#AtoZChallenge 1970's Billboard Hits - L is for...


Moving right along with the #AtoZChallenge.  Day thirteen of the challenge brings us to the letter L. These three songs were the top ‘L’ songs according to the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End lists.


1974 - Love's Theme - Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra


"Love's Theme" is an instrumental piece recorded by Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra and released in 1973 as an A-Side single. It is one of the few instrumental and purely orchestral singles to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, which it did in early 1974. Billboard ranked it as the No. 3 song for 1974. The piece was included on two albums: 1973's Under the Influence of... Love Unlimited and 1974's Rhapsody in White by Love Unlimited Orchestra.





1975 -  Love Will Keep Us Together - Captain and Tennille

"Love Will Keep Us Together" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It was first recorded by Sedaka himself in 1973 and was released as a single in France. American pop duo Captain & Tennille covered the song in 1975, with instrumental backing by L.A. session musicians from the Wrecking Crew and had a worldwide hit with their version.

The single rose to number 1 on both the Billboard Easy Listening chart and the Billboard pop chart, staying atop the latter for four weeks starting June 21, 1975. It also hit the top of the 1975 year-end chart. In the US it was the best-selling single of 1975. "Love Will Keep Us Together" became a gold record and also won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in February 1976.

While "Love Will Keep Us Together" was topping the charts in the summer of 1975, Captain & Tennille released a Spanish version of the song, "Por Amor Viviremos". "Por Amor Viviremos" rose to number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, giving Captain & Tennille a rare feat of the identical song, in different languages and released as separate singles (rather than the A-side and B-side of one single), appearing simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100. Chicago radio station WLS AM 890 used the two versions to create a Spanglish version of the song for their own broadcasting use.

"Por Amor Viviremos" would later appear on their May 1976 album Por Amor Viviremos, a Spanish track-for-track rerecording of their album Love Will Keep Us Together. It also appears on the 2002 Hip-O Records compilation album Ultimate Collection: The Complete Hits.








1979 - Le Freak - Chic

"Le Freak" is a song by American R&B band Chic. It was the band's third single and first Billboard Hot 100 and R&B number-one song. Along with the tracks "I Want Your Love" and "Chic Cheer", "Le Freak" scored number one on the disco charts for seven weeks. The single achieved sales of seven million and also scored number seven in the UK singles chart.

This song commemorates Studio 54 for its notoriously long customer waiting lines, exclusive clientele, and discourteous doormen. According to guitarist Nile Rodgers, the song was devised during New Year's Eve of 1977, as a result of he and bassist Bernard Edwards' being refused entrance to Studio 54, where they had been invited by Grace Jones, due to her failure to notify the nightclub's staff. He said the lyrics of the refrain were originally "F*** off!" rather than "Freak out!"

"Le Freak" was the first song to score the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 three separate times. MC Lyte sampled the song "Woo Woo (Freak Out)" featuring Brownstone's Nicci Gilbert, which first appeared on the soundtrack to the 1998 movie Woo and also appeared on her album Seven & Seven, titled "Woo Woo (Party Time)" which released three months later. This record remained until 2008.

This song is ranked as number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Year-end charts for 1979.







Be sure to follow the 2017 AtoZ Challenge playlist for all of the songs featured in this years challenge.




Did you listen to any of these tunes in the 70's?  Would you like to know more about these artists in future posts? Let me know in the comments.

What does tomorrow bring?
Tomorrow brings us the letter 'M'. 
Any guesses as to which Billboard Hits from the 70s will be showcased?






Comments

  1. I remember these songs. Le Freak was a popular dance number.

    Suzy at Someday Somewhere - Live as if ...

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  2. I definitely know the last one - I imagine is would have had less airplay with with original lyrics ;)
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings - Shapeshifters and Werewolves

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    1. Oh yes, much less airplay with the original lyrics. The Who had an F-bomb in their lyrics for 'Who Are You?'. They had to change the lyrics to get their song on the air as well.

      ~Mary

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  3. Nice choices. I wanted to prank my partner, who hates the song "Muskrat Love", by sending a link to the video. It backfired when I found the sad news of the Captain and Tennille's breakup. ~sigh~ That's too funny about "le Freak". Thanks for sharing.

    http://darlamsands.blogspot.com/

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    1. Yes, sometimes Love Doesn't Keep You Together.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      ~Mary

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  4. Love the attention to the trivia behind the songs in these posts.
    This was such a nice era for music!

    Godyears.net

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    1. Thank you Roshan! It's the pieces of trivia that keep it interesting, at least in my opinion.

      ~Mary

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  5. I remember all of these, but now you're getting into an era of music I'm not particularly fond of. I love your info snippets, though. That's interesting about the lyric change for "Freak Out". Studio 54 was THE place, back in the day. Did you see the movie starring Mike Myers?

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    1. HaHa! I just go where the letters take me. Don't worry, I'll have a good mix of the earlier years in coming posts. I don't recall if I saw the movie with Mike Myers or not. I'll have to check it out again.

      Sorry for being slow to respond, playing catch-up!

      ~Mary

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    2. No apologies necessary, Mary. I'm several letters behind with mine. It's a holiday weekend now, which doesn't help.

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  6. I listened to all these songs. Le Freak was my favorite - I have a love of disco, although I never went clubbing (too loud, crowded). No Studio 54 for me.

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    1. Le Freak was a lot of fun to dance to! When I was a freshman in college, I went to a few clubs, but it was mostly just to listen to the music.

      ~Mary

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  7. Love Will Keep Us Together is big hit and melodious song. I love listening this song
    Interesting post, enjoyed a lot
    Thanks for sharing the incredible list of songs
    Dr Bushra
    Do visit mineL for Live Fit with Healthy Diet for Pregnancy

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    1. Thank you, Dr Bushra

      The 70's provided quite a few great songs.

      ~Mary

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  8. Can't call any of these songs favorites, but I don't hate them either. Memories of a time that now seems so long ago.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. It's surprising how some of the 'hits' aren't big favorites. Just one of the things that I have learned during this challenge.

      ~Mary

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  9. I do like these songs and I remember what a hit The Capt. And Tenille was back then. I love Le Freak and always found that a funny song

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    1. Hi Birgit!

      Captain and Tenille really take me back. I remember wondering how he got that name. I have not been able to find that information anywhere.

      ~Mary

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  10. Luvin' the tunes you came up with... time to get down with Le Freak... I haven't heard that in so long... Great job!

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    1. Thanks, Marie!

      Sorry for the slow response, it's been a crazy week. I love that this challenge has given me some great music to showcase. It's been an interesting journey.

      ~Mary

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  11. Never cared for Le Freak. I really liked Captain & Tennille while they were so popular.
    Love's Theme is wonderful driving music on a two lane rural highway in 1979 V-8 Mustang with 4 on the floor!!! šŸ˜‹
    Perspectives at Life & Faith in Caneyhead

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    1. HaHa! I would have thought that with Barry White doing the vocals, the music would be better suited for a quiet evening with the one you love.

      ~Mary

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  12. Mary, what a lavish list of "L" songs! I'm glad to see you included Barry White in the mix. Captain and Tennille "Love Will Keep Us Together" is such a classic and I still sing it a lot. Thanks for visiting my Art Sketching Through the Alphabet "L" (lighthouse & laughing cat) post yesterday, my friend. Happy a2zing! ;)

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    1. Hi Cathy!

      I was pleasantly surprised to see Barry White so high on the Billboard list. I couldn't resist including him. Thanks for stopping in.

      ~Mary

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  13. I have been in a Chic kick for a while. Barry White is great. Nice trio of songs!

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    1. Hi mike!

      I agree, this was a great trio for the day!

      Thanks for stopping by!

      ~Mary

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  14. Wow, you got a lot of response for this entry Mary! That's awesome.

    I remember I had Captain and Tenille in K-Tel album when I was 10 years old. Played it to death because I liked it so much. Has a cool groove I think.

    Darren

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    1. Thanks, Darren

      I love it when I get a lot of responses. I really enjoyed Captain and Tenille when I was younger as well.

      Thanks for dropping in!

      ~Mary

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