1. “Boogie Wonderland,” Earth, Wind, & Fire. EWF managed to be all things to all people in the late ‘70s – they had elements of disco and funk, but stayed safely within the confines of Top 40 music. Looking back, they seemed bigger than they were – scoring seven Top Ten hits, four in ’78 and ’79. This happy feet dance number, which included The Emotions on vocals, captured the giddy vibe of the disco era, right before the strobe light went out. The band had one Top Ten hit in ’81 and never recaptured their magic.
2. “Bustin’ Loose (Part 1),” Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers. Chuck Brown was known as the “Godfather of Go-go,”; Go-go being a percussion heavy type of funk music that was particularly popular in the Washington, D.C. area. (One can just imagine Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond shaking their groove things at a Soul Searchers gig). Nelly later grabbed the hook from “Bustin’ Loose” for “Hot in Herre,” a title that Microsoft’s autocorrect feature finds remarkably unappealing.
3. “Cruel to Be Kind,” Nick Lowe. After leaving the English pub band Brinsley Schwarz in 1975, Nick Lowe became an important figure on the U.K. music scene as a performer, songwriter, and producer. “Cruel to Be Kind,” performed by the same musicians that would later form Rockpile, is a power pop gem. A wonderfully hummable story about an endlessly abused man.
4. “Dance This Mess Around,” The B-52s. The B-52s were a strange bag of fruit fritters when they hit the scene. Besides the female hair piled up to Pike’s Peak and Fred Schneider’s sprechgesang, the band’s thrift shop organ sound and Ricky Wilson’s oddly tuned guitars gave them a truly original sound. One of rock’s most wonderfully wounded questions/statements – “Why won’t you dance with me? I’m not no Limburger.”
5. “Discovering Japan,” Graham Parker & The Rumour. During the late ‘70s, Parker was surprised by the strong followings that he had developed in Australia and Japan – the latter country he has described as “an alien planet.” Parker’s sense of fear and alienation are front in center on the charging “Discovering Japan.” Passion remains no ordinary word.
6. “Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough,” Michael Jackson. The 1979 Off the Wall album was a major leap for Michael Jackson both in terms of sound and image. It started his partnership with Quincy Jones and the sexuality of “Don’t Stop” was a statement that Michael was no longer a tweenager fretting over his pet rat. It’s always nice to reflect back on the pre-creepy insanity MJ.
7. “Even the Losers,” Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Petty was on such a roll during Damn the Torpedoes that one of his best compositions was never released as a single, although it was resurrected for his Greatest Hits album. On “Losers,” Tom looks back on every man’s dream – getting at least one opportunity to outkick the coverage.
8. “Good Times,” Chic. As influential and highly regarded as Chic has been, they only scored four major hits during their short heyday. As you know, international copyright law now requires the bassline from “Good Times” to be used at least once by every rap and dance act on the planet. When the death knell rang for the disco genre, the execution was merciless. After “Good Times” grooved to the #1 slot, Chic never touched the Top 40 again.
9. “Heart of Glass,” Blondie. Blondie had scored a number of hits in Europe and Australia from 1976 through 1978 without having any success in the United States. For the group’s dedicated fans, the dance oriented “Heart of Glass” was a major departure from their CBGB’s new wave style and hearty screams of “SELL OUT” were heard throughout the Lower East Side. The rest of America just enjoyed their fascination with Deborah Harry’s striking attractiveness and cool detachment.
10. “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black),” Neil Young. Trying to assimilate the punk movement, Neil constructed an end of the decade anthem filled with catchphrases – “Hey hey, my my/Rock ‘n’ Roll will never die,” “The King is gone but he’s not forgotten,” and, of course, “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” It’s messier, but he may be right.
11. “Highway to Hell,” AC/DC. Highway to Hell was the first AC/DC album produced by future Shania Twain husband Mutt Lange and he gave the band a more sharply defined sound that their previous efforts – the dual guitars on this song’s opening riff immediately make you sit up and listen. Bon Scott’s ran off the cliff of his booze filled highway about six months after this album was released. All that dental work, sadly down the drain.
12. “Life Begins at the Hop,” XTC. Early XTC is like a Slinky with a bad wire – lots of fun, but it will cut you if it has the chance. “Life” celebrates the innocence of youth culture, with cokes and cookies and nuts and dancing to a band that can’t afford a decent guitar.
13. “Life During Wartime,” Talking Heads. In the ‘70s, many sections of New York City were rotting from crime and urban decay. David Byrne took some of those realities and went a step further into paranoid terrorist fantasy, framed in unrelenting white boy funk. Life is getting pretty darn desperate when it’s too dangerous to see a band at the Mudd Club.
14. “Message in a Bottle,” The Police. It pains me to say anything nice about Sting. So, I won’t.
15. “My Sharona,” The Knack. During the summer of ’79, Bruce Gary’s explosive drum intro and Doug Fieger’s teenage lust lyrics dominated the airwaves. “Sharona” spent five weeks at #1. Capitol Records stupidly hyped them as the new Beatles, creating spasms of incredulity among the rock critic community. Their fall was as meteoric as their rise, but if you’ve never whooped out, “My Eye YI Whoo!” while blasting this on a car radio, then we probably aren’t friends.
16. “Oliver’s Army,” Elvis Costello. It was a coin toss on whether to use this one or “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout), Peace, Love, and Understanding.” Lyrically, “Oliver’s Army” is a blistering commentary on the wealthy manipulating the working class to fight their wars for them. Musically, as bouncy as your favorite ABBA tune.
17. “Rainbow Connection,” Kermit the Frog. Paul Williams wrote it, Kermit croaked it, and it’s been “the song” for my wife and me for the past twenty four years.
18. “Starry Eyes,” The Records. Everyone should write a song called “Starry Eyes,” it worked out well for The Records and Roky Erickson. The Records brought ‘60s style 12-string guitar into the punk era and used their finest moment as an opportunity to lambast a former manager. In reality, when it comes to the music biz, the only thing worse than being exploited is not being exploited.
19. “Up the Junction,” Squeeze. At the same time the critics were dry heaving over “The Knack as Beatles” hype, they couldn’t stop comparing the songwriting duo of Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford to Lennon and McCartney. Oy. Nonetheless, this #2 U.K. hit smartly follows a young couple from romance, marriage, parenthood, and divorce in three minutes and ten seconds. It takes an entire evening in Vegas to accomplish that these days.
20. “Video Killed The Radio Star,” The Buggles. The most prophetic song since 1938’s “Radio Killed the Alcohol Soaked Jug Band Hootenanny,” famously this was the first video shown by MTV in 1981. The Atlanta Rhythm Section steadfastly refuses to comment on this concept.
