Hawaii 5-O

1968

The Ventures

Remember TV Theme songs...I mean real TV theme songs, the ones that lasted more than fifteen seconds and two or three notes and actually had a melody, and a beat, and words, and verses and the things actual songs tend to have. The ones that people knew and loved and sang along with. (You've sung both the themes from The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island...admit it. You know 'em by heart)

Also,  I'm not talking about songs that became hit singles long before they were adopted for the theme of a show. A good example of that Genre is The Whos' 'Who Are You' as the theme for CSI. 'Who Are You' hit #14 on the Hot 100 in 1978. 'CSI premiered and became a huge hit twenty-two years later in 2000. The osng had bcome an Oldie a couple of years before the show's concept was even thought up.

I'm talking about original songs that were written specifically for a TV series...and there were tons of them at one time. And more of them than most people realize made it to not only the Hot 100, but cracked the Top 20, and even the Top 10, and a couple of them even made it to that Coveted Holy Grail of Hot 100 slots...#1

I'm going to stick with theme songs that cracked the Top 20 and got enough airplay that people who didn't watch the show still knew of, and liked, and yes even bought the song. They fall into two distinct categories. Instrumentals and vocals. During the sixties and seventies, instrumentals were almost always the themes song of choice for Dramas...primarily Police Dramas...while vocals were usually used as the theme song for sit-coms. If there was any deviation from that division of types, it was gong to be an instrumental used for a sitcom (Barney Miller...which was still a cop show...is a good example, as is 'I Dream Of Jeanie' with the lovely Barbara Eden, and a pre-'Dallas' Larry Hagman.

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I'm going to go with what I consider the Big 4 Instrumental TV Theme Songs That Became Hits first.

And the first one I'm featuring is the Icon of 'em all...the one that's still around, and likely will stay around...The one everyone who was old enough to appreciate both music and television from 1968 to 1980 has played air drums to.  The one that to this day is the Unofficial Fight Song for the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

The TV Theme Song That Kicks All Other Themes Songs' Butts burst hard and unforgettably onto the scene when a guy named Jack Lord was given the role of Steve McGarrett, the head honcho of a fictional State Police agency in Hawaii. The producers of Hawaii 5-O wanted a distinctive, hard-hitting, high energy theme song for the show, so they tapped Morton Stevens...a veteran of TV Theme composition... to write the music, and he in turn gave it to a band that would become the biggest selling Instrumental rock band ever...The Ventures...to record, and they knocked it slam out of the park when they did so.

That distinctive, hard hitting drum, Butt-kicking awesome keyboard and guitar, and uber-fast paced tempo burrowed it's way into everyone's consciousness from the very first episode, along with what would become an iconic opening credit sequence. It also became a staple on Top 40s radio, and climbed to #4 on the Hot 100. Go to enough high school and college football games and you'll still hear it played by the band. Want to make a guess as to what the University of Hawaii's unofficial and much loved fight song is? Don't even think about guessing anything other than 'Hawaii 5-O!

Just try to listen to this and not play air drums. And move with the music. And get a smile on your face. You can't help but just have fun listening to it.

So enjoy...arguably the best loved, most awesome, most iconic TV Theme Song EVER

Hawaii 5-O by The Ventures.

When The Ventures recorded The Hawaii 5-O Theme Song back in 1968, they likely had no idea that they had created an icon.

But they had. Of course, Hawaii 5-O itself was an icon...at 12 years the longest running police drama in history, a record that they held until Law and Order beat it when it premiered and ran...and ran...and ran...

But the show Hawaii 5-O wasn't done just yet...not even close. With a very subtle change of title (From 5-O with a capitol 'O' to 5-0, with a '0') it came back on NBC a couple of years ago. And they needed theme music. SOOOOO...they shortened the beloved and iconic theme music to 30 seconds, rerecorded it, added an opening credit sequence that's an updated mirror of the original (Right down to the blue light on a police motorcycle at the end) and opened Hawaii 5-0 just as it should be opened. The only thing better would have been if they had kept it at a full minute.

Enjoy..the theme from 'Hawaii 5-0, the 2012 version.

It gets better...a lot of people don't know that there is actually a full version of The Hawaii 5-O theme song that runs for better than three minutes...and that when they recorded the 2012 version, they also recorded the full version. You think the 'Opening Credit' version rocks? Wait until you hear the full version.

So enjoy...the full version of both, along with the old and new titles sequences. A shade over six and a half minutes of awesome!

As long as there are College (And high School ) marching bands, The Theme From Hawaii 5-O will always be with us. It'll be played at halftime all over the country long after all of us are long gone. And rightly so. The song just kicks ass and is absolutely made for the heavy-on-the-brass-and-drums sound of a marching band. And the kids love playing it!

First The University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors getting into it big time in a faux Hawaii 5-0 promo that NBC really should have actually used.

And finally, USC on the beach in Hawaii, along with the 2012 Hawaii 5-0 cast, getting in to it in a big way!

Theme From S.W.A.T. by Rhythm Heritage

Theme From S.W.A.T.

1975

Rhythm Heritage

Perhaps you've heard of a guy named Arron Spelling...had some small success in the field of developing and producing TV shows? Charlies Angels? 7^th Heaven? A little show called 'Beverly Hills 90210', also starring his daughter Tori? All huge hits (And just three of a string of hits no other TV producer can even come close to matching)

Well not everything he created was a mega hit. S.W.A.T. for example. It was a spin-off of his hit series The Rookies, and only lasted for one season...not a bad show at all, it just didn't click with the public like many of his other shows did. The theme song though...now that was a different story.

The theme music was written bu Barry DeVorzen and performed by a funk group called Rhythm Heritage.The show may have fizzled after one season, but the theme music  hit #1 on the Hot 100 on Feb 28^th, 1976...just two months before  S.W.A.T ended it's run on The Tube.

Rhythm Heritage recorded two versions of the song...the short version that was used in the Opening credits, and a long version that clocked in at a bit over 4 minutes that they released as a single from their debut album 'Disco-fied' . The single was the version, of course, that made it to #1. It was also certified Gold for selling more than a million copies, and was significantly different than the TV show's title sequence. Not only was the title sequence shortened to one minute, it was toned down considerably from the single.

So Enjoy! The Theme From Swat (The long version) by Rhythm Heritage

And the short version, with the original Opening Credits from S.W.A.T

Theme From The Rockford Files Mike Post

Theme From The Rockford Files

1975

Mike Post

Who can forget Jim Rockford, portrayed expertly by Jim Garner, and his gold Pontiac Firebird Espirit appearing weekly from 1974-1980 in one of the more popular detective shows of that era. Each episode of The Rockford Files kicked off with a message on his answering machine, usually from a creditor, and seldom related to the plot of the episode. And as the Answering machine message ended that catchy theme music immediately kicked in...one of the catchiest tunes ever to kick off a TV series, and third in my mind only to Hawaii 5-O and Hill Street Blues. Speaking of Hill Street Blues, it's theme music, and that of The Rockford Files had something in common. Both were composed by Mike Post, and both made it to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and in fact The Rockford Files was the first of the two do do so, cracking the Top 10 when it was released as a single after the show's first season, in 1975, and remaining on the charts for 16 weeks. It was also nominated for and won The Grammy for best instrumental arrangement for 1975.

The Rockford Files was one of the the first hit songs to use a Minimoog synthesizer...it was the lead instrument and really makes the song's unique sound and mood. You also hear a blues harmonica, a dobro, and an electric guitar...and what Post describes as 'A Chamber Group On Steroids. A pair each of flutes, french horns, and trombones.

The Theme for The Rockford Files may not have had the lasting power of Hawaii 5-O or Hill Street Blues, but it was still an awesome, catchy tune that would burrow it's way into your head and stay there all day.

It was on the radio a lot in the mid 70s but I haven't heard it on an Oldies station in years. Sad really...it really is that good and that catchy. Like most theme songs, especially instrumentals, that hit as singles there were two versions...the version played over the opening credits, and the extended version that charted.

So enjoy! First, the long version that cracked the Top 10 on The Billboard Hot 100

I searched high and low on YouTube for The Rockford Files opening credits. Apparently NBC has decided that they are sacred territory and claimed Copyright every time they've been posted. I did find a pretty neat little tribute to the show with the original opening theme played over it thought. So enjoy!

Theme From Hill Street Blues Mile Post

Theme From Hill Street Blues

1981

Mike Post

Hill Street Blues Premiered in 1981, and was a major hit. The show lasted for six seasons, from 1981 to 1987, and it became a benchmark in television production, with many of it's features used on law enforcement dramas right up to the present day. It was gritty. It was realistic (For a TV show anyway) and it gave us a look at the characters' personal lives, the first show to do so. All of the above are pretty much a given with any modern Law enforcement (Or fire service) drama today.

Hill Street Blues also had some pretty kick-butt theme music. The theme music was written by Mike Post, and featured Larry Carlton on Guitar. Hill Street Blues, though, is best known and best loved for that awesome piano work...that's Mike Post on Piano, too, BTW. Steve Broncho, the show's producer, asked Mike Post to write the theme music, and two of them decided on a less gritty, more poignant and emotional tune that was in keeping with the show's theme.

The long version of the theme song, released as a single, climbed to #10 on the Hit 100, and was a staple on the top 40 stations for months! It only took Mike thirty minutes to write it, and it's lasted ...and lasted. Just ask any Piano student! Occasionally you'll still hear it on an Oldies station. But nowhere near often enough.

First the long version that cracked the Top 10. You can hear Larry Carlton's Guitar work big time in this version, and he nails it,but ya gotta LOVE that piano!

So Enjoy! Hill Street Blues (Long Version) by Mike Post.

And as a bonus, the opening credits everyone remembers so fondly and well.

And finally, a tribute to Mike Conrad, who passed away during the second season of the show.

And hey!...Lets be careful out there!

Grease...The Movie and The Songs

Grease

1978

Written by Barry Gibb/Sung by Frankie Valli

Anyone and everyone who was a teen or in their early twenties during the latter half of The 70s, prepare to feel old, going on ancient. Guess what happened 35 years ago this past weekend...June 16^th 1978, to be exact. ::Hums theme from Jeopardy:: Figured it out yet?

On June 16^th, 1978 the movie theaters of the nation were mobbed as a little film based on a Broadway musical about a greaser and a good girl who fell in love was released, and that movie spawned a soundtrack that is still the 6^th best selling movie soundtrack of all time. Give up?

That's right...'Grease' opened 35 years ago last weekend, and became a runaway hit...it had been highly anticipated for months with the trailer preceding other movies and appearing on TV for a good four months before the movie opening. Of course there was a sound track. The Sound Track from Grease was released in April, two months before the movie, and it became a ::Cough Cough:: minor hit. The Soundtrack from Grease is still listed as the sixth best selling movie sound track of all time The four biggest hits off of the sound track, all of which were written specifically for the film, were just as successful, scoring a pair of #1's, a #3, and a#5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Trust me on this, you heard all four of 'em all summer long. Three of them were uber-up-tempo, high energy pop tunes that you couldn't help but head bop and finger snap with, and one of 'em was a love ballad sung by the then and still very lovely Olivia Newton John.

The first of the hits was the title song, 'Grease', which was ordered up especially for this movie, and it was the only one of the four mega-hits that didn't feature at least one of the two leads singing vocals.

It was penned by Barry Gibb, of The Bee Gees' fame, and sung by a true vocal legend, none other than Frankie Valli. The song was played over a very original and unique animated title sequence at the beginning the movie, then repeated as the end credits rolled.

The wild thing about the song was, as hugely popular as it was, a lot of the suits behind the film hated it because it was so out of place with the movie's theme. 'Grease' was actually supposed to have taken place in 1959, while the title song was solidly late 1970s disco. Apparently, we, the movie-going, record-buying kids of the 1970s didn't mind this slight musical mis-cue. 'Cause we, those crazy 70s kids, bought 7 million copies of the single world wide, and caused 'Grease...the film...to be the #1 film, box-office wise, of 1978 and to have the highest box office gross of any musical. Ever. A record that still stands to this day. (Go GETTUM Danny and Sandy!)

And people are still watching the movie, and you can still hear Frankie Valli crooning 'Grease is the word...is the word...is the word' on Oldies stations to this day.

Without further ado...Enjoy! (Don't even try yo tell me ya didn't sing along with it! ;) )

'Grease' by the team of Barry Gibb and Frankie Valli, with the original title sequence.

A couple of little tidbits...the first one personal...sort of. When I got in the rescue squad (that'd be Chester's own Bensley-Bermuda Vol Rescue Squad) back in 1981, the movie was only three years old, and VCRs were new and high tech...so new that the two formats (Beta-max and VHS) were still fighting it out. And we had a VCR in the day-room at the squad. Not only that, we had a Beta VCR at the squad. And one of the only discs...maybe the only disc we had for it was none other than...Grease. We actually managed to wear the disc out we watched it so much.

Every project of every kind should make a profit like this. The budget for Grease was 6 million dollars. World Wide Box Office receipts totaled $387,513,770. Yeah...I think they may have made a profit on it.

Grease Sound Track-Summer Nights

Summer Nights

1978

John Travolta/Olivia Newton John

The second runaway hit from the movie's the one pretty much everyone gets the title wrong on about 75% of the time. Don't feel too bad though...I've heard DJs occasionally get the title wrong, because a lot of people remember it as 'Summer Lovin' when the title was actually 'Summer Nights'.

You guys remember it well...the one where Danny and Sandy are regaling, respectively, The T-Birds and The Pink Ladies with their very different versions of their summer romance before either knew that the other was a fellow student at Good Ol' Rydell High.

Of the Big Four singles from Grease, Summer Nights was the next to last one released as a single.  Even though 'Summer Nights' was performed before 'You're The One That I Want' in the movie and was played on the radio all summer long, it wasn't released as a single until August 25^th, 1978...two months and change After 'You're The One That I Want'. Actually, Summer Nights may have almost been an afterthought...it was released as a follow up after 'You're The One That I Want's run-away success on the charts. and though it didn't hit quite as big as You're The One That I Want, it still made it to # 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Quickly I might add.

Then in 2010,  Summer Night's place in Top Forty History was confirmed and cemented in place for all time when The Billboard Hot 100 released their list of Top Summer Songs Of All Time. Summer Nights was again in the Top 10, sitting pretty at #9.

I actually haven't heard this one on an Oldies station for a while...too bad, actually, because it truly deserved its place on the charts and the list of Top Summer Songs Of All Time...this song, to a lot of people, was the signature song of The Summer Of 1978 even if it was the next to last of the four singles to be released as a single!

So Enjoy (And again, I know ya sang along to this one!)

Summer Nights by John Travolta and Olivia Newton John

It's highly likely that no single TV show has helped bring back a lot of the oldies, and reintroduced them to a new generation of kids better than the kids from Glee. And yep...they performed their own, unfortunately seriously shortened, version of the song in an episode devoted to the musical. Still sound pretty good though...but John and Liv, AKA The original Danny and Sandy, still own it and always will!

So as a Bonus...Summer Nights, The Glee Version.

Grease Sound Track-Hopelessly Devoted To You

Hopelessly Devoted To You

1978

Olivia Newton John

Ahhh...The Love-Ballad...an integral and necessary part of any love story. No, really it actually was necessary, because Olivia Newton John's management stipulated that she have a solo in Grease. So not only was it necessary...it was contractually necessary...as in, no Solo for Liv, There'd be no Sandy in the movie.

So she and her management were assured that she would indeed have a solo. And the suits sweated as the filming progressed because they couldn't come up with a song for her or figure out where to put it when they did come up with it.

They were literally halfway through the shoot when John Farrar...Olivia's music director...came up with Hopelessly Devoted To You., and when he did come up with it, the movie's director Randal Kleiser wasn't in love with it...or the fact that he'd have to come up with a new scene to set it in. In fact, there was actually nowhere in the movie as written to put the song, so to place it he had to go over the film, rub his chin, consume coffee, rub his chin a bit more, and finally do a little tweaking here, a bit of tweaking there, and film a new scene to drop in between the tweaked bits. This process took long enough that Olivia Newton John's big solo was actually shot after filming for Grease had wrapped. An entire set had to be built for the scene as well, but all that extra effort yielded positive results.

Hopelessly Devoted To You snagged the only Oscar nomination that the film claimed...the nomination for Best Original Song...though they lost out to 'Last Dance' from 'Thank God It's Friday'.Olivia Newton John also performed the song live at the Academy Awards that night. The single also hit the charts in a big way, shooting up to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Liv's solo, BTW, wasn't just filmed after the movie wrapped...Hopelessly Devoted To You also had the latest release date of any of the other hit singles from the sound track...September 9th

Even though it had a late release date as a single, the Top 40 stations kept it in constant rotation, and Hopelessly Devoted To You became one of The Summer of 78's favorite love songs, at least among the young ladies who had 'teen' suffixed to their age thirty-five years ago. 

Here in the Richmond area, that radio station would have been WRVQ...Q94...which had taken Top 40 duty away from WLEE only a couple of years earlier. Q94's still around, and is still the teen radio dial destination of choice in the Greater Richmond Area. Us refugees From The Seventies listen to 107.3 in Richmond, or 106.9 out of Hampton Roads to hear the oldies. And now and again you'll catch Olivia Newton John singing her solo from Grease on one of them.

So Enjoy!

Hopelessly Devoted To You, by Olivia Newton John.

And as a Bonus...Olivia Newton John's live performance of Hopelessly Devoted To You, from the 51^st Academy Awards on April 9^th, 1979.

Grease Sound Track-You're The One That I Want

You're The One That I Want

1978

John Travolta/Olivia Newton John

This one was arguably The Biggie, hit-wise,from the sound track. 'You're The One That I Want' was the Big Finale song for the movie, and showed off John Travolta's dancing skills, as well as proving that Olivia Newton John could hang with him on the dance floor without breaking a sweat. The tune was also penned by John Farrar specifically for the film, and after being released on May 6th 1978 it shot up the charts, making it to the top spot on The Billboard hot 100 a scosh over a month later, on June 10^th . I couldn't find out how long it stayed at #1, but it stayed on the charts...and the radio station play-lists...all summer long.

The scene was filmed in just one day with the help of a traveling carnival that happened to be in town (that's why the carnival rides and games looked so intricately detailed and authentic...they were the real thing). They wrapped the scene...and Director Randall Kleiser decided that they needed some more close-ups. BIG problem...the carnival had left town, so the set designers had to design sets that were spitting images of the carnival for the backgrounds of the close-ups. Watch closely in the video and see if you can spot the scenes that were shot using the movie sets rather than the actual carnival rides..

I read what's probably the best possible description of this song on Songfacts...'About as pure a Pop Adrenaline rush as you can get'. That pretty much nails it...You almost can't listen to this song without moving to it.

My brother and I were talking about Grease as I was working on finding videos for this post just the other day and he reminded me of an Olivia Newton John interview, possibly form The Tonight Show, where she was asked if she had been nervous about having to dance with John Travolta in the finale.

To paraphrase her reply (And I can picture her kind of looking sidewise at her interviewer...Carson if it was indeed on The Ultimate Late Night Talk Show...and giving him that adorable and impish little half smile that everyone loved as she said this in her Aussie accent) ”Probably no more nervous than he was having to sing with me”

Well played, Liv...Well played!!

This one's another song that doesn't appear on Oldies station play-lists as often as it should...but we sure remember it. After all, 35 years ago we made it the biggest hit from the top grossing movie musical of all time.

So enjoy (You sang with it. And kinda chair danced a bit with it too!)

You're The One That I Want by John Travolta and Olivia Newton John, in the finale scene from 'Grease'

The kids from Glee covered this one too...in it's entirety..Did have the video, but sadly, it got removed...Oh well!

Brandy (You're A Fine Girl) by Looking Glass

Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)

1972

Looking Glass

I'm posting a pair of biggies this week. Two songs that both had the same name when they were originally recorded. They came out about three years apart...the first one was all but a one hit wonder and the second one kicked off a long string of hit singles for a legendary performer. Did I mention that the one word titles to the songs rhymed? (Am I kinda sounding Like Casey Kasum here or what, LOL)

The intro of the first song's familiar to anyone who grew up in The Seventies...when that Fender-Rhodes electric piano cranked up with that awesome upbeat tempo, ya knew you were getting ready to hear a quartet of Rutgers University kids who called themselves 'Looking Glass' belt out the story of a popular barmaid in a 'Port on a Western Bay' who was waiting fruitlessly for the man she loved to return from the sea.

'Looking Glass' was the literal story of a local garage band that played at frat parties and local hangouts hitting it big. They decided to get serious about their music after graduation, and cut a demo tape. 'Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)' was one of their original songs, and was named...sort of...after lead singer Elliott Lurie's high school sweetheart, who was named 'Randi'. The recording session for Brandy was one of those long frustrating ones where the artist, producer, and entire crew wonders if they're ever gonna get this thing sounding like they want it to and ultimately wonders if they're ever gonna get out of the studio at all...but they finally got it right. They farmed the Demo tape out Annnnnd...they got rejection letters...a pretty extensive collection of them, in fact.

They ultimately came to the attention of recording industry Legend and Uber Guru Clive Davis, who went to a club in New York to hear them play. Clive Davis liked what he saw and heard, and signed them to his label Columbia subsidiary Epic Records. Legend has it that Brandy...' was released ' as the B side of 'Don't It Make You Feel Good', the song he thought was going to be a hit. A Washington DC DJ named Harv Moore liked 'Brandy...' better, flipped it, played it, and it took off...first in the D.C.Area, then Virginia and Maryland, then nationwide. Those of us who lived in Virginia were among the first to hear it, well before the rest of the country, though we didn't know that at the time, Or care for that matter...we just knew we really liked what we heard. We apparently weren't the only ones who liked it...the song was released in May of 1972 and and though sales of 45's started slowly, it hit the Number One spot on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week of August 26^th, staying there for a single week.

ANother interesting little tidbit...the song also inspired thousands of 70s mommas-to-be to name an equally huge number of 70s girl-babies 'Brandy' or an alternate spelling there-of, because the name 'Brandy, in all of it's different spellings, skyrocketed in popularity after the song took off and topped the charts.

The song may have been actually been based, at least partially, in historical fact. In 1813 a woman in New Jersey who was desperately in love with a sea captain who vowed that he would return from the sea and marry her bought a plot of land on a bend in The Raritan River. She did this so she could follow her pledge to wait at that bend for his return...but he never came back. She was buried there in 1827 and her grave still remains. Many think her story is the inspiration for the song.

Looking Glass only had one other song that was a mild hit, that hit being 'Jimmy Loves Marrianne' Elliott Lurie left the band shortly thereafter and was replaced...but we all know what happens when you try to replace the Lead Singer of a band...often it's doesn't go well. One thing that ate into their success in a big way both before and after Elliott Lurie's departure was the gap between 'Brandi...''s sound and their live sound...Brandi was not typical of their sound. Looking Glass was more of a hard rock band by far, and fans coming to concerts expecting Brandy's uptempo pop sound were sorely disappointed.

The band folded shortly after Lurie left, Elliott Lurie didn't find solo success so he went behind the scenes to produce music for movies and television (And made a pretty decent career of it). And we were left with a mega hit that's become a timeless symbol of 70s Pop Music.

So Enjoy (And I know ya sang along to this one...right from the very first note!)

Brandy (You're A Fine Girl) by Looking Glass.

Same arrangement, but with Lyrics

And as a bonus...The follow up to 'Brandy (You're A Fine Girl, and Looking Glass' only other hit, Jimmy Loves Maryanne

Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)'s Songfacts page: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3430

And the song's SuperSeventies page: http://www.superseventies.com/1972_9singles.html

Mandy Barry Manilow

Mandy

1974

Barry Manilow

Ok, first off, Barry Manilow's first hit single...Mandy...was not a Barry Manilow original, despite what many people think and indeed believe with all of their hearts. It was originally recorded by a British singer named Scott English  in 1971 and reached #12 on the charts in The U.K. The Scott English version wasn't even named 'Mandy'...The song that he charted with in the U. K. was named 'Brandy'. It actually made a brief appearance on the charts in the US, when it slipped across the pond and it made it to # 91 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Scott English's 'Brandy' was released in The U.K. By Columbia...which Epic Records was a subsidiary of. Which means Clive Davis knew about it. And liked it. A lot. And Clive Davis had signed Barry Manilow to his new label, Arista Records. (See where this is goin' don'tcha?). Barry Manilow was a relatively unknown singer at this time, keep in mind, though it's hard to conceive of him ever being 'unknown'. With this thought in mind, Clive Davis set out to make Barry Manilow his next star and suggested a cover of Scott English's hit, Brandy. OF course Looking Glass had hit #1 with their hit, Brandy (You're A Fine Girl), universally shortened to simply 'Brandy', only two years previously and Looking Glass' Brandy was still on the play-lists...constantly. SO the first thing they had to do was change the name...Whatever brainstorming sessions this necessity inspired caused the 'Br' to be changed to an 'M', and the title we all know was born.

Then he recorded it with very similar music, tempo, and beat as Scott English's version, making it an up-tempo pop song...and really hated the way it came out. So a complete rewrite of the music, courtesy of Richard Kerr, and a partial rewrite of the song (The first two lines of the fourth verse were dropped) was performed, and it was rerecorded as a ballad. And this time it sounded just like they wanted it. Barry Manilow wanted to be known for his own music rather than covers anyway, and while the song wasn't his he made it his own very handily.

Mandy was released in November 1974 and made it to #1 on the week of Jan 18th, 1975, staying there for a week. 'Mandy' also introduced us to the Barry Manilow method of making a classic...his songs weren't just songs, they were productions in and of themselves and sadly, he got little respect from critics or listeners. Of course the passage of 40 years or so changes perspectives and attitudes about a lot of things. Manilow and 'Mandy' are staples on Oldies stations. Now when us Seventies Kids hear that piano intro for his first hit single start up, it tends to make a few memories surface. As it should be.

So enjoy!

Mandy, by Barry Manilow. And ya know you at least hummed along with it!

And as a bonus...Scott English's 'Brandy'

And a couple of factoids about 'Mandy'

(1) Before he made it big, Barry Manilow produced jingles for various products...we're talking lots of well known jingles for lots of well known products. McDonald’s 'You Deserve A Break Today' campaign? Yep...that was Barry. He also produced music for television, and began a long running professional association with a lady named Bette Midler in 1971. He was also the opening act for Dionne Warwick at a concert in New York in June of 74...He was signed to Bell Records, which became Arista when Clive Davis took it over and dropped several of Bell's artists. After hearing Barry Manilow open for Dionne Warwick, Davis decided that this Manilow fella just might be able to do something with this singing thing. And the rest, as they say, is history.

(2)The two lines that were excised from the song's fourth verse were when Scott English's 'Brandy' became Barry Manilow's 'Mandy' were:

“Riding on a country bus

No one even noticed us”

(3) There was and is an urban legend that Mandy was actually written about Barry Manilow's dog, who had been put to sleep. Good story...never happened. That story was actually started by an incident involving Scott English. “Brandy', as his original version of the song was titled, was a pretty big hit in The U.K. And the British tabloids make ours over here in The U.S. look like a community newsletter. A tabloid reporter managed to get hold of his phone number and called him early one morning, waking him up, to ask who the song was about. As legend has it (And Scott English confirmed it) he replied 'The song's about my bloody dog!!' (Imagine that being said in a really pissed off English accent and it becomes even funnier) and hung up on the guy. And an Urban Legend was born.

(4)  There was another cover of the song before Barry Manilow retitled it and made it a classic...New Zealnder Bunny Walters, based on Scott English's version and also named 'Brandy' It was a hit in New Zealand, and lots of New Zealanders didn't know about the Scott English version, When Barry Manilow's 'Mandy' was released and became a mega-hit, Bunny Walter's fans were convinced that Bunny wrote the song and that Barry Manilow stole it from him.ANd with that thought in mind...another bonus. 'Brandy, released in New Zealand in 1972 by New Zealander Bunny Walters.

Hooked On A Feeling Blue Swede

Hooked On A Feeling

1974

Blue Swede

If you were a teenager in the US in 1974, you'll know this one just from the very first note...OK,very first chant...of the intro. You'll probably be chanting right along with it with it a couple of seconds to...ready for it?

OOGA CHAKA OOOGA OOOGA OOOGA CHAKA.....

That's right...Swedish group Blue Swede's version of 'Hooked On A Feeling', originally recorded and sung by B.J. Thomas. The Blue Swede version made it to # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week of April 6^th, 1974 and stayed there for a week between two powerhouse hits (Sunshine On My Shoulders by John Denver, and Benny and The Jets by Elton John) and marked the only time the group cracked the charts in The US. They can thank a lady in Cincinnati who owned a record store for that top spot.  She managed to get hold of one of the few copies of the single that made it's way across The Pond to the US and played it in her record store.  A local DJ heard and liked it, it ended up getting some local airplay and the kids loved it...and it started spreading like wild fire.

The 'OOGA CHAKA's were a jungle chant first added by British singer Jonathon King to his version of the song, which made it to #23 over in the U.K. (And never even appeared over here). Jonathon King, in turn, was inspired by similar chants in Johnny Preston's 1959 hit 'Running Bear'. Blue Swede then grabbed the ball and ran with it, adding the jungle chant and making it more aggressive when they recorded their own version which hit#1 in their own country...and then that hand full of records made it over here, and it became their only US hit.

This version of the song has a pretty interesting legacy, too. It was used in the movie 'Reservoir Dogs' in 1992 and was the song that Ally McBeals Dancing Baby danced to in 1998.

Another obscure little Swedish group called 'ABBA' kicked Blue Swede's collective butts when it came to hits in The U.S with 14 top 40 hits compared to Blue Swede's one, but Blue Swede returned the favor by out-hitting Abba on their home turf. Trust me on this, though...Blue Swede's version of 'Hooked On A Feeling was a HUGE hit in the US. Those jungle chants could be heard constantly on Richmond's Q-94 back in 1974, and I can remember a trio of my better looking friends...best friends themselves...regularly breaking into that rhythmic chant between classes at Thomas Dale High during the last two months of my Junior year at The Home of The Knights.

You can still hear it fairly regularly on both Richmond's 107.3, 106.9 out of Newport News, and probably every other Oldies station in the land...HMMMM...wonder of those three gals still sound as good singing together now as they did then?

So enjoy!

Hooked On A Feeling by Blue Swede

Hooked On A Feeling B. J. Thomas

Hooked On A Feeling

1968

B. J. Thomas

Blue Swede's version of 'Hooked On A Feeling may have been the one that those of us who hit our teens in The 70s remember, but as noted above it wasn't the original version. The B.J. Thomas version, with it's distinctive and down right awesome electric sitar intro, has the lock on that title, and is awesome enough to rate it's own post.

 He sure didn't do too a bad job with his version of 'Hooked On A Feeling, chart-wise, either. It was released in October 1968 and made it to #5 on The Billboard Top 100...a big hit, though not as big a hit as his next hit single...a little ditty called 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head', already covered on this very blog. And a little tidbit of trivia...according to popular legend,  B.J. Thomas managed to nail this recording in just one take while fighting a cold.

Hooked On A Feeling was written by Mark James, who also penned Elvis Presley's Suspicious Minds. You'll actually hear the original B.J. Thomas version of 'Hooked On A Feeling' a bit more often than the Blue Swede version if you listen to 107.3 in Richmond, and it's a staple on every other Oldies station as well.

So Enjoy!

The original version of Hooked On A Feeling By B. J. Thomas

(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song B. J. Thomas

(Hey Won't you Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song

1975

B. J. Thomas

B.J. Thomas's second number one hit also holds the title of...well the longest title...of any number one hit. And it definitely got sung along with and to a lot in 1975. Guessed what it is yet? Really...ya haven't??? Bet the first lines clue ya in...

It's lonely out to-nite...and the feelin's just right for a brand new love song....

Yep...(Hey Won't you Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song, which shot up the charts to #1 in April of 1975 after it's release in February and managed to also top Billboard's Hot Country Singles and Easy Listening charts a couple of weeks later.

'(Hey Won't you Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song' also won it's songwriters...Larry Butler and Chips Moran...The 1976 Grammy for Best Country Song. It was also covered a year after it's release by none other then 'The Muppets'

The wild thing about the song was it was a bit of a conflict. You had this awesome up-beat, feel good, head swayin', finger-poppin', make-you-smile melody...with sad lyrics. More people have never smiled while singing along with what was essentially a break-up song.

But we Seventies Teens smiled and sang and listened to it constantly on the top 40 stations and bought the 45 (Remember 45s) and eight tracks (Remember 8-tracks??) and made it a million seller to show how much we loved it.

And we still sing along with it when it shows up on one of the Oldies stations like 103.7 and 106.9 (Richmond and Hampton Roads) as it does regularly.

So enjoy! And I know ya sang along to this one!

(Hey Won't you Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song by B. J. Thomas

Rock and Roll Lullaby B. J. Thomas

Rock And Roll Lullaby

1972

B. J. Thomas

B J Thomas could do a tear-jerker when he wanted to...and he nailed the 'Tear Jerker' label with this melody, from the point of view of a young man who was reminiscing about the lullaby that his very young mother sang to him to comfort him when he was an infant.

Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil penned this melody, and Duane Eddy played lead guitar, absolutely nailing the song's distinctive twangy guitar note. Back-up vocals were courtesy of a group called 'The Blossoms'

'Rock And Roll Lullaby' was released in 1972 and wasn't as big as some of his singles, but it was still a bonafide hit, making it it to # 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. 'Rock and Roll Lullaby still pulls on heart strings and touches people today...especially kids whose moms did sing this to them as a lullaby, and there were more than a few.

It was regularly heard on AM Top 40 stations like WLEE (Richmond) and WGH (Hampton Roads), just before AM gave way to FM. It still shows up on Oldies stations like Richmond's 103.7 and Newport News' 106.9  once in a while

So Enjoy!

'Rock And Roll Lullaby by B. J. Thomas