Don’s Top 10 from June 22, 1976

(#7 last week) Talk about a surprise “welcome back” to the charts! The lead singer of the 60s band the Lovin' Spoonful, last on the survey in 1968, with an addictively catchy TV theme song. The producer of a new ABC series called “Kotter” wanted a Spoonful-type vocal for the theme, & got one. They liked it so much, they changed the name of the show to “Welcome Back, Kotter” because of the song!

(#11 last week) One of the most enduring songs of the 70s. It's amazing that Vicki Sue was a one-hit wonder, considering her great voice. I guess that isn't enough. You have to have great material, & she only had that once.

(#9 last week) Former Sha-Na-Na guitarist Gross wrote this after learning of a strange coincidence: his new friend Carl Wilson, of the Beach Boys, had a Irish Setter dog named Shannon who had passed away. Gross's dog was also an Irish Setter named Shannon! Moved, he wrote a song about Wilson's dog. The song certainly has Beach Boy overtones but they do not sing or play on the it.

(#6 last week) Daryl Hall wrote this for his collaborator/girlfriend Sara Allen. Her sister, Janna Allen, co-wrote their hit "Kiss On My List." They never got married, but Daryl and Sara were together for about 28 years before they broke up in 2001.

(#5 last week) Somehow, this one-hit wonder studio group managed to become a two-hit wonder. I guess it was all in the grooves….that's right! “Lead singer”, such as she was, Penny Mclean, had a big solo club hit, “Lady Bump”.

(#8 last week) The artist name sounds like a group but porn star True was Artie-the one man-party. This was recorded in Jamaica where True had been doing a Tv commercial. An attempted coup kept her in the country longer than she had expected, so she took advantage of her "extended vacation" to record this very catchy disco number.

(#4 last week) Written in the 60s for Brenda Lee, but she turned it down. This become a country hit for two other artists in 1966-67. Joe Simon recorded it in '72 & this version, by Dorothy Moore, in 1973. It then took three long years to be released & climb the pop chart. Ironically, it revived country interest & it once again was a country hit, for a third time.

(#1 last week; was #1 for 4 weeks) It took awhile to convince Miss Ross to record a disco song. Like her fellow soul veteran Marvin Gaye, she initially resented the disco movement, but she finally relented. The producers actually installed a strobe light in the recording studio so she'd be in the “disco mindset”.

(#3 last week) Well, the group's name was The Manhattans, but they were from Jersey City, New Jersey, and this song was recorded in Philadelphia with the MFSB backing band. Which version do you like better, the one with the spoken word intro, or the one that starts with the singing?

(#2 last week; 1st week at #1) Sometimes, I realize a song has lasting appeal through personal experience. Mrs. Tandler just last week told me this was an earworm and she needed it in her collection. In this hit, McCartney made fun of his own sometimes-too-mainstream image. McCartney had often been teased by writers as well as his former bandmate John for writing lightweight songs & he wrote this number in response.