Tag / Ohio Players

by admin

Fifty Years Of Music – 1976

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 1976, the year I turned two and featuring the birth of my sister.  Given my young age, I have no knowledge of these songs from their original release.  Only 17 of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with only seven of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#97: Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots – Disco Duck
iTunes stats: N/A

Disc jockey Dees, who was working in Memphis at the time, wrote and recorded this novelty song that spent ten weeks in the top ten and peaked at #1 for one week in October of 1976.

#96: Kiss – Rock and Roll All Nite (Live)
iTunes stats: 19 plays

This live version of the band’s 1975 tune peaked at #12 in early 1976 and became the first of six of the band’s songs to crack the Top 20 during the decade.

#89: Peter Frampton – Baby, I Love Your Way (Live)
iTunes stats: N/A

The live version, released as a single from the massive hit Frampton Comes Alive!, topped out at #12.

#87: Thin Lizzy – The Boys Are Back in Town
iTunes stats: N/A

The 272nd best song of all time, per Rolling Stone’s 2021 edition of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the tune reached #12 in the spring of 1976.

#85: Foghat – Slow Ride
iTunes stats: 20 plays

Named the 45th Best Hard Rock song of all time by VH1 in 2009, Foghat’s highest charting single peaked at #20 in the winter of 1976.

#64: Bay City Rollers – Saturday Night
iTunes stats: N/A

The song became the band’s only #1 hit in the US and the first Billboard #1 of the Bicentennial.

#58: John Sebastian – Welcome Back
iTunes stats: 37 plays

The theme song to Welcome Back, Kotter rocketed to #1 after just five weeks on the chart.

#51: Aerosmith – Dream On
iTunes stats: 21 plays

First released as a single in 1973, the album version was re-released in late 1975, joining the Hot 100 in January of 1976 and finally hitting #6 in April.

#45: KC and the Sunshine Band – That’s The Way (I Like It)
iTunes stats: 17 plays

The band’s second #1 hit, it spent two non-consecutive weeks at the top of the charts at the end of 1975.

#40: Eric Carmen – All By Myself
iTunes stats: 12 plays

The first single from Carmen’s debut solo album, it peaked at #2 and was certified gold in April of 1976.

#37: Gary Wright – Dream Weaver
iTunes stats: N/A Continue reading →

by admin

Goodbye, iPhone 4S – Music Edition

A little more than a week ago, I upgraded my phone from the iPhone 4S to the newly released iPhone 5S.  The biggest difference, aside from a slightly bigger screen, is the jump from 3G (or 4G, if you believe AT&T’s hype) to LTE.  I had the 4S for a little under 2 years, and in that time, we traveled the world together (well, at least going back to the UK) and have listened to a lot of podcasts and music. Here is every song (all 2079 of them) I’ve listened to on the phone, with some (ok, very little) bonus commentary.  Godspeed.

 

Let’s Go-Go-Go White Sox Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers 33
He’s a Pirate Klaus Badelt Pirates of the Caribbean (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) 32
Take Me Out To The Ballgame Harry Caray 31
Thunderstruck AC/DC The Razors Edge 31
Gordon Beckham Intro 29
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Steam Billboard’s Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits: 1969 29
Don’t Stop Believin’ Journey Journey’s Greatest Hits 27
sox05_montage 27
We Are The Champions Queen Queen: Greatest Hits I & II 27
Your Love The Outfield Play Deep 27
2008 White Sox Central Division Champs Montage Chris Tannehill WSCR 670 The Score 25
Take Me Out To The Ballgame Nancy Faust 25
Harvester Of Sorrow Metallica …And Justice For All 20

You would hope that these numbers would have been higher, but this past season’s miserable performance by the White Sox has put the songs on their playlist out of mind more often than not.

Cannonball The Breeders The First 1000 Years- Rock 19
Man Or Muppet Jason Segel The Muppets 15
It’s Time For Our Song Miss Piggy The Muppets 14
Get Out There And Help Those Guys Jason Segel The Muppets 13
Main Title LOST Soundtrack LOST Soundtrack 13
Are You A Man Or A Muppet? Amy Adams The Muppets 12
How Charming, A Finale Uncle Deadly The Muppets 12
I’m On A Boat (ft. T-Pain) The Lonely Island Incredibad 12
Down At The Ole Barbershop Kermit The Muppets 11
Me and Drugs David Cross Bigger and Blackerer 11
The Antichrist Howard Stern Private Parts: The Album 11
Continue reading →
by admin

Thursday Night Commute

Back to work after a 5 day weekend.

Theme From Shaft Isaac Hayes Shaft 9/5/2013 4:21 PM
Hold On Jamie Walters Poplife (Disc 2) 9/5/2013 4:26 PM
Heaven Is A Place On Earth Belinda Carlisle Billboard Top Hits: 1987 9/5/2013 4:30 PM
I Dream of Jeannie Buddy Kaye Television’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 9/5/2013 4:32 PM
Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? Tee Vee Toons TV’s Hits Vol. 7: Cable Ready 9/5/2013 4:34 PM
F**k You Garfunkel and Oates Music Songs 9/5/2013 4:36 PM
Free As A Bird The Beatles Anthology 1 [Disc 1] 9/5/2013 4:40 PM
Every Day Is Halloween Ministry Early Trax 9/5/2013 4:47 PM
Spirit In The Sky Norman Greenbaum Billboard Top Rock & Roll Hits: 1970 9/5/2013 4:51 PM
My Wife’s Crazy! David Cross Shut Up, You Fucking Baby! 9/5/2013 4:55 PM
Angel Main Theme Darling Violetta Angel: Live Fast, Die Never 9/5/2013 4:57 PM
Continue reading →
by admin

Mix Tape Monday – Cool Tracks

After my tape deck crapped out in 1997, I was stuck listening to either the radio or full albums in whatever order the artist intended. That all changed in 2001, when the new-fangled MP3 technology got combined with my new CD burner.

In addition to the occasional series of CDs I had burned in order to keep abreast of new music, I had created a bunch of genre-specific mixes that could be used both in the car and at the gym. This week we will take a look at the first disc covering the world of 60s and 70s rock music. This CD was kind of a counterpart to the ballads disc we covered a few weeks back, with most of the songs coming from the same era but with a decidedly harder bent.  So, without further ado, I bring you Cool Tracks, volume 1.

Paul McCartney & Wings – Live And Let Die

Became the first James Bond theme song to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 3/19/2013

Blood Sweat & Tears – Spinning Wheel

Nominated for three Grammy Awards at the 1970 ceremony, it won for Best Instrumental Arrangement.

iTunes stats: 7 plays, most recently on 3/22/2013

Warren Zevon – Werewolves Of London

BBC Radio 2 listeners rated it as having the best opening line in a song.

iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 7/5/2011

Chicago – 25 Or 6 To 4

The song was released as a single in June of 1970, climbing to number 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

iTunes stats: 1 play, on 6/17/2010

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Purple Haze

Rolling Stone magazine placed the song at number 17 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and also at number 2 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.

iTunes stats: 1 play, on 5/29/2009

Jefferson Airplane – Somebody To Love

Originally recorded by 1960s folk rock band The Great Society, featuring Grace Slick’s brother-in-law.

iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 7/6/2011

Patti Smith – Because The Night

Originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen during sessions for his Darkness on the Edge of Town album, he was not satisfied with it so the song was passed to the Patti Smith Group, who were working in the studio next door.

iTunes stats: 4 plays, most recently on 11/9/2012

Ohio Players – Love Rollercoaster

Urban legend says that the scream heard in the background belonged to a woman being murdered at the studio.

iTunes stats: 2 plays, most recently on 3/24/2011

Five Man Electrical Band – Signs

The song was released during an era of social and political change, and its lyrics carry themes of intolerance and exclusion.

iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 3/11/2013

Janis Joplin – Piece Of My Heart

Originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967 as a romantic love song.

iTunes stats: 4 plays, most recently on 12/27/2012

Continue reading →

by admin

Goodbye, iPhone 3G – Music Edition

As I wait for tomorrow’s delivery of my new iPhone 4S, it is time to say goodbye to the 3G that has been my trusty companion for nearly the past 3 1/2 years.  We’ve traveled the world together (well, at least Canada and the UK) and have listened to a lot of music.  Here is every song (all 1597 of them) I’ve listened to on the phone, with some (ok, very little) bonus commentary!

He’s a Pirate Klaus Badelt Pirates of the Caribbean (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) 100
Gordon Beckham Intro 91
Let’s Go-Go-Go White Sox Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers 87
Thunderstruck AC/DC The Razors Edge 84
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Steam Billboard’s Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits: 1969 83
sox05_montage 75
We Are The Champions Queen Queen: Greatest Hits I & II 73
Boom P.O.D. Satellite 70
Don’t Stop Believin’ Journey Journey’s Greatest Hits 69
2008 White Sox Central Division Champs Montage Chris Tannehill WSCR 670 The Score 65

No surprise that the top 10 are all part of (or were part of) my White Sox victory playlist.  This gets played on the way home from every White Sox winner, plus the occassional ride to a game.  Continue reading →

by jim

Retro Playlist – December 2007

I recently came across my old, second generation iPod.  40 gigs of tiny, black and white screened goodness.

Here are the songs I listened to on it, from December 2007.

American Nice Mexican Cheerleader Kings And Kings’ Hoots 12/8/2007 10:32 AM
Mary, Mary Run-D.M.C. Ultimate Run DMC 12/8/2007 10:35 AM
Boom P.O.D. 12/8/2007 10:38 AM
The Girl I Knew Somewhere The Monkees The Monkees Greatest Hits 12/8/2007 10:42 AM
Good Better Than Ezra Deluxe 12/8/2007 10:45 AM
When I Grow Up Garbage Version 2.0 12/8/2007 10:49 AM
Dare Stan Bush The Transformers: The Movie 12/8/2007 10:53 AM
Then He Kissed Me The Crystals 12/8/2007 10:55 AM
The Kids Ruined Rock Mexican Cheerleader Mexican Cheerleader 12/8/2007 10:59 AM
Magical Mystery Tour The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour 12/8/2007 11:02 AM
Continue reading →