Dave's Music Database Hall of Fame: Song Inductees (January 2021)

Originally posted 1/22/2021. In honor of the 10th anniversary of the DMDB blog on January 22, 2019, Dave’s Music Database launched its own Hall of Fame. This is the ninth set of song inductees. From 1973 to 1982, there were four major charts which tracked U.S. pop songs: Billboard (1898-), Cashbox (1950-1996), Hit Records (1954-1982), and Radio & Records (1973-). 106 songs topped all four charts during that time. (See “USA #1 Pop Songs: 1890-present”). When narrowed down further, there were only 12 songs which combined for 20 or more weeks on top of those four charts.

Bee Gees “Night Fever” (1977) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

“How Deep Is Your Love” was the first single from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and “Stayin’ Alive” is the one which endured to become the most iconic, but “Night Fever” was the biggest hit at the time. In the U.S., the first two spent a combined 7 weeks atop the chart, but “Night Fever” stayed there for a whopping 8 weeks. It was the biggest #1 of the year. Read more.

Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” (1977) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

For better or worse, there are few songs more associated with disco than “Stayin’ Alive.” BB100 “Confident, cocky, streetwise and upbeat,” LW the song perfectly complements John Travolta’s character in Saturday Night Fever, the movie from which the song came. LW The song was not intended as a single, but after fans saw trailers for the movie, they swamped radio stations and RSO Records with calls for the song. WK Read more.

Blondie “Call Me” (1980) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

Composer and producer Giorgio Moroder, best known for his work with Donna Summer, approached Blondie about writing the theme song for the movie American Gigolo. BB Debbie Harry, the lead singer, said the band jumped at the chance “to work with their hero…‘He was the king of disco…And we were still the anti-establishment invaders.’” RS After seeing a rough cut of the film, BR1 she wrote lyrics in just a few hours from the perspective of a male prostitute – the main character of the film. WK The song’s six weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart earned it the distinction of the magazine’s top song of the year. Read more.

Debby Boone “You Light Up My Life” (1977) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

Director Joe Brooks commissioned Debby Boone, the daughter of legendary singer Pat Boone, to record a new version of his song “You Light Up My Life” initially featured in the 1977 movie of the same name. Her version became the biggest #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit of the 1970s. Its 10 weeks on top of the chart made it the biggest #1 since Elvis Presley topped the charts for 11 weeks in 1956 with his double A-side hit “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Hound Dog.” Read more.

Kim Carnes “Bette Davis Eyes” (1981) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

Songwriter Donna Weiss wrote the lyrics while Jackie DeShannon, whose “What the World Needs Now Is Now” and “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” were both top tens, wrote most of the music. BR1 DeShannon recorded a honky-tonk version of the song for her 1975 album New Arrangement. When Carnes was given the song, she wasn’t convinced it had hit potential. BR1 However, when her synthesizer player, Bill Cuomo, reworked the track into a new-wavish pop song, BB100 Carnes was sold. So was the record buying public – it hit #1 in 31 countries WK and topped 1981’s year-end Hot 100 in the U.S. BB100 Read more.

Chic “Le Freak” (1978) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

“Le Freak” became the best-selling single in the history of Atlantic Records. BR1 It came about when Chic members Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards were invited to New York City’s famed disco club Studio 54 by Grace Jones on New Year’s Eve in 1977. However, she forgot to notify the staff and the pair and the doorman told them to “fuck off” as he slammed the door on them. They used it in a song, changing it to “freak out” after realizing radio would never play it otherwise. WK Read more.

Andy Gibb “Shadow Dancing” (1978) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

The Gibb brothers (Barry, Maurice, Robin, and Andy) dominated the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978. Andy’s brothers – the Bee Gees – had three #1 songs from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack while “Shadow Dancing” was Andy’s third #1 song, making him the first solo artist in the U.S. pop chart history to have his first three releases hit #1. WK “Shadow Dancing” was also named the biggest song of the year by Billboard magazine. Read more.

The Knack “My Sharona” (1979) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

The New York Times called “My Sharona” “an emblem of the new wave era in rock.” WK Doug Fieger, the lead singer of the Knack, fell for the real-life Sharona Alperin when she was in a relationship with someone else. He wrote the song in about 15 minutes, saying she “sparked something and I started writing a lot of songs feverishly in a short amount of time.” WK The song “compressed a sense of teenage sexual frustration into its stutter beat built on simple rock and roll.” BR1 They eventually ended up together and even became engaged, but his alcoholism and rock n’ roll lifestyle led to their breakup. Read more.

Lionel Richie & Diana Ross “Endless Love” (1981) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

In 2002, Richie told Billboard magazine, “When I put out ‘Endless Love’…during the days of disco, the reaction was, ‘Are you nuts?’” BB100 However, this unforgettable ballad from the completely forgettable Brooke Shields and Tom Cruise movie of the same name was the biggest hit Motown had up to that time, not to mention the biggest soundtrack single and most successful duet. BR1 Richie and Ross both had numerous #1’s with their groups the Supremes and the Commodores respectively and as solo acts, but this was the biggest hit for both of them. Read more.

Kenny Rogers “Lady” (1980) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

In 1980, Kenny Rogers’ record label wanted a Greatest Hits package to ring in the Christmas season. Rogers turned to the Commodores’ Lionel Richie for new material to add to the collection. Rogers said, “The idea was that Lionel would come from R&B and I’d come from country, and we’d meet somewhere in the middle.” BR1 The resulting “Lady” became Rogers’ fourth million-selling single and his first #1 on the pop charts. BB100 It was also the biggest pop song of 1980 WHC and the first song of the decade to hit Billboard’s pop, country, adult contemporary, and R&B charts, BR1 hitting #1 on the first three. Read more.

Rod Stewart “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” (1976) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

Some radio programmers, the BBC, and Jesse Jackson’s People United to Save Humanity all saw this song as too sexually explicit, but public demand won out in the end and the song became the biggest #1 of 1976 WHC and the best-sellig song in the United States the following year. WK Its eight weeks on top made it the biggest #1 since the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” in November 1968. It was also the biggest hit of Stewart’s career. In 2018, Billboard ranked the song the 19th biggest in the history of the Hot 100. Read more.

Rod Stewart “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” (1978) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

According to Carmine Appice, who had recently joined Stewart’s band and co-wrote the song, Stewart “was always looking at the charts and listening. He was a big fan of the Rolling Stones…so he wanted to do some kind of disco-y song, something like ‘Miss You.’” SF Some fans and critics thought his “defection to disco was unforgivable” BR1 but “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” gave Stewart his third chart-topping hit after “Maggie May” in 1971 and “Tonight’s the Night” in 1976. Read more.

The Gibb Brothers (Bee Gees & more): Top 100 Songs

Barry, Robin, Maurice, and Andy Gibb

Bee Gees et al Top 100 Songs

Twins Maurice (died 1/12/2003) and Robin Gibb (died 5/20/2012) were born on this day (December 22) in 1949 in Douglas, Isle of Man, UK. Together with their older brother Barry (born 9/1/1946 in Douglas, Isle of Man, UK), they formed the Bee Gees, a group known for three-part harmony and falsetto voices. The family moved to Australia in 1958, where the Bee Gees started as a pop-rock act. They returned to the UK in 1967 and and hit their commercial peak in the latter-half of the 1970s when they became disco icons. Their string of hits from 1977’s Saturday Night Fever soundtrack made for one of the greatest chart dominations ever accomplished by a group as the album lingered atop the U.S. album chart for six months fueled by four #1 hits. They landed three more songs atop the Billboard Hot 100 with their 1979 album Spirits Having Flown. Their success waned after that, but over a forty-year run, they sold more than 220 million albums. Their younger brother, Andy (born 3/5/1958, died 3/10/1988), was also a successful singer. Saturday Night Fever is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of All Time. One of that soundtrack’s songs, “Stayin’ Alive,” is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era 1954-1999. For a complete list of the Bee Gees’ DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry. Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Awards:

Top 100 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs which hit #1 on various charts are noted. (Click for codes to singles charts.) DMDB Top 1%: 1. B-M-R: Stayin’ Alive (Bee Gees, 1977) #1 US, CB, HR, RR, CN, AU 2. B-M-R: Night Fever (Bee Gees, 1977) #1 US, CB, HR, RR, UK, CN 3. B-M-R: How Deep Is Your Love (Bee Gees, 1977) #1 US, CB, RR, AC, CN 4. A-B-M-R: Shadow Dancing (Andy Gibb, 1978) #1 US, CB, HR, RR, AU 5. B-M-R: Islands in the Stream (Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton, 1983) #1 US, CB, AC, CW, CN, AU DMDB Top 5%: 6. B: I Just Want to Be Your Everything (Andy Gibb, 1977) #1 US, CB, HR, RR, UK, AU 7. B-R: Woman in Love (Barbra Streisand, 1980) #1 US, CB, HR, RR, AC, UK, CN, AU 8. B-R: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (Bee Gees, 1971) #1 US, CB, HR, CN 9. B-M-R: Too Much Heaven (Bee Gees, 1978) #1 US, HR, RR, CN 10. B-M-R: You Should Be Dancing (Bee Gees, 1976) #1 US, CB, CN 11. B-M-R: Jive Talkin’ (Bee Gees, 1975) #1 US, CB, HR, RR, CN 12. B-M-R: Tragedy (Bee Gees, 1979) #1 US, CB, HR, RR, UK, CN 13. B-M-R: The Lights Went Out in Massachussets (Bee Gees, 1967) #1 UK 14. B-M-R: If I Can’t Have You (Yvonne Elliman, 1977) #1 US, CB, RR, CN 15. B: Grease (Frankie Valli, 1978) #1 US, CB, HR, RR, CN 16. B-R: To Love Somebody (Bee Gees, 1967) 17. B-M-R: More Than a Woman (Bee Gees, 1977) DMDB Top 10%: 18. B-R: Emotion (Samantha Sang, 1977) #1 CB, CN 19. A-B: Love Is Thicker Than Water (Andy Gibb, 1977) #1 US, CB, HR 20. B-M-R: Heartbreaker (Dionne Warwick, 1982) #1 AC 21. B-M-R: Lonely Days (Bee Gees, 1970) #1 CB, HR, AU 22. B: The Grease Megamix (Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta, 1990) #1 AU 23. B-M-R: Guilty (Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb, 1980) 24. B-M-R: Love So Right (Bee Gees, 1976) 25. B-M: Words (Bee Gees, 1968) #1 CN 26. B-M-R: Love You Inside Out (Bee Gees, 1979) #1 US, CN 27. B-M-R: More Than a Woman (Tavares, 1977) 28. All I Have to Do Is Dream (Andy Gibb & Victoria Principal, 1981) 29. B-M-R: I Started a Joke (Bee Gees, 1968) #1 CN, AU 30. B-M-R: Nights on Broadway (Bee Gees, 1975) DMDB Top 20%: 31. B: An Everlasting Love (Andy Gibb, 1978) 32. B-R: To Love Somebody (Michael Bolton, 1992) #1 AC 33. B: Our Love (Don’t Throw It All Away) (Andy Gibb, 1978) 34. B-M-R: Fanny, Be Tender with Me Love (Bee Gees, 1975) 35. B-M-R: Chain Reaction (Diana Ross, 1985) #1 UK, AU 36. B-M-R: I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You (1968) #1 UK 37. B-R: Come on Over (Olivia Newton-John, 1976) #1 AC 38. B-M-R: How Deep Is Your Love (Portrait, 1995) 39. B-M-R: Run to Me (Bee Gees, 1972) 40. R: Hold on to My Love (Jimmy Ruffin, 1980) 41. B-M-R: Alone (Bee Gees, 1997) 42. B-R: Emotion (Destiny’s Child, 2001) 43. B-R: New York Mining Disaster 1941 (Bee Gees, 1967) 44. B-M-R: The Woman in You (Bee Gees, 1983) 45. B-R: My World (Bee Gees, 1972) 46. B-M: Don’t Forget to Remember (Bee Gees, 1969) 47. B-M-R: How Deep Is Your Love (Take That, 1996) #1 UK 48. B-M-R: Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are) (Pras Michel, 1998) * 49. B: What Kind of Fool (Barbra Streisand with Barry Gibb, 1980) #1 AC 50. B-M-R: Desire (Andy Gibb, 1980) 51. B-M-R: First of May (Bee Gees, 1969) 52. B-M-R: You Win Again (Bee Gees 1987) #1 UK 53. B: I Can’t Help It (Andy Gibb with Olivia Newton-John, 1980) 54. B-M-R: One (Bee Gees, 1989) #1 AC 55. B-M: Alive (Bee Gees, 1972) 56. B: This Woman (Kenny Rogers, 1983) 57. B-M: Shine Shine (Barry Gibb, 1984) 58. B-M-R: Boogie Child (Bee Gees, 1976) 59. B: Spicks and Specks (Bee Gees, 1966) 60. B-R: Love Me (Yvonne Elliman, 1976) 61. B-M: Tomorrow Tomorrow (Bee Gees, 1969) 62. B-M-R: Jumbo (Bee Gees, 1968) 63. B-R: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (Al Green, 1972) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 64. B: Take the Short Way Home (Dionne Warwick, 1983) 65. A-B: Time Is Time (Andy Gibb, 1977) 66. B-M-R: Edge of the Universe (Bee Gees, 1975) 67. Oh! Darling (Robin Gibb, 1978) 68. B-M: Eaten Alive (Diana Ross with Michael Jackson, 1985) 69. B-R: Paying the Price of Love (Bee Gees, 1993) 70. B-M-R: He’s a Liar (Bee Gees, 1981) 71. B-M: Eyes That See in the Dark (Kenny Rogers, 1983) 72. B-M: I.O.I.O. (Bee Gees, 1970) 73. B-M-R: Someone Belonging to Someone (Bee Gees, 1983) 74. B-M-R: Islands in the Stream (Vanessa Jenkins with Bryn West, Sir Tom Jones & Robin Gibb; 2009) #1 UK 75. B-M-R: Islands in the Stream (Bee Gees, 1998) 76. B-M-R: I Saw a New Morning (Bee Gees, 1973) 77. B-R: Mr. Natural (Bee Gees, 1974) 78. B-R: Holiday (Bee Gees, 1967) 79. B-R: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (Michael Bublé, 2003) 80. B-M-R: I Started a Joke (Faith No More, 2003) 81. B-R: Promises (Barbra Streisand, 1980) 82. B-M-R: This Is Where I Came In (Bee Gees, 2001) 83. B-M-R: Immortality (Celine Dion with the Bee Gees, 1997) 84. B-M-R: Living Eyes (Bee Gees, 1981) 85. M-R: Boys Do Fall in Love (Robin Gibb, 1984) 86. B-M-R: Still Waters Run Deep (Bee Gees, 1997) 87. B-R: For Whom the Bell Tolls (Bee Gees, 1993) 88. B: Don’t Wanna Live Inside Myself (Bee Gees, 1971) 89. B-M: World (Bee Gees, 1967) 90. B-M: If Only I Had My Mind on Something Else (Bee Gees, 1970) 91. B-M-R: Wouldn’t I Be Someone (Bee Gees, 1973) 92. B-M-R: All the Love in the World (Dionne Warwick, 1982) 93. B-M-R: We Tryin’ to Stay Alive (Wyclef Jean & the Refugee All Stars, 1997) ** 94. R: Saved by the Bell (Robin Gibb, 1969) 95. B-M-R: Ups and Downs (Snoop Dogg with the Bee Gees, 2005) *** 96. B-M-R: E.S.P. (Bee Gees, 1987) 97. B-M-R: Only One Woman (Marbles, 1968) 98. B-M-R: Stayin’ Alive (Richard Ace, 1978) 99. A: Me Without You (Andy Gibb, 1980) 100. B-M-R: Buried Treasure (Kenny Rogers, 1983) * samples “Islands in the Stream” ** samples “Stayin’ Alive” *** samples “Love You Inside Out” Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Bee Gees Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists” First posted 5/20/2012; updated 6/5/2022.

Bee Gees hit #1 with “Night Fever”

Night Fever Bee Gees

Writer(s): Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb (see lyrics here) First Charted: February 3, 1978 Peak: 18 US, 18 CB, 17 GR, 18HR, 16 RR, 19 AC, 8 RB, 12 UK, 15 CN, 7 AU, 6 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.5 US, 0.5 UK, 3.15 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 168.1 video, 219.85 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love” was the first single from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and “Stayin’ Alive” is the one which endured to become the most iconic, but “Night Fever” was the biggest hit at the time. In the U.S., the first two spent a combined 7 weeks atop the chart, but “Night Fever” stayed there for a whopping 8 weeks. It was the biggest #1 of the year. Saturday Night Fever was such a juggernaut that “Night Fever” was knocked from its perch by yet another of the soundtrack’s songs – Yvonne Elliman’s “If I Can’t Have You.” The three Gibb brothers in the Bee Gees shared writing credits on all four #1 songs. Barry Gibb, however, also co-wrote “Love Is Thicker Than Water,” the song for his brother Andy that held the #1 slot between “Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever.” It meant that for the week ending April 1, 1978, Barry Gibb had a writing credit on five of the top 10 songs and four consecutive #1 songs. The song contributed to the name of the movie. Robert Stigwood, who produced the movie and the Bee Gees, was developing a film about the disco scene in the Big Apple. He was inspired by the article “Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night” in New York magazine about teens going to dance competitions. With the working title of Saturday Night, the movie’s star, John Travolta, rehearsed his dancing moves to the Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing,” SF a #1 from 1976. Stigwood reached out to the Bees in hopes that they might contribute some new songs. He asked the group to write a song with that title, but they balked, thinking it was a dumb title. SF They did, however, already have a song called “Night Fever” and convinced Stigwood to use it and call the movie Saturday Night Fever. WK The final soundtrack featured five #1 songs by the Bee Gees – “Night Fever,” “Stayin’ Alive,” “How Deep Is Your Love,” the aforementioned “You Should Be Dancing,” and “Jive Talkin’” from 1975. Resources: SF Songfacts TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Pages 172-3. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/23/2020; last updated 4/12/2023.