timschochet
Footballguy
For a top 100 list of New Wave songs it is. Sorry.
To people who listen to top 40 and nothing else, sure. But that's not who these lists are for.
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The 100 Greatest Songs Of 1978 #1. Werewolves of London (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter timschochet
- Start date
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
I was 16 when "Hold The Line" was a hit. I liked it, though even then I knew it was pretty generic. My local AOR channel played the hell out of it. I only run across it maybe once or twice a year nowadays, but enjoy it whenever I do.
Peak Toto, I was in my 20s. I was working at the county courthouse in Annapolis when "Rosanna" was a hit. Most of my coworkers were women. Those that were my age on up to maybe 40 or so freaking loved that record (it was a happy hour jukebox special). Even my R&B-only friends liked it. The only people I knew that didn't were metalheads.
I don't recall the reaction to "Africa" as clearly (there's a lot about that time I don't remember clearly), but I assume it was about the same.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Agreed.
AOR was more notable for what it wasn't than for what it was. It certainly wasn't free-form. Lee Abrams had the (brilliant from a business perspective, horrible for music fans) idea to narrowcast a certain type of guitar-based rock to one specific audience.
It was wildly popular. It was also wildly exclusionary. And that sealed its fate.
By the early 80s, it was a rotting carcass. They didn't play the New Wave bands (until it was too late), they played no black artists until forced by desperation to spin "Little Red Corvette", they played almost no newer metal bands like Motorhead (I recall Judas Priest getting some spins but that was about it), and all of the acts they hung their hats on with the exception of Van Halen were either done, on life support, or rarely released new music. The final nail for me was when my local AOR started playing Billy Joel's "Allentown" because they had nothing else in the chamber.
FairWarning
Footballguy
But none of those songs were really made for an AOR format, same with .38 Special with Second Chance. . The Boston song did get some airplay on AOR at the beginning. These formats evolve, look at Green Day. - they are basically mainstream rock now, and alternative is nothing that I remember.
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Ghost Rider
Footballguy
I doubt many bands wrote songs thinking, "Hey, let's hope AOR plays it!" So that seems rather pointless to debate, with all due respect. Most bands just wrote the music they wanted, and of course some wrote with the idea of appealing more to the masses, but I have never really thought that was the crime of the century like some (high and mighty) fans did.
FairWarning
Footballguy
I agree with you. You can thank the record companies for steering bands in different ways though thru marketing . That is why Prince, the Beatles, Zeppelin and others created their own labels - to control their content.
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
That is a whole other conversation, haha. I get why record companies do what they do, as they are in business to make money, and steering their artists in a direction that think appeals more to the masses is always the goal, but the problem there is that the idiots making those calls often know jack squat about what is good when it comes to music. Take those jugheads at Atlantic in the later 80s who wanted INXS to throw Kick in the trash and offered them a million dollars to do so and then write and record a whole new album
, to which the band say no. And the rest is history.
timschochet
Footballguy
88. Bob Seger “Still the Same” (from A Stranger In Town)
https://youtu.be/PtZbk_5pbf0
Hopefully folks will like this Seger selection better than the last one. I know I do; it’s much more of the traditional Seger rock ballad that defined most of his career. He wrote some great melodies over the years.
https://youtu.be/PtZbk_5pbf0
Hopefully folks will like this Seger selection better than the last one. I know I do; it’s much more of the traditional Seger rock ballad that defined most of his career. He wrote some great melodies over the years.
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
ima take a second to try making a point based on Trip's question about Toto. i'm not going to quote his inquiry, cuz he's about the most face-value guy on the board so this answer's not for him. i tried to answer him directly, but it kept coming out so "OK Boomer". - basically, "engineered music is wrong, but even our engineered music was better than todays" 
but there was a point i wanted to make about the purity of effort in Rock's first decade (with occasional flareups since) which, for a time there, were changing the rules on an almost weekly basis. i was in the biz but wasnt officially a rocker. in mgmt, more a fixer, an enabler even, but i felt the code. an artist in our stable was losing her way because, while she might have been the most talented, she wasnt the hottest and wouldnt let men tell her what to do. i ruined a rather easy, sleazy career going to bat for her, but it's the thing i was proudest of from that era of my life.
now, to go completely 'round the bend, flash fwd to a personal moment from the late 80s, early 90s. my BFF had gone rancid with booze so, after trying some legit things, i resorted to some guerilla theater - beating him up and/or hitting on his wife so he'd have a pathetic memory which might burn thru his blackout - to convince him he'd hit bottom. it worked, he took the cure and is grateful to this day that he had such a weird, adventurous friend.
funny thing is, right after he sobered up was my worst period with the Peruvian marching powder. BFF tries to return the favor and interrupt one of my binges with confrontation and his own brand of beatuppery. i crash and get all hysterical and eventually pass out. next day, he checks in on me and i'm all "yeah, i get it. thx" and i subsequently eased back.
he says, "one weird thing, tho, bromeat - you kept saying one thing over & over"
"what wuzzat?"
"you kept looking at me all pathetic and asking 'am i still holy?'"
at the time, i interpreted that as wondering if i'd lost any rep with him cuz it was an equal friendship between unequal people - i was the doer and he was the watcher. as i thought about it though, i realized that 'holy' was the watchword for that whole mad boomer explosion of creativity. we had broken lots of rules, all of em we could find, mostly cuz it was fun, but found ourselves imbued with the power to challenge what came next and after, maybe for all time. as a blind person can now tell, we screwed that job up royally - govt, ethics, responsibility, childrearing, etc etc etc - except the arts, music & movies especially. we nailed the arts because the artistic types among us felt the holiness of the opportunity truly & deeply. even when we engineered - Toto & blockbusters & #### - instead of created, we had our eyes on that prize. and it was a mind####er, people...
so i guess i watch & listen for the holiness when i take in the art which followed ours. largely, it aint there. i can chalk that up to that folks just didnt know, but i still miss it like smokes & coke. nufced
but there was a point i wanted to make about the purity of effort in Rock's first decade (with occasional flareups since) which, for a time there, were changing the rules on an almost weekly basis. i was in the biz but wasnt officially a rocker. in mgmt, more a fixer, an enabler even, but i felt the code. an artist in our stable was losing her way because, while she might have been the most talented, she wasnt the hottest and wouldnt let men tell her what to do. i ruined a rather easy, sleazy career going to bat for her, but it's the thing i was proudest of from that era of my life.
now, to go completely 'round the bend, flash fwd to a personal moment from the late 80s, early 90s. my BFF had gone rancid with booze so, after trying some legit things, i resorted to some guerilla theater - beating him up and/or hitting on his wife so he'd have a pathetic memory which might burn thru his blackout - to convince him he'd hit bottom. it worked, he took the cure and is grateful to this day that he had such a weird, adventurous friend.
funny thing is, right after he sobered up was my worst period with the Peruvian marching powder. BFF tries to return the favor and interrupt one of my binges with confrontation and his own brand of beatuppery. i crash and get all hysterical and eventually pass out. next day, he checks in on me and i'm all "yeah, i get it. thx" and i subsequently eased back.
he says, "one weird thing, tho, bromeat - you kept saying one thing over & over"
"what wuzzat?"
"you kept looking at me all pathetic and asking 'am i still holy?'"
at the time, i interpreted that as wondering if i'd lost any rep with him cuz it was an equal friendship between unequal people - i was the doer and he was the watcher. as i thought about it though, i realized that 'holy' was the watchword for that whole mad boomer explosion of creativity. we had broken lots of rules, all of em we could find, mostly cuz it was fun, but found ourselves imbued with the power to challenge what came next and after, maybe for all time. as a blind person can now tell, we screwed that job up royally - govt, ethics, responsibility, childrearing, etc etc etc - except the arts, music & movies especially. we nailed the arts because the artistic types among us felt the holiness of the opportunity truly & deeply. even when we engineered - Toto & blockbusters & #### - instead of created, we had our eyes on that prize. and it was a mind####er, people...
so i guess i watch & listen for the holiness when i take in the art which followed ours. largely, it aint there. i can chalk that up to that folks just didnt know, but i still miss it like smokes & coke. nufced
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Mr. Mojo
Footballguy
TripItUp
Footballguy
timschochet
Footballguy
87. Rod Stewart “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” (from Blondes Have More Fun)
https://youtu.be/Hphwfq1wLJs
Rolling Stone magazine 1st narrative (1978- 2000): Rod Stewart sold out his blues roots making this schlocky disco song. It was a huge hit and he’s never been the same since, making tons of money performing even worse hits (“Young Turks”, etc). Early Rod (prior to 1975 or so) is the only Rod worth listening to.
Rolling Stone magazine 2nd narrative (2000- now): You know what? “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” is a brilliant song. Rod didn’t sell out at all; like any great artist, he branched out and showed a tremendous versatility. In fact, we’re going to put this song on our list of the 500 greatest, that’s how much we love it.
Quite the 180. Personally, I am somewhere in the middle: I adore Rod’s early stuff, and “Sexy” IS a sellout. However it’s a pretty great sellout.
https://youtu.be/Hphwfq1wLJs
Rolling Stone magazine 1st narrative (1978- 2000): Rod Stewart sold out his blues roots making this schlocky disco song. It was a huge hit and he’s never been the same since, making tons of money performing even worse hits (“Young Turks”, etc). Early Rod (prior to 1975 or so) is the only Rod worth listening to.
Rolling Stone magazine 2nd narrative (2000- now): You know what? “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” is a brilliant song. Rod didn’t sell out at all; like any great artist, he branched out and showed a tremendous versatility. In fact, we’re going to put this song on our list of the 500 greatest, that’s how much we love it.
Quite the 180. Personally, I am somewhere in the middle: I adore Rod’s early stuff, and “Sexy” IS a sellout. However it’s a pretty great sellout.
John Maddens Lunchbox
Footballguy
Is there some parallel 1978 universe that I missed? 77-83 is the peak of music for me.
This 1978 is bollocks.
This 1978 is bollocks.
timschochet
Footballguy
1978 featured a number of brilliant alternative artists, who received little attention at the time but are now regarded as legendary. We will get to some of them.
But at the same time I’m not going to ignore music that WAS popular at the time.
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Write-ups would be better without referencing that useless rag known as Rolling Stone (they haven't had a clue about good music ever).
Rod Stewart is one of those guys I rarely listen to, and when I do, it is usually one of the hits I grew up on in the 80s, but he obviously had tons of biggies in the 70s. Do Ya Think I'm Sexy is okay. I am not a fan of calling songs or artist sellouts. Good music is good music.
Rod Stewart is one of those guys I rarely listen to, and when I do, it is usually one of the hits I grew up on in the 80s, but he obviously had tons of biggies in the 70s. Do Ya Think I'm Sexy is okay. I am not a fan of calling songs or artist sellouts. Good music is good music.
I don't care for some of the list so far but you can't please everyone.
Mad props for doing these lists.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
This is a squillion times better than the Tom Cruise jawn. But so is minor dental work.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
John Maddens Lunchbox
Footballguy
I understand how exposed you are writing these lists. Part of the fun I guess. That said I looked at the top 100 singles and albums in the UK, US and Australian Charts for 1978. I then looked at the top 300 singles and 300 albums on RYM.
You could take this to 1000 and most of the songs so far wouldn’t appear for me, and I love chart music. I am not an indie music snob at all.
I know the list will get better, it needs to. Anyway, i appreciate you for giving it a go.
TripItUp
Footballguy
I'm in the latter Rolling Stone camp...I'd probably have the song higher in my top 100...this is the era of disco, and I'm on the side that thinks good disco is still good music.
It is lightyears better than that other disco crap that was mentioned earlier in the list...I had never heard that one before, and never want to hear it again. And there's probably a reason why I haven't heard it, nobody wants to listen to it.
BassNBrew
Footballguy
timschochet said:
Can't wait to see the top end of this list. We are giving you crap like we give a coach of a bad football team crap. Sometimes the players stink.
Almost every tune you've posted is an instant station changer for me. But to your point, they were popular at the time.
I know these lists are your opinion, but on a scale of 1-10 where are you weighting your opinion of year's music history vs. what you personally believe are the best tunes? 1 being you trying to chronicle the year and 10 being your personal opinion of the best tunes of the year.
timschochet
Footballguy
timschochet
Footballguy
86. Gerry Rafferty “Right Down the Line” (from City to City)
https://youtu.be/NSfOB8ANdWU
True Scotsman and former Stealers Wheel member Gerry Rafferty had a breakthrough album in 1978 with.City to City which featured two hit songs. “Right Down the Line” is one; the other is coming up a little later: This is a slick and enjoyable pop song which still sounds pretty good.
https://youtu.be/NSfOB8ANdWU
True Scotsman and former Stealers Wheel member Gerry Rafferty had a breakthrough album in 1978 with.City to City which featured two hit songs. “Right Down the Line” is one; the other is coming up a little later: This is a slick and enjoyable pop song which still sounds pretty good.
massraider
Footballguy
Number one pet peeve of mine. Fans like that suck the fun out of music.Ghost Rider said:
massraider
Footballguy
Suggested title change:
In This Thread, I Make A Compelling Argument That 1978 Is The Cheesiest Year For Music Ever, And It's Really Not Close.
In This Thread, I Make A Compelling Argument That 1978 Is The Cheesiest Year For Music Ever, And It's Really Not Close.
zamboni
Footballguy
Big fan of this song, but wish you had included the non-neutered longer version of it.
zamboni
Footballguy
TripItUp
Footballguy
Never heard the song and don’t care if I do again.
Definite “you had to be there” type song unlike a Seger classic.
I personally would heavily penalize this song because nobody under 40 wants to listen to it.
zamboni
Footballguy
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timschochet
Footballguy
85. Wings “With a Little Luck” (from London Town)
https://youtu.be/KzH-2NgtaZk
Not the best McCartney solo, not the worst either. Middle of the road, pleasant and catchy. The title song on the album, a bit of a “Penny Lane” ripoff, is also worth a listen. This is all fluff of course, but it’s Paul McCartney, so…
https://youtu.be/KzH-2NgtaZk
Not the best McCartney solo, not the worst either. Middle of the road, pleasant and catchy. The title song on the album, a bit of a “Penny Lane” ripoff, is also worth a listen. This is all fluff of course, but it’s Paul McCartney, so…
squistion
Footballguy
Not true if the band Badflower is any indication, they are almost all under 30 and did a reverential cover of it during the lockdown last year:
And unlike some of other sappy pop on this list so far, I've always liked this song.
Badflower - Right down the line (Gerry Rafferty cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awElLnLD2sc
TripItUp
Footballguy
That cover is way better.
The original that somehow got ranked in this list is unlistenable to me...again not my generation so I get how some of you geezers could hold on to this...the same way I hold onto some nostalgiac 80s crap.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
timschochet
Footballguy
84. Bruce Springsteen “Prove It All Night” (from Darkness on the Edge of Town)
https://youtu.be/_Xab-th4ltU
Youtube features several live versions of this classic Springsteen song, going all the way back to 1978. Some of these are over ten minutes long. This is one of his staples in concert and he loves to play it.
https://youtu.be/_Xab-th4ltU
Youtube features several live versions of this classic Springsteen song, going all the way back to 1978. Some of these are over ten minutes long. This is one of his staples in concert and he loves to play it.
jwb
Footballguy
Zeppelin said:I don't care for some of the list so far but you can't please everyone.
Mad props for doing these lists.
Yup. And this is probably one of the harder ones - very polarizing. You got classic rock that most guys love, but it's waning in 78, some punk/new wave coming to the party, and a huge dose of Disco.
Interesting choices so far. Pleased to see the Zevon song (and I'm sure there will be more).
TripItUp
Footballguy
FairWarning
Footballguy
Not a Springsteen fan, but this is one of his best songs, doesn’t get much play anymore.
timschochet
Footballguy
83. Johnny Cougar “I Need a Lover” (from John. Cougar)
https://youtu.be/sdl5_3HX8bU
I suppose John Mellencamp thought it was really cool to go by the name of Johnny Cougar. Seems really silly now. But this was his first hit single and it’s still one of his best songs IMO.
https://youtu.be/sdl5_3HX8bU
I suppose John Mellencamp thought it was really cool to go by the name of Johnny Cougar. Seems really silly now. But this was his first hit single and it’s still one of his best songs IMO.
zamboni
Footballguy
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timschochet
Footballguy
squistion
Footballguy
No. No. No.
He didn't come up with the name, it was his manager Tony DeFries who dubbed him Johnny Cougar out of his belief that nobody would buy a record by anybody named Mellencamp. DeFries had renamed Bowie from David Jones (or Davie Jones) so Mellencamp reluctantly went along with it.
timschochet
Footballguy
krista4
Footballguy
Yep. And at best my sixth favorite song from the album London Town, which was itself pretty unremarkable. I wonder if the other "hit" from this record will make the list.
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krista4
Footballguy
Love the intro to this song. For my money it's his best song, though that's a bit like being the tallest midget.
Doug B
Footballguy
I disagree here. I think the keys get a little too bright during the bridge, but otherwise I find the synth line nice and smooth. The big draw for me, though, it when Paul brings it home vocally over the last minute or so -- love the energy he brings.
krista4
Footballguy
I was imprecise. There wasn't another "hit" from the record that I know of. I was thinking of the remake by another artist that became a hit.
Doug B
Footballguy
For a list of songs from 1978 ... whether thirty-somethings want to listen to it today ... that has got to be one of the least prioritized criteria.
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Because the real full version deserves its due, here is the full I Need a Lover:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGPP2PbayJc
Great, great song. I am not a huge fan of his in general, but he has quite a few songs I like, and this is on my short list of favorites.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGPP2PbayJc
Great, great song. I am not a huge fan of his in general, but he has quite a few songs I like, and this is on my short list of favorites.
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