I'm listening to one of the dozens of 70s compilation CDs that I own,and when I got to the song "Lonely Boy" by Andrew Gold (1977),it suddenly dawned on me...am I taking my 70s obsession a bit too far? Why am I STILL listening to this stuff? Will I EVER get over this music? Alot of people who bought this stuff back THEN are now hiding their heads in shame.Don't believe me? How many people would admit to buying the singles "Feelings" by Albert Morris (1975) or "You Light Up My Light" by Debby Boone (1977)? Both of those songs went to Number One,so obviously SOMEBODY was buying it...lol...


I started thinking about all this as I listen to 'Super Hits Of The 70s: Have A Nice Day' Volume 19.It contains the following songs...

"Still The One" by Orleans (1976)
"Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang" by Silver (1976)
"Stand Tall" by Burton Cummings (1977)
"Torn Between Two Lovers" by Mary MacGregor (1977)
"I Like Dreamin" by Kenny Nolan (1977)
"Don't Give Up On Us" by David Soul (1977)
"Jeans On" by David Dundas (1977)
"Lonely Boy" by Andrew Gold (1977)
"The Things We Do For Love" by 10cc (1977)
"Couldn't Get It Right" by Climax Blues Band (1977)
"Undercover Angel" by Alan O'Day (1977)
"Gonna Fly Now (theme from Rocky)" (1977)


And check out the liner notes...


"Never mind the Bollocks.Here's Alan O'Day.
When you think of 1977,which group of artists brings back the biggest flood of memories? The Sex Pistols,Mink DeVille,Garland Jeffries,and the Ramones? Or Mary MacGregor,Kenny Nolan,Andrew Gold,and 10cc?
If you went with the second camp,you've come to the right place.First of all,we salute you for your bravery.Just having this in your house will probably cost you a few friends.(Good riddence to them; crank up "Lonely Boy" on their way out the door.)

There's no getting around it: This is hardcore stuff,even as Rhino goes,even by 'Have A Nice Day' standards.Everybody kinda likes "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)",but "Undercover Angel" tends,um,to have a polarizing effect."Guilty pleasures" have always had a place in pop,but in the early 70s,the emphasis was on the second half of that phrase; by 1977,the accent was decidedly on the first.

Put it this way: if you play this stuff in your car with the windows down,you won't need an "I brake for Barry Manilow" bumper sticker to be noticed.If you ever have a 70s theme party,this might be a good tape to play at two in the morning when those last two revelers just won't leave".




So,is this the general consensus? Was late 70s pop really THAT terrible? Am I just one of the few crazy people who likes this stuff? Or,are my warm,fuzzy nostalgic feelings clouding my judgement? How many of you like this stuff too,and would you play it around your friends? LOL...

DavidEye said:

I have a soft spot for 10cc because they bring back a lot of memories. I don't have any of their work but whenever I hear a song of their's...ahhh!

As for David Soul, I remember this single being in my folks record collection along with another of his 'Let's Have A Quiet Night In'. I think the B side was called 'Silver Lady'. And I used to play them quite a lot.

I like some cheesy 70s hits mostly because I am always reminded of running around in my backyard when I was little, and watching my dad build things in the garage. He always had the radio on, and certain songs just bring me right back to those days.

Now I'm all nostaligic...

alot of this has great memories for me as a kid, so no when i play it, it brings me back 2 a much nicer place

Finess said:

But would you play it in your car with the windows down,or at your house when your friends come over?

DavidEye said:

Hell yeah. cus most of my friends i grew up with anyway so basically we all grew up around the same time so in that respect im lucky and let someone clown my music, they just dont know what really good music is anyhow

nope. it isnt terrible. it is fantastic.

i am 25 years old and you can catch me any given day listening to:
Christopher Cross
Gerry Rafferty (tell me Baker Street isnt the greatest!)
Little River Band
America
Climax Blues Band
Boz Scaggs
...

the list goes on and on.
I love that stuff. I listen to it around my friends and most of them recognise it and just laugh. I just mellow out, put on some pollyester, smoke a doobie(not really!), and hop in my bitchin camero.

Do you guys rememeber these songs?



***"Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang" by Silver (1976)

***"Falling Apart At The Seams" by Marmalade(1976)---the catchiest,most amazing CHORUS I ever heard on a 70s pop song!

minneapolisgenius said:

Me too! That scenario you described is exactly what I remember...lol...my dad would be in the garage,fixing something,and the radio would be on.Or,he would take me with him as he drove all around town,and I would hear all this great music on the radio.I have this fuzzy memory of hearing the song "Whatcha Gonna Do" by Pablo Cruise (1977) and my dad turned the radio up high.He loved that song!

DavidEye said:

My dad would always take me driving too. And we'd go to the liquor store to get beer for him, and they would always give out lollipops to the kids when you went to the counter.

Also, everytime I hear Stevie Nicks, I also think about my dad. He's actually the one who got me into Prince in the first place when I was about nine.

I would play stuff from the 70's of it was from the Punk era. You know, like the Clash, Sex Pistols, Jam, Buzzcocks, Damned, Ramones, etc. Or since the late 70's provided us with what was to become New Wave, I'd play Talking Heads, The Cars, Gang of Four, Devo, Madness, The Specials (2-Tone, baby, Yeah!!!) etc. I'd also throw in some Reggae for good measure, like Bob Marley & the Wailers and some of that crazy Dub by Lee Perry.

speakin of Pablo Cruise. Hey david remember that lead single "Love will find a way"??? fuck i actually own that album . its a great cut too

I love a lot of music from the 70's too but there's a big difference between a Boz Scaggs and a Debbie Boone. Some of those cuts mentioned are so cheesy it will cost you 25 cents extra just the listen to them.

What about the Pina colada song.. was that the 70's ooh and Muskrat Love I heard that on a radio station last summer while driving cross country I thought my daughter was going to pee on herself she was laughin so hard...But I loved that song, The Captain was soo cool...

God we really liked that stuff back then ..

butterfli25 said:

Rupert Holmes did that song, and Muskrat love was an adorable song.. OMFG it was sooo cute, i remember hearing it for tha first time and goin "awww"

butterfli25 said:

Captain and Tenille! "Love! Love will keep us together..."

I mentioned the Pina Colada song last week in some other thread.

intha916 said:

So,I take it that you don't like "Muskrat Love",huh?

DavidEye said:

I love that stuff...

i got a few a.m. radio favs that have brought some smiles and a few tears of joy...

baby come back-player
reminiscing-little river band
what a fool believes-the doobie bros
you belong 2 me-carly simon
easy-commodores
so far away-carole king
they long to be close 2 u/rainy days & mondays-the carpenters
how much i feel-ambrosia
big yellow taxi-joni mitchell
bad bad leroy brown/time in a bottle-jim croce
i go crazy-paul davis
it might be you-stephen bishop
fire & rain-james taylor

diamondpearl1 said:

Sweet baby James
OOH YEAH
children of the 70's UNITE!!!

diamondpearl1 said:

I LOVE all of those songs like you wouldn't believe! Brings back so many cool memories of a better time.Back then (late 70s),you could turn on an AM radio station and listen to it all day long.Cool,breezy pop hits sounded so good back then.

Punk, post punk and new wave are among my favorite styles. So for that stuff, not at all.

I am a 70s music junkie. I love it all from the mainstream acts to the one-hit-wonders.

The girl who babysat for me when I was a kid (during the 70s) used to give me K-Tel records for my birthday every year and its those songs on those records that I am embarrassed to say that I still love and listen to all the time (thanks to Kazaa!). I am talking about those over-dramatic songs like The Night Chicago Died & Run Joey Run. All U Gen X'rs know what I am talking about.

Other bad/cheesy songs that I seem to love from the 70s:

Gypsies, Tramps, & Theives
Gypsy Woman
Sweet City Woman
Beach Baby
Sunny Day
Beautiful Sunday
Summer Breeze
Jive Talkin
I Just Want to Be Your Everything
Any ELO song
Any song by Boston

Thats all I can think of at the moment, but I have downloaded a TON of them and they all rock.

Pagey said:

Neither bad nor cheesy.

"Any ELO song"



I hear ya! I go crazy over their music...

"strange magic...oh it's a...strange magic...oh it's a...strange magic...I get a strange magic...I get a strange magic..."



Time to pull out ELO's greatest hits

Cloudbuster said:

Hey I like the Bee Gees as much as the next guy, they were extremely talented and the song is catchy as hell.

But c'mon, its just a tad cheesy for three white british guys singing about jive talkin. All I think of is Barbara Billingsly(sp?) talking jive in "Airplane". Its just plain funny.
[This message was edited Sat Jun 14 8:08:51 PDT 2003 by Pagey]

Pagey said:

Ain't no thang!

DavidEye said:

davideye great ass thread. here's the thing many of the songs you mentioned were AWFUL...but not all of the 70's music was as bad as these.

the debbie boone,marmalade,rupert holmes,stuff DID suck.
but remember when yo're younger your view of music is
much different.

i'll give you some examples:
1. sweet-fox on the run -thought it was ok-then now think its crap.
2.island girl-elton john...not one of his better moments,but
at the time it was new i didn't mind it.
3.sugar sugar-archies...hated it with a passion when it
was HOT...but the musician in me (has since fooled around
with it-with other musicians and discovered its a nicely
put-together song...yes its DUMb...and there was no
real group...but i now see why it was a hit.
4.love will keep us together-captain & tennille...
GOd they played this tune to death...i hated it then and
still do-however...when you think back to their version of
smokey's Shop Around and muskrat love (man are these worth
burning up in a bonfire!) love will keep us together doesn't
seem so bad after all!

on the other hand there were some 'GOOD 70's songs i would
not be ashamed to play for my friends ,to wit:

"hot chocolate-you sexy thing (good tune)
stories-brother louie
steve miller-fly like an eagle & serenade
boz scraggs-low down was pretty smooth and big in the hood
circa 76
tavares-heaven must be an angel
hall & oates-rich girl & she's gone
player-baby come back
10cc-things we do for love (superb tune...i've done this one
with groups...its a well crafted tune.)

and d-eye how about these ones...i WOuld be ashamed to
play these in public

1.play that funky music (BAD...piece of s..t!)
2. don't go breaking my heart(elton should be castrated
cuz of this one!)
3.brazil-rittchie family
4. more more more-andrea true connection (she couldn't sing
her way out of...)
5.feelings-morris albert (every wedding band'd fave tune)
6.its so nice to be with you-gallery
7.undercover angel-(what in the world!)
8.hot child in the city( oh man...i hate this sucker!)
9.billy don't be a hero. (nuff said)
10. convoy-(who brought this one?)

great thread d-eye!

Now I admit,"Convoy" by C.W. McCall (1976) is AWFUL

And to think,they actually made a movie based on that silly novelty hit!