Last week (click here if you missed it), I presented numbers 100 to 76 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 continue going through my favorites of the year with a countdown of numbers 75 to 51.
75. Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band (5/8/76, 20, 1)
74. Shout It Out Loud - KISS (3/20/76, 10, 31)
73. Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win) - Fleetwood Mac (3/6/76, 18, 11)
72. Welcome Back - John Sebastian (3/27/76, 14, 1)
71. You're My Best Friend - Queen (5/22/76, 16, 16)
The song at number 75 was a celebration of noon rendezvous (which I was probably a little to young to get back in 1976). KISS rocks out at number 74 while Fleetwood Mac delivers some wonderful harmonies. Both of these were album-rock staples. John scored with his song that became the theme song for Welcome Back, Kotter, a show that I faithfully watched as a pre-teen/teen. Queen rounds out the batch at number 71.
70. Only Sixteen - Dr. Hook (1/3/76, 22, 6)
69. Sara Smile - Hall and Oates (1/31/76, 28, 4)
68. Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel - Tavares (6/5/76, 21, 15)
67. Year of the Cat - Al Stewart (12/11/76, 17, 8)
66. Lonely Night (Angel Face) - Captain and Tennille (1/24/76, 19, 3)
Dr. Hook dabbles with some statutory situations at number 70, while Hall and Oates and Tavares keep it real with two love songs. I don't think I ever truly knew what Al was going for with his song title at number 67, but I liked the song. I was very much a faithful fan of the Captain and Tennille, watching their ABC variety show every week for its relatively short run.
65. There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World) - the Carpenters (2/28/76, 13, 12)
64. Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright) - Rod Stewart (10/2/76, 23, 1)
63. You'll Never Find Another Love - Lou Rawls (6/5/76, 21, 2)
62. I Wish - Stevie Wonder (12/4/76, 17, 1)
61. C'mon Marianne - Donny Osmond (6/5/76, 11, 38)
When it came to pop perfection, you had to include the brother and sister act the Carpenters. Rod was ready to get it on with our song at number 64, while Lou delivered a soulful proposition at number 63. Two sides of the same coin. The funky energy from Stevie Wonder at number 62 cannot be denied. Growing up, the girl across the street Jeanie had a huge crush on Donny so this song was one I heard a lot (though I too was a fan of the variety show he had with sister Marie).
60. Show Me The Way - Peter Frampton (2/21/76, 18, 6)
59. Crazy On You - Heart (4/17/76, 13, 35)
58. Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston (12/18/76, 24, 1)
57. Weekend in New England - Barry Manilow (11/27/76, 19, 10)
56. Rock'n Me - Steve Miller Band (8/14/76, 18, 1)
The song at number 60 is easily my favorite from the mega-hit album Frampton Comes Alive while the song at number 59 was my favorite from Heart's debut album (which I reviewed last month). For many, the song at number 58 is the only song they know by Thelma, but it was a smash hit that made it to the top of the charts. I've admitted before that I am a "fanilow" and this was one of my favorites from his This One's For You album.
55. New Kid In Town - the Eagles (12/18/76, 15, 1)
54. Somebody To Love - Queen (11/27/76, 15, 13)
53. Baby I Love Your Way - Peter Frampton (6/26/76, 16, 12)
52. I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1/31/76, 8, 43)
51. Mamma Mia - ABBA (5/22/76, 9 32)
The song at number 55 by the Eagles I heard countless times on the album-rock channel growing up. The longing in the lyrics from Queen at number 54 are so powerful, and I even enjoyed when Glee performed it in 2009. Frampton is back at number 53 with another favorite from his double-live album. Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight might have scored with the song at number 52 back in the late 60's, but CCR managed to deliver a memorable cover of it almost ten years later. Finally, we have ABBA with a song I'd rather enjoy on its own (and I'd rather forget about the musical movie adaptation of the musical play by the same name).
The countdown continues next week with numbers 50 to 26. Stay tuned.
So yeah, I've finally begin to unfurl my own list for all to see and you are fifty songs in. It just keeps getting more and more interesting!
ReplyDeleteOf your first fifty ranked songs, we have 20 in common and you've ranked 17 songs that just missed my Top 100 while i have ranked 10 songs thus far that you listed as missing your Top 100.
You have ranked 16 of our 20 commonalties thus far lower than I have by an average of 38 spots. OUCH! Of the 4 I ranked lower, we differ by an average of just 6 places per song.
The closest ranking song we have in common is Rod Stewart's "Tonight's The Night" which you ranked exactly one spot lower than I did.
Keep 'em coming, my friend.
Looking good, Martin! Looks like we're going to have very similar lists. Enjoying the weekly journey.
ReplyDelete