#1 at KRUX/Phoenix: “We’re An American Band,” a tribute to rock ‘n’ roll hedonism by Grand Funk — their first hit after dropping “Railroad” from their name.
Moving up three to #3 is “Live And Let Die,” the original version by Paul McCartney & Wings. McCartney wrote it for the James Bond movie of the same name. (Sorry kids, Guns ’N Roses didn’t do it first.)
Chicago climbs to #5 with yet another in a seemingly endless stream of hits, “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day.”
Several other songs on this week’s chart would later become overplayed mainstays on classic hits and classic rock radio stations. Among them:
- Pink Floyd’s “Money” (#18), lead-off single from the iconic album Dark Side Of The Moon;
- Elton John’s raucous “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” (#20), first single off Goodbye Yellow Brick Road;
- “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” (#21), a future karaoke favorite, by Jim Croce;
- “China Grove” (new at #25), fourth hit by the Doobie Brothers;
- Deep Purple’s biggest hit, “Smoke On The Water” (#27), the true tale about a fire in Montreux, Switzerland, on Lake Geneva, where the group was preparing to record the Machine Head album.
Among the more interesting songs on this list:
- “Brother Louie” (#4), a former #1 by the Stories — the hit version of a non-hit by Hot Chocolate about an interracial love story;
- “Roll Over Beethoven” (#10), a revamped version of the Chuck Berry ’50s classic, by the Electric Light Orchestra — ELO’s very first U.S. hit;
- Paul Simon’s “Loves Me Like A Rock” (#14) with the Dixie Hummingbirds providing the gospel vocals;
- Marvin Gaye’s erotic classic “Let’s Get It On” (#16);
- Tower of Power, featuring Lenny Williams on vocals with that famous horn section, with “So Very Hard To Go” (#28), their biggest hit single.
VIEW CHART (a decidedly low-tech production at this stage of the legendary station’s sad demise)