I need a "Don't like" button for this forum. Here are 12" versions of this song (7:44) and "Lady Bump" (6:21): Silver Convention:Penny McLean:Fly, Robin, Fly / Lady Bump - Split-Single-CD, Re-Release
I just listened to part of a 12" version video of "Lady Bump" on YT. This song and the two Silver Connection confections are listenable to me. Of course, only infrequently. The worst songs are the one that are totally non-distinguished with no charm whatsoever. None of these disco hits were close to favorites, but I enjoyed them for what they offered even if wasn't that much.
Ronstadt's version is fine, but "...the original is still the greatest," as Dobie Gray sang in The In Crowd (1966).
Judging by how much radio airplay it got, it sure sounded like a No. 1. This goes to show you how chart positions are relative, and not really that important in the totality of things. Sirius-XM's 70s channel plays this one a lot.
Fly, Robin, Fly is okay, but not great. Not one of my favorites. It gets as trite as the KC & Sunshine's disco songs, which aren't appealing to me, either.
This is true. As I recall (a bit fuzzily -- hey, this was 1973 or 4), it was an ensemble number, with one of the female cast members singing lead. This is apparently the original London cast. I remember the LA version being a shade faster, but memory may be playing tricks on me.
I was not a big disco fan but did like some disco hits by Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, The Village People and a couple others. I never, ever understood what anyone saw in KC and the Sunshine Band. They were always fingernails on a blackboard to me.
We are getting to the era where there will be a lot of disagreement over music, and a lot of people who dislike disco. Brace yourselves! It's gonna get nasty!
I think you get KC or you don’t. I can see why a lot of people don’t like them. I’m not even sure why I do as their songs aside from the two we have discussed are pretty simple and very repetitive, but the two number ones we have already seen were very well produced. But I have always enjoyed the vast majority of their music and own all their albums on vinyl. All get played to this day from time to time.
ROFLMAO! Actually, Penny McLean's involvement with Silver Convention started AFTER the worldwide success of FRF. The identities of the session vocalists on their only U.S. #1 hit remain anonymous.
I have zero use for disco and would prefer to pretend it never existed. Similarly, while I love The Bee Gees of the 60s and early 70s, I have no use for their disco period — with the exception of this song, which I have always begrudgingly admitted is pretty good.
Here is a story from January 1976 (Google translation): The recipe was simple: on an exciting monotonous bass dancer's leg tingling violin or synthesizer sounds as well as a simple poster line "of high signal value" (Kunze) were pasted - for example: "Fly, Robin, fly, up up to the sky". With the phrasing of American guitarists and the winds of the so-called Philadelphia sound, "our musicians could not compete, so we skipped those instruments" (Kunze). For the "Silver Convention" recordings six strings were hired by the Munich Philharmonic, whose dry and precise sound today arouses the envy of American record makers. On the other hand, Kunze received a low blow at home in Germany. After the "Silver Convention" singing trio had received congratulations for the US top placement in ZDF's "Starparade" in November, the "Bild" newspaper rumbled: "25 million TV viewers tricked". On the "Robin" vinyl record the three ladies would not have sung. The message was correct. During the six LP recording weeks Kunze had worked with different singers, the final trio was formed later. Who really sounds like a short vocal cast from the groove, is of minor importance. In such synthetic 24-track studio recordings with sophisticated crossfading and mixing technique, the voices are interchangeable; the producer makes the music. Now, at least, there is the ladies' troupe, choreographed trimmed and in best stage form, from the dark GI-daughter Ramona Wulf, formerly interpreter of the song "Du, ich brauche was, und das bist du", the former Les Humphries-choir singer Linda G. Thompson aka Linda Uebelherr, who incidentally Kunze the disco hit "Ooh, What A Night" fabricated, and Penny McLean aka Gertrude Münzer, from Klagenfurt. Their solo single "Lady Bump" is currently starting in the USA and is already number one in Germany. An interview with Michael Kunze (search for "Robin"): Google Übersetzer
Here's a recording act that was one of the early practitioners of Disco but never capitalized on the genre's popularity. As of this week in '75, they were on the chart with their second effort, a disco-fied Beatles tune Drive My Car. Strangely enough, this won't be the last time that particular song gets the disco treatment but I'm gonna save that for when the time comes. Meanwhile, here's their biggest hit which reached #46 back in the summer of '75.
Now we have the final #1 (for a full week) of 1975, "Let's Do It Again" by the Staple singers, # 1 from December 21 - December 27, 1975.
As I just said over in the R&B #1s thread, I've got no memory of this one at all from the time - noteworthy, because my uncle was a huge Staples fan, owning several albums and singles. Either he didn't like this one, or it never made enough of an impression for me to recall it. I finally heard this one about a decade ago I guess. Meh. Strikes me as very generic. I'm stunned it made it to #1 on either chart, and imagine a lot of other people felt the same way, because I never recall hearing this on oldies radio in the '80s. Mavis deserved better...
My favorite song by the disco era Bee Gees. Unfortunately, it’s also the beginning of Barry’s falsettos, which I don’t particularly like. However, on this track they are kept to economical levels and used to great effect.
I definitely remember this on the radio, but I never liked it. I always assumed that it worked much better in a club or on the dance floor than on the radio.
It's okay but yeah, #1? Guess being connected to a movie doesn't hurt. Somewhat of a let-down to the end of the year.
The Staple Singers had some great records. This isn’t one of them. I’m really surprised that it made it to Number 1.
