EVERY Billboard #1 hit discussion thread 1958-Present

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

  1. Grant

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

    Don't forget "Do It, Baby" from 1974 and "Love Machine" from 1976. Except, Smokey had gone solo by then. He had his own hits in the 70s like "Baby, That's Backatcha".

    "Satin Soul". It was all Barry White, of course.

    "#9 Dream" is great, but lets's not forget "Imagine".

    I really love his version of "The First Cut Is The Deepest". He made it his own.

    You're not alone!

    100% agree! I also include "Last Time I Saw Him".

    He was more of a songwriter and record producer, but he did have a single a year later that built on this. It is called "Party".

    Carly Simon had a knack for socially relevant songs without sounding topical.

    That's why his original greatest hits album was such a best-seller. It plays like a regular album in its own right. It's only flaw is that it doesn't have "Philadelphia Freedom" on it.

    "M" was actually a DJ.

    That's why I gave @sunspot42 a o_O . He also may have forgotten "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge, who was at that point, an extension of the Chic Organization.

    Oh yes! "Jazzman"! Such an overlooked and underrated song! It made top 40 radio fun.

    That might be because the majority of his 70s stuff fared better on the R&B chart. "Joy", "Ain't That Loving You" with Dave Porter, "Don't Let Go", and "Chocolate Chip". But, I remember all but the last to being played a lot of pop radio.
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2019
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  2. Wild Horse

    Wild Horse Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    I forgot those two from the Smokey-less Miracles. They were both pretty cool in different ways. "Cruisin'" is easily my favourite thing Smokey ever did on his own.


    I vastly prefer "#9 Dream" due to it's 'dreaminess' and the fact "Imagine" has been played to death. And a rich rock star singing about "imagine no possessions" is hilarious. Yeah, you first, John. You can start by giving the Rolls Royce to charity.


    Yeah, his version was the best version of that song.



    Okay, then check this out ... I actually like "Muskrat Love". I like the keyboard sound, I think it's cute, and it has a feel good vibe.

    Now I may be alone. :D



    Absolutely. The perfect EJ greatest hits album would have been a double released in 1976 ...

    Side 1: "Your Song", "Amoreena", "Love Song", "Levon", "Tiny Dancer"

    Side 2: "Rocket Man", "Honky Cat", "Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters", "Crocodile Rock", "Daniel".

    Side 3: "Saturday Nights Alright For Fighting", "Goodbye YBR", "Bennie & The Jets", "Candle In The Wind" "Don't Let The Sun Go Down".

    Side 4: "The Bitch Is Back", "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds", "Philadelphia Freedom", "Someone Saved My Life Tonight", "Island Girl"

    I would have worn that album out. :agree:


    "We Are Family" was huge, and as good as the Chic hits. But, I see Sunspot's point that Chic's chart reign was very short lived. 1978 to 1979, and then they were gone.

    Nile Rodgers went on to other successes, though.



    :righton: I love everything about that song.



    I like his versions of "Walk On By" and "By The Time I Get To Phoenix", but I think they were from 1969.

    "Don't Let Go" was enjoyable, but really different from his earlier 70s stuff. More poppy. I think "Don't Let Go" was on the charts right where we are in the thread now.
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2019
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  3. Cheevyjames

    Cheevyjames Forum Resident

    Location:
    Graham, NC
    1979 Overview

    There was definitely some great music that came out this year. Some of it was still thoroughly in the 70's while a handful of tracks were pointing to the upcoming decade. Things like Pop Muzik, My Sharona, Tragedy and Heart of Glass showed some of the directions we'd see again. I like changes and evolution in music so I'm excited to get to the songs from the 80's. The 80's were also the decade I really grew up in; I was 5 when the calendar turned. Even though I only started participating in this thread beginning in '75, I did follow along since day 1. I wasn't very familiar with so many of these 70's #1 songs so this thread has been a great education. I found out I like a lot more Bee Gees songs than I ever thought possible, as well as just disco in general. Sure there was some dreck, 1979 had quite a few, but there was also a significant amount of quality songs that I hadn't been exposed to before. 1979 surprised me with how much I did love. Here are the #1's that are Keepers for me:

    Bee Gees - Too Much Heaven
    Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
    Bee Gees - Tragedy
    Amii Stewart - Knock On Wood
    Blondie - Heart of Glass
    Donna Summer - Hot Stuff
    Bee Gees - Love You Inside Out
    Donna Summer - Bad Girls
    Chic - Good Times
    The Knack - My Sharona
    Michael Jackson - Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
    Herb Alpert - Rise
    M - Pop Muzik
    Commodores - Still

    My favorite #1 of the year is Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive. Tremendous song. On to the 80's!
     
  4. Grant

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

    I hear ya! In fact, John was criticized about his apparent hypocrisy of a lot of things at the time. I absolutely love "#9 Dream", but somehow, I keep wanting to put it back in 1973. And, BTW, I love "Mind Games". Man! For a good two or three years, John gave Paul a run for his money.

    No, i'm still there with you! "Really like C&T's "Muskrat Love". "Circles", too.


    There would have been no need to buy his studio albums!:agree:

    They weren't gone. We will see later on both of these charts.

    So did Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson. People keep forgetting about them.:realmad:

    It's actually the first Carole King record I ever bought I liked it so much. The aural space, the compression, instrumentation, arrangement, everything!

    I like his versions of "Walk On By" and "By The Time I Get To Phoenix", but I think they were from 1969.

    True. It's jumping ahead.:hide: but, I mentioned it because it was more of an R&B hit single. And, BTW, i'm about to introduce the 80s in that thread. Come join us.
     
  5. Wild Horse

    Wild Horse Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    "Mind Games" was another really good one from Lennon, but the production is pretty lousy. I think "Jealous Guy" would have made a great single.

    I imagine many of us have put together in our minds that final Beatles album that never was from their early 70s singles. Even Ringo had a few good ones to bring to the table; "Photograph", "It Don't Come Easy".

    Sonically it never works though, because of the production differences.



    I like America's original version of "Muskrat Love", too. But, C&T's keyboard sound, earnestness, and goofy Muskrat sounds just makes it a perfect 70s AM radio guilty pleasure for me.




    For many, yep.

    But, I love the 5 albums from "Tumbleweed Connection" to "Goodbye YBR" like they're dear old friends.



    Chic made the Top 40 in the 80s? :confused:



    I had the Power Station cassette in the 80s. But, it was John Taylor of Duran Duran on bass instead of Bernard Edwards. Tony Thompson was going to join a reformed Led Zeppelin for a few minutes in the 80s, as you might already know.



    You never hear much about that song, so it's nice to see someone else is a big fan of it, too. I love the vibe of it.


    I have a little more free time lately, so I think I will. I always have to dig around for this thread. Is there an easy way to find both threads without an email every time someone posts? I guess the search engine.

    Our great thread here sinks pretty quickly when a thread about The Beatles' favourite day of the week and whether Paul liked smooth or chunky peanut butter is being made every 10 seconds. :blah:

    :D
     
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  6. Grant

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

    No, but their presence was still felt. They did score four more top 40 singles on the R&B chart in the 80s, including one top 10.

    Bernard Edwards put it together as the producer. Each member recorded their parts in different countries. Thompson not only was part of The Power Station, but played on Madonna's second album. Bernard Edwards produced and played on several 80s hits with and without Chic.

    My conspiracy theory is that the moderators and Grant-haters sabotaged the R&B thread. :D Seriously, I set up a speed dial for that thread in Chrome. That way I always have instant access to it. Otherwise, it sinks too fast.
     
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  7. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    Presence still felt <> "superstars". Chic were superstars for literally like a year and change. Sister Sledge had an even shorter career in the Top 20 - less than a year.
     
  8. Grant

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

    Not true. Sister Sledge hit the pop top 40 at least one more time. But, you have to remember that both groups were blacklisted because of the disc backlash. That changed the playing field for all R&B artists. Remembering that, most fared much better on the R&B chart.
     
  9. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Amazing at how there can be so many points of view, totally opposite in some cases, but just as valid. On Chic, I’ll be more diplomatic...maybe he doesn’t know who they are?? :D Yes, that didn’t make much sense. But neither do I on on some of this stuff! Even though I lean more in his direction on the subjective points, in this case, your points are also excellent and I enjoyed the post!
     
  10. John54

    John54 Senior Member

    Location:
    Burlington, ON
    My Top 10 '70s no. 1's, in order of release:

    The Long and Winding Road
    My Sweet Lord [the flip Isn't It a Pity is good too]
    Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey
    Maggie May [the flip Reason to Believe is good too]
    Gypsies Tramps and Thieves
    Without You
    The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
    Love's Theme
    Can't Get Enough of Your Love Babe
    Dancing Queen

    rounding out the Top 21 (as it happens):

    I Think I Love You
    Just My Imagination
    My Ding-a-Ling
    Me and Mrs. Jones
    Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)
    Photograph
    Best of My Love
    One of These Nights
    That's The Way I Like It
    Afternoon Delight
    Kiss You All Over

    Meanwhile, here's the Bottom 21 which are instant channel-changers:

    Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
    Tears of a Clown
    Joy to the World
    A Horse with No Name
    Candy Man
    Lean On Me
    Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me
    Tie a Yellow Ribbon
    Will It Go Round in Circles
    Bad Bad Leroy Brown
    Delta Dawn
    Half-Breed
    The Joker
    Seasons in the Sun
    Dark Lady
    You're Having My Baby
    Rock Me Gently
    I Can Help
    Angie Baby
    Lady Marmalade
    December 1963 (Oh What a Night)

    This list doesn't even include anything by Grand Funk Railroad or any person or group named "Jackson", none of whose songs I like but they don't rise to the level of annoying that these do (actually ABC probably does, and the Osmonds' One Bad Apple too).
     
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  11. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    I said Top 20, not Top 40. They had one single that scraped into the mid-'20s in the early-'80s, a cover of "My Guy" that was self-produced (not Chic). That ain't superstar performance.

    Chic became superstars with "Le Freak" right at the end of '78. Good times hit #1 in August of '79. It was their last Top 40 single. They were huge, and then they were nothing, in about 9 months. Hence, "a moment."
     
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  12. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    Always! I remember hearing "Half the Way" a few times when I was a kid, then it disappeared from the radio - or at least from the stations I listened to - while I did start hearing "Philadelphia Freedom" fairly often on the classic rock station. I think for a while I thought my memory was playing tricks on me and it was really the same song that I was misremembering as sung by a woman and with that different refrain.
     
  13. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    I’ll let Grant take this one...he’s a huge fan. But, they did had numerous hits, though you are so right that it seemed like they suddenly disappeared. Like most other acts that did that kind of music. Even Niles says he couldn’t believe how they went from hot to nothing almost overnight. But hot they were, for a few albums if memory serves. They were never my cup of tea though I respect what they did, and what they did for other acts they produced.
     
  14. Grant

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

    We'll get there.

    It wouldn't be so bad if such hyperbole wasn't used.
     
  15. Grant

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

    Chevrolet used it in one of their TV commercials at the time.
     
  16. Grant

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

    I don't want to play the age card, but he was still young when Chic was a huge sensation. :p He had to be there! It's cool, @sunspot42 ! I was around when the Beatles were hot in the 60s, remember their music on the radio, but was too young to comprehend their stature.

    The Chic sound lived on through other artists they produced and had nothing to do with even though the public may not have realized it.

    The disco backlash isn't the only reason Chic's shine faded on the pop charts, as we will see in about seven months of chart time, they could have also partly been responsible for their own demise. Not only that, there were other artists appearing who out-Chic'ed Chic. We are going to see that very soon. In fact, i'll do that right now on the Billboard R&B thread because his next single was released in December 1979!
     
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  17. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    Now we go into the 80's with "Please Don't Go" by KC and the Sunshine Band, #1 from December 30, 1979 - January 5, 1980.

     
  18. MielR

    MielR THIS SPACE FOR RENT

    Location:
    Georgia, USA
    Interestingly, there's actually another video edit for Please Don't Go, shot at the same time, but using totally different shots/takes than the one above:
     
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  19. Hoover Factory

    Hoover Factory Old Dude Who Knows Things

    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    My Top 20 Favorite Number 1’s from the 1970s:

    I Want You Back - Jackson 5
    Listen to What the Man Said - Paul McCartney & Wings
    Venus - Shocking Blue
    Let it Be - The Beatles
    Cracklin Rosie - Neil Diamond
    Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
    Heart of Gold - Neil Young
    We’re an American Band - Grand Funk Railroad
    Photograph - Ringo Starr
    Time in a Bottle - Jim Croce
    Bennie & the Jets - Elton John
    Laughter in the Rain - Neil Sedaka
    Shinning Star - Earth, Wind, & Fire
    Get Down Tonight - KC & the Sunshine Band
    Fame - David Bowie
    Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers
    Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry
    New Kid in Town - The Eagles
    Pop Muzik - M
    My Sharona - The Knack
     
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  20. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    They didn't have "numerous" hits. They had 4 Top 10 hits - including two enormous #1 hits - and one #38 hit. And that was it for the Top 40. Their chart performance before "Le Freak" wasn't particularly impressive (a #6 hit, one that didn't chart, and a #38), they scored two immense #1s in less than a year, plus a #7, then vanished from the charts for good.

    Hence why I said they were superstars for a moment and then they were gone. Because they were hotter than the surface of the sun and then cold as the far side of Pluto, all within the span of less than a year. We talk about the Bee Gees being destroyed by the implosion of disco, but their fall wasn't anywhere near as total as that of Chic. The Bee Gees still managed to chart a #30 in 1981 and a #24 in 1983. Chic were just gone.

    Look at the discography for yourself. Charts don't lie.
     
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  21. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Ironic that I’ve always really enjoyed this band, but never liked that song much even though it builds nicely and the harp is nicely used. Good production for that band, but it just didn’t quite click for me. Really glad they got to out on such a high note. I know they had one or two more chart entries, but for me that album was the end of the line for their classic sound.
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2019
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  22. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    I was never big on ballads, and found this one particularly weedy and annoying. It's more coherent than Lionel's last entry, the annoying, rambling "Still", but Mr. Richie demolished KC as a singer. Ballads - in particular this one - don't do his voice any favors.

    The '80s weren't getting off to a promising start. The early '80s are pretty awful compared to the charts from the late '70s, and this song's a good example of that. Has nostalgia value for me, but that's about it.
     
  23. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    KC...definitely not a ballad singer. Still, they probably knew their sound was getting tired and they were on borrowed time. It paid off that they tried something new, even though it wasn’t my thing, but I doubt that would have worked a second time. I don’t remember if there were any ballads on the next album (The Painter?) but I do remember not liking a single thing on it.
     
  24. Grant

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

    I did. I'm just saying that using words or phrases makes things sound a lot worse than they were. Remember, back in the 70s and 80s, a top 40 song was very respected. especially since the field was so crowded. Not like today where it's all or nothing.
     
  25. MielR

    MielR THIS SPACE FOR RENT

    Location:
    Georgia, USA
    There actually were a few ballads on that album, the best probably being a Donna Summer song called All Through The Night that I think KC did a pretty good job on:
     

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