Phenomenal cover. Those guys were really talented though, and that album of theirs was incredibly well produced. Striking early use of samplers in a not-particularly-experimental pop song. Best single on that record wasn't even that one though, but "Promises, Promises", one of the great early hits of the MTV era.
You're scaring me! Don't be talkin' about little girls and that! You're gonna have the feds all up in here!
The days of the Osmonds were long gone. By '77, Punk was all over the place. Maybe in 1972-73, they were MASSIVE.
At least that was an original composition and not a mimeographed / ditto'd cover . . . (yes, I remember mimeograph machines from my youth, and the smell of rubbing alcohol when something was printed anew).
No complaints here about the Alan O' Day and Shaun Cassidy songs. Always liked them for what they were, laid-back 70's pop that wasn't meant to be anything but fun. I was 10 at the time, but I remember them well and they bring back great memories for me.
Punk was not all over the place here in the U.S., though. Disco was the thing that swept this country. If punk had any popularity in the U.S., it was concentrated in small pockets of New York and L.A.. But the days of the Osmond family was over by 1974, not counting Donny & Marie's T.V. show in the late 70s.
I think people are too harsh on Shaun Cassidy. The 70s bubblegum isn't really my thing (though Hey Deanie and Our Night are both far better than DDRR), but then in 1980 he went deliciously weird with his contract (and career) filling Wasp album with Todd Rundgren where he suddenly was embracing new wave music. Too bad he quit after this, but I think it could've led to a more interesting 1980s career for him when he knew his teen idol days were over and was doing the music he actually was listening to at the time
It depends how you feel about the juggernauts. Hopefully there will be discussion about non-#1s. There should be plenty of "non-#1" Top 5 peak positions coming up.
I enjoyed the Meri Wilson record for what it was, a goof. It wasn't high art or great Pop but it was sort of fun to hear on occasion and that music was swingin'. Hey la li la li, Just doin' my thing!
Shaun Cassidy - Da Doo Ron Ron I assume this dude was all over Tiger Beat and mags like that back in the day? Even the original version by the Crystals isn't that good. It's one of the lesser Girl Group songs from the early 60's. I know that 50's/early 60's nostalgia was a big marketing push back in the 70's so I guess it shouldn't surprise me that while Happy Days was going strong a "teen idol" would redo this song. My issue with it is that it's purely throwback nostalgia and the arrangers of the tune didn't even try to modernize it. This version is just a safe and boring cover, completely removing any bit of soul. It's not horrible, it's just terribly boring.
I'm not sure there was actually any overt connection between Happy Days popularity and Shaun Cassidy recording this song. Never heard of anything like that with respect to this cover. To me, the more likely answer is that Cassidy wanted to cover something that was already well-known, and was simple enough lyrically (and otherwise) for the "tweens". But I have no actual proof either way, this is just a gut feeling. I don't remember what the Billboard Book of #1 Hits had to say about this song. Since I never cared very much about this cover, I have not read that page very closely.
Stupidity? Well, I can tell you there's nothing that 2 minutes of pure nonsense. Why bother with deep lyrics? Meri Wilson had a smash in both sides in the Atlantic. Edit: I read somewhere that it is one of the few songs to chart in 3 US charts: Pop, Country AND R&B (!). Any instances of this happening?
One of the more egregious chart action in '77, especially with DDRR sitting in the catbird seat, was ABBAs' follow-up to the smash hit Dancing Queen not even reaching the Top 10. I was certain DQ was the door opening to US chart dominance like in the rest of the world but this heavenly Pop tune stalled at #14. My God, it even had a fantastic flip side although I may be a little biased there. Knowing Me, Knowing You
Yes, quite a few times. In fact, Skeeter Davis "The End of the World" hit the top ten on all four charts (pop, country, r&b, easy listening)
I seem to remember it quoting him as saying that it (The Crystals' original) was the first recording he ever bought, so I suppose it's likely he covered it because he simply liked the song.
Didn't several of Elvis' early hits chart on Pop, Country and R&B? Plus, I think "We Are The World" charted on all 4 major singles charts (Pop, Country, R&B and Adult Contemporary) with it going to #1 on three out of four of those charts.
Should've followed Dancing Queen to the top, but then again ABBA had six or seven songs that IMO should've been charttoppers here but weren't. Of course its easier given I actually wasn't even born until 1979 so I came into ABBA knowing their songs as "classics"
I was listening to radio pretty regularly at this point. Not that I'm any great barometer for the whole country, but I remember not liking "Knowing Me Knowing You" as much as others I was hearing at the time. So it wasn't something I was going to buy.
Knowing Me, Knowing You is one of ABBA's top songs. I'd go as far to say that it's a pop masterpiece. A concise lyric, a tune that fits the emotion and those layered harmonies push it over the top. Even my ABBA hating friends liked this one. Pop perfection.
We Are the World hit #76 on the country chart, hit #1 on all the rest (wikipedia, says it hit #1 on the dance chart also, but I think this is an error) It's hard to hit the top reaches of both the R&b and Country charts with the same song. For a wild one, Peter Paul & Mary's "Puff the Magic Dragon" hit the top 10 on the R&B chart
