AT40, August 4, 1979 [Part 2 of 4]

 

I'm breaking down the AT40 show of August 4, 1979 track by track.  For a look at #40-31, click here.

Casey introduces the next song by stating that ABBA's net income makes them the most profitable business enterprise in Sweden, clearing $12 million.

#30:  "Does Your Mother Know" by ABBA. I'm an ABBA fan and I don't care who knows it.  Those Swedes could write some hooks.  This song would spend 10 weeks in the top 40, peaking at #19. I have considered doing an ABBA bracketology series, but we all know that "Dancing Queen" would be the winner, so what's the point?

#29:  "I'll Never Love This Way Again" by Dionne Warwick.  The 25th (of an eventual 31) Top 40 record for Warwick. Produced by Barry Manilow and written by his songwriting team of Richard Kerr and Will Jennings, this sounds just like a Manilow record, right down to the key change at the end. (I'm not sure Manilow has the vocal chops to pull off the octave leaps in the chorus, so maybe that's why it was given to Warwick). This single was on its very slow ascent on this chart; it would peak at #5 on October 20th, more than two months later.

#28:  "She Believes in Me" by Kenny Rogers. What should have been a Bread song (and maybe it was originally?) recorded by The Gambler. This tune had all sorts of crossover appeal: #1 Country, #1 Adult Contemporary, and would peak at #5 on the pop chart.

Before a commercial break, Casey teases a story about Arthur Fiedler by playing a snippet of his only pop chart appearance, an arrangement of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," which peaked at #55 in 1964. "Special tribute" coming up.

#27:  "Suspicions" by Eddie Rabbitt. Like the earlier Kenny Rogers tune, here's another smooth rock tune marketed as a country tune. Good stuff, right down to the flute solo. And like, Kenny, this did well on multiple charts: #1 country, #9 Adult Contemporary, and #13 pop.

Casey offers up a very brief tribute to Arthur Fiedler, who had passed away on July 10, 1979. I can't think of Fiedler and the Boston Pops without thinking of my father, who may be their biggest fan. The number one artist in his CD collection is the Boston Pops and its not even close. Sadly, Dad doesn't have the last album Fiedler recorded with the orchestra, Saturday Night Fiedler.

Now, on with the countdown...

#26:  "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by Charlie Daniels Band. Three country tunes in a row, such was Top 40 music in 1979. Loved this tune much more in '79 than I do now. I always thought the devil was the winner of the contest and enjoy the "band of demons" guitar riff that leads into his solo, which is butchered in this AT40 edit. #1 country, #30 Adult Contemporary, and would peak on the Hot 100 in the #3 spot on September 15.

Listener question: "A listener in Idaho wants to know if any number one song has ever fallen right off the chart from the number one position. Well, that did happen - once - to a singing cowboy who owns the pennant-chasing California Angels baseball team. Details coming up."

#25:  "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" by Joe Jackson. "One of eight British acts in the countdown." I love this tune and have absolutely no memory of hearing it on the radio in 1979, so a hearty "screw you" to the Houston station program director of 1979. Shame. This song only spent 8 weeks in the Top 40, peaking at #21.

Answer to listener question: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by Gene Autry in December, 1949.

#24:  "One Way or Another" by Blondie. Tomorrow may be different, but today, this is my favorite Blondie tune. I'm sure 13 year old me would listen to these lyrics and think, "Please come and get me, use me, and lose me, Debbie." This single would peak here at #24.

Casey returns from the break by telling us that American Top 40 is heard in the 50 states and around the world every week on great radio stations like:

• WENK - Union City, Tennessee
• WFJA - Sanford, North Carolina
• DYXI - Iloilo, Philippines

#23:  "People of the Southwind" by Kansas. This song has already been featured here on MFD. It spent 8 weeks on AT40, peaking here at #23.

AT40 Archives: "Angie Baby" by Helen Reddy.  Casey's counting down the #1 songs of the 1970's, this is the second of three in this show. This tune was #1 for one week, December 28, 1974.

--end of hour two--

#22: "After the Love Has Gone" by Earth, Wind & Fire. ♥ EWF is one of my all-time favorite groups and this is my fifth favorite song by the group. Of course I've given that some thought, why do you ask? What are the other four, you say?

My top 5 EWF songs:

1. September
2. Got To Get You Into My Life
3. Shining Star
4. Fantasy
5. After The Love Has Gone

Anyway, this smooth tune written by David Foster, Jay Graydon, and Bill Champlin won two Grammy awards: Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group & Best R&B Song. This single spent 13 weeks on the chart, spending two weeks in the #2 spot behind "My Sharona."

Casey mentions that seven different countries are represented in this week's countdown: England, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Japan, France, and the U.S. He goes on to say that's the most since July, 1978.

#21: "I Can't Stand It No More" by Peter Frampton. While I like the chorus, the rest of the song doesn't do much for me.  The verse chord progression reminds me of AC/DC's "Big Balls" (a favorite of mine as a teenager).  This isn't a song I'd seek out to listen to.  Frampton's final Top 40 single, it had peaked at #14 in late July.

"There's a drummer in our survey who says he never wanted to be anything but a musician, but his father didn't approve. So in order to play his first professional gigs, he had to sneak out of his bedroom window four nights a week for two years. That story, and his band's latest single, are coming up."

Billboard, August 4, 1979, p. 56

More to come...

MFD Random Five #30

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. "I'm in You" by Peter Frampton (1977, A&M)
   It's hard to believe this sappy thing is Frampton's biggest hit. Is it because it was riding the momentum of the earlier, mammoth Frampton Comes Alive album? That's the only explanation I can think of. I'm not into this one, but I will admit to liking Frampton's guitar work here.


2. "All You Need is Love" by New Musik (1982, Epic)
   A synthpop cover of a Beatles classic wasn't a great idea, but I'm sure it's not the worse thing I'll hear today. The original was a swinging shuffle where this thing is as square as a plumb line and needlessly drags tunes like "Greensleeves" into the mix.


3. "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" by Leo Sayer (1976, Warner Bros.)
   A fun, uplifting tune that topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a week in January, 1977. Love the build up to the chorus. And that's gotta be studio ace Steve Gadd on drums. I'm not admitting to a decades old copyright violation, but I may remember someone recording this tune off the radio.


4. "Time is Time" by Andy Gibb (1980, RSO)
   A #15 hit for Gibb, this thing has catchy chorus but not much else going for it. Is it possible that, by late 1980, the nation was experiencing Barry Gibb supersaturation or was Barry simply running out of steam? Discuss amongst yourselves.


5. "Can't Hide Love" by Carmen McRae (1976, Blue Note)
   A rote cover of the Earth, Wind & Fire tune is a complete waste of McRae's talents. If you're gonna use a big band, use a big band arrangement. But I like it better than the folks over at Allmusic that write "This is the type of session that killed Blue Note the first time around." Yikes.

MFD Random Five #20

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. "Rock and Roll Music" by The Beach Boys (1976, Brother/Reprise)
   This cover of Chuck Berry's 1957 tune has appeared on this blog before back in August, 2016. Here's what I wrote then: "A lethargic cover, but one that peaked would eventually peak at #5 in 13 weeks on AT40. It was the group's biggest single of the 1970's." I prefer the Beatles cover.


2. "Memories (Can't Wait)" by Talking Heads (1982, Sire)
   This live version from 1979 is from the Name of This Band... double LP set. Far from being one of my favorite TH tunes, I can't pass over it as I am hypnotized by the monotonous guitar-drenched verse and then again when the chorus takes off at the end. The band speeds up a bit during the last minute of this performance and the tempo change is perfectly aligned with the increasing intensity. I doubt is was intentional but perfect nonetheless.


3. "Show Me the Way" by Peter Frampton (1976, A&M)
   Yeah, man. (Note: I heard the shorter single version of this one today, so it could have been better, but I ain't complaining.)


4. "Sophisticated Lady" by Linda Ronstadt (1984, Asylum)
   It's never a bad time for Ronstadt. And to hear her (and Nelson Riddle's) take on this Ellington standard is a great way to start a day. Or end a day. Any time of day, really. Then there's the tasty sax work from Plas Johnson and it's over all too soon. Reaching to my right and pulling the 'Round Midnight compilation off the shelves for further listening.


5. "Wacky Dust" by The Manhattan Transfer (1979, Atlantic)
   A throw away album filler track. For some reason, producer Jay Graydon decided to use synths instead of an actual big band. Big mistake.

In a wild coincidence (is there a full moon?), four of the five tracks today weren't originally performed 1976-85:

• Rock And Roll Music - 1957
• Show Me the Way - 1975
• Sophisticated Lady - 1932
• Wacky Dust - 1938

The fifth tune, "Memories (Can't Wait)," was originally released in 1979 on Fear of Music meaning none of today's tracks are the original versions.

Too Cool 4 School - 1976 Edition

To a ten year old kid, there's nobody cooler than people in their late teens - at least that's the way it was to me when I was a ten year old kid in 1976. Those teenagers with their cool cars, cool shades, the latest slang, and, since we're talking '76, shaggy hair and hip clothes. They tried to capture that vibe in That '70s Show, but didn't quite nail it.

In my little part of the world, the cool kids all attended Permian High School or had recently graduated from there and now worked in the nearby oilfields. Yes, I'm referring to the Permian High School featured in the book and subsequent motion picture, Friday Night Lights. As you can see in the map below, the elementary school I attended in 1976 (Burnet), was in close proximity to those cool kids, so they passed me in their cars, stereos blasting, as I walked to school each day.

From my 40 year old memories, here's the music I imagine blasting from the cool kids' Pontiac T-Top Firebirds as they passed me by on their way to school or to hang out at the Taco Villa.
An admittedly predictable list - if you were born in the years 1956-1960, feel free to suggest additions.

	Dreamboat Annie Heart Billboard #7 Cash Box #6		Hotel California Eagles Billboard #1 Cash Box #1
Boston Boston Billboard #3 Cash Box #2		Frampton Comes Alive! Peter Frampton Billboard #1 Cash Box #1
	Destroyer Kiss Billboard #11 Cash Box #7		Takin' It to the Streets The Doobie Brothers Billboard #8 Cash Box #9
Wings at the Speed of Sound Wings Billboard #1 Cash Box #1		Jailbreak Thin Lizzy Billboard #18 Cash Box #35
	Fly Like an Eagle Steve Miller Band Billboard #3 Cash Box #4		Wired Jeff Beck Billboard #16 Cash Box #12
A New World Record Electric Light Orchestra Billboard #5 Cash Box #10		Leftoverture Kansas Billboard #5 Cash Box #5
	Tejas ZZ Top Billboard #17 Cash Box #10		Silk Degrees Boz Scaggs Billboard #2 Cash Box #2
Songs in the Key of Life Stevie Wonder Billboard #1 Cash Box #1		and for the ladies: X Chicago Billboard #3 Cash Box #3

Also in my imaginary memories, a few of the very cool kids listened to these albums at home:

Station to Station
David Bowie

Ramones
Ramones

The Royal Scam
Steely Dan

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As I was neither cool nor a teenager, none of these albums were in my house at the time (especially the Kiss album - what would my parents think?!? The world's gone to hell in a handbasket!). I've done my best to catch up with them over the past 40 years.

Looking for a playlist? Just turn on your local FM "Classic Rock" station and you'll hear at least one tune from one the above albums within the hour. Let's put my arbitrary theory to the test with my own local station, Q107.7: Boom! First song I hear is Hotel California. Would love to hear reports of your own tests of this theory.

Sgt. Pepper movie bubble gum cards (1978)

You can view the entire 66 card series from Donruss here. The following cards are from the my personal archives; I evidently just bought the one pack. The brittle stick of gum isn't still around, but knowing me, I promptly ate it back in 1978.

Pros: I got cards with Billy Preston and the Future Villains (sans Aerosmith)
Cons: I got cards depicting the funeral procession for Strawberry Fields and Sgt. Pepper's heart attack. You know, for kids.

When placed in the correct order, the back of the cards formed some sort of picture, but I've been unable to find a photo or scan of that complete mosaic and I'm not looking to purchase the rest of the set, so I'll leave it alone.

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Movie review the August 24, 1978 edition of Rolling Stone:

click to enlarge

If you'd like to read the RS review of the soundtrack, it is transcribed here.  Robert Christgau gave it a D+, allmusic gave it just ★, but the most thorough panning comes over at The Worst Albums Ever blog.  You can love to hate it all you want, but how can it be all bad when it gave us Earth, Wind, & Fire's version of "Got to Get You Into My Life"" which remains one of the best Beatles covers of all time.

And before you ask, yes, I had the paperback novelization of the movie as well.  Alas, my well-worn copy of that book has gone on to the landfill that great library in the sky.

Yet another insert in the Sgt. Pepper soundtrack album (1978)

If you had this soundtrack on 8-track, you really missed out.  The 2 LP set came with this 22" x 33" poster featuring a drawing of the Lonely Hearts Club Band riding/lounging/posing on an oversized tuba-ish instrument with strawberries in its bell.  LHCB in the sky with berries.
 

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Soundtrack ad from the August 24, 1978 edition of Rolling Stone:

Another ad insert in the Sgt. Pepper soundtrack album (1978)

Ad insert in the Sgt. Pepper soundtrack album (1978)

Mail order form from the 2 LP soundtrack of the 1978 movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band featuring Peter Frampton and The Bee Gees.*

*The author will neither confirm nor deny ownership of this double album set.