Don’s Top 10 For October 21, 1977

(#11 last week) Former #1 hit, back up one notch. Although brother Barry Gibb is the only credited writer for the song, both he and Andy wrote this in Bermuda as a tribute to Andy's recent marriage and his new wife.

(#10 last week) In addition to his singing & songwriting ("Bish" wrote the 1985 #1 hit "Seperate Lives"), Stephen was a pretty accomplished comic actor. In addition to singing the theme song off-screen, Bishop had a cameo role in "National Lampoon's Animal House" as the aspiring folk singer whose guitar John Belushi smashes. Bishop still keeps the smashed guitar as a memento. He appeared in another John Landis movie, "The Blues Brothers", as the "charming trooper" who breaks his watch during the mall chase. Bishop also had a cameo in "The Kentucky Fried Movie", appearing as a hustler in the infamous "Catholic High School Girls in Trouble" segment.

(#7 last week) Written by Eric Carmen., who first recorded the song himself on his first solo LP from 1975, "Eric Carmen". "That's Rock & Roll" was the first of two major hits written by Carmen & covered by Cassidy, the second being "Hey Deanie". Both songs charted at the same time with Carmen's own minor hit, "She Did It". Cassidy nowadays is a successful TV producer.

(#6 last week) Way-ahead-of-its-time song. Before "I Feel Love", most disco recordings had been backed by acoustic orchestras, although all-electronic music had been produced for decades. Giorgio Moroder's innovative production of this disco-style song, recorded with an entirely synthesized backing track, spawned imitators in the disco genre, and was influential in the development of techno. "I Feel Love" is ranked #418 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "I Feel Love" was added to the National Recording Registry in 2012.

(#8 last week) This had a bit of a different sound that Barry's earlier hits, still string-laden with orchestra, but a more mid-tempo slow-burn groove. And, like his earlier hits, Barry was SURE this would be a smash. Yep......

(#5 last week) The group was formed in 1973 by Harry Wayne Casey (KC), a record store employee & part-timer at TK Records in Miami. See, you CAN move up! :-) This may be the group with the most-ever members: dozens, past & present, at last count.

(#4 last week) Interracial, joint British & American soul band who had three monster hits within a year, with this being the first. Then tragedy struck: In February 1979, a van struck Heatwave's lead vocalist Johnny Wilder Jr.'s car when he was visiting family in Ohio, permanently paralyzing him from the neck down. "Boogie Nights" was written by Heatwave's keyboardist Rod Temperton; it was the first song he ever wrote on his own. He went on to write several hits for Michael Jackson, including "Thriller" and "Rock With You."

(#3 last week) Oct. 21, 2012: "Skyfall", by Adele, the newest James Bond movie theme, is #13. Oct. 21, 1977, another currently-hot female singer is at #3 with the theme from "The Spy Who Loved Me". Loved this song, but never was thrilled with Roger Moore as 007. My favorite: George Lazenby. Yep, George Lazenby.

(#1 last week) No, this wasn't IN the movie "Star Wars", it was "inspired" by it, & far outsold the actual soundtrack. The biggest-selling instrumental hit of the 70s, certified a platinum single by the RIAA, when that meant 2 million units sold. At the age of 17, Meco Monardo won a scholarship to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, which provided him with a solid classical and jazz music education. There, together with his two friends Chuck Mangione and Ron Carter, he started the Eastman School of Music.

(#2 last week; 1st week at #1) Has there ever been a song so loved, & so hated by so many people? There seemed to be no middle ground with this ballad, also, like Meco at #2, a cover version of the movie original, sung by Kasey Cisyk. Debby is related by marriage to George Clooney. Boone married Gabriel Ferrer on September 1, 1979. Like Boone, Ferrer is a member of another well-known Hollywood family. He is the son of Jose Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney, the brother of actors Miguel Ferrer & Rafael Ferrer & the cousin of George Clooney.