Episode 55: The Week Ending July 9th, 1977

Episode 55: The Week Ending July 9th, 1977

Author: Mark Roback June 27, 2023 Duration: 2:12:31

It looks like we made it to episode 55! However, this week, the task is not easy, and it may be necessary to have an angel in your arms or even an undercover angel, to do battle with the devils gun. In the ‘70s, pre-cell phone, you had to ask yourself, “whatcha gonna do if the telephone line goes down?” You could have really used a handy man, or more specifically the telephone man. Knowing me, knowing you, the alternative would be to just throw up your hands and say “gonna fly now”, and just hop on that big ol’ jet airliner that would take you higher and higher. This week we got to give it up for the Billboard Top 40 from the week ending July 9, 1977. It will be just a song or 40 before we go.


Link to a listing of the songs in this week’s episode: https://top40weekly.com/1977-all-charts/#US_Top_40_Singles_Week_Ending_9th_July_1977


Data Sources: Billboard Magazine, where the charts came from and on what the countdown was based.

Websites: allmusic.com, songfacts.com, wikipedia.com (because Mark’s lazy)

Books: “Ranking the 70’s” by Dann Isbell, and Bill Carroll

“American Top 40 With Casey Kasem (The 1970’s)" by Pete Battistini.


Rejected Episode Titles:


Handy Telephone Line Man

Gonna Fly Now on a Jet Airliner to Margaritaville

Whatcha Gonna Do at the High School Dance

I Just Want To Be Your Barracuda


Some points of interest we talked about in this episode:


Rory Gallagher Interview where he talks about a lot of 70’s artists including Andrew Gold: https://www.hotpress.com/culture/remembering-rory-gallagher-a-powerful-interview-from-1980-22818816


2109 article about the Commodores tour with photo of uniforms with epaulettes: :https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/entertainment/2019/03/25/william-king-commodores-bringing-biggest-hits-back-area-inspired-them/3273232002/


Story and plaque of Milli Vanilli lip sync incident at Lake Compounce, Bristol, CT. February 1990: https://parkrovers.com/home/2021/7/21/milli-vanillis-lip-sync-scandal-at-lake-compounce




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Every week, Mark Roback and his friend Pete dust off a random episode of Casey Kasem's American Top 40 from the 1970s. 70s Weekly Countdown with Mark and Pete is more than just a nostalgic trip through the charts. Each song in that week's lineup gets a thoughtful rating and a deep dive-they unpack the stories behind the music, the artists' trajectories, and what made those particular tracks resonate. But the context is just as important as the countdown. The conversation naturally expands to include the major headlines, the TV shows everyone was watching, and the cultural moments that defined that specific week in history. Woven into the analysis are personal anecdotes from Mark and Pete, connecting the music to their own coming-of-age experiences during that era. This podcast is a layered exploration of a decade, using the pop chart as a starting point to examine the sound, the spirit, and the surprising details of the 1970s. You'll hear passionate debates, learn obscure facts, and get a feel for what it was like to live through that time, all through the shared lens of two friends who genuinely love the material.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

70s Weekly Countdown with Mark and Pete
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