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
Full Length WABC Airchecks Page
WABC Musicradio 77 Home Page