The WABC Heavy Hundred of 1970

 

 

 

The Top 100 of 1970

(airchecks in Real Audio Format)

Bruce Morrow, the jingles, the commercials, and the reverb... It's all here! Eighty straight minutes of Musicradio WABC. A special thanks to Joe Fazio of Escondido CA for this contribution.

This aircheck is from December 25, 1970. Cousin Brucie is playing the Top 100 Songs of the year. Hear them as just as they were broadcast by New York's favorite cousin on that night 30 years ago. There's even a "Sneak Preview with Chuck Leonard" on this aircheck (you won't believe who Chuck was previewing)!

From Brook Benton's "Rainy Night in Georgia" to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's "Woodstock", the music cuts right through you as you hear it on this aircheck. I'm not sure whether it's the reverb, the era, the nostalgia, AM radio or just the fact that this is exactly what it sounded like (not some consultant's re-creation), but it makes you feel like it really is December, 1970. If you were there, you'll know what I mean.

If you want to get the full effect, just start it at the beginning and let it play. Don't jump ahead, or skip over anything (not even the songs you don't like). Let the music come at you without knowing what the next song is. That's about as close as you can get to really hearing WABC again and to feeling the excitement of anticipating what the next song might be (that was a BIG part of listening to Top 40 radio). Again, if you were there, you know exactly what I mean. And if you weren't there, this might give you an idea as to why it all worked so amazingly well.

In the words of Rick Sklar, here's "A BLAST FROM THE PAST"!


Cousin Bruce Morrow
Mp3 


Cousin Bruce Morrow
Real Audio

 

More Top 100 of 1970!

Once the above aircheck of Cousin Brucie playing the Top 100 of 1970 was posted, Frank Quaranti of Middletown NY sent in two more unedited airchecks from that same night in 1970!

Chuck Leonard came on after Cousin Bruce that night and here he is... playing the Top 100 of the Year. As always, Chuck sounds great. He always has a very positive upbeat sound. Since he was working on Christmas night when most everyone else was off, that must have been a challenge!


Chuck Leonard
Mp3 


Chuck Leonard
Real Audio

 

Jay Reynolds came to WABC in February of 1970 so this was his first year counting down the Top 100. He had a terrific sound and seemed to really fit in at WABC. Below are two unedited airchecks of Jay who followed Chuck Leonard that night. On Part 1 be sure to listen to the "American Contemporary News" (15 minutes into the aircheck). The news about Vietnam and the rest of the world in Christmas 1970 was not nice.

 
Jay Reynolds (Part 1)
Mp3


Jay Reynolds (Part 1)
Real Audio

 

I especially liked Part 2. It is a terrific example of how WABC (and other Top 40 radio stations of this era) would play anything that became a hit. As commented previously, we never hear some of this music anymore. But, if we did, it certainly would not all be on the same radio station...


Jay Reynolds (Part 2)
Mp3


Jay Reynolds (Part 2)
Real Audio

 

 

And, yet ANOTHER aircheck from Bruce as he played the Top 100 of 1970:


Bruce  Morrow
January 1, 1971
Mp3 

Bruce  Morrow
January 1, 1971
Real Audio
(courtesy Bob Gerathy)

 

The Musicradio WABC Top 100 of 1970

Courtesy of the WABC Musicradio 77 Internet Web Site
www.musicradio77.com

1 "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head"..................B.J. Thomas
2 "Let It Be"..........................................The Beatles
3 "Band of Gold".......................................Freda Payne
4 "I'll Be There"......................................The Jackson Five
5 "Close To You".......................................The Carpenters
6 "The Love You Save"..................................The Jackson Five
7 "Bridge Over Troubled Water".........................Simon and Garfunkel
8 "Ball of Confusion"..................................The Temptations
9 "Signed, Sealed and Delivered".......................Stevie Wonder
10 "War"...............................................Edwin Starr
11 "Make it With You"..................................Bread
12 "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".....................Diana Ross
13 "I Want You Back"...................................The Jackson Five
14 "A B C".............................................The Jackson Five
15 "Spirit in the Sky".................................Norman Greenbaum
16 "We've Only Just Begun".............................The Carpenters
17 "Venus".............................................Shocking Blue
18 "Cracklin' Rosie"...................................Neil Diamond
19 "Which Way You Goin' Billy?"........................The Poppy Family
20 "Candida"...........................................Dawn
21 "Thank You (For Letting Me Be Myself Again)"........Sly and the Family Stone
22 "Hey There Lonely Girl".............................Eddie Holman
23 "Patches"...........................................Clarence Carter
24 "Leaving on a Jet Plane"............................Peter, Paul and Mary
25 "Spill the Wine"....................................Eric Burdon and War
26 "American Woman"....................................The Guess Who
27 "Instant Karma".....................................John Lennon
28 "Cecelia"...........................................Simon and Garfunkel
29 "Indiana Wants Me"..................................R. Dean Taylor
30 "The Rapper"........................................The Jaggerz
31 "Mama Told Me"......................................Three Dog Night
32 "Someday We'll Be Together".........................Diana Ross and the Supremes
33 "Turn Back the Hands of Time".......................Tyrone Davis
34 "In the Summertime".................................Mungo Jerry
35 "Reflections of My Life"............................Marmalade
36 "Get Ready".........................................Rare Earth
37 "Hitching a Ride"...................................Vanity Fare
38 "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)"...............Edison Lighthouse
39 "Ooh Child".........................................The Five Stairsteps
40 "Easy Come Easy Go".................................Bobby Sherman
41 "For the Love of Him"...............................Bobbie Martin
42 "Long and Winding Road".............................The Beatles
43 "Love on a Two Way Street"..........................The Moments
44 "Fire and Rain".....................................James Taylor
45 "Looking Out My Back Door"..........................Creedence Clearwater Revival
46 "Everything is Beautiful"...........................Ray Stevens
47 "Tighter and Tighter"...............................Alive and Kicking
48 "Julie, Do You Love Me".............................Bobby Sherman
49 "Express Yourself"..................................Charles Wright & the 103rd St. Band
50 "5-10-15-20 (25-30 Years of Love)"..................The Presidents
51 "Ride Captain Ride".................................The Blues Image
52 "Don't Play That Song"..............................Aretha Franklin
53 "Why Can't I Touch You".............................Ronnie Dyson
54 "Whole Lotta Love"..................................Led Zeppelin
55 "All Right Now".....................................Free
56 "I Think I Love You"................................The Partridge Family
57 "I'll Never Fall in Love Again".....................Dionne Warwick
58 "Come and Get It"...................................Badfinger
59 "Lay Down"..........................................Melanie
60 "Call Me Super Bad".................................James Brown
61 "Somebody's Been Sleeping"..........................100 Proof
62 "He Ain't Heavy; He's My Brother"...................The Hollies
63 "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye"....................Steam
64 "Holly Holy"........................................Neil Diamond
65 "Give Me Just a Little More Time"...................The Chairmen of the Board
66 "No Time"...........................................The Guess Who
67 "Up Around the Bend"................................Creedence Clearwater Revival
68 "Ma Belle Amie".....................................The Tee Set
69 "Without Love"......................................Tom Jones
70 "Look What They've Done to My Song Ma"..............New Seekers
71 "Arizona"...........................................Mark Lindsay
72 "25 or 6 to 4"......................................Chicago
73 "Down on the Corner"................................Creedence Clearwater Revival
74 "Traveling Band"....................................Creedence Clearwater Revival
75 "Snowbird"..........................................Anne Murray
76 "Psychedelic Shack".................................The Temptations
77 "Vehicle"...........................................The Ides of March
78 "It Don't Matter to Me".............................Bread
79 "House of the Rising Sun"...........................Frijid Pink
80 "United We Stand"...................................The Brotherhood of Man
81 "Come Together".....................................The Beatles
82 "Green Eyed Lady"...................................Sugar Loaf
83 "Jam Up and Jelly Tight"............................Tommy Roe
84 "Up the Ladder and to the Roof".....................The Supremes
85 "Take a Letter Maria"...............................R. B. Greaves
86 "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)"...............The Delfonics
87 "Rainy Night in Georgia"............................Brook Benton
88 "The Wonder of You".................................Elvis Presley
89 "Lay a Little Lovin' On Me".........................Robin McNamara
90 "Tears of a Clown"..................................Miracles
91 "Montego Bay".......................................Bobby Bloom
92 "Eli's Coming"......................................Three Dog Night
93 "Evil Ways".........................................Santana
94 "Winter World of Love"..............................Engelbert Humperdinck
95 "Groovy Situation"..................................Gene Chandler
96 "My Baby Loves Lovin' ".............................White Plains
97 "Still Water".......................................The Four Tops
98 "Peace Will Come"...................................Melanie
99 "Woodstock".........................................Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
100 "Somethings Burning"...............................Kenny Rogers and the First Edition

 

WABC's Top 100 Songs for other years are available on this web site:
WABC Top 100 Songs of the Year

 

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