This will be a new feature to this blog... PLAYLISTS... Embedded here from Spotify or YouTube, I will start sharing my specialized playlists here. If you have a Spotify subscription you should be able to play all of the songs in a Spotify playlist right through. It works on some browsers but not all. Try it out or link directly the Spotify the listen to the list. Subscribe to it if you like.
First up is my 1970s (with some 1960s) era music from high school days and early college that were popular tracks on local Top 40 radio stations in Hawaii such as KPOI, KKUA and on the neighbor islands, KMVI, KPUA and KHLO. These were all AM stations back in the day and they played some great regional only hits mixed in with the familiar mainline top 40 hits.
This first list that I recently re-created from a CD that I burned years ago features some great tracks.
The cover art was used for the burned CD that I made which actually contained several different songs from what's on this list, since Spotify did not have them. Tracks like "Me Japanese Boy" by Liz Damon, "Groovin Out on Life" by The New Beats, "Searchin'" by Cecilio and Kapono and "Remember Mary" by The Sweet Marie which are on my burned CD had to be excluded and substituted with what was/is available on Spotify.
KKUA was the dominant top 40 radio station in Hawaii in the mid 1970s. They had a strong AM signal at 690 on the dial and could be heard throughout most of the state. Their main rival was KPOI which broadcast at 1380 on the AM dial as well as 97.5 on FM. KPOI’s AM played top 40 and was the most popular pop music station in Hawaii through much of the 1960s and early 1970s. Their FM played album rock tracks.
Some of the hit records from 1971.
Every year, KKUA counted down the year’s Top 69 songs. The chart below is from the Top 69 of 1971 which listed Three Dog Night‘s “Joy to the World” as the #1 song of the year.
60. Love Means (You Never Have To Say You’re Sorry)
Sounds of Sunshine
4
61. Games
Redeye
5
62. Brown Sugar
Rolling Stones
5
63. Lola
The Kinks
5
64. I Dig Everything About You
The Mob
5
65. Love Song
The Vogues
5
66. What Are You Doing Sunday?
Dawn
5
67. Baby I’m A Want You
Bread
5
68. Frisco Bay
Society of Seven
5
69. Born To Wonder
Rare Earth
5
The big hit of 1971 that was played to death on KKUA and practically all other top 40 stations was Three Dog Night‘s “Joy To The World.” The song was at the number one spot for was seven weeks, making it the most popular song on KKUA.CHART NOTES:
That year a number of local records got airplay on mainstream Top 40 radio. The most prominent local hit of 1971 was Sam Kapu‘s “Chatto Matte Kudasai” which at first sounded totally out of place on a top 40 format, but eventually got so popular that it went number one in the summer summer. Records by the Society of Seven, who at the time had a record deal with Uni Records (which later became MCA) charted with the singles “We Can Make It Girl,” and “Frisco Bay”. Dick Jensencharted with his top 40 hit single, “Three Cheers For Love.” The local hits are indicated by blue type.
* Climax‘s “Precious And Few” was a number 1 hit in Hawaii during the summer of 1971 before breaking out nationally in 1972. The group was very popular in Hawaii having charted several more times with the hits “Life And Breath,” “Walking in the Georgia Rain” and “Caroline This Time”.
Several nationally released singles were hot in Hawaii and nowhere else. These included “Morning of Our Lives” by The Arkade, “Life is That Way” by José Feliciano, “I Dig Everything About You” by The Mob, “Love Song” by The Vogues, “Mandrill” by Mandrill, “I Can’t Stop” by The Osmonds, “I Hear Those Churchbells Ringing” by Dusk, and “The Pushbike Song” by The Mixtures.
Other songs that got a lot of airplay in 1971 that did not make this chart included “Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep” by Middle of the Road, “Give Up Your Guns” by The Buoys and “Keep it in the Family” by The Road Home.
Among the popular albums of 1971 were Three Dog Night‘s “Naturally” which contained the #1 hit “Joy To The World” as well as the very radio friendly ballad “Sunlight,” a track that never was released as a single. Also popular was Carole King‘s “Tapestry”, Santana‘s “Abraxus”, Sly & the Family Stone‘s “There’s a Riot Going On,” and several albums by theJackson Five and Osmonds.
KKUA’s 1971 Personalities included the following:
Jim Peters 6:AM Steven B. Williams 9:AM Gene Davis 12 noon Ron King 3:PM Scott Edwards 6:PM Dick Wainwright 9:PM Rick Shannon Midnight
