MA Residents: We Embark On A Trip To Musical Memory Lane

Ever since I was 3 years old, music surrounded me each and every day. That is when I received my very first transistor radio and the rest is history. The first voice to come out of that gray speaker was Dan Ingram's when listening to WABC and over a decade later we became good friends and he was a mentor who taught me the fundamentals of broadcasting as did Cousin Brucie, Harry Harrison, Johnny Donovan, Chuck Leonard and Ron Lundy. It was a dream come true to know these voices who became an inspiration to me from my teenage years to this day.

Bay State residents and musical connoisseurs take note: The 1970's gave us a cornucopia of musical memories and in that decade I was associated with ALL these notable New York City personalities aforementioned. Now we head out to bring you my top 5 musical selections from that era that gave us lava lamps, peace and love plus some of the BEST TV shows presented on the small screen. This music has been and STILL remains a part of my life! Fasten your seat belts for this "blast from the past"

The # 1 song in my books: Title track from "Moonlight Feels Right" written by Starbuck's lead singer Bruce Blackman and released on The Private Stock record label (I wore out that 45 and STILL enjoy playing it on the radio to this day). This sextet shines in high fashion as this 1976 song reached the Top 5 in both Billboard's Top 40 and adult contemporary charts. The harmony of this song is A-1 plus Bruce's chuckles were kept in the final cut and the late, great Bo Wagner's marimba solo is the piesta resistance as Bruce recently told me he nailed this in just one take. Quite an accomplishment if you ask me.

Second on the list: Another song I turned up the volume on my AM radio was all about a trip down "Baker Street" with the late, great Gerry Rafferty. This 1978 top 5 smash from "City To City" is highlighted by a terrific saxophone riff from start to finish where Raphael Ravenscroft (no relation to Thurl) excels in more ways than one. The boulevard is actually located in England's capital city as Rafferty and company took this tune to the top 5 in both Billboard's top 40 and adult contemporary charts.

In the earlier part of the 70's, Rafferty was the lead singer of Stealer's Wheel. their most popular hit was "Stuck In The Middle with You" which also went top 5 back in 1973.

In 3rd place, the Swedish quartet ABBA gave us a tune that dealt with the break-up of a relationship as the words to "Knowing Me, Knowing You" resonated throughout the airwaves. It is my favorite song from this quartet from their 1977 album "Arrival" and is best known as their follow up single to the ever popular (and played out) "Dancing Queen".  The song did not chart as high as it's predecessor, but it did reach top 10 status on the Billboard adult contemporary chart and hit top 20 in their top 40 survey.

Rounding out the top 5: A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based group best known as The Stylistics come in at # 4 as this quintet brought us a romantic ballad which they took to the top 5 all across the board in 1974. "You Make Me Feel Brand New" was voted as the top love song of this decade featuring the smooth sounds of Airrion Love and Russell Tompkins Jr. and STILL presents a positive message for all you "hopeless" romantics out there. You will find this song in their album "Let's Put It All Together"

Taking the all-important 5th spot is the title track from Paul McCartney & Wings "Band On the Run". (My favorite from Sir Paul and company) Hard to believe these last 2 songs on the list have reached the coveted half century mark as the group starts off on a slow note and the ramps it up to the point where you sing along as well. End result: The former Beatle and his entourage took this song all the way up to # 1. The album also produced two more hit singles "Jet" and "Helen Wheels". To sum up this work: "A masterpiece" as Paul, his late wife Linda, Denny Laine (who just passed away in 2023), Henry McCullough and Denny Seiwell made musical history and then some.

BOTTOM LINE: Timeless music stays with us as it is STILL an honor to feature these songs on the radio when the situation warrants.

(ALL musical clips featured in this article, courtesy of www.youtube.com)