"Drift Away" is a song by Mentor Williams, written in 1970 and originally recorded by British singer Mike Berry on his 1972 album Drift Away. A version by John Henry Kurtz was released two months later in November 1972. Mentor Williams was a country songwriter, and John Henry Kurtz was an actor and swamp rock singer. It was later given to soul singer Dobie Gray for whom it became a surprise international hit. In 1973, the song became Gray's biggest hit, peaking at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 and receiving a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song has been covered by numerous musicians.
"Backfired" is the debut solo single from American singer and Blondie vocalist Debbie Harry. Released in 1981, it was taken from her debut solo studio album, KooKoo.
"Let's Go" is a song by American rock band the Cars, written by Ric Ocasek for the band's second studio album, Candy-O (1979). A new wave rock song, the song's hook was inspired by the Routers. The song's vocals are performed by bassist Benjamin Orr.
"Since I Don't Have You" is a song written and composed by Jackie Taylor, James Beaumont, Janet Vogel, Joseph Rock, Joe Verscharen, Lennie Martin, and Wally Lester. It was first a 1958 hit single for the doo-wop group the Skyliners on the Billboard Hot 100. Country music singer Ronnie Milsap had a hit with the song in 1991. American hard rock band Guns N' Roses also had some success in 1994 with their version of the song which reached the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Save the Last Dance for Me" is a song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, first recorded in 1960 by American musical group the Drifters with Ben E. King on lead vocals. It has since been covered by several artists, including the DeFranco Family, Dolly Parton, and Michael Bublé.
"Free Ride" is a song written by Dan Hartman and performed by the Edgar Winter Group from their 1972 album They Only Come Out at Night, produced by Rick Derringer. The single was a top 15 U.S. hit in 1973, reaching number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on Cash Box. In Canada, it peaked at number 8.
"You Decorated My Life" is a song written by Debbie Hupp and Bob Morrison, and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. It was released in September 1979 as the lead single from his album Kenny. It was a number-one hit on the Billboard Country Singles chart, and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Teach Your Children" is a song written by Graham Nash in 1968 when he was a member of the Hollies. Although it was never recorded by that group in a studio, the Hollies did record it live in 1983. After the song was initially recorded for the album Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1969, a much more enhanced version of the song was recorded for the album Déjà Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, released in 1970. As a single, the song peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts that year. On the Easy Listening chart, it peaked at No. 28. In Canada, "Teach Your Children" reached No. 8. Reviewing the song, Cash Box commented on the "incredible soft harmony luster" and "delicately composed material." Billboard called it "a smooth country-flavored ballad that should prove an even bigger hit on the charts [than 'Woodstock']." Stephen Stills gave the song its "country swing", replacing the "Henry VIII" style of Nash's original demo.
"Another Saturday Night" is a 1963 hit single by Sam Cooke from the album Ain't That Good News. The song was written by Cooke while touring in England when staying in a hotel where no female guests were allowed. It reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was No. 1 on the R&B chart for a single week. In the UK, the song peaked at No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Touch Me When We're Dancing" is a song written by Terry Skinner, J. L. Wallace and Ken Bell. Skinner and Wallace headed the Muscle Shoals, Alabama session group Bama, who first recorded this song and released it as a single in 1979 reaching number 42 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was later recorded by The Carpenters in 1981 for their Made in America album. In 1984, it was recorded by country music artists Mickey Gilley and Charly McClain for their 1984 duet album It Takes Believers and in 1986 by the country music group Alabama.
"Time" is a song released in 1981 as a single by the Alan Parsons Project. It was from their 1980 album The Turn of a Friendly Card. In the U.S., the song peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart, "Time" peaked at #10. In addition, "Time" spent two weeks at #14 on Cashbox, making it the group's second most successful single. Cashbox ranked it as the 94th biggest hit of 1981. Outside the US, the song peaked at #30 in Canada.
The discography for Canadian country-pop singer Anne Murray includes 32 studio albums, 15 compilation albums and 76 singles. Murray has sold over 55 million records across the world, becoming one of the best-selling Canadian artists in history. She has scored 10 number one hits on Hot Country Songs and 8 number one hits on Adult Contemporary Chart.
The discography of American country music singer Ronnie Milsap consists of 30 albums and 79 singles. Since releasing his first album in 1971, Milsap has had 42 number-one hits on the Billboard country chart and sold over 35 million albums. In addition, 26 of his US number-one hits reached number-one on the RPM Top Country Tracks chart in Canada; three songs that did not reach number-one in the US were number one in Canada; and two of his US number-one country hits also topped the US adult contemporary chart. As of 2000, he has recorded 7 gold albums, 1 platinum album, and 1 double-platinum album.
"Crying Time" is a song from 1964 written and originally recorded by the American country music artist Buck Owens. It gained greater success in the version recorded by Ray Charles, which won two Grammy Awards in 1967. Numerous other cover versions have been performed and recorded over the intervening years.
"My Boy" is a popular song from the early 1970s. The music was composed by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and Claude François, and the lyrics were translated from the original version "Parce que je t'aime, mon enfant" into English by Phil Coulter and Bill Martin.
"Rock Steady" is a single released by American group The Whispers, from their 18th studio album Just Gets Better with Time (1987). It was produced by the production duo Antonio "L.A." Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
"Funny How Time Slips Away" is a song written by Willie Nelson and first recorded by country singer Billy Walker. Walker's version was issued as a single by Columbia Records in June 1961 and peaked at number 23 on the Hot C&W Sides chart. The song has been featured in several live action films and television shows, such as in the first episode of the second season of AMC’s Better Call Saul and in the 2020 Netflix drama The Devil All the Time.
"Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry" is a 1942 song by Al Dexter. It was recorded on March 18, 1942 at the CBS Studio at Radio Station KNX, Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, California with session musicians Frank Marvin, Johnny Bond and Dick Reinhart. It was released on Okeh records #6718 on February 6, 1944, paired with "So Long Pal". It went to number one on the Folk Juke Box charts for two weeks and stayed on the charts for a total of thirty weeks.
Australian-American singer Helen Reddy (1941–2020), often referred to as the "Queen of 70s Pop", recorded 18 studio albums, seven of which have achieved sales of 500,000 units in the US for which they were awarded Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. One of those seven, I Am Woman, eventually went Platinum by reaching sales of one million copies, and her first compilation album, Helen Reddy's Greatest Hits, was awarded Double Platinum status in 1992 for hitting the two million sales mark. The respective US and Canadian album charts in Billboard and RPM magazine each had appearances by 10 of these LPs during the 1970s.
"The Matador" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Cash. The song was written by Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash. It was later included on the album Old Golden Throat; along with the b-side "Still in Town".It was released in September 1963. Cash Box described it as "a medium-paced, chorus-backed Latin-styled romancer with a contagious repeating riff throughout."
