Top 100 Singles Of The 70's - 60-56
#60-56Here we are to celebrate those crazy little singles from the 1970s. This time around we have some real gems, some brothers who can dance and sing like no one I ever knew from Indiana, a young hottie whose brothers were major players in his success, some lovers who put out hot hits and a whole bunch of bad hair.. so let's get to our next installment of the top 100 Singles of the 70's - According to me.
#60 – ABC – Jackson 5(Gordy/Mizell/Perren/Richards)
Motown single #1163 US / Tamla single #738 UK Chart Debut: US Pop 03/14/1970 #1 UK 05/16/1970 #8
There was a time when Michael Jackson wasn’t such a bad joke in the world of tabloid mania, in fact he was a very talented little man, and amazingly enough a very talented little boy. Along with his brothers, Michael brought the Jackson 5 to hit status in the early 70s and “ABC” is probably the best of the hits they racked up. With Michael right out front and bouncing back between singing with his brothers and shouting to his girl, with its schoolboy lyrics and jivy little backbeat, it’s 70’s full on but the amount talent coming through the speakers and the amount of fun is infectious.
#59 – I Love The Nightlife (Disco ‘Round) – Alicia Bridges(Bridges/Hutcheson)
Polydor single #14483 US/ #2066936 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 07/08/1978 #5/ UK 11/11/1978 #32
There are a handful of disco singles that have really survived and remain in the consciousness, Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” (see #62) is one and so is “I Love The Nightlife”, a punchy little disco ditty by Alicia Bridges, the woman with killer annunciation and a very unfortunate hairdo. “I Love The Nightlife” probably continues to grab new listeners today because it’s more than just a song about going out and boogieing on the dance floor, it’s a song of defiance, about leaving a cheating bastard and finding some new love. Alicia tells her beau that she doesn’t want to talk about love or fixing their broken romance she just wants to go out and give some of her “akshun” (formerly just plain ‘action’) and he can hit it with the women he has all over town, “you can love them all and when you’re through/ maybe that will make huh! a man out of you.” So sassy, it must have been that hairdo.
#58 – Shadow Dancing – Andy Gibb(Andy/Barry/Robin/Maurice Gibb)
RSO single #893 US / #001 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 04/15/1978 #1/ UK 05/13/1978 #42
Oh my hairy Hottie Baby Gibb - Andy Gibb was one of my very first crushes ever, and “Shadow Dancing” is my favorite song of all the great little ditties he put out in his brief career. Relying heavily on his older brothers, Andy’s songs had a Bee Gees feel but he was young, hot and talented enough to put his own mark on his music. Instead of the over produced Barry extravaganza of say Samantha Sang’s “Emotion”, Andy actually got to sing on his own songs and didn’t end up just as back up for his brothers. Through out the late 70’s Andy pumped out one great ballad styled disco tinged single after another. “Shadow Dancing” with its stringy disco backbeat, the theatrical voices and the sultry little lyric make it one of the best things about the 70’s. Of course it didn’t hurt that Andy always had his shirt opened up to his naval on the record jackets either.
#57 – Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win) – Fleetwood Mac(Stevie Nicks)
Reprise single #1345 US / #14430 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 03/06/1976 #11 / UK 03/11/1978 #46
From a hairy chested god to a witchy little goddess, Fleetwood Mac’s 1976 single “Rhiannon” was the masses first introduction to the singing and writing styles of a certain Welsh witch inspired Stevie Nicks. Stevie, along with Lindsay Buckingham were asked to join the Mac’s in late 1975 and from that moment on, Fleetwood Mac would begin to take over the world of the 70’s. “Rhiannon” with its chugging SoCal guitar beat and Stevie’s ethereal lyrics provided a punch in late 70’s music. Of course it’s Stevie that makes this particular song what it is, but it wouldn’t be half as great if it wasn’t for the talented bunch behind Stevie’s shawls and tambourines, Lindsay’s guitar work, John’s input, Christine’s soul, and Mick’s laid back drumming push this song through to become the classic it is. Of course, I always end up going back to the lyric and Stevie comes in on that department with her strange hidden messages, “Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night/ and wouldn’t you love to love her?” and the chorus, “All your life you’ve never seen a woman taken by the wind/ would you stay if she promised you Heaven?/ will you ever win?” What are the odds that Rhiannon is actually Stevie?
#56 – Dancing Queen – ABBA(Andersson/Ulvaeus/Anderson)
Atlantic single #3372 US / Epic single #4499 UK
Chart Debut: US Pop 12/11/1976 #1 / UK 08/21/1976 #1
One of my all time flicks is Muriel’s Wedding with the insanely good Toni Collette as poor put upon Muriel, living in Porpoise Spits, Australia with her loser family. Her only dream is to become a bride as she thinks that will make her a real person. When she hooks up with old school mate Rhonda and moves to Sidney, things look like they’re looking up and her life is “as good as an ABBA song, it’s as good as ‘Dancing Queen.’” ABBA pretty much ruled the 70’s, with their string laden ballads, insane theatrical odes, and a few splattering of dance hits, the creative team of Benny and Bjorn was amazing. I don’t think ABBA was thought of as great at the time of their success but I’m fairly certain critics and the public has since realized the talented musicians behind the sometimes-sugary lyrics. “Dancing Queen” was the band’s imprint on the disco era, though because it is ABBA it is a little more musically enhanced than the typical 2 by 2 strings and bass line of 1970’s disco. Plus when you add in the harmonies of Ana-Frida and Agnetha, ABBA blows a lot of 70’s fluff right out of the water.
and there you have our latest singles, stay tuned for next time when we re-enter the world of sugar coated shag carpets, lead paints and avacado green Ford Pintos - the 70's ....
posted by swivek @ 8:52 AM
3 Comments:
you realize that if I sold my car, I'd have enough money to buy a plane ticket to visit you and have nachos and margaritas and beers and be all festive. i'm just saying.
Ah but if you didn't sell your car you could A - drive to LA anytime you felt like it; B - pick me up at the airport should I come visit you
but - I am never going to drive to LA. that's why god invented airplanes. also, I have a husband with a vehicle, and public transportation in portland is awesome, so I would never drive to the airport - I would take the train - and it would be better. and you should come visit me. because that would rock.
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