Clappy vs Billboard Hot 100

[Joe Biden]

I was pretty torn between 1979 and 2003 because they both look like interesting years but I wanted to narrow it down.

 

Wumbo covered 1987 like two months ago.

1996 has a few double singles so that might make it a little hard.

2009 is a late 2000s year and that's one of the notoriously bad decades of music.

And I know you're getting a bit tired of doing 2000s years a little.

 

So after narrowing it all down, I picked 1979, not just because it'll be your first '70s year (I think)...

Spoiler

Because it's a fuckin' boogie wonderland.

 

 

 

[Steel Sponge]

Seeing Nugs and Claps beef over their music preferences is now officially the main reason why I anticipate a new review from this thread.

In terms of what year you should review, I figure that you should do something relatively older. 1957 1979 is my pick.

Edited April 23, 2017 by Steel Sponge

[Young Nug]

21 hours ago, Clappy said:

So accurate it hurts.  And meatloaf boy doesn't even know that I don't hate modern rap music lmao.

I'm aware, Meatloaf Man  

I'm saying do 2003 or 79 because those years have a fair amount of good and bad

People seem very receptive to our beef Clappy, we need to find a way to monetize this or something 

[Wumbo]

ye I voted '96 but that's on the basis of me being a selfish dick who wants to get to '79 first. In all honesty '79 is probably the best pick.

[Katniss]

Voted for 1979 because I don't think you've talked about 70s music on here before and it'll be interesting to read your thoughts. 

YMCA, Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, Heart of Glass, My Sharona...so many good hits from that year.

Edited April 23, 2017 by Katniss

[Clappy]

19 hours ago, Bada Bing Nuggets said:

People seem very receptive to our beef Clappy, we need to find a way to monetize this or something 

Well you suggested podcast, but I suggest me and you cover the Billboard rap charts on this thread one of these days.

 

Also while the votes are still being piled up, I'll just take a minute to explain why I chose the years selected:

1979 - Was talking about this Billboard year a month or two back while on SBC Music with eight or so people (I know Kat and Fred were there for that).

1987 - We were talking Todd in the Shadows year end lists on the XAT one night and I remember Fred being there and that's when he decided to do his 1991 list (which I've been meaning to read since I saw he finished it  ).  I said if I could revisit a list Todd did, it would be 1987, so there's that.

1996 - Was requested to do my movie countdown back when that was a thing by Burgerpants.  But since I don't have the time to sit through 100 movies anymore, I could do this instead

2003 - Prez suggested this a page back so this was a personal suggestion that I will take him up on one of these days.

2009 - Well I already covered 2006, 2008, 2010-present.  Why not keep going not too far backward as an option?

[Clappy]

The poll has been closed.  Thank you all for voting.  And by one vote, the winner is

 

1979!

I had a feeling this one was going to win a day after I started the poll, but I was legitimately surprised how close 1996 was to tying things up.  Have no fear though, 1996 will be the next year I cover in these retrospectives when I get around to doing one again.

 

With all that being said though, I'm excited to talk about this great year.  Worst list to come next week.

 

 

[CyanideFishbone]

Cool kids never have the time.

[Katniss]

5 minutes ago, CyanideFishbone said:

Cool kids never have the time.

And I don't even care to shake these zipper blues
And we don't know just where our bones will rest
To dust I guess
Forgotten and absorbed into the earth below

[Joe Biden]

It's funny considering how the song "1979" by The Smashing Pumpkins charted in 1996, which was one of the choices on the poll.

[Clappy]

By all technicalities, today is "next week" and I finished this a lot earlier than I expected...but let's hop back in time and dance.  Boogie Wonderland!:

1979!  Best music year I've ever covered.  I'm just saying this now, but I can see why Wumbo's random number generator kept getting stuck in the 70s because good lord have I been missing out reviewing songs from the mid 2000s to the 2010s.  I hate to do an overused cliche here, but I seriously struggled composing my best list because I had to make some ridiculously painful cuts.  But when the good stuff is that damn great, it just makes the bad music stick out like a sore thumb.  There was no denying what absolutely sucked this year and I'll be honest, this worst list is just embarrassing levels of bad.  There is no excuse for the songs I'm about to cover, but let's just push right though it and take a few laughs at my expense as we cover:

 

CLAPPY'S TOP 10 WORST HIT SONGS OF 1979 

Spoiler

Let’s talk about buzzwords.  For example, when I see the word “dance”, what does your mind correlate to?  Dancing, of course.  Now that I got that English lesson out of the way, let me start this list off with someone who completely missed the mark...and made me struggle to write a preamble.

10. “Dancin’ Shoes” – Nigel Olsson

Nigel Olsson is the longtime drummer for Elton John, who decided to play popstar for one year before rejoining Elton John’s band after his career went up in smokes.  I’ve seen popstars flame out quicker, but not this embarrassingly because let’s just say, I totally understand why his career didn’t take off just based off this one song.

There’s probably no song out there that makes me want to put on my dancing shoes even less.  Where’s the fun?  Where’s the up tempo music?  If you are going to name your song “dancin’ shoes”, at least give your song a pulse.  Get this lifeless slow dance at your cousin’s wedding crap out of here…wait this is classified under the disco genre?  Are you fucking kidding me?  That pisses me off even more.

Put on my dancing shoes.  More like put on my slippers and go straight to sleep.  Let’s move on before my eyes shut.

 

Spoiler

If you have a tolerance for easy listening crap, I’m just getting started on this worst list.  That’s not saying all this list is such, but if I had a major problem with this worst list, it’s the amount of ways to describe how dull this list really is.

9. “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” – Neil Diamond & Barbra Streisand

I mean what the hell is this shit?  You have two of the biggest names of this year and you give them a slow ballad for a television show that failed to make it out of the first season?  Christ, this song isn’t kidding about lovers going through the motions because our two leads are going through the motions in terms of how to perform a song like this.  Say what you want about Neil Diamond as an artist, but even at his worst, I wouldn’t call him uninteresting.  I’ve always been mixed on Barbra Streisand, but even this song is far better than she deserves.  To put it nicely, this song made it up the charts solely on star power alone because there is literally nothing else to this...except for that funny reunion from that banned South Park episode 201.  Next.

 

Spoiler

Does Toto get a constant pass as a band overall for this masterpiece of a song?  Because I don’t know if it’s just me, but everything else in Toto’s discography is just shit in comparison.  For example.

8. “Hold the Line” – Toto

Hold the Line isn’t the worst song in Toto’s discography, but good lord it’s the douchiest.  It’s about a guy who is trying to figure out love, which I will admit love is complicated.  But it’s not in the way this guy is pegging things.  Because it sounds like nearly everything he is saying about this girl is making him out to be a massive dick.  She cares about him, she tells him he’ll stay, she treats his friends well, but then…he opens his damn mouth about the way that she looks and the things that she does and says:

Hold the line.

….hold the line?  HOLD THE LINE?  I don’t know how you all interpret hold the line, but back in this time period, there is only one meaning for hold the line.  Let me put my phone line on hold, I’ll answer your call later.  IF YOU ARE GOING TO BREAK UP WITH HER, JUST FUCKING BREAK UP WITH HER. 

Actually hold the line.  Google says that "hold the line" was also used as a term meaning that you are messing around with another girl.  Fuck that just adds another layer of cringe towards this piece of crap.

You know what, god bless the rains down in Africa, because it sure takes a lot to wash the rest of their sucky discography.

 

Spoiler

I think Wumbo once said that it’s hard at times to gauge SBC’s interest about bands that aren’t often discussed.  Not like it will change my rankings at all, but I just wonder at times when I write these lists up. 

I can get a good read on the forums about The Beatles, but I’ve never had a good read as to how you all felt about Paul McCartney’s follow up project, Wings.  The only time I can really say I got a good read was during that huge project ranking all of Billboard’s year end number ones and we were split on “Silly Love Songs.”  I remember sticking up for it as a fan of Wings and generally, I do like Wings.  That being said, even bands I like put out bad songs and boy was Wings no exception.

7. “Goodnight Tonight” – Wings

If this meant to be played as some sort of rockabye, then it certainly succeeds on that mark because it’s definitely dull enough to lose my interest.  Otherwise, this is just an utterly confusing mess.  Who’s bright idea was it to add flamenco guitars to a disco track?  Who also told Paul to barely put any effort into his singing?  Because this cohesion of all these production nightmares is all around awful, who produced this mess….and of course it’s Paul McCartney.  For as great as Paul has been proven to be at production work, sometimes he gets up his own ass and this is a perfect example of such.

Fun fact, but fellow Beatle and songwriting collaborator John Lennon has been on the record saying that he is not a fan of this song and I don’t blame him.  I’m not speaking for John Lennon here, but for me, it’s pretty simple why I hate this.  As I’ve pointed out previously in this thread, I can’t stand when artists/groups trend hop just to gain more hits and this is as blatant of a trend hop as I’ve ever seen.  Next.

 

Spoiler

You know what word was “huge” in 1979?  That one word that was in nearly every song title on this year-end list it felt like? 

LOVE.

Honestly it was hard to get through some of these songs I’ve never heard of prior due to the constant reappearance of the word love in the title.  I kept groaning thinking how many more of these songs I had to sit through because most of them were all one in the same for the most part.  But in the end, only one appeared and it was one I’ve heard of prior and I still can’t stand it all in the same.

6. “I Just Fall in Love Again” – Anne Murray

…have I mentioned how much I can’t stand adult contemporary music?  I have no hard feelings against Anne Murray, Snowbird is pretty damn good, but more often than not, her music…I don’t know.  Her music makes me feel...like buying potatoes. Yeah…and scraping my heels…or smashing on make up for a sad night out…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gd49XbpISM

Dammit no wonder I can’t think of anything to say about this?  Family Guy already beat me to it.  I’m sorry but most of Anne Murray’s music is just boring.  There is absolutely no connection to her and her music since she has been on the record that she doesn’t write her own songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkchRVufVCw

Christ Family Guy beat me to this too.  I…I’ve got nothing else.  Anne Murray is boring and this song is a concrete block of blandness.  What else do you want from me?

 

Spoiler

While I’ve never considered myself a fan of Dr. Hook, I think the worst decision of his career was to sellout and make his band into an AM soft rock group.  Because ever since that change, the passion that was once there just quickly evaporated.

5. “Sharing the Night Together” – Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show

 

These guys had two hits this year.  While I could see some sort of saving grace in their bigger hit When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman, this is just a massive snoozer.  As you all may know, these guys use to have a sense of humor in their music.  Not here.  Whose idea was it to take this seriously about spending the rest of their life together after hitting up a girl at a bar?  Even the easy listening crowd this was aimed for would never find something like that endearing.  But I guess when you’re told anything in a soft alluring voice, you would believe anything hook, line, and sinker.  Now excuse me while I put myself in the corner of shame as the rest of this overlong bore wraps itself up.

 

Spoiler

Jealousy is a tough song to write about.  There is absolutely nothing attractive about being envious.  Nobody enjoys it and it’s a pain in the ass to everyone involved.  Why do artists even bother to try to write songs about it?  Just why?

4. “Suspicions” – Eddie Rabbitt

 

I’m not going to pretend to know who this guy is.  Wikipedia says he’s a country artist who wrote this song on his lunch break in five minutes.  That explains some of the fundamental problems, but as far as the foundation goes, this is just like every other song that tries to tackle jealousy.  You know, by describing how happy he is to be in a relationship and how much he insists he loves this girl.  But he gets suspicions in his head.  Why?  Because his girl is so good looking and he’s ugly.

Words cannot even begin to describe how insufferable of an excuse this is to be jealous.  Insecurity about your looks is one thing, but talking about how hot your girlfriend is and being afraid she is cheating on you because of how ugly you are is just infuriating.  Yeah there is moments of him wondering why he is thinking such things, but how about you keep your thoughts to yourself instead of openly telling her why you are suspicious?  You know that represents how little faith you actually have in her and this relationship.  Get this petty shit out of here.  Next.

 

Spoiler

While this chart year had plenty and I mean plenty of disco, 1979 was the beginning of the end of disco as the dominant trend in music.  The anti-disco movement was becoming so strong that there was even a Disco Demolition Night in Chicago as 50,000 people attended a Chicago White Sox doubleheader just to see disco records get blown up.  Talk about your over-reactive publicity stunts.  Needless to say though, the death of disco only got more apparent from there on and out.  While I will always be nostalgic for disco tracks, not all of them can survive the test of time.

3. “Ring My Bell” – Anita Ward

 

While this was ironically the biggest hit of the summer of 79 and during the week of Disco Demolition Night, this is also a dated piece of shit.  I’ve always hated this song and when you see that this was not only one of the biggest songs of 1979, but the biggest hit when the biggest trend of the 70s started to die, that only infuriates me even more.

About that test of time talk though.  I can see why and how this got huge.  Just repeat these three words as your chorus and add a simplistic production behind it, yeah I understand.  However, would you have guessed this song was intended for an eleven year old girl to sing it at first?  Yeah this was intended for eventual Motown artist Stacy Lattisaw…which yeah, Motown…this…I don’t see the correlation.  Songwriter/producer Frederick Knight gave this to Anita Ward instead, giving her her only hit and with double entendre lyrics like “you can ring my bell”, one has to wonder why in the nine hells would he offer this song to an eleven year old girl in the first place? 

Knight has been on the record denying that this song is intended to be taken sexually, but let’s really stop and think about it.  The song is about a man coming home from a long day at work to a woman who offers to clean and cook for him in exchange for “ringing her bell”.  Tumblr would have a field day about how ridiculously sexist this song is.

Me, on the other hand.  Yes, everything I just listed makes me hate this song more and more each time.  But at the end of the day, it always comes back down to one thing.  Anita Ward has the voice of a dog whistle and makes me want to tear my ears off…

 

Spoiler

…and yet, the voice of Anita Ward somehow is better than the worst voice of any artist that charted this year.

2. “Sad Eyes” – Robert John

Adam Levine, I’m so sorry.  Who in the hell let this guy near a recording studio?  And this was a number one hit?  Not only does this guy have a voice that makes me want to tear my ears off of my head, but this song…oh dear god do I want to punch this man in the face.  This song is about a cheating asshole who is telling the woman he cheated with to turn away because he doesn’t want to see her cry.  And yet, he said he never used her and she knew he really cared….

FUCK

OFF

Do I even need to explain why this song fuels me with so much rage and hatred?  This song is all sorts of insufferable and how they try to pad it to make it sound so sweet and pleasant…god I can’t….I just can’t.  For all of the soft rock this year gave us, this is just too terrible for words.  And yet, it’s not my number one.  Why?  Because for as much as this song makes me sit here in rage and frustration…at least I get something from it…

 

Spoiler

So whenever I do these random year end lists, I like to look back in time at what pop culture was like in each year and I have to ask this rhetorical question.  Not just for this year, but every five to ten years or so.  Why do we keep recycling the teenage heart throb phase?  More often than not, these kids are just marketing toys for the record companies to make millions and millions…and why am I explaining this to you people?  You all should know this like the back of your hands by now.

Who was the big teen heart throb in 1979 you may ask?

His name is Leif Garrett…and he did not make my bottom ten.  Oh trust me.  This song above is pretty terrible.  It almost made the list just based off the fact that I can’t stand this guy’s voice and the lyrics are just laughable.  You were made for dancing…don’t lie to us kid.  But at least this song had rhythm and energy.  What I’m trying to say is, fight the real enemy. 

1. “You Take My Breath Away” – Rex Smith

 

This kid’s name is Rex Smith.  And this song is as generic as his name.  Say what you want about that other song, but Leif tries to convince you to dance with him.  Rex here just sings in his dull monotonous voice about how you take his breath away.  Like *insert overdone metaphor here*, you take his breath away.  And this song is so fucking basic that the instrumental interlude takes up at least a third of the song because Rex is so damn boring and so damn uninteresting.  Who in the hell actually would volunteer to listen to this piece of nothing?  How did this Abercrombie and Fitch model become a pop singer?  I’ve sat through plenty of bland sounding nothings that consider themselves as pop music, but this?  This right here pushes buttons that I didn’t know I even had in terms of levels of dull I can tolerate.  I would call this elevator music, but that’s an insult to elevator music because it at least some sort of tone and rhythm to catch your ear.  This is the biggest pile of nothing I’ve heard in quite some time and it’s my worst song of the year.  Good fucking riddance

 

[Joe Biden]

inb4 people start complaining about #8 on list

[fortnitefan12]

but I like Hold The Line Good list, I have definitely not heard most of these songs, but I guess that's a good thing. 

[Steel Sponge]

Sorry man, add me to the list of people who admit to liking "Hold the Line" and admitting it with a strikethrough.

I can see myself agreeing with every other pick, though. Can't wait to see your top ten.

[Wumbo]

Dem 70s, man. I eagerly await your best list!

[Clappy]

So who's ready to talk about that Best List!?

 

If I've learned one thing about visiting years like 1979, it's that it is always hard to describe how good the great music truly is.  Because this was supremely hard to right and I don't know if I did this list justice.  But that hasn't stopped me before in terms of writing these best of/worst of the year lists and it certainly didn't stop me this time.  As always, feel free to ask me for my opinions on other songs because I know I'm going to be a lot of great hits from this best list.  So let's see who will survive!

CLAPPY'S TOP TEN BEST HIT SONGS OF 1979

Spoiler

Man how great it is to talk about the music I like for this best list.  That worst list…man if I had to talk about one more soft rock song about love, I was going to lose my shit.

How am I going to start my best list?  By talking about a soft rock song about love.

10. “Lotta Love” – Nicolette Larson

 

A little bit of backstory behind this.  Two versions of this song were released within the same year.  The original version was by Neil Young with the key difference between the two being the pacing.  Where this one is presented as optimistic, Neil’s version is melancholy and honestly, who in the hell needs another slowed down depressing song about love?  That’s what makes Nicolette’s version so much better.  It has life to it and it is just beautiful to listen to her sing about how much love it will take to satisfy her.  And of course you can't talk about this song without that wonderful flute solo.  I live for solos like this and what a way to showcase how good soft rock can be when done right.

 

Spoiler

As previously mentioned, 1979 was the beginning of the end of disco.  And as I look back at the closing of the disco era, I think of defining moments and while you of course have your all time disco classics from the likes of Donna Summer, Chic, Gloria Gaynor, Sister Sledge, Bee Gees and so on and so forth.  But if I can indulge you all for a minute, let’s talk about one of the most underrated disco songs of all time.

9. “Got to Be Real” – Cheryl Lynn

 

Now I know what you are thinking, “Oh I know this song.  It’s a classic.”  Yeah sure, it’s easy to say that now because of how well it’s aged and how often it’s been used in popular culture since then and I've seen that American Dad episode too.  Even then, I still don’t think this song is as appreciated as it should be.  Shoot it wasn’t even as appreciated on the Billboard charts peaking at number twelve.  NUMBER TWELVE.

For a song about being real and appreciating what is real in your life, all I have to say is that it is real.  Really great.  It's simple, it's well sung, it's well produced.  I can't believe The Gong Show ever discovered such a great talent.

 

Spoiler

I knew entering this year that Donna Summer was the biggest act in pop music, but good lord looking at this list I had no idea how big of an influence she was on the charts.  There were so many acts trying to replicate her style, her personality, just everything about how she was as an artist.  And while I personally felt like her discography is not always on point, especially after she stopped making provocative music and found Jesus, when Donna is on…good lord is she on.

8. “Hot Stuff” – Donna Summer

 

I’ve done my fair share of apologizing for talking about how sexy songs are and how much they do it for me…and this is once again another case of me talking about how sexy this song is and how much it does it for me.  Got really nothing else to say but:

 

 

Spoiler

Ladies and gentlemen.  Your latest inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2017.  And it’s about damn time, what took you so long Cleveland?

7. “Don’t Bring Me Down” – Electric Light Orchestra

 

I’m still irate that it took the academy this damn long.  When you have more modern acts like Green Day in already and non-rock acts like Madonna in, the fact that it took this long to add one of England’s greatest rock exports, it’s simply unforgiveable.  Damn right I’m an ELO fan and while this song is no Evil Woman or Mr. Blue Sky or Strange Magic, it is still in my Top 5 of their greatest hits.  They are that awesome.  Hell they even made up their own word and had it catch on.

Don’t bring me down…..grooss

Yes people, it’s not “Bruce” they are saying.  It’s grooss.  Nobody knows what gross means but it’s catchy enough to make it work and misinterpreting enough that Jeff Lynne actually started to substitute grooss with Bruce in live performances.  But yeah, this song can do no wrong.  It makes everything better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8pJt4dK_s4

Yes even that.  ELO is that damn good of a band and this is that damn good of a song.

 

Spoiler

I can’t speak for the general people, but it was quite easy who had the biggest potential of the Jackson clan.  Well in 1979, the king established himself as a solo pop star.

6. “Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough” – Michael Jackson

 

Not only was this song a welcoming party to one of the biggest pop stars of all time, but this was the defining moment as to how huge Michael Jackson was about to become.  It showcases his talents exceptionally well and presents a new adult Michael Jackson.  Gone are the days of ABC and 123.  Here are the days of Michael Jackson, the king of pop.  It is one thing to make a dance record, but it’s another thing entirely to instill a celebratory quality of being an epic piece of art.  It's cool, it's slick, it's just a grandiose piece of work.  Michael Jackson, he is that much better than you and I love it.

 

Spoiler

Speaking of acts who are long overdue for the Hall of Fame, let’s talk about the long overdue 11 TIME NOMINATED act, Chic.

5. “Good Times” – Chic

 

When it comes to the penultimate song by this group, I don’t think of Le Freak, I think of this.  While I think the entire group just coheres together incredibly well, this song is highlighted by one member more than anyone else: Nile Rodgers.  His guitar playing here is fantastic.  While his rhythm guitar playing has become more iconic as the years go by especially with all the feature credits as of late in the 2010s, this is the best highlighted example as it is the star of the show.  There’s a reason why this is one of the most sampled songs of all time.  It’s for Nile’s guitar playing.

As for the rest of the song, you all know how much I enjoy songs that are appreciative about living in the moment and enjoying the good times and this is another great example of such.

 

Spoiler

You know what I wish we had more of in terms of modern day hit music?  Songs like Shut Up and Dance where there were two star crossed lovers who were fueled by whatever song was playing on the radio.  If only we had more songs like that.

4. “Dance the Night Away” – Van Halen

 

You can pretty much put that explanation for why this is one of my favorite Van Halen songs.  That being said, this is more about how hot this girl is and how them dancing will lead to doing more than just dancing.  This song pulls off just enough of that rock star edge to make those intentions more awesome than borderline creepy.  I’m definitely more nostalgic for these levels of balls than the whiny gutlessness that is today’s rock music.  Rock on.

 

Spoiler

So growing up in a country music raised household, I can assure you it was tough talking music amongst my friends sometimes.  With so many people talking about modern pop/rock/rap music, I could not relate as much since I didn’t start listening to all the modern music until I started high school.  But there was one song that I declared my favorite song from the 70s back then because I heard it in a movie once.  And rest assured, now that I’m much more diverse in music genres I listen to, it still is one of my favorites.

3. “September” – Earth, Wind & Fire

 

Do I remember?  More like do you remember how old you were the first time you heard this iconic song?  Out of all the songs on this list, I would be shocked to see who hasn’t heard this song before.  Yes this song has been overplayed to death, commercialized to death, you name it, you’re absolutely 100% correct.  But I’ll be damned if it still doesn’t make me happy the 100000th time I’ve heard it as it did the first.  It makes me as nostalgic as the two lovers in this song to the first time and every time I’ve heard it since.  It just makes my mood that much better.

 

Spoiler

I think I’ve underplayed in terms of all time pop acts how much I love Blondie.  Because I LLLLOOOOOVVVVVEEEEE Blondie.

2. “Heart of Glass” – Blondie

 

With the growing “new wave” scene coming towards the pop culture forefront, what a damn great way to introduce who Blondie is with what they call “that disco song”.  All I have to say is, is it really now?  Because yeah the sound is mostly disco, but I can still hear what’s distinctly Blondie’s sound.  Is it a sellout track?  I can see why people would say that because Blondie has never made a song like this prior, but even then they managed to make one of the best disco songs out there period.  Honestly, Blondie’s discography is just so impossible to describe because every single song is just too good for words so just hit play and I’ll shut up now.

 

Spoiler

So what could possibly top one of the best acts of all time?  How about a one hit wonder.  Which is such a fucking shame to classify this song and this group as.  But all I’m going to say is that rarely does Billboard get the biggest song of the year right.  Yeah I know there is a bunch of categories that go into consideration and yada yada yada.  That doesn’t make it the biggest song of the year.  However, when Billboard gets it right, good lord do they get it right.

1. “My Sharona” – The Knack

 

 

Honestly, I’m just going to keep this short because I went into full detail as to how perfect this song is when Hal, Wumbo, Kat, and I did that Billboard #1’s collaboration a few years ago so I have nothing else to really include that I haven’t already said.  That beat is urgent.  That chorus is iconic.  That guitar solo is freaking awesome.  The stop and go drums are glorious.  Every single second of this song is perfect.

The Knack.  Their time on top was short lived.  But they made one of the most inescapable pop hits of all time.  Love it.

 

Full Rankings:

Spoiler

1. “My Sharona” – The Knack

2. “Heart of Glass” – Blondie

3. “September” – Earth, Wind & Fire

4. “Dance the Night Away” – Van Halen

5. “Good Times” – Chic

6. “Don’t Stop til You Get Enough” – Michael Jackson

7. “Don’t Bring Me Down” – Electric Light Orchestra

8. “Hot Stuff” – Donna Summers

9. “Got to Be Real” – Cheryl Lynn

10. “Lotta Love” – Nicolette Larson

11. “Shine a Little Love” – Electric Light Orchestra

12. “Le Freak” - Chic

13. “Y.M.C.A.” – The Village People

14. “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)” – The Jacksons

15. “Heaven Knows” – Donna Summer (featuring Brooklyn Dreams)

16. “Every 1’s a Winner” – Hot Chocolate

17. “I Want You to Want Me” – Cheap Trick

18. “We Are Family” – Sister Sledge

19. “Renegade” - Styx

20. “Tragedy” – Bee Gees

21. “Mama Can’t Buy You Love” – Elton John

22. “Double Vision” – Foreigner

23. “What You Won’t Do For Love” – Bobby Caldwell

24. “Bad Girls” – Donna Summer

25. “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” – The Charlie Daniels Band

26. “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” – McFadden & Whitehead

27. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy” – Bad Company

28. “Boogie Wonderland” – Earth, Wind & Fire & The Emotions

29. “The Boss” – Diana Ross

30. “After the Love Has Gone” – Earth, Wind & Fire

31. “Shake Your Groove Thing” – Peaches & Herb

32. “He’s the Greatest Dancer” – Sister Sledge

33. “I Will Survive” – Gloria Gaynor

34. “Sultans of Swing” – Dire Straits

35. “Born to Be Alive” – Patrick Hernandez

36. “Fire” – The Pointer Sisters

37. “You Can’t Change That” - Raydio

38. “The Logical Song” - Supertramp

39. “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” – Kiss

40. “What a Fool Believes” – The Doobie Brothers

41. “(Our Love) Don’t Throw It All Away” – Andy Gibb

42. “New York Groove” – Ace Frehley

43. “Love You Inside Out” – Bee Gees

44. “I Want Your Love” - Chic

45. “My Life” – Billy Joel

46. “Take Me Home” - Cher

47. “The Gambler” – Kenny Rogers

48. “Lady” – Little River Band

49. “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” – Rod Stewart

50. “Knock on Wood” – Amii Stewart

51. “Promises” – Eric Clapton

52. “Too Much Heaven” – Bee Gees

53. “Rise” – Herb Alpert

54. “Reunited” – Peaches & Herb

55. “I Just Wanna Stop” – Gino Vannelli

56. “Stumblin’ In” – Chris Norman & Suzi Quatro

57. “Ooo Baby Baby” – Linda Ronstadt

58. “Lonesome Loser” – Little River Band

59. “Time Passages” – Al Stewart

60. “Every Time I Think of You” – The Babys

61. “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” – Dionne Warwick

62. “I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)” – Instant Funk

63. “MacArthur Park” – Donna Summer

64. “I Love the Nightlife” – Alicia Bridges

65. “Gold” – John Stewart

66. “Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)” – Robert Palmer

67. “Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)” - GQ

68. “How Much I Feel” - Ambrosia

69. “Love is the Answer” – England Dan Seals & John Ford Coley

70. “Somewhere in the Night” – Barry Manilow

71. “Heaven Must Have Sent You” – Bonnie Painter

72. “She Believes in Me” – Kenny Rogers

73. “When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman” – Dr. Hook

74. “Strange Way” - Firefall

75. “The Main Event/Fight” – Barbra Streisand

76. “We’ve Got Tonight” – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

77. “A Little More Love” – Olivia Newton-John

78. “Makin’ It” – David Naughton

79. “Just When I Needed You Most” – Randy VanWarmer

80. “Get Used to It” – Roger Voudouris

81. “In The Navy” – The Village People

82. “Don’t Cry Out Loud” – Melissa Manchester

83. “Lead Me On” – Maxine Nightingale

84. “I Do Love You” – GQ

85. “How You Gonna See Me Now” – Alice Cooper

86. “I Was Made For Dancin’” – Leif Garrett

87. “Shake It” – Ian Matthews

88. “Chuck E.’s in Love” – Rickie Lee Jones

89. “Music Box Dancer” – Frank Mills

90. “Sail On” – The Commodores

91. “Dancin’ Shoes” – Nigel Olsson

92. “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” – Neil Diamond & Barbra Streisand

93. “Hold the Line” – Toto

94. “Goodnight Tonight” - Wings

95. “I Just Fall in Love Again” – Anne Murray

96. “Sharing the Night Together” – Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show

97. “Suspicions” – Eddie Rabbitt

98. “Ring My Bell” – Anita Ward

99. “Sad Eyes” – Robert John

100. “You Take My Breath Away” – Rex Smith

 

[Katniss]

Great list, some of my favorite songs are on here too, especially that #1  

Your thoughts on:

I Want You to Want Me

Double Vision

Sultans of Swing

Le Freak

 

[Joe Biden]

Thoughts on:

I Will Survive

The Devil Went Down to Georgia

I Was Made for Loving You

What a Fool Believes

Bad Case of Loving You

MacArthur Park

We've Got Tonight

I Love the Nightlife

My Life

The Logical Song

[Wumbo]

Holy crap this year. I can't wait to get to it myself.

[Clappy]

19 hours ago, Katniss said:

Great list, some of my favorite songs are on here too, especially that #1  

Your thoughts on:

I Want You to Want Me

Double Vision

Sultans of Swing

Le Freak

 

I Want You to Want Me - Love it and it would be my favorite Cheap Trick song if I couldn't get over the fact that this song is about wanting a woman to want him, need him, etc.  Still inescapably catchy.

Double Vision - Foreigner is one of my favorite classic rock groups of all time.  Even one of their lesser songs in their discography is still ridiculously catchy.

Sultans of Swing - That hook and almost all of this song is inescapably catchy.  But the one thing I have against it is Mark Knopfler is no Bob Dylan no matter how hard he tries to imitate his style.

Le Freak - As I already said, Chic is great and this song is awesome.  It barely misses the top ten because the songs above it are better but Christ 1979 is so stacked with such great music.

19 hours ago, #1 Fan of Daria Fredgendorffer said:

Thoughts on:

I Will Survive

The Devil Went Down to Georgia

I Was Made for Loving You

What a Fool Believes

Bad Case of Loving You

MacArthur Park

We've Got Tonight

I Love the Nightlife

My Life

The Logical Song

I Will Survive - Out of all the great music on this list, I think this one gets knocked down a few patches due to conistent overplay throughout my lifetime.  Also I've always wondered if she will truly survive because I don't really feel any sense of urgency from the tone of the song.  Minorest of nitpicks though, no denying that it's good.

The Devil Went Down to Georgia - I love classic country and you can't get much more classic than this tale and that awesome fiddle playing.  Growing up in the Southern portion of the US means I've heard this song to death too.

I Was Made For Loving You - I know this is a Top 5 iconic Kiss song and it's definitely good but I just haven't ever felt any real connection to it.  At least there is energy and passion towards it, otherwise it could end on the wrongside of this list (hi Alice Cooper).

What a Fool Believes - I know that chorus is considered inescapable but I've never been a fan of it.  I actually like the rest of the song so much more and it always falters when it comes to the chorus.  Still good though.

Bad Case of Loving You - Speaking of never being a fan of, I don't think I'll ever like this song.  It's just too ridiculous for me.

MacArthur Park - Like I said on the best list, Donna Summer had her misses and this was the biggest miss from her in 1979.  The original was so great and with all the disco remixes of 1960s classics, this was one of the biggest butcherings on this year end list.

We've Got Tonight - Bob Seger has done so much better than this soft rock piece of crap.  This is almost Wings embarrassing in terms of trend hopping just to rack up the number of hits.

I Love the Nightlife - I don't love Alicia Bridges voice.

My Life - I think near the middle of this list is fitting.  Billy Joel's discography has always been a mixed bag for me and I've always felt mixed on this song.  If you don't care anymore about how other people judge how you live your life Billy Joel, then why do you sound like you do?

The Logical Song - It took me a few listens to get the joke and now that I get it, I appreciate the humor behind it.  I also dig the hell out of that sax solo.  But it felt like a chore to sit through to find out why people found it so progressive.  It's good I like it.