Midnight Wind - John Stewart (1979)

As a member of The Kingston Trio during the early-to-mid 1960s, John Stewart was well versed in mixing traditional folk elements with pop styles, a trend he continued after beginning a solo career in 1968. Despite John's versatility, solid musicianship and acclaim from the critics, his first nine solo albums met with only limited commercial success. That changed with the release of Bombs Away Dream Babies in 1979, which gave John his first top 5 pop hit, "Gold," in the summer of that year.

"Midnight Wind" was the second single to be released from the album, debuting in August. Like "Gold," it prominently featured backing vocals from Stevie Nicks and vocal and guitar work from her Fleetwood Mac bandmate, Lindsey Buckingham. While "Midnight Wind" was not as successful as "Gold" had been, it would achieve a peak position of #28 on the Hot 100 chart in October. It would be followed shortly after by "Lost Her in the Sun," which also became a top 40 hit.

Although Bombs Away Dream Babies was released on CD by Razor and Tie Records in the 1990s, it appears to be currently out of print, as do several compilations of John's solo material containing the single version of "Midnight Wind." However, a re-recorded version of the track appears on Airdream Believer, which features John's more recent interpretations of several of his most popular compositions.

Listen to the original hit version on YouTube:

I Need to Be in Love - Carpenters (1976)

It has been said that of all the songs Karen Carpenter recorded, "I Need to Be in Love" was her favorite. Listening to the track, it's not difficult to see why she admired the song so much. The beautiful melody was ideally suited to Karen's rich, expressive voice, and her wistful, introspective interpretation suggests that the lyrics may have had personal meaning for her as well. As with many of the duo's other songs, it was composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis, with singer-songwriter Albert Hammond collaborating.

"I Need to Be in Love" was the second single to be released from the Carpenters' eighth studio album, There's A Kind of Hush. Strangely, the single was not as successful on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as many of Karen and Richard's earlier hits had been, peaking at #25 in July 1976, although it did top the Adult Contemporary chart for one week. In 1995, the song was issued as a CD single in Japan, where it sold extremely well.

Listen to "I Need to Be in Love," accompanied by wonderful video footage of Karen and Richard, on YouTube: .
In addition to A Kind of Hush, the song can be found on numerous compilations of the Carpenters' hits, including The Ultimate Collection and Love Songs.

Who'll Be the Fool Tonight - Larsen/Feiten Band (1980)

While "Who'll Be the Fool Tonight" was the first hit single for the Larsen/Feiten Band, it was not the first occasion on which keyboardist Neil Larsen and guitarist Howard "Buzz" Feiten had worked together. The two had previously collaborated with several other musicians on the 1972 album Full Moon, one of the most highly regarded jazz fusion recordings of its time. Buzz also provided session guitar work on Neil's late 1970s solo albums Jungle Fever and High Gear.

Buzz and Neil formed the Larsen/Feiten Band in 1980 and the group's self-titled album was released later that year. Featuring contributions from a variety of musicians in the jazz and pop genres, the album quickly became a Westcoast classic. "Who'll Be the Fool Tonight," the only single released from the album, first appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1980, peaking at #29 in the early autumn.

After years of varying availability of Larsen/Feiten Band, the album was issued on CD by Wounded Bird Records in 2005. The reissue also contains the tracks from their excellent 1982 follow-up effort, Full Moon; the name was a nod to Neil and Buzz's earlier collaboration, but featured different songs. You can view footage of the Larsen/Feiten Band performing "Who'll Be the Fool Tonight" on the Solid Gold program, via YouTube:

Thunder in My Heart - Leo Sayer (1977)

Although not as prolific as some of his contemporaries such as Paul McCartney and Elton John, Leo Sayer had consistent success as a singer/songwriter in the mid-to-late 1970s. Not only did several of his compositions become hit singles for other artists, most notably Three Dog Night's cover of "The Show Must Go On," but he also charted a number of hits as a solo artist in a wide range of musical styles. Endless Flight, released in 1976, spawned three Billboard Top 20 hits, including the U.S. charttoppers "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" and "When I Need You," the latter of which also reached #1 in the U.K.

Leo's follow-up effort, Thunder in My Heart, was released the following year. The first single from the album, the disco-flavored title track, debuted on the Hot 100 chart in October 1977, eventually reaching a peak position of #38. It would also reach #30 on the Club Play chart, the only one of Leo's singles to achieve that feat to date.

Thunder in My Heart, which also contains the excellent 1978 single "Easy to Love," has been reissued on CD on the Rpm Records label. The single is also included on several hits compilations, including The Very Best of Leo Sayer. You can view Leo performing the track on YouTube:

Space Race - Billy Preston (1973)

By the time he achieved his first hit as a solo artist in 1969, Billy Preston had built up an impressive résumé as a keyboardist for some of music's top artists, most notably The Beatles, with whom he collaborated on a number of the Get Back and Abbey Road sessions. His prowess at the organ and ability to successfully combine elements from a myriad of musical styles resulted in several top 100 singles in the early 1970s, including "Outa-Space" and "Will It Go Round in Circles," which placed at #2 and #1 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Billy's success continued with "Space Race," a catchy and dynamic instrumental somewhat reminiscent in style and theme to its predecessor "Outa-Space." It was the first single from the album Everybody Likes Some Kind of Music. Released in September 1973, it reached a peak position of #4 on the pop chart later that fall, as well as a top placing on the R&B singles chart. After the song had finished its chart run, a portion of it could be heard prior to the mid-show commercial break on American Bandstand each week for much of the remainder of the 1970s.

Although Everybody Likes Some Kind of Music does not appear to be readily available on CD, "Space Race" is contained on several good collections of Billy's hits and best-known album tracks, including Ultimate Collection, released in 2000 on the Hip-O label. Listen to the track on YouTube:

Love Will Show Us How - Christine McVie (1984)

Christine Perfect recorded her first album as a solo artist, Christine Perfect, in 1970. Although it was well-received, it would be nearly another fourteen years before she would release a second one. During the intervening years, Christine, now known as Christine McVie, was busy as a vocalist, keyboard player and songwriter for one of the most successful bands of the rock era, Fleetwood Mac, a role she would continue into the 1990s.

In early 1984, during a band hiatus, Christine released her second album, Christine McVie. A well-crafted and elegant collection of songs, featuring contributions from a number of Christine's contemporaries including fellow Fleetwood Mac members Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood, the album yielded several hits. The second single, "Love Will Show Us How," debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in late April 1984, achieving a peak placing of #30 the following month.

View the promotional video for "Love Will Show Us How" on YouTube:

Christine McVie, which also features the top 10 hit "Got A Hold on Me," is currently in print, as are Christine's 1970 album and her most recent effort, 2004's In the Meantime.

Sunny Days - Lighthouse (1972)

Although the pioneers of rock were influenced by the jazz and swing greats of the day, the genres were still quite distinct in style prior to the mid 1960s. As the decade neared its end, however, more and more artists began combining elements of jazz, swing, classical and other styles with rock and pop to create a new hybrid, horn-dominated sound popularized by such bands as Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears. Among those artists was Lighthouse, a well-regarded Canadian band who released their first album in 1969.

In 1972, after several U.S. and Canadian radio hits, including "One Fine Morning" which reached #24 on the U.S. pop chart in 1971, the group released their eighth album, Sunny Days. The title track, a catchy ode to music and sunshine with an interesting retro quality, debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1972, peaking at #34 in late November. Lighthouse would achieve one more top 40 hit, 1973's "Pretty Lady," before disbanding the following year.

Although the availability of Sunny Days in CD format appears to be limited, the tracks from the album are available for purchase as downloads via Amazon.com and iTunes. "Sunny Days" can also be found on the hits compilation Sunny Days Again: The Best of Lighthouse.

Listen to a YouTube posting of the track: