Thanks for joining us today as we count down the ten songs from number 40 to number 31 on the 1974 Hideaway 100. If you have missed any of the previous parts or just want to review, here are the links:
Barry Manilow's "Mandy" (1974) is a cover of a tune originally released as "Brandy" (1972) by Scott English much like Toni Basil's "Mickey" (1982) is a cover of Racey's "Kitty" (1979). Because Looking Glass had just had a Number One hit with a song titled "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)" (1972), the higher-ups felt a name change was needed to prevent confusion even though that song charted more than two years prior which is an eternity in Top 40. According to Mediabase, "Mandy" remains Manilow's most-played single on radio six decades years later and I still like it very much, too. "Mandy" debuted on the Hot 100 in November 1974, peaked at Number One for one week in January 1975, and left the chart after a sixteen-week run. Listen to Barry Manilow's "Mandy" or Scott English's "Brandy". The first three or four seconds of "Rock Your Baby" always remind me of those piano & organ stores that used to be in every shopping mall with a guy out front playing the organ or just fiddling with the rhythm settings. "Rock Your Baby" has a bare-bones irresistible groove with McCrae's soulful Memphis-by-way-of-Miami vocals riding on top but what I find my ear drawn to is the guitar a little further back in the mix. George McCrae's "Rock Your Baby" peaked at Number One for two weeks in July 1974 during a seventeen-week run on the Hot 100. Listen to the original full-length 6:20 album cut or the 45 edit of "Rock Your Baby". I used to think that the recurring synth drone that comes about twenty-five seconds into "Jet" was an AM radio artifact until I heard it (still) when I first played my Wings Greatest Hits album. "Jet" explodes from the speakers with glam-ish riffs, swaggering sax blasts, and cinematic orchestration that always lifts me up unless it is the Underdubbed Mix released for Band On The Run's 50th Anniversary which, true to the label on the tin, lacks all that oomph. Without thinking, I hum the song's cryptic lyrics and then shout "JET!" on cue. The song's flight on the Hot 100 lasted fourteen weeks with a peak altitude at number 7 in March 1974. Book a flight on Paul McCartney & Wings "Jet" HERE. Or see if, like me, you are underwhelmed by the underdubbed mix of the song HERE. Billy Preston's "Nothing From Nothing" was the first song performed on Saturday Night Live's debut episode. I first heard the song on the radio more than a year prior and liked its old-timey piano sound. It still reminds me of the music at Shakey's Pizza where we watched silent films and chugged pitchers of root beer. "Nothing From Nothing" spent eighteen weeks on the Hot 100, peaking at Number One in October 1974. Listen to the single HERE or get your groove on with DJDiscoCat's Soul Purrfection Version HERE. 
My earliest memory of Supertramp's "School" is its inclusion in the 1980 film Little Darlings where the cascading piano part of the song is used to great effect as an instrumental score for a particular scene. The song wasn't released as a single here in the States and after six decades, "School" has played hooky (less than one spin every couple of days) on a handful of Classic Rock, Triple A, Adult Hits, and Classic Hits stations across America. From the lonesome harmonica that opens the track to Roger Hodgson's feather-light voice that precedes the all-hands-on-deck rocking groove and then the jazz-fusion instrumental passage that proceeds the cascading piano part mentioned above, "School" continuously builds right up until it ends. Go back to "School" with Supertramp. There is much to like in "Rock The Boat" including the soulful groove, the infectiously feel-good lyrics delivered with easy-going harmonies, and that rockin' guitar solo that closes the thing out. For a week or two during the summer of 1974, "Rock The Boat" was my favorite song and it comes as a surprise that I ranked the song here at number 35 on the 1974 Hideaway 100 instead of higher up with a lower number. (Ditto for "School" above.) "Rock The Boat" debuted on the Hot 100 around Memorial Day 1974 and peaked six weeks later at Number One around Independence Day during an eighteen-week sail up and down the chart. Listen to the 3:23 album version of "Rock The Boat" or the single version. "Must Of Got Lost" is the J. Geils Band's most-played radio single from the Seventies and their fourth most-played song overall. The twangy guitar sound is a break from their bluesy rock and singer Peter Wolf is a little less in your face with his lyrics and vocal performance. "Must Of Got Lost" is one of my favorite songs from the band, who take it to another level when they perform it live. The single debuted in the Top 40 in late November 1974 and peaked at number 12 on the first chart of 1975 before dropping out of the Top 40 the following week. Here at The Hideaway, we prefer the five-minute album version though we've also included a link to the three-minute single version. "Then Came You" is more than just a pretty melody and sweet lyrics. It's a reminder that love can change everything in the lives of two people. The lush orchestration, featuring strings and piano, creates an inviting soundscape that perfectly complements the positive message of "Then Came You". Released seven months after "Mighty Love", the number 44 song on the 1974 Hideway 100, "Then Came You" crashed the Top 40 in its second week on the Hot 100 in August 1974 and went on to spend eight weeks in the top 10, peaking at Number One in late October 1974. The single is one of a few songs to land at #1 AND #100 during their chart run. Listen to the single or watch The Spinners sing the song with Joni Sledge on an episode of The Midnight Special from January 1975. My earliest memory of hearing Bad Company's "Bad Company" is riding with Uncle Sam in his sweet Cutlass Supreme in the late Seventies with the song playing on the stereo from either an 8-track or Houston's KLOL. Such a cool aura or vibe is attached to that memory and that song in my mind. Bad Company (the band) always had a way with the intros to their songs and "Bad Company" (the song) kicks off Bad Company (the album) with a dusty piano riff where you can practically hear the tumbleweeds blowing by outside the saloon. Then Mick Ralphs's fat-toned chords arrive around the minute mark: DUN-DUN-DUN. This is definitely one of those turn-it-up songs that gets the blood going and even though I've listened to it many times over the past few days, I'm still jonesing for it. "Bad Company" was an album cut so it never charted but you can rock out to the song HERE. The first time I saw Michael and his brothers perform "Dancing Machine" was a revelation: it was the first time I saw The Robot. Showing up to school the following Monday, the dance move was the talk of the school. Then comes music class and at the end, Ms. White asks if anyone has anything they want to share, Roy J. raises his hand, walks up, and stands in front of the class with his head down then goes into a robot dance just like we all had seen over the weekend - without the music! I am still in awe of anyone who performs a good robot or pops/locks well. "Dancing Machine" spent twenty-two weeks on the Hot 100, peaking at number 2 for two weeks in May 1974, held out of the top spot by the first 45 I ever purchased. We adore the earlier version of the song as it appeared on 1973's Get It Together album but you can listen to the single version HERE as it appeared on 1974's Dancing Machine album. 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧
Next time, we'll crack the Top 30 of the 1974 Hideaway 100 but first, we have a report from the Hideaway research staff, finally back from Spring Break. They scoured the charts and turned up 40 Number One songs from the Seventies and Eighties that also spent at least one week at number 100, including "Then Came You" above. They broke them out as fifteen songs from 1970-1979 and twenty-five songs from 1980-1989. The year with the most such songs was 1974 with seven, including the previously featured "I Honestly Love You".
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