EVERY Billboard #1 hit discussion thread 1958-Present

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by alphanguy, Jan 29, 2016.

  1. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Yup...they had to take what they could get. I heard a fantastic podcast about K-tel, and the guy that handled the licensing and just about everything else for them was the guest. What a great listen if you were around then and a fan of K-tel, Ronco etc. And they had different songs in different countries, which made his job even more challenging. And he talked about why some things couldn’t be licensed, and who he was buddies with (you can tell just by seeing what labels they had the most songs from). Also talked about those wacky covers. Great fun! I have a huge percentage of those albums (why I don’t know....I never play them and if I did, I believe my speakers would collapse in protest of the sound). But like a lot of you, I played them all the time as a kid so they bring back fond memories. And, in the later years they used the masters and cut it down to 5-6 songs per side, so now it’s fun to grab one like that and see how the hits sound! Fun Fact: they didn’t always cut the songs just to make them fit. A lot of times they could only use what the labels sent them, and often they were truncated.
     
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  2. tmoore

    tmoore Forum Resident

    Location:
    Olney, MD
    I will jump WAY ahead here just this once, as we won't hit 2001 until the 2010s are over. The Bee Gees 2001 track "This Is Where I Came In" was one of my favorite tracks of that year.
     
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  3. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    No, they were doing R&B. YOU think they were doing disco.:D
     
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2018
    Jrr likes this.
  4. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    It didn't come across very well on this particular thread.
     
  5. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    I've never heard that before. They were popular in America at the same time disco was, and their biggest US hit could pass for a disco song, but I never actually heard anyone call them a disco act.
     
  6. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I was a teen in the mid-late 70s. I never, ever heard of ABBA being described as a disco band. Not only that, none of their records were played in discos until after "Dancing Queen" in 1976/77.

    Trust me, ABBA was always considered an easy listening or soft rock band, not disco.
     
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  7. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Glad you asked because I was curious but was too chicken to do so. And TK lost a lot of masters in a warehouse fire so not sure if that has been the issue. Geez, it is so muddy sounding a good needledrop would likely be an improvement though.
     
  8. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    That was one WEIRD album, eh? But it grew on me. Too bad nothing from that will come up here, even if it were pre 2000. And the video was even more strange. Barry in bed with a teddy bear? Geez. I’m sure someone will set me straight here but was there a significance I missed or was it just bizarre. Sorry...I know this is way off track but I can’t imagine that album is ever going to come up again anywere on this forum...lol!
     
  9. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Yes, I think that’s just about right. However, I think it was a certain demographic of person that considered them so. Think Cher and you’ll get it. I agree though...they stumbled on some songs that could be considered as such but I sincerely doubt they wanted to be anything close to that. They really did have their own vibe and surely didn’t feel the need for any kind of label. Sometimes the public slaps one on...ask the Brother’s Gibb!
     
  10. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    I think people are silly to consider Abba a disco act, even in 77-80 time period... "The Name Of The Game", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "The Winner Takes It All", "Chiquitita", "Fernando"... disco? I think not.
     
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  11. Dougd

    Dougd Forum Resident

    Location:
    Fla.
    I receive notices, but notice they stop (in the email) if I haven't visited the thread in a while.
    The notices are always updated on the "watched threads" link, which I visit most often. I leave my SH Forums window set on that.
     
  12. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    Now we have "Annie's Song" by John Denver, #1 from July 21 - August 3, 1974.

     
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  13. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Here was where "Denvermania" was beginning to crystallize. There were two typesetting variants on U.S. labels, all signifying a pressing plant. The copy I have is Hollywood's:
    [​IMG]
    Another type variant, from Indianapolis, started out orange and, as the record's chart run continued, would go light grey. Here's the orange o' that:
    [​IMG]
    I think it was this number that formed the basis for a routine, "Farewell To John Denver," that the Monty Python crew put on their Contractual Obligation Album (which had a representation of him strangled to death while performing this song) that Mr. Denver's lawyers had sued to have taken out.
     
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  14. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    Probably my favorite John Denver song.
     
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  15. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    I'm surprised this one made it to #1. We forget how big John Denver got in the '70s. This one always reminded me of the theme from The Waltons for some reason, with vocals in place of horns, and seems equally wholesome.



    I liked the song and it's pretty, but it's probably my least favorite of Denver's big hits.
     
  16. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Yes, not one of my favorites by him but I completely see why others like it and that it made it to number one during that time period is no surprise.
     
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  17. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    I did not take to this one during it's run. With Denver's music, I generally really liked the tunes or hated them. In this case, at some point in time I started to come around to it's sweet, lovely nature and these days, quite enjoy it.
     
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  18. Hoover Factory

    Hoover Factory Old Dude Who Knows Things

    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a fan of John Denver, but this is one of his better songs, far better than “Sunshine of My Shoulders”
     
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  19. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    This was a number one here too. In fact, I think it was Denver’s only UK top 40 hit... Nice song. It would be make the top 5 four years later in instrumental form by flautist James Galway.



    Despite having not much singles success, Denver did well as a live act in the UK and had some albums success. For the record, I think his 1975 Windsong album is excellent. And not just because it features Olivia on one of the songs.:)
     
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  20. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    One of my favorite John Denver songs. Just this side of saccharine, beautiful and loving without being cloying. That's a difficult tightrope to walk, but he did it pretty well.
     
  21. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Mr. Galway was once impersonated by Benny Hill as "James Gaulstone" in a 1985 parody of mail order record ads called "For Ever Love." The highlight in the end was where he did a rendition of "Annie's Song" so bad the statue had to cover its ears!
     
  22. Mylene

    Mylene Senior Member

    Denver supposedly sacked his manager for spending too much time in England.
     
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  23. Victor/Victrola

    Victor/Victrola Makng shure its write

    "You fill up my sinuses and give me a headache" - Allergy's Song.
     
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  24. Black Thumb

    Black Thumb Yah Mo B There

    Location:
    Reno, NV
    "Annie's Song" was purportedly written in 10 minutes on a ski lift, after John fled to Switzerland during a rough patch in his marriage.

    It's a pleasant tune, obviously heartfelt, but not really my cup of chamomile.

    And it kept "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" at #2. So, boo!

    [​IMG]
     
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  25. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    One of my top five Elton John songs! I only like the original, though. It was a nice presence on the radio during that summer.

    For decades, I thought it was a single-only release, as Elton was know to release them during the 70s. It just never hit me that it was the first single from the "Caribou" album.
     
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