Barbra Streisand | Return to the 80s

We covered the Top 40 countdown for the weekend that Return of the Jedi came out, and the weekend that The Empire Strikes Back came out. Now, Return to the ’80s is going back to a long, long time ago, in a galaxy…well right here, and counting down the Top 40 songs from the weekend that Star Wars was released. The movie was released on May 25, 1977. This countdown is from the week ending May 28, 1977. Far out, man! Us older ’80s kids will remember a lot of these songs. If I had to watch movies only from one decade that wasn’t the ’80s, I personally would choose the ’70s over the ’90s. This should be an interesting week. I think I’ve only heard of 16 songs out of the 40 – and 6 of them are in the top 10. So, let’s Return to the week ending May 28, 1977, and begin this countdown of groovy tunes.

40. “My Heart Belongs to Me” by Barbra Streisand

Well, if you’re a Streisand fan, this is a great start to a countdown. I’m not a fan. I appreciate that she does have a beautiful voice. But, I can only take her in very small doses – as in a half a song at as time. This does sound like a typical late ’70s Babs. So, if you do like her, this is a very good song.

39. “I’ve Got Love On My Mind” by Natalie Cole

I had never heard this song before. I actually kind of like it. It has a timeless sound to it. It could have been released in the ’70s, ’80s, or even today if there was good music today. This was off of Natalie Cole’s third album, Unpredictable, it spent five weeks at #1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

38. “Everybody Be Dancin'” by Starbuck

This song “Everybody Be Dancin'” by the rock group Starbuck, is neither a dance song nor a rock song. There’s a reason why I never heard this song before now…it’s not that good, but it’s not horrible either. And there is not really any mistaking for which decade this song came from.

37. “I Just Want to Be Your Everything” by Andy Gibb

It only took a few songs to get to one that I know. I really like this song a lot. It would be a #1 hit on this chart for three weeks, beginning July 30. Then The Emotions took over the top spot for four weeks with “Best of My Love“. Then in September, “I Just Want to Be Your Everything” jumped back in to the top spot. Andy is credited as being co-songwriter with his brother Barry. Andy said the following in the book The Bee Gees – Tales of the Brothers Gibb by Melinda Bilyeu, Hector Cook, and Andrew Hughes:

So, once we discussed it all and got the deal together, me and Barry locked ourselves in a bedroom and Barry just started writing. When Barry writes, it is very hard to collaborate with him, because he is so quick. And before I knew it he was starting to do the chorus of [‘I Just Want to Be Your Everything’], and I thought, ‘Wow what a hook!’. He’s an expert at his craft. Within about 20 minutes, he’d written a number one record; and then we went right into another one, [‘(Love Is) Thicker than Water‘]

36. “Slowdown” by John Miles

This is the best song we’ve gotten to so far, which I had never heard before now. I think it has a funk rock sound. This was the biggest U.S. hit for John Miles. It would peak two spots further on this chart, at #34. However, it hit #2 on the Disco chart. Once again, there is no denying which decade this came from.

35. “Gonna Fly Now (Theme From “Rocky”)” by Maynard Ferguson

You know it. You love it. You may have run up the 72 stone steps leading to the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to it. But, wait. I thought Bill Conti did this song. Well, for the first time that I know of, the countdown is going to have the same song twice on the same countdown. Spoiler alert – You won’t hear Bill Conti’s version for a while. This version, by Maynard Ferguson is a jazz version of the song. Well, it sounds very much like the version you know, except this song has Maynard Ferguson playing some killer trumpet to give it more of a jazz sound than a disco sound.

34. “Back Together Again” by Daryl Hall and John Oates

Also known as (by me anyway) Hall & Oates do Disco. I had never heard this song before. It is the opening track of their album, Bigger Than Both of Us, which also contained the hit “Rich Girl“. This is not the classic Hall & Oates that we know. It does sound pretty good when Daryl Hall starts singing.

33. “Looks Like We Made It” by Barry Manilow

Growing up, before I started listening to my own music, there was a lot of Neil Diamond and Barry Manilow being played in my house. So, I am very familiar with this song. It’s a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. This is one of his better songs. It was a #1 hit on this chart and the adult contemporary chart. This song is a bit deceiving. From the title, it sounds like a couple has made it through a difficult time, and are happy together. But, no. They moved on with their lives separately, and thought they were happy, until they saw each other again.

Looks like we made it
Left each other on the way to another love
Looks like we made it
Or I thought so till today
Until you were there everywhere
And all I could taste was love the way we made it

32. “Ariel” by Dean Friedman

This song was Dean Friedman’s only hit in the U.S., peaking at #26. This song sounds like a poor man’s Billy Joel tune. There is one interesting fact about this song. It generated controversy because the song refers to Ariel as a Jewish girl. The record label wanted him to get rid of the verse, that mentions her being Jewish, because they felt that radio stations would use that as an excuse to not play the song. Dean stayed strong, and kept the verse.

31. “Love’s Grown Deep” by Kenny Nolan

This is a nice ballad, that is without a doubt, from the ’70s. This actually sounds like something Andy Gibb would sing. Kenny Nolan was mainly known as a songwriter. You may have heard of a couple of his songs – Frankie Valli’s “My Eyes Adored You” and Patti Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade“. Not a bad way to end the list of songs today.

Well that wraps it up for today. Do any of you have memories from 1977? Unfortunately for me, I have a feeling that there are a lot of you reading this, who weren’t born yet. Let me know what you all think of this countdown so far.

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Tag Archives: Barbra Streisand

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American Top 40 – May 28, 1977: Songs 40-31

40. “My Heart Belongs to Me” by Barbra Streisand