Sunshine Radio: Seventies Soft Pop Edition

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Pexels

Enjoy light-hearted soul, pop and (yacht) rock from the seventies on this new Sunshine Radio episode! Again songs from the era mixed with original jingles and air checks.

The track by Sly & The Family Stone is my tribute to Sly Stone who recently left us. His death was a bit overshadowed by the passing of another musical genius, Beach Boy Brian Wilson two days later. Sly Stone was the first one to blend rock, soul and funk in an extraordinary way.

It’s good to know that the two surviving original members of British success band Mud, Rob Davis and Ray Stiles, still occasionally perform live as Mud. They did a gig at the Factory Live venue in Worthing last year. They played most of their hits, but forgot to perform their best single, Drift Away, released in 1978. Five years earlier the song was made successful by Dobie Gray, but it was originally written by Mentor Williams (brother of famous songwriter Paul Williams) and first recorded by Mike Berry in 1972. This was a few months before Californian singer John Henry Kurtz did. 

Dance Away by Roxy Music was originally written by Bryan Ferry for his 1977 solo album In Your Mind, but did not make the final tracklist. It was then planned for inclusion on his 1978 album The Bride Stripped Bare, but again the song was skipped. The next year it was finally completed and released on Roxy Music's Manifesto, the band's first studio album in four years. The song obviously referred to Ferry's misfortune when his girlfriend Jerry Hall had left him for Mick Jagger, while he was on tour with Roxy Music. Dance Away was one of Roxy Music's biggest hits and reached number 2 in the UK, number 6 in the Netherlands and number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Tracklist:

Buster Brown Band – Baby Don’t Lie (1977)
Roxy Music – Dance Away (1979)
Fleetwood Mac – Heroes Are Hard To Find (1974)
Ian Matthews – Don’t Hang Up Your Dancing Shoes (1978)
Love – Be Thankful For What You Got (1974)
Earth, Wind & Fire – That’s The Way Of The World (1975)
Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds – Fallin’ In Love (1975)
Mud – Drift Away (1978)
Keith Carradine – I’m Easy (1975)
Jesse Barish – Feeling For A Song (1978)
New York City ‎– Take My Hand (1974)
Commodores – Sail On (1979)
Sly & The Family Stone – (You Caught Me) Smilin' (1972)
Al Green – Call Me (1973)
Dee Dee Sharp Gamble – Just As Long As I Know You're Mine (1977)
Maggie MacNeal – Small Talk (1979)
Geyster – Radio Geyster 1977: Mid-Time Show (2011)
Larry Carlton – I Apologize (1978)
Liverpool Express – You Are My Love (1976)
American Gypsy – Central Station (1975)
Steely Dan – Only A Fool Would Say That (1972)

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