Throwing back to the week of February 1, 1975, we find Neil Sedaka at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Laughter in the Rain.’ The song spent one week at #1 before dropping to #8 the following week, and then out of the top ten.
This was Sedaka’s second #1 hit, following the 1962 doo-wop hit ‘Breaking Up is Hard to Do.’ He would reach the top spot again later in 1975 with ‘Bad Blood‘ (which might just show up on a future Throwback Weekend).
Throwing back to the week of January 18, 1975, gives us the very first appearance of Barry Manilow on the blog. His ‘Mandy’ topped the Hot 100 that week, becoming the first #1 of his career.
Manilow would top the chart two more times over the ensuing two years, and he added another eight top 10 hits, the last one coming in 1980. He belonged to the 70s.
Throwing back to the week of January 4, 1975, we find Elton John atop the Billboard Hot 100 with a cover of The Beatles’ ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.’
John held the top spot for two weeks with the psychedelic classic, which is two more than the original version spent at #1 — it was never released as a single.
Throwing back to the week of December 21, 1974, we find Harry Chapin atop the Billboard Hot 100 with his father-son saga ‘Cat’s in the Cradle.’
This was the only #1 of Chapin’s career, and in fact his only appearance in the top 20. It spent one week in the top spot just before Christmas.
This song started out as a poem written by Chapin’s wife, Sandy. She based it on the estranged relationship between her former husband and father-in-law.
Throwing back to the week of December 7, 1974, we find Jamaican/British singer Carl Douglas atop the Billboard Hot 100 with a classic one-hit wonder, ‘Kung Fu Fighting.’
This disco ditty topped the charts in multiple countries and sold more than 11 million copies worldwide, tapping into growing fandom for both disco music and karate movies.
I guess it’s appropriate that today’s post follows one that mentioned offensive Asian caricatures in Disney movies, because, as The Big Lebowski‘s Walter Sobchak will tell you, “Chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature.”
Meet Me In Montauk 