The finish.
20 - "Mexican Girl," Smokie
Their eleventh and last hit of this decade was this soft rock ode to a comely senorita. All I'll say is that if you have "a heart as big as a stone," you should probably have that looked at.
19 - "Darlin'," Frankie Miller
The biggest of the Scot's two hits was this countryish loneliness lament. Solid wallowing material.
18 - "Dippety Day," Father Abraham and the Smurfs
The second of three hits for Dutchman Pierre Kartner and the fictional blue creatures is this jaunty nonsense. Dippety don't bother.
17 - "Blame it on the Boogie," Mick Jackson
This Englist singer co-wrote this tune about an uncontrollable urge to dance and took it to the Top 20. It's okay, in a Leo Sayer disco-lite sort of way. But the song also ended up in the hands of a group from across the pond, and you will soon find out who.
16 - "Hurry Up Harry," Sham 69
The Surrey punks' second hit was this simple rocker about trying to get a friend to come along with them to the pub. Inconsequential fun.
15 - "Givin' Up, Givin' In," The Three Degrees
Another Brit hit for the Philly trio. Solid disco soul about finally dumping a duplicitous lover. Always glad to see them again.
14 - "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn'tve)," The Buzzcocks
The Bolton boys' third and biggest hit. A perfect encapsulation of angst and conflicted feelings. Fine Young Cannibals missed the point entirely when they covered it.
13 - "Public Image," Public Image Ltd.
When not recommending songs about jerking off, John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon spent his post-Pistols year forming a new band with a slightly more musical sound. And he was actually attempting to sing instead of just snarl aloud. Their first single was this song about how his former band mates and manager cared more about style than substance. Shocking, I know. A very good record, and the beginning of a more than worthy second act.
12 - "Now That We Found Love," Third World
The Jamaicans' first and best-known hit was this disco-reggae cover of a 1973 O'Jays song. A sweet little groover.
11 - 'Talking in Your Sleep," Crystal Gayle
The second and last hit here for Loretta Lynn's little sister with all the hair was this ballad about being cheated on in dreams, and possibly IRL, as the kids say. Okay, but it won't change anyone's eye colour.
Ten times the tuneage.
10 - "I Can't Stop Lovin' You (Though I Try)," Leo Sayer
Leo's last Top Ten of this decade was this ballad about accompanying a lover to the train that will take her out of his life. A solid weepie.
9 - "Blame It on the Boogie," The Jacksons
Yes, Mick Jackson's song ended up in the hands of Michael Jackson and his brothers, who sped it up and funked it over. Yeah, they win on every level.
8 - "Love Don't Live Here Anymore," Rose Royce
The L.A. funk crew's biggest U.K. hit was this sumptuous ballad about being left by your love. Heartbreak encapsulated.
7 - "Rat Trap," The Boomtown Rats
Their first of two Number Ones was this Springsteeny mini-epic about hopeless youth in a dead-end town. This would be the first time a band identified as punk or New Wave topped the chart, and I would say it's worthy of that distinction.
6 - "Sweet Talkin' Woman," Electric Light Orchestra
Their ninth Top Ten was this tune about chasing a loquacious lady. Apparently, thetc first copies of the single were transparent purple vinyl, though the song came from the album Out of the Blue. What a colourful anecdote.
5 - "MacArthur Park," Donna Summer
Summer's cover of Jimmy Webb's bizarre song comparing a breakup to a cake being left out in the rain was denied a Triple Crown by the Brits, who only lifted it this high before it started flowing down the chart. Donna definitely was an improvement on Richard Harris. Maybe they should have asked her to replace him as Dumbledore.
4 - "Lucky Stars," Dean Friedman
The pride of Paramus, New Jersey, Friedman followed up his quirky U.S. hit of the previous year, "Ariel," with this duet with an uncredited Denise Marsa. It's a ballad depicting a bedtime conversation between a husband and wife about the husband running into a former lover that day. There is anger, doubt, and apology, leading to a seemingly tenuous resolution. It's almost voyeuristic in its detail. You feel like you've watched an entire one-act play when it's over. I really need to explore more of Mr. Friedman's oeuvre to see if there's even more gold.
3 - "Sandy," John Travolta
Only released as a single here , this is the song Danny Zuko sings in Grease after Sandy runs out on him at the drive-in movie after he comes on too strong with her. Travolta sings it well, but every time I hear it I just think of the screen behind him with the cartoon of the performing snack foods. I remember being thrilled seeing those cartoons actually being played between movies at a drive-in years later. Those are gems of modern culture.
2 - "Rasputin," Boney M
At last, here it is, the German disco machine's incredible telling of the tale of Grigori Rasputin, a mystical con man who became a leading advisor to the ruling Romanovs I early 20th century Russia. He claimed to be able to heal Nicholas and Alexandra's sickly son Alexei, but he seemed more interested in accruing power and bedding the ladies of the royal court. He was killed in December 1916 by a group of aristocrats and politicians resentful of his influence on the Tsar. The song succinctly (if not entirely accurately) tells the story enthusiastically and danceably. It made no impact in the States, but it got this high here and went Top Ten in Canada, which is how it became a treasured earworm from my childhood. It never fails to make me happy. Ooooohhhh, those Russians!
And on top 39 years ago, we find..
1 - "Summer Nights," John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
More Grease, this time the song where Danny and Sandy tell their respective peer group's about their summer romance. They have conflicting accounts of what happened between them, but both seem to agree that that the relationship is over due to distance. Little do they know...Anyway, always a fun listen.
That's done. But I'm not. You'll see.
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