July 14, 1979

Back to the end of the decade and cutoff shows. This week we get a Top 33.

33 - "Weekend," Wet Willie
32 - "Just When I Needed You Most," Randy Vanwarmer
31 - "Lead Me On," Maxine Nightingale
30 - "Up On the Roof," James Taylor
29 - "Love You Inside Out," The Bee Gees
28 - "People of the South Wind," Kansas
27 - "Shadows in the Moonlight," Anne Murray
26 - "The Main Event/Fight," Barbra Streisand
25 - "Getting Closer," Wings

We kick off with rock. Southern rockers Wet Willie had their biggest hit in 1974 with "Keep on Smilin'," but I'm more familiar with this one, in which they declare "you've gotta make the best of life while you're young." And while they try to stay true to their roots with not one but two harmonica solos, the beat, the strings, and the handclaps give this away as a leap onto the disco bandwagon. Kansas are back with one of their non-"Carry On Wayward Son"/"Dust in the Wind" hits. It's an upbeat song in which the singer longs to return to the titular people, but for some reason, he can't. The chorus is a bit hooky, but otherwise, this isn't much. And after going disco on the limp "Goodnight Tonight." Paul and his second band redeemed themselves with this straight-up rocker. It's got some strange lyrics, though. Paul refers to his beloved as "my salamander," and later, he for some reason warns, "Cattle, beware of snipers." These non-sequitirs, combined with a weak field of weirdness, combine to give Sir Paul and company this week's Uneasy Rider.

Then it's the light stuff. Randy Vanwarmer (still laughing at that name) returns to guilt trip a woman about her timing in breaking up with him. There are other ways to stay warm in a van, Randy, so lighten up on the lady. After three hitless years following her smash "Right Back Where We Started From," British singer Maxine Nightingale returned to the American charts with this ballad in which she seems to say, "I know you're not in love with me, but that's okay, I still wanna do it." But not that crassly, of course. James Taylor returns to his habit of slowing down and boring up old soul hits with this somnambulant cover of a 1962 Drifters classic. And Canada's Snowbird is here with a #1 country hit/booty call request. Anne, you minx you. But I still find it hard to differentiate it from Jennifer Warnes' "Right Time of the Night."

This section concludes with two pop acts gone disco. The Bee Gees, of course, had been doing this for years, reaping many #1s, including this one that I still say Feist improved 1000%. Barbra Streisand, on the other hand, was new to the genre when she recorded this theme tune for a movie in which she managed Ryan O'Neal's boxing career. But in the song, "the main event" is apparently "when we make love." If that's the case, Babs, I'm leaving during the undercard.

24 - "Do it or Die," The Atlanta Rhythm Section
23 - "Mama Can't Buy You Love," Elton John
22 - "I Was Made for Lovin' You," Kiss
21 - "Heart of the Night," Poco
20 - "Does Your Mother Know," ABBA
19 - "You Can't Change That," Raydio
18 - "Days Gone Down," Gerry Rafferty
17 - "I Can't Stand it No More," Peter Frampton
16 - "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now," McFadden and Whitehead

Soft stuff leads off this bunch. The Atlanta Rhythm Section show up with this slow bit of encouragement to live life to the fullest. Sorry boys, I'm not motivated. Poco are back with more bland country rock that I remember but don't really care about one way or the other. And the late Gerry Rafferty had his next-to-last American hit with this warm little number about good times in the past and hope for the future. It isn't "Baker Street," but what is? It'll do.

Yes, we have rockers. Elton John had his first Top Ten in three years with this jaunty bit of funk produced by legendary Philadelphia soul producer Thom Bell. It might be one of his last great singles. The four makeup-adorned New Yorkers who were so popular they had their own Army succumbed to disco with this pulsing track, but it must be said, the grimy sexuality that marked the best of the genre fit Kiss like a glove, so they hardly embarrassed themselves. In fact, it might be my favorite song of theirs. And Peter Frampton had his last hit with this simple rocker about leaving a woman because she doesn't treat him like his mama does (or something like that). After this dropped off the charts, "I Can't Stand it No More" was something most of the public said about his music.

We finish this group with disco and soul. ABBA are here with a song in which the lead vocal is sung not by one of the women, but by Bjorn Ulvaeus. In it, he comes off as a swarthy clubgoer debating whether or not to take home a girl who may not be of age. Creepy, cheesy fun. Ray Parker Jr.'s wacky punsters return with a vaguely stalkerish song that declares that no matter what the object of his obsession does, he loves her and only her. I know who I'm gonna call, Ray, and it ain't the Ghostbusters. And veteran R&B songwriters Gene McFadden and John Whitehead had their biggest hit as recording artists with this lush, optimistic disco production. Take note, Atlanta Rhythm Section. This is how you motivate people with music.

15 - "Dance the Night Away," Van Halen
14 - "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman," Dr. Hook
13 - "Good Times," Chic
12 - "We are Family," Sister Sledge
11 - "The Logical Song," Supertramp

This quintet opens with Van Halen's second Top 40 hit, a song that David Lee Roth has claimed was inspired by a woman who ran into a bar the band was playing in with her pants on backwards because she was being chased by police for having sex in a public place. That doesn't enhance my enjoyment of this song at all. But it doesn't deter from it, either. It's good.

Then it's Dr. Hook, who by this time had lost both "The Medicine Show" and their soul. This flaccid disco track is about how awful life is when you're girlfriend is very attractive. The paranoia! The jealousy! You poor bastard. You should have listened to that song "If You Wanna be Happy (For the Rest of Your Life)." Apparently, you'd be much more content if you heeded that song's advice.

Chic show up with the second of their twin disco masterpieces, in which they combine old timey refenences to the jive, the jitterbug, and "the sporting life," with a state-of-the-art funk groove. This song alone is enough to counter a million "disco sucks" arguments.

Sister Sledge return with their bumping ode to blood ties, also produced by Chic's Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers. This may have been the best time ever to be on a dance floor.

Lastly we have Supertramp and their song about trying to avoid being dulled by a system that prizes uniformity. I'm not sure if that's getting easier or harder.

Ten tunes that had greatness thrust upon them:

10 - "Gold," John Stewart
First of all, note the "h," those of you who want to make the cheap "Isn't he the guy from The Daily Show?" joke. This John Stewart was a veteran musician whose biggest career highlights were his late-period membership in The Kingston Trio and writing the Monkees hit "Daydream Believer." Then, as he neared 40, he wrote a song in which he noted, possibly with some bitterness, that "there's people out there turning music into gold." Two of those people were Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, and as luck would have it, those two would play guitar and sing backup, respectively, on Stewart's record. The result: a hit at last for Stewart, and a slow-burning rocker that I loved since the moment I heard it. Top 20 of the decade for me, easy.

9 - "Shine a Little Love," Electric Light Orchestra
Like many pop and rock artists at this time (a few of which we've encountered in this very countdown), ELO took a stab at incorporating disco into their sound. But given their natural love of using strings, it was probably an easier transition for them than for others. Anyway, this is the result, and it's pretty damn good. Spacey, just a little funky, and Jeff Lynne's falsetto works almost as well in this context as Barry Gibb's does. Almost.

8 - "I Want You to Want Me," Cheap Trick
This Rockford, Illinois band hadn't yet broken through in their home country in April of 1978, but they had gotten big enough in Japan to sell out the famed Budokan Hall in Tokyo, where they recorded a live album containing a version of this simple yet irresistable rocker. This version, powered in part by the enthusiasm of the Japanese crowd, finally got them an American hit. Sometimes you have to go halfway around the world to get love at home.

7 - "Makin' It," David Naughton
Here's the case for "disco sucks." Almost makes me ashamed to admit I like Dr. Pepper.

6 - "Boogie Wonderland," Earth, Wind and Fire with the Emotions
The funk superstars teamed up with the vocal group consisting of three Hutchinson sisters, for whom EWF leader Maurice White had written the 1978 #1 "Best of My Love," on this floor-filler. The title, of course, instantly dates it, but I doubt your butt would care if you were listening to it right now.

5 - "She Believes in Me," Kenny Rogers
Kenny's song about his songwriting struggles and the woman who endures them, martyrlike, in the name of love, is back. It's still okay.

4 - "Chuck E.'s in Love," Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee returns, playing it cool while singing about the laid-back dude who's got a crush on her. Still not sure how this got to be such a big hit, but I'm oh so glad it did.

3 - "Hot Stuff," Donna Summer
Donna doesn't want to go home alone tonight. And she's not going to, no matter what. This song proves that disco was able to project the urgency of lust as good or better than any musical genre ever invented.

2 - "Ring My Bell," Anita Ward
Ex-schoolteacher Ward was a one hit wonder, but that one hit was this disco classic that topped charts all around the world. The song has many beeps and jangles meant to simulate the sound of bells ringing, as well as "ding dong ding dong" contributions from the backup singers. But a close examinination of both the lyrics and Ward's sultry, girly vocals reveal that this song may not be about campanology, but rather, and I'm sure you'll never believe this but it's true, SEX! Shocked, I am.

And ruling the airwaves 32 years ago was...

1 - "Bad Girls," Donna Summer
On this number, Donna isn't the one on the prowl. Rather, she's describing the lives of others who are similarly inclined. She seems a little judgmental of them, but she also seems to empathize with them. Oh well, who cares, we're all too busy dancing and singing "Toot toot, ah, beep beep." And I believe this is probably the best use of the whistle as a musical instrument in all of the disco era.

The NotCaseys were songs 34 and 35 from this week's chart: "Sad Eyes" by Robert John and "Is She Really Going Out with Him" by Joe Jackson. Casey played two #1s from 1974: Billy Preston's "Nothing from Nothing" and Olivia Newton-John's "I Honestly Love You." And the Long Distance Dedication was "You are the Sunshine of My Life," sent out by a pastor and his wife to a young woman they befriended at the church they just left for another gig.

So anotther one's gone. The 70s continue next week, but the 80s are getting closer all the time. See ya.