1974 Part One

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. Mine was nice, and I hope yours was too. But now we're in the part of the year where you get a lot of retrospective pieces and lists going back over the year. Fittingly, this week we join Casey at Number 40 in his countdown of the Top 100 singles of the year Nixon resigned. I did manage to find the entire list online, so I'm going to touch upon some of the songs in the 41-100 range during these posts, but mainly we're focused on the top 40. And because of the occasion, I'm going to cover every single song individually for once.


40 - "The Joker," The Steve Miller Band
The first and easily best offering from the frat-rock machine that would be ubiquitous for most of the rest of the decade. Some people call him Maurice, I've heard.


39 - "Top of the World," The Carpenters
Karen was happy for once on this #1. It's good to hear her that way, considering how things would end up.


38 - "Rock Your Baby," George McRae
McRae's only major hit was this #1 disco trifle written and produced by Harry Casey and Richard Finch, who would continue on with this sound as KC and the Sunshine Band. Not to be confused with the Hues Corporation charttopper "Rock the Boat," which just missed the Top 40 for the year, ending up at #43.


37 - "Nothing from Nothing," Billy Preston
Once again, it's that Fifth Beatle, with a spritely funk number. Not entirely sure what its about, although in one line, Preston declares himself "a soldier in the war on poverty." Admirable.


36 - "Just Don't Want to be Lonely," The Main Ingredient
I was sure "Everybody Plays the Fool," was the only real hit from Cuba Gooding Sr. and Co., but apparently I was mistaken. A decent ballad, but nothing special


35 - "Feel Like Making Love," Roberta Flack.
Gentle yet sexy soul from the woman who gave the world "Killing Me Softly," and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." Yeah, it would work.


34 - "The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me," Gladys Knight and the Pips
The soul legends made the Top 100 three times: "On and On" was at 69, "I've Got to Use My Imagination" at 41, and this one cracked the top 40. And I'm sad to say I'm not that familiar with any of them. I need to bone up on my Pipology.


33 - "Dark Lady," Cher
Like Helen Reddy, Mrs. Bono had her own trilogy about women who'd been wronged. First there was the poor girl who was knocked up by a drifter in "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves." Then there was the mixed-race woman who could not overcome the prejudice of others in "Half-Breed." And then there was this one, my favorite. A woman visits a fortune teller to ask if her lover is being fatihful. The gypsy then uses playing cards to tell her that he is in fact cheating on her, and with someone close to her. Later, the woman goes home and catches her man in flagrande delicto...with the fortune teller! So of course, she shoots them both dead. I always think of this song when I'm playing online poker and I'm dealt a queen and a three.


32 - "If You Love Me, Let Me Know," Olivia Newton-John
The first woman whose voice I can remember falling in love with also put three hits in this list. The first was "I Honestly Love You," at #97, and this was the second. This was when she was planted firmly in the country genre, so much so that she was getting Female Vocalist of the Year awards from the Country Music Association. This one's all right, but I think she does much better with the song that's coming up soon.


31 - "You're Sixteen," Ringo Starr
The man who stole Pete Best's job hit Number One with this cover of a 1960 Johnny Burnette song. It features Paul McCartney on kazoo. Today's music could use more kazoo solos, if you ask me. He also showed up at #74 with "Oh My My."


30 - "Boogie Down," Eddie Kendricks
More pre-disco disco from the ex-Temptation Casey informed me preferred to record songs written or co-written by women, because women know what women like. Makes sense, I guess.


29 - "Rock Me Gently," Andy Kim
The co-author of "Sugar Sugar" tries recording a song not made famous by the Ronettes, and it pays off in the form of a #1. One I definitely dug as a kid, especially the keyboard part in the middle.


28 - "Sundown," Gordon Lightfoot
The wheezy Canuck folkie gets uncharacteristically gritty in this song about a "hard-lovin' woman" who is definitely not of the "take home to mother" variety. Perhaps that's why it was his only U.S. charttopper.


27 - "Let Me Be There," Olivia Newton-John
Now this is the stuff. I tell you, even at three, When she sang "Let me take you to that wonderland that only two can share," I wanted to let her. I realize now that this probably wouldn't have been that enjoyable for me, and would have gotten Olivia in some serious trouble. Things worked out for the best.

26 - "(You're) Having My Baby," Paul Anka
The teen idol turned Tonight Show theme composer had a #1 with this well-intentioned but kinda creepy paean to motherhood. I'm not sure he was quite the male chauvinist pig some painted him as at the time, but yeah, this song don't sit right.

25 - "Annie's Song," John Denver
The first of two on the list from good ol' JD. AKA "You Fill Up My Senses," this is proof that you can do a genuinely effective country-pop seduction ballad. To hear how it can all go horribly wrong, listen to "Afternoon Delight."

24 - "Time in a Bottle," Jim Croce
The second of the late folkie's entries on this list, after "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" at 86. This song can't be heard without thinking of the man's fate. There really never seems to be enough time, does there?

23 - "The Most Beautiful Girl," Charlie Rich
Charlie's voice lifts this above your typical "my woman left me" country song. It's a voice that fits the genre without living up to all the cliches. An indisputable classic. He also showed up at #89 with "Very Special Love Song."

22 - "Band on the Run," Paul McCartney and Wings
The Cute Beatle's other band made the list with "Helen Wheels" at 91, the fantastic "Jet" at 77, and finally this immortal three-songs-in-one about a gang of fugitives trying not to get caught by the jailer man and Sailor Sam. This is probably where he peaked artistically post-Fab Four.

21 - "Billy, Don't Be a Hero," Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods
This story of a man who goes off to fight and gets himself killed by going above the call of duty, ignoring the pleas of his fiancee to "keep (his) head low" is actually set during the American Civil War, not Vietnam as is commonly thought. It was originally a U.K. #1 for the band Paper Lace, but before they could bring their version stateside, Donaldson and company put it out and scored a Number One of their own. But the Brits would score their own U.S. hit with another tale from America's past, which I'll mention at another time.

Tomorrow: I mention that thing I just said I'd mention at another time. Plus: Two "Blue" bands, a couple of novelty hits duke it out to be Uneasy Rider of an entire year, and two songs about looking back at the past occupy the top two spots.