MFD Random Five #27

In which I click the shuffle icon on the iTunes app and listen to the first five songs that pop up from the year 1978.

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1. "Deeper Than The Night" by Olivia Newton-John (1978, MCA)
   This was the second of four singles released from ONJ's 1978 LP, Totally Hot. In an earlier post, here's what I wrote: "Of ONJ's 29 Top 40 hits, this is my least favorite.  (♥Still love ya, Olivia!♥  Call me!☎)" There's just not much to it. However, I don't need much of an reason to post this pic yet again:

   

   Any excuse to post a picture of me kissing a cardboard cutout in a Vegas gift shop.



2. "If the Kids are United" by Sham 69 (1978, Polydor)
   A fairly straight-ahead punk song that differs from the norm in two distinct ways: there's a pretty decent guitar solo and a bridge. Sing-along chorus included at no additional charge. All this makes the song closer to 4 minutes in length than the usual punk single two minutes. But even with all that going for it, it's just alright.


3. "Dance with Me" by Peter Brown (1978, T.K. Disco)
   This thing is catchy as all get-out and the background vocals by Betty Wright take it up a notch. I'm hooked from the opening guitar lick. I'm not gonna write much about this one because it's difficult to type while dancing, just know that this one gets two thumbs up from this guy.


4. "Whatever's Written in Your Heart" by Gerry Rafferty (1978, United Artists)
   I'll be honest, I didn't like this song for the longest time. However, it's simple beauty has grown on me. The piano playing reminds me of Billy Joel (in a good way) and the harmony vocals? Fuhgettaboutit. Note to self: spin City to City today.


5. "Copacabana (At the Copa)" by Barry Manilow (1978, Arista)
   I'm a confessed Fanilow and this is the song that got me there. I've told this story before but it bears repeating here: If Even Now wasn't the first album I ever purchased with my allowance money, it was certainly one of the first.  I fell in love with Copacabana after hearing it on a TV variety show about the time Can't Smile Without You was on top of the charts.  My elementary school music teacher had a copy of the album and I begged her to play Copacabana during class. And by "begged" I mean "cried like a little girl lost at the supermarket." Later turned into both a made-for-TV musical and a stage musical.