#AtoZChallenge 1970's Billboard Hits - D is for...

It’s day four of the #AtoZChallenge, and that brings us to the letter D.  In case you missed it earlier, the theme that I have chosen for this year’s challenge is 1970’s Billboard Hits.


We talked a little bit about Alone Again (Naturally) on the first, and if you have not had the opportunity to vote in the battle of the bands, I’d like to encourage you to do so. You can find the battle HERE. Voting ends April 6 @ 6pm EST.

1976 - Don't Go Breaking My Heart

"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" is a duet by Elton John and Kiki Dee. It was written by Elton John with Bernie Taupin under the pseudonyms "Ann Orson" and "Carte Blanche", respectively, and intended as an affectionate pastiche of the Motown style, notably the various duets recorded by Marvin Gaye and singers such as Tammi Terrell and Kim Weston. It is not to be confused with the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song of the same title recorded in 1965 by Dionne Warwick for the album Here I Am.

"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" was the first No. 1 single in the UK for both John and Kiki Dee, topping the chart for six weeks in mid 1976. John would not enjoy a solo British chart-topper until "Sacrifice" in 1990. It also became his sixth No. 1 single in the US, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and spent one week on the Easy Listening chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1976.





1976 -  Disco Lady

"Disco Lady" is a 1976 single for Johnnie Taylor that went on to become his biggest hit. It spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and six weeks on the Billboard R&B chart in the U.S. It was also the first single to be certified platinum by the RIAA; ultimately it sold over 2.5 million copies. Billboard ranked it as the No. 3 song for 1976.

The single was Taylor's first for Columbia Records, where Taylor signed after his long-time label, Stax Records, went bankrupt. The song was produced by Taylor's long-time producer, Don Davis. Among the guests on the song were four members of Parliament-Funkadelic: bassist Bootsy Collins, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, guitarist Glenn Goins, drummer Jerome Brailey, and Dawn's Telma Hopkins.

"Disco Lady" was the first Hot 100 number-one hit with the word "disco" in its title, though there had been several disco songs that had already reached number one. The single also reached #25 on the UK Singles Chart.





1979 - Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?

"Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" is a song by British singer Rod Stewart from his 1978 album Blondes Have More Fun. It was written by Stewart, Carmine Appice and Duane Hitchings, though it incorporates elements of the melody from the song "Taj Mahal" by Jorge Ben Jor and the string arrangement from the song "Put Something Down On It" by Bobby Womack.

The song featured on Stewart's album Blondes Have More Fun, and was released as a single in November 1978. It spent one week at the top of the British charts in December 1978 and four weeks at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 in February 1979. Billboard ranked it number four on its Top Singles of 1979 year-end chart. It also topped the charts in Australia for two weeks.

Royalties from the song were donated to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Stewart performed the song at the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in January 1979.

Rolling Stone ranked the song at #308 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

(This link is for my buddy, McCarthy! Watch at your own discretion!)

This link is for everyone else:





Be sure to follow the 2017 AtoZ Challenge playlist for all of the songs featured in this years challenge.




Did you listen to any of these tunes in the 70's?  Would you like to know more about these artists in future posts? Let me know in the comments.

What does tomorrow bring?

Thursday brings us the letter 'E'. 
Any guesses as to which 1970 Billboard Hits will be showcased?