Music's Special Place

[John FL]

By 1970, Florida's population was already approaching 7 million people. A big jump when we first started looking at the decades with a population of just over 2 million. For AM music radio whether in Florida or nationally, I wouldn't think panic had not quite set in yet. Yes, there was more competition but ratings indicated AM was by far the leader.

Still, if we apply logic, 1970 would have to have been the best year for AM music stations in the 70s. As each year progressed in the 70s decade, there was a little bit more chipping away of the audience. Some AM hit music stations still had a lot of life ahead. Florida appeared to be a different animal. With population growth and moves to areas that were once the boonies, the AM signal at night was especially bad being loaded with interference.

It was in 1973 that Miami's WHYI ( Y-100) first hit the airwaves. The flat land, sea and and all the techie things the engineer types talked about on these boards for years made FM a natural. There was quality for sure in the broadcast too. It wasn't long that Y-100 became #1 in the market. The first song played BTW was Seals and Crofts "Diamond Girl."

It's funny how we can make associations with certain songs. As we're discussing 1970, I can't help but think of the song "Help Me Make it Through The Night" by Sammi Smith. When I lived in S. Florida I was delighted to have found Jerry Wichner who hosted an overnight talk show on the old 790 WNWS. To this day, I remember all those cigarette-voiced ladies who called in every day. As someone who suffered insomnia most of my life, that show put me to sleep. But I mean that in a positive way.

Jerry played that song at the start of each hour. I'd eventually wake up and heard it one more time at 5AM.

When the top 100 for 1970 came out, it was about the only time I could say that I didn't like but loved at least 75 of the 100 songs. And so doing a little Top 25 representative list was not easy. "Moondance, "Reflections of My Life", "Ride Captain Ride," and "Gypsy Woman" could have easily made this list. Sometimes, those old 45's had "B" sides that were especially good. That was the case for Sly & The Family Stone's "Thank You." The B side was a tune called "Everybody is a Star." I'm a big lyrics guy. This 53 year old song still tells it like it is.

In case you've never heard it...here it is!

Here's my take on many of the better songs from 1970. BTW, WABC had "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" as the #1 song. That didn't make this list. Miami's WQAM had "Bridge Over Troubled Water" as #1 as it was nationally.

I'll have a few more 1970 comments later. Not sure how I will approach the rest of the decade but it's the weekend first. Have a good one!

25	Make Me Smile	Chicago
24	Get Ready	Rare Earth
23	ABC	The Jackson 5
22	Looking Out My Back Door	Creedence Clearwater Revival
21	Hitchin' A Ride	Vanity Fare
20	Ball of Confusion	The Tempations
19	Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)	Edison Lighthouse
18	The Rapper	The Jaggerz
17	O-o-h Child	The Five Stairsteps
16	Mama Told Me (Not to Come)	Three Dog Night
15	Venus	Shocking Blue
14	Cracklin' Rosie	Neil Diamond
13	Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)	Sly & The Family Stone
12	American Woman	The Guess Who
11	Make It With You	Bread
10	Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours	Stevie Wonder
9	Someday We'll Be Together	Diana Ross & The Supremes
8	In the Summertime	Mungo Jerry
7	Band of Gold	Freda Payne
6	Bridge Over Troubled Water	Simon and Garfunkel
5	I'll Be There	The Jackson 5
4	(They Long to be) Close to You	The Carpenters
3	Ain't No Mountain High Enough	Diana Ross
2	Spirit in the Sky	Norman Greenbaum
1	Let It Be	The Beatles

 

[Alex Browne]

Prior to the Beatles' mega success, there was a song that remains as one of my favs called "Till There Was You." Unless you're a serious Beatles fan, it's doubtful this song is known by the masses.

My preference is early Beatles. You surprised me with your comment about "Till There Was You." I've always thought it to be an unusual choice for the Beatles, but it is a fairly well-known song. It is from the much-performed show "The Music Man," written by Meredith Willson (Shirley Jones sang it in the film), and has been recorded by many folks besides the Beatles (including Anita Bryant, Peggy Lee, Etta Jones, Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, Ray Charles, and Rod Stewart; and instrumental versions by Sonny Rollins, Chet Atkins, Al Hirt and others).

 

[Greg Strickland]

John, thank you for writing and sharing your thoughts and observations.

 

[John FL]

My preference is early Beatles. You surprised me with your comment about "Till There Was You." I've always thought it to be an unusual choice for the Beatles, but it is a fairly well-known song. It is from the much-performed show "The Music Man," written by Meredith Willson (Shirley Jones sang it in the film), and has been recorded by many folks besides the Beatles (including Anita Bryant, Peggy Lee, Etta Jones, Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, Ray Charles, and Rod Stewart; and instrumental versions by Sonny Rollins, Chet Atkins, Al Hirt and others).

Yes, perhaps a surprising pick but I loved the song the first time I heard it. As I will soon explain, I do enjoy the very earliest songs from highly successful musical artists before the fame and fortune sets in. There's almost a vulnerable and innocent quality to the music. Recorded in 1963 or so before the world fame, I probably gained insight to the song via Joe Johnson who was a longtime personality at the old Magic 102.7 in Miami.

As I recall, it was simply a song Paul McCartney liked and wanted to perform. Perhaps too there was lots of stuff thrown on the wall to see what would work.

 

[John FL]

John, thank you for writing and sharing your thoughts and observations.

Much appreciated, Greg. There was a time I wanted to write a book about radio from a listener's view. I wanted to call it "Radio Days" and instead I post a lot of personal memories on this board instead.

 

[John FL]

As we begin a look at the 1970s musically, I'd like to concentrate first on the early 70s. Personally, I consider that time period the very best in music from that decade. But before getting into all of that, I'd like to comment about extraordinary effort and the keen desire to win. It's not something I have seen much in radio, overall, in a very long time.

It's like the Titanic. We all know the ending but we still can't get enough of the story. On the subject of radio, and particularly the early 1970s AM Radio, we all know how AM's dominance ended but it's the fight that I find incredibly uplifting.

I lived in northern New Jersey in the early 1970s and was already addicted to radio. One of the newspapers had a dedicated radio reporter. Four times a year we were treated to a story about the radio ratings. The Top 5 radio stations were always AM. That's all they displayed. By mid 1970 that changed. WOR-FM became the first FM in the NYC market to be among the most popular in the market. It deserved it. While it was a CHR, there was also a twist. They played a lot of solid gold.

Fortunately for WABC, the decision makers at WOR-FM couldn't leave well enough alone. They eventually dropped virtually all the gold and with that the station was no longer unique. It happens in radio and few learn that lesson.

Almost immediately, WABC responded by adding "Action Albums" to the playlist. At first, it was fairly benign going with the tried and true. As we know, the Beatles broke up by 1970. Perhaps for old times sake, cuts from Paul McCartney debut album were aired with songs such as "Lovely Linda" and "That Would Be Something." From the "Let it Be" LP there was "Across the Universe" and "One After 909."

The Who had a turntable hit in 1970 called "Summertime Blues," a cover of Eddie Cochran's song from the 1950s. Before the single, the song was aired as an album cut. Given the kind of music WABC was known to feature, the song was a tad unusual. But then again 1970 saw Led Zepplin's "Whole Lotta Love" get decent AM airplay. One of the aspects of "mass appeal" radio is total opposite genres find their way on the playlist. I often heard "Whole Lotta Love" and "I Think I Love You" by the Partridge Family back-to-back. Considered a train wreck today but not in 1970.

The album selections got better over time. There was "Abraxis" by Santana. James Taylor's "Sweet Baby James." Sly and The Family Stone's Greatest Hits. Live - Grand Funk Railroad. That band made a transition in time just as AM radio did. You might say that band was a part of the "Corporate Rock" era of the mid 70s. But, the bottom line is the band was a hit. WABC featured "Closer to Home (I'm Your Captain) at strategic times.

My sister worked in NYC radio in the late 70s/early 80s in the engineering end mostly at ABC. She befriended one of the engineers. Eventually I became friends with him as well. He worked at WABC during its heyday and he was also a photographer. He took plenty of pictures. One was of the "Hot Clock." In the very early 70s WABC got highly music-intensive at 40 past the hour.

The "clock" showed this clearly. WOR-FM presented the news in a different way. Instead of a 5 minute newscast at the top and bottom of the hour that was typical for AM, they ran an expanded newscast every 3 hours instead. This was 20-20 news, therefore equaled 40 past the hour.

I don't want you to get the impression WABC was casting aside those 45 singles in favor of album cuts. No. But when WOR-FM began their news cast, especially at night, WABC responded with a song like the aforementioned Grand Funk Railroad song or select album cuts.

How effective this kind of programing was I can only speculate. But no one was taking anything for granted. AM and FM were fighting to keep and/ or attract new listeners. It was an extraordinary time to pull in radio. It was A game for sure!

It was in early 1971 that the album "Tumbleweed Connection" by Elton John was released in the U.S. "Country Comfort," a cut from that album. As I recall, this was a song that found its' way in other dayparts, not just nights. In case you aren't familiar with the tune, here it is:

What I appreciate about this song is Elton John delivered an incredibly relaxed performance. Fame and fortune can change a lot of things. Not necessarily saying this about Elton but there are other artists whose egos got in the way. That's upcoming.

What follows is a countdown of Motown/Soul from the years 1970-1973. Just my view but so much of that genre never got it's fair share of airplay.

 

[John FL]

As promised, here's a special countdown that shows some of the biggest hits of the day that were performed by artists of color. To this day, I can listen to artists such as The Stylistics and just say how fine was their sound. There are some repeats from the 1970 that couldn't be helped. A great song is a great song! More to come!

50	Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get	The Dramatics	1970
49	(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to be Right	Luther Ingram	1972
48	Neither One of Us	Gladys Knight & The Pips	1973
47	Give Me Just a Little More Time	Chairmen of the Board	1970
46	Me and Mrs. Jones	Billy Paul	1972
45	Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)	The Delfonics	1970
44	O-o-h Child	The Five Stairsteps	1970
43	Where is the Love	Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway	1972
42	The Tears of a Clown	Smokey Robinson & The Miracles	1970
41	Clean Up Woman	Betty Wright	1972
40	Ain't No Woman	The Four Tops	1973
39	Papa Was a Rollin' Stone	The Temptations	1972
38	Rainy Night in Georgia	Brooke Benton	1970
37	Never Can Say Goodbye	Jackson 5	1971
36	Treat Her Like a Lady	Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose	1971
35	Ain't No Mountain High Enough (LP)	Diana Ross	1970
34	Oh Girl	The Chi-Lites	1972
33	Will It Go Round In Circles	Billy Preston	1973
32	Want Ads	Honey Cone	1971
31	Band of Gold	Freda Payne	1970
30	Rockin' Robin	Michael Jackson	1972
29	Family Affair	Sly and the Family Stone	1971
28	Back Stabbers	The O'Jays	1972
27	I'm Still In Love With You	Al Green	1972
26	One Less Bell To Answer	The Fifth Dimension	1971
25	Turn Back The Hands of Time	Tyrone Davis	1970
24	You Are The Sunshine of My Life	Stevie Wonder	1973
23	Theme from Shaft	Isaac Hayes	1971
22	Everybody Plays The Fool	The Main Ingredient	1972
21	Someday We'll Be Together	Diana Ross & The Supremes	1970
20	Proud Mary	Ike & Tina Turner	1971
19	Hey There Lonely Girl	Eddie Holman	1970
18	Betcha By Golly, Wow	The Stylistics	1972
17	Could It Be I'm Falling In Love	The Spinners	1973
16	Just My Imagination	The Temptations	1971
15	Let's Get It On	Marvin Gaye	1973
14	I’ll Take You There	Staple Singers	1972
13	Mr. Big Stuff	Jean Knight	1971
12	If You Don't Know Me By Now	Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes
11	I'll Be There	Jackson 5	1970
10	I Can See Clearly Now	Johnny Nash	1972
9	Too Late to Turn Back Now	Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose	1972
8	Midnight Train to Georgia	Gladys Knight & The Pips	1973
7	I'll Be Around	The Spinners	1972
6	Let's Stay Together	Al Green	1971
5	Love Train	The O'Jays	1973
4	What's Going On	Marvin Gaye	1971
3	Lean On Me	Bill Withers	1972
2	Killing Me Softly With His Song	Roberta Flack	1973
1	Superstition	Stevie Wonder	1973

 

[Battenkill50]

04MAR73 - MW
1214 Radio One (BBC) common wave 1940-2000 CET Top 20 1973 (heard in SW Germany)
1. C’Mon Feel The Noise - Slade
2. Part of the Union - Strawbs
3. Block Buster - The Sweet
4. Sylvia - Focus
5. Cindy Incidently - Faces
6. Do You Want To Touch Me - Gary Glitter
7. Whiskey in the Jar - Thin Lizzy
8. Baby I Love You - Dave Edmunds

For comparison (only ranked and dated one I have)

kw - mlb fl

 

[John FL]

04MAR73 - MW
1214 Radio One (BBC) common wave 1940-2000 CET Top 20 1973 (heard in SW Germany)
1. C’Mon Feel The Noise - Slade
2. Part of the Union - Strawbs
3. Block Buster - The Sweet
4. Sylvia - Focus
5. Cindy Incidently - Faces
6. Do You Want To Touch Me - Gary Glitter
7. Whiskey in the Jar - Thin Lizzy
8. Baby I Love You - Dave Edmunds

For comparison (only ranked and dated one I have)

kw - mlb fl

Thanks for sharing. Over the years, I've looked at song rankings from other countries and the difference can be staggering. What's a huge hit in the U.S. may not even be on the charts, say in the U.K. and vice versa. On your list, I know some of the artists but are not familiar with these songs. It would appear this was from a rock-oriented station.

 

[John FL]

Before we move on chronologically into the 70s, it's important to remember that 1970 especially was a highly pivotal year. "The Long and Winding Road" became the Beatles' swan song. I found that sound depressing. It represented the end of a very special time in music.

It was widely known that the breakup was inevitable. There was a great deal of angst and conflicts as time moved along. Perhaps it's another reason why I enjoy the most successful musical artists early on. You can make the same case for The Supremes. In fact, even the name changed to "Diana Ross and The Supremes' by 1967.

"Someday We'll Be Together" was the Supremes' swan song in 1970. Diana Ross wanted to be a solo artist for quite some time. Her debut solo song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" was a huge hit. The LP version is especially good.

With Diana Ross' exit, Jean Terrell became the Supremes lead and she was quite good in my view. The name of the group went back to the Supremes and no prima donna lead. Obviously the times were changing. Despite what I thought were some really good songs such as "Up The Ladder to the Roof," "Stoned Love," and "River Deep, Mountain High" that featured another highly successful Motown group, The Four Tops, none of these songs came close to #1.

For those of you who were born and raised in Florida and/or who are not seasoned citizens, you may not know the significance of "roof" songs. There were a number of them and sometimes the roof was referred to in lyrics. The Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer in the City" talked about meeting on the rooftop. It was a throwback to a way of life before most had air conditioning. Summers in big northern cities could get unbearable.

With houses and apartments literally on top of one another, there was little ventilation. For those who especially lived in apartment houses that were at least 4-5 stories high, heading up to the roof to sit and listen to music or whatever was breezier and gave the appearance of being cooler. But, as one who participated in that in my Aunt & Uncles' apartment, it was a lot of fun. And of course music made references to it.

Elvis Presley had a comeback of sorts. There was "Suspicious Minds" in the late 60s and a song the oldies format and early Classic Hits embraced big time. In 1970 there was "The Wonder of You" and in 1972 there was "Burning Love," another decent hit and a song played on the radio for quite some time.

That's just it about music. Tastes change. New artists and groups come on the scene. It's a constant no matter how much we may appreciate certain artists. Regarding the AM album cuts reference in a prior post, eventually that went away, at least at the station I listened to. Playlists grew tighter as the 70s progressed. It was like paralysis set in. There were some weeks there were only 18 currents on the playlist. Solid gold filled the void more than ever.

Besides all the great Soul & Motown songs that were popular in the early 70s (1970-1973), there was also pop and rock'n roll. We'll give a look at those next. Perry Como also had a comeback of sorts with the song "It's Impossible." This song was released in very late 1970 and is more a 1971 tune. As I recall, FM hit music stations pretty much ignored the song. But it proved more of an AM thing. In fact, there were albums known as "AM Gold" that did pretty well. There were differences in the radio bands and that became more obvious over time.

Here's "Up the Ladder to the Roof" and in my view, a very good song. But probably not relevant enough to a lot of the country. There was also a lot of great competition in the hit music arena in the early 70s and that's just reality of public tastes.

 

[John FL]

As I looked through all my music lists from the early 1970s, I realized the difficulty at hand. Easily, I could have included another 100 songs instead of the 50 here. There would still be so many great songs left behind. What I attempted to do was to capture what would today be considered "AM Gold." And so I'll go with the less is more way of thinking.

This will be the third and final song listing of the early 1970s. I think I've covered that period as well as possible without trying to beat a dead horse. The early 70s saw a good deal of country crossover songs. I loved many of them. I almost went with Lynn Anderson's "Rose Garden" which was a huge hit back in 1971. John Denver made his musical debut and had lots of big hits.

Pop, Motown/soul, rock 'n roll, instrumentals, bubblegum, novelty, country, rock were all in the mix. That was mass appeal. By the mid 70s in growing numbers of markets FM became the music band of choice. For some markets, it would be the late 70s and for others it was the 80s.

I've used the term "Corporate Rock" and will explain a little more of that upcoming. When we get the mid and late 60s, we'll discuss that. A lot of the music that did become popular in the mid 70s became the soundtrack of the early Classic Hits stations. It was artists like The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Billy Joel, Steve Miller Band etc. A good sound but it left you wanting more of something else. There were many genres of music that became hits but that didn't guarantee airplay.

I suppose mass appeal kind of programing worked in its time. But with fragmentation as a result of so many radio stations all jockeying for a piece of viability, what worked so well in the past would be doomed to fail. Then again we saw what Bill Tanner did in the early 80s. And you just know we will look at a lot of the old Y-100 music when we get to the 80s.

For now, one last look at the early 70s! No repeats either.

50	Go All The Way	The Raspberries	1972
49	Touch Me in the Morning	Diana Ross	1973
48	Instant Karma!	John Lennon	1970
47	Shambala	Three Dog Night	1973
46	Cecilia	Simon and Garfunkel	1970
45	Horse With No Name	America	1972
44	Knock Three Times	Dawn	1971
43	Come and Get It	Badfinger	1972
42	Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)	Marvin Gaye	1971
41	Kodachrome	Paul Simon	1973
40	Spill The Wine	Eric Burdon & War	1970
39	Mr. Bojangles	The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band	1971
38	You're So Vain	Carly Simon	1973
37	Ramblin' Man	The Allman Brothers Band	1973
36	Burning Love	Elvis Presley	1972
35	I Want You Back	Jackson 5	1970
34	Nice to be With You	Gallery	1972
33	Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey	Paul McCartney	1971
32	Dancing in the Moonlight	King Harvest	1973
31	Stuck in the Middle With You	Stealers Wheel	1973
30	My Sweet Lord	George Harrison	1970
29	Saturday in the Park	Chicago	1972
28	We've Only Just Begun	The Carpenters	1970
27	The Love You Save	Jackson 5	1970
26	Me and Bobby McGee	Janis Joplin	1971
25	Daniel	Elton John	1973
24	Precious and Few	Climax	1972
23	Brown Sugar	The Rolling Stones	1971
22	Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves	Cher	1971
21	Patches	Clarence Carter	1970
20	Heart of Gold	Neil Young	1972
19	Frankenstein	The Edgar Winter Group	1973
18	Long Cool Woman(In a Black Dress)	The Hollies	1972
17	Brother Louie	Stories	1973
16	War	Edwin Starr	1970
15	Nights in White Satan	The Moody Blues	1972
14	Don't Pull Your Love	Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds	1971
13	Have You Seen Her	The Chi-Lites	1971
12	Bad, Bad Leroy Brown	Jim Croce	1973
11	Without You	Nilsson	1972
10	It's Too Late	Carole King	1971
9	Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree	Tony Orlando and Dawn	1973
8	My Love	Paul McCartney & Wings	1973
7	First Time Ever I Saw Your Face	Roberta Flack	1972
6	Brandy	Looking Glass	1972
5	Maggie May	Rod Stewart	1971
4	Crocodile Rock	Elton John	1973
3	Alone Again (Naturally)	Gilbert O'Sullivan	1972
2	Joy to the World	Three Dog Night	1971
1	American Pie	Don McLean	1972

 

[John FL]

By the mid-1970s, it wasn’t uncommon to see up to five CHR stations in a market. One or two on the AM and 2 or 3 on the FM. The record business was booming. The public’s taste was changing as well. Just look at the Top 100 ranked songs of the early 70s and compare it to the mid and late 70s.

In late 1973, “The Joker” by the Steve Miller Band was released. By 1974 it was a hit. It was songs like that one and say a Grand Funk’s “We’re an American Band” that was ushering in a different kind of sound. It was rock-ish but nothing heavy. For serious rock fans, this wasn’t their speed. But it played well with the masses.

When the band was “Grand Funk Railroad” in the early 70s, their highest national chart position at #22 was “Closer to Home (I’m Your Captain), a 10-minute song. While it got some airplay, it was far from what we would consider a commercial success. It was too long for starters. The song proved to have limited appeal.

Fast forward a few years and the band was now named “Grand Funk.” They changed their style to appeal to a wider audience and as a result, it brought some big hits under their belt. Their cover of “The Loco-Motion” was a #1 song nationally.

Whether there was corroboration between high-ranking radio execs and the record companies, I wouldn’t know. But what evolved was a win-win for the artists, record companies and radio. FM wanted to get noticed and they needed new and exciting music. AM needed hit songs that not only appealed to the teens but to the adults too. There were a number of bands back then that were just good 'ol rock 'n roll and nothing that resembled the kind of fare found on an Album rock station.

And so, this pop-rock-kind of music the radio “suits” would consider airing became known as “Corporate Rock.” There were other names used for this as well. For the serious rockers, there was their own stash of music and in some markets “real rock” formats were available. But the big money was with the songs that had appeal to large numbers of people.

Like the 50s, there were record promoters who worked very hard to get their assigned songs on the air. You’d think there would be lessons learned from all those payola scandals. In Rick Sklar’s “Rocking America” book, he devotes a chapter to what went on in the 70s. According to him, there were occasions where cash and or cocaine were offered - not to him. They knew better but some radio people did engage in that sort of thing. “Give Elton a Shot” is the chapter. Elton John tried to squeeze just about every song on an album and turn it into the next single. It’s interesting to see just how far some of these promoters will go to make it happen.

What I especially recall about that time is the music surveys at the various CHR stations had some similarities, but FM had noticeable differences. In those early years, I’m thinking FM was trying to attract the teens and 20 somethings as they are easier to sway away.

FM was perceived as “cool” and not your parent’s radio station. AM had large numbers of adult listeners and they couldn’t afford to drive them away. Song rotations were especially different. But as I mentioned earlier, there was a strong desire to win, and it was an interesting time to be a radio listener.

What follows is my take on the Top 100 songs that were popular from 1974-1979. Popular also doesn’t mean chart position. Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock ‘n Roll,” for example, only charted at #28 in 1979. While making a habit of looking at playlists, it would appear the biggest selling songs of the past don’t mean a thing today. Speaking of, “You Light Up My Life” is not on my song list.

 

[John FL]

Here it is...the Top 100 songs (according to me) from 1974-1979. We've looked at songs from 1970 and all those great soul hits from the early 70s. Personally, I think it was a pretty incredible decade musically. Then again, each decade has something to offer. Quite amazing seeing what made the "hit parade" from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and now 1970s. The constant is people enjoy their music. And so much of it is right at our fingertips!

If there are errors, I hope they are minimal. My Excel program has not been working properly.

100	Heaven Must Missing an Angel	Tavares	1976
99	Some Kind of Wonderful	Grand Funk	1975
98	Lyin' Eyes	The Eagles	1975
97	Turn the Beat Around	Vickie Sue Robinson	1976
96	The Boys Are Back in Town	Thin Lizzy	1976
95	Jive Talkin'	The Bee Gees	1975
94	Whatever Gets You Through the Night	John Lennon	1974
93	Keep it Comin' Love	K.C. & The Sunshine Band	1977
92	How Long	Ace	1975
91	Love Rollercoaster	The Ohio Players	1976
90	Then Came You	Dionne Warwick and the Spinners	1974
89	Emotion	Samantha Sang	1978
88	Philadelphia Freedom	Elton John	1975
87	Lay Down Sally	Eric Clapton	1978
86	Love Machine	The Miracles	1976
85	Takin' Care of Business	Bachman Turner Overdrive	1974
84	Hot Child in the City	Nick Gilder	1978
83	Born to Run	Bruce Springsteen	1975
82	You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)	Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr	1977
81	Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright)	Rod Stewart	1976
80	Nobody Does it Better	Carly Simon	1977
79	Heart of Glass	Blondie	1979
78	Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)	Billy Joel	1978
77	Night Fever	The Bee Gees	1978
76	Shining Star	Earth, Wind & Fire	1975
75	How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)	James Taylor	1975
74	Lido Shuffle	Boz Scaggs	1977
73	My Sharona	The Knack	1979
72	Last Dance	Donna Summer	1978
71	The Things We Do For Love	10CC	1977
70	50 Ways to Leave Your Lover	Paul Simon	1976
69	Don't Bring Me Down	Electric Light Orchestra	1979
68	You're No Good	Linda Ronstadt	1975
67	Everlasting Love	Carl Carlton	1974
66	Dream Weaver	Gary Wright	1976
65	I Wish	Stevie Wonder	1977
64	Hopelessly Devoted to You	Olivia Newton-John	1978
63	Magic	Pilot	1975
62	Fame	David Bowie	1975
61	Got To Give It Up	Marvin Gaye	1977
60	It's a Heartache	Bonnie Tyler	1978
59	Knock On Wood	Amii Stewart	1979
58	Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me	Elton John	1974
57	Babe	Styx	1979
56	Miss You	The Rolling Stones	1978
55	You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine	Lou Rawls	1976
54	Dreams	Fleetwood Mac	1977
53	Boogie Oogie Oogie	A Taste of Honey	1978
52	Pick Up The Pieces	Average White Band	1975
51	Rock Me Gently	Andy Kim	1974
50	Good Times	Chic	1979
49	The Rubberband Man	The Spinners	1976
48	Hot Blooded	Foreigner	1978
47	I'd Really Love to See You Tonight	England Dan and John Ford Coley	1976
46	Don't Leave Me This Way	Thelma Houston	1977
45	Dream On	Aerosmith	1976
44	Old Time Rock & Roll	Bob Segar	1979
43	The Loco- Motion	Grand Funk	1974
42	Sir Duke	Stevie Wonder	1977
41	We Are The Champions	Queen	1978
40	Play That Funky Music	Wild Cherry	1976
39	Dancing Queen	ABBA	1977
38	Right Back Where We Started From	Maxine Nightingale	1976
37	Still The One	Orleans	1976
36	Baker Street	Gerry Rafferty	1978
35	If You Leave Me Now	Chicago	1976
34	Don't Go Breaking My Heart	Elton John & Kiki Dee	1976
33	Three Times a Lady	The Commodores	1978
32	Show Me The Way	Peter Frampton	1976
31	One of These Nights	The Eagles	1975
30	September	Earth, Wind & Fire	1979
29	If I Can't Have You	Yvonne Elliman	1978
28	Rich Girl	Hall & Oates	1977
27	You Should Be Dancing	The Bee Gees	1975
26	Rock The Boat	The Hues Corporation	1974
25	You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet	Bachman Turner Overdrive	1974
24	Get Down Tonight	K.C. & The Sunshine Band	1975
23	Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough	Michael Jackson	1979
22	More Than a Feeling	Boston	1976
21	Blinded by the Light	Manfred Mann's Earth Band	1977
20	Grease	Frankie Valli	1978
19	Silly Love Songs	Wings	1976
18	Low Rider	War	1975
17	Hot Stuff	Donna Summer	1979
16	Go Your Own Way	Fleetwood Mac	1977
15	You're The One That I Want	John Travolta and Olivia Newton John	1978
14	The Joker	The Steve Miller Band	1974
13	Lady Marmelade	Labelle	1975
12	I Just Want to be Your Everything	Andy Gibb	1977
11	Can't Get Enough of Your Love Babe	Barry White	1974
10	Bennie and the Jets	Elton John	1974
9	I'm Your Boogie Man	K.C. & The Sunshine Band	1977
8	My Life	Billy Joel	1979
7	December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)	The Four Seasons	1976
6	Best of My Love	The Emotions	1977
5	Hotel California	The Eagles	1977
4	What A Fool Believes	The Doobie Brothers	1979
3	Stayin' Alive	The Bee Gees	1978
2	I Will Survive	Gloria Gaynor	1979
1	Bohemian Rhapsody	Queen	1976

 

[tbolt909]

�

15	Nights in White Satan	The Moody Blues	1972

Must be the Lucifer Remix...

 

[Alex Browne]

Ben E. King is still around. He's in mid 70s and hopefully that's the new middle age, haha. He's living in New Jersey now.

John, this is from your post of last Thursday. I meant to respond, but forgot. Ben E. King is -NOT- still around; he died in 2015 at the age of 76.

 

[John FL]

John, this is from your post of last Thursday. I meant to respond, but forgot. Ben E. King is -NOT- still around; he died in 2015 at the age of 76.

Clearly, you are correct. I have no idea what happened here and how I could be so wrong. For what it's worth, I thought Ben E. King was a major talent and I enjoyed his style of music. What's also a shame is that in all the time since posting that obvious error, no one bothered to comment on that. There are more people reading this particular subject than just you. I appreciate your attention to detail and your interest in some of the older music. But, it's obvious that this is not a subject for the masses.

 

[John FL]

By 1980, the population in Florida soared to 9.746 million people and now I was now one of them.

The difference between the late 70s and the early 80s was pretty mind-blowing. It was like the disco switch was suddenly turned off. Oh, there were still songs that fit that genre but it became one of those words that became taboo to say on the radio. We'd see that again with the word "Oldies" in time.

Even the old disco station in New York was now playing Christopher Cross tunes in the mix. Music was once again going through a metamorphosis. Perhaps there's something about entering into a new decade. After the payola scandals of the 50s, music of the early 60s was a lot more tame. The Girl Groups were dominant. There were ballads and love songs in the mix. In the early 1970s, we had The Carpenters and Bread. There was also a ton of soul songs that dominated the charts, many of which were on the mellow side.

Rock-oriented tunes didn't go away during these periods as was the case with the early 80s but let's just say there was more competition from other genres of music that for whatever the reason performed well.

As I think back about music in the 1980s, I have to, once again, say my favorite period would have to be the early 1980s. I tend to like the earlier years and this would make 3 decades in a row that held true. The mid 1960s was a music explosion, especially with the British Invasion. I'm not minimizing that era at all. I loved a lot of what we got to hear. But for me, the early 60s had a simplicity in the music. Just my taste but why I enjoyed all those girl groups and teen idols that dominated the charts back then.

Of course the radio station I listened to was Miami's WHYI Y-100. I've spoken about that station and just how great they were more than enough times. So, I will avoid repeating a lot of that. But what I will say is I thought hit music was hit music and what I was hearing was being heard all over the country. That turned out not to be true,

Remember, personal computers were still not the norm, nor was streaming. It was when I visited family in the NYC market and tuned in to the radio that I knew radio in South Florida marched to the beat of a different drummer and it was extraordinary. I've often thought about why Y-100 was so successful. It's probably that old Publix commercial line that says it best, "When all the right ingredients come together, it's Magic." And it was.

What follows is the songs that I recollect the most from 1980 to 1982 that were heard on Y-100. This time I didn't rank them but rather listed the Billboard Top 40 ranking for the song. There is no doubt, research and careful music selection paid off big time. Among the songs I love the most from back in the early 80s were the songs that weren't the biggest hits nationally. No doubt, PD Bill Tanner didn't just look at Top 40 charts. There was dance and soul charts etc. There was music from all the clubs that dominated South Florida. It was a masterpiece and I was very lucky to have experienced the very best in radio.

 

[John FL]

As promised, here is what I recall in the kind of sound that was featured on Y-100 (WHYI Miami). As we saw in mass-appeal radio stations of the past, there were adult-oriented songs on the playlist. But it was all done in such a way that everyone thought the radio station was theirs. This alphabetical list is not ranked but as I mentioned earlier, the national Billboard chart position (CP) is listed instead. No duplication of artists is presented even though quite a few had multiple hits during this time.

1982 was among the best year's I ever experienced in listening to the radio. I'll have a few more comments about the music from back then. Then we'll figure out how to deal with the rest of the 80s decade.

CP 4	867-5309/Jenny	Tommy Tutone	1982
CP 1	9 to 5	Dolly Parton	1981
No CP	A Night To Remember	Shalamar	1982
CP 1	Abracadabra	The Steve Miller Band	1982
CP 2	All Out of Love	Air Supply	1980
CP 1	Another Brick in the Wall	Pink Floyd	1980
CP 1	Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)	Christopher Cross	1981
CP 1	Bette Davis Eyes	Kim Karnes	1981
CP 1	Celebration	Kool & The Gang	1981
CP 1	Centerfold	J. Geils Band	1982
CP 1	Crazy Little Thing Called Love	Queen	1980
CP 1	Don't You Want Me	The Human League	1982
CP 30	Double Dutch Bus	Frankie Smith	1981
CP 3	Every Little Thing She Does is Magic	The Police	1981
CP 3	Eye in the Sky	The Alan Parsons Project	1982
CP 1	Funkytown	Lipps, Inc	1980
CP 31	Genius of Love	Tom Tom Club	1982
CP 40	Give It To Me Baby	Rick James	1981
CP 4	Give Me The Night	George Benson	1980
CP 15	Heart To Heart	Kenny Loggins	1982+
CP 4	Heat of the Moment	Asia	1982
CP 12	How 'Bout Us	Champagne	1981
CP 2	Hurt So Good	John Mellencamp	1982
CP 9	I Ran (So Far Away)	A Flock of Seagulls	1982
CP 11	I Wanna Be Your Lover	Prince	1980
CP 11	Into The Night	Benny Mardones	1980
CP 1	Jessie's Girl	Rick Springfield	1981
CP 2	Just The Two of Us	Grover Washington, Jr with Bill Withers	1981
CP 1	Keep On Loving You	REO Speedwagon	1981
CP 5	Let It Whip	The Dazz Band	1982
CP 18	Look Of Love (Part 1)	ABC	1982+
CP 14	Look What You've Done To Me	Boz Scaggs	1980
CP 17	Love Come Down	Evelyn "Champagne" King	1982
CP 26	Love on a Two Way Street	Stacy Lattisaw	1981
CP 30	Mama Used To Say	Junior	1982
CP 1	Maneater	Hall & Oates	1982
CP 1	Morning Train (Nine to Five)	Sheena Easton	1981
CP 6	Never Knew Love Like This Before	Stephanie Mills	1980
CP 33	Never Too Much	Luther Vandross	1981
CP 14	One Hundred Ways	Quincy Jones/James Ingram	1982
CP 29	One The Wings of Love	Jeffrey Osborne	1982
CP 36	Rapper's Delight	The Sugarhill Gang	1980
CP 2	Rosanna	Toto	1982
CP 22	She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)	Carl Carlton	1981
CP 7	Sombody's Baby	Jackson Browne	1982
CP 6	Steppin' Out	Joe Jackson	1982
CP 8	Tainted Love	Soft Cell	1982
CP 3	Take Your Time (Do It Right)	The S.O.S. Band	1980
CP 4	That Girl	Stevie Wonder	1982
No CP	That's What I Like About You	The Romantics	1980
CP 2	The Girl is Mine	Michael Jackson / Paul McCartney	1982+
CP 2	Theme from "Greatest American Hero" (Believe it or Not)	Joey Scarbury	1981
CP 1	Tide Is High	Blondie	1981
CP 2	We Got The Beat	The Go-Go's	1982
CP 15	We're In This Love Together	Al Jarreau	1981
CP 14	Whip It	Devo	1980
CP 29	Working For The Weekend	Loverboy	1982
CP 31	You Dropped a Bomb On Me	The Gap Band	1982
CP 5	You Should Hear How She Talks About You	Melissa Manchester	1982

 

[John FL]

As is the case with any year or decade in music, there are surprises. In 1981, Stars on 45 went to #1 with their "Medley." This was a Dutch studio group who did the singing. I found it a bizarre tune because it got Beatles intensive with most of the record. It may have been more interesting with other artists or bands represented. That same year, "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey went to #9 nationally. Like the song or not, it has been played on the radio for a long time. In many legitimate radio countdowns, the song remains high on the charts. Still, pretty amazing "Medley" charted to #1 and that Journey classic did not even land in the top 5.

"Physical" by Olivia Newton-John was #1 on the Billboard charts for 10 weeks from 1981 to 1982. Today, that song has kind of met the same fate as Debbie Boone's "You Light Up My Life." For what it's worth, I like "Physical." The video to the song was rather interesting as well. The masses have had their say. For those stations that do A-Z countdown music specials may feature the song.

Per the last post showing the kind of songs that made the early 1980s WHYI (Y-100) playlist, many of those songs remain among my favorites today. I have often talked about the song "A Night to Remember" by Shalamar. Hands down, it's my favorite song from the 1980s. My ego wants me to believe I had something to do with Y-100 eventually playing that song. But David Eduardo had to often remind me how the music was picked and the criteria that needed to be met. I submit, that's probably the case.

But what is true is I heard the song before Y-100 ever played it. I was convinced of the song's potential. Despite the fact the song didn't make the AT 40 Billboard charts, it didn't matter. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale responded differently. The song was a monster in the dance clubs. I saw the reaction and just knew this would be a hit. That song was #1 on Y-100 for 4 weeks and was the #1 song of 1982 at Y-100.

In case you don't know the song, here it is:

For the times, that video was hot. Of course, Jody Watley of the group went on as a solo artist and had a string of hits.

My batting average figuring out what people wanted to hear was not bad at all. Then again, when I heard "Pass the Dutchie" by the Musical Youth, I figured they would be the 80s version of the Jackson 5. Win some and lose some.

It was in 1983, Bill Tanner left South Florida for D.C. As we all know that didn't work out so well. It proves that individual markets do have a uniqueness about them. Sometimes, lightning doesn't strike twice. To this day, I have no idea who replaced Bill Tanner. I did listen to Y-100 for a while longer. The new PD was still fortunate in many respects. He/she inherited an incredible brand and there was already an established blueprint in place with what worked.

In 1983, "All This Love" by DeBarge, an actual family. It's highest national chart position was #17. But when I first heard the song, I immediately thought it would have been a song Mr. Tanner would have picked.To this day, it's another one of my favs. In fact I love everything DeBarge. A shame the lead singer had such a tough life. It happens so often with fame.

Late 1983 and into 1984, Madonna hit the music scene big. Michael Jackson would have a string of his biggest records on the horizon. Groups like The Culture Club would prove big in South Florida. And there were so many others. Once again, music was evolving into something else as we got into the mid 80s.

That something else actually drove me to oldies. Magic 102.7 (WMXJ) came on the radio scene in the mid 80s and I never looked back. From a demographic perspective, I was at the very young part of 35-54 so I may have been following a logical migration seeking out the music I grew up with and had the most memories. It's all part of the business of radio.

I don't think I have much more to say about the 80s music. So I'll let the next list do the talking. This time, I'd thought I'd post an A-Z one. We'll also move into the 90s music but with a twist and you'll just have to see what I mean by that!

 

[John FL]

As promised, here's an A-Z list of 80s hit songs from 1983-1989. As with all lists, some worthy songs may have been left behind. Do to character restraints, will probably have to post multiple lists.

Here's Part 1:

1999	Prince	'83
(I Just) Died In Your Arms	Cutting Crew	'87
(I've Had) The Time Of My Life	Bill Meadley & Jennifer Warnes	'87
(Keep Feeling) Fascination	Human League	'83
1-2-3	Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine	'88
99 Luftballons	Nena	'84
A Love Bizarre	Sheila E.	'86
A View To A Kill	Duran Duran	'85
Addicted To Love	Robert Palmer	'86
Africa	Toto	'83
Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)	Phil Collins	'84
Ain't Nobody	Rufus & Chaka Khan	'83
All I Need Is A Miracle	Mike + The Mechanics	'86
All Night Long (All Night)	Lionel Ritchie	'83
All Through The Night	Cyndi Lauper	'84
Alone	Heart	'87
Always	Atlantic Starr	'87
Always On My Mind	Pet Shop Boys	'88
Always Something There To Remind Me	Naked Eyes	'83
Amanda	Boston	'86
And We Danced	The Hooters	'85
Angel	Aerosmith	'88
Another Day In Paradise	Phil Collins	'89
At This Moment	Billy Vera & The Beaters	'87
Automatic	Pointer Sisters	'84
Baby, Come To Me	Patti Austin/James Ingram	'83
Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird	Will To Power	'88
Back On The Chain Gang	The Pretenders	'83
Back To Life	Soul II Soul	'89
Bad	Michael Jackson	'87
Bad Medicine	Bon Jovi	'88
Beat It	Michael Jackson	'83
Billie Jean	Michael Jackson	'83
Born In The U.S.A.	Bruce Springsteen	'85
Boys of Summer	Don Henley	'85
Break My Stride	Matthew Wilder	'84
Breakout	Swing Out Sister	'87
Broken Wings	Mr. Mister	'85
Burning Down The House	Talking Heads	'83
Candle In The Wind (Live)	Elton John	'88
Can't Fight This Feeling	REO Speedwagon	'85
Careless Whisper	Wham!	'85
Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)	Billy Ocean	'84
Causing A Commotion	Madonna	'87
Chains Of Love	Erasure	'88
Church Of The Poisoned Mind	Culture Club	'83
Cold Hearted	Paula Abdul	'89
Come Go With Me	Expose	'87
Come On Eileen	Dexys Midnight Raiders	'83
Conga	Miami Sound Machine	'86
Crazy For You	Madonna	'85
Cruel Summer	The Bangles	'84
Crush On You	The Jets	'86
*** On Feel The Noize	Quiet Riot	'83
Dance Hall Days	Wang Chung	'84
Dancing In The Dark	Bruce Springsteen	'84
Dancing On The Ceiling	Lionel Ritchie	'86
Dancing With Myself	Billy Idol	'85
Danger Zone	Kenny Loggins	'86
Der Kommisar	After The Fire	'83
Didn't We Almost Have It All	Whitney Houston	'87
Dirty Diana	Michael Jackson	'88
Dirty Laundry	Don Henley	'83
Do You Really Want To Hurt Me	Culture Club	'83
Don't Dream It's Over	Crowded House	'87
Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)	Glass Tiger	'86
Don't Lose My Number	Phil Collins	'85
Don't You (Forget About Me)	Simple Minds	'85
Down Under	Men At Work	'83
Downtown Train	Rod Stewart	'89
Dress You Up	Madonna	'85
Drive	The Cars	'84
Easy Lover	Phillip Bailey with Phil Collins	'85
Electric Avenue	Eddy Grant	'83
Eternal Flame	The Bangles	'89
Every Breath You Take	The Police	'83
Every Rose Has Its Thorn	Poison	'88
Everybody Have Fun Tonight	Wang Chung	'86
Everybody Wants To Rule The World	Tears For Fears	'85
Everything She Wants	Wham!	'85
Everytime You Go Away	Paul Young	'85
Express Yourself	Madonna	'89
Faith	George Michael	'87
Faithfully	Journey	'83
Fast Car	Tracy Chapman	'88
Father Figure	George Michael	'88
Flashdance…What A Feeling	Irene Cara	'83
Foolish Heart	Steve Perry	'85
Footloose	Kenny Loggins	'84
Free Fallin'	Tom Petty	'89
Freeway Of Love	Aretha Franklin	'85
Funky Cold Medina	Tone-Loc	'89
Get On Your Feet	Gloria Estefan	'89
Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car	Billy Ocean	'88
Girls Just Want To Have Fun	Cyndi Lauper	'84
Give It Up	K.C.	'84
Glory Days	Bruce Springsteen	'85
Glory Of Love	Peter Cetera	'86
Goody Two Shoes	Adam Ant	'83
Got My Mind Set On You	George Harrison	'88
Greatest Love Of All	Whitney Houston	'86
Head Over Heels	Tears For Fears	'85
Head Over Heels	Go-Go's	'84
Head To Toe	Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam	'87
Heart and Soul	Huey Lewis And The News	'83
Heart and Soul	T'Pau	'87
Heaven	Bryan Adams	'85
Heaven Is A Place On Earth	Belinda Carlisle	'87
Hello	Lionel Ritchie	'84
Here Comes The Rain Again	Eurythmics	'84
Here I Go Again	Whitesnake	'87
Higher Love	Steve Winwood	'86
Hip To Be Square	Huey Lewis And The News	'86
Hold Me Now	Thompson Twins	'84
Holding Back The Years	Simply Red	'86
Holiday	Madonna	'84
How Am I Supposed To Live Without You	Michael Bolton	'89
How Will I Know	Whitney Houston	'86
Human	Human League	'86
Human Nature	Michael Jackson	'83
Hungry Eyes	Eric Carmen	'88
Hungry Like The Wolf	Duran Duran	'83
I Can Dream About You	Dan Hartman	'84
I Can't Wait	Nu Shooz	'86
I Feel For You	Chaka Khan	'84