[/QUOTE] This was/is a very, very popular Isley Brothers song, and it's OK, but it's boring to be. I can stand it once in a while, but I cannot imagine a whole evening of quiet storm music like this.
The U.S. 45 has considerably more bass on it. The first thing that grabbed me was the heavy bass riff and the loud drums. It's too bad none of the CD versions sound like the 45. If they did, maybe some of the forum members would have a better opinion of it. Let's Do It Again No, not the Beach Boys song. Now this is a tune I absolutely do NOT remember hearing as a kid. This might in fact be the first time I've ever heard it. [/QUOTE] I'm amazed how a hit record can get to the national #1 spot, yet you guys haven't heard it. Amazing. The only thing I can think is that you all switched to album rock or something. It makes me wonder what other shocks i'm in for, because we are coming up on a year with tons of huge disco/pop records.
As I've said, I sure heard "Let's Do It Again" many times enough on the radio in NYC "back then." Most East Coast pressings had a runout section that was very wide, recalling many a 1950's record. And you'd think because of its length ("Edited Version" as clearly noted on the label), the cutting engineers at the Columbia studios (dig the stamped 'T1L' matrix prefix in the deadwax - their machine stamp had no letter 'I') would try to widen the grooves instead . . .
All US Top 40 Singles for 1975 - Top40Weekly.com US Top 40 Singles Week Ending 27th December, 1975 TW LW TITLE –•– Artist (Label)-Weeks on Chart (Peak To Date) 1 2 LET’S DO IT AGAIN –•– The Staple Singers (Curtom)-10 (1 week at #1) (1) 2 4 SATURDAY NIGHT –•– The Bay City Rollers (Arista)-12 (2) 3 1 THAT’S THE WAY (I Like It) –•– K.C. and the Sunshine Band (T.K.)-10 (1) 4 5 LOVE ROLLERCOASTER –•– The Ohio Players (Mercury)-7 (4) 5 6 THEME FROM “MAHOGANY” (Do You Know Where You’re Going To) –•– Diana Ross (Motown)-9 (5) 6 8 I WRITE THE SONGS –•– Barry Manilow (Arista)-7 (6) 7 14 CONVOY –•– C.W. McCall (MGM)-4 (7) 8 9 FOX ON THE RUN –•– Sweet (Capitol)-7 (8) 9 3 FLY, ROBIN, FLY –•– Silver Convention (Midland International)-12 (1) 10 12 I LOVE MUSIC (Part 1) –•– The O’Jays (Philadelphia International)-9 (10) 11 11 OUR DAY WILL COME –•– Frankie Valli (Private Stock)-11 (11) 12 7 SKY HIGH –•– Jigsaw (Chelsea)-18 (3) 13 10 NIGHTS ON BROADWAY –•– Bee Gees (RSO)-13 (7) 14 17 TIMES OF YOUR LIFE –•– Paul Anka (United Artists)-7 (14) 15 27 LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY –•– Donna Summer (Oasis)-4 (15) 16 20 COUNTRY BOY (You Got Your Feet In L.A.) –•– Glen Campbell (Capitol)-8 (16) 17 21 WALK AWAY FROM LOVE –•– David Ruffin (Motown)-8 (17) 18 18 THE LAST GAME OF THE SEASON (A Blind Man In the Bleachers) –•– David Geddes (Big Tree)-7 (18) 19 26 SING A SONG –•– Earth, Wind and Fire (Columbia)-6 (19) 20 24 YOU SEXY THING –•– Hot Chocolate (Big Tree)-9 (20) 21 25 ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE (Live Version) –•– Kiss (Casablanca)-7 (21) 22 23 PART TIME LOVE –•– Gladys Knight and the Pips (Buddah)-8 (22) 23 29 FLY AWAY –•– John Denver (with Olivia Newton-John) (RCA)-4 (23) 24 28 EVIL WOMAN –•– Electric Light Orchestra (United Artists)-7 (24) 25 22 FOR THE LOVE OF YOU (Parts 1 and 2) –•– The Isley Brothers (T-Neck)-7 (22) 26 34 LOVE MACHINE (Part 1) –•– The Miracles (Tamla)-10 (26) 27 32 OVER MY HEAD –•– Fleetwood Mac (Reprise)-8 (27) 28 30 FULL OF FIRE –•– Al Green (Hi)-8 (28) 29 13 MY LITTLE TOWN –•– Simon and Garfunkel (Columbia)-11 (9) 30 35 WINNERS AND LOSERS –•– Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds (Playboy)-8 (30) 31 19 THE WAY I WANT TO TOUCH YOU –•– The Captain and Tennille (A&M)-14 (4) 32 16 ISLAND GIRL –•– Elton John (MCA)-12 (1) 33 37 SCHOOL BOY CRUSH –•– The Average White Band (AWB) (Atlantic)-5 (33) 34 59 BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO –•– Neil Sedaka (Rocket)-3 (34) 35 38 BABY FACE –•– The Wing and a Prayer Fife and Drum Corps (Wing and a Prayer)-7 (35) 36 40 WAKE UP EVERYBODY (Part 1) –•– Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes (Philadelphia International)-6 (36) 37 45 SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT –•– Helen Reddy (Capitol)-4 (37) 38 39 FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN –•– The Marshall Tucker Band (Capricorn)-11 (38) 39 33 VOLARE –•– Al Martino (Capitol)-9 (33) 40 44 LET’S LIVE TOGETHER –•– The Road Apples (Mums / Polydor)-10 (40) THIS WEEK’S DROPS 44 15 I WANT’A DO SOMETHING FREAKY TO YOU –•– Leon Haywood (20th Century)-17 (15) 49 31 LOW RIDER –•– War (United Artists)-15 (7) 97 36 VENUS AND MARS ROCK SHOW –•– Wings (Capitol)-9 (12) POWER PLAYS 41 46 LOVE HURTS –•– Nazareth (A&M)-6 (41) 42 47 HURRICANE (Part 1) –•– Bob Dylan (Columbia)-5 (42) 43 53 LET IT SHINE / HE AIN’T HEAVY… HE’S MY BROTHER –•– Olivia Newton-John (MCA)-4 (43) 45 50 SQUEEZE BOX –•– The Who (MCA)-5 (45) 46 51 WOMAN TONIGHT –•– America (Warner Brothers)-5 (46) 47 54 PALOMA BLANCA –•– The George Baker Selection (Warner Brothers)-5 (47) 48 56 THIS OLD MAN –•– Purple Reign (Private Stock)-6 (48) 50 74 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER –•– Paul Simon (Columbia)-2 (50) DEBUTS THIS WEEK 70 — LET THE MUSIC PLAY –•– Barry White (20th Century)-1 (70) 73 — FANNY (Be Tender With My Love) –•– Bee Gees (RSO)-1 (73) 77 — LOVE OR LEAVE –•– The Spinners (Atlantic)-1 (77) 81 — BREAKAWAY –•– Art Garfunkel (Columbia)-1 (81) 82 — SWEET LOVE –•– The Commodores (Motown)-1 (82) 85 — DECEMBER, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) –•– The Four Seasons (Warner Brothers / Curb)-1 (85) 86 — I CHEAT THE HANGMAN –•– The Doobie Brothers (Warner Brothers)-1 (86) 87 — THE WHITE KNIGHT –•– Cledus Maggard and the Citizen’s Band (Mercury)-1 (87) 89 — LOVE IS THE DRUG –•– Roxy Music (Atco)-1 (89)
I already answered this. several times. Looking at lists -- "Let's Do It Again" is the last #1 of the '70s that I do not remember. I can't say the same about top 10 records, as I am sure there are some cases where I know the song but don't know the title. Because of those creations with clips of all the #1 songs (timesweeps or whatever), I know all the #1s. There wasn't anything similar for non-#1s. I am still only 8 years old at the end of 1975.
I wonder if the far-from- subtle title and subject matter of Let's Do It Again limited its play in more rural areas, like the one I grew up in? I suppose people who lived in or listened to urban radio stations had a very different pop listening experience.
Catching up: "Island Girl" was the beginning of the end for me with Elton John. Well, to be fair, it was probably ROCK OF THE WESTIES as a whole that gave me cause to pause. I didn't buy BLUE MOVES because it was a double album and my money in college was tight (plus I borrowed it and didn't care much for it--I can't remember if I ever got a copy). This lead single served mainly to tell me a new album was out, and I never warmed to it. Even now, I'm likely to turn off the radio if it comes on. "That's The Way (I Like It)" was everywhere that fall, and I couldn't escape it. My girlfriend at the time bought the LP, and offered to give it to me. I declined--a rocker like me couldn't have THAT in his dorm room! I have a greater tolerance for it now than I did when I heard it WAY too much. Never liked "Fly Robin Fly," and still don't. "Let's Do It Again" was always OK with me, but didn't cause me to buy it or any Staple Singers albums. JcS
It's very possible. But, did you hear "Pillow Talk", "The Bitch Is Back" or "Bad Blood" on the radio?
I know your questions were directed to someone else, but here are my answers. "Pillow Talk" - no, never "The Bitch Is Back" - not in the '70s, but yes in the '80s on AOR stations (I wasn't listening to pop stations at the time that song was a hit in 1974) "Bad Blood" - yes I remember hearing this around the time it was new, and it must have been on the radio, since I've never seen any vinyls of it. I don't remember what station(s) I heard it on. "Let's Do It Again" - no, never
Quite interesting because I also grew up in a rural area in the 70s and heard all of those songs in heavy rotation on the radio without any type of censorship.
I grew up in Wilmington DE, which is about 25 miles south of Philadelphia. Not really very rural. 20 miles south of Wilmington and all the way downstate -- that was/is rural. Where I live now is not very rural either --- if you were to draw a direct line (about 35-40 miles in length) between downtown Washington DC and downtown Baltimore, I'm about 5 to 10 miles west of that line. You've heard me several times say that I wasn't listening to pop radio regularly until late 1976-early 1977, so I wouldn't treat my answers (for anytime prior to that) as "typical" for my area. As I had a lot of siblings, prior to that I heard different things just by being present, but I wasn't controlling the radio dial.
As I've mentioned before, we're talking about 43 years ago - not every song we heard stuck in our heads, especially those that didn't pop up again over the years.
I don't believe there are any Pop #1s I don't know or remember hearing but there are some, even Top 10, that I have no memory of. Would make a great thread. Top 20 songs you have no clue about. For me, this really ramps up in the 90s.
Of this lot, in my collection are #1 - 6, 8 - 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 23, 27, 29, 31, 32, 36, 41 (promos of which actually credited the band as writers rather than Felice and Boudleaux Bryant - da noive), 50, 70 and 85.
I grew up in a rural area but heard a lot of music from Ft. Worth/Dallas radio stations. I’m familiar with most of the #1 songs from the 70s discussed so far, thanks mostly to having older siblings who listened to a lot of radio and bought records. For whatever reason “Let’s Do It Again” doesn’t ring a bell with me. Maybe I did hear it but it just didn’t leave an impression. FWIW, I did hear these songs on the radio.
I don't recall hearing Pillow Talk on the radio when it was a hit. I was living in a Midwestern state, however. Same with Freddy's Dead. Some songs (or genres) didn't receive a lot of airplay in some regions.
1975 #1s - My rankings from best to worst: "You're No Good" Linda Ronstadt "Listen to What the Man Said" Wings "Fame" David Bowie "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" Elton John "Black Water" The Doobie Brothers "Pick Up the Pieces" Average White Band "Philadelphia Freedom" Elton John Band "Shining Star" Earth, Wind & Fire "Sister Golden Hair" America "Best of My Love" Eagles "Bad Blood" Neil Sedaka "Lady Marmalade" LaBelle "Laughter in the Rain" Neil Sedaka "Fire" Ohio Players "One of These Nights" Eagles "Love Will Keep Us Together" Captain & Tennille "Island Girl" Elton John "Jive Talkin'" Bee Gees "Rhinestone Cowboy" Glen Campbell "Have You Never Been Mellow" Olivia Newton-John "Get Down Tonight" KC and the Sunshine Band "That's the Way (I Like It)" KC and the Sunshine Band "Mandy" Barry Manilow "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" John Denver "Let's Do It Again" The Staple Singers "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" B. J. Thomas "Lovin' You" Minnie Riperton "The Hustle" Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony "Fallin' in Love" Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds "Please Mr. Postman" The Carpenters "My Eyes Adored You" Frankie Valli "I'm Sorry" John Denver "Fly, Robin, Fly" Silver Convention "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)" Tony Orlando and Dawn "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" Freddy Fender
US Top 40 Singles Week Ending 27th December, 1975 3 THAT’S THE WAY (I Like It) –•– K.C. and the Sunshine Band (T.K.)-10 (1) 6 I WRITE THE SONGS –•– Barry Manilow (Arista)-7 (6) 12 SKY HIGH –•– Jigsaw (Chelsea)-18 (3) 13 NIGHTS ON BROADWAY –•– Bee Gees (RSO)-13 (7) 21 ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE (Live Version) –•– Kiss (Casablanca)-7 (21) 27 OVER MY HEAD –•– Fleetwood Mac (Reprise)-8 (27) 41 LOVE HURTS –•– Nazareth (A&M)-6 (41) 73 FANNY (Be Tender With My Love) –•– Bee Gees (RSO)-1 (73) 89 LOVE IS THE DRUG –•– Roxy Music (Atco)-1 (89) Not a bad haul of reasonably decent songs, certainly better than I expected
It's time once again for me to pick my song that I would have liked to see get to #1 but didn't. 1975 doesn't have as many top candidates for me as previous years, showing that I'm starting to head into the disco trough that will hit hard the next few years. But there were still a few songs I really liked. Here are some of my top contenders: Boogie on Reggae Woman, Evil Woman, The Rockford Files Theme, Killer Queen, When Will I See You Again?, Only Women Bleed (not my favorite Alice Cooper song or it would be higher), Poetry Man, Magic, Old Days, S.O.S. (my favorite ABBA song by a mile), and Jackie Blue. I ended up with three songs that I felt should be in the running for the top honor. The two runners-up: Ballroom Blitz by The Sweet. I've already talked about this one, but it's one final burst of Glam goodness on the charts. This might be my personal favorite of the three, and it would have been pretty awesome to see at least one classic glam track reach the top in the US, where the genre never really caught on. Sure, a Bowie or T.Rex song would have been more apropos, but this scorching rocker would not have been a poor representative of the silver boot crowd. So, a good choice, but I found another tune that I think is even more iconic. Below: are you ready, Mick? All right, fellas. Let's GO! Miracles by Jefferson Starship. RIP Marty Balin. This is a fantastic song, my favorite of their numbers once they changed from 'Airplane' to 'Starship'. I'm really tempted to choose it, especially given that their only actual #1 song is light years away from being my favorite number of theirs. But I don't think Miracles, as much as I love it, has stood the test of time quite as well as my actual choice. So, my choice for the 1975 song I most would have liked to see get to #1 is Low Rider by War. Really, either this song or Why Can't We Be Friends?, which also came out in 1975, would be a great choice. Both are catchy and irresistible and showcase this great band perfectly. But I'm going with Low Rider because, besides being flat-out awesome, it is also one of the most distinctive numbers of the era. From the low, low vocal line, to that inimitable bass and sax, this song is just so effin' COOL. It really evokes the low riders of LA driving along the street on a hot day, doesn't it? War was formed in Long Beach, California in 1969. By that point, members of the band had been playing together in various configurations for several years. They were a multi-racial band who would dabble in all manners of musical genres. In 1969, they were backing football player Deacon Jones as a band called Nightshift when they were seen by record producer Jerry Goldstein. Goldstein liked their style and their professed desire to use their music to spread positive messages against racism and gangs. Goldstein told Eric Burdon, the former Animals star, about them, and soon Burdon was performing with the group, now renamed War (I'm sure Deacon wasn't too disappointed with being dropped; he still had his football career, after all). It wouldn't take War long to come up with a classic song. Spill the Wine featured Burdon on vocals and War as the instrumentalists. It reached #3 in 1970. In late 1970, they were involved in a little history. Playing in the UK, they were joined on stage by Jimi Hendrix, a good friend of Burdon's. Just a day later, Hendrix was dead; this impromptu appearance would be his final concert performance. All good things must end, and Burdon left War after their second album together. At first War struggled, but within a relatively short time, they were producing hits of their own. Slippin' Into Darkness became a million seller in 1972, and their next album, the World is a Ghetto, would go on to be the best selling album of 1973 in the States. It featured the single the Cisco Kid, which reached #2. In 1975, their album Why Can't We Be Friends? featured both of the songs I've been talking about. The title song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, while Low Rider reached #7. War had another big hit the following year with Summer (another of my favorite tracks of the seventies), but after that, the group's fortunes waned and they never had another top ten hit. Charles Miller provided the fantastic lead vocal for Low Rider, and is credited by some as the main writer of the song as well. Alas, his is a tragic story. In 1980, he was stabbed to death in LA during a robbery attempt. To this day, the case remains unsolved. Long before that sad event, War provided a great string of fantastic singles and albums, lighting up the seventies with their wonderful mix of styles and sounds. They really did live up to their goal of spreading positive vibes through music, and if they didn't end racial strife or ghetto problems, their 'war' on it sure did produce a lot of happiness in the attempt.
"When Will I See You Again" peaked in September of 1974. I ended up with three songs that I felt should be in the running for the top honor. The two runners-up: Ballroom Blitz by The Sweet. I've already talked about this one, but it's one final burst of Glam goodness on the charts. This might be my personal favorite of the three, and it would have been pretty awesome to see at least one classic glam track reach the top in the US, where the genre never really caught on. Sure, a Bowie or T.Rex song would have been more apropos, but this scorching rocker would not have been a poor representative of the silver boot crowd. So, a good choice, but I found another tune that I think is even more iconic. Below: are you ready, Mick? All right, fellas. Let's GO! Miracles by Jefferson Starship. RIP Marty Balin. This is a fantastic song, my favorite of their numbers once they changed from 'Airplane' to 'Starship'. I'm really tempted to choose it, especially given that their only actual #1 song is light years away from being my favorite number of theirs. But I don't think Miracles, as much as I love it, has stood the test of time quite as well as my actual choice. That's a compelling argument. I would have thought "Miracles" would have made it, but, what do we know?
1975 Awards Favorite #1 of 1975 - Doobie Brothers - Black Water runner up is Neil Sedaka's Laughter in the Rain Least favorite #1 of 1975 - I have to go with my birth song, The Silver Convention - Fly Robin Fly How the full list fared: Keeps: Elton John - Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds Barry Manilow - Mandy Neil Sedaka - Laughter in the Rain Linda Ronstadt - You're No Good Average White Band - Pick up the Pieces Eagles - Best of My Love Doobie Brothers - Black Water Labelle - Lady Marmalade Elton John - Philadelphia Freedom BJ Thomas - Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song Earth, Wind & Fire - Shining Star Freddy Fender - Before the Next Teardrop Falls America - Sister Golden Hair Captian & Tennille - Love Will Keep Us Together Wings - Listen to What the Man Said Van McCoy - The Hustle Bee Gees - Jive Talkin' KC & the Sunshine Band - Get Down Tonight Glenn Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy David Bowie - Fame Elton John - Island Girl KC & the Sunshine Band - That's the Way (I Like it) Trashes: Carpenters - Mr. Postman Ohio Players - Fire Olivia Newton-John - Have You Never Been Mellow Frankie Valli - My Eyes Adored You Minnie Riperton - Lovin' You Tony Orlando & Dawn - He Don't Love You (Like I Love You) John Denver - Thank God I'm a Country Boy Eagles - One of These Nights Hamilton, Joe Frank, & Reynolds - Fallin' in Love John Denver - I'm Sorry Neil Sedaka - Bad Blood The Silver Convention - Fly Robin Fly Staple Singers - Let's Do It Again
Sweet had 2 great songs in 1975, the other being “Fox on the Run” War was a great band and “Lowrider” was probably my favorite tune by them.
Personally, I think 1975 was a pretty good year. Even my “least favorite” songs are more “meh” to me than songs I despise. A lot of hit songs and a lot of variety. Unfortunately, this is the point that the quality of the number 1 songs begins to decline. Favorites of 1975: Listen to What the Man Said - Wings Laughter in the Rain - Neil Sedaka You’re No Good - Linda Ronstadt Black Water - Doobie Brothers Fame - David Bowie Least Favorites: Fly Robin Fly - Silver Convention Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song - BJ Thomas
