Bradley's Buzz

Top 100 Singles Of The 70's - 75-71

We are heading into the top 75 now and I just know you're teetering on the edge of your office chair wondering what I've got in store in for you... well never fear, here we go the countdown continues with numbers 75 through 71 of our Top 100 Singles Of The 70's - According to Bradley...

posted by swivek @ 11:10 AM 0 comments

You Suck Bloggie

Well I was forced to change to the new Blogger and when I say forced that is exactly what I mean. When I tried to get into my old Blogger account it would force me into getting a new account, which is fine I guess except it SUCKS ASS! It has taken a day and a half to finally get into it and able to blog and post pictures is a real pain. So perhaps I should find other places to blog and since I would like to be able to track how people find me and how many people actually visit us here, and I can't figure out how to do it on here.... whew! If anyone knows how to get the Scan thing onto blogger I'd apprecaite it, I made an account with Stat Counter which gives me an html tag to put on the website I want to track but I don't think that Little Miss Blogger has given me that kind of authority...it has me so confused!

Anyhoos, thanx for stopping in for my little melt down and now on with the countdown

posted by swivek @ 11:07 AM 0 comments

Top 100 Singles Of The 70's - 80-76

I'm sure both of you my trusty readers are wondering how I come up with such an awesome list as the Top 100 Singles of the 1970's, well let me tell you it isn't easy but there is a method to all the madness, so here is the criteria I go by:

1. The song had to have been released as an official single in either the US or the UK. That means anything that got heavy FM radio rotation but was only an album track doesn't qualify - "Stairway to Heaven" comes to mind to give you an example.
2. The single had to have been released between January 1, 1970 and December 31, 1979, which means even if a song hit its highest chart position in the early months of 1980 would still qualify as long as the single was actually released in December of 1979, there are at least two such examples that are on this list. I know some music websites of the 80's include 1979 as part of the 80's and though I see the idea behind that, the fact is 1979 is in reality still part of the 1970's, I mean you can't really argue that fact.
3. And finally, and of course the most important stipulation ever, I as in me, as in the Bradley in 'According to Bradley' have to love the song. So even if to you a song really spoke to you of the 70's or the song was a huge megahit that everyone in the world knows the song may not be anywhere on the list, and that's because I just don't love it enough to include it. And that's why I had to say bye bye Miss American Pie.

So now you know the main criteria in picking and choosing so let's move on to the next batch of singles shall we?

#80 - 76

#80 – Don’t Cry Out Loud – Melissa Manchester
(Paul Allen/Carole Bayer Sager)
Arista single #373 US / #226 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 11/18/1978 #10
I have always loved this ballad, Melissa Manchester is one of those late 70’s singers that never got the full recognition I think she deserved, or perhaps she got a lot of it in the beginning and then just washed away, though I know she is still recording, the last big thing I remember from her is 1982’s “You Should Hear How She Talks About You”, but prior to that she had a few hits in the 70’s but none that were as good as this, to me at least. For me it’s usually about the lyrics and though some may pass “Don’t Cry Out Loud” because it’s of that overblown string laden ballad variety, the lyrics are actually quite captivating, “Baby cried the day the circus came to town/ cause she didn’t want parades just passing by her/ so she painted on a smile and took up with some clown/ while she danced without a net upon the wire…”
I love the painted on a smile line as it is used in the guise of the circus theme but is obviously something deeper (yes I said deeper), perhaps I'm just easily smitten. The more famous chorus kicks in with Melsie M turning it up a few notches - “Don’t Cry Out Loud/ just keep it inside/ learn how to hide your feelings/ fly high and proud/ and if you should fall/ remember you almost had it all…” before going back to the circus theme kicks in again along with some crackle in the pure voice of Manshester, “Baby saw as they took the big top down/ they left her dreams among the litter/ and the different kind of love she thought she’d found/ there was nothing left but sawdust and some glitter…” I love it.

#79 – Dark Lady – Cher
(Johnny Durhill)
MCA single #40161 US / #101 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 01/19/1974 #1 / UK 02/16/1974 #36
Poor Cher didn’t even know she was offered the story song of “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” (see #100) and apparently Sonny also turned down the equally cool “Delta Dawn” yet another story song that became a hit on the pop charts for Helen Reddy and a top country hit by my gal Tanya Tucker, but I guess it all worked out because Sonny did let a few story songs get to his one time beloved including this special little ditty that has all the elements of a good story song - a jilted lover, a little bit of magic, gun shots and death, yes, death must be in every good story song. Cher’s US #1 "Dark Lady" tells the story of our heroine heading to see a fortune teller who flips cards while laughing, lighting candles and generally dancing to her gypsy music til the clock strikes on the 12; as it turns out she tells Cher more about Cher than Cher knew herself. So it’s no surprise when the fortune lady tells our gal that her lover is cheating on her with someone close, she suggests Cher hits the highway and pretends she never saw our dark lady. As Cher returns home she remembers the fortune tellers perfume and how she smelt it once in her own rooooooom (do a slight horse neigh here for full effect) and the whole songs turns into double homicide as Cher hits the dark lady’s home where she is hugging and kissing on her man. Cher leaves them both dead on the floor and the Dark Lady will never turn her card up anymore. Don’t you just love these stories? For an extra dose of fun, Cher did what can only be called one of the very first videos when they did a whole cartoon version of the song on her Sonny & Cher Variety Show. It’s something to see as a cartoon Cher plays the Dark Lady and the heroine.

#78 – Proud Mary – Ike & Tina Turner
(John Fogerty)
Liberty single #56216 US / #15432 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 01/30/1971 #4
Tina Turner’s insane performance on “Proud Mary” would be enough to get this cover of Credence Clearwater Revival’s hit on the list, but when you add in the music provided by Ike and his boys, and the Ikettes and then put in the visual of that crazy ass dance they came up with well you have a huge piece of 1970’s fun. Starting out with a little guitar and Tina’s oh so sexy silky low register, “You know every now and then we think we might like to do something from us that’s nice and easy” and then Ike comes in singing low “looking for a job down in the city” and he continues and more importantly so does Tina – “there’s just one thing/ you see we nevah evah do nothing nice and easy / we always do it nice and rough/ we’re gonna take the beginning of this song and do it easy/ then we’re gonna do the finish/ rough / the way we do Proud Mary” and then Tina comes in singing “and we’re rolling/ rolling/ rolling on the river” after the first and second verse with Ike still singing back up and the girls chiming in, we get the nice and easy and then before you know it, the horns kick in and the girl starts her shimmy and the big sound of the charging bass line while Tina and her girls kick and bend, oh it’s something you see even when just listening to the song. Of course that’s where nice and easy is left far behind and the whole thing burns into an intensity not normally seen in pop music, but alas that was the Tina before she went all Adult Contemporary on us. At least she still has those legs.

#77 – Long Long Time – Linda Ronstadt
(Gary White)
Capitol single #2846 US / #15657 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 08/15/1970 #25
I admit that I really love Linda Ronstadt, well at least the 70’s and very early 80’s versions of Linda. That is as a performer, as a person she’s still a take charge cool chick that has my utmost respect, but as for her song choices well they just ain’t what they used to be. But back in 1970, our girl was just beginning to climb her way to the top of the rock and pop charts and culminate that So Cal sound that made her backing band The Eagles stars of their own. From one of her first albums Silk Purse comes this haunting little ballad that may not have the gusto of her later years covers of “It’s So Easy” but what it lacks in rock and roll, it more than makes up in a powerful vocal performance that wraps its voice around some of the most bittersweet vocals ever. “Caught in my fears/ blinking back the tears/ I can’t say you hurt me/ when you never let me near/ and I never drew/ one response from you/ all the while you fell over girls you never knew/ cause I’ve done everything I can to try and make you mine/ and I think it’s going to hurt me for a long long time…” The lyric and even the strings in the performance are just itching to be played as co-dependant or over the top but this is Ms. Ronstadt and such this ends up an aching, yearning, beautifully sung and performed masterpiece particularly the ending, “..Life’s full of flaws/ who knows the cause/ living in a memory of a love that never was/ cause I’ve done everything to try and change your mind/ and I think I’m gonna miss you a long long time/ and I’ve done everything I can/ to try and make you mine/ and I think I’m gonna love you for a long long time…” A few years ago I was making a Linda compilation and found this song, I knew the title but didn’t really remember the song but once I heard it, I couldn’t let it go and it’s still one of my all time Linda songs ever. For those who think all these 70’s are being thrown out for the new hip soundtracks of shows like The OC, I have to let you know that the super sleuth Veronica Mars used this song and this version in a scene where not only did it pertain to the actual scene, the characters actually talk about the heartbreak in the song, and it was only released 37 years ago.

#76 – Piano Man – Billy Joel
(Billy Joel)
Columbia/CBS single #45963 US / CBS single #3183 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 02/23/1974 #25
We find ourselves at yet another story that a singer needs to tell the world, only this time there isn’t any blood shed and in a strange little twist, it’s actually a true story. One of Billy’s first hits, “Piano Man” still holds up as one of his greatest songs. I love any kind of song or poem or novel that is so well written it actually puts you into the time, place and story itself. Billy plays himself reflecting on his surroundings, not in the past but right at the moment when he sits at the piano and begins entertaining the characters at the night club. The bartender, the vet, the waitress; all of them have roles, names and dreams that Billy reflects on. He hears endless chatter from the patrons while singing and dreaming of leaving himself. The whole thing doesn’t come off as cheesy as I would think it might all these years later. Perhaps because one of my dreams has always been to perform in a bar like this, and in Spokane, there was a woman who did just that at the Brass Rail gay bar – of course she was a bitch and Billy probably isn’t so much of a bitch so I like him and his song better than anything that dried up old hag ever played. Oh where was I? Oh yeah, Billy, Piano Man, great song.

and with that memory blitz I think it's time to call an end to yet another installment of our top 100 singles of the 70's until next time....

posted by swivek @ 9:01 AM 0 comments

Top 100 Singles Of The 70's - 85-81

and just like a good shag carpet we just keep bouncing back, today we will look at what I like to call song numbers 85 through 81 of our Top 100 Singles Of The 70's - According to yours truly, so let's hit the discoteque dance floor and boogie on down shall we?


#85 – Don’t Leave Me This Way – Thelma Houston
(Gamble/Huff/Gelbert)
Motown single #54278 US / Tamla single #1060 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 12/18/1976 #1/ UK 02/05/1977 #13
My pal Brian would kick me in the knitter if I didn’t include this song, Thelma’s little disco beats were often on our stereo repeatedly while waiting to go drinking when Brian and I were roomies and for some reason I bet he still pumps this one out before heading out in the Seattle night for some gin. But Brian isn’t the only one who is transfixed by this little ditty, and actually calling it ‘a little ditty’ may be putting it too lightly for if you ever listened to this song on the headphones with the bass up just right you’ll quickly realize all the little textures in “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” Starting off with ballady strings and Thelma’s cooing for her man not to leave her, the kick ass bassline quickly jumps in and so does Thelma’s ecstatic rendering, “baby, my heart is full of love and desire for you/ so come on now do what you gotta do/ satisfy the need in me…” as the song goes back to hit the formula once more before the bass really takes over and Thelma is breathing sexual desire all over the dance floor.

#84 – So Far Away – Carole King
(Carole King)
Ode single #66019 US / A&M single #867
Chart Debut: US Pop 08/28/1971 #14
A third single from what was at that point the biggest selling album Tapestry, Carole King took all she dished out in the Brill Building in the 60’s and took over the piano and lead vocals to create a whirlwind of singer/songwriter pain and attitude on her 1971 album. “So Far Away” didn’t have the bounce of “I Feel The Earth Move” or “It’s Too Late” but the scratchy yearning voice of King in this single has more punch than any hard hitting lyric. “You’re so far away/ doesn’t anybody stay in one place anymore?” she wonders aloud and powerfully, “it would be so good to see your face at my door.” Being someone who has headed out on the highway many a times and is very far away from home, the sentiment perhaps speaks to me more so than others, but anyone with an ear can hear a great pop song when it’s played.

#83 – Changes – David Bowie
(David Bowie)
RCA Victor single #605 US / #2160 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 04/17/1972 #66
What can you really say about a staple in a career of staples? I can try to tell you how the song begins with a simple piano line, a quiet little “oh yeah”, a sax and a pumping drum before it all falls away to a piano and David’s theatrical voice charging in, and the whole thing switches again into Ch-ch-ch-changes, turn and face the strange/ time may change me/ but I can’t waste time… and the sax comes in again. I could tell you that. I could also tell you that "Changes" is the perfect combination of both David’s Ziggy theatrics and his harder glam rock stance, the whole thing was a lead off for the Hunky Dory album and showed the world what would become just one of David Bowie’s many ch-ch-ch-changes.

#82 – Renegade – Styx
(Tommy Shaw)
A&M single #2110 US / #7446 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 03/17/1979 #16
I love a song that starts out with an acapella rendering of what will come only to then break into a hard rocking little jaunt and then complete it with a breakdown and some awesome banging drums, and you throw in a storyline about a convict on the run pleading to his Mama, well, hello this is Prison Break on vinyl. “Oh Mama I’m in fear of my life from the long arm of the law/ oh mama I can hear you a cryin’/ you’re so scared and all alone/ hangman is coming down from the gallows and I don’t have very long..” A giant yelp and music kicks in, “the jig is up/ they're moving in/ they've finally found me” I have always loved this song and that cutie patutie that used to be Tommy Shaw who just never seemed to fit in with the rest of the band yet wrote two of the best songs Styx had ever done (this one and 1980’s “Too Much Time On My Hands”). Truth be told, I wanted to put this song on this list when I came up with the idea but then thought that it may not fit in right, then re-thought it and realized I loved it, and then re-thought it again only for it to pop up on an episode of Supernatural last Thursday and if those hottie Winchester boys like it, well then you know it’s good. I mean the guitar solo, the keyboards and syths chiming and almost belting you before dropping out for a full voice choir for a repeat of the chorus with only a drum pound and a cymbal going. It’s really a lot of fun if nothing else. Really did you expect me to talk so much about Styx?

#86 – Lay Down (Candles In The Rain) – Melanie
(Melanie)
Buddah single #167 US / #2011013 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 04/25/1970 #6
While going through a bunch of old 70’s music a few months ago I discovered a brand new muse, new to me anyway. Melanie who I knew for a few singles including this single had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and has now become my newest fetish. I have found almost every single thing she has ever done and she continue dumbfounds me. A slightly strange voice full of hope and bitterness and 70’s folk, Melanie is probably one of the least likely people to have ever scored a record contract let alone a few hits, but once you hear her you are transfixed. Of course what made her a big star was the fact she played Woodstock in ’69 and the whole experience is what led her to write and record this single. “We were so close there was no room/ we bled inside each others wounds/ we all caught the same disease/ we all sang the songs of peace/ so came to sing/ some came to pray/ some came to keep the dark away..” and then the Edwin Hawkins Choir Singers kick in with a little back up “…so raise your candles high/ cuz if you don't we could stay black against the sky/ and raise them high again/ and if you do we could stay dry against the rain/ lay down/ lay down…” The song is still very uplifting all these years ago almost transferring you back to that time and that particular day of peace and love. A little trivia to note, when Melanie wrote it she had the idea of a choir singing on it and she approached this Mr. Edwin Hawkins who didn’t want his choir anywhere near it, but as they were cool kids they went ahead and recorded it with Melanie anyway, and there is a full 6 and ½ minute version that eventually ended up on a Melanie compilation a few years ago, and if you’re in the mood to head over and find yourself a Melanie compilation when you hear “Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)” and another great gem, “What Have They Done To My Song Ma?” you will know exactly why I have come to love this hippy chick so.

I'm getting so excited listening to all of these songs that I may just be inclined to stop back later and give you the next five, but don't get your bell bottoms wrapped up in your wedgies too quickly, because I do have to work too you know... but until we meet again.... keep those candles held high cuz if you do we can stay dry against the rain... oh wait, I'm in LA, it doesn't rain, right?

posted by swivek @ 12:02 AM 0 comments

Top 100 Singles Of The 70's - 90-86

I had to do a little bit of research and a whole lot of re-organizing but I am finally back and ready to move on with our countdown of the top 100 Singles Of The 70's - according to me of course. So we've seen the likes of Patti LaBelle, Barry Manilow and the Village People but are you ready for what today may bring? Perhaps a little bit of singer/songwriter nostalgia, a warbling of ballads and beach parties? Oh well, I won't give too much away, so here are numbers 90 through 86 for your listening, or reading rather, pleasure...

#90 – Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel
(Paul Simon)
Columbia/CBS single #4579 US / #4790 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 02/07/1970 #1 / UK 02/21/1970 #1
Oh, the sentimental warbling of Rhymin’ Simon and his strangely coiffed pal. What is it about duos that always has one being so much more famous than the other, George Michael had Andrew Ridgely, Darryl Hall has John Oates, and Paul Simon had Art Garfunkel who it must be said is just as important in the duo as Paul, though it was Paul who wrote this little ditty right before he ditched the duo and made the 70’s his own little centerpiece of AM radio staples. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” has that nice little singer songwriter thing that was just emerging in the early 70’s, with plaintive and sweet lyrics of reassurance that we will be protected and loved – “when you’re weary feeling small/ when tears are in your eyes I will wipe them all…like a bridge over troubled water/ I will lay me down…” It could be a song to a lover or it could be Paul’s song to Art, in either fashion lover/friend it totally works and it’s uprising from guitar ballad to full on string orchestrated and blaring singing makes it impossible to ignore that this guy really will be dropping down like a bridge and taking all my misfortunes. Aw, what a nice couple of guys.

#89 - Fly Like An Eagle – Steve Miller Band
(Steve Miller)
Capitol single #4372 US / #6078802 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 12/18/1976 #2
Stevie “Guitar” Miller is very much a part of the 70’s in my book, the only problem is when all my friends and I were smoking joints and listening to him it was well into the 90’s, oh well we weren’t around when his songs were hits but thanks to Steve Miller Band’s Greatest Hits 74-78, I think almost everyone knows the songs. I was hard pressed to pick the best of Steve’s endless streams of 70’s psychedelic meets blues rock and though “The Joker” is cool and “Take The Money & Run” has all those woo hoos, his 1976 title track really tells the world what Steve Miller is capable of. He is a bit more on the experimental side than most people realize. “Fly Like An Eagle” has a space age backdrop running through it with a swirling sound coming in before the guitar kicks and the futuristic vocals, “time keeps on slippin’ slippin’ into the future…” while the lyrics themselves actually say something more than just taking a smoke or robbing a bank, “feed the babies who don’t have enough to eat/ shoe the children with no shoes on their feet/ house the people living in the street/oh there’s a solution…” It makes me want to take a toke and fly like an eagle til I’m free from the revolution.

#88 – Orgasm Addict – The Buzzcocks
(Peter Shelly/Howard Devoto)
United Artists single #36316
Released October 1977 – Not Charted
A punk rock classic if ever there was one, The Buzzcocks would have more chart success than this debut single but come on, it’s a song about being addicted to having an orgasm. Masturbation songs are always fun but when combined with a sex addict storyline in a 3 minute punk song you’ve got me hooked. “Sneaking in the back door with dirty magazines/ now your mother wants to know what are those stains on your jeans and you’re an orgasm addict…” This guy is trying to make it with every one, school kids and winos and heads of State, as rampaging drums and Pete Shelly’s endless high energy vocal and endless pants keep the whole song going fast and furious for all of it’s brief time.

#87 – Rock Lobster – The B-52’s
(Schneider/Wilson)
Boo-Fant single #52 Released 1978
Island single #6506 UK
Chart Debut: UK 08/11/1979 #37
My pal Luther has “Rock Lobster” as his voice mail rings so whenever I call him, I start bopping around and around until he answers. I guess that’s the case with the debut single from the B-52’s, not quite punk enough to be punky, not new wavey enough to full new wave, Fred and his gang were always on a plateau of their own. In my Pop Singles Book which is a chart entry little book they list “Rock Lobster” as a novelty song, but I have always wondered what Fred would think of that. Is it really a novelty song and if it is all those crazy beach songs by the likes of Frankie and Elvis also novelty? “Rock Lobster” itself could’ve come right out of the 60’s if it weren’t for the synths, the whole thing is like the Apocalypse on the Beach, very Blondie-ish if you think of “The Attack Of The Giant Ants” or even “The Beast” but despite it’s somewhat light appearance “Rock Lobster” actually has a foreboding and dark layer in it, particularly toward the end of the song where Fred’s vocals go deeper and the music changes melody, but eventually Cindy comes in and brings it all back into the light surf sound and we are left with a great little cut of what happens when the future and the past meet. Incidentally, “Rock Lobster” was originally released independently in 1978 on the Boo-Fant label (get it?) and then in 1979 on Island in the UK and Sire in the US, the Sire version eventually did hit the top 100 at #87 in early 1980.

#86 – Big Yellow Taxi – Joni Mitchell
(Joni Mitchell)
Reprise single #906 US / #20906 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 09/25/1970 #67 / UK 06/30/1970 #11
What an interesting gal Joni Mitchell is. She is one of the most performers who are always adored by the critics and yet I barely know anyone of her songs when I read the titles, but when you need someone to come out with hippy hair, lines and attitude you need look no further. Joni was on the recent Rosanna Arquette documentary about rock music and she had more than a few choice words for the record industry, all of which I agree with. But this is 2006 and back in 1970 she may have not been so bitter. Particularly when some of her compositions became big hits for others including “Both Sides Now” for Judy Collins and “Woodstock” for Crosby Stills Nash & Young, but she came into her own with this little ditty, a song that has been remade by countless people and used as the main theme through Janet Jackson’s hip hoppy “Got Til It’s Gone”. As the story goes Joni was in Hawaii when she was overlooking the beautiful beach and as her eyes wandered back from the water she saw the blacky muck of a parking lot. The crumbling of beautiful nature to be replaced by modern advances of concrete and steel are the main parts of the song with one of the best rhymes ever written – “they took all the trees and put them in a tree museum/ and they charge the people a dollar and a half just to see them,” a line which is supposedly about an actual museum in Waikiki which has or had a lot of endangered trees in it, and the most fascinating thing about the song is the tearing down of Paradise which apparently is about the House Of Allah, which was the home of Tallulah Bankhead and one of the biggest brothels of old Hollywood, which was torn down in the 70’s like almost anything cool in Hollywood. Yes, I can hear the chompy yet stylistic guitar playing of Miss Mitchell and despite the laugh at the end, I know the heartbreak and bitterness that comes from blatant demolition, and just like the big yellow taxi that took away her old man, I too know that you don’t know what you got til it’s gone.

Well that's it for today - I know don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got til it's gone? Don't worry like a bridge over troubled water I'll be back but first I must address my orgasm addictions by bopping with a rock lobster who really just wants to fly like an eagle -- can you believe I even attempted that string of words?

posted by swivek @ 8:09 AM 0 comments

Top 100 Singles of the 70s - 95-91

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back - oops there's a song I forgot about, oh well it's okay because even without John Sebastian and his hit TV theme, we have plenty of great singles from the 70's to talk about, so let's continue and look through numbers 95-91 of the Top 100 Singles of the 70's according to Bradley - I know you can dig it...


#95 – You Needed Me – Anne Murray
(Randy Goodrum)
Capitol single #4574
Chart Debut: US Pop 07/15/1978 #1 / Country 05/13/1978 #4/ UK 12/09/1978 #22

You may think I have lost my mind but I have a special fondness for Anne Murray and in particular this little ditty from 1978. When I was a kid my parents had a few 8-tracks, not that I expect all of you to even know what that is but just let me tell you there used to be these big tapes that you put into a huge player and it would play an album continuously on 4 different tracks and well forget it, anyhoos my parents had a Dolly Parton, a Melanie, a Crystal Gayle and an Anne Murray 8-track, the Anne Murray album was 1978’s Let’s Keep It That Way which had the title track, a cover of “Walk Right Back” and of course probably the biggest hit of her career “You Needed Me.” But before you roll your eyes and think this is done just as a sort of nostalgic thing the single is actually really good. I’ve always liked Anne’s voice, sweet and syrupy yet with just a hint of aggravation and scratchiness, almost like she’s trying to tell you there’s more to her than just a Canadian sweetheart trying to make it on the AC circuit. Instead of the typical lyrics of someone done somebody wrong and crying about words, we instead get a celebration of love, a mutual need and admiration for each other, "you put me on a pedestal/ so high that I could almost see eternity/ you needed me/ you needed me..” being up on many pedestals myself I can relate to this and yes, it is a wonderful feeling so thank you Anne Murray for putting those thoughts out there for all of us to hear.

#94 – YMCA – Village People
(Morali/Belolo/Willis)
Casablanca single #945 (US)/ #6007192 (UK)
Chart Debut: US Pop 10/21/1978 #2 / UK 11/25/1978 #1
It’s typical isn’t it? Just as a song comes out celebrating gay locker room sex the boys of the locker rooms have already moved on and are giving blow in between taking blow in the bathroom stalls of the discothèques, oh well that’s progress for you. The disco era has been looked upon as a kind of ridiculous era but if the songs were so horrible and the disco backlash so apparent why have all these songs stood the test of time. I mean someone is buying the endless disco compilations that come out and everyone I’ve ever met with enough booze in them will get up on the dance floor and do the insane YMCA dance without any prodding at all. The Village People are one of the quissessential disco mavens, along with the likes of Gloria Gaynor and Donna Summer, though in Miss Summer’s defense her career continued well past the disco expiration date of 1979, but the boys of the Village People, not so much. This is probably their most recognizable song and though other hits like “In The Navy”, “Macho Man” and “Go West” are still easily good songs, they all seem to go in the same grain as this one, put a bunch of double entendres into a seemingly innocent space and time and you get the Village People beat and boot. “YMCA” takes that men’s dorm and reminds us that while the buildings were there to accommodate all the young men who came to the city and needed cheap digs, they also needed some cheap sex and that’s really what both disco and the Village People were about, and for that I love them.

#93 – Rock & Roll – Led Zeppelin
(Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham)
Atlantic single #2865
Chart Debut: US Pop 03/18/1972 #47
After all these years I still have no idea what Robert Plant really looks like because every time I see an old pic of him in his Led Zep days my eyes immediately rush to that filled pouch of his, what was it about the pants of the 70’s? They flared like bells on the bottom and tightened up at the crotch so that you could tell what each boy’s religion really was. I loved it and really think that look should come back.

But enough about that, what of the music that these boys made? Anyone who knows anything about music knows the absolute adoration that follows the Led Zeppelin legacy but is it really worth all that? To me I think they certainly deserve their kudos, the untitled fourth album with the mega known “Stairway To Heaven” and this particularly single shows the boys as the rock and roll gods they were. The look, the riffs, the attitude, the partying – if ever there was a true rock and roll band it was Led Zeppelin. But along with that also comes the fact that there was an abundance of talent and experimentation in the band. “Rock & Roll” is one of those songs that everyone knows, from the opening riffs with the chug a chug drum beat and Robert’s high voice, “been a long time since I rock and rolled/been a long time, been a long, lonely lonely lonely lonely time…” the song is structured in the basic 12 bar rock song code, something I just recently read and never really knew, plus with the blues and folk rock influence, Led Zeppelin weren’t above doing anything to create music and that’s always good – okay maybe not always Madonna I’m talking to you, but for most musicians it’s a good thing. As for this particular single there isn’t anyone who doesn’t sing along or at least know the words once the ditty hits the oldies station.




#92 – Walk On The Wild Side – Lou Reed
(Lou Reed)
RCA single #887 US / #2303 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 02/17/1973 #16 / UK 05/12/1973
What a frickin’ riot this song is. How did it ever get played in 1973? I wonder this aloud almost every time I hear it. With the little bass line and Lou’s almost rap like style of singing we get to learn the occupants of the underground first hand as we travel with hitchhiking Molly from FLA who went from a he to she, men in drag, colored girls singing and everyone giving a little bit of head, but never really losing their head. If you listen close enough you realize you’re a part of the Warhol gang or at least you get to learn more about them. “Walk On The Wild Side” is one of those songs that make you want to take off and travel the world, showing you that you can do whatever you want and the world outside of your house is just as decadent and crazy as your Mama warned you about. This is one of those classic songs that people seem to forget about, or at least I do until I hear it and then realize what a genius Lou Reed really can be. It just makes me want to sing do, do, do, do and give a little head.

#91 – I Think I Love You – The Partridge Family
(Tony Romeo)
Bell single #910
Chart Debut: US Pop 10/10/1970 #1 / UK 02/13/1971 #18
Let me first say that the Brady Bunch kids could kick the crap out of the The Partridge Family any day of the week, however they didn’t have strong enough chops to pull out a really great hit single in the 70’s but that’s okay cause the crazy Jan Brady will always be my idol. However, when it comes to singing families I like this song a lot more than I originally thought. Of course it’s passed off as cheese and everyone’s just a tad fairly embarrassed about liking it, but I have realized that feeling only comes from the fact of who’s singing it. A bunch of knock off polyestered up Cassidy’s and studio musicians but the song itself isn’t cheesy at all. In fact I think it’s fairly creepy. Perhaps that’s why so many bands of the more alternative scene apt to record this one, because it’s not the typical 70’s love song, it opens with psychedelic keyboards and drums blaring before David Cassidy starts singing in a round type style with the creepy back up girl singers and to me he makes a pretty good case for stalking laws. Listen to it again and you’ll realize how great this little ditty is, though I warn you don’t do in the dark and don’t listen alone, I warned you.

Wow, wasn't that great? With all this hot men, stuffed pouches and decadence, I'm certainly glad the 70's are over, well at least the decade is over, but these posts are far from over. So come back tomorrow when we take a look at numbers 90-86 in the top 100 singles of the 70's according to me, yours truly, bradley...

posted by swivek @ 8:45 AM 0 comments

Top 100 Singles Of The 70's 100-96

Welcome to our very first installment in my latest kick - looking back at the best singles of the decade that brought us avacado green kitchens, shag carpeting, earth shoes, disco and punk! Yes the 70's were a time and to share just a little secret with all of you, I admit I actually was born in the 70's though I will never frickin' tell you exactly which year but at least I got the truth off my chest...


#100 – The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia – Vicki Lawrence
(Bobby Sherrill)
Bell single #45303
Chart Debut: Pop 02/10/1973 #1 Country 04/28/1973 #36

That’s right Miss Mama Thelma Harper of The Carol Burnett Show and Mama’s Family had a #1 pop hit in 1973, not only did she have a hit single but she had one of the best story song hit singles ever. The gothic tale of cheating wives, cheating friends, bad lawyers, crooked judges, hangings and one little sister who doesn’t miss when she aims her gun. I have always loved this little ditty and even that cross eyed leprechaun known as Reba McEntire ended up covering it and making it a hit all over again in 1991. Miss Vicki recorded the original version while she was working with Carol, and married to songwriter Bobby Russell. As legend has it, Bobby passed the song onto Cher through Sonny who turned it down, unbeknownst to poor Cher so he somehow convinced his comedic wife to record the song and her demo ended up being a pop hit. They also turned the savage story into a great 80’s flick starring Kristy McNichol and Dennis Quaid as the brother and sister who fight with the small mind and slutty women of small town Georgia. Though the theme song to the film was sung by my fav Tanya Tucker, the words were all reworked I guess in an attempt to not give away the story too much. But anyone who knew the original knows where it’s going. The best lines by far are at the end where after poor Andy ends up dead seemingly from the gun shot by his one time best friend we find out it’s actually the singer (the little sister) who tells us, “his little cheating wife never left town/ and that’s one body that will never be found/ see little sister don’t miss when she aims her gun.” Classic 70’s.

#99 – Nobody Likes Lovin’ More Than I Do (Dreamer Of Dreams) – Lisa Hartman
(Alan Touissant)
Kirshner/CBS single #4275
Released 1978 Not charted

Here’s one most won’t remember as most probably never even heard it to begin with but you can bet your sweet Ciji Dunne I wouldn’t let a chance like this pass without giving some kudos to my girl Lisa. Poor Lisa, always working, always singing, always getting the short end of the celebrity stick. Her first album, a self titled adult contemporary piece from 1976 yielded three singles none of which went anywhere, so Lisa took to modeling and acting to pay her bills, but Don Kirshner who gave her the record deal and Jeff Barry of the Brill Building songwriting block in the 60’s plucked her from the bars of Houston to make her a singer, so she added one more single to her resume with this classy pop song from 1978. Perhaps she was a little too much like Olivia Newton-John to score anything too big but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with her music selections, her looks or her voice. Pumping along on a steady mid-70’s backbeat, Nobody Like’s Lovin’ More Than I Do has our girl letting her new suitor know that she is worth a little more than just a role in the hay – “nobody likes lovin’ more than I do/ but I got to know you better/ I’ve got to find out whether or not you’re good for me/ if you’ll be good to me/ cuz I’m a dreamer of dreams/ that may never come true/ and I want all/ that just one night with you…” Perhaps if she had been just slightly more slutty she could’ve made a dent in the charts. Actually had her next album Hold On, sprung the her Sam & Dave cover “Hold On I’m Comin’” or the sassy “If You Want To Come Home” as singles she may have seen at least a little chart action, but alas it would take a couple more decades and a marriage to get Lisa onto a music chart.

#98 – I Am Woman – Helen Reddy
(Helen Reddy/Ray Burton)
Capitol single #3350
Chart Debut: Pop 06/24/1972 #1

Yes, I am invincible, I am woman…. She is woman hear her roar in numbers too big to ignore; sure it may sound silly and strange now but this was a very important statement to make back in 1972. Mary Tyler Moore was on the air and though she was living her life as a single woman she was still calling her boss Mr. Grant and barely able to ask for a raise or responsibility. Helen Reddy had done some Broadway tunes and when the record company asked for a full album she sent them a bunch of jazz songs and this very personal little ditty. It seems Helen had tried to find a song that could convey her feelings as a 70’s woman, something that could tell people how she should feel empowered, with nothing on the charts or anywhere near her to give her that feeling, our poor girl had to take pen to paper and come up with her own ideas. Luckily, it worked and the song is still very important if not for anything else but that strange nostalgia that comes with thinking how the world used to be – if you realize that in 1979 when Stockard Channing made her TV debut her character was getting divorced and found it almost impossible to get credit on her own because she was separated, in 1980 the girls of 9 To 5 were still experiencing separate pay wages and indefinite bouts of male chauvinism, and the bra burners were still fighting their way to make their marks decades after the song came out. On a separate note, there is a new commercial for Burger King with men singing the song and crying out cuz they want to eat meat and act like men, it’s actually pretty hilarious with the major highlight being a scene where a man is burning his underwear instead of a bra. Hilarity ensues.

#97 – Copacabana (At The Copa) – Barry Manilow
(Feldman/Manilow/Sussman)
Arista single #339
Chart Debut: US Pop 06/10/1978 #8 / UK 07/29/1978 #42

Copacabana is the first mainstream song I remember liking as a kid, one more story song in a whole decade of story songs, but this one had a calypso beat, a gunshot, crazy ladies singing and of course a bit of a disco breakdown. Barry Manilow is by no means ever going to be considered cool expect in the Don Knotts kind of cool way, but the fact is he can sing and he made some fairly entertaining songs in the day. I thought by the time it was 2007, this would be one song that would not make me turn it up and sing along yet as I drove to the Valley a few months ago and this song came on a mixer I had made, I did just that. Turning it up, singing as we meet Lola, the showgirl, Tony, her bartending friend and that bastard in the night who wants a piece of Lola for himself; though we never know just who shot who, we do learn that Tony is long gone as by the end of the song Lola is a drunkard still wearing the faded feathers in her hair, which she thinks are so refined, and drinks her self half blind, and now she’s lost her mind, so heed Mr. Manilow’s warning, don’t fall in love at the Copa, and you may also want to stay away from the 1985 TV movie Barry made based on the song, you’ll probably wish you’d be shot along with Tony.

#96 – Lady Marmalade – LaBelle
(Bob Crewe/Kenny Nolan)
Epic/CBS single #50048
Chart Debut: US Pop 01/04/1975 #1 / UK 03/22/1975 #17

Voulez vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)… I have been told repeatedly what those dirty little French words mean yet I always forget and you know the brilliance about the song is, I don’t care if I even know what it means. With Patti LaBelle’s screaming queen antics along with her girls of the LaBelle group, we get to venture to old New Orleans and hook up with a 9 to 5-er who can’t forget the love of the hooker he meant there, the mocha choca latte that she is. Of course the whole world is familiar with the song now that it hit #1 in every single country in the world when P!nk, Mya, Little Kim and Christina redid it for Moulin Rouge, and even though the cover version has a few more vocal acrobatics than the original (an actual surprise since Miss LaBelle is known for her acrobatics), this is still the better version in my opinion. If only for the fact that I can’t think of another disco funk type of song that made such an impact and had everyone in the world singing words they had no idea what they meant. I mean a song about a hooker and sung mostly in French, come on, it’s genius.

stay tuned as we venture further into the world of the psychedelic disco punky new wave that the 70's brought us....

posted by swivek @ 11:10 PM 0 comments

New Dollytunes

I was on a Dolly Parton kick last week before I even knew her birthday was coming up and the reason for this kick is that my pal Luther had taken two of my Dolly vinyl albums and put them onto CD for me, including fixing the sound, the skips, the crackles all that good stuff only a pro can do. One of the albums is 1980's Dolly Dolly Dolly which just happens to be The Leivas' favorite Dolly album ever, one that he still knows all the lyrics to. So I decided that the album had to be part of the Bubbatunes reissue series particularly since the album has never ever been released on CD. The other album Luther worked on is also from 1980, that Dolly liked to release multiple albums in one year, entitled 9 To 5 And Odd Jobs - probably one of her more famous albums. 9 To 5 .. has been released on CD and I happen to now own a copy of it but with all bubbatunes issues, we needed more bonus tracks, and finally I realized I had all the songs to MY favorite Dolly album 1977's Here You Come Again and after searching days and nights and weeks and months, I found enough artwork to actually create a very great version of Here You Come Again and again add a multitude of bonus cuts, so here are our newest entries into the Bubbatunes catalog - all thanks to that genius of hillbilly sense Dolly Parton.

bub 68 Dolly Parton - HERE YOU COME AGAIN (January 23, 2007)
Originally released in 1977, Here You Come Again was Dolly's first foray into full on pop, there are of course some country twinged moments but the album has the hit title track which is the poppiest Dolly had ever been, the album went gold and became Dolly's biggest seller of a career that had already been in existance for over 10 years. Rumor has it the old fans didn't care for it, but it would appear by the sheer magnitude of the hit that they also bought themselves a copy. I had this album when I was but a wee tyke and it always cracked me up how there were three Dolly's on the cover, and that wig! Holy crap, it's amazing she could keep her head up, but keep her head up she did. The album opens with the keyboard laden title track and that means it opens with a punch and just continues from there including the hit pop single "Two Doors Down", you know where they're laughing and drinkin' and havin' a party without Dolly, then there's the genius of the whole thing in the little nugget "Me & Little Andy" which I've talked about so many times I probably don't need to go into it again. But what threw me when I found all these songs and put them together all these years later is how good the other songs are as well, "Lovin' You" a cover of a Lovin' Spoonful ditty has become one of my favorite Dolly tracks ever, "Cowgirl & The Dandy" is a little ballad about Dolly the cowgirl hooking up with a classy man in the bar at a Tennessee airport where their flights are grounded, "I was Mogan David wine and he was Chablis '59/he was winters in Aspen and summers in Paree (Paris) and I was Grand Ole Opry Nashville, Tennessee", the simple ballad "Baby Come Out Tonight" has Dolly in full blown mistress mode where she's trying to hook up with her married lover one more time before he leaves town with his wife, an awesome version of the Kenny Rogers written "Sweet Music Man" is another big highlight, and so is the simplistic yet oh so Dolly "God's Coloring Book". In fact for such a long ago album I'm surprised how well it's stood up, definitely worth the work I've put into it.

For bonus cuts, we looked to the next two albums after Here You Come Again, and a special bonus in a live version of "Me & Little Andy" where Dolly shows she can still do that crazy little girl's voice so prominent in the original, from 1978's Heartbreaker album (an album that is in a remastered CD version in print even) comes the title track single, the pop disco hit "Baby I'm Burnin'" and a new found favorite in the single "I've Really Got The Feeling" and then from 1979's mostly covers album Great Balls Of Fire comes the original "Down", "Star Of The Show" and a hillbilly version of the Beatles' "Help!" which had people up in arms in 1979 but I think is a much better version of the song than the one Rock goddess Tina Turner did in 1984.

Here You Come Again (1977; 2007 bub 68)
Track list:
01. Here You Come Again
02. Baby Come Out Tonight
03. It's All Wrong But It's All Right
04. Me & Little Andy
05. Lovin' You
06. Cowgirl & The Dandy
07. Two Doors Down
08. God's Coloring Book
09. As Soon As I Touched Him
10. Sweet Music Man
bonus tracks 11. Me & Little Andy (live) 12. Baby I'm Burnin' 13. Heartbreaker 14. I Really Got The Feeling 15. Star Of The Show 16. Down 17. Help!

bub 69 Dolly Parton - DOLLY DOLLY DOLLY (January 23, 2007) When I was a kid my parents had the 8-track of Dolly Dolly Dolly and I remember playing it, little did I know across the country a teenaged Alfred was also playing the album and neither of us knew that oh so many years later our lives would cross and we'd be listening to it together but such is the power of Dolly's music. So in the spring of 1980 Dolly threw this album upon the world, following her poppy successes in 1977's Here You Come Again and again with 1978's Heartbreaker and perhaps a little less in 1979's Great Balls Of Fire, Dolly came up with this album, a full on pop album and one of the only albums where Dolly didn't write a single track. There are more pop strings and guitars than steel guitars and yodles, though the countrified pop does come through here and there. Dolly Dolly Dolly is interesting in the track list sequencing as someone came up with the genius idea of putting a ballad then an upbeat pop song then ballad then upbeat pop etc. all the way through these 10 songs. The album opens up with a pop and country hit "Starting Over Again", a ballad about the break up of a long term marriage written by Donna Summer and her husband, then the keyboards kick in and Dolly pops it out with "Same Old Fool" before going into the only true country song on the set and one that gave her another #1 on the country charts "Old Flames Can't Hold A Candle To You" and once again the poppy pops with "You're The Only One I Ever Needed" which is by far my favorite on the album. "Say Goodnight" is what was side one's closer before we get a couple more songs with 'fool' in the title, the boppy "Fool For Your Love" which is fun musically but not so much in its lyrics while the ballad "Even A Fool Would Let Go" probably could've done quite well had it been released as a single, and the upbeat pop of "Sweet Agony", then onto the Leivas' favorite cut the ballad, "I Knew You When" which softly tells the story of two lovers who go at it on prom night and hold onto their memories for the rest of their lives and include the subtle nicetys of Dolly's telling the man even when he feels like he's looking and getting old she will always remember him the way he was cause she knew him when, it really is a very pretty and heartfelt song, while Dolly Dolly Dolly ends with the upbeat but kind of strange "Packin' It Up" which is a rousing jaunt about closing up the shop and putting on fancy clothes to head into the city and party it up for the weekend.

The bonus cuts for Dolly Dolly Dolly all come from 1979's Great Balls Of Fire but they're really quite an eclectic jumble, starting with the sweet semi waltz of the Dolly written "Sandy's Song", it's a song Alf and I first heard on So You Think You Can Dance and it took me forever to figure out which album it came from. Luckily, I have all the songs from Great Balls Of Fire, another album never released on CD, so it was added to this collection for the sake of The Leivas' happiness, also here are the two singles from the 1979 album "You're The Only One" and "Sweet Summer Lovin'" two breezy ballads set at midtempo to give us just enough to love in Dolly's sweetness, then the strangely captivating cover of the title track which proves Dolly is no Jerry Lee Lewis but also proves she's above taking chances, then two more ballads, the somewhat boring "Almost In Love" and the highly intense and satisfying tones of both "Do You Think Time Stands Still" and "It's Not My Affair Anymore" which show attitude amidst the semi sweet lyrics. I am so happy I finally have this and I have to say even the semi Dolly delver can realize that Dolly Dolly Dolly is a great find.

Dolly Dolly Dolly (1980; 2007 bub69)
Track list:
01. Starting Over Again
02. Same Old Fool
03. Old Flames Can't Hold A Candle To You
04. You're The Only One I Ever Needed
05. Say Goodnight
06. Fool For Your Love
07. Even A Fool Would Let Go
08. Sweet Agony
09. I Knew You When
10. Packin' It Up
Bonus Tracks - 11. Sandy's Song 12. You're The Only One 13. Sweet Summer Lovin' 14. Almost In Love 15. Great Balls Of Fire 16. Do You Think That Time Stands Still 17. It's Not My Affair Anymore

bub 70 Dolly Parton - 9 To 5 AND ODD JOBS (January 23, 2007)
One of my favorite pictures of Dolly Parton ever is from the back side of the 9 To 5 single, which shows Dolly at the office in a hot skirt and huge high heels holding time cards and losing most of them as she tries to punch into her job, the album which used the same front cover as the single included the pic as a the inner sleeve and this version of the album also includes the picture, but believe me it took forever to find it, but alas I did. I also found out that 9 To 5 And Odd Jobs, unlike a lot of Dolly's late 70's early 80's stuff is actually available on CD, however the question remains if it's still in print. I found a used copy for about $11 but since I had already started working on the Bubbatunes version I just added the official songs to my disc. The thing with this album is that when it was released, it was released with 10 songs then a few months later RCA re-released it and got rid of the inner sleeve and pulled two songs from it, why I'm not sure but it doesn't seem right. As luck would have it, the 8 song mid priced 9 To 5 is the vinyl copy I have. But the Bubbatunes version includes all 10 of the original 9 To 5 And Odd Jobs songs plus some.

A concept album by our girl, we open with the title track which is Dolly's biggest hit ever, spending weeks at #1 on both country and pop charts and even scoring in the UK, the toe tapping song tells the story of the plight of the 1980's secretary in all her glory, but the secretary is but one of the working people Dolly puts into song on this album. We have everyone here from the migrant workers uncerimoniously killed in a plane crash in her cover of Woody Guthrie's "Deportee", to the working hooker in Dolly's cover of "House Of The Rising Sun" to the simple common man who puts everything together for everyone else in "Sing For The Common Man", a combination of both country and pop push through the album though the emphasis is on the pop side of Dolly, particularly on "House Of The Rising Sun" which has not one iota of country in it, though the closer "Poor Folk's Town" is the essential Dolly countrified pop song telling the story of the poor who are rich in everything but worldly possessions think a newer version of "Coat Of Many Colors" only brighter, "Hush-A-Bye Hard Times" is my ultimate favorite on 9 to 5 And Odd Jobs and probably the most country of all the songs, it's a fast jaunt that sounds like it's a cover of an old bluegrass ditty from the 20's but instead it's a Dolly original with Dolly singing acapella, "Many years you have lingered around my cabin door, oh hard times come again no more," before breaking into a jumpy country number while telling her baby (ies) they can't have the gingerbread cake or the bows or anything else they want cause there's a big wolf howling at the door bringing her some more hard times."Hush a bye baby don't cry no more/ your mama can't give you what you're crying for/ there's a wolf at the door with an angry, cold, hungry stare/ he keeps howling of hard times and the cupboard is bare/ hush a bye hard times, hush a bye baby" It sounds silly and perhaps it is a tad silly for 1980 let alone 2007 but I think it's great and this is all about me you know. Dolly's work aholic people continue in "Working Girl" which doesn't tell the story of just the business gal but every working girl ever including the hardest working of all, the mom. Some have argued that "But You Know I Love You", the other big hit (both pop top 40 and country #1) doesn't fit in with the working idea, but if you listen to the song it's really the most personal by Dolly though she didn't even write it, as it talks about having to be away on tour and at work all the time while trying to remind the listener that she still loves him.

For bonus cuts we had to cut the theme of the working stiffs though we got the similarly titled "Single Women" which is a hilarious yet tragic country song from 1982's Heartbreak Express album with the opening lines, "Single bars and single women..." and tells the tragic stories of one night stands from there, then we have the title track from Heartbreak Express, a sort of mixed bag of country and jump blues from the 50's, it's a great performance all around, also included are Dolly's other 1982 singles from the film version of The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, the remake of her own "I Will Always Love You" and "Hard Candy Christmas", and the 1983 straight up rock infested pop of "Potential New Boyfriend" one of my all time favs by Dolly, before adding on (for the Leivas' mom and pop who will get a copy of this CD) "Islands In The Stream" with Kenny which I unceremoniously cut from our previous Dolly Ultimate CD (bub49) , and it all ends with her 1984 yoddling mix of "Tennessee Homesick Blues" from the 1984 film Rhinestone (with Sylvester Stallone .. does anyone remember that film? What were they thinking?), so I guess though I don't keep up with the working class theme in the bonus cuts I do keep up with her movie appreances and as for Dolly the album maker, a lot has been argued over the years that her albums particularly her late 70s and early 80s output on RCA Records isn't all it could've been, I have to put these three albums up for review because all three of them, Here You Come Again, Dolly, Dolly, Dolly and 9 To 5 And Odd Jobs really showcase Dolly at her best whether it be singing hillbilly covers, bluegrass working class anthems or straight up pop songs I think Dolly delivers quite nicely. As for the Rhinestone soundtrack of 1984 perhaps that's something else to discuss.

9 To 5 And Odd Jobs (1980; 2007; bub70)
Track List:
01. 9 To 5
02. Hush-A-Bye Hard Times
03. House Of The Rising Sun
04. Deportee
05. Sing For The Common Man
06. Working Girl
07. Detroit City
08. But You Know I Love You
09. Dark As A Dungeon
10. Poor Folk's Town
Bonus Tracks - 11. Single Women 12. Heartbreak Express 13. I Will Always Love You 14. Hard Candy Christmas 15. Potential New Boyfriend 16. Islands In The Stream (with Kenny Rogers) 17. Tennessee Homesick Blues

posted by swivek @ 8:40 AM 0 comments

You Can Ruin A Good Story

I have been sick all weekend long so instead of doing anything of any kind of productivity, I spent the weekend in my pajamas watching television show after movie after television show after movie. One of my favorite things is the strange and mysterious deaths of old Hollywood and of course the most famous of all is the still unsolved mystery of Elizabeth Short's death in 1947; known as the Black Dahlia now there is still no real apparant motive or suspect in the grisly death of the girl.

Of course there's a million books and one is by James Ellroy which is basically more a tale of noir set amidst the discovery of the body in 1947, and like his earlier work LA Confidential, the new Hollywood jumped on board and decided to turn his book into a movie. So this weekend I rented The Black Dahlia, even though some idiotic casting agent decided to put the talentless Josh Harnett in a lead role and from there I knew we were doomed but what I didn't expect was just a completely horrible and boring movie. I have to wonder if Scarlett Johannsen acts like this in every movie - she is a wooden stick who can barely utter dialogue, and she was up for an Oscar for something? This movie was so atrocious I had to turn it off at 1 hour and 1/2 into it, little did I know it was only an hour and 1/2 into it though, I thought for sure we had been watching it for four hours. So long story short, go online, read some of the who done it books about the Black Dahlia but do not, I repeat do not see this movie! Ugh!

Luckily, I had plenty of other DVD's to watch, so I spent my time with the Lawrences and more episodes of Family Season 1, I also finished up the five disc set of Police Woman Season 1 including all the commentary with the hilarious Angie Dickinson and just for more frowns to turn upside down, I put on a few episodes of Mary Tyler Moore season 4. And with all that time spent in the 70's I've decided on Wednesday we are going to start counting down the top 100 Singles of the 1970's so get ready, cuz I know you guys are going to love that - yes, both of you my readers....

posted by swivek @ 10:40 PM 0 comments

Birth Of The Icon (s)

Today is a special day in the world of music for two huge icons, one of which owns to of her own icons, were born today - Miss Dolly Parton is a whopping 61 years today while Janis Joplin was also born on this day and would've been 64!

I am a big fan of both of these women, and two women couldn't be more different, but you know that Miss Dolls and her big assets always gets me. Here's a few of her little gems to ponder - "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap" and one of my favs "I don't mind dumb blonde jokes cause I know I'm not really dumb and I sure know I'm not really blonde!"

So with the 61st birthday of a woman whose knitters have travelled back and forth from the country stage to the movie cinema to the backwoods roots of her upbringing, I gave you a list of the 61 best Dolly Parton songs ever!

61. Straight Talk (1992)
60. To Daddy (1969 but not released until 95)
59. Joshua (1971)
58. Romeo (1993)
57. Applejack (1977)
56. Something Fishy (1969)
55. More Where That Came From (1993)
54. Time For Me To Fly (1989) (Yes a bluegrass REO cover)
53. Marry Me (2002)
52. Eagle When She Flies (1991)
51. White Limozeen (1989)
50. God's Coloring Book (1977)
49. Light Of A Clear Blue Morning (1992 Straight Talk pop version)
48. Sing For The Common Man (1980)
47. Baby Come Out Tonight (1977)
46. House Of The Rising Sun (1980)
45. Rockin' Years (w/ Ricky Van Shelton)(1991)
44. You're The Only One (1979)
43. He's Alive (1989)
42. But You Know I Love You (1980)
41. Tennessee Homesick Blues (1984)
40. Deportee (1980)
39. The River Unbroken (1987)
38. Just Because I'm A Woman (1968)
37. Heartbreaker (1978)
36. Sweet Music Man (1977)
35. Even A Fool Would Let Go (1980)
34. Shine (2001)
33. Cowgirl & The Dandy (1977)
32. Single Women (1982)
31. Dumb Blonde (1969)
30. You're The Only One I Ever Needed (1980)
29. I'm Gone (2003)
28. Islands In The Stream (w/ Kenny) (1983)
27. Think About Love (Think About Me) (1985)
26. I Don't Believe You Met My Baby (2001 Little Sparrow version)
25. Lovin' You (1977)
24. The Bargain Store (1974)
23. Just When I Needed You Most (1996)
22. I Really Got The Feeling (1978)
21. Starting Over Again (1980)
20. Baby I'm Burnin' (1978)
19. Don't Drop Out (1966)
18. Two Doors Down (1977)
17. The Grass Is Blue (1999)
16. Hush-A-Bye Hard Times (1980)
15. Sandy's Song (1979)
14. Heartbreak Express (1982)
13. I Knew You When (1980)
12. Potential New Boyfriend (1983)
11. I Will Always Love You (1982 'Whorehouse' version)
10. Why'd You Come In Here Lookin' Like That (1989)
09. Love Is Like A Butterfly (1974)
08. Coat Of Many Colors (1971)
07. Light Of A Clear Blue Morning (1977 version)
06. Here You Come Again (1977)
05. Hard Candy Christmas (1982)
04. I Will Always Love You (1973 original)
03. 9 To 5 (1980)
02. Jolene (1973)
01. Me & Little Andy (1977)

posted by swivek @ 4:30 PM 0 comments

What A Feelin'

As I was driving home from work tonight, I was thinking, "Gee I forgot to blog today. I wonder what I should blog about..." and that's when I noticed this fast driving little Audi pull up behind me. As I proceeded from the red light on La Cienega to turn left onto Santa Monica Boulevard, I noticed the light changing to red and the car behind me suddenly right next to me and I was in the furthest lane to left! I thought the woman was crazy.

So I drove as fast as I could down Santa Monica Boulevard on the way to my home and that woman just kept right on my ass so I finally managed to move over to the next lane and then we were suddenly next to each other at the next red light. As her window came down, I have to say I actually moved down in my seat just waiting for that crazy gun I knew she was carrying. Instead of shooting me, she just said "I'm sorry about that back there, but I had to get through the red light. I'm late for an audition, but I didn't mean to scare you." It was actually sweet but what was even sweeter is I think the woman was Jennifer Beals.

Now I am horrible at spotting celebrities and so it might not have been her, but I just saw the one time star of the classic Flashdance, not to mention 2000 Malibu Road with Lisa Hartman and Drew Barrymore, on Law & Order last night, so her face is pretty fresh in my mind. I know she is on The L Word and it was just in the paper the other day that they had been shooting in West Hollywood and the Audi isn't necessarily a cheap car so until someone can come forth and tell me that Jennifer Beals couldn't have been on Santa Monica Boulevard around 5:30 on her way to an audtion because she was in Vancouver shooting The L Word or otherwise indisposed, then I am telling you Jennifer Beals' driving scared the crap out of me, but she was very very nice and apologized, so everyone grab that DVD of Flashdance and rejoice to all that is Jennifer Beals... and that's my life in La La Land.

posted by swivek @ 9:26 PM 2 comments

On The Boob Tube

I am the first to admit I have fairly strange taste when it comes to, well just about everything, so it should come as no surprise that my choices in quality television are just as strange as my choices in classic 80's songs. Luckily with the advent of the DVD and people's relentless pursuit of old television shows, a lot of quality and by that I mean my quality programs have been coming to DVD, and let me tell you there was a HUGE surprise for me last month when I found out some company in Canada released the 2 disc set of The Stockard Channing Show.

I know what you're thinking, the what and who show? Well, when I was a little blond boy I loved, loved and loved Grease (now I'm just an older blond boy who loves, loves, and loves Grease) and apparantly CBS TV really loved Stockard Channing, the wonderfully classy and would be knocked up Betty Rizzo, for they gave her a TV show of her own in the spring of 1979, so she came up with Stockard Channing In Just Friends. In it, she plays Susan who upon divorcing her hubby heads to stay in LA near her sister, she gets a job at a fitness gym and makes nicey nicey with her co-workers and new neighbors. I loved it! I watched it when it was on and was horrified when it was cancelled.

But don't fear because the DVD world has come to my rescue and all the episodes of Stockard Channing in Just Friends is now in my DVD case, but there's more, oh yes so much more. When the original show kind of tanked CBS retooled and came up with The Stockard Channing Show and with no reasoning at all there was Stockard and her best friend playing completely new characters, this time Susan (yes still Susan) is in LA working for TV personality Ron Silver. In the very first episode she goes on a crusade to prove all that healthy food Ron's been eating has been getting him sick so she dons a pseudo 60's hippy look and all kinds of zaniness happen. And you guessed it, every single episode of The Stockard Channing Show is here as well.

You can't believe how excited I was to have this little bits of late 70's fun. Of course the shows aren't terribly great but Stockard is great in anything she does and it's interesting to see the usually cool and reserved woman of many a feature film act like a cross between Lucy and Mary Tyler Moore. Definitely one of the best finds of my career in finding obscure crap.

Also in constant rotation these days is the multi disc set of the 70's series Family. A drama cum soap opera about the somewhat affluent Lawrence family in Pasadena. I loved this show when I was a kid - Kristy McNichol as the sassy yet cool Buddy is only the beginning of the highlights in this series. The show ran for five years and though the first season was just a mini, I am just now finishing up with those episodes, which make me very happy as in the second season Meredith Baxter takes over the role of the eldest child from the somewhat mousy and boring woman playing her on the episodes I've seen. But let me just give you a big fat dose of what really good television can be, because this show is excellant. The acting is way way above par no question part of Miss Sada Thompson's influence as the matriarch Kate. But everyone is great and I am now in love with Willie, the middle brother who I thought was a college drop out but as it turns out he's a 17 year old high school drop out living at home and trying to deal with what he wants to be when he grows up. But be forewarned if you rent or buy any of these, the show can very depressing and I've yet to watch an episode without some tears dripping down my face. And for the ones who love trivia it should be noted that though Aaron Spelling is the exec on this it isn't Dynasty by any means and that could have something to do with the fact that also on team behind the scenes is a man named David Jacobs who went on to create Dallas and to create and produce a little piece of awesomeness called Knots Landing.

But should you think my TV viewing will be upset when I get through the double dose of Stockard and my multi Family vids, look what's coming to DVD in March! God'll get you for that, and I can't wait!

posted by swivek @ 4:43 PM 2 comments