As I've mentioned before, I remember the music of 1976 as being better than it actually was. Still, the now-late Casey Kasem was a staple of my teen years and I certainly won't complain that his classic shows are being re-run. (I'm downloading them from 94.5 KOOL FM via dar.fm.) While I credit myself as having a near-pornographic memory of that time, there were a few surprises from that show, to wit:
*If I ever knew this, I'd forgotten it: Todd Rundgren did a perfect note-for-note cover of the Beach Boys "Good Vibrations" that got into the Top 40 that summer. Funny that I've never read about this in any of the adulatory (and probably deserved) Rundgren reportage that came later.
*One of my fave tunes from that year, "More More More," was introduced by Casey as being by Andrea True "from Nashville." I'd forgotten that Andrea True, like Bettie Page, was from Nashville.
*A song that I did know, but had completely forgotten about, was America's "Today's The Day" (from their "Hideaway" album). To my 2014 ears, though, it's an incredibly good song, well-crafted and well-produced, and it holds up very well. There's a hint of Beach Boys in the production.
*Speaking of which, it's only because the Beach Boys are so great that I forgive them for their '76 version of "Rock and Roll Music." (The album that it came from, however--"15 Big Ones"--is a memorable one for me and impossible for me to dislike.)
*The standout tune from that show was Marvin Gaye's "I Want You."
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