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.
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