Music Video of the Day: The Night Chicago Died by Paper Lace (1974, dir by ????)

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Paper Lace was a British band. None of them were from Chicago. None of the had ever been to Chicago. Certainly none of them had a father who was a cop in Chicago or a mother who cried and prayed the night that Chicago died.

In fact …. CHICAGO DIDN”T EVEN DIE!

Well, it came close once. There was that whole fire that was caused Mrs. O’Leary’s cow. I’ll be honest, though. I think the cow was innocent. I think Mrs. O’Leary just forgot to turn off the stove and she was too embarrassed to admit it. So, the cow got blamed.

But that’s not what this song is about. The song is about a huge gunfight between the police and the members of Al Capone’s gang. However, the Chicago police never got into a gunfight with the Chicago Outfit, largely because Capone owned the cops.

I would also point out that, according to a friend of mine from the area, Chicago doesn’t even have an east side!

So, maybe the song isn’t historically accurate. Listen, I’m from Dallas. I know what it’s like when people assume that they know everything that they need to know about your city. I know how annoying it is. I can’t tell you how many movies I’ve seen that supposedly take place in North Texas but which have big mountains in the background or people exploring caves. There are no mountains in North Texas! There is no east side in Chicago.

But, on the plus side, The Night Chicago Died has a killer bass line and you can sing along with it. That’s always a good thing. Plus, the drummer looks like he might have been a magician in his spare time.

Enjoy!

My daddy was a cop on the east side of Chicago
Back in the U.S.A. back in the bad old days

In the heat of a summer night
In the land of the dollar bill
When the town of Chicago died
And they talk about it still
When a man named Al Capone
Tried to make that town his own
And he called his gang to war
With the forces of the law

I heard my mama cry
I heard her pray the night Chicago died
Brother what a night it really was
Brother what a fight it really was
Glory be!
I heard my mama cry
I heard her pray the night Chicago died
Brother what a night the people saw
Brother what a fight the people saw
Yes indeed!

And the sound of the battle rang
Through the streets of the old east side
‘Til the last of the hoodlum gang
Had surrendered up or died
There was shouting in the street
And the sound of running feet
And I asked someone who said
“‘Bout a hundred cops are dead!”

And ther was no sound at all
But the clock upon the wall
Then the door burst open wide
And my daddy stepped inside
And he kissed my mama’s face
And he brushed her tears away

The night Chicago died
Na-na na, na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na
The night Chicago died
Brother what a night the people saw
Brother what a fight the people saw
Yes indeed!

The night Chicago died
Na-na na, na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na
The night Chicago died
Brother what a night it really was
Brother what a fight it really was
Glory be!

The night Chicago died
Na-na na, na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na
The night Chicago died
Brother what a night the people saw
Brother what a fight the people saw
Yes indeed!

Music Video of the Day: Love Me by Yvonne Elliman (1976, dir by ????)

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For the past few days, I have been driving everyone around the TSL Compound crazy by continually playing and re-playing the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Though no one will admit it, I’m sure that they’ve all got the lyrics of I Can’t Have You memorized by now. We could probably start a Bee Gees cover band if we wanted to. And really, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t! Leonard can play bass, I’ll sing, Jeff can drum, Erin can play the sitar, it’ll be great!

Well, today, I thought maybe that we would take a break with another Bee Gees song that was covered by Yvonne Elliman, Love Me. While the Bee Gees version of the song didn’t get much attention, Yvonne Elliman’s cover was a huge hit and it probably played a role in the Bee Gees later writing How Deep Is Your Love for her. Of course, the Bee Gees later ended up performing How Deep Is Your Love for Saturday Night Fever while Yvonne recorded If I Can’t Have You. It can be difficult to keep track but the important thing is that everyone got recorded eventually.

Enjoy!

Love me; just a little bit longer
Love me

I remember times my love when we really had it all
You were always there to make me smile, help me when I fall
Ooh, I can’t believe you’re leaving me
When there’s so much more to say – I can’t let you go
Ooh, every time I look at you I still can feel the glow
Let it be, let it grow

Ooh, all I ever wanted was to have you to myself
Then I see you standing there in the arms of someone else
Ooh, you know a girl can stand so much
And it’s more then I can bear – I can’t let you go
Ooh, every time I look at you I still can feel the glow
Let it be, let it grow

Love me please, just a little bit longer
Together we can make it
Our love is much too young to break it
Love me please, just a little bit harder

Never even try to see things my way
It’s hard on a woman when love ain’t no love at all
And when you walk away – you probably will
You’re gonna be sorry, I’m begging you; please

Love me please, just a little bit longer
Together we can make it
Our love is much too young to break it
Love me please, just a little bit harder
Together we can make it
Our love is much too young to break it
Love me please, just a little bit longer
Together we can make it
Our love is much too young to break it

Music Video of the Day: Boogie Shoes by K.C. and the Sunshine Band (1978, dir by ????)

Posted on January 9, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’m sure you’ll remember this song from the soundtrack of any film that’s set during the 70s. I’ll always associate with John C. Reilly showing Don Cheadle a card trick in Boogie Nights. I guess that’s appropriate since it’s Boogie Shoes and Boogie Nights. “Don’t you worry about the evil spirits?” Cheadle asks Reilly shortly before Reilly runs off to help Dirk Diggler launch his musical career.

Apparently, this band was started in a record store. The man who would eventually be known as KC worked at the store and I guess the band was made up with either his customers or his co-workers. Either way, they came together to form The Sunshine Band and they spread happiness and cheer all throughout the cocaine-heavy 70s. They’re still doing it, playing the nostalgia circuit. Good for them. Disco is forever.

(That said, the best band to form in a record store remains the Empire Records band. SUGAR HIGH!)

This is another one of those videos that was originally a performance for a television show. In this case, the show was American Bandstand.

Dance and enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy (1976, dir by ????)

Posted on January 8, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Based on Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Walter Murphy’s A Fifth of Beethoven …. oh, wait a minute. I just got that. Fifth Symphony …. A Fifth of Beethoven. That’s clever. How would Beethoven have felt about a disco version of his symphony? I imagine Beethoven would probably sue for royalties. The music business is cutthroat.

Anyway, this song is best known for appearing on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. When Tony Manero and his friends step into the club, this is the song that’s playing in the background and it fits in perfectly with Tony’s view of himself as being a God among men.

The song was composed by Walter Murphy, who had previously been a jazz musician. He played all of the instruments himself on the original recording but the song was still credited to Walter Murphy and The Big Apple Band because it was apparently felt that it was better to be known as a member of a band than a solo artist.

This video is from 1976. Is that the Big Apple Band that Murphy’s performing with? I don’t know. It’s a good song, though. For the longest time, I thought it was also the theme music for Judge Judy but then I did some research at the University of Google and I discovered that Judge Judy’s theme song was actually the Fifth Symphony. I also discovered that Judge Judy was still alive so it was a productive session.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Disco Inferno by The Trammps (1976, dir by ????)

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Burn, baby, burn!

I kid you not when I say that this song was supposedly written after a viewing of the 1974 Best Picture nominee, The Towering Inferno. Now, of course, the song is also about the heat that rises from the dance floor while everyone’s out there moving and apparently, there are some who think that the song was meant to be a reference to the counter-culture’s cry of “burn, baby burn!” Myself, though, I will always assume that this song is all about Paul Newman, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Steve McQueen, OJ Simpson, and a cast of thousands trying to survive that towering inferno.

“You keep building them,” McQueen said to Newman, “and I’ll keep putting them out.”

Disco Inferno became a hit when it was included on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. More recently, it’s become a hit-of-a-different-sort because of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaigns. It turns out that “Burn, Baby, Burn” can also be heard as “Bern, Baby, Bern.” I mean, no wonder he won Iowa.

(Did Bernie win Iowa? I can’t recall. Hey, remember when I said that I was going to vote for Marianne Williamson and everyone thought that I was being serious? What was that all about?)

Anyway, The Trammps is one of those bands that actually had a few hits in their heyday but will probably always be associated with just this one song. The Trammps are still performing, though they’ve split into two different groups, each one using the Trammps name. The fires of the disco inferno will never be extinguished.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Disco Duck by Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots (1976, dir by ????)

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I have long been of the opinion that everything that happened in the world of entertainment during the 70s was the result of cocaine. If you doubt me, then I dare you to explain this to me:

Now, I’m not making the argument that the song Disco Duck was necessarily written while anyone was high, though it probably was. However, I am arguing that a lot of people probably first heard the song while they were high and perhaps trying to talk to a duck and that explains why Disco Duck became a hit. Apparently, it also won the 1977 People’s Choice Award for Best New Song and again, everyone knows that the People’s Choice Awards were determined by people who spent most of their spare time with a credit card, a mirror, and rolled-up twenty. That’s just the truth of the matter.

Anyway, Rick Dees was a DJ and Disco Duck was a novelty record. The song is officially credited to Rick Dee and His Cast of Idiots but, personally, I think the band was being a bit too self-critical with that name. I mean, it takes a certain amount of intelligence to turn a song called Disco Duck into a number one hit. The song, itself, is not actually about a duck but about a man who dances like a duck …. wait a minute, what? How do you dance like a duck? (“With great difficulty! Ha ha ha!” Thank you, hack comedian.) It doesn’t matter. The song was a hit.

This performance was from a show called Midnight Special. It aired on October 29th, 1976, just a few days before Halloween. According to the imdb, ABBA, KC & The Sunshine Band, and the Bay City Rollers also appeared on this episode but none of them performed with a guy in a duck costume.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Night Fever by Bee Gees (1978, dir by ????)

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Seeing as how I’ve spent the first few days of 2022 sharing music videos for danceable hits of the 70s, you had to know that I was eventually going to get to this one. The name of the song is Night Fever and not, as is often incorrectly assumed, Saturday Night Fever. Saturday Night Fever was the movie for which this song was recorded. Night Fever indicates that the fever can hit any night, not just on a Saturday.

This video was apparently shot in 1978 but the Bee Gees didn’t release it until 2004. I’m not sure why that is. Perhaps all of the seedy motels gave the wrong impression about what the band was singing about. Or maybe they just decided that John Travolta in that white suit was a better visual representation for what the Bee Gees were all about. I will note that the same year this video was produced, the Bee Gees appeared in Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band so, obviously, they weren’t too concerned with looking slightly silly.

The video was shot in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. Supposedly, most of these motels have since been torn down. That’s a shame as I think every resort town needs to have at least one strong row of seedy motels. When my family lived in Colorado, we lived just a block away from some of the seediest motels known to man and whenever we would go back to visit our cousins in Colorado, I would always make it a point to see if the motels were still there. They were. They probably still are. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Colorado.

Anyway, it’s a good song. If it doesn’t make you want to dance, I don’t know what to say. You may just not be a dancer. But it’s never too late to learn!

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: You Sexy Thing by Hot Chocolate (1975, dir by ????)

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hey, remember this song from the soundtrack of every single film that’s ever been made about the 70s?

You Sexy Thing is one of those songs that pretty much just epitomizes an era. I’ve heard it used in so many films that I like that I can’t help but smile whenever I hear the song, even though I find real-life catcallers to be totally creepy. Of course, the song itself is not actually about catcalling, no matter how much one might be tempted to go with that interpretation. Instead, singer Errol Brown wrote the song about his wife and how she made him feel. Supposedly, this was the first “happy” song that he ever wrote.

As I mentioned earlier, You Sexy Thing has become a soundtrack mainstay. During The Dundees episode of The Office, Michael played “You Sexy Thing” after announcing that Ryan the Temp had won “Hottest in the Office.” (I agree, by the way. BJ Novak’s adorable. Timothy Olyphant is adorable as well but there’s still no way Danny Cordray should have taken hottest in the office away from Ryan Howard.) It’s also appeared in films like Boogie Nights, Reservoir Dogs, Legally Blonde, Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, and Duke Marvin’s All 70s Dance Party. Admittedly, the Duke Marvin film was never actually released but it’s still a classic to those of us who have seen it.

This video was shot for the UK’s Top of the Pops.

Enjoy and believe in miracles!

Music Video of the Day: Car Wash, covered by The Brady Bunch (1977, directed by Jack Regas)

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Why are the kids from the Brady Bunch dressed up like characters from the Wizard of Oz and singing the classic 1976 song, Car Wash?

Look, your guess is probably as good as mine but I’m going to assume that cocaine played a role in all of this. I mean, let’s consider the facts. This is from 1977. Everyone in Hollywood was using cocaine by 1977. This was also filmed for the infamous Brady Bunch Hour, which was a show that probably only existed due to cocaine. Well, cocaine and a love for the good wholesome values that were epitomized by The Brady Bunch.

This is from the second episode of The Brady Bunch Hour. It originally aired on January 23rd, 1977. All of the episodes are on YouTube. I watched the first episode last year and I meant to get right on to watching the second episode but …. eh. There’s only so much of the Bradys that you can take. In the show, Mike Brady decided to quit his job and move the family to Los Angeles so that they could star on a musical variety program. That was a decision that I’m sure a lot of families were forced to make in the 70s. Carol and the kids were okay with it and, of course, Alice came along because she apparently belonged to the Bradys or something. According to Wikipedia, the second episode featured The Bradys getting used to their new home with the help of special guest stars Farrah Fawcett and her then-husband, Lee Majors. I’m not how exactly this would lead to Ann B. Davis dressing up like the Wicked Witch of the West and then watching the Brady kids perform Car Wash in a crystal ball. Maybe I should watch the episode and find out. If I do, I’m demanding hazard pay.

Technically, this song is only being performed by half of the Brady Bunch. Maureen McCormick, Barry Williams, and Christopher Knight are there but Fake Jan, Mike Lookinland, and Susan Olsen are nowhere to be seen. That’s a shame, as Fake Jan had the best singing voice of the entire cast. Incidentally, when he was first approached to appear on the show, Barry was promised that he would be the center of most of the performances. According to an interview I saw with him, he was really looking forward to becoming a musical sensation until he actually watched the first episode of the series. Give the Brady kids some credit — they eventually understood the mess they had gotten themselves into.

As for this performance of Car Wash, it might not be good but it’s also kind of brilliant in its badness. You’ll never forget it after you watch it and there’s something to be said for that. The Brady kids are trying so hard that it’s difficult not to kind of hope that they’ll manage to succeed. The audiences sounds like they’re enjoying it so there’s always that.

Car Wash itself is a good song — just try to not get it stuck in your head after listening. It, of course, was written and recorded for the 1976 film, Car Wash. It was originally performed by Rose Royce. Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott covered the song in 2004 and it was something of a minor hit. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of the Brady Bunch version.

Still …. enjoy! And work! But mostly, enjoy.

Music Video of the Day: If I Can’t Have You by Yvonne Elliman (1977, dir by ????)

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

To be honest, this is the second video that I’ve shared for this song. Back in 2020, I shared a clip of Yvonne Elliman performed If I Can’t Have You on the UK’s Top of the Pops. This, however, is apparently the official video.

(Sidenote: If you’re looking for good music videos that came out before the era of MTV, Top of the Pops is always a good place to look.)

This is one of my favorite songs of all time. It is certainly my favorite song from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. (Yes, even more than Stayin’ Alive.) The song was originally written by the Bee Gees and the plan was for them to perform it on the soundtrack while Yvonne Elliman would perform How Deep Is Your Love, which was actually written to be more of a pop ballad than a disco song. However, Robert Stigwood decided to switch things up by having the Bee Gees perform How Deep Is Your Love while If I Can’t Have You was given to Elliman. The result was that the Bee Gees gave a disco twist to a ballad while Elliman gave a ballad twist to a disco song. In other words, it was a pretty good idea. If I Can’t Have You may be my favorite song on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack but How Deep Is Your Love is a close second.

Incidentally, Yvonne Elliman also played Mary Magdalene in the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar and gave one of the best musical performances ever captured on film.

Enjoy!

Don’t know why
I’m survivin’ ev’ry lonely day
When there’s got to be no chance for me
My life would end
And it doesn’t matter how I cry
My tears, so far, are a waste of time
If I turn away
Am I strong enough to see it through
Go crazy is what I will do
If I can’t have you
I don’t want nobody baby
If I can’t have you, uh-huh, oh
If I can’t have you
I don’t want nobody baby
If I can’t have you, uh-ho, oh oh oh
Can’t let go and it doesn’t matter how I try
I gave it up
So easily
To you my love
To dreams that never will come true
Am I strong enough to see it through
Go crazy is what I will do
If I can’t have you
I don’t want nobody baby
If I can’t have you, uh-huh, oh
If I can’t have you
I don’t want nobody baby
If I can’t have you, uh-ho, oh
If I can’t have you
I don’t want nobody baby
If I can’t have you, uh-huh, oh
If I can’t have you
I don’t want nobody baby
If I can’t have you, uh-ho oh
If I can’t have you
I don’t want nobody baby
If I can’t have you, uh-huh, oh
If I can’t have you
I don’t want nobody baby
If I can’t have you, uh-ho oh
If I can’t have you