Cleaning up.
20 - "You and I," Rick James
19 - "Love is in the Air," John Paul Young
18 - "Life's Been Good," Joe Walsh
17 - "My Angel Baby," Toby Beau
16 - "Hot Child in the City," Nick Gilder
The second half begins with the first hit by Buffalo funk-rocker Rick James. This ia a solid slab of disco in which he says his relationship is so great, "our love has greater wealth than Hughes himself." Howard Hughes, presumably. Anyway, this guy was a prolific R&B chart regular whose past includes being in bands with Neil Young, and it's kind of a shame that he's know best known as a drugged out Dave Chappelle character. Actually, it's a bitch.
Next is the only American hit for Aussie John Paul Young. This is a terrible example of what could happen when easy-listening met disco. It ended up in commercials for flower shops. A deservedly ignoble fate.
Then it's then-Eagle Joe Walsh and his memorable breakdown of what the typical life of a multimillionaire rockstar entailed circa 1978: trashing hotel rooms on the road, owning expensive homes you never set foot inside and fancy sports cars you're not allowed to drive anymore, getting shitfaced drunk at parties, etc. The attitude is perhaps best summed up in the line "I can't complain, but sometimes I still do." This song undoubtedly paved the way for This is Spinal Tap.
Like Alice Cooper (at least at first), Toby Beau were a band, not one guy. But unlike Alice Cooper, they weren't named after a person, but rather a shrimp boat. That's much more interesting than this generic rock ballad.
This section finishes with Vancouverite Nick Gilder and his glam-rock #1 about a young lady who attracts quite a bit of attention. I must have heard this song a thousand times, but I still have a hard time believing that the voice on this song belongs to a man. It just doesn't sound even the slightest bit masculine.
15 - "Fool (If You Think it's Over)," Chris Rea
14 - "Copacabana," Barry Manilow
13 - "Got to Get You into My Life," Earth, Wind and Fire
12 - "Shame," Evelyn "Champagne" King
11 - "Kiss You All Over," Exile
We begin with the only U.S. Top 40 by Englishman Chris Rea. His record label originally wanted to change his name to Benny Santini, but not only would Rea not agree to that, he called his debut LP Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? Anyway, this song is a catchy but unspectacular bit of MOR about a guy who just can't get over a teenage love affair. And the name is pronounce "REE-uh," not "Ray."
Next is Barry Manilow and arguably his most memorable hit, a disco melodrama about young lovers Lola and Tony, a dancer and bartender, respectively, at the titular nightclub. Then one night, a gangster named Rico came to the club and decided to get fresh with Lola. Tony stepped in, the two men began fighting, and then there was a gunshot. "But just who...shot...who?" We learn the answer to that question in the last verse, where we find Lola still at the Copa years later, still dressed in her costume from her dancing days, unaware that the club is now a disco as she sits and gets sloppy drunk every night, because "she lost her youth and she lost her Tony, now she's lost her mind." An earworm from the word go, and this week's 70s winner of the Uneasy Rider.
Then it's Earth, Wind and fire with another Beatles cover from the Sgt. Pepper movie. They do much better than Robin Gibb, but probably because the original's R&B-influenced groove is right in the band's wheelhouse.
Bronx-born, Philly-raised Evelyn King was only 18 when she scored her first and biggest hit with this disco classic about wild, uncontrollable desire. And isn't that what disco itself was all about?
Why, yes it was, answer Kentucky's Exile on their biggest hit, a #1 dance-rocker about wanting to apply ones lips to the entirety of a lover's body. This is a song that I probably like more than I should. Anyway, Exile eventually would change tack and become a big country band in the 80s. Wouldn't have predicted that at the time.
Top Ten, the most effectual Top TenL
10 - "Last Dance," Donna Summer
Disco's monarch returns with her Oscar-winning hit from the forgotten film Thank God it's Friday. I still say she seems a little too enthusiastic when she sings about needing someone to scold her. I think, I think I know her kink.
9 - "An Everlasting Love," Andy Gibb
A nice little midtempo ballad from the other brother. This was his first Top 40 not to go to #1, but I think it's my favorite of his. Like I said, Andy's growing on me.
8 - "Magnet and Steel," Walter Egan
This guy's only hit is this solid rock ballad about finding love with a woman he can feel comfotable sharing secrets with. Part of this song's success must be attributed to Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham, who co-produced the song. The Mac could do no wrong at this time.
7 - "Hopelessly Devoted to You," Olivia Newton-John
The song Sandy sings after leaving the slumber party where Rizzo and the rest of the Pink Ladies made fun of her with "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee." She realizes that in spite of everything, she still loves Danny Zuko. Yeah, I've seen that movie too many times.
6 - "Love Will Find a Way," Pablo Cruise
The second and final Top Ten for this faceless MOR machine. I'll be all right once I get past the pain of having to hear this song again.
5 - "Hot Blooded," Foreingner
The third Top Ten in the then-young career of this Anglo-American band finds Lou Gramm on the make, asking a female fan "Do you do more than dance?" and asking what her post-show plans are. Later, Homer Simpson sang a version of this, retitled "Hot Butter," while covered in unpopped popcorn and blasting himself with a hair dryer. I believe it was for a radio station contest of some sort.
4 - "Boogie Oogie Oogie," A Taste of Honey
The only #1 for this L.A. disco band who named themselves after a Herb Alpert song. It issues a command to get up and danced "till you just can't boogie no more." And with this groove, you can't help but obey.
3 - "Miss You," The Rolling Stones
The Stones return with their best foray into disco, in which Mick is so despondent over his lost love that he doesn't even care when his friends offer to visit with "some Puerto Rican girls that are just dyin' to meet you." Somehow, I don't think that was the kind of offer Mr. Jagger refused too often in real life.
2 - "Three Times a Lady," The Commodores
Lionel Richie and co.'s first #1, apparently inspired by Richie's parents' relationship. Later, it, like "Looking for Love," was performed by Eddie Murphy as Buckwheat, retitled "Fee Times a Mady."
And 33 years ago, America had its charts topped by...
1 - "Grease," Frankie Valli
Yes, this ex-Four Season's anachronistic disco contribution to a movie about the 50s made it all the way to the top. But the animated sequence at the beginning of the film that this song accompanies still holds a special place in my heart.
There was only one NotCasey extra this week, The Who's "Who are You." The other two spots where NotCaseys normally go were occupied by modern day-Casey himself. You see, this episode contained the first ever Long Distance Dedication: A boy named James dedicate Neil Diamond's "Desiree" to a girl named Desiree he knew for a week before she had to move to Germany with her military family. Casey interviewed both James and Desiree about the dedication and its aftermath. Yes, he did go visit her in Germany. But the relationship didn't last due to the distance.
So that's it for this week. Next week, I'm only doing the 80s full on, but there are a few songs on next week's 70s chart that I haven't covered yet and find interesting, so I'll just tack my thoughts on those on to one of the 80s entries. And that will be the normal pattern moving forward. See how that works out next week.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
August 26, 1978 Part One
I'm back again, still with one foot in the 70s. This time, it's the chart from the month after the world's first "test tube baby" was born.
40 - "Shadow Dancing," Andy Gibb
39 - "Love Theme from Eyes of Laura Mars (Prisoner)," Barbra Streisand
38 - "Right Down the Line," Gerry Rafferty
37 - "Think it Over," Cheryl Ladd
36 - "Don't Look Back," Boston
35 - "Get Off," Foxy
34 - "A Rock n' Roll Fantasy," The Kinks
33 - "Oh! Darling," Robin Gibb
32 - "Just What I Needed," The Cars
31 - "Whenever I Call You Friend," Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks
We begin with disco. Andy Gibb picked up his third and final #1 with this song in which he asks someone to "drag me across the floor." Romantic. But I believe Andy's starting to grow on me. And Miami's Foxy scored the biggest of their two pop hits with this song whose sound and lyrics are every bit as raunchy as the title would indicate. "We keep under the sheets with two lovelies so we can get off," they sing. Ah, those crazy seventies.
A big chunk of the soft stuff in this bunch. Producer Jon Peters bought a screenplay called Eyes of Laura Mars for his then-lover Barbra Streisand to star in. Babs decided against doing the movie, which was about a fashion photographer who has murderous visions, allowing Faye Dunaway to snap up the role. But she did contribute this song to the soundtrack, a showy but unremarkable ballad comparing romantic love to captivity. Irishman Gerry Rafferty followed up the smash "Baker Street" with this sweet ode to a loyal woman who's been "as constant as a northern star" in his life. It's the only other song of his I remember from childhood, though apparently he had two more hits back then. Cheryl Ladd was best known for appearing in TV commercials when she was tapped to replace an unhappy Farrah Fawcett on Charlie's Angels While she appeared on that show, she tried her hand at reviving the music career she had sort of begun earlier in the decade singing on the Josie and the Pussycats cartoon. The result was this unspectacular piano-pop number that advised listeners to "learn from love and not from numbers." Her name got her on the radio, but it couldn't make it stick, as the song would only climb three more notches on the charts. Robin Gibb is here on his own with this limp cover of a track from The Beatles' Abbey Road album. This was on the soundtrack of the legendarily insane Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie, which starred The Bee Gees, Peter Frampton, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Steve Martin, George Burns, and many, many more. I should search that out sometime for shits and giggles. And Kenny Loggins made his first Messina-free impression on the charts with a little help from Fleetwood Mac's resident witchy woman. It's a cool little pop song, made better by the implications that the two of them call each other more than just "friend." "I know forever we'll be doin' it..." they sing, before adding, "...right." But then at the end, they drop the right, and just keep repeating "doin' it." Get a room, you crazy kids!
The rest of this section is rock. Boston are here with the title track from their second album, which leader Tom Scholz considered a "rush job" in spite of it coming out two years after their debut. Their third album came out in 1986. Part of that was because of lawsuits between the band and their record label, but I'm not sure how much quicker it would have come out without the legal trouble. As for the song, well, all their stuff that isn't "More Than a Feeling" tends to blend together in my mind. They just seem generic to me. The Davies brothers and their Kink Ko-horts had their first American pop hit in eight years with this melancholy number that alternately celebrates and dismisses the power and relevance of pop music. This is the kind of complicated theme that Ray Davies excels at conveying. And Boston's fellow Bostonians The Cars made their Top 40 debut with this song about a woman bassist Benjamin Orr likes having around, even if she is "wasting all my time." This was one of America's first introductions to New Wave, and as calling cards go, it's pretty damn good.
30 - "Rivers of Babylon," Boney M.
29 - "Close the Door," Teddy Pendergrass
28 - "You Needed Me," Anne Murray
27 - "Hollywood Nights," Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
26 - "Macho Man," The Village People
25 - "You," Rita Coolidge
24 - "Two Tickets to Paradise," Eddie Money
23 - "Reminiscing," The Little River Band
22 - "Stuff Like That," Quincy Jones
21 - "Summer Nights," John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
.
We begin this section with disco and soul. Boney M. were a group of singers and dancers put together by German record producer Frank Farian. They had a number of hits in Europe, but they only cracked the American Top 40 once, with this cover of a reggae song whose lyrics come directly from the Bible, specifically Psalms 19 and 137. It's okay, but both in my childhood and in my current incarnation, I greatly prefer their wonderfully warped disco take on Russian history, "Rasputin," which didn't crack the U.S. but was pretty big in Canada. Oh, and it was later revealed that not all of Boney M.'s vocals were performed by the actual group members. Something similar would later come out about another Farian creation, Milli Vanilli. Teddy Pendergrass became a huge R&B star after leaving Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, but he only managed one solo pop Top 40, a sultry slice of midtempo soul in which he promises to treat his lady to pleasures rated both G ("Let me rub your back when you say it's sore") and R ("Plenty good lovin' all through the night"). He's definitely up their with 70s soul's supreme lovermen. The Village people first penetrated mainstream America's consciousness with their first Top 40 single, a glorification of machismo which proved that, as threatened and disgusted as much of the general population still was by homosexuality at the time, those same people did not know a thinly-disguised gay anthem when they heard one. And I think the world ended up better for it. And megaproducer Quincy Jones scored his first hit as a recording artist with this funky number about a joint where a lot of very...interesting things go down. Vocals on the track were provided by Chaka Khan, as well as the husband and wife duo of Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. Nick Ashford died this past week, so RIP.
Oh, and now that I'm a respectable distance from paying my respects to the deceased, I've just gotta say that Quincy's daughter Rashida is some kinda hot.
The middle of the road is a little less crowded around these parts, but there's still plenty of action. Nova Scotia's Anne Murray had her only American pop charttopper with this pretty ballad that I still say is more about how much she needs the person she's singing about than the other way around. Rita Coolidge is here with a peppier-than-usual number for her, but it can't disguise the fact that she's Rita Coolidge, and Rita Coolidge music sucks. As does Little River Band music, the suckiest example of which is this hunk o' crap that insults the memories of Glenn Miller and Cole Porter by mentioning them. And yet it was their biggest American hit. I guess that figures. And John and Olivia, or should I say Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson, are assisted by various T-Birds and Pink Ladies on this fun he said/she said singalong from Grease. It was good (ba ba ba), you know what I mean (ba ba ba).
And we'll finish off this half with some meat-and-potatoes rock. The Styx of Detroit had another of their hits with an anthemic rocker about a boy from the midwest who gets caught up in the fast livin' and fast women of Los Angeles. Nothing original, but definitely one of Seger's best. And Eddie Money picked up his second hit with this chugging offer to take his love away to somewhere "so far from here." His lack of specifics would make me wonder, but I'd probably still go with him, were I the type of girl to date Eddie Money. And I'm not that type of girl. Or any type of girl, for that matter. Sorry, Eddie.
Tomorrow: the perils of being a rock star, a fictional nightclub tragedy, and Buckwheat strikes again.
40 - "Shadow Dancing," Andy Gibb
39 - "Love Theme from Eyes of Laura Mars (Prisoner)," Barbra Streisand
38 - "Right Down the Line," Gerry Rafferty
37 - "Think it Over," Cheryl Ladd
36 - "Don't Look Back," Boston
35 - "Get Off," Foxy
34 - "A Rock n' Roll Fantasy," The Kinks
33 - "Oh! Darling," Robin Gibb
32 - "Just What I Needed," The Cars
31 - "Whenever I Call You Friend," Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks
We begin with disco. Andy Gibb picked up his third and final #1 with this song in which he asks someone to "drag me across the floor." Romantic. But I believe Andy's starting to grow on me. And Miami's Foxy scored the biggest of their two pop hits with this song whose sound and lyrics are every bit as raunchy as the title would indicate. "We keep under the sheets with two lovelies so we can get off," they sing. Ah, those crazy seventies.
A big chunk of the soft stuff in this bunch. Producer Jon Peters bought a screenplay called Eyes of Laura Mars for his then-lover Barbra Streisand to star in. Babs decided against doing the movie, which was about a fashion photographer who has murderous visions, allowing Faye Dunaway to snap up the role. But she did contribute this song to the soundtrack, a showy but unremarkable ballad comparing romantic love to captivity. Irishman Gerry Rafferty followed up the smash "Baker Street" with this sweet ode to a loyal woman who's been "as constant as a northern star" in his life. It's the only other song of his I remember from childhood, though apparently he had two more hits back then. Cheryl Ladd was best known for appearing in TV commercials when she was tapped to replace an unhappy Farrah Fawcett on Charlie's Angels While she appeared on that show, she tried her hand at reviving the music career she had sort of begun earlier in the decade singing on the Josie and the Pussycats cartoon. The result was this unspectacular piano-pop number that advised listeners to "learn from love and not from numbers." Her name got her on the radio, but it couldn't make it stick, as the song would only climb three more notches on the charts. Robin Gibb is here on his own with this limp cover of a track from The Beatles' Abbey Road album. This was on the soundtrack of the legendarily insane Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie, which starred The Bee Gees, Peter Frampton, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Steve Martin, George Burns, and many, many more. I should search that out sometime for shits and giggles. And Kenny Loggins made his first Messina-free impression on the charts with a little help from Fleetwood Mac's resident witchy woman. It's a cool little pop song, made better by the implications that the two of them call each other more than just "friend." "I know forever we'll be doin' it..." they sing, before adding, "...right." But then at the end, they drop the right, and just keep repeating "doin' it." Get a room, you crazy kids!
The rest of this section is rock. Boston are here with the title track from their second album, which leader Tom Scholz considered a "rush job" in spite of it coming out two years after their debut. Their third album came out in 1986. Part of that was because of lawsuits between the band and their record label, but I'm not sure how much quicker it would have come out without the legal trouble. As for the song, well, all their stuff that isn't "More Than a Feeling" tends to blend together in my mind. They just seem generic to me. The Davies brothers and their Kink Ko-horts had their first American pop hit in eight years with this melancholy number that alternately celebrates and dismisses the power and relevance of pop music. This is the kind of complicated theme that Ray Davies excels at conveying. And Boston's fellow Bostonians The Cars made their Top 40 debut with this song about a woman bassist Benjamin Orr likes having around, even if she is "wasting all my time." This was one of America's first introductions to New Wave, and as calling cards go, it's pretty damn good.
30 - "Rivers of Babylon," Boney M.
29 - "Close the Door," Teddy Pendergrass
28 - "You Needed Me," Anne Murray
27 - "Hollywood Nights," Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
26 - "Macho Man," The Village People
25 - "You," Rita Coolidge
24 - "Two Tickets to Paradise," Eddie Money
23 - "Reminiscing," The Little River Band
22 - "Stuff Like That," Quincy Jones
21 - "Summer Nights," John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
.
We begin this section with disco and soul. Boney M. were a group of singers and dancers put together by German record producer Frank Farian. They had a number of hits in Europe, but they only cracked the American Top 40 once, with this cover of a reggae song whose lyrics come directly from the Bible, specifically Psalms 19 and 137. It's okay, but both in my childhood and in my current incarnation, I greatly prefer their wonderfully warped disco take on Russian history, "Rasputin," which didn't crack the U.S. but was pretty big in Canada. Oh, and it was later revealed that not all of Boney M.'s vocals were performed by the actual group members. Something similar would later come out about another Farian creation, Milli Vanilli. Teddy Pendergrass became a huge R&B star after leaving Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, but he only managed one solo pop Top 40, a sultry slice of midtempo soul in which he promises to treat his lady to pleasures rated both G ("Let me rub your back when you say it's sore") and R ("Plenty good lovin' all through the night"). He's definitely up their with 70s soul's supreme lovermen. The Village people first penetrated mainstream America's consciousness with their first Top 40 single, a glorification of machismo which proved that, as threatened and disgusted as much of the general population still was by homosexuality at the time, those same people did not know a thinly-disguised gay anthem when they heard one. And I think the world ended up better for it. And megaproducer Quincy Jones scored his first hit as a recording artist with this funky number about a joint where a lot of very...interesting things go down. Vocals on the track were provided by Chaka Khan, as well as the husband and wife duo of Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. Nick Ashford died this past week, so RIP.
Oh, and now that I'm a respectable distance from paying my respects to the deceased, I've just gotta say that Quincy's daughter Rashida is some kinda hot.
The middle of the road is a little less crowded around these parts, but there's still plenty of action. Nova Scotia's Anne Murray had her only American pop charttopper with this pretty ballad that I still say is more about how much she needs the person she's singing about than the other way around. Rita Coolidge is here with a peppier-than-usual number for her, but it can't disguise the fact that she's Rita Coolidge, and Rita Coolidge music sucks. As does Little River Band music, the suckiest example of which is this hunk o' crap that insults the memories of Glenn Miller and Cole Porter by mentioning them. And yet it was their biggest American hit. I guess that figures. And John and Olivia, or should I say Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson, are assisted by various T-Birds and Pink Ladies on this fun he said/she said singalong from Grease. It was good (ba ba ba), you know what I mean (ba ba ba).
And we'll finish off this half with some meat-and-potatoes rock. The Styx of Detroit had another of their hits with an anthemic rocker about a boy from the midwest who gets caught up in the fast livin' and fast women of Los Angeles. Nothing original, but definitely one of Seger's best. And Eddie Money picked up his second hit with this chugging offer to take his love away to somewhere "so far from here." His lack of specifics would make me wonder, but I'd probably still go with him, were I the type of girl to date Eddie Money. And I'm not that type of girl. Or any type of girl, for that matter. Sorry, Eddie.
Tomorrow: the perils of being a rock star, a fictional nightclub tragedy, and Buckwheat strikes again.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
August 30, 1980 Part Two
Concluding matters.
20 - "Old-Fashion Love," The Commodores
19 - "You're the Only Woman," Ambrosia
18 - "Why Not Me," Fred Knoblock
17 - "JoJo," Boz Scaggs
16 - "Drivin' My Life Away," Eddie Rabbitt
We begin Part Two with Lionel Richie and his fellow Tuskegee soulmen, with a song about an old school-beauty. This would not have sounded out of place on the radio ten years earlier. Not one they're remembered for, but worth seeking out.
Next are Ambrosia with another one of their boring hits. They did do more interesting things, like playing on The Alan Parsons project's debut album and putting out a song with lyrics from Kurt Vonnegut's novel Cat's Cradle. But they had most of their success as a blandness delivery system. Unfortunate.
Then it's Mississippi country singer Fred Knoblock's only pop hit. On it, he's attending the wedding of an ex-lover, all the while wondering why it couldn't have been him up their with her. Not only is this not a new experience for him, but the lyrics seem to indicate that there are a group of other guys in the same position as him that he always runs into at these nuptials. Kind of weird. And kind of weird is good enough this week for an Uneasy Rider award. Oh, and I forgot to announce the winner last week. It was "Puttin' on the Ritz."
The man born William Royce Scaggs with a song about a flashy drug dealer/pimp who digs "spinning lights" and "Broadway nights." It's cool midtempo funk that sounds like a cross between George Benson's "Breezin'" and a Toto song. You wouldn't think that combo would work, but it does. And to my knowledge, the song has nothing to do with either figure skater JoJo Starbuck nor Boston Celtics guard Jo Jo White, both of whom were household names at the time.
Last in this bunch is Eddie Rabbitt's first pop Top Ten, a rollicking number about life on the road from the soundtrack of the movie Roadie, which starred Meat Loaf in the title role and featured appearances by Alice Cooper, Blondie, and Roy Orbison as themselves. Haven't seen it.
15 - "Take a Little Rhythm," Ali Thomson
14 - "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," Billy Joel
13 - "Lookin' for Love," Johnny Lee
12 - "Into the Night," Benny Mardones
11 - "Late in the Evening," Paul Simon
This quintet opens with Scotland's Ali Thomson, whose brother was in Supertramp. His only moment in the spotlight was this pleasant soft rocker that recommends that those who are overwhelmed by the stresses of life "just sit back and let the music flow." Not an original sentiment, and one that's been expressed better by others, but this is okay radio fodder. Nothing to be ashamed of.
Next is Billy Joel with his first career #1, a pulsing declaration that in spite of changing looks and trends, the genre that developed in the mid-50s remains alive, and he loves it all: "hot funk, cool punk, even if it's old junk." His mashup of a Cars-like bass sound with rockabilly swagger and a raucous sax solo hasn't dated well, but it still has it's charms.
Then it's country singer Johnny Lee, the pride of Texas City, Texas, with his only pop hit, a song about searching for romance "in all the wrong places" that was featured prominently in the hit John Travolta movie Urban Cowboy. By the end of the song, thankfully, Johnny finds true love at last, presumably by looking in the correct locations. Oh, and if you think you don't know this song, let me ask you this: Have you ever seen the Eddie Murphy SNL sketch "Buckwheat Sings?" And if so, do you remember him singing "Wookin' Pa Nub?" That's this song.
Cleveland singer Benny Mardones only had one hit, but it had two runs in the Top 40, nine years apart. It reached #11 this year, then in 1989, an Arizona radio station played it as part of a "Where are they now?" feature, and it got such a response that it was added to the station's playlist, and other stations in other cities followed suit, propelling it to #20. The song itself is a big, belted ballad that seems romantic until you consider that the guy singing "She's just sixteen years old/'Leave her alone,' they say" was in his early 30s at the time, and in his early 40s when it became a hit again. He shouldn't have been taking her anywhere, let alone showing her a love like she's never seen. We know what you really mean by that, creep.
Finishing this section is Paul Simon's first 80s hit, a song from the soundtrack of his semi-autobiographical movie One-Trick Pony. I haven't heard good things about the movie, but I did love this song as a kid, and I still do. It's a Latin-flavored bumper about a guy reminiscing about how music has touched his life over the years. I didn't know at nine what Paul meant when he referred to smoking a "J." I probably thought it was just another brand of cigarettes.
Hittin' ya with a ten-spot:
10 - "More Love," Kim Carnes
This was the Hollywood native's first solo hit, a state-of-the-art uptempo pop song in which Kim pledges that "my love will be so sound it'll take a hundred lifetimes to...wear it down." Not bad, but there was no indication here that the awesomeness that is "Bette Davis Eyes" was soon to follow.
9 - "Let My Love Open the Door," Pete Townshend
The Who guitarist's first Ametican hit, a catchy pop-rocker in which Townshend promises to be there for you in tough times. Some have interpreted this song as having Christian connotations. Apparently, Pete himself has even stated that the concept behind the song is "Jesus sings." All I know is that I often confuse the keyboard opening of this song to that of the 1982 Who song "Eminence Front."
8 - "Give Me the Night," George Benson
On this, his biggest hit, the jazz guitarist tries to coax a lady to come out with him and enjoy the pleasures of the nightlife, both public and private. Not much to say about this one. Just doesn't inspire much passion in me either way.
7 - "All Out of Love," Air Supply
This big ballad was the second American hit for these Aussie softies, which Casey informs us broke the record for longest held note in a Top Ten single. (Russell Hitchcock holds the word "wrong" for 16.1 seconds at the very end.) Never did much for me, but I always got a chuckle from the opening line "I'm lying alone with my head on the phone."
6 - "Fame," Irene Cara
"I'm gonna live forever!" Cara declares on her first hit, the strident title song from the film about students at a performing-arts high school in which she starred. Years later, the staff of Springfield Elementary would perform their own version of this as the opening number of a faculty talent show.
5 - "Take Your Time (Do it Right)," The S.O.S. Band
The initials in this R&B group's name stand for "Sounds Of Success," and they did indeed find success on their debut single, a discoey funk workout about slowing down to do things properly. It features some great belting from singer Mary Davis, and an understated-yet-funky guitar line. This would be their only American pop hit, but they had enough R&B hits to keep them going throughout the decade.
4 - "Emotional Rescue," The Rolling Stones
Though disco had been declared dead by this time, its influence was still being felt on the charts. We saw that in the previous song, and it's here again in this Stones hit that continues in the vein of "Miss You." This time, Mick sings all the verses in the falsetto he reserved for "Miss You"'s wordless chorus. It still has a grimy charm, though I think that spoken word ending in which Jagger goes on about "riding across the desert...on a fine Arab...chaaarjerrrr." is a little much.
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3 - "Magic," Olivia Newton-John
The third, and most successful, Xanadu hit on this countdown, in which ONJ's Greek Muse character tries to convince the young painter she came down to help to follow his dreams and achieve his destiny. This one, I'll admit, I liked a lot better then than I do now. But I always like Olivia's voice. So warm and sweet.
2 - "Upside Down," Diana Ross
For her first album of the 80s, Miss Ross turned to the duo behind Chic, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, for writing and production assistance. And although "disco" was becoming a dirty word, the slick funk that made "Le Freak" and "Good Times" monster smashes could still move records, and so this first single from the diana LP rocketed to #1. I like this one more than I did then, though I still find its use of the Olde English pronoun "thee" sticks out like a sore thumb
And 31 years ago this week, the track that rose above all other recorded piece of music released on 45 rpm vinyl discs was:
1 - "Sailing," Christopher Cross
The second hit for Texan Cross following the #2 "Ride Like the Wind" is a somnambulant ode to wind-aided boating that I can only assume became so successful because dental receptionists requested it on their local radio stations because it was useful pre-anaesthesia for patients getting root canals. Boring as fuck. But I will use it to do a "three degrees of separation" thing between Cross and another artist in this week's Top Twenty. You see, Chris Cross(lol)'s only other #1 was the theme to the 1981 movie Arthur. That movie starred Dudley Moore, who once dated actress/singer Susan Anton, who had a Top 40 hit with a song called "Killing Time," which was a duet with...Fred "Why Not Me" Knoblock. And that is infinitely more stimulating to my mind than "Sailing."
Lots of extras. The NotCaseys were Whitesnake's "Fool for Your Loving," Boz Scaggs "Look What You've Done to Me," Al Stewart's "Midnight Rocks," and Devo's "Whip It." Casey himself opened the show with the previous week's Top 3 (in reverse order: "Take Your Time," "Sailing" and "Magic."), and later played three #1's from 1961: "Surrender" by Elvis Presley, "Blue Moon" by The Marcels, and "Runaway" by Del Shannon. And there were two Long Distance dedications. A woman dedicated "Babe" by Styx to her husband in prison, and a high school girl had Casey play "Runaround Sue" to try and get a high school classmate to give up his crush on her.
So there's this week's 80's reflections. In the next 24-48 hours, I will be giving you two entries recapping this week's 70s offering. Yes, more double duty, but I'll try to make it worth your reading time.
20 - "Old-Fashion Love," The Commodores
19 - "You're the Only Woman," Ambrosia
18 - "Why Not Me," Fred Knoblock
17 - "JoJo," Boz Scaggs
16 - "Drivin' My Life Away," Eddie Rabbitt
We begin Part Two with Lionel Richie and his fellow Tuskegee soulmen, with a song about an old school-beauty. This would not have sounded out of place on the radio ten years earlier. Not one they're remembered for, but worth seeking out.
Next are Ambrosia with another one of their boring hits. They did do more interesting things, like playing on The Alan Parsons project's debut album and putting out a song with lyrics from Kurt Vonnegut's novel Cat's Cradle. But they had most of their success as a blandness delivery system. Unfortunate.
Then it's Mississippi country singer Fred Knoblock's only pop hit. On it, he's attending the wedding of an ex-lover, all the while wondering why it couldn't have been him up their with her. Not only is this not a new experience for him, but the lyrics seem to indicate that there are a group of other guys in the same position as him that he always runs into at these nuptials. Kind of weird. And kind of weird is good enough this week for an Uneasy Rider award. Oh, and I forgot to announce the winner last week. It was "Puttin' on the Ritz."
The man born William Royce Scaggs with a song about a flashy drug dealer/pimp who digs "spinning lights" and "Broadway nights." It's cool midtempo funk that sounds like a cross between George Benson's "Breezin'" and a Toto song. You wouldn't think that combo would work, but it does. And to my knowledge, the song has nothing to do with either figure skater JoJo Starbuck nor Boston Celtics guard Jo Jo White, both of whom were household names at the time.
Last in this bunch is Eddie Rabbitt's first pop Top Ten, a rollicking number about life on the road from the soundtrack of the movie Roadie, which starred Meat Loaf in the title role and featured appearances by Alice Cooper, Blondie, and Roy Orbison as themselves. Haven't seen it.
15 - "Take a Little Rhythm," Ali Thomson
14 - "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," Billy Joel
13 - "Lookin' for Love," Johnny Lee
12 - "Into the Night," Benny Mardones
11 - "Late in the Evening," Paul Simon
This quintet opens with Scotland's Ali Thomson, whose brother was in Supertramp. His only moment in the spotlight was this pleasant soft rocker that recommends that those who are overwhelmed by the stresses of life "just sit back and let the music flow." Not an original sentiment, and one that's been expressed better by others, but this is okay radio fodder. Nothing to be ashamed of.
Next is Billy Joel with his first career #1, a pulsing declaration that in spite of changing looks and trends, the genre that developed in the mid-50s remains alive, and he loves it all: "hot funk, cool punk, even if it's old junk." His mashup of a Cars-like bass sound with rockabilly swagger and a raucous sax solo hasn't dated well, but it still has it's charms.
Then it's country singer Johnny Lee, the pride of Texas City, Texas, with his only pop hit, a song about searching for romance "in all the wrong places" that was featured prominently in the hit John Travolta movie Urban Cowboy. By the end of the song, thankfully, Johnny finds true love at last, presumably by looking in the correct locations. Oh, and if you think you don't know this song, let me ask you this: Have you ever seen the Eddie Murphy SNL sketch "Buckwheat Sings?" And if so, do you remember him singing "Wookin' Pa Nub?" That's this song.
Cleveland singer Benny Mardones only had one hit, but it had two runs in the Top 40, nine years apart. It reached #11 this year, then in 1989, an Arizona radio station played it as part of a "Where are they now?" feature, and it got such a response that it was added to the station's playlist, and other stations in other cities followed suit, propelling it to #20. The song itself is a big, belted ballad that seems romantic until you consider that the guy singing "She's just sixteen years old/'Leave her alone,' they say" was in his early 30s at the time, and in his early 40s when it became a hit again. He shouldn't have been taking her anywhere, let alone showing her a love like she's never seen. We know what you really mean by that, creep.
Finishing this section is Paul Simon's first 80s hit, a song from the soundtrack of his semi-autobiographical movie One-Trick Pony. I haven't heard good things about the movie, but I did love this song as a kid, and I still do. It's a Latin-flavored bumper about a guy reminiscing about how music has touched his life over the years. I didn't know at nine what Paul meant when he referred to smoking a "J." I probably thought it was just another brand of cigarettes.
Hittin' ya with a ten-spot:
10 - "More Love," Kim Carnes
This was the Hollywood native's first solo hit, a state-of-the-art uptempo pop song in which Kim pledges that "my love will be so sound it'll take a hundred lifetimes to...wear it down." Not bad, but there was no indication here that the awesomeness that is "Bette Davis Eyes" was soon to follow.
9 - "Let My Love Open the Door," Pete Townshend
The Who guitarist's first Ametican hit, a catchy pop-rocker in which Townshend promises to be there for you in tough times. Some have interpreted this song as having Christian connotations. Apparently, Pete himself has even stated that the concept behind the song is "Jesus sings." All I know is that I often confuse the keyboard opening of this song to that of the 1982 Who song "Eminence Front."
8 - "Give Me the Night," George Benson
On this, his biggest hit, the jazz guitarist tries to coax a lady to come out with him and enjoy the pleasures of the nightlife, both public and private. Not much to say about this one. Just doesn't inspire much passion in me either way.
7 - "All Out of Love," Air Supply
This big ballad was the second American hit for these Aussie softies, which Casey informs us broke the record for longest held note in a Top Ten single. (Russell Hitchcock holds the word "wrong" for 16.1 seconds at the very end.) Never did much for me, but I always got a chuckle from the opening line "I'm lying alone with my head on the phone."
6 - "Fame," Irene Cara
"I'm gonna live forever!" Cara declares on her first hit, the strident title song from the film about students at a performing-arts high school in which she starred. Years later, the staff of Springfield Elementary would perform their own version of this as the opening number of a faculty talent show.
5 - "Take Your Time (Do it Right)," The S.O.S. Band
The initials in this R&B group's name stand for "Sounds Of Success," and they did indeed find success on their debut single, a discoey funk workout about slowing down to do things properly. It features some great belting from singer Mary Davis, and an understated-yet-funky guitar line. This would be their only American pop hit, but they had enough R&B hits to keep them going throughout the decade.
4 - "Emotional Rescue," The Rolling Stones
Though disco had been declared dead by this time, its influence was still being felt on the charts. We saw that in the previous song, and it's here again in this Stones hit that continues in the vein of "Miss You." This time, Mick sings all the verses in the falsetto he reserved for "Miss You"'s wordless chorus. It still has a grimy charm, though I think that spoken word ending in which Jagger goes on about "riding across the desert...on a fine Arab...chaaarjerrrr." is a little much.
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3 - "Magic," Olivia Newton-John
The third, and most successful, Xanadu hit on this countdown, in which ONJ's Greek Muse character tries to convince the young painter she came down to help to follow his dreams and achieve his destiny. This one, I'll admit, I liked a lot better then than I do now. But I always like Olivia's voice. So warm and sweet.
2 - "Upside Down," Diana Ross
For her first album of the 80s, Miss Ross turned to the duo behind Chic, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, for writing and production assistance. And although "disco" was becoming a dirty word, the slick funk that made "Le Freak" and "Good Times" monster smashes could still move records, and so this first single from the diana LP rocketed to #1. I like this one more than I did then, though I still find its use of the Olde English pronoun "thee" sticks out like a sore thumb
And 31 years ago this week, the track that rose above all other recorded piece of music released on 45 rpm vinyl discs was:
1 - "Sailing," Christopher Cross
The second hit for Texan Cross following the #2 "Ride Like the Wind" is a somnambulant ode to wind-aided boating that I can only assume became so successful because dental receptionists requested it on their local radio stations because it was useful pre-anaesthesia for patients getting root canals. Boring as fuck. But I will use it to do a "three degrees of separation" thing between Cross and another artist in this week's Top Twenty. You see, Chris Cross(lol)'s only other #1 was the theme to the 1981 movie Arthur. That movie starred Dudley Moore, who once dated actress/singer Susan Anton, who had a Top 40 hit with a song called "Killing Time," which was a duet with...Fred "Why Not Me" Knoblock. And that is infinitely more stimulating to my mind than "Sailing."
Lots of extras. The NotCaseys were Whitesnake's "Fool for Your Loving," Boz Scaggs "Look What You've Done to Me," Al Stewart's "Midnight Rocks," and Devo's "Whip It." Casey himself opened the show with the previous week's Top 3 (in reverse order: "Take Your Time," "Sailing" and "Magic."), and later played three #1's from 1961: "Surrender" by Elvis Presley, "Blue Moon" by The Marcels, and "Runaway" by Del Shannon. And there were two Long Distance dedications. A woman dedicated "Babe" by Styx to her husband in prison, and a high school girl had Casey play "Runaround Sue" to try and get a high school classmate to give up his crush on her.
So there's this week's 80's reflections. In the next 24-48 hours, I will be giving you two entries recapping this week's 70s offering. Yes, more double duty, but I'll try to make it worth your reading time.
August 30, 1980 Part One
This week we go right to the beginning of the decade, to a time when I was about to start Grade Four. This was also one of the first AT40 countdowns I ever listened to, on WKBW AM 1520 out of Buffalo, if I'm not mistaken.
40 - "You're Supposed to Keep Your Love for Me," Jermaine Jackson
39 - "He's So Shy," The Pointer Sisters
38 - "Little Jeannie," Elton John
37 - "Never Knew Love Like This Before," Stephanie Mills
36 - "Jesse," Carly Simon
35 - "Hey There Lonely Girl," Robert John
34 - "How Does it Feel to be Back," Daryl Hall and John Oates
33 - "Misunderstanding," Genesis
32 - "I'm Alright," Kenny Loggins
31 - "Xanadu," Olivia Newton John and the Electric Light Orchestra
We'll kick off with R&B. The one Jackson brother who didn't leave Motown in the mid-70s, followed up his Top Ten from earlier in the year "Let's Get Serious," with this much less successful ballad in which he threatens to leave his cheating lover "sooner or later." What exactly are you waiting for, Jermaine? Is there a specific number of infidelities you're willing to put up with before you break it off? Grow a pair, man. The Pointer Sisters scored their first hit of the 80s with this #3 about the rewards of taking a chance and getting to know a quiet type. The song was originally intended for Leo Sayer, but after a lyrical gender-flip, it landed in the very capable hands of Ruth, June and Anita. And Stephanie Mills, who had previously starred in the Broadway version of The Wiz, had her biggest pop hit with this straightforward yet solid celebration of finding "the one" at last. Apparently, she also dated Jermaine's most famous brother. I have nothing to say about that.
A couple of British rock acts appear here. Sir Elton's entry here is a merely okay midtempo ballad to a woman whom he wants to be his "acrobat" as well as his lover. Too bad Cirque du Soleil wasn't around back then, eh Reg? And Genesis cracked the American Top Twenty for the first time with this catchy rocker in which Phil Collins is stood up by his woman. Frustrated after "waiting in the rain for hours," he goes in search of her, eventually going to her house and seeing a man leaving. Yes, Phil, "it must be some kind of mistake." Not surprisingly, this song was inspired by a divorce Phil was going through at the time.
There's MOR in this set, of course. Carly Simon had the biggest of her mere two Top 40s this decade with this minor soft-rock gem about a woman who tells all her friends that she won't be taking her returning ex back, yet does just that when she's out of their sphere of influence. Robert "Sad Eyes" John had his last hit with this unnecessary cover of this longing 1970 smash by Eddie Holman. Obscurity beckoned, and to me, this was totally deserved. And those Philly white soulsters Daryl and John made their decade debut with this limp effort about dreaming of a lover's return. The album this came from, Voices, would go on to produce the huge, well-remembered hits "Kiss on My List" and "You Make My Dreams," but instead of picking one of those to be the first single, some genius decided to lead off with a song sung by Oates. Not smart. There's a reason he gets second billing, and it's not just alphabetical.
This section closes with two songs from movies. Kenny Loggins, who would be the decade's unofficial Soundtrack King, began his reign with this snappy number from the golf comedy Caddyshack It's the song that plays after we see the gopher that Bill Murray's assistant greenskeeper Carl Spackler emerge unscathed after Spackler's attempt to blow him up. The lyrics actually have relevance to the rest of the film, especially the mentions of "some Cinderella kid" that call back to Murray's daydream monologue about winning the Masters. And while Olivia Newton-John and ELO seemed to have little in common besides having a lot of hits in the 70s, here they are together performing the title song to the bizarre "Greek mythology meets roller skating" musical that was ONJ's film follow-up to Grease. And even though I think I've admitted this before, I'll do so again: I was so deep into my Olivia crush at age nine that I more-than-willingly went to see this in a theatre. Have fun with that if you want.
30 - "Don't Ask Me Why," Billy Joel
29 - "Someone that I Used to Love," Natalie Cole
28 - "Another One Bites the Dust," Queen
27 - "Shining Star," The Manhattans
26 - "One in a Million You," Larry Graham
25 - "Make a Little Magic," The Dirt Band
24 - "Hot Rod Hearts," Robbie Dupree
23 - "All Over the World," The Electric Light Orchestra
22 - "You'll Accomp'ny Me," Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
21 - "Boulevard," Jackson Browne
Let's start with solo white guys. I remember liking this latin-flavored Billy Joel tune as a kid. Didn't get the lyrics then, and I still don't. I also don't get why he decided to sing the title phrase as "Don't ax me why" at the end of the third verse. That Billy, such an enigma. Brooklynite Robbie Dupree followed up his first hit, the Doobie Brothers-soundalike "Steal Away," with this tale of teenage backseat romance that, whaddaya know, also sounds like McDonald-era Doobies. There would be no more hits for Dupree, but late-80s wrestling fans will always have a soft spot for his song "Girls in Cars." Amd Jackson Browne opened his 80s hit single account with this solid rocker that seems to be about youths wandering the streets with bad intentions and little hope for their futures. Unfortunately, that will probably always be true somewhere in the world.
Next we have soul. Nat King Cole's daughter scored her first hit of the decade with this ballad about trying to get over someone. It sounds like it should be a showstopper from a Broadway musical. Or at the very least something that Lea Michele should tackle on Glee. But it wasn't that big of a hit, and Natalie wouldn't get back in the 40 for another seven years. The Manhattans finished their pop hitmaking career with this declaration of love that I liked then, and like now. And ex-Family Stone bassist Larry Graham's only solo pop hit was this ballad about how, after years of frustration, "life showed compassion by sending me a stroke of love called 'you.'" Kind of an awkward turn of phrase. But a decent song, although I think I would have liked it better if Lou Rawls had done it.
What's left to finish off the half are bands. Queen debuted on the Top 40 this week with this stomping dance-rocker that seems to be about a guy named Steve who wears a hat "with his brim pulled way down low" and goes into doorways firing off his machine gun. At least I think so. Doesn't matter, this song's fantastic. Country-rockers The Dirt Band had dropped the "Nitty Gritty" from their name when they had a hit with this pleasant come-on. The Nitty Gritty would eventually return, but not Top 40 success. ELO return with one of their Olivia-less contributions to the Xanadu soundtrack, a big and boisterous promise of a global part in which "everybody everywhere is gonna feel tonight." What they'll feel, I'm not sure, but I assume it'll be good. And Bob Seger and the backing group he named after a werewolf-killing projectile are here with this ballad in which the Styx of Detroit (no, I didn't forget) pledges that in spite of her current resistance, the woman Seger wants will join him "out where the rivers meet the sounding sea." I don't get it, is he threatening to kidnap her and take her somewhere isolated where he can do who-knows-what to her? And why couldn't he have just written the "a" in "accompany" instead of replacing it with that apostrophe? Did it save that much time?
Tomorrow: another song not to play at your wedding, a tune that people probably remember better these days being mangled by Eddie Murphy, and an early candidate for the worst song of this entire decade.
40 - "You're Supposed to Keep Your Love for Me," Jermaine Jackson
39 - "He's So Shy," The Pointer Sisters
38 - "Little Jeannie," Elton John
37 - "Never Knew Love Like This Before," Stephanie Mills
36 - "Jesse," Carly Simon
35 - "Hey There Lonely Girl," Robert John
34 - "How Does it Feel to be Back," Daryl Hall and John Oates
33 - "Misunderstanding," Genesis
32 - "I'm Alright," Kenny Loggins
31 - "Xanadu," Olivia Newton John and the Electric Light Orchestra
We'll kick off with R&B. The one Jackson brother who didn't leave Motown in the mid-70s, followed up his Top Ten from earlier in the year "Let's Get Serious," with this much less successful ballad in which he threatens to leave his cheating lover "sooner or later." What exactly are you waiting for, Jermaine? Is there a specific number of infidelities you're willing to put up with before you break it off? Grow a pair, man. The Pointer Sisters scored their first hit of the 80s with this #3 about the rewards of taking a chance and getting to know a quiet type. The song was originally intended for Leo Sayer, but after a lyrical gender-flip, it landed in the very capable hands of Ruth, June and Anita. And Stephanie Mills, who had previously starred in the Broadway version of The Wiz, had her biggest pop hit with this straightforward yet solid celebration of finding "the one" at last. Apparently, she also dated Jermaine's most famous brother. I have nothing to say about that.
A couple of British rock acts appear here. Sir Elton's entry here is a merely okay midtempo ballad to a woman whom he wants to be his "acrobat" as well as his lover. Too bad Cirque du Soleil wasn't around back then, eh Reg? And Genesis cracked the American Top Twenty for the first time with this catchy rocker in which Phil Collins is stood up by his woman. Frustrated after "waiting in the rain for hours," he goes in search of her, eventually going to her house and seeing a man leaving. Yes, Phil, "it must be some kind of mistake." Not surprisingly, this song was inspired by a divorce Phil was going through at the time.
There's MOR in this set, of course. Carly Simon had the biggest of her mere two Top 40s this decade with this minor soft-rock gem about a woman who tells all her friends that she won't be taking her returning ex back, yet does just that when she's out of their sphere of influence. Robert "Sad Eyes" John had his last hit with this unnecessary cover of this longing 1970 smash by Eddie Holman. Obscurity beckoned, and to me, this was totally deserved. And those Philly white soulsters Daryl and John made their decade debut with this limp effort about dreaming of a lover's return. The album this came from, Voices, would go on to produce the huge, well-remembered hits "Kiss on My List" and "You Make My Dreams," but instead of picking one of those to be the first single, some genius decided to lead off with a song sung by Oates. Not smart. There's a reason he gets second billing, and it's not just alphabetical.
This section closes with two songs from movies. Kenny Loggins, who would be the decade's unofficial Soundtrack King, began his reign with this snappy number from the golf comedy Caddyshack It's the song that plays after we see the gopher that Bill Murray's assistant greenskeeper Carl Spackler emerge unscathed after Spackler's attempt to blow him up. The lyrics actually have relevance to the rest of the film, especially the mentions of "some Cinderella kid" that call back to Murray's daydream monologue about winning the Masters. And while Olivia Newton-John and ELO seemed to have little in common besides having a lot of hits in the 70s, here they are together performing the title song to the bizarre "Greek mythology meets roller skating" musical that was ONJ's film follow-up to Grease. And even though I think I've admitted this before, I'll do so again: I was so deep into my Olivia crush at age nine that I more-than-willingly went to see this in a theatre. Have fun with that if you want.
30 - "Don't Ask Me Why," Billy Joel
29 - "Someone that I Used to Love," Natalie Cole
28 - "Another One Bites the Dust," Queen
27 - "Shining Star," The Manhattans
26 - "One in a Million You," Larry Graham
25 - "Make a Little Magic," The Dirt Band
24 - "Hot Rod Hearts," Robbie Dupree
23 - "All Over the World," The Electric Light Orchestra
22 - "You'll Accomp'ny Me," Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
21 - "Boulevard," Jackson Browne
Let's start with solo white guys. I remember liking this latin-flavored Billy Joel tune as a kid. Didn't get the lyrics then, and I still don't. I also don't get why he decided to sing the title phrase as "Don't ax me why" at the end of the third verse. That Billy, such an enigma. Brooklynite Robbie Dupree followed up his first hit, the Doobie Brothers-soundalike "Steal Away," with this tale of teenage backseat romance that, whaddaya know, also sounds like McDonald-era Doobies. There would be no more hits for Dupree, but late-80s wrestling fans will always have a soft spot for his song "Girls in Cars." Amd Jackson Browne opened his 80s hit single account with this solid rocker that seems to be about youths wandering the streets with bad intentions and little hope for their futures. Unfortunately, that will probably always be true somewhere in the world.
Next we have soul. Nat King Cole's daughter scored her first hit of the decade with this ballad about trying to get over someone. It sounds like it should be a showstopper from a Broadway musical. Or at the very least something that Lea Michele should tackle on Glee. But it wasn't that big of a hit, and Natalie wouldn't get back in the 40 for another seven years. The Manhattans finished their pop hitmaking career with this declaration of love that I liked then, and like now. And ex-Family Stone bassist Larry Graham's only solo pop hit was this ballad about how, after years of frustration, "life showed compassion by sending me a stroke of love called 'you.'" Kind of an awkward turn of phrase. But a decent song, although I think I would have liked it better if Lou Rawls had done it.
What's left to finish off the half are bands. Queen debuted on the Top 40 this week with this stomping dance-rocker that seems to be about a guy named Steve who wears a hat "with his brim pulled way down low" and goes into doorways firing off his machine gun. At least I think so. Doesn't matter, this song's fantastic. Country-rockers The Dirt Band had dropped the "Nitty Gritty" from their name when they had a hit with this pleasant come-on. The Nitty Gritty would eventually return, but not Top 40 success. ELO return with one of their Olivia-less contributions to the Xanadu soundtrack, a big and boisterous promise of a global part in which "everybody everywhere is gonna feel tonight." What they'll feel, I'm not sure, but I assume it'll be good. And Bob Seger and the backing group he named after a werewolf-killing projectile are here with this ballad in which the Styx of Detroit (no, I didn't forget) pledges that in spite of her current resistance, the woman Seger wants will join him "out where the rivers meet the sounding sea." I don't get it, is he threatening to kidnap her and take her somewhere isolated where he can do who-knows-what to her? And why couldn't he have just written the "a" in "accompany" instead of replacing it with that apostrophe? Did it save that much time?
Tomorrow: another song not to play at your wedding, a tune that people probably remember better these days being mangled by Eddie Murphy, and an early candidate for the worst song of this entire decade.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
August 18, 1979
I wasn't going to do an entry on this week's 70s show, but I got a look at it and just couldn't resist. A lot of great stuff I haven't encountered yet. So here we go.
33 - "Cruel to be Kind," Nick Lowe
32 - "Born to be Alive," Patrick Hernandez
31 - "I Want You to Want Me," Cheap Trick
30 - "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)," Robert Palmer
29 - "Highway Song," Blackfoot
28 - "I Do Love You," G.Q.
27 - "One Way or Another," Blondie
26 - "Morning Dance," Spyro Gyra
25 - "Heaven Must Have Sent You," Bonnie Pointer
We begin with rock. Nick Lowe had made a name for himself first in the British pub-rock group Brinsley Schwarz and then through his collaborations with Elvis Costello before scoring his lone American hit with this impossibly catchy paradox. Yet another Top 20 of the Decade contender. Cheap Trick return with their Budokan-rockin' breakthrough it. Shine up your old brown shoes, put on a brand new shirt, and enjoy. Robert Palmer had his second Top 40 single with this rocker about an ailment that only sweet, sweet lovemaking can cure. Great song, and the fact that it was written by a guy named Moon Martin makes it even better. Blackfoot, a Southern rock band so named because of the Native American heritage of three of its members, are here with this tune about that timeless rock topic: the loneliness of the touring lifestyle. It sounds a lot like Lynyrd Skynyrd, but I suppose they come by it honestly, seeing as leader Rickey Medlocke was briefly in the band in 1970, then was invited to rejoin them in the 90s. And Blondie picked up their second Top 40 with a song that sounded much closer to their punk roots than the discofied "Heart of Glass." This wasn't as big a hit as their first, but it's become almost as popular over the years. It's no mystery why. Who wouldn't want to be stalked by Debbie Harry?
Then there's disco. Frenchman Patrick Hernandez scored his only American hit with this disco relic that has one of the stupidest titles of all time. I mean, think about it. Anyway, the only relevant thing about Hernandez these days is the fact that one of the backup dancers he hired for his lone U.S. tour was one Madonna Louise Ciccone. And Bonnie Pointer had her biggest success without her three sisters with this above average dancefloor filling device that, as Casey pointed out, features a Louis Armstrong impression from Ms. Pointer herself. This is a big part of that "above average" rating.
We close with the soft stuff. G.Q. followed up "Disco Nights (Rock Freak)" with their second and final hit, a boilerplate R&B ballad with nothing new or interesting to say for itself. And Spyro Gyra, a Buffalo lite-jazz band named for a species of algae, had their only hit single with this bit of Muzak that cannot be saved from blandness by steel drums. Makes me long for Chuck Mangione.
24 - "Hot Summer Nights," Night
23 - "Let's Go," The Cars
22 - "Lonesome Loser," The Little River Band
21 - "Is She Really Going Out with Him," Joe Jackson
20 - "Goodbye Stranger," Supertramp
19 - "Hot Stuff," Donna Summer
18 - "Gold," John Stewart
17 - "Suspicions," Eddie Rabbitt
16 - "I'll Never Love This Way Again," Dionne Warwick
Once again, we begin with the rock. Night were a band of Brits that got together in Los Angeles, and had their only credited Top 40 hit with this slick little tale in which singer Stevie Vann reminisces about her old days playing in a bar band. Their song "If You Remember Me" was also a Top 40 single, but when it was released, it was credited solely to the band's other singer, Chris Thompson. Boston New Wavers The Cars scored their third Top 40 with this fun, hiccupy ode to a nightlife-loving beauty with "wonderful eyes and a risque mouth." Sounds like a pleasant compainon. England's Joe Jackson made his first impression on the pop world with this angsty little number about a man staring out the window down at the "pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street." This is the sound of smug sexual frustration, something I must admit I'm familiar with. Supertramp kept building the sales of Breakfast in America with this song about a man who enjoys his one-night stands. It's most memorable for that high voiced "Goodbye Mary, goodbye Jane" chorus. But not necessarily in a good way. And John Stewart returns with his terrific, Buckingham and Nicks-assisted hit about the people who turn tunes into cash. Can't say enough how much I like this one.
Then it's MOR. The Little River Band wonder if you're aware of a certain pathetic wretch. Yes, I am, so I don't need to hear you guys sing about him ever again. You're terrible. Country star Eddie Rabbitt had his second pop hit with this not-at-all country-sounding tune about his paranoia that his woman will leave him. Keep it up, Edward, and it'll become a self-fulfulling prophecy. And Dionne Warwick made her triumphant return to the pop charts with this Barry Manilow-produced version of a song originally recorded by Cheryl Ladd. Yes, the woman who replaced Farrah Fawcett on Charlie's Angels. Haven't heard that version, but I'm certain Dionne destroys it. Not the greatest song in the world, but a nice vehicle to put one of pop's greatest voices back on the map.
We conclude this section with the one disco entry here, our third encounter with one of Donna Summer's biggest hits. Not much more to say about it. It's, to coin a phrase, hot stuff.
15 - "Makin' It," David Naughton
14 - "Don't Bring Me Down," The Electric Light Orchestra
13 - "Lead Me On," Maxine Nightingale
12 - "Sad Eyes," Robert John
11 - "I was Made for Lovin' You," Kiss
This set opens with David Naughton helping to kill disco. Seriously. I'm sure this song is what helped the entire genre collapse upon itself. It's just that bad.
Next are ELO with what would be their biggest hit. I associate this song with riding the rides at carnivals and fairs. I just remember it being played a lot in those settings. Oh, and Jeff Lynne's not singing, "Don't bring me down, Bruce." That word is "grooss." He made it up.
Maxine Nightingale returns with her other hit. Still sexy after all these weeks.
Then it's New Yorker Robert John's biggest hit, a ballad about having to break off an affair because his real significant other is returning. For such a big hit, I have no childhood memory of it. Also, I find it weird that he uses his falsetto for the verses and loses it on the choruses. It's usually the other way around. But it works, I guess.
Rounding out this bunch are Kiss, returning with a song that Paul Stanley had said he co-wrote in part just to prove how easy it was to write a disco hit. But that doesn't detract from its greatness at all.
Hey hey, they're the Top Ten!
10 - "Mama Can't Buy You Love," Elton John
Elton is back from last time with his great soul effort about wealth not equalling happiness. A fantastic singalong chorus.
9 - "You Can't Change That," Raydio
Ray Parker Jr., back and stalking. But not as successfully as The Police, at least from a chart success point of view.
8 - "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," The Charlie Daniels Band
At last, we encounter Charlie Daniels' biggest hit, a rollicking country-rocker about Satan running into a talented fiddler named Johnny and betting his golden fiddle against Johnny's soul in a titanic instrumental battle. In a monumental upset, Johnny wins. Undeniable fun. And fittingly, Charlie wins this chart's Uneasy Rider.
7 - "Ring My Bell," Anita Ward
"Lay back and relax while I put away the dishes, then you and me can rock-a-bye." An oddly domestic scenario for disco, but still cool.
6 - "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman," Dr. Hook
Could they be worse than Jefferson Starship? Probably not, but I still despise what they became after such a great start.
5 - "After the Love has Gone," Earth, Wind and Fire
The funk icons slow it down on this ballad that asks the question "Can love that's lost be found?" Can't say any more than it's really, really good.
4 - "Bad Girls," Donna Summer
There's an interesting phrase in this song, "You can score if your pocket's nice." Obviously, there are two ways of interpreting this. My guess is that the dirtier one is the one that was intended. Bad girl, Donna.
3 - "The Main Event/Fight," Barbra Streisand
Barbra has a great voice, no doubt, but I just don't see much appeal in her singing an innuendo-laced disco number. But I guess people did 32 years ago, because look how high this is.
2 - "My Sharona," The Knack
These guys from suburban Detroit blew in on a wave of hype, justified that buildup with this immortal debut single that retains its pop-rock awesomeness in spite of lyrics like the one about the mystery running down the length of singer Doug Fieger's thigh. But within a year, they were a joke. But still, if you've never been moved to dance to this, I'm not sure you have a soul.
And on top this long-ago week was:
1 - "Good Times," Chic
Nor only is this a stone classic on it's own, but within a year, it had influenced two other hits. The Sugarhill Gang performed their pioneering hip-hop single "Rapper's Delight," over this song's breakdown. And Queen bassist John Deacon visited the studio while Chic were recording the song, and the bassline later, shall we say, "inspired" his playing on his band's #1 smash "Another One Bites the Dust."
Just two NotCaseys this week: "Sail On" by The Commodores and "Different Worlds" by Maureen McGovern. Casey played three Number Ones from 1975: Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good," The Average White Band's "Pick Up the Pieces," and "Fire" by the Ohio Players. Plus, there was a Long Distance Dedication: A shy high school girl sent out ABBA's "Take a Chance on Me" to all the boys who hadn't yet asked her out.
Well, that's it for this week. I know what I said about this being the last full 70s recap for a while, but I've seen next week's show and I think I might want to do it. Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. Regardless, there will at least be an 80s chart to cover, starting Saturday. Join me, won't you?
33 - "Cruel to be Kind," Nick Lowe
32 - "Born to be Alive," Patrick Hernandez
31 - "I Want You to Want Me," Cheap Trick
30 - "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)," Robert Palmer
29 - "Highway Song," Blackfoot
28 - "I Do Love You," G.Q.
27 - "One Way or Another," Blondie
26 - "Morning Dance," Spyro Gyra
25 - "Heaven Must Have Sent You," Bonnie Pointer
We begin with rock. Nick Lowe had made a name for himself first in the British pub-rock group Brinsley Schwarz and then through his collaborations with Elvis Costello before scoring his lone American hit with this impossibly catchy paradox. Yet another Top 20 of the Decade contender. Cheap Trick return with their Budokan-rockin' breakthrough it. Shine up your old brown shoes, put on a brand new shirt, and enjoy. Robert Palmer had his second Top 40 single with this rocker about an ailment that only sweet, sweet lovemaking can cure. Great song, and the fact that it was written by a guy named Moon Martin makes it even better. Blackfoot, a Southern rock band so named because of the Native American heritage of three of its members, are here with this tune about that timeless rock topic: the loneliness of the touring lifestyle. It sounds a lot like Lynyrd Skynyrd, but I suppose they come by it honestly, seeing as leader Rickey Medlocke was briefly in the band in 1970, then was invited to rejoin them in the 90s. And Blondie picked up their second Top 40 with a song that sounded much closer to their punk roots than the discofied "Heart of Glass." This wasn't as big a hit as their first, but it's become almost as popular over the years. It's no mystery why. Who wouldn't want to be stalked by Debbie Harry?
Then there's disco. Frenchman Patrick Hernandez scored his only American hit with this disco relic that has one of the stupidest titles of all time. I mean, think about it. Anyway, the only relevant thing about Hernandez these days is the fact that one of the backup dancers he hired for his lone U.S. tour was one Madonna Louise Ciccone. And Bonnie Pointer had her biggest success without her three sisters with this above average dancefloor filling device that, as Casey pointed out, features a Louis Armstrong impression from Ms. Pointer herself. This is a big part of that "above average" rating.
We close with the soft stuff. G.Q. followed up "Disco Nights (Rock Freak)" with their second and final hit, a boilerplate R&B ballad with nothing new or interesting to say for itself. And Spyro Gyra, a Buffalo lite-jazz band named for a species of algae, had their only hit single with this bit of Muzak that cannot be saved from blandness by steel drums. Makes me long for Chuck Mangione.
24 - "Hot Summer Nights," Night
23 - "Let's Go," The Cars
22 - "Lonesome Loser," The Little River Band
21 - "Is She Really Going Out with Him," Joe Jackson
20 - "Goodbye Stranger," Supertramp
19 - "Hot Stuff," Donna Summer
18 - "Gold," John Stewart
17 - "Suspicions," Eddie Rabbitt
16 - "I'll Never Love This Way Again," Dionne Warwick
Once again, we begin with the rock. Night were a band of Brits that got together in Los Angeles, and had their only credited Top 40 hit with this slick little tale in which singer Stevie Vann reminisces about her old days playing in a bar band. Their song "If You Remember Me" was also a Top 40 single, but when it was released, it was credited solely to the band's other singer, Chris Thompson. Boston New Wavers The Cars scored their third Top 40 with this fun, hiccupy ode to a nightlife-loving beauty with "wonderful eyes and a risque mouth." Sounds like a pleasant compainon. England's Joe Jackson made his first impression on the pop world with this angsty little number about a man staring out the window down at the "pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street." This is the sound of smug sexual frustration, something I must admit I'm familiar with. Supertramp kept building the sales of Breakfast in America with this song about a man who enjoys his one-night stands. It's most memorable for that high voiced "Goodbye Mary, goodbye Jane" chorus. But not necessarily in a good way. And John Stewart returns with his terrific, Buckingham and Nicks-assisted hit about the people who turn tunes into cash. Can't say enough how much I like this one.
Then it's MOR. The Little River Band wonder if you're aware of a certain pathetic wretch. Yes, I am, so I don't need to hear you guys sing about him ever again. You're terrible. Country star Eddie Rabbitt had his second pop hit with this not-at-all country-sounding tune about his paranoia that his woman will leave him. Keep it up, Edward, and it'll become a self-fulfulling prophecy. And Dionne Warwick made her triumphant return to the pop charts with this Barry Manilow-produced version of a song originally recorded by Cheryl Ladd. Yes, the woman who replaced Farrah Fawcett on Charlie's Angels. Haven't heard that version, but I'm certain Dionne destroys it. Not the greatest song in the world, but a nice vehicle to put one of pop's greatest voices back on the map.
We conclude this section with the one disco entry here, our third encounter with one of Donna Summer's biggest hits. Not much more to say about it. It's, to coin a phrase, hot stuff.
15 - "Makin' It," David Naughton
14 - "Don't Bring Me Down," The Electric Light Orchestra
13 - "Lead Me On," Maxine Nightingale
12 - "Sad Eyes," Robert John
11 - "I was Made for Lovin' You," Kiss
This set opens with David Naughton helping to kill disco. Seriously. I'm sure this song is what helped the entire genre collapse upon itself. It's just that bad.
Next are ELO with what would be their biggest hit. I associate this song with riding the rides at carnivals and fairs. I just remember it being played a lot in those settings. Oh, and Jeff Lynne's not singing, "Don't bring me down, Bruce." That word is "grooss." He made it up.
Maxine Nightingale returns with her other hit. Still sexy after all these weeks.
Then it's New Yorker Robert John's biggest hit, a ballad about having to break off an affair because his real significant other is returning. For such a big hit, I have no childhood memory of it. Also, I find it weird that he uses his falsetto for the verses and loses it on the choruses. It's usually the other way around. But it works, I guess.
Rounding out this bunch are Kiss, returning with a song that Paul Stanley had said he co-wrote in part just to prove how easy it was to write a disco hit. But that doesn't detract from its greatness at all.
Hey hey, they're the Top Ten!
10 - "Mama Can't Buy You Love," Elton John
Elton is back from last time with his great soul effort about wealth not equalling happiness. A fantastic singalong chorus.
9 - "You Can't Change That," Raydio
Ray Parker Jr., back and stalking. But not as successfully as The Police, at least from a chart success point of view.
8 - "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," The Charlie Daniels Band
At last, we encounter Charlie Daniels' biggest hit, a rollicking country-rocker about Satan running into a talented fiddler named Johnny and betting his golden fiddle against Johnny's soul in a titanic instrumental battle. In a monumental upset, Johnny wins. Undeniable fun. And fittingly, Charlie wins this chart's Uneasy Rider.
7 - "Ring My Bell," Anita Ward
"Lay back and relax while I put away the dishes, then you and me can rock-a-bye." An oddly domestic scenario for disco, but still cool.
6 - "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman," Dr. Hook
Could they be worse than Jefferson Starship? Probably not, but I still despise what they became after such a great start.
5 - "After the Love has Gone," Earth, Wind and Fire
The funk icons slow it down on this ballad that asks the question "Can love that's lost be found?" Can't say any more than it's really, really good.
4 - "Bad Girls," Donna Summer
There's an interesting phrase in this song, "You can score if your pocket's nice." Obviously, there are two ways of interpreting this. My guess is that the dirtier one is the one that was intended. Bad girl, Donna.
3 - "The Main Event/Fight," Barbra Streisand
Barbra has a great voice, no doubt, but I just don't see much appeal in her singing an innuendo-laced disco number. But I guess people did 32 years ago, because look how high this is.
2 - "My Sharona," The Knack
These guys from suburban Detroit blew in on a wave of hype, justified that buildup with this immortal debut single that retains its pop-rock awesomeness in spite of lyrics like the one about the mystery running down the length of singer Doug Fieger's thigh. But within a year, they were a joke. But still, if you've never been moved to dance to this, I'm not sure you have a soul.
And on top this long-ago week was:
1 - "Good Times," Chic
Nor only is this a stone classic on it's own, but within a year, it had influenced two other hits. The Sugarhill Gang performed their pioneering hip-hop single "Rapper's Delight," over this song's breakdown. And Queen bassist John Deacon visited the studio while Chic were recording the song, and the bassline later, shall we say, "inspired" his playing on his band's #1 smash "Another One Bites the Dust."
Just two NotCaseys this week: "Sail On" by The Commodores and "Different Worlds" by Maureen McGovern. Casey played three Number Ones from 1975: Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good," The Average White Band's "Pick Up the Pieces," and "Fire" by the Ohio Players. Plus, there was a Long Distance Dedication: A shy high school girl sent out ABBA's "Take a Chance on Me" to all the boys who hadn't yet asked her out.
Well, that's it for this week. I know what I said about this being the last full 70s recap for a while, but I've seen next week's show and I think I might want to do it. Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. Regardless, there will at least be an 80s chart to cover, starting Saturday. Join me, won't you?
Saturday, August 20, 2011
August 20, 1983 Part Two
Concluding our first regular 80s visit.
20 - "Electric Avenue," Eddy Grant
19 - "Rock n' Roll is King," The Electric Light Orchestra
18 - "The Safety Dance," Men Without Hats
17 - "Lawyers in Love," Jackson Browne
16 - "Never Gonna Let You Go," Sergio Mendes
The second half begins with Guyana-born, London-raised Eddy Grant and his classic electro-funk protest song inspired by the April 1981 riots in the city's Brixton section, where there actually is an Electric Avenue. Didn't know that at the time though. It was just a fun song to sing along to.
Next are ELO with their tribute to early rock n'roll, complete with "ramalama"s and a reference to "Roll Over Beethoven." Not exactly convincing from a band with "orchestra" in its name, but it's all right.
Then it's the chapeau-challenged Montreal synth-poppers with their immortal ode to a worry-free step that they even do at the North Pole. The title was inspired by an incident where singer Ivan Doroschuk was kicked out of a club for doing the punk-inspired "pogo." This is one of those songs that people play to somehow prove how ridiculous 80s pop was. Well, okay, you're right, but if you can't dance to this, you're no friend of mine.
Jackson Browne picked up his last Top 20 single with this rocker with bizarre lyrics about designer jeans, Happy Days, and the Soviet Union becoming a holiday paradise for romantically-entangled attorneys. I guess it's supposed to be some kind of social commentary, but I don't quite get it. But it's pretty catchy, and maybe one of these days it'll make sense.
This group closes with Brazilian jazz-pop pianist Sergio Mendes with a limp waiting-room ballad sung by a couple of nobodies. I guess this has its place, but not in my life. A big nothing.
15 - "Human Nature," Michael Jackson
14 - "Take Me to Heart," Quarterflash
13 - "Flashdance...What a Feeling," Irene Cara
12 - "China Girl," David Bowie
11 - "Hot Girls in Love," Loverboy
This fivesome begins with the fifth single from Thriller, a lush ballad about longing to go out and embrace the freedom and mystery of a city's nightlife. For Michael, who became so isolated by his massive fame, this song must have gained a sad poignance over the years.
Nowadays the Portland, Oregon band Quarterflash are only remembered for their 1981 #3 "Harden My Heart." But they did have two more hits after that, the second of which was this sultry little number in which singer Rindy Ross (love that name) pursues a potential lover, seductively telling him "Don't deny the miracle." If that guy did, he's crazy.
Next is Irene Cara, who appeared on Broadway as a child, was in the cast of the classic 70s kid's show The Electric Company, shot to fame in the movie...Fame, and here grabbed a #1 smash (and later an Oscar) by performing and co-writing this memorable theme to the female-welder-who-wants-to-be-a-dancer movie Flashdance. In grade school, our music class was once made to sing this. Not a pleasant memory.
Then it's David Bowie with a song he and Iggy Pop wrote together in 1977 for Iggy's album The Idiot, but later recorded himself and put out as the follow-up to his #1 smash "Let's Dance." The title is just a bit politically incorrect, and the lyrics make clear his relationship with the title lady are complicated to say the least. Still, the nostalgia factor cannot be denied.
This part finishes with a slab of big dumb rock from Canada's Loverboy, a song in which they describe a lady whom they feel "deserves the best" and is "a cut above the rest," in spite of her rampant promiscuity. It's an interesting attitude for that time. Some might even say admirable. Whaddaya know, I've found sociological depth in a Loverboy song!
Ten remain:
10 - "I'll Tumble 4 Ya," Culture Club
The third hit by the then-shocking Boy George and his group is a Latin-flavored confection that contains the most explicit references to George's sexuality in their singles catalogue in lines like "Who's got the new boy gender?" and "He'll be a boy for you, but you need more." I'm guessing that the band's then red-hot popularity caused radio programmers not to scrutinize the lyrics too closely, because I feel certain that if they did, this wouldn't have gotten this high on the charts.
9 - "Puttin' on the Ritz," Taco
This Indonesian born Dutchman's first name had nothing to do with Mexican food. Apparently, it's an acutal Dutch name. Anyway, his biggest success by far was this synth-pop cover of a 1929 Irving Berlin song about fashionable dressers. It also may be the only modern pop hit ever to feature what sounds like a tap-dance solo.
8 - "(Keep Feeling) Fascination," The Human League
The second American Top Ten for these British New Wavers. They actually manage to convey the emotion of "passion burning, love so strong" in the midst of a sea of icy synths. They were very good at that.
7 - "Is There Something I Should Know," Duran Duran
The third American hit for these British teen idols who at the time I saw as kind of the equivalent of what would later be known as "boy bands," except that they could actually play instruments. And then, as now, there was no denying the catchiness of their hits, including this one. However, "You're about as easy as a nuclear war" remains one of the all time "WTF" lyrics.
6 - "It's a Mistake," Men at Work
The fourth and final U.S. Top Ten for this Australian band, a deceptively bouncy number about Cold War confrontations that could lead to nuclear strikes. Yes, the destruction of this entire planet by atomic bombs was a genuine concern back then. We didn't do "duck and cover" drills like they did in the 50s, and it's not like I dwelled on it day and night, but it definitely seemed possible, and it scared the shit out of me at times.
5 - "Stand Back," Stevie Nicks
The raspy, mystically enigmatic Fleetwood Mac singer was inspired to write this synth-heavy dance-rocker while listening to Prince's "Little Red Corvette." Nicks later called Prince himself and told him the story and about her song's melodic similarities to his hit. Not only was he flattered, but he also came to the studio where she was recording and played keyboard's on the track. This may explain why this has always been my favorite solo song of hers.
4 - "Maniac," Michael Sembello
The first, and by far the biggest, of veteran Philly session guitarist Sembello's two Top 40 hits, this was the second #1 from the Flashdanc soundtrack. This song was originally inspired by a horror film about a serial killer, but his producer encouraged him to change the subject matter and change lyrics like "he will kill your cat and nail it to the door" to "And she's dancing like she's never danced before." The right commercial choice, as it turned out. Later, Springfield Elementary janitor Groundskeeper Willie would try to make extra money busking at a local park as a one-man band, and he performed this song, complete with a finale inspired by the film in which he had a bucket of water pour down on him.
3 - "She Works Hard for the Money," Donna Summer
Donna's last Top 5, a state-of-the-art pop-rock number about a working-class heroine. On the 45 sleeve and in the video, the song's subject is portrayed as a watiress, but apparently the song was actually inspired by an encounter Summer had with a frazzled bathroom attendant. Admittedly, that probably wouldn't have made as good a video.
2 - "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," Eurythmics
First of all, the song itself is a classic, a chilly-yet-ridiuclously-catchy new wave number with borderline S&M lyrics ("Some of them want to abuse you/Some of them want to be abused"). But it's the video that blew my little 12-year-old mind, with Annie Lennox with her super-short bright orange hair, standing in a conference room with a screen showing random images behind her, spinning a globe with one black-gloved hand and menacingly wielding some sort of stick with the other. And then she shows up later in a fancy red gown and long brown wig, playing a cello outdoors alongside bandmate Dave Stewart, both with faces obscured by Lone Ranger-style masks. And then they're in a field full of cows. Then they're on a rowboat. Then we find out it was all Annie's dream. Anyway, I know I thought that was the greatest thing ever the first time I saw it, and I was even more impressed months later when Annie performed the song at the Grammys dressed as Elvis. Everything around that song was, and is, genius.
And the big song of the week a mere 28 years ago was...
1 - "Every Breath You Take," The Police
Sting wrote this monster hit, the biggest of the year, from the point of view of a stalker-like figure who spies on a person's every move for less-than-noble reasons. But to his horror, many embraced it as a tender love song. However, he wasn't disturbed enough to give back any of the millions this song made for him. Nor should he have been. However it was interpreted, it's a persistent earworm that will be played with unintentional irony at weddings and anniversary parties for centuries to come.
Lots of extras this week, and that's not counting Casey's replay of the previous week's Top 2 (identical to this week's). There were four NotCaseys: "Holiday Road" by Lindsey Buckingham, "True" by Spandau Ballet, "Tonight I Celebrate My Love" by Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson, and "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads. There were also two Long Distance Dedications. First, two girls asked Casey to dedicate "Cecilia" by Simon and Garfunkel to their fellow campers at a Russian-language camp in Minnesota they'd attended. Then, a university student wanted him to play Andrew Gold's "Thank You for Being a Friend," for a teenage boy convicted of vehichular manslaughter for a fatal drunk-driving incident who spoke at her school as part of his probation. And lastly, Casey played what he said was the biggest hit ever by two groups collaborating on one song, the Supremes/Temptations smash "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me."
As I said last week, I'm coming back tomorrow for one more kick at the 70s can. Join me. It'll be worth it, I promise.
20 - "Electric Avenue," Eddy Grant
19 - "Rock n' Roll is King," The Electric Light Orchestra
18 - "The Safety Dance," Men Without Hats
17 - "Lawyers in Love," Jackson Browne
16 - "Never Gonna Let You Go," Sergio Mendes
The second half begins with Guyana-born, London-raised Eddy Grant and his classic electro-funk protest song inspired by the April 1981 riots in the city's Brixton section, where there actually is an Electric Avenue. Didn't know that at the time though. It was just a fun song to sing along to.
Next are ELO with their tribute to early rock n'roll, complete with "ramalama"s and a reference to "Roll Over Beethoven." Not exactly convincing from a band with "orchestra" in its name, but it's all right.
Then it's the chapeau-challenged Montreal synth-poppers with their immortal ode to a worry-free step that they even do at the North Pole. The title was inspired by an incident where singer Ivan Doroschuk was kicked out of a club for doing the punk-inspired "pogo." This is one of those songs that people play to somehow prove how ridiculous 80s pop was. Well, okay, you're right, but if you can't dance to this, you're no friend of mine.
Jackson Browne picked up his last Top 20 single with this rocker with bizarre lyrics about designer jeans, Happy Days, and the Soviet Union becoming a holiday paradise for romantically-entangled attorneys. I guess it's supposed to be some kind of social commentary, but I don't quite get it. But it's pretty catchy, and maybe one of these days it'll make sense.
This group closes with Brazilian jazz-pop pianist Sergio Mendes with a limp waiting-room ballad sung by a couple of nobodies. I guess this has its place, but not in my life. A big nothing.
15 - "Human Nature," Michael Jackson
14 - "Take Me to Heart," Quarterflash
13 - "Flashdance...What a Feeling," Irene Cara
12 - "China Girl," David Bowie
11 - "Hot Girls in Love," Loverboy
This fivesome begins with the fifth single from Thriller, a lush ballad about longing to go out and embrace the freedom and mystery of a city's nightlife. For Michael, who became so isolated by his massive fame, this song must have gained a sad poignance over the years.
Nowadays the Portland, Oregon band Quarterflash are only remembered for their 1981 #3 "Harden My Heart." But they did have two more hits after that, the second of which was this sultry little number in which singer Rindy Ross (love that name) pursues a potential lover, seductively telling him "Don't deny the miracle." If that guy did, he's crazy.
Next is Irene Cara, who appeared on Broadway as a child, was in the cast of the classic 70s kid's show The Electric Company, shot to fame in the movie...Fame, and here grabbed a #1 smash (and later an Oscar) by performing and co-writing this memorable theme to the female-welder-who-wants-to-be-a-dancer movie Flashdance. In grade school, our music class was once made to sing this. Not a pleasant memory.
Then it's David Bowie with a song he and Iggy Pop wrote together in 1977 for Iggy's album The Idiot, but later recorded himself and put out as the follow-up to his #1 smash "Let's Dance." The title is just a bit politically incorrect, and the lyrics make clear his relationship with the title lady are complicated to say the least. Still, the nostalgia factor cannot be denied.
This part finishes with a slab of big dumb rock from Canada's Loverboy, a song in which they describe a lady whom they feel "deserves the best" and is "a cut above the rest," in spite of her rampant promiscuity. It's an interesting attitude for that time. Some might even say admirable. Whaddaya know, I've found sociological depth in a Loverboy song!
Ten remain:
10 - "I'll Tumble 4 Ya," Culture Club
The third hit by the then-shocking Boy George and his group is a Latin-flavored confection that contains the most explicit references to George's sexuality in their singles catalogue in lines like "Who's got the new boy gender?" and "He'll be a boy for you, but you need more." I'm guessing that the band's then red-hot popularity caused radio programmers not to scrutinize the lyrics too closely, because I feel certain that if they did, this wouldn't have gotten this high on the charts.
9 - "Puttin' on the Ritz," Taco
This Indonesian born Dutchman's first name had nothing to do with Mexican food. Apparently, it's an acutal Dutch name. Anyway, his biggest success by far was this synth-pop cover of a 1929 Irving Berlin song about fashionable dressers. It also may be the only modern pop hit ever to feature what sounds like a tap-dance solo.
8 - "(Keep Feeling) Fascination," The Human League
The second American Top Ten for these British New Wavers. They actually manage to convey the emotion of "passion burning, love so strong" in the midst of a sea of icy synths. They were very good at that.
7 - "Is There Something I Should Know," Duran Duran
The third American hit for these British teen idols who at the time I saw as kind of the equivalent of what would later be known as "boy bands," except that they could actually play instruments. And then, as now, there was no denying the catchiness of their hits, including this one. However, "You're about as easy as a nuclear war" remains one of the all time "WTF" lyrics.
6 - "It's a Mistake," Men at Work
The fourth and final U.S. Top Ten for this Australian band, a deceptively bouncy number about Cold War confrontations that could lead to nuclear strikes. Yes, the destruction of this entire planet by atomic bombs was a genuine concern back then. We didn't do "duck and cover" drills like they did in the 50s, and it's not like I dwelled on it day and night, but it definitely seemed possible, and it scared the shit out of me at times.
5 - "Stand Back," Stevie Nicks
The raspy, mystically enigmatic Fleetwood Mac singer was inspired to write this synth-heavy dance-rocker while listening to Prince's "Little Red Corvette." Nicks later called Prince himself and told him the story and about her song's melodic similarities to his hit. Not only was he flattered, but he also came to the studio where she was recording and played keyboard's on the track. This may explain why this has always been my favorite solo song of hers.
4 - "Maniac," Michael Sembello
The first, and by far the biggest, of veteran Philly session guitarist Sembello's two Top 40 hits, this was the second #1 from the Flashdanc soundtrack. This song was originally inspired by a horror film about a serial killer, but his producer encouraged him to change the subject matter and change lyrics like "he will kill your cat and nail it to the door" to "And she's dancing like she's never danced before." The right commercial choice, as it turned out. Later, Springfield Elementary janitor Groundskeeper Willie would try to make extra money busking at a local park as a one-man band, and he performed this song, complete with a finale inspired by the film in which he had a bucket of water pour down on him.
3 - "She Works Hard for the Money," Donna Summer
Donna's last Top 5, a state-of-the-art pop-rock number about a working-class heroine. On the 45 sleeve and in the video, the song's subject is portrayed as a watiress, but apparently the song was actually inspired by an encounter Summer had with a frazzled bathroom attendant. Admittedly, that probably wouldn't have made as good a video.
2 - "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," Eurythmics
First of all, the song itself is a classic, a chilly-yet-ridiuclously-catchy new wave number with borderline S&M lyrics ("Some of them want to abuse you/Some of them want to be abused"). But it's the video that blew my little 12-year-old mind, with Annie Lennox with her super-short bright orange hair, standing in a conference room with a screen showing random images behind her, spinning a globe with one black-gloved hand and menacingly wielding some sort of stick with the other. And then she shows up later in a fancy red gown and long brown wig, playing a cello outdoors alongside bandmate Dave Stewart, both with faces obscured by Lone Ranger-style masks. And then they're in a field full of cows. Then they're on a rowboat. Then we find out it was all Annie's dream. Anyway, I know I thought that was the greatest thing ever the first time I saw it, and I was even more impressed months later when Annie performed the song at the Grammys dressed as Elvis. Everything around that song was, and is, genius.
And the big song of the week a mere 28 years ago was...
1 - "Every Breath You Take," The Police
Sting wrote this monster hit, the biggest of the year, from the point of view of a stalker-like figure who spies on a person's every move for less-than-noble reasons. But to his horror, many embraced it as a tender love song. However, he wasn't disturbed enough to give back any of the millions this song made for him. Nor should he have been. However it was interpreted, it's a persistent earworm that will be played with unintentional irony at weddings and anniversary parties for centuries to come.
Lots of extras this week, and that's not counting Casey's replay of the previous week's Top 2 (identical to this week's). There were four NotCaseys: "Holiday Road" by Lindsey Buckingham, "True" by Spandau Ballet, "Tonight I Celebrate My Love" by Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson, and "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads. There were also two Long Distance Dedications. First, two girls asked Casey to dedicate "Cecilia" by Simon and Garfunkel to their fellow campers at a Russian-language camp in Minnesota they'd attended. Then, a university student wanted him to play Andrew Gold's "Thank You for Being a Friend," for a teenage boy convicted of vehichular manslaughter for a fatal drunk-driving incident who spoke at her school as part of his probation. And lastly, Casey played what he said was the biggest hit ever by two groups collaborating on one song, the Supremes/Temptations smash "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me."
As I said last week, I'm coming back tomorrow for one more kick at the 70s can. Join me. It'll be worth it, I promise.
Friday, August 19, 2011
August 20, 1983 Part One
Welcome to the 1980s.
Our first regular weekly trip into this decade takes us to 1983. The year of the M*A*S*H, finale, Vanessa Williams' brief reign as Miss America, and the U.S. invasion of Grenada. Oh, and apparently that November, we almost had a nuclear war. And as summer drew to a close, this is what the American pop music landscape looked like.
40 - "Kiss the Bride," Elton John
39 - "Our House," Madness
38 - "Don't You Get So Mad," Jeffrey Osborne
37 - "All Time High," Rita Coolidge
36 - "Far From Over," Frank Stallone
35 - "Fake Friends," Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
34 - "(She's) Sexy + 17," Stray Cats
33 - "The Border," America
32 - "Making Love Out of Nothing at All," Air Supply
31 - "Dead Giveaway," Shalamar
We begin with rock. Elton John added to his hit collection with this guitar-driven tune in which he regrets not holding his peace at an old flame's wedding. A year later, Elton would kiss his own bride, a German recording engineer named Renate Blauel. Shockingly, it didn't last. Ska-rockers Madness had their biggest American hit with this bouncy new-wave classic about renminiscences of a boisterous family home. I prefer this one to the same-title Crosby Stills and Nash song. The woman born Joan Marie Larkin and her band are here with arguably their best single, a razor-sharp dismissal of false allies who "build you up till you fool yourself that you're something else." It's punchy, spunky, and just all-around awesome. Rockabilly revivalists Stray Cats scored their third and final Top Ten with a typically retro jam about a teenager cutting class to meet his "little Marie," who "acts a little bit obscene." Later, lead singer Brian Setzer would reach further back into the past to revive his career with a swing orchestra.
A couple soul singles here. Jeffrey Osborne, onetime lead singer of 70s funksters L.T.D., had eight solo Top 40s in the 80s, but never made the Top Ten. This one, his third, is a serviceable dance number in which he chastises his girlfriend for chastising him about looking at other women. All right, but not something that makes me think he deserved bigger hits. And vocal trio Shalamar, featuring future solo star Jody Watley, contribute a sleek, sexy number about the thrill of the sexual chase. Good good good.
We have two hits from movies; one the latest in a long-running franchise, the other a completely unnecessary sequel. Boring-ass Rita Coolidge performs a boring-ass theme to the non-boringassedly titled Octopussy. She's no Shirley Bassey. She's not even Sheena Easton. I guess the Bond people figured that out, because for the nest film, they hired Duran Duran, with much better results. Meanwhile, Sylvester Stallone hired his little brother Frank to act in and write music for his latest directorial project, the ill-advised Saturday Night Fever sequel Staying Alive, and the most prominent result was this Top Ten hit, a glossy pop production that has a great piano opening but goes downhill from there. "This is the end," Frankie sings at the beginning, and if he was talking about his career as a legitmate showbiz entity, he was right. This song may be best remembered now for being in the background of Harry Shearer and Martin Short's classic "male synchronized swimmers" SNL sketch. Oh, and Staying Alive is another film that I'm embarrassed to say I actually saw in a theater.
We finish with MOR. America scored the last hit in the country they were named after with this unremarkable song about trying to get to a lover. Not much to say about it. That can't be said about Air Supply's effort hit, the one time they rose above blandness to achieve something legitimately memorable. Of course, most of the credit for this goes to writer and producer Jim Steinman, whose bombastic lyrics and operatic production was bolstered on this record by guitarist Rick Derringer and two members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street band. I love Steinman, and I wish he had been more prolific in his non-Meat Loaf hitmaking. He's the go-to guy for overblown earworms.
30 - "Total Eclipse of the Heart," Bonnie Tyler
29 - "Promises, Promises," Naked Eyes
28 - "How am I Supposed to Live Without You," Laura Branigan
27 - "1999," Prince
26 - "Human Touch," Rick Springfield
25 - "Saved by Zero," The Fixx
24 - "After the Fall," Journey
23 - "Don't Cry," Asia
22 - "Tell Her About It," Billy Joel
21 - "Rock of Ages," Def Leppard
We start with a couple women belting it out. Bonnie Tyler, who had first hit with the wonderful country-rocker "It's a Heartache," returned, bringing her sexy rasp to the second Jim Steinman production on this week's list. Once again, Derringer and E Streeters Roy Bittan were on hand to bolster the big sound. We all know it, we all love it. At least we should. Oh yes, and this song hit #1, and was primarily responsible for holding "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" to #2. Jimmy S. ruled the fall of '83. And Laura Branigan scored her third Top 40 with this desperate final plea to a departing lover. Six years later, the song's co-writer would have an even bigger hit with it, going all the way to #1. But to me, this beats the shit out of Michael Bolton's version. That was just awful, whether he wrote it or not.
A couple British New Wave groups are here. Bath's Naked Eyes followed their Top Ten Burt Bacharach cover "Always Something There to Remind Me" with this #11 about a guy who can't stop believing his lover's false pledges. A couple more minor hits followed before the band's lack of staying power was exposed. And London's The Fixx (the second "x" was added by a nervous record label worried about the name's drug connotation) had their first American hit with a song about rejecting the idea that acquiring material things will lead to happiness. 25 years later, this song was annoyingly ubiquitous as part of an ad campaign to sell Toyotas.
Three of the decade's solo male hit machines are here. The man born Prince Rogers Nelson is here with the title track to his breakthrough album, a synth-drive floor-filler that was among pop culture's earliest predictions that the world would end in the year 2000. He was wrong, but this song retains it's doomy charm. Rick Springfield's entry this week is about the desire for human contact in an increasingly technology-driven world. The sentiment remains relevant, but the song itself most certainly does not. And Billy Joel would go to #1 with this Motown-flavored advisement to not keep one's infatuations secret. It was the first of six hits from the album An Innocent Man, all of which were homages to artists and/or musical styles of the past. To me, this was the best of them all, with maybe "The Longest Time" running second.
We finish with rock. Journey, arguably the decade's corporate-rock kings, are here with a meh midtempo ballad about regret over letting a lover go. Only when Steve Perry starts belting did this make me pay attention, but only a little. Asia, the band made up of British prog-rock all-stars best known for "Heat of the Moment" and putting out several albums with one-word titles that began and ended with the letter "a," had their second and final Top Ten single with this bit of assurance to a woman that everything's all right now that he's in her life. To me though, the coldness of the synthesizers on the track undercut the sentiment somewhat. And Sheffield, England's Def Leppard had their second hit with this classic hair-metal pledge to "set this town alight" with the power of ROCK. Oh yes, and in case you don't know, those German-sounding words spoken at the beginning ("Gunther glieben glauten globen") are completely meaningless.
Tomorrow: a song you can dance to if you'd like to, a song from 1929, and a song whose video remains one of the coolest things I've ever seen.
Our first regular weekly trip into this decade takes us to 1983. The year of the M*A*S*H, finale, Vanessa Williams' brief reign as Miss America, and the U.S. invasion of Grenada. Oh, and apparently that November, we almost had a nuclear war. And as summer drew to a close, this is what the American pop music landscape looked like.
40 - "Kiss the Bride," Elton John
39 - "Our House," Madness
38 - "Don't You Get So Mad," Jeffrey Osborne
37 - "All Time High," Rita Coolidge
36 - "Far From Over," Frank Stallone
35 - "Fake Friends," Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
34 - "(She's) Sexy + 17," Stray Cats
33 - "The Border," America
32 - "Making Love Out of Nothing at All," Air Supply
31 - "Dead Giveaway," Shalamar
We begin with rock. Elton John added to his hit collection with this guitar-driven tune in which he regrets not holding his peace at an old flame's wedding. A year later, Elton would kiss his own bride, a German recording engineer named Renate Blauel. Shockingly, it didn't last. Ska-rockers Madness had their biggest American hit with this bouncy new-wave classic about renminiscences of a boisterous family home. I prefer this one to the same-title Crosby Stills and Nash song. The woman born Joan Marie Larkin and her band are here with arguably their best single, a razor-sharp dismissal of false allies who "build you up till you fool yourself that you're something else." It's punchy, spunky, and just all-around awesome. Rockabilly revivalists Stray Cats scored their third and final Top Ten with a typically retro jam about a teenager cutting class to meet his "little Marie," who "acts a little bit obscene." Later, lead singer Brian Setzer would reach further back into the past to revive his career with a swing orchestra.
A couple soul singles here. Jeffrey Osborne, onetime lead singer of 70s funksters L.T.D., had eight solo Top 40s in the 80s, but never made the Top Ten. This one, his third, is a serviceable dance number in which he chastises his girlfriend for chastising him about looking at other women. All right, but not something that makes me think he deserved bigger hits. And vocal trio Shalamar, featuring future solo star Jody Watley, contribute a sleek, sexy number about the thrill of the sexual chase. Good good good.
We have two hits from movies; one the latest in a long-running franchise, the other a completely unnecessary sequel. Boring-ass Rita Coolidge performs a boring-ass theme to the non-boringassedly titled Octopussy. She's no Shirley Bassey. She's not even Sheena Easton. I guess the Bond people figured that out, because for the nest film, they hired Duran Duran, with much better results. Meanwhile, Sylvester Stallone hired his little brother Frank to act in and write music for his latest directorial project, the ill-advised Saturday Night Fever sequel Staying Alive, and the most prominent result was this Top Ten hit, a glossy pop production that has a great piano opening but goes downhill from there. "This is the end," Frankie sings at the beginning, and if he was talking about his career as a legitmate showbiz entity, he was right. This song may be best remembered now for being in the background of Harry Shearer and Martin Short's classic "male synchronized swimmers" SNL sketch. Oh, and Staying Alive is another film that I'm embarrassed to say I actually saw in a theater.
We finish with MOR. America scored the last hit in the country they were named after with this unremarkable song about trying to get to a lover. Not much to say about it. That can't be said about Air Supply's effort hit, the one time they rose above blandness to achieve something legitimately memorable. Of course, most of the credit for this goes to writer and producer Jim Steinman, whose bombastic lyrics and operatic production was bolstered on this record by guitarist Rick Derringer and two members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street band. I love Steinman, and I wish he had been more prolific in his non-Meat Loaf hitmaking. He's the go-to guy for overblown earworms.
30 - "Total Eclipse of the Heart," Bonnie Tyler
29 - "Promises, Promises," Naked Eyes
28 - "How am I Supposed to Live Without You," Laura Branigan
27 - "1999," Prince
26 - "Human Touch," Rick Springfield
25 - "Saved by Zero," The Fixx
24 - "After the Fall," Journey
23 - "Don't Cry," Asia
22 - "Tell Her About It," Billy Joel
21 - "Rock of Ages," Def Leppard
We start with a couple women belting it out. Bonnie Tyler, who had first hit with the wonderful country-rocker "It's a Heartache," returned, bringing her sexy rasp to the second Jim Steinman production on this week's list. Once again, Derringer and E Streeters Roy Bittan were on hand to bolster the big sound. We all know it, we all love it. At least we should. Oh yes, and this song hit #1, and was primarily responsible for holding "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" to #2. Jimmy S. ruled the fall of '83. And Laura Branigan scored her third Top 40 with this desperate final plea to a departing lover. Six years later, the song's co-writer would have an even bigger hit with it, going all the way to #1. But to me, this beats the shit out of Michael Bolton's version. That was just awful, whether he wrote it or not.
A couple British New Wave groups are here. Bath's Naked Eyes followed their Top Ten Burt Bacharach cover "Always Something There to Remind Me" with this #11 about a guy who can't stop believing his lover's false pledges. A couple more minor hits followed before the band's lack of staying power was exposed. And London's The Fixx (the second "x" was added by a nervous record label worried about the name's drug connotation) had their first American hit with a song about rejecting the idea that acquiring material things will lead to happiness. 25 years later, this song was annoyingly ubiquitous as part of an ad campaign to sell Toyotas.
Three of the decade's solo male hit machines are here. The man born Prince Rogers Nelson is here with the title track to his breakthrough album, a synth-drive floor-filler that was among pop culture's earliest predictions that the world would end in the year 2000. He was wrong, but this song retains it's doomy charm. Rick Springfield's entry this week is about the desire for human contact in an increasingly technology-driven world. The sentiment remains relevant, but the song itself most certainly does not. And Billy Joel would go to #1 with this Motown-flavored advisement to not keep one's infatuations secret. It was the first of six hits from the album An Innocent Man, all of which were homages to artists and/or musical styles of the past. To me, this was the best of them all, with maybe "The Longest Time" running second.
We finish with rock. Journey, arguably the decade's corporate-rock kings, are here with a meh midtempo ballad about regret over letting a lover go. Only when Steve Perry starts belting did this make me pay attention, but only a little. Asia, the band made up of British prog-rock all-stars best known for "Heat of the Moment" and putting out several albums with one-word titles that began and ended with the letter "a," had their second and final Top Ten single with this bit of assurance to a woman that everything's all right now that he's in her life. To me though, the coldness of the synthesizers on the track undercut the sentiment somewhat. And Sheffield, England's Def Leppard had their second hit with this classic hair-metal pledge to "set this town alight" with the power of ROCK. Oh yes, and in case you don't know, those German-sounding words spoken at the beginning ("Gunther glieben glauten globen") are completely meaningless.
Tomorrow: a song you can dance to if you'd like to, a song from 1929, and a song whose video remains one of the coolest things I've ever seen.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
August 17, 1974 Part Two
Concluding 1974, a year in which Casey could make a reference to Linda Lovelace and know that most of his listeners would know who that was. I wonder if Seacrest ever mentions Sasha Grey on his version of AT40
20 - "Rub it In," Billy "Crash" Craddock
19 - "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," Elton John
18 - "Annie's Song," John Denver
17 - "You and Me Against the World," Helen Reddy
16 - "Sure as I'm Sittin' Here," Three Dog Night
The second half begins with the biggest pop hit for country singer Craddock, which turns a request to have sun lotion applied to his body into something more. At one point, he asked to be rubbed on his "sacoriliac." Officially, that's a joint between the spine and the pelvis, but one wonders if this was an attempt at a subtle reference at another body part in that area. Or maybe I just have a dirty mind. Either way, this song is now better known as the "Plug it in" song from Glade commercials, for better or worse.
Next is Sir Elton with another in his bottomless well of classics from this decade. In this one, he confronts a friend who is considering cutting him out of his life for questionable reasons. That sucks. Interesting crew of backup singers on this one: two Beach Boys and the future Mrs. Dragon, Toni Tennille.
John Denver is here, telling some woman named Annie that she fills up his senses, and asking her to "fill me again." No way that's not a sex metaphor. Good to know you're not a total choirboy, Johnny.
Then it's our Helen, showing off her less interesting side on this song in which she expresses her love for her young daughter Traci, who is heard at the beginning and the end of the record. It's sweet, but I'll skip this every time to get to the crazy ladies.
Closing out this section are our old buddies 3DN with their last Top 20 hit. In the lyrics, they sing "Now you might think it's confusing." And I do, because I have no idea what the point of the lyrics are. But beyond that, it's inoffensive piano pop, performed in such a relaxed way that it's almost like they knew the end of their run was near, so they weren't bothering to put in a full effort.
15 - "Rock Me Gently," Andy Kim
14 - "Shinin' On," Grand Funk
13 - "I Shot the Sheriff," Eric Clapton
12 - "Taking Care of Business," Bachman-Turner Overdrive
11 - "Keep on Smilin'" Wet Willie
This section opens with the Canadian who co-wrote the Archies' "Sugar Sugar." He went all the way to #1 with this unaccountably perfect pop nugget. I know that the keyboard break in the middle was one of the first sounds to really catch my ear as a child.
Up next is the song that led to Homer Simpson's realization that today's children are woefully undereducated on the subject of Grand Funk. He told his kids, and the others in their carpool, to do further research on them in their library, but you just know they never bothered. Foolish, foolish youth.
Then it's Eric Clapton with his cover of Bob Marley's tale of a man who has become a fugitive wanted for the murder of a deputy, although he insists he only killed Sheriff John Brown, and that was in self-defence. Clapton deserves credit for spreading the gospel of Marley before he really broke through internationally, and I did dig this as a kid, but once you've heard the original, there's really no need to ever hear this version again.
Then it's BTO with their biggest hit, celebrating the joys of working "at nothing all day." Did they foresee it being later used as a jingle for a store that sells office supplies? Probably not. But they probably didn't envision playing a fair in Springfield and being yelled at by some loudmouth to "get to the 'working overtime' part!" That's right, two Simpsons references in this section. Just couldn't control myself.
Closing out this quintet are Alabamians Wet Willie with their biggest hit, in which they suggest putting on a happy face no matter what shit life throws your way. I think Marge Simpson once gave similar advice to Lisa. Yeah, another one. Anyway, this one is much better, and much truer to their Southern rock roots, than "Weekend."
The last ten steps on the road to pop glory:
10 - "Sideshow," Blue Magic
This Philadelphia group had the biggest of their two hits with this song that imagines a carnival attraction filled with the most pathetic, broken-hearted people imaginable. No one would go see that. However, I'm sure millions would watch that reality show.
9 - "I'm Leaving it All Up to You," Donny and Marie Osmond
The first, and biggest, hit for this combination of Osmond siblings was a cover of a song by Dale and Grace that was #1 on the charts the day John F. Kennedy was shot. Does it mean anything that JFK was killed in Dallas and Dale's last name was Houston? Certainly not. But I found that much more interesting than this song.
8 - "Wildwood Weed," Jim Stafford
Country jokester Stafford scored with this novelty song about two hillbilly brothers who discover that a weed that grows on their farm has certain pleasurable properties when chewed or smoked. "It beat the hell out of sniffin' burlap." Yes kids, there once was a time when you had do be cryptic when singing about pot.
7 - "Waterloo," ABBA
The Swedish legends broke through in the U.S. with this song that compared romantic surrender to that of Napoleon at the titular battle. We all know this song, many like myself love it, so I'll use this space to tell you that the song that finished second to it in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest was an Italian song called "Si (Yes)" that caused Italian television to refuse to air the contest for fear that the song might be a subliminal message to vote "Yes" in an upcoming referendum on the question of outlawing divorce in that country. The "yes" side lost, allowing Italians to continue legally splitting up as much as they wanted. Did that decision by the RAI network save Italian lawyers from losing millions of lire in business? We'll never know, but one thing is certain: this took up more space than I thought it would.
6 - "Call on Me," Chicago
Another jazzy love song from these boys. I may not get another chance, so I just want to say one more time that "If You Leave Me Now" sucks.
5 - "Please Come to Boston," Dave Loggins
Kenny's cousin was a draftsman and an insurance salesman before making it as a songwriter and then scoring his only pop hit, this countryish plea to a woman to join him in first Boston, then Denver, and finally Los Angeles. The lady refuses each time, pleading in return for him to go back home to Tennessee. We never find out if he does, or if he moves on to, I don't know, Seattle, and takes another crack at getting her to relocate. With some songs, you don't necessarily need closure, but for some reason, I want it with this one. Write a sequel, Dave. I demand it.
4 - "Tell Me Something Good," Rufus
Not only was it this band's first hit, not only did it introduce the world to Chaka Khan, but it was also one of the first major uses of the "talk box" effect. Who knows, maybe this song is responsible for Peter Frampton's brief superstardom. Whether or not that would be a good thing to be able to claim, I leave to you.
3 - "(You're) Having My Baby," Paul Anka
The pride of Canada's capital, trying to sound loving and appreciative of the woman carrying his child, but instead sounding creepy and condescending. I don't think his intentions were anything but noble, but really, someone could have taken him aside and pointed out the difference between his intent and how it might be, and ultimately was by many, perceived. But maybe if he had changed something, it wouldn't have hit #1, so what do I know?
2 - "Feel Like Makin' Love," Roberta Flack
This could be the sexiest of Roberta's three early 70s Number Ones. Then again, they're all pretty damn sexy in their own ways. One thing's for sure, this is much better mood music than Bad Company's hit of the same name. Not that that's a bad song. I just think that this one would have a much higher success rate, nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more.
And the hit of all hits this week 37 years ago was...
1 - "The Night Chicago Died," Paper Lace
This British group that was discovered on a talent show calledOpportunity Knocks had their only American hit with this tale of a child who feared for his Chicago cop-father's life on the night of a bloody war with Al Capone's gang during his Prohibition-era heyday. And unlike "Please Come to Boston," this song does provide resolution in the last verse, where we learn that the narrator's father returned home safe and sound that night. Whew. Knowing that makes singing along to those "Nanananananananananananana"s at the end much more fun.
This week's NotCaseys were "I Honestly Love You," by Olivia Newton John, "Sweet Home Alabama," by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and "Surfin' U.S.A.," by The Beach Boys.
As I said earlier, next week I'm doing both a 70s and 80s recap. After that, I'm going to do a little something to commemorate the first year of BGC and the end of regular 70s coverage, then the plan is to only cover 80s charts in full, with perhaps spotlights on some songs from that week's 70s show that I haven't covered before and find interesting. That's the plan. Come back regularly to see if that comes together.
20 - "Rub it In," Billy "Crash" Craddock
19 - "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," Elton John
18 - "Annie's Song," John Denver
17 - "You and Me Against the World," Helen Reddy
16 - "Sure as I'm Sittin' Here," Three Dog Night
The second half begins with the biggest pop hit for country singer Craddock, which turns a request to have sun lotion applied to his body into something more. At one point, he asked to be rubbed on his "sacoriliac." Officially, that's a joint between the spine and the pelvis, but one wonders if this was an attempt at a subtle reference at another body part in that area. Or maybe I just have a dirty mind. Either way, this song is now better known as the "Plug it in" song from Glade commercials, for better or worse.
Next is Sir Elton with another in his bottomless well of classics from this decade. In this one, he confronts a friend who is considering cutting him out of his life for questionable reasons. That sucks. Interesting crew of backup singers on this one: two Beach Boys and the future Mrs. Dragon, Toni Tennille.
John Denver is here, telling some woman named Annie that she fills up his senses, and asking her to "fill me again." No way that's not a sex metaphor. Good to know you're not a total choirboy, Johnny.
Then it's our Helen, showing off her less interesting side on this song in which she expresses her love for her young daughter Traci, who is heard at the beginning and the end of the record. It's sweet, but I'll skip this every time to get to the crazy ladies.
Closing out this section are our old buddies 3DN with their last Top 20 hit. In the lyrics, they sing "Now you might think it's confusing." And I do, because I have no idea what the point of the lyrics are. But beyond that, it's inoffensive piano pop, performed in such a relaxed way that it's almost like they knew the end of their run was near, so they weren't bothering to put in a full effort.
15 - "Rock Me Gently," Andy Kim
14 - "Shinin' On," Grand Funk
13 - "I Shot the Sheriff," Eric Clapton
12 - "Taking Care of Business," Bachman-Turner Overdrive
11 - "Keep on Smilin'" Wet Willie
This section opens with the Canadian who co-wrote the Archies' "Sugar Sugar." He went all the way to #1 with this unaccountably perfect pop nugget. I know that the keyboard break in the middle was one of the first sounds to really catch my ear as a child.
Up next is the song that led to Homer Simpson's realization that today's children are woefully undereducated on the subject of Grand Funk. He told his kids, and the others in their carpool, to do further research on them in their library, but you just know they never bothered. Foolish, foolish youth.
Then it's Eric Clapton with his cover of Bob Marley's tale of a man who has become a fugitive wanted for the murder of a deputy, although he insists he only killed Sheriff John Brown, and that was in self-defence. Clapton deserves credit for spreading the gospel of Marley before he really broke through internationally, and I did dig this as a kid, but once you've heard the original, there's really no need to ever hear this version again.
Then it's BTO with their biggest hit, celebrating the joys of working "at nothing all day." Did they foresee it being later used as a jingle for a store that sells office supplies? Probably not. But they probably didn't envision playing a fair in Springfield and being yelled at by some loudmouth to "get to the 'working overtime' part!" That's right, two Simpsons references in this section. Just couldn't control myself.
Closing out this quintet are Alabamians Wet Willie with their biggest hit, in which they suggest putting on a happy face no matter what shit life throws your way. I think Marge Simpson once gave similar advice to Lisa. Yeah, another one. Anyway, this one is much better, and much truer to their Southern rock roots, than "Weekend."
The last ten steps on the road to pop glory:
10 - "Sideshow," Blue Magic
This Philadelphia group had the biggest of their two hits with this song that imagines a carnival attraction filled with the most pathetic, broken-hearted people imaginable. No one would go see that. However, I'm sure millions would watch that reality show.
9 - "I'm Leaving it All Up to You," Donny and Marie Osmond
The first, and biggest, hit for this combination of Osmond siblings was a cover of a song by Dale and Grace that was #1 on the charts the day John F. Kennedy was shot. Does it mean anything that JFK was killed in Dallas and Dale's last name was Houston? Certainly not. But I found that much more interesting than this song.
8 - "Wildwood Weed," Jim Stafford
Country jokester Stafford scored with this novelty song about two hillbilly brothers who discover that a weed that grows on their farm has certain pleasurable properties when chewed or smoked. "It beat the hell out of sniffin' burlap." Yes kids, there once was a time when you had do be cryptic when singing about pot.
7 - "Waterloo," ABBA
The Swedish legends broke through in the U.S. with this song that compared romantic surrender to that of Napoleon at the titular battle. We all know this song, many like myself love it, so I'll use this space to tell you that the song that finished second to it in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest was an Italian song called "Si (Yes)" that caused Italian television to refuse to air the contest for fear that the song might be a subliminal message to vote "Yes" in an upcoming referendum on the question of outlawing divorce in that country. The "yes" side lost, allowing Italians to continue legally splitting up as much as they wanted. Did that decision by the RAI network save Italian lawyers from losing millions of lire in business? We'll never know, but one thing is certain: this took up more space than I thought it would.
6 - "Call on Me," Chicago
Another jazzy love song from these boys. I may not get another chance, so I just want to say one more time that "If You Leave Me Now" sucks.
5 - "Please Come to Boston," Dave Loggins
Kenny's cousin was a draftsman and an insurance salesman before making it as a songwriter and then scoring his only pop hit, this countryish plea to a woman to join him in first Boston, then Denver, and finally Los Angeles. The lady refuses each time, pleading in return for him to go back home to Tennessee. We never find out if he does, or if he moves on to, I don't know, Seattle, and takes another crack at getting her to relocate. With some songs, you don't necessarily need closure, but for some reason, I want it with this one. Write a sequel, Dave. I demand it.
4 - "Tell Me Something Good," Rufus
Not only was it this band's first hit, not only did it introduce the world to Chaka Khan, but it was also one of the first major uses of the "talk box" effect. Who knows, maybe this song is responsible for Peter Frampton's brief superstardom. Whether or not that would be a good thing to be able to claim, I leave to you.
3 - "(You're) Having My Baby," Paul Anka
The pride of Canada's capital, trying to sound loving and appreciative of the woman carrying his child, but instead sounding creepy and condescending. I don't think his intentions were anything but noble, but really, someone could have taken him aside and pointed out the difference between his intent and how it might be, and ultimately was by many, perceived. But maybe if he had changed something, it wouldn't have hit #1, so what do I know?
2 - "Feel Like Makin' Love," Roberta Flack
This could be the sexiest of Roberta's three early 70s Number Ones. Then again, they're all pretty damn sexy in their own ways. One thing's for sure, this is much better mood music than Bad Company's hit of the same name. Not that that's a bad song. I just think that this one would have a much higher success rate, nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more.
And the hit of all hits this week 37 years ago was...
1 - "The Night Chicago Died," Paper Lace
This British group that was discovered on a talent show calledOpportunity Knocks had their only American hit with this tale of a child who feared for his Chicago cop-father's life on the night of a bloody war with Al Capone's gang during his Prohibition-era heyday. And unlike "Please Come to Boston," this song does provide resolution in the last verse, where we learn that the narrator's father returned home safe and sound that night. Whew. Knowing that makes singing along to those "Nanananananananananananana"s at the end much more fun.
This week's NotCaseys were "I Honestly Love You," by Olivia Newton John, "Sweet Home Alabama," by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and "Surfin' U.S.A.," by The Beach Boys.
As I said earlier, next week I'm doing both a 70s and 80s recap. After that, I'm going to do a little something to commemorate the first year of BGC and the end of regular 70s coverage, then the plan is to only cover 80s charts in full, with perhaps spotlights on some songs from that week's 70s show that I haven't covered before and find interesting. That's the plan. Come back regularly to see if that comes together.
August 17, 1974 Part One
Welcome to the 100th post in Bobby Gloves Casey history. It was also scheduled to begin my last regularly scheduled 70s lookback, but I've looked ahead to next week's presentation and have decided to cover it along with next week's 80s show. So it'll be a transition week. Anyway, lets move ahead with this chart from the first days of the Ford administration.
40 - "Beach Baby," First Class
39 - "Time for Livin'," Sly and the Family Stone
38 - "Let's Put it All Together," The Stylistics
37 - "Rock the Boat," The Hues Corporation
36 - "Rock Your Baby," George McCray
35 - "Happiness is Just Around the Bend," The Main Ingredient
34 - "It's Only Rock n' Roll (But I Like It)," The Rolling Stones
33 - "River's Risin'," The Edgar Winter Group
32 - "You Haven't Done Nothin'," Stevie Wonder
31 - "The Air that I Breathe," The Hollies
We start with what I will call "rock." The First Class were an English group who were nowhere near California when they put together this homage to 60s surf music. It doesn't sound very authentic, but it still has a strange charm. The Rolling Stones are here with one of their best-remembered 70s hits, in which Mick Jagger offers to do multiple damaging things to his heart in the name of this supposedly trifling enterprise that he happens to enjoy. I like it, like it, yes I do. Edgar Winter and his group followed up the instrumental "Frankenstein" with this bevocaled (yeah, still making up words), environmentally conscious number. "The Earth is changin'...there'll be nothing remainin'," singer Dan Hartman informs us. It's a good thing we listened to them back then, isn't it. And The Hollies had their final Top Ten with this lush ballad in which the singer seems to declare that his only requirements to stay alive are oxygen and sex. He goes so far as to say "If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass." So what the hell does he do when he blows out the candles on his birthday cake? Oh wait, he doesn't eat either. This fuckin' guy.
A lot of soul here. Sly and the Family Stone had their final Top 40 with this cynical-sounding midtempo funk number. They apparently foresaw Nixon's resignation, but weren't too hopeful about the result ("Re-arrangin', leader's changin', pretty soon he might not give a damn."). The Stylistics are here with a typically pretty ballad on which they declare "lovin' is all there is." Tastes even sweeter after Sly's bitter pill. Cuba Gooding Sr. and co. surprise me again with yet another hit that isn't "Eveyrbody Plays the Fool." This one's a nice uptempo bit of positivity, but nothing special. And Stevie Wonder debuted on the 40 with his brash, funked-up anti-Nixon rant just over a week after the man resigned. I wonder if hearing that Stevie was about to be all over the radio trashing him for the next few months contributed in any way to the timing of his long-awaited capitulation? Hey, stranger things have happened.
We close with two similarly-titled, similar sounding #1 singles that are considered among the earliest disco hits. First we have Santa Monica, California's Hues Corporation, whose career path had included opening for Frank Sinatra and conrtibuting music to the movie Blacula before they recorded this dance smash comparing love to "a ship on the ocean." Meanwhile, in Florida, George McRae was making his own breakthrough with a future charttopper of his own, which was written and produced by one Harry Wayne Casey. If you've been following along, you surely know who that guy would become. Anyway, both of these artist would manage one more Top 40 each, but they'll always be linked by the fact that their biggest hits have blended together in so many people's minds, including my own.
30 - "Clap for the Wolfman," The Guess Who
29 - "My Thang," James Brown
28 - "Radar Love," Golden Earring
27 - "Rikki Don't Lose that Number," Steely Dan
26 - "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe," Barry White
25 - "Nothing from Nothing," Billy Preston
24 - "Rock and Roll Heaven," The Righteous Brothers
23 - "Hang On in There Baby," Johnny Bristol
22 - "Wild Thing," Fancy
21 - "Then Came You," Dionne Warwick and The Spinners
The rock parade begins with The Guess Who's last Top Ten, on which Burton Cummings is somehow thwarted in his attempts to get laid by the voice of Wolfman Jack on the radio. Hey Burt, did you ever consider, I don't know, changing stations? The Dutch band Golden Earring had their first American hit with this classic about some sort of mystic connection between a man and a woman that the man feels as he's driving home to see her an a Brenda Lee song plays on the radio. Oh, those crazy wooden shoe-wearers. Steely Dan had their biggest hit with this light, lyrically straightforward (for them) tune in which Donald Fagen hopes that the person he gave his phone number to will "have a change of heart" and decide to spend time with him after all. And Britain's Fancy had their only hit with a somewhat harder version of the Troggs' 60s classic. I like the female voice on this one, and the heavy breathing has its, um, charms, but the noodly, early-synthesizer solo is no match for the ocarina on the original. I'd rather they'd have just thrown in a generic guitar solo than that mess.
Another big R&B contingent is present in this bunch. The Godfather himself shows up with another of his numerous hits, On this "brand new funk," Brother James advises men interested in chatting up women to walk up to them, "put your hand on the lower level," and then give a speech that contains repeated utterances of the phrase "gimme my thang." Not sure if that would work these days, assuming it ever did. But it's James, so all is somehow forgiven. As it should be. Barry White scored his first and only Number One with this masterwork of seductive soul. The conceptions this song alone is responsible for must number in the millions. Billy Preston had his second and last #1 with this bouncer in which he declares "you gotta have something if you wanna be with me." I wonder if part of that something involves being able to write about him without using the phrase "fifth Beatle." If so, I don't have it. Ex-Motown staff writer/producer Johnny Bristol had his only Top 40 with what to me is a bald-faced ripoff of Barry White's style. But I just think his voice is a little too high to make me take come-ons like "sweet virgin of the world...let us touch that cloud that everyone dreams of" at all seriously. But he made it to #8, so what do I know? And Dionne Warwick had one high point in a ten-year fallow period when she teamed up with the fabulous Spinners for this gorgeous ballad about finally finding the right person. But apparently, she didn't like the song after she recorded it. Noticing this, producer Thom Bell gave her half of a dollar bill for her to sign. He signed the other half, and the two exchanged halves. Bell told Warwick that if "Then Came You" didn't go to Number One, he'd send her his half of the bill, but if it did, she'd have to send him hers. Long story short, Bell ended up with the whole dollar.
We finish with the only song in this half I'd classify as "easy listening." After eight years without a hit, the unrelated Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield came back with a song that pictures Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Jim Morrison, Jim Croce, and Bobby Darin all forming "a hell of a band" up in the Great Beyond. I don't know about you, but I think that combination would sound terrible. And the whole exercise seems a bit cynically calculated, like "Hey, remember us? We're not dead! But these people are! Weren't they great? They won't be making any new music, but we are, and we're singing about them! And that's as close as you're going to get, so buy it." Anyway, something seems off about the whole thing, and for that reason, I'm giving "Rock n' Roll Heaven" this week's Uneasy Rider. Not so righteous, brothers.
Thank you for being with me for all or part of these first one hundred dispatches from my pop-addled brain. I'd like to thank everyone who's ever even looked at one entry, as well as the good people at the American Top 40 Fun & Games message board for their direct and indirect assistance. I don't have a huge audience, I know, but it's enough combined with my enjoyment of writing these to keep me going. Merci beaucoup.
Tomorrow: a future air-freshener jingle, God goes reggae, and a guy who just can't get his girl to follow him no matter where he goes.
40 - "Beach Baby," First Class
39 - "Time for Livin'," Sly and the Family Stone
38 - "Let's Put it All Together," The Stylistics
37 - "Rock the Boat," The Hues Corporation
36 - "Rock Your Baby," George McCray
35 - "Happiness is Just Around the Bend," The Main Ingredient
34 - "It's Only Rock n' Roll (But I Like It)," The Rolling Stones
33 - "River's Risin'," The Edgar Winter Group
32 - "You Haven't Done Nothin'," Stevie Wonder
31 - "The Air that I Breathe," The Hollies
We start with what I will call "rock." The First Class were an English group who were nowhere near California when they put together this homage to 60s surf music. It doesn't sound very authentic, but it still has a strange charm. The Rolling Stones are here with one of their best-remembered 70s hits, in which Mick Jagger offers to do multiple damaging things to his heart in the name of this supposedly trifling enterprise that he happens to enjoy. I like it, like it, yes I do. Edgar Winter and his group followed up the instrumental "Frankenstein" with this bevocaled (yeah, still making up words), environmentally conscious number. "The Earth is changin'...there'll be nothing remainin'," singer Dan Hartman informs us. It's a good thing we listened to them back then, isn't it. And The Hollies had their final Top Ten with this lush ballad in which the singer seems to declare that his only requirements to stay alive are oxygen and sex. He goes so far as to say "If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass." So what the hell does he do when he blows out the candles on his birthday cake? Oh wait, he doesn't eat either. This fuckin' guy.
A lot of soul here. Sly and the Family Stone had their final Top 40 with this cynical-sounding midtempo funk number. They apparently foresaw Nixon's resignation, but weren't too hopeful about the result ("Re-arrangin', leader's changin', pretty soon he might not give a damn."). The Stylistics are here with a typically pretty ballad on which they declare "lovin' is all there is." Tastes even sweeter after Sly's bitter pill. Cuba Gooding Sr. and co. surprise me again with yet another hit that isn't "Eveyrbody Plays the Fool." This one's a nice uptempo bit of positivity, but nothing special. And Stevie Wonder debuted on the 40 with his brash, funked-up anti-Nixon rant just over a week after the man resigned. I wonder if hearing that Stevie was about to be all over the radio trashing him for the next few months contributed in any way to the timing of his long-awaited capitulation? Hey, stranger things have happened.
We close with two similarly-titled, similar sounding #1 singles that are considered among the earliest disco hits. First we have Santa Monica, California's Hues Corporation, whose career path had included opening for Frank Sinatra and conrtibuting music to the movie Blacula before they recorded this dance smash comparing love to "a ship on the ocean." Meanwhile, in Florida, George McRae was making his own breakthrough with a future charttopper of his own, which was written and produced by one Harry Wayne Casey. If you've been following along, you surely know who that guy would become. Anyway, both of these artist would manage one more Top 40 each, but they'll always be linked by the fact that their biggest hits have blended together in so many people's minds, including my own.
30 - "Clap for the Wolfman," The Guess Who
29 - "My Thang," James Brown
28 - "Radar Love," Golden Earring
27 - "Rikki Don't Lose that Number," Steely Dan
26 - "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe," Barry White
25 - "Nothing from Nothing," Billy Preston
24 - "Rock and Roll Heaven," The Righteous Brothers
23 - "Hang On in There Baby," Johnny Bristol
22 - "Wild Thing," Fancy
21 - "Then Came You," Dionne Warwick and The Spinners
The rock parade begins with The Guess Who's last Top Ten, on which Burton Cummings is somehow thwarted in his attempts to get laid by the voice of Wolfman Jack on the radio. Hey Burt, did you ever consider, I don't know, changing stations? The Dutch band Golden Earring had their first American hit with this classic about some sort of mystic connection between a man and a woman that the man feels as he's driving home to see her an a Brenda Lee song plays on the radio. Oh, those crazy wooden shoe-wearers. Steely Dan had their biggest hit with this light, lyrically straightforward (for them) tune in which Donald Fagen hopes that the person he gave his phone number to will "have a change of heart" and decide to spend time with him after all. And Britain's Fancy had their only hit with a somewhat harder version of the Troggs' 60s classic. I like the female voice on this one, and the heavy breathing has its, um, charms, but the noodly, early-synthesizer solo is no match for the ocarina on the original. I'd rather they'd have just thrown in a generic guitar solo than that mess.
Another big R&B contingent is present in this bunch. The Godfather himself shows up with another of his numerous hits, On this "brand new funk," Brother James advises men interested in chatting up women to walk up to them, "put your hand on the lower level," and then give a speech that contains repeated utterances of the phrase "gimme my thang." Not sure if that would work these days, assuming it ever did. But it's James, so all is somehow forgiven. As it should be. Barry White scored his first and only Number One with this masterwork of seductive soul. The conceptions this song alone is responsible for must number in the millions. Billy Preston had his second and last #1 with this bouncer in which he declares "you gotta have something if you wanna be with me." I wonder if part of that something involves being able to write about him without using the phrase "fifth Beatle." If so, I don't have it. Ex-Motown staff writer/producer Johnny Bristol had his only Top 40 with what to me is a bald-faced ripoff of Barry White's style. But I just think his voice is a little too high to make me take come-ons like "sweet virgin of the world...let us touch that cloud that everyone dreams of" at all seriously. But he made it to #8, so what do I know? And Dionne Warwick had one high point in a ten-year fallow period when she teamed up with the fabulous Spinners for this gorgeous ballad about finally finding the right person. But apparently, she didn't like the song after she recorded it. Noticing this, producer Thom Bell gave her half of a dollar bill for her to sign. He signed the other half, and the two exchanged halves. Bell told Warwick that if "Then Came You" didn't go to Number One, he'd send her his half of the bill, but if it did, she'd have to send him hers. Long story short, Bell ended up with the whole dollar.
We finish with the only song in this half I'd classify as "easy listening." After eight years without a hit, the unrelated Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield came back with a song that pictures Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Jim Morrison, Jim Croce, and Bobby Darin all forming "a hell of a band" up in the Great Beyond. I don't know about you, but I think that combination would sound terrible. And the whole exercise seems a bit cynically calculated, like "Hey, remember us? We're not dead! But these people are! Weren't they great? They won't be making any new music, but we are, and we're singing about them! And that's as close as you're going to get, so buy it." Anyway, something seems off about the whole thing, and for that reason, I'm giving "Rock n' Roll Heaven" this week's Uneasy Rider. Not so righteous, brothers.
Thank you for being with me for all or part of these first one hundred dispatches from my pop-addled brain. I'd like to thank everyone who's ever even looked at one entry, as well as the good people at the American Top 40 Fun & Games message board for their direct and indirect assistance. I don't have a huge audience, I know, but it's enough combined with my enjoyment of writing these to keep me going. Merci beaucoup.
Tomorrow: a future air-freshener jingle, God goes reggae, and a guy who just can't get his girl to follow him no matter where he goes.
Monday, August 8, 2011
August 1, 1970 Part Two
Wrapping up.
20 - "A Song of Joy," Miguel Rios
19 - "Lay a Little Lovin' on Me," Robin McNamara
18 - "I Just Can't Help Believin'," B.J. Thomas
17 - "Ohio," Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
16 - "Teach Your Children," Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
The second half begins with Miguel Rios, who is considered to have been one of Spain's first rock stars. On his only American hit, he sets a typical-for-the-times folk tune about freedom, love and understanding to the tune of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy." At a couple points, it breaks out into a full orchestral performance. Casey declared it "the most unusual song on the charts this week." I guess he gave it his own Uneasy Rider award. Sorry Case, but I'm sticking with the Pipkins.
Then it's Robin McNamara, who from what I'm seen and heard seems to be a woman, even if her Wikipedia entry indicates otherwise for some reason. Anyway, her only hit was this okay pop rocker in which she demands affection because "doggone it, I depend upon it." I don't know why, but I like that turn of phrase in this context.
Next is MOR machine B.J. Thomas with more innocuous fare. On this one, he's trying to convince himself that his latest flame is going to stay "for more than just a day." I have my doubts, Beej. You bore me to death, and I imagine women feel the same.
We close this section with back-to-back hits from that supergroup of supergroups, CSNY. First is their angry, grinding protest anthem about the fatal shooting that May of anti-Vietnam protesters by members of the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University. They're aren't many lyrics, but what's there packs a wallop. This is immediately followed by the kinder, gentler "Teach Your Children," a simple plea for both parents and offspring to learn from each other and recognize that their love is precious and unconditional. The difference between the two is jarring, but the fact that they come from the same source isn't. Both the anger and the love come from wanting to make the world better. This was at a time when pop musicians still seriously thought they could do that with their music.
15 - "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," Melanie
14 - "Are You Ready?" Pacific Gas and Electric
13 - "Hitchin' a Ride," Vanity Fare
12 - "War," Edwin Starr
11 - "Ride Captain Ride," Blues Image
This quintet opens with the folky Ms. Safka, backed by the gospel group The Edwin Hawkins Singers (of "Oh Happy Day" fame), with a song she wrote after being inspired by the sight of the thousands she performed for at Woodstock the previous year. It celebrates the peaceful vibe of that concert, although a casual listener might think otherwise while hearing lyrics like "We bled inside each other's wounds/We had all caught the same disease." But it works, somehow.
Next is the only hit for a blues-rock group named after a California utility company. This is a hard-rockin' tune with overt gospel overtones, asking people suffering through the world's misery, unrest and pollution if they are prepared "to sit by His throne." It's a pretty rousing number, and I think Casey made a good choice to give the full seven-plus-minute version an airing. Another uncovered gem.
Then it's Britain's Vanity Fare and they're only American hit, a jaunty ode to thumbing lifts from complete strangers. People don't do that so much today. I really don't have much more to say about this. It's not that substantial a song.
Motown second-stringer Edwin Starr had by far his biggest hit with this out-and-out protest soul stirrer about the futility of Vietnam speci73fically and war in general. Some of the barest, truest words ever spoken on the subject, including "friend only to the undertaker," and "war can't give life, it can only take away." Timeless, unfortunately.
Closing this chapter is the only hit by Tampa band Blues Image, a mild rocker about 73 men on a "mystery ship" sailing from San Francisco to some unspecified happy port. A song I generally don't give a shit about, but for some reason, I think I'd miss it if it didn't exist.
Like a soccer team who has a player red-carded, we're down to ten:
10 - "O-o-h Child," The Five Stairsteps
The only Top 40 hit for the five Burke siblings, an uplifting, hopeful message to a child that in spite of dark times, he or she will one day "walk in the rays of a beautiful sun." Certainly a message that resonated then, and definitely does now.
9 - "Tighter, Tighter," Alive and Kicking
This Brooklyn band's only hit was written by Tommy James, who originally wrote "Crystal Blue Persuasion" for them, but then decided to keep it for himself and gave them this instead. I think it worked out well for them. This is catchy and upbeat, and I think it's easier to break through that way than with a ballad. And Casey said it was his favorite song on this week's chart, so there's that.
8 - "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World is Today)," The Temptations
Possibly the best topical soul song of the time, this Temps hit covers all the world's major ills at the time: war, poverty, racism, drug abuse, corruption, population growth, the economy, and many many more. But it's still fun to sing along to while it makes you think.
7 - "Spill the Wine," Eric Burdon and War
Ex-Animal Eric Burdon and his new, predominantly American band, with their trippy description of a guy having a wet dream while lying in a field. Do you think Burdon thought War would have a much brighter future than himself when he left? Me neither
6 - "The Love You Save," The Jackson 5
The third #1 out of the box for Michael and bros., in which they advise a girl who's flirting with multiple boys to slow down and consider settling with one. Preferrably a Jackson. In the midst of all the serious stuff Motown was putting out, the J5's hits were a welcome respite of fun, and I'm sure this contributed to the group's red-hot beginning.
5 - "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," Stevie Wonder
More upbeat Motown, this time from a guy who was about to get more serious than anyone on the label, both lyrically and musically. But that doesn't downgrade this raucous devotion declaration at all. He was proclaimed a "genius" at 12, and for my money, he has never made anyone doubt that he deserves that label.
4 - "Band of Gold," Freda Payne
A song about the most doomed marriage imaginable. A classic. With the theroretical future Mrs. Glovehead's permission, I think I'll insist this gets played at my wedding, just in case anyone picks up on the irony. I'd like to think that among the people we'd invite, someone would.
3 - "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)," Three Dog Night
One of 3DN's high point's, this cover of a Randy Newman song describes "the craziest party that could ever be." Maybe it's just me, but I'm thinking that this, in fact, is the way to have fun, son.
2 - "Make it With You," Bread
The first single by David Gates and his MOR hit factory, this went all the way to the top. Considering how I feel about this band, I should hate this, but I don't quite. Also, I think I'd like to use the phrase "I may be climbing on rainbows, but here goes," in conversation some day.
And on top of the heap of vinyl 41 years ago was...
1 - "(They Long to Be) Close to You," The Carpenters
This is best known as the first hit for Karen and Richard, but it was actually written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David in 1963, and before the siblings that would rule 70s easy-listening put it on wax, there were other recorded versions: one by Bacharach himself, another by Dionne Warwick, and yet another, in fact the first, by...Richard Chamberlain. That's right. Dr. Kildare. The dude I knew from early-80s miniseries like Shogun and The Thorn Birds. I should try and track his version down sometime. I won't, though.
No NotCasey contributions this week. Instead, we got four original extras from the man himself: "I'm Walkin'" by Fats Domino, "Can't Buy Me Love" by the Beatles, "Gentle on My Mind" by Glen Campbell, and "Alley Oop" by the Hollywood Argyles.
Next week is kind of a big deal. Not only will my next post be #100, it's also going to be the last regular 70s entry before we move up a decade. You've gotta be here for that, dont'cha?
20 - "A Song of Joy," Miguel Rios
19 - "Lay a Little Lovin' on Me," Robin McNamara
18 - "I Just Can't Help Believin'," B.J. Thomas
17 - "Ohio," Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
16 - "Teach Your Children," Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
The second half begins with Miguel Rios, who is considered to have been one of Spain's first rock stars. On his only American hit, he sets a typical-for-the-times folk tune about freedom, love and understanding to the tune of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy." At a couple points, it breaks out into a full orchestral performance. Casey declared it "the most unusual song on the charts this week." I guess he gave it his own Uneasy Rider award. Sorry Case, but I'm sticking with the Pipkins.
Then it's Robin McNamara, who from what I'm seen and heard seems to be a woman, even if her Wikipedia entry indicates otherwise for some reason. Anyway, her only hit was this okay pop rocker in which she demands affection because "doggone it, I depend upon it." I don't know why, but I like that turn of phrase in this context.
Next is MOR machine B.J. Thomas with more innocuous fare. On this one, he's trying to convince himself that his latest flame is going to stay "for more than just a day." I have my doubts, Beej. You bore me to death, and I imagine women feel the same.
We close this section with back-to-back hits from that supergroup of supergroups, CSNY. First is their angry, grinding protest anthem about the fatal shooting that May of anti-Vietnam protesters by members of the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University. They're aren't many lyrics, but what's there packs a wallop. This is immediately followed by the kinder, gentler "Teach Your Children," a simple plea for both parents and offspring to learn from each other and recognize that their love is precious and unconditional. The difference between the two is jarring, but the fact that they come from the same source isn't. Both the anger and the love come from wanting to make the world better. This was at a time when pop musicians still seriously thought they could do that with their music.
15 - "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," Melanie
14 - "Are You Ready?" Pacific Gas and Electric
13 - "Hitchin' a Ride," Vanity Fare
12 - "War," Edwin Starr
11 - "Ride Captain Ride," Blues Image
This quintet opens with the folky Ms. Safka, backed by the gospel group The Edwin Hawkins Singers (of "Oh Happy Day" fame), with a song she wrote after being inspired by the sight of the thousands she performed for at Woodstock the previous year. It celebrates the peaceful vibe of that concert, although a casual listener might think otherwise while hearing lyrics like "We bled inside each other's wounds/We had all caught the same disease." But it works, somehow.
Next is the only hit for a blues-rock group named after a California utility company. This is a hard-rockin' tune with overt gospel overtones, asking people suffering through the world's misery, unrest and pollution if they are prepared "to sit by His throne." It's a pretty rousing number, and I think Casey made a good choice to give the full seven-plus-minute version an airing. Another uncovered gem.
Then it's Britain's Vanity Fare and they're only American hit, a jaunty ode to thumbing lifts from complete strangers. People don't do that so much today. I really don't have much more to say about this. It's not that substantial a song.
Motown second-stringer Edwin Starr had by far his biggest hit with this out-and-out protest soul stirrer about the futility of Vietnam speci73fically and war in general. Some of the barest, truest words ever spoken on the subject, including "friend only to the undertaker," and "war can't give life, it can only take away." Timeless, unfortunately.
Closing this chapter is the only hit by Tampa band Blues Image, a mild rocker about 73 men on a "mystery ship" sailing from San Francisco to some unspecified happy port. A song I generally don't give a shit about, but for some reason, I think I'd miss it if it didn't exist.
Like a soccer team who has a player red-carded, we're down to ten:
10 - "O-o-h Child," The Five Stairsteps
The only Top 40 hit for the five Burke siblings, an uplifting, hopeful message to a child that in spite of dark times, he or she will one day "walk in the rays of a beautiful sun." Certainly a message that resonated then, and definitely does now.
9 - "Tighter, Tighter," Alive and Kicking
This Brooklyn band's only hit was written by Tommy James, who originally wrote "Crystal Blue Persuasion" for them, but then decided to keep it for himself and gave them this instead. I think it worked out well for them. This is catchy and upbeat, and I think it's easier to break through that way than with a ballad. And Casey said it was his favorite song on this week's chart, so there's that.
8 - "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World is Today)," The Temptations
Possibly the best topical soul song of the time, this Temps hit covers all the world's major ills at the time: war, poverty, racism, drug abuse, corruption, population growth, the economy, and many many more. But it's still fun to sing along to while it makes you think.
7 - "Spill the Wine," Eric Burdon and War
Ex-Animal Eric Burdon and his new, predominantly American band, with their trippy description of a guy having a wet dream while lying in a field. Do you think Burdon thought War would have a much brighter future than himself when he left? Me neither
6 - "The Love You Save," The Jackson 5
The third #1 out of the box for Michael and bros., in which they advise a girl who's flirting with multiple boys to slow down and consider settling with one. Preferrably a Jackson. In the midst of all the serious stuff Motown was putting out, the J5's hits were a welcome respite of fun, and I'm sure this contributed to the group's red-hot beginning.
5 - "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," Stevie Wonder
More upbeat Motown, this time from a guy who was about to get more serious than anyone on the label, both lyrically and musically. But that doesn't downgrade this raucous devotion declaration at all. He was proclaimed a "genius" at 12, and for my money, he has never made anyone doubt that he deserves that label.
4 - "Band of Gold," Freda Payne
A song about the most doomed marriage imaginable. A classic. With the theroretical future Mrs. Glovehead's permission, I think I'll insist this gets played at my wedding, just in case anyone picks up on the irony. I'd like to think that among the people we'd invite, someone would.
3 - "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)," Three Dog Night
One of 3DN's high point's, this cover of a Randy Newman song describes "the craziest party that could ever be." Maybe it's just me, but I'm thinking that this, in fact, is the way to have fun, son.
2 - "Make it With You," Bread
The first single by David Gates and his MOR hit factory, this went all the way to the top. Considering how I feel about this band, I should hate this, but I don't quite. Also, I think I'd like to use the phrase "I may be climbing on rainbows, but here goes," in conversation some day.
And on top of the heap of vinyl 41 years ago was...
1 - "(They Long to Be) Close to You," The Carpenters
This is best known as the first hit for Karen and Richard, but it was actually written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David in 1963, and before the siblings that would rule 70s easy-listening put it on wax, there were other recorded versions: one by Bacharach himself, another by Dionne Warwick, and yet another, in fact the first, by...Richard Chamberlain. That's right. Dr. Kildare. The dude I knew from early-80s miniseries like Shogun and The Thorn Birds. I should try and track his version down sometime. I won't, though.
No NotCasey contributions this week. Instead, we got four original extras from the man himself: "I'm Walkin'" by Fats Domino, "Can't Buy Me Love" by the Beatles, "Gentle on My Mind" by Glen Campbell, and "Alley Oop" by the Hollywood Argyles.
Next week is kind of a big deal. Not only will my next post be #100, it's also going to be the last regular 70s entry before we move up a decade. You've gotta be here for that, dont'cha?
Sunday, August 7, 2011
August 1, 1970 Part One
As we near the end, we go back to the beginning.
40 - "Check Out Your Mind," The Impressions
39 - "Do You See My Love (For You Growning)," Junior Walker and the All-Stars
38 - "25 or 6 to 4," Chicago
37 - "Everybody's Got the Right to Love," The Supremes
36 - "Mississippi," John Phillips
35 - "Maybe," The Three Degrees
34 - "The Sly, the Slick and the Wicked," The Lost Generation
33 - "Summertime Blues," The Who
32 - "Love Land," Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
31 - "Mississippi Queen," Mountain
A big soul contingent in this first group. The Impressions' funky call to thought was their last hit with the legendary Curtis Mayfield as a member. Sax man Junior Walker and his band of ringers, best known for 1965's classic "Shotgun," had their last hit with this solid but unspectacular declaration of affection. The Supremes had their second post-Diana hit with this song that takes a concept Dean Martin once introduced and elevates it from a mere need to a human right. There's more harmony singing on this one than on most of their 60s hits? Symbolism? The vocal group the Three Degrees got their first hit by tacking on a long spoken-word intro to an early girl-group hit by the Chantels. Of course, their lasting impression wouldn't be made for another four years, in the form of the #1 superballad "When Will I See You Again." Chicago's The Lost Generation had their biggest success with this ballad warning women about three specific types of scoundrels who will try and tempt them into cheating on their men. The sexual politics of this may be questionable, but damn, I dig the echo effects on this song. And Charles Wright et al sing longingly about a place they can only go while in the arms of one special lady. I hate to break it to you, Chuck, but last I heard, Marge Simpson dismantled Love Land.
The rest of this section can be divided into "Mississippi" and "No Mississippi." First among the latter are Chicago, who's numerically enigmatic hit here is probably about drugs after all, given some of the lyrics ("Spinning room is sinking deep." "Should I try to do some more."). And The Who are here with their loud Live At Leeds cover of Eddie Cochrane's ode to teenage problems. Love John Entwhistle vocalizing the menacing adult world.
As for the songs involving that certain fun-to-spell state, they're pretty different. The first is a countryish song about a woman who hitches a ride to New Orleans, which was the first and only solo hit by the leader of the Mamas and the Papas. And Mackenzie Phillips' father. I'm not saying any more than that. And Long Island hard rockers Mountain had their only hit with this staple about a Cajun dancer the lead singer met on a riverboat who "taught me everything." I assume he means math, English lit, languages, maybe some poli sci. I'm on the right track, right?
30 - "(Get Up I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine," James Brown
29 - "Patches," Clarence Carter
28 - "Overture from Tommy," The Assembled Multitude
27 - "Tell it All Brother," Kenny Rogers and the First Edition
26 - "Westbound #9," The Flaming Ember
25 - "Silver Bird," Mark Lindsay
24 - "The Wonder of You," Elvis Presley
23 - "Gimme Dat Ding," The Pipkins
22 - "In the Summertime," Mungo Jerry
21 - "(If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can't I Touch You," Ronnie Dyson
R&B isn't as dominant in this bunch, but it still kicks us off. JB the Godfather kicks us off telling us to "stay on the scene," and to "shake your arm, then use your form." Well, I suppose the man knew his business, so okay. Clarence Carter returns with the song about a child taking on adult responsibilities that I've covered a few times already. But this time, I find I'm starting to like it. Kind of country-blues, very authentic-sounding. Detroit's Flaming Ember were a white group, but they reached the Top 20 on the soul charts with this driving number about the desire to leave a hick town full of hypocrites, lecherous drunks and people who just don't appreciate you. This seems to be quite an oft-told story. And the question Ronnie Dyson asks on his biggest hit doesn't seem to make sense from a logistical point of view, but I get the feeling that what he isn't allowed to touch is his lover's heart. Metaphors. Gotta love 'em. A nice reggae feel to this one. It's a grower.
The easy stuff comes strong in this section. The Assembled Multitude's version of the overture from The Who's masterpiece may have been unnecessary, but many of those musicians went on to play on a punch of Philly soul classics, so that's cool. Future country king Kenny and his pop band had their next-to-last hit together with this call for sinners to repent. It's pretty good as white pop-gospel, but it's certainly no "Just Dropped In." Mark Lindsay, the singer for Paul Revere and the Raiders, recorded solo on the side, and he had a hit with this dramatic ballad about a guy seeing his woman off on a flight to "see what's on the other side," all the while hoping she'll return to him. For some reason, Casey felt the need to say that Lindsay was a great guy twice, which makes me wonder. And speaking of "wonder," Elvis is here with his next-to-last Top Ten, a big ol' love song about the woman who understands him and makes him feel like a king. Perfect for Vegas.
We finish with two British one-hit wonders, at least on this side of the Atlantic. The Pipkins went Top Ten with a song that's basically a piano boogie marred by nonsense lyrics and cartoonish vocals that sound like a duet Grover and Snuffelupagus would sing after smoking pot after hours on Sesame Street. So yeah, this is this week's Uneasy Rider. Mungo Jerry were somewhat less comical vocally and nonsensical lyrically on their smash here, which is why it has held up better over the years. Both, however, are likely in regular rotation on Hell's Muzak system.
Tomorrow: did you know that the Vietnam War was happening around this time? Well, if you didn't, there are plenty of reminders in the Top 20.
40 - "Check Out Your Mind," The Impressions
39 - "Do You See My Love (For You Growning)," Junior Walker and the All-Stars
38 - "25 or 6 to 4," Chicago
37 - "Everybody's Got the Right to Love," The Supremes
36 - "Mississippi," John Phillips
35 - "Maybe," The Three Degrees
34 - "The Sly, the Slick and the Wicked," The Lost Generation
33 - "Summertime Blues," The Who
32 - "Love Land," Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
31 - "Mississippi Queen," Mountain
A big soul contingent in this first group. The Impressions' funky call to thought was their last hit with the legendary Curtis Mayfield as a member. Sax man Junior Walker and his band of ringers, best known for 1965's classic "Shotgun," had their last hit with this solid but unspectacular declaration of affection. The Supremes had their second post-Diana hit with this song that takes a concept Dean Martin once introduced and elevates it from a mere need to a human right. There's more harmony singing on this one than on most of their 60s hits? Symbolism? The vocal group the Three Degrees got their first hit by tacking on a long spoken-word intro to an early girl-group hit by the Chantels. Of course, their lasting impression wouldn't be made for another four years, in the form of the #1 superballad "When Will I See You Again." Chicago's The Lost Generation had their biggest success with this ballad warning women about three specific types of scoundrels who will try and tempt them into cheating on their men. The sexual politics of this may be questionable, but damn, I dig the echo effects on this song. And Charles Wright et al sing longingly about a place they can only go while in the arms of one special lady. I hate to break it to you, Chuck, but last I heard, Marge Simpson dismantled Love Land.
The rest of this section can be divided into "Mississippi" and "No Mississippi." First among the latter are Chicago, who's numerically enigmatic hit here is probably about drugs after all, given some of the lyrics ("Spinning room is sinking deep." "Should I try to do some more."). And The Who are here with their loud Live At Leeds cover of Eddie Cochrane's ode to teenage problems. Love John Entwhistle vocalizing the menacing adult world.
As for the songs involving that certain fun-to-spell state, they're pretty different. The first is a countryish song about a woman who hitches a ride to New Orleans, which was the first and only solo hit by the leader of the Mamas and the Papas. And Mackenzie Phillips' father. I'm not saying any more than that. And Long Island hard rockers Mountain had their only hit with this staple about a Cajun dancer the lead singer met on a riverboat who "taught me everything." I assume he means math, English lit, languages, maybe some poli sci. I'm on the right track, right?
30 - "(Get Up I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine," James Brown
29 - "Patches," Clarence Carter
28 - "Overture from Tommy," The Assembled Multitude
27 - "Tell it All Brother," Kenny Rogers and the First Edition
26 - "Westbound #9," The Flaming Ember
25 - "Silver Bird," Mark Lindsay
24 - "The Wonder of You," Elvis Presley
23 - "Gimme Dat Ding," The Pipkins
22 - "In the Summertime," Mungo Jerry
21 - "(If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can't I Touch You," Ronnie Dyson
R&B isn't as dominant in this bunch, but it still kicks us off. JB the Godfather kicks us off telling us to "stay on the scene," and to "shake your arm, then use your form." Well, I suppose the man knew his business, so okay. Clarence Carter returns with the song about a child taking on adult responsibilities that I've covered a few times already. But this time, I find I'm starting to like it. Kind of country-blues, very authentic-sounding. Detroit's Flaming Ember were a white group, but they reached the Top 20 on the soul charts with this driving number about the desire to leave a hick town full of hypocrites, lecherous drunks and people who just don't appreciate you. This seems to be quite an oft-told story. And the question Ronnie Dyson asks on his biggest hit doesn't seem to make sense from a logistical point of view, but I get the feeling that what he isn't allowed to touch is his lover's heart. Metaphors. Gotta love 'em. A nice reggae feel to this one. It's a grower.
The easy stuff comes strong in this section. The Assembled Multitude's version of the overture from The Who's masterpiece may have been unnecessary, but many of those musicians went on to play on a punch of Philly soul classics, so that's cool. Future country king Kenny and his pop band had their next-to-last hit together with this call for sinners to repent. It's pretty good as white pop-gospel, but it's certainly no "Just Dropped In." Mark Lindsay, the singer for Paul Revere and the Raiders, recorded solo on the side, and he had a hit with this dramatic ballad about a guy seeing his woman off on a flight to "see what's on the other side," all the while hoping she'll return to him. For some reason, Casey felt the need to say that Lindsay was a great guy twice, which makes me wonder. And speaking of "wonder," Elvis is here with his next-to-last Top Ten, a big ol' love song about the woman who understands him and makes him feel like a king. Perfect for Vegas.
We finish with two British one-hit wonders, at least on this side of the Atlantic. The Pipkins went Top Ten with a song that's basically a piano boogie marred by nonsense lyrics and cartoonish vocals that sound like a duet Grover and Snuffelupagus would sing after smoking pot after hours on Sesame Street. So yeah, this is this week's Uneasy Rider. Mungo Jerry were somewhat less comical vocally and nonsensical lyrically on their smash here, which is why it has held up better over the years. Both, however, are likely in regular rotation on Hell's Muzak system.
Tomorrow: did you know that the Vietnam War was happening around this time? Well, if you didn't, there are plenty of reminders in the Top 20.
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