Pop Top 40: Hot Country Singles week ending 10/28/78

Post-countrypolitan, mid-Outlaw movement, pre-Urban Country, this was the sound of country during one of its identity crises. All chart references are to the country chart unless otherwise noted.

[this week, last week, (weeks on chart), title, artist]
1 2 (9) LET’S TAKE THE LONG WAY AROUND THE WORLD – Ronnie Milsap — One of the greatest country singers of the ‘70s and ‘80s in stately balladeer mode, doing his thing on a song that doesn’t deserve him. But even then, when he hits the words “real slow” on the chorus: wow.
2 6 (8) SLEEPING SINGLE IN A DOUBLE BED – Barbara Mandrell — A slightly corny song that in lesser hands would fail, but Mandrell’s a smart singer who knows how to both ride the “Love Will Keep Us Together” rhythm and sell the lyric. It helps that “Bed” gets in and out in 2:20. About to become her first #1; its follow-up, a cover of “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right” which became her second, is a master class in reinterpretation.
3 3 (9) ANYONE WHO ISN’T ME TONIGHT – Kenny Rogers and Dottie West — Yeah, “You’ve got the kind of body that’s made to give a man a lot of pleasure” is a not-great lyric to put it lightly, but this duet still grabs me; Rogers’s and West’s voices are a perfect match, which helps explain why and how they notched a quintet of top 3 singles from ‘78 to ‘81.
4 4 (9) CRYIN’ AGAIN – The Oak Ridge Boys — Their remarkable vocal harmonies were honed by gospel singing for decades prior, but boy oh boy when they crossed secular, they did it big: 14 consecutive top 10s from ‘77 to ‘82, with another 11 in a row into ‘86, after one ‘82 fluke misstep. When bass Richard Sterban briefly solos near the song’s end, your head will turn.
5 5 (8) AIN’T NO CALIFORNIA – Mel Tillis — What the hell is this overbaked crap? Bad (& weirdly syncopated) lyrics, wet strings and horns, obnoxious choral backing vocals.

6 7 (8) LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT – Margo Smith — Uninspired late ‘70s countrypolitan.
7 10 (6) SWEET DESIRE/OLD FASHIONED LOVE – The Kendalls — Less than a month away from becoming this father and daughter duo’s second #1, I ask: what are a father and daughter doing singing about “sweet desire” and “old fashioned love”? Eeesh. Doesn’t help that tonally and tempo-wise, these are all but the same (mediocre) song.
8 8 (10) ONE SIDED CONVERSATION – Gene Watson — You’re having a “one sided conversations with a narrow minded wall” (what?) because you’re boring, dude.
9 11 (12) WHAT TIME DO YOU HAVE TO BE BACK TO HEAVEN – Razzy Bailey — Butt-Head: “This guy sounds like a wuss.” The clichéd pick-up-line lyrics don’t help.
10 13 (5) I JUST WANT TO LOVE YOU – Eddie Rabbitt — When a guy says “I just want to _____,” he always wants more. Even if he looks like Rabbitt, don’t give it to him.

11 12 (10) ANOTHER GOODBYE – Donna Fargo — A Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil song that sounds like it – and not remotely like a country record, more like something for Maureen McGovern.

12 1 (12) TEAR TIME – Dave and Sugar — Essentially the country Tony Orlando and Dawn, and equally as icky, with songs just as bottom-of-the-barrel. Singer Dave Rowland sounds like a Vegas lounge singer who got very lucky; this was their second (of three) #1s in an inexplicable run of 10 consecutive top 10 singles.
13 14 (7) WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE – Tom T. Hall — Hall was a superb songwriter who knew well how to sing his own compositions, like this country-as-fuck waltz-tempo record about drinking away your sadness. So good.
14 15 (6) DAYLIGHT – T.G. Sheppard — The horniest guy in country music not named Conway Twitty, and much like Twitty, hugely successful – in Sheppard’s case, 14 #1s. “Daylight” is one of his less horny hits, and maybe less successful because of it? Something something she’s gone and I’m trying to drink away her memory something something?

15 17 (7) TWO LONELY PEOPLE – Moe Bandy — Pure schmaltz, worsened by its echoes of “Margaritaville” in the chorus.
16 19 (7) THAT’S WHAT YOU DO TO ME – Charly McClain — The first top 10 (#8) from a completely anonymous singer who I confuse with the likes of Lacy J. Dalton. “From your frying pan right into your fire”? Oh my.

17 22 (7) HUBBA HUBBA – Billy “Crash” Craddock — Fitting that he sounds like Elvis, because this feels like Elvis at the very end, i.e. embarrassing. Whatever you’d assume about this based on its title is likely correct.

18 18 (9) TWO HEARTS TANGLED IN LOVE – Kenny Dale — Good lord, this is generic.

19 23 (5) FADIN’ IN, FADIN’ OUT – Tommy Overstreet —A clever song comparing hot-and-cold love to radio stations, sung by a guy with a strong, sturdy voice. Added bonus: as opposed to so much of this chart, no strings! Just piano-driven honky tonkin’.

20 21 (9) THINGS I’D DO FOR YOU – Mundo Earwood — The biggest hit (#18) out of 23 (!) by someone I’d literally never heard of before this chart. And besides his rather memorable name, there’s not much else memorable about him.

21 25 (4) ON MY KNEES – Charlie Rich with Janie Fricke — Latin-tinged, with strings and a swelling chorus, this smarm is absolutely Rich’s speed and was the last of his nine #1s, and the first of Fricke’s nine. Fun fact: Fricke is from South Whitley, Indiana, about 20 minutes from my hometown.
22 24 (7) HANDCUFFED TO A HEARTACHE – Mary K. Miller —I like the soupy guitar that starts this off, and her vaguely Mandrell-ish voice.

23 28 (4) BREAK MY MIND – Vern Gosdin — He’d go much harder country eventually; this has cooing female backing vocals and an oddly-placed horn section and comes off like trying way too hard.
24 9 (11) HEARTBREAKER – Dolly Parton — Squarely in the midst of Parton’s Imperial Phase in country music; not only did she win the ‘78 CMA Award for Entertainer of the Year, but this hit #1 during a stretch in which she had nine #1s in just three-and-a-half years. This isn’t her strongest song or single, but is a good example of how to somehow make MOR pop production (replete with strings) still sound country. She of course sings the fuck out of it – for all the praise Parton gets for her songwriting, she deserves almost as much for her vocals. What a pro. The title track from the week’s #1 country album.
25 29 (4) YOU’VE STILL GOT A PLACE IN MY HEART – Con Hunley —You can hear in Hunley’s version why George Jones recorded this song originally from 1950 about a half-decade later; the former’s got a strong voice for it, and the jazzy barroom piano bridge is great.

26 20 (10) DANGER HEARTBREAK AHEAD – Zella Lehr — Almost more of a rock song – check out the guitar. Lehr is enthusiastic if undistinguished.

27 33 (6) CAN YOU FOOL – Glen Campbell — In his Allmusic review, Tom Erlewine calls parent album Basic Campbell’s “last great album,” and I’ll take his word for it, because he’d know. I’m particularly struck by Basic’s cover, a head-on, stripped down headshot in which Campbell looks kind of weather-beaten – truth in advertising, I guess. Campbell hasn’t traditionally been my cup of tea, as he’s a bit more Malibu than I tend to like my country/adjacent troubadours, but the simplicity of “Can You Fool,” in both sentiment and production, grows on me. His final top 40 pop hit (#38).
28 30 (9) LAST NIGHT, EV’RY NIGHT – Reba McEntire — Quite a ways from her reaching iconicity, this was McEntire’s first top 30 single, at its peak, an ode to a rebound fuck that’s only made more than average by McEntire’s voice. 
29 40 (3) SLEEP TIGHT, GOODNIGHT MAN – Bobby Bare — A weirdly-LA-sounding, weirdly-titled record that’s much more soft pop than country (hi, late ‘70s!) and was his biggest hit (#11) since his only #1, ‘74’s “Marie Laveau.”
30 16 (12) IT’S BEEN A GREAT AFTERNOON/LOVE ME WHEN YOU CAN – Merle Haggard — A smartly contrasting double-sided hit that spent three weeks at #2: “Love Me” is a tender ballad while “Afternoon” is a more-than-winking ode to a wild night and hungover morning which ends in an afternooner. Hearing Hag in such good spirits – at several points he even chuckles – is a joy. The second-biggest country singles artist of the ‘70s.

31 80 (2) BURGERS AND FRIES – Charley Pride — “It was simple and good back then” is nearly always a rancid genre of song, and this glutiness mess is no exception.
32 53 (2) FRIEND, LOVER, WIFE – Johnny Paycheck — Headed to #7 as his final solo top 10 (a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Mabellene” [sic] from a collab album with George Jones would climb as high a few months later), this is a fascinating and great single, starting with its ripped-from-a-’70s-funk-record bassline. This doesn’t go where you think it will, lyrically – and for the genre and the time, it’s fairly spicy. If you don’t know this, you need to hear it.
33 36 (8) DEVOTED TO YOU – Carly Simon and James Taylor — A boringly “pretty” Everlys cover, this was Simon’s only appearance on the country chart, at its peak. I can only imagine the song’s pedigree is the only reason this crossed the mind of country fans or programmers.
34 NEW (1) DON’T YOU THINK THIS OUTLAW BIT’S DONE GOT OUT OF HAND – Waylon Jennings — I mean, you really can’t go wrong with Waylon singing about his Nashville studio coke bust. Also: what a wonderful title.
35 39 (5) WHAT CHA DOIN’ AFTER MIDNIGHT – Helen Cornelius — Another one with delicious soupy guitar, but delightfully also a slightly disco rhythm and awfully saucy lyrics, especially coming from a woman in country in the ‘70s. She had seven top 10s with Jim Ed Brown during this exact period, but almost no solo success - a shame, because this is good.

36 26 (12) NO SLEEP TONIGHT – Randy Barlow — Another late ‘70s song sung by a man about how he’s gonna get laid by his lady all night long. The chorus also features disco-y “tss tss”s and strings like it’s “Gonna Fly Now.”

37 NEW (1) THE GAMBLER – Kenny Rogers — A good story song, well-sung, that’s never done anything for me.
38 78 (2) ALL OF ME – Willie Nelson — The third top 3 single from Nelson’s phenomenally successful – by every metric – standards album Stardust is, like the entire LP, lovingly produced by Booker T. Jones and beautifully sung by Nelson. It’s a testament to his stature at the time that Nelson got interpretations like this one and his take on Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies” to the top of the country chart in ‘78.
39 50 (4) JULIET AND ROMEO – Ronnie Sessions — What the hell is this faux-’50s crap?

40 57 (3) STORMY WEATHER – Stella Parton — She had a middling career, mostly in the back half of the ‘70s, riding her sister’s considerable coattails – for that reason and that reason only. Nothing about this record distinguishes itself.

I couldn’t have written this post without Wicker Bill’s YT account, where I found most of the clips for non-Spotify songs.