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 Available On Gold | S.O.S. ABBA (1975): ABBA was brilliant at constructing catchy singles, and this sad tune is very hard to get out of your head. I've always loved the piano intro. I don't know why, but ABBA was more successful in most of the rest of the world than they were in America. To me, ABBA has a connection with The Carpenters, in that they both often feature beautiful melodies which contrast with sad lyrics. And they both did a LOT of good songs! This is one of ABBA's best. Audio Clip |
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SONG SUNG BLUE, Neil Diamond (1972): I am forever five years old when I hear this song. It was all over the radio when my age became a handful
(I had been a handful long before...), and it carries wonderful associations with it, of a simple time full of smells and crayons and sandboxes. Neil's songs kind of sneak up on me. I don't think this is the best of his tunes -- do you? -- but it's a darn good one, kind of simple yet memorable, and I always stop what I'm doing and tilt my head a funny way when I hear one of the C7 chords chime in. Audio Clip |  Available On Best Of |
 Available On Billboard Top Hits 1975 |
JACKIE BLUE, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils (1975): Hmmm, another blue song--that was unintended...So, what is this song about...I love the tune, but I've never focused enough on the lyrics to really think much about it.
She "lives her life from inside of a room"--right? Is she just a big time loner, or is she up to something in that room? Someone please drop me a line and fill me in. (And tell me: Does this song remind you of being seven years old and lured into a round of "trip-a-tease" in your neighbor's backyard? Jeez, I was really gullible...) Audio Clip |
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IT'S A HEARTACHE, Bonnie Tyler (1978): Does Bonnie Tyler have a very cool, distinctive voice, or what?!? I've only heard a few of her songs (the also-very-cool Total Eclipse of the Heart being another), but I could never forget her voice! She could be singing about light bulbs and it would sound interesting to me, but the fact that this song is laced with sadness makes it all the more memorable to me. For some reason Mom, my brother, and I are driving somewhere down South whenever I hear this one. Audio Clip |  Available On Super Hits Of The '70s |
 Available On Television's Greatest Hits |
WELCOME BACK, John Sebastian (1976): Okay, when you hear this song, which of the Sweathogs do you think of? When you listen to the song, do you ever think that old Kotter has occasional regrets about returning to the "same old place" that he had laughed about? But, then again, the Sweathogs were hardly the absolute dregs of the inner-city; they had a certain charm along with their low level of achievement, and they weren't toting Uzis to school or anything. Kotter was a good guy, wasn't he? He wasn't some greedy, superficial YUPPIE who
followed his nose to the big bucks (although Kaplan's nose was a first-rate nose)...he was a big-hearted fellow who went where he could do some
good. Audio Clip |
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YOU DON'T BRING ME FLOWERS, Barbra Streisand & Neil Diamond (1978): "Star Duets" are usually less than the sum of their parts. The song needs to be just right, and executed just right. This song mostly gets it right. The blending of Neil's low (baritone, is it?) voice and Barbra's smooth, lovely one works really well. It's very sad, a look at things that are not as they once were -- something we can probably all relate to, much as we wish that were not the case. Now that I'm thinking about it, "Don't Fall In Love With a Dreamer" is an even better duet, so I'll have to write about that someday, too... Audio Clip |  Available On 12 Greatest Hits |
 Available On Have A Nice Night |
DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT, King Harvest (1973): A great tune that somehow only made it to #13 (what was up with that?!?). The cool vocal and the instrumentation fit together perfectly in this tune, the only hit (or did I miss something?) for King Harvest. A song of joy, letting loose, being yourself, and letting it all hang out (which is probably the sort of song the 1970's did the best). Cool keyboard on this one. Audio Clip |
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DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY, Van Halen (1979): I've never been a big fan of Van Halen, to say the least, but this tune is pretty cool. And the best part of it is when it breaks down before the (final, I think) chorus. Eddie's guitar
bit is right on (Right On!) and then the bass jumps back in and it's into the
chorus, where Roth's vocal would've been too low to have great effect and a higher line is sung on top of it. Very catchy. Audio Clip |  Available On Greatest Hits |
 Available On The Ultimate Collection |
ABC, The Jackson 5 (1970): Remember back when Michael Jackson had his original nose and the songs were funky and groovin' and?...well, I didn't really relate to the ones from 1970 very well at the time (I was 2 1/2 when this came out), but I've always loved hearing this one. The bass is very cool and there's a kind of fuzz to the bass (or is it a guitar playing low?) that works really well (there's a kind of fuzz all over the bass tonight ... Sorry!). Their string of hits didn't go on very long, but those early singles are about as good as any from the era. Very well put together, those records. Audio Clip |
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SISTER GOLDEN HAIR, America (1975): I saw America (without a few of the original guys) playing after a minor-league baseball game several years ago and I was reminded how many cool songs they did. This is one of the best. I've always loved the guitar intro and the line about getting so damn depressed. Well, how about you? Have you ever felt that you're not ready for the altar, but that a woman can be a friend of yours sometimes? And how many of you who feel that way are already married? And how many of you think Tin Man is a better song than this one? (I see America fans as maybe being in two camps: those who like this song better, and those who prefer "Tin Man.") Audio Clip |  Available On Billboard Top Hits 1975 |
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BILLY DON'T BE A HERO, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods (1974): This
is another tune that takes me right back--this time to the summer of 1974 in McLean, Virginia (and, by extension, to the feel of humidity and the smell of the fresh-cut grass my brother had mowed and paid me $1 to bag). Billy was warned by his girl not to go off to the Civil War, but he felt the call of duty and instead of the husband she hoped for, she got a letter about how he had died. She then made a (SWISH!) perfect shot into the round file with it. She wanted to be married to an actual person--not the memory of a dead hero. Consciously or not, this idea had to tug at those in a similar situation in 1974 -- those who had lost loved ones in the great, idiotic mess in Southeast Asia. Any thoughts? By the way, I saw a picture of the band not long ago, and Boy! There were sure a bunch of Heywoods! It was not a Pips or a Dawn situation at all; there appeared to be almost an entire baseball team if you counted Bo himself. How bout a Bo D. vs. KC/Sunshine baseball game? Audio Clip
|  Available On Super Hits Of The 70s |
 Available On Dream Weaver |
DREAM WEAVER, Gary Wright (1976): This is a very cool song, one that gives you the feeling of laying on the grass and staring up at an incredibly starry sky on a summer night. Does anyone have their own ideas about what the tune means? Is a "Dream Weaver" whatever your drug of choice happens to be? Is it a person whose very presence turns your life into a dreamlike existence? E-mail me if you have your notions about this song. I've always loved it, and I'd like to hear what you have to say on the matter. Wright was also responsible for another cool hit in '76, the similarly dreamy feeling (well, not quite...) Love Is Alive, which also made it to #2. Audio Clip
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HURTING EACH OTHER, The Carpenters (1972): This song is pain-laden and asks the question: If we love each other so darn much, why do we keep on hurting each other? Good question. The contrast in this tune between Karen's beautiful voice and the sense of the brutality between two people always blows me away. And it often makes me think about the pain I know Karen often felt in her own life. Wherever she is, I hope she knows what a wonderful gift of music she left us all. Karen fans, I'd love to hear your thoughts and feelings about her. Audio Clip
|  Available On Love Songs |
 Available On Disco Fever |
DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY, Thelma Houston (1977): This is an awesome dance hit. The chorus is one of the most energetic I can think of, and the bass is funky and right on. Who is Thelma anyway--Whitney's Aunt? I always forget. If you've got your platforms on and you've had your three cups of java, put this one on and dance until you drop! Great tune! Late-1970s dance singles are extremely hit-or-miss; cool tunes like this one really hold up well and about 10,000 other ones are absolute repetitive rubbish. |
O-O-H CHILD, The Five Stairsteps (1970): This tune, which hit it big in the summer of '70, is full of reassurance and
hope, with a soulful vocal performance and a structure that alternates nicely between mellow and energetic. I always lump it in my head with King Harvest's Dancing in the Moonlight -- another great, soulful song by another one-hit wonder I feel like it would've been great to hear more from.
|  Available On Soul Train |
 Available On Saturday Night Fever |
STAYIN' ALIVE, The Bee Gees (1978): An amazing thing about The Bee Gees is that they were as great at constructing mellow ballads in their early years as they were at turning out the best music of the disco era. Whenever this huge hit from those disco days comes on, I have to at least wiggle. The guitar riff is perfect, the breakdown portions are right-on, and the vocal performances are just right. The Bee Gees knew what they were doing during the mid-to-late-70's. By the way, did you have your own idea of the best-looking Bee Gee? I've nearly always gotten the answer that there was no contest, but perhaps you felt differently on the matter. Probably not, though.
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BROTHER LOUIE, Stories (1973): This tune, as I've heard it said, was about an interracial couple. (By this point in the page, you may be thinking: Dave! Didn't you ever listen to the words? Well, sometimes I did, but oftentimes the case was that during the era in which I heard all these songs played over and over, I was more tuned in to my erector set and watching Ivan Putski on TV Wrestling. I'm often surprised, on actually focusing on the words these days, to find that a particular song was about something quite different than I had always imagined. When we get to Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves, I'll give you a little insight into some of my notions of what the words were.) Anyway, I've always thought this was a pretty cool song--even removed from any considerations of what the lyrics were saying. And in any case, when you're 6 years old, and it's 1973,
aren't "Wacky Packs" far more interesting and worthy of notice than the fact that Leo and Mary happen to be different colors?
|  Available On Super Hits Of the 70s |
 Available On Best Of |
GET DOWN TONIGHT, KC and the Sunshine Band (1975): These guys didn't do a million great songs or anything, but they did a handful that you have to get up and dance to. Funky, cool, irresistible tunes that make you forget what you were just doing and begin to move and feel alive. Listen to the bass line during the chorus: COOL! And is my mind going or were there dozens of guys in the Sunshine Band? I can never quite focus on it when I watch an old video of them: polyester is flying all around, bell-bottoms are flapping with energy, and I lose count.
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I'LL TAKE YOU THERE, The Staple Singers (1972): Catchy, sexy, soulful, this is a great tune that made it all the way to number 1. Infectious groove throughout, seductive vocal ... wow! I don't know any other songs done by The Staple Singers, but there's definitely something going on in this tune that makes me wonder what undiscovered treasures there are in their other recordings. Pops Staples passed away in 2000 at age 85. God bless ya, Pops! You and your family made some wonderful music! Any Staple Singers fans out there?
|  Available On Best Of |
 Available On Best Of |
A LITTLE MORE LOVE, Olivia Newton-John (1979): I've always loved Olivia's voice, and the quality of it has made some songs that might've been forgettable in the hands of another into a collection of cool concoctions. I've always wondered, though, how it was that 1981's Physical became her biggest hit (and one of the biggest hits of all time!). It isn't even close to being her best single. This tune is much closer to laying claim to that title. It alternates in a really cool way between a dark, brooding section and an upbeat one, and it really shows off her voice. If you're a big fan of Physical - (and obviously lots of people were!) - write me and tell me what it is about it you like and if you think it's her best work.
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JOY TO THE WORLD, Three Dog Night (1971): The biggest song of 1971 is one of the most joyous (well, what else?) tunes ever. And I don't know, but if they had said "fish" instead of "fishes," I think we'd be looking at maybe a #6 or #7 song, tops! I think of this song as an ongoing thing--do you know what I mean? I think of it as forever playing, a never-ending party that exists somewhere just down the road. You can hear the commotion, and you think for a moment about telling them to shut up, but then you get caught up in it all and grab your honey and dance wildly around the living room. Question: If you were "King of the World," what would you do? Audio Clip {RealAudio or Windows Media} Here
|  Available On Billboard Top Hits |
 Available On Didn't It Blow Your Mind |
NOTHING FROM NOTHING, Billy Preston (1974): I caught an old "Saturday Night Live" recently, and there was Billy Preston, with his cool big hair, pounding out this song. And, to me, that was the seventies right there: The soulful, joyful man with the poofy 'fro and the bell - bottoms, belting out a catchy tune for a late - night audience, deep in the heart of the decade. Audio Clip {RealAudio or Windows Media} Here
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RICH GIRL, Daryl Hall and John Oates (1977): I've always loved this tune, but it never spoke to me more clearly than when I lived in LA in my late teens and early twenties. I knew more than a few girls who had gone too far and been bailed out by their old man's dough. Very catchy song. Daryl Hall has a great voice, and the best of the stuff the duo did (songs prior to the Out of Touch era, that is) is a terrific combination of that fine voice and genuine melody. What's your favorite Hall and Oates tune? Audio Clip {RealAudio or Windows Media} Here
|  Available On Billboard Top Hits |
 Available On Music Box Dancer |
MUSIC BOX DANCER, Frank Mills (1979): 1979 is not the best year of the decade for pop music. In fact, I think it would come in, oh...10th place. But there are a few gems, and one of them is this rather simple instrumental, which is likeable on its own terms, but even more so for appearing in an era when a lot of the tunes sounded too alike. To me, that's one of the nicest things that happens in pop music: something comes along and shakes things up by being a little different.
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MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO GEORGIA, Gladys Knight and the Pips (1973): Hey! Where were you in 1973? I turned six that year, and moved from McLean, Virginia to Los Angeles, California. This awesome song, with its "whoo-whoo" and the stellar vocal performance by a lady who specialized in such things, is one of my favorites from the decade. And I love the line about the woman deciding that living "in his world" would be preferable to "living without him" in hers. A song of real love, and not caring where it takes one to, but knowing one has to follow it.
|  Available On The Essential Collection |
 Available On Billboard Top Hits |
GYPSIES, TRAMPS AND THIEVES, Cher (1971): This thought occurred to me: Cher had three number-one records in the 1970's, and all three involve people off the beaten path. This record speaks of being born in the wagon of a traveling show. Pretty un-mainstream, huh? In Dark Lady, we hear of a fortune-teller who, as it turns out, was so intimately acquainted with details of a customer's husband because she had been, well, intimately acquainted with the customer's husband. And then there's Half Breed, which, well...the title kind of spells it all out for you. I was all of four when this tune was big, and all of twenty-eight before I actually paid attention to the words. Back then the chorus, in the mind of a little boy, went "bee - bee - BAM - BAM - bee."
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DON'T PULL YOUR LOVE, Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds (1971): My first thought of this song isn't that it's a great tune, which it certainly is, but that for eons I always thought four guys were mentioned in the group's name and not three. You too? Anyway, this is great all the way through, from the bold intro to the very end. And isn't that just the way when someone you adore seems they're about to leave you? You don't think in terms of being upset for a day or two; you just want to lay down and cry for a hundred years (maybe more). These guys also did 1975's Fallin' In Love, which made it all the way to number 1, and is at the other end of the relationship life - span spectrum.
|  Available On Rockin' 70's |
 Available On Greatest Hits |
YOU'RE IN MY HEART, Rod Stewart (1978): You gotta hand it to this guy: He's still cranking 'em out, and making far less of a fool of himself than others of his generation who have pushed on into the 90's. His singles of the past several years, in fact, have a lot of charm to them. This song, from early '78, is one of his finest records. His voice has a lot of character, and could probably turn a lot of songs into something more than would otherwise be the case (and perhaps it has), but this happens to be a great love song as well, made unforgettable by the gravel-voiced Scot. Oh, anyone else ever wonder if Rod and Kim Carnes were the same person? Audio Clip {RealAudio or Windows Media} Here
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EVERYTHING I OWN, Bread (1972): This band did a number of terrific songs in the 70's. They somehow managed to put out songs that might've been syrupy in the hands of another band and give to them a feeling of just normal guys singing about love. I lump this one in with their It Don't Matter To Me, because they both are in the "What - I'd - Be - Willing - To - Give - Up - For - You" category (see Midnight Train To Georgia). Another favorite of mine is Goodbye Girl, a solo hit for Bread's David Gates in 1978.
If you've seen that fabulous comedy with Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason, you'll no doubt be thinking of that guitar rusting in the rain. Hey...anyone here know how to play pills? By the way, this one isn't a love song about a girl; it's a song written by Gates for his late father.
|  Available On Anthology |
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David R. Lee |
