Blog Archives
FlinterFile: Wim Sonneveld- Het Dorp
In 1974, an older song by Wim Sonneveld was a hit. Read the rest of this entry
FlinterFile: Supertramp- School
Supertramp released their album Crime of the Century in 1974. Read the rest of this entry
FlinterFile: Kayak- Wintertime
Kayak was a Dutch band formed around Ton Scherpenzeel and with members like Pim Koopman (who later formed Diesel) and Cees van Leeuwen. Read the rest of this entry
FlinterFile: Neil Diamond- Skybird
This Neil Diamond song came from the soundtrack of the movie Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Read the rest of this entry
FlinterFile: Elton John- Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
What if you think a song is one of the best songs ever written? Read the rest of this entry
FlinterFile: Drs. P- Dodenrit
In 1974, Drs. P (the alias of Heinz Polzer) released his most famous song. Read the rest of this entry
Song of the day: Kraftwerk- Autobahn
Kraftwerk is one of the bands that were very influential in music. They were one of the first who didn’t use normal instruments and opened up the way for dance, house, techno, hip hop and the more. Read the rest of this entry
FlinterFile: Gary Shearston- I Get A Kick Out Of You
The Australian singer Gary Shearston had a big hit with this song in 1974. Read the rest of this entry
FlinterFile: Resonance- O.K. Chicago
Resonance was a band which was formed by Pierre Bachelet, a French musician, and Mat Camison. Read the rest of this entry
FlinterFile: Joey Dyser- 100 Years
If you’re talking about one hit wonders, this is a good example. Read the rest of this entry
FlinterFile: Leo Sayer- One Man Band
Roger Daltrey released his debut solo album in 1973. Read the rest of this entry
FlinterFile: Catapult- Hit The Big Time
In 1974, glam rock was very popular. In the Netherlands, the answer to Mud and the Sweet was found in the band Catapult. Read the rest of this entry
FlinterFile: Average White Band- Pick Up The Pieces
In 1974, the Average White Band had a gigantic funk hit. The Scottish band used this song as their signature tune. Read the rest of this entry
FlinterFile: Gino Vannelli- People Gotta Move
In 1974, Gino Vannelli connected black and white with one song. The italian Canadian was discovering the disco sound with his brother, looking for synthesizers and new recording methods. Read the rest of this entry
FlinterFile: Disco-Tex & The Sex-O-Lettes- Get Dancin’
In 1974, a hairdresser made his way to the charts. Sir Monti Rock III, who was named Joseph Montanez when he was born, He was a regular on the show of Johnny Carson in the sixties, and had his first hit with this song. The next song, also disco, featured Jocelyn Brown as a background singer. This song was written by Bob Crewe, a former Four Seasons member and later the man who wrote Lady Marmalade among other songs. Get Dancin’ was a number 10 hit in the US and even number 8 in the UK. Enjoy
Disco-Tex & the Sex-O-Lettes – Get Dancin’
FlinterFile: Harry Chapin- W.O.L.D.
In 1974, Harry Chapin made a song about the radio. It was the time that DJ’s had a lot of influence on the music that was played in their show. Just like it is now, stations could change their format and therefore change DJ’s. Many DJ’s did want to be on air, so they looked for another station, and cared less about their private life. As Harry Chapin was promoting his music, he got to know quite some DJ’s as he played in their shows. The song was inspired by several of them, and he thought that it would be good to write a song about DJ’s if you wanted to get your music on air. The station WOLD exists, but it would rather be a play on the word WORLD. It hit the charts at number 36 in the US and 34 in the UK. Enjoy
Harry Chapin- W.O.L.D.
FlinterFile: Ace- How Long
In 1974, Ace had their biggest hit. Their singer, Paul Carrack, wrote it when he discovered their bass player, Terry Comer, was working with other bands. The big problem was that he never told the members of Ace about it… The time he spend with bands like Sutherland Brothers & Quiver was relatively short, since he quickly returned. However, the song would be the only hit for Ace, peaking at number 3 in the US and number 20 in the UK. Enjoy
Ace- How Long?
Song of the day: Candlewick Green- Who Do You Think You Are
In 1974, the song Who Do You Think You Are was written by Clive Scott and Des Dyer, both members of Jigsaw. They recorded the song and released it in Europe, but not in the UK. For the UK, there was a version by Candlewick Green. They would have a number 21 hit with the song, which was their only success. Later, Saint Etienne (with Bob Stanley, writer of Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!) would record it. Enjoy
Candlewick Green- Who Do You Think You Are?
Song of the day: Minnie Riperton- Loving You
In 1974, Minnie Riperton wrote a song with her husband, Richard Rudolph. The track was produced by Stevie Wonder, who also did the backing vocals. It was written as a distraction for their daughter, Maya, who was a baby at the time. In the end of the album version, her name is sung. In the US it was a number 1 hit, in the UK it was number 2. Enjoy
Minnie Riperton- Loving You
Song of the day: Grand Funk Railroad- Some Kind Of Wonderful
In 1974, Grand Funk Railroad covered a song which was written by John Ellison. He recorded the original with his band, Soul Brothers Six, and had a small hit with it in 1967. The drummer of Grand Funk Railroad, however, heard the song a lot on a local radio station, and used to sing it in the back of the car when they were travelling. The whole group would sing along, and the manager then came up with the idea to record it. Eventually, Grand Funk Railroad brought it to number 3 in the US, making the biggest hit version of the song. Enjoy
Grand Funk Railroad- Some Kind Of Wonderful
Song of the day: Labelle- Lady Marmalade
In 1974, Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan wrote a song for the band of Kenny Nolan. He recorded it with Eleventh Hour, but this was not a big success. However, LaBelle recorded it in the same year for their album Nightbirds. They released it as a single and it became a number 1 hit in the US! It would be covered many times after this, including versions by Sheila E. and Pink. At the time, Patti LaBelle, who sung the lead vocals, had no clue where the song was about. I will help you out: it’s about a prostitute. Enjoy this big disco hit:
LaBelle- Lady Marmalade
Song of the day: The Sparks- This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us
In 1974, Ron Mael wrote the song This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us for his band the Sparks. The song, lead single of their new album Kimono My House, would be a number 2 hit in the UK. The original idea for this song was to sing all sorts of clichés from movies after every verse. In the end, they only kept this line. Enjoy
The Sparks- This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us
Song of the day: Queen- Killer Queen
In 1974, Queen was not yet famous. They would have their first hit with this song, which was number 2 in the UK and number 12 in the US. The song broke with the first two albums, which were heavy loaded. The third album, Sheer Heart Attack, which featured this song, had a lighter tone. The lyrics were written before the music, which was normally the other way around: first the music, then the text. The first line quotes a quote from Marie Antoinette (though she never said it), namely: “Let them eat cake,” she says, Just like Marie Antoinette. A great song and one of my favourite Queen songs, enjoy
Queen- Killer Queen
Song of the day: 10CC- The Wall Street Shuffle
In the early seventies (1974), 10CC released their second album: Sheet Music. With a number 10 on the UK chart, this song was the biggest hit from that album. There’s not something which is very special, it’s just a good classic rock song with a good guitar riff and good lyrics about Wall Street. Later it would be covered by Anni-Frid Lyngstad (from ABBA) with Swedish lyrics. Enjoy
10CC- The Wall Street Shuffle
Song of the day: The Sweet- Fox On The Run
English glamrock from the seventies. That says about all there is to say. Well, there’s more: this song was written by the band the Sweet itself, but that is not the case with all their songs: most are written by Chapman & Chinn (those also wrote Kiss You All Over). There actually are two versions from this song! The original and a version which is more for the pop market (also the best known version). It was not a bad choice to do that: the song would reach number 2 in the UK and number 5 in the US! Enjoy
The Sweet- Fox On The Run
Song of the day: Lynyrd Skynyrd- Sweet Home Alabama
A song from 1974, and it was a hit single: it would be on number 8 in the US, and even on number 6 in Canada. The band had recorded several songs between 1970 and 1972 in Alabama, and they wrote down their impressions. That impressions would be in their song, but that’s not all: the song includes an attack on Neil Young, who was very critical about southern USA. Lynyrd Skynyrd replied to that with their positive impressions, and the nice thing is that Neil Young has played the song once, as a tribute when three members died in a plane crash. The beginning comment, turn it up, was not ment to be there, but it was a comment to the producer. It sounded good and they left it in. Enjoy
Lynyrd Skynyrd- Sweet Home Alabama
Song of the day: Moments & Whatnauts- Girls
Let’s dance tonight on a seventies pre-disco song! The song was made by two seperate bands, who occasionally worked together: the Moments and The Whatnauts. They recorded a song together, written by Harry Ray and Al Goodman (from the Moments). When they recorded the song, the original Moments were not existing anymore. Later, the band would be renamed to Ray, Goodman & Brown. The song would do number 6 in the UK, number 25 in the US soul chart and number one in the Netherlands. Enjoy
Moments & Whatnauts- Girls
Song of the day: Mud- Tiger Feet
1974 brought the first number one hit for the glam rock band Mud. It was written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, the duo that later would write the single Kiss You All Over from Exile. The song would top the UK chart for four weeks, and that’s not strange, with 700 000 copies of the million worldwide selling in the UK. Enjoy
Mud- Tiger Feet
Song of the day: Billy Swan- I Can Help
This artist is generally seen as a one-hit wonder, since this was his major hit, which has made it to number one in the US in 1974. He would write the song in no more than twenty minutes, which was a good sign: Billy Swan saw the quick songs as the best. And it would be one of the best: it was number one in nearly 15 countries! Then it seemed he disappeared, but he would continue writing songs and he would be a session musician. Enjoy
Billy Swan- I Can Help
Song of the day: Ralph McTell- Streets Of London
This song was already recorded in 1969, to be released on the album Spiral Staircase. He did not release the song as a single until 1974, but then it would become a huge success. The song would make it to number two in the UK, not strange if you know that the single would do 90000 copies a day at one point. And the setting of London might have to do something with it too: it was originally set in Paris, but then Ralph McTell realized he was singing about London: he changed the scene and the rest is history. Enjoy
Ralph McTell- The Streets Of London
Song of the day: Paul McCartney & Wings- Mrs. Vandebilt
This is a great song by the Wings, the band which worked with Paul McCartney after his Beatles period. The song was a single from the album Band on the Run, however, it was no single in the UK or US… Read the rest of this entry
Song of the day: Bachman Turner Overdrive- You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet
Only hits the last days. This song, released in 1974, is just the same. It went up in the American charts till it couldn’t go further, meaning that it was a number one song! And yes, of course, most of it sounds like songs from the Who, though this was (in most cases) not the intention (I wouldn’t know). It started off as an instrumental track, the lyrics came up very easy and the band used the song to get the studio ready. That was till the day they missed a hit-single. They recorded it and the rest is history. Enjoy
Bachman Turner Overdrive- You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet
Song of the day: Nazareth- Love Hurts
These guys know where they are talking about. Or at least, you think they do, since the tone they sing it in is really like a broken hearted person. The original, however, is not theirs. The song dates back to 1960, when the Everly Brothers recorded the song. Roy Orbison had the first hit version of the song, and via a person called Jim Capaldi, who added a sort of pain to it, it came to Nazareth in 1974. They made a rock ballad out of it and changed a line in their version. The song became a big hit, reaching number 15 in the UK and number 8 in the US. Enjoy
Nazareth- Love Hurts
Song of the day: Kiki Dee- I’ve Got The Music In Me
This is the singer who made Don’t Go Breaking My Heart with Elton John. Since I think that song is very good, I took a try on finding out more about Kiki Dee. And then I stumbled upon this song. Actually it is here the Kiki Dee Band, but okay, that will do fine. What I did not know is that she was already active since 1963, but that the real success came on the label of… Elton John! She scored a little hit with it (number 19 in the UK, 8 in the Netherlands). After her, lots of artists recorded it, but the original stayed the version which had success! Enjoy
The Kiki Dee Band- I’ve Got The Music In Me
Song of the day: Leo Sayer- Long Tall Glasses
It’s a crazy story about someone who goes to a party, he sees lots of food and long tall glasses, but before he can eat, he has to dance. I really don’t know any party like that, but it was good for a great song. I came to this song, because it popped up last night before I went to bed. I was putting on my pyjamas and then I thought: “You know I can dance, you know I can dance, I can dance!”. And now it is song of the day. Enjoy
Leo Sayer- Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)
Song of the day: Barry White- You’re The First The Last My Everything
Yes, you know him! He has a very deep voice. It’s even like this, that if I’m discussing a deep voice, I say “like Barry White has.” Strange, but true. However, the deep voice has something, it adds to the records. The strange thing is that it was ment as a country song. Leaving it 21 years unrecorded, the lyrics were changed and it became a disco song. That’s the way things go… Enjoy
Barry White- You’re The First, The Last, My Everything
Song of the day: The Hollies- The Air That I Breathe
And we’ve entered 1974! The Hollies, a band which exists since 1962 (and still exists) has a very big hit in this year. They recorded a cover, which was a song of Albert Hammond. He later has a good deal with Radiohead (after some struggeling), because his version, in particular the chords, and the chords in the song Creep have a lot in common. However, the Hollies made a big hit version from the song, and that’s the song of the day! Enjoy
The Hollies- The Air That I Breathe
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