By Jan 
This month, it was an incredibly close race for the #1 spot. La Düsseldorf, Ian Matthews, and The Rolling Stones all had a genuine claim to the top position. That the honour eventually went to the Krautrock pioneers with their modernist twist has everything to do with the fact that the age of punk, new wave and a more progressive musical mindset was rapidly forcing its breakthrough.
“La Düsseldorf” (#1) would not actually be released as the B-side of “Silver Cloud” until the end of 1976. However, the impact the song had on me when the band’s self-titled debut album appeared in June 1976 was so overwhelming that I simply couldn’t wait—I had to throw it straight into the lion’s den. Even so, it was a very close call with “Darkness, Darkness” (#2) by British singer-songwriter Ian Matthews. The song opens his magnificent album Go For Broke. This breathtaking anthem was written by Jesse Colin Young, the driving force behind The Youngbloods, whose original version had already reached the Top 10 of this chart back in March 1969. To my ears, however, Ian Matthews’ interpretation is infinitely more heartfelt and superior, making it almost impossible to understand why it was never released as a single anywhere on our—back then still slightly bluer—planet. A missed opportunity if ever there was one!
“Hot Stuff” (#3) by The Rolling Stones is, of course, familiar to almost everyone as one of the standout tracks from Black and Blue—an album that, to me, remains the strongest and most cohesive record ever made by those five now remarkably resilient veteran virtuosos.
The musical melting pot of mid-1976 was clearly beginning to boil over. For the first time, no fewer than nine out of forty songs on the chart showed clear signs—or at least strong sympathies—for the exciting new musical directions that were emerging. In descending order, these were:
- La Düsseldorf – La Düsseldorf (#1)
- Blondie – X-Offender (#5), the band’s debut single
- Flamin’ Groovies – Shake Some Action (#9), although originally written as early as 1972
- Graham Parker & The Rumour – Back to Schooldays (#11), proof that pub rock was evolving alongside the times
- Ramones – Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue (#13), one of the many highlights from their groundbreaking debut album
- The Modern Lovers – Pablo Picasso (#15), an album track by the still delightfully naïve Jonathan Richman, who was fluttering through the music scene under the simple banner of The Modern Lovers
- The Tubes – Don’t Touch Me There (#16), a delightfully tongue-in-cheek slice of retro fun
- The 101ers – Keys to Your Heart (#19), the proto-punk outfit fronted by Joe Strummer, who had been carving out their own pub rock niche since 1974
- The Runaways – Cherry Bomb (#36), four fearless American girls whose hard-hitting rock made it abundantly clear they no longer cared what anyone thought.
It’s also been quite some time since American artists managed to match the British presence in the chart. This month they do exactly that, with 16 entries each.
Only Germany offers any serious competition with three entries: besides chart-toppers La Düsseldorf, there’s Triumvirat with Take a Break Today (#31), and last but certainly not least, Boney M, whose irresistible “Daddy Cool”has been driving people delightfully crazy for half a century.
Yes indeed—this month marks 50 years of “Daddy Cool”. “She’s crazy like a fool…” I wish I still was! (I mean fifty… the other part never really goes away—thankfully. 😉)
(Jan VH)
Playlist
1 – LA DUSSELDORF – La Dusseldorf
2 – IAN MATTHEWS – Darkness, Darkness
3 – ROLLING STONES – Hot Stuff
4 – SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY & ASBURY JUKES – I Don’t Want to Go Home
5 – BLONDIE – X-Offender
6 – BOB DYLAN – Sara
7 – KEVIN AYERS – Star
8 – WARREN ZEVON – Mama Couldn’t Be Persuaded
9 – FLAMIN’ GROOVIES – Shake Some Action
10 – IAN HUNTER – God (Take One)
11 – GRAHAM PARKER – Back to Schooldays
12 – BOTS – Zeven Dagen Lang
13 – RAMONES – Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue
14 – PETER FRAMPTON – Baby, I Love Your Way (Live)
15 – MODERN LOVERS – Pablo Picasso
16 – TUBES – Don’t Touch Me There
17 – VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR – La Rossa
18 – FLEETWOOD MAC – Say You Love Me
19 – 101ERS – Keys to Your Heart
20 – ROD STEWART – The First Cut Is the Deepest
21 – STEVE MILLER BAND – Dance, Dance, Dance
22 – STEELY DAN – Kid Charlemagne
23 – GORDON LIGHTFOOT – The House You Live In
24 – PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS – Let ‘Em In
25 – JOHN SEBASTIAN – Hideaway
26 – BAD COMPANY – Honey Child
27 – SUNDOWN – One Morning in May
28 – T. REX – I Love to Boogie
29 – BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS – Roots, Rock, Reggae
30 – BOZ SCAGGS – Lowdown
31 – TRIUMVIRAT – Take a Break Today
32 – TONY JOE WHITE – Susie Q
33 – URIAH HEEP – One Way or Another
34 – LEA NICHOLSON – Lazy Afternoon
35 – BILLY JOEL – New York State of Mind
36 – RUNAWAYS – Cherry Bomb
37 – ART GARFUNKEL – I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)
38 – MUNGO JERRY – It’s a Secret
39 – AC/DC – Jailbreak
40 – BONEY M – Daddy Cool