Back to spring '76. The Montreal Canadiens were on their way to the first of four straight Stanley Cups, and a little-known Georgia peanut farmer was on his way to securing the Democratic nomaination for the Presidency of the United States. I was five. And this was the background music for all of this:
40 - "Hit the Road Jack," The Stampeders
39 - "Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)," Fleetwood Mac
38 - "Misty Blue," Dorothy Moore
37 - "Trying to Get That Feeling Again," Barry Manilow
36 - "We Can't Hide it Anymore," Larry Santos
35 - "Strange Magic," Electric Light Orchestra
34 - "Sara Smile," Daryl Hall and John Oates
33 - "Fopp," The Ohio Players
32 - "You'll Lose a Good Thing," Freddy Fender
31 - "Lorelei," Styx
We begin with rock. Canada's Stampeders had their second and final U.S. hit five years after "Sweet City Woman, with a chugging Ray Charles cover that features the trademark patter of Wolfman Jack at the beginning and end. Fleetwood Mac are here with the song that launched the image of Stevie Nicks as a modern-day witch-goddess. She named this song after a character in a novel she read on an airplane, and only later learned that Rhiannon was a major figure in Welsh mythology. Anyway, this is pure unadulterated Stevie, and therefore wonderful. ELO are here with another slow one. And the lyrics aren't much. But it's okay. And Styx had their second top 40 with a ballad that's basically a slightly rockier "Lady." Nothing essential.
A couple of R&B numbers. Dorothy Moore had her biggest of two hits with this song that was originally a country hit in the 60s for both Wilma Burgess and Eddy Arnold. This one is sweetly heartbreaking, despite being produced by Mr. Sunshine himself, Harry Casey. And The Ohio Players invented a new word for this hard-funkin' single. I'm not sure what "fopping" is, but according to the song, if you do it hard enough, you can "make the people warm" or even lose your shoe. Good to know. And even though the word "fopp" never caught on, for making the effort, the Players take this week's Uneasy Rider award.
MOR fills out the rest. Barry's back with a song that I think might be among my top 5 of his, in which he's lost his passion for his lady during her absence and just can't seem to find it even now that she's coming back. Tough luck, Bare. Footnote Larry Santos is past that point and is sneaking around behind his lover's back, but he knows the jig will soon be up. The song's not much, but Santos sounded a bit like a white Lou Rawls, which is nice. Hall and Oates are here with their first hit, a pretty ballad written about Daryl's girlfriend. I wonder if Johnny O.'s girl got a song of her own as well. If not, I'll bet she was pissed. And Freddy Fender had his last pop hit with a basic country song telling his woman that she'll lose him if she doesn't stop running around. He should have known the hits were about to dry up after winning the Best New Artist Grammy. That thing's a well-known kiss of death in the music industry. The Academy did you a favor, Bieber.
30 - "Love Fire," Jigsaw
29 - "Looking for Space," John Denver
28 - "Only Love is Real," Carole King
27 - "Livin' for the Weekend," The O'Jays
26 - "Shannon," Henry Gross
25 - "Tangerine," Salsoul Orchestra
24 - "Take it to the Limit," The Eagles
23 - "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do," ABBA
22 - "Love Machine," The Miracles
21 - "Action," Sweet
Big stack of light sounds here. Jigsaw had their only other American hit after the Top Ten "Sky High" with this similar, less memorable tune. But I did like it when another, deeper-voiced singer unexpectedly popped up for a second. John Denver shows up this week with his typical granola folk. This song, however, was inspired by Denver's involvement in the controversial self-help training program "est," and is therefore a little more interesting than average. Carole King is back from our last trip to these parts, still singing about love and positivity in her comforting, hot cocoa-ish way. Henry Gross makes it two countdowns in a row with songs inspired by dead dogs. This one was written about the death of a canine belonging to Beach Boy Carl Wilson. That's sad and all, but it doesn't make up for the fact that the chorus contains one of the most annoying falsettos ever. And Sweden's finest show's up with a song that I'm sure has accompanied many a walk down the aisle. Apparently, this song contains elements of a form of European pop music known as schlager. I like this ABBA tune, but it does not inspire me to go seeking out more schlager. Well, maybe Goldschlager.
Three soul-disco hits in the bunch. The O'Jays added another entry in the catalogue of songs about enjoying the freedom of the days off at the end of the week, but I don't mind, because hell, they're the freaking O'Jays. The house band of Salsoul records with a song that Casey now informs me was first a hit for big-band leader Jimmy Dorsey. For some reason, there were quite a few early disco hits that were covers of songs from the first half of the century. Huh. And The Miracles were on the way down from the top with their song about that fanous apparatus that "won't work for nobody but you." But I bet a skilled hacker could change that.
Two rock songs close Act One. The Eagles return asking to be put on a highway and shown a sign. Apparently, they were pointed in the direction of a rather strange hotel, if their next album was any indication. And England's power-glam heroes Sweet remind us all that what we really want and need is excitement. And this song does its best to provide.
Tomorrow: a sitcom theme, the dancing disease, and a man who came alive.
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