Volume 9: The Finale Of Chuck Small’s “Who Sings It ?“

In this final installment, we take a spin through the decade with a number of songs I initially heard on a K-tel or similar compilation.

I remember hearing the Edwin Hawkins Singers’ “Oh Happy Day” on 20 Power Hits, Volume 2. (The “Volume 2” was in such a small point size that I didn’t even realize there was a Volume 1.)

Chi Coltrane’s “Thunder and Lightning” was on Ronco’s “Good Vibrations,” as was King Harvest’s “Dancing in the Moonlight.”

Jim Gilstrap’s “Swing Your Daddy” was on
K-tel’s Disco Mania.

And Fanny’s “Butter Boy” was on Sounds Spectacular.

Other tracks came to my attention in various ways.

David Shire’s instrumental “Manhattan Skyline” is from the monster soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever.

Actress-singer Barbi Benton performed her single “Ain’t That Just the Way” on a few series in the mid-’70s: YouTube has this clip from the Mystery Movie series McCloud:

But I also remember her doing so on the short-lived sitcom Sugar Time! a couple of years later.

And there was no way of missing The Raspberries’ “Go All the Way.”

Not only was its powerful opening among the best of ’70s pop, the album on which it was featured smelled like raspberries. Long after the band had broken up and Eric Carmen was singing sad solo ballads, you could still catch a whiff of that debut LP.

Two artists who seemed destined for obscurity after their ’70s spotlight on AT40 broke out in a big way in the next decade:

One as a recording artist, and the other as Casey Kasem’s countdown rival.

“Love Really Hurts Without You” brought the name Billy Ocean to the U.S. in 1976.

But it would be eight years before he would come back in a major way with “Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run).” That No. 1 smash would kick off a string of hits in the ’80s for the Trinidad-born singer.

And while the novelty No. 1 “Disco Duck” marked Rick Dees’ only time in a countdown as a performer…

… he went on to establish the Weekly Top 40 show that eventually became the leading countdown series when Kasem left AT40 in 1988. (Neither Shadoe Stevens’ version of AT40 nor Kasem’s own Casey’s Top 40 proved as popular as Dees’ show in that time frame.)

Wolfman Jack had an odd run as a guest on several Top 40 singles in the mid-’70s.

The Guess Who’s Top 10 “Clap for the Wolfman” in 1974 would be the most notable.  But he also appeared on the Stampeders’ No. 40 remake of “Hit the Road, Jack.”

And in 1976, he guested on Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids’ “Did You Boogie (With Your Baby).” The Spotify version omits Jack’s voice; here’s the original 45, courtesy of YouTube:

Although “Lady Bump,” Silver Convention singer Penny McLean’s solo outing, missed the Top 40, it did become part of a hit medley.

The Ritchie Family’s “Best Disco in Town” features a cover snippet of the song’s chorus (it’s on side two of the 45, between “That’s the Way I Like It” and “Express”).

Thanks for joining me on this journey through a decade’s obscurities.

Here’s the Spotify link for this final set:

What ones do you love?

What ones do you hate?

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