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1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970
1971 1972
1973 1974
1975 1976
MIKE SMITH’S HOT HUNDRED UK HITS 1976 1976 was the year that Disco music became the dominant music genre in the UK. However, there were also a number of Soft Rock acts from America who were making a mark in the USA, and some, but not all, had success in the UK as well. The Swedish group, Abba, continued their success on the UK charts with three major hits, as did Elton John, who enjoyed his first Number One in the UK, albeit that it was a duet with Kiki Dee. American smooth soul group the Stylistics had their final three Top 10 hits in this year. Other British acts that had a successful 1976 were the Bay City Rollers, who had their last two Top 10 hits, Queen, Wings and 10cc. Cliff Richard returned from a blank 1975 with three Top 20 hits, one of which reached the Top 10. The UK won the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time with an offering from the group Brotherhood Of Man. The recording went to Number One. American performers the Four Seasons, Diana Ross and Elvis Presley all enjoyed a couple of major hits. The year also saw the last hit single from Bread, and the last hit with new material from the UK-based American band the Drifters, and American-based, the Bee Gees had another Disco hit ("You Should Be Dancing") which went to Number One in the USA. These are my personal favourite recordings from this particular year, listed in the order in which they entered the UK hit singles chart. You may not agree with my choices, but these were UK chart hits* that had plenty of air play on the music radio stations of the day, such as BBC Radio 1, Capital Radio, and Radio Luxembourg. *1 song not a hit in the UK. |
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1 Title: Love Machine The Miracles origins go back to the mid 1950s when Smokie Robinson and others formed a harmony group in Detroit. They became the Miracles in 1958, and signed to Motown records in 1960, they were soon making hits. They were known as Smokie Robinson & The Miracles from 1965 to 1972, but Robinson left in 1972 and lead vocal duties were taken over by Billy Griffin. This new setup enjoyed further success in the USA, but more personnel charges were made in the 1980s, and most members of the band have now passed away, with the exception of Smokey Robinson. |
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2 Title: 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover Paul Simon was
one half of the famous duo Simon & Garfunkel, who enjoyed
numerous hits in the latter half of the 1960s (see year 1966, song
27). Paul Simon was born on 13 Oct 1941 in Newark, New Jersey,
USA. After his partnership with Art Garfunkel broke up in
1970, Simon launched a solo career. His main success was in the sale of albums rather
than singles, and he has enjoyed having many Top 10 albums in the UK
album chart up to and including his latest in 2018. He has won
numerous awards for his songs including 12 Grammy Awards and two
Brit Awards. |
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3 Title: We Do It R & J Stone were a husband and wife duo who had this 1976 hit, their only entry on the UK charts. Russell was British and his wife, Joanne was from New Jersey, USA. They met in 1973 when they were both members of German orchestra leader James Last's touring choir. Following this hit, Russell decided that he did not wish to perform any longer, preferring to concentrate on songwriting and production work. Sadly, Joanne Stone died from a brain tumor in 1979. Russell worked in Germany for some time and, returning to singing, he has released three solo albums in the 2010s. |
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4 Title: Evil Woman The Electric
Light Orchestra (commonly known as ELO) was formed in 1970 by two
members of the band The Move, Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood. Wood
left in 1972, and Lynne became the band's lead vocalist, songwriter
and record producer. Bev
Bevan was the drummer, and he remained a fixture until 1986. The band's sound is
characterised by a
full orchestral backing, often with classical overtones. During ELO's original 13-year period of active recording and touring,
they sold over 50 million records worldwide, and collected numerous awards.
From 1972 to 1986, ELO accumulated 27 top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart, and
fifteen top 20 hits on the American charts. They also achieved
seven Top 10 albums in the UK, including two that reached Number One
on the album chart. Lynne disbanded the group in 1986,
following which, drummer Bevan created ELO Part II and a couple of
small hits ensued for them. That incarnation ceased in
1999. Lynn finally reformed the band in 2014 as Jeff Lynne's
ELO. They toured frequently, and issued a new album in 2019. |
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5 Title: Love To Love You Baby Donna Summer (31
Dec 1948 - 17 May 2012) was born in Boston, Massachusetts,
USA. She began singing from the age of ten, and in 1968 took a
role in the German production of the Rock musical
"Hair". She remained in Germany for some years and appeared
in several other German stage musicals. During her time in
Germany she met composer and synthesizer champion, Giorgio Moroder.
Along with producer Pete Bellotte, the three began recording in
Munich, Germany in 1974. Her first album became a hit in
several European countries, but in 1975 she recorded the song
"Love To Love You Baby" with a strong synthesised Disco
beat. It became a major hit in the UK, the USA, and many
European countries. She became known as the Queen of Disco,
and numerous hits followed into the 1990s. She had more Top 10
hits on the American charts than on the British charts. She
also had much success on the album charts, and worked with several
different producers over the years, including Britain's Stock,
Aitken & Waterman in 1989. She remained active into the
2000s, but died from lung cancer in May 2012, at her home in Naples, Florida, aged
63. |
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6 Title: Walk Away From Love David Ruffin (18 Jan 1941 - 1 Jun 1991) was born in the state of Mississippi, USA. He was one of four children, and his elder brother was Jimmy Ruffin who enjoyed a number of hits in the 1960s and 1970s. David moved to Detriot when he was just 16 and he met Berry Gordy who would found Tamla Motown records. He was singing at this time, sometimes with a group, and eventually he met the Temptations vocal group which he joined in 1964. He started as a background singer, but was allowed to take the lead on occasions during live performance. He took the lead on their recording of "My Girl" which became a Number One hit in the USA during 1965 (number two in the UK during 1992). Despite all this success he became addicted to drugs and was sacked by the group for his non-appearances at concerts, in 1968. He then began a solo career and in 1970 recorded an album with his brother Jimmy. His biggest hit was "Walk Away From Love" in 1976. During the 1980s he started touring with Eddie Kendricks, who had also been fired by the Temptations. However, Ruffin died in mid-1991 from an overdose of crack cocaine. |
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7 Title: It Should Have Been Me Yvonne Fair (21
Oct 1942 - 6 Mar 1994) was born in Richmond, Virginia, USA. In
the early 1960s she was singing with different groups and made a few
recordings. In the early 1970s she joined Motown records as a
backing singer, and toured with several of the major Motown
acts. She recorded her only album in 1975, and a single taken
from it, "It Should Have Been Me" was a minor hit in the
USA but reached number five on the UK charts. She had no
further hits, and retired from mainstream music making in the early
1980s, although she did occasionally sing in some clubs and bars
around Los Angeles for a few years. She died from pancreatic
cancer in Las Vegas in March 1994, at the age of 51. |
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8 Title: I Love Music
The O'Jays were an
R&B vocal group from the USA state of Ohio, formed as far back
as 1958. They made an appearance in the USA charts in 1963,
but found international fame in 1972 when they joined the
Philadelphia International record company. They became part of
the 'Philadelphia Sound' along with other bands and artists such as
the Three Degrees. They enjoyed considerable success during the
1970s, as the Disco sound became dominant, reaching Number One in
the USA (number nine in the UK) with their 1973 release "Love
Train". They remained a popular live act into the 2000s,
and even featured in a film in 2003. |
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9 Title: December '63 (Oh, What A Night)
The Four Seasons is a vocal group, characterised by the
falsetto voice of Frankie Valli (born 3 May 1934 in Newark, New Jersey, USA).
In 1960, they they began working with record producer Bob Crewe, with Frankie Valli as the lead singer. The rest of the
band was Bob Gaudio on keyboards and tenor vocals (also their songwriter), Tommy DeVito on lead guitar and baritone
vocals, and Nick Massi on electric bass and bass vocals. Their first hit on both sides of the Atlantic
was "Sherry", which was an American chart-topper. Other similar recordings followed and they
managed to hit the UK charts through to 1966 despite the prominence of the British beat
groups, although many of the singles peaked at low positions. They also had
hits during the 1970s, including several solo recordings by Frankie
Valli. The band is still performing, but with Valli as the only original member.
A farewell concert took place London in December 2018. |
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10 Title: Miss You Nights
Cliff Richard was born on 14 Oct 1940 in Lucknow, India, whilst his parents were working in that
country. He returned to England with his family in 1948. He formed a band in 1957 and a year
later he was chosen as a singer for the TV Rock 'n' Roll show "Oh Boy!". His first
hit came in 1958, which started a career that continued into the 21st century, with more than 130 hit singles
and over 50 original albums, spanning 60 years plus. In the early 1960s he also starred in several musical
films, notably "The Young Ones" and "Summer Holiday". He also achieved a number one
single in five different decades, and is the most successful British recording artist of all time.
He was honoured with a knighthood in 1995. He continues
in the 21st century and issued a new album in 2018 ("Rise Up"), which reached number four in the
album chart, and another album in 2020, "Music.. The Air That I
Breathe", which peaked at number three in the UK album chart. |
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11 Title: Funky Weekend The Stylistics was a smooth Soul five-piece vocal
group that was formed in Philadelphia, USA in 1970. The group
was characterised by the falsetto voice of Russell Thompkins Jr
(born on 21 Mar 1951 in Philadelphia, USA) and the smooth sound
created by producer Thom Bell. This combination resulted in a
series of six UK hits until the summer of 1974. Thom Bell
stopped working with the group at that time, but production was
taken over by record label owners Hugo & Luigi with arrangements by Van
McCoy. This resulted in another run of ten hits in the UK,
with seven of those reaching the Top 10. However, this second
run of hits over the years 1974 to 1976, did not do well in the USA
where the new Disco sound was becoming dominant. In addition
to the singles success in the UK, the group's "Best Of" album
went to Number One on the British album chart, where it eventually
stayed for 63 weeks. The group continued for the next two
decades, but Thompkins left in 2000. He released a solo album
in 2002, but in 2004 Thompkins formed a new group, Russell Thompkins
Jr & The New Stylistics. They are still performing (as a
trio) at the present time. |
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12 Title: Convoy C W McCall was a fictitious character invented
by Bill Fries (15 Nov 1928 - 1 Apr 2022), who was born in Iowa, USA. Fries was
working for an advertising agency when he was asked to create a TV
advertising campaign for a local baking company and their Old Home
bread. Fries created the story of truck driver C W McCall who
always stopped at the Old Home Café. Based on those
commercials, Fries, using the name C W McCall, began recording songs
he wrote about trucks and trucking. The song
"Convoy" came from his second album of songs and was a
major success, reaching Number One in the USA, and just one position
short of that in the UK. He recorded more albums and toured
the Country music venues of the USA, but had no more hits in the
UK. He retired from the music business in 1980, moving to
Ouray, Colorado, USA, where he served as the town's mayor from 1986
to 1992. Following his mayoral career, he fully retired, living in Ouray with his
wife. He died on 1st April 2022 from lung cancer at the age of
93. |
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13 Title: Love Really Hurts With You Billy Ocean was born on 21 Jan 1950 in
Trinidad, West Indies. He emigrated to the UK with his family
when he was ten years old. He began singing with local London
bands in his teens, and after some unsuccessful recordings, his
break-through came in 1976 as a solo artist. His debut album
contained the track "Love really Hurts Without You" which
became a major success, reaching number 22 in the USA. His
career took off from there, and he enjoyed numerous hits to the end
of the 1980s. He continues to perform in the 21st century, and
recorded a new album in 2019. He was awarded an MBE in 2020. |
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14 Title: Falling Apart At The Seams
Marmalade was a five-piece band formed in 1961 in Glasgow, Scotland originally called the
Gaylords. In the mid 1960s they went to London where they changed their name and signed
with the same management as the Tremeloes. A recording deal with CBS was arranged.
Their first releases failed to reach the charts but they became a popular act in the clubs of
central London. Finally in 1968 they broke through with "Lovin' Things".
This started a run of seven Top 10 hits until 1972, with a one-off number nine hit in 1976.
There was a large turnover of personnel throughout the years, although the original inspiration,
Junior Campbell was with them from 1966 to 1971, and he enjoyed a solo Top 10 hit in
1972 (year 1972, song 83).
The band still performs, with the lead singer Sandy Newman who has been with the band since 1975. |
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15 Title: I Wanna Stay With You This Scottish duo comprised Benny Gallagher (born 10 Jun 1945) & Graham Lyle (born 11 March 1944). They formed a songwriting partnership in 1959 when part of a group in Scotland. In the late 1960s they wrote for Apple records and provided some songs for Mary Hopkin. In 1970 they joined the band McGuinness Flint, and wrote several songs for the first album which included their first hit single "When I'm Dead And Gone" (see year 1970, song 92). They left the band in 1972 to form the duo. They began recording albums, but it was not until their fifth album "Breakaway" that they finally entered the album charts. "Breakaway" reached number six during 1976, and the first single lifted from it, "I Wanna Stay With You" also reached number six. They had a second Top 10 single later in 1976 (song 47), but a further album and two singles were only minor hits. After more unsuccessful recordings the pair split in 1980. They continued writing songs and worked as session musicians as well. Finally in 2010 they reunited and began performing again, mostly in Scotland. However they called it a day in 2018. |
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16 Title: Take It To The Limit The Eagles are an American Country Rock band formed in Los Angeles in
September 1971. The founding members were Glenn Frey (6 Nov 1948 -
18 Jan 2016), Don Henley (born 22 Jul 1947), Bernie Leadon and Randy
Meisner.
Frey and Henley first played together when they joined Linda Ronstadt's backing band
for her tour in 1971. Leadon and Meisner were in the band as
well, and the four decided to form their own band. They
released their first album ("The Eagles") in 1972.
None of the band's early American hits reached the UK charts. In fact,
the band's first British hit did not come until 1975, after they had
enjoyed eight hit singles in the USA. However, all of their
American hits were included on the album "Their Greatest Hits
1971-1975" (released 1976) which reached number two on the UK album chart,
where it remained for 77 weeks. Guitarist and vocalist Joe Walsh joined the band in 1975, replacing
Leadon. The Eagles hit their commercial peak in late 1976 with the release of the album "Hotel California",
which went on to sell more than 26 million copies in the USA alone and more than 42 million copies worldwide.
The Eagles broke up in July 1980, but reunited in 1994 for the album "Hell Freezes Over", a mix of live and new
studio tracks.
They toured consistently and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
In 2007, the Eagles released "Long Road Out of Eden", their first full studio album in 28 years and their sixth
American Number One album. The next year they launched the Long Road Out of Eden Tour in support of the album.
In 2013, they began the extended History of the Eagles Tour in conjunction with the band's documentary release,
"History of the Eagles".
Glenn Frey died in January 2016, but they reformed in 2017, with Deacon Frey (Glen Frey's son) and Country singer
Vince Gill sharing lead vocals for Frey's songs. |
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17 Title: You See The Trouble With Me Barry White (12
Sep 1944 - 4 Jul 2003) was born in Galveston, Texas, USA, but he
grew up in Los Angeles. He began singing in the early 1960s,
often with groups, sometimes solo, and he began producing recordings
in the second half of the 1960s. In the early 1970s he had
success with girl group Love Unlimited and their hit "Walking
In The Rain With The One I Love" (see year 1972, song 52),
which White wrote, arranged and produced. In 1973 White
created the Love Unlimited Orchestra, which was used mainly to
provide backing for for himself and the girl group. However,
the orchestra also recorded instrumental tracks, and they had the
hit "Love's Theme" (see year 1974, song 8). White had a
couple of small hits before his first UK Top 10 in August
1974. This kicked off his solo career in the USA and UK, where
he had ten Top 20 hits by the end of the 1980s. He continued
recording and performing until the end of the 1990s. In the
early 2000s he suffered from kidney failure, and a stroke in 2003,
which led to his death at the age of 58. |
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18 Title: Save Your Kisses For Me The Brotherhood Of Man
was the project of songwriter Tony Hiller, started in 1969. Originally
it was a vehicle for an ever-changing selection of session singers.
In 1970 they had a Top 10 hit with "United We Stand" (see
year 1970, song 12) with vocalists Tony Burrows, Roger Greenaway, co-writer
Johnny Goodison and two female singers.
In 1973 Hiller decided to stabilise the group, having two males and two females
on a permanent basis. This led to the group eventually recording the song
"Save Your Kisses For Me" in 1976, which reached Number One in the UK
charts and was the British entry in the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which the
group won.
The singers on this recording were Martin Lee, Nicky Stevens, Sandra Stevens and
Lee Sheriden.
Two more chart-toppers followed in 1977 and 1978 respectively. Although the
hits stopped at the end of the 1970s, the group continues on the cabaret and
nostalgia circuits. |
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19 Title: Hello Happiness The Drifters are an American vocal
group, formed in the early 1950s, and with a constant rotation of
members. A count has indicated that some 60 individuals
have performed under the band name at one time or another. The group
enjoyed several hits in the 1960s, but in the 1970s, they signed a
deal with Bell records and based themselves in the UK, with lead
singer Johnny Moore (14 Dec 1934 -
30 Dec 1998). This gave them a run of nine hit singles, six of
which made the Top 10, until the end of 1976. Members came and
went (and returned again) several times during the next three
decades. Johnny Moore died in London at the end of 1998,
having been in the group (with some breaks) since he was 21 years
old in 1955. Nevertheless, others continued with the group
which has performed into the 21st
century, but there have been numerous lawsuits over the use of the
group name. No members of the hits-making versions of the band
are in the current lineup. |
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20 Title: Music John Miles (23 Apr 1949 - 5 Dec 2021) was born in Jarrow, north-east England. He was part of a band in his teenage years, but opted for a solo career in 1971. He signed a recording deal in 1975, and his first album, "Rebel", reached number nine in the UK album chart. From that album came the song "Music" which was a Top 10 hit in the UK and other parts of Europe. Further albums and singles only had modest success apart from "Slow Down" which reached the UK Top 10 in 1977. Nevertheless he toured European countries extensively during the late 1970s and 1980s. He also performed on the album recordings of several major acts including Tina Turner and Joe Cocker during the 1990s. He toured in the 2000s as well, and had a concert planned in Belgium during 2022. Sadly he died, after a short illness, in December 2021 at the age of 72. |
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21 Title: Pinball Wizard Elton John
was born on 25 Mar 1947 in Pinner, Middlesex (north-west
London). He learned to play piano at an early age, and by 1962 had formed
Bluesology, an R&B band with whom he played until 1967. He met his longtime musical partner
Bernie Taupin in 1967, after they both answered an advert for songwriters.
For two years, they wrote songs for artists including Lulu, and John worked as a session musician for artists
including the Hollies and the Scaffold.
Elton John was also one of several singers in the late 1960s and
early 1970s who recorded covers of hit songs for sale as
budget-priced albums in shops like Woolworths. In 1971, his first hit single, "Your Song",
taken from his second album, "Elton John", reached the top ten in the UK and the
USA.
From that point he gradually became a star and by the end of the
20th century he had achieved over seventy hit singles in the UK
charts and some 36 albums in the album chart. In the USA he
has had more than 50 Top 40 hits and seven consecutive number-one albums.
His tribute single "Candle in the Wind 1997", rewritten in dedication to Diana, Princess of Wales, sold over
33 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling single in the history of the UK and USA singles
charts. He has also composed music for the musical film and
stage presentation "The Lion King", as well as for several
other musicals. Elton John owned Watford Football Club from 1976 to 1987 and from 1997 to 2002, and is
an honorary Life President of the club.
In 2019 a biographical film tilted "Rocket Man", about
Elton John's life from childhood to the 1980s, was released. |
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22 Title: I'm Mandy, Fly Me 10cc was a British
band, formed in 1972. The members were Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol
Creme.
They were two pairs of songwriters - Gouldman and Stewart, as well
as Godley and Creme. Graham Gouldman in particular was a
well-known songwriter, having composed hits for the Yardbirds and
the Hollies amongst others during the 1960s. The band became
very successful, and from 1972 to 1978, 10cc had five consecutive UK
Top 10 albums, plus twelve singles in the UK Top 40, three of which were the chart-toppers: "Rubber Bullets"
(1973), "I'm Not in Love" (1975) and "Dreadlock Holiday" (1978).
"I'm Not in Love" was their breakthrough worldwide hit and is known for its innovative backing track.
Godley and Creme quit the band in 1976 due to artistic disagreements and became a duo
act who had a couple of Top 10 hits in 1981. They were
replaced, and the band continued recording and performing until the
end of 1978. There were reunions of all four members from time
to time, but Stewart left the band in 1995. Since 1999, Gouldman has led a touring version of
10cc with four others.
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23 Title: Fernando Abba was a
Swedish group who shot to fame when they won the 1974 Eurovision
Song Contest with the song "Waterloo". The members were: Agnetha Fältskog (born 5 Apr 1950 in
Jönköping, Sweden),
Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad (born 15 Nov 1945 in Ballangen, Norway), Björn Ulvaeus (born 25 Apr 1945 in Gothenburg, Sweden),
and Benny Andersson (born 16 Dec 1946 in Stockholm, Sweden).
Following their "Waterloo" success, there was a slight gap
in record sales until 1975 when they began a run of 18 UK Top 10
hits, lasting until 1981. They were the most successful
Scandinavian act, with success in the USA, Australia, most of Europe
and other parts of the world. They toured the world
extensively during the second half of the 1970s. In 1977
"ABBA: The Movie" a drama-documentary about their Australian
tour was released. Three 'greatest hits' albums were issued
between 1976 and 1982, but in 1992 their "Gold"
compilation album was released, which reached Number One in the UK,
eventually staying on the chart for 328 weeks. The group split
in 1982, and Benny and Björn
went on to write the musical "Chess" (with Tim Rice) which
opened in London in 1986. In 1999 a musical called "Mamma Mia!",
which featured numerous Abba songs opened in London. A film
version of the musical was released in 2008. Agnetha has
issued several solo albums, the most recent in 2013. Frida
initially retired from the music business and moved to Switzerland.
However, in late 2021 it was announced that Abba had reunited to
record a new album called "Voyage".
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24 Title: There's A Kind Of Hush The
Carpenters were a brother and sister duo from Connecticut,
USA. The act comprised Richard Carpenter (born 15 Oct 1946)
and Karen Carpenter (2 Mar 1950 - 4 Feb 1983). Karen provided
the vocals and sometimes drums, while Richard provided the
arrangements, instrumentation (mostly piano), and sometimes
backing vocals. During the 1970s they were an extremely
popular easy-listening act with numerous hit singles and albums throughout
the world. Their compilation album "The Singles
1969-1973" reached Number One in the UK and remained on the
album chart for well over two years, with seven other albums
reaching the Top 10. They toured the world extensively for a
decade, but Karen began to suffer from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa,
although she always denied the suggestion. However, in early
February 1983 she collapsed and died from a heart attack brought on
by anorexia nervosa. Richard Carpenter then began producing a
new album of unreleased Carpenters recordings which was issued later
in 1983. Since then he has produced several compilation
albums, and in 2018 an album of the duo's hits with orchestration
from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was issued, reaching number
eight in the UK album chart.
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25 Title: Girls Girls Girls Sailor
was a Norwegian/British band lead by Georg Kajanus who was born on
9 Feb 1946 in Trondheim, Norway. Kajanus moved with his mother and sister
to Paris at the age of twelve where he studied music and classical
guitar. The family then relocated to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where Kajanus
worked as a stained-glass window
designer. Eventually he moved to London, England, and after a
spell with other groups, formed the band Sailor in 1973. Their
second album, "Trouble", provided two Top 10 hits, the
first of which was "Glass Of Champagne". With
diminishing success, the group broke up in 1978, but reformed in
1989. They toured throughout Europe in the first half of the
1990s, but Kajanus left the band in 1995. He was replaced and
the band continued in to the 21st century, and with further personnel
changes they continue to tour Europe, particularly Germany.
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26 Title: Arms Of Mary These
were two different bands that came together to make a couple of
albums, which provided this one-off Top 10 hit. The Sutherland
Brothers, Gavin Sutherland (born 6 Oct 1951) and Iain Sutherland (17 Nov 1948 -
25 Nov 2019) were a Scottish Folk and Soft Rock duo. They made
a couple of albums in the early 1970s, but decided to work with
Quiver to expand their repertoire. Quiver was an English rock band formed in 1970 by Tim Renwick and Cal Batchelor.
The two bands worked together from 1973 to 1976. Two albums
reached the UK Top 50 of the album chart, but the only major success
was the single "Arms Of Mary" written by Iain
Sutherland. One more Top 40 hit came in 1976, but there was no
more chart success for the collaboration. Most members of
Quiver left in 1976, and the two groups separated. The
Sutherland Brothers continued as a duo until 1979 when they had a
small chart entry, but disbanded soon after. Several members
of Quiver later backed Scottish Folk-Rock musician Al Stewart in the
late 1970s. |
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27 Title: Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know
Where You're Going To) Diana Ross was born on 26 Mar 1944 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She first found fame
as the lead singer with the group the Supremes, which was one of the most successful female groups of the second
half of the 1960s (see year 1964, song 75). Ross had decided to leave the group for a solo career early
in 1970.
Her first UK solo release "Reach Out And Touch" (year
1970, song 61) performed disappointingly in the UK, but she was soon
in the UK and USA Top 10, and she enjoyed her first British Number
One in the summer of 1971 with "I'm Still Waiting" (see
year 1971, song 58). She went on to have a highly successful career with numerous hit singles and albums, and was
recording into the 2000s. |
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28 Title: All By Myself Eric Carmen (11 Aug 1949 - 11 Mar 2024) was born
in Cleveland,
Ohio, USA. He began singing and taking piano lessons as a
child. Whilst at university he joined a group, and during the
first half of the 1970s he was lead singer and songwriter with a
band called the Raspberries. The band broke up in 1975 and
Carmen began performing solo. His big breakthrough came in
1976 when his recording "All By Myself" was a major hit on
both sides of the Atlantic. Further releases were less
successful in the USA, and none reached the UK charts.
However, several of his songs were hits for other artists in the
following years. He did, however have two Top 10 hits in the
USA during the years 1987/1988. In 2004 Carmen and other
original members reformed the Raspberries and began making concert
tours. He died in his sleep in March 2024 at the age of 74. |
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29 Title: Love Me Like I Love You The Bay City
Rollers was a Scottish band from Edinburgh, formed originally in the
1960s under different names. Although the personnel changed a
few times, the best-known line up comprised
lead singer Les McKeown (12 Nov 1955 - 20 Apr 2021, born in Edinburgh), guitarists Eric Faulkner and Stuart Wood,
bassist Alan Longmuir (20 Jun 1948 - 2 Jul 2018), and drummer Derek
Longmuir. They signed a contract with Bell records and had
their first hit in 1971, "Keep On Dancing", which reached
the UK Top 10 (see year 1971, song 71). They did not have another hit until 1974 when
they began a run of Top 10 hits until 1976. Fan adulation for
the group during that time was dubbed 'Rollermania', echoing the 'Beatlemania'
of the 1960s. They also had some success in the USA in the
mid-1970s, with three of their releases reaching the American Top
10. After their popularity began to wane, there were several
personnel changes, but they continued into the 1980s. Various
regroupings and reunions have taken place since then, with tours at
home and abroad in the 2010s. |
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30 Title: Let Your Love Flow The Bellamy Brothers are Howard Bellamy, born 2 Feb 1946 and David Bellamy, born 16 Sep 1950, both from from Darby, Florida, USA. They are primarily Country music performers, but some of their hits crossed over to the pop charts. They began performing locally in the late 1960s, but moved to Los Angeles and signed a record deal in 1975. Their first major hit, "Let Your Love Flow", went to Number One in the USA, and entered the Top 10 in several countries worldwide. The following hits were sparse until in 1979 when they reached the Top 10 again. They continued to have hits on the American Country music charts during the next two decades. They issued a couple of Gospel albums in the 2000s, but continued with their Country performances as well. They issued an album of new material in 2019 recorded in a studio at their Florida ranch, where they both live with their families. |
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31 Title: Movie Star Harpo is Jan Svensson who was born 5 Apr 1950 in Stockholm, Sweden. He began as a actor, touring Sweden in a children's theatre during the late 1960s. He was also writing songs, and in 1972 he signed a record deal with Abba's record company. That did not work out, so he signed with EMI in 1973. His first two releases reached the Top 10 of the Swedish charts. Early in 1975 he recorded the song "Movie Star", which included Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida) from Abba on backing vocals. The recording was a great success, reaching Number One in Sweden, Norway, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Although follow-up singles did not chart in the UK they were hits in various other European countries. He continued to record throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s. He released an album of new material, "Jan Harpo Svensson 05", in April 2005, and he had an extensive tour of Germany in 2007. |
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32 Title: More More More Andrea True (26 Jul 1943 – 7 Nov 2011) was born in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. She learnt to play piano as a child, and studied music at university. After a spell as an actress, she issued her first recordings in 1976 with her backing band named the Connection. Her debut release, "More More More" became a Top five hit in the UK and USA, but success faded away after a couple of years. She died from heart failure at the age of 68. |
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33 Title: Can't Help Falling In Love This was the
group's follow-up to their February hit "Funky Weekend"
(song 11). This recording was a remake of the hit by Elvis
Presley which reached Number One in 1962 (year 1962, song 9).
The Stylistics' final Top 10 came in August this year (song 67). |
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34 Title: I'm Your Puppet This duo originally comprised James Lee Purify (12 May 1944 – 22 Jan 2021) and his cousin Robert Lee Dickey (2 Sep 1939 – 29 Dec 2011). The pair came from Florida, USA, and the act was formed in 1965. They had immediate success with their recording of "I'm Your Puppet", which was recorded at the FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and reached number six on the American charts in 1966. That recording was not a hit in the UK. They went on to have several more hits in the USA during the 1960s. In 1971 Dickey decided to retire due to health reasons, and James Purify then worked solo. However, in 1974 he met Ben Moore (born 1941) who had worked with other Soul artists and had made recordings as part of a group. They reformed James & Bobby Purify, with Moore assuming the role of Bobby. They re-recorded "I'm Your Puppet", and that version became a hit in the UK, although it did not chart in the USA. They toured together through the 1980s, but Moore went blind in 1998 from severe glaucoma, and left the music business. However, in the 2000s he joined Gospel group, the Blind Boys of Alabama. James Purify died in January 2021 from Covid-19. |
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35 Title: Silver Star This was the
band's follow-up to their hit "December '63" (song 9), in
January this year. It was another Top 10 hit, but sadly it was
their last in the UK, with "December '63" having been
their final Top 10 hit in the USA. Three smaller Top 40 hits
charted until the end of 1977. However, lead singer Frankie
Valli had his big hit with the theme to the film "Grease"
in 1978. |
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36 Title: Love Hangover This recording entered the UK charts just three weeks after Ross' "Theme from Mahogany" charted (song 27). "Love Hangover" was a full Disco sound, contrasting with the slow ballad film theme. It reached Number One in the USA. Strangely, it was 1980 before she had another Top 10 hit on either side of the Atlantic. In the meantime, she had eight small UK hits, the highest reaching number 23. See song 27 for more info. |
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37 Title: I'd Really Love To See You Tonight This American
Soft Rock duo comprised Dan Seals (8 Feb 1948 - 25 Mar 2009) and
John Ford Coley (born 13 Oct 1948). The pair met at high
school in Dallas, Texas, and began performing with local
bands. They moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s and began
recording but with little success. In 1975 they recorded
"I'd Really Love To See You Tonight", written by Country
music singer-songwriter, Parker McGee. Their Soft Rock style
was popular with the American FM radio stations, and the recording
went to number two in the USA. They had several more hits in
America until the end of the 1970s, but only one further minor hit
entered the UK charts. They split in 1980, and Seals became a
solo artist singing Country music, scoring some eleven Number Ones
on the American Country chart during the 1980s. Coley turned
to acting and record production, but began touring again in the
2000s. |
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38 Title: Show Me The Way Peter Frampton
was born on 22 Apr 1950 in Beckenham, Kent, England. He became
interested in music as a child, and by the age of 14 he was playing
with a local band. In 1966, at the age of 16, he joined the
Herd (see year 1967, song 75), and they went on to have a couple of
Top 10 hits. In 1969 he joined with Steve Marriott of the
Small Faces to form the group Humble Pie. After some modest
success with four albums, the group was dissolved, and Frampton went
solo from 1971. His early efforts at recording and performing
solo met with only moderate success until 1976 when his double live
album "Frampton Comes Alive!" went to Number One in the
USA and number six in the UK. This Top 10 single comes from
that album, as did two other tracks, although they were not as
successful in Britain, whilst hitting the Top 10 in America.
He continued through the 1980s although commercial success was
scant. Nevertheless he had been recording and performing in
the 21st century until 2019 when he announced his retirement due to
health considerations. |
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39 Title: Fool To Cry The Rolling Stones debuted on the British charts in 1963, and started a
career which challenged the Beatles for the "top band" accolade during the 1960s. The band comprised lead
singer Mick Jagger (born 26 Jul 1943), guitarists Keith Richards (born 18 Dec 1943) and Brian Jones (28 Feb 1942 - 3 Jul 1969),
bassist Bill Wyman (born 24 Oct 1936) and drummer Charlie Watts (2
Jun 1941 - 24 Aug 2021).
The Stones clocked up 15 hits during
the 1960s, including eight number ones. Hits continued in the singles and album charts through the following
decades up to the present time. They still embark on world tours in the 21st century,
and toured the UK in 2018. For more details see year 1968,
song 47.
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40 Title: Soul City Walk This band was
formed in Houston, Texas, USA. It was a quartet led by Archie
Bell (born 1 Sep 1944). They first recorded in 1967, and had
their debut American hit, "Tighten Up", in 1968.
"Here I Go Again" was recorded in 1969 and was not a hit
in the USA, but released in the UK during 1972, it only just missed
out on a Top 10 placing. The group continued through the
1970s, moving into Disco music for their next biggest hit "Soul
City Walk" in 1976 which reached number 13 in the UK
charts. They continued recording and performing until 1981,
but made occasional appearances until the turn of the
century. |
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41 Title: Midnight Train To Georgia Gladys Knight
& The Pips was a Tamla Motown group initially, but their
greatest success came with a move to Buddah records in 1973.
The group started as family group, the Pips, in 1952, when Gladys
was just seven! They changed the group name in 1961 to
showcase their lead singer, Gladys Knight (born 28 May 1944 in
Atlanta, Georgia, USA). They had a few local hits in Georgia,
but it was in 1966 when they signed with Motown that they began
USA-wide and international success. They did not reach the
level of popularity as other Motown acts such as the Supremes and
Four Tops, however. Following contractual disagreements, the
group left Motown for Buddah in 1973, and they enjoyed several hits
including "Midnight Train To Georgia" which was an
American Number One. The group disbanded
in 1989 when Gladys went solo. In 1989 she recorded "License to Kill" for the James Bond movie
of the same title, which was a Top 10 hit in the UK and Germany.
In the 2010s she is still making occasional concert appearances, and
she performed at an outdoor festival in London during 2018. |
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42 Title: Devil Woman This was Cliff's follow-up to his hit of February, "Miss You Nights" (song 10). It was hit first UK Top 10 entry for over three years. Taken from his album "I'm Nearly Famous", it became his first American Top 10 chart entry, and reached the Top 10 of six other countries. A series of smaller hits followed, until he reached Number One for the tenth time in 1979. |
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43 Title: Jolene Dolly Parton was born on 19 Jan 1946 in Tennessee, USA. She was the fourth in a family of twelve children of poor farming people. She showed an interest in music from a young age and upon leaving high school she moved to Nashville, the home of American Country music. She was spotted by seasoned Country star Porter Wagoner (1927 - 2007), and he began featuring her on his regular TV show. She also began recording with Wagoner and soon became one of the top American female Country music performers. She stopped working with Wagoner in 1974, and recording solo, she soon had hit songs on the USA Country music chart. Her hits crossed over to the pop charts from the mid-1970s, and her first UK hit came in 1976 with the song "Jolene". In the 1980s she appeared in several successful films such as "Nine To Five". She has continued successfully on record, TV and film into the 21st century. Parton always wanted to invest her wealth into the poor parts of east Tennessee, and in 1986 she opened Dollywood, a theme park centred on Appalachian traditions, in the Great Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee, which gave employment to numerous local people. Two years later she created the Dollywood Foundation, an organization with the aim of providing inspiration and educational resources to children. She was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress in 2004 for her enrichment of the American cultural heritage. In 2005 she received the U.S. government’s National Medal of Arts, and in 2006 she was recognized at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., for her lifetime artistic achievement. |
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44 Title: Fooled Around And Fell In Love Elvin Bishop was
born on 21 Oct 1942 in Glendale, California, USA, but as a youngster
he was living in Iowa, and at age ten he moved with his family to
Tulsa, Oklahoma. After high school he moved to Chicago to
attend university, and joined a blues band there, remaining with
them until 1968. He formed his own band in that year, but also
worked with the Rock band the Grateful Dead. He also worked
and toured with Blues artists and the Allman Brothers band. He
made a couple of albums in the first half of the 1970s, but it was
the 1976 single "Fooled Around And Fell In Love" that
brought him fame, the recording reaching number three on the
American charts. He continued recording and touring into the
21st century, and released his latest album in 2017. |
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45 Title: Silly Love Songs Paul
McCartney was born on 18 Jun 1942 in Liverpool, England, and
found fame as a member of the Beatles group. After the breakup
of the band, McCartney pursued a solo career, as did the others.
His first solo hit was "Another Day" in 1971, which just missed
reaching the top spot of the charts. Despite this success, in
1972 he formed the band Wings, with his wife Linda on keyboards and
former member of the Moody Blues, Denny Laine, on guitar. This
group enjoyed considerable success (sometimes billed as Paul
McCartney & Wings) until the end of the 1970s. In 1981
Denny Laine left the group, which McCartney then decided to dissolve,
and all following hits and albums were credited to McCartney as a
solo artist. He also had much success on the album chart, with
his most successful being "Band On The Run" which peaked
at Number One, and remained on the UK album chart for 124
weeks. He has been very successful too on the USA charts where
he has scored seven Number One albums. He has continued
concert performances throughout the 21st century, and performed at
the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games in 2012. His
most recent album was released in 2020.
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46 Title: This Is It Melba Moore was
born on 29 Oct 1945 in New York City, USA. Her mother was a
professional singer, and her father, a band leader. So Moore
was surrounded by music from a young age. She began recording
in 1967, and in the same year joined the cast of the Rock musical
"Hair" alongside Ronnie Dyson (see year 1971, song 94) and
actress Diane Keaton. In 1975 Moore signed with Buddah
records, and had her first major hit with the Disco song "This
Is It" in 1976. Her output was not particularly
appreciated in the USA, where singles and albums reached only low
positions on the charts. In the UK her next significant hit
came in 1982 when she entered the Top 20 with "Love's Comin' At
Ya". In the 1990s she returned to the stage and had a
role in the 1995 Broadway production of "Les Misérables".
She has continued into the 21st century performing on the stage and
recording albums, the most recent being issued in 2019. |
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47 Title: Shake It Down Mud was a Rock band formed in London during
1966 by Rob Davis (born 1 Oct 1947) and Les Gray (9 Apr 1946 - 21
Feb 2004). They began recording in 1967 but without any
commercial success for several years. But in 1973 they signed
with Mickie Most's RAK label, and with help of songwriters Chinn and
Chapman (who had written several hits for the band Sweet), hits
started coming the way of Mud. They had three hits in 1973,
but 1974 saw them have their first Number One with the catchy
"Tiger Feet". That started a run of Top 10 hits that
extended into 1976. In 1975 they achieved five Top 10 hits, and
in 1974 they made Number One with their Christmas hit "Lonely
This Christmas", which has enjoyed radio airplay every December
until the present time. As their popularity waned in the late
1970s, they decided to split up in 1979. Following the break
up, Gray formed a new band, Les Gray's Mud, and they continued to
perform, with a changing series of musicians, until Gray's death in
2004. Since then various musicians have continued performing
under that band name. |
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48 Title: Heart On My Sleeve This was the follow-up to their hit of February, "I Wanna Stay With You" (song 15). This was the second of just two Top 10 hits that the duo enjoyed. Two smaller hits entered the charts until January 1977. See song 15 for more details. |
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49 Title: Young Hearts Run Free Candi Staton was born 13 Mar 1940 in Alabama, USA. As a teenager she formed a Gospel trio with her sister and a friend, and they toured the Gospel circuits during the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1968 she launched a solo career, singing Soul/R&B material, and had several hits on the USA R&B chart. In 1976 she moved into Disco music, and her recording of "Young Hearts Run Free" was a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK her next major hit came in 1977 with "Nights On Broadway", whilst in the USA her output was only successful on the R&B chart. She returned to Gospel singing in the 1980s, but went back to R&B from the 1990s. She has continued to record and perform in the 21st century, her most recent album being released in 2014. |
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50 Title: Tonight's The Night Rod Stewart was
born 10 Jan 1945 in north London, England. His father was
Scottish, and Stewart has always celebrated his Scottish
roots. He came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s
in the Jeff Beck Group, and then the Faces, but he recorded solo in
addition to his group duties. Stewart's 1971 solo album "Every Picture Tells a Story" made him a household name,
reaching Number One in the UK and USA. The album contained the
Tim Harding song "Reason To Believe", which was issued as
a single. The B-side of that record was "Maggie May"
which soon became the dominant side, reaching Number One on both
sides of the Atlantic. His fame grew to
worldwide proportions, and he has sold over 120 million records
throughout the world. He has had nine Number One albums in the UK
Album chart, and his tally of 62 UK hit singles includes 31 that reached the
Top 10, six of which were chart toppers. Stewart has had 16
Top 10 singles in the USA. From 2002 to 2010 he issued five
albums in his "Great American Songbook" series, which were
all successful in the charts. He was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity.
His most recent original album, "The Tears Of Hercules", was
issued in 2021, which reached number five on the UK album chart. |
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51 Title: You To Me Are Everything The Real Thing
was a vocal quartet from Liverpool, England, comprising brothers
Chris and Eddie Amoo, Ray Lake and Dave Smith. They formed in
1970 and started recording soon afterwards, but none of their early
output reached the charts. They appeared on the TV talent show
"Opportunity Knocks" in 1972, and began supporting David
Essex on his tours. Finally in the summer of 1976 they had
their first hit, "You To Me Are Everything", which went
all the way to Number One on the UK charts. This was followed
by another Top 10 hit in the early autumn. Following hits
peaked outside the Top 10 until 1979 when they reached number five
with "Can You Feel The Force". In the 1980s things
became quieter for them and they resumed supporting and backing
David Essex at his concerts. In the second half of the 1980s,
two of their biggest hits were remixed, and returned to the UK Top
10. Although Eddie Amoo died in 2018, the band continues to
perform in the UK and abroad. |
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52 Title: Let's Stick Together Bryan Ferry was
born on 26 Sep 1945 in County Durham, England. Ferry first came
to prominence as the lead singer and main songwriter with the
art Rock band Roxy Music, which had their debut Top 10 single in
1972. In 1975 they had their biggest hit up to that time with
"Love Is The Drug" (see year 1975, song 82). Whilst
still recording and performing with Roxy Music, Ferry began a solo
career in 1973, reaching the Top 10 with his debut single. His
second Top 10 entry came in 1976 with the song "Let's Stick
Together". Ferry continued recording and performing with
Roxy Music through the remainder of the 1970s,
during the early 1980s and in the 2000s. Solo, Ferry has continued
performing and recording from the 1970s up to the present time, often with former
Roxy Music musicians in his band. |
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53 Title: Misty Blue Dorothy Moore
was born on 13 Oct 1946, in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. She
began singing in the local church choir at a young age, and by the
time she was in her teens she was in a group called the
Poppies. Some small hits were achieved, but she decided to
sing solo in the early 1970s. Her breakthrough hit was
"Misty Blue" in 1976 which was a Top 10 hit in the USA and
several other countries. A couple of other hits followed, but
after an extended break, she recorded a Gospel album in 1986, and up
to the present time, has recorded and performed Gospel as well as
Soul songs. Her most recent album was released in 2020.
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54 Title: I Recall A Gypsy Woman Don Williams (27 May 1939 - 8 Sep 2017) was born in Texas, USA, and rose to be one of the top American Country music singers from the 1970s until his retirement in 2016. During the 1960s he was part of a Folk/Country music group, but when it disbanded in 1970, he decided to go solo. He began having hits on the USA Country chart from 1974, and reached Number One on that chart in the same year. He had numerous Country hits over the years, and several entered the pop charts as well. His first appearance on the UK charts came in 1976 with a song recorded in 1973, called "I Recall A Gypsy Woman". He had only one more UK single hit, but enjoyed nine Top 40 albums on the UK album chart into the early 1980s. He also appeared in several films during the 1970s. In 2006 he announced a farewell tour of the world, but by 2010 he was touring again. He finally retired in 2016, and died the following year. |
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55 Title: A Little Bit More Dr. Hook was an
American Country Rock band fronted by Dennis Locorriere (born 13 Jun
1949) and Ray Sawyer (1 Feb 1937 - 31 Dec 2018). The band was
formed in Union City, New Jersey, USA in the early 1970s. The
band's early output was mostly written by poet and songwriter Shel
Silverstein. Those early hits, such as "Sylvia's
Mother", "Cover Of The Rolling Stone" and several
others had a comic slant, and although they were major hits in the
USA, only "Silvia's Mother" was a hit in the UK.
Things changed in 1976 when the band moved into a more mellow,
love-song style of recordings. The first of those hits was
"A Little Bit More", followed by several others until the
early 1980s. Sawyer left in 1983. Locorriere continued
using the name Dr. Hook, and Sawyer was granted a license to tour separately as
Ray Sawyer of Dr. Hook or Dr. Hook featuring Ray Sawyer.
Sawyer, who always performed wearing a cowboy hat and eye patch (he
lost an eye in a car accident), continued until 2015 but died after
a short illness at the age of 81. Locorriere has continued
performing as Dr. Hook until the present time, and has concerts
planned in the UK and Ireland in 2022. |
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56 Title: You're My Best Friend Queen are a British Rock band formed in London in 1970.
Their classic line-up was Freddie Mercury, lead vocals and piano (5
Sep 1946 - 24 Nov 1991); Brian May, guitar and vocals (born 19 Jul
1947); Roger Taylor, drums and vocals (born 26 Jul 1949); and John Deacon,
bass (born 19 Aug 1951). Before forming Queen, May and Taylor had
played together in the band Smile.
Mercury was a fan of Smile and encouraged them to experiment with more
elaborate stage and recording techniques.
He joined in 1970 and suggested the name "Queen". Deacon was
recruited in February 1971, before the band released their eponymous
debut album in 1973.
Queen first charted in the UK with their second album, "Queen
2", in 1974. "Sheer Heart Attack" later that year and
"A Night at the Opera" in 1975 brought them international success.
The latter featured "Bohemian Rhapsody", which stayed at Number One in the
UK for nine weeks and helped popularise the music video format.
By the early 1980s, Queen were one of the biggest stadium Rock bands in the
world.
"Another One Bites the Dust" in 1980 became their best-selling
single world-wide, while their 1981 compilation album "Greatest Hits"
is the best-selling album in the UK and is certified nine times platinum in the
USA. Their performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert is ranked among the
greatest in
Rock history by various publications. In August 1986, Mercury gave his
last performance with Queen at Knebworth, England.
In 1991, he died of bronchopneumonia - a complication of AIDS.
Deacon, who had written several hit songs for them, retired in 1997.
Since 2004, May and Taylor have toured with vocalists Paul Rodgers and Adam Lambert. |
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57 Title: Don't Go Breaking My Heart This was Elton's
follow-up to his hit of March, "Pinball Wizard", (song
21). This was his first British Number One (his fifth in the
USA), and was a duet with British singer Kiki Dee. She was
born on 6 Mar 1947 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, and had enjoyed
three solo hits from 1973, the biggest of which was "Amoureuse"
which reached number 13 in the UK charts. Following the duet,
she had a few smaller hits, and often provided backing vocals on
other artists recordings. In 1993 she reunited with Elton to
record the old hit song "True Love" for John's
"Duets" album. The single reached number two in the
UK charts during November of that year. |
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58 Title: Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel Tavares was a
Soul and R&B group from Massachusetts, USA. The band
comprised five brothers: Ralph, Arthur, Antone, Feliciano and Perry
Tavares, who were born between December 1941 and October 1949.
They recorded and performed through the 1960s under different band
names, but with no major successes. By 1973 they were known as
Tavares, and began having some modest hits. In 1975, with the
advent of Disco music, they hit the USA Top 10 with "It Only
Takes A Minute" (a hit for Take That in 1992), and they finally
reached the UK Top 10 in 1976 with "Heaven Must Be Missing An
Angel". More hits followed until the end of the decade,
including their recording of "More Than A Woman" in 1978
for the soundtrack of the film "Saturday Night
Fever". A couple of the brothers left in the 1980s and
1990s, but the others continued performing. Antone recorded a
solo album in in 2012, and all the brothers reunited in 2013 for a
one-off performance at the National R&B Music Society Gala,
where they received a lifetime achievement award. |
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59 Title: Harvest For The World The Isley
Brothers are a Soul and R&B group from Cincinnati, Ohio,
USA. They began by singing Gospel music, but moved to New York
City in 1957 and began recording R&B tracks. In 1959 they
had a moderate hit with their song "Shout", which was
later a hit for Lulu. They first appeared in the UK charts in
1963 with "Twist And Shout", although it was only a minor
hit for them. At the time of this hit the
Isley brothers were: Ronald, Rudolph, O'Kelly, Marvin and Ernie plus Chris
Jasper. During the 1970s and early 1980s they enjoyed enormous
success in the USA and elsewhere. In 1984,
however, Chris Jasper and Marvin left the band which was dissolved.
It was
reformed in 1991, with Ronald, Ernie, and Marvin. In 1996
Marvin left due to ill health, leaving Ronald and Ernie as a
duo, and the pair have continued performing until the present time. |
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60 Title: What I've Got In Mind Billy Jo Spears
(14 Jan 1937 - 14 Dec 2011) was an American Country music
singer. She was born in Texas, and made her professional debut
at the age of 13. She issued her first recordings whilst still
a teenager, and moved to Nashville, the home of Country music in
1964. It wasn't until 1969 that she had her first substantial
hit, but from 1972 to 1974 she was without a recording
contract. A new deal in 1975 resulted in her big hit
"Blanket On The Ground", which went to Number One on the
American Country music chart, but did not cross over to the mainstream
in the USA. The song reached the UK charts, peaking at number
six. In just the following year she was back in the
UK Top 10 with "What I've Got In Mind". However,
just two minor hits followed that. Nevertheless, she remained
popular in the UK and some albums she recorded in the 1980s and
1990s had a UK-only release. She recovered from triple bypass
surgery in 1993 and continued to tour for more than 16
years afterwards. Sadly she died from cancer in her home state
of Texas at the age of 74. |
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61 Title: Jeans On David Dundas was born on 2 Jun 1945 in Oxford, England. He is the second son of Lawrence Dundas, 3rd Marquess of Zetland, and his wife Penelope Pike. As a younger son of a marquess, he is entitled to the courtesy title 'Lord'. Dundas first came to public attention when he wrote a TV advertising jingle for Brutus jeans. The jingle proved to be so popular, that it was adapted and recorded for commercial release. The recording went to number three on the UK charts, and reached the Top 10 of several other European countries. It even reached number 17 in the USA. A follow-up single just scraped in to the UK Top 30, and there were no more hits. Dundas went on to write jingles for British commercial radio stations. |
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62 Title: Here Comes The Sun Steve Harley (27
Feb 1951 - 17 Mar 2024) was born in Deptford, south London, England.
Steve's first guitar was a Christmas gift from his parents when he was ten-years-old.
He took classical violin lessons from the age of nine to fifteen and played in his Grammar school orchestra.
He had set his sights on a career in journalism, and got a job with
the Daily Express in 1968. He later took a job with a local
newspaper group in Essex, and then worked on the East London
Advertiser in the heart of London's East End. However, his
love of music had grown, and after a stint with a Folk music group,
he formed Cockney Rebel in 1972, and signed a deal with EMI
records. The first single "Sebastian", did not
chart in the UK, but went to Number One in the Netherlands and
Belgium. The group first charted in the UK during 1974 with
"Judy Teen" which reached number five, followed by another
Top 10 entry. In February 1975 they hit Number One in the UK
with "Make Me Smile", and they had two Top 10 albums
during 1974-1975. In the 1980s Harley turned to acting, and
starred in the stage musical "Marlow". More roles
followed into the 2000s. For nine years from 1999, Steve
Harley presented BBC Radio Two's "Sounds of the Seventies", and
he composed many songs for other performers over the years. He
died from cancer in March 2024 at the age of 73. |
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63 Title: Moonlight Feels Right Starbuck was a rock band formed
in Atlanta,
Georgia, in 1974 by keyboardist and vocalist Bruce Blackman with marimba player
Bo Wagner. Both Blackman and Wagner, along with guitarist Johnny Walker, had
previous success
with Mississippi-based "sunshine pop" group Eternity's Children, scoring an
American hit with "Mrs. Bluebird" in the summer of 1968. Starbuck's debut
single, "Moonlight Feels Right", reached
number three on the USA and Canadian charts in 1976, but failed to
enter the UK charts. They went on to have a few small hits in
North America, but never repeated the success of that debut
release. Nevertheless, from 1976 to 1980, the band toured the
USA with popular groups of the era, including Electric Light
Orchestra, KC and the Sunshine Band, Hall & Oates, England Dan &
John Ford Coley and
Boston. The band reunited in 2013 and 2016 for one-off
performances. Bo Wagner died in 2017. |
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64 Title: You Don't Have To Go The Chi-Lites were formed in Chicago, USA
during 1964 with lead singer and songwriter Eugene Record and
Marshall Thompson. Their first UK hit came in 1971, but in
1972 their recording "Have You Seen Her" reached number
three on both sides of the Atlantic. This was followed by five
Top 10 hits in the UK up to the summer of 1976. In the
mid-1970s, most of the group's personnel changed, even seeing the
departure of Eugene Record, although Marshall Thompson has remained
throughout. The often-revised band has continued until the present
time. A new album was released in 2006. |
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65 Title: You'll Never Find Another Love like
Mine Lou Rawls (1 Dec 1933 - 6 Jan 2006) was born in Chicago, USA. He began singing in a church choir as a youngster, and after leaving school, joined a Gospel group, later moving to Los Angeles. For three years, from 1955 he was in the US army, and upon his return to civilian life, he turned to Soul and Jazz music. In 1967 he had his first hit album and single. In the mid-1970s he moved to Philadelphia International records. This resulted in his major international hit "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" in 1976, and a year later he had the USA Top 30 single "Lady Love", which did not chart in the UK although it has always cropped up on British radio from time to time. In the following decades he often recorded advertising jingles for American TV. He died from cancer in 2006 at the age of 72. |
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66 Title: You Should Be Dancing
The Bee Gees were brothers Barry Gibb (born 1 Sep 1946, Isle of Man), and twins
Robin Gibb (22 Dec 1949 - 20 May 2012) and Maurice Gibb (22 Dec 1949 - 12 Jan 2003), also born on the Isle of Man. The three
brothers grew up in Manchester, UK, but in the mid-1950s the family moved to Australia. They began performing at a young
age, and by 1960 they were appearing on TV. After achieving their first chart success in Australia as the Bee Gees with
"Spicks and Specks", they returned to the UK in January 1967, when producer Robert Stigwood began promoting them to
a worldwide audience. In 1967 they had their first UK hit, the somewhat morbid song "New York Mining Disaster
1941", which reached number twelve. Hits continued through the remainder of the 1960s, when they enjoyed success
in the USA as well. Things went quiet in the early 1970s, but in the mid-1970s they jumped on the Disco bandwagon and
became superstars. They wrote several songs for the 1977 film "Saturday Night Fever" which starred John
Travolta, and singles as well as the soundtrack album were worldwide hits. Their success continued through the
following decades, and they also wrote and produced many hits for other artists. Their final new album came in 2001,
but with the death of Maurice two years later, the other two embarked on solo projects apart from a couple of charity
events where they performed together. Robin died in 2012, and Barry has since performed and recorded solo. |
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67 Title: Sixteen Bars This was the Soul group's follow-up to their hit of April, "Can't Help Falling In Love" (song 33). This was their final Top 10 hit in the UK. Since 1972 they had enjoyed 14 British hits, twelve of which reached the Top 20, including one Number One. For more info see song 11. |
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68 Title: Afternoon Delight
The Starland Vocal
Band was formed in the mid-1970s by husband and wife duo Bill Danoff
and Taffy Nivert, joined by Jon Carroll and Margot Chapman.
The quartet's debut album contained the recording "Afternoon
Delight", which issued as a single, raced to the Number One
spot on the USA charts. Subsequent singles and albums did not
perform so well, and the band broke up in 1981. |
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69 Title: Let 'Em In This was the follow-up to the hit of May, "Silly Love Songs" (song 45). Like its predecessor, "Let 'Em In" was taken from the album "Wings At The Speed Of Sound". From mid-1975 to autumn 1979, McCartney's singles were credited to simply Wings. 1977 saw the band have their biggest hit with "Mull Of Kintyre" which reached Number One in the UK and was a million-seller. |
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70 Title: I Can't Ask For Anything More Than
You
This was his
follow-up to "Devil Woman" (song 42) which had reached
number nine in the UK charts in May this year. This release
did not do so well, although after a blank 1975, Cliff was doubtless
happy to have any sized hit. This track was also taken from
his album "I'm Nearly Famous" which peaked at number five
in the UK album chart. He had a further small hit later in
1976, but he was in the Top 20 again in 1977. |
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71 Title: Dancing Queen "Dancing Queen", the group's follow-up to their Number One hit of March (song 23), is perhaps their most famous song. It went to Number One in at least 14 countries, including the USA. In 2015, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Their next hit came in November (song 89), which only reached number three, but was followed by three Number One hits during 1977 and early 1978. Later in 1976 they toured Europe and the USA. |
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72 Title: Blinded By The Light
Manfred Mann was born on 21 October 1940 in Johannesburg,
South Africa. He studied music at University
in South Africa, and worked as a jazz pianist at a number of clubs in Johannesburg from 1959 to 1960. In 1961 he moved
to the UK and began work as a music journalist, as well as helping form a jazz band, in which he played keyboards.
This evolved into the pop music five-piece group called Manfred
Mann. The group enjoyed considerable success in the UK and USA
during the 1960s, but was dissolved by Mann in 1969. Mann
formed his Earth Band in 1971, and although early releases failed to
chart, they were in the UK Top 10 in 1973 with "Joybringer".
A few singles and albums entered the respective charts into the
mid-1980s, but they continued performing into the 2010s. |
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73 Title: Mississippi Pussycat was a Dutch group led by three Kowalczyk sisters: Toni, Betty and Marianne. The other members of the band were guitarists Lou Willé (Toni's then-husband), Theo Wetzels, Theo Coumans, and John Theunissen. The male members of the group had been in other bands, but the three female vocalists had not been in any groups prior to the formation of Pussycat. The recording of "Mississippi" was their only major success in the UK, but in addition to the UK, it went to Number One in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland. They had a Top 30 hit in the UK charts later in 1976, but there were no more after that. By contrast, their career in central Europe spanned more than a decade and included some seventeen albums. They made regular appearances on German TV in the late 1970s and early 1980s. |
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74 Title: Can't Get By Without You This was the
band's follow-up to their Number One hit of June, "You To Me
Are Everything" (song 51). This just missed the top spot,
but was still a major hit. Another five hits made the Top 40
until February 1979 when they were in the Top 10 again.
Forty-five years after their first hits, the Real Thing were touring
the UK again during late 2021 and into 2022. |
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75 Title: The Girl Of My Best Friend The King of Rock 'n' Roll (8 Jan 1935 - 16 Aug 1977) was born in Tupelo, Mississippi,
USA. He and his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee when he was 13 years old. Soon afterwards he acquired his first guitar and began
playing and singing. He started his recording career at Sun Records in Memphis, USA. It took several attempts to get Sun owner
Sam Phillips to let Presley record, but eventually a session was arranged with guitarist Scotty Moore and upright bass player Bill Black
providing backing. The resultant track "That's Alright" was soon on local radio in Memphis, and it became a local
hit. Public performances followed, including numerous appearances on the "Louisiana Hayride" radio show which was broadcast
to half the USA. Eventually he became famous enough for RCA records to buy out his Sun contract and take him to Nashville, in
1956. He rose to be arguably the biggest music star of the 20th century, with world-wide record sales of over one billion.
Also in 1956 Elvis made his movie debut in the film "Love Me Tender". By the end of 1969 he had completed 31 films.
He made no more movies after that, instead concentrating on live concert performances, including many in Las Vegas. His home in
Memphis, "Graceland", is now a museum and major tourist attraction, and his recordings continue to be heard throughout the world. |
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76 Title: I Only Wanna Be With You This was the
group's follow-up to their hit of April, "Love Me Like I Love
You" (song 29). "I Only Wanna Be With You" was
a remake of the hit by Dusty Springfield which had reached number
four in 1963 (see year 1963, song 92). This recording turned
out to be the band's final Top 10 entry in the UK charts. Two
further hits charted in 1977, reaching numbers 16 and 34, and there
were no more. They had one more Top 10 entry in the USA during
1977. For more info about the band see song 29 above. |
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77 Title: The Best Disco In Town The Ritchie Family was a manufactured female trio brought together by record producer Jacques Morali who later formed the Village People. The first recordings under the Ritchie Family name were made with session musicians, but in 1975 Morali invited Cassandra Ann Wooten, Gwendolyn Oliver and Cheryl Mason Jacks to become permanent members of the group. In 1976 they recorded the album "Arabian Knights", from which the single "The Best Disco In Town" was taken. The single was the only major success the group had in the UK, although in the USA, they had several successful recordings on the dance music chart. |
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78 Title: Uptown Uptempo Woman Randy Edelman was born on 10 Jun 1947 in New Jersey, USA. He studied music at college and began working in New York as a musician in the late 1960s. Within a couple of years he was a record producer and a composer of film scores working in Los Angeles. Some of Edelman's best known films scores include "Twins", "Kindergarten Cop", "Beethoven", "Gettysburg" and "The Mask". In the mid-1970s he recorded several solo albums, and three singles charted in the UK, despite failing in the USA. In 1976 he married singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon, and they have remained together ever since. |
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79 Title: Howzat Sherbet was an
Australian five-piece band formed in Sydney in 1969 and they
performed in Australia for the next several years. They first
reached the Australian charts in 1972, and they rose to be one of
the country's top bands. In 1976 they gained international
recognition when the single "Howzat" reached the Top 10 in
the UK and a couple of other European countries. They had no
more hits in the UK, but continued to chart in their homeland until
the end of the decade. They finally broke up in 1984, but some
reunion concerts occurred from 1998 to 2011. |
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80 Title: If You Leave Me Now Chicago is an American Rock band formed in Chicago, USA during 1967. Led by singer-songwriter Peter Cetera (born 13 Sep 1944), they were original called the Chicago Transit Authority, but they shortened the name in 1970. They enjoyed a series of Top 10 hits in the USA in the first half of the 1970s, two of which reached the British Top 10 in 1970. However, it was not until 1976, when they began recording more mellow, Soft Rock songs, that they returned to the UK charts. "If You Leave Me Now" went to Number One in both the UK and USA charts during 1976. The song was taken from their tenth album, "Chicago X", which was also a modest hit on the UK album chart. Two more Top 10 hits had reached the UK charts by 1984, but Cetera left in 1985 to follow a solo career, and he enjoyed more hits. The band has continued to perform, albeit with a few personnel changes, but Peter Cetera announced his retirement from singing in 2019, and currently resides in Idaho in north-west USA. |
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81 Title: Don't Take Away The Music This was the vocal group's follow-up to their hit of July, "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel", (song 58). Their next release in February 1977 only made number 25 in the UK, but they were in the Top 10 again in April with "Whodunit". In December this year they appeared at Madison Square Garden, New York, along with the Bee Gees. |
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82 Title: She's Gone This duo was Daryl Hall (born 11 Oct 1946 in Pennsylvania, USA) and John Oates (born 7 Apr 1948 in New York City). The pair met at university in Philadelphia during 1967, although they did not start performing together until 1969, gaining their first recording contract in 1970. Their first releases were not particularly successful, and it was not until 1976 that they had their first USA Top 10 hit single. That initial release was not a hit in the UK, but "She's Gone" in the same year reached number seven in America, whilst peaking at a lowly number 42 in the UK. Their popularity grew in the USA, but in Britain it was 1980 before they had another hit. The early 1980s saw them at their zenith with four consecutive Number One hits in America, and a couple of Top 10 hits in the UK. Their last British hit single came in 1991, and in the same year their 'Best of' compilation album reached the Top 10 of the UK album chart. They have continued to perform in the 21st century, and were in concert in several European countries during the mid-2010s. They toured South America for the first time in 2019. |
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83 Title: Beautiful Noise
Singer-songwriter
Neil Diamond was born on 24 Jan 1941 in New York City, USA. He
received a guitar for his 16th birthday and began writing
songs. Some of his songs were taken up by other acts, and his
first big success came when the Monkees recorded two of his songs
during 1967. "I'm A Believer" and "A Little Bit
Me, A Little Bit You" were huge hits for the Monkees in the
USA, UK and elsewhere. Diamond also recorded some of his own
songs which became American hits during the late 1960s. His first success in the UK
was "Cracklin' Rosie" (see year 1970, song 88) which reached number three in late
1970. He enjoyed many hit singles and albums through to the
1990s, and it is estimated that he has sold more than 100 million
records worldwide. He has continued to record, and new albums
were released in 2010 ("Dreams") and 2014 ("Melody
Road"). However in January 2018, Diamond announced that
he was retiring from touring as he had been diagnosed with
Parkinson's Disease, but he would continue writing and recording. |
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84 Title: Lost In France
Bonnie Tyler was born
on 8 Jun 1951 in south Wales. She is known for her distinctive husky voice.
She began singing with a local band in Swansea, Wales, and gained a
recording contract in 1975. Her first album did not chart, but
singles taken from the album, "Lost in France" and "More Than a
Lover" became hits. Her 1977 single "It's a Heartache" reached number four on the UK
charts, and number three in the USA. In the 1980s, Tyler ventured into
Rock music with songwriter and producer Jim Steinman. He wrote Tyler's
biggest hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart", the lead single from her 1983 UK chart-topping album
"Faster Than the Speed of Night". Steinman also wrote Tyler's
1985 hit "Holding Out for a Hero". In 2003, Tyler re-recorded
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" with singer Kareen Antonn.
Their bilingual duet, titled "Si demain... (Turn Around)", topped the French charts.
A 2013 album, "Rocks and Honey" included the single "Believe in Me",
which she performed representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song
Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden.
She was not successful in the contest, and the single did not reach
the charts. Recent albums are "Between the Earth and the Stars" (2019) and
"The Best Is Yet to Come" (2021). |
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85 Title: You Make Me Feel Like Dancing
Leo Sayer was born
on 21 May 1948 at Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, England. Sayer began his music career co-writing songs with
British singer-songwriter David Courtney (including "Giving It All Away", which gave Roger Daltrey of the Who his first solo hit in
1973). Also in 1973, Sayer began his career as a recording artist under the management of Adam Faith, who
arranged Sayer's record deal. He went on to have a very
successful career, enjoying seven consecutive Top 10 hits until
1977, with three more up to 1982. Also in 1977 he had two
consecutive Number One hits in the USA. In Britain he also had
six Top 10 albums in the album chart. In the 1990s he had
financial difficulties, but successfully sued his management and
record company for unpaid royalties. He moved to Australia in
the early 2000s and became an Australian citizen in 2009.
Since that time he has recorded in Australia and mostly performed in
that country. |
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86 Title: Under The Moon Of Love Showaddywaddy is a Rock 'n' Roll band specialising
in revivals of songs from the late 1950s and early 1960s. The
band was formed in Leicester, England in 1973. They came to
prominence after appearing on the TV talent show "New
Faces". The group was fronted by Dave Bartram (born 23
Mar 1952), and he remained in the group until 2011 when he then
became their manager. They first reached the charts in 1974,
and went on to have 23 hits, ten of which made the Top 10, until
1982. They have continued to perform until the present, although
there have been several personnel changes, especially in recent
years. |
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87 Title: Livin' Thing This was the band's second Top 10 hit of the year (see song 4). An intervening release ("Strange Magic") had stalled at number 38 on the UK charts although it reached number 14 in the USA. This track, taken from the album "A New World Record" which reached number six on the UK album chart, started a run of three Top 10 hits until summer 1977. The band had been touring the USA almost constantly from November 1975 to September 1976 with their "Face The Music" concert. Their next hit single came in February 1977. |
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88 Title: Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word This was Elton John's fourth UK hit during
1976 (see songs 21 and 57 above). It was taken from his album
"Blue Moves" which reached number three in the UK album
chart from November 1976. The single reached number six in the
USA. 1977 turned out to be a quieter year in the charts for
Elton with just two hits that barely scraped into the Top 30, but
things improved in 1978. For more info, see song 21 above. |
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89 Title: Money Money Money This was the group's follow-up to their Number One hit of August, "Dancing Queen" (song 71). Although this just fell short of the top spot, they were back at Number One in February 1977. Frida took the lead vocals on this track which was from their 1976 album "Arrival", and which reached Number One on the UK album chart. |
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90 Title: Somebody To Love This was the band's follow-up to their July
hit, "You're My Best Friend" (song 56). This release
is featured on their late 1976 album "A Day At The Races",
which entered the UK album chart on Christmas Day 1976, and reached
Number One in early 1977. Their next single Top 10 hit came in
October 1977. |
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91 Title: Lean On Me This recording was a remake of the Bill
Withers song. It followed their May hit, "Shake It
Down" (song 47), and proved to be the band's final UK chart
entry. Since their debut hit in 1973 they had 15 hits in the
UK charts, including eight Top 10 hits plus three Number Ones.
As mentioned above, the band continues, but with no original
members. For more band info see song 47 above. |
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92 Title: Side Show Barry Biggs was born during 1947 on the island
of Jamaica in the Caribbean. He first became a sound engineer
and camera operator for Jamaican Broadcasting, but began also
working as a musician with local bands. Eventually he made his
first solo recordings in the early 1970s, and in 1976 gained
international fame when his records began reaching the UK
charts. His biggest success was "Sideshow" which
reached number three in the UK, although he also had five lesser
hits until 1981. He continued to perform into the 21st
century. |
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93 Title: Things We Do For Love This was the band's follow-up to their hit of March, "I'm Mandy, Fly Me" (song 22). This track is taken from their album "Deceptive Bends", their first recording since the departure of Godley & Creme earlier in the year (see song 22 above). The album, released in 1977, reached number three in the UK charts that year. Their next hit single (also taken from "Deceptive Bends") came in April 1977. |
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94 Title: Haitian Divorce Steely Dan was a duo comprising Donald Fagen
(born 10 Jan 1948, New Jersey, USA) and Walter Becker (20 Feb 1950 -
3 Sep 2017, born New York City). The pair met in New York in
1968, and began songwriting together with moderate success.
They formed the band Steely Dan in 1971. Their style, a blend
of Rock, Jazz and Latin, soon attracted attention, and they were in
the USA singles and album charts from 1973. Their first
American hit, "Do It Again", finally reached the UK charts
in 1975, although it only just scraped into the Top 40 (number six
in the USA). They were far more popular in America than in the
UK, although they did score a Top 10 album ("Aja") in 1977
in the British album chart. Initially the band had a fixed lineup,
but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired the band from live performances to
become a studio-only band, opting to record with a revolving cast of session musicians.
They disbanded in 1981, but reunited in 1993 and resumed live
performance, as well as recording new material. Becker died in
2017, but Fagin continued to tour under the band name, the latest performances being in
2019. |
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95 Title: I Wish Stevie Wonder was born on 13 May 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan,
USA, but he grew up in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was blind almost from birth, but began singing in a
church choir as a child. He was signed to Tamla Motown records at the age of eleven, and made several
records. In 1963, when he was 12, he had his first hit, "Fingertips", which went to Number One
on the USA charts. His next few releases, however, did not reach the charts, and there was a danger that
Motown might drop him. However, he was given one last chance to produce a hit, and with his musical mentors,
Sylvia Moy and Henry Cosby, he wrote "Uptight (Everything's Alright)".
The single reached number 3 in the USA, peaking at number 14 in the UK - his debut hit there. His career grew from there
with a series of hit singles and albums over the following years. By the end of the 20th century, he had scored 54 hit singles and
17 Top 30 hit albums in the UK. He has continued to record and perform until the present time, although at
greater intervals than in the earlier decades. His most recent original album release was in 2005.
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96 Title: Daddy Cool Boney M was a Euro-Caribbean vocal group created
in 1976 by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter.
Originally based in Germany, the four original members were Liz Mitchell and
Marcia Barrett from Jamaica, Maizie Williams from Montserrat and Bobby
Farrell, a dancer from Aruba.
In reality, only the two female vocalists Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett
sang on the recordings, and any male voice was that of producer
Frank Farian, not Bobby Farrell, backed up by session singers as
necessary. However, all four performed on live presentations
of Bonny M recordings. They became extremely popular
throughout Europe during the Disco era, and they had scored ten Top
10 hits on the UK charts by the end of the decade. Their
albums "Night Flight To Venus" and "Oceans Of
Fantasy" both went to Number One on the British album chart in
the years 1978 and 1979 respectively. In 1980 their "20
Golden Greats" compilation album also topped the album
chart. After 1985, the members had gone their separate ways,
although some continued performing Boney M songs with the addition
of different singers well into the 21st century. |
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97 Title: You're More Than A Number In My
Little Red Book This was the American group's final UK hit. Their first had been in 1960, and in that time they had scored twenty hits, nine of which made the UK Top 10. For more info about the group, see song 19 above. |
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98 Title: Don't Give Up On Us David Soul (28 Aug 1943 - 4 Jan 2024) was an American actor and singer,
born in Chicago, USA. He rose to fame playing
the part of detective Hutchinson in the TV police drama "Starsky
& Hutch" from 1975 to 1979. He began performing as an
actor in 1960, but always had a passion for music. Based on
his fame, in 1976 he came to the UK and began recording. His
first single release went to Number One, followed by a further three
Top 10 hits and one Top 20 entry. He also had two Top 10
albums in 1976-1977. He returned to the USA after that and
resumed his TV acting career, appearing in numerous dramas. In
the mid 1990s he moved to the UK and began appearing on the West End
stage, as well as in British TV dramas, into the 2000s. In
2004 he became a British citizen. |
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99 Title: Lost Without Your Love Bread was an American easy-listening Soft Rock
band, led by David Gates (born 11 Dec 1940 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA). The band
was formed in Los Angeles, California, and included Jimmy Griffin and Rob Royer who
together wrote many of the band's hits along with Gates. Their first album
was not a great success, but the second reached number
twelve on the American album chart,
and featured the single "Make It With You"
(see year 1970, song 64), which was a Number One in the USA. Several
more hit singles and albums followed, but after internal disagreements, the
band split in 1973.
Their record company released the album "The Best Of Bread" which
remained on the USA album chart for over two years, and almost two years
(100 weeks) on the UK album
chart, where it peaked at number seven. In 1976 the group reunited for
another album and concert tour, but broke up again in 1977. They all followed
separate careers until 1996 when another reunion tour was arranged to
celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band, but the members did not
perform together again. In 2002
Gates issued an album called "The David Gates Songbook" which
combined old Bread hits and some new solo recordings. It reached number eleven on the UK
album chart. Gates is now retired and living in Washington state in north west USA. |
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100 Title: Suspicion This release followed Presley's hit of September, "The Girl Of My Best Friend" (song 75). Like its predecessor, "Suspicion" was an old recording, made in 1962 for his "Pot Luck" album, which was a Number One hit on the UK album chart that year. The recording of "Suspicion" was issued as a single in some European countries, where it charted in 1962, but it was not released in the UK. Fourteen years later it finally reached the UK Top 10. More hits followed in 1977, the year that Presley died. |
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Acts with most appearances in this list: Abba: 3 Björn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson: 3 (all
for Abba) Boney M
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1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970
1971 1972
1973 1974
1975 1976
Comments and corrections to: mjs@onlineweb.com Compiled August
2021
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