This Week's Review -- December 27, 1975

Since beginning my reviews last August, this is the first time I've done two consecutive weeks in a row, but the fact that Billboard stopped featuring a survey for the last week of the year after 1975 cut the number of available years for me to choose from by half. Of nine new singles entering the Hot 100 for the last week of 1975, all but one would eventually make the Top 40. From those eight songs, two would be Top 10 hits and one would reach #1. Interestingly, the first song in last week's review was by Paul Simon, while this week's list begins with his former partner.

In several previous posts, I've added links to past Billboard editions for the week in review. Unfortunately, this week's issue isn't in the archive at Google Books.

Art Garfunkel - "Break Away"

(Debuted at #81, Peaked at #39, 11 weeks on chart)

Last week's review began with Paul Simon, who once was part of a very successful partnership with Art Garfunkel. As Simon was recording his 1975 LP Still Crazy After All These Years, he was going through a divorce and many of the songs he wrote for the album reflected his situation. Garfunkel was also going through his own divorce that year, but he wasn't a songwriter like his old buddy and the songs weren't necessarily about his personal issues. However, "Break Away" -- a song about a separation -- probably was hand-picked because of what was going on in his life.

Garfunkel's 1975 LP Breakaway was one of his most successful solo efforts. Produced by Richard Perry, the album would have three Top 40 singles. The highlight of the record would be the Simon & Garfunkel "reunion" song "My Little Town" but he also scored with a remake of "I Only Have Eyes for You" and the Gallagher & Lyle composition "Break Away." I would have called it the title song; however, the LP is spelled out as one word and the song is broken into two.

The lyrics tell about a man coming to grips with resuming his life after his lover has left and flown to another country across the ocean (Garfunkel is a New Yorker, so it implies she went to Europe, but writers Gallagher & Lyle were English, which would suggest she came to the US). Though he isn't going to stop her, he still hopes it's merely a phase and she'll return someday. Listening to the song, I can almost hear Paul Simon's voice backing Garfunkel up. I can't find a list online of the musicians involved in the song, but if Simon wasn't one of them whoever booked the session sure found a ringer.

The Four Seasons - "December 1963 (Oh What a Night)"

(Debuted at #85, Peaked at  #1, 27 weeks on chart)

The Four Seasons were making a big comeback in the mid-1970s, notching this #1 more than a decade after their last chart-topper. However, this was a much different group than the lineup that ruled the charts in the early 1960s. There were five members then and only Frankie Valli remained from the 1960s lineup that gave us "Sherry," "Rag Doll" and other classics. Additionally, the group had two new members who shared singing duties with Valli: Gerry Polci and Don Ciccone. For "December 1963" Polci handled the first verse, Ciccone took the second and Valli's distinctive falsetto came in for the chorus.

Another member of the Four Seasons during the glory days was Bob Gaudio, who co-wrote and produced "December 1963" for the group. He originally set the tune in 1933 and the lyrics were a celebration of end of Prohibition; however, to make it more "current" the year was changed. The lyrics were also altered to become a nostalgic look back at a sexual awakening. The song spent three weeks at #1 in its 27-week chart run. In 1994, a remixed version of the song peaked at #14 and enjoyed another 27-week stay on the Hot 100.

The Bee Gees - "Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)"

(Debuted at #73, Peaked at #12, 16 weeks on chart)

The Bee Gees had experienced varying degrees of success for more than a decade before their Main Course LP in 1975, but there were many rough patches in the road for them. Though the group's three brothers were known for their harmonies, they went through some ill-advised ideas like a concept LP (Trafalgar) and a short breakup in 1969. Although the hits were sporadic, they notched some big ones, like "Words," "Lonely Days" and the chart-topping "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart". Their lesser hits -- like "Alive," and "Mr. Natural" and "Run to Me"-- often faded into obscurity except among the group's fans after their chart runs were over. In 1975, they finally found a sound they could grab onto and ride through the rest of the decade. In the process, they became the biggest recording act of the 1970s in the U.S. Making albums in Miami exposed the brothers to the burgeoning disco sounds that were making their way out of that city at the time, and they fully embraced the idea of a more dance-oriented groove.

Although even the non-hit LP songs had them too, much of the model for the group's late 1970s "sound" to those who listened to the radio came from the two most successful singles from Main Course, the #1 "You Should Be Dancing" and the Top 10 "Nights on Broadway." A third single was "Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)," which marked one of the best uses of Barry Gibb's high-pitched falsetto before their more familiar Saturday Night Fever era. It also gives brothers Robin and Maurice to show their own vocal harmonies. As the song ends, the group builds the emotion and the second half is much different vocally than the first. It's a device they'd use again (and better) in "Stayin' Alive" but the Brothers Gibb showed fans they were up to the task.

The Doobie Brothers - "I Cheat the Hangman"

(Debuted at #86, Peaked at #60, 4 weeks on chart)

Of the many Doobie Brothers songs that still get played on classic rock radio, "I Cheat the Hangman" is rarely one of them. When included on the group's LP Stampede, it was a six-and-a-half minute epic with a long buildup and an Old West feel. Written by guitarist Patrick Simmons, the song was influenced by the Ambrose Bierce short story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. In the lyrics, a ghost is still hanging around and figures he's "cheated the hangman" because he's still there. After the words fade out, a false ending leads up to a two-minute instrumental outro that sounds like it was influenced by the classical piece Night on Bald Mountain from its string accompaniment.

Barry White - "Let the Music Play"

(Debuted at #70, Peaked at #32, 9 weeks on chart)

Barry White was a phenomenon. His sound was highly influential to the developing disco movement and provided a soundtrack for countless seductions. In the 1970s (and even later), when a man was entertaining a lady friend and put on a Barry White LP as "mood music," there was little doubt what was on his mind. The sound was made up by an orchestra (strings, woodwinds, horns), a steady beat and guitars. Among guitarists used on White's projects were acclaimed session men Ray Parker, Jr. and Lee Ritenour.

This was the title track of White's forthcoming LP Let the Music Play. Though the song included many of the hallmarks of his very successful songs from 1973 until then -- the sultry voice, the half-whisper at the beginning, the Love Unlimited Orchestra string section, music set for sweet lovin' -- Barry White's success was beginning to fade. This was his only Top 40 single from that LP and the singles from his next LP Is This Whatcha Wont? missed the Hot 100 entirely. Although he only had minor pop success for the rest of the decade (aside from one last Top 10 hit), his place in history remained secure and his music has become timeless even as many of his contemporaries and imitators have become forgotten.

Roxy Music - "Love is the Drug"

(Debuted at # 89, Peaked at #30, 14 weeks on chart)

Roxy Music is an "art rock" band that was quite popular in their native U.K. and all across Europe during the 1970s and '80s but saw limited success in the U.S. Despite hitting the British Top 10 several times, "Love is the Drug" would be the only Top 40 U.S. hit (and one of only three Hot 100 singles) the group would enjoy before it broke up in 1983.

For a band that called itself "art rock," the music in "Love is the Drug" is fairly straightforward. Beginning with some sound effects (a record dropping on a turntable and a car driving away), it has a terrific bass line to open the song before a saxophone, scratch guitar, drums, keyboard and eventually Bryan Ferry's voice join in. A faint cowbell can be heard after the first chorus. While the instruments used on the song don't exactly fit the complexity often associated with art rock, the words in the vocal are pure rock. The lyrics even deal with going to a dance club after work and picking up somebody to spent the night with...not pretentious at all.

The Spinners - "Love or Leave"

(Debuted at #77, Peaked at #36, 8 weeks on chart)

The Spinners were incredibly successful for much of the 1970s after toiling in obscurity for most of the 1960s. Ironically, the group was from Detroit (the home of Motown, their onetime label) but closely identified by the Philadelphia Soul sound because their biggest hits were produced by Thom Bell.

"Love or Leave" was the second single from the group's LP Pick of the Litter. It's a record featuring many of the band's hallmark features: an upbeat tempo, flawless background support by MFSB, vocal harmony and a fine lead vocal by Phillipe Wynn. The song reached Top 40 pop and Top 10 R&B, a decent showing but disappointing when compared to the LP's lead single "(They Just Can't Help it the) Games People Play."

The Commodores - "Sweet Love"

(Debuted at #82, Peaked at #5, 23 weeks on chart)

Beginning as a group made up of students from the Tuskeegee Institute in 1967, the Commodores had spent much of the 1970s as a funk band but didn't make much headway on the chart. Trying their hand at a mellow romantic ballad like "Sweet Love," the group made the Top 10 for the first time. Other than a couple of uptempo hits ("Brick House," "Lady"), the group would become very popular through the rest of the 1970s with that formula. Taking note of this success, singer Lionel Richie would write more of those ballads for the group and later had a very successful solo career with them.

Cleddus Maggard and the Citizen's Band - "The White Knight"

(Debuted at #87, Peaked at #19, 15 weeks on chart)

For those who lived through the 1970s, there were many fads and crazes that were hugely popular but seem really silly today. Things like mood rings, pet rocks and plaid patterns as fashionable dress are fondly remembered but those who didn't live through that time often wonder what the allure was. For those fads that became subjects of hit songs, it's easier to explain...well, kind of. Ray Stevens had a #1 hit with "The Streak" but even that was a novelty song poking fun of somebody for running naked in public.

For the CB (short for "citizens' band," hence Maggard's "group" name) radio craze of the mid-1970s, there were several hit records: "Convoy" (high in the charts as this song debuted), the tear-inducing "Teddy Bear" and even a novelty tune called "C.B. Savage" that was itself a parody of "The White Knight." Nearly all of the CB-related tunes were also hits on the country chart, showing its place as a toy among the blue-collar crowd that listened to the music. Perhaps the fact that CB had a special lingo made it easier to write songs about.  "The White Knight" is full of CB language..."picture taker" (police with radar gun), "seat covers" (pretty girls in the passenger seat), "double nickels" (55 MPH, the maximum speed limit at the time) and "Smoky" or "Bear" (to borrow another '70s slang word...The Fuzz).

The story in the song involves a trucker who hears a person calling himself "The White Knight" on the CB who informs him where the state police are sitting and watching for speeders. As it turns out, The White Knight is a state trooper using the CB to entrap truckers for speeding. With mentions of interstate highways 75, 85 and 20, it appears Maggard's narrator is going north on I-75 (said he was going "out of Lake City" which is in northern Florida) and had passed over the Florida-Georgia border and the White Night is probably a Georgia Highway Patrolman. The single clocks in at just a little over four minutes but I'm told that the full LP version of the song is eight minutes long and tells an even better tale.

"Cledus Maggard" was Jay Huguely, an advertising executive who wrote "The White Knight" to cash in on the CB craze. Of course, the stage name was a nod to Merle Haggard, who's mentioned by name in the song as one of "the ten best things in life." The song was a minor pop hit and a #1 country song but the swift end of the CB fad dried up his future hits. He passed away in December 2008.

This Week's Review -- December 20, 1975

This week's Billboard Hot 100 chart saw nine new songs listed. Among the artists were four singers who had previously been in other acts, a band that saw many of its members have solo hits, a future Canadian political hopeful and the biggest country singer of the 1970s. Four of the songs made the Top 40, three made it high into the Top 10 and one was a #1 hit.

In recent weeks I've linked to a digital copy of the Billboard magazine from the week I was reviewing; however, Google Books is missing this issue in its achive.

Paul Simon - "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" 

(Debuted at # 74, Peaked at #1, 17 weeks on chart)

Believe it or not, "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" is the only #1 solo hit Paul Simon had. With a string of successful hits like "Kodachrome," "Loves Me Like a Rock," "Slip Slidin' Away" and "Still Crazy After All These Years" he didn't manage to get any of them to #1 (though he's one of many who lent their voices to the #1 hit "We Are the World" in 1985).

The LP Still Crazy After All These Years was recorded as Simon was going through a divorce from his first wife, which colored some of the lyrics. Among those that was obviously influenced by his personal issues was "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," although reading the words makes it seem as if his conversation was with a mistress rather than a wife. However, in explaining the 50 ways, Simon only offers up five: "slip out the back, Jack...make a new plan, Stan...no need to be coy, Roy...hop on the bus, Gus...drop off the key, Lee."


Beyond the conversational style of the words, Simon used all all-star trio of backing singers (Patti Austin, Valerie Simpson and Phoebe Snow). Another distinctive element of the song is the percussion, which sounds almost like a military marching beat.

Eric Carmen - "All By Myself"

(Debuted at # 85, Peaked at #2, 19 weeks on chart)

Here's the archetype of the power ballads that were all over the radio during the 1980s, complete with a false ending and bombast before the fade. Eric Carmen's first single away from The Raspberries would be a bigger hit than anything he enjoyed with the group. Even though Carmen would eventually score a #1 hit on the coattails of the film Dirty Dancing, "All By Myself" is probably his best-known composition, with several remakes and interpretations of the song through the years. The best-known remake is likely the 1996 Celine Dion hit single, but has been covered by artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones and Hank Williams, Jr.

Much of the song's music was borrowed from Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Conerto No. 2 in C Minor. As a classical piece, Carmen assumed it was in the public domain and safe to use; once the song became successful he was informed that the rights still belonged to Rachmaninoff's estate and the composer's name was added to the songwriter credits. Rachmaninoff had composed his tune in 1900-'01 and had only died on 1943, not long enough for his works to pass into public domain. While Rachmaninoff's heirs probably enjoyed the windfall and renewed interest brought by Carmen's hit, it's a textbook example of the value of having somebody verify the rights.

The Amazing Rhythm Aces- "Amazing Grace (Used to Be Her Favorite Song)" (Not available as MP3)

(Debuted at # 98, Peaked at #72, 8 weeks on chart)

The Amazing Rhythm Aces are best known for their minor 1975 hit "Third Rate Romance." This song was the followup to that hit, and while it didn't match the earlier tune's chart success on the pop chart, it would become a Top 10 country hit (the group's best showing on that chart). The song is performed in a solid country style with a steel guitar and a shuffle beat, so the country success (as well as its low peak position on the pop charts) isn't a surprise.

As the title suggests, the lyrics tell the story of a good girl who turned to the honky-tonk nightlife. That's a storyline that has been around for a long time; the huge 1952 Hank Thompson hit "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" is perhaps the best-known early example but it certainly wasn't the first. The twist in the lyrics of "Amazing Grace" is that in the beginning, the man was the good-timer and his sweet lady began drinking and hanging out in bars to get him to change...only to find that the bottle pulled her farther than he did.

Conway Twitty - "Don't Cry Joni"

(Debuted at #100, Peaked at #63, 7 weeks on chart)

Many of my favorite country songs tell stories. From the homesick autoworker in "Detroit City" to the jilted husband trying to make sense of his wife leaving in "The Grand Tour" to the childhood remembrance in "Coat of Many Colors" the genre spins many tales. Some -- like "Green, Green Grass of Home" -- have a twist that makes the song entirely different at the end than what a listener might have been thinking. During my days as a DJ, I did a request "classic" country show for WRWD-FM in Poughkeepsie, New York on Saturday nights and two sad story songs from the 1970s never failed to get requests: Red Sovine's "Teddy Bear" and "Don't Cry Joni."

"Don't Cry Joni" is a song that tells the story of a boy and a girl. At the beginning, she's 15 years old and too young for the boy (who's 22). As the boy strikes out to make a name for himself in the world, she asks him to return and marry him but he insists she'll forget him as time goes on. As he makes his way, it's him who has a hard time forgetting. But there's a twist at the end that I won't spoil. The only thing a listener needs to get past is the fact that the voice of the girl singing with him belongs to Twitty's daughter Joni Lee. The idea of a father and daughter singing a love song together can seem a bit creepy and doesn't do a whole lot to diminish any stereotypes of Tennessee (where the song was recorded).

Conway Twitty was the most successful country singer of the 1970s. He notched 25 #1 hits between 1970 and '79 and also had a handful of pop hits during those years. Some of those crossover hits -- "Hello Darlin'," "Fifteen Years Ago," "You've Never Been This Far Before" -- are superb songs that spoke to listeners on a human level and laid bare the conflict within a man who's giving in to human emotions. "Don't Cry Joni" would be his last crossover hit of the decade, and the only one of his 70s pop hits that didn't also go to #1 on the country chart.

Greg Lake - "I Believe In Father Christmas"  (Not available as MP3)

(Debuted at #99, Peaked at  #95, 3 weeks on chart)

Christmas tunes don't usually get much respect on the hit parade. Because of their relatively short "shelf life" -- they're usually dusted off by radio stations the week of Thanksgiving and placed back into storage on December 26th -- few ever manage to make the Hot 100. Many 1970s Christmas songs get played every year ("Feliz Navidad," "Merry Christmas Darling," The Jackson 5's take on "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," "Wonderful Christmastime") but few actually made the regular Billboard pop chart. The rare exceptions seem to be those "holiday" tunes that aren't specific to Christmas, like Merle Haggard's "If We Make it Through December" (which just made the Top 40 around December '73).

Greg Lake was still a member of Emerson, Lake and Palmer when he recorded and released "I Believe in Father Christmas" by himself; the trio would re-record the song for their 1977 Works Volume II LP. Despite its short stay on the U.S. charts it would reach #2 in the U.K. Ironically, the song wasn't recorded as a holiday tune as Lake seemed to be objecting to the season's commercialization. Beginning with an observation that it rained on Christmas instead of snowing, the second verse contains the lines "They sold me a dream of Christmas, they sold me a silent night" but the third verse contains hopeful optimism that the season could still foster peace and goodwill. This has led to many interpretations of the song, many of which aren't exactly complimentary. A promotional video for the song showing scenes from war-torn places like Lebanon and Vietnam didn't help its critical reception. However, as an outlet for Lake to call it as he saw it, he makes a valid point and the fact that the message often gets lost among the more upbeat holiday standards doesn't change that.

Bill Withers - "Make Love To Your Mind" 

(Debuted at # 96, Peaked at #76, 8 weeks on chart) 

Bill Withers was something of an anomaly as far as musicians went. Rather than devoting himself to the music business as a full-time profession, Withers was content to pursue other avenues while he was a hitmaker. After developing an interest in songwriting during a stint in the U.S. Navy, Withers held down "regular" jobs as he plied his craft. Originally doing demos, he was surprised when he was asked to record the songs for his own LPs. Even after his huge early 1970s hits "Lean on Me" and "Ain't No Sunshine" he still maintained business interests outside the music industry.

By 1975, Withers was recording with Columbia Records after leaving Sussex, the label that issued his first three LPs. The first single for his new label was "Make Love to Your Mind," a title that might have raised a few eyebrows then. Withers was known for his down-to-earth, homespun style and the new record may have been seen as provocative. Instead, the lyrics mention the importance of getting to know a partner on a personal level before getting physical. It's hard to hear that, however, as the background strings and rhythm section are mixed loud enough to obscure some of Withers' vocal.

The Eagles - "Take It To The Limit" 

(Debuted at # 80, Peaked at #4, 23 weeks on chart)

The Eagles had quite a run of hits during the 1970s. With five #1 singles, 13 Top 40 hits and four #1 LPs, the band would remain one of the most influential of the decade. A generation later, the band would be pointed out as inspiration to a wide variety of musicians: rock, country, bluegrass and others. "Take it to the Limit" may not have been the group's most successful single, but it was the one that remained on Billboard's Hot 100 the longest.

One of the things that made the Eagles unique was the way many band members shared lead vocals. Don Henley and Glenn Frey were best known for their solo work but other members throughout the years and lineups handled vocals as well. Besides Henley and Frey, fellow Eagles Randy Meisner, Timothy B. Schmit and Joe Walsh enjoyed success away from the group. Meisner was the member who lent his voice to "Take it to the Limit." A slow ballad where the narrator is trying to figure out which way to go in life but still not ready to settle down, the song still gets considerable airplay today.

Hagood Hardy - "The Homecoming" 

(Debuted at #86, Peaked at #41, 13 weeks on chart)

Just missing the Top 40 in the U.S., this instrumental was originally written in 1972 as a commercial for Salada tea in Canada (Where the song would be a #1 hit). Hagood Hardy was a Canadian artist (born in Indiana) who provided music for TV shows and commercial jingles, most notably the scores for Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea. During the 1960s he played vibraphone for Herbie Mann and other jazz artists. "The Homecoming" would be his only U.S. pop hit. Hardy later ran unsuccessfully for political office in Ontario during the 1990s and died on New Year's Day 1997.

Linda Ronstadt - "Tracks Of My Tears"

(Debuted at # 83, Peaked at #25, 13 weeks on chart)

Since beginning this weekly project in August, I've had a chance to review around 200 songs so far in roughly four months. That seems like a lot but it doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of all the songs that charted during the 1970s. That said, I've already reviewed four Linda Ronstadt singles and this is the second one that's been a cover of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. At the same time, I've only reviewed one song apiece by other artists who've scored many more hit singles during the decade (James Brown, Elton John, Chicago, Paul McCartney, Elvis Presley) but over time that's bound to change as I continue. Nothing about the song; it's just something I noticed.

As I mentioned already, "Tracks of My Tears" was a cover song like many of Ronstadt's hit singles. Its best-known version is the 1965 original by Smokey Robinson (who co-wrote the song) and the Miracles. That song was the followup single to "Ooh Baby Baby," another song covered by Ronstadt in the 1970s. Ronstadt's single was one of several that were cross-marketed; it hit #25 pop, #11 country and #4 on the easy listening/adult contemporary chart. While her voice is in fine form on the song, Ronstadt's delivery doesn't match the emotion Smokey Robinson lent to the original. Sometimes, trying to get a "one-size-fits-all" single that can be sent to multiple audiences may sell a lot of records but often sacrifices something.

This Week's Review -- December 11, 1976

This week's entry has some additional features that I haven't used before. First, each artist's name is now linked. Clicking the link will allow you to view that artist's entire 1970s Hot 100 chart history from this blog's parent site. Additionally, information on debut position, peak and total time on the chart appear below the song title. Hopefully, these enhancements will make this blog a little more useful. Another recent development came about when I found that many past issues of  Billboard magazine are available  through Google books as PDF files and they're free to view. Here's a link to the December 11, 1976 issue. The full Hot 100 list can be found on page 62.

Eleven songs debuted this week. Six of those were Top 40 hits, four reached the Top 10 and two went all the way to #1. Six of the songs were the first chart hits for their artists; three of those acts never had another hit. Additionally, four of the songs were remakes. Among the performers are one of the best-selling female performers of all time, Sweden's biggest musical act of the 1970s and the man who had his guitar smashed by "Bluto" Blutarsky in Animal House.

ABBA - "Dancing Queen"

(Debuted at #86, peaked at #1, 22 weeks on chart)

I once read somewhere where a fan was trying to explain the 1970s phenomena that was ABBA and simply said "you had to be there, it's not easily explained in today's vernacular." However, the group's continued strong catalog sales and the success of the Broadway play and film Mamma Mia! suggest that such statements are simply explanations of people who grew tired of defending the group after their heyday. The fact is, ABBA was a group that was blessed with great singers, songwriters who knew how to craft a good catchy tune and producers who could capture magic in the studio. It's hard to deny that their songs were ear candy. They were highly successful in almost every nation where their music was marketed.

I used the word "almost" in that last sentence because their chart record in the U.S. was something of a disappointment for the group. While they had several decent hits on this side of the Atlantic, "Dancing Queen" was their only #1 hit here. That was a far cry from the many chart-toppers they enjoyed in other countries around the world. In the case of "Dancing Queen," the song is instantly recognizable as its intro plays. Though not technically a disco song -- as it wasn't recorded to be played by DJs in the dance clubs -- there is a definite disco influence to it, from the fact the lyrics mention finding a place to dance on Friday night to the fact they placed the word "Dancing" in the title. The group had other, more disco-ready hits ("S.O.S," "Gimme Gimme Gimme") but this obviously benefited from the disco craze at the time.

For me, "Dancing Queen" holds some significance as it was one of the first songs I ever specifically remember hearing on the radio. I was 4 or 5 at the time, didn't quite understand the words but knew the rhythm and just remember hearing it all the time from radio stations.

Deniece Williams - "Free"

(Debuted at #88, peaked at #25, 20 weeks on chart)

This delicious slice of Quiet Storm-inspired R&B was the first chart hit for Deniece Williams. Though she was making her chart debut, she wasn't exactly a newcomer to the music industry. In the mid-1970s, she teamed with Minnie Riperton and Syreeta Wright as Wonderlove, who sang background vocals for Stevie Wonder. She was also a backing singer for Roberta Flack, Esther Phillips and Riperton. Her vocal range covered four octaves, which allowed her voice to soar effortlessly between difficult notes and this talent can be heard on "Free" as she sings.

In addition to its moderate success on the pop chart, "Free" was a #2 hit on the R&B chart and #1 in the UK. The song (like all the songs from her LP This is Niecy) was originally submitted to Earth, Wind & Fire and was initially seen as a possible solo hit for that group's lead singer Phillip Bailey. Backed by many of Earth, Wind & Fire's musicians, Williams sings "Free" as a sultry ballad. She goes from singing in a half-whisper to showing off the dynamic range of her vocals.

Bryan Ferry - "Heart on My Sleeve"

(Debuted at #90, peaked at #86, 4 weeks on chart)

Although this was Bryan Ferry's first single on the Hot 100, it wasn't his first time on the survey. As a member of Roxy Music, he sang on the group's 1975 hit "Love is the Drug." When Roxy Music temporarily broke up in 1976, Ferry recorded his solo LP Let's Stick Together and had a minor hit in the U.S. with the Gallagher & Lyle composition "Heart on My Sleeve." The LP was a bigger hit in Ferry's native Britain, with several hit singles, but he would have to wait more than 10 years to get his second U.S. pop hit despite more success with a reunited Roxy Music and several stylish music videos that got quite a bit of MTV airplay.

"Heart on My Sleeve" was a mid-tempo tune that was very much in line with many of Ferry's familiar solo hits. In write-ups of the LP it came from, the song gets very little mention. Frankly, to my ears his material with Roxy Music was far more interesting. Even Gallagher & Lyle's minor hit version of the song (from earlier in '76) was a better take.

BubbleBee Unlimited- "Love Bug"

(Debuted at #100, peaked at #92, 5 weeks on chart)

In 1976, disco was burgeoning and many acts began springing up that were little more than studio musicians and generic singers. BumbleBee Unlimited was a "group" set up by producers Patrick Adams and Gregory Carmichael, the duo also behind later one-hit projects Universal Robot Band and Inner Life. "Love Bug" was a steady disco record that used sped-up vocals and a synthesized arrangement of "The Flight of the Bumblebee" that may have moved some feet on the dance floor but didn't get to fly very far up the charts. BumbleBee Unlimited never returned to the pop chart again.


Barbra Streisand - "Love Theme From A Star Is Born (Evergreen)"

(Debuted at #72, Peaked at #1, 25 weeks on chart)

Putting aside the legend we know today, by the mid-1970s Barbra Streisand was a curious success story. She wasn't a rock 'n roll singer; rather, she performed a lot of pop standards and was content to perform on Broadway even as her LPs did quite well. She became an actress and went back to singing after she had a few flop films. Her 1970 hit "Stoney End" was an out-of-left-field success (and even then was helped by the adult contemporary audience). Even when "The Way We Were" became the biggest hit song of 1974, Streisand wasn't considered among music's elite artists. "Evergreen" changed that.

The song was included in the 1976 film A Star is Born, which starred Streisand. In the film, she played an up-and-coming singer whose success was paralleled by the decline of her superstar husband, played by Kris Kristofferson. It was a second reworking of an old film: in 1937 and 1954, the previous examples of A Star is Born had been set in the movie business. Despite the fact that a "rock 'n roll" film didn't have a lot of rock music in it, that Kristofferson could have probably written better material than what he was given and that the chemistry between the two lead actors didn't exactly lend to a willing suspension of disbelief, the film, its "soundtrack" LP and the song "Evergreen" were unqualified hits.

"Evergreen" spent three weeks at #1 in the spring of '77 and was on the Hot 100 for almost half a year. One of the year's biggest singles, it would win a Grammy for Song of the Year. Streisand co-wrote the song with lyricist Paul Williams, who had an impressive string of hit compositions in the 1970s but doesn't get a lot of recognition for it. Despite his success with Three Dog Night ("Old Fashioned Love Song," "Out in the Country") and The Carpenters ("Rainy Days and Mondays," "We've Only Just Begun" and "I Won't Last a Day Without You") as well as the sublime "Rainbow Connection" from The Muppet Movie, Williams is unfairly viewed through the prism of writing the songs for Ishtar and playing Little Enis in the Smokey & the Bandit movies.

Bob Seger - "Night Moves" (Not available as MP3)

(Debuted at #85, peaked at #4, 21 weeks on chart)

When I first began this blog about a year ago, I tried to write something I called "The Greatest Hits of the 1970s Determined By Me" and hoped to eventually come up with a list of songs that could make a great CD or two. While the project never took off, the posts are still online for anybody who wants to view the oldest posts. This post is from the first song I picked, Bob Seger's "Night Moves."

The funny thing is that when I grew up I wasn't all that crazy about the song. Many of the adults I talked with about music were fans of Seger but I didn't understand what was so special about him. I liked "Katmandu" and "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" but at 13 I found stuff like "We've Got Tonight," "Turn the Page," "Against the Wind" and "Night Moves" slow and boring. Over the years, I've gained a lot of appreciation for Seger's music as my own experience has given me additional insight into life. "Night Moves" is a great example; essentially, the song is done as a narration by an adult looking back at his youth and wondering where the time went. In effect, it's the feeling that hits you when you sit back and think of your teen years only to realize that it was half a lifetime ago. At 13, I had no idea what he was trying to say, but in my late 30s I understood the sentiment much better.

Stephen Bishop - "Save It For A Rainy Day"

(Debuted at #87, peaked at #22, 15 weeks on chart)

In the film Animal House, there's a scene during the toga party where Bluto (played by John Belushi) is coming down the stairs of the frat house and stops beside a beatnik with a guitar singing a folkish song to some girls. Bluto then grabs the guitar, smashes it against the wall and hands it back, saying "sorry" before walking away. The movie's end credits show that "Charming Guy with Guitar" was played Stephen Bishop. Bishop would also appear in small parts in two other John Landis-directed films (Kentucky Fried Movie and The Blues Brothers) as "Charming Guy," but he's best remembered for his music.

"Save it For a Rainy Day" was Bishop's first chart hit and a cut from his debut LP Careless. Although he was putting out his first album, Bishop had been writing and publishing music for a few years and had some musician friends to help him out. A light MOR pop tune, "Save it For a Rainy Day" had help from Eric Clapton on guitar and Chaka Khan on background vocals (her voice is noticeable toward the end of the song). The song would make the pop Top 40 and reach #6 on the adult contemporary chart, beginning a moderately successful performing career for Bishop.

After a handful of hits, he would write music for films such as Roadie, Tootsie (which featured his biggest pop hit "It Might Be You") and Unfaithfully Yours. Another film, White Nights, featured a Bishop composition called "Separate Lives" that would be a #1 pop hit for Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin. He also sang the theme song to Animal House and reportedly still has that guitar destroyed by Belushi in the film.

Blaze - "Silver Heels"  (Not available as MP3)

(Debuted at #97, peaked at #95, 2 weeks on chart)

Blaze was a group from Cincinnati that formed in 1973. "Silver Heels" was a Bob Welch song originally performed by Fleetwood Mac during his tenure with the group. Blaze did a fairly faithful version of the version Fleetwood Mac cut on their Heroes Are Hard to Find LP, as a straightforward rock tune that didn't sound out of place among contemporary hits. Heavy regional airplay around the group's Ohio home base got "Silver Heels" listed on the national pop charts but the group never managed to sustain the momentum, falling off after its second week. The band broke up in 1979 and never charted on the Hot 100 again.

David LaFlamme - "White Bird" (Not available as MP3)

(Debuted at #96, peaked at #89, 7 weeks on chart)

David LaFlamme was a virtuoso violinist who was behind a little-remembered but well-regarded 1960s/70s San Francisco group called It's a Beautiful Day. The group had little success on the pop singles chart but managed some minor hits on Billboard's LP chart. "White Bird" was originally featured on the group's self-titled 1969 debut album and became their signature song; despite some exposure on FM radio, the format was still in its experimental youth and didn't translate into record sales, only getting the single as high as #118 on Billboard's "Bubbling Under" chart. A live version of the song was released by the group in 1973 but again failed to chart. By then, legal hassles were forcing LaFlamme from the group he founded.

By 1974, the sun finally set on It's a Beautiful Day. LaFlamme recorded a solo version of "White Bird" for his first solo LP in 1976. This time, the song finally managed to chart but its success was short-lived. In addition to playing his music, LaFlamme has appeared in a few sitcoms (Ellen, Wings and Frasier) playing a violin player who stands near a table in a restaurant, playing in an annoying fashion.

Al Stewart - "Year Of The Cat" 


(Debuted at #98, peaked at #8, 17 weeks on chart)

"Year of the Cat" is Al Stewart's biggest American hit, the title song to his best-known LP here. For all the imagery in the song's lyrics, its best parts may be the instrumental passages. An extended piano intro before the band joins in, a lengthy layered instrumental before the final verse and a sax solo as the song fades are all memorable parts of the song.

The lyrics paint a picture of a foreign location and a chance encounter with a local lady resulting in a tryst, only to have the protagonist wake up too late to leave for home on schedule. Exactly where the location might be is up to the listener: there's a mention of "a Bogart movie" with Peter Lorre (Casablanca) which could place it in Morocco, a line in the LP version about "incense and patchouli" which are cultivated across the globe from the Caribbean to India to the Orient, and the title itself suggests an Asian culture. Similes abound in the narration: "a silk robe running like a watercolor in the rain," "I feel my life just like a river running through the Year of the Cat." No matter where the story might take place, the music behind the words makes the song what it is.

From reading placemats at Chinese restaurants, I noticed they don't actually show a Year of the Cat in their 12-year zodiac cycle. In Vietnam, however, the zodiac is slightly different, with a cat replacing the Chinese rabbit. In that event, the closest Year of the Cat would have been 1975, a year before the song was recorded. If the title referred to the year of birth of the lady in the song, that would have made her roughly 25 (or 37...but hopefully not 13).

The Bay City Rollers - "Yesterday's Hero" 

(Debuted at #77, peaked at #54, 7 weeks on chart)

Although the group had seemed to explode out of nowhere to become an overnight sensation late in 1975, the Bay City Rollers had been working as a band for many years before that. Though 1976 would be a great year for the group on the U.S. pop charts, groups seen as fads are notorious for fading as fast as they seem to appear. By recording "Yesterday's Hero" for their LP Dedication, a song that had already appeared on the Hot 100 a year earlier as the first hit for John Paul Young, the band seemed to understand that fact. Done in the band's own musical style, the song is a straightforward rocker whose lyrics mention that fame is fleeting and it won't last if they don't put a plan in motion soon. For the Bay City Rollers, the song proved prophetic. After a few more minor hits (and the excellent Top 10 "You Made Me Believe in Magic"), "Rollermania" would soon be over.

A special mention should be made of the LP version of this song. While it was recorded in the studio, crowd noises from a live concert were added to the beginning and end. Scattered among the noise was an F-bomb, which may have limited airplay because stations playing off LPs couldn't use it on the air unless they faded the song early.

This Week's Review -- December 2, 1972

While I peruse the list of songs from the week in question for each year and consider which one I want to use for my next review, I often find myself looking at song titles or artists before pinning down the specific week to tackle. This week's list is a little different. Yes, I'm still going to do the same preparation as I normally do; however, it's the survey date that determined which week I was going to review. As it turns out, I made my own debut on December 2, 1972: I was born that afternoon in a small town in Upstate New York. So this week's list is rather special to me in a way that goes beyond the songs or artists involved.

You can read most of that week's issue of Billboard on Google Books. Here's a link to read it. For some odd reason, the transcription only has the first 40 pages of the issue and the Hot 100 list is not available.

This week's review begins and ends with a couple who had just gotten married that November 3rd.In between are two 1950s icons, a producer, a solo singer masquerading as a country band and a band whose leader looked like a pirate.

James Taylor - "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"

James Taylor was absolutely huge in the early 1970s. Most of his success came from his first two LPs of the decade, Sweet Baby James (which included "Fire and Rain") and Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (which had the #1 hit "You've Got a Friend"). Then, Taylor waited 19 months to put out his next album, One Man Dog. The new LP would hit #4 on the album charts on the strength of Talyor's fanbase but it was considered disappointing; a concept album with 18 short songs -- many instrumental -- wasn't quite what his fans were expecting after such a long wait.

The first single from Taylor's new LP was a typically understated tune with sparse a jazz arrangement. "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" was a minor hit (#14) but a very stellar performance by JT. Also worth credit is the late jazz legend Michael Brecker, who capably handles the saxophone. Listening to the song for several years, I had always assumed that the song was another example of the "Love the one you're with" attitude of the era...but actually listening to the words I'm realizing that Taylor is singing from the perspective of a man who has been walked over by his woman: he puts up with the abuse she keeps doling out simply because he's either afraid or unwilling to face his nights alone. That's a point of view commonly heard in R&B songs (and usually from a woman's perspective) but deep even for an introspective singer/songwriter.

Delbert & Glen - "I Received a Letter" (Not available as MP3)

Delbert McClinton and Glen Clark were Texans who'd recently moved to Los Angeles. Despite the new California home, their Delbert & Glen LP was loaded with stuff you'd expect from a Texas-based bar band: blues, country, soul and a gospel influence. The album didn't sell well, the single "I Received a Letter" only reached #90 and the duo parted after their second LP fizzled out.

Delbert McClinton doesn't have a lot of hits, but he's made his mark over the years. Early in his career, he was a harmonica player who was memorably featured on a #1 hit by fellow Ft. Worth resident Bruce Channel ("Hey Baby") in 1962. A little later, he played in England and gave some pointers on playing the "mouth harp" to one of the young musicians touring with him. The results of that instruction would be recorded for posterity when John Lennon played harmonica on early Beatles tunes "Please Please Me" and "From Me to You." After a short stint with a group called The Rondells in the mid-60, he played the Texas roadhouse circuit. After the Delbert & Glen years, McClinton continued both as a solo act and songwriter. His biggest 1970s success came when Emmylou Harris took his "Two More Bottles of Wine" to #1 on the country chart. McClinton would finally reach the Top 40 in 1981 with "Giving it Up for Your Love." He's still a highly regarded musician among fellow musicians, another one of those artists whose chart success really doesn't show up in lists of hit records.

Luther Ingram - "I'll Be Your Shelter (In Time of Storm)"

Following up a huge hit with "If Loving You is Wrong (I Don't Want to Be Right)," Ingram went with another longer, parenthesized title and just made the Top 40 with it. Unlike the unrepentant adulterer of the big hit, Luther takes the role of a strong partner and confidant that will help weather any problems this time around. Quite a marked difference in viewpoints. Like many of his 1970s recordings, Ingram is backed on this song by the band and female backup singers for Isaac Hayes, an artist he frequently toured with.

Though this would be Ingram's last Top 40 hit, he continued to chart with minor hits on the R&B surveys into the 1980s and continued touring for years afterwards. In 2007, he died of a heart attack.

The Blue Ridge Rangers - "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" (Not available as MP3)

While the song is credited to a group and the LP cover shows five men in cowboy hats silhouetted on a hillside, this was essentially a John Fogerty solo record. Just months after the breakup of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fogerty must have wanted to put some distance between his group and solo work. For his first "solo" record, he recorded a bunch of cover versions of 1950s and 60s country hits and played all the instruments himself.


For the first single, Fogerty went with the Hank Williams stalwart "Jambalaya." The tune was based on a Cajun song called "Grand Texas" with Williams (and Moon Mullican) providing lyrics evoking Louisiana. One of Williams' best-known songs, it has been recorded hundreds of times by artists as diverse as Jo Stafford, Fats Domino, Van Morrison, Charley Pride, Dolly Parton, The White Stripes and even The Carpenters. The Blue Ridge Rangers version would make #16 on the pop charts and #66 country. It was a surprise pop hit, as few songs so inspired by hard country were doing well at that time; most country crossover hits of the early 1970s were heavy on the strings and featured smooth (non-accented) voices.

Even though Fogerty wasn't trying to cut a country record, it showed fans how much his Creedence material had been influenced by the sound. A year later, Leon Russell would issue his own 50s/60s country-cover LP under the name Hank Wilson, proving once again that even rock artists appreciated the sound.

Lyn Collins - "Me and My Baby Got a Good Thing Going"

 Lyn Collins has (unfairly) been forgotten among many music fans. Called "The Female Preacher" for her full-throated delivery, she was a member of James Brown's posse. Her voice is instantly recognizable to fans of hip-hop (that's her voice singing "It takes two to make a thing go right" on Rob Bass & DJ E-Z Rock's hit) but her place in the history of funk has been largely overlooked.

"Me and My Baby Got a Good Thing Going" used the same chord structure as a country hit from earlier in 1972 by Tom T. Hall ("Me and Jesus") and may have originated as a gospel song. That would be fitting for an artist nicknamed "The Female Preacher." The song was produced by The Godfather of Soul and used his musicians to back her up, so the vibe is purely in the James Brown style. However, the single was overshadowed a few weeks later by a Collins/Brown duet and stalled at #86.

Hurricane Smith - "Oh, Babe, What Would You Say"

I once owned a book by Jimmy Guterman and Owen O'Donnell called The Worst Rock & Roll Records of All Time. While I wasn't exactly in agreement with all their choices, I always think of the book every time I hear the opening to "Oh, Babe, What Would You Say" because they mentioned that the saxophone solo sounds a lot like a goose being strangled.And every time I hear it, I picture a goose with somebody shaking its neck.


Norman "Hurricane" Smith wasn't a musician in the same sense as most hit-makers. After a few years of playing jazz after serving in World War Two, he became a sound engineer and producer for EMI. His duties included assisting George Martin with all Beatles LPs through Rubber Soul. After his promotion, he produced a few early albums for Pink Floyd. In the early 1970s, he released some music on his own, including "Oh, Babe, What Would You Say" that evoked the 1920s. It was antithetical to the rock and pop audiences; however, it ended up being a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic. On Billboard's Hot 100, it peaked at #3. After one more minor hit and few records over the next couple years, Smith's recording career was over. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 85.


Since it seems the only MP3 copies of this song on Amazon a re-recordings, I'm substituting a link to Amazon for that book I mentioned above. Some of the commentary won't sit well with some fans but at 13 cents it's not a bad read.

(Edited above on December 6: thanks to David for pointing out that Smith was a musician before his days behind the mixing board.)

The Allman Brothers Band - "One Way Out"

Part of the outstanding live double LP Eat a Peach, "One Way Out" features superb guitar work by both Duane Allman and Dickey Betts. As a Southern Rock-influenced take on a 1960s Elmore James/Sonny Boy Williamson blues tune, it was captured live as part of the final show from New York's Fillmore East. Even though it only hit #86 in a short chart run, the song has grown very popular over the years on classic rock stations (at under 5 minutes long, it is preferable to many longer jams the band had on their albums) and has been featured in films Almost Famous, Lords of Dogtown and The Departed. It's one of those tunes that people who aren't Allman Brothers fans may not recognize by the title but will hear and think, "Okay, I know that one."

Chuck Berry - "Reelin & Rockin'"

Placed on a single to capitalize on the surprise success of "My Ding-a-Ling," this song was another live recording with a sexual subtext. Both songs were taken from the live B-side of Berry's The London Chuck Berry Sessions LP, recorded at the Lanchester Arts Festival in Coventry, England in February '72.

"Reelin' & Rockin'" is one of the many songs Berry had recorded during his 1950s Chess Records heyday. Under the guise of checking the clock for the time, Berry makes sly references to an all-day session with a lady friend. Actually, it's not all that subtle; the line "I got some on my finger so I wiped it on the wall" brings down the house. The song is an example of  what convinced the Establishment that rock & roll was a corrupting influence on American youth in the 1950s but is viewed today as good clean fun.

Elvis Presley - "Separate Ways"

Elvis Presley had a lot of hit singles in the 1970s. In fact, among all artists he ranks fourth (tied with Elton John) with 26 chart singles through a decade he didn't survive. Many of these hits were two-sided so a list of all Presley's charted pop hits includes 38 song titles. While many of these singles reached the Top 40, only three were Top 10s and the highest charting ("Burning Love") stopped at #2. With some artists, those would be phenomenal but in Elvis's case the 1970s material falls far short of his 1950s and 1960s performances in the eyes of many fans. Surprisingly, I haven't reviewed any Presley tunes on this blog until now.

Even though Elvis Presley was on his way to becoming the Vegas-attraction, sequin jumpsuit wearing, karate-chopping, overweight and highly medicated shell of his former self, there's no doubt the King of Rock 'n Roll was still in possession of a spectacular gift: his voice. While some of the stuff he put on record in the 1970s was really far below the bar he set for himself during the 1950s, a more mature Elvis was still able to handle more grown-up issues like divorce, separation and wondering about the road not taken. As he was going through his well-publicized split with his wife Priscilla, it's easy to wonder how much his personal feelings informed his music. For instance, "Separate Ways" was a song about an impending breakup and even though Elvis wasn't a songwriter he was able to take tune that and make it his own. There's even a few lines about how his child will come to grips with the reason her parents separated, definitely something Elvis was concerned about with his beloved Lisa Marie.

The B-side of "Separate Ways" was "Always on My Mind," which was a country hit and the A-side when released in the UK. Like "Separate Ways," "Always on My Mind" was a song that could've been taken from Elvis's own life story at the time, and (to my ears, at least) it's one of the best performances he ever laid down on record. Brenda Lee did the song first, Willie Nelson and The Pet Shop Boys had huge hits with the song in the 1980s, but Presley's take is my pick for the definitive version. Both sides of the single tell a great story, even if it may have been painful for him to share it.

Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show - "The Cover of Rolling Stone"

When I was 15, I found a copy of a cassette tape that somebody had discarded called Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show: Revisited. At the time, I was familiar with some of the group's late-70s hits but only knew them as Dr. Hook. My father said, "they were pretty good." When I mentioned I'd never heard of any of the songs on the tape, we went for a ride and listened. There was a telephone conversation ("Sylvia's Mother"), a goofy tale of backstage romance ("Roland the Roadie and Gertrude the Groupie"), a song that still cracks me up when I hear it ("Freakin' at the Freaker's Ball") and a couple of songs that had drug lingo I'd never heard before ("Get My Rocks Off" and "Makin' it Natural," sadly, "I Got Stoned and I Missed it" wasn't included). Then there was "The Cover of Rolling Stone."

Like many of those early hits for the group, the song was written by Shel Silverstein. It's a tune where the band explains the life they've come to know as rock stars, with drugs and groupies, an Indian guru, limousines driven by family members, playing for cash ("$10,000 a show" in 1972 dollars) but none of that matters since they haven't been able to make the cover of Rolling Stone. Critics and fans have argued whether the tune was glorifying the lifestyle on the road or simply poking fun at it. I just think it was a fun song. Of course, having a #6 national hit with such a song is going to lead to a remedy for such an oversight; indeed, the March 29, 1973 issue had the band on the cover, with the caption: "What's-Their-Names Make Our Cover."

The Chi-Lites - "We Need Order"

After scoring big hits with lush ballads as "Oh Girl" and "Have You Seen Her," The Chi-Lites returned to the socially-conscious lyrics of earlier hits like "(For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People" and "We Are Neighbors." The move wasn't successful; "We Need Order" would peak at #61 pop and missed the R&B Top 10. The song featured the group's excellent harmonies behind singer Eugene Record's vocal, strings that were quite common on 1970s records (especially on socially-aware urban-themed songs) and flute and saxophone solos that unfairly seemed to be buried in the final mix.



Joe Cocker - "Woman to Woman"

While many fans know of "Woman to Woman" as a #1 soul song by Shirley Brown and later remade by Barbara Mandrell. However, before either of those songs was ever recorded, "Woman to Woman" was an entirely different song by Joe Cocker. It was a single off an LP titled Joe Cocker, whose press from A&M Records stated: "Only one man in the world can record an album called Joe Cocker." Considering he already had put out a 1969 LP called Joe Cocker! it would seem A&M could have considered some more original album titles instead.

The song features a repetitive riff and Cocker singing along with his female backers. The constant flow of the music and repeated intonation of the line "woman to woman" makes me wonder whether Cocker was trying to do a James Brown-type song in his own style. Peaking at #56, it didn't stay very long on the charts; however, a sample of the song would appear on a 1996 Tupac Shakur hit called "California Love."

Carly Simon - "You're So Vain"

Here's a song that is one of the best-remembered #1 hits of the 1970s. It's also a song that has been discussed, dissected, run through the rumor mill, hashed over, speculated and discussed some more. Did I forget to mention a lot of people have discussed this song? Discussion has often focused on the person Simon was thinking about when she wrote the song. From her husband James Taylor to 1970s serial playboy Warren Beatty to Mick Jagger (who sings backup during the last part of the song), many have been suggested even as Simon herself remained coy about it.

Personally, I have no idea -- nor do I really care -- about who (or is that whom?) the song is about. In fact, the lines "You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you" tells me that anybody who might wonder if they're that person would be fairly arrogant in the first place. In short, the song is well-performed, superbly crafted in the studio an incredibly catchy. A juicy slice of 1970s gossip among L.A.-based stars, it's good enough to stand on its own without any wasted time discussing who she might be singing about.