DAILY DIRT: Fifty years ago, we we were ‘sailing with a cargo full of love and devotion’

Daily Dirt for Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024

Blue Swede, Redbone, Barry White and BTO. Was this a great period for music or what? … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,095 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Fifty years ago today, were you playing any of the following songs on that AM/FM radio in your car?

Or possibly in that sweet 8-track tape deck you had just installed? Or maybe you preferred those spiffy little cassette tapes?

The year was 1974, and these were 10 of the best tunes going at the time. This particular year also kicks off one of our three-day specials, dealing with the best sounds of late summer and early fall from 50, 40 and 30 years ago.

Any of the following, which were my 10 of my favorites from the year Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record, bring back some memories? 

• 1. “Hooked On a Feeling,” by Blue Swede: To this day, I say this remake was better than the original by B.J. Thomas.
• 2. “Come And Get Your Love,” by Redbone: The first song to reach Billboard’s top five by a Native American rock band.
• 3. “Can’t Get Enough (Of Your Love),” by Barry White: The original Dr. Love.
• 4. “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet,” by Bachman Turner Overdrive: This was arguably the biggest hit in the fall of ’74.
• 5. “Waterloo,” by ABBA: After this monster hit, the rest, as they say, was history for ABBA. 
• 6. “The Air That I Breathe,” by the Hollies: This song was a particularly good showcase of lead singer Allan Clarke’s talents. Clark, who is now 82, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 — and deservedly so. For the record, my favorite Hollies hit was “Carrie Anne” (1967).
• 7. “Kung Fu Fighting,” by Carl Douglas:“Everybody was kung fu fighting … those cats were fast as lightning.”
• 8. “Rock Me Gently,” by Andy Kim: My second favorite Andy Kim song, right after “Baby I Love You” from 1969.
• 9. “Don’t Rock The Boat,” by Hues Corporation: “Our love is like a ship on the ocean … sailing with a cargo full of love and devotion.”
• 10. “Sweet Home Alabama,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd: The cry that summer from concert goers was a simple one: “Play some Skynyrd!”

Next: 1984.

2. Did you know (Part 163)

• That if a mime is arrested, he or she still has the right to remain silent.
• That Russia and China each touch 14 bordering countries, sharing the world record.
• That Russia is so big, that going from the eastern-most point to the western-most point you would have to re-set your clock/watch 11 times because of all the changes in time zones.
• That the Pacific Ocean is so huge, all seven continents would fit within its borders.
• That in South America, only two countries (Ecuador and Chile) do not border Brazil.

3. It was another glorious week for spotting interesting license plates across West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri, even though none were able to crack the existing medal stand in our ongoing Great Plate Debate for 2024.

Here were the best we found or were sent in during the past week:

• NUF SED 9
• DRWHO 9
• LO LAW
• 5 BURD
• ONCE
• BRAT 72
• 1 HJAZZ
• SUN N 7
• MOLLYO 1

The medal stand remains:

• Gold Medal: GOD 911. 
• Silver medal: XLMAMA.
• Bronze medal: 2 FARR. 

Steve Thought O’ The Day – I have a friend who always carries a sizable stone with her to throw at people who sing Christmas songs in October. She calls it … wait for it … her jingle bell rock.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Stevie Love is no Barry White.