# Absolute monster 1970s AM radio hits **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 11, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160 "2008-09-11T21:22:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/21 "2008-09-12T03:43:14Z")
_[Ariel](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=482640)_ by Dean Friedman. _Moonlight Feels Right_ - Starbuck ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/22 "2008-09-12T03:53:28Z")
_Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover_ – Paul Simon _Theme from Mahogany_ – Diana Ross _Troglodyte_ – The Jimmy Castor Bunch _Dead Skunk In The Middle Of The Road_ – Loudon Wainwright III _The Streak_ – Ray Stevens _Taking Care Of Business_ – Bachmann Turner Overdrive ‘I listen to fun-lovin’ KCBQ!’ (I had a 'KCBQ Streak Team T-shirt.) ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/23 "2008-09-12T04:23:18Z")
Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty Birdland by Weather Report Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel These songs and a lot of the others listed here are part of the soundtrack of the trips we took into Cincinnati circa '77 to visit my grandmother. Though Baker Street actually couldn’t be, it’s still earned its place there for some mishmashed childhood-memory reason. The sax part haunted me till I heard it again years later. ---
**Author:** ![Bin-Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@Bin-Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bin-Gay)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/24 "2008-09-12T04:39:24Z")
Nothing From Nothing by Billy Preston Will It Go Round in Circles by Billy Preston WLS was my lifeline to the outside world. I remember listening to it late Saturday nights in my farm house in northern Missouri. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/25 "2008-09-12T04:39:48Z")
Oh come on, no mention of “My Sharona”??!! ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/26 "2008-09-12T04:48:03Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Oh come on, no mention of “My Sharona”??!! Psst! Post #14! ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/27 "2008-09-12T04:53:32Z")
Well it’s not at all what the OP was thinking, but it’s what the OP made me think of and it was 70’s radio. The first thing that popped into my head was **Larry Lujack’s Animal Stories**. Gosh I thought they were funny when I was 8. Probably they aren’t actually so funny. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/28 "2008-09-12T05:13:02Z")
“School’s Out” by Alice Cooper I listen to the new sound of 13-Q! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/29 "2008-09-12T06:00:50Z")
Gotta put in a plug for my old Top 40 AM friend, 1050 CHUM, in Toronto, and the hits they were playing in September 1972: Mac Davis, “Baby, Don’t Get Hooked on Me” Donny Osmond, “Lonely Boy” Bill Withers, “Lean on Me” Gilbert O’Sullivan, “Alone Again (Naturally)” though this was bigger in the early summer …and many more. And although it was some years later, a shout out to the Brothers Johnson for “Strawberry Letter 23” in 1977. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/30 "2008-09-12T06:09:31Z")
Here are some more obscure Those '70s Singles Go All the Way – The Raspberries Walk Away – The Left Bank Hot Child in the City – Nick Gilder Good Girls Don’t – The Knack Miracles – Jefferson Starship Fox on the Run – Sweet Undercover Angel – Alan O’Day Island Girl – Elton John The Bitch is Back – Elton John I was young and obsessed with sex. Now, three and a half decades later, I’m middle-aged and obsessed with sex. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/31 "2008-09-12T14:02:02Z")
A few more: Muskrat Love - Captain and Tennille Baby I a Want you - Bread The Night Chicago Died - Paper Lace ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/32 "2008-09-12T14:11:53Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > WLS AM Chicago from 1970 to 1977 or so Hi there! [These should bring back memories.](http://user.pa.net/~ejjeff/wlsac.html) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/33 "2008-09-12T14:45:56Z")
“Werewolves of London” wasn’t exactly a monster hit, didn’t quite crack the top-20, but I have a fond memory of hearing it on WLS. I was out with one of my sisters in April of '78 and she was driving us home; “Werewolves” came on the radio and we started howling along. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/34 "2008-09-12T14:50:49Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > “Werewolves of London” wasn’t exactly a monster hit… Well, technically it _was_ a ‘monster’ hit. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/35 "2008-09-12T15:31:01Z")
Oh yeah, I just remembered **Billy, Don’t be a Hero** and **The Night Chicago Died**!! The days of AM radio being played at the public swimming pool over the speakers…nothing quite like it these days. ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/36 "2008-09-12T15:45:27Z")
The 70s also gave us two more contenders for “Worst. Song. Ever.”–_Rocky_ by Austin Roberts and _Run Joey Run_ by David Geddes. With dreck like that dominating the airwaves in the mid-70s, is it any wonder disco was able to get a foothold? Funny this subject should come up. I’m at work right now listening to the 70s channel on XM, as is my habit most Fridays. Just this morning, I’ve heard: _Fooled Around and Fell in Love_ by Elvin Bishop _The Boys Are Back In Town_ by Thin Lizzy _Little Willy_ by Sweet _Sing a Song_ by Earth, Wind & Fire _Right Place, Wrong Time_ by Dr. John _Sad Eyes_ by Robert John _Long Train Running_ by The Doobie Brothers …and a special mention for _Imagine_ by John Lennon–the very last song played on 77 WABC before they went all-talk–the end of a radio era. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/37 "2008-09-12T16:09:51Z")
_Night Moves_ by **Bob Seger** _Hooked on a Feeling_ by \*\*Blue Swede \*\*(oogachakaoogaoogaoogachaka!) _Nights Are Forever Without You_ by **England Dan and John Ford Coley** \*Ride Captain Ride \*by **Blues Image** _Rock On_ by **David Essex** _Magnet and Steel_ by **Walter Egan** _Sentimental Lady_ by **Bob Welch** ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/38 "2008-09-12T16:28:06Z")
Here in Quebec, a perennial also-ran French-language singer named Sylvain Cossette released an album called 70s, in which he sings his favorite English-language tunes from that decade. For the most part, he does surprisingly good interpretations, and he does a bang-on Freddy Mercury, especially in Somebody to Love. Anyway, the album and Cossette’s career have shot through the roof (comparatively speaking ;-). Here’s his selection: More Than a Feeling Rocket Man Carry on Wayward Son Somebody to Love Cold as Ice I’m Not in Love I want You to Want Me Stuck in the Middle With You Rock’N Me Jealous Guy Angie We Are the Champions Let it Be Moonshadow Don’t blame me if any of these are slightly outside the 70s. I didn’t pick 'em… ---
**Author:** ![Simmerdown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simmerdown/32/14859_2.png) [@Simmerdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simmerdown)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/39 "2008-09-12T18:23:03Z")
_S-A T-U-R D-A-Y NIGHT!_ – Bay City Rollers (My little 7th grade girlfriend’s favorite band) _Candy Man_ – Sammy Davis Jr. _D’yer Mak’er_ – Led Zeppelin (Over the P.A. at the hockey rink) _Beach Baby_ – First Class _Shannon_ – Henry Gross _The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald_ – Gordon Lightfoot (The public swimming pool!) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160/40 "2008-09-12T18:34:51Z")
Did anybody mention “Heart of Glass” by Blondie yet? It should be there. “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles (normally associated with the 80s, but it was definitely a late 70s hit.) “Come Sail Away” – Styx. “Staying Alive” - the Bee Gees. And as much as I’ve always hated the song, “Seasons In the Sun” by whatsisiname was an undeniable hit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-monster-1970s-am-radio-hits/463160.md?page=3)