WLCY Radio Hits

May 14, 2015

Free - All Right Now (1970)

All Right Now is a rock single by the English rock band Free. The song, released in mid-1970, hit #2 on the UK singles chart and #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. "All Right Now" originally appeared on the album Fire and Water, which Free recorded on the Island Records label, formed by Chris Blackwell. In 1991, the song was remixed and re-released, reaching #8 on the UK singles chart.

"All Right Now" was a #1 hit in over 20 territories and was recognised by ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) in 1990 for garnering 1,000,000 plus radio plays in the U.S. by late 1989. In 2006 the BMI London awards included a Million Air award for 3 million air plays of All Right Now in the USA.

According to drummer Simon Kirke, "All Right Now" was written by bassist Andy Fraser and singer Paul Rodgers in the Durham Students' Union building, Dunelm House.

One of the engineers during the recordings of "All Right Now" was Roy Thomas Baker, who would later become Queen's producer (he mixed "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Don't Stop Me Now" among others).

Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Blinded By The Light (1977)

Blinded by the Light is a song written and originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen, although it is mostly known by its 1977 #1 hit version recorded by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Mann's remake was released in the United Kingdom in August 1976, where it reached No. 6 in the BMRB charts.

Manfred Mann's Earth Band released a version of the song on their album The Roaring Silence. Their version includes the "Chopsticks" melody played on piano near the end of the bridge of the song. The song reached #1 on both Billboard's Hot 100 and on the Canadian RPM chart on 19 February 1977. The Manfred Mann's Earth Band recording of "Blinded by the Light" is Springsteen's only Number 1 single as a songwriter on the Hot 100. In 2002, Danish act Funkstar Deluxe released its disco version of this song. A "jazzified" version can be found on Springsteen's Live in Dublin album, recorded with the Sessions Band.

The song is featured in the films Blow and Running with Scissors.

Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? is a 1978 song by the British singer Rod Stewart. It is credited as being written by Stewart, Carmine Appice and Duane Hitchings, though it incorporates substantial elements of the melody from a song by Jorge Ben Jor.

The song featured on Stewart's album Blondes Have More Fun, and was released as a single in November 1978. It spent one week at the top of the British charts in December 1978 and four weeks at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 in February 1979. Billboard ranked it number four on its Top Singles of 1979 year-end chart. It also topped the charts in Australia for two weeks.

Royalties from the song were donated to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Stewart performed the song at the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in January 1979.

Rolling Stone ranked the song at #308 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

George McCrae - Rock Your Baby (1974)

Rock Your Baby is a popular song recorded by George McCrae. Written and produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band, "Rock Your Baby" was one of the landmark recordings of early disco music. A massive international hit, the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States, spending two weeks at the top in July 1974, number one on the R&B singles chart, and repeating the feat on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks at the top of the chart in July 1974. Having sold 11 million copies, it is one of the fewer than forty all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide.

The backing track for the record had been recorded in 45 minutes as a demo, and featured guitarist Jerome Smith of KC and the Sunshine Band. The track was not originally intended for McCrae, but he happened to be in the studio, added a vocal, and the resultant combination of infectious rhythm and falsetto vocals made it a hit.

The chord progression of John Lennon's number one single "Whatever Gets You thru the Night", released a few months later, bears a great resemblance to the one found in "Rock Your Baby". Lennon later admitted to using the song as an inspiration. ABBA's Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus have also cited the song as an inspiration for the backing track of their 1976 smash hit Dancing Queen.

Bee Gees - Jive Talkin' (1975)

Jive Talkin‍ ' is a song by the Bee Gees, released as a single on 31 May 1975 by RSO Records. This was the lead single from the album Main Course and hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top-five on the UK Singles Chart in the summer of 1975. Largely recognised as the group's "comeback" song, it was their first US top-ten hit since "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" in 1971. The original recording is also notable for its prominent bass-line, which was played on an ARP electronic synthesiser, rather than the usual electric bass.

The song was originally called "Drive Talking". The song's rhythm was modelled after the sound their car made crossing the Julia Tuttle Causeway each day from Biscayne Bay to Criteria Studios in Miami.

Recording for "Jive Talkin'" took place on 30 January and 2 February 1975. The scratchy guitar intro was done by Barry and the funky bass line provided by Maurice Gibb. The finished recording featured a pulsing synthesiser bass line, which was (along with the pioneering work of Stevie Wonder) one of the earliest uses of "synth bass" on a pop recording. It was overdubbed by keyboardist Blue Weaver. using a then state-of-the-art ARP 2600, which producer Arif Mardin had brought in for the recording of the Main Course album. Weaver continues, "Usually Maurice would play bass guitar, but he was away from the studio that night. And when Maurice came back, we let him hear it and suggested he re-record the bass line on his bass guitar". "I really liked the synth bass lines", Maurice said. "I overdubbed certain sections to add bass extra emphasis". "Jive Talkin'" was also influenced by "You're the One" (written by Sly Stone) by Little Sister.

Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born) is the theme song from the 1976 film A Star Is Born. It was composed and performed by Barbra Streisand with lyrics by Paul Williams, and arranged by Ian Freebairn-Smith. The song was released on the soundtrack album to A Star Is Born.

As composers, Streisand and Williams earned an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Streisand also earned a Grammy Award for Song of the Year. She and Williams also won Golden Globes for Best Original Song.

The song's opening couplet, "Love, soft as an easy chair, love fresh as the morning air," almost did not appear that way. Williams wrote the morning air line first, but told Streisand to "flip those two first lines, because it sings better."

In the US, the single became Streisand's second number 1 single and spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and six weeks atop the easy listening chart. This was Streisand's second number-one song on the Hot 100 (following "The Way We Were" in 1974), and her third on the adult contemporary chart ("The Way We Were" and 1964's "People"). It was the 4th Biggest selling song of 1977 according to Billboard, selling more than 2 million copies and certified Platinum. In the UK Singles Chart, the song peaked at #3 in 1977.

In 1997, the track appeared on the tribute album Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute.

Knock Three Times is a popular song credited to Tony Orlando and Dawn. The actual singers were Tony Orlando, Toni Wine, and Linda November, prior to the creation of "Dawn" with Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson. The song was released as a single in November 1970, paired with Orlando's other hit song, "Candida" (also written by Toni Wine). The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1971 and eventually sold six million copies, also claiming the number-one spot on the UK Singles Chart. The song registered well at Adult Contemporary stations, reaching #2 on Billboard's "Easy Listening" survey.

Grease is a song written by Barry Gibb and performed by Frankie Valli. "Grease" is the title song for the musical motion picture Grease, which was based on the stage play of the same name. It was featured twice on the film's soundtrack, as the first track and reprised as the final track.

Barry Gibb wrote a title song to order for the Robert Stigwood film of the stage musical Grease. Since it is heard only in the animated opening credits, it did not need to be recorded before filming. The song was recorded shortly after filming for the 1978 musical film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which was probably when Gibb invited Peter Frampton to the session. Frampton plays guitar on the recording, while Gibb himself provides backing vocals. The other musicians were some of those from the Andy Gibb album that was being made around the same time.

Valli was a falsetto singer, but on this track he sings his natural voice. The film director Randal Kleiser did not like "Grease" and the new song "You’re The One That I Want" because they did not fit the '50s style musically or lyrically. It became a #1 single in the United States in 1978 and also reached #40 on the R&B charts in the same year.

The Bee Gees would later perform the song in their tour One Night Only in 1997 until 1999, and captured on their live offering One Night Only.

WLCY Radio Hits

May 14, 2015

Free - All Right Now (1970)

Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Blinded By The Light (1977)

Rod Stewart - Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? (1978)

May 13, 2015

George McCrae - Rock Your Baby (1974)

May 11, 2015

Bee Gees - Jive Talkin' (1975)

Barbra Streisand - Evergreen (1976)

Tony Orlando and Dawn - Knock Three Times (1971)

Frankie Valli - Grease (1978)

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