Howdy-hi, folks! Thanks for joining in today for my third volume of Top Ten Tuesdays. For much of 1974 I was a preteen. I am a December baby so the year I turned 13 much of the hits came out before I was officially a teenager. This won’t stop me from using 1974 to build my playlist, though. I’m a bit of rebel! 
*TTT 1974 playlist:
- Kung Fu Fighting ~Carl Douglas
- You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet ~BTO
- I Honestly Love You ~Olivia Newton John
- Rock Me Gently ~Andy Kim
- The Night Chicago Died ~Paper Lace
- Rock the Boat ~The Hues Corporation
- The Streak ~Ray Stevens
- The Loco-Motion ~Grand Funk Railroad
- Hooked On A Feeling ~Blue Swede
- Love’s Theme ~Love Unlimited Orchestra with Barry White
*Inspiration borrowed from Wikipedia List of Billboard Hot 100 Number One Songs from 1974. I went with the song titles that jumped out at me beginning with December working my way backward through the year.
Let’s build a playlist together! Leave a #1 song in comments and if I use it, then I’ll give you credit for the contribution. Hopefully, I’m ready to tackle my everyday blogging challenge. I periodically spent time over the summer thinking about how I want to move forward on CAAC.
I’m heading off to visit my Tuesday lineup gals with coffee in hand and I hope you’ll follow my lead. That’s it for today. Don’t skip off just yet, following this post I’m launching for the first time in a very long time a Tickle Me Tuesday edition. Have a terrific Tuesday! X
X, Cathy
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I was 10! I do know all these songs and really love all of them especially “the Night Chicago Died.” Great picks and memories.
’74 was a huge year in my life: that was the year I graduated high school and started college. I remember all of these well. My favoirite? “The Streak.”
That year i turned 11, and i remember these quite well. Thanks for the playlist and the smiles.
Mimi,
Doesn’t it seem like 1974 was only yesterday? The music was wonderful!
in 1974 My Career as a USAF Member was winding down. I processed out Aug 8 1974,I took an early out.
Mike,
I can’t remember when my uncles returned from Vietnam but it seems like it was the early 70s. I think they all were in the army. I appreciate your service to this country, my friend!
In 1974 we were celebrating our first wedding anniversary.
Those songs are all familiar. Thanks for the memories! My pick for 1974 would be The Air That I Breathe
Debbie,
I think DH’s middle brother married the same as you. The Hollies, “The Air That I Breathe” is a great song! There were so many good ones from the 70s,though.
That was a really good playlist, we like! In 1974 our Dad was one year away from graduating from college. Yikes!
Brian,
1974 was your dad’s college days, eh? I knew he was several years older than me. Your mom and dad are more like my uncles & aunts age which I always thought of as older brothers and sisters. I loved spending time with them, too. They were like big kids in many ways, especially my uncles. LOL
Hi, Cathy!
Happy TTT, dear friend! I hope you and DH had a nice weekend and that you got encouraging results from your eye exam.
I enjoyed your block party consisting of hit songs from 1974, the year you became a teenager. I was in my mid 20s by then, but still actively following the popular music scene and buying new releases while at the same time building a good size collection of oldies – vinyl 45s and albums – from the 40s, 50s and 60s. The novelty dance single “Kung Fu Fighting,” inspired by David Carradine’s popular Kung Fu TV series and a worldwide interest in martial arts in general, is one of the most memorable songs of the 70s, and it has a great story behind it. Like many major hits, it was originally intended to be hidden away on the B side of the single. Most of the allotted time for the Carl Douglas studio session had been used up working on the A side song. With only a few minutes left, they whipped together “Kung Fu Fighting” and added gimmicky sound FX hooks to the mix. “Kung Fu Fighting” turned out so well that they decided to push it as the A side. It took a while for the record to catch on, but it eventually turned red hot in clubs and went on to top the charts in the U.S. and many other countries. As landscape artist Bob Ross, host of The Joy of Painting TV series would say, “Kung Fu Fighting” was a “happy little accident.” I mention Bob because, as an artist yourself, you might enjoy watching Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed, a documentary currently running on Netflix. Mrs. Shady and I just watched it and found it very interesting and, at the same time, upsetting. “Rock The Boat” by The Hues Corporation was another biggie in clubs that year. I bought that single along with “Kung Fu Fighting.” All the other songs I knew well and like, but didn’t add them to my vinyl collection. As this play list reveals, 1974 was a big year for light rock and soft, easy listening sounds. Soon disco gained a foothold and dominated the rest of the decade. As the docu-drama film The Dirt reminds us, hard rock and heavy metal were Bubbling Under during those same years, gaining legions of fans who couldn’t stand the soft stuff.
The #1 song from 1974 that I would like to contribute is the theme from my Shady Train series and from Soul Train – “TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) by MFSB (Mother Father Sister Brother) Featuring The Three Degrees. Maxine reminds us of the time when it was still common practice for a kid to have his or her mouth washed out with soap for cursing. I don’t remember ever experiencing that, do you?
I’ll see you in a while on your Tickle Me Tuesday, dear friend Cathy!
.
Tom,
I read how “Kung Fu Fighting” got played accidentally launching its popularity and Bob Ross is right, it was a happy accident. I loved watching his painting segments on the weekends years ago when the kids were small. He worked magic on the canvas in the short time he spent with his TV audience. I think if I ever take up painting for real that I’d love to do so using one of his programs. He makes painting look effortless.
I never had my mouth washed out with soap but I remember my mommy doing my brother that way. I can’t remember what he was saying, but my mom said “If you keep that up, I’ll wash your mouth out with soap!” He laughed challenging as he uttered the offense word again and that’s when mom had him at the sink with a bar of soap in his mouth. I looked on in horror vowing never to defy her and to make sure my swear words were out of ear shot. lol Thanks for visiting, my friend!