Here is a critique of an AT40 show that is airing on this station this week, a somewhat historical one that will be revealed at the bottom of it......
40. WORKING AT THE CAR WASH BLUES..Jim Croce...last hit for the man who died in a place crash 10 months earlier...got decent airplay for a #32 peak back in the day
39. HANG ON IN THERE BABY..Johnny Bristol...ever wonder who the male backup vocal was on the Supremes last hit with Diana Ross? It was this man on "Someday We'll be Together", this and that are great songs
38. HOLLYWOOD SWINGIN...Kool & the Gang...3rd of 3 great hits in 6 months for this gang who inexplicably disappeared for 5 years at his point
37. YOU AND ME AGAINST THE WORLD..Helen Reddy...with her daughter starting the song, Helen does a later popular LDD song
36. ROCK ME GENTLY...Andy Kim...1974 was a great year maybe the greatest ever for Canadian artists in the US and Andy is one of them with his only #1 hit
35. WILDWOOD WEED...Jim Stafford...Casey references his country countdown counterpart Don Bowman in the intro since he wrote this gem
34. SHININ ON..Grand Funk...the highest debut record is in the middle of Grand Funk's hey day
33. BALLERO...War...a live song about a dance that is possible thier least known hit
32. THE NIGHT CHICAGO DIED...Paper Lace...fictional tale got the originators of "Billy Don't be a Hero" to #1
31. SURE AS I'M SITTING HERE...Three Dog Night...followup to their last top 10 hit is their last top 20 hit as they near the end of their 21 hit run of top 40 hits....all good to great songs
30. COME MONDAY...Jimmy Buffett...first hit turns out to be his only one not about vacation or outdoor settings
29. FISH AINT BITIN...Lamont Dozier...one third of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team of the 60s with my fave song by far of the handful that I did not recognize when I first heard this countdown a couple years ago
28. KEEP ON SMILIN...Wet Willie...with Buffett at #30, we almost had back to back artists from Mobile, Alabama but this is the only one that is southern rock
27. BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU GOT...William DeVaughn...simple message, gCraphic lyrical content and a great song all in one
26. BAND ON THE RUN...one of my faves from Sir Paul who is into his annual summer #1 singles by now
25. TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD...Rufus...Chaka and co. with a gem of a debut hit that was written by Stevie Wonder
24. THIS HEART...Gene Redding...no relation to Otis and no momentum for this song after a 38-28-24 climb
23. CALL ON ME...Chicago...one of my faves on this show is one of their first ballads that turned out to be a precursor of their 80s material but I prefer this to any of those
22. MACHINE GUN...Commodores...can't think of any big name vocal artist whose first hit was an instrumental as happened here for Lionel and co.
21. IF YOU TALK IN YOUR SLEEP...Elvis Presley...Casey mentioned how Elvis was/is the only artist to hit #1 on all 3 major singles charts with "Don't Be Cruel" but this song was largely ignored by radio
20. TAKIN CARE OF BUSINESS...Bachman-Turner Overdrive...this followed up "Let it Ride" which I preferred
19. PLEASE COME TO BOSTON...Dave Loggins...one of the more unlikely one hit wonders IMO...thought he should have had several hits
18. WATERLOO...Abba...good song to introduce this Swedish quartet
17. FINALLY GOT MYSELF TOGETHER...Impressions...only hit for them after Curtis Mayfield left...this was on one those Soul Train albums
16. FEEL LIKE MAKIN LOVE...Roberta Flack...fave song by Roberta that was headed for #1
15. RADAR LOVE...Golden Earring...few and far between but the 2 hits they had were great ones
14. ONE HELL OF A WOMAN...Mac Davis...good story told by Casey about his teenage years and a good song too
13. BILLY DON'T BE A HERO...Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods...ok, the worst #1 song of the year IMO
12. SUNDOWN...Gordon Lightfoot...maybe the best singer, songwriter to come out of Canada and this is his only #1 hit
11. SIDESHOW...Blue Magic...classic Philly soul in the mold of the Stylistics and another surprising one hit wonder as a result
10. IF YOU LOVE ME, LET ME KNOW...Olivia Newton-John...the mid 70s find Olivia in a country mode which is quite alright
9. THE AIR THAT I BREATHE...Hollies...one last big hit for these Brits and deservedly so
8. YOU WON'T SEE ME...Anne Murray...the Canadian songstress covers a Beatle tune and does a decent job IMO
7. RIKKI DON'T LOSE THAT NUMBER...Another great story which will also be heard on this week's 70s show on Premiere..I prefer this song to "Peg" that is on that show but not my much
6. ROCK THE BOAT...Hues Corporation....the song that kick started the disco era and is part of that historical part of the show
5. ON AND ON...Gladys Knight & the Pips... a lot of hits for Gladys and co. and this is my fave one, written by Curtis Mayfield
4. DON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME...Elton John...the previous week's climb of 25-6 is the largest climb into the top 10 in the 70s and 80s of any song that did not hit #1...that is, until it hit #1 in 1992 when George Michael sang along..deservedly so
3. ROCK AND ROLL HEAVEN...Righteous Brothers...how bout this, another record setter for songs not hitting #1....this week's climb of 10-3 is the biggest climb within the top 10 of any song in the 70s and 80s that did not #1...too bad as this is a great comeback hit for this duo
2. ANNIE'S SONG...John Denver...John's song written for his wife held off Elton and is one of his best even though at the time I was not happy about it
1. ROCK YOUR BABY...George McCrae...and the historical nature of this show is revealed as this became the second straight disco song to hit #1 the previous week. However, this is the only one of the 3 weeks with "Rock the Boat" or "Rock Your Baby" at #1 that Casey hosted. Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch wrote and produced this one as they started writing their names into disco history.
