Since September 2010, this blog has recorded the journey of this music junkie as I attempt to listen to all the music in my CD collection. CDs revisited in their entirety from start to finish - no skipping tracks, no shuffle. Compact Discs only - no vinyl, no tapes, no files.

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Various Artists - Billboard Top Dance Hits 1978 (1992)


Truth in advertising from the good folks over at Rhino: ten dance tunes from 1978, all but two hit #1 on the Billboard Dance chart. Great cuts, lots of them, and with a running time of nearly an hour, one of the longer discs in this series. Case in point: the magnificent MacArthur Park Suite is included in its entirety, including not only the Jimmy Webb classic, but also the original songs One Of A Kind and Heaven Knows. Overall, a fantastic compilation with the just the right blend of the often-heard and rarely-heard.

One in a series of ten covering the years 1976-1985, not to be confused with either The Disco Years or Special Editions Disco series, also issued by Rhino.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks, with chart peaks and links to previous appearances on this blog. Extended mixes marked with an asterisk, others are 7" single versions:

SongArtistTimeDanceHot 100R&BPrev.
Shake Your Groove ThingPeaches & Herb3:252541,2
MacArthur Park Suite*Donna Summer17:4711
You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)Sylvester3:45136201
Come Into My Heart*USA-European Connection7:571


From East To WestVoyage3:271
851
After Dark*Pattie Brooks7:521

1
If My Friends Could See Me NowLinda Clifford3:47154681
Boogie Oogie OogieA Taste Of Honey3:371111,2
Y.M.C.A.Village People4:0022321,2,3
Last Dance††Donna Summer3:191351,2

The single version of MacArthur Park peaked at #1 pop and #8 R&B while the single version of Heaven Knows (a duet with Joe "Bean" Esposito of Brooklyn Dreams) peaked at #4 pop and #10 R&B.

††In later CD pressings, Le Freak by Chic is substituted for Last Dance as track 10 in the compilation.


The only new-to-me cut is Come Into My Heart which, to my ears, is the weakest cut on the disc - not terrible but could use some catchier hooks and a more prominent bass line. But man-oh-man those cuts from Donna Summer and Sylvester are top shelf; they never fail to get me moving.

Exclusive CD longbox photo courtesy of
Dirk Digglinator of the Hambonian Archives.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Billboard Top Dance Hits 1976 (1992)
Billboard Top Dance Hits 1979 (1992)
Billboard Top Dance Hits 1980 (1992)

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