Alan Earle O'Day was an American singer-songwriter, best known for writing and singing "Undercover Angel," a million-selling Gold-certified American No. 1 hit in 1977. He also wrote songs for many other notable performers, such as 1974's Helen Reddy No. 1 hit "Angie Baby" and the Righteous Brothers' No. 3 Gold hit "Rock and Roll Heaven". In the 1980s he moved from pop music to television, co-writing nearly 100 songs for the Saturday morning Muppet Babies series, and in the 1990s he wrote and performed music on the National Geographic series Really Wild Animals. O'Day also collaborated with Tatsuro Yamashita on a series of popular songs in Japan including "Your Eyes", "Magic Ways", "Christmas Eve" and "Fragile".
"I Write the Songs" is a popular song written by Bruce Johnston in 1975 and released on his album Going Public in 1977. Barry Manilow's version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1976 after spending two weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart in December 1975. It won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and was nominated for Record of the Year in 1977. Billboard ranked it as the No. 13 song of 1976.
"Angel of the Morning" is a popular song written by Chip Taylor, originally recorded by Evie Sands but which first charted with a version by Merrilee Rush. The song has been covered by many artists including Chrissie Hynde, Dusty Springfield, P. P. Arnold, Connie Eaton, Mary Mason, Guys 'n' Dolls, Melba Montgomery, Olivia Newton-John, Bettye Swann and most recognizably by Juice Newton.
"You Sexy Thing" is a song by British musical group Hot Chocolate. It was written by lead singer Errol Brown and bass guitarist Tony Wilson, and was produced by Mickie Most. The song was released in October 1975 as the second single from their second album, Hot Chocolate (1975), and reached number two on the UK Singles Chart in November 1975, as well as number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 the following February. Billboard ranked it the number-twenty-two song for 1976. It went on to gain notability by being featured in films, such as The Full Monty (1997).
"Can't Smile Without You" is a song written by Christian Arnold, David Martin and Geoff Morrow, and recorded by various artists including Barry Manilow and the Carpenters. It was first recorded and released by David Martin as a solo single in 1975. The version recorded by Manilow in 1977 and released in 1978 is the most well-known.
"You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)" is a song written and recorded by Rod Stewart for his 1977 album Foot Loose & Fancy Free. The song become a hit, reaching the top ten of many countries, including the United States (number 4), Canada (number 2), and Australia, peaking at number 1 for one week.
"After the Lovin'" is a single performed by Engelbert Humperdinck, produced by Joel Diamond and Charlie Calello, and composed by Ritchie Adams with lyrics by Alan Bernstein. The single was a U.S. top-ten hit in late 1976/early 1977, reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and number five on the Cash Box Top 100. It became a RIAA gold record. It is ranked as the 61st biggest U.S. hit of 1977. The song also reached number 40 on the country singles chart and spent two weeks atop the easy listening chart. It was Humperdinck's final Top 40 Billboard hit.
"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" is a song performed by singers Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams. Lyrics and music were arranged by Nat Kipner and John Vallins. The single was a comeback of sorts for Mathis as his last U.S. top 10 hit was 1964's "What Will Mary Say" and his last U.S. #1 hit was 1957's "Chances Are."
"Don't Give Up on Us" is a song by American-British singer David Soul. Riding high on the success of his role in the hit TV show Starsky and Hutch, Soul returned to singing, which had been one of his early career choices. His debut, the Tony Macaulay-written-and-produced "Don't Give Up on Us" was a worldwide smash, spending four weeks at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in January and February 1977, and a single week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1977. In addition, the song spent one week at No. 1 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart. It has sold 1.16 million copies in the UK.
"(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" is an R&B song written by Gary Jackson, Raynard Miner, and Carl Smith. It was recorded by Jackie Wilson for his album Higher and Higher (1967), produced by Carl Davis, and became a Top 10 pop and number one R&B hit.
"Hopelessly Devoted to You" is a song recorded by British-Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John for Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture (1978). It was written and produced by John Farrar and originally performed by Newton-John in the film version of the musical Grease (1978). The song was released in Australia in August 1978 and peaked at number two. It reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number seven on the Adult Contemporary chart. On the country chart, "Hopelessly Devoted to You" peaked at number 20 and was her first top 20 country hit in two years. Newton-John performed the song at the 21st Grammy Awards in 1979.
"Reunited" is a hit song for R&B vocal duo Peaches & Herb. As the second single release from their album, 2 Hot (1978), the song was a huge crossover smash, topping both the pop and soul charts. It spent four weeks at number one on both the R&B singles chart and the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1979 and sold over two million copies. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1979. In Canada, "Reunited" likewise reached number one and was the No. 9 song for the year.
"Da Doo Ron Ron" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. It first became a popular top five hit single for the American girl group the Crystals in 1963. American teen idol Shaun Cassidy recorded the song in 1977 and his version hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. There have also been many other cover versions of this song, including one by the songwriters Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich themselves, performing as the Raindrops.
"Moody Blue" is a song made famous by Elvis Presley. The song was written by Mark James who recorded the original version of the song, which reached #15 in South Africa during the summer of 1976. James also penned Elvis' "Suspicious Minds".
"Lonely Night (Angel Face)" is a song written by Neil Sedaka. The song was first recorded by Sedaka and appeared as a track on his 1975 studio album, The Hungry Years. The following year the song was made popular when covered by the pop music duo Captain & Tennille, who took their version to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" is a song credited to British singer Leo Sayer, taken from his 1976 album Endless Flight. In the documentary ‘Who You Gonna Call’ Ray Parker Junior claimed that the song You Make Me Feel Like Dancing was stollen from him after he played it in a studio for a studio executive who promised he’d get credit for the song. Ray got no royalties and no credit for that song. You Make Me Feel Like Dancing reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it his first top single in the United States, and reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 13 song of 1977. Credited songwriters Sayer and Vini Poncia won a Grammy Award for the song in 1978 in the category Best R&B Song. Ray Parker Jr. has stated that he was the original song writer, and that when he gave the tune as a demo his accreditation as such was missed. Like other Sayer songs from that time, it features extensive use of the singer's falsetto voice, a very popular vocal register in the songs of the disco era. Sayer performed the song on Season 3, Episode 2 of The Muppet Show.
"Devil Woman" is a 1976 single by British singer Cliff Richard from his album I'm Nearly Famous.
"Shame, Shame, Shame" is a 1974 hit song written by Sylvia Robinson, performed by American disco band Shirley & Company and released on the Vibration label. The lead singer is Shirley Goodman, who was one half of Shirley and Lee, who had enjoyed a major hit 18 years earlier, in 1956, with the song "Let The Good Times Roll" for Aladdin Records. The male vocalist is Jesus Alvarez. The saxophone solo is by Seldon Powell, whose instrumental version, "More Shame", is the B-side.
"You" is a 1977 single by Australian recording artist Marcia Hines, first recorded by writer Tom Snow on his 1975 Taking It All in Stride LP. "You" was the second single from her third studio album, Ladies and Gentlemen, released in October 1977. It peaked at No. 2 in Australia, and remains Hines' highest-charting single in Australia.
"Ebony Eyes" is a song written and performed by Bob Welch. The song was the second single release and second hit song from his album French Kiss. Backing vocals are provided by Juice Newton.
