Ready For the Weekend!

Clockwise: Album covers from Love & Kisses; Chicago; Blondie; and Bay City Rollers.

To kick off the first weekend of August, I thought I would reach back a few decades, and jam to a very special theme. So I went back not one, not two, and not even three decades. I went back four, to the 1970s, and looked to share some songs that captures the feeling of the weekend. I start with the year 1978, the year I graduated from Smyrna High School, and prepared for my freshman year of college. About the time I was preparing for graduation, a movie hits the streets that had a great influence on the songs of summer. This was perhaps the time when Disco was most popular, having put into overdrive with the release of 'Saturday Night Fever' the year before. 'Thank God It's Friday' gave Donna Summer the song that played at almost every dance I went to that year, "Last Dance". The soundtrack also included a the group Love & Kisses, put together by European producer Alec Costandinos. In fact, Costandinos also wrote their hit song "Thank God It's Friday", which also served as the title track from the film. This is Love & Kisses singing "Thank God It's Friday".

Now, there has been nothing I have enjoyed more than a wonderful weekend afternoon I could spend with friends or family, and that is the feeling the next song give me. Before Disco could take over the airwaves, bands scored pretty well with the public. As the 1970 began, the band Chicago was starting to build a great following, with the bold sound that combined the elements of Rock with the bold horns. They made it to the charts time and time again, and in 1972, they had their biggest hit to date when "Saturday in the Park" went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It speaks to a wonderful afternoon, enjoying the summer weather, spent with people you care for. This song just makes me feel good. From 1972, this is Chicago singing "Saturday in the Park".

Great afternoons like that often led to fun times later that evening. And if you were listening to the Bay City Rollers in 1975, you know that the best night of the week was "Saturday Night". Five Scottish boys were just starting to take over the world with their music. Alan Longmuir, Derek Longmuir, Stuart Woody Wood, Eric Faulkner and Les McKeown were compared to the Beatles as their record sales soared all across the globe. Late in 1975, with the release of an anthemic song, The Bay City Rollers scored their first #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, adding the girls of another continent to their screaming fans. This is The Bay City Rollers with their huge hit, "Saturday Night".

As we started, so shall we end. Once again, I will return to 1978 for the final stop on the weekend tour. For a very long time, there was not a better part of the weekend than the time spent on Sunday morning and afternoon doing the Sunday Times crossword puzzle. But in the fall of that year, a Punk band from New York City released an album that had the public sitting up and listening. With the release of 'Parallel Lines', Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Clem Burke, Jimmy Destri, Nigel Harrison, and Frank Infante began a ride that changed the face of music. To bring the weekend to a close, I offer you "Sunday Girl", off the great album, featuring the perfect vocals of Debbie Harry.

Have a great weekend!