December 2, 1978

1978, the final frontier. This is the last year of the seventies that we have yet to cover here. It's also going to be another short one, becaused this aired after the show expanded to four hours, so we pick it up partway through.


30 - "I'm Every Woman," Chaka Khan
29 - "We've Got Tonight," Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
28 - "Hot Child in the City," Nick Gilder
27 - "Part-Time Love," Elton John
26 - "You Never Done it Like That," The Captain and Tennille
25 - "The Power of Gold," Dan Fogelberg and Tim Weisberg
24 - "Ooh Baby Baby," Linda Ronstadt
23 - "Ready to Take a Chance Again," Barry Manilow
22 - "How You Gonna See Me Now," Alice Cooper
21 - "Don't Want to Live Without It," Pablo Cruise


Interesting start. Even though we're in the heart of the disco era, the genre isn't represented here by any of its big names. But that's not to say that there aren't songs that were played at the many Studio 54 imitators around the world. I'm certain booties were shook to Chaka Khan's celebration of the many facets of her femininity, which would later be covered by Whitney Houston and briefly used as the theme to Oprah. There's also a certain amount of disco influence in Elton John's entry here, although he'd explore the realm better later with "Mama Can't Buy You Love." This song was written with a lyricist other than Bernie Taupin. It was also banned in the Soviet Union. And then there's Pablo Cruise. Nothing to write home about, because, hey, it's Pablo Cruise. But it is indisputably disco...ish.


The rock contingent is led off by the Styx of Detroit, Bob Seger and his band, with his big hit ballad that was later covered by the unlikely duo of Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton. British-born Canadian went to #1 in the States with this glammy ode to a lady who is, as they would say these days, "good to go." As a child, it took me a while to get my head around the fact that a dude was singing this song, and all this time, I've had a mental picture of Mr. Gilder as this big-haired, made up Bowie wannabe. So now I finally looked up pictures of him from that era, and maybe this is just me, but damn if he didn't look quite a bit like Martina Navratilova. And Alice Cooper is present with his last hit of this decade, which is also this week's winner of the Uneasy Rider Award (Come on, you had to know he was going to win one eventually). From the concept album From the Inside, which was inspired by his stay at a sanitarium where he was treated for alcoholism, it takes the form a letter written by a patient to his wife telling her he's about to be released, and in the letter, the writer expresses his doubts and fears about how his beloved will accept him in his new state. Maybe this doesn't sound that odd, but there's just something about Alice's delivery of lines like "like a hobo in the snow," that just sounds more campy than serious. Anyway, with no Muppets or Disco Ducks in sight, Alice gets the nod this week. Oh, and if you were wondering what Bernie Taupin was doing at this time, he was co-writing this song.


The rest of this group falls into the MOR category. The Captain and Tennille are back with another surprisingly sexy hit that even shows hints of R&B influence. Dan Fogelberg teamed up with jazz flautist Tim Weisberg on a lite-rockin' cautionary tale about greed. Of course, if you live in an area with one of those stations that are playing all holiday music right now, you'll probably be hearing his tale of romantic regret on New Year's Eve "Same Old Lang Syne" several times in the next few weeks. Linda Ronstadt is back and cashing in on nostalgia again, this time with her second and most successful Smokey Robinson and the Miracles cover. And Barry Manilow shows up yet again with a song I remember best from its use in the SCTV sketch "Krishna Sings Manilow."


20 - "Sweet Life," Paul Davis
19 - "Change of Heart," Eric Carmen
18 - "Hold the Line," Toto
17 - "Straight On," Heart
16 - "Too Much Heaven," The Bee Gees


We start with easy-listening stalwart Paul Davis and his less successful followup to "I Go Crazy." Not much to say. I remember it, but it never mattered to me.


I've talked a lot of shit about Eric Carmen's post-Raspberries career. I must say, "Change of Heart" isn't that bad, though. Still, it doesn't make up for "Hungry Eyes."


Toto introduced themselves to the world with this reminder that "Love isn't always on time, whoa whoa whoa." Of course, they would have their greatest sucess three years later singing about blessing the rains in Africa and some chick who apparently isn't Rosanna Arquette, even though one of the band members had dated her.


Many rock acts at the time were incorporating disco beats into songs to improve their chances at Top 40 airplay. As these efforts go, Heart's "Straight On" is pretty good. Ann Wilson could belt it as well as a lot of divas, and the track is danceable but still recognizable as Heart's brand of medium-hard rock. But I still say, they should have broken up in 1980.


This group ends with the Bee Gees' first post-Saturday Night Fever single. It's another R&Bish ballad in the "How Deep is Your Love," mode. It was a huge hit, and apparently, it served a good cause; before its release, the group announced that all the publishing royalties from the song would be donated to UNICEF in honor of 1979 being the International Year of the Child. It would go on to raise over $7 million.


15 - "Y.M.C.A.," The Village People
14 - "Alive Again," Chicago
13 - "You Needed Me," Anne Murray
12 - "Strange Way," Firefall
11 - "Our Love (Don't Throw it All Away)," Andy Gibb


Here it is, the Village People's ever-popular ode to the Young Men's Christian Association and all of the fun things gentlemen can get together and do there. There has been speculation that this song has some underlying reference to (gasp) homosexual activity, but I never believed that. That sailor and that biker man just haven't found the right woman yet, Grandma, so it's perfectly safe for you to dance to at the wedding.


Chicago pop up again with a song that actually reminds me of the pre-"If You Leave Me Now" incarnation of the band. It's uptempo and unsappy. I'll take it.


Anne Murray had her biggest hit with a song that, in spite of its title, seems to be about how much she needs the person she's singing about. Quite a twist.


I gotta say, I like"Strange Way" much better than the other Firefall songs I've heard here. It's not great or anything, but at least the band sounds like they have at least one pulse among them.


Finally, it's Andy Gibb with a nice little ballad that holds up better than some of his disco smashes. I still don't think much of his catalogue overall, but this is okay.


Top Ten, ho!


10 - "Sharing the Night Together," Dr. Hook
More soft rock goop from the band that used to cover a lot of Shel Silverstein songs. From "Sylvia's Mother" to this? Ugh. Someone should have burned the Jefferson Starship playbook before these guys got their hands on it.


9 - "My Life," Billy Joel
An assertion of independence from the future Mr. Christie Brinkley and serial road hazard. It later was used as the theme song for the guys-in-drag sitcom Bosom Buddies, which introduced the world to Newhart star Peter Scolari. Oh, and some other guy named Hanks who did a few movies.


8 - "Time Passages," Al Stewart
The second of two Top Ten hits for this Scottish folk rocker (the first was 1976's "Year of the Cat.") His voice always sounded lazy to me, but in a good way.


7 - "I Love the Nightlife (Disco 'Round)," Alicia Bridges
I'm sure you all know this disco standard that is closely associated with the George Hamilton vampire spoof Love at First Bite (although it's apparently been removed from home video versions of the film for reasons unknown). I remember seeing about-to-be-divorced Luanne van Houten singing this while burning a box of her soon-to-be ex's possessions. And Apu Nahasapeemapetilon teaching a parrot to sing a version of this song with alternate lyrics for his lovely wife Manjula.


6 - "Double Vision," Foreigner
The title of Foreigner's biggest non-ballad hit (it reached #2) was apparently inspired not by intoxication but rather a concussion suffered during a hockey game by New York Rangers goalie John Davidson. More proof that these songs come from anywhere and everywhere.


5 - "I Just Wanna Stop," Gino Vanelli
Quebec's prince of blue-eyed soul had his biggest hit with this ballad about a guy who just wants to take a moment to express his feelings. It's also probably the biggest hit to mention Montreal in the lyrics.


4 - "Le Freak," Chic
This song was inspired by an incident where band members Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards tried to get into Studio 54 for a meeting with Grace Jones but weren't let in. Frustrated, the pair went back to Rodgers' apartment and jammed on a song that originally had the vocal hook "Aaaahhh, fuck off!" Later, with an eye on their business interests, they changed "fuck off" to "freak out" and the rest is history. Of course, nowadays they would have just kept the swear word, put out a video, and watched the song become a viral sensation and get nominated for multiple major Grammys. On an unrelated note, congratulations, Cee-Lo!

3 - "How Much I Feel," Ambrosia
For a band named after the food of the gods, their music sure was bland. This and "You're the Biggest Part of Me" were their biggest hits. And both sucked. Hard.

2 - "MacArthur Park," Donna Summer
Donna's disco version is just as over the top as Richard Harris', but in a different way. But I heard this version first, so it wins.

And the biggest of the big 32 years ago was...

1 - "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond
Originally, these two MOR heavyweights recorded this song separately, with neither version making many waves. But then a Louisville, Kentucky radio programmer edited the two versions together as a "going away gift" for the wife he was divorcing. The track eventually made it to air, became popular with the station's listeners, and started to get so much attention that Columbia Records convinced Streisand and Diamond to go into the studio and do a real duet. It's over the top and huge on drama, which is exactly what you want from these two.

Lots of bonus songs this week. The NotCasey extra was the week's #32, "Promises" by Eric Clapton. Casey played two #1s from spring 1971, Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World" (which I like, by the way) and "Brown Sugar" by The Rolling Stones. He also played Fleetwood Mac's "Over My Head" (from the band's self-titled album, which at the time held the record for spending the most weeks on the chart before hitting the top) and Rick Nelson's "Garden Party" (because according to Casey, Nelson was the most successful TV star-turned-singer ever). And there was a Long Distance Dedication: An 18-year-old guy dedicate the Atlanta Rhythm Section's "So Into You" to his secret crush Erica, who didn't know he existed when they were classmates and now was off studying at Stanford.

So now all the years have been touched on. But my work is not done. However, I no longer have a preference regarding what year comes next. Up for anything, I am.