Leif Garrett, “Runaround Sue,” #13, January 22, 1978
Leif Garrett was a typical “teen idol” singer who’s now known better today for his on-and-off drug issues that what he actually did to make himself famous. “Runaround Sue” was the second single from his self-titled debut album released in late 1977 (eight of the 10 songs on the album were remakes of songs made over 10 years earlier, ranging from the standard “That’s All” to the Billy J. Kramer hit “Bad to Me,” written by Lennon & McCartney), and they all sound pretty similar: multitracked vocals, swoopy strings, etc. Basically, it was the same playbook Donny Osmond worked from at the beginning of the decade – which is no surprise, given producer Michael Lloyd had been a VP at MGM Records during Donny’s heyday. (Did I mention that Lloyd either wrote or cowrote the other two songs?) Anyway, it is what it is. By the way, this was the only video I could embed of this – don’t ask me why it has nothing but Kristy McNichol pictures, I have no idea.


Kansas, “Point of Know Return,” #28, January 22, 1978
Given all the airplay this song got, I would have thought it was a bigger hit – perhaps I was listening to WPLJ more then, or perhaps it came back after the song was blown away (sorry) by the second single, “Dust in the Wind.” Still a catchy song 30 years later, and no doubt a key song during Kansas’ concerts at state fairs and the like. Gotta love this video – it’s so ‘70s.


Stevie Wonder, “As,” #36, January 22, 1978
By January 1978, it had been over a year since Songs in the Key of Life was released, and Motown was still pumping out singles. This was the fourth Top 40 hit from Stevie’s magnum opus after “I Wish,” “Sir Duke,” and “Another Star.” (“Isn’t She Lovely” got tons of radio airplay, but Wonder never authorized Motown to release it as a single.) Nothing wrong with this song; more likely it didn’t get much of a label push. By the way, that wasn’t Stevie banging away on a Fender Rhodes in the original version; it’s Herbie Hancock.


Donny & Marie Osmond, “You’re My Soul and Inspiration,” #38, January 22, 1978
And speaking of Donny Osmond, this was his 31st Hot 100 hit of the ‘70s (just the ninth for Marie, however), and, yes, it’s a remake of an oldie. Out of print, and it suffers from the typical Donny & Marie duet issue: most duets are written as love songs between the singers; it sounds a little icky when it’s being sung between a brother and a sister. (Saturday Night Live did a sketch in 1982, featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Marie and Gary Kroeger as Donny, that took that ick factor to the extreme.)


Marilyn Scott, “God Only Knows,” #61, January 22, 1978
Another one that’s out of print. Marilyn Scott has had (and continues to have) success as a jazz vocalist. It’s a remake of the 1966 Beach Boys hit from Pet Sounds; it has an interesting arrangement but won't eclipse the original.


Sammy Hagar, “You Make Me Crazy,” #62, January 22, 1978
Post-Montrose and pre-Van Halen, Sammy charted with this song that could easily have been mistaken for an Andrew Gold or Stephen Bishop tune. Which is probably why we never hear it nowadays, even though it’s still in print – who wants a wimpy Sammy Hagar when we can have the one on “Poundcake” and “Why Can’t This Be Love?”


The Ramones, “Rockaway Beach,” #66, January 22, 1978
Well, you have to give Sire Records credit for trying. The Ramones’ second of three Hot 100 singles (all from the album Rocket to Russia) may not be their most recognizable song (“I Wanna Be Sedated”? “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School”? “Blitzkreig Bop”?), but it’s had a long shelf life – my son recognized it instantly as a “chase theme” song from an episode of What’s New, Scooby-Doo? Ruh-roh.


Al Green, “Belle,” #83, January 22, 1978
Green’s last Hot 100 entry in the 1970s came a bit before he temporarily stopped recording secular music. It’s a fine song, if a bit similar to some of his previous efforts. It’s likely being on the small Hi Records label (which didn’t have a lot of other artists at this point) started to slow his career momentum down; Green had also become an ordained pastor, which refocused his energies. He stopped performing and recording secular music altogether in favor of gospel a year after “Belle,” but has since balanced both genres.


Randy Newman, “Short People,” #2, January 29, 1978
Hard to believe the guy who’s known now for such family-friendly fare as “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” and “We Belong Together” was a controversial figure due to this song, which was clearly – clearly – a lampoon of the reasons why we dislike some people and not others. It’s a terrific joke, and made Newman, who previously could best be described as a cult figure, into a household name. I’m actually just as familiar with the parody of this parody, Chevy Chase’s 1980 song “Short People,” which keeps the melody but changes the lyrics to sing the praises of those who are height-challenged (“They don’t take up much space/You can get a dozen in a car”).


Paul Simon, “Slip Slidin’ Away,” #5, January 29, 1978
Paul Simon took what amounted to a five-year break between the Still Crazy After All These Years album and One-Trick Pony (which was both a failed movie starring Mr. Simon and a somewhat more successful soundtrack of them same); this song and “Stranded in a Limousine” were the only two songs Simon released during that period. The two of them were on the 1977 Greatest Hits, Etc., which was released to let Simon fulfill his contractual obligations to Columbia Records; all of his releases since then have been on Warner Brothers (although now the back catalog has gone back to Columbia – if anyone can figure out the music industry, please let me know). In any case, this is a memorable lyrics grafted onto a gospel tune, and certainly stands up to his other work.


Styx, “Come Sail Away,” #8, January 29, 1978
Styx’s first big hit on their primary label, A&M (their previous top 10 hit, “Lady,” was on the much smaller Wooden Nickel Records), and it’s been an AOR staple ever since. Styx’s overall oeuvre is a matter of personal taste (me: eh), but if their fans were polled, this would probably be their quintessential track.


Leo Sayer, “Easy to Love,” #36, January 29, 1978
Easy to love, but hard as hell to listen to. The second single off his Thunder in My Heart album, and sung mostly in falsetto (remember, The Bee Gees were breaking sales records doing the same at this time) barely scraped into the Top 40, as had the title track two months before. That was a big comedown from the two #1 hits he’d notched in 1977, “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” and “When I Need You.” No doubt a big money loser for Chrysalis Records, which probably pressed a sizeable number of copies assuming Sayer’s star would continue to ascend; I remember seeing this album in cut-out racks for years.


Kenny Rogers, “Sweet Music Man,” #44, January 29, 1978
Gentle and basically uninteresting ballad from just before the time when Kenny Rogers would dominate the pop and country charts. This was a top 10 country hit, but too contemplative for a major crossover.


Rose Royce, “Ooh Boy,” #72, January 29, 1978
After scoring a #1 hit with their debut single “Car Wash” in early 1977, this group struggled to maintain momentum, and this single fit right in – it sounds as if it could have been a Motown release from 10 years before. As a result, it missed the top 40 by a mile (their last chart single, "Love Don't Live Here Anymore," would be far more successful). Solidly produced by Norman Whitfield, but nothing that would make anyone jump out of their chair.


Kellee Patterson, “If It Don’t Fit, Don’t Force It,” #75, January 29, 1978
The first of this series to go into a very special subset: That’s What She Said. (This was an era with lots of double-entendre song titles, most of which didn’t chart terribly highly.) Patterson hailed from Gary, Indiana, becoming popular there around the same time as The Jackson 5. She recorded a few albums with minor labels (one in the mid-1990s in a jazz vein); this was her only Hot 100 entry. It was tempting to say this was a disco one-shot without hearing it; it’s actually more of a soul/funk piece, and certainly deserved to be heard.