Guilty Pleasures Part Forty-Eight: Lovecentennial!

We're back for more music and this time Fearless Maria is in the house!

Whoo hoo! Hang ten, dudes!

So when did you take up surfing, Maria?

Never, it's just a cool greeting and I wouldn't say "Good day, Mr. Dilettante, did you have a scone for breakfast?"

That's good, because I didn't have a scone.

And I'm not really sure what a scone is anyway. But it doesn't sound very tasty.

It's like a combination of a muffin, biscuit and hockey puck, Maria.

Pass! Anyway, what are we doing tonight, Dad? (As if I don't already know.)

Well Maria, I thought we could look at some music from the big Bicentennial year of 1976. How does that sound?

Bad, because music from the 1970s almost always is. Did you find anything reasonable?

Well, let's find out, shall we? We can start out with the number one song of the year, which pretty much dominated the airwaves all summer long in 1976. It's our old friend Paul McCartney, answering the criticism of his old associate John Lennon, with:

Silly Love Songs

Well, that wasn't too bad, I guess. But the beginning part is pretty freaky and Paul McCartney doesn't look especially, well, normal there.

I hate to tell you this, Maria, but in 1976 that's the way people looked.

Yuck. I hope you didn't look like that!

I'm hoping that most of the photographic evidence of me around then is safely hidden someplace in the "Excabitty."

I know where that is! It's right by Drip's Drill, right?

And Drip's Drill is right next to Anderson's Spur!

And they are all right next to each other. And I never get to see any of them, right?

Yep. You've got the drill.

Yeah, Drip's Drill.

Okay, enough of the inside family humor. Let's move on. One of the things that became pretty evident in 1976 was that disco was coming to the forefront. This song was a big hit in the late spring of 1976 and featured one of the greatest Motown artists, now in full Vegas mode. It's Diana Ross, mentioning that she has a:

Love Hangover

Lots of images from 1976 in that one, Maria. What do you think?

Well, the commercials are much better than the $5 footlong and the Filet-O-Fish commercials that I have to put up with now! And, oh yeah, the song's pretty cool, too. Pure disco. So Dad, did you get to sail in one of those tall ships?

No, if I was in a boat in 1976 it was probably a rowboat at camp.

Too bad, Dad! Those look pretty cool. Let's hope that people didn't litter on those big ships!

Far as I know, that didn't happen. Anyway, the next song was another discoish thing from the spring. Check out the enormous Afros on these dudes. It's the Sylvers, with

Boogie Fever

Dad, that's some really big hair! I guess they didn't have reasonable barbers back then!

Well Maria, I think they wore their hair that way on purpose.

Why? To make a bad impression? Or did they want to get it stuck in an elevator? You could fit a family of seven in the lead singer's hair!

I don't know, Maria. I've never quite been able to figure that one out. Anyway, we'll move on to something a little different. The next song was a big number one hit for a more traditional vocal group called the Manhattans. Here they are, in all their melodramatic glory, rocking the wide-lapeled white jump suits and patiently, lovingly explaining that it was time to

Kiss and Say Goodbye

Dad, the song is nice, but what's the deal with the jumpsuits? And why did they keep showing us their butts?

Maybe they thought we'd be interested in their butts?

If they think that we are, then they're psychos! Because they are who we thought they were!

Nice Denny Green reference, Maria! Glad you took the high road! But let's move on. Next is one of the last big hits of the first part of Elton John's career. This time he brought along a friend. Here they are in all their sartorially-challenged splendor, Sir Elton and his pal Kiki Dee, admonishing each other

Don't Go Breaking My Heart

Dad, that Kiki Dee might be the worst dancer I've ever seen. And I think they got the lyrics wrong, too!

What do you mean, Maria?

I think it should go "whoo whoo, nobody told us and nobody showed us how to dress!" Dad, it looks like Elton John's glasses must weigh about 20 pounds. Those must have hurt his face, don't you think?

It probably hurts more for Elton to watch that video now, Maria. But let's move on.

Yes. Please! Let's move on! What's left, Dad?

Well, here's something totally different, also from the spring of 1976. This one got all the way to number one and didn't seem to have any dance beat at all. It's the Bellamy Brothers, with their twin acoustic guitars and one very impressive mustache, suggesting that we'd better

Let Your Love Flow

Dad, it's a good thing they weren't the Bellybuster Brothers! But it's a pretty good song, I think. Kinda country, don't you think?

Indeed, Maria.

So Dad, I was wondering. Was 1976 a pretty bad year for music?

You could say that, Maria. Especially since we didn't look at this, this or this.

Dad, thanks for not making me watch those! Oh, and just so you know, those last three are definitely NOT part of the contest! So you know the Drip's Drill! Go ahead and vote in the comments section, people! Happy 4th! Bye!