Here are two compilation CDs that seek to capture the essence of 1976. Very little overlap. “Saturday Night” by the Bay City Rollers appears on both CDs. I like the ROCK ON CD compilations because they list the Chart Positions of the songs included.
I found it interesting that BILLBOARD TOP HITS 1976 has “Theme From S.W.A.T.” while ROCK ON 1976 has “Baretta’s Theme (Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow) showing TV’s impact on the year’s pop music.
We’re at the beginning of the Disco Years in 1976. Do you remember these songs? Any favorites? GRADE: B (for both)
TRACKLIST:
Bay City Rollers–Saturday Night 2:54
Gary Wright–Love Is Alive 3:25
K.C. & The Sunshine Band*–(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty 3:04
Dr. Hook–Only Sixteen 2:43
The Sylvers–Boogie Fever 3:25
Orleans–Still The One 3:52
Bellamy Brothers–Let Your Love Flow [rerecording] 2:48
Rhythm Heritage–Baretta’s Theme (Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow) 3:13
Silver Convention–Get Up And Boogie 2:45
Dorothy Moore–Misty Blue 3:35
Starbuck (2)–Moonlight Feels Right 3:34
Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan*–Sweet Thing 3:19
TRACKLIST:
| 1 | Elton John & Kiki Dee– | Don’t Go Breaking My Heart | 4:25 |
| 2 | Gary Wright– | Dream Weaver | 3:27 |
| 3 | The Miracles– | Love Machine (Part 1) | 3:02 |
| 4 | The Bellamy Brothers*– | Let Your Love Flow | 3:18 |
| 5 | Wild Cherry– | Play That Funky Music | 3:18 |
| 6 | Bay City Rollers– | Saturday Night | 2:58 |
| 7 | Elvin Bishop– | Fooled Around And Fell In Love | 2:59 |
| 8 | England Dan & John Ford Coley– | I’d Really Love To See You Tonight | 2:40 |
| 9 | Eric Carmen– | All By Myself | 4:57 |
| 10 | Rhythm Heritage– | Theme From S.W.A.T. | 2:50 |
The more endlessly, mindlessly repetitive a song, the less likely I am to tolerate it…hence “Moonlight Feels Right” and “Boogie Fever” and “Shake Your Booty” are probably the songs I’m most likely to turn off here, and the Rufus/Chaka Khan and England Dan/John Ford Coley songs perhaps the ones I;m mostly likely to sit all the way through. None would be my favorites of their era.
Todd, notice the lack of “Big Name” performers on both of these CDs. Repetition seems to be common in most contemporary pop songs now.
How different are the two Bellamy Bros records?
Todd, I didn’t discern much variation in the Bellamy Brothers songs.
Wow. What horrible collections. It’s like they purposely went out of their way to to create lousy cd’s. The Elvin Bishop and Elton John iare okay but I really don’t like anything on here. I really really detest a lot of theses such as All By Myself, Still the One, Get Up and Boogie. Unfortunately I know all of these except the Dorothy Moore. No wonder I stopped listening to top 40 radio. I would rate both these F.
Steve, despite the variety of songs on both CDs, the quality of the music is…questionable. I may have been too generous with my “B” grade.
Nothing of interest here. I would listen to either album if you pointed a gun to my head. Maybe.
Jerry, clearly 1976 wasn’t a great year for music if both of these CDs are indicators. Of course, the Best Selling Albums of 1976 tells a different story:1
HOTEL CALIFORNIA
EAGLES
Sales: 42,000,000
Rank in 1976 : 1
Rank in 1970’s: 3
Overall rank : 7
2
THEIR GREATEST HITS 1971-1975
EAGLES
Sales: 41,197,000
Rank in 1976 : 2
Rank in 1970’s: 4
Overall rank : 8
3
BOSTON
BOSTON
Sales: 25,000,000
Rank in 1976 : 3
Rank in 1970’s: 11
Overall rank : 52
4
OXYGENE
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE
Sales: 18,000,000
Rank in 1976 : 4
Rank in 1970’s: 21
Overall rank : 100
5
FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE!
PETER FRAMPTON
Sales: 17,000,000
Rank in 1976 : 5
Rank in 1970’s: 24
Overall rank : 107
6
JAMES TAYLOR’S GREATEST HITS
JAMES TAYLOR
Sales: 12,605,000
Rank in 1976 : 6
Rank in 1970’s: 31
Overall rank : 173
7
BEST OF THE DOOBIES
THE DOOBIE BROTHERS
Sales: 12,000,000
Rank in 1976 : 7
Rank in 1970’s: 33
Overall rank : 198
8
CHRONICLE: 20 GREATEST HITS
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL
Sales: 11,147,500
Rank in 1976 : 8
Rank in 1970’s: 36
Overall rank : 215
9
GREATEST HITS
LINDA RONSTADT
Sales: 7,398,570
Rank in 1976 : 9
Rank in 1970’s: 56
Overall rank : 402
10
DIRTY DEEDS DONE DIRT CHEAP
AC/DC
Sales: 7,224,562
Rank in 1976 : 10
Rank in 1970’s: 57
Overall rank : 413
11
NIGHT MOVES
BOB SEGER
Sales: 6,300,000
Rank in 1976 : 11
Rank in 1970’s: 71
Overall rank : 531
12
ARRIVAL
ABBA
Sales: 6,212,100
Rank in 1976 : 12
Rank in 1970’s: 73
Overall rank : 545
13
SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE
STEVIE WONDER
Sales: 5,626,288
Rank in 1976 : 13
Rank in 1970’s: 81
Overall rank : 644
14
SILK DEGREES
BOZ SCAGGS
Sales: 5,392,090
Rank in 1976 : 14
Rank in 1970’s: 83
Overall rank : 671
15
LIVE BULLET
BOB SEGER
Sales: 5,200,000
Rank in 1976 : 15
Rank in 1970’s: 92
I love OXYGENE! I still have it on one of my “Chill” playlists and listen to it frequently.
The best rock music of 1976 wasn’t hitting the top of the US charts too readily, clearly…most of those cited albums are best-of compilations, though the Stevie Wonder and maybe the Boz Scaggs among the new releases aren’t the worst, by any means. But there was a whole lot of ferment among those with lesser sales.
Todd, you’re right. Around 1976 I remember plenty of local FM radio stations started to play longer songs that the TOP 40 stations wouldn’t.
For the hell of it, here’s Dave Marsh’s selection of the best rock albums of ’76:
1976
1. “Presley, Elvis” The Sun Sessions
2. “Wonder, Stevie” Songs In The Key Of Life
3. “Seger, Bob And The Silver Bullet Band” Live Bullet
4. “Stewart, Rod” A Night On The Town
5. “Green, Al” Full Of Fire
6. “Seger, Bob And The Silver Bullet Band” Night Moves
7. “Browne, Jackson” The Pretender
8. “Mitchell, Joni” Hejira
9. Boston Boston
10. “Hall, Daryl And John Oates” Bigger Than Both Of Us
11. Lynyrd Skynyrd One Morefrom The Road
12. Blue Oyster Cult Agents Of Fortune
13. Parliament The Clones Of Dr. Funkenstein
14. “Marley, Bob And The Wailers” Live!
15. “Reed, Lou” Coney Island Baby
16. “Dr. Buzzard’s Original “”Savannah”” Band” “Dr. Buzzard’s Original “”Savannah”” Band”
17. “Collins, Bootsy” Stretchin’ Out In Bootsy’s Rubber Band
18. Thin Lizzy Jailbreak
19. “Pryor, Richard” Bicentennial Nigger
20. Steely Dan The Royal Scam
21. “Dylan, Bob” Desire
22. “Eagles, The” Hotel Catifomia
23. Wings Wings At The Speed Of Sound
24. “Bowie, David” Station To Station
25. Roxy Music Viva! Roxy Music
26. “Waits, Tom” Small Change
27. “Beck, Jeff” Wired
28. Funkadelic Hardcore Jollies
29. “King, Carole” Thoroughbred
30. “Marley, Bob And The Wailers” Rastaman Vibration
31. Parliament Mothership Connection
32. “Jennings, Waylon, Willie Nelson, Tompall Glaser, Jessi Colter” The Outlaws
33. “Gaye, Marvin” I Want You
34. “Robinson, Smokey” Smokey’s Family Robinson
35. “Lofgren, Nils” Cry Tough
36. “Mann’s, Manfred Earth Band” The Roaring Silence
37. “Trammps, The” Where The Happy People Go
38. Various Artists Car Wash (Soundtrack)
39. “Manhattans, The” The Manhattans
40. “Ross, Diana” Diana Ross
For my part, I’ll take the first Joan Armatrading album ahead of A Lot of these, too.
And here’s someone with a great love of 1976 releases, with a Top 150, at https://accidentalevolution.wordpress.com/2021/02/27/150-best-albums-of-1976/ :
Michael Hurley/The Unholy Modal Rounders/Jeffrey Fredericks & the Clamtones Have Moicy! (Rounder)
Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band (RCA)
Aerosmith Rocks (Columbia)
Boney M Take the Heat Off Me (Atco)
Blue Öyster Cult Agents of Fortune (Columbia)
Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life (Tamla)
Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Night Moves (Capitol)
Discomania 2 (Jukebox International)
Warren Zevon Warren Zevon (Asylum)
Thin Lizzy Jailbreak (Mercury)
Disco Tex and his Sex-O-Lettes Manhattan Millionaire (Chelsea)
Boston Boston (Epic)
Jorge Ben Africa Brasil (Philips)
AC/DC High Voltage (Atco)
Miles Davis Agharta (Columbia)
Dance Machine (K-Tel)
Blondie Blondie (Private Stock)
Rose Royce Best of Car Wash (MCA UK)
Led Zeppelin Presence (Swan Song)
Hit Power (Arcade Germany)
Yesterday and Today Yesterday and Today (London)
Crack the Sky Animal Notes (Lifesong)
Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Live Bullets (Capitol)
The Wild Tchoupitoulas The Wild Tchoupitoulas (Island)
The Jimmy Castor Bunch E-Man Groovin’ (Atlantic)
Dwight Twilley Band Sincerely (Shelter/ABC)
Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees (Columbia)
The Modern Lovers The Modern Lovers (Home of the Hits)
Ramones Ramones (Sire)
Heart Dreamboat Annie (Mushroom)
Starz Starz (Capitol)
Automatic Man Automatic Man (Island)
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band Roaring Silence (Bronze/Warner Bros.)
KC and the Sunshine Band Part 3 (TK)
Ted Nugent Free-For-All (Epic)
The Runaways The Runaways (Mercury)
Eagles Hotel California (Asylum)
ZZ Top Tejas (London)
Donna Summer A Love Trilogy (Oasis)
Truth and Janey No Rest for the Wicked (Montross)
Earth Quake 8.5 (Beserkley)
Penguin Cafe Orchestra Music From the Penguin Cafe (Obscure UK)
Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me: Narrative Poetry from the Black Oral Tradition (Rounder)
The Rolling Stones Black and Blue (Rolling Stones)
Tom T. Hall Faster Horses (Mercury)
Milton Nascimento Milton (A&M)
Big Youth Natty Cultural Dread (Trojan UK)
The Trammps Where the Happy People Go (Atlantic)
Marcus Marcus (United Artists)
David Bowie Station to Station (RCA Victor)
Kevin Coyne In Living Black and White (Virgin)
Gasolin’ What a Lemon/Gasolin’ (Epic)
Far East Family Band Parallel World (MU Land Japan)
Nils Lofgren Cry Tough (A&M)
Debris’ Debris’ (Static Disposal)
Henry Cow Concerts (Caroline UK)
L.T.D. Love to the World (A&M)
AC/DC Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Atlantic UK)
The Alpha Band The Alpha Band (Arista)
Dr. Aftershave and the Mixed Pickles For Missus Beastly (April Germany)
This is Reggae Music Volume 3 (Island)
Golden Earring To the Hilt (MCA)
Suzi Quatro Aggro-Phobia (RAK UK)
Steely Dan The Royal Scam (ABC)
Sweet Give Us a Wink (Capitol)
15.69.75 The Numbers Band Jimmy Bell’s Still in Town (Water Bros.)
Steve Miller Band Fly Like an Eagle (Capitol)
Groundhogs Black Diamond (United Artists)
Judas Priest Sad Wings of Destiny (Janus)
Harmonica Frank Floyd Harmonica Frank Floyd (Adelphi)
Arlo Guthrie Amigo (Reprise)
Graham Parker and the Rumour Heat Treatment (Mercury)
Abba Arrival (Atlantic)
Be Bop Deluxe Sunburst Finish (Harvest)
Mother’s Finest Mother’s Finest (Epic)
Camel Moonmadness (Janus/GRT)
Thin Lizzy Johnny the Fox (Mercury)
Augustus Pablo King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown (Yard Jamaica)
Hawkwind Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music (Charisma UK)
Funkadelic Hardcore Jollies (Westbound)
Van Der Graaf Generator World Record (Mercury)
Budgie If I Were Britannia I’d Waive the Rules (A&M)
Al Stewart Year of the Cat (Janus)
Richard and Linda Thompson Pour Down Like Silver (Island)
Mr. Big Photographic Smile (Arista)
The Tubes Young and Rich (A&M)
Pavlov’s Dog At the Sound of the Bell (Columbia)
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band SAHB Stories (Mountain UK)
Graham Parker Howlin’ Wind (Mercury)
Magma Üdü Wüdù (Tomato)
Le Disco Album (Barclay France)
Millie Jackson Free and in Love (Spring)
Foxy Foxy (Dash)
Chilliwack Dreams. Dreams, Dreams (Mushroom)
The Steve Gibbons Band Any Road Up (MCA)
Good Rats Ratcity in Blue (Ratcity/Platinum)
Sparks Big Beat (Columbia)
Norman Connors You Are My Starship (Buddah)
Silver Convention Madhouse (Midland International)
Sailor Trouble (Epic)
Artful Dodger Honor Among Thieves (Columbia)
Piper Piper (A&M)
R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders Number 2 (Blue Goose)
Bob Dylan Desire (Columbia)
Max’s Kansas City 1976 (Ram)
Patti Smith Group Radio Ethiopia (Arista)
Puhdys Sturmvogel (Amiga GDR)
Kate & Anna McGarrigle Kate & Anna McGarrigle (Warner Bros.)
Point Blank Point Blank (Arista)
Ian Hunter All-American Alien Boy (Columbia)
Genesis A Trick of the Tail (Atco)
David Allan Coe Longhaired Redneck (Columbia)
Rod Stewart A Night on the Town (Warner Bros.)
Michael Mantler The Hapless Child and Other Inscrutable Stories (Watt)
Van Der Graaf Generator Still Life (Mercury)
Elliott Murphy Night Lights (RCA Victor)
Nazareth Close Enough for Rock ’N’ Roll (A&M)
Paris Paris (Capitol)
Angel Helluva Band (Casablanca)
Ray Barretto Barretto Live: Tomorrow (Atlantic)
D.C. Larue Cathedrals (Pyramid)
Rex Rex (Columbia)
The Mighty Diamonds Right Time (Virgin)
Dirty Tricks Night Man (Polydor)
Parliament The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein (Casablanca)
Be Bop Deluxe Modern Music (Harvest)
Electric Light Orchestra A New World Record (Jet)
Joni Mitchell Hejira (Asylum)
Deaf School 2nd Honeymoon (Warner Bros.)
Burning Spear Garvey’s Ghost (Island)
Slik Slik (Arista)
The Babys The Babys (Chrysalis)
Streetwalkers Red Card (Mercury)
Amon Düül II Pyragony X (Nova Germany)
Babe Ruth Kid’s Stuff (Capitol)
The Manhattans The Manhattans (Columbia)
Pussycat First of All (EMI/Electrola Netherlands)
C.W. McCall Wilderness (Polydor)
Goblin Roller (Cinevox Italy)
D.C. Larue The Tea Dance (Pyramid)
Head East Get Yourself Up (A&M)
Dorothy Moore Misty Blue (Malaco)
Gunther Schuller Country Fiddle Band (Columbia Masterworks)
The Residents The Third Reich ’N’ Roll (Ralph)
Derringer Derringer (Blue Sky)
Lynyrd Skynyrd Gimme Back My Bullets (MCA)
Richard Pryor Bicentennial N****r (Warner Bros.)
Loretta Lynn When the Tingle Becomes a Chill (MCA)
Starbuck Moonlight Feels Right (Private Stock)
1st Brigade Band Rally ‘Round the Flag (Heritage Military Music Foundation)
No favorites here. The playlists are pretty much like 1976 itself, a placid interlude between Watergate/Vietnam/Nixon on one end and Reagan’s unraveling of the social safety net on the other. Memorable for being unmemorable. Rhino Records recycled some of the BILLBOARD: 1976 selections for its 10- (or was it 12?)-CD/cassette series spanning the ’70s.
Fred, you’re right. I usually expect the BILLBOARD compilation CDs to offer more hits instead of filler.
Of course, ’76 was also the year of the Bicentennial hype, but no one remembers that anymore, either.
Fred, yes Bicentennial hype was everywhere in 1976. Yet the Bay City Rollers, not an American Band, was the first BILLBOARD Number One hit of 1976.
Those most interested in the Bicen were not those most interested in programming Top 40 radio, except by accident or broadcast-station cross-ownership.
Of course I remember every single one of these songs. This is totally my era: sophomore year of college, stretching my young adult wings. Even the crappy songs bring back some memories. I find it interesting that Gary Wright—a minor blip on the musical radar, to put it kindly—is represented on both CDs, with two different songs (of the two, I prefer “Love Is Alive”). Probably my favorite song here is “Sweet Thing” by Chaka Khan & Rufus, but perhaps the most interesting is “Moonlight Feels Right”, which is one of the few pop songs to feature a marimba/xylophone solo (“Gone Daddy Gone” by the Violent Femmes and “Looking for Clues” by Robert Palmer are the only others I can think of).
/Here endeth the lesson.
Deb, I’m glad you like this music more than many of the commentators do. I just happened to stumble on these two CDs featuring 1976 music with very different songs. Yes, I’m as surprised as you are at TWO Gary Wright songs included!
A far better song musically if typically obnoxious lyrically by the Stones, “Under My Thumb”, comes (no pun intended) to mind.
The 70s weren’t really a bad decade for music but you’d never know it from these selections. Awful, just awful. If worse compilations have been featured here I’ve mercifully forgotten them.
Michael, but notice TWO 1976 compilation CDs failed to find representative quality music for that year.
As we all know, these collections are put together on the cheap. I’m surprised, if not much, they snagged an Elton John song.
Todd, Sir Elton is the Biggest Name on either of these CDs.
My mom had the AM radio on in the kitchen and the car pretty much all the time so everything here is burned into some long buried recess of my mind. In fact this was essentially the soundtrack to our family trip to Florida that year. I do have a soft spot for seventies schlock-pop but most of what’s here would be hard listening. I remember thinking at the time that Top 40 radio had begun to sound very platicy and like a lot of other kids started listening to FM radio. I cleaned out a corner of the garage where we had stored our sixties era TV/stereo console and put down an old rug just so I’d have a place to listen to music.
I recall precious little about any of these artists. I remember The Bay City Rollers solely because this was the year Howard Cosell had an Ed Sullivan styled variety show and tried to have his Beatles moment by introducing the band to the states.
Byron, I forgot all about Howard Cosell’s vanity show! That brings back memories! And, of all the songs on these two CDs, my favorite is “Saturday Night” with its powerful ear worm factor!
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE WITH HOWARD COSELL…gave Billy Crystal his first high-profile job, and kept that other flash-in-the-pan series from being other than NBC’S SATURDAY NIGHT for the first season or so…
“Let Your Love Flow” is also on both collections.
No, not my favorite either, but I like/don’t mind a few of the songs – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (Jackie went to see a free Kiki Dee concert in Central Park and Elton John popped up to sing it with her), Still the One (Trivia Alert: Orleans’s lead singer John Hall served two terms in Congress from Upstate NY), Get Up and Boogie (as with Silver Convention’s other hit, “Fly Robin Fly,” this one only has six words in it – Get, Up, and, Boogie, That’s, Right). Deb was jealous four years ago when we saw Chaka Khan open for Michael McDonald.
I love Chaka and Michael!!
Speaking of concerts, the twins took John (as an early Father’s Day present) to see Duran Duran at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans last night. Opening acts were Bastile (to appeal to the younger crowd) and Nile Rodgers & Chic! I forgot that Rodgers produced at least one Duran Duran album.
Deb, I might do a post on Duran Duran soon. Nile Rodgers is a genius!
Deb, remember, we saw Nile Rodgers & Chic open for Earth, Wind & Fire in 2017. They were great.
PBS’s AMERICAN MASTERS documentary on Little Richard which debuted on Friday last features a fair amount of interview footage with Rodgers, noting aside from his experience with and instruction by Penniman, how he knew he could help David Bowie with the LET’S DANCE album when Bowie said he wanted to sound like what Little Richard looked like. Chic certainly remains one of the best ’70s disco bands, by me.
Jeff, I’m a fan of Chaka Khan’s early work with Rufus. “Let Your Love Flow” must have been a bargain to be included on both CDs! Tell Jackie I’m a Kiki Dee fan, too!
Alas, Rufus isn’t getting any “platinum” reissues these decades.
I like Only 16 (a cover of a Sam Cooke song, I think) and Still the One! For the most part I didn’t keep up with current music back then!
Bob, I’m a big Sam Cooke fan! Love “(What a) Wonderful World”!
Don’t remember these songs at all.
I was on the road a lot then (business trips and holidays) but would pronanly immediately switch channels or put on a cassette with my favourite oldies.
We were lucky to have compact cassettes which you could record with material from your LPs.
Wolf, I remember transferring songs from my vinyl albums to cassettes. Later, I burned songs to CDs.