This chart aired a week before my 13th birthday. I had just entered the eighth grade, and wasn't really "into" music yet, but I certainly listened to the radio and knew most of the Top 10 (except "Summer"). My favorite song on the list--and one of the few I bought--was "Devil Woman" because of its catchy chorus and mysterious, Halloween-themed lyrics.
Other favorites at the time were "Still the One," "Say You Love Me" (though I did not know the artist then), "Let 'Em In" and "Rock'n Me." Of course, there was also the irresistible disco energy and outright fun of "Shake Your Booty" and "Disco Duck." Years later, the last song would become symbolic of the crassness of disco and/or the '70s, but, listening to it yesterday, I realized it was just a fun song. Nothing wrong with that.
So many songs on the list were not familiar to me. The only real surprise, though, was "Sunrise," a sublime and elegant number. Carmen is indeed a great vocalist.
I was not really in tune with hard rock yet (or perhaps my local radio station wasn't), so I don't think I had heard "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" or "Magic Man" until a year or two later.
There is indeed a lot of funk on the chart, and also a lot of blandness. Bands like the Beach Boys, Dr. Hook and Jefferson Starship, once noted for energetic and ground-breaking music, have some of their least interesting hits this week.
But the song at No. 1 was edgy and ground-breaking, at least so far as AM radio would allow. "Play that funky music, white boy" was racy (pun not intended) and controversial--at least in my middle class neck of the woods. Of course, it became an instant favorite.
Not much interest in '76, it seems, so I'm going back to '77. Though this is one of the Bee Gees' least known hits, I think it's sublime and fits in great with the sci fi themes of the LSH:
Not many artists or songs... However, it's another one of those "Oh that one" after some You Tubing.
38. GET THE FUNK OUT MA FACE, Brothers Johnson - from just last week. I still like Stomp best. 23. ROCK'N ME, Steve Miller Band - is another one I'd only heard recently leading from HWW lists.
37. (THE SYSTEM OF) DR. TARR AND PROFESSOR FETHER, Alan Parsons Project. Must have heard it once a long time ago. Had to check. Not bad.
Bay City Rollers & Linda Ronstadt - but not from them.
I'm always surprised to see Hall & Oates and Heart, as I only know them from much later on.
40. SUNRISE, Eric Carmen - Never heard this one, but I can imagine Jeff Lynne enviously covering it. Having finished, Lynne would then call his lawyer to have a chat about 4. A FIFTH OF BEETHOVEN, Walter Murphy. "There's only one Electric Orchestra around here, mate." Speaking of Lynne, I may be conditioned to not mind Olivia Newton-John's voice. I'm blaming Xanadu, 'cause this is pretty bland.
32. I CAN'T HEAR YOU NO MORE ('cause I stuck my fingers in my ears), Helen Reddy - well it's more upbeat than the Manhattens. Two lines of that and was lapsing into a coma.
As good as 31. (DON'T FEAR) THE REAPER, Blue Oyster Cult and 24. LET 'EM IN Paul McCartney & Wings, they're not exactly on my get up and go playlist.
When looking at any chart, I automatically take out anything with "love" in the title. It saves me having to listen to yet another formulaic attempt at heartstring pulling. However, this chart stands out for having BABY, I LOVE YOUR WAY, Peter Frampton, SAY YOU LOVE ME, Fleetwood Mac and IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW, Chicago on there. All are a bit better than that.
I got a laugh seeing squeaky clean (recent allegations aside) Cliff Richard even saying "Devil" let alone about a woman. Kiki Dee's dungarees should never have gone out of fashion and they seem to be enjoying themselves, which is nice to see in a video.
A lot of the chart is firmly in the world of easy listening. I started online shopping for armchairs three songs into it. I can see why Disco was popular, if only to push a bit of life back into things.
So, it's ...
10. YOU SHOULD BE DANCING, Bee Gees (saw the clip of them walking out of an interview following LASH'S baseless assertions about lovely Vicki Principal the other day)
2. (SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE) SHAKE YOUR BOOTY, KC & the Sunshine Band
1. PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC, Wild Cherry
...for me.
HEAVEN MUST BE MISSING AN ANGEL, AND I'M HAPPY TO HAND YOU BACK FOR THE REWARD.
"...not having to believe in a thing to be interested in it and not having to explain a thing to appreciate the wonder of it."
Hall and Oates and Heart were having hits for longer than I realized at the time, too. My first knowing exposure to Heart was "Barracuda" in '77, but they had had a few hits before. The first H&O song I knew was "Rich Girl," also in '77, but they, too, had been around for awhile.
I agree that there is a lot of blandness and easy listening stuff on the chart. In fact, this chart reminds me more of the late '80s than most of other recent charts I've shared. There comes a point in every decade when corporate rock/pop takes over and things become samey and formulaic. Disco may indeed have been an attempt to shake things up (or at least some booty), but it, too, became corporatized and over-saturated the market. When Rod Stewart and the Rolling Stones do disco, something's gone wrong.
I don't have any real "go to" songs on the chart, either, but my nostalgic favorites include "Devil Woman," "Say You Love Me," "Play that Funky Music," "(Don't Fear) the Reaper" and "Still the One."
A short version of the Bee Gees walkout. There's a 10 minute version that shows it in full.
Clive Anderson looked perpetually terrified of conducting interviews, and it disarmed his guests enough that he would get in numerous cheeky/pointed questions in quick fire fashion.
"...not having to believe in a thing to be interested in it and not having to explain a thing to appreciate the wonder of it."
I happened to watch this last night. Anderson was a rather annoying interviewer. He kept shooting questions and would not give his guests a chance to answer. I'm not sure what ticked Barry off, but Anderson looked genuinely shocked when they walked out. Maurice, at least, took it in good humor: "Well, I guess I better join them."
What is self-deprecating from one person is attack from another. The interviewer's opening remark sure set a bad path. And then he basically wouldn't shut up. It wasn't so much an interview as it was, "here's all my knowledge about you" followed by snarky not creative attacks. Did he think he was their best friend jabbing at the pub?
There were a number of questions that, over the course of the interview, really wound them up. A lot of points has to be given to their researcher. Whether or not you'd use them as actual questions, is another matter.
So, you'd have them in trouble when they were kids, then trouble getting on as a group, then forgetting that one of them (whose ego had been bruised already) had a solo hit.
Having seen the Vicky Principal & Osmonds chat regarding Andy Gibb the other day, this is not in that plastic, vacuous, prearranged world of questions.
But that was what Anderson was like. I heard him the other week on (old persons) Radio 4 and he hasn't changed a bit. Little, nervous jabs that are there to entertain, but that over 10 minutes could make you want to thump him.
Guests who knew what to expect could have bags of fun with it. Folks who turned up expecting a few innocuous, flattering questions could be in for a shock.
"...not having to believe in a thing to be interested in it and not having to explain a thing to appreciate the wonder of it."
I hear the top 10 on a fairly regular basis, except A Fifth of Beethoven. That tends to be on "woo hoo disco party radio show!" type deals.
2. (SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE) SHAKE YOUR BOOTY, KC & the Sunshine Band 1. PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC, Wild Cherry
The top 2 get played all the time, and probably everybody knows them. I might not go looking for them, but heck if I don't enjoy them when they come on the radio.
In spite of the age of this chart, I'm sure a lot of these songs will be remembered.
The most popular songs in the US 44 (gasp!) years ago:
40. YO-YO, Osmonds 39. I'VE FOUND SOMEONE OF MY OWN, Free Movement 38. SURRENDER, Diana Ross 37. I AIN'T GOT TIME ANYMORE, Glass Bottle featuring Gary Criss 36. THE LOVE WE HAD (STAYS ON MY MIND), Dells 35. THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE, Persuaders 34. BREAKDOWN (PART 1), Rufus Thomas 33. WEDDING SONG (THERE IS LOVE), Paul Stookey 32. IF NOT FOR YOU, Olivia Newton-John 31. MERCY MERCY ME (THE ECOLOGY), Marvin Gaye
30. SATURDAY MORNING CONFUSION, Bobby Russell 29. RAIN DANCE, Guess Who 28. RIDERS ON THE STORM, Doors 27. MAKE IT FUNKY (PART 1), James Brown 26. BEGINNINGS, Chicago 25. SO FAR AWAY, Carole King 24. THE STORY IN YOUR EYES, Moody Blues 23. BANGLA-DESH, George Harrison 22. CHIRPY CHIRPY CHEEP CHEEP, Mac & Katie Kissoon 21. SWEET CITY WOMAN, Stampeders
20. IF YOU REALLY LOVE ME, Stevie Wonder 19. TIRED OF BEING ALONE, Al Green 18. SIGNS, Five Man Electrical Band 17. LIAR, Three Dog Night 16. DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, Lee Michaels 15. WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN, Who 14. WOKE UP IN LOVE THIS MORNING, Partridge Family 13. TAKE ME HOME, COUNTRY ROADS, John Denver, featuring Fat City 12. SUPERSTAR, Carpenters 11. STICK UP, Honey Cone
10. WHATCHA SEE IS WHATCHA GET, Dramatics 9. HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART, Bee Gees 8. THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN, Joan Baez 7. I JUST WANT TO CELEBRATE, Rare Earth 6. SMILING FACES SOMETIMES, Undisputed Truth 5. UNCLE ALBERT/ADMIRAL HALSEY, Paul & Linda McCartney 4. MAGGIE MAY, Rod Stewart 3. AIN'T NO SUNSHINE WHEN SHE'S GONE, Bill Withers 2. SPANISH HARLEM, Aretha Franklin 1. GO AWAY, LITTLE GIRL, Donny Osmond
It's fascinating to listen to this program in its historical context. Jim Morrison (No. 28) had died only two months earlier; "Riders On the Storm" would be The Doors' final hit. The Beatles had broken up only a year and a half before; Casey mentions this twice, as George (No. 23) and Paul (No. 5) became the first two ex-Beatles to have No. 1 hits. George's "My Sweet Lord" topped the chart the previous December, while "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" had been No. 1 a mere two weeks earlier, on Sept. 4.
Two rather interesting "signs of the times": Casey mentions that James Brown (No. 27) owns three radio stations and is looking to buy a couple more to create a "negro" radio network. Also, "My Sweet Lord" is referred to as "Jesus rock." Neither term would pass the political correctness test today.
As for me, I turned eight the week after this chart aired. The only song I'm absolutely sure I knew of at the time was the No. 1. Donny Osmond was, as Casey put it, the most popular 13-year-old in America, and he and his brothers were a white Jackson 5 (though, at the time, we would have considered the Osmonds the orginals and J5 the imitators--such were race relations in the country at the time).
So many songs on this list became favorites of mine in the decade which followed, particularly after I truly discovered music in the late '70s: "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey," "Maggie May," "Liar," "Signs," "Sweet City Woman," and especially "Won't Get Fooled Again" (one of the songs which defined hard rock for me).
Other irresistible radio hits: "I Just Want to Celebrate," "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (John Denver's first hit), "Do You Know What I Mean," "Beginnings," and "Mercy Mercy Me." This is my definition of classic rock/pop, and, for many years, songs such as these made me wish I had been born a few years earlier so I could have appreciated them in their contemporary glory.
I was wrong: There was one other song I knew at the time. Bobby Russell's novelty hit, "Saturday Morning Confusion" was one of my first favorite songs ever! It's still an amusing ditty.
Songs I have no memory of/never heard before: Those from No. 40-34 (in spite of the Osmonds' popularity), 27, 22, 19, 11, and 6. It's no surprise that most of these are Soul songs, as I was never much into Soul. Listening to these songs now, though, there are several I want to hear again.
Not Everone's a Winner Dept.: I'm a big Guess Who fan, but "Rain Dance" is just about their most annoying hit ever.
Come on, folks! There's some great stuff on this list.
Sure Birthday Boy, but some of us have to go through You Tube for them
A better mix than the last one, but still fairly low key. The Osmonds karate Kid outfits were the biggest eye opener. Not going to discuss the spiky collars (Osmonds: the first punk band? )
Thanks to You Tube, I liked these ones... 7. I JUST WANT TO CELEBRATE, Rare Earth 6. SMILING FACES SOMETIMES, Undisputed Truth 17. LIAR, Three Dog Night 27. MAKE IT FUNKY (PART 1), James Brown
Olivia Newton-John in '71. Didn't she age for 20 years?! I suspect Time Bubbles. The actual songs are just as pants though, so that's another thing that didn't change.
A couple I know of, but don't like enough to listen to any time soon... 13. TAKE ME HOME, COUNTRY ROADS, John Denver, featuring Fat City 4. MAGGIE MAY, Rod Stewart
Big Stand Outs are:- 28. RIDERS ON THE STORM, Doors 31. MERCY MERCY ME (THE ECOLOGY), Marvin Gaye
Big favourite is... 15. WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN, Who
I wonder how many singles Guess Who sold to people thinking they had got the Who?
"...not having to believe in a thing to be interested in it and not having to explain a thing to appreciate the wonder of it."
Too young to remember hearing any of them on the radio, WITH the possible and probable exception of TAKE ME HOME COUNTRY ROADS. I'd have learned them all later.
Many I still do not know. Certain favorite on the list has got to be:
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I still like Stomp best.
