The Singles of '76 (part 2)

Last week (click here if you missed it), I presented the runner-ups in my countdown of the Billboard charting singles of 1976. This is part of a month long celebration of the songs from this year that I am doing with online blogging buddies Herc (of Herc's Hideaway) and Mark (of 1976-1985: My Favorite Decade).

Today, we will start going through my favorites of the year with a countdown of numbers 100 to 76.


100. This Old Heart of Mine - Rod Stewart (1/10/76, 4, 83)
99. Dream Weaver - Gary Wright (1/3/76, 20, 2)
98. Still Crazy After All These Years - Paul Simon (5/1/76, 7, 40)
97. Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again - Barry Manilow (3/20/76, 15, 10)
96. Love Hangover - Diana Ross (4/3/76, 18, 1)

These first five are an interesting mix. You have some rockers in Rod and Gary, a crossover from Paul, pure pop from Barry and a tempo-shifting dance number from Diana.

95. Did You Boogie (With Your Baby) - Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids (8/28/76, 14, 29)
94. Get Up and Boogie (That's Right) - Silver Convention (3/13/76, 21, 2)
93. Let Your Love Flow - Bellamy Brothers (1/31/76, 19, 1)
92. Money Honey - Bay City Rollers (2/7/76, 15, 9)
91. Dazz - Brick (10/23/76, 21, 3)

Flash Cadillac brings back the nostalgia of classic rock 'n' roll from the 50's, with a little help from Wolfman Jack. Both Silver Convention and Brick give us a taste of disco that would become a big musical force in the next few years. I always like to sing along to the chorus of this one from the Bellamy Brothers. And the Bay City Rollers continued their brief pop chart invasion with the one I put at number 92.

90. Evergreen (Love Theme from "A Star Is Born") - Barbra Streisand (12/11/76, 25, 1)
89. Lowdown - Boz Scaggs (7/4/76, 22, 3)
88. Stand Tall - Burton Cummings (10/9/76, 21, 10)
87. Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang - Silver (6/19/76, 21, 16)
86. Makin' Our Dreams Come True - Cyndi Grecco (5/8/76, 12, 252)

We have the movies and TV represented with Barbra and Cyndi, the latter being the theme song for Laverne and Shirley for a number of years (back when TV shows actually had theme songs). Boz laid down a really funky groove on my number 89 hit, while Burton and Silver served up some pop music goodness that stayed on the charts for exactly the same number of weeks.

85. Come On Over - Olivia Newton-John (3/13/76, 12, 23)
84. I Do I Do I Do I Do - ABBA (2/14/76, 15, 15)
83. Living Next Door to Alice - Smokie (12/4/76, 20, 25)
82. Blinded By the Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band (11/20/76, 20, 1)
81. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out - Bruce Springsteen (1/24/76, 3, 83)

Last month I touched upon the album from which number 85 came. ABBA gives us a perky pop number with a swaying melody. The entry from Smokie kind of sums up that story of falling for the girl next door so well. Interesting enough, number 82 and number 81 share in common the same song writer - the Boss himself.

80. Rock and Roll Music - Beach Boys (6/5/76, 17, 5)
79. Night Moves - Bob Seger (12/11/76, 21, 4)
78. Shannon - Henry Gross (2/28/76, 20, 6)
77. Ode To Billy Joe - Bobbie Genry (7/31/76, 6, 54)
76. I Like Dreamin' - Kenny Nolan (11/6/76, 27, 3)

The Beach Boys showed they still could be hit makers with the song at number 80. Bob Seger's tune at number 79 was an album-rock station staple for many years after its debut. I covered number 78 on my review of Henry Gross' album last month. Bobbie's story song about young love and secrets first appeared in 1967 where it went to number 1 but it had a resurgence again nine years later. Kenny's song at number 76 was a nice piece of escape pop.

The countdown continues next week with numbers 75 to 51. Stay tuned.