Old Memories Creep More: Our Favorite #1s of the 70s, Pt. 4

 

Having a number one record is hard. Like most success, you need a lot of good timing and luck. For Billboard’s purposes, you also need to be at or near the top of the Top 40 airplay spins as well as singles sales, with the combination of the two the highest of every other song that week.

It’s an imperfect system that gets worse when you consider payola deals, personal favoritism, and human error. You Light Up My Life is a nice song, but I have a difficult time believing that we, as a national collective, thought that was the best song alive for two and a half straight months. Better than Carly Simon? Barry White? Boogie Nights?

It’s all to say that Number one records shouldn’t always be considered better than the others. Mostly, they were just luckier and had better timing (Foreigner knows what I’m talking about.) Every pop artist aspires you have one though, the cache of saying they had a #1. [Personally, I’ll take a platinum single that peaked at #22.] But I digress.

Here are another six of our favorite singles awarded number one status in the 1970s.

Rhythm Heritage – Theme From S.W.A.T. [1 week, 1976]

EM: 1976 was such a great for hit TV theme songs. I almost had Welcome Back by John Sebastian here instead. But damn, this song is an out-of-control Mack truck barreling down the highway with little chance of stopping. So funky. I was forbidden to watch the Steve Forrest-led crime drama, but I never let an opportunity to let this Barry DeVorzon-penned single pass me by.

Did you know that LL Cool J sampled the intro for I’m Bad in 1987? Fast forward to 2003, and guess who scored a part in the film reboot?

WH: It’s absolutely a fun, great tune, and as Erik implies, its chart success led to the theme songs of four other ABC TV shows being released as singles later in 1976: Welcome Back, Kotter, of course, but also Happy Days, Baretta, and Laverne & Shirley. In fact, all four of those were on the Top 40 simultaneously for two weeks in mid-June.

Don’t think I ever watched an episode of S.W.A.T. My excuse for the first season, when it was on Monday evenings, is that it surely came on at or past bedtime. Maybe I had better things to do on Saturday nights during its 1975-76 second season?

Paul McCartney & Wings – Band On the Run [1 week, 1974]

EM: Paul seamlessly strings together four separate passages into one pop masterpiece. This is why the Beatles had to break up.

My fondest memories as a kid were movies I would play in my head while I listened to the radio. For this tune, I loved the concept of the group breaking out of prison, being on the lam chased by a jailer and a sailor, both of which probably didn’t have a clue where to search if they weren’t in jail or the high seas. Aren’t there jurisdiction rules too?

Also, I always thought he needed a “pie today.” Who doesn’t love pie? We know Paul loves his butter pie. That made a lot more sense to me than a pint.

WH: As I mention over on my side, “Band on the Run” was a legitimate contender for being included in my list. Until Erik brought it up, though, I’d never seen the connection between this piece and Paul’s Beatles work so clearly—it’s kind of a rock parallel to the poppier “You Never Give Me My Money.” (And after listening to the album the other day, isn’t “Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)” stylistically a sort-of-descendant of “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)”?)

Earth, Wind & Fire – Shining Star [1 week, 1975]

EM: It took six albums, but finally, Maurice White amalgamated his musical and spiritual vision, a perfect union of funk, jazz, and rock, with this monster track. The first 15 seconds are pure bliss as al McKay & Johnny Graham use their guitar licks to fuse this aural bomb, lighting up the band with a Phenix Horns explosion. All you needed to do for the next two-plus minutes was ride out the groove and bask in the after blast.

WH: Not every act explodes on the scene; sometimes, there’s groundwork to be laid, momentum to be built. EW&F had had a couple of minor Top 40 hits in 1974. A few months later, “Shining Star” grabbed everyone’s attention, starting a string of soul and pop hits through the end of the decade. I was a fan then—I appreciate them even more now.

Bill Withers – Lean On Me [3 weeks, 1972]

EM: My parents bought the Fantastic K-tel collection, and I would sit and wait patiently for this song to start. Bill’s voice was a comfort to me, a parent or an older sibling to assuage your fears.

When one realizes their purpose, can put that magic into action and then have the world embrace it, that’s a  joyous pleasure. There might not be many who could create simple songs that can hit someone directly in the heart better than Bill, and he does it with such effortless passion.

WH: “Lean on Me” is such a great song with a great message. I do wish my brain had an easier time keeping track of the first beat of the measure when I hear it, though—fifty years on, and I’m still have processing issues.

Coincidentally, we also had Fantastic at home. While I definitely remember Withers being on it, I appreciate the album more now for serving as my introduction to “Back When My Hair Was Short” from Gunhill Road and “Power to All Our Friends” by Cliff Richard.

LaBelle – Lady Marmalade [1 week, 1975]

EM: I can’t pull up any specific reference in time as a child that corresponds to that song, but it still retains the feeling of being a part of my childhood. Many years later, during a trip to France in the Summer of 1989, I found a disco compilation in the record department of the Gallerie Lafayette. I popped on the headphones, played this track, and felt a part of me open up, one I never knew was closed. I still own that double cassette.

My re-entry into 70’s music.

Also, I love that one measure of ride cymbal on the chorus just before the break; it gets me every time. And Alan Toussaint’s production saves this song from being a campy disaster. Don’t believe me?

WH: How old was I when I learned the translation of the line sung in French? I seriously doubt it happened while “Lady Marmalade” was popular. Something tells me my mother wasn’t too thrilled to have her kids listen to a song about a guy who can’t get over his business trip (or vacation—whatever) assignation with a prostitute.

I was surprised to learn years later that Kenny Nolan co-wrote (with Bob Crewe) both “Lady Marmalade” and “My Eyes Adored You.” It wasn’t the first nor the last time songwriters had two of their creations hit #1 one right after the other, but those might be the two most different-sounding songs involved in such an achievement.

The Bee Gees – How Deep Is Your Love [3 weeks, 1977]

EM: This is one of the best ballads ever written and proof that timeless songbook  “standards” were still created in the rock era long after the days of Cole Porter and Johnny Mercer. Like sinking into a spongy waterbed, this song envelopes your body as well as your soul. I can still smell my dad’s cherry tobacco puffing from his pipe while he drove us down to Philadelphia in our Tradesman van during the winter of 1977, Saturday Night Fever soundtrack clicking away in the 8-track player.

Side note: Had RSO Records not had Grease waiting in the wings, they would have released the Bee Gees’ More Than A Woman as a single. It probably would have reached the top, and I would have talked about it here.

WH: Sure, the Bee Gees were already enjoying a resurgence, having scored two #1s and four other Top 12 hits over the previous two years. But I wasn’t initially impressed in October 1977 when I first heard this ballad as the opening salvo from some movie soundtrack. Six months later, when it was still on the Top 40, I had to acknowledge the error of my ways.

Forget about “Stayin’ Alive”—looking back, I remain amazed at how even the release of “Night Fever” as a single didn’t initially erode the popularity of “How Deep Is Your Love.” The latter held on at #10 the first four weeks, “Night Fever” was in the Top 40.

Hop over to see the Doc’s list o’ six. Next week, we will share the only four songs we agreed on.

 

Gifts From Far Away: Our Favorite #1s of the 70s, Pt. 3

Welcome back to the list of our favorite number ones from the Me decade, presented in no particular order. Here’s another five of mine and over at The Music of My Life, Dr. Harris has five more too.

Paul Simon – 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover [3 weeks, 1976]

EM: Nothing like that rolling Steve Gadd drum lick to get your day started. I had no clue what Paul was singing about on this one, but boy, did I love the chorus. While the song reverberated in my head, I would come up with other “ways” to split, rhyming couplets like ‘get on your bike, Mike’ or ‘hop on a train, Wayne.’ I know I’m not alone in doing this because my wife said she did the same thing.

WH: My sister and I also tried to imagine what some of the other 50 ways were.

This came out shortly after we got a portable tape recorder for Christmas in 1975. The only pre-recorded cassette that came along with the player was His 12 Greatest Hits, by Neil Diamond (a gift for my mother, actually). Amy and I were given a few cheapie blank cassettes, though. At the family Christmas gathering at my grandparents’ house later that day, one of my cousins joined the two of us to record some silly play-acting.  Over the next couple of weeks, she and I realized we could also set the recorder next to a radio to capture favorites of the day such as  “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” and “Convoy,” in order to listen to them on demand. What I wouldn’t give to have those tapes still.

Looking Glass – Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) [1 week, 1972]

EM: When people complain about ‘there’s no good music anymore”, I think what they’re saying is that everything sounds the same. Singer Eliot Lurie did not sound like anyone else on the radio at the time. He sounded like a crusty old sailor perched at the end of a dive bar with nothing but this story of a lost love to tell. Also, I know it seems obvious, but I always think of eating at an Arthur Treacher’s seafood restaurant when this comes on, a childhood Friday night tradition, like good quasi-Catholics did back then. If Brandy was here she would’ve traded in her locket for some of these hush puppies. Damn, they were good.

WH: Almost six years before “Shadow Dancing” and “Baker Street” went mano-a-mano for six weeks at the top of the Hot 100 in the summer of 1978, there was a lengthy battle for pop chart supremacy between “Alone Again (Naturally)” and “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl).” While Andy Gibb never did officially cede #1 to Gerry Rafferty (there are indications that some behind-the-scenes shenanigans kept it from happening), Gilbert O’Sullivan yielded to Looking Glass after holding them off for a month (after which he returned to #1 for two more weeks). 

I love the way the relative calm of the verses in “Brandy” gives way to the energy in the chorus and bridge. It’s almost like a storm popping up while you’re on the seas.

Chic – Le Freak [5 weeks, 1978, 1979]

EM: Whenever we drove into Manhattan via the Long Island Expressway, we would ride by LeFrak City, a large group of apartment complexes built in the late 60s. And as soon as we passed the Grand Central Parkway exit, it would be…”one, two, aaaaah, Frak out! ” I’ve never heard Nile Rodgers mention this housing development as an inspiration to the song. Maybe it was buried in his subconscious for years, and that Studio 54 anger let it out.

An aside: I once heard Nile Rodgers give a talk, and he cracked himself up talking about this song, saying “here we are writing a song about a specific dance and we never tell you how to do it.”

WH: While I listened to AT40 religiously for several years, there are maybe only a couple dozen specific moments/stories that have stuck in the old noggin all this time. One of them is the monster leap “Le Freak” made on the 11/25/78 show, jumping all the way from #37 to #6, the largest in-show move I encountered.

Somewhere I’ve read/heard (and Wikipedia corroborates, whatever that’s worth) that “Freak out!” was derived from an expletive phrase uttered when some of the members of Chic were denied entrance to Studio 54 one evening.

Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds – Fallin’ In Love [1 week, 1975]

EM: One of the biggest screw jobs in music history. Tommy Reynolds left the band in 1974 before the other two dudes signed with Playboy Records. Part of that deal was that they kept their name, even though it wasn’t accurate. How many bar fights do you think that new member Alan Dennison got in trying to prove that he sang on this song?

I remember hearing this on the radio and coming up with alternative lyrics called Betty’s Fallin’ In Love with Fred about some wife-swapping expose in Bedrock. The words fit perfectly, but I was too young to write them down or understand what the hell I was saying. Did I unwillingly witness a key party?

Did you know this peaked at #24 on the R&B charts?

WH: If we were writing up a list of favorite 70s songs that peaked at #4, “Don’t Pull Your Love,” from the original formulation of this group, would have been an easy choice for me. One thing I really like is that its sound doesn’t tie it down to any one year—it could have been recorded anytime between 1969 and 1973.

When “Fallin’ in Love” got released, I had trouble picking up Dan Hamilton’s pronunciation of the double-l in the title phrase. It sounded much more like “Fawin’ in Love” to me, so that’s what I sang when it came on the radio throughout the last half of 1975.

Sly & the Family Stone – Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) [2 weeks, 1970]

EM: More than fifty years after this reached the top, I marvel at Sly’s brilliance in creating one of the funkiest pop songs of all time, and on how he was able to express his politics getting everyone to buy in all while having fun at the same time. By turning his career on its head and creating a verse out of his past hits, he also demonstrated the stress of being a superstar, the pressure he was under to innovate and be all things to everyone constantly. His wit was on display, but so was his growing paranoia.

WH: When AT40 expanded to four hours in October 1978, one of the ways they filled the extra time was by recounting all the #1 songs of the 1970s in order, three each week. Those became must-listen moments in the show for me, an amazing opportunity for education—after all, where else was I going to discover that information? (It would be another five years before the first Top 40 Hits book by Joel Whitburn was published.)

The vast majority of the songs in that retrospective were at least passingly familiar to me (“My Ding-a-Ling” was one exception, I know). But that didn’t mean I’d seen their titles in print. Case in point: on 10/14/78, I perhaps naturally, yet naively, noted the jam that was the fourth #1 of the decade as “Thank You for Letting Me Be Myself Again.”

The Doc’s got another five today, so hop over to his pad and check ’em out.

Feel It All Over: Our Favorite #1s of the 70s, Pt. 2

 

Hope you enjoyed the first five. I’m already beginning to lament the tunes that aren’t on the list. But I won’t give any more away. Dig into the next five and read what William thought about them as well.

Elton John – Philadelphia Freedom [2 weeks, 1975]

EM: Man, it’s hard to pick a favorite Elton John, and not any easier when it’s whittled down to one of his six #1s during the decade. This one still gives me goosebumps on every listen. Written as a tribute to Bille Jean King’s tennis team, its musical heart sits in Sigma Studios, where Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell created some of the most beautiful soul music of all time. That an artist such as Elton gave it such reverence while it was happening was a testament to the genre’s increasing influence. And it was perfect for the upcoming bicentennial year celebrations that were unfolding.

Let’s also appreciate how Elton created catchy pop melodies out of Taupin’s obtuse and non-rhythmic lyrics. He would contort each word and twist each syllable until you had no idea what he was saying. But it sounded good. And it’s why I heard “fruity olive that hopes that you’re high” when the lyrics were actually “through the eyes of the one left behind.” Still can’t hear it.

WH: In 1993 my father made a couple of mixtapes of his favorite songs of all time—he called it his Rock and Roll Revue. The selections were almost all from the 50s and 60s. Among the thirty-three tracks on Volume 1 there was just one song from the 80s—ELO’s “Hold on Tight”—and only one from the 70s—yes, “Philadelphia Freedom.” I wish now I’d asked what endeared it to him to such a degree.

I did not pick anything from Reg for my list, as my favorites of his only went to #2. If I were to elevate a #1, it’d probably be “Bennie and the Jets.”

Helen Reddy – I Am Woman [1 week, 1972]

EM: My mom bought Helen Reddy’s Greatest Hits on LP, specifically for this song. It was like a warning shot to anyone within listening distance when she put it on. I remember coming home from being out with dad, probably to go to Burger King or something. And as we came home and opened the front door, this tune was blaring from the living room speakers. I didn’t know what happened, but I knew my dad screwed up. Shit was about to get real.

WH:  Somehow, I hadn’t realized that Reddy co-wrote “I Am Woman,” channeling her experiences into an anthem that captured the zeitgeist of the moment and hit the top near the culmination of the Women’s Lib movement. The Equal Rights Amendment had passed through the U.S. House and Senate and been sent to the states for ratification the previous March, but the backlash was on the horizon; I certainly remember the ERA failing to meet the thirty-eight state threshold years later.

Billy Paul – Me & Mrs. Jones [3 weeks, 1972]

EM: If someone’s gonna cheat on me, this is the only way I wanna find out, with Billy’s husky baritone give me the deets. Every time the band drops out, and he starts wailing about Mrs. Jones, I stop breathing until the sax kicks back in. He just barely hits those high notes, and that slight strain adds the perfect amount of pain and regret that this tune needs. The groove moves at a steady but languid pace which makes you think this “thing” ain’t really over and that neither believes it’s “wrong” for one minute. And next time you’re at karaoke, summon up some guts and sing this one.

Also, the song it replaced at the top was I Am Woman, and the song that replaced it was You’re So Vain. That’s amazing.

WH: Aside from WLW for Reds games and the morning show hosted by James Francis Patrick O’Neill, I don’t remember the radio being on in our house much during the first half of the 70s. The car was an entirely different matter, though—unless tuned into the Reds, rides were AM Top 40 radio all the way. A sizable portion of my musical knowledge of songs between 1971-75 exists mainly (only?) from hearing them in the car. Despite our tender ages, my sister and I singing along in the back seat with Billy Paul as he cries out, “Me-ee and, and… Mrs., Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones” happened more than once while it was on the charts.

The Doobie Brothers – What A Fool Believes [1 week, 1979]

EM: Even though this song peaked during the Spring of 1979, it always fills me with winter vibes. It’s a soundtrack to riding the train and staring out at lifeless terrain, passing by naked bunches of train hiding from a damp gray sky, only to end the ride visiting my dad in a factory that wasn’t much warmer and had the same dull feel. Whenever I hear that Oberheim synth riff, I’m back in that cold train staring out oily smudged windows and reminding myself. The rebirth of life is just around the corner.

Also, let’s give props to bassist Tiran Porter, who always knew how to lock his funky lines in with McDonald’s keyboard riffs.

WH: Let me say upfront that I wasn’t a big fan of Michael McDonald’s voice on lead back in the day (I didn’t seem to mind as much on all the late 70s/early 80s smooth grooves when he sang backup). That said, “What a Fool Believes” is well-written, well-sung, and legitimately deserves its spot in the canon of 70s soft rock/yacht rock. 

And I agree with Erik—it’s a cold, gray day tune.

Stevie Wonder – Sir Duke [3 weeks, 1977]

EM: My mom would put this 45 on, and I would get delirious. Our house had a circular path around the door where the basement steps were to walk fully around it. I would tear around that circled area as fast as I could until I passed out, usually sometime before Stevie would summon Wonderlove to get extra funky. And those horn line runs are ridiculous.

WH: Stevie’s another inner-circle Hall of Fame artist from the 70s who won’t be found on my side of this exercise. It’s fair to say I didn’t appreciate his genius at the moment nearly as much as I should have. Maybe my sister was more on the case—she bought the single for “Sir Duke” while it was a big hit.

My family and I saw a TV music awards show in 1977 or 1978—I doubt it was the Grammys but can’t say for sure—where Stevie gave a performance of “Sir Duke” via satellite from somewhere in Africa. It was an elaborately choreographed affair with the dancers decked out in what I think was Ellington-era garb. Technology being what it was at the time, neither the audio nor the video was crystal clear for viewers at home. I do remember that after the song was over, one of the announcers unthinkingly asked Mr. Wonder, “Can you see us?” over the two-way feed. A few minutes later the announcer apologized to the TV audience for his faux pas.

Now go over to William’s page for his five.

 

 

Try Some, Buy Some : Our Favorite #1s of the 70s, Pt. 1

 

Last May, my fellow blog & DJ colleague, Dr. William Harris of The Music Of My Life fame were discussing a list of ranked #1 songs from the 80s from a Cleveland.com columnist. As we discussed which songs should be higher and lower, we realized that our basis was not on any sort of defined criteria, but rather what they meant to us. To tell someone which music is good or bad as a matter of fact is a fruitless endeavor. It’s why the term guilty pleasures exists, as a code for “I like it, even if I’m not supposed to.”

We knew that a similar graded list for the Me Decade would be forthcoming, so we tried to come up with our own personal twenty-five list. I tried to create my list based on how much they meant to me at their time of release, how deeply I felt when I heard them and how their place in my childhood shaped who I am today. These are not “desert island” choices, for if I was ever stranded, I’d rather listen to the ocean waves and slowly go insane.

William and I will share five random 1970s chart-toppers (based on Billboard magazine) at a time simultaneously on our blogs with a quick comment by the other for good measure.

P.S. You may not see Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together or Hall & Oates’ Rich Girl or Donna Summer’s Bad Girls, for example, on these posts. That doesn’t mean I love them any less than the ones I write about, which made this exercise challenging for me. Hell, I’d take all 253 of them home with me, if I had the chance.

Andy Gibb- I Just Want To Be Your Everything [4 weeks, 1977]

EM: When the youngest Gibb made his debut during the summer of ‘77, I first remember hanging out with my step-sister. She was an Andy Gibb fanatic and would constantly sing this song to herself as if no one was listening. But I was, watching and hoping she could be a more significant part of my life. It didn’t happen. And that’s why the line of “finding each for so long” still resonates today.

WH: I picked a different Andy Gibb song, but that’s not meant as a slight—this single had a home in my collection and received frequent spins on my record player that summer.

When this slotted in at the top of the 7/30/77 Billboard chart, it became the twenty-fourth different #1 song over the thirty weeks of the year to date. Right then, it seemed that 1977 had a chance to break the record for most #1s in a calendar year. Instead, only four more songs followed Andy to the top through the end of December. We didn’t know it then, but (Debby Boone aside) the ascension of “I Just Want to Be Your Everything” marked the beginning of a full year of Gibb Brother-mania.

Carole King – It’s Too Late [5 weeks, 1971]

EM: Tapestry is one of those albums I listened to so much growing up that it’s part of my emotional fabric. Carole’s voice is like a dose of Arrestin to the heart. No matter how full of regret and sadness she is or how tormented she feels, she shoulders most of the blame and still wants to be friends. Kinda like “it’s not you, it’s me” but with deep hugs. Ok, maybe “it’s not them, it’s us.”

Also, you got a bonus when you bought the 45 as I Feel The Earth Move was on the B-side. Sounds like someone may have moved on…

WH: I gave “It’s Too Late” consideration for inclusion on my list—it certainly would make my “25 Best #1 Songs of the 70s.” It is an intelligent, mature song about the end of a long relationship, but what makes the song for me now is the extended semi-jazzy instrumental bridge before the third verse.

I can easily imagine Dad buying Tapestry—the album cover has always felt familiar—though its songs aren’t part of any hazy memory I have from the early 70s.

Diana Ross – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough [3 weeks, 1970]

EM: Diana pulled out every stop to let the world know she was much more than a Supreme, creating a twelve-layer cake that never quite topples no matter how much frosting gets added. At the same time, she bulldozes any evocation of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell from your mind. This is where she went from superstar to diva. Of course, Berry Gordy hated it, like everything else that would be good from Motown in the 70s. The genius is in the production by songwriters Ashford & Simpson as they change the hook to a wordless ahhh while burying the chorus to the end of the song just before they take it up twenty more notches and blow the doors off.

Also, do not mess with the single edit. Go for the album version and have your heart ripped out of your chest.

WH: When you limit yourself to twenty-five songs, you’re going to leave out artists more than worthy of inclusion, and I do have some regret over not picking a Ross song (had I done so, it’d likely be “Touch Me in the Morning,” but the #1 song on my first AT40 chart, “Love Hangover,” may have won out instead). I concur—how can I not?—that “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” is a stunner. One of my favorite bits of 70s pop trivia is that Ross’s four #1 songs were also the only times she made it to the Top 10 over the entire decade. How that could happen is mystifying.

Stories – Brother Louie [2 weeks, 1973]

EM: Hearing this song gave me anxiety as a little kid. The ominous vibe from the sparse arrangement heightened by those cheesy wah-wahs kept my head on a nervous swivel. The string stabs were tiny needles into my skin up until they started sawing away into my brain like one of those messed-up German nursery rhymes, haunting my burnt sienna dreams. Singer Ian Lloyd sounded like he was telling the “story” after someone just tried to strangle him, probably Louie’s racist dad.

WH: I was nine when “Brother Louie” was a hit, so I doubt I understood what it was about at the time. What I don’t doubt is that I enjoyed going around singing “Louie, Louie, Louie, Lou-eye” when it came on the radio.

M – Pop Muzik [1 week, 1979]

EM: The most disposable pop song about disposable pop songs. It sounded like something from outer space and a white-labeled can of food from a no-frills supermarket line all the same time. Its popularity signified the direction pop music would take in the 80s, way more than The Knack, especially during the New Wave era. And it’s boogie in a suitcase.

WH: This is another song I absolutely loved, picking up the 45 early on in its chart run. I agree there was nothing else like it on the radio at the time. I know now how much I would have enjoyed exploring more of what was coming out of the British pop scene in the late 70s; missing out on that in real-time is a source of chagrin.

I’m pretty sure I remember Casey highlighting the line, “Listen to the countdown—they’re playing our song again,” during the outro on a late 1979 AT40.

EM: Now go over to WM’s blog to hear his first five.

Something That You’ll Never Understand

 

I love taking these strolls down musical lane. And since it’s a Saturday, we can also stay up late and watch SNL with Kathleen Turner and musical guest John Waite. [I bet he sings Missing You.] Let’s review the Top 20 for the week ending January 12th, 1985.

20. Wham! Featuring George Michael – Careless Whisper

RAR, PFK – Wham! finally had their first Top 40 last Fall, the #1 smash Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, and already the record company is trying to break up the group, giving George a separate billing. It was actually released as a solo single in the UK, where it reached #1 in August of 1984. Ironically this was one of the songs on the original demo that got the duo signed. But it took many years of recording to finally get it right.

Listen to the first attempt, recorded down at Muscle Shoals studio in Alabama in 1983 with Jerry Wexler manning the boards.

BTW – do you think when Goerge came up with that “guilty feet have got no rhythm” line, he punched the air in joy over and over?

19. Prince And The Revolution – I Would Die 4 U

This snappy fourth single from Purple Rain is on its way up to #8, where it will be the fourth straight Top 10 from that album. It will only clip #11 on the R&B charts.

SXMFU – On the Big 80s Countdown, some dumbass intern fed Mark Goodman the line that this was the final single from the album and that he didn’t have any more hits from it. The way it was written sounds deliberate, as if they were intentionally trip him up. Take Me With U, the fifth single, would be released in two weeks and climb to #25 on March 23rd. Two months later, Raspberry Beret will debut on the Hot 100 at #37.

18. Ray Parker Jr. – Jamie

PD – How does it feel, Ray? It hurts, doesn’t it; imagining her with someone else. That’s what you get for being bad boy.

17. Bob Seger – Understanding

PD – Bob is the phase of his career where he can release just about anything, and radio will play it. But these mid-80s don’t have the depth or soul like the ones from the late 70s, minus Like A Rock.

16. Don Henley – The Boys Of Summer

PD – Rather than embrace the YouTube era, Don had decided to play whack-a-mole with anyone who dares to share his “art.” What was the point of making it then, outside of padding your 401K?

15. Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas?

OHW – Not the first charity single, but the one which kicked off the mid-80s “help the world via pop song” phase. And it’s been getting played every holiday season since. When was the last time you heard (or sat through) We Are The World (besides an American Top 40 rerun)? Plus, it has Paul Weller, Sting, Bono, Boy George, George Michael, and other 1984 UK posters. The single will reach #1 in the UK and #13 in the States. Not bad for two guys (Bob Geldof and Midge Ure) who never had a US Top 40 with their respective bands or solo.

Fun fact: The only Americans on the recording are Jody Watley as well as Robert Bell, JT Taylor, and Dennis Brown from Kool & the Gang.

14. Jermaine Jackson – Do What You Do

PD – This is the second Top 20 single from Jermaine’s eponymous debut for Arista Records after leaving Motown in 1983. It’s the most consistent album he ever made and his best effort to capitalize on Michael’s superstardom. But he couldn’t nab a Top 10 hit from it. This will be his only #1 on the AC charts, something smooth to listen to during your next teeth cleaning.

Fun fact – Jermaine did something before Michael for the first and only time (besides being born). He had Iman in his video eight years before Michael featured her in Remember The Time.

13. Philip Bailey With Phil Collins – Easy Lover

PD, PFK, OHW (for Philip) – The last single recorded and the first one released from Bailey’s third solo album, Chinese Wall, produced by Phil “the shill” Collins. I’m also guessing some of those lyrics are from Phil’s divorce files.

12. Daryl Hall & John Oates – Out Of Touch

PD, PD – Let’s think about being out of touch in the literal sense. You can lose your sense of smell, taste, sight, and hearing. Can you lose your touch, I mean, outside of Steve Sax?

11. Foreigner – I Want To Know What Love Is

PFK – Foreigner’s back after a three-year absence with Foreigner 5, otherwise known as Agent Provocateur. They swing for the heartstrings and will nab their one and only #1 hit in just a few weeks. I get why this track was so huge, topping the charts in seven other countries, including the UK. Maybe I could have been OK with it had they not brought in a gospel choir at the end. Any feelings of earnestness go out the door at that point.

Fun fact: Tom Bailey of the Thompson Twins was recording next door, sharing producer Alex Sadkin, and he sings back up as well.

10. Bruce Springsteen – Born In The USA

PD – After parody and imposter, we’ve reached the deal. The Boss is in the middle of his Thriller moment as the title track to his 1984 album will stomp up one more spot next week to its zenith. This is his third Top 10 out of an eventual seven from that long play.

9. Julian Lennon – Valotte

PD – When Julian released his debut in 1984, many critics harped on the fact that he sounded so much like his dad. Duh. Lots of singers before and after have tried to sound like John Lennon. Here’s someone who comes by it honestly for a change.

8. New Edition – Cool It Now

PD – Is it because of or in spite of their success that Maurice Starr felt the urge to create New Kids On the Block? Discuss.

7. Bryan Adams – Run To You

PD – Bryan’s gonna go for a Thriller moment of his own with Reckless, which will spawn six Top 20 hits, including the chart-topper Heaven. I like this one, even though he’s an absolute jerk in this song. Dude, you’re the one with the cold love.

6. Chicago – You’re The Inspiration

PD – For a song with this title released during the L.A. Olympics year, it should have been 140 BPM, not a slushy ballad. And it should be on an aerobics video, the high-impact section, not the cool down.

5. Pat Benatar – We Belong

PD – Once Pat put out Love Is A Battlefield, she left a lot of her rock roots behind her and moved into a proper pop direction. She ended up with one of the biggest hits of her career, but I wonder if she lost a few notches on her lipstick case.

4. The Honeydrippers – Sea Of Love

PD, THW – There was a soul band in the early 70s called the Honey Drippers. I prefer this instead.

3. Duran Duran – The Wild Boys

PD – A massive single for the band released as an extra studio track on their live album, Arena. Also, a favorite of Benni Luft.

2. Jack Wagner – All I Need

PD, RAR, OHW – Here’s the second General Hospital alum in the Top 40 this week, all the way up to #2, where it will plateau. It will reach #1 on the AC charts. So if you need just a little more time to be sure what you feel, it’s probably just dry mouth from the dental suction device.

1. Madonna – Like A Virgin (4 wks at #1)

PD – One year ago this week, Madge was climbing the charts with her first single, Holiday, which was sitting at #25. In 1985 she would be on top of the world, a bonified pop superstar.

Even though I’m sure the title was meant to turn some heads, I bet the songwriters didn’t give it much thought. I wonder what they were thinking after hearing Quinton’s take.

KEY

• OHW – One-Hit-Wonder
• THW – Two-Hit-Wonder
• PD – Previously Discussed
• PFK – Perfect for Karaoke
• RAR – Rite-Aid Rock
• STA – Second Time Around
• SXMFU – SiriusXM Mistake

We Have No Past

 

I’m back with a Billboard Top 40 recap from the 80s, specifically the week ending on January 12th, 1985. Some of you folks might have been birthing a daughter this week and contemplating naming her Madonna or Punky Brewster. Or maybe you were listening to these tunes on the radio…

40. Culture Club – Mistake No. 3

RAR – Perhaps the least remembered of the Club’s ten Top 40 hits, and thus the least appreciated. This soulful ballad finds George in fine vocal form. It was the second Top 40 hit from their third album, Waking Up With The House On Fire, an excellent metaphor for the group’s international status coupled with record company pressure. The LP was critically panned, but it features some very appealing tracks, such as Mannequin and this 45, which will peak at #33. They can’t all be Karma Chameleon.

39. Cyndi Lauper – Money Changes Everything

This is the fifth straight Top 40 hit from Cyndi’s debut, She’s So Unusual. It’s a cover tune, originally written and recorded by the Atlanta, GA quartet, The Brains, for their 1980 debut. They had already broken up by this point, but I’m sure songwriter Tom Gray appreciated the royalty checks. Featuring a “hooter” solo by Rob Hyman, it’s on its way to #27.

38. Elton John – In Neon

Sir Elton enters the Top 40 with his third hit from his 1984 Breaking Hearts album, his eighteenth, and his band’s second recording in Montserrat. This ballad splits the difference between Country and gospel, and I’m not surprised that I couldn’t find someone from either genre who’s covered it.

37. Kool And The Gang – Misled

“Hey, J.T. This Jacksons Victory album is out of sight!”

“I’m diggin’ it too, Ronald. How about we do the same thing? No horns. Just straight synth funk-rock with a pop twist.”

“That’s Kool with me. But let’s try to write better songs than they did…”

If you doubt this conversation took place, watch the lead song from Emergency‘s video.

36. Midnight Star – Operator

OHW – No Parking on the Dance Floor was chockful of great 80s’ synth-funk. But it was the group’s follow-up, Planetary Invasion, which yielded their only Top 40 hit. It will reach #1 on the Soul charts and peak at #18 on the Hot 100. But give me Freak-A-Zoid any day.

35.  The Cars – Hello Again

PD – I can’t get enough of Greg Hawkes barfy Prophet synth riff. Someone should mash this up with Neil Diamond’s Hello Again.

34. The Time – Jungle Love

The Purple Rain train keeps rolling on, even if this wasn’t officially on the soundtrack. It helps build the momentum for the group’s third album, Ice Cream Castles, which featured this Top 20 smash. It’s also one of three songs in the Top 40 that Prince wrote. And next week, Sheena Easton’s Sugar Walls will make it four.

33. Cyndi Lauper – All Through The Night

PD – Double Cyndi! She’s spent almost an entire year in the Top 40 without a break.

32. Ashford & Simpson – Solid

PFK – This legendary Motown songwriting team’s second and last Top 40 hit is the lead single and title track from their eleventh album as artists. It’s rolling up the charts to #12 but will reach the Top 10 in Canada, Germany, Austria, New Zealand, Holland, Switzerland, and the UK. It will be the couple’s only #1 R&B smash staying atop for three weeks. I love this jam, but back then, my immature friends and I loved singing a different variation to the chorus.

And thankfully, there’s also this.

31. John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band – Tender Years

PD – Springsteen is already up at #9, so I don’t have a need for this. Maybe someone else does? Someone outside of Rhode Island?

30. Giuffria – Call To Your Heart

OHW – Here’s a power ballad dressed up in early glam metal by a group led by keyboard player Greg Giuffria, late of the Casablanca Records outfit, Angel. It’s sung by lead singer and Neil Young stunt double David Glen Eisley, who once played minor league baseball for the San Francisco Giants and voiced Spongebob Squarepants singing voice in this episode.

29. Steve Perry – Foolish Heart

RAR – Steve’s debut Street Talk yielded three Top 40 singles and looked like it was running out of steam. Then this Randy Goodrum co-write was released and was an immediate shot in the arm. It will shoot up to #18 and #2 on the AC charts. Next time you pick up another rapid test at Walgreens, don’t be surprised if this comes over the speakers.

28. Survivor – I Can’t Hold Back

PD – If you like this song, find out more here. For most everyone else, keep moving.

27. Rick Springfield – Bruce

Rick was at the height of his fame in 1984. So was Springsteen. Why not release a song to capitalize on both things? This tune was recorded in 1978 at a time when Rick was forgotten by most Americans. And even Bruce was not yet the Boss. The recordings were eventually shelved.

I have a hard time believing a scenario where anyone would mistake Rick for him based on a similar six-letter pattern in their surnames. In 1984, I still didn’t, but at least it’s humorous. It’s at its peak this week.

26. Daryl Hall & John Oates – Method Of Modern Love

The Philly duo’s twelfth album, Big Bam Boom, led off with Out Of Touch, their sixth #1 hit. Next week that smash will drop to #22 as this follow-up single follows it at #21. We are at peak 80s H&O. This Sesame-Street-styled future Top 10  will feature some island vibes and a melodic rap by Daryl at the end. It must have passed because it will climb to #21 on the R&B charts. Don’t mess with imperfection.

Fun fact: Chromeo covered this on Daryl’s House.

25. Stevie Wonder – Love Light In Flight

In addition, to being a master at singing, songwriting, harmonica playing, among other things, he was also a synth wizard. He created 70s masterpieces on this. So adept was he when analog moved to digital he began to make complex pieces like this sound effortless and easy. I’m thinking he’s using a mix of a PPG Wave 2.2, a Roland Jupiter 8, an Oberheim OB-8, and a Synclavier II. Probably a Yamaha DX7 is in the mix as well. He’s definitely using a LINN LM-1 drum machine for the kick. All of this makes for one of my faves of his 80s work. It will go Top 10 on the Soul & AC charts but stall out at #17 on the Pop charts.

24. Pointer Sisters – Neutron Dance

I remember having a science teacher who was trying to be hip explaining nuclear energy to us and finishing with “…and that’s how you make a neutron dance.” I’m not sure which was louder –  the groans or the cricket chirps.

23. Paul McCartney – No More Lonely Nights

PD – If Give My Regards To Broadstreet exists solely to give us this one song, then it was more than worth it. Unfortunately, there’s also a “dance’ version that wipes out most of that goodwill.

22. Billy Ocean – Loverboy

PD – When this song reaches #5 in a few weeks, Teena Marie will enter the Top 40 at #39 with Lovergirl. How many programmers thought it would be cute to play them back to back?

21. Chaka Khan – I Feel For You

PD – Is it Sh-aka or Ch-aka ? I don’t think Melle Mel knew for sure, so he covered his bases.

KEY

• OHW – One-Hit-Wonder
• THW – Two-Hit-Wonder
• PD – Previously Discussed
• PFK – Perfect for Karaoke
• RAR – Rite-Aid Rock
• STA – Second Time Around
• SXMFU – SiriusXM Mistake

 

 

Say It Again In the Land of the Free

We have reached the end of our review of singles Bubbling Under the Hot 100 during the 80s.

Let’s wrap it up and first take a gander at chart week fifty-one.

Atlanta Rhythm Section – Silver Eagle (debuted 12/20/1980, peaked at #101)

ARS couldn’t carry any of their 70s mojo into 1980 and ended up with two Bubblers from their ninth album, The Boys From Doraville – I Ain’t Much and this one, which was the follow-up. It was a solid album, but maybe it was missing that extra special something with drummer and lyricist Robert Nix getting “nixed’ from the band {So that’s where that phrase comes from…] They’ll be back in the Top 30 next Fall with Alien.

Devo – Freedom Of Choice (debuted 12/20/1980, peaked at #103)

The follow-up to the Akron, OH quintet’s platinum single, Whip It was this equally catchy synth-rock single and the title track to their third LP. This track which talks about the concept of free will becoming a burden in a land with so many options, will climb to #8 on the Dico Top 100.

Captain & Tennille – This Is Not The First Time (debuted 12/20/1980, peaked at #106)

Even though this duo hit #1 at the beginning of the year with Do That To Me One More Time, they were still trying to shake their wholesome image. So they decided to go the soft porn route, which I’m sure was indulged by Casablanca president Neil Bogart. Had folks only realized back then that Toni sang back-up vocals on the year’s biggest release, Pink Floyd’s The Wall, maybe she wouldn’t have had to hang out naked in saunas with just a small towel covering her to move some records.

Fun fact: During the release of C&T’s fifth album, Keeping Our Love Warm, Toni was on TV hosting her own syndicated talk show, The Toni Tennille Show. Here’s the episode from the week of this 45’s Bubbler debut.

Bobby Hart – Lovers For The Night (debuted 12/20/1980, peaked at #110)

With songwriting partner Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart wrote some big hits in the 60s, such as Come a Little Bit Closer for Jay & the Americans and Hurt So Bad for Little Anthony & the Imperials. They also wrote hits for the Monkees, such as (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone and Valleri and a smash for themselves in early 1968, I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight, which reached #8. After many years of performing with Tommy, Bobby released his first solo album in late 1979. When that bombed, he switched labels from WEA to Ariola and recorded this ballad, a mere bubblin’ blip at the end of the year.

ZZ Top – Tube Snake Boogie (debuted 12/26/1981, peaked at #103)

The Texas trio was winding down the first half of their career by their seventh album, El Loco. Their initial use of synthesizers on this release would inform the direction of their sound throughout the 80s. For now, we’re still treated to analog blues-rock courtesy of Frank, Billy & Dusty. It will reach #4 on the Mainstream Rock charts.

Grover Washington Jr. with Patti LaBelle – The Best Is Yet To Come (debuted 12/25/1982, peaked at #104)

Along with Bill Withers, Grover came up with the perfect tune that mixed soul, jazz, and pop in 1981 when Just the Two Of Us climbed to #2. He never got that close again and ended with two more Bubblers, this one representing the title track from his fourteenth LP. This Quiet Storm ballad sung by Patti Labelle and synth work from co-writer Dexter Wansel will peak at #14 on the R&B charts.

Madonna – Everybody (debuted 12/25/1982, peaked at #107)

And this is where it all began. A simple dance song that would be Madonna’s only Hot 100 miss until Bedtime Story in 1995. Nothing on this track tells the listener that you are hearing the most significant female artist of the 80s. She added that element by fusing an ever-evolving video image with business smarts and her ambition. This will rise to #3 on the Dance/Disco Top 80.

Fun fact: Her follow-up, Burning Up, which I prefer, will not even become a Bubbler. But because of its strength in the clubs, it convinced Sire Records to record an entire album with her. And the rest is…..

Stacy Lattisaw – Hey There Lonely Boy (debuted 12/25/1982, peaked at #108)

I love Eddie Holman’s 1969 recording of this song, which reached #2 in early 1970. And even though it was initially recorded by Ruby & the Romantics as “lonely boy,” and I think it plays better as “lonely girl,” But I understand Stacy’s choice in covering it because it’s a great song ad she sells the hell out of it. Unfortunately, she will only chart at #71 on the R&B charts.

Jennifer Holliday – Just Let Me Wait (debuted 12/24/1983, peaked at #103)

Effie’s follow-up to the #49 song, I Am Love, from her debut, Feel My Soul, is a nice little soul boogie track that will climb to #24 on the R&B charts but keep her a one-hit-wonder on the Pop charts. It was produced by Earth, Wind & Fire’s  Maurice White and features some of those synth horn riffs he’d utilize in the 80s.

Linda Ronstadt – Skylark (debuted 12/22/1984, peaked at #101)

Linda did so well with a Pop standards album, What’s New, in 1983 that she recorded another one with Nelson Riddle called Lush Life. The first single released was her version of the Johnny Mercer/ Hoagy Carmichael standard, initially recorded by Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. The song just missed charting on the Hot 100 but will peak on the AC charts at #12. It also features harmonica by Wrecking Crew member Tommy Morgan.

Fat Boys – Jail House Rap (debuted 12/22/1984, peaked at #105)

Stick ’em! Years before they tackled the Beach Boys & Chubby Checker, this hefty hip-hop trio gets their first Bubbler from their debut, the Fat Boys. Produced by Kurtis Blow, they beatboxed up to #17 on the Soul charts as the first of six R&B Top 40 hits.

There was only one year during the 80s where Bubblers appeared during chart week fifty-two. So what did 1980 chew up and spit out?

Robin Williams (Popeye) – I Yam What I Yam (debuted 12/27/1980, peaked at #104)

Robin was hot in 1980 with a big sitcom, Mork & Mindy, and a burgeoning adult comedy career. He decided to try his hand in films garnering the lead in Robert Altman’s live-action version of Popeye. It was a financial success but a critical flop. It’s an oddity that should be rewatched light-heartedly.  The soundtrack was written and produced by Harry Nilsson. So what we have here is Robin Williams singing a Harry Nilsson tune and almost having success with it.

Fun fact: For you movie buffs – the Popeye song, He Needs Me, sung by Shelley Duvall (Olive Oyl), was heavily used in the Paul Thomas Anderson film Punch-Drunk Love.

George Benson – Turn Out The Lamplight (debuted 12/27/1980, peaked at #109)

We’re gonna wrap it up with the third single from the Quincy Jones-produced album, Give Me The Night, which won three Grammy awards. One of five tracks written by Rod Temperton, it will clip #3 on the R&B charts and #9 on the AC charts for all you teeth drillers out there.

So there you have it, all of the singles that Bubbled Under the Hot 100 during the 80s. Now what? Ideas? Drop me a line.

Here With Me, Lost In the Past

It’s a short list of Bubbling Under singles from chart week fifty during the 80s. Let’s jump in and review.

Carly Simon – Take Me As I Am (debuted 12/13/1980, peaked at #102)

Here’s the follow-up single to Carly’s #11 hit, Jesse, from her ninth album, Come Upstairs. The album had a harder edge adding in more synths. And if Jesse didn’t reflect that, this song did – a straight-up rocker that was a warning to her partner about the “grasser never being greener on the other side.” Or, as Roy Munson once said…

The Manhattans – I’ll Never Find Another (Find Another Like You) (debuted 12/13/1980, peaked at #109)

After reaching #5 during the Summer with Shining Star, this vocal quartet decided to wrap up the year with a Greatest Hits collection. They recorded a few new tunes for the set, including this sprightly number which was considerably out of step for Top 40. It was a great catchy little tune, but it probably would have been more successful in 1973. This will be the final of the group’s nine Bubblers.

Carly Simon – Hurt (debuted 12/19/1981, peaked at #106)

Carly’s back with her tenth album, Torch, a collection of standards that she recorded during her divorce of James Taylor. And you can feel the pain and ache in each song, especially this one, initially recorded by Timi Yuro in 1961. Michael Brecker is playing the sax solo. An overlooked gem in her collection.

Nikki Wills – Some Guys Have All The Luck (debuted 12/19/1981, peaked at #109)

Many folks have recorded this song since it was first released by The Persuaders, who took it to #39 in late 1973. The most successful version was by Rod Stewart in 1984, who had his version climb to #10. Along the way, Robert Plamer, Maxi Priest, and Louise Mandrell gave their respective takes. And in 1981, former lead singer of the Johnny Average Band,  Nicole Wills, who first went by Nikki, threw her soft-rock shot into the ring. This seems custom-tailored for those mushy soft early-80s playlists. I could see this showing up on one of those Radio Daze compilation volumes right next to Leslie Pearl.

The Time – The Walk (debuted 12/18/1982, peaked at #104)

One of the best contributions Prince made to popular culture was writing and producing this group of talented musicians and giving us music that was as funk as his own output. It took Purple Rain to finally break these guys into the mainstream. But those first two LPs were some of the best, sophisticated slapdown funk of the period or, as Ricky Vincent described them, “refined tightness in a band.” The album version is nine-plus minutes, and you never know where the time went.

Fun fact: Denise Matthews shows up on the album version as Grace “in tight jeans,” and Prince plays a club owner with a bad Italian accent who’s about to get introduced to a headache.

Gloria Gaynor – I Am What I Am (debuted 12/17/1983, peaked at #102)

We hadn’t heard much from GG since her 1979 smash, I Will Survive, and the July Disco demolition backlash. She released three albums between 1979 and 1982, all of which were ignored. Then for her 1983 album, I Am Gloria Gaynor, she recorded this song from the Broadway musical La Cage Aux Folles (The Birdcage, to you American folks). If she wasn’t a gay icon before, she definitely was now. It will reach #3 on the Dance/Disco Top 80 charts, where she will have #1 hits into the 2000s.

Force M.D.’s – Tears (debuted 12/15/1984, peaked at #102)

I don’t think I’ve had a week where R&B bubblers were less than 50 % of the group. This week’s no exception. It makes me realize how much Soul music was out there, trying to crossover during the 80s, and percentage-wise, how little actually made it.  This vocal quintet from Staten Island will nab two Bubblers before being saved by some ‘tender love’ in 1986. This throwback ballad will become their first Soul hit, rising to #5 on the R&B charts.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – I Love You Love (debuted 12/15/1984, peaked at #105)

I thought I knew all of Joan’s 80s singles, but I didn’t remember this one. From her third album with the Blackhearts called Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth, here’s another cover from artist and convicted pedophile Gary Glitter, which had previously been #1 for him in the UK in 1973. Even though it rocks, I’m sure Joan isn’t happy that this piece of trash gets any royalties from this.

Hold On Longer If You Want

We’re up to chart week forty-nine in our review of singles Bubbling Under the Hot 100 during the 80s. Let’s see what was forgotten in the year-end mix.

Keith Sykes – Love To Ride (debuted on 12/6/1980, peaked at #108)

Keith was a singer-songwriter who recorded three albums in the 70s before Jimmy Buffet recorded a few tunes and asked him to join his Coral Reefer Band for the 1979 Volcano tour. [Keith also wrote the title track to that album.] So there was some decent momentum happening for him when he released his fourth album, I’m Not Strange, I’m Just Like You, which was picked up for release by Tom Petty’s Backstreet Records label. This single falls somewhere between Dave Edmunds and Rodney Crowell and should have been a bigger hit. Instead, it’s been credited as an early form of Americana.

Bar-Kays – Hit And Run (debuted on 12/12/1981, peaked at #101)

After this funk band’s resurrection, culminating in a #23 showing for Shake Your Rump to the Funk in early 1977, The Bar-Kays never came close to the Top 40 again. They would rack 22 R&B Top 40 hits, with ten of them reaching the Top 10, as this did when it climbed to #5.

And then there’s this, cause even the Russians knew good music when they heard it.

Kraftwerk – Numbers (debuted on 12/12/1981, peaked at #103)

Would you like to learn how to count to ten German (or French and Spanish?) using a Speak and Spell? Look no further than this track, from the eighth album, Computer World, which was nominated for a Best Rock Instrumental album Grammy. It will reach #13 on the Disco Top 80 and become a breakdancing classic.

Sue Saad – Looker (debuted on 12/12/1981, peaked at #104)

Sue was the lead singer of The Next, who had released their debut in 1980 to positive reviews. The lead single, Won’t Give It Up, will become a Bubbler at #107. The band will get an opportunity to record the title song to the 1981 Albert Finney science-fiction bomb, but it will be released under Sue’s name only. Maybe this rocker would have had a better fate if the film had done better. Kim Carnes recorded a synthier version for her 1982 LP, Voyeur.

Grand Funk Railroad – Stuck In The Middle (debuted on 12/12/1981, peaked at #108)

The Flint, MI trio split up in 1977, two years after their last Top 40 hit, Bad Time which reached #4 in 1975. Their first album in five years, Grand Funk Lives, yielded this single, which starts to sound like This Guy’s In Love With You before the rest of the band shuffles in. I think it’s a really good song with an awful release date, which explains why it didn’t get much Rock or Top 40 airplay.

Loverboy – Jump (debuted on 12/11/1982, peaked at #101)

The Vancouver quintet netted two Top 40 hits from their second album, Get Lucky – When It’s Over, and the 80s classic Working For The Weekend. They should have been happy with that, but they kept releasing singles, including this plodding affair co-written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. And that’s called pushing your luck.

Don Felder – Bad Girls (debuted on 12/10/1983, peaked at #104)

Thanks to the Eagles documentary, History of the Eagles, we all know about Glenn Frey’s disdain for Don Felder (and probably every other Don in the world, save Henley). In the film, there’s a scene where they discuss taking away Don’s promised lead vocal on one of The Long Run tracks but privately decide against it. Instead of discussing it with him, their manager, Irving Azoff, takes him out to dinner and gives him the bad news. It’s an incredibly cowardly act, but that’s what assholes do.

Not that idea was off-base, as this single illustrates. Felder is no Henley on the mic, but he can still jam on guitar. He was allowed to be a part of the band’s big Hell Freezes Over payday but was eventually fired in 2001.

Sade – Hang On To Your Love (debuted on 12/8/1984, peaked at #102)

Man, do I love some Sade. Their first three albums, especially, are smooth, mellow affairs and paved the way for a wave of sophisticated soulful pop from the UK. Their debut album, Diamond Life, was released in the Summer of 1984 and immediately became a big hit in England. By the time their first single was released in the States, they had three UK Top 40 hits. Surprisingly, this was not one of them. While it ends up as a Bubbler here, it will reach #14on the Soul charts. Their second single, Smooth Operator, will put them on the map.

The Whispers – Contagious (debuted on 12/8/1984, peaked at #105)

Here’s another slab of synth-funk that will reach the Top 10 on the Soul charts [#10] and remain a Bubbler here [one of five 80s Bubblers]. This L.A. soul quintet could not score anything at Pop radio between 1981 and 1987, even though they released one R&B smash after another. I’m sure lots of hilarious folks that created Covid playlists in the Spring of 2020 missed this one.

Make Your Intentions Clear

 

We are post-Thanksgiving going into the holiday season on our review of singles Bubbling Under the Hot 100. During chart week forty-eight, programmers were more focused on sprinkling in some Christmas tunes into their format and preparing year-end lists rather than adding new tunes. Here are the ones they missed out on.

Jim Carroll Band – People Who Died (debuted 11/29/1980, peaked at #103)

I am surprised and delighted to see this here. And I’m assuming it’s due to 45 sales rather than any airplay. This punk paean to all the folks Jim knew in his life who passed on was never gonna make a Pop playlist. Jim wrote and published The Basketball Diaries in 1978, and encouraged by Patti Smith to try and kick his heroin habit, he moved from N.Y. to L.A. to start a band. Catholic Boy was their debut album, and this was the lead single. Jim will be immortalized in the 1995 film, The Basketball Diaries by Leonardo Dicaprio. He will die on September 11, 2009.

Fun fact: You can hear this song in the background in the movie E.T. during the scene where the kids are playing Dungeons and Dragons.

Dynasty – Do Me Right (debuted 11/29/1980, peaked at #103)

SOLAR records had the band Shalamar on their roster, but it looked like they might break up. So they created another trio, this time with two women and one man called Dynasty. But Shalamar did continue bringing in singer Howard Hewitt and producer Leon Sylvers III. When they struck gold with The Second Time Around, all resources went to them, and Dynasty was given the sloppy seconds. And that’s a shame because, with a little more effort, this funky track could have made more of an impact. It will only climb to #34 on the Soul charts.

Robert Palmer – Looking For Clues (debuted 11/29/1980, peaked at #105)

Robert’s stock and trade was to perform as many different genres as he fancied. Moving from the Caribbean flavored Double Fun LP, his sixth album, Clues, has a distinct synthy New Wave edge.  Featuring drums by Talking Heads member Chris Frantz, this track was written and produced by Palmer at Compass Studios in the Bahamas, where he was living with his family at the time. It will hit #33 in the UK.

Twennynine With Lenny White – Kid Stuff (debuted 11/29/1980, peaked at #106)

Fusion drummer Lenny White got his start recording with Miles Davis, playing on the landmark album Bitches Brew. In 1972 he formed Return To Forever with Chick Corea, playing them until they split in 1977. After three solo albums, he put together the group Twennynine, recording a trio of long plays. My favorite of theirs was 1979’s Best of Friends, which featured the title track and the #80 single, Peanut Butter.  This single was the first release from their second self-titled LP co-produced by EWF’s Larry Dunn and reached #19 on the R&B charts. Another tune too funky for Pop radio.

Peter Gabriel – I Don’t Remember (debuted 11/29/1980, peaked at #107)

The #1 song in the Country during this week this track starts bubbling was Lady by Kenny Rogers. How in the world could they ever share a Pop playlist? The first recording of this track was in the Fall of 1978 and will eventually be finalized for Peter’s third album,  referred to as Melt. It’s one of the earliest recordings to feature a Fairlight CMI synth. Reportedly this was one of Ronald Reagan’s favorite songs.

L.T.D. – Kickin’ Back (debuted 12/5/1981, peaked at #102)

One of the bands to break out of the R&B scene of Greensboro, NC, was this funky outfit that was pared down to a nonet after Jeffrey & Billy Osborne left earlier in the year. Singer Leslie Wilson joined for their eighth album, Love Magic which included this R&B Top 10 single.

Nothing from 1982 was left behind, and the one debut, at #110, ended up climbing onto the charts, peaking at #46. It’s Raining Men by The Weather Girls will go on to be a dancefloor classic.

Smokey Robinson – Don’t Play Another Love Song (debuted 12/3/1983, peaked at #103)

After having two big solo hits at the start of the decade, one of the best, IMO, soul singers in the world was shut out from Pop radio until 1987. Was a certain generation so invested in their Big Chill moments that they couldn’t or wouldn’t hear Smokey sing anything new? It’s still well-produced and arranged and solidly performed even if it wasn’t Cruisin’ level or even Ooh Baby Baby. And it’s still Smokey. It was included on a new solo compilation called Blame It On Love & All The Great Hits.

Gladys Knight & The Pips – Hero (debuted 12/3/1983, peaked at #104)

In 1983, this quartet released their twenty-second album, eight years removed from their last Top 40 hit. Visions will feature, Save The Overtime For Me, their first #1 R&B hit since 1974’s I Feel A Song (in My Heart). There should have been more crossover happening than a #66 showing. This single was the third release and had already been recorded by Sheena Easton, Lou Rawls, Roger Whitaker, and others. But no one could make a Pop hit out of it. That was until Bette Midler changed the title to Wind Beneath My Wings and took it to #1 in 1989. Personally, I think Gladys’ version is the best.

Aldo Nova – Always Be Mine (debuted 12/3/1983, peaked at #107)

The pride of Montreal (after Gino Vannelli left) was back with his second album, Subject…Aldo Nova. The release will go Gold but not feature any Top 40 hits. In fact, this lead single will be the closest Aldo will get to any sort of radio airplay. He will go on to write and/or produce such artists as Faith Hill, Jon Bon Jovi, and Celine Dion.

Rick Dees – Get Nekked (debuted 12/1/1984, peaked at #104)

Eight years after Disco Duck, we still have to put up with this? Isn’t it bad enough that he subjected us to his poorly produced third-rate rip-off of American Top 40? At least programmers had some sense and closed the door on this dreck. Just kidding. They flipped the single and played Eat My Shorts instead, which rose to #75. That’s right, a better showing than any of the other worthy tunes reviewed here.

Evelyn “Champagne” King – Just For The Night (debuted 12/1/1984, peaked at #107)

The effects of the 1979 disco backlash lasted through most of the 80s. Over half of the songs, this week were by R&B artists, and most were established. It’s no wonder that the floodgates opened during the 90s. Now I admit that this is not Miss King’s best track. But with production by Rufus’ Hawk Wolinski on a song written by Patrick Leonard and Bruce Gaitsch ( maybe a warm-up for Madonna hits?), this should have seen a little more traction than a Bubbler appearance. The first single from her seventh album, So Romantic, will reach #16 on the Soul charts.