Chart-toppers '75 - The Soundtrack of a Generation

Chart-Toppers ’75 The Soundtrack of a Generation

 Hey everybody, it is the Trout once again here we are with Vinyl the Viral Podcast from the Trout Show. Thanks so much for stopping by. Five hundred ninety nine months ago, eighteen thousand two hundred and sixty three days ago or fifty years or a half century ago was 1975.

The summer of 1975 and today we're going to look at something that I like to talk about which is music of course but more importantly the top five songs of that year. You might be surprised and the reason why I'm doing this is because I found that a lot of people that listen to my podcasts well they were around in 1975 and probably will recall all these hits because some of them still get played to streaming all the time. So if you want to know what the top five songs were in 1975 stick around because you know why because this is the Trout Show.

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Welcome back to Vinyl Deviral. Now we're going to talk about the number fifth song on the list of five top songs of 1975. I would normally play you a clip of the song but I can't.

This band keeps real strong control on their music and they don't like people playing it without their permission which usually requires a lot of money so I'm just going to talk about it. The song One of These Nights by the Eagles. By the time the Eagles began working on their fourth album hard to believe in 1975 they were already working on a fourth album.

They were already hugely popular for their harmony rich country rock style but a couple of the guys in the band mostly the driving force of the band at the time was Don Henley and Glenn Frey and they wanted to change the direction of their music and become more contemporary than the folkiest music they were doing before because at that time a lot of the music was influenced by R&B, disco and funk. That music was taking over the charts. So in May 1975 they released, the Eagles released One of These Nights.

It had a funky bass line and had that falsetto that I can't even get close to that note and some great production. It was a lot different from their earlier hits Take It Easy and Desperado which I think is one of the greatest songs ever written, Desperado. According to Glenn Frey the idea began when Don Felder's bass driven riff which caught the attention of the rest of the band and then Henley wrote the lyrics.

It's a song about putting things off, about the dark side of the American dream, quote Don Henley. The lyrics are emotionally charged and balancing dramatic yearning with an existential angst. A recurring theme in many of the Eagles songs.

So sometimes people even refer to it as soul meets California rock. One of These Nights arrangement blends soul and R&B grooves with the band's signature harmonies and that's probably one of the best things they've always had and their country rock guitar tones. Henley's smoky passionate vocal performance stands out and that great Don Felder added his guitar solo.

So how did they chart with this particular tune? Well they did pretty dang good. They were number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and it was their second July of 1975 I should say and it was their second number one hit and it propelled their album that was on to multi-platinum status. Now if you don't know what that means because back then kiddies we listened to records.

You call them vinyl now. That means you sold a million records. That's a platinum.

And also on that album there was Lion Eyes and Take It to the Limit too and other great tunes. They were in their groove at that point. And that song One of These Nights still remains one of the most popular Eagles songs out there.

It's also a live favorite and part of their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legacy. Proof that taking a risk on a new sound sometimes pays off. Up next number four.

The guy from South Texas that made it to the top. His name Baltimore Garza Huerta. He was born on June 4th 1937.

And he's from a little town in Texas called San Benito. Now most people don't even know where San Benito is. You'd have to get out of the map to look at it.

I'm sorry your GPS. But you don't recognize the name probably. This guy was known for his smooth tenor voice emotional delivery.

And he rose to international fame in the 70s with this breakout hit. If he brings you happiness Then I wish you all the best It's your happiness that matters most of all Yeah, you probably recognize his name now, don't you? Freddie Fender He was playing music as a teenager and adopted his stage name to appeal to an American audience. I guess when you go out by the name of Baltimore a lot of people are not paying attention to you.

He had some success in the 50s and a lot of legal troubles. Then he made his comeback in the 70s with this tune. Before the next teardrop falls.

Fender won multiple Grammy Awards. A lot of his songs dealt with love and loss. He became a huge person in the Latino community.

Even the country music people liked him a lot. Despite his health challenges in later years, his legacy endures through timeless recordings and his influence on generations of bilingual and multicultural artists. The famous number four.

Freddie Fender Before the next teardrop falls. The next hit was number three. It was a song that a lot of people thought had a different meaning than it had in the title.

It was written not about a city, which everybody thought, or about patronism. But it was actually written about a person. And this guy has more hits than we could ever count.

The great Elton John. Yeah, a lot of people thought that song was about Philadelphia or about patronism. But it had nothing to do with either one of them.

Because it was written about the great tennis star, Billie Jean King. Who knew? See, Elton was a huge fan of tennis. And he became good friends with Billie Jean King.

He was a big fan of Elton John. And at the time, she was part of a co-ed professional tennis team called, ready? Philadelphia Freedoms. Who knew? So he asked his long-time lyricist.

He wrote the song and he said to his lyricist, Bernie Taupin, who wrote all the lyrics for all his songs. To create lyrics about this situation with Billie Jean King and the Philadelphia Freedoms. But Taupin found it difficult to write a straightforward song about tennis.

I can't imagine why. Instead, he penned this lyric about an abstract uplifting lyrics. That capture a sense of emotional liberation and pride.

I guess you could call it a metaphorical freedom. Rather than the literal one that he wanted to talk about. Despite the name and inspiration, the lyrics have no direct reference to Philadelphia or tennis.

But the title and the spirit of the song serve as homage to Billie Jean King's fight for equality. And her fearless advocacy. Particularly in women's sports.

So how did it turn out to be so good? And where did it end up on the list? Number three. It still remains one of Elton John's most beloved singles. This is what Elton says.

He was really a salute to Billie Jean and what she was trying to do with Philadelphia Freedoms. We had a blast coming up with something that sounded huge but didn't follow a traditional message. As I said, the tune is obviously associated with what I thought was American patriotism.

And that was never the intent. Elton's commitment was to social causes and friendships. What's next after this great tune? Number two.

A song about fake jewelry. And a guy that sings about being a cowboy that was never a cowboy. You know, the music business is very interesting because you never know what is a hit.

You may be struggling and not be able to do anything. And all of a sudden you write one song and boom, it's at the top of the charts. And you're looking at yourself going, how did this happen? Well, number two is a little different because the guy that did this song had a huge success with one song that's still popular today.

It's one of the great songs out there. But he started to have a decline in his music business. His songs were not charting like they were at one time.

But when he heard this song that another artist wrote, he said, I feel connected to this song. And it spoke to his own experiences. His ups and downs of fame.

And his longing for recognition. And the struggle to remain yourself when you become a huge star. This artist said, quote, It was like my autobiography set to music.

The song? 1975's hit from the great Glen Campbell, Rhinestone Cowboy. There's been a load of compromising On the road to my horizon But I'm gonna be where the lights are shining on me Like a rhinestone cowboy Riding out on a horse and a straw spangled rodeo Campbell recorded the Rhinestone Cowboy in early 1975. And it was released by Capitol Records in May of that same year.

It soared to number one in the Billboard Hot 100, but also on the country chart, which was the first song since 1961 that held both those charts at the top simultaneously. It became a cultural phenomenon for Mr. Campbell. He captured the glitzy, larger than life image of country pop during the 70s.

Helped usher in a wave of crossover country stars. And Campbell even embraced the image often wearing sparkly outfits on stage. And the song became his signature anthem.

How did it do in the market? Sold over 2 million copies. Earned multiple Grammy nominations. Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004.

Covered by so many artists and featured in numerous films and commercials. And the phrase Rhinestone Cowboy is now embedded in pop culture. But for Campbell, Rhinestone Cowboy wasn't just a hit.

It was a redemption song for him. Making his return to the top of the charts and securing his place as one of the country's most beloved stars. It perfectly blended hope, hardship, glamour, and grit.

Making it a timeless tune. So what's the number one song for 1975? The most popular song of that year? Now before I tell you what it is, you're probably thinking it's one of the hot rock groups back then. Led Zeppelin.

You know, people like that ilk. But it wasn't. It was from a duo that made pop history with one song.

And one of the people that were in this duo always wore one particular kind of hat every time they performed. Can you guess who it is? The Captain's Denial, Love Will Keep Us Together. Love will keep us together Think of me, babe, whenever Some sweet-talking girl comes along Singing a song, don't mess around You just gotta be strong to stop Cause I really love you, stop So this tune by Captain and Denial, which their real names was Daryl Dragon and Tony Tennille, was everywhere back in 1975.

Every time you turn on a talent show, there they were singing this tune. The Captain, cause he wore a little boat captain's hat all the time. And Daryl, who is the captain, was the captain, was a great pianist, and he was classically trained keyboardist.

In fact, he toured with Beach Boys for a while playing keyboards for them. Tony Tennille was a singer and a pianist and was performing in musicals, writing songs when she met Daryl. They began forming together and what's next? You got it, they fell in love and eventually got married.

The tune was written by a very famous artist, actually two people, Neil Sudeika and Howard Greenfield. Neil Sudeika, of course, being famous in the 50s and 60s. He actually recorded the song in 73, but it went nowhere.

Captain Tennille was shopping around for a breakout hit when they heard Sudeika's version of Love Will Keep Us Together. And Tennille later said that she heard it, they knew it could be a hit. This particular version, the one that made them famous, was produced by Dragon, which is Daryl, and featuring Tennille's powerful, warm vocals.

It was released in 75 and on their debut album of the same name. It reached number one on the Billboard 100 top hits in June 1975. It became the best-selling single of 1975 and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1976.

But what happened too was it helped Sudeika in his career. Fittingly, the song's lyrics, a promise to stay together through challenges, mirrored their real-life relationships. They were actually married for 40 years before they got divorced in 2014.

And they still remained close until Daryl Dragon's passing in 2019. Interestingly enough, the song is a feel-good anthem that is built on complex chords and melodies that reflect Sudeika's classical influences. So what did it do? Well, it cemented their legacy of 70s pop royalty.

There was a Spanish version of it that also charted inspired countless covers, TV performances, and nostalgic references. And it still resonates as a symbol of bright, harmony-driven pop in the 1970s. The Captain of the Nail, number one.

Well, that's it for this episode of Trout Show Podcast, Vinyl DeViro. Thank you so much for sticking around, listening to it. I hope you enjoyed it.

It's fun for me to put it together because I remember every one of those songs. 50 years ago. For more information about The Trout Show, always go to my website, thetroutshow.com. Remember, all our podcasts are streamed on the major platforms.

YouTube, you can find all the interviews I do with great musicians. We've had some just recently, and I've got some coming up that are really great performers. And I always enjoy talking to them, and I hope you do too.

And also, once again, to shout out to the guy who wrote the song. Until next time, people, remember what I always say. It's only rock and roll, but I love it.

See ya!