The AT40 Blog/November 30, 1974: The Free Wheelin' Yo-Yo Effect

The year was 1974. At this particular time, the Billboard Hot 100 showed songs moving up the countdown slowly and with dignity and grace. It was not out of the realm of possibility that a song could peak in its 10th or 11th or maybe even its 12th week on the chart then begin to descend.

And when that drop began, it was quite majestic. Songs that would get to the Top 5 would find themselves dropping out of the Top 20 by the next week. And songs that went to No. 1 would be out of the Top 10. You could have the biggest song in America and find yourself out of the Top 40 three weeks later. It really, really happened in 1974. For example, Billy Preston's smash chart-topper, "Nothing But Nothing," went from being No. 1 to being No. 39 two weeks later.

Then there's the case of the one and only No. 1 hit for the Canadian hard rock group Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The follow-up to the Top 15 hit "Takin' Care Of Business," "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" climbed swiftly up the Top 40 and got to No. 6 by October 19, 1974. The next week, it vaulted to No. 3, then to No. 2 the next week. Finally, on November 9, the song had climbed to No. 1, a great accomplishment for the four-man band led by former Guess Who guitarist-singer Randy Bachman and Joe Turner.

But with the way the charts were back in 1974, it was almost expected the song was about to take a tumble the next week. And, oh, did it ever!

"You Ain't Seen Nothin'  Yet" slipped 11 notches out of the top spot and out of the Top 10 to No. 12. Worse, it slipped 22 notches for the week of November 23 down to No. 34. It was destined the song would make a tumble out of the Top 40 the next week. Well, at least it had a nice chart run.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP7u8DmD15g

Something else, though, was happening on FM radio. Disc jockeys turned the 45 over of "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet," and heard a bluesy instrumental on the other side. It was called "Free Wheeln'," featuring Bachman's trademark guitar work and solos by each member of the four-man band. The song was a jam session wrapped into three minutes and 48 seconds.

And a funny thing happened -- with radio airplay added in to how Billboard magazine tabulated the Hot 100 chart, the song that was destined to fall out of the Top 40 suddenly was a double-sided single and with the brand new recognition of the track "Free Wheelin'," "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" proved the title prophetic. It leaped back up the Top 40! From No. 34, the song made the biggest leap of the week on November 30, 1974 -- 26 notches into the Top 10 again at No. 8!

A great fete for a song that originally was supposed to be a "gag" record for Bachman's brother, Gary, whose stuttering problem was "celebrated" by Bachman on the chorus of "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet." But the move proved to be nothing more than a novelty -- it held at No. 8 the very next week after the 26-point climb and would be out of the Top 40 by the end of 1974.

But the real anomaly is the fact that "Free Wheelin'," the track that resuscitated a dying No. 1, is rarely ever heard on classic rock radio. So go figure!

Still, it did something that very few songs had at that time -- give it staying power.

Long live "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet." Oh, and you, too, "Free Wheelin'," even if no one ever hears you anymore.

The AT40 Blog/November 25, 1978: One, two! Awwwwwwwwww ...

After getting to No. 1 on the disco chart at the height of disco's musical ride, it was no wonder that when "Le Freak" debuted at No. 37 the week before that it may take a significant chunk out of the Top 40 countdown.

No one saw this move coming, though.

And as Casey Kasem explained on AT40 in this very week, only two other songs made such significant moves within the Top 40. There was David Seville's "Witch Doctor," which leaped up from No. 36 to No. 4, a move of 32 notches, before that song would hit No. 1 for five weeks. And there was Elvis Presley's classic "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" which leaped up 33 places from No. 35 to No. 2 in November 1960. The next week, that song jumped to the top and spent six weeks at No. 1.

So there was Chic's "Le Freak," the top disco song in the land, about to make the leap of a lifetime in the countdown from Nov. 25, 1978 after debuting at No. 37. It didn't make the of "Witch Doctor" or the 33-point leap of "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" but the move was still memorable.

"Le Freak" made the biggest move within the Top 40 in the entire 1970s, leaping 31 solid notches on this week from No. 37 to No. 6. The next week, it jumped to No. 4, then reached the top spot the week after that. After the song dropped to No. 2 the next week, it bounced back to No. 1 for the last two weeks of December.

But the story didn't end there. After giving way for two weeks at the top, "Le Freak," sitting in the No. 2 spot to start the year, bounced back into the No. 1 spot and spent three more weeks at No. 1 to become the first song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to hit No. 1 on three different occasions in the same chart run, a total of six weeks at No. 1 and the biggest disco song of all-time.

Still, the story behind "Le Freak" is more unique than the chart occurrence. According to Chic's co-leader and guitarist, Nile Rodgers, the band were guests of singer Grace Jones at the famed Studio 54 discotechque in their native New York City. The group dressed up for a night of hobnobbing and disco dancing in the studio that brought in only the best of the best in its heyday.

When the band reached the front of the club, though, they found trouble. No one had alerted those working the famed "velvet rope" that the group members were allowed in thanks to Ms. Jones. Miscommunication meant that the band was not getting in for an enjoyable night. And it was back at their various places that Rodgers and his partner in crime, bassist and co-leader Bernard Edwards, began to write a song that would be an insult to the club with the original line of "Awwww, freak out!" being "Awwww, f**k you!"

Obviously, no sane radio station was going to play a song with the latter line. But not only did the song send a strong message to the strong-armed lugs of Studio 54, but started a dance craze that, well, no one really knew how the dance went.

Yet, the song is one of the most memorable of the 1970s. And when that song comes on, you know it's time to move your body, even so slightly. And when that opening, "One, two, awwwwww ... " comes on, you know to answer "Awwww, freak out!"

And that 31-point leap to No. 6 got the ball rolling on what would be a memorable chart run that saw the song spend 15 weeks in the Top 10.

Rejection never felt so successful.

The AT40 Blog/November 8, 1980: The Ramones' "Hungry Heart?"

Imagine, for a moment, punk rock's favorite American princes, The Ramones, launching into a hard-driving version of "Hungry Heart," done in the same fast-paced frenzy as other songs of theirs like "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "Rock 'N Roll High School."

Just for a moment.

Yeah, me neither.

But that nearly happened. If not for Bruce Springsteen's friend and producer, Jon Landau, "Hungry Heart" would have been an album track and concert staple for the late Joey Ramone and his brothers.

Springsteen's intention was to write "Hungry Heart" for the Ramones after a chance meeting in late 1979 between Ramone and Springsteen in Springsteen's beloved Asbury Park, N.J. Ramone had the utmost respect for Springsteen and wanted him to write a song for him. Well, the respect was mutual on Springsteen's end and that night after hanging out together, Springsteen reportedly wrote "Hungry Heart."

But Landau got wind of this. As his producer, Landau had watched his superstar buddy hand over hits that could've been big for him to others, such as "Fire" for the Pointer Sisters, "Because The Night" for Patti Smith Group and "Blinded By The Night," a song that Springsteen recorded for his "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J." debut album, but became a monster smash for Manfred Mann's Earth Band in early 1977, the one and only No. 1 hit in Springsteen's career as either a singer or songwriter (not counting the benefit song "We Are The World" by USA For Africa). He convinced Springsteen that he should record the song and for once, put selflessness aside. Springsteen agreed.

Springsteen had recorded numerous songs for an upcoming album, songs that did not make the final cut for his "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" album. Those songs were still in the can when Springsteen, his E Street Band buddies and Landau went into the studio to record in 1980. One of the newer songs was "Hungry Heart," whose backing vocal would come from Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of Turtles fame and the infamous "Flo And Eddie." With Danny Federici's organ giving the track a bluesy feel to it, "Hungry Heart" became the song all parties involved with the record agreed should be the debut single for a new Springsteen album.

When that album was finished, "The River" was 19 songs strong and instead of leaving more songs on the "cutting room floor," Landau did another successful convincing job -- he got Columbia Records to agree that Springsteen's new album should be a double album.

They agreed. On November 1, 1980, the album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Top 200 album. One week later, on November 8, "The River" pounded out the last seven notches ahead of it on the chart and became Springsteen's first No. 1 album, spending four weeks at the top.

And "Hungry Heart" -- the song that Springsteen nearly made a Ramones staple -- gained immediate street cred for the Freehold, N.J.-born-and-raised rocker, debuting on the entire Billboard Hot 100 at No. 30 on November 8, 1980! The song, Springsteen's third Top 40 hit after "Born To Run" and "Prove It All Night," made a strong climb up the chart and in December became Springsteen's first-ever Top 10 hit. In January 1981, "Hungry Heart" peaked at No. 5.

The hit put Springstreen on the map as more than just an album-rock artist who never quite hit his potential after making the covers of Time and Newsweek magazine on the same week in October 1975. He would follow that up with "Fade Away," another organ-driven single from Federici's fingers. That song would peak at No. 20 in early 1981.

"The River" was a combination of peppier and dark tunes that helped to define a time in our country in which the economic recession was in full swing, but also defined Springsteen's sound as a singer and songwriter, among the songs being "The Ties That Bind," (which was nearly the title of the album), "Independence Day," "Jackson Cage," "Sherry Darling," "Point Blank," "Ramrod," "Cadillac Ranch" and the title track, a tale inspired by his sister's relationship with his future brother-in-law when they were teens.

"Hungry Heart" is still a staple of Springsteen concerts where he lets the audience sing the opening verse, while urging them on with his occasional "C'mon!" He returns for the second verse after they get done with the chorus.

It's amazing that the unselfish Springsteen nearly gave the song to Joey Ramone. He and his brothers may have had a nice, little version of it.

Good thing Jon Landau saw the hit potential for his partner in crime.

The AT Blog/November 1, 1975 ... Reuniting in "their little town"

Make no mistake about two things:

One, Simon & Garfunkel were back together, but back together for nothing more than a song and a cup of coffee. And two, the song that brought them together for their first Top 40 hit in over five years was hardly that of admiration, especially the picture that Paul Simon painted.

The song that did the trick was "My Little Town," which made its Top 40 debut at No. 30 as the second-highest debuting song on November 1, 1975, only KC & The Sunshine Band's "That's The Way (I Like It)" debuting higher at No. 28.

Simon & Garfunkel scored 13 Top 40 hits between 1965-70, their first being the chart-topper, "The Sounds Of Silence," and their last being "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" in the fall of 1970. After their breakup, the duo waited a bit before getting into their next musical project with Art Garfunkel going into an acting career.

Paul Simon would break the ice with his self-titled album that featured the Top 5 "Mother & Child Reunion" and "Me & Julio Down By The Schoolyard." A year later, he recorded the album, "There Goes Rhymin' Simon" that featured a pair of No. 2 hits, "Kodachrome" and "Loves Me Like A Rock."

In 1973, Garfunkel finally released his first solo album, "Angel Clare," the highlight being Jimmy Webb's gorgeous ballad and Top 10 hit, "All I Know."

Both men had their careers going forward in solo mode. But as Simon was writing material for his newest album in 1975, "Still Crazy After All These Years," he was thinking about his former partner, the man who helped make a name for him. And the song he was writing was, let's say, outside the box.

"My Little Town" was far from an ode to the town the narrator grew up in. For as brilliant as Simon's writing is in it, it's the picture he's painting of a drab, dreary town that never changes for the better that has his audience standing at attention, talking about how after a rain, there's a rainbow, but it's a familiar rainbow that has black in it as he sings, "It's not that the colors are there. It's just imagination, they lack. Everything's the same back in my little town."

This beautifully crafted composition was far from a positive ode to the town Simon writes about (and for the record, he said he never wrote this song about his own hometown of Forest Hills, N.Y.). And after the syrupy, sweet ballads Garfunkel sang about, Simon figured his old partner could use a change.

When he contacted his partner, Simon played him the song. Garfunkel was on board.

They recorded the song for two albums -- Simon's "Crazy" and Garfunkel's "Breakaway." And to promote the song, the pair made their triumphant return on a fledgling show that Simon was the host of in its second-ever episode.

That show as "Saturday Night Live." They did this song as well as "The Boxer" and "Scarborough Affair" and the buzz after the show was such that the song,  which was at No. 81 on October 18, 1975, on the Billboard Hot 100, jumped up 34 notches to No. 47 the next week before leaping into the Top 40 on November 1 at No. 30.

The production of the song -- produced by Simon, Garfunkel and Phil Ramone -- features the haunting low piano keys pressed by Barry Beckett, the quiet bass line played by David Hood and a memorable percussion by Ralph MacDonald. Even more unique are the vocals -- in one of the rare moments in their history together, neither man took on lead vocals. From start to finish, they are singing in two-piece harmony, making "My Little Town" one of the duo's most unique songs ever.

The tune is done in relative quiet with McDonald's percussion and those low notes continually being pressed by Beckett on the piano highlighting the mood. By the time the song reaches the chorus, it's pace and tempo increases and the horns become a major part of the song, especially in the fadeout.

"My Little Town," the song with amazing allusion thanks to Paul Simon's pen, peaked at No. 9 in December. But it wasn't going to be the last time Simon and Garfunkel would be together on the chart. In 1978, Garfunkel asked Simon and good buddy James Taylor to come in and collaborate on "Wonderful World," a slowed-down, acoustic-sounding Top 20 remake of the Sam Cooke 1960 classic.

And, of course, Simon and Garfunkel continue to tour from time to time, starting with 1981's triumphant concert in Central Park. Simon continued to have an amazing solo career, highlighted by his 1986 Grammy-winning Album of the Year "Graceland." In 1995, the duo was finally elected into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.

They will still do this little song called "My Little Town." And though Simon didn't necessarily write the song about his hometown, he painted a picture of a lot of hometowns that the listener didn't like living in.

As for the top of the Top 40 that week, Elton John's "Island Girl" finished out an amazing run to No. 1 -- from the No. 36 debut on October 18, to No. 8 the very next week and then to No. 1 in its third week, the fastest-climbing No. 1 hit in John's career.