The AT40 Blog/July 23, 1983: The world was overwhelming the Americans

A sense of what was going on started taking place in the winter of 1982-83 when a number of foreign musical acts began to invade the Top 40 on a regular basis.

By the time the Summer of 1983 arrived, the world was here, imports that were making their existence everyday, whether on the radio or on music videos supplied by MTV or other video music outlets, such as Radio 1990 on USA Network or the weekly Night Tracks on another cable network outlet, TBS.

A lot of these music acts, especially from the United Kingdom, were mere secrets in this country unless you followed the music scene through periodicals such as Cashbox or Billboard. Then you had a major ticket to what was happening.

The British Wave was having a second appearance with good-looking, young artists who were taking advantage of the television and the synthesized sound at the time.

The Summer of '83 was a happy haven for most of these artists ... and we simply didn't get enough of it. By July of 1983, the artists were coming over to this country in enormous numbers, invading the Hot 100 chart. And on the week of July 23, 1983, 25 of the 40 songs in the countdown -- I know math wasn't going to be brought up in this blog, but that's 62.5 percent -- were by foreign acts. So let's run down what was going on and start with the acts from continental Europe:

No. 33. Puttin' On The Ritz--Taco: The Dutch act born 28 years ago this particular week in Jakarta, Indonesia, had worked hard for eight years to make it in the entertainment business in Germany. Signing a record deal in 1981, he recorded "Puttin' On The Ritz" in 1982 and later that year, RCA Records in this country picked the song up for release. It took a while to get people to notice, but this Irving Berlin classic made its Top 40 debut this week and would ultimately peak at No. 4, his one and only Top 40 hit here.

OK, that's the one and only continental European. We will save the Brits for last. Let's go to South America:

No. 4 Never Gonna Let You Go--Sergio Mendes: A superstar of the 1960s with such hits as "Fool On The Hill" and "The Look Of Love," this Brazilian band leader came back in 1983 in a big way with the No. 4 hit "Never Gonna Let You Go," sung in a duet by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller. It was in a holding pattern at No. 4 on this particular week.

Now let's jet set to the other side of the world ... to Australia:

No. 40 Human Touch--Rick Springfield: Rick Springfield was born in Australia, but by 1983, he had not only settled down as a television actor in the United States as Dr. Noah Drake on the soap opera General Hospital, but he had worked with a speech therapist to rid himself completely of his Aussie accent. "Human Touch" debuted at No. 40 on this countdown, the second hit to come from an album called ... ironically ... "Living In Oz." The song's tale of humans living among computers in the modern world would peak at No. 18.

No. 20 It's A Mistake--Men At Work: The band led by Scottish-born Colin Hay that based in Melbourne had made it in a big way in 1982 with the album "Business As Usual" and the No. 1 hits "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under." The second single from the band's newest album, "Cargo" was a look at what happens when the wrong people, drunk on war, have control. "It's A Mistake," a protest song to the highest regard, moved up five places from No. 25 to No. 20 and would ultimately peak at No. 6 a month later.

Off to the Great White North ... Canada:

No. 19 Hot Girls In Love--Loverboy: The band had scored three Top 40 hits between 1981-82 and in 1983, were back with a new album, "Keep It Up," with "Hot Girls In Love," a hard-rocking, '80s-style pounder, as the first single from it. "Hot Girls In Love" bounced up from No. 21 to No. 19 and a month later, would find its way to a peak position of No. 11, the biggest hit the band had at that time

No. 16 Cuts Like A Knife--Bryan Adams: Up from No. 20 the week before was the second Top 40 hit for 23-year-old Bryan Adams, who looked every bit the part of the Canadian artist, even wearing warm clothes on warm days. But this rocker from Vancouver was beginning to carve his niche as a superstar with this pile-driving smash that would peak at No. 15 the next week.

Now the artists representing Great Britain:

No. 37 The Salt In My Tears--Martin Briley: This studio musician would only have this one Top 40 hit, but boy was it a song that lasts for a long time about a woman who does him wrong and he makes it worth his while to just antagonize her for all the bad things she represents. The London-based solo act moved up from No. 39 the week before, and would peak the next week at No. 36.

No. 32 Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)--A Flock Of Seagulls: The band led by Mike Score and included Paul Reynolds, Ali Score, Mike's brother, and Frank Maudsley had three Top 40 hits, starting in 1982 with the Top 10 hit, "I Ran." But this piece of synth-pop heaven was filled to the hilt with keyboards and synthesizers and was the last image/sound of the band when it came to their Top 40 career. "Wishing" dropped from its peak of No. 26 the week before to No. 32.

No. 30 Stop In The Name Of Love--The Hollies: A band fully recognized from the first British Wave was back after a nine-year absence from the Top 40. With Allan Clarke on lead vocals and Graham Nash back in the fold (for that time) on guitar and backing vocals, the Hollies remade the Supremes' 1965 No. 1 hit and made it into more a plea for nuclear disarmament and worldwide peace. It moved up from No. 32 to No. 30 on this week and would peak at No. 29 the next week.

No. 29 I'll Tumble 4 Ya--Culture Club: The first of two songs in the countdown for Boy George, Mikey Craig, Jon Moss and Roy Hay, "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" was just a simple song about loyalty. It was on its way up the chart to a peak of No. 9, but the third hit from the group's "Kissing To Be Clever" moved from No. 35 to No. 29 on this week. When it did hit the Top 10, Culture Club became the first band to have three Top 10 hits from a debut album since another British band that had a bigger impact in music did in 1964 ... The Beatles.

No. 27 China Girl--David Bowie: The second single from Bowie's huge-selling album "Let's Dance," this one was originally co-written with and recorded by Iggy Pop in 1977 for his album called "The Idiot." Seeing the potential of a big hit and working alongside talented guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bowie decided to dust off "China Girl" and record it himself with Chic's Nile Rodgers doing the production honors. It moved up from No. 31 to No. 27 and would peak at No. 10 a month later.

No. 26 Rock 'N' Roll Is King--ELO: Up four places from No. 30 the week before, the band formerly known as Electric Light Orchestra had decided to get away from the classical-based music that made them stars in the 1970s. Group leader Jeff Lynne was relying more on guitars and a sound that came straight from the 1950s, as was the case of "Rock 'N' Roll Is King," which would ultimately get as high as No. 19.

No. 24 Saved By Zero--The Fixx: The London-based group, led by charismatic lead singer (and chest shower) Cy Curnin, hit the Top 40 for the first time with "Saved By Zero," another synthesizer-happy hit on our radios that summer. Still together in their hit-making years form today, The Fixx moved up from No. 26 to No. 24 and would reach No. 20 as the first hit single from the album "Reach The Beach."

No. 23 Time (Clock Of The Heart)--Culture Club: While "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" was beginning its climb up the chart, the second single for Culture Club, "Time (Clock Of The Heart)" was beginning its downward spiral on that chart, slipping from No. 10 to No. 23. Once again, the song featured the smoky vocals of Boy George, who when the act first came out, many thought the lead vocalist was black.

No. 22 Rock Of Ages--Def Leppard: The heavy metal-hard rock band from Sheffield had been kicking it around since 1977. Then in 1983 came the album "Pyromania" and the first Top 40 hit that spring, the Top 15 "Photograph." The follow-up would be not as big a hit as "Photograph," but it'd be a lot more legendary, especially for the opening line, "Gunter glieben glauchen globen," which the band admits really was a "nonsense line," though they've joked about its meaning for years. "Rock Of Ages" would peak at No. 16 after it moved up a strong seven places from No. 29 to No. 22. It would be the title of both a Broadway play and a 2012 movie which featured plenty of hard-rockin', arena rock classics of that era.

No. 21 I'm Still Standing--Elton John: The return of the songwriting team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin was a memorable one with "I'm Still Standing," the debut hit from John's newest album, "Too Low For Zero." John's 32nd Top 40 hit, slipped from its No. 12 peak back down to No. 21 on this week in 1983.

No. 18 (Keep Feeling) Fascination--The Human League: Another British band heavy on the synthesizers, The Human League first made it big in 1982 with the No. 1 smash "Don't You Want Me." Their second Top 40 hit was this synth-laden single that featured not one, not two, not three, but four different group members taking turns on a line in the song. Backing singers Joanne Catherall and Susan Sulley have a line, as does keyboaridst Jo Callis, a rarity for him, and Callis' co-writer of "(Keep Feeling) Fascination," lead vocalist Philip Oakey, has the rest of the song. It would peak at No. 8, but moved up from No. 24 to No. 18 on this week in 1983.

No. 15 Baby Jane--Rod Stewart: The first single from Mod Rod's 1983 album, "Body Wishes," the Stewart-Jay Davis composition would be a No. 1 hit in the UK. It moved up from No. 16 to No. 15 this week and would peak at No. 14. It had spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK and was dumped out of the top spot this particular week by a Brit who was less than a year away from making his American Top 40 debut -- Paul Young with the Marvin Gaye song, "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)."

No. 13 Too Shy--Kajagoogoo: Also a former No. 1 hit, the band led by bass player Nick Beggs and lead vocalist Christopher Hamill (best known as Limahl) would only have this hit as a reminder of their time together in the Summer of '83. The song was co-produced by Duran Duran keyboardist/synthesizer whiz Nick Rhodes. It dropped from No. 7 to No. 13 this week in '83.

No. 11 Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)--Eurythmics: A former No. 2 hit earlier in 1983, "Sweet Dreams" was the work of lead singer Annie Lennox and multi-instrumental player David A. Stewart. The song was highlighted by a music video that was part weird and part intoxicating, thanks to Lennox's bright red orange hair and her androgynous look in a suit and tie. It moved up from No. 15 to No. 11 and would ultimately be the duo's lone No. 1 hit by the first weekend of September.

No. 8 Is There Something I Should Know?--Duran Duran: A song that debuted at No. 1 in March in their native UK, Duran Duran made it a "single" track in America, though it would ultimately be added on to the band's re-issued debut "Duran Duran" album from 1981. With Russell Mulcahy once again providing fans a music video with splashy colors and featuring the Birmingham, England-based band's good-looking members, "Is There Something I Should Know?" moved up from No. 9 to No. 8 and would peak at No. 4.

No. 7 Our House--Madness: Part of the ska movement that overwhelmed England at the start of the 1980s, the band Madness had fallen into more of a pop sound by 1983 with a bit of wackiness to it. Enter "Our House," the band's first Top 40 hit in this country that continues to be iconic 1980s radio material every chance it has to play the song. It moved up from No. 8 to No. 7 and that's where it would peak, the biggest hit ever for the band based in the Camden Town section of London.


No. 6 Come Dancing--The Kinks: It had been five year since one of the staples of the British Wave had a Top 40 hit. And with the second Wave in full effect, Ray Davies brought The Kinks back together to record a song that was filled with nostalgia and had a nostalgic sound to it called "Come Dancing." Davies reached back into his childhood to remember those days when the "dance hall" was the main place to be on a Saturday night. "Come Dancing," filled with the sounds of Big Band-era horns and the one guitar solo by Ray's brother Dave, held at No. 6 and would peak at that spot.

No. 2 Electric Avenue--Eddy Grant: Grant was born in British Guyana, but moved to London at the age of 12. A member of a group with a Top 40 hit here and a No. 1 hit in the UK in 1968 called The Equals, "Baby Come Back," Grant got topical on the smash hit "Electric Avenue," which had gotten to No. 2 in the UK, and was holding again at No. 2 in this country. That's unfortunately where it would peak because ...

No. 1 Every Breath You Take--The Police: The song of the Summer of '83 was in the top spot for the third straight week. Sting (born Gordon Sumner) wrote maybe one of the darkest tunes in the history of music as his bass guitar set the tone of this song about obsession and wanting someone very badly and that though they may be with you or someone else for that matter, he'll be "watching you." In the end, "Every Breath You Take" would spend eight solid weeks at No. 1, making it one of the biggest hits of the decade.

OK, I'm about equal time, so I will mention the 15 songs in this countdown by American acts ... this won't take long:

Journey's "After The Fall" (No. 39), The Tubes' "She's A Beauty" (No. 38), America's "The Border" (No. 36), Diana Ross' "Pieces Of Ice" (No. 35), Jackson Browne's "Lawyers In Love" (No. 34), Daryl Hall & John Oates' "Family Man" (No. 32), Styx's "Don't Let It End" (No. 28), Quarterflash's "Take Me To Heart" (No. 25), DeBarge's "All This Love" (No. 17), Michael Sembello's "Maniac" (No. 14), Prince's "1999" (No. 12), Donna Summer's "She Works Hard For The Money" (No. 10), Stevie Nicks' "Stand Back" (No. 9), Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Something" (No. 5) and the biggest hit by an American, Irene Cara's No. 1 hit "Flashdance... What A Feeling" at No. 3.

This is what makes music so great. So many different artists from a bunch of countries, most notably from England.

Here's one very strong time where "immigration" was a good thing for us here.

The AT40 Blog/July 18, 1981: The 'Boy' thrives again against all odds

The Manhattan Transfer had scored two prior Top 40 hits -- the Jesus-inspired "Operator" in 1975 and their take on the old black-and-white television show "Twilight Zone" with "Twilight Zone/Twilight Time" in 1980. Neither song cracked the Top 20.

So when the quartet of Tim Hauser, Alan Paul, Cheryl Bentyne and Janis Siegel went back into the studio to put their four-part harmonies down for tracks that what would be for the album "Mecca For Moderns," they chose to re-record the old Ad Libs' 1965 hit "The Boy From New York City."

But how did they get to that point? The man who produced that hit, jazz producer extraordinaire Jay Graydon, explained it this way to the SongFacts Web site: "When we were picking songs for the album, we used to go to Tim's apartment. Tim played some old 45s, and we'd all come up with ideas and kick things around and listen to the tunes and go, 'Hey, put that in the 'hold' pile.' And we'd play another one, and we'd go, 'Okay, that's in, that's a great song.' So I'm leaving. I'm walking out the door, I'm going to my car, and Tim plays 'The Boy From New York City.' I run back to the door and I go, 'Why haven't you played that before?!? Why didn't you play that during the meeting?!? We've got to do this song. This is perfect.' We did it, and it was a big hit."

On the original production of the Ad-Libs' song, it was an up-and-coming producer-musician named Leon Huff (later of Gamble & Huff fame) who played the piano. On the version recorded by the Manhattan Transfer, Graydon hired a Canadian who was trying to make a name in the business to play piano by the name of David Foster. With horns added on to the song and guitars provided by Al Viola, Dean Parks and Toto's Steve Lukather, "The Boy From New York City" was turned into a modern jazz-type record, compared to the soul-sounding original by the Ad-Libs.

But Graydon felt comfortable with the work he pushed the Transfer and the musicians and felt it was the first release to come from the album.

In early May 1981, "The Boy From New York City" first reached radio stations throughout the country for airplay. The reviews were mixed -- some station fans loved the song, others most likely rolled their eyes to the top of their heads.

But on Sunday, May 10, 1981, everything came to a head in the biggest city in the world. Shortly after the weekly broadcast of American Top 40 finished at 1 p.m. on radio station WNBC-AM (660), the disc jockey who took over after the show started his show with a "You pick the next hit" contest as he did every Sunday at that time. For this particular day, he picked that new Manhattan Transfer release against the most wild and out there songs by a new British act making big noise in its native country and was ready to take the next step in America.

New York City and tri-state listeners had a choice to make between "The Boy From New York City" and "Antmusic," a recent No. 2 hit in the UK for an act called Adam & The Ant, a band consisting of men dressed up in Revolutionary War fatigues and dressed up in makeup, led by lead singer and songwriter Adam Ant, real name Stuart Goddard.

So the phone calls came in as the DJ played the next two songs. And after those two songs played, the two songs were in a relative flat-footed tie! So with no other way to decide the tie, he randomly looked at his phone line, still lit up. Of the nine keys, he'd press a button and asked the listener on the air what they'd chose between the two songs. Five calls down, "The Boy From New York City" held a 3-2 lead. Next caller: "WNBC, which song will you pick from?" "The Boy From New York City." Thank you."

It was 4-2 with three calls left. It was obvious that the Manhattan Transfer had a hit on their hands. Now it was up to just one more listener to confirm it. The DJ hit the seventh button.

"WNBC, which song is it that you would pick?"

"Antmusic."

Onto No. 8.

"WNBC, which song is it you will choose from?"

"I'm going with 'Antmusic.'"

Suddenly, it was tied at 4-4. The person on hold on the No. 9 line was about to decide this battle.

"Hello, WNBC! We're asking you to decide which song you will choose from. Is it 'Boy From New York City' by the Manhattan Transfer or 'Antmusic' by Adam & The Ants. What is you choose?"

"Hi. I'm going to go with 'Antmusic.'"

And as that phone call came to an end, the opening strains of "Antmusic" by Adam & The Ants came on the airwaves. This new act from England had a huge hit on their hands and the people of New York City had decided it ... well, barely.

But Epic Records in the United States never, ever felt comfortable with releasing any of the Ants' music in this country, including "Antmusic" and though it was a catchy tune, only a smattering of fans "got" Adam & The Ants. Meanwhile, Atlantic Records knew that the Manhattan Transfer were a thing in this country with their four-part harmonies of jazz, swing, '40s style, pop music. After all, a one-phone call loss to a New Wave band that had a hard time getting any footing in this country wasn't deterring them from having a hit song.

Thus "The Boy From New York City" got released and debuted on the Hot 100 at No. 72 on May 23, 1981. It swiftly climbed to No. 57, then to No. 47, and on June 13, 1981, "The Boy From New York City" debuted at No. 34. It began its ascension up the chart -- to No. 27, No. 24, into the Top 20 at No. 19, then to No. 16. And on July 18, 1981, "The Boy From New York City" became a Top 10 hit all over again when it jumped from No. 16 to No. 10, giving the Manhattan Transfer its first Top 10 smash.

From there, "The Boy From New York City" moved up a notch each week, from No. 10 to No. 9 to No. 8, then to No. 7 on August 8, 1981, where it held for three straight weeks before falling to No. 12 on August 29, 1981, ending a six-week run in the Top 10.

"The Boy From New York City" worked for a second time, this time in that early '80s style jazz vocal piece. It gave the Manhattan Transfer a broader audience. The quartet would have one more Top 40 hit -- 1983's "Spice Of Life" only got as high as No. 40.

Turns out, though, that 1981 was a really good year for the Transfer -- it won three Grammy Awards, one for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "The Boy From New York City, one for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Vocals for "A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square," and one for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group, for "Until I Met You (Corner Pocket)." By winning Grammys in both the jazz and pop categories, the Manhattan Transfer became the first group in history to achieve those accomplishments.

Though they haven't had a Hot 100 chart entry since "Baby Come Back To Me (The Morse Code Of Love)" hit No. 83 in 1984 and haven't had a CD/album out since 2009's "The Chick Corea Songbook," the Manhattan Transfer continue to tour and perform for their fans, 47 years after starting. Bentyne, Paul and Siegel continue to fly the flag proud for all the Transfer fans, even after the death of Hauser at 72 years old from cardiac arrest on October 16, 2014. He was replaced in the group by Trist Curless of the a cappella group m-pact.

Adam & The Ants, meanwhile, would part ways by 1982 and Adam Ant began a fairly decent solo career with hits such as "Goody Two Shoes," "Room At The Top" and "Wonderful."

"The Boy From New York City" became a big part of the musical summer of 1981, even if fans had a hard time warming up to the tune at the start.

Especially in the city for which the "boy" was from.

The AT40 Blog/July 9, 1977: The chart-topping 'nocturnal novelette'

The late Alan O'Day called his one moment of singing stardom a "nocturnal novelette."

Sometimes, the best songs come from the least likeliest places. And in this case, "Undercover Angel" came to O'Day in a dream.

Then again, good songwriters also find the avenues to craft a good song. And by 1977, O'Day had already been a well-known songwriter.

Born on October 3, 1940, in Hollywood, Calif., O'Day grew up with parents who each worked two jobs. Both worked at the area newspaper, The Pasadena Star-News, his dad a photographer, mom a news writer with his mother working as a school teacher and dad doing publicity for the Pam Springs Chamber of Commerce.

By the time he was 6, O'Day was developing melodies on his toy xylophone and at 11, was singing songs to his classmates on ukelele. He formed his own group, The Shoves, when he was 15. But while that band allowed him to perform 1950s songs by artists such as Little Richard, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, O'Day began working in another group called The Renés, a group that played Latin and Mexican music, but allowed O'Day to write songs for them.

He would also be a part of two other groups, The Archs, then later on, Alan & Bob & Denny. On November 14, 1965, the latter act made it to the stage on The Ed Sullivan Show performing behind actress/singer/comedienne Virginia O'Brien.

Meanwhile, O'Brien wanted to get his foot through the door in Hollywood as a songwriter. He attended a class taught by an accomplished songwriter, Al Kasha, at UCLA teaching the finer points of writing songs. Kasha brought a lot of credibility to the course considering he worked in New York's famous Brill Building and worked alongside fellow stars in the making such as Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Hal David, Burt Bacharach and Neil Diamond. Kasha would also write the Peppermint Rainbow's "Will You Be Staying After Sunday?" and in 1972, wrote "The Morning After" from The Poseidon Adventure and won an Oscar along with co-writer Joel Hirschhorn

Honing those skills, O'Day got his foot in the door with E.H. Morris Music in 1969. Two years later, he took his talents to Warner Brothers Music, where that year, he scored his first Top 40 success as a songwriter when Bobby Sherman took "The Drum" to No. 29 that spring. By 1973, O'Day was ready to take on a singing career and recorded the album, "Caress Me Pretty Music." However, with little name recognition, the album did not sell well and O'Day soon returned to songwriting.

In 1974, he had the biggest year of his career. He wrote three big Top 40 hits. There was Cher's "Train Of Thought," which peaked at No. 27. The breakthrough hit for O'Day, though, was the song that brought Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield back together again as the Righteous Brothers, "Rock And Roll Heaven," a solemn tribute to rock and roll stars who had passed on, some way too soon. That climbed to No. 3 in the summer of '74.

That wasn't all, though. He wrote "Angie Baby," a tale of a troubled teenaged girl who lives out her own fantasies each night in her room listening to the songs on the radio. That tune climbed the chart and hit No. 1 for Helen Reddy on December 28, 1974, the last chart of the year (though AT40 was counting down the 100 biggest songs of the year that week).

In a blog he did called "Marathon Man?" O'Day admitted that he could bang out a song for another artist without thinking twice.

"When I receive an assignment from someone else to 'Have this done by Thursday,' it gets done and done professionally," he wrote.

While he continued to write songs for others, he was wondering what kind of a second chance he might have as an artist himself. In 1976, O'Day got a second chance when Warner Brothers formed a record label for only songwriters, Pacific Records. Seizing the opportunity put in front of him, O'Day began working on the album that would be titled "Appetizers." As O'Day kept writing songs, he would check them off working with veteran producers Steve Barri and Michael Omartian, then go into the studio and record them, one at a time.

He also admitted in that same blog that he's his own toughest customer.

"When I am the one giving the assignment, I don't fare as well," he wrote. "I know deep inside that I am happiest when I'm moving in a direction rather than aimlessly flailing around. But I have trouble setting goals and gaining momentum on my writing when so many other tasks are yelling, 'Do me!' each hour, each day."

So seeking to get some sort of rest, O'Day went to bed one night not believing what he was seeing in his head. In his "dream," he is lonely lying in his bed when an angel comes down from nowhere, lays down next to him and the two make love, encouraged by her to give her a try. But by the end, she has to leave him and he is sad, but she gives him the words that stand out in the dream.

"Go find the right one, love her and then ... when you look into her eyes, you'll see me again."

O'Day wrote the song and recorded it the same day with Omartian and Barri in February 1977. The rest of the album would be done by that March, but both producers and singer-songwriter were in agreement – the first single from the album had to be "Undercover Angel." Released on Pacific Records, "Undercover Angel" debuted on the Hot 100 at an unappealing No. 98 on April 2, 1977. But it grew in popularity as the weeks past – it went from No. 98 to No. 88 to No. 78 to No. 67 to No. 54 and eventually landed in the Top 40 at No. 40 on May 7, 1977. It took a nice leap its first week in the Top 40 to No. 28, then followed that up with a leap to No. 18. A week later, it was at No. 14, then No. 11. Then on June 11, 1977, "Undercover Angel" entered the Top 10 at No. 8.

"Undercover Angel" was far from undercover at this point and would leap to No. 6. After that, it entered the Top 5 at No. 3, moved to No. 2, then on the week of July 9, 1977, "Undercover Angel" became the No. 1 song in America. It would spend just one week at the top, but would become the third "fantasy" song of the rock era to hit the top, as Casey Kasem would point out, after O'Day's first No. 1 hit for Reddy, "Angie Baby" and the next No. 1 in the country, Elton John's remake of the Beatles' smash, "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," in January 1975.

"Undercover Angel" would eventually earn O'Day a gold record, selling 1 million copies of the single. But O'Day could never have a proper follow-up. He would hit the chart only once more with "Started Out Dancing, Ended Up Making Love" in 1978. It peaked at No. 73.

Overseas, though, O'Day would have success. His own song, "Skinny Girls" went to No. 11 in Australia in 1980. Then in the 2000 decade, he co-wrote a pair of Top 20 hits in Japan for Tatsuro Yamashita, "Love Can Go The Distance" hit No. 18 in 2000 and in 2008, Yamashita went to No. 4 in his native country with "Angel Of The Light."

In between in 1983, O'Day met singer-songwriter Janis Liebhart. The pair would co-write a song that would be taken for the animated Saturday morning show Jim Henson's Muppet Babies. Within the next eight years, the pair wrote over a hundred songs for the show and earned an Emmy Award for their work. After that show, the pair teamed up to do another children-based show for National Geographic called Really Wild Animals. It was a project they not only produced, but got to sing on as well.

After that was over, O'Day moved to Nashville to write some more and also be a musical and creative consultant. In 2012, O'Day wrote and performed the title song from the movie You Don't Say, which starred Julia Chereson, Gary Gow and Rob Frankel.

But in November 2012, O'Day was having headaches and went to his doctor. Turns out he would be diagnosed with brain cancer. For the next six months, O'Day continued to tour small clubs and write. On May 17, 2013, O'Day lost his battle to cancer at the age of 72.

In another blog interview he did titled "Some Thoughts About My Life & Maybe Yours," O'Day wrote, "This brings me to an important lesson I've learned: The joy of creating is in the process, not just in the result. If you love the process of what you do, it is its own reward; and anything else is just icing on the cake of life! It's the trip, not the destination."

And with that one Top 40 hit – and No. 1 hit, no less – O'Day took us on a trip that we won't ever forget, filled mostly in a nighttime story.

A "nocturnal novelette."