Yes, it seems like only yesterday that Tom Natoli and I were pulling all nighters tabulating the hits, doing the research, writing these scripts...oh wait, it WAS just yesterday! Oh well, anyway, WE'RE BAAAACK! With the results of YOUR ninth annual All-Time Top 77! And just as WABC used to do in the MusicRadio days, we're counting down the top 77 one song at a time until we get to #1. Today, we've got the hits from #77 through #67. And each day, we'll reveal more of the survey until we get to the #1 song! So let's let's get started and count 'em "up"!
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Let's wax poetic about the good ol' days of vinyl records, $3.00 movies and seeing the
Four Seasons in concert for LESS than $300 a ticket! Ah, Frankie, we adore you but since
you've been recognized on Broadway, your prices are just a tad too much. Anyway, the Top
77 begins with the first solo #1 song for Four Seasons lead singer Francis Castellucio.
Originally titled "Blue Eyes of Georgia", it was recorded while Frankie was
under contract with Motown. When Valli found a new label, he paid $4000 for the rights to
the song and took it to #1 for one week. #77. “MY EYES ADORED YOU” - Frankie
Valli (1975).
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Let's keep it in Jersey for the one-hit wonders who got to #1 nationally with this song
and are on the Top 77 for the sixth time. First titled "Randy" after his high
school sweetheart, that name didn't work with the rest of the lyrics, so "Randy"
became "Brandy". It drops down from #37 last year. #76 BRANDY Looking
Glass (1972).
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Time for lots of “firsts”. This is the first of 13 Beatles songs on the Top 77,
and it's the very first time this one's made the list. The first single to feature Paul on
lead guitar instead of George, it's also the group's first single over three minutes long.
And John always called it "one of the earliest heavy metal records". #75
TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles (1965).
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Here's another first-timer on the survey. It started out as a take-off on the sound of
"Come See About Me" but ended up sounding more like a gospel song, according to
the writers. It was one of 11 #1 songs the group had in the U.S. And even though 19
Supremes songs got votes, this was the only one to make it into the Top 77. #74 YOU CAN'T
HURRY LOVE The Supremes (1966)
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No, it's NOT "Jeremiah was a bullfrog" even if he WAS a good friend of yours!
The real title is "Joy to the World". But by any name, it was a BIGGIE in 1971.
#1 for six weeks, it was one of 18 top 20 hits for the group that named itself for an
Australian night that so cold that you need three dogs to keep you warm. Brrrrrr! #73 JOY
TO THE WORLD - Three Dog Night.
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Here's the Rhode Island group that was the inspiration for the Partridge Family.
Discovered on the "Today" show, these five brothers, little sister and mom had
three top 20 national hits, with this one reaching #1 on WABC. But this one was actually
recorded BEFORE mom Barbara was in the group. #72 THE RAIN, THE PARK AND OTHER THINGS -
The Cowsills (1967).
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This song's so nice, it was released twice. In 1973, it only got to #59. But three years
later, the longer album version was released and the song climbed to #6 nationally. 36
years together and these guys are still rocking! #71 DREAM ON Aerosmith (1976).
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Mumble, mumble, mumble. Actually Mick Jagger was copying Fats Domino's style and doing all
that mumbling intentionally on this song. Let's go to the SENIOR
circuit...literally...with a former #1 song on the group's very own Rolling Stones
Records. And it was also the first single to sport the now-famous Andy Warhol logo, a red,
open mouth with a tongue sticking out. #70 BROWN SUGAR The Rolling Stones (1971).
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Back for the very first time...well at least on our Top 77...here's the song that's
"so good, so good, so good!". Oh no, pleeeease stop with that chant! One of 25
top 20 songs for this guy, it peaked at #4 and was his very first top 5 hit. #69 SWEET
CAROLINE Neil Diamond (1969).
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Here's our boy, Roy...that would be Roy Orbison from Vernon, Texas. And although he had
ten top 11 songs, when this song came out it had been a year since his last hit,
"Dream Baby". So Roy went back to the "dream" theme and made it all
the way to #7. #68 - IN DREAMS Roy Orbison (1963).
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Guess who's back this time with a song that had the working title of "Scrambled
Egg". It's the BEATLES!...well, actually it's the BEATLE, since John, George and
Ringo weren't even in the studio when Paul recorded this. According to the Guiness Book of
World Records - it's one of the most recorded songs in the history of music. And it was
number one for two weeks. #67- YESTERDAY The Beatles (1965).
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Not to sound like a broken record...or is that "Baroque-en" record?...well
anyway, let's hear from a "Baroque Rock" group out of New York called the Left
Banke. Peaking at #5 nationally, this hit got all the way to #2 on WABC's All American
Survey. Keyboardist Michael Brown would later go on to have a #1 song with the group
Stories and "Brother Louie" in 1973, making him a rare one-hit wonder TWICE,
having two top five hits with two different groups. #66 - WALK AWAY RENEE - Left Banke
(1966).
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So what "Rat Pack" member do you think sang our next survey song? Right! It's
Peter Lawford...um...oops...wrong...Better make that Mr. Chairman of the Board, sir. And
sure...NOW you appreciate this song, but when it was out, WABC didn't even PLAY the song
and it only got to #27 nationally for the then 62 year-old Frank Sinatra. Composed by
French singer/songwriter Claude Francois, Paul Anka translated it and re-wrote it. You put
in on our survey for the fifth time this year. #65 - MY WAY - Frank Sinatra (1969).
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Newport, Rhode Island's hometown favorites...enter and sign in please! Originally recorded
for a TV special, it's the title song from the Broadway musical that climbed to #2,
ironically being kept from the top spot by the Fifth Dimension's "Aquarius",
ANOTHER song from that same play. After this hit, the Cowsills went on to record two more
songs, neither one of which peaked any higher than #74. #64 - HAIR - The Cowsills (1969).
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Let's go waaay back for a REAL oldie but goodie, recorded on April 12, 1954! Entering the
charts in May of the following year, it was #1 for eight weeks and is considered by many
to be the very first rock and roll song. It's from the classic movie "Blackboard
Jungle". #63 - ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK (1955).
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On we go to a song that's back on the list for the first time since 1998 and is a former
#1. And we still don't know who the heck Carly Simon is talking about. Hmmm...could it be
Mick Jagger? Warren Beatty? James Taylor? Allan Sniffen? Well actually, NBC Sports
President Dick Ebersol knows because he won a 2003 charity auction for $50,000 to find out
who Carly Simon was writing about. But since he signed a confidentiality agreement, nobody
knows but him. #62 - YOU'RE SO VAIN Carly Simon (1973).
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Recorded on April 13, 1965, this next hit was #1 for Labor Day of that year. John Lennon
wrote it as a cry for help during a time he was, as he put it, "completely
lost". And he always felt the song was too fast. From the movie originally called
"Eight Arms to Hold You" after the eight-armed god Kali in the flick, this is
the title track. #61 - HELP The Beatles (1965).
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This next song always reminds me of holiday time in 1967. Hired to do a Beatles spin-off
TV show that lasted from 1966 to 1968, the guys used the show as a vehicle to promote
songs. The group ended up with ten national top 20 hits and three #1 songs. This #1 hit
was remixed and re-released in 1986, but only got up to #79. Hey, hey it's the Monkees!
#60 - DAYDREAM BELIEVER - The Monkees (1967).
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Here's a song that didn't get much radio airplay in 1966 and only got to #39 because most
stations were playing the "A" side, "Wouldn't It Be Nice". But since
then it's become a fan favorite. Said to have inspired The Beatles' "Here, There and
Everywhere", it's Carl Wilson on lead. #59 - GOD ONLY KNOWS - The Beach Boys (1966).
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With 21 songs getting votes, here's the fourth biggest act on this year's countdown. On
WABC, they had 25 top 20 hits and four #1's. And this song holds the unique record of
being the only song ever to finish in a tie for #2 on the weekly WABC survey when on March
10, 1964, it tied with the Beatles and "I Want to Hold Your Hand". #58 - DAWN
(GO AWAY) The Four Seasons (1965).
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Here's the biggest hit for Texan native Roy Orbison. #1 for two weeks in 1964, it was
Roy's last top 20 hit until "You Got It" in 1989, a year after his death. One of
eight top 20 hits on WABC and eleven national top 20 hits, it's dropping down from #25
last year in its' fifth year on the Top 77. #57 - OH PRETTY WOMAN - Roy Orbison (1964).
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#56 is a big surprise, never even charting in the U.S.! Written by Ray Davies years before
The Kinks recorded it, "Liverpool Sunset" became "Waterloo Sunset"
once The Beatles released "Penny Lane" since Ray didn't want the song to look
like a rip-off. The line, "Terry meets Julie, Waterloo Station" refers to actor
Terence Stamp and actress Julie Christie. #56 - WATERLOO SUNSET - The Kinks (1967).
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Let's continue with the warm ocean breeze, the bright summer sun, the beach, summer
vacation and...SNOW??? Well, unless you lived in Australia this monster "summer"
hit actually dominated the charts in the WINTER of 1960 through early spring, staying on
the top 20 for 21 weeks starting in January, 1960, landing at #1 for 9 weeks. But then
again, would it have been as big a hit titled "Theme from a Winter- Going-into-Spring
Place"? It's back on the Top 77 for the first time in seven years. #55 - THEME FROM A
SUMMER PLACE - Percy Faith (1960).
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Sometimes GREAT talents and vocalists get lost in the shuffle in a group, and that's
definitely what happened with this next act. So let's remember that this group gave us
legendary performers Jay Traynor and Kenny Vance. One of eight national top 20 hits, this
one peaked at #4. #54 - CARA MIA - Jay and the Americans (1965).
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Time to unveil another BIG surprise on the list this year. Where did THIS one come from?
It never came close to the Top 77 before...or the Top 100, or the top 300 or, well you get
the idea. It's 23 year-old New Yorker Melanie Safka backed by "Oh Happy Day"
group the Edwin Hawkins Singers with her very first hit. It peaked at #6. #53 - LAY DOWN
(CANDLES IN THE RAIN) - Melanie (1970).
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"Well she was just 17, you know what I mean." Actually, no. According to Paul,
NO ONE knows what he and John mean because they mean NOTHING by that line in this song.
They were just the only words they could think of to rhyme together. Back to the year of
the Beatles and their very first of 11 two-sided hits for them in 1964 alone with the flip
of "I Want to Hold Your Hand". It peaked at #14. "Well she was just 17...so
tall, dark and mean." Naaah, better stick to THEIR lyrics. It's back on the Top 77
for the first time since our very first list in 1998! #52 - I SAW HER STANDING THERE - The
Beatles (1964).
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Get out the ladder. Find those hammers and nails. Grab that 2 by 4. It's time for the
Carpenters! Oops...wrong Carpenters. Actually, it's time for the very first top 20 hit
from Connecticut's singing Carpenters. Turned down by Herb Alpert, this hit from Karen and
Richard was the first of three #1 songs for the duo. It made our Top 77 for the third
time. #51 - CLOSE TO YOU - The Carpenters (1970).
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This next hit is on the Top 77 for the sixth time! The label says "The
Crystals", but it's really super-session singers Darlene Love and the Blossoms on
this song written by Gene Pitney. Producer Phil Spector wanted it recorded immediately to
beat out Vicki Carr's version, and the real Crystals just weren't available. In fact, by
the time the Crystals heard their new record for the first time, it was already a hit on
the radio! #1 for two weeks nationally, it peaked at #2 on WABC. #50 - HE'S A REBEL - The
Crystals (1962).
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Next up is Lugee Gino Sacco...that's "Lightnin' Lou" Christie back for the third
time on the Top 77 with his #1 hit, the biggest of his four national and five New York Top
20 hits. Now personally, I prefer "I Love Onions" from 1966 by his sister, Susan
Christie...but that's just me! #49 - LIGHTNIN' STRIKES - Lou Christie (1966).
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Magnificato! Splendido! El Rio Rancho! Or something like that. I'm just trying to get a
bit high brow for the next song from 1976 that was re-released and even bigger in 1992.
Back for the third time on our Top 77, it peaked at #9 nationally and #3 on WABC when it
was first released. Then Wayne and Garth lip-synched the words in the movie "Wayne's
World" and that resurrected the single in '92, helping to propel it to #2 on the
national top 100 and #1 on New York's Z100. #48 - BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY - Queen (1992/1976).
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The next song you voted for is making its second appearance on the Top 77 and was first
offered to Tom Jones and Cilla Black. It was really no more than a vocal run-through by
Paul with some clumsy bass-playing from John when it was first recorded. When Lennon gave
producer Phil Spector the go-ahead to redo the "Let It Be" album and this track,
McCartney absolutely hated the results and didn't want it released. Nevertheless, it ended
up as a #1 song. #47 - THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD - The Beatles (1970).
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"I buried cranberry sauce". Or something like that, as the boys from Liverpool
are back to back with the "B" side of "Penny Lane". This song was
spliced together from two separate John Lennon tunes. Although it made it all the way to
#8 nationally, it only got to #34 on WABC. It's on our Top 77 for the fifth time. #46 -
STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER - The Beatles (1967).
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Here come the Jersey Boys known through the years as the Variatones, Frankie Love and the
Four Lovers, Frankie Valle and the Romans, Billy Dixon and the Topics, the Village Voices,
and eight other names before finally settling on "The Four Seasons" after a New
Jersey bowling alley. This was their first hit, #1 for five weeks nationally and six weeks
on WABC. It's on our list for the fourth time and the third year in a row. #45 - SHERRY
(1962).
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Hey Dude, don't make it bad, take a sad song and make it better...Oops, wrong song! Well
anyway, moving up from #67 last year on the list, it's the British group led by Ian Hunter
that was part of the "Glitter/Glam Rock" era, a style in the early '70s where
singers performed in makeup and sparkly clothes that blurred gender. Written and produced
by David Bowie, this became this group's signature song after they turned down
"Suffragette City". It peaked at #37. #44 - ALL THE YOUNG DUDES - Mott the
Hoople (1972).
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Speaking of "dudes", here are some California dudes with a hit that was a #1
song and came from an LP that was on top for eight weeks. Making the Top 77 for the fifth
time, it was #35 last year. #43 - HOTEL CALIFORNIA - The Eagles (1977).
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Here's one of only a few songs that have made our Top 77 every year. But this year it
drops way out of the top 20 for the first time since 1999 to its second lowest position
ever. It was one of 12 national top 20 hits for John Lennon. Reaching #6 in England in
1975, it was re- released after John's death in 1980, replaced by Lennon's
"Woman". And that was the first time an act replaced itself on top of the UK
charts since the Beatles did it in late 1963. #42 - IMAGINE - John Lennon (1971).
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"The Bad Boys of Rock and Roll" had 28 songs that got votes in our poll, making
them the #2 act behind the Beatles. Inspired by country legend Hank Williams and his song
"Honky Tonk Blues", this was one of 41 national top 40 hits and 24 top 20 hits
on WABC. Backed up by the 1960's girl group Reparata and the Delrons, this one stayed at
#1 for five weeks on WABC's Music Power Survey. This is the fourth straight year of five
overall that this song has made it into the Top 77. #41 - HONKY TONK WOMEN - The Rolling
Stones (1969).
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#56 last year jumps up a bit on the Top 77, and it's done by the group formed in San
Francisco in 1964 that took four years to have their biggest hit. That came in the fall of
1968 when this song got to #5 nationally and #3 in New York on WABC. You voted it onto our
list for the fourth time. #40 - MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS - The Grass Roots (1968).
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This next song makes the Top 77 for the eighth straight year. It's from the group formed
in Tottenham, England that had 14 national top 20 songs beginning in 1964. This song
peaked at #4 on WABC, with group founder Dave Clark keeping the beat on drums and NOT
singing lead. #39 - BECAUSE - The Clark Five (1964).
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Up from #68 last year, here's the act with the most #1 songs ever on the national charts,
leading the pack with 20 chart toppers. With Billy Preston on the organ, it's the only
Beatles hit to debut at #1 in England. #38 - GET BACK - The Beatles (1969).
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Now it's time for some "blue-eyed soul" from California native Bill Medley and
Wisconsin-born Bobby Hatfield. Written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and inspired by the
Four Tops' "Baby I Need Your Lovin'", it stayed on top for 2 weeks nationally
and 3 weeks on WABC. It's back for the seventh year. #37 - YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN' FEELIN'
- The Righteous Brothers (1965).
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Here's one of 13 national and 11 New York top 20 hits for Mr. Dion Dimucci, a song that
was #1 for six weeks on WABC. It was his second top 20 song after going solo, and his very
first #1 hit. And the guys in the background? That would be the Del-Satins, now part of
Johnny Maestro's Brooklyn Bridge, sounding alot like the Belmonts. #36 - RUNAROUND SUE -
Dion (1961)
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Back on our Top 77 for the sixth time, here's one of nine top 20 hits for Ohio native
Thomas Jackson...that's the guy we know as Tommy James. Backed by the Shondells, Tommy
calls this his own personal favorite Tommy James song. #35 - CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION -
Tommy James and the Shondells (1969).
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Shall we go to the opera now? Well, not really, even if this song is really the
"Theme from the Three Penny Opera". The singer's a legend we lost way too early
when he died in 1973 at age 37 from heart problems. It was validation of a sad premonition
he had, feeling that he wouldn't live to be 30. This is the song he didn't want to release
as a single, yet it became his signature song and biggest hit. It stayed at #1 for a
phenomenal 9 weeks nationally and was our Top 77 song #2 back on our 1998 list. #34 - MACK
THE KNIFE - Bobby Darin (1959).
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These guys return with one of your favorites for the sixth time. The song was written in
just over a half-hour and was originally intended to be a slow, waltz-like melody.
Recorded in a converted garage, it was almost released first by the New Christy Minstrels
but the Association beat them to it. The result was a #1 song and one of five top 20 hits
for these guys. #33 - CHERISH - The Association (1966).
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Round and round and up and down. Danny and the Juniors must still be regretting not doing
this song when it was offered to them way back when. Let's welcome his chubbiness, Mr.
Ernest Evans! That's Chubby Checker with the only song in Top 100 history to become #1 in
two separate runs on the charts. In the fall of 1960 it was #1 for one week nationally and
five weeks on WABC. Then in January of '62 it was re-released and hit the top again for
two weeks nationally and one week on WABC. #32 - THE TWIST - Chubby Checker (1960/1962).
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Back for the fifth straight year and moving up from #51 last year, here's a former #1 song
nationally that stalled at #2 on WABC and split its time on the survey almost exactly
between 1970 and 1971. Recorded at Abbey Road studios, it seemed like a Beatles session,
with John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Billy Preston and Eric Clapton attending. Keyboardist Bobby
Whitlock recalls other visitors, too, namely "three or four or five Hare Krishnas in
their white robes and shaved heads with a pony tail coming out the top, throwing rose
petals and distributing peanut butter cookies." We lost this legend to cancer in
2001. This was one of his nine national solo hits. #31 MY SWEET LORD - George Harrison
(1971)
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Next is one of the earliest top 20 hits to log in at over five minutes in its full
version. The title comes from the phrase "A rolling stone gathers no moss", a
theme out of Hank Williams'"Lost Highway" with a line that goes, "I'm a
rolling stone, I'm alone and lost." (But I wonder if he ever wrote "How does it
feee-eeel?") Born Robert Allan Zimmerman, this folk-rock legend took his name after
an uncle named Dillon. One of six national top 20 hits, it drops down from #17 last year.
#30 - LIKE A ROLLING STONE - Bob Dylan (1965).
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Here's a song written by Marvin Gaye and one of the Four Tops. Marvin wanted Motown
artists the Originals to record this, but thankfully he was persuaded to do it himself.
And the result was a #1 song in New York and one of 21 top 20 hits. #29 - WHAT'S GOING ON
- Marvin Gaye (1971).
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Talk about "well-worn"! This next song has appeared on the Top 100 ten times,
including three times alone by these guys (once in 1965 and in two versions when it
appeared in the movie "Ghost" in 1990). In 1955, four versions were in the top
30 at the same time! It peaked at #4 on MusicRadio, #28 - UNCHAINED MELODY - The Righteous
Brothers (1965/1990).
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Here's another of 13 songs on the list from the Beatles. And it's from their biggest album
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band". Though most of us know
"Yesterday" started out as "Scrambled Egg", not many know that THIS
song was first called "In the Life of..." The final chord lasts 42 seconds, and
rumor has it that as it ends, Lennon had producer George Martin dub in a high pitched tone
which most humans can't hear but which drives dogs crazy. It's back on the Top 77 after
dropping off last year. #27 - A DAY IN THE LIFE - The Beatles (1967).
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Here's the oldest song on the Top 77 along with Bill Haley's "Rock Around the
Clock". It jumps onto the top 30 for the very first time all the way from #74 last
year. First charting on Christmas Day in 1954, it's sold over 10 million copies to date.
This Los Angeles group was named for the "Willie the Penguin" Kool cigarettes
trademark mascot, and even though their song is considered a doo-wop classic, it only got
to 8 nationally. #26 - EARTH ANGEL - The Penguins (1955).
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This next song was one of the longest-running #1 songs on WABC, staying on top for seven
weeks. Nationally, it was #1 for six weeks, and it's actually a combination of two songs,
both from the Broadway musical "Hair". Suprisingly, it makes only its second
appearance on our Top 77, back for the first time since 1999. #25 - AQUARIUS/LET THE
SUNSHINE IN (THE FLESH FAILURES) - The Fifth Dimension (1969).
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Here's Elvis' biggest hit on the Top 77, one of 22 songs from the "king" you
voted for, making him the third most popular act behind the Beatles and the Rolling
Stones. Based on the French tune "Plasir D'Amour", Elvis recorded it for, as he
put it, "the pretty little black-haired girl I met in Germany". That would be 16
year-old Priscilla Beaulieu. It peaked at #2 nationally and #8 on WABC. #24 - CAN'T HELP
FALLING IN LOVE - Elvis Presley (1962).
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Next up is a classic that was #1 sandwiched between instrumental #1 hits by Bert Kaempfert
and Lawrence Welk! How's THAT for variety! At first, the lead singer thought the song was
too country for her group, but she changed her mind once the session began. #23 - WILL YOU
LOVE ME TOMORROW - The Shirelles (1961).
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He was only 29 years old when this song was out, and Harry Chapin actually WAS a taxi
driver for about six months on Long Island. Nationally this song stalled at #24, but it
was a #9 hit for this New York native on WABC. In 1980, Harry finally completed the story
with his last chart entry, a song called "Sequel". #22 - TAXI - Harry Chapin
(1972).
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Bomp, bomp, bomp...BOMP!!! Who can forget one of the GREATEST drum intros of all time! It
begins a former #1 song on WABC making our list this year for the fourth time after
mysteriously dropping off the Top 77 for two years. These ladies started out as dancers
working for $10 a night at New York's famous Peppermint Lounge before becoming D.J. Murray
the K's "Dancing Girls" and then singers in eccentric producer Phil Spector's
stable of talent. #21 - BE MY BABY - The Ronettes (1963).
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INTO THE TOP 20 WE GO! And who d'ya think kicks off the big 20. Well, what a surprise.
It's the Fab Four (who else?). On the survey for the seventh time, it checks in at its
highest position to date. It was voted the best song of all time by a panel of songwriters
in a 2000 Mojo magazine poll with panelists that included Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson,
Lamont Dozier, and Carole King. From the "Rubber Soul" LP, it's the highest
ranking album cut from the group. #20 - IN MY LIFE - The Beatles (1966).
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So ya want the classics? Here's a BIG one that's made the Top 77 every year but once so
far. It's another song that's at its highest position ever this year! But when it was
first released in 1971 it only got to #51 on the national top 100. Re-released in 1972,
the full, unedited seven minute and ten second version made it to #7 on WABC. Derek is
Eric!...Clapton, that is. #19 - LAYLA - Derek & the Dominos (1972).
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Here's the biggest selling Beatles single in the U.K. It was producer George Martin's idea
for the group to use the "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah's" in the song, and that phrase
became a Beatles signature. Recorded in July, 1963, it was #1 for six weeks in 1964 on
WABC. Last year it was #12. #18 - SHE LOVES YOU - The Beatles (1964).
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Next up is the Smokey Robinson tune written as the companion piece to Mary Wells' "My
Guy" and performed by the group that was formed from the Distants and the Primes. It
was a #1 hit nationally and a #4 hit on WABC in 1965. This year, it jumps up three slots,
making all but one of our Top 77 surveys. #17 MY GIRL - The Temptations (1965).
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Here's the song that took almost five years to reach the top ten after stopping at #103
when it was released in 1968 from the "Days of Future Passed" LP. Re-released in
1972, it climbed to #2 nationally and #1 on WABC! #16 - NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN - The Moody
Blues.
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The Beach Boys were the fifth most popular act this year on the survey, with 20 of their
songs getting votes overall and three of their songs making the Top 77. This one was a #1
hit nationally and took more than two months and $40,000 to complete, making it the most
expensive pop song ever recorded at the time. #15 - GOOD VIBRATIONS - Beach Boys (1966).
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"Hey school girl in the second row!" Wow, these native New Yorkers sure evolved
since they sang about that school girl as "Tom and Jerry" in 1957. One of 13 top
20 hits, the #14 song was #1 for six weeks nationally and four weeks on WABC. And even
though the album and single won six Grammies, it would be the last studio LP for these
guys. OK, boys...take us to the bridge! #14 - BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER - Simon &
Garfunkel (1970).
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Let's move on with a classic never released as a single because Led Zeppelin refused to
edit the song down for commercial release. From the group's untitled fourth LP, it's up
one notch from last year. #13 - STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN - Led Zeppelin (1971).
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The Beatles are back with a song inspired by Paul McCartney's mother Mary. John absolutely
hated it. Nevertheless, it stayed on top for two weeks nationally and seven weeks on WABC,
setting the record as their longest running #1 song on MusicRadio. #12 - LET IT BE - The
Beatles (1970).
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You mean the cake is still melting in that park after all these years, or whatever the
heck is going on! Dropping out of the top ten for the first time in six years, it's a song
turned down by the Association that never got to number one, stopping at #2. Born in 1930
in Limerick, Ireland, it's classic actor Richard Harris taking a shot at recording and
ending up with a huge hit. #11 - MACARTHUR PARK - Richard Harris (1968)
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Whenever we get a brand new song blasting onto the survey there's usually a reason for it.
"Bang a Gong" finished at #4 four years ago because it was featured in a
commercial. The same happened when Etta James' "At Last" jumped onto the survey
from nowhere. And the unusually strong showing of the Beatles, especially "Let It
Be", was tied into their "Let It Be...Naked" LP when it was released. And
on and on and on...So how do you explain THIS one? It's been on our list only twice
before, not since 2002, and never finishing higher than #63. It was not even the main side
of the single when it was released in 1964. Nationally, the "A" side was a #1
hit, while this side petered out at a weak #24. WABC played the song for two weeks as a
"Hot Prospect" and that was it. It never even appeared on the WMCA Top 25. So
what is this HUGE surprise? Well, the song came about when the writer attempted to put
together something that was similar to "Be My Baby." But whenever he heard the
Ronettes' song on the radio, he doubted aloud if he could match it. It was his wife who
would always reassured him with the words that became the title of the song. #10 - DON'T
WORRY BABY - The Beach Boys (1964).
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The demand for our next top ten hit was so strong that, in the first three days alone, a
quarter million copies had already been sold. In New York City, 10,000 copies flew off the
shelves every hour. Capitol was so overloaded by the demand, it contracted part of the job
of pressing copies to Columbia and RCA. And by February 1, The Beatles achieved their
first number-one in America. They stayed on top for seven weeks before passing the baton
to the very song they had knocked off the top in Britain, "She Loves You". On
WABC, it was #1 for six weeks, and was the first of 16 #1 songs on MusicRadio. #9 - I WANT
TO HOLD YOUR HAND - The Beatles (1964).
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Ok...scalpel, suture, stopwatch...STOP WATCH? Oh yeah, you'll need it for the next song.
Clocking in at eight minutes and twenty-seven seconds, this classic was so long that the
record company split it into two parts. Ironically, most radio stations realized it was
too powerful of a song to be cut in two, so they started playing the long version anyway.
It was #1 for four weeks nationally and six weeks on WABC. #8 - AMERICAN PIE - Don McLean
(1971/1972).
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"Come on Buick, Light My Fire"? Huh??? Well, if it wasn't for Jim Morrison
refusing to allow it to be used in a commercial, we just might remember this classic for
cars rather than rock. It's the very last song Jim Morrison ever performed live, and that
was in a show at The Warehouse in New Orleans. Even though it was their biggest hit and
signature song, Morrison despised it and hated performing it. #7 - LIGHT MY FIRE - The
Doors (1967)
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Here's a song that was so hot back in 1964 that it was the only song ever to go from
WABC's "Pick Hit of the Week" directly to #1, where it stayed for six weeks.
Written by Bob Gaudio, it was inspired by a little girl who cleaned his windshield while
he was stopped at a light on New York's Westside Highway. And this year, you voted it #6
on the Top 77. #6 - RAG DOLL - The Four Seasons (1964).
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Let's visit Paris...oops, make that "Parris", as in Fred, with a song he wrote
while he was in the army. One of two top 25 hits for these guys, it was recorded in a New
Haven church basement. The song made the national top 100 three times, but NEVER got any
higher than #24. And in New York City, the heart of "Doo Wop" music, it only
peaked at #13 on WMGM radio. #5 - IN THE STILL OF THE NITE - The Five Satins (1956).
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Here's a site favorite year after year that finishes higher than ever before this year.
It's one of just a few songs that have made the Top 77 every year. Formed in England in
1969, it's America with a tune originally titled "Desert Song", inspired by the
desert countryside and their homesickness for the USA while overseas. #1 for 3 weeks, this
was the first of eight top 20 hits. #4 - A HORSE WITH NO NAME - America (1972).
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WABC...Superhit Three, hit three, hit three...Well, by cracky, it's the "Best Rock
and Roll Song of All Time", at least according to VH1 in their poll. Here, it's
finished out of the top ten only once in nine years, and this year you guys voted it #3
for the third straight year. And when I say "you guys", I mean it. Only ONE
woman voted for this song. All the rest of the votes came from men. By now lots of us know
the famous story about how the song was was written during a bout of insomnia by Keith
Richard. "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" was a working title never meant to stick.
Staying on top for four weeks in 1965, it was one of eight national #1 songs for the
"Bad Boys of Rock and Roll". Cue that famous intro for #3, "(I Can't Get
No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones. OK...shall we continue? Well then, let's go
and reveal the song you made #2 this year on the survey.
This year's runner-up is a fascinating study. This song usually doesn't even get into the top ten, top 20, or top 100 of most "Greatest Hits" countdowns. Yet for MusicRadio77.com site visitors, it's been in the top 7 for NINE straight years. And this year, although it repeats at #2 for the FOURTH straight year, it missed out on the top slot by the equivalent of ONE voter. So if you think your vote doesn't count...well you know the rest. You gotta know from the clues so far that #2 again this year is from everyone's favorite diva, Miss Diane Earle! She originally recorded this as a six minute LP cut but it was edited down to three minutes, 15 seconds as a 45 in 1970. This was one of six #1's solo, and one of 20 solo top 20 hits, one more than the 19 she had with the Supremes. At #2, we present to you "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Diana Ross. Now let's take a deeeeep breath and get ready to give hearty congrats to our, er...YOUR...number one song!
Well, after all this time I've kind of run out of words to say. Incredible? Unbelievable? Commendable? I guess "lovable" would work because #1 sits on top for the NINTH straight year, so LOTS of people simply love this classic hit from the Beatles. Here are some things to appreciate as we reveal #1. Both Tom Natoli and I work OVERTIME to make sure that this survey is 100% honest and accurate. That means there are no "fillers", no rearranging of the songs to fit a format flow, no elimination of songs that don't work with a format. We work hard to eliminate any phony voting or ballot stuffing. The results you see are completely what YOU voted for. And with that in mind, we have a song that's repeated at the top every single year we've done this survey. Whether you personally like the song or not, you've got to tip your hat to this incredible accomplishment. It's simply amazing! This year, it DID just squeek by, repeating at #1 by the equivalent of ONE vote! From 1968, it's one of 37 top 20 hits on WABC and 69 national top 100 hits for this group. 17 of those hits went to #1 on WABC. And this one stayed on top for six weeks on MusicRadio and nine weeks nationally. Its length of 7 minutes and eleven seconds made it the longest song ever to get to #1 up to that point. So let's tip our hats to "Hey Jude" by the Beatles, the song you voted #1.
So there you have it! Written and compiled by me (Mike Riccio) and Tom Natoli, it's the ninth annual edition of the All Time Top 77 as voted by you. Check back here for the complete breakdown of all these hits, who voted for what, what acts came out on top, what decades were the strongest, what songs from those decades were the strongest, and SO much more.