Three Forgotten Chart Hits Part II
I take a look at three minor Billboard Hot 100 entries from the 1970's with help from Brad Kyle of Front Row and Backstage.
Recently, I covered three songs from 1975 that are seemingly lost to time. That piece was a blast to put together and I decided not long after to write a second part. Once again, I enlisted my friend of Front Row & Backstage to provide some additional commentary because these tracks are all in his wheelhouse too. If you enjoyed this post, please hit like, comment, share, or click the subscribe button. Thank You!
Mark: Basically, when I put the last piece together, I wanted to cover a couple more tracks but they didn’t really fit with the rest of the article. Because it was a lot of fun to put together, I decided to write a second instalment, recruited Brad again, and discovered that Hudson Brothers song in the process.
Brad: And, Mark (and readers), I’m happy to add a little ‘70s “boots on the ground” POV from being in radio (‘73-’77, covering two college stations and two commercial FM rockers, as well as working in retail records in Houston and L.A. ‘77-’82). I’ll enclose my 2 cents in this blue-barred block quote thingy throughout!
Nancy Brooks- “I’m Not Gonna Cry Anymore” (1978)
Peak Position: #66
This is likely the highest charting entry here. The reason is simple: Nancy Brooks never released another single.
Mark: Brooks was signed to Arista label and it looks like “I’m Not Gonna Cry Anymore” was tipped to be a hit. I discovered this one about ten years ago via YouTube and quite liked it.
According to Discogs, Brooks married independent country artist Jef Mayes (above) in the early 1970s (below, left). The pair performed together as Jef & The Kickers and released a single in 1971 called “Treasure Of Mine”. Brooks and Mayes had a son together in 1973. At some point after this, she moved to Nashville, adopted a blues-rock sound, and reverted to her maiden name of Nancy Brooks (below, right).
Following her brief brush with fame, Brooks did some Jef & The Kickers reunions in the 1980s, and later remarried, becoming Nancy Poll.
Brad: Right away, Mark, I’m recognizing the Rampart Street Records label and the Houston address as being the long-time Houston area studio and label from the ‘60s and ‘70s. In fact, at 6105 Jessamine St., they were just two miles from my ‘60s-early-’70s SW Houston home on Beechnut, in the Meyerland subdivision!
While I had never been there, I’m willing to bet my mom, a longtime entertainment booking agent in Houston, booked Jef & The Kickers for gigs in local bars and/or conventions that came to town! After all, in the ‘60s, she booked fellow Houstonians Kenny Rogers (pre-First Edition), as well as Billy Gibbons’ pre-ZZ Top band, The Moving Sidewalks, in various venues around town in the ‘60s!
Not to mention singer/actress, Lisa Hartman, before she moved to L.A. in the mid-’70s, recorded for CBS and RCA Records, and starred in Knots Landing in the ‘80s (and marrying country singer, Clint Black, despite the fact that she and I dated briefly in junior high)!
Tim Moore- “In The Middle” (1977)
Peak Position: #75
Mark: Singer-Songwriter Tim Moore scored four minor hits between 1973-1977. His biggest was the #58 peaking “Second Avenue” which was eclipsed by Art Garfunkel’s cover version.
The Bay City Rollers also scored a hit with another Moore composition, the overlooked “Rock And Roll Love Letter”. I feel like he’s one of those musicians who is more famous for who he worked with and who covered his material than for his recordings. Before his solo career, Moore was in Gulliver with Daryl Hall. He also almost signed to Frank Zappa’s Bizarre label at one point and also worked as a session musician on some Philly Soul recordings.
“The Middle” (for me at least) is probably the weakest of Moore’s charting singles. It’s a Cat Stevens-sounding tune about a man who doesn’t want to participate in an open relationship with his partner. I’m sure the subject matter (for its time) helped kill this one.
Unfortunately, Tim Moore never charted again after this. As of 2020, he is still writing and recording.
Brad: This song (from his 1977 White Shadows album) didn’t do anything for me, either, Mark. Tim’s producer on this (Michael James Jackson) is notable for producing a handful of early-’80s Kiss albums, like Killers, Creatures Of The Night, and Lick It Up.
The Hudson Brothers- “Help Wanted” (1976)
Peak Position: #70
Mark: Most people know who The Hudson Brothers are. They were huge in the 70’s. They’re likely the biggest act I’m covering here.
By 1976, the Hudson Brothers had been recording together under various names since 1967. They’d appeared on several TV shows and had even hosted their own Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show. The trio had been signed to Elton John’s Rocket label at one point, working with Bernie Taupin, and were also on the legendary Casablanca label earlier in that label’s history. They’d scored two Top 40 hits, one for each label. On Casablanca, they hit with the Paul McCartney-ish “So You Are A Star”.
Brad: On Rocket, the glam-sounding “Rendezvous” from 1975, produced by Bernie Taupin. The Brothers wrote, with a co-write by The Beach Boys’ Bruce Johnston. Johnston had just had his “I Write the Songs” released as a single for the very first time by David Cassidy for his first post-Partridge Family album, The Higher They Climb, on RCA (produced by Johnston). My 1975 interview with David in a downtown Houston penthouse can be read about and even heard, here:
1975 was big for the song: The Captain and Tennille were the first to record it, and included it on their Love Will Keep Us Together album in May, followed by Cassidy’s single in July. Barry Manilow’s October release exploded to be the version most people know by heart. Back to our “Rendezvous” rendezvous:
Thanks for that, Brad!
By 1976, the Hudson Brothers were signed to Arista where they had a minor hit single with “Help Wanted”.
The track is a more mature-sounding record than their previous teen pop-oriented hits. There are some Paul McCartney-esque touches on the chorus as well as a few Blue-Eyed Soul elements. It’s a really solid track that like a lot of the brothers’ recorded output just didn’t chart higher. Perhaps their reputation as teen idols hindered any chances of a bigger hit.
The brothers recorded together for a few years after this. They appeared in two movies during this last half of their career, 1978’s Darren McGavin vehicle Zero To Sixty and the 1983 horror spoof Hysterical.
Bill married Goldie Hawn and later Laverne And Shirley star Cindy Williams. He’s likely best known in my age bracket as the father of Kate and Oliver Hudson, his children with Hawn who were born while the group was still around. Mark dabbled in acting and later had a prolific career working with Ringo Starr. Brett worked in film production, co-founding the now-defunct production company Frozen Pictures.
During their recording career as a trio, the brothers were no strangers to the Bubbling Under charts and I feel like their career is something I could easily revisit in the future.
Thanks to Brad for his input on this! What are some seemingly forgotten songs you like that were fairly moderate-sized hits? Sound off in the comments!
Wednesday: TBA
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These are right up my street. I love a minor, major hit and this is so well written and researched as ever.
At one point I had a bunch of Hudson Brothers' photos on my walls. Clearly something was going on there...!