Yup. Distantly (8th cousin) related thru Madge's mum, who was at least part French Canadian, just like Celine. Madonna is related to Céline Dion
That one made it onto Bee Gees Greatest, their mega-selling two-disc hits package from the end of '79 (released just in time for Christmas). That album probably dropped a little too close to Spirits Having Flown and too far into the collapse of disco - it sold OK but probably not as well as expected (2x Platinum in the US). I never particularly cared for "Wind", but some of the other rarer cuts that made Greatest were really good.
For me, I'm just not a fan of falsetto in general, no matter who does it (too shrill in tone). I LOVE when Barry sings in that breathy half voice, but the screaming falsetto, just doesn't rock my world. Same with Lou Christie, I far prefer him singing in his regular voice.
Next we have "Fallin In Love" by Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds, # 1 from August 17 - August 23, 1975.
This song was their only #1, but although it topped out at #4, "Don't Pull Your Love" from 1971 almost seems to have supplanted this one on oldies radio. Their other 1971 single that stalled at #41 I always felt should have been a far bigger hit.
This one seems to have a lot of fans online, but as you noted '71's "Don't Pull Your Love" seems to be the song they're best-remembered by on oldies radio. I never knew "Fallin' In Love" was them, to be honest. I'd hear it very rarely on oldies radio into the early '80s but always assumed it was a) older than '75 and b) by some generic '70s studio outfit or maybe a fading '60s or early '70s solo act like B.J. Thomas. Generic and kind of mellow. Inoffensive enough, but it's never been a track I sought out.
I like the sound of this one. Kind of airy with the tinkling piano and synth. They were already & Dennison by this point but decided to keep the old name apparently with Dennison's blessing. No ego there! I liked the follow-up Winners & Losers, too as well as the early 70s stuff already mentioned and one more I bought back then - Anna Bella. I think we may have discussed all this when we were in '71 but in case you forgot, these guys evolved from an instrumental group called The T-bones who had a Top 5 hit in '66 with No Matter What Shape and used in an Alka Seltzer commercial.
What I wonder is how far away do you get before it's insignificant? I have a first cousin who is famous and wealthy, but I don't think of it at all. My favorite is "Warm Ride", which I recall got a bit of airtime...but that's jumping ahead. You probably don't like the Warner Brothers era Prince or Smokey Robinson, then. Love this song. Nice and soulful. Big hit around these parts.
I always envision a bunch of go-go dancers in the heard of some guy suffering from an upset stomach. In fact, the tune was originally the jingle for Alka Seltzer before it was recorded for a single.
Was the only #1 in the Hot 100 to be had by Playboy Records, which was in the larger scheme of things among the least successful ventures of Hugh Hefner's empire - and in an era where companies were diversifying into areas where they had virtually zero knowledge about or experience in. Their only steady success to speak of was on the country charts with Mickey Gilley. By 1976-77, they were latching on to CBS Records for distribution and by 1978 the label was all but kaput. This was the first U.S. label to issue singles by a group that would come to be known as ABBA, before manager Stig Anderson lined them up with Atlantic (starting with "Waterloo"); I.I.N.M., to his dying day he blamed lack of promotion on Playboy's part for why they weren't as big stars in the U.S. as he felt they should have been. The producer of this one was Jim Price, who'd handled Joe Cocker's rendition of "You Are So Beautiful" that was a hit for him earlier in this year.
Indifferent to "Fawwin' In Wuv". Don't hate it, don't love it. Wouldn't buy it, but wouldn't switch the radio station if it came on. Doesn't have nearly the strong appeal that "Don't Pull Your Love" had.
Airy, exactly. Brisk and bracing. The lyrics are no great shakes but the production is quality. Ah, so I'm not the only one who thinks that particular vocal affectation sticks out like a sore thumb! Agree 100%. That was a fantastic record.
Dunno. Win the lottery and see how many distant cousins come crawling out of the woodwork, and how distant they are. I wouldn't be surprised if a few 8th cousins suddenly popped up...
Heard "Fallin' In Love" a lot more than "Don't Pull Your Love" as a youngster -- but the timeframe I am referencing would be right around the time "Fallin' In Love" was a hit, so that makes sense. In recent years, I haven't heard "Fallin' In Love" at all. I have heard "Don't Pull Your Love" maybe a handful of times. But I generally don't listen to stations where either song would be played. As a result, my recent observations may not mean much.
"Fallin' In Love" has a nice groove to it but the song just hangs there. It lacks that certain element of tension that made "Don't Pull Your Love" so appealing.
Oh, I know I got 'em! Whenever I log into Facebook twice a year, I get relatives I never even heard of!
The reason I hear both songs a lot is because I constantly listen to my music collection which consists of mostly oldies. But, the most I ever heard "Don't Pull Your Love" is when we were on vacation in Texas in 1971, and we listened to nothing but Black radio.
There was a nice remake in the mid 90s by a band called La Bouche (they had a US top 10 single with 'Be My Lover'). The female singer had a great voice.
When I was listening to it last night I thought it could translate well to the hip-hop era. Not a surprise someone tried to remake it, although that vid doesn't play in America. This version works here, but the quality is pretty naff: Would also work as a modern country tune...
