25: SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY - STEPHEN BISHOP (27) - Not bad, but it doesn't hold a candle to "On And On", from later in 1977. Agreed. 24: DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY - THELMA HOUSTON (26) - This song was taking baby steps up the chart and didn't really look like it would hit the top, but it definitely had perseverance! I like this, but preferred the Communards remake, which peaked at #40 ten years later. Great song - one of my favourite disco tunes! 23: JEANS ON - DAVIS DUNDAS (17) - 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. Who knew a jeans commercial would make for a good hit single? A nice enough song, didn't Keith Urban cover this too? 22: BOOGIE CHILD - THE BEE GEES (25) - Not a fan of this one. I preferred their Saturday Night Fever hits. Not bad, but yeah, their "Saturday Night Fever" stuff was better. 21: AIN'T NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING - DONNY & MARIE OSMOND (21) - Wow, this sounds very similar to the original by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Not sure which of the two I prefer. For me, it's an easy choice - pretty much every karaoke remake by any Osmond family member is inferior to the original version to me - especially when it's a Motown classic! 20: GO YOUR OWN WAY - FLEETWOOD MAC (28) - The first of four singles from one of the biggest albums ever, Rumors. It's my second favorite of the four, behind "You Make Lovin' Fun". Great song! Pretty much the entire album remains famous today, just shows how timeless it is. 19: YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE DANCING - LEO SAYER (15) - Interesting story about how this song was born. It is my favorite of his two #1 hits. Great song - one of his best! 18: WALK THIS WAY - AEROSMITH (10) - Their second Top Ten (and last one for another eleven years). I liked this song, but preferred Run DMC's cover from 1986. Yeah this was a great one - another that gets overplayed on classic rock. 17: HARD LUCK WOMAN - KISS (18) - Here's another song that had a cover version that hit the chart as well! I think I slightly preferred the cover, which Garth Brooks charted with in 1994. Not sure which version I prefer - I like both about the same, as they sound very similar. 16: DANCING QUEEN - ABBA (19) - Their biggest hit ever, and my absolute favorite from them! Yeah this was a great one - glad it got to #1! 15: YEAR OF THE CAT - AL STEWART (20) - 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". I'd probably rank those two in the same order. 14: NIGHT MOVES - BOB SEGER (22) - The title track from one of Seger's best albums ever! I preferred the next single from that album, "Mainstreet". AT40 really butchered this song this week, didn't they? Great song - quite possibly my favourite from him. OPTIONAL EXTRA: FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST - ROD STEWART - This song wasn't bad, but I preferred his song on the chart this week, as well as Sheryl Crow's 2003 cover. Yeah, same here, and the Cat Stevens original of this was pretty good too. 13: WEEKEND IN NEW ENGLAND - BARRY MANILOW (14) - After hearing his song "Somewhere Down The Road" as an LDD on a 1984 show that was broadcast the same week as this one back in 2016, I noticed that songs similar to this one. Anyway, as we all know, I liked most of Barry's slow songs. No. Just no. 12: HOT LINE - SYLVERS (5) - 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. 11: FLY LIKE AN EAGLE - STEVE MILLER BAND (13) - The third Top 40 single from the album of the same name. It would also be the last, 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 - great song! 10: LOST WITHOUT YOUR LOVE - BREAD (11) - They were mainly an early-70s band, but they did have a comeback hit in early 1977, which, as you can see, hit the Top Ten. A great song indeed - one of my favorites from them! Yeah, this was a pretty good comeback for them. 9: I LIKE DREAMIN' - KENNY NOLAN (12) - 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. It's a good song when it doesn't stick in my mind all day, like it has done several times before. Yeah, this was a good one. 8: I WISH - STEVIE WONDER (8) - This was the current #1 on the soul chart - kind of weird, as it had already hit #1 on the Hot 100. I liked this song, but preferred his next hit, "Sir Duke", which would also hit #1 several months later. And also odd it stalled on the way down. Great song - "Songs In The Key Of Life" really was his career high point. 7: ENJOY YOURSELF - THE JACKSONS (9) - 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. This was pretty good - a nice introduction to their more disco-influenced style as the Jacksons. 6: DAZZ - BRICK (3) - Typical roof raising R&B music of the 70s that I wasn't a big fan of. I like this - good funk tune. 5: LOVE THEME FROM "A STAR IS BORN" - BARBRA STREISAND (7) - The soundtrack of "A Star Is Born" was #1 on this week's album chart and the song would do the same on the Hot 100 three weeks later, and deservedly so, as this was one of Streisand's best songs ever! No. Just no. 4: CAR WASH - ROSE ROYCE (2) - For a disco song, this one was pretty good. I remember that about 25 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! 3: BLINDED BY THE LIGHT - MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND (6) - They played a drop piece of Bruce Springsteen's version, but they didn't play quite enough of it for me to give my opinion on it, but, from what I did hear, I think I like this version much better, even though they butchered it big time this week Great song - one that I actually prefer the radio edit over the album version, which may be a rarity for classic rock songs. OPTIONAL EXTRA: DO YA - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - I remember hearing this one back in the day, thinking they were saying "She's The One I Love". Wow, they heavily edited this one - we didn't hear the chorus until the end of the song. Yeah, this was a good one. 2: NEW KID IN TOWN - EAGLES (4) - This song looked like it would hit #1 the following week, but Manfred Mann leapfrogged over him. No matter; they'd hit the top the following week. Sort of poignant hearing this song, especially since we recently lost the Glenn Frey, who sang lead on the song. Great song, though they had many better. 1: TORN BETWEEN TWO GEEZERS - MARY MacGREGOR (1) - All I have to say is good for Manfred Mann, as they would dethrone this borefest from the top. LOL using the fungus title! I do agree with you - this was an annoying BOREFEST! As for next week... 1973 maybe? I'm not sure.
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Post by Hervard on Feb 18, 2018 11:37:47 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - February 17, 2018
This week's presentation - February 15, 1975
Droppers: DING DONG, DING DONG - GEORGE HARRISON (36) - I don't remember this one, since it only lasted two weeks on the chart. STRUTTIN' - BILLY PRESTON (35) - One of several instrumental songs of Preston's to hit the chart. The flip side of this one was his version of "You Are So Beautiful", a song that Joe Cocker was debuting with this week, but Preston was the one who wrote it. As for this song, it was pretty good. LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS - ELTON JOHN (32) - This is the song that defied the 1974-75 one-week limit at #1, and it's easy to see how - this was a great song - the instruments and Elton's voice made it sound quite majestic! One of my all-time faves from Elton John, who would have a slew of big hits over the next 20 years, and then some! ONE MAN WOMAN/ONE WOMAN MAN - PAUL ANKA w/ODIA COATES (28) - This was their second of four Top 40 hits together. This song was pretty good - the chorus reminds me a little of "Haven't Got Time For The Pain" by Carly Simon, from the previous year. ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (I GAVE YOU THE BEST YEARS OF MY LIFE) – MAC DAVIS (22) - I've heard this song plenty of times on my Barry Scott Lost 45's CD. A great song it is! NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE - GLORIA GAYNOR (20) - Great discofied version of the Jackson Five ballad that charted four years prior.
40: NEVER LET HER GO - DAVID GATES (debut) - Of course, we all know he was the lead singer of Bread, who had pretty much had their day in the sun (though they would have a comeback hit two years later), so Gates was testing the waters as a solo singer. Though nowhere near as successful as he was with his band, he had a trio of Top 40 hits, all of which I liked. My favorite song from him was "Goodbye Girl", though this would be a close second, as it was a great song as well. 39: SAD SWEET DREAMER - SWEET SENSATION (debut) - This was not the same vocal group who charted in 1989/90 with a handful of hits. This was their only Top 40 hit. It was OK, but nothing special. 38: LOVIN' YOU - MINNIE RIPERTON (debut) - EWWW, GET IT AWAY FROM ME!!! Well, OK, maybe it's not that bad, but it's just so CHEESY!! And what's with Minnie singing her daughter's name over and over near the end? 37: DON'T TAKE YOUR LOVE FROM ME - THE MANHATTANS (debut) - This was their eighth Hot 100 hit, but the very first one to make the Top 40. This is all the further it got, but they would have two more Top 40 entries, both of which made the Top Five, over the next five years. While this song was definitely better than the day-darkening "Kiss And Say Goodbye", it wasn't quite as good as "Shining Star". But it was a good song nevertheless. 36: YOUR BULLDOG DRINKS CHAMPAGNE - JIM STAFFORD (24) - Like most of Stafford's hit, this was a novelty song, which tend to get old fast. It sounded pretty good (much better than the campy "Wildwood Weed"), but I don't think I'd want to hear it on a regular basis. 35: YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL - JOE C0CKER (debut) - Meh, you are so boring is more like it. Next song, please... 34: MORNING SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN - DONNY & MARIE OSMOND (18) - Well, this one was a little boring too, but at least they don't try to hit a high note that they know full well they can't reach. Anyhoo, this was the second song on which they charted as a duet. I liked it, but my favorite song of theirs was their version of "Deep Purple", from the following year. 33: MY BOY - ELVIS PRESLEY (debut) - Blegh! Not only is this boring, but it's so d@mn depressing. Can we hear the Joe Cocker song again? 32: TO THE DOOR OF THE SUN (ALLE PORTE DEL SOLE) - AL MARTINO (40) - YIKES, ENOUGH WITH THE BORING SONGS ALREADY!!! However, this song's saving grace is that it wasn't quite as melancholy as the song by the King. OK, a commercial break now - when we come back, I want to hear a song that doesn't make me want to cry or fall asleep. 31: MOVIN' ON - BAD COMPANY (39) - Well now, that's more like it! The second Top 40 hit for this British rock band. It was indeed more uplifting than any of the last four borefests. 30: UP IN A PUFF OF SMOKE - POLLY BROWN (38) - Another British act, this one from Birmingham and, like Bad Company, she moves up eight spots. Now, while this wasn't one of my favorite songs on the countdown, it was indeed refreshing to hear, for the same reason as #31 (heck, I'd even take roof-raising R&B). 29: POETRY MAN - PHOEBE SNOW (37) - Her only solo Top 40 hit (she did chart again in a duet with Paul Simon later on that year, and had a few AC only hits). I love the hypnotic effect of this song. This and "If I Can Just Get Through The Night" are in an arm-wrestling match for my favorite song from her. 28: MANDY - BARRY MANILOW (16) - This was the first of many hits for this balladeer, and the first of three #1 hits. I tell you what, I used to like the song, until I heard the urban legend associated with this song. 27: I BELONG TO YOU - LOVE UNLIMITED (27) - The second of two Top 40 hits from this female soul trio managed by Barry White. I preferred their other song "Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Love", though this one was pretty good as well. OPTIONAL EXTRA: KILLER QUEEN - QUEEN - Their first of many hits for them. Like most of their 70s hits, I thought it was a great one! 26: EXPRESS - B.T. EXPRESS (33) - Is it me, or does this song sound like "Pick Up The Pieces" by AWB? It was pretty good, IMO. 25: PLEASE MR. POSTMAN - THE CARPENTERS (15) - Of course, this one would hit #1 like the original by the Marvelettes, becoming the third hit to hit #1 in two versions by different artists. I actually preferred this one over the original. 24: BIG YELLOW TAXI - JONI MITCHELL (26) - She hit the Hot 100 with this song in 1970, but it was the live version that made the Top 40. I liked it, but preferred "Help Me" from the year before. 23: DON'T CALL US, WE'LL CALL YOU - SUGARLOAF FEATURING JERRY CORBETTA (31) - The second of two Top Ten hits from this rock band from Denver. It was a good one, but I preferred their first hit, "Green-Eyed Lady". 22: ROLL ON DOWN THE HIGHWAY - BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE (30) - Wasn't this featured in a commercial a few years ago? Anyway, it's a good song, but not quite as good as "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet". 21: LADY MARMALADE - LaBELLE (29) - Wow, lots of songs moving up eight spots this week! This is the sixth of those, and we're not even in the Top 20 yet. Anyway, this was a great one, but I actually preferred the remake by Christina Aguilera & friends - definitely the summer hit of 2001! 20: I'M A WOMAN - MARIA MULDAUR (25) - The second of two Top 40 hits from this Big Apple native. As cheesy as "Midnight At The Oasis" was, I actually preferred that one. This one was pretty good, though - sort of depends on my mood at the time. 19: CAN'T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (23) - One of my favorite ELO songs of all time, and I was pleasantly surprised that they played the full album version on this show. The single version definitely leaves a lot to be desired. It doesn't contain the second verse and the synth solo in the middle is cut way down. No, give me the album version any day. 18: HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN MELLOW - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (34) - Earlier, I mentioned that there were many songs making eight-notch moves on the chart. This song moves twice as fast as those songs, and it definitely looked like she would collect her second #1 song in a row - and indeed, she did! I liked both of said #1 songs (the other being "I Honestly Love You") but slightly preferred this one. 17: LADY - STYX (21) - The first of many Top 40 hits from this band from Chicago. It was so/so, but definitely not their best. 16: LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - NEIL SEDAKA (8) - This song moved up the chart rather slowly, reaching #1 in its 16th week on the Hot 100 just two weeks before, but gravity was setting in, as the song was already down to #16 and would fall off the Hot 100 three weeks later. I'm glad that the song hit the top, as this is one of my all-time faves from Sedaka. 15: NIGHTINGALE - CAROLE KING (19) - How about this - right above Neil Sedaka is one of his former girlfriends! This was her fifth and final Top Ten hit. I liked it. 14: GET DANCIN' - DISCO-TEX & THE SEX-O-LETTES (10) - Even though this one was the roof-raising R&B music that I wasn't a fan of, this one actually wasn't too bad. OPTIONAL EXTRA: SHINING STAR - EARTH, WIND & FIRE - They had one #1 song each on the Hot 100 and R&R. This was their chart topper on the former - a good song, though I preferred their other 1975 hit "That's The Way Of The World". 13: SWEET SURRENDER - JOHN DENVER (17) - As we all know, I grew up listening to his music, and I remember hearing this one quite a lot - a great song indeed! 12: DOCTOR'S ORDERS - CAROL DOUGLAS (11) - No relation to Mr. Kung Fu Fighter, I don't think. Anyway, this song pretty good, but not quite my favorite song on the chart. 11: LOOK IN MY EYES PRETTY WOMAN - TONY ORLANDO & DAWN (14) - It looked like this song might hit the Top Ten the following week, but this was all the further it got. No matter; their next hit "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You") would top the chart for three weeks later that spring. This song was pretty good; it is my favorite of the two hits I mentioned, though there are a few other songs from them that I prefer. 10: #9 DREAM - JOHN LENNON (13) - This would live up to its title the following week, climbing to #9, where it peaked. Though I preferred many other solo Lennon hits, this one was pretty good as well - reminds me a little of bandmate George Harrison's #1 hit "My Sweet Lord". 9: MY EYES ADORED YOU - FRANKI VALLI (12) - This song was just four weeks away from hitting #1, and at the time, it held the record for the longest climb to #1 (hit the top in its 18th week). Of course, that record would be broken many times over. As for the song, it's a good one, but I preferred a few others from him, both solo and with the Four Seasons. 8: BOOGIE ON REGGAE WOMAN - STEVIE WONDER (3) - This one was not bad, but definitely not one of his best hits. 7: LONELY PEOPLE - AMERICA (9) - Despite their name, they were actually an English band. This song wasn't bad, but one of my least favorites from them. 6: FIRE - OHIO PLAYERS (1) - With such a high turnover rate at #1, it's no surprise that many of the songs were falling out of the Top Five from the top spot (hey, at least they weren't falling out of the Top Ten, such was the case the previous fall). Anyway, I was not a big fan of this song or them in general (though their other #1 hit, "Love Rollercoaster" wasn't bad). 5: BLACK WATER - THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (7) - This song was on its way to becoming their very first #1 hit. Even though I preferred their other #1 hit, this one was a great song nonetheless. 4: SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL - GRAND FUNK (6) - Ah, the song that got a higher position on the 1975 year-ender than it had really earned. I liked this song, but preferred their next top 40 hit "Bad Time". 3: BEST OF MY LOVE - THE EAGLES (5) - One of a handful of the Eagles' hits to feature Don Henley on lead vocals. It was a pretty good one, but the subject matter was a little depressing. Not a good listen for someone in a dying relationship. OPTIONAL EXTRA: SHAME SHAME SHAME - SHIRLEY & COMPANY - Meh, this one wasn't bad, but nothing exceptional either. It didn't bother me too much at all that the station on which I heard the show (KLTH) did not play this song. 2: PICK UP THE PIECES - THE AVERAGE WHITE BAND (4) - The first and biggest hit by this Scottish group. This was a good one - had a hint of Philly soul in it. 1: YOU'RE NO GOOD - LINDA RONSTADT (2) - She'd had two Top 40 hits a few years earlier, but this was the one that got her chart career started proper, hitting #1. It was a great one! Interesting that this record was hitting big on the Hot 100, and the country chart. The flipside of this song, "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)" was in the Top Ten on the latter, and this one, of course, was #1 here on AT40. Oddly enough, her favorite kind of music to listen to was R&B - go figure!
Coming up next week: Since it's been awhile since late 1976/early 1977 has been featured as the "B" show, I'll predict 2/26/77 for next week. Failing that, 2/24/73 would be a good bet, though many of us think that they might wait a week and play the yet-unaired 3/3/73 show the first week in March.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Feb 18, 2018 15:36:43 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - February 17, 2018 This week's presentation - February 15, 1975 Droppers: DING DONG, DING DONG - GEORGE HARRISON (36) - I don't remember this one, since it only lasted two weeks on the chart. I seem to recall this being alright - a New Year's song. STRUTTIN' - BILLY PRESTON (35) - One of several instrumental songs of Preston's to hit the chart. The flip side of this one was his version of "You Are So Beautiful", a song that Joe Cocker was debuting with this week, but Preston was the one who wrote it. As for this song, it was pretty good. I usually like his instrumentals and this is no exception. LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS - ELTON JOHN (32) - This is the song that defied the 1974-75 one-week limit at #1, and it's easy to see how - this was a great song - the instruments and Elton's voice made it sound quite majestic! One of my all-time faves from Elton John, who would have a slew of big hits over the next 20 years, and then some! Agreed - he certainly did justice to this Beatles classic! ONE MAN WOMAN/ONE WOMAN MAN - PAUL ANKA w/ODIA COATES (28) - This was their second of four Top 40 hits together. This song was pretty good - the chorus reminds me a little of "Haven't Got Time For The Pain" by Carly Simon, from the previous year. Meh, never liked the Odia Coates era of Paul Anka's career, but this certainly beats the previous single! ROCK ‘N’ ROLL (I GAVE YOU THE BEST YEARS OF MY LIFE) – MAC DAVIS (22) - I've heard this song plenty of times on my Barry Scott Lost 45's CD. A great song it is! Meh, also no big loss. NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE - GLORIA GAYNOR (20) - Great discofied version of the Jackson Five ballad that charted four years prior. I like this one, not sure which version I prefer though. 40: NEVER LET HER GO - DAVID GATES (debut) - Of course, we all know he was the lead singer of Bread, who had pretty much had their day in the sun (though they would have a comeback hit two years later), so Gates was testing the waters as a solo singer. Though nowhere near as successful as he was with his band, he had a trio of Top 40 hits, all of which I liked. My favorite song from him was "Goodbye Girl", though this would be a close second, as it was a great song as well. This was alright but I also prefer "Goodbye Girl". 39: SAD SWEET DREAMER - SWEET SENSATION (debut) - This was not the same vocal group who charted in 1989/90 with a handful of hits. This was their only Top 40 hit. It was OK, but nothing special. Agreed. 38: LOVIN' YOU - MINNIE RIPERTON (debut) - EWWW, GET IT AWAY FROM ME!!! Well, OK, maybe it's not that bad, but it's just so CHEESY!! And what's with Minnie singing her daughter's name over and over near the end? I like this, I guess you could call this a guilty pleasure for me as I know a lot of people hate it. 37: DON'T TAKE YOUR LOVE FROM ME - THE MANHATTANS (debut) - This was their eighth Hot 100 hit, but the very first one to make the Top 40. This is all the further it got, but they would have two more Top 40 entries, both of which made the Top Five, over the next five years. While this song was definitely better than the day-darkening "Kiss And Say Goodbye", it wasn't quite as good as "Shining Star". But it was a good song nevertheless. This wasn't really anything impressive - I prefer "Kiss And Say Goodbye". 36: YOUR BULLDOG DRINKS CHAMPAGNE - JIM STAFFORD (24) - Like most of Stafford's hit, this was a novelty song, which tend to get old fast. It sounded pretty good (much better than the campy "Wildwood Weed"), but I don't think I'd want to hear it on a regular basis. No. Just no. 35: YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL - JOE C0CKER (debut) - Meh, you are so boring is more like it. Next song, please... I like this one, such a sweet love song. 34: MORNING SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN - DONNY & MARIE OSMOND (18) - Well, this one was a little boring too, but at least they don't try to hit a high note that they know full well they can't reach. Anyhoo, this was the second song on which they charted as a duet. I liked it, but my favorite song of theirs was their version of "Deep Purple", from the following year. No. Just no. 33: MY BOY - ELVIS PRESLEY (debut) - Blegh! Not only is this boring, but it's so d@mn depressing. Can we hear the Joe Cocker song again? This was ok but I'm not really a fan of his later stuff. Definitely perfer his 50's and 60's stuff. 32: TO THE DOOR OF THE SUN (ALLE PORTE DEL SOLE) - AL MARTINO (40) - YIKES, ENOUGH WITH THE BORING SONGS ALREADY!!! However, this song's saving grace is that it wasn't quite as melancholy as the song by the King. OK, a commercial break now - when we come back, I want to hear a song that doesn't make me want to cry or fall asleep. No. Just no. 31: MOVIN' ON - BAD COMPANY (39) - Well now, that's more like it! The second Top 40 hit for this British rock band. It was indeed more uplifting than any of the last four borefests. Just what we needed after a lot of borefests - a great rock tune! I like pretty much all of their hits, this included. 30: UP IN A PUFF OF SMOKE - POLLY BROWN (38) - Another British act, this one from Birmingham and, like Bad Company, she moves up eight spots. Now, while this wasn't one of my favorite songs on the countdown, it was indeed refreshing to hear, for the same reason as #31 (heck, I'd even take roof-raising R&B). This was alright, but kinda faceless. 29: POETRY MAN - PHOEBE SNOW (37) - Her only solo Top 40 hit (she did chart again in a duet with Paul Simon later on that year, and had a few AC only hits). I love the hypnotic effect of this song. This and "If I Can Just Get Through The Night" are in an arm-wrestling match for my favorite song from her. I like this one - I also like her 1981 hit "Games", too bad that didn't go top 40 as it was a good one. 28: MANDY - BARRY MANILOW (16) - This was the first of many hits for this balladeer, and the first of three #1 hits. I tell you what, I used to like the song, until I heard the urban legend associated with this song. I'm definitely not a Fanilow, but this song has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. Great song! 27: I BELONG TO YOU - LOVE UNLIMITED (27) - The second of two Top 40 hits from this female soul trio managed by Barry White. I preferred their other song "Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Love", though this one was pretty good as well. Yeah, this was nice - typical 70's R&B. OPTIONAL EXTRA: KILLER QUEEN - QUEEN - Their first of many hits for them. Like most of their 70s hits, I thought it was a great one! Same here - pretty much anything from their first greatest hits album is excellent, can't go wrong! 26: EXPRESS - B.T. EXPRESS (33) - Is it me, or does this song sound like "Pick Up The Pieces" by AWB? It was pretty good, IMO. I prefer their previous hit but this was good too. 25: PLEASE MR. POSTMAN - THE CARPENTERS (15) - Of course, this one would hit #1 like the original by the Marvelettes, becoming the third hit to hit #1 in two versions by different artists. I actually preferred this one over the original. Same here, though I do like the original too (probably because it's a Motown classic.) 24: BIG YELLOW TAXI - JONI MITCHELL (26) - She hit the Hot 100 with this song in 1970, but it was the live version that made the Top 40. I liked it, but preferred "Help Me" from the year before. Great song - arguably her signature song, and one of my favourites from her. 23: DON'T CALL US, WE'LL CALL YOU - SUGARLOAF FEATURING JERRY CORBETTA (31) - The second of two Top Ten hits from this rock band from Denver. It was a good one, but I preferred their first hit, "Green-Eyed Lady". Yeah, this was a good one - I'd say I prefer this one. 22: ROLL ON DOWN THE HIGHWAY - BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE (30) - Wasn't this featured in a commercial a few years ago? Anyway, it's a good song, but not quite as good as "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet". Not sure, but it sure sounds like a song you'd hear in a car commercial! Great song - one of their best! 21: LADY MARMALADE - LaBELLE (29) - Wow, lots of songs moving up eight spots this week! This is the sixth of those, and we're not even in the Top 20 yet. Anyway, this was a great one, but I actually preferred the remake by Christina Aguilera & friends - definitely the summer hit of 2001! Yeah I really like this one but also prefer the Skanks version. 20: I'M A WOMAN - MARIA MULDAUR (25) - The second of two Top 40 hits from this Big Apple native. As cheesy as "Midnight At The Oasis" was, I actually preferred that one. This one was pretty good, though - sort of depends on my mood at the time. Meh, never got into this one. 19: CAN'T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (23) - One of my favorite ELO songs of all time, and I was pleasantly surprised that they played the full album version on this show. The single version definitely leaves a lot to be desired. It doesn't contain the second verse and the synth solo in the middle is cut way down. No, give me the album version any day. Great song, like most of their big hits. 18: HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN MELLOW - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (34) - Earlier, I mentioned that there were many songs making eight-notch moves on the chart. This song moves twice as fast as those songs, and it definitely looked like she would collect her second #1 song in a row - and indeed, she did! I liked both of said #1 songs (the other being "I Honestly Love You") but slightly preferred this one. Yeah this was a great one but I generally prefer the stuff that made her "Greatest Hits, Vol. 2". 17: LADY - STYX (21) - The first of many Top 40 hits from this band from Chicago. It was so/so, but definitely not their best. I like this but I feel they got stronger when Tommy Shaw joined. 16: LAUGHTER IN THE RAIN - NEIL SEDAKA (8) - This song moved up the chart rather slowly, reaching #1 in its 16th week on the Hot 100 just two weeks before, but gravity was setting in, as the song was already down to #16 and would fall off the Hot 100 three weeks later. I'm glad that the song hit the top, as this is one of my all-time faves from Sedaka. Great song - my favourite from him! 15: NIGHTINGALE - CAROLE KING (19) - How about this - right above Neil Sedaka is one of his former girlfriends! This was her fifth and final Top Ten hit. I liked it. Yeah, this was pretty good, like most of her hits. 14: GET DANCIN' - DISCO-TEX & THE SEX-O-LETTES (10) - Even though this one was the roof-raising R&B music that I wasn't a fan of, this one actually wasn't too bad. Yeah this was good. OPTIONAL EXTRA: SHINING STAR - EARTH, WIND & FIRE - They had one #1 song each on the Hot 100 and R&R. This was their chart topper on the former - a good song, though I preferred their other 1975 hit "That's The Way Of The World". Great song - definitely one of my favourites from them and one of their most enduring! 13: SWEET SURRENDER - JOHN DENVER (17) - As we all know, I grew up listening to his music, and I remember hearing this one quite a lot - a great song indeed! No. Just no. 12: DOCTOR'S ORDERS - CAROL DOUGLAS (11) - No relation to Mr. Kung Fu Fighter, I don't think. Anyway, this song pretty good, but not quite my favorite song on the chart. Great song - one of my favourite 70's one hit wonders! 11: LOOK IN MY EYES PRETTY WOMAN - TONY ORLANDO & DAWN (14) - It looked like this song might hit the Top Ten the following week, but this was all the further it got. No matter; their next hit "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You") would top the chart for three weeks later that spring. This song was pretty good; it is my favorite of the two hits I mentioned, though there are a few other songs from them that I prefer. This wasn't bad but I generally prefer their earlier stuff from when they were still faceless and hadn't credited Tony Orlando yet. 10: #9 DREAM - JOHN LENNON (13) - This would live up to its title the following week, climbing to #9, where it peaked. Though I preferred many other solo Lennon hits, this one was pretty good as well - reminds me a little of bandmate George Harrison's #1 hit "My Sweet Lord". Yeah, I like this one too. 9: MY EYES ADORED YOU - FRANKI VALLI (12) - This song was just four weeks away from hitting #1, and at the time, it held the record for the longest climb to #1 (hit the top in its 18th week). Of course, that record would be broken many times over. As for the song, it's a good one, but I preferred a few others from him, both solo and with the Four Seasons. Great song - one of my favourites from him overall, and definitely a worthy comeback hit! 8: BOOGIE ON REGGAE WOMAN - STEVIE WONDER (3) - This one was not bad, but definitely not one of his best hits. I generally like his stuff (Especially from the 70's), and this is one of my favourites from him. 7: LONELY PEOPLE - AMERICA (9) - Despite their name, they were actually an English band. Thi song wasn't bad, but one of my least favorites from them. Yeah I think they called themselves America because they were children of American military personnel based in England (and I believe 2 of them were actually born in the US.) Great song - I like pretty much all of their big hits. 6: FIRE - OHIO PLAYERS (1) - With such a high turnover rate at #1, it's no surprise that many of the songs were falling out of the Top Five from the top spot (hey, at least they weren't falling out of the Top Ten, such was the case the previous fall). Anyway, I was not a big fan of this song or them in general (though their other #1 hit, "Love Rollercoaster" wasn't bad). Great song - typical "roof-raising R&B". 5: BLACK WATER - THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (7) - This song was on its way to becoming their very first #1 hit. Even though I preferred their other #1 hit, this one was a great song nonetheless. Great song! Love the singalong part near the end. 4: SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL - GRAND FUNK (6) - Ah, the song that got a higher position on the 1975 year-ender than it had really earned. I liked this song, but preferred their next top 40 hit "Bad Time". Great song - one of my favourites from them. 3: BEST OF MY LOVE - THE EAGLES (5) - One of a handful of the Eagles' hits to feature Don Henley on lead vocals. It was a pretty good one, but the subject matter was a little depressing. Not a good listen for someone in a dying relationship. Great song - definitely worthy of becoming their first #1! OPTIONAL EXTRA: SHAME SHAME SHAME - SHIRLEY & COMPANY - Meh, this one wasn't bad, but nothing exceptional either. It didn't bother me too much at all that the station on which I heard the show (KLTH) did not play this song. This was nice enough but not something I'd want to hear too often. 2: PICK UP THE PIECES - THE AVERAGE WHITE BAND (4) - The first and biggest hit by this Scottish group. This was a good one - had a hint of Philly soul in it. Great song - one of my favourite 70's instrumentals! 1: YOU'RE NO GOOD - LINDA RONSTADT (2) - She'd had two Top 40 hits a few years earlier, but this was the one that got her chart career started proper, hitting #1. It was a great one! Interesting that this record was hitting big on the Hot 100, and the country chart. The flipside of this song, "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)" was in the Top Ten on the latter, and this one, of course, was #1 here on AT40. Oddly enough, her favorite kind of music to listen to was R&B - go figure! Great song! I like most of her big hits, and this is one of my all-time favourites from her! Tagging JessieLou as she's a big fan and this was Linda's only week at #1 on the chart. Coming up next week: Since it's been awhile since late 1976/early 1977 has been featured as the "B" show, I'll predict 2/26/77 for next week. Failing that, 2/24/73 would be a good bet, though many of us think that they might wait a week and play the yet-unaired 3/3/73 show the first week in March. I wouldn't mind any of those, 1977 would be a good one.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Feb 24, 2018 3:25:37 GMT -5
Recycled commentary from 2 years ago: February 25, 1978Falling off: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Breakdown (40) - great song! I prefer his 80's and 90's stuff though War - Galaxy (39) - wtf did this sound like again? Earth, Wind & Fire - Serpentine Fire (31) - great song! R.I.P. Maurice White Wet Willie - Streetcorner Serenade (30) - wtf did this sound like again? Neil Diamond - Desiree (27) - good song, given how much it paralleled the story in the first LDD it was a very appropriate choice there 40. Yvonne Elliman - If I Can't Have You (debut) - great song! One of the best disco songs 39. Lou Rawls - Lady Love (debut) - i like this but prefer "You'll Never Whatever" 38. Parliament - Flashlight (debut) - good song but I prefer "Tear The Roof Off The Sucker" Extra: Eric Burdon & War - Spill The Wine - great song! Interesting how they spilled wine in their equipment and it inspired this song. 37. The Commodores - Too Hot Ta Trot (24) - it's ok, they had better 36. Linda Ronstadt - Poor Poor Pitiful Me (debut) - great song! It may not have peaked very high but this is one of my absolute favourites from her 35. Bob Welch - Ebony Eyes (debut) - great song! I like his 3 biggest hits about the same 34. Kansas - Dust In The Wind (38) - great song! Possibly my favourite from them 33. David Gates - Goodbye Girl (37) - good song, just as good as his Bread classics 32. Raydio - Jack And Jill (36) - great song! Interesting story about how Huey Lewis didn't believe Stevie Wonder had called him and hung up! 31. Natalie Cole - Our Love (35) - great song! R.I.P. 30. Santa Esmeralda - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (15) - good song! 29. Heatwave - Always And Forever (33) - I like this but prefer Luther Vandross's version 28. LeBlanc & Carr - Falling (32) - good song! Very underrated 27. Barry Manilow - Can't Smile Without You (34) - No. Just no. 26. Rita Coolidge - The Way You Do The Things You Do (28) - ...and this isn't anything special either! Give me the Temptations, UB40 or Hall & Oates any day over this version. 25. Meco - Theme From Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (25) - it's a bit odd, especially considering all of Meco's hits were disco versions of movie themes! 24. Art Garfunkel with James Taylor & Paul Simon - Wonderful World (29) - great song! I prefer the original though, despite normally preferring Simon & Garfunkel/James Taylor over Sam Cooke. 23. Con Funk Shun - Ffun (23) - this was alright, though the misspelled title was sstupid. 22. Foreigner - Long, Long Way From Home (20) - great song! I like pretty much all of their big hits, this included 21. Odyssey - Native New Yorker (21) - great song! 20. Little River Band - Happy Anniversary (26) - great song, one of their best! Extra: Neil Sedaka - Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (Off Key Anthem Version) - Ugh, didn't we just hear this off key anthem LAST WEEK? A total ruination of his own song here, the 60's version was better! 19. Rod Stewart - You're In My Heart (16) - great song! One of his best! 18. Jay Ferguson - Thunder Island (19) - good song! 17. Lynyrd Skynyrd - What's Your Name (18) - great song, one of their best! 16. ABBA - The Name Of The Game (22) - good song, but they've had better (I'd say I pretty much like all of their other hits more!) 15. Player - Baby Come Back (9) - great song! 14. Randy Newman - Short People (8) - it's odd how someone well respected for his work behind the scenes and on movie soundtracks had his only top 40 hit with a NOVELTY song! I don't mind this one though 13. John Williams - Theme From Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (14) - it's not bad but I prefer some of his other movie themes 12. Steely Dan - Peg (13) - great song, one of their best! 11. Paul Davis - I Go Crazy (12) - great song! This really lasted forever, it seems 10. Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love (10) - great song! Just shows how popular they were, when they were involved with half of the top 10. 9. Eric Clapton - Lay Down Sally (11) - great song, one of his best! 8. Bee Gees - Night Fever (17) - great song! Also one of their best! 7. Queen - We Are The Champions (4) - great song, though it's weird hearing this without "We Will Rock You" leading into it. 6. Chic - Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) (7) - good song, but I prefer their 1979 hits 5. Samantha Sang - Emotion (6) - great song! Who knew Beyoncé impacted the charts before she was born? 4. Dan Hill - Sometimes When We Touch (5) - great song! Cheesy ballads like this are hit or miss for me but this is one I like 3. Billy Joel - Just The Way You Are (3) - great song! I like pretty much all of his big hits 2. Andy Gibb - (Love is) Thicker Than Water (2) - great song! 1. Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive (1) - great song! They really were the kings of disco Chicago update: They were at #72 with "Little One". Next week: Last time it was 1979 and 1973. I wouldn't be surprised if we get either of those, especially if it's the B show.
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Post by Hervard on Feb 25, 2018 11:21:38 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 80s - February 24, 2018
This week's presentation - February 25, 1978
Droppers: BREAKDOWN - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS (40) - Their very first Top 40 hit, though it just barely made it. No matter; they'd have many more even bigger hits in the 1980s. The song was pretty good, but definitely not one of my favorites from them. GALAXY - WAR (39) - wtf did this sound like again? SERPENTINE FIRE - EARTH, WIND & FIRE (31) - 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?) STREET CORNER SERENADE - WET WILLIE (30) - I vaguely remember that this song was nothing exceptional. DESIREE - NEIL DIAMOND (27) - 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.
40: IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU – YVONNE ELLIMAN (debut) - This song was definitely on its way to #1 - of course I'm sure that the fact that it was from a hot movie soundtrack was somewhat instrumental in that, but it did have its own merits. It was possibly my favorite song on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, and easily my favorite song from Yvonne. 39: LADY LOVE – LOU RAWLS (debut) - He had a handful of songs that made the Top 40, but this and "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" are the only two songs that I've heard from him (that I know of, anyway). Both are great songs IMO and I'm unsure which is my favorite of the two. 38: FLASHLIGHT – PARLIAMENT (debut) - Meh, pretty much your typical late-70s R&B disco, and I think we all know all too well my general opinion on that... EXTRA: 37: TOO HOT TA TROT – THE COMMODORES (24) - More of the same here. 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. 36: POOR POOR PITIFUL ME – LINDA RONSTADT (debut) - I imagine this song did quite well on the country charts, since it definitely sounded country - even more than usual for Linda. It was a good song. 35: EBONY EYES – BOB WELCH (debut) - Here's one of several "two-hit wonders" on this week's charts. Welch, a former member of Fleetwood Mac hit the Top Ten earlier in the year with "Sentimental Lady" and now he was on his way up with his second hit. I preferred "Sentimental Lady", but this was also a great song! 34: DUST IN THE WIND - KANSAS (38) - A song with a vaguely haunting melody. It was another great song that I remember quite well! 33: GOODBYE GIRL – DAVID GATES (37) - We heard his first solo hit, "Never Let Her Go" on last week's show and this was his second, which was my favorite of his solo hits - a great song indeed! 32: JACK & JILL - RAYDIO (36) - This song contains one of the funniest misheard lyric near the end ("He got down on his right knee", which is sometimes heard as "he got down on his Granny" - it was edited out this week - perhaps for that very reason) As for the song itself, it's a great one - possibly my favorite songs from him/them. 31: OUR LOVE – NATALIE COLE (35) - Wow, what’s with all the songs moving up four spots? Well, anyway, this was her last Top Ten hit before she went on a hiatus that lasted for the better part of the 1980s, when she ran into many personal problems, including drug addiction. This was one of her best hits of the 1970s. 30: DON’T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD – SANTA ESMERALDA (15) - An interesting disco rendition of the classic by the Animals. Coincidentally, both songs peaked at #15 on the Hot 100. 29: ALWAYS & FOREVER - HEATWAVE (33) - One of the best love songs of all time, and by far my favorite of their three hits (the other two, of course, were disco songs that sounded very much alike). 28: FALLING – LeBLANC & CARR (32) - Interesting story about how they almost flew in the plane that crashed and killed several members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. This was the duo's only Top 40 hit. The song peaked at #13, but spent over a half a year on the Hot 100, an unusually long term for a song that never hit the Top Ten. I liked this song a lot. OPTIONAL EXTRA: SPILL THE WINE – ERIC BURDEN & WAR - Of course, since this song pre-dated 1978, that means that it was originally an extra in the show (more specifically, between songs #38 and #37. I liked the story of how Eric Burden came up with this song. 27: CAN’T SMILE WITHOUT YOU – BARRY MANILOW (34) -This was the fastest moving song up to this point in the countdown. Many fans of Barry Manilow were thinking that this one might go all the way (Casey even said something to that effect a few weeks later), but it was not to be - basically, during the winter and spring of 1978, if you weren't the Bee Gees or involved with the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (or at least on the RSO label), you were pretty much SOL as far as hitting the top was concerned 26: THE WAY YOU DO THE THINGS YOU DO – RITA COOLIDGE (28) - Third Single Syndrome definitely applied here, as this song only got as high as #20, after the first two songs from her Anytime...Anywhere album hit the Top Ten. I actually preferred said first two hits, but this was a great one as well. 25: THEME FROM CLOSE ENCOUNTERS - MECO (25) - The first of two versions of this song on the chart, which was the second time that this happened with the two artists involved. The first time was in 1977, when John Williams & The London Symphony Orchestra was charting with the original theme from Star Wars at the same time as Meco was charting with his disco rendition. The latter more or less stole the thunder from the former, as it went to #1. This time around, the tables were turned, as this was all the further this version got while John Williams was up in the Top 20. I preferred this version, but both versions were pretty good, IMO. 24: WONDERFUL WORLD – ART GARFUNKEL WITH JAMES TAYLOR & PAUL SIMON (29) - One of two songs that Art and James collaborated on (the other one was in late 1993, when they recorded a cover version of the Everly Brothers' "Crying In The Rain". I preferred that one, as well as the original of this by Sam Cooke. This song is a good one as well. 23: FFUN – CON FUNK SHUN (23) - Like “Flash Light”, this song blends in with all the soul/disco songs that were popular in the late 70s. 22: LONG, LONG WAY FROM HOME - FOREIGNER (20) - Like Rita Coolidge's hit earlier in the show, this song was an example of Third Single Syndrome - peaked at #20 after two Top Ten hits from their self-titled album. I definitely preferred said first two hits - this one was kinda just there. 21: NATIVE NEW YORKER – ODYSSEY (21) - 20: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY – THE LITTLE RIVER BAND (26) - They had yet to hit the Top Ten, but they would do just that later in the year with their hit "Reminiscing". I generally liked their songs, but for some reason, this song, their third Top 40 hit, never really did anything for me. Definitely one of my least favorites from them. 19: YOU’RE IN MY HEART – ROD STEWART (16) - This song did not quite make it to the top of the Hot 100, but it would become his second #1 on R&R - an exception to the rule of thumb about the Bee Gees/Saturday Night Fever/RSO label that I mentioned earlier. 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. 18: THUNDER ISLAND – JAY FERGUSON (19) - 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. 17: WHAT’S YOUR NAME – LYNYRD SKYNYRD (18) - 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. 16: NAME OF THE GAME - ABBA (22) - I really liked many songs from Abba, but this wasn't one of them. One of my least favorite songs from them. 15: BABY COME BACK - PLAYER (9) - 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 (It was on the RSO label, though, so that may have helped). 14: SHORT PEOPLE – RANDY NEWMAN (8) - Of course, it's pretty common knowledge that this song's meaning was misinterpreted, with many people thinking that it was poking fun at people who were short, but at the bridge, he says that short people are just the same as everyone else. I thought it was a great song. OPTIONAL EXTRA: BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO – NEIL SEDAKA - Another song that was originally a countdown extra. This was the slow version of the song that charted in early 1976. I guess you could call it a guilty pleasure, as I like it, though some people I know hate it with a passion. 13: THEME FROM CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND – JOHN WILLIAMS (14) - See my comment for song #25. 12: PEG – STEELY DAN (13) - As usual, 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! 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. 11: I GO CRAZY – PAUL DAVIS (13) - Casey mentioned that this song never moved up more than three spots per week ever since it hit the Top 40. That, of course, would be instrumental in the song breaking the record for the longest stay on the Hot 100 - an even 40 weeks. 10: HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE – THE BEE GEES (10) - And this song had tenacity as well. This week, it tied “I Just Want To Be Your Everything” by brother Andy Gibb for the song with the most weeks in the Top Ten (and the week after, it spent one more week at #10 to beat the record). As for my opinion of this song, it’s great - one of their best. 9: LAY DOWN SALLY – ERIC CLAPTON (11) - One of several Clapton songs featuring Marcy Levy (the co-writer of this song) on backup vocals. It was a good song, though I prefer several other songs by him. But hey, as long as it isn’t the grossly overplayed “Change The World”... 8: NIGHT FEVER – THE BEE GEES (17) - This was the biggest jump on this week's chart, and, given who sang the song, it's no surprise. This song put the Bee Gees in a tie with Elton John for the most #1 hits during the 1970s - six in all, half of which were in the Top Ten this week. Of course, they would pull into first place in 1979, as they scored with three more #1 hits, while Elton was done hitting #1 for now. As for my opinion of the two above songs, I preferred "Stayin' Alive" over this song, which was still a pretty good one as well. 7: WE ARE THE CHAMPION - QUEEN (4) - 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! 6: DANCE, DANCE, DANCE, YOWSAH, YOWSAH - CHIC (7) - 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. 5: EMOTION – SAMANTHA SANG (6) - Very interesting (and scary) story about the wasp that flew into her mouth! Thankfully, it flew back out a few seconds later without stinging her. This was Samantha's only Top 40 hit, and I have a feeling that the fact that the Bee Gees had a hand in this one (especially Barry Gibb's backing vocal) was instrumental in how well it did. It was a good song. 4: SOMETIMES WHEN WE TOUCH – DAN HILL (5) - This man 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. 3: JUST THE WAY YOU ARE – BILLY JOEL (3) - 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). OPTIONAL EXTRA: BABY HOLD ON - EDDIE MONEY - The only current song that was used as an Optional Extra this week. It was the first of many Top 40 hits for "The Money Man". It was a great song, IMO - one of my favorites from him! 2: LOVE IS THICKER THAN WATER – ANDY GIBB (2) - 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". 1: STAYIN’ ALIVE – THE BEE GEES (1) - They were indeed on fire at this point! As well as being #1 this week, they had recently come off of a #1 hit and they had a future #1 on its way up - and all three songs were in the Top Ten. This was my second favorite song from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack behind "How Deep Is Your Love".
Coming up next week: I, along with many others, I'm sure, are predicting that they'll be playing the March 3, 1973 show - the first "new show" of 2018 (as all Casey-hosted regular weekly shows have already been played). In that case, it will most likely be a standalone show.
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Post by Hervard on Mar 10, 2018 13:46:03 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - March 10, 2018 This week's presentation - March 10, 1979 DROPPERS: YOU MAKE ME FEEL MIGHTY REAL - SYLVESTER (36) - I wonder if Tweety Pie had any songs out around this time? (Hey - it's possible - (Speedy) Gonzalez, another Looney Tune, is in the countdown a little later on). SOUL MAN - THE BLUES BROTHERS (34) - Their two biggest remakes that charted have several things in common; they both peaked in the top 20 and the week after they spent their last week at the peak, they both fell 20 spots. Anyway, this song wasn't bad, but I preferred the other remake ("Gimme Some Lovin'), which charted the following year. SHAKE IT - IAN MATTHEWS (33) - 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. STORMY - SANTANA (32) - The first of at least two covers originally done by the Classics IV that hit the chart in 1979 (the other would be Atlanta Rhythm Section's remake of "Spooky"). I liked this version of "Stormy" - not sure if I prefer it or the original. LW#3: I WILL SURVIVE – GLORIA GAYNOR LW#2: FIRE - THE POINTER SISTERS LW#1: DO YOU THINK I'M SEXY - ROD STEWART 40: THE CHASE - (THEME FROM "MIDNIGHT EXPRESS") - GEORGIO MARODER (debut) - The only Top 40 hit for this Italian music producer. It was a pretty good song. 39: I WANT YOUR LOVE - CHIC (debut) - The follow-up to their monster smash, "Le Freak" which became the top song of the disco era, according to AT40's disco special aired that summer (and was still on the chart this week, continuing to live up to that honor). I'm not generally a big fan of them, but I actually liked this song. 38: HE'S THE GREATEST DANCER - SISTER SLEDGE (debut) - A very jiggy song! Not sure if I prefer this or "We Are Family". LDD: TIME IN A BOTTLE – JIM CROCE - This one has gotten a "No. Just no" in the past, but I guess it's not that bad - it's just far from being my favorite Jim Croce song. 37: LIVIN' IT UP (FRIDAY NIGHT) - BELL & JAMES (debut) - An ideal song for the weekend! 36: TOO MUCH HEAVEN - THE BEE GEES (35) - They were indeed in the midst of a #1 streak at the time. I personally preferred "Tragedy", as well as "Love You Inside Out". 35: EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE - EDDIE RABBITT (39) - I remember seeing this movie about 20 years ago and thought it was pretty good. As for the song, it's not bad, but definitely not Rabbitt's best hit ever. 34: I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S RIGHT - EVELYN "CHAMPAGNE" KING (38) - The second of four Top 40 hits for this singer from the Bronx. It was pretty good, but my favorite song from her would be "Love Come Down". ARCHIVE: YOU’RE SO VAIN – CARLY SIMON - As surprising as it may seem, what with all of her chart hits, this song, which featured Mick Jagger on back-up vocals was her only #1. It was pretty good, but definitely not her best song. This song was played as the first Optional Extra. 33: MAYBE I'M A FOOL - EDDIE MONEY (37) - The only Top 40 hit from Money's sophomore album Life For The Taking, but a great song it was! One of his all-time best! 32: SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT - BARRY MANILOW (31) - Wow! Any other time, a song that drops more than 20 spots at this point in the chart, it would drop out the next week, but this song, which fell 9-31 the week before only slips a single spot. Anyway, as we all know, I like most of Manilow's slow songs, this one included although it's definitely not his best. 31: I WAS MADE FOR DANCING - LEIF GARRETT (26) - Another song that took a hefty fall the week before and drops more slowly, though not quite as dramatic as the difference in the chart run of the Barry Manilow song. This song wasn't bad, but I preferred his two remakes from 1977. Wasn't this used in a TV commercial back in the day? 30: MUSIC BOX DANCER - FRANK MILLS (40) - Interesting story about how the record company goofed and inadvertently sent it to a rock station. If not for that, this song would have never seen the light of day. I heard this song constantly back in 1979 and thought my parents had the radio tuned into the easy listening station. It wasn't until over ten years later when one of my fellow HS choir members was playing it on the piano and I casually asked what it was. When he told me the title, I recognized the title as being a Top 40 hit. I liked this song - the high piano notes indeed make it sound like a music box being set to disco. 29: SONG ON THE RADIO - AL STEWART (29) - This song definitely bears resemblance to Carole King's Jazzman. It's a great song, though I slightly preferred "Time Passages". 28: BLUE MORNING, BLUE DAY - FOREIGNER (15) - The third and final single from Double Vision, as well as my favorite. 27: NO TELL LOVER – CHICAGO (14) - Sort of a childish sounding title, but it apparently worked, as the song did well on the chart. Did even better on the AC chart, where it hit the Top Five. I like the song, but it's definitely not their best. 26: HAVEN'T STOPPED DANCING YET - GONZALEZ (27) - Meh, just another disco tune... 25: STUMBLIN' IN - SUZI QUATRO & CHRIS NORMAN (30) - Pretty much your typical MOR type hit. It was a good one, though nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. 24: FOREVER IN BLUE JEANS - NEIL DIAMOND (28) -This was a good song, but it sure didn't last long on the chart, did it? It climbed to #20 and then dropped off the week after it peaked! Perhaps the Top 40 audience was still down on him for doing that awful duet with Barbra Streisand. 23: CRAZY LOVE – POCO (25) - One of two songs that they charted with in 1979. I like both about the same, but neither of them hold a candle to "Nothin' To Hide" - by far my favorite Poco song. 22: KNOCK ON WOOD - AMII STEWART (24) - After taking a large, fourteen-spot jump the week before, the song makes a more modest move to #14. Not one of my personal favorites, but a disco classic that has stood the test of time. ARCHIVE: SUPERSTITION – STEVIE WONDER - This song is one of Wonder's songs that gets the most recurrent airplay. I guess it was demoted to Optional status so they wouldn't have to edit down many countdown songs. As for the song, it's OK, but definitely not one of my favorites from him. 21: BIG SHOT - BILLY JOEL (23) - Like "Knock On Wood", the song had made a huge jump the week before (debuting in the Top 40), but only moved up two this week. It looked like this might be a big Top Five like "My Life", but the song only got as high as #14 and spent only six weeks in the Top 40. His next hit, "Honesty" hit a similar brick wall a few months later. Indeed, 52nd Street was a huge seller, but was definitely not his best singles album. 20: I JUST FALL IN LOVE AGAIN - ANNE MURRAY (22) - 1979 was definitely her heyday, as she had three Top 40 singles that year, and bookended the year with two others. This was possibly the best of the bunch, though "Shadows In The Moonlight" would be a close second. 19: LADY - THE LITTLE RIVER BAND (21) - As you probably know all too well, this is my all-time favorite song from them! I prefer the album version, which, in some AT40 rebroadcasts, is edited in, but not this week; the chopped down single version that leaves a lot to be desired was featured. LDD: I JUST WANT TO STOP – GINO VANELLI - This song was indeed fitting for the dedication, as it mentions Montreal, where the author and her ex-boyfriend spent time together on a school trip. 18: DANCIN' SHOES - NIGEL OLSSON (18) - With such a title, one would expect an upbeat, disco song, but this one is a slow dance song. I liked it. 17: THE GAMBLER - KENNY ROGERS (16) - I used to like this song, but that annoying Geico ad from a few years ago that used this song has actually dimmed my fascination for this song. 16: EVERY TIME I THINK OF YOU - THE BABYS (19) - They had two Top 20 hits on the Hot 100, and this is my favorite of the two (though "Isn't It Time" is also a great one). 15: WHAT YOU WON'T DO FOR LOVE - BOBBY CALDWELL (20) - Interesting story about how his recording career got started. Anyway, this was his only Top 40 hit, but he had a handful of other AC and smooth jazz hits. This song was covered by Go West in 1993, but I preferred this version. 14: DON'T CRY OUT LOUD - MELISSA MANCHESTER (17) - Her second of three Top Ten hits. This one is my favorite of those, though her first, "Midnight Blue" is a great one as well. 13: GOT TO BE REAL - CHERYL LYNN (12) - A song that was apparently inspired by "Best Of My Love" by the Emotions, since the bass line sounded similar. This was a pretty good song - was sampled twelve years later in Father MC's "I'll Do 4 U". 12: LOTTA LOVE - NICOLETTE LARSON (9) - I have only heard three songs by her (four, if you count the song “Make A Little Magic” by the Dirt Band, on which she sang back-up), but I like all of them, including this one, which was probably my favorite. A great song indeed - sort of a blend of disco and MOR Pop. ARCHIVE: CROCODILE ROCK – ELTON JOHN - Now this one was left in the broadcast. It used to be one of my favorite Elton John songs when I was real little, but now I think it's a little corny, especially the "la la la" chorus. I generally change the station when this song comes on. My question, however, is why Suzy left him for some four-inch guy? OPTIONAL EXTRA: LOVE IS THE ANSWER - ENGLAND DAN & JOHN FORD COLEY - Sadly, this was their final Top 40 hit. Too bad, as all of their hits were great IMO, this one included. I always thought the message in this song was inspirational, so it was no surprise when Christian singer Cindy Morgan did a (great!) cover of this song about twenty years later. 11: LE FREAK - CHIC (7) - After spending fifteen weeks in the Top Ten, this song spends its first week in the teens (as it skipped over that zone on the way up with its 37-6 move). This song was way overplayed, but it was indeed a disco classic. 10: SULTANS OF SWING - DIRE STRAITS (13) - Their heyday was definitely the mid-80s, but their first hit was actually a few years earlier. Of their charted hits, this would be my favorite. I remember listening to their self-titled album all the time back in the day (in fact, I think the lyrics sheet still has my dirty fingerprints on it). 9: Y.M.C.A. - THE VILLAGE PEOPLE (8) - As I've said before, I used to like this song, but it, along with the popular dance to it, got run into the ground big time. Now I generally reach for the station tuner when it comes on - except for on countdown shows, of course 8: WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES - THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (10) - Wow, this chart contains several songs that made huge moves the week before, but step up two places this week. In fact, no songs above #24 move anymore than three spots. A competitive chart indeed! Anyway, this song went to #1 about a month later - and deservedly so, as it was my favorite song from them. Another good thing - the song was left intact this week (as they sometimes cut the second verse of the song). 7: SHAKE YOUR GROOVE THING - PEACHES & HERB (11) - Wups - I guess there is a song moving up more than three spots in the Top 20. Anyway, this was a comeback hit, as they 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! 6: A LITTLE MORE LOVE - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (5) - She just came off of a great year, with three Top Five hits, all from the movie Grease, in which she starred with John Travolta, and started off 1979 quite well also, with another Top Five hit - one of her best! 5: HEAVEN KNOWS - DONNA SUMMER & BROOKLYN DREAMS (6) - As I've said before, "Love Never Felt So Good" by Justin Timberlake & Michael Jackson sounded a lot like this song, which was possibly my favorite of Donna Summer's many 1979 hits. 4: FIRE - THE POINTER SISTERS (2) - Bruce Springsteen had only had two Top 40 hits at this point, but he wrote many songs for other artists, like this song. It was a great one - one of my favorite songs by the Pointer Sisters. 3: TRAGEDY - THE BEE GEES (4) - This song was definitely on its way to the top, as it was in only its fifth week on the entire Hot 100 with one of their best hits ever, IMO! OPTIONAL EXTRA: BLOW AWAY - GEORGE HARRISON - Larry mentioned the song's peaks in other record chart magazines. It appears that R&R is the only one in which it hit the Top Ten (peaked at #4 there). I guess more people bought Harrison's self-titled album, from which this was the only Top 40 hit. It was a great one, though - among my favorite songs from Harrison. 2: DO YOU THINK I'M SEXY - ROD STEWART (1) - This song, still #1 on the disco chart this week, had just completed a four-week run at #1. It's not a bad song, but I'll never forgive it for beating out "What A Fool Believes" for R&R's top song of 1979! 1: I WILL SURVIVE - GLORIA GAYNOR (3) - The anthem for abused women was in its first of three non-consecutive weeks at #1 (she was nice enough to let the Bee Gees in for two weeks). This one used to be so/so, but now is one of my favorite disco hits ever! Coming up next week: 1976 would be ideal, but it would have to be the March 13 show, as March 20 was featured just last year. 1977 is also possible, even though the 3/19 show, which would fit next weekend, was played just two weeks ago. I just hope that they play the April 16 show, which would be a "new" show, but after going so light on 1977 last year, it would make sense to play a few more 1977 shows this year, so going with both 3/19 and 4/16 wouldn't be out of the question. It's getting to be about time for a 1972 show, so they could do the 3/18/72 show next week with one of the aforementioned 1976/1977 shows as back-up.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Mar 11, 2018 0:47:03 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - March 10, 2018 This week's presentation - March 10, 1979 DROPPERS: YOU MAKE ME FEEL MIGHTY REAL - SYLVESTER (36) - I wonder if Tweety Pie had any songs out around this time? (Hey - it's possible - (Speedy) Gonzalez, another Looney Tune, is in the countdown a little later on). Yeah, this was pretty good - likely my favourite from him. SOUL MAN - THE BLUES BROTHERS (34) - Their two biggest remakes that charted have several things in common; they both peaked in the top 20 and the week after they spent their last week at the peak, they both fell 20 spots. Anyway, this song wasn't bad, but I preferred the other remake ("Gimme Some Lovin'), which charted the following year. Great song! For a comedy duo in the top 40, they did a good job remaking soul classics like this. SHAKE IT - IAN MATTHEWS (33) - 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. Yeah this was a nice one. STORMY - SANTANA (32) - The first of at least two covers originally done by the Classics IV that hit the chart in 1979 (the other would be Atlanta Rhythm Section's remake of "Spooky"). I liked this version of "Stormy" - not sure if I prefer it or the original. As much as I like Santana... wtf did this sound like again? LW#3: I WILL SURVIVE – GLORIA GAYNOR LW#2: FIRE - THE POINTER SISTERS LW#1: DO YOU THINK I'M SEXY - ROD STEWART 40: THE CHASE - (THEME FROM "MIDNIGHT EXPRESS") - GEORGIO MARODER (debut) - The only Top 40 hit for this Italian music producer. It was a pretty good song. This was a nice disco instrumental, glad he had a hit as an artist with all his produced stuff doing so well. 39: I WANT YOUR LOVE - CHIC (debut) - The follow-up to their monster smash, "Le Freak" which became the top song of the disco era, according to AT40's disco special aired that summer (and was still on the chart this week, continuing to live up to that honor). I'm not generally a big fan of them, but I actually liked this song. Great song! Casey made such a big deal of a relatively new act having 2 songs in the chart. 38: HE'S THE GREATEST DANCER - SISTER SLEDGE (debut) - A very jiggy song! Not sure if I prefer this or "We Are Family". Yeah both are great! LDD: TIME IN A BOTTLE – JIM CROCE - This one has gotten a "No. Just no" in the past, but I guess it's not that bad - it's just far from being my favorite Jim Croce song. Such a sad song, but very fitting for the LDD. 37: LIVIN' IT UP (FRIDAY NIGHT) - BELL & JAMES (debut) - An ideal song for the weekend! Typical faceless disco here, I like it. 36: TOO MUCH HEAVEN - THE BEE GEES (35) - They were indeed in the midst of a #1 streak at the time. I personally preferred "Tragedy", as well as "Love You Inside Out". Great song! Indeed - the fourth of 6 #1's they had! 35: EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE - EDDIE RABBITT (39) - I remember seeing this movie about 20 years ago and thought it was pretty good. As for the song, it's not bad, but definitely not Rabbitt's best hit ever. This was ok but I prefer all of his other hits. 34: I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S RIGHT - EVELYN "CHAMPAGNE" KING (38) - The second of four Top 40 hits for this singer from the Bronx. It was pretty good, but my favorite song from her would be "Love Come Down". Yeah, this was a good one, like most of her stuff. ARCHIVE: YOU’RE SO VAIN – CARLY SIMON - As surprising as it may seem, what with all of her chart hits, this song, which featured Mick Jagger on back-up vocals was her only #1. It was pretty good, but definitely not her best song. This song was played as the first Optional Extra. Great song! One that has held up very well as it still sounds fantastic today! 33: MAYBE I'M A FOOL - EDDIE MONEY (37) - The only Top 40 hit from Money's sophomore album Life For The Taking, but a great song it was! One of his all-time best! Yeah I like this one but prefer most of his other hits. 32: SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT - BARRY MANILOW (31) - Wow! Any other time, a song that drops more than 20 spots at this point in the chart, it would drop out the next week, but this song, which fell 9-31 the week before only slips a single spot. Anyway, as we all know, I like most of Manilow's slow songs, this one included although it's definitely not his best. Meh, not a fan of this one, but at least it's better than the Helen Not-Reddy version! 31: I WAS MADE FOR DANCING - LEIF GARRETT (26) - Another song that took a hefty fall the week before and drops more slowly, though not quite as dramatic as the difference in the chart run of the Barry Manilow song. This song wasn't bad, but I preferred his two remakes from 1977. Wasn't this used in a TV commercial back in the day? My favourite from him - probably because it was an original and not a karaoke remake. 30: MUSIC BOX DANCER - FRANK MILLS (40) - Interesting story about how the record company goofed and inadvertently sent it to a rock station. If not for that, this song would have never seen the light of day. I heard this song constantly back in 1979 and thought my parents had the radio tuned into the easy listening station. It wasn't until over ten years later when one of my fellow HS choir members was playing it on the piano and I casually asked what it was. When he told me the title, I recognized the title as being a Top 40 hit. I liked this song - the high piano notes indeed make it sound like a music box being set to disco. Not only that, but this was the B-side sent out! Good song - nice piano instrumental. 29: SONG ON THE RADIO - AL STEWART (29) - This song definitely bears resemblance to Carole King's Jazzman. It's a great song, though I slightly preferred "Time Passages". Yeah I prefer his first 2 hits as well but this is good too. 28: BLUE MORNING, BLUE DAY - FOREIGNER (15) - The third and final single from Double Vision, as well as my favorite. I like this but prefer the other two hits from this album. 27: NO TELL LOVER – CHICAGO (14) - Sort of a childish sounding title, but it apparently worked, as the song did well on the chart. Did even better on the AC chart, where it hit the Top Five. I like the song, but it's definitely not their best. Great song - one of their most underrated! 26: HAVEN'T STOPPED DANCING YET - GONZALEZ (27) - Meh, just another disco tune... Another nice faceless disco tune here. 25: STUMBLIN' IN - SUZI QUATRO & CHRIS NORMAN (30) - Pretty much your typical MOR type hit. It was a good one, though nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. Great song! 24: FOREVER IN BLUE JEANS - NEIL DIAMOND (28) -This was a good song, but it sure didn't last long on the chart, did it? It climbed to #20 and then dropped off the week after it peaked! Perhaps the Top 40 audience was still down on him for doing that awful duet with Barbra Streisand. Ironically, this seems to be one of his most enduring songs as I still hear it from time to time! Great song - one of his best. 23: CRAZY LOVE – POCO (25) - One of two songs that they charted with in 1979. I like both about the same, but neither of them hold a candle to "Nothin' To Hide" - by far my favorite Poco song. Great song, but I'd say my favourite is either this or "Call It Love". 22: KNOCK ON WOOD - AMII STEWART (24) - After taking a large, fourteen-spot jump the week before, the song makes a more modest move to #14. Not one of my personal favorites, but a disco classic that has stood the test of time. Great song! Despite there being several past recordings of this (most notably Eddie Floyd), this disco version is the one I'm most familiar with. ARCHIVE: SUPERSTITION – STEVIE WONDER - This song is one of Wonder's songs that gets the most recurrent airplay. I guess it was demoted to Optional status so they wouldn't have to edit down many countdown songs. As for the song, it's OK, but definitely not one of my favorites from him. Great song - one of his best! 21: BIG SHOT - BILLY JOEL (23) - Like "Knock On Wood", the song had made a huge jump the week before (debuting in the Top 40), but only moved up two this week. It looked like this might be a big Top Five like "My Life", but the song only got as high as #14 and spent only six weeks in the Top 40. His next hit, "Honesty" hit a similar brick wall a few months later. Indeed, 52nd Street was a huge seller, but was definitely not his best singles album. Great song! Indeed he had the #1 album of 1979. 20: I JUST FALL IN LOVE AGAIN - ANNE MURRAY (22) - 1979 was definitely her heyday, as she had three Top 40 singles that year, and bookended the year with two others. This was possibly the best of the bunch, though "Shadows In The Moonlight" would be a close second. Great song! Definitely one of my favourites from her. 19: LADY - THE LITTLE RIVER BAND (21) - As you probably know all too well, this is my all-time favorite song from them! I prefer the album version, which, in some AT40 rebroadcasts, is edited in, but not this week; the chopped down single version that leaves a lot to be desired was featured. I really like this one but prefer a few others from them. LDD: I JUST WANT TO STOP – GINO VANELLI - This song was indeed fitting for the dedication, as it mentions Montreal, where the author and her ex-boyfriend spent time together on a school trip. Agreed - great song, and very appropriate! 18: DANCIN' SHOES - NIGEL OLSSON (18) - With such a title, one would expect an upbeat, disco song, but this one is a slow dance song. I liked it. This wasn't bad but yeah, the title is very misleading! 17: THE GAMBLER - KENNY ROGERS (16) - I used to like this song, but that annoying Geico ad from a few years ago that used this song has actually dimmed my fascination for this song. As you may know, I'm not normally a Kenny Rogers fan, but I actually really like this one, due to sentimental value, and also as it's one of a few of his songs that still get played outside of country. 16: EVERY TIME I THINK OF YOU - THE BABYS (19) - I used to like this song, but that annoying Geico ad that used this song has actually dimmed my fascination for this song. Great song - I like all of their big hits about the same. 15: WHAT YOU WON'T DO FOR LOVE - BOBBY CALDWELL (20) - Interesting story about how his recording career got started. Anyway, this was his only Top 40 hit, but he had a handful of other AC and smooth jazz hits. This song was covered by Go West in 1993, but I preferred this version. I like this one, definitely prefer it over the remake. 14: DON'T CRY OUT LOUD - MELISSA MANCHESTER (17) - Her second of three Top Ten hits. This one is my favorite of those, though her first, "Midnight Blue" is a great one as well. I like this one too but I actually prefer her 1982 hit. 13: GOT TO BE REAL - CHERYL LYNN (12) - A song that was apparently inspired by "Best Of My Love" by the Emotions, since the bass line sounded similar. This was a pretty good song - was sampled twelve years later in Father MC's "I'll Do 4 U". Agreed- great song! 12: LOTTA LOVE - NICOLETTE LARSON (9) - I have only heard three songs by her (four, if you count the song “Make A Little Magic” by the Dirt Band, on which she sang back-up), but I like all of them, including this one, which was probably my favorite. A great song indeed - sort of a blend of disco and MOR Pop. Great song! She was quite underrated. ARCHIVE: CROCODILE ROCK – ELTON JOHN - Now this one was left in the broadcast. It used to be one of my favorite Elton John songs when I was real little, but now I think it's a little corny, especially the "la la la" chorus. I generally change the station when this song comes on. My question, however, is why Suzy left him for some four-inch guy? Great song - still one of my favourites from him! OPTIONAL EXTRA: LOVE IS THE ANSWER - ENGLAND DAN & JOHN FORD COLEY - Sadly, this was their final Top 40 hit. Too bad, as all of their hits were great IMO, this one included. I always thought the message in this song was inspirational, so it was no surprise when Christian singer Cindy Morgan did a (great!) cover of this song about twenty years later. Yeah this was a great one, like most of their stuff. 11: LE FREAK - CHIC (7) - After spending fifteen weeks in the Top Ten, this song spends its first week in the teens (as it skipped over that zone on the way up with its 37-6 move). This song was way overplayed, but it was indeed a disco classic. Great song! One of their best! 10: SULTANS OF SWING - DIRE STRAITS (13) - Their heyday was definitely the mid-80s, but their first hit was actually a few years earlier. Of their charted hits, this would be my favorite. I remember listening to their self-titled album all the time back in the day (in fact, I think the lyrics sheet still has my dirty fingerprints on it). I prefer their "Brothers In Arms" hits but this was great too. 9: Y.M.C.A. - THE VILLAGE PEOPLE (8) - As I've said before, I used to like this song, but it, along with the popular dance to it, got run into the ground big time. Now I generally reach for the station tuner when it comes on - except for on countdown shows, of course Great song - a disco classic! 8: WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES - THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (10) - Wow, this chart contains several songs that made huge moves the week before, but step up two places this week. In fact, no songs above #24 move anymore than three spots. A competitive chart indeed! Anyway, this song went to #1 about a month later - and deservedly so, as it was my favorite song from them. Another good thing - the song was left intact this week (as they sometimes cut the second verse of the song). Great song - definitely one of their best! 7: SHAKE YOUR GROOVE THING - PEACHES & HERB (11) - Wups - I guess there is a song moving up more than three spots in the Top 20. Anyway, this was a comeback hit, as they 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! I've never heard any of their 60's stuff but I really like both of their 1979 hits. 6: A LITTLE MORE LOVE - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (5) - She just came off of a great year, with three Top Five hits, all from the movie Grease, in which she starred with John Travolta, and started off 1979 quite well also, with another Top Five hit - one of her best! Great song - she was totally hot at this time, with one hit after another! 5: HEAVEN KNOWS - DONNA SUMMER & BROOKLYN DREAMS (6) - As I've said before, "Love Never Felt So Good" by Justin Timberlake & Michael Jackson sounded a lot like this song, which was possibly my favorite of Donna Summer's many 1979 hits. Great song - she could do no wrong in 1979! 4: FIRE - THE POINTER SISTERS (2) - Bruce Springsteen had only had two Top 40 hits at this point, but he wrote many songs for other artists, like this song. It was a great one - one of my favorite songs by the Pointer Sisters. Agreed - great song! 3: TRAGEDY - THE BEE GEES (4) - This song was definitely on its way to the top, as it was in only its fifth week on the entire Hot 100 with one of their best hits ever, IMO! Agreed, one of their absolute best, especially the thunder part! OPTIONAL EXTRA: BLOW AWAY - GEORGE HARRISON - Larry mentioned the song's peaks in other record chart magazines. It appears that R&R is the only one in which it hit the Top Ten (peaked at #4 there). I guess more people bought Harrison's self-titled album, from which this was the only Top 40 hit. It was a great one, though - among my favorite songs from Harrison. Yeah I like this but prefer several others from him. 2: DO YOU THINK I'M SEXY - ROD STEWART (1) - This song, still #1 on the disco chart this week, had just completed a four-week run at #1. It's not a bad song, but I'll never forgive it for beating out "What A Fool Believes" for R&R's top song of 1979! Great song, as cheesy as it is... might even be my favourite Rod Stewart song ever! 1: I WILL SURVIVE - GLORIA GAYNOR (3) - The anthem for abused women was in its first of three non-consecutive weeks at #1 (she was nice enough to let the Bee Gees in for two weeks). This one used to be so/so, but now is one of my favorite disco hits ever! One of THE ultimate songs for getting over a breakup! Great song - definitely worthy of being #1! Coming up next week: 1976 would be ideal, but it would have to be the March 13 show, as March 20 was featured just last year. 1977 is also possible, even though the 3/19 show, which would fit next weekend, was played just two weeks ago. I just hope that they play the April 16 show, which would be a "new" show, but after going so light on 1977 last year, it would make sense to play a few more 1977 shows this year, so going with both 3/19 and 4/16 wouldn't be out of the question. It's getting to be about time for a 1972 show, so they could do the 3/18/72 show next week with one of the aforementioned 1976/1977 shows as back-up. I wouldn't mind 1976 or 1977.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Mar 23, 2018 20:24:04 GMT -5
Oops, forgot to post last week's critique! Thankfully I can recycle my commentary for it. March 19, 1977Falling off: Rose Royce - Car Wash (38) - great song! Stevie Wonder - I Wish (32) - great song! Also a deserving #1 Elton John - Bite Your Lip (Get Up And Dance) (28) - I like him, but wtf did this sound like again? Smokie - Living Next Door To Alice (25) - good song 40. Rose Royce - I Wanna Get Next To You (debut) - it's ok, but I prefer their dropper 39. Silvetti - Spring Rain (debut) - not bad, a pretty nice instrumental 38. John Travolta - All Strung Out On You (debut) - it's ok but I prefer him in Grease 37. Boz Scaggs - Lido Shuffle (debut) - great song! Likely my favourite from him 36. The Jacksons - Enjoy Yourself (23) - great song! 35. Rufus & Chaka Khan - At Midnight (39) - I like this but prefer others from them 34. Wilton Place Street Band - Disco Lucy (37) - a bit odd, but I don't mind this 33. William Bell - Trying To Love Two (40) - it's ok 32. Enchantment - Gloria (36) - meh, this was boring 31. Barry Manilow - Weekend In New England (18) - No. Just no. 30. Deniece Williams - Free (34) - it's ok 29. Rod Stewart - The First Cut Is The Deepest (31) - good song, but I prefer Sheryl Crow's version 28. Electric Light Orchestra - Do Ya (33) - it's ok, but they've had better 27. Eagles - New Kid In Town (14) - great song! 26. Al Stewart - Year Of The Cat (8) - also a great song! 25. Jennifer Warnes - Right Time Of The Night (29) - this was pretty good too, but I prefer her 80's movie duets 24. Olivia Newton-John - Sam (26) - see my comment for her Grease co-star earlier in the show, it applies here too Extra: Diana Ross - Love Hangover - great song, one of her best! 23. Jackson Browne - Here Come Those Tears Again (27) - I like this but prefer others from him 22. Boston - Long Time (22) - great song! 21. Glen Campbell - Southern Nights (30) - also a great song! 20. George Harrison - Crackerbox Palace (24) - I like this but prefer others from him 19. Eagles - Hotel California (35) - great song! One of my favourites of the 70's 18. Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Blinded By The Light (5) - great song, with one of the best misheard lyrics ever 17. Tom Jones - Say You'll Stay Until Tomorrow (19) - meh, I usually like him but this wasn't one of his best 16. Atlanta Rhythm Section - So Into You (21) - good song! 15. Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son (16) - great song, deservingly still gets airplay 14. Natalie Cole - I've Got Love On My Mind (20) - I like this but prefer others from her 13. Wings - Maybe I'm Amazed (15) - great song, one of their best! 12. Bee Gees - Boogie Child (12) - this was ok, but they had better 11. 10cc - The Things We Do For Love (13) - great song! 10. Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way (10) - also a great song, one of the best of the 70's! 9. Thelma Houston - Don't Leave Me This Way (11) - great song! A true disco classic 8. David Soul - Don't Give Up On Us (17) - I like this one, though for a #1 it's rather obscure. 7. Mary MacGregor - Torn Between Two Lovers (7) - No. Just no. 6. Kenny Nolan - I Like Dreamin' (3) - I like this but prefer his stuff he wrote for other artists 5. ABBA - Dancing Queen (6) - great song! Glad this would hit #1 4. Bob Seger - Night Moves (4) - great song, possibly my favourite from him 3. Hall & Oates - Rich Girl (9) - great song, even if they got better in the 80's 2. Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle (2) - great song, but I prefer Seal's version 1. Barbra Streisand - Love Theme From A Star Is Born (Evergreen) (1) - all that for THIS borefest at #1? Easily one of her most boring songs ever, how the hell did this hit #1? I'd rant more, but I'll leave the rest of the Streisand ranting to JessieLou. Chicago update: Flopping with "You Are On My Mind", which entered the Hot 100 3 weeks later. Prediction for next week: Check the next post.
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Post by FreakyFlyBry on Mar 23, 2018 20:25:11 GMT -5
..and now for this week's, once again, recycled commentary! March 22, 1975Falling off: Ohio Players - Fire (39) - great song, very funky David Gates - Never Let Her Go (34) - wtf did this sound like again? Bad Company - Movin' On (33) - I liked this Dan Fogelberg - Part Of The Plan (31) - wtf did this sound like again Maria Muldaur - I'm A Woman (28) - meh, no big loss Bachman-Turner Overdrive - Roll On Down The Highway (26) - great song! One of their best Average White Band - Pick Up The Pieces (21) - great song! 40. C.W. McCall - Wolf Creek Pass (debut) - ok, so... WTF was this? Do all of his songs sound like "Convoy" or what? 39. Ozark Mountain Daredevils - Jackie Blue (debut) - good song, even if he sounds like a woman. 38. Elvis Presley - My Boy (20) - I like this but prefer his 50's and 60's classics 37. Al Martino - To The Door Of The Sun (17) - No. Just no. What was a geezer like this doing on the charts in 1975 anyway? 36. Jimmy Castor Bunch - The Bertha Butt Boogie (debut) - EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW OMG seriously, this was absolutely terrible. I thought I'd heard some awful 70's songs, but this was so bad I knew it would suck from the title alone! Easily the worst "song" on the chart, and one of the worst pieces of sh*t of all time. 35. Leo Sayer - Long Tall Glasses (debut) - not bad, but he's had better 34. Al Green - L-O-V-E (debut) - I like this, even if all his songs sound the same 33. Barry White - What Am I Gonna Do With You (debut) - see comment for Al Green 32. Love Unlimited Orchestra - Satin Soul (40) - not bad but "Love's Theme" was better 31. Earth, Wind & Fire - Shining Star (debut) - great song! One of their best Extra: The Beatles - Eight Days A Week - great song, though they had better 30. Fanny - Butter Boy (36) - it's ok 29. Charlie Daniels Band - The South's Gonna Do It (37) - meh, they had better 28. The Blackbyrds - Walking In Rhythm (38) - it's ok 27. America - Lonely People (7) - great song! 26. Freddy Fender - Before The Next Teardrop Falls (32) - No. Just no. 25. Polly Brown - Up In A Puff Of Smoke (16) - it's ok 24. Ben E. King - Supernatural Thing (30) - good song, though I prefer "Stand By Me" 23. Hot Chocolate - Emma (29) - good song though I prefer "You Sexy Thing" 22. Helen Reddy - Emotion (25) - No. Just no. 21. Chicago - Harry Truman (27) - good song! Interesting to hear them do a political song 20. Sammy Johns - Chevy Van (24) - good song! 19. The Eagles - Best Of My Love (13) - great song, one of their best! 18. Electric Light Orchestra - Can't Get It Out Of My Head (9) - good song, but they've had better 17. Rufus & Chaka Khan - Once You Get Started (23) - I like this but prefer others from them 16. B.J. Thomas - (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song (22) - it's ok 15. Jackson 5 - I Am Love (19) - good song, but not their best 14. Sweet Sensation - Sad Sweet Dreamer (18) - it's ok 13. Shirley & Company - Shame, Shame, Shame (15) - it's ok 12. Styx - Lady (6) - great song! 11. Elton John - Philadelphia Freedom (35) - great song! Casey mentioned that he was the only artist up to that point to have a multiple-week #1 in 1985 and said this might do it... well, it did and deservingly so! One of the best on the chart! 10. Sugarloaf - Don't Call Us, We'll Call You (10) - good song! 9. Ringo Starr - No No Song (14) - I like this, especially due to the commercial a local electronics store has to this song's tune. 8. Phoebe Snow - Poetry Man (11) - I like this too 7. Joe Cocker - You Are So Beautiful (12) - great song! R.I.P. 6. B.T. Express - Express (8) - good song, but I prefer "Do It (Til You're Satisfied)" 5. Olivia Newton-John - Have You Never Been Mellow (4) - good song, but she's had better 4. Doobie Brothers - Black Water (1) - great song! One of the best on the chart 3. Minnie Riperton - Lovin' You (3) - great song! 2. LaBelle - Lady Marmalade (3) - great song! One of the best on the chart 1. Frankie Valli - My Eyes Adored You (2) - great song! A great way to bring back a 60's legend in the 70's Chicago update: They were #21. Prediction for next week: I'm hoping 1974.
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Post by Hervard on Apr 3, 2018 18:48:35 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - March 31, 2018
This week's presentation - April 3, 1976
DROPPERS: INSEPARABLE - NATALIE COLE (32) - I'll have to check this one on YouTube, since I don't remember this one at all. SLOW RIDE - FOGHAT (31) - As I've said many times before, this is a classic rock staple! I sort of remember this one from its chart run, though it wasn't really one of my favorites. 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER - PAUL SIMON (29) - Simon's first #1 hit after parting ways with Art Garfunkel (who, sadly, never hit #1 on his own). I liked this song, but preferred his next hit, the title track from his album Still Crazy After All These Years. THEME FROM S.W.A.T. - RHYTHM HERITAGE (28) - I'll bet JessieLou was glad that this song dropped out this week! 1976 was definitely the year for TV show themes on the chart, and this was indeed one of the biggest, topping the chart back in February. Kind of fitting that the song dropped out this week, seeing that the series finale of S.W.A.T. aired on this very day back in 1976! CUPID - TONY ORLANDO & DAWN (22) - One of three remakes of the Sam Cooke classic to hit the Top 40 - I don't believe I've ever heard the first one, which was by Johnny Nash. My favorite remake is by the Spinners, but this one isn't bad either.
This is going to be a building commentary over the weekend, as I'll be juggling my shows this weekend with Easter activities. But I WILL get it done.
40: HIT THE ROAD JACK – THE STAMPEDERS (debut) - A cover of the song made famous by Ray Charles. Not one of my favorite songs, so I wasn't disappointed that this ran out of gas here at #40. 39: SARA SMILE – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (debut) - Their very first Top 40 hit, and it sure got a lot of mileage, spending seventeen weeks in the Top 40, peaking at #4. It was pretty good, but definitely not their best. 38: WE CAN’T HIDE IT ANYMORE – LARRY SANTOS (debut) - Like the Stampeders song, this song didn't stay around for long, although it did get a little higher, peaking at #36 the following week. It was a good song that I've heard many times on my Barry Scott's Lost 45s CD. EXTRA: I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE – MARVIN GAYE - This song was played as the second Optional Extra, which sat on the shelf for about a year while Gladys Knight & The Pips. But the original version of the song, as if aging like fine wine being shelved for so long, became one of Motown's biggest hit ever, spending seven weeks at #1 as of mid-December, 1968. It was a good song - a true R&B classic! 37: FOPP – OHIO PLAYERS (40) - As we all know, I'm not a big fan of this type of music, although this song actually wasn't too bad. 36: HE’S A FRIEND – EDDIE KENDRICKS (38) - Formerly a member of the Temptations, he did have a few solo hits. This was the last time he'd see chart action until his collaboration with fellow Temptations member David Ruffin and Hall & Oates nearly ten years later. 35: LORELEI - STYX (39) - Here's a song I remember from its chart run! This song only got as high as #27, which was kind of a surprise, seeing that the station I listened to back then played this song regularly. I seem to recall that this song was sometimes edited, but they actually seem to have played the full song this time around. 34: SHANNON – HENRY GROSS (debut) - Ah, the song that would become the Dead Dog Dedication song nearly a decade later. Anyway, I liked this song a lot (and it's yet another one I remember from back in the day). 33: YOU’LL LOSE A GOOD THING – FREDDY FENDER (35) - Well, I do admit this is better than his 1975 hits, but it's still not quite one of my personal faves on this week's chart (due to his grating voice). 32: LOVE HURTS - NAZARETH (27) - The only Top 40 hit for this Scottish band formed in 1969. One of the best power ballads ever! 31: LIVIN’ FOR THE WEEKEND – O’JAYS (37) - A good TGIF type song. It wasn't bad, but definitely not as good as "Love Train" or "Use Ta Be My Girl". 30: LOVE FIRE - JIGSAW (33) - Generally considered a one-hit wonder, this English pop quartet did actually have a second hit. This song sounded a little like "Sky High" which I preferred over this one. 29: LOOKING FOR SPACE – JOHN DENVER (34) - I've been a huge John Denver fan pretty much all my life. Too bad we lost him at such a young age. This song was a great one - too bad it didn't get any higher than #29. 28: ONLY LOVE IS REAL – CAROLE KING (30) - Her fourth and final AC #1 hit only got as high as #28 on the Hot 100 as King was passé at that format at this point (she was done hitting the Top Ten). This was a good song - reminded me of "It's Too Late". 27: FOOLED AROUND AND FELL IN LOVE – ELVIS BISHOP (debut) - Today, this song might be credited to "Elvin Bishop featuring Mickey Thomas", as the latter was the one who did the singing. This is another one of my personal faves from 1976 (and, yes, I remember it from its chart run). 26: I DO, I DO, I DO, I DO - ABBA (36) - This wasn't bad, but it definitely was not their best. My favorite Abba songs would be "Dancing Queen" and "The Winner Takes It All" (but you already knew that, right?) 25: GOOD HEARTED WOMAN – WAYLON & WILLIE (26) - A song that was originally done solo by Waylon, which peaked at #3 on the country charts in 1972. This live recording made the Pop chart, peaking here at #25 (and would fall off the survey the following week). It was a pretty good song, but nothing special. 24: JUNK FOOD JUNKIE – LARRY GROCE (20) - This song was recorded at McCabes Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, which accounts for the laughing and cheering audience heard here and there throughout the song. Funny song, though I'm sure I'd get tired of it if I heard it all the time. 23: FANNY (BE TENDER WITH MY LOVE) – THE BEE GEES (12) - This song and their hit from later that year, "Love So Right" sounded a lot alike. I preferred the latter, but this was a good one as well. 22: LOVE MACHINE PART 1 – THE MIRACLES (21) - This song definitely got a lot of mileage on the chart. It was on for its 17th week and, with its slow descent (it held at #22 the next week and dropped to 26 the week after), it looked like it might make it an even 20, but there was a strong barrage of new hits on their way up and, this, in fact, was one of the lowest ranked songs on this week's countdown that would drop off the next week. As for my opinion of the song, it was pretty good, but I preferred their songs with Smokey Robinson. 21: ACTION – SWEET (23) - This song was pretty good, but sounded kind of like a 90s alternative rock song - sounded out of place on a 1976 show. 20: TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT – THE EAGLES (16) - The newest hit from their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 album. It was also my favorite from that album - a great song indeed! 19: ALL BY MYSELF – ERIC CARMEN (4) - Eric had been studying classical music at first, then he switched to rock, but he used both elements in this song, as the bridge used a piano concerto by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It was a good song - my second favorite song from him behind "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again", which charted later on in the year. 18: TANGERINE – THE SALSOUL ORCHESTRA (19) - The first of two Top 40 hits for this Philadelphia disco orchestra. It wasn't bad, but I preferred their second hit, "Nice And Naasty", which charted later on that year. 17: THERE’S A KIND OF HUSH (ALL OVER THE WORLD) – THE CARPENTERS (24) - A great rendition of the Herman's Hermits classic that peaked at #4 in 1967. This version did pretty well too, getting as high as #12. Not sure which version I prefer - depends on my mood at the time. 16: BOOGIE FEVER – THE SYLVERS (25) - The first of three Top 40 hits from them. This was their biggest, hitting #1 six weeks later. This was also my favorite from them. 15: BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY - QUEEN (17) - Their first Top 40 hit, "Killer Queen" just barely missed the Top Ten, but this one sure didn't, which is a good thing, as this was a great song! Of course, I remember it from its second chart run in 1992, when it was re-released, thanks to its inclusion in "Wayne's World", but I also remember it for the first time around (For those of you wondering how I remember so many of these songs, despite being only four years of age back in 1976, we had our kitchen remodeled in the early spring of that year and I would often sit out in the backyard and watch the workmen, who always had the radio on and I'd hear many of these songs, and everytime I heard a song I liked, I made note of its title and artist when the DJ announced it. By the time the kitchen was finished in May, I had quite a list of favorite songs - this was one of them). 14: DEEP PURPLE – DONNY & MARIE OSMOND (14) - The third version of this song to hit the chart and, like the other two, it hit the Top 20. Possibly my favorite Donny & Marie song ever! OPTIONAL EXTRA: WELCOME BACK - JOHN SEBASTIAN - This song would debut in a major way the following week, coming in right at the halfway point of the countdown. This song was definitely on its way to the top, and deservedly so, as it was my favorite of the many TV show themes that charted during 1976 - a great song indeed! 13: SHOW ME THE WAY – PETER FRAMPTON (18) - Here's another "kitchen song" (as was "Welcome Back")! The first of three singles from what would become the top album of the year, "Frampton Comes Alive". It was my favorite of the three. 12: SWEET LOVE – THE COMMODORES (15) - I wasn't a huge fan of their early songs. This one was mediocre at best, especially compared to many of their late-70s/early 80s songs. 11: ONLY SIXTEEN – DR. HOOK (13) - Another Sam Cooke cover, like the Tony Orlando song that drops out this week. I don't remember how the original goes, but this was pretty good. Nowhere near as good as "Better Love Next Time", of course. EXTRA: WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW – THE SHIRELLES - The station on which I caught this show did not play this one, so I don't know the story behind it. Regardless, this was a great song. 10: GOLDEN YEARS – DAVID BOWIE (11) - This would be his final Top Ten hit for seven more years (then, he would become more successful than ever). I wasn't a big fan of this song, though it was passable. 9: MONEY HONEY – THE BAY CITY ROLLERS (10) - Not a fan of this song - I preferred "Saturday Night" over this one, and that ain't saying much! 8: DECEMBER 1963 (OH WHAT A NIGHT) – THE FOUR SEASONS (1) - Wow, what a hard fall from #1. It did, however, spend awhile hovering around in the mid teens over the next month. This used to be one of my favorite songs, but I became burned out on the song, partially due to its re-release in 1994). 7: DREAM ON - AEROSMITH (8) - This song tends to be heavily edited, but it sounds like they played the single version intact this week. Anyway, this was a great song - one of my favorite Aerosmith songs ever. 6: RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED FROM – MAXINE NIGHTINGALE (9) - Casey mentioned that this song was probably headed for #1. Well, it did come close, peaking at #2 behind "Let Your Love Flow" and "Welcome Back". The first of Maxine's two Top 40 hits, both of which hit the Top Five. This one was pretty good, but I preferred her other hit "Lead Me On" by far. 5: SWEET THING – RUFUS FEATURING CHAKA KHAN (6) - Pretty much your typical mid-70s R&B slow jam - I liked this and Mary J Blige's 1992 cover about the same. 4: LET YOUR LOVE FLOW – THE BELLAMY BROTHERS (8) - Casey did correctly predict this song going to #1, where it would reach four weeks later. This was yet another "kitchen" song (since early April was the mid-point of the renovation, I think that most of those songs are on this week's countdown). 3: LONELY NIGHT (ANGEL FACE) – THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE (3) - Well, this wasn't as overplayed as "Love Will Keep Us Together" or barf-inducing like "Muskrat Love" from later on in the year, but it was still nothing exceptional. Didn't hold a candle to "Do That To Me One More Time". 2: DREAM WEAVER – GARY WRIGHT (2) - Another one of my personal faves from back in the day. It has since lost some of its luster due to overplay, but it's still not bad. I do prefer his two other Top 40 hits, though 1: DISCO LADY – JOHNNY TAYLOR (5) - Oddly enough, with all the songs I remember from back in the day, this wasn't one of them. As I mentioned, the radio station that the contractors listened to (I forget which one), avoided R&B and disco songs. This one was both of them, so I don't remember hearing this one at all. Actually, during the renovation period, the aforementioned Bellamy Brothers song was the only "kitchen song" that hit #1, as the other three #1s (besides this) were R&B and/or disco hits.
Up next week: They might be holding off on 1979 and/or 1973 until later in April, with new shows for both years. I doubt they'll play the April, 1977 show, but it's not out of the question (probably won't be next week, though). It's been awhile since we last had a 1972 or 1974 "A" show. However, I'd err towards the former, since the April 6 show was the Top 40 British Acts countdown, and 4/13 was played just last year. 4/8/72 was last played in 2014, so it would probably be doable. That'll be my primary prediction, with April 8, 1978 as by back-up (heck, it's entirely possible that both shows could be next week as an A/B package.
EDIT: Two of the shows mentioned above are on tap for next week. The "A" show is from April 8, 1972 and, instead of a late-70s show as a "B" offering, they went with the April 13, 1974 show, run just last year. So I'll be taking a break from the 70s show next week.
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