The Weekly Top 10 Thread-December 14, 1974

Billboard Top 10, Week ending December 14, 1974:


1. Kung Fu Fighting.......Carl Douglas (in honor of Steve Hoffman! )
2. When Will I See You Again.............................The Three Degrees
3. I Can Help...............................................................Billy Swan
4. Cat's In The Cradle...............................................Harry Chapin
5. Angie Baby...........................................................Helen Reddy
6. Do It ('Till You're Satisfied).....................................B.T. Express
7. You're The First, The Last, My Everything..................Barry White
8. Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)........................................Al Green
9. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds..................................Elton John
10. Junior's Farm/Sally G...........................Paul McCartney & Wings

 

I sort of like #1.
#2 has a catchy refrain.
I like #3 a lot.
#4 my wife and I sing to each other a sort of private joke when we feel we're not devoting enough time to our son.
#5 I don't remember.
#6 has a good beat as far as I recall
#7 is cool.
#8 is sublime
#9 I never liked Elton's version of this, although I'm glad it brought John Lennon out to perform with him.
#10 is a great double-sided hit by Wings.

 

I love 3, 4, 8, 9,and 1/2 of 10 (Junior's farm)

 

Interesting chart, seems like I've done this one--or something close to it--before. Ah, no matter, let's see how it goes:

1. B-
2. A-
3. A-
4. D
5. D-
6. B
7. A
8. A-
9. A-
10. B+

A 7.8....nearly a flat B, which, for 1974, is not a bad Top Ten(shame this isn't grading on the curve, but, well...)

That there are five A-caliber goodies here speaks well of the era, though many more were buried below the TT and were often found on the R&B charts....in this instance, we get near-classic stuff from Al and Barry, while the Three Degrees finally get that ONE big song they always deserved to immortalize them, and this was the one. And for some reason, I've grown fonder of the Swan #1, his only real hit. For some reason, it has a simplicity and directness that was growing increasingly rare by then. As for Elton, for some reason this one has grown on me, maybe because he took a razzle-dazzler from PEPPER and somehow made it his own, with a unique atmosphere that others, covering the songs from that album, never could come up with.

Speaking of ex-Beatles....Paulie's 2-sider remains a nice listen, the A-side moreso, but "Sally" did make the C&W charts, no small feat! And though "Kung Fu Fighting" is hardly a classic, it is a cool one-shot, and enthusiasm counts for something, and this is one busy mix....

That leaves two pieces of plastic--Chapin and Reddy--that, along with the artists, have never sat well with me. The Reddy hit is just ridiculous, and her odd caterwauling style--Alicia Bridges must have been referencing this one when she did "I Love The Night Life" years later--remains an inexplicable success. "Cradle"? Another reason I don't listen to oldies radio, they chew on this one like an old ....

 

4 & 7 (barely)...Yuk for the rest

 

Ed!!!! How can you give #5 only a D- ?????

It's superb! As is #3.

 

Some great songs on this list. I just love them 70's. I also enjoy Ed's ratings of the chart's about as much as I do Grant's chart's themselves. That "Kung Fu Fighting" song sure is some catchy pop tune. I find myself sometimes humming that song out of the blue. Goofy song but it sticks in your memory banks.

 

1. B Kinda cheesy but fun anyway.
2. A A nice slice of Philly soul.
3. B I've loved this song since I was three.
4. D Sorry but Harry has done better.
5. C Never cared for her voice but the arrangement isn't too bad.
6. A Some serious funk.
7. A Barry White folks nuff said.
8. Never heard this
9. A Elton takes a Beatles chestnut and reinvents it.
10. A This rating is for Junior's Farm. I've never heard Sally G. One of the hardest rocking songs Wings ever cut.

 

1. Has a great bassline, but the song itself makes me cringe a little.

2. One of Gamble & Huff's masterpieces, my favorite song on this chart.

3. Pretty cool song, but its recent overexposure on a TV commercial has kind of made me want to hear it less frequently.

4. "Taxi" was a better song IMO.

5. Never been crazy about this one either. "Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady" was better to me.

6. My #2 fave on this list. Single version was just the perfect length too!!! Did it 'til I was satisfied!!!

7. The Maestro was definitely on a roll at this time. One of his finest!

8. Great Al Green tune!! Loved hearing this on the radio back then.

9. Cool reinterpretation of a classic song. Dr. Winston O' Boogie's along for the ride!!!

10. Two great tunes to hold the fans over between the releases of "Band On The Run" and "Venus And Mars". Definitely ranks up there with "Helen Wheels" as one of Wings best rockers.

 

The only one of these 10 missing from my collection is #6 (though I enjoy it immensely, it came out after the period that Scepter, for which the B.T. Express recorded, had stopped using Columbia for their pressings).

And as for #9 . . . one of the few instances where I prefer a cover version to the original.

 

1) B-
2) A+
3)
4) C
5) C
6)
7) A
8)
9) A-
10) B+

#2 and #7 are the two best songs on this list.

 

I keep thinking Staples Family for Shalala, but maybe it's a different song.

Still like "I can help", and I've a hankering to check out Harry Chapin agin, tho I'm not sure there was enough variety in his worldly wise ramblings to hold my interest over a Greatest Hits compilation.

The Three Degree's and the Barry White ones are terrific, Do It is funky, the rest have had their day for me, 'cept the McCartney one, that I've never heard of anyway.

 

"The phrase 'Sha La La" itself goes back many, many decades, most famously backing the Shirelles("Baby It's You"), who also did the song of the same title that Manfred Mann had the big hit with.

The song you must be thinking of is "Heavy Makes You Happy(Sha-La-Boom-Boom)" from the Staple singers, their breakthrough pop/soul single for Stax. After many years at Epic, where they cut some quality stuff that never quite broke out of the box, Stax got hold of them. The song itself did much better on the soul charts than pop, but did crack the Top 40, setting up far more serious material like "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There." "Heavy" is kind of unusual, almost 'bubblegum soul,' though heavier than, say, the J5's "Mama's Pearl," which would also qualify.

 

Yeah that's it, a different song. Guess I don't know the Al Green tune.

Thanks!

 

OK top ten, though didn't we just hit '74 a few weeks ago? Anyway, "I Can Help" is the pick for me. It was a real breath of fresh air (or at least reconstituted air) amid the dreck of a particularly drecky year. And, it was one of the rare '50s-style throwback numbers that didn't choke on its own smarmy nostalgia.

I like the Elton remake (especially the faux-reggae bit, which nicely pokes a pin in the record's pomposity), but wow, did I get sick of it then. And the hell of it was, when it came on the radio, you had a six-minute haul before another song came on.

The worst? Helen Reddy, as she would be in almost any top ten.

I received "Kung Fu" for Christmas that year from a clueless aunt, and promptly returned it to the store in exchange for, I believe, "Dark Horse." I might've been better off keeping the Douglas record.

BTW, the Staples record was subtitled "Sha-Na-Boom Boom," but it probably was what John B. Good was thinking of.

 

I will offer up my opinions later today.

 

Speaking of "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)," my copy of Didn't it Blow Your Mind Vol. 13 mistakenly includes "Express" instead of the listed "Do It." Did Rhino ever correct that?

 

You still play them on the bass or you still play the records?

 

Yes, they offered an exchange for a corrected disc almost as soon as the mistake hit the stores.

 

Oh dear. I don't think there's much point in starting an 'I dig Helen Reddy' thread around here.

It was Ruby Red Dress that drew my attention to her, a magnificent song if ever there were one. Angie Baby came as a pleasant bonus on the CD, it's playing as I type, and it's brill.

Ox = with poor taste...

 

I love early '70s pop charts because they usually contain many soul classics, and this example is no exception.

I love #1 and #5 for their silliness. I'm surprised at the number of people here who can appreciate "Kung Fu Fighting" but cannot appreciate "Angie Baby."

I love #2. An almost perfect pop/soul record, as far as I am concerned.

I liked #3 a lot in its day but I can't get too excited about it any more. I definitely never play it when I pull out a compilation that has that track on it. I'd say the same for #4, but it holds a better place in my memory even though at this point I don't really want to hear it again. I agree that "Taxi" by Harry Chapin is more enjoyable, as is "W.O.L.D."

Ahhh. #6. I love, love, love this record and I like the recording. Deep, driving bass & drums. Nice vocal interplay. Definitely lightweight but so fun and funky that it doesn't matter.

#7 and #8 are classics in my book.

#9 is still fun. It isn't one of my favorite Elton John pop hits, but I still like to hear it now and then.

#10 doesn't do much for me now, but it apparently appealed to me when I was 13 years old because I bought the 45.

 

I hate 'Angie Baby' and I've never heard the Al Green song.

 

C'mon now, "Angie Baby" may be the weirdest story-song ever to hit the Top 10! An odd-ball chick magically shrinks her would-be attacker and locks him in her radio?!?!? Way to go, Angie Baby! Bravo!