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"Welcome Back" | ||||
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Single by John Sebastian | ||||
from the album Welcome Back | ||||
B-side | "Warm Baby" | |||
Released | March 1976 | |||
Recorded | 1975 | |||
Genre | Folk rock, blues rock | |||
Length | 2:51 | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Songwriter(s) | John Sebastian | |||
Producer(s) | Steve Barri, John Sebastian | |||
John Sebastian singles chronology | ||||
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"Welcome Back" is a popular record that was the theme song of the 1970s American television sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter . [1] Written and recorded by former Lovin' Spoonful frontman John Sebastian, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in May 1976 after only five weeks on the chart, and also topped the adult contemporary chart [2] (the show itself had become an instant ratings success upon its premiere the previous fall). It also reached No. 93 on the country chart.
TV producer Alan Sachs wanted a Lovin' Spoonful-like theme song for a new ABC sitcom entitled Kotter.
Weekly charts
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The song is featured twice in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). It is first used in an opening montage depicting Scott Lang's (portrayed by Paul Rudd) life following the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019), and is used again in a similar montage at the end of the film after Lang and his family escape from the Quantum Realm and defeat Kang the Conqueror (portrayed by Jonathan Majors). [13]
"Gonna Fly Now", also known as "Theme from Rocky", is the theme song from the movie Rocky, composed by Bill Conti with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, and performed by DeEtta West and Nelson Pigford. Released in 1976 with Rocky, the song became part of 1970s American popular culture after the film's main character and namesake Rocky Balboa as part of his daily training regimen runs up the 72 stone steps leading to the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia and raises his arms in a victory pose, while the song plays. The song was written in Philadelphia. The song is often played at sporting events, especially in Philadelphia. Most notably, the Philadelphia Eagles play the song before the opening kickoff of every home game at Lincoln Financial Field.
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"I'm Easy" is an Academy Award-winning song written and performed by Keith Carradine for the 1975 movie Nashville. Carradine recorded a slightly faster version that became a popular music hit in 1976 in the United States.
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"Heat Wave" is a 1963 song written by the Holland–Dozier–Holland songwriting team. It was first made popular by the Motown vocal group Martha and the Vandellas. Released as a 45 rpm single on July 9, 1963, on the Motown subsidiary Gordy label, it hit number one on the Billboard Hot R&B chart—where it stayed for four weeks—and peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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"This Masquerade" is a song written by American singer and musician Leon Russell. It was originally recorded in 1972 by Russell for his album Carney and as a B-side for the album's hit single "Tight Rope". The song was then covered on Helen Reddy's 1972 album, I Am Woman. It was then recorded by American vocal duo, the Carpenters, for their 1973 album Now & Then and as the B-side of the Carpenters's single "Please Mr. Postman". Three years later, "This Masquerade" was recorded by American singer and guitarist George Benson, who released it on his 1976 album, Breezin'. Benson's version, featuring Jorge Dalto on piano, was released as a single and became the first big hit of his career.
"Keep on Singing" is a 1973 song composed by Danny Janssen and Bobby Hart, and was originally recorded by Austin Roberts from the album Austin Roberts. It was released as a single on Chelsea Records and reached No. 50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 39 on the Cash Box Top 100. In Canada it reached # 79. "Keep on Singing" was best known as a hit single by Helen Reddy in 1974.
"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.
"Love Ballad" is a song by R&B/Funk band L.T.D. Jeffrey Osborne is the lead singer.
"Cupid" is a song by American singer Sam Cooke, released on May 16, 1961. It charted at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 20 on the Hot R&B Sides chart; the track performed best in the United Kingdom, peaking at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. The song is featured on Cooke's greatest hits album, The Best of Sam Cooke (1962). Cooke's producers had asked him to write a song for a girl they had seen on a Perry Como TV show—but once they heard her sing, they kept "Cupid" for Cooke himself.
"Never My Love" is a pop standard written by American siblings Don and Dick Addrisi, and best known from a hit 1967 recording by the Association. The Addrisi Brothers had two Top 40 hits as recording artists, but their biggest success as songwriters was "Never My Love". Recorded by dozens of notable artists in the decades since, in 1999 the music publishing rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) announced it was the second most-played song on radio and television of the 20th century in the U.S.
"It's a Miracle" is a 1975 single by Barry Manilow and was the second release from his album, Barry Manilow II. "It's a Miracle" went to number twelve on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and was Manilow's second number one on the U.S. Easy Listening chart, spending one week at number one in April 1975. The single also peaked at number fifteen on the disco/dance chart, and was the first of four entries on the chart. "It's a Miracle" was followed by "Could It Be Magic".
"Let Her In" is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter Gary Benson, and released as a single in 1973. It was covered by John Travolta in 1976, and was released as the first single from Travolta's self-titled second album. Travolta's version was a hit, spending five months on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and peaking at number 10. It also reached number 16 on the Adult Contemporary chart. On the Cash Box chart, the song peaked at number five. In Canada, "Let Her In" reached number seven on the RPM Top Singles chart.
"Only Sixteen" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, released in May 1959. The song was a top 15 hit on Billboard's Hot R&B Sides chart and also charted within the top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. In the UK it was covered, and taken to No. 1, by Craig Douglas.
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