Fave Songs of 1978

Bee Gees : Night Fever

[Purchase]

I'm not sure how a music snob can justify naming a Bee Gees smash my favorite song of the year, but "Night Fever" has topped my list. It must be something deeply buried in my cortex because it has nothing to do with the chorus ( "night fever, night fever, we know how to do it") and the wah wah guitar in the bridge. I spent most of 1978 as a long haired, too tall and too skinny 14 year old who rarely attended dances at his boarding school. When my parents played the first side of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and tried to get me to dance, I bolted from the room. But if I closed my eyes on a Saturday night,  I could imagine astonishing my classmates with my Travolta like disco moves. 

Nah, never happen.

The Big Hits

Bee Gees Night Fever
Rolling Stones Miss You
Gerry Rafferty Baker Street
Robert Palmer Every Kinda People
The Babys Isn't It Time

Disco

This was a new discovery: a disco song by art rocker Arthur Russell with guitar lines contributed by David Byrne.

Dinosaur : Kiss Me Again
Chic Le Freak
Heatwave The Groove Line
Cheryl Lynn Got To Be Real
Sylvester You Make Me Feel Mighty Real
The Jacksons Blame It on the Boogie


Power Pop + New Wave

Wings : Backwards Traveller

A 69 second McCartney throw away. But I like this half finished, pure shot of inspiration on the otherwise bland London Town.


Tom Petty + the Heartbreakers Listen to Her Heart
Cheap Trick Surrender
The Motors Airport
Chris Stamey + the dB's (I Thought) You Wanted to Know

Jules and the Polar Bears : You Just Don't Want to Know

The more I hear this one, the more I like it. Jules Shear would eventually make a name for himself on MTV and as a songwriter but this early tune is my favorite of his.


Nick Lowe I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass
NRBQ Green Lights
The Records Starry Eyes
The Cars Just What I Needed

New York City

Television : Days


Gorgeous song I've loved for decades and decades. Gah! I'm getting old.


Talking Heads Take Me To The River
Johnny Thunders (You Can't Put Your Arms Around A ) Memory
Lou Reed Street Hassle
Blondie Hanging on the Telephone
Ramones I Just Want to Have Something to Do
Bruce Springsteen Prove It All Night

UK Critical Faves

Magazine :  Shot By Both Sides

DeVoto had something to prove with his first solo single since leaving the Buzzcocks, taking nothing but his awful haircut and a guitar riff the Buzzcocks would also use in "Lipstick".


The Jam Down in the Tube Station at Midnight
The Clash (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais
Siouxsie + the Banshees Hong Kong Garden
The Buzzcocks Ever Fallen in Love

Elvis Costello :  I Don't Want to go to Chelsea


In which the Attractions show why they may be the best backing band in the world. They deserved songwriting credit for the way they made these songs jump out of the speakers.


Bryan Ferry Sign of the Times
Devo Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy
The Undertones Teenage Kicks
The Saints Know Your Product

Discovered This Year

Be Bop Deluxe : Panic in the World


From the final Be Bop Deluxe album, a catchy should-a-been hit.

Kleenex Ain't You
Radio Birdman Aloha Steve and Danno
The Wipers Better Off Dead
Ultravox Slow Motion

The B-52's : Rock Lobster (DB Records version)

I like this original version better. See! my snobbery is coming back.

Shoes Tomorrow Night (Bomp! Records version)

Embarrassed to Admit

Journey : Lights

I grew up in San Francisco so this is a sentimental favorite.

Suzi Quatro + Chris Norman Stumblin'  In
Billy Joel Rosalinda's Eyes
The Doobie Brothers What a Fool Believes
Todd Rundgren Can We Still Be Friends

And then...

Rolling Stones : Shattered

To be cranked on headphones whilst walking down the avenues of NYC when your life is in tatters.


Kraftwerk The Model
Warren Zevon Lawyers Guns and Money
Bryan Ferry Carrickfergus

BONUS :
A list of the most played 1978 songs on my computer (number of plays)


Bee Gees Night Fever 19

Bryan Ferry Take Me to the River 13
Magazine Shot By Both Sides
Paul McCartney Backwards Traveler

Al Di Meola Mediterranean Sundance 12

Blondie Hanging on the Telephone 11
Ramones I Just Want to Have Something to Do
Talking Heads The Good Thing

 The Saints A Minor Aversion 10

 Blondie Heart of Glass 9
 Bryan Ferry What Goes On
 Bryan Ferry Sign of the Times
 Rolling Stones Miss You
 The Saints This Perfect Day

The Babys Isn't It Time 8
Bryan Ferry Carrickfergus
Devo Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy
Gerry Rafferty Baker Street
Kate Bush Wuthering Heights
The Only Ones Another Girl/Another Planet
Pere Ubu Non Alignment Pact
Shoes Tomorrow Night