Blast From The Past - Top Country Hits of 1978 - 30 Years Ago!

I had some good luck with the top hits from 50 years ago, so let's see if my luck continues.

I am not a huge fan of the seventies, music-wise, or I guess, culture-wise in general. But I'm hoping that the music will not disappoint.

So, let's take a look at some of the top hits from 1978.

As always, we like to start things off on a high note, so here is:

DON WILLIAMS - TULSA TIME


Don Williams may be the "Perry Como" of country music. You know, that old SCTV skit, with Perry Como so laid back that he's lying on the stage singing into his microphone.

But talent is as talent does, or some other mangled cliche. If you're as good a singer as Don Williams, I guess you don't need to jump around the stage. You just have to sing.

And now for something completely different:

JOHNNY PAYCHECK - TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT


Here's Johnny, in all his orange sartorial splendor, singing the timeless song that has inspired millions of people to repeat the song title on a daily basis.

To me, the title is actually better than the song itself. I'm not knocking Johnny Paycheck, because I am a fan. It's just that Johnny had better songs than this one.

And you'd think he could have afforded to replace that missing tooth. But maybe not.

WAYLON JENNINGS (MINUS WILLIE) - MAMAS, DON'T LET YOUR BABIES GROW UP TO BE COWBOYS


What a treat it is to see Waylon again.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a video of Waylon and Willie together doing this number, but this video is quite good! The sound quality is excellent.

I'm currently reading the biography of Willie, and I highly recommend it. I'm only about halfway through right now, and I'll be slapping up a review of it, once I'm finished, but, of course, Waylon is featured prominently in the book.

But to be honest, if we're talking "outlaws", Johnny Paycheck's got them all beat to hell. Just search the net for his prison record. I'm just sayin'.

Speaking of Willie, here is:

WILLIE NELSON - BLUE SKIES


I'm an admirer of Willie's singing style, but I'll admit, it had to grow on me. I used to HATE his voice. It's not a "country" voice. Let's just call it "country jazz". How's that?

And this is not a quibble at all, but have you noticed that the songs that were hits for Willie were almost exclusively remakes of old songs? I mean, you know, Willie actually wrote some pretty decent songs all on his own.

Not to leave out the women, here's:

BARBARA MANDRELL - SLEEPIN' SINGLE IN A DOUBLE BED


I can't tell you how much I HATE this song. This song represents everything that was wrong with 1970's country music.

Don't get me wrong. I actually LIKE Barbara. But not THIS song. Good lord, no.

I'm sorry it cuts off before it's done. Or AM I??

Now back to real country music. This isn't my favorite song by this duo, but it's still far superior to SSIADB (the Mandrell song).

THE KENDALLS - SWEET DESIRE


As much as I like Jeannie Kendall, I still can't quite reconcile her unusual wardrobe choices. She dresses worse than Johnny Paycheck!

But I like this song, and it, in some ways, captures that bluegrass sound that Jeannie does so well.

I like this next song. It's infinitely better than SSIADB. I'm just surprised it hit it big on the country charts. I mean, in 1978. Of course, it would (might?) hit it big on the country charts now. I wonder, though. Maybe it's too good.

BONNIE TYLER - IT'S A HEARTACHE


And I always wondered what Bonnie looked like! Maybe I knew at one time, but I forgot.

Bonnie must be the only example of a singer who had vocal problems that actually helped her career.

Here's one of my favorites. Because he has style. And attitude.

JERRY LEE LEWIS - MIDDLE AGED CRAZY


Oh, one of the greats of country music is coming up next. I've said it before, but it bears repeating. As far as entertainers are concerned, he's pretty tough to beat:

MARTY ROBBINS - RETURN TO ME


Here we get an added bonus, "Beyond The Reef".

I could watch Marty all day. Notice how he has the crowd in the palm of his hand.

Someday, I'm going to just post a bunch of Marty videos, and sit back and enjoy.

Well, dang. The only decent video I could find of this song is not embeddable. So, here's a link. This is (easily) one of the best songs from 1978, so I just couldn't leave it out.

JOHN CONLEE - ROSE-COLORED GLASSES
Rose-Colored Glasses

Here's a singer who's cool in any decade. This song has a special meaning to me, because I have a recording of my best friend, Alice, singing this song. Alice is singing with the house band in heaven now.

EMMYLOU HARRIS - TO DADDY


Again, we have Willie. Craggy Willie. Doing a song written by Johnny Bush. No offense, Willie. I really do usually prefer your versions of songs, but I like Johnny Bush's version better. And Johnny wrote it. You kind of absconded with it, and now people think you wrote it.

It's a matter of taste, really. But to be perfectly honest, if I hadn't heard Johnny's version of the song, I'd kind of think the song sucked. No offense.

WILLIE NELSON - WHISKEY RIVER



I'll just end this reminiscince of 1978 with one of the hottest acts of that year:

THE OAK RIDGE BOYS - YOU'RE THE ONE


You might not recognize William Lee Golden without his long, flowing beard, but that's really him!

Duane Allen, of course, looks like your everyday boy next door, while Richard Sterban is trying to come across as a sex symbol (no offense, Richard, but it just looks really cheesy, especially with that slapping tambourine). Not to neglect Joe Bonsall and his afro.

So, there you have it. 1978. Not all bad; some good; some really good.

1978 wasn't the best year ever for country music. There were a lot of forgettable songs.

1978, for me personally, was a stellar year. Matt was born in December of 1978. So, who am I to quibble about that year?

What do I remember about the year, music-wise? I remember Emmylou, and I remember the Oak Ridge Boys. I remember that there were some really bad singles released in 1978, among them, songs by Crystal Gayle (who, let's face it, was really reaching by that time) and by Charley Pride (whose days on the charts were numbered).

I remember that Waylon had become an "outlaw".

The rest is really a blur.

Wikipedia lists a lot of songs that were hits. A lot of them, frankly, I couldn't identify if a gun was held to my head. And I was listening to country radio then.

Just goes to show you that songs are like quicksilver. Catch 'em while you can.

Blast From The Past - Top Country Hits Of 1977

As with rock music, the seventies were lackluster years for country music. In previous posts regarding top country hits, I've jumped over the seventies, and with good reason.

I'm not saying everything was bad, because it wasn't. In fact, there were some very memorable country songs released during the seventies decade. It just might take me awhile to find them......

Again, I chose the year randomly. Because I like to be surprised.

So, let's see what we can dig up.

We always like to kick these things off with something good. So, here's something good:

MERLE HAGGARD - RAMBLIN' FEVER

The rule of thumb here is, we don't make fun of The Hag. So, let's just say, this is a very nice live performance, including the Strangers, featuring Bonnie Owens.

We do get a glimpse of Roy Nichols and Norm Hamlet here, which is always a treat. Aside from the Buckaroos, the Strangers were the best band in country.

And, come to think of it, the Strangers is a great name for a band!


MARTY ROBBINS - DON'T LET ME TOUCH YOU

Hey! 1977 is starting out better than I'd hoped!

Here's another great LIVE performance. This really shows the essence of Marty Robbins as an entertainer. Notice that, while he goofed around in his inimitable way, he never lost sight of the song.

Seeing this reminds me of how much I miss Marty.


While we're on a roll:

THE KENDALLS - HEAVEN'S JUST A SIN AWAY

This has always been one of my favorite country songs, and it was a huge hit for the Kendalls. One tiny criticism here: Jeannie's blue shiny parachute outfit with the red boots worn on the outside of the pants is not a fashion statement I would choose to emulate. But it was 1977, after all. Maybe dressing ugly was the thing to do back then. But I don't really recall that.

Funny story (to me). My toddler used to sing along with this song on the radio. And if you don't think a two-year-old singing, "Heaven's just a sin away" is funny, I don't know what funny is.

Ah, good times.


JOHNNY PAYCHECK - SLIDE OFF OF YOUR SATIN SHEETS

Introduced here by Jim Ed Brown and Jerry Clower (a true pain in the ass - "whoo!"), here's a guy who never got the credit he deserved.

Here is one biography I would love to read. Johnny lived a colorful life, to say the least. And while he may have taken a wrong turn on the road of life (for example, biting off someone's ear), he was a great artist and a great songwriter.

He's another one of those, sadly, forgotten artists.


EDDIE RABBITT - TWO DOLLARS IN THE JUKEBOX

Is that The Wolfman introducing Eddie???

Wow! Blue leisure suits and shaggy hair. That reminds me of my first wedding! Just slap on a boutinniere, and you've got my wedding in a nutshell!

But I digress, due to the unfortunate flashbacks. Eddie is another one of those (sadly) forgotten artists. I really liked him. And I really like this song. For a boy from New Jersey, he knew how to find the essence of a country song.


THE OAK RIDGE BOYS - Y'ALL COME BACK SALOON

Obviously, this is a later performance of this hit song, because it's missing something important ~ William Lee Golden and his long, flowing beard. This appearance came some time after William Lee quit the band in disgust. If I remember correctly, he quit because the other members of the group refused to sing off-key, like him. Just kidding.

But William Lee was a big part of the group, so I was glad that he came back eventually, even though I was kind of over the ORB by the time he did come back.

But let me tell you, in their day, the Oak Ridge Boys were huge! I went to see them at the State Fair back in the seventies, and I was thrilled. Ah, how times change.

My former hairdresser, who was kind of an ORB fanatic, and traveled all over the country to see them perform (?), told me that, surprisingly, Joe Bonsall was the nicest "Boy". I guess Richard Sterban (the flailing tambourine player) wasn't very nice at all. Nor was Duane Allen. That kind of surprised me. Duane "looks" nice. I guess that just goes to show you that appearances can be deceiving, when picking one's favorite Boy.

Oh, and aren't you glad "Elvira" wasn't from 1977, so I don't have to include it here? I know I am.


EMMYLOU HARRIS - (YOU NEVER CAN TELL) C'EST LA VIE

Speaking of HUGE, Emmylou was HUGE in the seventies.

And here she is, doing an old Chuck Berry song. One of Chuck's better songs, in my opinion. But I always was a sucker for French.

And, hey! There's RODNEY CROWELL! And here I always thought that was a woman singing harmony on that song. (No offense, Rodney.) I happen to be a huge Rodney Crowell fan, so it's good to see him in his earlier endeavors.

And, is that the guy from "My Name Is Earl" playing steel guitar??


GEORGE JONES & TAMMY WYNETTE - NEAR YOU

Everybody always says that George Jones is the "king of country music", or "the voice", or the "plastic grocery bag", or the "dead-bolt lock", or the "stained coffee mug", or the "spray nozzle", or something, of country music. I must admit, I'm not a big admirer of George Jones. I mean, he's okay, but I just don't get all the hoopla. It's not that I dislike him. But, to me, there are many better singers from his time.

If you want to split hairs, I would say:

The King Of Country Music = Hank Williams
The Voice = George Strait
The Plastic Grocery Bag = Well, let's go with Kenny Chesney (ha! ha!)

But, again, I'm way off topic.

Tammy Wynette, on the other hand = The Voice (well, first runner-up to Patsy Cline).

So, I'll go with Patsy Cline, then Tammy Wynette for $200, Alex.

But, together, these two did sound good. I never tire of hearing Tammy.

So, let's just say, to be fair, the duo succeeded because of Tammy's voice and George's harmonies.

Let's close this segment out with this one:

WAYLON JENNINGS - LUCKENBACH, TEXAS

You've gotta tip your hat to (most likely) the biggest song of 1977.

Unfortunately, I can't find a video of Waylon & Willie singing together, and the video I did find is not a real great performance.

But, much like Emmylou and the ORB, Waylon was doing well in 1977. I think he deserves a topic all his own, and I plan to do that at some point.

And, like Marty and Eddie and Johnny and Tammy, Waylon is (sadly) gone, too.

I guess 1977 wasn't so bad after all. Kind of hard to argue with artists such as these.

But, in all honesty, there were a lot of bad hit songs that I didn't include here, because I'm going with the positive tonight.

For whatever reason.

I know; that's not like me.

At all.


There you go.