Eric Clapton,
“Promises,” #9, 1/20/79
1979 was a pretty good year for Clapton – he’d released two
platinum albums in the previous two years (Slowhand
and Backless; the latter contained
“Promises”), and he married Pattie Boyd (George Harrison’s former wife) in
March. “Promises” is typical of
Clapton’s late 1970s output – no extended guitar solos and a chugging midtempo
groove. Atypically, it was written by
outside songwriters (Richard Feldman and Roger Linn), although this would be
more common for Clapton as his career continued (the only major hits he wrote
for himself after 1979 were “I Can’t Stand It” and “Tears in Heaven”). At least it gave AOR stations something to
play.
Meat Loaf, “You Took
the Words Right Out of My Mouth,” #39, 1/20/79
Or the stations could still be playing Meat Loaf. Bat Out
of Hell was originally issued in October 1977 (and had been recorded
between 1975 and 1976), with “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth” as the
first single. But it flopped, only to be
resurrected a year later after “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” became a major
hit. “Paradise By the Dashboard Light”
was then released as a single, with “You Took the Words” as the B-side – but
they charted separately (flipping singles was not uncommon in those days). Both songs hit #39 – and would be the last
top 40 hits for Mr. Loaf until “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)”
in 1993. Two things on this video: 1) why is Jim Steinman in the video, and why is he screaming?, and 2) for fun, try subbing out the male and female voices for those of Sylvester the Cat and Elmer Fudd. Fun!
Glenn Sutton, “The
Football Card,” #46, 1/20/79
You know, I was just thinking there aren’t enough funny
songs about compulsive gambling. This
“humor” song, written from the perspective of a guy who starts betting
“football cards” and losing big time (by the end he’s being sentenced for
robbery and his wife has left him) came from Glenn Sutton, who had written a
bunch of country hits for Tammy Wynette and Lynn Anderson (Sutton and Anderson
were married from 1968 to 1977). This
would be Sutton’s only chart record as a singer (and, really, he talks his way
through most of the song); he died in 2003.
The song is out of print, and I suspect the NFL will do whatever it can
to keep it that way.
Engelbert
Humperdinck, “This Moment in Time,” #58, 1/20/79
21st Hot 100 hit for the Welshman originally born
Arnold Dorsey in what’s now Chennai, India (his father was stationed there in
the British Army). Like many of
Humperdinck’s output from around this time, the song is out of print and is
only available in rerecorded versions.
I’m not a Humperdinck fan, but you’ve got to give him credit – he sticks
with what sells. It’s a building ballad,
much like “After The Lovin’,” which was a surprise top 10 hit in 1977. Now 82, Humpderdinck had a British chart hit
in 2012 and is touring as I write this – he’ll be appearing twice in New Jersey
in August.
The Captain &
Tennille, “You Need a Woman Tonight,” #40, 1/27/79
Nothing-special third chart hit from the duo’s fourth studio
album, Dream. This at least pointed to the future for the
pair – romantic releases more aimed at the adult contemporary market rather
than cutesy songs that were likely to polarize the audience (yes, that means
“Muskrat Love”). This was also the last
release The Captain & Tennille would have on A&M Records; they would
switch to Casablanca later in the year. Tennille
noted in her recent book they were unhappy over A&M’s release of a greatest
hits set after only three studio albums (which was a bit strange) and realized
the label didn’t think the pair had a future there. They were both a little right and a little
wrong – they’d have the one monster hit “Do That to Me One More Time” on
Casablanca, but that would be it.
Daryl Hall & John
Oates, “I Don’t Wanna Lose You,” #42, 1/27/79
A slice of pure Philadelphia soul among the disco hits of
the day – the string parts on this song were arranged by Gene Page, who had
worked with everyone from The Temptations and The Four Tops to Barry White and
Elton John – “I Don’t Wanna Lose You” kind of got lost in the shuffle at RCA as
the second release from the band’s Along
the Red Ledge. I guess it’s not a
surprise (most of the album is some of the hardest rock they would ever
release), but at this point H&O were not the superstars they would become a
couple of years later. Still, it’s a
relatively straightforward love song for them, and while it’s not in their setlist
today, they write of it fondly in the liner notes of their box set.
John Paul Young,
“Lost in Your Love,” #55, 1/27/79
Second and final American hit for Young, who hails from
Australia, and it’s an upbeat disco-tinged tune much like his big 1978 song,
“Love Is in the Air.” He had 16 chart
hits down under (the last, in 1992, was remix of “Love Is in the Air”) and
still makes occasional appearances there today.
Most recently, he competed on Dancing
With the Stars in Australia last year (although he was the first celebrity
eliminated, unfortunately – I guess the disco tunes didn’t stick).
Yvonne Elliman,
“Moment by Moment,” #59, 1/27/79
Theme song to a movie that was such a stinker it’s never
been released on either VHS or DVD here in the United States (if you happen to
own a German DVD player, however, you’re in luck). The movie itself starred John Travolta (fresh
off Saturday Night Fever and Grease) and Lily Tomlin (fresh off Nashville and The Late Show), but the May-September romantic drama was despised
by both movie critics and audiences.
Anyway, Elliman’s plaintive ballad at least charted, and it’s still
available for download, so it wasn’t a complete loss.
The Village People,
“Y.M.C.A.,” #2, 2/3/79
This was the first megahit for the six-man vocal group
(“Macho Man” had grazed the top 30 in 1978, but it was also ignored by a bunch
of radio stations). Lead singer Victor
Willis’ sly lyrics meant that more straight-laced (no pun intended) audiences
would think it’s just a disco song saluting the Y as a place to work out and
visit, while others understood that it could also be construed as a place for
men to hook up with other men – which wasn’t exactly a common song subject in
1979. In any case, the song is totally
mainstream today – most baseball teams play it during games (including the New
York Yankees), with the grounds crew leading the fans in dance by forming the
letters Y-M-C-A with their arms.
Ace Frehley, “New
York Groove,” #13, 2/3/79
Who would have thought Ace Frehley would have the biggest
solo hit of the four Kiss members? I’m
sure most people would have put their money on Gene Simmons or Paul
Stanley. Anyway, the song was written by
Russ Ballard (originally lead singer and guitarist for Argent; he later wrote
the hits “You Can Do Magic” for America, “Winning” for Santana, and “I Know
There’s Something Going On” for Frida), the song originally hit the top 10 in a
couple of European countries for the one-shot band Hello. Frehley’s version has been in the Kiss
setlist when he’s been with the band (which hasn’t been for a long time;
Frehley and Simmons are not buddies), and has become a standard at New York
Giants and New York Mets home games (finally, they took my advice!). The video is from Kiss' 1996 reunion tour.
Chanson, “Don’t Hold
Back,” #21 2/3/79
Standard issue disco on the Ariola-America label. Chanson was totally a studio band, but its
leader was bass player James Jamerson Jr., son of the famed Motown house band
bassist. Jr. played himself with Motown
acts The Temptations, The Four Tops, and Teena Marie, along with Bob Dylan on
his album Knocked Out Loaded. Jamerson Jr.’s father died young (age 47) due
to cirrhosis of the liver; Jamerson Jr. passed away on March 23, 2016 at the
age of 58, possibly due to complications from the spinal condition ankylosing
spondylitis.
Gerry Rafferty, “Home
and Dry,” #28, 2/3/79
Third and final American single from Rafferty’s platinum
album City to City, celebrating the
comforts of home, safety, and love (which, unfortunately, became ironic in
light of Rafferty’s later dissolute years).
Henry Spinetti, brother of actor Victor Spinetti, was the drummer on
this track – he’s ben Eric Clapton’s drummer on and off for decades (everything
from the live Just One Night to the
more recent Old Sock), as well as
working with Bob Dylan, Joan Armatrading, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney.
The Rolling Stones,
“Shattered,” #31, 2/3/79
This was also the third and final American single from a big
album – in this case it was the Stones’ Some
Girls. This one hardly addresses
home, safety, and love, however – it’s about living in New York City in
somewhat dire circumstances. It’s
probably the closest Stones hit ever to punk rock, which makes it rather
strange that the song wasn’t released as a single in the UK (“Respectable” got
the nod there instead). The b-side of
the single, “Everything Is Turning to Gold,” wasn’t on Some Girls – it’s only available on this single and the 1981
compilation disk Sucking in the Seventies
(hey, that’s their title, not mine), which is long out of print – although it
can be found on CD if you look.
Rose Royce, “Love
Don’t Live Here Anymore,” #32, 2/3/79
Most people probably know this best from the Madonna remake
for her Like a Virgin album, but this
is the original – and it’s a good one.
Give credit to the band for mixing it up – rather than releasing another
disco song when the market was already oversaturated, they put out a ballad –
one that still gets occasional airplay today. It’s also the last Hot 100 hit
for Rose Royce (better known for the #1 hit “Car Wash,” but they did make the
chart six times in all) as well as the last top 40 pop hit for their producer
(and label owner) Norman Whitfield (who’d worked at Motown with The
Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and several others). Rose Royce stills tours occasionally with a
few of the original members, and lead singer Gwen Dickey tours solo as
well.
The J. Geils Band,
“One Last Kiss,” #35, 2/3/79
Another good song that got lost in the rush to disco, but it
was the band’s highest-charting hit since 1974’s “Must of Got Lost” [sic]. It was also their first single for EMI
America, after seven studio albums on Atlantic.
A plaintive breakup song; it probably rung true for a lot of
listeners. Unfortunately, EMI America
decided to release the album right before the Christmas season, and the album
and single didn’t really get the attention they deserved (although the album
eventually did reach gold status).
Exile, “You Thrill
Me,” #40, 2/3/79
Second chart hit off their breakthrough album Mixed Emotions – admittedly, however,
the first single “Kiss You All Over” made more of an impact. There are influences here from their future
career in country, but Exile has bits and pieces from lots of different genres
(they started out as a pop/rock band, The Exiles, back in 1968). Like their previous hit, this was produced by
Mike Chapman and co-written by Chapman and Nicky Chinn. Chapman had a gigantic year in 1979; he
produced or wrote huge hits for Blondie, The Knack, and Suzi Quatro. But Chapman and Chinn also worked with Exile
on their next album, which took yet another turn – perhaps not the one you’re
expecting. (It’ll be awhile before I get
to describing that.)
The Faith Band, “Dancin’
Shoes,” #54, 2/3/79
When two different acts release a song at the same time,
somebody’s going to end up the loser in the chart battle – and in this case it
was the band whose lead singer actually wrote the song. The Faith Band, from Indianapolis, had been
around awhile, having previously been known as The Chosen Few and The Limousine
Band. The song came from their third
album, Rock’n Romance – which brings
up a side note: don’t release albums
with cutesy use of an apostrophe in the title that are hard to Google. (I’m not even sure whether this should really
be Rocking Romance or Rock and Romance.) Lead singer Carl Storie wrote the song, but the
single was released at nearly the same time Nigel Olsson put his version out –
and since Olsson was Elton John’s ex-drummer, his had the bigger buzz. I loved this song at the time, thinking it
was a perfect end-of-the-dance party song (and it got an awful lot of airplay
on the normally AOR-oriented Rock of North Jersey, WDHA), but now it’s just
another drippy ballad – and there are better ballads on that album anyway. (Rock’n
Romance is available for download on iTunes, but while all the other songs
on the album there are the originals, the version of “Dancin’ Shoes” there is a
rerecording. Actually, I had to use a video with 45 second of some guy explaining the song to get the original.)
The Raes, “A Little
Lovin’ (Keeps the Doctor Away),” #61, 2/3/79
Married couple – he came from Wales, she was born in England
but grew up in Ontario, Canada – who met back in England but their recording
career was based back in Canada.
Confusing. Anyway, three of their
songs did make the top 20 according to CHUM (that was the biggest Top 40
station in Toronto at the time).
Cherrill Rae’s Canadian background may have helped – Canadian broadcast
rules state what’s aired on their stations has to have a certain amount of
Canadian content. This was their only
chart record in the states – the act (and the marriage) ended a couple of years
later. Robbie Rae died in Thailand in
2006; Cherrill Rae still performs on occasion.
K.C. & The
Sunshine Band, “Who Do Ya Love,” #68, 2/3/79
Another miss from the second phrase of their career – the one
where nothing made top 30 for over two years.
This was the second single from the album of the same name, and while
the music was the same, the lyrics were missing the slightly risqué content of
past hits such as “(Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty,” “That’s the Way I
Like It,” and “Keep It Comin’ Love.” It’s
also possible the deluge of disco product may have shoved KC & The Sunshine
Band to the sidelines, and do remember TK Records was a pretty small
independent label out of Miami. But they
would hit again down the road.
Tanya Tucker, “Not
Fade Away,” #70, 2/3/79
By the time Tucker released her album TNT in November 1978, she’d already racked up twelve top 10 hits on
the country charts – “Delta Dawn,” her first, was released when she was just
13. Bu at age 20, she wanted to move
more toward rock – and this song, a remake of the old Buddy Holly hit (good
move; The Buddy Holly Story biopic
had been a solid hit a few months before).
It didn’t quite make it – in fact, this would be her last hit on the pop
charts. Tucker struggled personally for
a few years as well, getting involved with Glen Campbell (who was twice her
age) and dealing with addiction issues). But she got clean in the 1980s, and has added
another 28 top 10 country hits to her credit.
She’s still touring at age 57 – actually, she’s performing in New Mexico
as I write this. The video truncates the song, but it’s from Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 1979,
so that seems a fair tradeoff.
Aerosmith, “Chip Away
the Stone,” #77, 2/3/79
And speaking of addiction issues… well, Aerosmith was loaded
with them by this point. This single is
interesting – the A side wasn’t released on a studio album, but the B side included
a live version from their double live album Live!
Bootleg. In any case, it wasn’t a
gigantic hit, but it’s made it to a few of their compilation albums (Greatest Hits 1973-1988, Gems, Pandora’s Box),
and still gets a fair amount of radio airplay on classic rock stations.
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