American as very “meh” to me, especially considering the number of albums they put out. But Sister Golden Hair I quite like, though I agree with someone else that it doesn’t really strike me as number one material, as much as I enjoy it. A real nice, breezy flowing song and I never get tired of hearing it. To my comment on the number of albums they had, I just recalled that the greatest hits album I have seemed like a struggle to fill with material. I like all their hits, they just didn’t really have many.
Philadelphia Freedom Right around this time, I moved towns for the only time in my childhood. Up until Spring of 1975, we had lived in Detroit, but then we moved to New England, where I lived until college. This is one of the earliest songs that I exclusively associate with my new hometown. I was in third grade, so 8 years old. My main early memory after the move was the Bicentennial. We spent a lot of time in school in 1975 and 1976 talking about it. Our teachers even built a colonial house near the school (think of the scene from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; a traditional house raising). The house was still standing when I visited the school in the early 2000s, albeit with a bit more carved graffiti than before. I like Philly Freedom. Not hugely, but it shows just how well Elton could come up with catchy melodies and hooks. I watched a lot of tennis in the 70s, but it started maybe a year or two after this song came out, so I didn't know about the Billy Jean King connection. Cool to learn! (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song OK, is this the song with the longest title that reached #1? I can think of one song coming up that's a medley, and without looking it up, I think the title may have included ALL the songs in the medley. But other than something like that, I think this might win the prize, eh? BJ Thomas is OK, but this is far from my favorite of his songs. We seem to be hitting a fallow period on the charts... He Don't Love You (Like I Love You) I had totally forgotten about this one, but hearing just a few notes caused it to rush back like a typhoid outbreak. Not my favorite artistes, Dawn and Mr. Orlando. I do like the original of this number quite a bit more, and this was yet another song that was in my handy dandy book of simple-to-learn piano pieces. Were Tony O and Co still on TV at this time? I do remember watching their show quite a bit with the parents back in the day.
I think America was a pretty lousy band overall, but this one works for me - probably because it sounds like an outtake from a lost George Harrison album...
Sister Golden Hair: passable, very much so, one of their best I think (although not near my favourite I Need You), certainly one of the best no. 1 songs in the few years before and after.
At the time, yes, I remember Casey Kasem telling all of us geeky AT40 fans that indeed Wrong Song was the longest number one title.
Well, I assume you grew up in the Pacific northwest, so you live in a weird area of the country, anyway.
We're a couple of weeks past it's chart peak (#35) but I feel remiss in not pointing out Supertramp's first chart single Bloody Well Right.
I remember hearing this on the radio a lot back then, and thinking that is was quite an unusual song compared to what I usually heard.
That's bloody well one of my favorite Supertramp songs. The long electric piano intro is terrific and the song itself is a real rocker. Plus those exaggerated "quite right"s are hilarious. I'm not in the "Supertramp were better before they got popular" crowd, but they were definitely on a high point in '75.
Catching up: HATED Freddy Fender's song at the time. I mean, it was one I'd get out of my chair and walk across the room to find another station if it came on--that kind of hate (I don't get up for just anything!). I still don't like it. John Denver's song was the subject of some ribald rewriting, and I won't demean myself by repeating it here. But I do remember it. I liked it at the time, and still like hearing it now and then, but I don't own it. America was a group that was always "just there" for me in this time frame. The two songs they did that I liked most weren't big hits--"Only In Your Heart" and "Daisy Jane" both are on my playlist on my MP3 player. Of the rest of their hits, I'd put "Sister Golden Hair" way up the list, and when it comes on the radio now, I don't turn it off unless I've heard it in the previous month. JcS
...Did " Sister Golden Hair " say " correspondent ' + letter writer - or " co- respondent ", this legal phrase I"d have to look up now?
...I remember Robert Christgau referring to this song as ' an impassioned plea for complacency '! Thumb, post: 19624783, member: 70080"]That's bloody well one of my favorite Supertramp songs. The long electric piano intro is terrific and the song itself is a real rocker. Plus those exaggerated "quite right"s are hilarious. I'm not in the "Supertramp were better before they got popular" crowd, but they were definitely on a high point in '75.[/QUOTE]
I think Qobuz will start very soon at the 15th Annual Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest (RMAF) if I understand this websites correctly: Qobuz: Coming to America Qobuz Expands Team and Prepares for US Launch in Fall 2018
Never liked Bloody Well Right. It was one of the (very few) songs that I attempted to hear on the radio, without success. Eventually I heard If Everyone Was Listening, and decided that was enough to buy Crime of the Century. Had I heard Bloody Well Right, I would have just forgotten about the whole thing. Well, at least until I heard Hide in Your Shell ...
Now we have the biggest hit of 1975, "Love will Keep Us Together", by Captain and Tennille, #1 from June 15 - July 18, 1975.
As a teenager in the '80s, the Captain and Tennille were one of those acts we were all supposed to hate because they were so square and old-fashioned from our point of view, yet I knew quite a few people who liked or even loved this song. I remember my best friend buying a copy on the A&M "memories" label (the pink and white one). He had some pleasant memories of watching them on TV with his mother when he was little. As he and his mother hated each other with a passion by the time we were in high school, that was pretty bittersweet for him - but we did like the song and a few others. (For my part, I had an original copy of "The Way I Want to Touch You" in my collection, still the only C&T record I own.)
You couldn’t miss this song in 1975. It was the biggest single of the year. A few months ago, I posted this about comment about Toni Tennille being an underrated vocalist: She had a fabulous voice with great vocal range, and she could sing all kinds of songs. Unfortunately, she wasted that voice on a lot of crap with shoddy production courtesy of her husband, Daryl Dragon. What she needed was a top flight producer. I still stand by that assessment. “Love Will Keep Us Together” is nice Sedaka pop tune, with a fine vocal from Toni Tennille. But it’s almost ruined by “The Captain’s” vast array of keyboard/synthesizer sludge. The Wrecking Crew supposedly played on this song, but I sure can’t hear any trace of them. I do like the song - it’s catchy enough to overcome its problems. I think Toni Tennille was a real talent. She could sing sweet songs like “The Way I Want to Touch You” and soulful numbers like Billy Preston’s “Song of Joy” (a wonderful vocal). Her vocal range is on full display in their hit, “Lonlely Nights (Angel Face).” She may have developed into a fine AC songwriter - she wrote 2 Top 10 hits. If she only had a real producer...
This is another case of an act's biggest hit being some of their lesser work, IMO. "Lonely Night (Angel Face)" is a far superior song as far as I'm concerned, and my personal favorite was this one:
