Two words: Salt Peanuts.
Dizzy Gillespie
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top 10
Disco Vocal
For anyone who thinks disco wasn’t “important, interesting, or influential,” consider the number of rock legends (McCartney, the Stones, Bowie, Rod Stewart, Queen, the Kinks, etc., etc.) who “went disco” in the late 70s. Of course, all those songs sucked—which makes sense, considering that all these “legends” were old white British guys. But still.
Disco Instrumental
As a 6th grader in the late 70s, nothing beat practicing the steps to the “Saturday Night Fever” dances while waiting for the school bus—at least until Mr. Ryan came outside and said to stop acting like a girl. Sometimes being a gayboy-in-training in mid-Atlantic suburbia was not a lot of fun.
Dire Straits
How smart were Dire Straits? They wrote a song mocking MTV for allowing people with no musical talent to become famous—and then became superstars when the video for that same song became one of the most popular MTV offerings of all time. That’s pretty smart.
Dionne Warwick
OK, I know she went all “psychic friend network” weird, and once she connected with the Bee Gees it was all over … but late 60s/early 70s Dionne Warwick is some of my favorite pop music of all time. And if my future husband doesn’t agree to play “Then Came You” as our song at the reception, the wedding’s off.
David Bowie
In the 70s, when he was all druggy and weird, David Bowie made one of the strangest—and coolest—duets of all time: a cover of “Little Drummer Boy” (?) with Bing Crosby (!). In the 80s, when he was all safe and pop, he recorded one of the most atrocious duets of all time: a cover of “Dancing in the Streets” with Mick Jagger. Three guesses which version of Bowie gets the most entries on this list.
Curtis Mayfield
You know those cartoons with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other? Curtis Mayfield might win the award for most dramatic switch from one team to the other. From “People Get Ready” and “Move on Up” to “Pusherman” and “If There’s a Hell Below” … it’s kind of impressive.
Crosby, Stills, & Nash
Neil Young gets an honorable mention here—once in a while he tagged along and turned them into CSN&Y. (Don’t worry—he also gets his own, much more interesting list). Not much to say about the other three—I think one (Nash, maybe?) hung out with Joni Mitchell for awhile in the 60s. And one of them must have hung out with Judy Collins, because I read somewhere that she’s the Judy Blue Eyes in the title.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
El Cerrito in the house! That doesn’t even sound right. Maybe that explains why CCR holds the record for the most #2 hits (six, I think) without ever hitting #1. No respect for El Cerrito.
Coup
When I first saw a picture of the Coup, I realized that I used to run into Boots Riley all the time—on BART, at coffee shops, etc. It’s probably just as well I didn’t know who he was—he doesn’t seem like the type to get excited about a middle-aged white guy asking for his autograph.
Playlist of the Day 