Post by Hervard on Jun 1, 2019 6:59:44 GMT -5
American Top 40: The 70s - May 18, 2019
This week's presentation - May 19, 1979
LW#3: HOT STUFF - DONNA SUMMER
LW#2: HEART OF GLASS - BLONDIE
LW#1: REUNITED - PEACHES & HERB
40: LITTLE BIT OF SOAP - NIGEL OLSSON (debut) - After three remakes of this classic by the Jarmels, this is the first cover of it to finally break into the Top 40. This was a great song - of his two hits (both in 1979), I preferred this one.
39: SATURDAY NIGHT, SUNDAY MORNING - THELMA HOUSTON (debut) - She was a disco "two-hit wonder", as this was her second, more obscure Top 40 hit. It was pretty good, but I preferred her #1 "Don't Leave Me This Way".
38: IT MUST BE LOVE - ALTON MC CLAIN & DESTINY (debut) - This R&B trio was one of many faceless disco one-hit wonders of this era. The song was OK, but pretty much blends in with all the other R&B disco hits of the late-70s.
LONG DISTANCE DEDICATION: LOVE THEME FROM "ROMEO & JULIET" - HENRY MANCINI - Since the writer of this LDD and her lover compared themselves to Romeo and Juliet, this definitely fit the LDD.
37: BLOW AWAY - GEORGE HARRISON (16) - This was Harrison's comeback hit, after two years being away from the chart. It only got as high as #16 on the Hot 100, but it climbed to #4 on the R&R chart. I guess more people bought Harrison's 1979 album, which was self-titled, than they did the single. It was a great song - one of my favorite of Harrison's solo hits.
36: MINUTE BY MINUTE - DOOBIE BROTHERS (debut) - The title track from their #1 album, which had topped the chart back in April/May. The Doobies had replaced themselves on the chart this week - this one would debuted as "What A Fool Believes" stepped off the chart. Of course, the latter was the song that I preferred of the two. This one was pretty good, but not one of my favorites from them.
35: (IF LOVING YOU IS WRONG) I DON'T WANT TO BE RIGHT - BARBARA MANDRELL (35) - Interesting country version of the Luther Ingram classic! Not sure which one I prefer. Kind of weird that this was Mandrell's only Top 40 hit - given how big a country star that she was, one would guess that she'd have more crossover success.
34: MUSIC BOX DANCER - FRANK MILLS (15) - This song climbed all the way to #3 in its tenth week in the Top 40. After that, people seemed to suddenly get tired of the song, as this was when it started taking a free fall. It would fall out of the Top 40 completely the following week, a mere three weeks after peaking at #3. As for my opinion of the song, it was a great one - one of my favorite instrumentals of all time!
33: DON'T WRITE HER OFF - MCGUINN, CLARK & HILLMAN (33) - Of course, we all know that all three were members of the Byrds. I liked this song, even better than most songs by the Byrds.
ARCHIVE: THE WAY WE WERE - BARBRA STREISAND - Several people I know consider this a "No. Just no" song, so I guess this is a "guilty pleasure", as I think it's a good one, though I do prefer a few others from her.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: BOOGIE WONDERLAND - EARTH, WIND & FIRE w/THE EMOTIONS - A one-time team-up between these two acts. The song was OK, but I preferred most of EW+F's other material (and the only other song I've heard by the Emotions was "Best Of My Love" - yes, I preferred that one too).
32: MAKIN' IT - DAVID NAUGHTON (38) - This one hit the Top Five on the Hot 100, but only reached #25 on the R&R chart. As for my opinion on this song, it was OK, but a little gimmicky. It did, however, make for an interesting LDD on an early 1980 show - from a girl, who had dreams of being a model, to her family, who pretty much bullied her about her endeavor. The LDD was pretty much a raspberry to them, which served them right, as she had indeed lived her dream.
31: I'VE GOT MY MIND MADE UP - INSTANT FUNK (20) - Another Philly band, though I wasn't too crazy about the song (the "say what"s were kind of annoying).
30: OLD TIME ROCK & ROLL - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (32) - I find it odd that this song didn't get above #28, considering all the recurrent airplay it gets. Not that I'm complaining, because I never really got into this song. One of my least favorites from him.
29: GET USED TO IT - ROGER VOUDOURIS (34) - Very interesting that this Sacramento native predicted that he was going to be a huge success (I believe that story was told on the previous week's show), yet this was his sole Top 40 hit. It was a great song IMO.
28: AIN'T LOVE A BEACH - ROD STEWART (31) - Darned censors! Anyway, this was Rod's follow-up to one of his biggest hits ever, "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy". However, it was nowhere near as successful, as it ran out of gas before it even hit the Top 20. It was pretty good, but definitely far from being his best.
27: SUCH A WOMAN - TYCOON (29) - Yet another one-hit wonder. This song was good, but nothing special.
26: HONESTY - BILLY JOEL (37) - This song indeed hit a brick wall! After making a promising eleven-spot move this week, it climbed only two more spots the next, held in place the following week, and then fell clean off the chart. I guess it was more or less an AC hit (where it hit the Top Ten). It was a good song, though definitely not his best.
25: YOU TAKE MY BREATH AWAY - REX SMITH (30) - This song was from the TV movie Sooner Or Later, in which Rex himself was the star. I loved this song when it was on the charts and still love it today - one of favorite songs from 1979.
24: HOT NUMBER - FOXY (26) - Well, this isn't really a hot number to me, as I'm not into this type of music (but you already know that, right?)
23: SHE BELIEVES IN ME - KENNY ROGERS (36) - This is definitely one of the songs that I most associate with the summer of 1979! It is indeed a great song and one of Kenny's best songs ever!
22: CHUCK E'S IN LOVE - RICKIE LEE JONES (35) - Like the Kenny Rogers song, this song moved ahead 13 spots to tie for the second biggest mover on the chart. The two songs also had at least one other thing in common - they both hit #1 on the R&R chart, but fell short on the Hot 100 (though it did peak a spot higher). The song wasn't bad, but definitely not one I'd want to hear all the time.
ARCHIVE: LOVE'S THEME - LOVE UNLIMITED ORCHESTRA - This song, by this orchestra led by Barry White, definitely had that “early disco” feel to it. It was a great one, IMO.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SHINE A LITTLE LOVE - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - Larry mentioned that, even though they never hit number one on the Hot 100, this song did make it all the way on the Radio & Records chart. Deservedly so, as it was a great song - one of their best!
21: KNOCK ON WOOD - AMII STEWART (14) - This may have been her only Top 40 hit, but she really made it count, as it went all the way to the top. This song was OK, but it wasn't one of my favorites.
20: ROCK 'N' ROLL FANTASY - BAD COMPANY (23) - This was their only gold single (yet it only got as high as #13 - not sure what the deal was there). Anyway, this was one of my personal faves from the summer of 1979 - I heard this one on the beach house jukebox on a regular basis.
19: RENEGADE - STYX (21) - I'm surprised that this song only got as high was #16, given all the airplay it received back in the day. It is also a classic rock staple. I liked it, but preferred "Blue Collar Man", from the same album, Pieces of Eight.
18: DEEPER THAN THE NIGHT - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (25) - Her second of two hits from 1979. I personally preferred her other one, "A Little More Love", but this wasn't far behind at all, as it was also a great song!
17: DISCO NIGHTS (ROCK FREAK) - G.Q. (19) - This was the first of two hits (from the same year, no less) from this soul group from the Bronx. This was one of several songs sampled in Kon Kan's 1989 hit "I Beg Your Pardon". I seem to recall that I preferred their other hit, "I Do Love You", which charted later that summer.
16: I WANT YOUR LOVE - CHIC (7) - Of their four Top Ten hits, this one seems to be the most obscure. It is by far my favorite song from them (possibly because of the lack of overplay).
15: JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST - RANDY VAN WARMER (17) - The only Top 40 song from this man from Colorado who, sadly, passed away eleven years ago. It was a really good song, but not one to listen to when feeling depressed, especially over a recent breakup.
14: THE LOGICAL SONG - SUPERTRAMP (18) - This British rock band formed in 1969 and had their very first Top Ten hit exactly ten years later. This was my favorite song in the world back in 1979. I liked most of their Breakfast In America album, which I finally bought in August of that year (remember - I was only seven and didn't have a ton of spending money).
13: WE ARE FAMILY - SISTER SLEDGE (27) - Wow, huge move there! Surprisingly, this song did not hit #1, but didn't miss by much, peaking at #2, locked out of #1 by Donna Summer. This was their first of two hits on the countdown this week (and their previous hit was still in the Top Ten this week). Not sure which of the two songs I prefer, although neither of them are exceptional, IMO.
12: LOVE TAKES TIME - ORLEANS (13) - This was their last of three Top 40 hits, all of which made the Top 20. Actually, they were almost all Top Ten hits, but this one just barely fell short (the song did peak at #7 on the R&R chart, so it performed the hat trick there). This song, which sounds a cross between their other two hits, was my favorite of the three songs, although the others were great ones too. That said, it's too bad they didn't have anymore chart hits.
ARCHIVE: SEASONS IN THE SUN - TERRY JACKS - EWWW, GET IT AWAY FROM ME! This was another song that became more of a joke than anything. Definitely a major cheesefest! (Oddly enough, all three of this week's archives made up the Top Three of 1974).
OPTIONAL EXTRA: GOLD - JOHN STEWART - Here's one I remember from back in the day! This one featured Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham on background vocals - making an already great song even better!
11: LOVE IS THE ANSWER - ENGLAND DAN & JOHN FORD COLEY (12) - As well as there being many one-hit wonders on this week's chart, there are also several acts with their final hits, and this is one of them. Their last of six Top 40 hits, four of them Top Tens, including this one, it is one of my favorites of the bunch. In fact, I don't think there were any songs that I didn't like (though I'd have to listen to "Gone Too Far" to be able to tell for sure, as that is the only song from them that I don't have etched into my long-term memory).
10: HEART OF GLASS - BLONDIE (2) - This band has sort of an odd chart history - they either hit #1 or missed the Top 20 entirely with their eight hits. This was the first of four #1s. It was good, but I preferred "Call Me" and "Rapture".
9: HE'S THE GREATEST DANCER - SISTER SLEDGE (9) - Of course, everybody knows that Will Smith sampled this song for his big 1998 hit "Gettin' Jiggy Wit' It". As I said earlier, I like both songs about the same.
8: TAKE ME HOME - CHER (8) - I seem to remember a story about this song waking a girl from a coma (told on the 1/23/88 show to tie in with her comeback hit "I Found Someone". Anyhoo, I liked this song, though I generally preferred her 90s hits.
7: SHAKE YOUR BODY (DOWN TO THE GROUND) - JACKSONS (10) - Meh, not one of their best by any means. As I've said several times before, I preferred their earlier songs.
6: LOVE YOU INSIDE OUT - BEE GEES (11) - This one was said to have been artificially moved to the top, so as to keep their #1 streak alive. Whether or not that is true I have no idea, but nevertheless, this was a good song - my second favorite from Spirits Having Flown behind "Tragedy".
5: GOODNIGHT TONIGHT - WINGS (6) - This was the last of their Top Ten hits from the 70s (they would have one more, which would end up becoming one of their biggest hits of all-time, a year later). This was a great song, but I preferred a few others, including said 1980 #1).
EXTRA: I WILL BE IN LOVE WITH YOU - LIVINGSTON TAYLOR - From earlier that year, this was a song inspired by a random sighting of a girl from a bus that Livingston was riding. I thought the song, which was played as the final Optional Extra, was pretty good.
4: STUMBLIN' IN - SUZI QUATRO & CHRIS NORMAN (4) - She starred on Happy Days as Leather Tuscadero, and he was lead singer of Smokie, of "Living Next Door To Alice" fame. They teamed up for this song, which was a good one, IMO.
3: IN THE NAVY - THE VILLAGE PEOPLE (5) - As we all know, their biggest hit was one of my "No. Just no" songs (and sometimes it would get a rating even worse than that). This one, on the other hand, I actually really like. Probably because there wasn't a goofy, overdone dance to go along with it (they could have easily done that with the "They want you! They want you! They want you as a new recruit!" chant, but to my best of knowledge, that has not materialized - yet).
2: HOT STUFF - DONNA SUMMER (3) - This song indeed lived up to its name! After its huge 20-3 move the weeks before, it seemed like a cinch to hit #1 the following week, but the #1 song was obviously quite strong and managed to hold it at bay for two weeks. This was a good one - my second favorite of her many 1979 hits, behind "Heaven Knows".
1: REUNITED - PEACHES & HERB (1) - This was the song that was strong enough for preventing Donna Summer from shooting straight to the top. The song was by far this duo's biggest hit ever, spending the entire month of May at the top. It is also my favorite song from them - one of the best love songs of all time!
Coming up next week: May 25, 1974 is on deck for next week. Any other time, that would be a standalone show, but, being that next week is Memorial Day weekend, Part 4 of the "Number One Hits of the 1970s" series serves as the Bonus holiday special. I might take a listen to that one. I wonder if any station is going to run the #1 Hits series as a marathon (I'm guessing probably not).
This week's presentation - May 19, 1979
LW#3: HOT STUFF - DONNA SUMMER
LW#2: HEART OF GLASS - BLONDIE
LW#1: REUNITED - PEACHES & HERB
40: LITTLE BIT OF SOAP - NIGEL OLSSON (debut) - After three remakes of this classic by the Jarmels, this is the first cover of it to finally break into the Top 40. This was a great song - of his two hits (both in 1979), I preferred this one.
39: SATURDAY NIGHT, SUNDAY MORNING - THELMA HOUSTON (debut) - She was a disco "two-hit wonder", as this was her second, more obscure Top 40 hit. It was pretty good, but I preferred her #1 "Don't Leave Me This Way".
38: IT MUST BE LOVE - ALTON MC CLAIN & DESTINY (debut) - This R&B trio was one of many faceless disco one-hit wonders of this era. The song was OK, but pretty much blends in with all the other R&B disco hits of the late-70s.
LONG DISTANCE DEDICATION: LOVE THEME FROM "ROMEO & JULIET" - HENRY MANCINI - Since the writer of this LDD and her lover compared themselves to Romeo and Juliet, this definitely fit the LDD.
37: BLOW AWAY - GEORGE HARRISON (16) - This was Harrison's comeback hit, after two years being away from the chart. It only got as high as #16 on the Hot 100, but it climbed to #4 on the R&R chart. I guess more people bought Harrison's 1979 album, which was self-titled, than they did the single. It was a great song - one of my favorite of Harrison's solo hits.
36: MINUTE BY MINUTE - DOOBIE BROTHERS (debut) - The title track from their #1 album, which had topped the chart back in April/May. The Doobies had replaced themselves on the chart this week - this one would debuted as "What A Fool Believes" stepped off the chart. Of course, the latter was the song that I preferred of the two. This one was pretty good, but not one of my favorites from them.
35: (IF LOVING YOU IS WRONG) I DON'T WANT TO BE RIGHT - BARBARA MANDRELL (35) - Interesting country version of the Luther Ingram classic! Not sure which one I prefer. Kind of weird that this was Mandrell's only Top 40 hit - given how big a country star that she was, one would guess that she'd have more crossover success.
34: MUSIC BOX DANCER - FRANK MILLS (15) - This song climbed all the way to #3 in its tenth week in the Top 40. After that, people seemed to suddenly get tired of the song, as this was when it started taking a free fall. It would fall out of the Top 40 completely the following week, a mere three weeks after peaking at #3. As for my opinion of the song, it was a great one - one of my favorite instrumentals of all time!
33: DON'T WRITE HER OFF - MCGUINN, CLARK & HILLMAN (33) - Of course, we all know that all three were members of the Byrds. I liked this song, even better than most songs by the Byrds.
ARCHIVE: THE WAY WE WERE - BARBRA STREISAND - Several people I know consider this a "No. Just no" song, so I guess this is a "guilty pleasure", as I think it's a good one, though I do prefer a few others from her.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: BOOGIE WONDERLAND - EARTH, WIND & FIRE w/THE EMOTIONS - A one-time team-up between these two acts. The song was OK, but I preferred most of EW+F's other material (and the only other song I've heard by the Emotions was "Best Of My Love" - yes, I preferred that one too).
32: MAKIN' IT - DAVID NAUGHTON (38) - This one hit the Top Five on the Hot 100, but only reached #25 on the R&R chart. As for my opinion on this song, it was OK, but a little gimmicky. It did, however, make for an interesting LDD on an early 1980 show - from a girl, who had dreams of being a model, to her family, who pretty much bullied her about her endeavor. The LDD was pretty much a raspberry to them, which served them right, as she had indeed lived her dream.
31: I'VE GOT MY MIND MADE UP - INSTANT FUNK (20) - Another Philly band, though I wasn't too crazy about the song (the "say what"s were kind of annoying).
30: OLD TIME ROCK & ROLL - BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND (32) - I find it odd that this song didn't get above #28, considering all the recurrent airplay it gets. Not that I'm complaining, because I never really got into this song. One of my least favorites from him.
29: GET USED TO IT - ROGER VOUDOURIS (34) - Very interesting that this Sacramento native predicted that he was going to be a huge success (I believe that story was told on the previous week's show), yet this was his sole Top 40 hit. It was a great song IMO.
28: AIN'T LOVE A BEACH - ROD STEWART (31) - Darned censors! Anyway, this was Rod's follow-up to one of his biggest hits ever, "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy". However, it was nowhere near as successful, as it ran out of gas before it even hit the Top 20. It was pretty good, but definitely far from being his best.
27: SUCH A WOMAN - TYCOON (29) - Yet another one-hit wonder. This song was good, but nothing special.
26: HONESTY - BILLY JOEL (37) - This song indeed hit a brick wall! After making a promising eleven-spot move this week, it climbed only two more spots the next, held in place the following week, and then fell clean off the chart. I guess it was more or less an AC hit (where it hit the Top Ten). It was a good song, though definitely not his best.
25: YOU TAKE MY BREATH AWAY - REX SMITH (30) - This song was from the TV movie Sooner Or Later, in which Rex himself was the star. I loved this song when it was on the charts and still love it today - one of favorite songs from 1979.
24: HOT NUMBER - FOXY (26) - Well, this isn't really a hot number to me, as I'm not into this type of music (but you already know that, right?)
23: SHE BELIEVES IN ME - KENNY ROGERS (36) - This is definitely one of the songs that I most associate with the summer of 1979! It is indeed a great song and one of Kenny's best songs ever!
22: CHUCK E'S IN LOVE - RICKIE LEE JONES (35) - Like the Kenny Rogers song, this song moved ahead 13 spots to tie for the second biggest mover on the chart. The two songs also had at least one other thing in common - they both hit #1 on the R&R chart, but fell short on the Hot 100 (though it did peak a spot higher). The song wasn't bad, but definitely not one I'd want to hear all the time.
ARCHIVE: LOVE'S THEME - LOVE UNLIMITED ORCHESTRA - This song, by this orchestra led by Barry White, definitely had that “early disco” feel to it. It was a great one, IMO.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: SHINE A LITTLE LOVE - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - Larry mentioned that, even though they never hit number one on the Hot 100, this song did make it all the way on the Radio & Records chart. Deservedly so, as it was a great song - one of their best!
21: KNOCK ON WOOD - AMII STEWART (14) - This may have been her only Top 40 hit, but she really made it count, as it went all the way to the top. This song was OK, but it wasn't one of my favorites.
20: ROCK 'N' ROLL FANTASY - BAD COMPANY (23) - This was their only gold single (yet it only got as high as #13 - not sure what the deal was there). Anyway, this was one of my personal faves from the summer of 1979 - I heard this one on the beach house jukebox on a regular basis.
19: RENEGADE - STYX (21) - I'm surprised that this song only got as high was #16, given all the airplay it received back in the day. It is also a classic rock staple. I liked it, but preferred "Blue Collar Man", from the same album, Pieces of Eight.
18: DEEPER THAN THE NIGHT - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (25) - Her second of two hits from 1979. I personally preferred her other one, "A Little More Love", but this wasn't far behind at all, as it was also a great song!
17: DISCO NIGHTS (ROCK FREAK) - G.Q. (19) - This was the first of two hits (from the same year, no less) from this soul group from the Bronx. This was one of several songs sampled in Kon Kan's 1989 hit "I Beg Your Pardon". I seem to recall that I preferred their other hit, "I Do Love You", which charted later that summer.
16: I WANT YOUR LOVE - CHIC (7) - Of their four Top Ten hits, this one seems to be the most obscure. It is by far my favorite song from them (possibly because of the lack of overplay).
15: JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST - RANDY VAN WARMER (17) - The only Top 40 song from this man from Colorado who, sadly, passed away eleven years ago. It was a really good song, but not one to listen to when feeling depressed, especially over a recent breakup.
14: THE LOGICAL SONG - SUPERTRAMP (18) - This British rock band formed in 1969 and had their very first Top Ten hit exactly ten years later. This was my favorite song in the world back in 1979. I liked most of their Breakfast In America album, which I finally bought in August of that year (remember - I was only seven and didn't have a ton of spending money).
13: WE ARE FAMILY - SISTER SLEDGE (27) - Wow, huge move there! Surprisingly, this song did not hit #1, but didn't miss by much, peaking at #2, locked out of #1 by Donna Summer. This was their first of two hits on the countdown this week (and their previous hit was still in the Top Ten this week). Not sure which of the two songs I prefer, although neither of them are exceptional, IMO.
12: LOVE TAKES TIME - ORLEANS (13) - This was their last of three Top 40 hits, all of which made the Top 20. Actually, they were almost all Top Ten hits, but this one just barely fell short (the song did peak at #7 on the R&R chart, so it performed the hat trick there). This song, which sounds a cross between their other two hits, was my favorite of the three songs, although the others were great ones too. That said, it's too bad they didn't have anymore chart hits.
ARCHIVE: SEASONS IN THE SUN - TERRY JACKS - EWWW, GET IT AWAY FROM ME! This was another song that became more of a joke than anything. Definitely a major cheesefest! (Oddly enough, all three of this week's archives made up the Top Three of 1974).
OPTIONAL EXTRA: GOLD - JOHN STEWART - Here's one I remember from back in the day! This one featured Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham on background vocals - making an already great song even better!
11: LOVE IS THE ANSWER - ENGLAND DAN & JOHN FORD COLEY (12) - As well as there being many one-hit wonders on this week's chart, there are also several acts with their final hits, and this is one of them. Their last of six Top 40 hits, four of them Top Tens, including this one, it is one of my favorites of the bunch. In fact, I don't think there were any songs that I didn't like (though I'd have to listen to "Gone Too Far" to be able to tell for sure, as that is the only song from them that I don't have etched into my long-term memory).
10: HEART OF GLASS - BLONDIE (2) - This band has sort of an odd chart history - they either hit #1 or missed the Top 20 entirely with their eight hits. This was the first of four #1s. It was good, but I preferred "Call Me" and "Rapture".
9: HE'S THE GREATEST DANCER - SISTER SLEDGE (9) - Of course, everybody knows that Will Smith sampled this song for his big 1998 hit "Gettin' Jiggy Wit' It". As I said earlier, I like both songs about the same.
8: TAKE ME HOME - CHER (8) - I seem to remember a story about this song waking a girl from a coma (told on the 1/23/88 show to tie in with her comeback hit "I Found Someone". Anyhoo, I liked this song, though I generally preferred her 90s hits.
7: SHAKE YOUR BODY (DOWN TO THE GROUND) - JACKSONS (10) - Meh, not one of their best by any means. As I've said several times before, I preferred their earlier songs.
6: LOVE YOU INSIDE OUT - BEE GEES (11) - This one was said to have been artificially moved to the top, so as to keep their #1 streak alive. Whether or not that is true I have no idea, but nevertheless, this was a good song - my second favorite from Spirits Having Flown behind "Tragedy".
5: GOODNIGHT TONIGHT - WINGS (6) - This was the last of their Top Ten hits from the 70s (they would have one more, which would end up becoming one of their biggest hits of all-time, a year later). This was a great song, but I preferred a few others, including said 1980 #1).
EXTRA: I WILL BE IN LOVE WITH YOU - LIVINGSTON TAYLOR - From earlier that year, this was a song inspired by a random sighting of a girl from a bus that Livingston was riding. I thought the song, which was played as the final Optional Extra, was pretty good.
4: STUMBLIN' IN - SUZI QUATRO & CHRIS NORMAN (4) - She starred on Happy Days as Leather Tuscadero, and he was lead singer of Smokie, of "Living Next Door To Alice" fame. They teamed up for this song, which was a good one, IMO.
3: IN THE NAVY - THE VILLAGE PEOPLE (5) - As we all know, their biggest hit was one of my "No. Just no" songs (and sometimes it would get a rating even worse than that). This one, on the other hand, I actually really like. Probably because there wasn't a goofy, overdone dance to go along with it (they could have easily done that with the "They want you! They want you! They want you as a new recruit!" chant, but to my best of knowledge, that has not materialized - yet).
2: HOT STUFF - DONNA SUMMER (3) - This song indeed lived up to its name! After its huge 20-3 move the weeks before, it seemed like a cinch to hit #1 the following week, but the #1 song was obviously quite strong and managed to hold it at bay for two weeks. This was a good one - my second favorite of her many 1979 hits, behind "Heaven Knows".
1: REUNITED - PEACHES & HERB (1) - This was the song that was strong enough for preventing Donna Summer from shooting straight to the top. The song was by far this duo's biggest hit ever, spending the entire month of May at the top. It is also my favorite song from them - one of the best love songs of all time!
Coming up next week: May 25, 1974 is on deck for next week. Any other time, that would be a standalone show, but, being that next week is Memorial Day weekend, Part 4 of the "Number One Hits of the 1970s" series serves as the Bonus holiday special. I might take a listen to that one. I wonder if any station is going to run the #1 Hits series as a marathon (I'm guessing probably not).