MFD Random Five #32

In which I click the shuffle icon on the iTunes app and listen to the first five songs that pop up from the years 1976-85.

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1. "Everybody Loves You Now" by Billy Joel (1981, Columbia)
   I prefer this live version from Songs in the Attic to the 1971 original. Lots of energy but it's still just filler. Not bad filler for a debut album, mind you, and I dig the snarky lyrics.


2. "Tragedy" by John Hunter (1984, Private I)
   If I've heard this before, I've forgotten it. The song peaked at #39 on the Billboard chart in '85 so I must have this file because of the legendary, now complete, Megalist project. As for the song, it sounds like a poor man's Springsteen-Winwood-Carrack, driven by keyboard instead guitar. Easily forgettable, I'm surprised it made it to 39. Let's see how it did over on Adult Contemporary: no dice. A one-hit wonder. And now that I've heard it, I'll quickly forget it; next time I hear it, I'll say, "If I've heard this before, I've forgotten it."


3. "Mull of Kintyre" by Wings (1977, Capitol)
   #1 in the UK, non-charting here in the States. Sounds like an old Scottish pub singalong waltz, complete with bagpipes. Not bad, but not for me. Raise a glass to Sir Paul always, though.


4. "Empire Strikes Back (Medley: Darth Vader/Yoda's Theme)" by Meco (1980, RSO)
   What might have been a good idea in 1977 had tarnished badly by 1980.


5. "Atomic Dog" by George Clinton (1982, Capitol)
   And this Random Five is ultimately saved by Dr. Funkenstein! "Bow-wow-wow-yippee-yo-yippee-yay!" may be some of my favorite '80s lyrics. Amazingly, this 1982 single never charted on the Billboard Hot 100 (it "bubbled under" at 101, but it topped the R&B chart and peaked at #38 Disco). I didn't love this as much in the early '80s as I should have. Now a classic, being widely sampled in hip-hop music for the last 35+ years.

Bubbling Under 1982 [Part 3 of 5]

Using information found in the above supplement, below is an annotated list of songs that didn't quite crack the Billboard Hot 100, provided with links in hopes of helping you find some vintage tunes that are new to you. Click on the title to hear the tune or see the video, click on the artist for a Wikipedia entry, and click on the album for the Discogs entry. In all, there were 105 tracks that "bubbled under" the Hot 100 in 1982, here's 21 of those.

Title	Artist	Album	BU	Rock	AC	RB	Dance	Country
Hey There Lonely Boy	Stacy Lattisaw	Sneakin' Out	108			71
Right in the Middle (Of Falling in Love)	Bettye LaVette	Tell Me a Lie	103			35
President's Rap	Rich Little	12" single	105			39
Jump	Loverboy	Get Lucky	101
Who's Foolin' Who	Lulu	Lulu	106
Instant Love	Cheryl Lynn	Instant Love	105			16
If This World Were Mine	Cheryl Lynn & Luther Vandross	Instant Love	101			4
Everybody	Madonna	Madonna	107				3
Spies in the Night	Manhattan Transfer	Mecca for Moderns	103
Nobody's Business	Maxus	Maxus	109
Big Band Medley	Meco	Swingtine's Greatest Hits	101		18
Hot Spot	Midnight Star	Victory	108			35
Last Night	Stephanie Mills	Tantalizingly Hot	101			14
Love's Comin' at Ya	Melba Moore	The Other Side of the Rainbow	104			5	2
Love Leads to Madness	Nazareth	2XS	105	19
Tattoo	Novo Combo	Novo Combo	103	42
She's Just a Groupie	Bobby Nunn	Second to Nunn	104			15	28
Inside Out	Odyssey	Happy Together	104			12	25
I Just Want to Satisfy You	O'Jays	My Favorite Person	101			15
One of a Kind	Orleans	One of a Kind	110
Li'l Suzy	Ozone	Li'l Suzy	109			45

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

I'm not a big on sci-fi or aliens, but for some reason I bought a package of movie trading cards for this one:

Having hauled these around for 40 years and never looking at them, I've decided to unload them on eBay just to see if I can get 10¢ for them. But isn't this (allegedly) a music blog?

The discofied version of the John Williams theme peaked at #13 on the Billboard pop chart in 1978.

The inferior Meco disco version peaked at #25 on the Billboard chart in 1978.

Today's music education lesson: the hand signs used in the movie are the actual Solfege hand signs for the movie's five note theme motif:

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But there was more to November, 1977 than the release of the Close Encounters movie. Here's a reminder as to what was topping the Billboard charts on November 19, 1977.

	Top LP Rumours Fleetwood Mac
	Hot 100 "You Light Up My Life" Debby Boone
	Soul Album Brick Brick
	Soul Single "Serpentine Fire" Earth, Wind & Fire
	Country Album Elvis in Concert Elvis Presley
	Country Single "The Wurlitzer Prize" Waylon Jennings
	Adult Contemporary  "You Light Up My Life" Debby Boone
	Classical Album Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 London Symphony Orchestra

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Meco - Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band (1977)

Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band
b/w Funk

Released: 1977 (Millennium) Written by: John Williams Produced by: Tony Bongiovi, Domenico Monardo & Harold Wheeler Album: Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk

U. S. Billboard Charts:
Hot 100	1
Dance	6
R&B	8
Adult Contemporary	18

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Because fun.

This thrown-together studio greatness is exactly the kind of thing that appealed to me when I was 11. Loved it back then and looked forward to hearing the R2-D2 sounds. If you believe the Internet, this is the biggest-selling instrumental single in the history of recorded music, having sold two million units. The original John Williams score to Star Wars, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, peaked at #10 on the Billboard Pop singles chart, but this dance version held the top spot for two weeks. And that's what makes America great.

May the disco be with you.

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