I bet back in the day, you really paid attention to the singles charts but now have no idea about them. With the listings rolling together plays, downloads and streams as well as hard copy sales, it all seems less easy to understand. The commitment to a download or stream is so much less than walking 3 miles into town to buy a single. Music seems more disposable, which is the opposite of the truth I grew up with.
The weird thing was we were an album culture really. 7”ers were for pop music and for bands that were ‘commercial’ which was a dread word. Yet if a rock band had a hit, it felt like one of ‘ours’ had sneaked under the wire and maybe for that reason, their hit singles felt very special. They also had the advantage of being affordable.
So here’s a few hit singles that rock kids like me loved...
Steely Dan - FM
It was lifted from the film’s soundtrack album, of course and released into this 17-year-old’s sticky fingers. I thought it was very sophisticated and that, by extension, so was I for buying it. It was so American to us Brits and spoke of a radio culture that we didn’t really have. I loved the space on this and it helped me understand what ‘in the pocket’ really meant. It only made #49 in Britain and #22 In the USA
Genesis - I Know What I Like
With its bizarre lyrics and a sound that seemed nostalgic even when it was new, it was the first song by the band I’d heard. I loved it but I didn’t understand it. It seemed to be reaching for something in a mysterious dimension beyond my learning. In some ways it seemed adult, the way some things did as a kid. It was only a hit in UK. Maybe you had to be English to appreciate it. It got to #21
Status Quo - Paper Plane
Many a school disco was rescued by Status Quo’s head’s down no nonsense mindless boogie, for the rock fraternity. Very often, for some reason, they were the only rock band you heard at school discos.It’s machine-like revving gets you reaching for the air guitar. It was a #8 in the UK and also a hit in Ireland and West Germany.
Little Feat - Dixie Chicken
This was my introduction to Little Feat’s magic. Another one that is in the pocket, the fact it didn’t have a guitar solo made me feel like a very sophisticated teenager. In fact, I think it was Little Feat who showed me that not all music had to have a screaming solo to be any good! They never had any kind of hit in America or here with Lowell George and I bought this in 1976 from those cheap singles that reps put into newsagents for 10p.
Curved Air - Back Street Luv
A hit in 1971 when I was a sprightly 10. It got to #4 and the band, who were exceptionally good, traded off it for years. Prog before I knew what prog was. It was an early really important record for me which didn’t sound like pop music or anything else for that matter.
Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells (Now The Original Theme From "The Exorcist")
This was released without Oldfield’s permission, I think. A cut and shunt of the theme, it nonetheless scared the jobbies out of me. It seemed almost malevolent. Not to be confused with The Mike Oldfield single which he released a bit later. If you want rock cred points, tell me who recorded a version of Tubular Bells for the Exorcist soundtrack? No, they didn’t use his original, in fact a band called Mystic Sounds was assembled to record a cover of Tubular Bells and its them that you hear in the film. This got to #7 in the USA and #31 bin the UK
Derek and the Dominoes - Layla
Hard to believe now but there was a time when we hadn’t heard this too much. It originally came out in 1970/71 but didn’t do much. Then it was rereleased in 1972 after being on the History Of Eric Clapton and Duane Allman anthology, chopped down to two and a half minutes and backed with Bell Bottom Blues, got to #7 UK and #10 USA and was a record that all lovers of the riff rallied around.
