The rest of it:
20 - "Never Never Gonna Give You Up," Barry White
19 - "Angie," The Rolling Stones
18 - "Time in a Bottle," Jim Croce
17 - "Let Me Serenade You," Three Dog Night
16 - "I Got a Name," Jim Croce
We kick off with Barry White, doing his usual thing, pledging devotion and guaranteeing satisfaction, presumably of the carnal kind. Of course, drop one "Never" and you get that Rick Astley song that has recently regenerated as something even more annoying than it was in the first place. Maybe RickRolling should be replaced by BarryRolling. The world would be a much sexier place.
According to that always-reliable source, Wikipedia, "Angie" was not, contrary to legend, written about David Bowie's wife. Rather, the title came from the middle name of Keith Richards' recently-born daughter. But I'm suspicious, because according to the article, the child's name is Dandelion Angela. And everyone knows celebrities never give their kids weird-ass names likie that. Nice try, Wikipedia.
For the first time, one of these sections of five contains two songs by the same artist: Jim Croce, who had been killed in a plane crash that September. "Time in a Bottle," from his first album, had been used in a TV movie about a couple dealing with cancer that aired just a week before Croce's death, and the interest in the song became great enough that it was put out as a single. Obviously, lines like "there never seems to be enough time" took on greater resonance, and that propelled the song to Numbe One. "I Got a Name," meanwhile, is the statement of a man who has a lot he wants to say and do before life passes him by, a declaration that would take on a sad irony. All in all, I think this decade could have used a few more hits from this man.
And in between the Croce songs, there is Three Dog Night. Like I've said before, they had a few good songs, but I think this decade could have used a few less hits from them. They keep cluttering up these charts with songs I'd never heard before and never want to hear again.
15 - "Cheaper to Keep Her," Johnnie Taylor
14 - "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)," The Staple Singers
13 - "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)," Helen Reddy
12 - "Paper Roses," Marie Osmond
11 - "Hello It's Me," Todd Rundgren
We start with Johnnie Taylor and his jazzy bit of advice to married men who are considering divorce: Don't. She'll take you for all you've got, and even if you find another woman you like better, she won't want you because you're broke. Yes, romance was alive and well back then.
The Staple Singers hold truer to their gospel roots this time with "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)." Lyrically and musically, it's very similar to "I'll Take You There." But if the lyric sites I'm looking at are accurate, it may have been the first pop song to contain the word "terrorists." So that's something.
Then it's Helen Reddy with the second (and last to be touched on here) installment of the "Crazy Lady Trilogy." This particular woman wanders around town talking to herself and saying "Leave me alone," to anyone who dares approach her. The reason for this is because years ago, some farm boy "taught it all" to her, then left her, and this caused her breakdown. Probably the least exciting entry in the series, though not without its charms. Still. "Angie Baby" FTW.
Marie Osmond had reached the ripe old age of 14 before she finally joined her brothers in the hitmaking business with this cover of a song that was originally a hit for orange-pitchwoman/homophobe Anita Bryant. She doesn't do too bad with a country song that equates fake flowers with inscere expressions of love. In fact, I like it better than any of Donny's covers that I've heard so far.Y
This section ends with Todd Rundgren's biggest hit. He had a few others, but he had even more success as a producer, working on such records as Meat Loaf's Bat out of Hell, XTC's Skylarking, and the first two albums by the criminally underappreciated Canadian group The Pursuit of Happiness. Oh yes, and until she was nine, Liv Tyler thought he was her father.
Top Ten fever, catch it...
10 - "The Most Beautiful Girl," Charlie Rich
An aching country classic from the Silver Fox. Few singers have packed as much pain into a single line that Charlie does when he sings "Tell her I need my baby."
9 - "Heartbeat, It's A Lovebeat," The DeFranco Family
Not only is this sibling act Canadian, their easily the most local-to-me act I'll cover here. Their biggest hit by far is prime bubblegum. It's pretty cool musically, with an almost gothic-sounding opening and some spacey keyboards on the instrumental bridge. And Tony DeFranco easily out-Donny Osmonds Donny Osmond on lead vocals. Apparently, he sells real estate now.
8 - "The Love I Lost," Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes
An early disco number by the group most famous for singing "If You Don't Know Me by Now" and introducing the world to Teddy Pendergrass. Didn't do much for me.
7 - "Midnight Train to Georgia," Gladys Knight and the Pips
Man, what can you say? A classic about a man who decides to ditch the hassle of Los Angeles to return to the comforts of home, and the woman so in love with him that she has no choice but to follow. Gladys gives one of the all time great vocals, and no backup singers have contributed more to a song's awesomeness than the Pips do here.
6 - "Just You 'N' Me," Chicago
A Chicago ballad that contains the phrase "you are the inspiration," yet doesn't suck. Imagine that. They were still themselves back then.
5 - "Keep on Truckin'" Eddie Kendricks
A Number One from a former Temptation, whose title is a phrase popularized by cult comic artist R. Crumb. It's another song that is considered an early precursor to disco. I think I should like it more than I do.
4 - "Space Race," Billy Preston
An instrumental by one of the "Fifth Beatles." Suitably cosmic and keyboard drenched. I'm sorry I don't have much to say, but neither did the song.
3 - "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," Elton John
Elton again, with a song in which the narrator decides to get off of the fast track and go home to plow and hunt "the horny back toad." Kind of like the opposite to "Honky Cat." I think the real Elton was always more likely to follow the latter storyline. This song was played at the prom where Marge Simpson was accompanied by Artie Ziff rather than her future husband.
2 - "Photograph," Ringo Starr
Marge Simpson's favorite Beatle reached the top with this song about remembering better times with an old lover by looking at a picture. Meh, I'm a "It Don't Come Easy" man myself.
And the song that was rockin' America's world back then was...
1- "Top of the World," The Carpenters
Karen and Richard scored their second Number One with this countryish number about how love can make you euphoric. As a child, this got confused in my mind with Anne Murray's "Snowbird" for some reason. But I know it was this song that Cecil Terwilliger was singing to himself while wiring the Springfireld Dam with explosives. (Yes, I had Simpsons references for each of this week's top three. And I could have made more. There's several openings for them every week.)
Three NotCasey Extras this week. I'd only heard the Motley Crue cover of Brownsville Station's "Smokin' in the Boys' Room" before last night. I must say, the original is way better. "Let Me be There" sparked the initial stirrings of the musical crush on Olivia Newton-John that fully flowered on "Have You Never Been Mellow." And Barry White's 40-piece backing group The Love Unlimited Orchestra would go on to have a #1 with the sumptuous "Love's Theme"
Back next week with another one. I'd like '78, but for some reason, I'm thinking '71.
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