After more than 3,900 entries, it is nice to have something to fall back on with today's Rant.
I have not done such a Rant in quite a while, but with summer coming, I felt that it was time to bring it back.
Summer does not begin on Memorial Day, but in a society that loves to rush things, the holiday this Monday, May 25, is the unofficial beginning of summer, although in my neck of the woods, it isn't supposed to be very nice outside.
Personally, if it doesn't rain, I hope to have a barbecue for myself and my family, and that is pretty much it.
I will work that day, but I know that I probably won't have that much to do, as the government usually takes that day off.
The 25th of the month is more important to me as the day that I pay my over-priced car loan bill, so while I will be writing at least one check that day, it is, hopefully, the only time during the day that I will have to look at my checkbook, and sigh with disgust like the rest of us.
So without further ado, let's look back at the Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 for 50 years ago, the week of May 29, 1976--what we were listening to on the radio during Memorial Day 1976, which was on May 31 that year.
Coming in at #10 was "Tryin' To Get the Feeling Again" by Barry Manilow, one of his least remembered of all of his big hits during this period.
At #9 was "Sara Smile" by Daryl Hall and John Oates, one of the earliest hits from this duo, who would have many more in the years to come.
Coming in at #8 was "Shannon" by Henry Gross. This one-hit wonder was once a member of Sha Na Na.
The next two songs on the chart were themes to popular ABC television sitcoms. Coming in at #7 was "Welcome Back," the theme to "Welcome Back, Kotter," by ex-Lovin' Spoonful member John Sebastian, and "Happy Days" by Pratt and McClain, was the sixth most popular song on this chart.
"Misty Blue" by Dorothy Moore came it at #5, while "Get Up and Boogie (That's Right)" by Silver Convention charted at #4 and Elvin Bishop came in at #3 with "Fooled Around and Fell In Love."
The next two songs bounced back and forth between the two top spots for several weeks.
This week, "Silly Love Songs" by Paul McCartney and Wings charted at #2, and topping the chart was--
"Love Hangover"--originally recorded by the 5th Dimension--by Diana Ross, spending the first of two weeks at #1.
The song by the ex-Beatle had been the #1 song a week earlier, was leapfrogged by the ex-Supremes member's tune, and finally leapfrogged Ross' tune, spending four weeks at the top spot, but on the chart covering Memorial Day, "Love Hangover" was the top single in the country.
The highest debuting single for the week was "Young Hearts Run Free" by Candi Staton, which came in at #73 on the Hot 100, reaching #20 later in June.
The biggest mover, the single that jumped the most places from last week's chart to this week's chart, was "Afternoon Delight" by the Starland Vocal Band, which moved up 22 places on the May 29 chart, from 66 to 44. It eventually supplanted "Silly Love Songs" as the #1 song in the country by mid-July.
This was an interesting chart, featuring one-hit wonders mixed with established hit makers, but whatever the case, that is what we were listening to 50 years ago during Memorial Day.
I have absolutely no idea what the top songs are today, nor do I really care, because they don't have the influence that songs 50 years ago had on all of us, whether we listened to Top 40 radio or not.
It just isn't the same today, not with streaming taking the pleasure away that we had when we went to our local record store, found these singles, and purchased them with glee.
Have a great weekend, a great Memorial Day, and I will speak to you again on Monday--which begins another interesting week for me with my maladies.
More on that next week.
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