Throwing back to the week of Oct. 12, 1974, we find Billy Preston atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Nothing from Nothing,’ one of his three #1 hits, and one I’ve already featured on the blog.
At #2 that week was a collaboration between Dionne Warwick and The Spinners — ‘Then Came You’ — that eventually gave both artists their first chart-topping hit.
Throwing back to the week of September 21, 1974, we find Barry White atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe,’ a soul classic that I wrote about when covering the albums of 1974.
In the #2 spot was ‘Rock Me Gently’ by Canadian singer-songwriter Andy Kim. The song eventually hit #1 and was Kim’s only chart-topper in the U.S., though his ‘Baby, I Love You’ had reached #9 five years earlier.
Throwing back to the week of August 31, 1974, we find Paul Anka atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘(You’re) Having My Baby,’ a song that spent three weeks at #1. It was Anka’s second and last chart-topper.
The treacly duet with singer Odia Coates has been widely derided in the years since its release, including being voted the worst song of all time in a 2006 CNN poll.
Throwing back to the week of August 10, 1974, we find Roberta Flack atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love.’
This soulful R&B classic gave Flack her third #1 hit in three consecutive years, following ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ in 1972 and ‘Killing Me Softly with His Song’ in 1973. What a trio! The first two won Record of the Year at the Grammys, making Flack the first artist to claim that award back-to-back.
Throwing back to the week of July 20, 1974, we find soul singer George McCrae with ‘Rock Your Baby.’ This disco track, McCrae’s first single, became a worldwide hit, reaching #1 in ten countries.
There’s really not much to this song, other than a silky groove and the falsetto repetition of the title phrase. I guess that’s all you need sometimes.
Meet Me In Montauk 