20 - "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)," The Raspberries
19 - "Everlasting Love," Carl Carlton
18 - "The Need to Be," Jim Weatherly
17 - "My Melody of Love," Bobby Vinton
16 - "Do It Baby," The Miracles
We kick off with the last hit for the Raspberries, and thus the last time Eric Carmen did anything cool. It's basically the story of an artist aching for that first hit song, from making a demo to hoping radio program directors will like it. Though those radio guys might not have liked this one so much, because at the end it contains that bugaboo of DJs everywhere, the fake fadeout.
Next is Carl Carlton with the most successful version of a song that apparently hit the U.S top 40 in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. It's another clear disco forebear, and much better than the song of the same title that Andy Gibb would hit with later in the decade.
Then there's "The Need to Be." In the decade where the term "going off to find myself," first gained traction, this could have been the theme song of those seekers. It's filled with self-actualization sloganeering and touchy-feeliness. You very much had to be there. Fortunately for Jim Weatherly, he also has writing "Midnight Train to Georgia" on his resume.
As we saw a few weeks ago, 60s star Bobby Vinton had a mini-comeback a couple years earlier with "Sealed with a Kiss." But his real return to prominence came with an adaptation of a German song that he gave a polka arrangement and lyrics in English and Polish. Somehow, this added up to a #3 smash. A few years ago, there was a mid-ranked Belarussian female tennis player named Olga Barabanschikova, and whenever I heard her name, I would hear it sung to the tune of the chorus of "My Melody of Love." Just thought you should know.
Finally, we have the Miracles and their first post-Smokey Robinson hit. They were going in the disco direction, and it worked for them on this one, and later even better on "Love Machine" (as in , "I'm just a..." Come on, you know it) which went all the way to the top.
15 - "Then Came You," Dionne Warwick and The Spinners
14 - "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)," BT Express
13 - "Carefree Highway," Gordon Lightfoot
12 - "Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)," Reunion
11 - "Back Home Again," John Denver
This section opens with another appearance by The Spinners, accompanied by a woman who was in the midst of the years between her time as one of the most prominent interpreters of Burt Bacharach songs and her spokespersonship for The Psychic Friends Network. The woman could sing, there's no doubt about it, and The Spinners were on a roll at this time, so of course this went straight to #1.
BT Express' biggest hit was more straight-up funk than pre-disco, but given the title and the vibe of the song, I'm sure it was a hit at the clubs where the disco age dawned. It hedges its bets regarding what you're supposed to be doing until you achieve satiation by having the deep-voiced guy chime in "Whatever it is," but let's just say I don't think this song inspired many people to weave baskets or rake leaves until they were satisfied.
Gordon Lightfoot is here again, singing about starting over and hitting the road. As nasally as his voice is, it's still a Canadian national treasure. I can't explain it. It just is.
Then there's "Life Is A Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)," a song that would have surely grabbed the Uneasy Rider Award if not fot the mighty "Angie Baby." Reunion were a thrown-together group of studio musicians fronted by Joey Levine, who had previously sung lead on the late-60s bubblegum hits "Yummy Yummy Yummy" and "Chewy Chewy." Over a bouncy pop track, Levine delivers a rapid fire laundry list of DJs, song titles, record labels, artists, and other touchstones from the preceding 20 or so years of popular music. It's catchy and oddly charming. I mean, how can you not love a song that namechecks ZZ Top, "Camptown Races," and the man who developed primal scream therapy?
Last in this bunch is John Denver, singing a gentle country-folk tune about how good it is to be back on the farm. A couple years later, he's celebrate the rural lifestyle much more exuberantly with "Thank God I'm A Country Boy." Ah, John Denver, 70s radio's version of comfort food.
Top Ten Time:
10 - "Tin Man," America
I wasn't a fan of the guy who sang lead on this song. I much preferred the dude who sang "Sister Golden Hair." And of this guy's performance, I'd much rather hear "A Horse with No Name." And where the hell is "the tropic of Sir Galahad?"
9 - "Stop and Smell the Roses," Mac Davis
That curly-haired sex symbol returns advising us all to appreciate the little things in life. Nothing special, but a hell of a lot better than "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me."
8 - "Sweet Home Alabama," Lynyrd Skynyrd
Skynyrd's biggest hit, and the first thing that comes to most people's minds when they hear the phrase "southern rock." And despite the lyrics, they didn't hate Neil Young, they just thought he was tarring too many people with the same brush. But feuds make much better legends.
7 - "Steppin' Out (Gonna Boogie Tonight)," Tony Orlando and Dawn
I wasn't familiar with this one at all. Just the usual lightweight pop from arguably the most old-fashioned pop act of the decade. If I was giving an Uneasy Rider Lifetime Achievement Award for the oddest artist or group to have multiple hit singles, Tony and co. just might be the recipients.
6 - "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night," John Lennon
A heavily R&B-influenced raveup, featuring piano and harmony vocals from Elton John. This was to be the only U.S #1 John would have while alive. He was also the last of the four Beatles to top the charts on his own. Yes, even Ringo beat him. But I'm sure he didn't give a shit.
5 - "Can't Get Enough," Bad Company
Singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke had experienced success with Free and the hit "All Right Now." Then they hooked up with a guitarist from Mott the Hoople and the bassist from King Crimson and formed and even bigger band. This straight-ahead rocker was their first big single. I'd say more about it, but...
Halfway through the song, the station I was listening cut out. And it didn't come back until after the countdown ended. So once again, I relied on my old friend the Internet to get the rest of the chart. And so, we resume with...
4 - "The Bitch is Back," Elton John
Apparently, this song was inspired when Elton threw a tantrum and collaborator Bernie Taupin's wife uttered this phrase, inspiring Taupin to build a song around it. Apparently, the word "bitch" caused many radio stations to ban this song. But not the part about getting "high every evening sniffing pots of glue." Hmmmm.
3 - "Jazzman," Carole King
Despite it being a #2 smash, I'm not very familiar with Carole's version of this song. Fortunately, I have heard Lisa Simpson's version of it several times, and it was powerful enough to cause a surgeon to sew "I Love Jazz" on a patient, so it has that going for it. RIP Bleeding Gums.
2 - "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet," Bachman-Turner Overdrive
After three singles that failed to crack the Top Ten in the U.S., ex-Guess Who guitarist Randy Bachman's new band would go all the way to Number One with this song best known for all the stuttering in the chorus. Some have claimed that both the stuttering (a la "My Generation) and the guitar chord changes (very similar to "Baba O'Riley) mean that The Who should get partial credit for this song. Meh, there are worse people to steal from.
And the biggest song in all the US of A was...
1 - "You Haven't Done Nothin'" Stevie Wonder
By this time, Richard Nixon had been out of office for three months, but that didn't stop Stevie's stining criticism of Tricky Dick and his cronies from topping the chart. And even if he'd known, Stevie probably wouldn't have had any qualms about kicking the man when he was down. "You brought this on yourself!" he sings. His anger is set to some bouncy, bumping funk, and features backup vocals from the Jackson 5 (a lot of big time collaborations on this week's list). This just might be the best Number 1 we've come across so far.
I imagine there was a third NotCasey Extra, but I didn't get to hear it. But the first two were Barry White's seducterrific "You're the First, the Last, My Everything," and a sure contender for an Uneasy Rider Award should I come across it in the future, Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting."
So there we go. Frankly, I don't care what year I cover next week, as long as I get to hear the whole thing.
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