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Song of the Day #5,437: ‘Mamma Mia’ – ABBA

Continuing my look at the albums of 1975…

Swedish pop group ABBA started blowing up after winning the Eurovision song contest with ‘Waterloo’ in 1974. Their third, self-titled, album came out a year later and became their biggest hit to date.

The album featured three hit singles in ‘I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do,’ ‘SOS,’ and ‘Mamma Mia,’ all of which hit #1 in Australia and the top ten in a half dozen other countries. The first two gave the band their second and third top 20 hits in the United States.

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Song of the Day #5,436: ‘You’re My Best Friend’ – Queen

Continuing my look at the albums of 1975…

Sometimes a band just isn’t for me. Despite critical acclaim and fan worship, I simply can’t get on board. Exhibit A: Queen.

I certainly appreciate the British rock band’s innovation, and its influence on other bands and popular music in general. I’m just not a big fan of the music.

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Song of the Day #5,435: ‘Red Headed Stranger’ – Willie Nelson

Continuing my look at the albums of 1975…

Red Headed Stranger was Willie Nelson’s 18th studio album, his first to reach #1 on the Country chart, and his first to reach platinum status (it eventually went 2X platinum). It’s also the first of Nelson’s 99 (!) studio albums I’ve listened to from start to finish.

The barebones acoustic release is a concept album about a man who kills his wife and her lover then goes on the run. He kills again (as depicted in today’s SOTD) before falling in love and settling down, a redeemed man.

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Song of the Day #5,434: ‘After the Thrill is Gone’ – Eagles

Continuing my look at the albums of 1975…

One of These Nights was the Eagles’ fourth studio album and their first to top the Billboard albums chart. It went quadruple platinum, giving the band the breakthrough hit they’d been circling for several years. A year later, their first greatest hits collection was released and went on to become the best-selling album ever in the United States (its 38 million in sales tops even Michael Jackson’s Thriller).

One of These Nights is a true bridge album for the Eagles. In addition to marking the moment they became mega-stars, it was also the final album featuring founding member Bernie Leadon, who left the band over disagreements about its musical direction.

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Song of the Day #5,433: ‘That’s the Way Love Goes’ – Janet Jackson

It’s a family affair this weekend. A decade after Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’ topped the Hot 100, his sister Janet did the same with ‘That’s the Way Love Goes.’ We’re throwing back to the week of May 15, 1993, when the lead single of Janet Jackson’s album Janet dominated the charts.

‘That’s the Way Love Goes’ and Janet shifted Jackson’s image in a sultry, sexually provocative new direction. The song’s video found her dancing slinkily in a sleeveless half-shirt surrounded by her backup dancers (one of whom is a then unknown Jennifer Lopez).

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