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Influential Albums: 1402-1408
Sat., Mar. 16. 2024 6:02pm EDT
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here are the latest entries in the "albums that influenced me" series I started writing in May 2020.
Note: Just because an album appears on this list doesn't mean I give it a blanket endorsement. Many of the secular albums on this list are mainly there because they wound up being spoofed by ApologetiX.
1402. Super Hits of the '70s - Have a Nice Day Volume 18 - Various Artists
If you liked ABC-TV's Tuesday-night line-up in 1976, this collection is for you. It includes the Top 40 hit versions of the themes from both Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley — "Happy Days" by Pratt & McLain, which reached #5 in early June 1976, and "Making Our Dreams Come True" by Cyndi Grecco, which peaked at #25 one month later. Super Hits of the '70s - Have a Nice Day Volume 18 also featured two #1 hits ("Afternoon Delight" by Starland Vocal Band and "Let Your Love Flow" by The Bellamy Brothers), three #2 hits ("Dream Weaver" by Gary Wright, "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" by England Dan & John Ford Coley, and "Right Back Where We Started From" by Maxine Nightingale), and two #3 hits ("Fooled Around and Fell in Love" by Elvin Bishop and "Moonlight Feels Right" by Starbuck). As if all that weren't enough, you also got "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" by Freddy Fender (#8) and "Shannon" by Henry Gross (#6), perhaps the greatest song ever written about a dog lost at sea. With all that pop firepower, the remaining track, "Falling Apart at the Seams" by The Marmalade (#49) seemed a little out of place. ApologetiX spoofed "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" in 2015 and "Afternoon Delight" in 2023. I don't know if we'll ever attempt "Moonlight Feels Right," but I know it's a favorite for both Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner and me ... gotta get a marimba.
1403. Super Hits of the '70s - Have a Nice Day Volume 11 - Various Artists
Hollywood had a huge influence on the pop chart in the '70s, and three of the highest-charting singles on Super Hits of the '70s - Have a Nice Day Volume 11 conjure up memories of famous films — The Poseidon Adventure, Deliverance, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. All of those movies could be categorized (loosely, at least) as disaster flicks, but the songs we associate with them were quite successful: "The Morning After" by Maureen McGovern (#1), "Dueling Banjos" by Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell (#2), and "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)" by Deodato (#2). It's sort of ironic that they were on a volume in a series called Have a Nice Day. Then again, how could you not have a nice day listening to the other #2 hit on this collection, the cute and corny "Playground in My Mind" by Clint Holmes? Wait ... don't answer that question. The remaining four Top 10 hits on Volume 11 (which focuses on 1973, by the way) were "Funny Face" by Donna Fargo (#5), "Get Down" by Gilbert O'Sullivan (#7), "Uneasy Rider" by Charlie Daniels (#9), and "My Maria" by B.W. Stevenson (#9). I was a big fan of "Uneasy Rider" in high school and "Get Down" in college, as they both had a humorous bent. ApologetiX spoofed "My Maria" in 2015, although we imitated the #1 country version by Brooks & Dunn from 1996. For a complete track listing of Have a Nice Day Volume 11, go to https://www.discogs.com/master/1336542-Various-Super-Hits-Of-The-70s-Have-A-Nice-Day-Vol-11
1404. Sixteen Scandals: A Musical Comedy of Errors - The Capitol Steps
Sometime in early 2004, while on a layover at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, I bought a copy of a highly entertaining and informative book called Sixteen Scandals: 20 Years of Sex, Lies and Other Habits of Our Great Leaders by William Strauss and Elaina Newport, the cofounders and principal writers of the famed political parody group The Capitol Steps. I had been aware of the Steps for about a decade by then, but I'd had no idea they'd put out a book. Published in 2002, it told the group's history from their debut in 1981 through the next two decades. Not surprisingly, my favorite part was chapter 11, in which the authors gave a history of parody legality and recounted The Capitol Steps' important, behind-the-scenes role in the landmark Acuff-Rose v. Campbell "fair use" parody case involving 2 Live Crew, which led to a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1994 that opened the doors for parodists everywhere, including us. I wrote an email to Elaina in 2005 to compliment her on the book, and she graciously replied as follows: "Dear J., Thanks for the message — it's always encouraging to hear from others who think about three-syllable rhymes for a living! And I also think that's the first time I've seen Billy Graham and Howard Stern in the same sentence. Quite a feat! Thanks for sharing, hope to see you in DC sometime." The Steps continued performing through 2020, before announcing in January 2021 that they were Stepping down. Through the course of their career, they had released 43 LPs of bipartisan humor (the original members were Republican congressional staff members but they expanded to include Democrats as well), and I owned a couple myself from the late '90s. The titles of the last seven in their discography show off the group's clever sense of humor: Fiscal Shades of Grey (2013), How to Succeed in Congress Without Really Lying (2014), Mock the Vote (2015), What to Expect When You're Electing (2016), Orange is the New Barack (2017), Make America Grin Again (2018), and The Lyin' Kings (2019). The book itself came with a 52-track sampler CD, Sixteen Scandals: A Musical Comedy of Errors from the Capitol Steps, featuring over an hour's worth of skits and songs, including numbers like "If You Knew Souter Like I Know Souter" ("If You Knew Susie" by Eddie Cantor), "The Loonies of the Right" ("The Music of the Night" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of The Opera), "We Like That Old Time Robert Dole" ("Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger), and "Livin' Libido Loco" ("Livin' La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin). My three favorites were probably "Put Ten Grand in the Hand" ("Put Your Hand in the Hand" by Ocean), "I Want a Brand New Pair of Candidates" ("Brand New Key" by Melanie), and "Don't Go Fakin' Your Smart" ("Don't Get Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and Kiki Dee). I also love the title of one of their early parodies mentioned in the book but not included on the CD, "Dutch the Magic Reagan" ("Puff the Magic Dragon" by Peter, Paul, and Mary). From what I've read, the titular president himself was a fan of that spoof. In ApologetiX, we write a lot of parodies about Jesus; I sincerely hope He's a fan of our stuff. As an earlier president, Abraham Lincoln, once said, "You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time." That's very true, but I'll add the following "When it's all said and done, pleasing the Lord is the only thing that really matters."
1405. Billboard Top Soft Rock Hits: 1974 - Various Artists
Released in 1997, Billboard Top Soft Rock Hits comprised five 10-song LPs issued by Rhino Records — one for each year from 1970-74. All of the songs in the series hit the Top 10 on the Billboard adult contemporary charts, and most were big hits on the Hot 100 as well. I only owned the last volume, which I purchased in August 2005. It contained seven #1 AC hits: "Laughter in the Rain" by Neil Sedaka (#1 pop), "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks (#1 pop), "Angie Baby" by Helen Reddy (#1 pop), "Tin Man" by America (#4 pop), "Please Come to Boston" by Dave Loggins (#5 pop), "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" by Jim Croce (#9 pop), and "A Very Special Love Song" by Charlie Rich (#11 pop, #1 country). The other three tracks all reached the Top Three of the AC chart: "My Eyes Adored You" by Frankie Valli (#2 AC, #1 pop), "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" by Carly Simon (#2 AC, #14 pop), and "The Air That I Breathe" by The Hollies (#3 AC, #6 pop). ApologetiX spoofed "Seasons in the Sun" in 2024. That was a childhood favorite of mine, as was the eerie "Angie Baby." Once I was an adult, I developed a greater appreciation for "The Air That I Breathe," "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song," and "Haven't Got Time for the Pain."
1406. Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits: 1973 - Various Artists
I wrote about several volumes of Rhino's Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits series quite some time ago on this list, because I picked them up in the early '90s. But I bought a bunch more, starting in 2005. Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits: 1973 had a pretty impressive playlist — eight #1 hits: "Crocodile Rock" by Elton John, "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" by Jim Croce, "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight & The Pips, "Brother Louie" by Stories, "Frankenstein" by The Edgar Winter Group, "Will It Go Round in Circles" by Billy Preston, "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye, and "Love Train" by The O'Jays. The other two songs both stalled at #2, but they're both all-time classics: "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John (appearing a second time on this album) and "Ramblin' Man" by The Allman Brothers. "Will It Go Round in Circles" might be the least remembered today of the 10 tracks, but it's one of my favorites. Here's an interesting note about that: In 1969, the #1 hit single "Get Back" was attributed to "The Beatles with Billy Preston." In 1973, three of those five people had #1 hits back-to-back-to-back; "My Love" by Paul McCartney was knocked out of #1 by "Give Me Love" by George Harrison, which was then dethroned by "Will It Go Round in Circles" by Preston. As you may have noticed from Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits: 1973, it was a big year for trains, with both "Love Train" and "Midnight Train to Georgia" topping the charts. "Love Train" was succeeded at #1 by "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia," so it's ironic that "Midnight Train to Georgia" combined elements of both titles. While I'm going down this rabbit hole, I'll point out that '73 was a big year for mornings, too, with "The Morning After" and "Touch Me in the Morning" reaching the plateau — back-to-back, no less. Of course, some of those songs I just mentioned aren't on Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits: 1973, but where else am I going to share such nifty nuggets with you? ApologetiX spoofed "Ramblin' Man" in 1996 and "Crocodile Rock" in 2014.
1407. Empire Burlesque - Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan's 23rd album came out on June 10, 1985, just two months after his first #1 single, "We Are the World." O.K., I guess there were other people singing on that record, too, but nobody sang their parts like Bob did. Literally. Anyway, capitalizing on that success, Empire Burlesque generated a Top 10 single of its own, "Tight Connection to My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love)" ... in New Zealand, where it went to (#8). Here in the United States, it just missed the Hot 100 (#103). It did hit the Top 20 on the mainstream rock chart, though (#19). A second single, "Emotionally Yours," didn't chart in the States or any other country as far as I can tell. Lyrically speaking, I was a much bigger fan of the four albums that preceded it — Slow Train Coming, Saved, Shot of Love, and Infidels — but Bob's lyrics were still interesting and intellectually stimulating, as usual. I enjoyed the music (which included four tracks played by members of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers) even more, and the production, which was credited solely to Bob himself ... a first, although not a last. Of the 10 tracks, the ones that have stuck with me the most through the years are "Tight Connection to My Heart," "Clean Cut Kid," "Trust Yourself" (which reminded me more than a little of the old Staple Singers hit "Respect Yourself"), "When the Night Comes Falling from the Sky," and the simple-but-pretty acoustic ballad "Dark Eyes." Empire Burlesque made it to #33 on the Billboard 200 but did not go gold (500,000 copies) in the United States. It did, however, hit #3 and go double platinum in New Zealand. Of course, that was only 30,000 copies, but still ...
1408. Greatest Hits - Del Shannon
Released in 1988, Greatest Hits includes all of Del Shannon's Top 40 singles from his golden era (1961-65): "Runaway" (#1), "Hats Off to Larry" (#5), "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun)" (#9), "Little Turn Flirt" (#12), "Handy Man" (#22), "So Long Baby" (#28), "Stranger in Town" (#30), and "Hey Little Girl" (#38). It also has five other lesser hits: "Do You Wanna Dance" (#43), "Two Kinds of Teardrops" (#50), "Swiss Maid" (#64), "Sue's Gotta Be Mine" (#71), "Cry Myself to Sleep" (#99). The only thing significant missing from that era is "From Me to You" (#77), which was the first version of any song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney to make the Hot 100. It did so on June 29, 1963 — over six months before The Beatles themselves finally broke through with "I Want to Hold Your Hand." Incidentally, the Fab Four's own version of "From Me to You" stalled at #116 a month or so after Shannon's cover. I always got a kick out of the lyrics and the falsetto vocals in "Hats Off to Larry," and my youngest kids giggled the first time they heard it. He had one last "comeback" hit, a remake of Phil Phillips' "Sea of Love" (#33), produced by Tom Petty, who later referenced Shannon and "Runaway" in his 1989 hit single "Runnin' Down a Dream" (#23 pop, #1 mainstream rock). Sadly, Shannon died the following year at age 55 and Petty died in 2017 at age 66 ... both men gone too soon. ApologetiX spoofed "Runaway" in 1999 and "Runnin' Down a Dream" in 2021.
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