'Tis the 2002 holiday season and by now the All Time Top 77 is a tradition that surely has taken hold at the MusicRadio77 web site. This year proved to be the most exhausting survey to date for me to compile and tabulate, yet it's your fantastic response every year and the terrific feedback I get that keeps me going.

We ended up with nearly 1,000 voters and over 1,000 different songs receiving votes. Nearly 79% of all voters were male. About 16% were female, with the balance being undetermined due to "unisex" first names.

Votes came in from all over the world, including Australia, Puerto Rico, Indonesia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, Canada and Brazil. Here in the U.S.A., all of the states were heard from except for Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

And as the results rolled in and the classic hits piled up votes, I was amazed at some of the lesser-known songs being voted for as I realized that each of those were actually someone's ALL TIME favorite! (I won't name the specifics out of respect for our voter's taste...LOL!)

Once again, site visitors chose from a fascinating selection of music from the 50's through today, with some voters going back to the 1940's and earlier. And as the smoke cleared and the final tally came together, it was simply amazing to look over the final list to see superhits and superstars, one-hit wonders and no-hit wonders, and songs that make you wanna say "huh?" right next to each other.

I love the comments that come in as the compilation goes on. It's good to know, from Mike Gallant from Knoxville, Tennessee, that my bleary-eyed overnighters doing this survey are "greatly appreciated!" And to Louis Iacueo of Covina, California who thanked me for "the endless time...put into this project every year" as he voted for "New York" related hits saluting the city ("I'm Doin' Fine Now" by New York City), one of its suburban counties ("Funky Nassau"), and the "sixth borough" (Miami with "Rock Your Baby"). And thanks, Lynn Krausse of Scotch Plains, New Jersey, who voted for songs that make her "smile, laugh and dance" while commenting with a thanks for the "impressive job...with this survey every year!" These kind of comments keep me going through it all.

And voters once again showed their compassion and sense of perspective by remembering some of the greats we lost this year, like Richard Harris whose "MacArthur Park" Arneil DeWitt of Flushing, New York called "my all-time favorite thirty-five years in a row now". Danny Arlington of Farmingdale, New York, laments that some kids from today will only remember Richard Harris from the Harry Potter movies. That's a good and accurate thought, Danny.

It was interesting to note the different philosophies being voted for as visitors chose both "Love Will Keep Us Together" by the Captain and Tennille and "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division. And "Summer Wind" by Sinatra and "Summer Rain" by Johnny Rivers. Can you guys please make up your minds?

And what's with the gems this year? "Diamonds and Rust", "Diamonds and Guns" and "Diamond Girl" all got votes. But none of them were bright enough to make the final cut.

It was interesting to see how many people voted along "party lines" or for certain themes, like Bill Wickline of Mentor, Ohio, who voted strictly for the ladies - although I'm willing to bet that most people wouldn't really remember "Pop-Pop-Popeye" by the Sherrys and "Ride!" by Dee Dee Sharp. Or voters who voted ONLY for one artist, like Paul Cusumano of Sewell, New Jersey who was strictly Bee Gees. Albert G. of Richmond, Virginia, voted for "1966 Motown Memories of WABC". And there were those ballot-stuffers who voted simply for Diana Ross and the Supremes. Of course, that was balanced off by people like Tom Shanihan of New York who voted for "anything BUT 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough'".

Dave Coyle of Pleasanton, California, saluted his state with "California Dreamin'", "California Girls" and "California Sun". Can a run for governor by Dave be far behind?

And then there's Alan from Chatham, New Jersey, who saluted the weather by voting for "Stormy", "Windy" and "Sunny". I loved it!

Douglas Schwabe of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who urged us to "keep up the great work", honored the 20th anniversary of the end of MusicRadio by voting for only 1982 hits.

Some voters loved other years, like Lou Orfanella of Patterson, New Jersey, who voted only for songs from the summer of 1980, which he described as a "great time for driving around with WABC on the radio".

Mario Epstein of Washington, D.C. disagrees, as he voted for songs out of 1969, "...the best year for radio".

And no, Trevor Moore of Kings Park, New York, I wasn't fooled when you voted for "yawA eM ekaT oT er'yehT" by VIX noelopaN. I may be one of the only people on the face of the earth who know that you were voting for the flip side of "They're Coming to Take Me Away" by Napoleon XIV, which was in reality a backwards version of the hit side. Oh, and by the way, you forgot the "Ha-haaa!" in the title. So there!

And those music mixes you voted for never cease to amaze me. Like Aron Laufer of Springfield, New Jersey who voted for Mott the Hoople and Bobby Darin. Or Hilary from Pennsylvania who voted for Benny Goodman's "Moonglow" followed closely by the Rolling Stones "Let It Bleed"!

Or Pete Redner of Paterson, New Jersey, whose vote for the doo-wop Channels was followed by one for hard-rocking Van Halen and country-tinged rocker Jerry Lee Lewis. Or Dirk Benson of Huntsville, Alabama, who voted for "just a bunch of fun, goofy, sing-a-long songs" like his #1 favorite, "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" by the Beatles.

Some of our visitors names were eye-catching, like that of "James Dean" from Georgia. It's nice to have such a revered actor represented. Or "Jett Lightning" of Whitestone, New York. Am I really supposed to believe that name exists? And "Muggy Milford" of Connecticut. What a great name that would be for a DJ. "Tom Trigger" of St. Louis, Missouri, sounds like he should be a major western cowboy movie star. "Carlus Maximus" of San Paulo, Brazil sounds like either a constellation or a Roman emperor, but cheers to his Brazilian friends who voted for some GREAT songs.

And it was nice to hear from industry legends like Pat St. John, whose vote for "The Twist" actually made the difference on that song sneaking into the Top 77. And Big Jay Sorenson's vote for "Hey Jude" sure helped the Beatles out in a year of stiff competition.

Thanks to voters like site regular Chris D'Lites (great name) from New York City, who supplied not only his top three favorites, but in fact rounded out his entire top ten! Well, those other votes didn't count, Chris, but it was nice seeing some great titles mentioned. And to Devin Gershoff of Plainview, Long Island, New York, thanks for supplying the peak Billboard survey positions along with the votes. Now that's what I call being thorough!

And then there were those who felt compelled to explain why they voted as they did, like William Bledsoe of Columbus, Indiana, who loved Gordon Lightfoot's live show, feels Diana Ross needs a new manager and a new album so she can be "rediscovered", and explains why T Rex is so strong on the list this year, "one of the greatest rock acts of all time...just listen to the TV car ads for proof". Hmmm...I wonder if Marc Bolan would have liked having to wait for thirty years to be validated by a TV commercial!

Or Indiana's Scotty Seymour, who believes Heatwave is an "under-rated band who deserves a revival" and voted for Richard Harris because he was "a real good man who (he) met years ago in London".

And I'm still trying to figure out Steve Green of Allantown, Pennsylvania's descriptions of "Da Doo Ron Ron" ("...choreographed immediacy while still mindless candy..."), "Love the One You're With" ("...a thrilling intro that would sound good coming out of Judgement Day..."), and "Twist and Shout" ("...good, clean rhythmic filth"). Whoa, now THAT'S heavy stuff!

But best of all was New Jersey's Bill Fiedler. Bill LOVED his top three favorites...but...er...with certain reservations. Friend and Lover's "Reach Out of the Darkness" is his #1, except for "...the part with the wimpy guy singing all schmaltzy". And #2, "SInce I Don't Have You"...but...ummm...ONLY "...the very end of the song with the 'you-oous' in it". And, oh yeah, #3 is "Magic Carpet Ride", but...ehhhh...only the 45 version because the album version has the "...lamest, worst solo...in the entire history of rock and roll!" Now, have you EVER heard of such a love-hate relationship in your life???

I had to chuckle at some of the gaffes, which out of compassion, I'll call typos. I especially liked the vote for the "Almond Brothers" (I wonder if they have that in pecan and pistachio, too!).

So, with thanks to all of you for voting, 'nuf said and let's move on to the results! Once again, here's a reminder of how this list was compiled. Voters were asked to choose their three all-time favorite songs from any era, not just the years that WABC was a music station. Songs voted for received three points if they were voted as a number one favorite, two points as a number two favorite, or one point as a number three favorite. If a voter specifically wrote that their favorites were in no particular order, each song voted for received two points. Points were tallied and those songs with the most votes were ranked highest. The number of people who voted for each song was also factored in with a variably weighted system for the final ranking. Ties were broken based on the number of voters for each song, then the number of #1 votes for the song, and finally, if still tied, by the higher ranking song on the WABC and national surveys.

SO without further adieu...the envelope, please, maestro!