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episode date - April 24, 2007
What can anyone say to summarize the music of 1977 in a succinct and/or pithy manner? How about, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (Dickens said that first, I believe).
Pop music was being torn down the middle, no longer capable of sustaining much energy on its own. Albums had virtually taken over pop culture, which turns out to have been a mixed blessing. In the ‘60s and early ‘70s, a 45 RPM single was the best means to promote a great song. By the mid-to-late ‘70s, the status of the 45 RPM single deteriorated, becoming the best way to cash in on novelty acts that couldn’t sustain an entire album. To make matters even more confusing, ‘disco’ music was growing more and more popular, and most disco artists found their foothold in the ‘singles’ market.
The best singles were simply songs that were extracted from monster-hit albums. Many artists couldn’t even be bothered to release ‘singles’, or were too stylistically eclectic to have much chance for a hit. Still, some of the most memorable music from this era comes from these albums. Here’s a list of songs featured in today’s program;
First, the singles:
GREAT HITS
1) Hotel California – The Eagles
2) Lido Shuffle – Box Scaggs
3) Dreams – Fleetwood Mac
4) Sir Duke – Stevie Wonder
5) Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman) – Joe Tex
GREAT MISSES (aka “BAD HITS”)
6) In the Mood – The Henhouse Five
7) Gonna Fly Now – Bill Conti
8) Undercover Angel – Alan O’Day
9) Disco Lucy – The Wilton Place Street Band
GREAT ALBUM TRACKS
10) Neat Neat Neat – The Damned
11) New Rose - The Damned
12) Solsbury Hill – Peter Gabriel
CLICK HERE to listen to the full show!
 
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