HERE ARE THE ACTUAL RESULTS OF YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE SONGS...
THE EIGHTH ANNUAL TOP 77 FROM MUSICRADIO77.COM!

Today, we're counting down the top hits from #77 through #59. And each day, we'll reveal more of the survey until we get to the #1 song! So without any further ado, let's count 'em "up"!

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Ah, so here we are again...kicking off the actual Top 77 of the 2005 MusicRadio.com survey. And what's a more appropriate way to start things off than with a native Noo Yawka! And, in fact, this lady is is the most successful female songwriter of all-time, with eight #1 songs to her writing credit. In 1971, she was all over the radio with her "Tapestry" smash LP. And even this songs flip side, "I Feel the Earth Move" charted nationally. Making the Top 77 for the third time, this was her first #1 song as a singer. #77 - "IT'S TOO LATE" - Carole King (1971).

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Hmmm...it's been over five decades since these guys were really "boys"...so does that make them the "Bad Men of Rock and Roll"? "Bad People of Rock and Roll"?..."Bad Grandpops of Rock and Roll"?... With 41 national top 40 hits and 24 top 20 hits on WABC, I guess you can call 'em whatever you want! This song stayed at #1 for five weeks in 1969 on WABC's Music Power Survey and makes the Top 77 for the fourth time. And if you wanted to see them when this song was a hit, you'd have to shell out a whopping $4.50 to $7.50 a ticket - the most expensive concert ticket EVER at the time. #76 - "HONKY TONK WOMEN" - The Rolling Stones (1969).

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Get out that dusty old disco ball for one of the very FIRST disco dance hits. This one made our list just once before in 1999. It's from an L.A. group that wanted to call themselves "The Children of Howard Hughes" until Howard and company said "no way"! So instead, they became simply "The Hues Corporation". And the song was never meant to be a single until it started getting play in New York discos. By early summer, it became #1 for one week nationally and three weeks on WABC. #75 - "ROCK THE BOAT" - The Hues Corporation (1974).

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In 2002, this R&B classic just missed our Top 77, finishing at #78. This year, it makes it for the first time ever! First charting on Christmas Day in 1954, it's sold over 10 million copies to date. The group, named for the "Willie the Penguin" Kool cigarettes trademark mascot, recorded this song in a backyard garage. Surprisingly, it peaked at #8 nationally. Out of L.A., here's Cleveland, of course we mean lead singer Cleveland Duncan...and the Penguins. #74 - EARTH ANGEL - The Penguins (1955).

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"When at first you don't succeed"...well, this next artist sure believed in THAT adage. With the group Nazz, he first released this song in 1969 but only got to #71 with it. He re-released it in 1970, and it never got higher than #66. Finally, on his own, he re-recorded it in 1973 and it got all the way to #5. One of three national top 20 hits for him, he's now known more for his writing and producing. #73 - "HELLO IT'S ME" - Todd Rundgren (1973).

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Back on our Top 77 for the fourth straight year, this song peaked at #3 on WABC in 1972, and was one of the group's four top 20 hits. As the Ivys, they were one of the first acts signed to the Beatles' Apple label. And on this hit, not only can you hear rock legend Leon Russell on piano, but you'll also hear George Harrison helping out on guitar. #72 - 'DAY AFTER DAY" -Badfinger (1972).

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Back in 2000, Mariah crept onto our mostly oldies list with the then-current "Make It Happen". Well, this year the sexy lady from Long Island does it again with this song. It's the biggest hit of 2005 on the national charts and the longest running #1 song so far for this decade! From "The Emancipation of Mimi", it helped spell "comeback" in a huge way for this lady. She holds an amazing 14 individual records on the Top 100 charts. In fact, she holds the record for most #1 hits for a female solo artist on the Top 100, and has the fourth most #1 songs overall. #71 - "WE BELONG TOGETHER" - Mariah Carey (2005).

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Making our Top 77 for the first time ever, here's a lady who was kept from #1 by the very guy who discovered her! In 1968, Paul McCartney signed Welsh native Mary Hopkin as one of the first acts for the Apple label. But it was the Beatles' "Hey Jude" that kept this song at #2 on the national charts. Mary was luckier on WABC's Music Power Survey where she was #1 for 4 weeks. #70 - "THOSE WERE THE DAYS" - Mary Hopkin (1968).

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Ah...It's about time these guys showed up! Why, it's the Fab Four stepping onto the Top 77 for the first time this year with the first of 12 songs that made our 2005 Top 77 from the group or its' individual members. Surprisingly, this was the Beatles' LEAST successful hit in over a year and a half at the time, breaking a string of six consecutive #1 releases when it only peaked at #3 in 1966. It makes our top 77 for the first time ever. #69 - "NOWHERE MAN" - The Beatles (1966).
#68 - GET BACK - THE BEATLES

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They're baaaaaaak! It's the act with the most #1 songs ever on the national charts, leading the pack with 20 number ones. And here's one of those 20 Beatles #1's, another song that's never made our Top 77 before. With Billy Preston on the organ, it's the only Beatles hit to debut at #1 in England. #68 - "GET BACK" - The Beatles (1969).

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Here's another debut on our survey from the British "glitter rock" band led by Ian Hunter. Their first album was called "Mott", their second..."The Hoople", and their third and final one was...was...was...you guessed it... "Mott the Hoople". How creative! Now we know why they only recorded three albums...they just ran out of names! And by the way, three OTHER groups are named in this song, as writer and producer David Bowie paid tribute to the Stones, the Beatles and T-Rex. #67 - "ALL THE YOUNG DUDES" - Mott the Hoople (1972).

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So, what can we say about this next group? Well, um, er...hmmm?? I suppose...Well what CAN you say about a one-hit wonder? This group's one and only hit came in late summer of 1965. Out of California, it surprisingly makes our survey for the second straight year. #66 - "YOU WERE ON MY MIND" -We Five (1965).

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OK, cue the freaky guitars! Get out those lava lamps. It's time to get psychedelic! Building a melody around two of his favorite words, "crimson" and "clover", Dayton, Ohio's Tommy Jackson ended up with his second number one song, one of eleven national top 20 hits for him. And on WABC, this guy had NINE top 20 hits, six of which peaked at either #1 or #2. This one stayed on top for six weeks in early 1969, and it makes our Top 77 list for the third straight year. #65 - "CRIMSON AND CLOVER" - Tommy James & the Shondells (1969).

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It's "King Tut" time, get out those banjos...oh, no wait, it's not THAT "wild and crazy guy" Steve Martin, but the Steve Martin that was lead vocalist for the "Baroque Rock" group out of New York called the Left Banke. Peaking at #5 nationally, this hit got all the way to #2 on WABC's All American Survey. Keyboardist Michael Brown would later go on to have a #1 song with the group Stories and "Brother Louie" in 1973, making him a rare one-hit wonder TWICE, having two top five hits with two different groups. #64 - "WALK AWAY RENEE" - The Left Banke (1966).

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Here's a song from the guy who got his start playing harmonica on Millie Small's 1964 hit, "My Boy Lollipop". And the song you voted as #63 started out as a flip side, barely included on the "Every Picture Tells a Story" LP, but ending up a #1 hit for five weeks nationally and six weeks on WABC. One of 48 national top 100 songs and 24 top 20 hits, it's based on a true story from Rod Stewart. Oh Rod, you naughty, naughty man!It's on our Top 77 for the fourth time in eight years. #63 - "MAGGIE MAY" - Rod Stewart (1971).

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Here come the Jersey Boys known through the years as...get ready now and take a deep breath...the Variatones, Frankie Love and the Four Lovers, Frankie Valle and the Romans, Billy Dixon and the Topics, the Village Voices, and eight other names before finally deciding on "The Four Seasons" after a New Jersey bowling alley. This was their first hit, #1 for five weeks nationally and six weeks on WABC. "Oh bay-yah-beeeee!" Aw, I never COULD hit those high-yie-yie notes! #62 - "SHERRY" - The Four Seasons (1962).

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OK...so let's set the record straight yet AGAIN. Yes, although Mr. DiMucci did marry a woman named Sue, this song was REALLY written about a girl named Roberta, but who would remember a song called "Runaround Roberta", anyway? It was one of 13 national and 11 New York top 20 hits and was #1 for six weeks on WABC! And on this song, he enlisted the services of the Del-Satins to sound like his former backup group, the Belmonts. #61 - "RUNAROUND SUE" - Dion (1961).

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He's not exactly "Stuck in the Middle with You" on the 2005 Top 77...he's more towards the bottom of the top 77... but he DID have a top ten hit in 1973 as co-leader of the one-hit wonder group Stealers Wheel. The song you voted for next was his biggest solo hit . It peaked at #2 both nationally and on MusicRadio. #60 - "BAKER STREET' - Gerry Rafferty (1978).

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This next group had 15 top 100 hits nationally, and six top 20 songs on WABC. And although only "Monday Monday" made it to the top on Billboard's Top 100, both that song AND this one got to #1 on MusicRadio. #59 - "CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'" - The Mamas and the Papas (1966).

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So there you have it. From #77 to #59, these are the songs you voted for on our Eighth Annual Top 77. Now be sure to come back tomorrow, kids, for #'s 58 through #40. It includes a song that made our Top 77 TWICE this year, a song whose lead singer disappeared as soon as the song was recorded, and the first of only 16 songs that have made our Top 77 every single year.

DAY 4 UPDATE!
AYE MATEYS! THE PLOT THICKENS AS WE CONTINUE WITH
THE TOP 77 SONGS AS YOU VOTED FOR THEM ON
THE THE EIGHTH ANNUAL TOP 77 FROM MUSICRADIO77.COM!

Today, we're counting down the top hits from #58 through #40. And each day, we'll reveal more of the survey until we get to the #1 song! Onward!

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Now here's a song that's finished in our top 7 every year so far, but by Diana Ross. This year, you voted for two versions of the song in the Top 77 part of the survey. This version by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell is making its' Top 77 debut this year. But Marvin really DID get around, making the national top 20 charts four times as a duo act with Tammi Terrell, Kim Weston, Mary Wells and Diana Ross. #58 - "AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH" - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (1967).

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Next up is the biggest hit and the only #1 song for this Newcastle, England group, one of ten national and five WABC top 20 hits. In fact, after this hit, they could get no higher than #9 nationally and #15 on MusicRadio. This is the fourth time you've made it part of our Top 77. #57 - "THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN" - Animals (1964).

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Here comes the group formed in San Francisco in 1964. But it took them four years to have their biggest hit with this song in 1968, a hit with one of the most recognizable bass lead-ins in music history. And as popular as this song was, it NEVER got to #1, nationally or on WABC, only peaking at #5 and #3 respectively. You voted it onto our list for the third time. #56 - "MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS" - Grass Roots (1968).

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It's "one hit wonder" time with another song making our top 77 for the first time ever. It's from the Cincinnati native with gospel roots who peaked at #8 both nationally and on the WABC All American Survey in the summer of 1965. #55 - "HOLD ME, THRILL ME, KISS ME" - Mel Carter (1965).

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The next hit is on our Top 77 for the seventh straight year. Originally called "Thee Six-Pence", these guys changed their name to "Strawberry Alarm Clock" after the then-current Beatles hit, "Strawberry Fields Forever". Even stranger, the lead singer on this song was filling in for a friend of the band. After the recording session, the fill-in disappeared and was never heard from again! It was #1 for one week. #54 - "INCENSE AND PEPPERMINTS" - Strawberry Alarm Clock (1967).

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Let's reveal one of ten national top 20 hits and one of three #1 songs for this group formed specifically to do a Beatles spin-off TV show. This hit came near the end of their run...in fact, they'd have only one more top ten hit after this. By the end of the 1968 season, the show was cancelled after 59 episodes. It moves from #72 last year to #53 this year, making our survey for just the second time. #53 - "DAYDREAM BELIEVER" -Monkees (1967).

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We always knew him as the "Quiet Beatle", and he was recognized as one of the greatest guitar players of all time. We lost him to cancer in 2001. This was his first single release after the breakup of the Beatles, and surprisingly it made him the first ex-Beatle to have a national #1 hit. On WABC it peaked at #2 in late 1970 and early 1971. It was one of his nine national solo hits and this year you voted it on our survey for the fifth time. #51 - MY SWEET LORD - George Harrison (1970).

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Back on our Top 77 for the second time, here is..."The Italian Asphalt and Pavement Company"! HUH? WHO??? Well, that's what this group was called in 1970 when they released a song called "Check Yourself", which only made it to #97 on the national charts. But as "The Duprees", they did MUCH better redoing oldies from 1950's stars Joni James and Jo Stafford. This was their first and biggest hit, peaking at #4 on WABC. #50 - "YOU BELONG TO ME" - Duprees (1962).

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Next on our survey is a VERY familiar artist...and although this song is considered a standard now, it only got to #27 nationally when the 62 year-old "Chairman of the Board" recorded it. In fact, WABC didn't even PLAY this song! Originally a tune by French singer/songwriter Claude Francois', Paul Anka translated it and re-wrote it for Frank Sinatra. You put in on our survey for the fourth time this year. #49 - MY WAY" - Frank Sinatra (1969).

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Back for the fifth time on our Top 77, here's ANOTHER song NEVER played on WABC. It's the Beach Boys with a song that didn't get much airplay in 1966 because most stations were playing the "A" side, "Wouldn't It Be Nice". Somehow through the years this song, which only got to #39 nationally, has become a fan favorite. Said to have inspired The Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere", it's Carl Wilson on lead on brother Brian's song. #48 - "GOD ONLY KNOWS" - Beach Boys (1966).

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On our list for the third time, it's 26 year-old Michigan native Charles Westover, the guy we know as Del Shannon, with one of four national top 20 hits, his only number one song. It's back for the first time in five years on the 2005 edition of your top 77. #47 - "RUNAWAY" - Del Shannon (1961).

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Dropping down from #20 last year, this song is on the Top 77 for the sixth time! It's 23 year-old Bronx-born Walden Robert Cossotto - who as Bobby Darin had 14 national top 20 hits before dying from heart failure in 1973. Here's the follow-up to the classic "Mack the Knife" that got to #6 nationally. "BEYOND THE SEA" - Bobby Darin (1960).

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Our next song is back for the first time since our very first Top 77 back in 1998. It's Sonny Geraci, who was the lead singer of the Outsiders in 1966 when this next hit peaked at #5. Sonny would return on another top 3 hit in 1972 as lead singer on the song "Precious and Few" by Climax. #45 - "TIME WON'T LET ME" - Outsiders (1966).

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Here's a song leaping onto the Top 77 for the first time ever! And it comes from ex-truck driver Frederick Picariello - the guy we call Freddy Cannon - of Lynn, Massachusetts. And although most of us know that this song was written by "Gong Show" leader Chuck Barris, I bet you didn't know that Freddy was the first American to have a #1 rock album on the British charts! This peaked at #3 nationally in 1962. #44 - "PALISADES PARK" - Freddy Cannon (1962).

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Let's go to a song that was #1 for seven weeks on the WABC MusicRadio Survey. It's by Ireland native Raymond Edward O'Sullivan, who was given the first name of Gilbert by his manager. The song was rumored to be auto-biographical, but O'Sullivan denied that, saying..."I never got stood up at a wedding, I never cried when my father died, and my mom was very much alive when this song was a hit." So, with that in mind, let's just say here's the very made-up story you voted for on this year's list for the second time. #43 - ALONE AGAIN (NATURALLY) - Gilbert O'Sullivan (1972).

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Back on the Top 77 for the fourth time is the title track and former #1 song from the movie first called "Beatlemania" and then "What Little Old Man?" Even more interesting is how the opening chords on the Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man" mimic the ending chords of this song, and how the opening chord of this hit nearly matched the final, long chord on "A Day in the Life", similar notes marking the beginning and end of the middle Beatles era of creativity. #42 - "A HARD DAYS NIGHT' - Beatles (1964)

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Arrrrightttt! Time to hear from da boss! Or is it "The Boss"? With 13 top 20 national hits and three #1 albums, Bruce Springsteen makes the Top 77 for the fifth time with what many consider to be his signature song, even though it only got to #23 nationally and #36 on WABC. #41 - "BORN TO RUN" - Bruce Springsteen (1975).

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Here's the first of an elite 16 songs that have made every one of our eight Top 77 surveys. And it took four years, eight months, and 25 days to reach its peak position on the chart. Released in 1968 on the "Days of Future Passed" LP, it only peaked at #103 but stayed a fan favorite and was re-released in 1972, finally climbing to #2 nationally and #1 on WABC. #40 - "NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN" - Moody Blues (1972).

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There you go, from #58 to #40, these are the songs you voted onto our eighth annual MusicRadio77.com Top 77, as we crack into the top 40 on our list. Be sure you come back tomorrow, guys and gals, as we reveal the highest debuting song on our survey, a first timer that jumps on at #28. We'll also discover the Beatles' flip side that beats out the "A" side of the release for the fourth time, and one song that had to be released twice before it became a hit, along with another that was #1 the two times it was released.

See you next time!

DAY 5 UPDATE!
WE KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON...
INTO THE TOP 40 PORTION OF THE TOP 77 SONGS AS YOU
VOTED FOR THEM ON THE EIGHTH ANNUAL TOP 77 FROM MUSICRADIO77.COM!

Today, we're counting down the top hits from #39 through #21. And each day, we'll reveal more of the survey until we get to the #1 song!

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Originally the "B" side of #81, "Penny Lane", this next song was spliced together from two separate John Lennon tunes. And if you listen closely you'll hear a Morse code message tapped out after John sings "Let me take you down...". And that message translates as simply two letters..."J" and "L". Oh, John, you were such a kidder! It got to #8 nationally and #34 on WABC and is on our Top 77 for the fourth time. #39 - "STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER" - Beatles (1967).

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Chubby's back for the fifth time on the Top 77 with the only song to get to number one in two separate chart runs - first in the fall of 1960 for one week nationally and five weeks on WABC, and then in January of '62 for two weeks nationally and one week on WABC. In 1960 Dick Clark suggested that Chubby Checker record the song after Danny and the Juniors turned it down. #38 - "THE TWIST" - Chubby Checker (1960/1962).

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Let's hear from the one-hit wonder Jersey band whose one and only top 20 hit got to #1 nationally. And this is the fifth time you've put it onto the Top 77. Originally called "Randy" after his high school sweetheart, writer Elliot Lurie changed the title to "Brandy" because "Randy" just didn't seem to work with the rest of the lyrics. #37 - "BRANDY (YOU'RE A FINE GIRL) - Looking Glass (1972).

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Another song that's back for the fifth time and the third year in a row is a hit written in just over a half-hour that was originally intended to be a slow melody, almost like a waltz! Recorded in a converted garage, this former #1 was one of five top 20 hits for these guys. #36 - "CHERISH" - Association (1966)

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We think of the album this next song came from as one of the biggest rock albums of all time, staying at #1 for eight weeks. But did you know that this L.A.-based group actually followed up with an album called "The Long Run" that was #1 for nine weeks? This is the fourth time it's made our Top 77, and it's a song that peaked at #1 nationally and #2 on WABC. #35 - "HOTEL CALIFORNIA' - Eagles (1977).

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This year 18 of this group's songs got votes, tying them for the fifth highest total with the Beach Boys and Elton John. On WABC, they had 25 top 20 hits, with four of those going all the way to #1. This one never got to #1, but holds the unique record of being the only song ever to finish in a tie for #2 on the weekly WABC survey. That happened on March 10, 1964, when the Seasons tied with - who else - the Beatles and "I Want to Hold Your Hand". It checks in for the third time on our Top 77. #34 - "DAWN (GO AWAY)" - Four Seasons (1964).

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Here's a real surprise making our Top 77 for the first time ever! This lady performed with legends Pearl Baily, Duke Ellington and Quincy Jones before finally making it to #3 nationally and #1 on WABC in 1970. It's one of only two top 20 hits for her. #33 - "BAND OF GOLD" - Freda Payne (1970).

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#32 has made the Top 77 every year but once so far, and it's another song that didn't do well when it was first released. In fact, in 1971 it only got to #51 on the national top 100. In 1972, the song resurfaced in its full, unedited seven minute and ten second version and peaked at #7 on WABC. Led by Eric Clapton, it's Derek and the Dominoes with a song about Eric's love for Patti Boyd...whose nickname was "Layla". #32 - "LAYLA" - Derek & the Dominos (1972).

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Here's another song that's missed the Top 77 only one time in eight years. It's from 29 year-old New Yorker Harry Chapin, who got to #9 on WABC in 1972 with this song, even though on the national charts it only made it to #24. In fact, nationally he only had one top 20 hit, the #1 "Cat's in the Cradle" in 1974. It took eight years for Harry Chapin to release part two of this story, a song called "Sequel" in 1980, making this story both his first and very last chart hit. #31 - "TAXI" - Harry Chapin (1972).

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Here's something by the Beatles...No, I mean LITERALLY, here's..."Something"...by the Beatles! Oh, how clever! Hee hee hee. It was written while they were recording the famous "White Album" but completed by George Harrison too late to be included on that LP, so it wound up on "Abbey Road" instead. After missing our first four Top 77's, it's making the list for the fourth straight year. It peaked at #7 on WABC. #30 - "SOMETHING" - Beatles (1969).

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Back to back Beatles...again! It's the song from the "Rubber Soul" LP that's made our Top 77 six out of eight years. The album stayed on the charts for 6 months, with six weeks at #1. But this song was never released as a single. #29 - "IN MY LIFE" - Beatles (1966).

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Here's the highest ranking song to debut on this year's Top 77, jumping on the survey at #28. Originally intended for the Motown group the Originals and with members of the Detroit Lions adding the background chatter, this was one of 21 top 20 hits and a former #1 song in New York for Marvin Gaye. Nationally, it only got to #2. #28 - "WHAT'S GOING ON" - Marvin Gaye (1971).

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Here's the song you voted #27 on the 2005 edition of the MusicRadio77.com Top 77 of all time. It's on our Top 77 for the fifth time and it's at highest position ever. It was one of nine top 20 hits for Ohio native Thomas Jackson. We know him as Tommy James, here with the Shondells and Tommy's personal favorite of all his hits. #27 - "CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION" - Tommy James and the Shondells (1969).

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Our next hit has been all over our Top 77 through the years, as high as #2 and then OFF the list entirely for two of the eight years. This singer vowed to make it by 25 since he thought he wouldn't live to be 30. He wasn't wrong by much, dying in 1973 from heart trouble at 37 years old. Athough he didn't want to release this as a single, it became his biggest hit, a #1 song for 9 weeks nationally. #26- "MACK THE KNIFE" - Bobby Darin (1959).

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Next up is the biggest hit for this 28 year old Texan. Number one for two weeks, it turned out to be Roy Orbison's last top 20 hit until "You Got It" made the top ten nearly 25 years later. It was one of eight top 20 hits in New York on WABC, and one of eleven national top 20 hits, and the title was used for a 1990 hit movie. We lost this legend in December, 1988. It's dropping down from #16 last year in its' fourth year on the Top 77. #25 - "OH, PRETTY WOMAN" - Roy Orbison (1964).

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Here are the Southern California natives known for their "blue-eyed soul". After "creative genius" Phil Spector heard them perform at the Cow Palace in San Francisco in 1964, writers Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil used their favorite song at the time, "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" by the Four Tops, as inspiration and came up with a song that stayed on top for 2 weeks nationally and 3 weeks on WABC in 1965. It's on our survey for the sixth time. #24 - "YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN' FEELIN' - Righteous Brothers (1965).

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Here's a group that always gets lots of votes on our survey. This song makes the Top 77 for the seventh straight year, peaking at #11 last year. Formed in Tottenham, England, this British Invasion group had 14 national top 20 songs beginning in 1964. This song peaked at #4 on WABC...And the guy you hear on lead on this song - and all the group's hits - was Mike Smith. Group founder Dave Clark is on drums. #23 - "BECAUSE' - Dave Clark Five (1964).

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The king did real well this year on the Top 77, and this next song is not even his highest on the survey. Here he is again with one of 30 songs you voted for this year. This hit was the last national #1 single for Elvis during the WABC era. It came out of the first recording session he had in Memphis since 1955. Backed by Ronnie Milsap and Jeannie Greene, it peaked at #4 on WABC. It makes the Top 77 for the third time this year. #22 - "SUSPICIOUS MINDS" - Elvis Presley (1969).

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#21 is a classic early rock and roll hit that did much better in New York than it did nationally. If fact, it was their only national top 20 song, peaking at #12. But in New York City, it was a #1 song in 1959 and one of three top 20 hits, followed by "This I Swear" later in the year and "Pennies from Heaven" in 1960. This year you voted it onto our list for the sixth time, with lead vocals from 19 year-old Jimmy Beaumont. #21 - "SINCE I DON'T HAVE YOU" - Skyliners (1959).

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Ah ha!....So NOW things will really start getting interesting...Next up, we get into the Top 20 of the survey. We've got a song that never got any higher than #36 on our list and hasn't made the survey in three years. And another that never even made the Top 100 charts...ever...never! Na-da! Zippo! Zilch! Well, you get the drift...And finally, we'll reveal a superstar group with a superhit that got to #1 just about everywhere BUT on WABC.

DAY 6 UPDATE!
HERE WE GO - GETTING INTO THE SONGS YOU VOTED INTO THE TOP 20
OF OUR THE EIGHTH ANNUAL TOP 77 FROM MUSICRADIO77.COM!

NOW, things are getting exciting! Today, we're counting down from #20 through #11.

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Take two groups, the Distants and the Primes, and add in a song that was written by Smokey Robinson as a companion piece to Mary Wells' "My Guy" and...whaddayaget???...an instant Motown hit. Actually, Smokey originally planned to record this with his group, the Miracles. But the Temptations talked him out of it. It was a #1 national and #4 WABC hit in 1965, on our list for the seventh time. #20 - "MY GIRL" - Temptations (1965).

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Only 16 songs have made all eight Top 77 surveys. And 15 of those, including this next song, are in the top 19. It's from the New York City folk-rock duo that first recorded as "Tom and Jerry" in 1957. One of 13 national top 20 hits, it was #1 for six weeks nationally and four weeks on WABC. The album and single won six Grammies, but it would be the last studio LP for these guys, as they split up right after this song made the charts. BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER" - Simon & Garfunkel (1970).

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The next song makes the Top 77 for the seventh time in a row. It charted ten different times by seven different artists nationally. In 1955, three versions of this song were in the top 20 at the same time, while a fourth version peaked at #29. And the Righteous Brothers had two of their own versions of this song in the top 20 at the same time when, in 1990, the song was featured in the "Ghost" movie soundtrack. The re-release of the original got to #13... while at the same time a re-recorded version peaked at #19. On WABC, this version made it to #4 in 1965. #18 - "UNCHAINED MELODY" - Righteous Brothers (1965/1990).

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Next is the folk-rock legend who had six national top 20 hits. This one peaked at #3 on WABC. Born Robert Allan Zimmerman, he changed his name to Bob Dylan NOT after poet Dylan Thomas, but instead after an uncle named Dillon. You voted it onto our Top 77 for the seventh straight year. #17 - "LIKE A ROLLING STONE" - Bob Dylan (1965).

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Here's another hit that's made our Top 77 every year. It's one of 18 songs voted for by these guys. Recorded over a two month period in 90 hours of studio time and 70 hours of taping (isn't that how long it takes to put together this survey???), at the time it was the most expensive pop song ever recorded, costing $40,000. Called a "Pocket Symphony" by author Brian Wilson, it got to #1 nationally in 1966. Mysteriously, it stalled at #4 on WABC. #16 'GOOD VIBRATIONS" - Beach Boys (1966).

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Here's another song you voted onto our Top 77 for the eighth straight time. It was inspired by Paul McCartney's mother Mary and was the #1 song on April 10, 1970 when the Beatles announced their break-up. Although this song stayed on top for only two weeks nationally, on WABC it set the record as their longest running #1 song...staying there for seven weeks. #15 - "LET IT BE" - Beatles (1970).

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It's eight years in a row for this song, finishing between #8 and #13 each time previously. This year, it's at its' lowest position to date. Called "the biggest single that never was", group leader Robert Plant refused to edit the song down for commercial release. Surprisingly, although the group had eleven top 20 albums and six #1 LPs, the album this song was on, the group's untitled fourth LP, only got to #2. #14 "STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN" - Led Zeppelin (1971).

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Our next song comes in at its' highest number yet. Based on the French tune "Plasir D'Amour", Elvis told his back-up group, the Jordanaires, that he wanted to record this one for the - quote - "pretty little black-haired girl I met in Germany"- unquote...that would be one Priscilla Beaulieu . It peaked at #2 nationally and #8 on WABC. #13 - 'CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE" - Elvis Presley (1962).

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Now here's the biggest selling Beatles single in the U.K. And if it was up to Paul's dad, they would have sung "She Loves You, Yes, Yes, Yes" because it sounded more dignified than "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!" It's a good thing producer George Martin insisted on the "yeahs" and the Beatles went along with it! A number one song for six weeks in 1964 on WABC, it was one of 65 songs you voted for from these guys this year, making them by far the most popular act on our survey. Written on a bus tour in Yorkshire, England, it was recorded on July 1, 1963. #12 - "SHE LOVES YOU" - Beatles (1964).

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#11 is on our Top 77 for the seventh straight time. It stayed at #1 for six weeks on WABC in 1964. Written by Bob Gaudio, it was inspired by a raggedy little girl who cleaned his windshield while he was stopped at a light on New York's Westside Highway. The recording of the song itself was a rush job, done in a basement of a demo studio in Manhattan without their usual engineer or back-up band. #11 - "RAG DOLL" - Four Seasons (1964).

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So, what else is left but the top ten songs of this year on your Eighth Annual MusicRadio77.com Top 77 of All Time. Get ready for the final surprises! In fact, one of our top ten songs has finished as low as #61 on our Top 77. The songs that made the big ten span 16 years of music. And, oh yeah, we'll be revealing the song you guys chose to be this year's NUMBER ONE SONG!

DAY 7 UPDATE!
GULP! I'M SO EXCITED I CAN HARddLLLY TYpE !!!

OH, OK...NOW I'VE GATHERED MY COMPOSURE.
SO, HERE'S THE LOWDOWN, KIDDIES...
TODAY, RIGHT HERE AND NOW, WE'RE REVEALING THE TOP TEN,
THE BIGGEST OF THE BIGGEST, THE SONGS YOU LOVE AND ADORE!

THEN I'LL TAKE A BREAK TO CELEBRATE NEW YEAR'S DAY,
FINE TUNE ALL THE CALCULATIONS, AND
COME BACK HERE FRESH AS A DAISY (...yeah - right!...)
TO GIVE YOU THE COMPLETE AND DETAILED TOP 77 WITH ALL THE ANALYSIS AND BREAKDOWNS THAT MAKE THIS LIST EVEN MORE INTERESTING!

SO HERE WE GO -
WITH THE TOP 10 SONGS IN OUR THE EIGHTH ANNUAL TOP 77
FROM MUSICRADIO77.COM!
EVERY ONE OF THESE SUPERHITS HAS MADE OUR
TOP 77 EVERY SINGLE YEAR TO DATE!

Remember, come back tomorrow for the complete list and all the cool breakouts from this survey!

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After revising and producing the Beatles' final album release "Let It Be" before the group's breakup, Phil Spector was called on by both George Harrison and John Lennon to help produce their own solo efforts. Three of the four singles he co-produced with John made the national top 20, with this one peaking at #3 nationally and #4 on WABC in the fall of 1971. It was one of 12 national top 20 hits for John Lennon. It got to #6 in England when it was first released as a single in 1975. Shortly after Lennon's death in 1980, it was re-released there and hit #1, replaced by Lennon's "Woman". That marked the first time an act replaced itself on top of the UK charts since the Beatles followed "She Loves You" with "I Want To Hold Your Hand." #10 - "IMAGINE" - John Lennon (1971).

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Writing a song about "the first and last person (he) ever really idolized as a kid", Don McLean composed an eight minute, twenty-seven second classic that was too long to fit on one side of a 45 rpm vinyl single. So the record company divided it into two parts. But ironically, once the song took off on the charts, most radio stations realized it was too powerful of a song to be cut in two, so they started playing the long version anyway It peaked at #1 for four weeks nationally and six weeks on WABC. # 9 - "AMERICAN PIE" - Don McLean (1972).

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Here's a song that never got to number one on WABC or nationally, stopping at #2 on both charts in 1968. Born in 1930 in Limerick, Ireland..."There once was a cake in the rain, who's lyrics did drive us insane...", well you get the picture. Originally turned down by the Association, this song has finished in our Top 5 four times so far. It was his only hit. #8 - "MACARTHUR PARK" - Richard Harris (1968).

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Formed in England in 1969, here's the group called America who took their name from the "Americana"-brand jukebox in a London pub. With a song inspired by the desert countryside and their homesickness for the USA while they were still overseas, it was one of their six top 20 hits on WABC, and a #1 for 3 weeks in 1972. Nationally, this was the first of eight top 20 hits, written by group member Dewey Bunnell. #7 - "A HORSE WITH NO NAME" - America (1972).

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Here's the song that started it all for the Beatles. Written in the basement of Paul's girlfriend's house, it was meant to have a gospel feel to it, with hand-clapping and enthusiastic, joyful vocals. Although Capitol records planned to release it in America on January 13, Carroll James, a DJ at WWDC in Washington, D.C. managed to get a copy of the British 45 from a B.O.A.C. airline attendant and became the first American to broadcast it. From there, radio stations in Chicago and St. Louis picked up on it, and by February 1 it had made it all the way to #1 for six weeks on WABC, and seven weeks nationally. In fact, it was the first of three consecutive #1 songs nationally for these guys. #6 - "I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND" - Beatles (1964).

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This next superhit is one of only two top 25 hits for these guys and it's a song that only peaked at #24 nationally in 1956. Recorded in a New Haven church basement, the song made the national top 100 three times, but NEVER got any higher than #24. And in New York City, one of the hearts of "Doo Wop" music, it only peaked at #13 on WMGM radio. It's Fred Parris on lead on this rock and roll classic. #5 - "IN THE STILL OF THE NITE' - Five Satins (1956).

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Here's a site favorite that has finished as high as #2 on our survey and has made the list every single year. It's a true group effort, with band member Ray Manzarek coming up with the intro, Jim Morrison and Rob Krieger writing the lyrics, and John Densmore choosing the beat. It's interesting to note that the Doors never intended for this to be a single, and fought the label when record execs demanded that they re-record a shorter version of the six minute and 50 second album cut. But when that short version just didn't sound right, the Doors finally agreed to let Elektra Records chop out the instrumental middle of the song. Ironically, once it got to #1 in 1967, lots of top 40 stations started playing...you guessed it...the original longer LP cut. It was #1 for four weeks on WABC, and one of six Doors top 20 hits. #4 - "LIGHT MY FIRE" - Doors (1967).

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Alright now...lemme tune up and sing here..."Now is the time for the show down...So let me give you the low down...We've come to the end of our road...row-oad...ro-owed!" Oh, I'm just quoting an old Gladys Knight song...but, waddooya know??? We ARE at the end of the road, so to speak. I hold in my hand the envelope with our FINAL THREE top songs. Whew! Now, let me put this all in one long uninterrupted paragraph so you have to read it all the way through to get to number one...hee hee hee...

Well, our number three song this year is a classic many consider to be the greatest rock song of all time. In fact, it was voted the "Best Rock and Roll Song of All Time" on VH1. And you voted for 24 of these guys' songs this year, the third most on our survey. The song was was written by Keith Richard one night when he couldn't fall asleep, and "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" was Mick Jagger's working title never originally meant to stick. Although Keith thought the song was not commercial enough to be a hit, the other group members disagreed. And this ended up staying on top for four weeks in 1965. It was one of their eight national #1 songs, and on our survey, you voted "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones from 1965 as #3. Now, number two..two..two...Ah yes, the queeeeen of divas has mesmerized her troops again, and they voted her onto the list as runner-up. RUNNER-UP!?! Our queen would never stand for that. Off with your heads! Well, anyway...Miss Diane Earle will now entertain you. Born in 1944 in Detroit, she really does fancy herself as music royalty...you can call her Miss Ross. Rearranged from the original Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell single to include what writer Valerie Simpson called "Diana's...interesting speaking voice", it was inspired by co-writer Nick Simpson's walk down a Manhattan thoroughfare and his determination that New York City would not get the best of him. Originally available in the six minute album version, it was eventually edited down to three minutes and 15 seconds as a 45 in 1970. This was her second solo single after leaving the Supremes, as she followed up "Reach Out and Touch" - which only peaked at #20 nationally - with this #1 hit on MusicRadio in 1970. And it's our number two song for the fourth year in a row! Of course, it's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Diana Ross from 1970...Aha! So now it's time to go to the "'A' number one, top of the list, king of the hill, 'A' number one...." (no no, don't get excited, we're just saying thank you to "ol Blue Eyes" for letting us quote his lyrics to introduce our number one song). And, amazingly, this year's top song is..."Oh Me, Oh My" by Lulu!!! Oops, sorry...typo...I meant to say, Oh Me, Oh My!!! Number One this year repeats for the eighth straight year on top! Now you have to know it by now. It's "Hey Jude" by the Beatles from 1968. And it adds to an incredible list of accomplishments for the Fab Four. They had 37 top 20 hits on WABC and 69 national top 100 hits. 17 of those hits went all the way to #1 on WABC. And this one stayed on top for six weeks on WABC's MusicPower Survey and nine weeks on the Billboard charts. At the time its length of 7 minutes and eleven seconds made it the longest song ever to get to #1. Written originally as "Hey Jules" for John's son Julian, Paul changed it because he felt the title better reflected his love for the "country and western" sounding-culture. I think at this point, we all need to raise our glasses and salute this amazing accomplishment!

Now, can fellow "Survey Guy" Tom Natoli and I finally get some rest? Oh no, that's right, we can't. Because coming up in our next installment is the complete breakdown of all these hits, who voted for what, what acts came out on top, what decades were the strongest, what songs from those decades were the strongest, and SO much more. Oh well, more coffee please! I gotta stay awake!

BE SURE TO CHECK HERE FOR THE DETAILS!