This Week's Review -- July 26, 1975

There were eleven new singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week. Only three of those would reach the Top 40, and one made the Top 10. While that might seem like there's not a lot to pay attention to, this week's list holds some surprises. In fact, one of the song this week that peaked in the 90s was (in my opinion) robbed of its chance to become a much bigger hit because of circumstances outside of its control. Another group in the list was forced to change its name because of an established American artist. One brother act appears with its biggest hit, and another shows up in the Top 40 for the last time. While there are artists here who put out better material, some of the songs here are worth a listen. 

This week's Billboard edition is missing from the archive over at Google Books, so I'll take a minute to once again point out the tabs that appear above (under the 8-track image). Each one links to a particular year, which is where I'm keeping track of the songs that get reviewed here. If you have a favorite year, check it out and see what else has been featured here.

Paul Anka with Odia Coates - "(I Believe) There's Nothing Stronger Than Our Love"

(Debuted #68, Peaked #15, 13 Weeks on chart)



"(I Believe) There's Nothing Stronger Than Our Love" was the fourth of the run of duets between Paul Anka and Odia Coates -- though the first, "(You're) Having My Baby," didn't credit her -- and was also the last to reach the Hot 100. It was also the final appearance for Coates on the pop chart. Though she would continue to record with Anka and solo in the future, her further singles went nowhere. Sadly, breast cancer claimed her in 1991.

Anka wrote "(I Believe) There's Nothing Stronger Than Our Love" with his wife Anne in mind. She was also the inspiration of the polarizing "(You're Having My Baby)," which was both lauded and vilified for its embrace of the role of a mother. Unfortunately, the outpouring of love failed to keep the couple from eventually divorcing; the end of the line came in 2000, after 37 years and five daughters.

Linda Ronstadt - "It Doesn't Matter Anymore"

(Debuted #73, Peaked #47, 4 Weeks on chart)



Here's the second song written by Paul Anka in this week's slate of new songs. Though it's remembered as a Buddy Holly recording that was released shortly after his death, Anka has a much different perspective than the one he used on the song above. The lyrics here express the desire for two people to walk their own separate ways after reaching the end of their personal road together.

With Linda Ronstadt's remake, it was reworked from Holly's pop-flavored treatment for a country-rock feel. Originally the B-side of "When Will I Be Loved," the record was flipped over when that song fell out of the Hot 100 and reached #47 on its own strength.It also charted on the country and adult contemporary surveys.

The Osmonds - "The Proud One"

(Debuted #75, Peaked #22, 11 Weeks on chart)



The performance in the video above is short (at one minute and 28 seconds), but the single version of "The Proud One" was three minutes long. However, the length of the clip was a metaphor because the song was the final appearance in the pop Top 40 for the brother act.

Despite some rather edgy songs recorded by The Osmonds in the past, "The Proud One" is a ballad where Merrill Osmond sings that -- despite the title -- he's not too proud to get on his knees and plead with his woman not to leave. A symphony provides the accompaniment while his brothers back him on vocals. For what turned out to be a curtain call, it's a safe single, considering what the brothers were capable of (and by that I'm thinking of "Crazy Horses" and "Yo-Yo").

Tavares - "It Only Takes A Minute"

(Debuted #82, Peaked #10, 18 Weeks on chart)



Following up one brother act with another, "It Only Takes a Minute" would be the biggest chart hit by the five Tavares brothers of New Bedford, Massachusetts. It would be their only Top 10 pop single and one of the three #1 R&B singles they would notch. Written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter (who also produced it), the song led off the group's In the City LP and was the first single from it. While Saturday Night Fever has held out "More Than a Woman" in the public's memory of the group, that single wasn't as big a hit for them.

From the memorable opening instrumental to the funky beat, "It Only Takes a Minute" is a song that is meant to get people moving. Ironically, while the lyrics state that "it only takes a minute to fall in love," it still takes four of them to listen to the song all the way through.

Carly Simon - "Waterfall"

(Debuted #84, Peaked #78, 3 Weeks on chart)



Carly Simon's career was still going strong in 1975, and her LP that year, Playing Possum, continued her string of Top 10 albums. As usual, Richard Perry took the helm as producer and gave it his signature pop sheen, and the cream of the Los Angeles-based studio musicians were on hand to help perfect the music behind the words (largely written by Simon herself). However, the singles from that album told a different story. Out of three singles taken from the LP, only one ("Attitude Dancing") made the Top 40, and the album is better remembered today for its cover shot than for anything that is inside.

"Waterfall" was Simon's first song to miss the Top 40 since 1972, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. Co-written with Jeff Lynne, the song even brought out James Taylor, who is clearly heard in the background vocals. However, the tune was largely a repetitive chant and had less substance lyrically that what many would expect from a Simon composition.  

The O'Jays - "Let Me Make Love To You"

(Debuted #87, Peaked #75, 3 Weeks on chart)



When it comes to their hits, pop fans seemed to prefer when The O'Jays turned up the tempo. Since "Let Me Make Love to You" is a slower tune, it only reached #75. On the R&B chart, it gained more appreciation, reaching the Top 10 their eighth in that format.

As a slow burner (appropriately, given the song's title), it was performed as a seduction, with Eddie Levert showing off his vocal abilities by begging and pleading to satisfy his need. It just proves the point that people sometimes get into singing in order to get the girls.

Ace - "Rock And Roll Runaway"

(Debuted #88, Peaked #71, 4 Weeks on chart)



Ace is best remembered for its tune "How Long," as well as being one of several groups to feature Paul Carrack as a member. Carrack is here for "Rock and Roll Runaway" (he co-wrote the song), but isn't the singer. In fact, the followup to that classic single and the group's only other charting song song has a different vibe. Instead of the smooth bassline and jealous vibe of the earlier hit, this has a rhythm that is more of a country and western pace at first but leads to a more pop-inspired bridge.

The sound might come as a surprise to those who judge a record by the name on its label.    

Reparata - "Shoes" (Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted #94, Peaked #92, 2 Weeks on chart )



"Shoes" is an odd song, and has an even odder story behind it. A song about a wedding, it features some rather weird instrumentation that isn't usually found in 1970s music: a bazouki (which is named in the lyrics), a harpsichord, a Jew's harp. Add a guitar solo into the mix and a children's chorus, and you get a mixture that should be terrible but somehow comes out a lot better than it reads on paper. The lyrics are delivered in an emotionless method, with the lead singer often being drowned out by the backing vocals, as if the wedding guests have joined in by singing with the band at the reception. However, the listener is left wondering if the couple who just got married aren't trying to figure out whether the day wasn't going to turn out to be a waste.

This should have been a much bigger hit (and deservedly so), but the legal process reared its ugly head and forced the withdrawal of the single. During the 1960s, there had been a "girl group" called Reparata and the Delrons. By 1973, the members had gone their own way; however, one former lead singer (Lorraine Mazzola) was working as part of Barry Manilow's backing group Lady Flash, while another (Mary O'Leary, who actually founded the band) was singing the vocal on "Shoes." To complicate matters, each was calling herself Reparata.

As you might expect, the lawyers got involved and the record was recalled. Not only was there a question about who was supposed to be Reparata, O'Leary's old record company was claiming that she recorded the song while still under contract with them and wanted a cut of the profits. When the dust cleared, "Shoes" was re-released on two different labels. As a result, the song only reached #92. It's a shame, though, because its quirky, unusual sound could have helped it stand out among competing music. It was robbed of being a classic; instead, it had to settle for being a cult favorite.

The Fantastic Four - "Alvin Stone (The Birth and Death of a Gangster)"

(Debuted #95, Peaked #74, 8 Weeks on chart)



The final hit for the Detroit-based 1960s/70s R&B group The Fantastic Four was a fictionalized account about a gangster named Alvin Stone, complete with a dialogue and sound effects of a police shootout. The song marked a change in the group's sound to a more dance-oriented beat. It was a groove they would explore for several years, but success didn't follow them as the Disco sound rose later in the decade.

The group was formed in 1965 and were also known as Sweet James and the Fantastic Four, after lead singer "Sweet James" Epps. Even after the hit singles stopped, they continued to perform until Epps suffered a fatal heart attack in 2000.

Merry Clayton - "Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow"

(Debuted #97, Peaked #45, 9 Weeks on chart)



"Don't do the crime if you can't do the time." Quite a memorable line.

"Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow" was the theme song to the TV show Baretta, which starred Blake as an unorthodox New York City cop. The show was a retooled version of Toma (named after the real-life officer David Toma), after that show was ridiculed for its gritty violence -- tough even by the standards of 1970s TV police dramas -- that added a pet cockatoo as a way of toning it down. The show's theme was originally an instrumental, with lyrics by Sammy Davis, Jr. added in during later episodes.

Merry Clayton's version of the song was never used on the show. Instead, it was released as a single in the U.S. after Davis' wasn't. It became her highest-charting solo effort to date, hitting #45 on the pop chart, but not her most famous performance. That honor would go to her background vocal on The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," a song she would also release as a single under her own name.

Smokie - "If You Think You Know How To Love Me"

(Debuted #98, Peaked #96, 2 Weeks on chart )



In July '75, "If You Think You Know How to Love Me" managed to make the Hot 100 but peaked at #96 in its short two-week stay. Two months later, it reappeared for a second shot but still couldn't make a better showing than it did the first time. In the band's native England, however, the song was a #3 single for them.

Despite having roots in psychedelic pop from their 1960s genesis and glitter rock due to writer/producer team Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, "If You Think You Know How to Love Me" would be a slowed-down ballad. Featuring electric piano and light strings accompanying singer Chris Norman's tender vocals, it was something different from what the band had offered before. When first released in Europe, the single was credited to the band as "Smokey" but there was some trouble when plans were made for U.S. release due to the presence of Smokey Robinson. Opting to alter the band name to Smokie for all further recordings both at home and in the U.S., they began a very successful phase of their career.

This Week's Review -- March 22, 1975

There were eight new singles debuting in the Billboard Hot 100 this week, with three reaching into the Top 40 and one going all the way to #1. Some of the hits were also popular on other formats, hitting #1 on the R&B, country and disco charts.

The March 22, 1975 issue of Billboard is missing from the archive over at Google Books, so I'll mention again that I write another blog that looks at 1980s music as well. 80s Music Mayhem just finished looking at 1985 this week, including the song that set Casey Kasem off on his now-famous tirade while recording American Top 40.

The Temptations - "Shakey Ground"

(Debuted #81, Peaked #26, 14 Weeks on chart)



Just last month, Phoebe Snow was featured on this blog with a cover version of "Shakey Ground" (reviewed here), but there wasn't an available video for anybody who wanted to listen to it. With the original Temptatios version, that's not a problem, even though it's lip-synched "live" performance.

The studio recording of "Shakey Ground" was a funk-fueled number that was written by Funkadelic member Eddie Hazel, who also played lead guitar on the song. Dennis Edwards handled the lead vocal. It was the group's best showing on the pop chart since 1973's "Masterpiece" and was their final #1 R&B single.

John Denver - "Thank God I'm A Country Boy"

(Debuted #82, Peaked #1, 19 Weeks on chart)



For all the talk about how there was a country "revival" that resulted from the success of the film Urban Cowboy in 1980, those critics obviously weren't paying attention. Just five years earlier, there was a big country/pop crossover movement, with six songs that topped both charts. "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" was one of those six singles and John Denver notched two of them ("I'm Sorry"/"Calypso" was the other).

While identified solidly with John Denver, "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" was actually written by his fiddle player and guitarist John Sommers. Fittingly (since it was penned by a fiddler and mentioned the instrument in its lyrics), it featured a very noticeable fiddle solo in its instrumental bridge. Originally, the song was an album cut on Denvers' 1974 Back Home Again LP, but wasn't issued as a single until it appeared in his live album An Evening With John Denver a year later. Placed in a live setting, the performance was one of the most memorable of Denver's career.

Ramsey Lewis and Earth, Wind and Fire - "Sun Goddess"

(Debuted #84, Peaked #44, 7 Weeks on chart)



During the late 1960s, Maurice White was the drummer in the Ramsey Lewis Trio and performed on nine of that band's albums. So when Lewis looked to branch out in a different direction during the 1970s, he called on his old friend, who was then leading a new group called Earth, Wind & Fire. Together, they recorded an LP called Sun Goddess that was Lewis's biggest-selling album in a decade.

The album's title track was essentially an instrumental that featured Lewis on the electric piano and the members of Earth, Wind & Fire performing their own instruments. Don Myrick gets in a nice saxophone solo, stretching out a little more in the jazz genre than EW&F's records usually allowed him to. There are also vocals heard throughout the song, but they're scat-like words, rather than the lines of a standard lyric.

If you're a fan of Earth, Wind & Fire but not acquinted with this song, check it out. Their accompaniment on a jazz tune is really in keeping with their later funk-based material.

Gloria Gaynor - "Reach Out, I'll Be There"

(Debuted #86, Peaked #60, 5 Weeks on chart)



"Reach Out, I'll Be There" was best known for being a classic Motown tune written by the label's team of Holland/Dozier/Holland, which hit #1 for the Four Tops in 1966. Merilee Rush and Diana Ross also charted with different-styled versions in the meantime, but Gloria Gaynor gave the song a disco treatment that seemed to be inevitable in 1975.

This version was part of what is called the first "Megamix," a common concept over the years but first introduced along with "Honey Bee" and "Never Can Say Goodbye" on the first side of Gaynor's debut LP Never Can Say Goodbye. Presented together in a 19-minute suite, the three songs were mixed by Tom Moulton as an extended dance track with no interruptions. The idea of an album-length "song" really wasn't new (Jethro Tull had taken two album-length compositions to #1 on the LP charts and they weren't even pioneers), but it was significant as the first to appear in a dance genre.

Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes - "Bad Luck (Part 1)"

(Debuted #88, Peaked #15, 17 Weeks on chart)



Here's a song that proves the point that presentation is everything in a song. Take the lyrics of "Bad Luck," for instance. The singer is explaining about having a bad time (using the second person, so it's not coming off as a personal account), where the house is being foreclosed, the woman is gone, playing the "lucky" number turned out to be lucky for the bookie. By the end, Teddy Pendergrass is even rapping -- in the old sense of that word -- about Nixon quitting, but asserting his ambivalence about whether it will bring about any real change for those who are down and out.

With all the negative vibes of the lyrics, you might never even realize the guy's feeling any pain. Not with MFSB's expert musical accompaniment behind him. They cut a fairly deep groove, and when Pendergrass takes the podium to testify, you're ready to give him an "Amen!" It helps explain the allure of church to many people, and he's not even doing this as a gospel song.

In addition to its Top 20 pop showing, "Bad Luck" was a Top 10 R&B hit and spent a record 11 weeks at #1 on the Disco chart. The writer/production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff was able to take a song about one man's troubles and set it to a beat that got people to want to dance. If that doesn't make "Bad Luck" a quintessential 1970s song, you'd be hard pressed to explain why.

Donna Fargo - "It Do Feel Good" (Original Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted #98, Peaked #98, 2 Weeks on chart)



"It Do Feel Good" was the final song that Donna Fargo took onto the Hot 100, and wasn't able to last very long on the chart. However, it went into the Top 10 on the country chart, where Fargo was able to continue charting into the early 1990s.   

An uptempo song about the euphoria that accompanies love, "It Do Feel Good" may be grammatically correct, but it certainly showcases Fargo's North Carolina accent. It was one of several songs that Fargo sang that was devotional and was likely a reflection of her marriage to Stan Silver...who was also her producer and manager.

Solomon Burke - "You And Your Baby Blues" (Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted #99, Peaked #96, 2 Weeks on chart)



When Solomon Burke signed with Chess Records in 1975, his first LP for the new label was called Music to Make Love By. He was clearly treading the same territory owned by Barry White, even starting off "You and Your Baby Blues" with a half-whispered spoken vocal, just as White had been doing to to make a name for himself over the previous two years. However, while Burke was able to hold his own on a soul record, he wasn't going to outdo Barry White.

"You and Your Baby Blues" was Burke's final appearance on the Hot 100, ending a run that began in 1961. He continued to record music afterwards, switching labels at will and releasing new material right up until his death in 2010.  

Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners - "Where Have They Gone" (Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted #100, Peaked #100, 1 Week on chart)



"Where Have They Gone" was The Skyliners' first single since 1965. They had previously charted a handful of times from 1959 through '64, including three Top 40 hits. A nostalgia craze that renewed many 1950s acts had brought many groups back into the spotlight, and four of the original Skyliners agreed to reunite in 1974. However, they didn't want to be relegated to the "oldies" circuit and agreed to do new material based on their familiar style. And with "Where Have They Gone," they went with a song that was written by a songwriter from the same era as their glory days, Doc Pomus.

A mournful ballad that asks where the past has gone, and not necessarily about a departed friend (though that might be a metaphorical understanding anyway, as the mention of seasons can be interpreted as a type of physical passing), it is punctuated by the a piano, the swelling string arrangement, a trumpet call and the sound of a beach at the end. In a way, it is also an epitaph for group member Janet Vogel, who committed suicide in 1980. This would be her final appearance on the Hot 100.  

When "Where Have They Gone" debuted an peaked at #100, it established an unusual chart "first;" Jimmy Beaumont had peaked at #100 with his solo single "Ev'rybody's Cryin" in 1961, and now had accomplished the feat as part of a group.

This Week's Review -- February 8, 1975

There were fourteen new singles debuting in this week's Billboard Hot 100, including one that was a two-sided listing. Nine of those eventually made their way into the Top 40 and five reached into the Top 10, which makes this a pretty potent debut week. While 1975 often gets little respect as far as its musical prowess, this is once again a fairly good representation of the different musical styles of the day.

At Google Books, there is a large archive of Billboard magazines that goes back to 1944 that can be accessed for free. The February 8, 1975 issue is among the offerings there.  The full Hot 100 list can be found on page 68. An article on page 3 explains that DJ Bob Grant has released a patriotic single with him giving commentary over a music bed (like "The Americans" was). Page 24 features part of an interview with former Seattle-area program director Pat O'Day, who explains that it was always hard to let DJs go.

Helen Reddy - "Emotion"

(Debuted #72, Peaked #22, 9 Weeks on chart)



I've mentioned in this blog before that I wasn't born until the 1970s were already underway. Though I have memories of the music around me by 1978, there are some artists whose reputations were entirely handed down to me. Some of them (notably The Carpenters and Barry Manilow) were known to me because my parents had their records, but in the case of Helen Reddy I really didn't pay a lot of attention to her work until I began doing these reviews. Although she still isn't among my favorite artists, I've been surprised enough to say that it may be time for a re-evaluation of much of Reddy's work.

Let's look at the song "Emotion," for instance. It was the follow-up to her #1 single "Angie Baby" and features a piano introduction for Reddy before the over-the-top instrumentation of the era builds up and allows her to show that she intends to be true to the title of the song. It doesn't have the "message" of "I Am Woman," or the mystery of songs like "Angie Baby;" instead, it's a pleasant tune that was perfectly suited to become her sixth straight #1 adult contemporary single.

"Emotion" originally appeared in 1972 as a song called "Amoreuse" by the French singer Veronique Sanson. While that song eventually had its lyrics translated to English (and recorded by Kiki Dee, among others), this was a separate translation into English that merely used the same melody.

Ringo Starr - "No No Song" b/w "Snookeroo"

(Debuted #78, Peaked #3, 14 Weeks on chart)



Since this is a two-sided hit, here's a YouTube video of the B-side:



I'm going to guess this was a two-sided hit for the benefit of those radio programmers who were a little reluctant to embrace the mention of drugs and alcohol, even while the song on the A-side was explicitly saying that he didn't do those things anymore. In reruns I've heard, it appears that Casey Kasem usually opted for the B-side during the song's run on the American Top 40 radio show, but I can't seem to find anything on the Web that breaks down which version was played each week.

Hoyt Axton wrote the words to "No No Song," where the narrator refuses the opportunity to try Columbian marijuana, Spanish cocaine and Tennessee moonshine. He wasn't trying to be a "square," though; he had simply been there and done that. That said, the accompanying background (provided by Harry Nilsson) and the festive mood of the song seemed to suggest that Ringo might have been just kidding, and probably contributed to the fact that the song wasn't always considered fit for a wider audience. It's still a great song.

"Snookeroo" seemed like an autobiographical account. In fact, it was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin specifically for Ringo to sing. "Snookeroo" is a term for an aficionado of snooker, and the song concerns a happy-go-lucky guy from the North of England. When one of the biggest songwriting teams of the era offer to toss something your way (even one that was destined to be a B-side to a single), it's a sign that Ringo was well-liked.

Ben E. King - "Supernatural Thing (Part 1)"

(Debuted #85, Peaked #5, 14 Weeks on chart)



(With the recent news of Don Cornelius's passing, here's a video from Soul Train, with a quick cut away from the impresario right at the beginning.)

"Supernatural Thing" was a comeback of sorts for Ben E. King. Though he never really went away, it was his first pop Top 40 hit in twelve years and his first R&B #1 in fourteen. Even during that dry spell on the charts, his material was brought back in remakes, as songs like "Spanish Harlem," "Stand By Me," "I (Who Have Nothing)" and "Don't Play That Song" were hits for other artists.

Driven by a steady rhythm and a slow but danceable groove, "Supernatural Thing" was different from his 1960s hits. Rather than being a song about aliens as the title suggests, it's another song about love and its power over mortal humans. It was co-written by Patrick Grant along with Gwen Guthrie, whose voice can be heard among the backup singers on the single. While the burgeoning disco sound helped bring King back to the charts, it wasn't going to last. He had one additional hit in the 1970s and another decade-long wait before nostalgia brought him back once again.

The Charlie Daniels Band - "The South's Gonna Do it"

(Debuted #86, Peaked #29, 10 Weeks on chart)



Today, Charlie Daniels is seen primarily as a country artist, but he has also been a major player in the Southern Rock genre, which is evident in "The South's Gonna Do it." It's a tip of the cowboy hat to many of the other acts that were then spreading their own unique sound across the region and through the country, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, The Marshall Tucker Band, Elvin Bishop, Wet Willie and Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers Band.

There's one thing you'll expect in a Charlie Daniels song, no matter what the tempo, and that's him pulling out his fiddle and putting on a show. He does that right in the opening, but his bandmates get to show their stuff as well. A guitar and then a piano get their turns before the second verse, and Daniels himself gives his strings a workout before the full band kicks it up into a full-tilt Western Swing-influenced boogie. 

Loggins and Messina - "Changes"

(Debuted #87, Peaked #84, 2 Weeks on chart)



"Changes" was the first of two chart singles off of Loggins and Messina's LP Mother Lode. The record reached Top 10 on the album charts but neither of the singles taken from it would make the Top 40, continuing a trend that had begun in 1973. After that record, there was a collection of 1950s remakes, one studio LP, a live recording and a greatest hits compilation. And that was it for the duo. Their long slide arguably began with Mother Lode, which in retrospect was an uneven group of songs.

"Changes" was written by Jim Messina and sounds like it could have fit well on a Poco album. That's understandable, considering he was a member of that group before teaming up with Loggins. The instruments used included fiddles and the sound was a lot more country-and-Western influenced than the duo's material generally was.

The Blackbyrds - "Walking In Rhythm"

(Debuted #88, Peaked #6, 17 Weeks on chart)



The Blackbyrds were originally a group of students at Howard University's music department and were assembled by jazz musician Donald Byrd, who was a professor there. Rather than being an ensemble group supporting Byrd, the group was its own entity and Byrd took the reigns as their producer.

"Walking in Rhythm" would be their biggest hit single, with an easy feel and a memorable melody. A song about a man getting back to the arms of the woman who loves him, it contains a flute solo in the instrumental bridge. It was also a crossover hit, reaching the Top 10 on the pop, R&B and adult contemporary surveys.

Hot Chocolate - "Emma"

(Debuted #89, Peaked #8, 13 Weeks on chart)



Hot Chocolate was British band from the London suburb of Brixton and made up of a more ethnically diverse lineup than many of us outside the U.K. would consider. Many of the members were originally from Jamaica, The Bahamas and Trinidad. Though they enjoyed a handful of hit singles in the U.S., the group was very popular in their home country, scoring at least one hit every year from 1970 through 1984.

"Emma" was their first hit single in the U.S. and is a mournful tune that followed a woman from childhood through her marriage at an early age and then a suicide. The story -- told from the point of view of her husband -- says that she had aspired to be an actress and grew tired of living on dreams. Written and sung by group leader Errol Brown, the song was inspired by his own mother's death at 38 but was almost dropped from the recording session because producer Mickie Most found it too depressing. His mind was eventually changed, at it became one of the group's best-known hits.

The Love Unlimited Orchestra - "Satin Soul"

(Debuted #90, Peaked #22, 12 Weeks on chart)



The Love Unlimited Orchestra was part of the stable of artists under the tutelage of Barry White. It was formed by the singer, producer and impresario as a backing ensemble for the vocal group Love Unlimited, which included White's future wife Glodean James. After the success of their single "Love's Theme," they were featured on their own for several albums that suited White's style well.

Along the way, the group's ranks boasted several high-profile members, including Ray Parker Jr. (who may be the featured guitar player on "Satin Soul," because it sounds a lot like him), Lee Ritenour and a saxophonist named Kenny Gorelick, who later became a star under the name Kenny G. He wasn't a member of the group until after "Satin Soul," so he isn't heard here.

"Satin Soul" gave exactly what you might expect from a mid-1970s Barry White production: the background music to romance. The instrumental was the group's only other Top 40 hit aside from "Love's Theme."

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils - "Jackie Blue"

(Debuted #94, Peaked #3, 21 Weeks on chart)



I can't hear this song without thinking of my sister. Yes, her name is Jackie and she happened to be born in 1975, the same year that "Jackie Blue" was a hit single. No...my mother has assured me her name had nothing to do with the song.

It was the biggest hit The Ozark Mountain Daredevils had, reaching #3 on the pop charts. It was co-written by drummer Larry Lee, who also handled the vocals on the song. On the LP It'll Shine When it Shines, the song ran more than four minutes. For the single release, the final verse (the one that begins "everyday day in your indigo eyes") was dropped to make it a more radio-friendly three minutes and 16 seconds, even though the label showed a running time of 3:38. The lyrics tell about a girl who's too easily bored to take the time to stop and smell the roses. Ironically, the excised verse summed it up pretty nicely.

Tim Moore - "Charmer"

(Debuted #96, Peaked #91, 3 Weeks on chart)



Tim Moore was a New York-born, Philadelphia-raised singer/songwriter who wrote hits for Art Garfunkel and The Bay City Rollers, but was unable to reach the Top 40 with any of the songs he recorded on his own. He ended up placing four songs on the Hot 100 during the 1970s, and "Charmer" was the third.

It's a more upbeat tune that fans who only know his from "Second Avenue" might expect. If anything, it shows that Moore was definitely attuned to a good pop song and could use hooks at will. That might not be such a surprise to those fans who know that Moore was in an early band with Todd Rundgren (who was pretty good at crafting pop songs himself) and whose early self-taught work caught the ear of Frank Zappa.

The recently passed legend Etta James also did a version of "Charmer" but never released it as a single.

The Philly Devotions - "I Just Can't Say Goodbye"

(Debuted #97, Peaked #95, 2 Weeks on chart)



As you might have guessed from their name, this group hails from the City of Brotherly Love. The Philly Devotions were a five-man group from Philadelphia and "I Just Can't Say Goodbye" was their only pop hit of any type. It was, however, the first of three minor R&B hits they would get over on the R&B chart.

Listening to the song, "I Just Can't Say Goodbye" is a nice Philly soul/early disco tune. It has all the hallmarks of the classic Gamble & Huff production, although those legendary songsmiths had nothing to do with the record (but some of the same players may have been sitting in the orchestra you hear behind the group). It really should have been given a better chance, but it is a testament to how good the material was coming out of the city to have a song this solid peak at #95.

Queen - "Killer Queen"

(Debuted #98, Peaked #12, 19 Weeks on chart)



The first single from Queen to reach the American pop charts, "Killer Queen" was quite an introduction. Not only does the song introduce Brian May's nimble guitar fretwork, but also showcases the group's vocal harmonies and playful melody.

What might not be so evident is that the song's lyrics refer to a very upscale callgirl. The words are skewed enough to allow them to be interpreted differently (some say assassin, or spy, or perhaps a reference to drugs), but that's the main gist of who this lady is. But in the big picture, it's easy to see where a line like "Guaranteed to blow your mind" or "to absolutely drive you wild" would point to any one of those options.

In any case, it's a really fun song to listen to, and that's something that goes beyond the meaning of the words.

Herbie Mann - "Hijack"

(Debuted #99, Peaked #93, 4 Weeks on chart)



Brooklyn-born flautist Herbie Mann was well-known in the jazz world but began expanding his horizons during the 1970s. Among the new directions in his work was exploration of pop, soul, reggae and disco. His 1975 LP was titled Discotheque, a nod to the dance music that was beginning to percolate at the time. However, as his wider variety brought him new fans, some jazz purists were turned off by his newfound commercial appeal.

"Hijack" spent four weeks on the chart and peaked at #93. He was given a second try in late March that saw the song propelled into the Top 20. The song was mainly an instrumental, with sporadic lyrics of "Hijack...your love" sung throughout and other vocal embellishments added. Latin percussion and a bass groove provide the rhythm, a keyboard and Mann's flute add to the mix along with a scratch guitar and an upbeat tempo. While buoyed by airplay on R&B radio, the song was a lesser hit on that chart (#24), but it would be #1 for three weeks on Billboard's disco survey.

Leon Haywood - "Believe Half Of What You See (And None Of What You Hear)"

(Debuted #100, Peaked #94, 2 Weeks on chart)



Probably best known for the song "I Wanta Do Something Freaky to You," Leon Haywood was more than just a guy who found a sensual groove and rode it to the biggest hit of his career. He was raised on the blues, gospel and soul. He was also a member of Sam Cooke's band in the early 1960s. Those early influences are evident in "Believe Half of What You See (And None of What You Hear)," which sounds a lot like it was also influenced by the work The Staples Singers were hitting with in the era as well.

The lyric in the title was also used in "I Heard it Through the Grapevine," but was also a warning to not take everything at face value. Which is probably good advice, and that's all I have to say about the topic right now.

This Week's Review -- December 6, 1975

There were thirteen singles making their first appearance in the Billboard Hot 100 this week, including one that was a 2-sided listing. Out of that number, five eventually reached into the Top 40, with two getting into the Top 10 and one that "trucked" its way to the #1 spot. That chart-topper was a result of the CB fad then sweeping the nation, and the other Top 10 was a song that was a risque song for its time. Olivia Newton-John appears both as a solo artist and a backing singer on John Denver's song. The other Top 40 hit is a song that would show up again a few years later as an even bigger hit. As for the eight songs that missed the Top 40, there are several tunes from many formats. A straight rock band from Canada does their thing, a brother act known for R&B rocks out to an Edgar Winter classic and several R&B acts appear to do their thing. One of those acts performs what was then the new theme song to the TV show Soul Train.

The archive of Billboard issues at Google Books doesn't include the December 6, 1975 edition. So, I'll once again point out (shamelessly) that I write another music blog related to the hits of the 1980s called 80s Music Mayhem. For the next week, we focus on five songs that peaked during 1980, including the one that went to #1 in the wake of the tragic death of John Lennon.

Donna Summer - "Love To Love You Baby"

(Debuted #55, Peaked #2, 18 Weeks on chart)



Donna Summer seemingly came out of nowhere in 1975, and "Love To Love You Baby" was the song that introduced her to American audiences. At the time, it raised some eyebrows due to its simulated sexual content and heavy breathing. The full song took up the entire first side of the album of the same name, clocking in at over 18 minutes, which incidentally is about all the time people need to perform the act that Summer was suggesting.

On the single, though, the song was edited down to a more radio-friendly three and a half minutes. As a corollary to the length of the original, that might be seen as a premature ending. As always, there are links to digital copies of the song here. The iTunes link above is the full-length LP version, while the Amazon link below is the truncated single version.

John Denver - "Fly Away"

(Debuted #58, Peaked #13, 11 Weeks on chart)



The tile of "Fly Away" is ironic due to the way John Denver died in a plane crash, but at the time it was recorded it was a song about getting away from the city and away from the noise and hectic pace. The idea of returning to a more pristine scenery is a common element of Denver's music, which places the song squarely within the context of much of his work.

Olivia Newton-John contributes on backing vocal. She's uncredited, but there is little doubt it's her as her voice is mixed louder as the song goes on until her voice is at the same level as Denver's. Like many of his songs, it was a hit across several formats, missing the pop and country Top 10 but "gliding" its way to #1 on the adult contemporary chart.

Olivia Newton- John - "Let It Shine" b/w " He Ain't Heavy... He's My Brother" (Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted #75, Peaked #30, 9 Weeks on chart)



Despite the fact that the B-side isn't available digitally, it's on YouTube:



Speaking of Olivia Newton-John and crossover success, here's a two-sided hit she recorded. The A-side was another one of the songs Olivia performed that was given a country treatment, including the instruments used behind her. "Let it Shine" was written by Florida-born Linda Hargrove, who charted a handful of songs on the country chart during the 1970s but gained more success as a songwriter. Among her songs was Johnny Rodriguez' "Just Get Up and Close the Door" and George Jones' "Tennessee Whiskey." Despite reaching #30 on the pop chart, "Let it Shine" hit #5 country and topped the adult contemporary survey.

"He Ain't Heavy...He's My Brother" had already been a hit single twice. The first version by The Hollies was one the chart just as 1969 switched to '70, and a cover by Neil Diamond (reviewed in this blog last month) appeared later in 1970. I explained the background info about the song when I reviewed Diamond's version, so follow the link if you'd like to read about it.

C.W. McCall - "Convoy"

(Debuted #82, Peaked #1, 16 Weeks on chart)



A little more than a month ago, Adrian over at the blog 7 Inches of 70s Pop featured this song. He gives it a humorous spin and divulges a lot of the background info there, so all I really need to do is suggest you check it out. That blog is one of the links I keep in my Blogroll and should be regular reading for anybody who's interested in the material presented in this blog.

"Convoy" is a song that definitely marks the time it was made. Filled with CB lingo, it tells a story of a coast-to-coast drive drive featuring an entire fleet of trucks (incluidng a logger, pig hauler and a Hazmat truck pulling dynamite) and some assorted hangers-on in a chartreuse Microbus. My own father had a CB in his car at the time and later drove trucks for a living, so I was no stranger to the sometimes creative language used in the song. There is one glaring error in the lyrics, however. When McCall delivers the line "We were headin' for bear on I-1-o about a mile out of Shakeytown..." he says he's leaving San Francisco, but Interstate 10 goes to Los Angeles, a four-plus hour drive down I-5.

"Convoy" was one of the biggest hits of the year, spending six weeks at #1 on the country chart in addition to its week at #1 on the pop chart. It also topped the chart in Canada and Australia and was a #2 hit in the U.K. Its success, along with the CB fad, even led to a film called Convoy in 1978 with Kris Kristofferson playing the fabled Rubber Duck.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive - "Down to the Line"

(Debuted #83, Peaked #43, 7 Weeks on chart)



Occasionally, the audio in YouTube videos exhibits the pops and cracks from the original vinyl record. While some people consider it to be annoying, it can be a familiar sound to those of us who grew up before the age of CDs and just knew those sounds as something that happened to records when they got played a lot.

"Down To the Line" was a single-only song that appeared just ahead of Bachman-Turner Overdrive's Head On LP (it would be added as an extra track on the CD in a later release, however). It was exactly what you'd expect from a BTO song: a straightforward beat, guitar-driven rock and Randy Bachman's vocal added with the backing vocals of the other group members.

At the time, BTO was slowly running out of gas. "Down to the Line" would miss the Top 40 despite the fact that the song was assured of airplay on album-oriented and rock stations.

Helen Reddy - "Somewhere In The Night"

(Debuted #85, Peaked #19, 13 Weeks on chart)



"Somewhere in the Night" is probably best-known for its version sung by Barry Manilow, which was a #9 hit in 1979. However, he wasn't the first to record it. Written by Richard Kerr and Will Jennings, it first appeared on Kim Carnes' debut album. It was a single by Batdorf and Rodney that was a minor adult contemporary hit in 1975, but that would be overshadowed when Helen Reddy recorded it for her LP No Way to Treat a Lady. Not only did her version surpass it on the AC chart (it reached #2), but it made the Top 40 as well.

Reddy gives the song the full-throat, made-for-Vegas treatment you'd expect from a record with her name on it. However, that's nothing compared to the bombast that Manilow gave it in his own version. Perhaps that's why he had a bigger hit with it.

Kenny Starr - "The Blind Man In The Bleachers" (Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted #86, Peaked #58, 5 Weeks on chart)



Pop fans were already familiar with a different version of "The Blind Man in the Bleachers," as David Geddes' rendition had already been on the chart for a few weeks before Kenny Starr entered with his own country-infused reading of the song.

The words of the song follow a football player who doesn't get much playing time but whose father sits in the stands at every game. His father is blind, but still sits there every week. When he doesn't show up the last week, the kid disappears around halftime and shows up late demanding to get in the game. When I played football in high school, that type of behavior got you sent to the locker room...but in the song, he comes in and leads the team to victory. As it turns out, the kid had just found out that his father had died and played his heart out, because "it's the first time that my father's seen me play."

Starr's version was a #2 country hit. Compared to the Geddes hit, it's more subtle (but not much more). The country arrangement is more low-key than the over-the-top histrionics of Geddes' hit. It still pulls at the same emotions without sounding like the subject of an Afterschool Special.

Tavares - "Free Ride"

(Debuted #87, Peaked #52, 6 Weeks on chart)



As you may have guessed, "Free Ride" is a version of the song made famous by The Edgar Winter Group. For most of the fans who know Tavares from their disco-era hits "It Only Takes a Minute," "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel," "Whodunit" and "More Than a Woman," this version may be a pleasant surprise. Rather than giving it the disco treatment, the brother act from New Bedford, Massachusetts do a very faithful rendition that follows the original closely. It's either a reminder that Tavares was influenced by rock acts as well, or simply that songwriter Dan Hartman was also influenced by R&B.

The Soul Train Gang - "Soul Train "75""

(Debuted #89, Peaked #75, 5 Weeks on chart)



The Soul Train Gang was assembled by impresario Don Cornelius in conjunction with Dick Griffey, who wanted to capitalize on the popularity of Cornelius' TV show. They group produced two LPs, with the first produced by Norman Harris in Philadelphia, but failed to make much of an impact on either the pop or R&B charts.

"Soul Train "75"" was a new version for the show's theme song, after MFSB's "The Sound of Philadelphia" had run its course. It wouldn't be the last theme song, which changed every couple of years as public tastes evolved.

The Ritchie Family - "I Want To Dance With You (Dance With Me)" (Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted #90, Peaked #84, 4 Weeks on chart)



Before he put together The Village People, producer Jacques Morali created a group called The Ritchie Family that was made up of studio vocalists who weren't related at all despite the "family" name. Among the early disco acts, their first four albums were all loosely-based concept LPs. The first of those was Brazil, which provided their first two chart singles.

"I Want to Dance With You (Dance With Me)" follows the lead of the earlier hit "Brazil" by sounding (in places) like it's accompanied by a big band. However, it lacks the same melodic grace that propelled that song into the Top 40. Frankly, there might have been other moments on the LP that might have been better for single release; however, since Disco was just getting started, those songs might have been less hit-ready material than they would have been a year or two down the road.

The Stylistics - "Funky Weekend"

(Debuted #96, Peaked #76, 9 Weeks on chart)



The Stylistics split from their longtime producer Thom Bell in 1974. They soldiered on with Van McCoy running the console, but they clearly lost a step in the transition. Though they continued to score on the R&B charts as well as in the U.K., their days as major hitmakers were numbered.On the pop chart, "Funky Weekend" would be their second-to-last hit.

The title of the single pretty much says what you can expect from the sound. However, it's a rather generic brand of funk. Yes, there's a clavinet and horns in the mix, but the group is a long way down the road from the brighter, more shimmering work that had marked their output earlier in the decade.

The Four Tops - "We All Gotta Stick Together"

(Debuted #97, Peaked #97, 1 Week on chart)



The Four Tops are mainly remembered as a Motown act, even though they recorded some great-sounding records for ABC during the 1970s. Among those songs is "We All Gotta Stick Together," a song about brotherhood that is sung by Lawrence Payton rather than usual lead Levi Stubbs.

Not only does "We All Gotta Stick Together" feature a solid harmony from the group that appears to be influenced by gospel -- right down to an organ featuring prominently in the arrangement -- but also has a brass section. The different lead vocal gives it a unique perspective, because it doesn't sound like the "same old song" (to borrow from the title of one of those Motown hits) from the Tops at all. Unfortunately, it only stuck around on the pop chart for a single week.

Crown Heights Affair - "Every Beat Of My Heart" (Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted #100, Peaked #83, 8 Weeks on chart)



Crown Heights is a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York as well as the source of the name of this band. Like Earth, Wind & Fire, they were one of the groups that was part of R&B's transition between the 1960s soul sound to the Disco era. Unlike that band, however, their pop success was rather limited.

"Every Beat of My Heart" features an upbeat tempo, plenty of vocal interplay and a solid brass section. There is also a clavinet solo that lends it a 1970s feel, even if the phasing effect accompanying the high-hat percussion distracts from the composition.