Fairweather friends

This song will resonate with anyone who has been abandoned by a loved one in a time of need. 

Radio snob

I don't listen to Fox FM. I haven't done so for many years. One of the songs I remember hearing on it was Stop Your Fussin'. The song was a Top 10 hit for Toni Childs. She had a unique singing voice. Thirty years later, Childs is still singing. The last I heard, she had to give up her singing career for health reasons. It seems she's recovered. Not only that, she is now living in Byron Bay, Australia. 

https://www.last.fm/music/Toni+Childs/_/Stop+Your+Fussin'

https://rateyourmusic.com/list/jwjstone/fox_fm_top_10_singles___29_september_1988___melbourne_vic_australia/

Come what may

Without a doubt, Linda Ronstadt was one of the most talented American popular music singers of recent times. Exactly forty years ago to the day, she had a massive worldwide hit with Blue Bayou, which was originally performed by Roy Orbison. In the week ending February 3, 1978, it was the number three song on 3XY's Top 40.

Ronstadt also performed the song on The Muppet Show, which was on television at the time. She managed to keep a straight face during her performance, which shows her professionalism. For health reasons, she has now retired from singing.

https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Badgerdarkness/3xy_top_40___03_february_1978___melbourne_vic_australia/

Infectious drum beats

By Source, Fair use, Link

In 1979, Fleetwood Mac released Tusk, the follow up to their massively successful album, Rumours. On November 2 of that year, the title track from the album held the 8th position on 3XY's Top 40. I remember watching the film clip on television for this song back when I was a wee lad. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InjF8xj93LU

Suspicious minds

It is forty years to the day since Elvis Presley died. By the time I was born, his career and personal life was already in decline. This is how the Daily Mail reported on the commemorations, with Elvis fans from all over the world descending on Graceland to mark the occasion.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4788290/Elvis-fans-flock-grave-40th-anniversary.html

Two things stand out to me in this article. Some of his fans worship him as a religious figure. Secondly, on a somewhat lighter note, it contains a link to a video of his legendary Las Vegas residency. It says that it dates from 1960. This was actually the same year that he was discharged from the army, and filmed three movies. Elvis's Vegas residencies did not commence until 1969, and this footage actually dates from 1970.

The pedant

As reported in today's Guardian, the life and career of Whitney Houston will be retold in Whitney: Can I Be Me, a new documentary that will be released later this month. It is five years since Houston died of suspected drug overdose.

With all due respect to the memory of the deceased, the writer of this article erroneously claims that the 1992 film The Bodyguard was inspired by David Roberts, Houston's real life bodyguard at the time. While there are some similarities between Houston and Roberts, and the characters in the movie, in actual fact, The Bodyguard had been in development since the 1970's, long before Houston became famous, and was originally intended as a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/04/whitney-houston-real-bodyguard-interview

Cringe factor

In late 1979 I was gearing up to leave kindergarten, and make the transition to primary school. It was a heady time. Songs about telephones proliferated in the pop music charts. Among these was Hello, This is Joannie (The Answering Machine Song), by Paul Evans. In this week in November 1979, it was at the no. 31 position on the charts, after peaking at 22.

It was a novelty song, back from when an answering machine was also a novelty. It's also a bad song, a piece of late 1970s schlock. To my knowledge, Magic 1278 is the only radio station that still plays it.

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Badgerdarkness/australian-top-100-singles-05-november-1979/

Breaking the cycle

Today is Father's Day in Australia. As I was driving home from church, I was listening to Harry Chapin's 1974 hit, Cat's in the Cradle. The song tells the story of a father who is always too busy with work to spend time with his son. Years later when his son has grown up and moved away, he regrets that he never spent time with him, and now it's too late. His son has a family of his own, and is too busy to see his father.

The song profoundly observes that sons of absent fathers often turn out to be absent fathers to their own children. Things can be changed if they take deliberate action to break the cycle.

Fathers matter. Fathers and mothers aren't interchangeable. Each plays a complimentary, and equally important role in raising children. Whether by circumstances of life, or deliberate actions by adults, I feel for any son who has to grow up or transition to adulthood without a father.

http://www.harrychapin.com/circle/winter04/behind.htm

An overload of soppiness

Every once in a while a song is released that becomes inexplicably popular despite it being terrible, sounding like fingernails on a blackboard.

On this week in July 1982 Charlene had a number one Australian hit with the treacly ballad, I've Never Been to Me. The worst part of the song is the spoken word portion that starts at the 2:10 mark. It's the musical equivalent of a Mills and Boon romance novel.

Charlene is still around, and recording new material.

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Badgerdarkness/3xy_top_40___02_july_1982___melbourne_vic_australia/

Road train

In April 1976 I was too young to know what was in the music charts. If I did, I would have known that the number 7 song on 3XY's music charts was Convoy by C.W. McCall. Even then, I didn't become aware of this song until some years later when it was featured in "Radio Bart," the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons third season.

https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Badgerdarkness/3xy_top_40___16_april_1976___melbourne_vic_australia/

The Ted Cruz Apples in Stereo connection

Australian utility company AGL use the song Energy by Apples in Stereo as an advertising jingle. After hearing one of these adverts on the radio during breakfast this morning, it suddenly occurred to me that the lead singer sounds like Senator Ted Cruz. Senator Cruz is the last Republican presidential candidate who stands a chance of stopping Donald Trump from becoming their party's nominee. I dearly hope that Cruz succeeds.

Can't you see it in my eyes

On this week back in 1976, the number 33 hit on 3XY's chart was Sister Golden Hair by America. The band are still active, and periodically tour Australia. It peaked at number 28 on the national ARIA chart.

The above video features the original lineup of Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek. Peek later left the band and became a contemporary Christian music artist. He died in 2011.

https://rateyourmusic.com/images/all?type=w&assoc_id=3421221

http://www.venturahighway.com

A throat full of phlegm

Today I present inexplicably popular American crooner Michael Bolton's biggest hit, How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?, released in 1989. At the time it became a fixture on easy listening AM radio stations.

I remember my father saying at the time, "What a terrible voice." Even though he had no musical ability to speak of, I heartily agreed with him. Mr Bolton sounded like he needed to take decongestants. I couldn't stand him then, and still can't now.