Poll: October 1978 Songs

  I was 14 years old in the Fall of October 1978.  This is the first list I've voted on that doesn't have easy choices for a #1 pick.  

Pop Radio Gold

"Right Down The Line", Gerry Rafferty : 1
"Reminiscing", Little River Band : 2
"Hopelessly Devoted To You", Olivia Newton-John : 3
"Boogie Oogie Oogie", A Taste Of Honey : 4
"Hot Blooded", Foreigner : 5
"Grease", Frankie Valli : 6
"Whenever I Call You "Friend"", Kenny Loggins (with Stevie Nicks) : 7
"I Just Wanna Stop", Gino Vannelli : 8
"She's Always A Woman", Billy Joel : 9
"Beast Of Burden", Rolling Stones : 10
"You Needed Me", Anne Murray : 11
"Hollywood NIghts", Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band : 12
"How Much I Feel", Ambrosia : 13
"Three Times A Lady", Commodores : 14
"Hot Child In The City", Nick Gilder : 15
"Don't Look Back", Boston : 16
"You And I", Rick James : 17
"MacArthur Park", Donna Summer : 18
"An Everlasting Love", Andy Gibb : 19
"Summer Nights", John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John : 20
"Double Vision", Foreigner : 21
"Get Off", Foxy : 22
"Who Are You", Who : 23
"Love Is In The Air", John Paul Young : 24
"In The Bush", Musique : 25
"Got To Have Loving", Don Ray : 26
"I Love The Night Life (Disco 'Round)", Alicia Bridges : 27
"You Never Done It Like That", Captain & Tennille : 28
"Talking In Your Sleep", Crystal Gayle : 29
"Kiss You All Over", Exile : 30
"Ready To Take A Chance Again", Barry Manilow : 31
"Back In The U.S.A.", Linda Ronstadt : 32
"Come Together", Aerosmith : 33
"Oh Darling", Robin Gibb : 34

RIP John Anderson

  John Anderson was one of the handful of Country artists who brought New Traditionalism onto the mainstream Country charts in the early 80's.  George Strait and Ricky Skaggs are often mentioned with him as those that broke through. These acts went against the dominant Country Pop sound that was defined as the Urban Cowboy era.  By the mid-80's other neo-trad artists like Randy Travis, Keith Whitley, Reba McEntire, Dwight Yoakam were following their lead.

  Of the three names I mentioned earlier (Skaggs, Strait), Anderson was the most aligned with the Honky-tonk Golden Age of the 50's and 60's.  His voice, style and the type of songs he sang were more suited for fans of Lefty Frizzell, George Jones, Merle Haggard and others from that era.  

  His breakthrough came in 1980 and his first album, but it was his second album, John Anderson 2, that was the classic that set him up for the rest of the decade.  All his Warner Brothers albums through the mid-80's are great.  His first greatest hits album from 1984 belongs on any music fans shelf.

  The closest he came to a crossover Pop hit was 1983's "Swingin", a song he co-wrote which stopped at #43.  It turned out to be his signature song and a gold record.  But a pure Country voice like Anderson's wasn't made for the Pop charts. "Swingin" introduced me to Anderson and a lot of others in a big way in 1983. 

  After he left WB in the late 80's the quality dipped a bit, but in 1992 he signed with RCA and made a superb comeback with Seminole Wind.  His second run on the charts would last until the late 90's.  The albums became sporadic in the 2000's,  but they were still full of quality material.  His last album came out in 2020 and it turned out to be a very good send off.  

  Anderson was finally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2024.  A new generation of singers like Blake Shelton, Luke Combs and Tim McGraw cited him as an influence.  In 2022 he even got the tribute album treatment. Despite the late career accolades, I always felt Anderson was underrated compared to other Country artists from his peak era.  Still, he was a superb singer and songwriter (he's in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame) whose records continue to shine on Classic Country radio.

Playlist for 10/20

Before the Gold Rush- An American Country Rock Anthology 66-73 (Cherry Red Box Set)

Leon Bridges - Happiness Anytime

Johnny Paycheck - 11 Months and 29 Days

Loretta Lynn - When the Tingle Becomes A Chill

Elizabeth Cook - Great Television

Susannah Hoffs - The List 

Joy Oladokun - Hope Is A Heavy Thing

Gracie Abrams - Daughter from Hell

Margaret Glaspy - I Am Both

Tift Merritt - Sugar

Phoebe Bridgers - Lost Weekend 

Miley Cyrus - Bass Persuades 

Syd - Beard

Ranking: Songs from Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy

   Although Warren Zevon's self-titled 1976 debut album might be the better album to many, I've always favored his 1978 breakthrough.  His best-selling album with his only hit single.  Zevon came out of the Los Angeles singer-songwriter movement of the late 70's.  But he always was a little left of that movement.  His subject matter, his delivery showed he was a standout in that era.  This album like his first one was produced by Jackson Browne. And co-produced by Waddy Wachtel.

1.  Werewolves of London

2.  Excitable Boy

3.  Lawyers, Guns and Money

4.  Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner

5.  Johnny Strikes Up the Band

6.  Accidentally Like A Martyr

7.  Veracruz

8.  Tenderness on the Block

9.  Night Time in the Switching Yard

1996 Best Albums/Singles Music Poll

Here’s a Facebook group (Expert Witness) poll that I voted in: Top 20 albums and Top singles of 1996. 

Below my picks are the poll winners.

My Picks

1. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing  30

2. Maxwell - Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite - 15

3. Fountains of Wayne - s/t  13

4. Beck - Odelay 11

5. Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister  10

6. Amy Rigby - Diary of A Mod Housewife 9

7. Bobbie Cryner - Girl of Your Dreams 8

8. Deana Carter - Did I Shave My Legs For This 8

9. Fugees - The Score 8

10. Gillian Welch - Revival 8

11.  Iris DeMent - The Way I Should 8

12.  Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt 8

13.  Johnny Cash - Unchained 8

14.  Mandy Barnett - s/t 8

15. Outkast - Atliens 8

16.  REM - New Adventures in Hi-Fi 8

17. Sheryl Crow - s/t 8

18. Steve Earle - I Feel Alright 8

19. Tony Toni Tone - House of Music 8

20. Willie Nelson - Spirit 8

Singles

2PAC - California Love

Beck - Where It's At

Blackstreet - No Diggity

Cardigans - Lovefool

Celine Dion - It’s All Coming Back To Me Now 

Deana Carter - Strawberry Wine

En Vogue - Don't Let Go (Love)

Everything but the Girl - Missing

Fountains of Wayne - Radiation Vibe 

Fugees - Ready or Not

Garbage - Stupid Girl

Ginuwine - Pony

Los Del Rio - Macarena

Mandy Barnett - Now That's All Right With Me

Mark Morrison - Return of the Mack

Oasis - Wonderwall

OMC - How Bizarre 

Pulp - Common People

Quad City DJs - C'mon N' Ride It

Sheryl Crow - If It Makes You Happy

Smashing Pumpkins - 1979

Spice Girls - Wannabe

Sublime - What I Got

The Prodigy - Firestarter

Toni Braxton - Un-Break My Heart

Poll Winners Albums

1. DJ Shadow: Endtroducing… (516 points/31 votes/highest points given 30)

2. Sleater-Kinney: Call the Doctor (370/22/30)

3. Amy Rigby: Diary of a Mod Housewife (337/26/25)

4. Fugees: The Score (185/19/22)

5. Beck: Odelay (181/19/17)

6. Los Lobos: Colossal Head (155/15/25)

7. Iris DeMent: The Way I Should (154/15/30)

8. Ghostface Killah: Ironman (129/13/23)

9. Belle and Sebastian: If You’re Feeling Sinister (116/9/20)

10. Tony! Toni! Toné!: House of Music (115/13/12)

11. Imperial Teen: Seasick (112/15/10)

12. Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup (107/13/10)

13. Arto Lindsay: Mundo Civilizado (105/6/25)

14. Fountains of Wayne: Fountains of Wayne (99/10/15)

15. Pet Shop Boys: Bilingual (84/6/25)

16. R.E.M.: New Adventures in Hi-Fi (80/11/10)

17. OutKast: ATLiens (76/7/25)

18. Willie Nelson: Spirit (68/8/15)

19. Fluffy: Black Eye (66/9/10)

20. James Carter: Conversin’ with the Elders (62/8/12)

21. Aphex Twin: Richard D. James Album (61/5/30)

22. Pulp: Different Class (54/7/10)

23. Spring Heel Jack: 68 Million Shades (52/5/19)

24. Prince: Emancipation (48/5/15)

25. Bikini Kill: Reject All American (45/5/10)

26. Weezer: Pinkerton (44/5/15)

27. Wilco: Being There (43/4/15)

28. Steve Earle: I Feel Alright (42/4/15)

29. Sex Pistols: Filthy Lucre Live (40/3/25)

30. Gillian Welch: Revival (39/3/20)

31. Ani DiFranco: Dilate (37/6/10)

32. Sebadoh: Harmacy (36/5/10)

33. Cibo Matto: Viva! La Woman (35/4/10)

34. Modest Mouse: This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (34/4/13)

35. John Zorn: Bar Kokhba (33/3/13)

36. The Beautiful South: Blue Is the Colour (33/3/15)

37=. Fiona Apple: Tidal (29/4/10)

37=. Tricky: Pre-Millennium Tension (29/4/10)

39. Toni Braxton: Secrets (28/3/10)

40. Sugar and Poison (25/2/15)

Singles Top 20

1. Quad City DJ’s: “C’mon N’ Ride It (The Train)” (14 votes/average length 24)

2. Blackstreet, Dr. Dre, Queen Pen: “No Diggity” (10/31)

3. The Smashing Pumpkins: “1979” (9/22.7)

4. Spice Girls: “Wannabe” (9/23.1)

5. Pulp: “Common People” (8/20.4)

6. Fugees: “Ready or Not” (8/24)

7. Los Del Rio: “Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix)“ (8/31.5)

8. Toni Braxton: “Un-Break My Heart” (7/28.9)

9. Beck: “Where It’s At” (6/24.3)

10. 2Pac, Dr. Dre: “California Love” (6/31.2)

11. Alanis Morissette: “Ironic” (5/19)

12. Fugees: “Fu-Gee-La” (5/26.4)

13. Ginuwine: “Pony” (5/33.4)

14. Butthole Surfers: “Pepper” (5/39)

15. OMC: “How Bizarre” (5/39)

16. Garbage: “Stupid Girl” (4/19.5)

17. The Cardigans: “Lovefool” (4/20)

18. Celine Dion: “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” (4/21.3)

19. Fluke: “Atom Bomb” (4/25)

20. Local H: “Bound for the Floor” (4/25)

RIP Freddie Jackson

  Freddie Jackson was one of the best, underrated Quiet Storm staples the genre produced.  Joel Whitburn's Top R&B Singles book ranked him 11th for the 1980's (in the book that ends in 2016).  From 1985-1992 he had an impressive run of 10 #1 singles and 3 #2's.  His hit years ended after 1992.  One reason he never achieved household name recognition like Luther Vandross is that he didn't cross over to the Pop Top 40 charts very often.  His biggest hit, "You Are My Lady" did get to #12 in 1985, but he never had that big Pop hit.  I liken his career to Whitburn's #18 Jeffrey Osborne who had a bunch of R&B hits in the 80's/early 90's, but never a solo smash.  His nearest top 10 Pop hit was "You Should Be Mine" #13 in 1986.   Osborne did have a big hit as lead singer of L.T.D. in 1977 with the #4 Pop "Back in Love Again". 

  In 2011 I saw Freddie Jackson in concert as part of the "Men of Soul" tour.  Jackson shared the bill with the late, great Peabo Bryson, Jeffrey Osborne and Howard Hewett.  Jackson's was a strong set.

  Jackson could sing uptempo songs but his specialty were classic slow jams like "Rock Me Tonight" or my favorite "Have You Ever Loved Somebody".  He came along just as the Black Pop of the mid-80's was beginning to reach its peak.  By the end of the decade and early 90's New Jack Swing took over the charts and singers like Jackson, Osborne and others faded from the R&B charts.  The Black Pop era is one I love and Jackson was one the best.  I think he's somewhat underrated as one of the best R&B singers of his era.  

Playlist for 10/1

Alabama Shakes - I Must Be Dreaming

Swell Season - Forward 

Little Big Town - It’s A Dying Art 

Soul to Soul (1971 Documentary) 

Charli XCX - Music, Fashion, Film

Sam Smith - Hazel Eyes 

Ariana Grande - Petals

No Static at All: A Journey into AOR 76-86 (Cherry Red box set)

Neil Young - As Time Explodes

Neil Young - Second Song

Ken Pomeroy - Cruel Joke

Emperor X - Unified Field