Roadrunner Album Reviews 1978

Roadrunner was a rock magazine published in Adelaide, Australia between 1978-83. Its founding editors were Stuart Coupe and Donald Robertson. Though primarily focused on Australian and overseas rock music, it also covered areas of the burgeoning counterculture and issues such as punk.

Full issues are currently archived at the University of Wollongong. Here's the album reviews available in each issue of 1978.

Issue	Date	Artist	Album
1(1)	March/April 1978	Talking Heads	Talking Heads '77
		Blondie	Plastic Letters
		Ian Dury	New Boots and Panties!!
		Richard Hell & The Voidoids	Blank Generation
		Nick Lowe	Jesus of Cool
		Billy T.	No Definitions
		Crosby and Nash	Live
		Leonard Cohen	Death of a Ladies Man
1(2)	May 1978	Elvis Costello	This Year's Model
		Brian Eno	Before and After Science
		Iggy Pop & James Williamson	Kill City
		Patti Smith	Easter
		Kate Bush	The Kick Inside
		Bob Marley	Kaya
		Warren Zevon	Excitable Boy
		Atlanta Rhythm Section	Champagne Jam
		Manfred Mann's Earth Band	Watch
		Earth, Wind & Fire	All 'N' All
		Tom Robinson	Live EP
		Graham Parker	The Pink Parker
		Frank Zappa	In New York
		Little River Band	Sleeper/Catcher
		Skyhooks	Guilty Until Proven Insane
		Blue Oyster Cult	Spectres
		Burning Spear	Live
1(3)	June 1978
		Radio Birdman	Radios Appear
		The Band & Friends	The Last Waltz
		Various Artists	Hits Greatest Stiffs
		Saints	Eternally Yours
		Cold Chisel	Cold Chisel
		Sports	Reckless
		The Tubes	What Do You Want From Live
		Eddie Money	Eddie Money
1(4)	July 1978
		Garland Jefferies	One Eyed Jack
		Bruce Springsteen	Darknesss on the Edge of Town
		David Johansen	Solo Album
		Various Artists	Music for Zen Meditation and Other Joys
		Pirates	Out of Their Skulls
		Stranglers	Black and White
		The Vibrators	The Vibrators
		Generation X	Generation X
		The Rutles	The Rutles
		George Thorogood & The Destroyers	George Thorogood & The Destroyers
		Matchbox	Slightly Troppo
1(5)	August 1978	The Rolling Stones	Some Girls
		Television	Adventure
		Billy Connolly	Raw Meat for the Balcony
		Barry Humphries	The Sound of Edna
		Cobbers	Cobbers
		Todd Rundgren	Hermit of Mink Hollow
		Brian Auger & Julie Tippet	Encore
		Roderick Falconer	New Nation
1(6)	September 1978	The Cobbers	All for Me Grog & Australia - From Celts to Cobbers
		UK	UK
		Motors	Approved by The Motors
		The Cars	The Cars
		Tom Petty	You're Gonna Get It!
		John Cale	Slow Dazzle
		Steeleye Span	Storm Force Ten
		Johnny Cougar	A Biography
		Charlie	Lines
		Bonnie Bramlett	Memories
		John Prine	Bruised Orange
		Dirk Hamilton	Meet Me at The Crux
		Bob Dylan	Street Legal
		Willie Nelson	Stardust
		Cafe Jacques	Round the Back
		David Gilmour	David Gilmour
		Lake	Lake
		The Dictators	Bloodbrothers
		Larry Coryell & Phillip Catherine	Twin House - Guitar Duos
		Stanley Clarke	Modern Man & The Best of Stanley Clarke
		Tower of Power	We Came to Play
		Sherbet	Sherbet
1(7)	October 1978	Dragon	Ozambezi
		Stiletto	Licence to Rage
		Boston	Don't Look Back
		Russ Ballard	At the Third Stroke
		Small Faces	78 in the Shade
		Joe Cocker	Luxury You Can Afford
		Jimi Hendrix	The Cry of Love
		XTC	White Music
		Peter Gabriel	Peter Gabriel
		Boomtown Rats	A Tonic for the Troops
		Buzzcocks	Another Music in a Different Kitchen
		The Rezillos	Can't Stand The Rezillos
		Jesse Winchester	A Touch on the Rainy Side
		Magazine	Real Life
		Charlie Parker	The Very Best of Bird
		Jan Akkerman & Claus Ogerman	Aranjuez
		Auracle	Glider
		John McLaughlin	Electric Guitarist
1(8)	November 1978	Tim Buckley	Tim Buckley
		Alan Stivell	Journee a la Maison
		Various Artists	Nightmoves Concert #2
		Larry Coryell & Philip Catherine	Splendid
		Earl Klugh	The Magic in Your Eyes
		Bruce Cockburn	Circles in the Stream
		Various Artists	The Akron Compilation
		Devo	Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
		Gary Busey	The Buddy Holly Story
		Todd Rundgren	Initiation
		Walter Egan	Not Shy
		Burton Cummings	Dreams of a Child
		Michael Bloomfield	Count Talent and The Originals
		Yes	Tormato
		Dave Edmunds	Tracks on Wax 4
		Blondie	Parallel Lines
		Brinsley Schwartz	15 Thoughts
		Talking Heads	More Songs About Buildings and Food
		Linda Ronstadt	Back in the U.S.A.
		Neil Young	Comes a Time
1(9)	December 1978	Dave Warner's From The Suburbs	Mug's Game
		The Modern Lovers	The Modern Lovers & Modern Lovers Live
		The Ramones	Rocket to Russia
		10cc	Bloody Tourists
		Bryan Ferry	The Bride Stripped Bare
		Wilko	Solid Senders
		Cheap Trick	Heaven Tonight
		The Flaming Groovies	Now
		Joan Armatrading	To The Limit
		999	999
		Buzzcocks	Another Music in a Different Kitchen
		Richard Clapton	Past Hits and Previews
		The Pirates	Skull Wars
		Billy Joel	52nd Street
		Livingston Taylor	Three Way Mirror
		Dave Mason	Mariposa De Oro
		Status Quo	If You Can't Stand the Heat
		Black Sabbath	Never Say Die
		Dire Straits	Dire Straits
		Chicago	Hot Streets
		Santana	Inner Secrets
		Tom Waits	Blue Valentine
		The Dead Boys	Young Loud and Snotty & We Have Come for Your Children
		Sham 60	Tell Us the Truth
		Laura Nyro	Nested
		John Otway and Wild Willy Barratt	Otway and Barratt
		Chieftains	Chieftains 1 & Chieftains 7
		Chuck Mangione	Children of Sanchez
		Various Artists	Montreux Summit Vol 2
		George Duke	Don't Let Go

---

American Top 40 - Fourth of July 1978 Special: "The 40 Biggest Acts of the 70's"

---

For the American Top 40 episode of July 1, 1978, Casey counted down "The 40 Biggest Act of the 70's."

Casey Kasem celebrates AT40's eighth birthday by stacking up and ranking the hit careers of the biggest superstars of the decade so far. Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Wings, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac. They'll all appear...but where? Another special American Top 40 Tabulation - from #40 to #1.

Rank	Act	Representative Song Played	Its Top 40 Debut	Eventual '70s Rank*
40	Earth, Wind & Fire	Sing a Song	12/13/75	23
39	Electric Light Orchestra	Evil Woman	12/13/75	-
38	Grand Funk	We're an American Band	8/18/73	-
37	Abba	Waterloo	6/22/74	-
36	Steve Miller	Rock'n Me	9/4/76	-
35	Ringo Starr	Photograph	10/20/73	-
34	Captain & Tennille	Love Will Keep Us Together	5/24/75	-
33	Stylistics	Rockin' Roll Baby	11/17/73	-
32	Carly Simon	That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be	6/5/71	-
31	Donny Osmond	Go Away Little Girl	8/21/71	-

30	Linda Ronstadt	You're No Good	1/4/75	-
29	Rod Stewart	Maggie May	8/28/71	20
28	Roberta Flack	Killing Me Softly With His Song	2/3/73	-
27	Temptations	Papa was a Rollin' Stone	10/28/72	-
26	James Taylor	You've Got a Friend	6/19/71	-
25	Paul Simon	Loves Me Like a Rock	8/18/73	-
24	War	The Cisco Kid	3/24/73	-
23	Bread	Make It With You	7/11/70	-
22	Olivia Newton-John	I Honestly Love You	8/24/74	9
21	Elvis Presley	The Wonder of You	5/23/70	11

Rank	Act	Representative Song Played	Its Top 40 Debut	Eventual '70s Rank*
20	Spinners	The Rubberband Man	10/2/76	25
19	Marvin Gaye	What's Going On	3/6/71	-
18	Barry Manilow	Mandy	12/7/74	12
17	Aretha Franklin	Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)	12/15/73	21
16	Neil Diamond	Cracklin' Rosie	8/29/70	10
15	John Denver	Take Me Home, Country Roads	6/26/71	14
14	Eagles	New Kid in Town	12/25/76	13
13	Al Green	Let's Stay Together	12/11/71	-
12	Diana Ross	Ain't No Mountain High Enough	8/15/70	15
11	Tony Orlando & Dawn	Knock Three Times	12/5/70	16

10	Helen Reddy	You and Me Against the World	7/20/74	19
9	Gladys Knight & The Pips	Midnight Train to Georgia	9/15/73	18
8	Three Dog Night	Mama Told Me (Not to Come)	6/6/70	8
7	Chicago	Saturday in the Park	8/12/72	6
6	Jackson 5	I Want You Back	12/6/69	5
5	Stevie Wonder	Superstition	12/9/72	7
4	Carpenters	(They Long to Be) Close to You	6/27/70	4
3	Wings	Band on the Run	5/4/74	2
2	Bee Gees	Jive Talkin'	6/28/75	3
1	Elton John	Philadelphia Freedom	3/15/75	1

*according to the table found on page 819 of The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (7th ed.) by Joel Whitburn.

MFD Random Five #54

In which I shuffle through some music files and listen to the first five songs from the years 1976-85 that randomly pop up.

---

1. "Say Say Say" by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson (1983, Columbia)
   A smash that spent 6 weeks atop the Billboard charts, most likely because Jackson had the Midas touch at the time. It's not a bad tune, but I've heard it enough for one lifetime.  Also, when I was a high school senior, my jazz band played a cheesy arrangement of Say Say Say which the world could have done without.


2. "Happy Music" by Linda Williams (1979, Arista)
   A fun little disco tune. It would be totally generic if it weren't for the outstanding synth soling all over the thing.


3. "Love's a Heartache" by Leslie Smith (1982, Elektra)
   Smooth ballad with spot on vocals from Smith. The album from which this comes is fantastic and has already been given a turn on this blog, where it earned a grade of A-.


4. "Come to Me" by Bobby Caldwell (1978, Clouds)
   Another smooth ballad. This one from Caldwell's debut album featuring his stellar vocals atop soaring orchestration. Reminds me a lot of what Boz was doing at the time.


5. "The Lone Ranger" by Dan Siegel (1982, Elektra)
   A straight-up Dave Grusin smooth-jazz-meets-movie-soundtrack knock-off, complete with orchestration. However, Larry Carlton gets the spotlight, so it's not half-bad. (I hope blogger doesn't fine me for overuse of hyphens)

Rolling Stone Album Chart Info 1978-85

In the December 14, 1978 edition of Rolling Stone, the magazine introduced a new album chart:

The chart dropped from 100 to 50 albums beginning with the February 17, 1983 issue.

Following my unhealthy obsession with chart data, I compiled a spreadsheet of the Rolling Stone chart data from that first chart through the year-end chart of 1985. If you're ever interested in that data, it is available in PDF form. Help yourself: Rolling Stone Album Chart Info 1978-85.

MFD Random Five #52

In which I shuffle through some music files and listen to the first five songs from the years 1976-85 that randomly pop up.

---

1. "Alone-6 AM" by George Duke (1979, Epic)
   A brief piano interlude from the classic A Brazilian Love Affair album. Sounds like a pianist messing around on a piano at 6 AM after a long night of recording, then there's about 10 seconds of upbeat stuff before someone shuts the tape turns off.


2. "Puppet Life" by Punishment of Luxury (1978, Small Wonder)
   From the 1-2-3-4: Punk & New Wave 1976-1979 box set, this odd tune is a cross between punk, Franz Ferdinand (the aughts band, not the Austrian archduke), and Karl King's "Barnum & Bailey's Favorite." I find it to be fascinating, just not very good.


3. "Marsha's Car" by David Bean (1983, Wasted Talent)
   David Bean is the singer/songwriter/leader of The Judy's, a local favorite from the Houston area when I was in high school and college. This was the lead song from his solo EP, Modomusic. Bean's voice is an acquired taste, but this thing is 4 minutes of pop perfection. The 7-song mini-album was available in three different colors - yellow, blue and pink. I opted for blue.
   
   

   

   from the MFD archives

   In the mid-1990's when e-mail was a newfangled thing to me, I wrote a fanboy email to David Bean, who had become a science teacher by that time, I believe. Turns out that the email address belonged to David's father, also named David. The elder Bean was quite kind and gracious in his response and didn't seem to mind responding to such emails, which had become a regular occurrence in his life at that time.


4. "The Rowe" by Thompson Twins (1982, T Records)
   Sounding more like Talking Heads wannabes than later pop-styled Thompson Twins, this is a 2 chord album cut that holds your attention for about 3½ minutes, so it's a shame that the track is 6½ minutes long.


5. "She Believes In Me" by Kenny Rogers (1979, United Artists)
   This song was huge in my little world, ca. 7th grade. In an earlier post on this blog, I wrote: "This reminds me a little of Bread's 'Lost Without Your Love' but not enough to distract from its soft rock crossover goodness. This topped both the country and AC charts while peaking at #5 in the Top 40." Rogers once stated that he looked for ballads "that say what every man wants to say and what every woman wants to hear." Check and check.
   
   KR crossover songs from 1979-80 always remind me of a girl named Melinda, until we get to "Lady" which reminds me of Danette. No, these ladies weren't my girlfriends, but not for lack of trying on my part. More on my geekiness around that time here. 

MFD Random Five #50

In which I shuffle through some music files and listen to the first five songs from the years 1976-85 that randomly pop up.

---

1. "No Matter What I Do" by The Dishes (1985, Underwhere)
   When the album Hot Diggety Dog was featured on this blog in 2016, I wrote that this tune reminded me of Nick Lowe. I'm not hearing that so much today, but it's a fun, brief power pop tune with just the right amount of Farfisa organ.


2. "Magic Man" by Herb Alpert (1981, A&M)
   Alpert still trying to reproduce the sound (and success) of "Rise." The melody here is a bit repetitive and that probably hurt sales, but most likely the reason this didn't succeed was the fall of disco and the rise of New Wave on the pop charts in '81. This tune, which incorporates some of Alpert's Tijuana Brass tropes in the bridge, only reached #79 on the pop charts, but climbed to #22 on the Adult Contemporary chart.


3. "How Much I Feel" by Ambrosia (1978, Warner Bros.)
   I once ranked this as the 26th best single of 1978 and now I'm reconsidering that ranking as too low. Catchy melody, smooth background vocals, tasty piano and string arrangements - it's like a soft rock blueprint. This band put out some great singles in '78 and '80. I hear this thing and I'm immediately back in 7th grade.


4. "Private Eyes" by Daryl Hall & John Oates (1981, RCA)
   Number one in 1981. Ubiquitous almost 40 years later. And deservedly so. As overplayed as it is, I'll be dadgummed if it still doesn't sound fantastic.


5. "A Song from Under the Floorboards" by Magazine (1980, Virgin)
   I don't recognize this post-punk tune, but that doesn't necessarily mean I haven't heard it before although I can guarantee you I wasn't listening to post-punk in 1980. I don't hate it, but I wouldn't seek it out to hear. My files of this tune come from Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground, a 4 CD compilation set released in 2004 by Rhino.

Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 100 Album Chart, December 1978 - February 1983

In the December 14, 1978 edition of Rolling Stone, the magazine introduced a new album chart:

Here's that first chart, topped by Billy Joel's 52nd Street. (click image to enlarge):

An ad directly across from this first chart is blatant pandering from A&M, but I can't say as I blame them. Couldn't hurt, right?

In the issue of February 17, 1983, without explanation, the chart drops from 100 to 50 albums, staying at 50 for many years beyond our seemingly arbitrary 1985 cutoff. Here's the last 100 chart from February 3, 1983:

CD Longbox #36

The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 (1978)

---

Exclusive photo courtesy of Dirk Digglinator of the Hambonian Archives.

To view other longboxes, please click here.

For more information on the brief life of the CD longbox, go visit The Legend of the Longbox.

Thank God It's Friday soundtrack (1978)

"After 5000 years of civilization, we all need a break."

It's Friday night and everyone is headed to the hot disco, The Zoo. The Commodores are scheduled to play if the roadie shows up with the instruments while Nicole (Donna Summer) dreams of becoming a disco star. Other characters are there to win the dance contest, or to put a little excitement into a blind date or fifth anniversary festivities.  This flick didn't last long in theaters and is currently rated at 30% over at Rotten Tomatoes.  But, oh! the soundtrack...

Casablanca Records issued a three disk soundtrack album which peaked at #10 in its 27 weeks on the Billboard 200. The featured song, Donna Summer's "Last Dance," became a critical and commercial success, winning the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and Grammy Awards for 1) Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and 2) Best R&B Song. Sadly, the "Disco" category wasn't instituted at The Grammy Awards until the following year or there would have been a battle royale between TGIF, Saturday Night Fever, and anything by Chic. But I digress.

Side One	Side Two
"Thank God It's Friday" by Love and Kisses "After Dark" by Pattie Brooks "With Your Love" by Donna Summer "Last Dance" by Donna Summer	"Disco Queen" by Paul Jabara "Find My Way" by Cameo "Too Hot Ta Trot" by The Commodores "Leatherman's Theme" by Wright Bros. Flying Machine "I Wanna Dance" by Marathon
Side Three	Side Four
"Take It To The Zoo" by Sunshine "Sevilla Nights" by Santa Esmeralda "You're the Most Precious thing in My Life" by Love and Kisses	"Do You Want the Real Thing" by D.C. LaRue "Trapped in a Stairway" by Paul Jabara "Floyd's Theme" by Natural Juices "Livin' Lovin' Givin'" by Diana Ross "Love Masterpiece" by Thelma Houston "Last Dance (Reprise) by Donna Summer
Special Bonus 12" Single
"Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus)" by Donna Summer

This is normally where I list the songs included in the movie in the order the music appeared in the film, but why reinvent the wheel? Friend o' the blog (and regular contributor of CD longbox pictures) Dirk Digglinator already did the work way back in 1996! In celebration of our Summer of Summer celebration, Dirk graciously submitted a photo of his meticulous work and I'm happy to present it below. Many thanks, Dirk.

Dirk also submitted this 2019 update/errata/confirmation to the above list:
4. I Wanna Dance - Marathon  Maddy & Jennifer...
6. From Here To Eternity (1) - Giorgio  Tony enters the ‘Zoo’
7. From Here To Eternity (2)
8. Romeo And Juliet (1)
25. Je T’aime (Moi Non Plus) (1)
32. Je T’aime (Moi Non Plus) (2) - Donna Summer  Sue & Dave (‘Baba-Kazoo’) argue
33. Romeo And Juliet (2) - Alec R. Costandinos  Dave (‘Baba-Kazoo’) swallows his wedding ring
34. In Hollywood (Everybody Is A Star) - Village People  Maddy leaves Jennifer...
38. I’m Here Again - Thelma Houston  (?? / Confirmed)

So now you can remove the "(Nearly)" qualifier from the title of the above list. Consider it definitive and MFD approved! 👍

---

---

Previous MFD movie soundtrack breakdowns:
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
FM (1978)
Grease (1978)
The Last American Virgin (1982)
Roller Boogie (1979)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
The Sure Thing (1985)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
200 Cigarettes (1999)
Valley Girl (1983)
Vision Quest (1985)

Bracketology: Donna Summer Singles, Sweet 16

I've created this bracket of 16 of Donna Summer's Top 40 singles between the years 1976-85 (sorry, "This Time It's for Real") and we'll match them against each other, round by round, until a winner emerges. I hope you'll play along as I'm sure your bracket will turn out differently from mine. I based the seedings on Billboard Hot 100 chart peaks.

• 1 vs 16: "Bad Girls" (#1 for 5 weeks in 1979) vs. "The Woman in Me" (#33 in 1983)
• 2 vs 15: "Hot Stuff" (#1 for 3 weeks in 1979) vs. "Cold Love"  (#33 in 1981)
• 3 vs 14: "MacArthur Park" (#1 for 3 weeks in 1978) vs. "There Goes My Baby" (#21 in 1984)
• 4 vs 13: "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)" (#1 for 2 weeks) vs. "Love is in Control (Finger on the Trigger" (#10 in 1982)
• 5 vs 12: "Love to Love You Baby" (#2 for 2 weeks in 1976) vs. "I Feel Love" (#6 in 1977)
• 6 vs 11: "Dim All the Lights" (#2 for 2 weeks in 1979) vs. "On the Radio" (#5 in 1980)
• 7 vs 10: "Last Dance" (#3 in 1978) vs. "Heaven Knows" (#4 in 1979)
• 8 vs 9: "She Works Hard for the Money" (#3 in 1983) vs. "The Wanderer" (#3 in 1980)

Fill out your bracket(s) with your personal favorites and check back for the semifinal round.

---

Blog post #800

Covering the Covers: MacArthur Park

---

This series looks at some of the better covers that came out during the years 1976-85 or songs that were originally released during that time period and subsequently covered. Boring, rote covers need not apply. Looking for artists that can take a song and add their own blend of spice. As the lovely Kate Pierson of The B-52's once said about the Talking Heads cover of "Take Me to the River": It's a rare thing that a band can do a cover song and make it their own. Simply put, they made Al Green's 'Take Me to the River' into a Talking Heads song."

Today's study: MacArthur Park, written by Jimmy Webb, original released by Richard Harris.

Released: April 1968 (Dunhill) Produced by: Jimmy Webb Album: A Tramp Shining

U. S. Billboard Charts:
Hot 100	2
Easy Listening	10

---

Released: September 1978 (Casablanca) Produced by: Giorgio Moroder & Pete Bellotte Album: Live and More

U. S. Billboard Charts:
Hot 100	1
Disco	1
Adult Contemporary	24

---

MFD Not-So-Random Five #16

In which I select five songs from 1976-1985 based on an arbitrary theme. (Not to be confused with this blog's Random Five feature, a different exercise in arbitrariness). Today's theme: five Donna Summer singles that cracked the Hot 100, but not the Top 40.

---

1. "Could It Be Magic" (peaked at #52 -  May 29, 1976)
   When I first heard this cover version I didn't care it much for it, but over time that clavinet part and relentless hi-hat wore me down. Donna moaning over a fantastic arrangement? Count me in.   


2. "Rumour Has It" (peaked at #53 - April 15, 1978)
   Wikipedia states this song "is one of the earliest examples of disco, funk, rock, and electronica in pop culture." Whoa - slow your roll, wiki. It's a solid tune, though. In addition to the usual disco strings, it's got some great horn licks, which is a nice change. On the album, this rolls directly into "I Love You" and that's a great one-two punch, right there.


3. "State of Independence" (peaked at #41 - November 6, 1982)
   #41 - close but no cigar. Originally recorded by Jon and Vangelis for their 1981 album The Friends of Mr Cairo. I can't follow the lyrics. Spiritual or no? I've examined the 1982 self-titled album previously on this blog. Here's what I wrote more then: "Adding a psuedo Afro-Carribean feel over a droning synth turns me off.    At least the sax solo and the "All-Star Choir" chanting nonsense lyrics make it interesting." Now I don't even find those things interesting.


4. "Unconditional Love" (peaked at #43 - October 8, 1983)
   Features vocals by British reggae act Musical Youth. Sounds like music they'd pipe in on a tropical ride at a theme park. DeBarge did it better a few years later with "Rhythm of the Night."


5. "Supernatural Love" (peaked at #75 - November 24, 1984)
   I have no memory of this one from the radio or MTV in '84. Fairly generic stuff for its time, which probably explains why it didn't chart higher. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, but there's nothing grabbing my ear, either.

---

Two Hit Wonders 1976-85 [7 of 16]

*to qualify as a MFD two hit wonder, the artist or group can have placed only two singles in the Billboard Top 40 and those two singles must have entered the Top 40 during the years 1976-85.  Many of these artists are occasionally mistaken for a one hit wonder or have hit other charts in Billboard, but each hit the Top 40 only twice. In no particular order, here's four of the 64 that I found:

---

PETER BROWN
Born on 7/11/53 in Blue Island, Illinois. Disco singer/keyboardist.

Title	Top 40 Debut	Chart Peak
Do Ya Wanna Get Funky with Me	10/8/77	18
Dance With Me (w/Betty Wright)	5/6/78	8

---

EDDY GRANT
Born Edmond Grant on 3/5/48 in Plaisance, Guyana; raised in London. Rock-reggae singer. Member of The Equals.

Title	Top 40 Debut	Chart Peak
Electric Avenue	5/21/83	2
Romancing the Stone	6/30/84	26

---

MAXINE NIGHTINGALE
Born on 11/2/52 in Wembly, England. Acted in productions of Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell and Savages.

Title	Top 40 Debut	Chart Peak
Right Back Where We Started From	3/13/76	2
Lead Me On	7/7/79	5

---

PETE TOWNSHEND
Born on 5/19/45 in London. Lead guitarist/songwriter of The Who.

Title	Top 40 Debut	Chart Peak
Let My Love Open the Door	7/5/80	9
Face the Face	12/21/85	26

---

Data and artist descriptions taken from The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 7th edition (2000).