Maxine: listenable, lively disco / soul single Fatback: alright disco / funk, the choruses are better than the verses but there's not much variation in the lines of either. Can't fault the rhythm Boney: discofied cover of the Bobby Hebb hit of '66. Not bad, unlike their previous release Mass: fairly quick, percussive disco. They crank up quite the rhythmic groove, and even though it's fairly repetitive, you'll certainly be able to dance to it Berni: folky pop with guitar pickin', piano and a very pretty string arrangement. He has a low voice often found in country music, but there's not a pedal steel within earshot Graham: (i) sprightly rock with a horn arrangement that adds some R & B flavour; (ii) same description applies but obviously done a different way, although they both have the same rhythm Brendon: more sprightly rock with a horn arrangement (and a clomping beat), but a few notches below Graham Parker due to repetitiveness and general lack of thought put into it Queen: solid rockin' track with glammy lead vocals, guitar solo, the works basically Smokie: mid-paced pop with ringing rhythm guitars and still the Dr. Hook-like vocals. Solid '60s-style beat makes it a pretty good listen Demis: sparse yet cavernous up front but fuller later on, and almost hymnic in arrangement. But the high-register vocals detract from the effect a bit, and so does the very sudden stop at the end. Not either of the Dave Clark Five or Beatles songs of the same name M & B: mellow, mid-paced soul with the usual strings and horns, and organ and flutes too (that remind a little of Johnny Rivers' The Poor Side of Town) Billy: attractive uptempo song that starts quiet and moody, then the whole band rolls in for the second verse (not unlike in Gotta See Jane by R. Dean Taylor, but not quite as heavy a hit as in that one). Rinse and repeat once, actually there's more repetition than I'd like but it's a decent track Bonnie: fairly slow track with some nice resonating guitar lines. Unfortunately, even though it tries to do a few things, it doesn't manage to rise above the dull David: going for two of a kind, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. His previous big hit was one of those songs that I judged more or less loathsome while in my 20s but it's actually a very decent effort. This one is in a similar vein and it has quite a pleasant arrangement, maybe even more so, so I'm calling it a winner Michael: going for the uncharacteristic mellow soulful pop sound here, with exotic guitar riffs and backing female chorus, I'm wishing it had been tightened up to a two-and-a-half-minute track instead of the six sprawling and fairly repetitive minutes that was delivered O C: mid-paced, mellow soul, not heavily produced but featuring organ, strings and horns, and perhaps attempting that late-night atmosphere D E K: clomping cover of the '64 Honeycombs classic with more current guitar sounds (note that I didn't say "better"). The YouTube commenters and I had the same thought, which was "Bay City Rollers". I believe I inadvertently listened to a live version first, followed up with the studio version, and the latter is clearly superior -- overall not bad, it's just that the Honeycombs' original was brilliant and different and almost impossible to match L & M: honkytonkish music and empty, frivolous lyrics mean the song is bordering on self-descriptive Stylistics: the "island" feel is okay, but fatuous lyrics and showoffish horn lead mean this is, um, rock bottom Stylistics basically Glen: clomping beat although there's some rhythm around it, pleasant enough but hardly thrilling, I do like those guitar licks (gotta be a Rickenbacker?) Single of the Week: shared three ways between Berni Flint, I Don't Want to Put a Hold on You, Smokie, Lay Back in the Arms of Someone, and David Soul, Going in With My Eyes Open. After those, there's something for everyone: for soul, there's Maxine Nightingale and Billy Ocean, for big MOR there's Demis Roussos, and if you want to rock there's Queen, the Dead End Kids and Graham Parker
Up here, Hickory Holler's Tramp got mucho airplay while Little Green Apples barely seemed to register.
Boney M. Sunny by name, sunny by nature. Berni Flint. Opportunity knocked for the housewive's favourite. Pleasant enough. Graham Parker put out some good music in this era, in this instance an interesting cover of Hold Back The Night. Queen - Tie Your Mother Down Unlike the slow build up and explosive entry from A Day At The Races, this gets straight on with it: Regally Rocktastic. Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone - One of the more pleasant, pleasant Smokie singles. Have I The Right - Rocked up guitar and some Mike Oldfield influence on this Honeycombs cover. Rock Bottom - Good old British strike action delayed The Eurovision Song Contest by five weeks and this came second. Glen Campbell gives us a really jaunty and impeccably sung number.
Such a great song. It boggles my mind how this missed out on the Top 30 and is one of Queen's lowest charting singles. It's not like their popularity was waning at this point - their previous single entering the charts at #4. Nevertheless this has remained a live staple, and was played on every Queen tour up to the Magic Tour (as well as the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert with Def Leppard and Slash). Plus the full version is an awesome album opener to Day at the Races.
Chanson d'amour - a very versatile band, I especially like their swing type recordings. The rat-ta-dat-ta-da thing gets jarring. Checked out the original version by Art & Dottie Todd, it's in there too. Billy Ocean - Red light spells danger - well known nowadays in the rockabilly crowd, for covers by Paul Ansell's Number Nine and Black Raven.
Let us now turn attention to the U.S. version of soundalike albums, which had none of the particular "values" that made the UK Top Of The Pops soundalike LP's a draw at Woolies and such. First, 18 Golden Hits Of 1976 from QMO (these butcherings courtesy of a hack group called "The Sound Effects"): And what's with the credit roll moving downwards instead of upwards?
Then from T.E.J. (Totally Excruciating Junk?), The Big 50: . . . the hack act responsible for this exposed as "Dimensional Sound." Yeah, right. More like one-dimensional. Made even the worst songs in the bunch in their original state sound like masterpieces in comparison.
Have to wonder if the title, and what the lyrics were about, scared some radio stations away. Its US chart performance was worse.
Funny enough, there is one YouTube channel, named the Oddity Archive who, once a year, dedicates an episode to these rip-offs. And he had dedicated several episodes to these... things. You got everything: from QMO, to Pickwick (ugh!), and everything in between until the 90s. And would you believe, the last installment of these episodes was uploaded yesterday: if you like Rod Stewart... please stay away from this one.
Totally agree, great song! Regardless of the band / song, Rock very rarely sells well in the UK singles charts. A Day In The Races had been a number one album back in the first week of January, so Queen fans already had the song, which may have contributed to it stalling at #31. I think they played Tie Your Mother Down just after Bohemian Rhapsody when I saw Queen, which is certainly a great way of avoiding a big anti-climax. I played Tie Your Mother Down in an old band and it worked very well as a set opener and for gauging signs of life from the "crowd"!
Signing the contact outside of Buckingham Palace was a pretty brilliant publicity stunt: The A&M signing and the "alledged" incidents at A&M that led to the Pistols sacking and £75,000 pay off are shown below:
The Manhattan Transfer - CHANSON D'AMOUR The ensuing 43 years have done nothing to make me like it anymore than I did back then. 2/5
Favs... Week Ending 12 March 1977 1 - NEW - 48 - Boney M - SUNNY Week Ending 19 March 1977 1 - NEW - 35 - Graham Parker And The Rumour - HOLD BACK THE NIGHT / (LET ME GET) SWEET ON YOU 1 - NEW - 42 - Queen - TIE YOUR MOTHER DOWN 1 - NEW - 45 - Smokie - LAY BACK IN THE ARMS OF SOMEONE Week Ending 26 March 1977 Zzzzzz...
And UK A&M dumped them before US A&M could know what to do with them. Could you imagine what cutting "God Save The Queen" could've done to the sanity of, say, a Bernie Grundman? Or what else at the old Charlie Chaplin studios on North La Brea Avenue where US A&M was based at the time?
#5 of 1977 (#403 in total) - "Knowing Me, Knowing You" by ABBA (#1 for 5 weeks - 02 April-30 April 1977) The UK single: The US single: Wikipedia entry - also NME #433 (4 non-consecutive weeks - 02 April and 16 April-30 April 1977) and Melody Maker #374 (6 weeks - 26 March-30 April 1977); in U.S., where it was issued around the tail end of this song's UK #1 run - and as Atlantic's follow-up to "Dancing Queen" (which itself reached its US #1 peak within this month) - this record would ultimately reach #14 in Billboard, #11 in Cash Box, #15 in Record World, and #12 in Radio & Records.
Week Ending 02 April 1977 06 - 02 - 01 - ABBA - KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU 02 - 05 - 02 - David Soul - GOING IN WITH MY EYES OPEN 09 - 01 - 03 - The Manhattan Transfer - CHANSON D'AMOUR 05 - 04 - 04 - Showaddywaddy - WHEN 07 - 03 - 05 - David Bowie - SOUND AND VISION 05 - 08 - 06 - Elvis Presley - MOODY BLUE 04 - 15 - 07 - Boney M - SUNNY 03 - 14 - 08 - Berni Flint - I DON'T WANT TO PUT A HOLD ON YOU 07 - 06 - 09 - Mary MacGregor - TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVERS 10 - 07 - 10 - Heatwave - BOOGIE NIGHTS 06 - 13 - 11 - Brotherhood Of Man - OH BOY (THE MOOD I'M IN) 04 - 21 - 12 - Maxine Nightingale - LOVE HIT ME 03 - 20 - 13 - Billy Ocean - RED LIGHT SPELLS DANGER 07 - 10 - 14 - Electric Light Orchestra - ROCKARIA! 08 - 09 - 15 - Mr. Big - ROMEO 05 - 23 - 16 - Cliff Richard - MY KINDA LIFE 08 - 12 - 17 - Rubettes - BABY I KNOW 03 - 25 - 18 - Smokie - LAY BACK IN THE ARMS OF SOMEONE 06 - 18 - 19 - Barbara Dickson - ANOTHER SUITCASE IN ANOTHER HALL 08 - 19 - 20 - Earth, Wind And Fire - SATURDAY NITE 08 - 16 - 21 - Real Thing - YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE MISSING 10 - 11 - 22 - Leo Sayer - WHEN I NEED YOU 03 - 27 - 23 - Marilyn McCoo And Billy Davis, Jr. - YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A STAR (TO BE IN MY SHOW) 03 - 26 - 24 - Brendon - GIMME SOME 03 - 24 - 25 - Graham Parker And The Rumour - HOLD BACK THE NIGHT / (LET ME GET) SWEET ON YOU 15 - 22 - 26 - Julie Covington - DON'T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA 05 - 29 - 27 - Suzi Quatro - TEAR ME APART 03 - 37 - 28 - Bonnie Tyler - MORE THAN A LOVER 02 - 47 - 29 - Lynsey De Paul And Mike Moran - ROCK BOTTOM 02 - 44 - 30 - O. C. Smith - TOGETHER 03 - 38 - 31 - Queen - TIE YOUR MOTHER DOWN 09 - 17 - 32 - Bryan Ferry - THIS IS TOMORROW 02 - 50 - 33 - Glen Campbell - SOUTHERN NIGHTS 02 - 46 - 34 - Dead End Kids - HAVE I THE RIGHT 1 - NEW - 35 - Deniece Williams - FREE 06 - 28 - 36 - Elton John - CRAZY WATER 16 - 33 - 37 - David Soul - DON'T GIVE UP ON US 02 - 43 - 38 - Michael Nesmith - RIO 03 - 42 - 39 - Demis Roussos - BECAUSE 04 - 31 - 40 - The Fatback Band - DOUBLE DUTCH 02 - 48 - 42 - The Stylistics - $7000 AND YOU 1 - NEW - 42 - Andrew Gold - LONELY BOY 1 - NEW - 43 - Elkie Brooks - PEARL'S A SINGER 05 - 49 - 44 - Barry White - I'M QUALIFIED TO SATISFY YOU 1 - NEW - 45 - Judge Dread - 5TH ANNIVERSARY E.P. 1 - NEW - 46 - The Clash - WHITE RIOT 1 - NEW - 47 - Rose Royce - I WANNA GET NEXT TO YOU 1 - NEW - 48 - Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes - REACHING FOR THE WORLD 1 - NEW - 49 - Barclay James Harvest - LIVE (EP) 1 - NEW - 50 - T. Rex - THE SOUL OF MY SUIT Week Ending 09 April 1977 07 - 01 - 01 - ABBA - KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU 03 - 02 - 02 - David Soul - GOING IN WITH MY EYES OPEN 06 - 04 - 03 - Showaddywaddy - WHEN 08 - 05 - 04 - David Bowie - SOUND AND VISION 10 - 03 - 05 - The Manhattan Transfer - CHANSON D'AMOUR 04 - 08 - 06 - Berni Flint - I DON'T WANT TO PUT A HOLD ON YOU 06 - 06 - 07 - Elvis Presley - MOODY BLUE 04 - 13 - 08 - Billy Ocean - RED LIGHT SPELLS DANGER 05 - 07 - 09 - Boney M - SUNNY 07 - 11 - 10 - Brotherhood Of Man - OH BOY (THE MOOD I'M IN) 05 - 12 - 11 - Maxine Nightingale - LOVE HIT ME 04 - 23 - 12 - Marilyn McCoo And Billy Davis, Jr. - YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A STAR (TO BE IN MY SHOW) 08 - 09 - 13 - Mary MacGregor - TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVERS 04 - 18 - 14 - Smokie - LAY BACK IN THE ARMS OF SOMEONE 06 - 16 - 15 - Cliff Richard - MY KINDA LIFE 11 - 10 - 16 - Heatwave - BOOGIE NIGHTS 09 - 17 - 17 - Rubettes - BABY I KNOW 04 - 24 - 18 - Brendon - GIMME SOME 03 - 34 - 19 - Dead End Kids - HAVE I THE RIGHT 02 - 35 - 20 - Deniece Williams - FREE 03 - 29 - 21 - Lynsey De Paul And Mike Moran - ROCK BOTTOM 08 - 14 - 22 - Electric Light Orchestra - ROCKARIA! 09 - 21 - 23 - Real Thing - YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE MISSING 02 - 43 - 24 - Elkie Brooks - PEARL'S A SINGER 07 - 19 - 25 - Barbara Dickson - ANOTHER SUITCASE IN ANOTHER HALL 11 - 22 - 26 - Leo Sayer - WHEN I NEED YOU 02 - 42 - 27 - Andrew Gold - LONELY BOY 04 - 25 - 28 - Graham Parker And The Rumour - HOLD BACK THE NIGHT / (LET ME GET) SWEET ON YOU 03 - 30 - 29 - O. C. Smith - TOGETHER 03 - 42 - 30 - The Stylistics - $7000 AND YOU 03 - 33 - 31 - Glen Campbell - SOUTHERN NIGHTS 09 - 15 - 32 - Mr. Big - ROMEO 02 - 47 - 33 - Rose Royce - I WANNA GET NEXT TO YOU 03 - 38 - 34 - Michael Nesmith - RIO 1 - NEW - 35 - Tavares - WHODUNIT 04 - 28 - 36 - Bonnie Tyler - MORE THAN A LOVER 06 - 27 - 37 - Suzi Quatro - TEAR ME APART 02 - 46 - 38 - The Clash - WHITE RIOT 1 - NEW - 39 - Stevie Wonder - SIR DUKE 09 - 20 - 40 - Earth, Wind And Fire - SATURDAY NITE 1 - NEW - 41 - Peter Gabriel - SOLSBURY HILL 02 - 50 - 42 - T. Rex - THE SOUL OF MY SUIT 04 - 31 - 43 - Queen - TIE YOUR MOTHER DOWN 1 - NEW - 44 - Leo Sayer - HOW MUCH LOVE 04 - 39 - 45 - Demis Roussos - BECAUSE 1 - NEW - 46 - The Jacksons - ENJOY YOURSELF 1 - NEW - 47 - Barbra Streisand - LOVE THEME FROM "A STAR IS BORN" (EVERGREEN) 02 - 45 - 48 - Judge Dread - 5TH ANNIVERSARY E.P. 1 - NEW - 49 - Van McCoy - THE SHUFFLE 1 - NEW - 50 - David Dundas - ANOTHER FUNNY HONEYMOON Week Ending 16 April 1977 08 - 01 - 01 - ABBA - KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU 04 - 02 - 02 - David Soul - GOING IN WITH MY EYES OPEN 06 - 09 - 03 - Boney M - SUNNY 07 - 03 - 04 - Showaddywaddy - WHEN 05 - 06 - 05 - Berni Flint - I DON'T WANT TO PUT A HOLD ON YOU 05 - 08 - 06 - Billy Ocean - RED LIGHT SPELLS DANGER 07 - 07 - 07 - Elvis Presley - MOODY BLUE 08 - 10 - 08 - Brotherhood Of Man - OH BOY (THE MOOD I'M IN) 09 - 04 - 09 - David Bowie - SOUND AND VISION 05 - 12 - 10 - Marilyn McCoo And Billy Davis, Jr. - YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A STAR (TO BE IN MY SHOW) 11 - 05 - 11 - The Manhattan Transfer - CHANSON D'AMOUR 05 - 14 - 12 - Smokie - LAY BACK IN THE ARMS OF SOMEONE 06 - 11 - 13 - Maxine Nightingale - LOVE HIT ME 05 - 18 - 14 - Brendon - GIMME SOME 03 - 20 - 15 - Deniece Williams - FREE 04 - 19 - 16 - Dead End Kids - HAVE I THE RIGHT 02 - 39 - 17 - Stevie Wonder - SIR DUKE 07 - 15 - 18 - Cliff Richard - MY KINDA LIFE 09 - 13 - 19 - Mary MacGregor - TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVERS 03 - 24 - 20 - Elkie Brooks - PEARL'S A SINGER 03 - 33 - 21 - Rose Royce - I WANNA GET NEXT TO YOU 03 - 27 - 22 - Andrew Gold - LONELY BOY 04 - 21 - 23 - Lynsey De Paul And Mike Moran - ROCK BOTTOM 04 - 30 - 24 - The Stylistics - $7000 AND YOU 02 - 35 - 25 - Tavares - WHODUNIT 02 - 44 - 26 - Leo Sayer - HOW MUCH LOVE 05 - 36 - 27 - Bonnie Tyler - MORE THAN A LOVER 04 - 34 - 28 - Michael Nesmith - RIO 02 - 41 - 29 - Peter Gabriel - SOLSBURY HILL 12 - 16 - 30 - Heatwave - BOOGIE NIGHTS 03 - 48 - 31 - Judge Dread - 5TH ANNIVERSARY E.P. 04 - 29 - 32 - O. C. Smith - TOGETHER 04 - 31 - 33 - Glen Campbell - SOUTHERN NIGHTS 05 - 28 - 34 - Graham Parker And The Rumour - HOLD BACK THE NIGHT / (LET ME GET) SWEET ON YOU 1 - NEW - 35 - Television - MARQUEE MOON 09 - 22 - 36 - Electric Light Orchestra - ROCKARIA! 02 - 47 - 37 - Barbra Streisand - LOVE THEME FROM "A STAR IS BORN" (EVERGREEN) 1 - NEW - 38 - Eagles - HOTEL CALIFORNIA 10 - 32 - 39 - Mr. Big - ROMEO 12 - 26 - 40 - Leo Sayer - WHEN I NEED YOU 02 - 50 - 41 - David Dundas - ANOTHER FUNNY HONEYMOON 02 - 49 - 42 - Van McCoy - THE SHUFFLE 10 - 23 - 43 - Real Thing - YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE MISSING 1 - NEW - 44 - 10CC - GOOD MORNING JUDGE 1 - NEW - 45 - Tom Jones - SAY YOU'LL STAY UNTIL TOMORROW 03 - 42 - 46 - T. Rex - THE SOUL OF MY SUIT 1 - NEW - 47 - Deep Purple - SMOKE ON THE WATER 08 - 25 - 48 - Barbara Dickson - ANOTHER SUITCASE IN ANOTHER HALL 02 - RE - 49 - Barclay James Harvest - LIVE (EP) 02 - 46 - 50 - The Jacksons - ENJOY YOURSELF Week Ending 23 April 1977 09 - 01 - 01 - ABBA - KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU 06 - 06 - 02 - Billy Ocean - RED LIGHT SPELLS DANGER 06 - 05 - 03 - Berni Flint - I DON'T WANT TO PUT A HOLD ON YOU 04 - 15 - 04 - Deniece Williams - FREE 05 - 02 - 05 - David Soul - GOING IN WITH MY EYES OPEN 08 - 04 - 06 - Showaddywaddy - WHEN 05 - 16 - 07 - Dead End Kids - HAVE I THE RIGHT 07 - 03 - 08 - Boney M - SUNNY 03 - 17 - 09 - Stevie Wonder - SIR DUKE 06 - 10 - 10 - Marilyn McCoo And Billy Davis, Jr. - YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A STAR (TO BE IN MY SHOW) 10 - 09 - 11 - David Bowie - SOUND AND VISION 09 - 08 - 12 - Brotherhood Of Man - OH BOY (THE MOOD I'M IN) 06 - 12 - 13 - Smokie - LAY BACK IN THE ARMS OF SOMEONE 06 - 14 - 14 - Brendon - GIMME SOME 03 - 25 - 15 - Tavares - WHODUNIT 04 - 20 - 16 - Elkie Brooks - PEARL'S A SINGER 12 - 11 - 17 - The Manhattan Transfer - CHANSON D'AMOUR 03 - 26 - 18 - Leo Sayer - HOW MUCH LOVE 05 - 23 - 19 - Lynsey De Paul And Mike Moran - ROCK BOTTOM 04 - 22 - 20 - Andrew Gold - LONELY BOY 08 - 07 - 21 - Elvis Presley - MOODY BLUE 07 - 13 - 22 - Maxine Nightingale - LOVE HIT ME 03 - 29 - 23 - Peter Gabriel - SOLSBURY HILL 03 - 42 - 24 - Van McCoy - THE SHUFFLE 05 - 32 - 25 - O. C. Smith - TOGETHER 04 - 21 - 26 - Rose Royce - I WANNA GET NEXT TO YOU 03 - 37 - 27 - Barbra Streisand - LOVE THEME FROM "A STAR IS BORN" (EVERGREEN) 05 - 33 - 28 - Glen Campbell - SOUTHERN NIGHTS 03 - 41 - 29 - David Dundas - ANOTHER FUNNY HONEYMOON 05 - 24 - 30 - The Stylistics - $7000 AND YOU 1 - NEW - 31 - Joe Tex - AIN'T GONNA BUMP NO MORE (WITH NO BIG FAT WOMAN) 02 - 38 - 32 - Eagles - HOTEL CALIFORNIA 10 - 19 - 33 - Mary MacGregor - TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVERS 02 - 47 - 34 - Deep Purple - SMOKE ON THE WATER 05 - 28 - 35 - Michael Nesmith - RIO 08 - 18 - 36 - Cliff Richard - MY KINDA LIFE 13 - 30 - 37 - Heatwave - BOOGIE NIGHTS 02 - 44 - 38 - 10CC - GOOD MORNING JUDGE 04 - 31 - 39 - Judge Dread - 5TH ANNIVERSARY E.P. 02 - 45 - 40 - Tom Jones - SAY YOU'LL STAY UNTIL TOMORROW 02 - 35 - 41 - Television - MARQUEE MOON 03 - 50 - 42 - The Jacksons - ENJOY YOURSELF 06 - 27 - 43 - Bonnie Tyler - MORE THAN A LOVER 13 - 40 - 44 - Leo Sayer - WHEN I NEED YOU 1 - NEW - 45 - The Manhattans - IT'S YOU 1 - NEW - 46 - Eddie And The Hot Rods - I MIGHT BE LYING 1 - NEW - 47 - Delegation - WHERE IS THE LOVE (WE USED TO KNOW) 1 - NEW - 48 - Rod Stewart - I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT / FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST 1 - NEW - 49 - Johnny "Guitar" Watson - A REAL MOTHER FOR YA 1 - NEW - 50 - Barry Biggs - YOU'RE MY LIFE Week Ending 30 April 1977 10 - 01 - 01 - ABBA - KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU 07 - 02 - 02 - Billy Ocean - RED LIGHT SPELLS DANGER 05 - 04 - 03 - Deniece Williams - FREE 04 - 09 - 04 - Stevie Wonder - SIR DUKE 07 - 03 - 05 - Berni Flint - I DON'T WANT TO PUT A HOLD ON YOU 06 - 07 - 06 - Dead End Kids - HAVE I THE RIGHT 07 - 10 - 07 - Marilyn McCoo And Billy Davis, Jr. - YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A STAR (TO BE IN MY SHOW) 06 - 05 - 08 - David Soul - GOING IN WITH MY EYES OPEN 05 - 16 - 09 - Elkie Brooks - PEARL'S A SINGER 08 - 08 - 10 - Boney M - SUNNY 10 - 12 - 11 - Brotherhood Of Man - OH BOY (THE MOOD I'M IN) 04 - 15 - 12 - Tavares - WHODUNIT 02 - 48 - 13 - Rod Stewart - I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT / FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST 05 - 26 - 14 - Rose Royce - I WANNA GET NEXT TO YOU 07 - 14 - 15 - Brendon - GIMME SOME 07 - 13 - 16 - Smokie - LAY BACK IN THE ARMS OF SOMEONE 04 - 23 - 17 - Peter Gabriel - SOLSBURY HILL 09 - 06 - 18 - Showaddywaddy - WHEN 05 - 20 - 19 - Andrew Gold - LONELY BOY 04 - 18 - 20 - Leo Sayer - HOW MUCH LOVE 03 - 32 - 21 - Eagles - HOTEL CALIFORNIA 04 - 24 - 22 - Van McCoy - THE SHUFFLE 06 - 19 - 23 - Lynsey De Paul And Mike Moran - ROCK BOTTOM 02 - 31 - 24 - Joe Tex - AIN'T GONNA BUMP NO MORE (WITH NO BIG FAT WOMAN) 04 - 27 - 25 - Barbra Streisand - LOVE THEME FROM "A STAR IS BORN" (EVERGREEN) 11 - 11 - 26 - David Bowie - SOUND AND VISION 03 - 34 - 27 - Deep Purple - SMOKE ON THE WATER 03 - 38 - 28 - 10CC - GOOD MORNING JUDGE 04 - 29 - 29 - David Dundas - ANOTHER FUNNY HONEYMOON 03 - 41 - 30 - Television - MARQUEE MOON 02 - 47 - 31 - Delegation - WHERE IS THE LOVE (WE USED TO KNOW) 06 - 30 - 32 - The Stylistics - $7000 AND YOU 06 - 25 - 33 - O. C. Smith - TOGETHER 09 - 21 - 34 - Elvis Presley - MOODY BLUE 06 - 28 - 35 - Glen Campbell - SOUTHERN NIGHTS 02 - 50 - 36 - Barry Biggs - YOU'RE MY LIFE 08 - 22 - 37 - Maxine Nightingale - LOVE HIT ME 1 - NEW - 38 - Piero Umiliani - MAH-NA, MAH-NA 06 - 35 - 39 - Michael Nesmith - RIO 13 - 17 - 40 - The Manhattan Transfer - CHANSON D'AMOUR 1 - NEW - 41 - Billy Paul - LET 'EM IN 1 - NEW - 42 - Fleetwood Mac - DON'T STOP 02 - 45 - 43 - The Manhattans - IT'S YOU 02 - 49 - 44 - Johnny "Guitar" Watson - A REAL MOTHER FOR YA 03 - 40 - 45 - Tom Jones - SAY YOU'LL STAY UNTIL TOMORROW 02 - 46 - 46 - Eddie And The Hot Rods - I MIGHT BE LYING 1 - NEW - 47 - Blue - GONNA CAPTURE YOUR HEART 1 - NEW - 48 - Kenny Rogers - LUCILLE 04 - 42 - 49 - The Jacksons - ENJOY YOURSELF 1 - NEW - 50 - K C And The Sunshine Band - I'M YOUR BOOGIE MAN
ABBA - KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU Among their greatest ever singles...and that's saying something. Brilliant. 5/5
Hold on to your hats, this'll be quite some slogging. But first we start with what'd be amongst the 45's I'd have . . . Another single from the Car Wash soundtrack, this reached peaks of #10 in both US Billboard and Cash Box, #8 in Record World, and #12 in Radio & Records. A reasonable U.S. hit in summer 1977, making it to #22 in Billboard, #16 in Cash Box, and #20 in Record World. Another U.S. #1 from his megazillion-selling Songs In The Key Of Life (Billboard Hot 100 #425 - 3 weeks, 21 May-04 June 1977; Cash Box - 1 week, 28 May 1977; Record World - 2 weeks, 28 May-04 June 1977) - well, except for Radio & Records where it couldn't get past #2. Ms. Streisand's second U.S. #1, from the aforesaid film; both Billboard (Hot 100 #417) and Cash Box had this at the top for the same 3-week period (05 March-19 March 1977), while Record World pegged it for 2 weeks (12 March-19 March 1977) and Radio & Records for a separate 3-week interval (25 February-11 March 1977). In the States, that pose was much parodied. (To be continued.)
Favs... Week Ending 02 April 1977 1 - NEW - 42 - Andrew Gold - LONELY BOY 1 - NEW - 43 - Elkie Brooks - PEARL'S A SINGER 1 - NEW - 46 - The Clash - WHITE RIOT Week Ending 09 April 1977 1 - NEW - 41 - Peter Gabriel - SOLSBURY HILL 1 - NEW - 47 - Barbra Streisand - LOVE THEME FROM "A STAR IS BORN" (EVERGREEN) 1 - NEW - 49 - Van McCoy - THE SHUFFLE Week Ending 16 April 1977 1 - NEW - 35 - Television - MARQUEE MOON 1 - NEW - 44 - 10CC - GOOD MORNING JUDGE 1 - NEW - 47 - Deep Purple - SMOKE ON THE WATER Week Ending 23 April 1977 1 - NEW - 31 - Joe Tex - AIN'T GONNA BUMP NO MORE (WITH NO BIG FAT WOMAN) 1 - NEW - 46 - Eddie And The Hot Rods - I MIGHT BE LYING 1 - NEW - 48 - Rod Stewart - I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT / FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST Week Ending 30 April 1977 1 - NEW - 42 - Fleetwood Mac - DON'T STOP The Clash - White Riot....loved this.
Knowing Me Knowing You - Another classy slice of pop from Abba. Solsbury Hill's unusual time signature makes the song feel as though it’s driving forward all the time, without pause for breath. Good debut from Gabriel. I Might Be Lying sees Eddie & Hot Rods in punk Mud mode! Great clattering drums and squalling guitar solo. Television, on the other hand, were at the cerebral end of the punk spectrum. Marquee Moon is all sprawling, serpentine, guitars and fractured vocals. Best heard on the 12” version; or the album. Some great soul & funk from Stevie, Jacksons, and Johnny Guitar Watson. Whilst Andrew Gold’s Lonely Boy has an undoubted poignancy Purple’s Smoke On The Water riff is as famous as Beethoven’s 5th. An epic live version, taken from Made In Japan, but why wait five years to release it?! As for Hotel California, it’s The Eagles at their most iconic; a dark, brooding, foreboding tale of LA’s underside. Bolan's Soul Of My Suit is something of a pleasing oddity. The verse channels Reflections Of My Life; the chorus a more upbeat, insistent, chant. A grower. White Riot is the molten debut from The Clash. All the nonchalant naivety of youth is channeled into a foghorn clarion call. It's their Street Fighting Man. The single differs from the album track, in that the latter is a '76 demo they decided to use! A riot of their own......
Part II: Many pages back, we looked at the edited studio version from Machine Head which, back in 1973, didn't even get a UK single release, let alone make their charts; its flip, the live performance from Made In Japan, is on the release that entered the UK charts this week. Only have the B side which was on a separate record. Labels to be shown at appropriate time, as otherwise would constitute "jumping ahead." Future weeks will only mention flip and how its title was shown in "the States." Many variations, the ones below (first in buff, second in goldenrod) are those I have: Back in 1969, this single - from the movie Sweden, Heaven And Hell - had made #55 in US Billboard, #44 in Cash Box, and #47 (?) in Record World. Its appearance on The Muppet Show (which aired on both sides of the pond) may explain this version's re-release in Britain around this time, but Benny Hill had incorporated this number into a medley that appeared in many a silent sketch beginning in 1971 and continuing to the end of his long run in 1989. A "sorta, kinda" U.S. #1 for the Anglo-American band, topping the Cash Box (1 week - 17 September 1977) and Radio & Records (3 weeks - 02 September-16 September 1977) charts, but pinned down at #3 in both Billboard and Record World.[/QUOTE]
As Bette Davis would say in All About Eve, this look at the other 'newies' will be a bumpy ride: The biggest hit from this singer/songwriter who was among Linda Ronstadt's backing musicians, in the U.S. it made #7 in Billboard, #6 in Record World, and #3 in both Cash Box and Radio & Records. Not to be confused with Paul Anka's 1959 hit of the same name. Didn't seem to get past the promo stage in the States: A measure of how far they fell after breaking with their now-former lead singer who was about to embark on a solo career, this could only muster #74 in US Billboard, #73 in Cash Box, and #90 in Record World.
His third hit off Endless Flight, this was #9 in both US Cash Box and Radio & Records, but had to settle for #17 in Billboard and #22 in Record World. Their first single for their new label (and under a new name), in the U.S. this peaked at #6 in Billboard, #4 in Cash Box, #7 in Record World, and #10 in Radio & Records.
