Top 105 Oldies - Harvey Holiday Show, WDAS-FM, November, 1979 (first 50)
yougotl...@yahoo.com
survey of musical favorites from (DJ) Harvey Holiday's (then) top-
rated show on Sunday night that ran from 7 pm to Midnight on African-
American oriented WDAS-FM in those days. These votes were not
solicited over the telephone, much less then non-existent e-mail of
his listeners, who had to mail in (snail mail) their Top 10 favorite
oldies if they wanted their votes counted (mainly Soul or R&B as it
was wont to be) with their # 1 on mailed-in list getting 10 points, #
2 getting 9 points and so on down to # 10, which was awarded 1 point
in the calculations.
HARVEY HOLIDAY SHOW - WDAS-FM
BROADCAST NOVEMBER 4, AND NOVEMBER 11, 1979
!. For Your Precious Love - Jerry Butler & The Impressions
2. Ooh Baby Baby - Miracles
3. Purple Raindrops - Stevie Wonder
4. My Girl - Temptations
5. Hypnotized - Linda Jones
6. Can You Love A Poor Boy - Miracles
7. A House Is Not A Home - Mavis Staples
8. I Only Have Eyes For You - Flamingos
9. I Am Your Man - Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers
10. Stay In My Corner - The Dells (the remake)
11. With A Child's Heart - Stevie Wonder
12. If This World Were Mine - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
13. I Do Love You/Sitting In The Park - Billy Stewart
14. Tracks Of My Tears/Fork In The Road - Miracles
15. I Only Meant To Wet My Feet - The Whispers
16. In The Still Of The Night - 5 Satins
17. Born To Love You - Temptaions
18. My Guy - Mary Wells/Your Precious Love - Marvin & Tammi (tie)
19. Sincerely - Moonglows
20. Peace Of Mind - Magnificent Men
21. I Gave To You - Delfonics/Here I Go Again - Miracles (tie)
22. Forever - The Marvelettes
23. Hey Love - Stevie Wonder
24. The Bells/Baby I'm For Real - The Originals
25. Bad Girl - Miracles
26. What Love Has Joined Together/It's Growing - Tempations
27. Depend On Me - Miracles
28. Sad Girl - Jay Wiggins/Love On A 2-Way Street - Moments
29. Just My Imagination - Temptations
30. Since I Don't Have You - Skyliners
31. What Becomes Of The Broken-Hearted - Jimmy Ruffin
32. I Wonder - The Pentagons
33. Ain't No Way - Aretha Franklin/Since I Lost My Baby - Temptations
(tie)
34. I'm The One Love Forgot - The Manhattans
35. The Tears Of A Clown - Miracles
36. The Wind - Jesters/Diablos (tie)
37. Shadows - 5 Satins
38. Going In Circles - Friends Of Distinction
39. Give Her Up - Miracles
40. Rainy Day Bells - Globetrotters
41. The Beginning Of My End - Unifics/Whatever Hurts You - Mad Lads
(tie)
42. Baby Baby Don't Cry - Miracles
43. Daddy's Home - Shep & The Limelites
44. You're My Everything - Temptations
45. Ain't Understanding Mellow - Jerry Butler & Brenda Lee Eager/Never
Gonna Give You Up - Jerry Butler (tie)
46. It's Gonna Take A Miracle - Royalettes/Step Into My World - Magic
Touch
47. Tell Him - Patti Drew
48. A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke/It's Time To Go Now - Gladys
Knight & The Pips (tie)
49. Have You Seen Her? - Chi-Lites
50. Oh What A Nite - Dells
yougotl...@yahoo.com
Larry I. comments: - The listeners may not have the
"correct" (especially politically) or all the best Soul or R&B records
(by yours and any other subjective standard) in the top part of this
list (or the bottom), but they knew what the liked. This is an honest
rendering of the first 9/20th's of the list; if you think I haven't
reproduced this honestly, I'll gladly promise to forward a pdf. file
of this survey from Holiday's mailing to me, if you forward a $20 bill
to me first. (that's a bet, that says I'm telling (rendering) the
truth, if you will...
jughead
> This is an honest
> rendering of the first 9/20th's of the list
That would be 10/21st's.
yougotl...@yahoo.com
survey of musical favorites from (DJ) Harvey Holiday's (then) top-
rated show on Sunday night that ran from 7 pm to Midnight on African-
American oriented WDAS-FM in those days. These votes were not
solicited over the telephone, much less then non-existent e-mail of
his listeners, who had to mail in (snail mail) their Top 10 favorite
oldies if they wanted their votes counted (mainly Soul or R&B as it
was wont to be) with their # 1 on mailed-in list getting 10 points, #
2 getting 9 points and so on down to # 10, which was awarded 1 point
where
there was an actual tie in terms of vote-points, or they were so close
that Holiday took it upon himself to grant these records a virtual tie
so that - in his words - he could get more oldies into the countdown.
But the voting had to be very close, I suppose within a handful of
votes cast
and Mr. Holiday said thousands of votes were received, and I remember
him quoting for one of these years that they staged these survey-
contests
that upwards of 700 different records received votes.
HARVEY HOLIDAY SHOW - WDAS-FM
BROADCAST NOVEMBER 4, AND NOVEMBER 11, 1979
{the entire list this time]
1. For Your Precious Love - Jerry Butler & The Impressions
33. Ain't No Way - Aretha Franklin / Since I Lost My Baby -
Temptations (tie)
34. I'm The One Love Forgot - The Manhattans
35. The Tears Of A Clown - Miracles
36. The Wind - Jesters/Diablos (tie)
37. Shadows - 5 Satins
38. Going In Circles - Friends Of Distinction
39. Give Her Up - Miracles
40. Rainy Day Bells - Globetrotters
41. The Beginning Of My End - Unifics / Whatever Hurts You - Mad Lads
(tie)
42. Baby Baby Don't Cry - Miracles
43. Daddy's Home - Shep & The Limelites
44. You're My Everything - Temptations
45. Ain't Understanding Mellow - Jerry Butler & Brenda Lee Eager/
Never
Gonna Give You Up - Jerry Butler (tie)
46. It's Gonna Take A Miracle - Royalettes/Step Into My World - Magic
Touch
47. Tell Him - Patti Drew
48. A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke /
It's Time To Go Now - Gladys Knight & The Pips (tie)
49. Have You Seen Her? - Chi-Lites
50. Oh What A Nite - Dells
51. Where Did Our Love Go / Baby Love - Supremes
52. Danny Boy - Jackie Wilson
53. Heat Wave - Martha & The Vandellas
54. I'm Just An Average Guy - Masqueraders
55. Gypsy Woman / Minstrel & Queen - The Impressions
56. (You Gave Me) Peace Of Mind - Spaniels
57. Maybe - Chantels
58. Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin & Tammi /
10 Commandments Of Love - Moonglows (tie)
59. If I Were Your Woman / I Don't Want To Do Wrong - Gladys Knight &
The Pips
60. Cry Baby - Garnett Mims & The Enchanters
61. It's Forever - The Ebonys
62. La La Means I Love You - Delfonics
63. This Old Heart Of Mine - Isley Brothers
64. My Confession Of Love - Donnie Elbert
65. Ask The Lonely - 4 Tops
66. I Want Someone / So Nice - The Mad Lads
67. I'm So Proud - The Impressions
68. Misty - Vibrations / Can I - Eddie Kendricks (tie)
69. Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding
70. I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow - The O'Jays
71. Don't Compare Me With Her - Kim Weston /
Heaven Must Have Sent You - The Elgins (tie)
72. Malinda - Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers
73. One Less Bell - 5th Dimension
74. Tonite, Tonite - Mello-Kings
75. (It's A) Thin Line Between Love And Hate - Persuaders
76. So I Can Love You - Emotions
77. The Court Of Love - Unifics / The Sweeter He Is - Soul Children
(tie)
78. Teardrops - Lee Andrews & The Hearts
79. You Send Me - Sam Cooke
80. Our Day Will Come - Ruby & The Romantics
81. All I Need / The Girl's Alright With Me - Temptations
82. Human - Tommy Hunt
83. Stay With Me - Lorraine Ellison
84. The Great Pretender - Platters
85. Come Closer To Me - Mad Lads
86. I'll Try Something New - Miracles / I Love You 1000 Times -
Platters (tie)
87. Down The Aisle - Patti LaBelle & The Blue Bells
88. You've Been Untrue - Delfonics
89. Blue Holiday - Shirelles
90. I Can't Help Myself - 4 Tops
91. When A Man Loves A Woman - Percy Sledge
92. Neither One Of Us - Gladys Knight & The Pips
93. Pledging My Love - Johnny Ace
94. This I Swear - Skyliners
95. I Had A Talk With My Man - Mitty Collier
96. World Of Fantasy - 5 Stairsteps
97. Bewildered - James Brown
98. Sunday Kind Of Love - Harptones / Since I Fell For You - Lenny
Welch (tie)
99. Lonely Teardrops - Jackie Wilson
100. Love Is A Hurting Thing - Lou Rawls
101. Your Precious Love - Linda Jones
102. You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells
103. Cowboys To Girls - Intruders / I'm On The Outside Looking In -
Little Anthony &
The Imperials (tie)
104. I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations
105. Why Do Fools Fall In Love - Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
No. 1 Album: In A Mellow Mood - The Temptations
[end quote]
{Poster's note: Why 105? Because WDAS broadcasts/ed at 104.5 on the
FM dial.}
L.I. - I'd be interested to get some opinions on this list. With
1979, there are a lot of "30-somethings" in the listening audience,
as they were called then, who grew up with a lot, if not most of these
records.
Dean F.
Very interesting list! There's even some stuff on there I've never
heard. Thanks, YGL!
By the way, do you know which version of "Oh What A Nite" came in at
#50? The 1956 or the 1969?
yougotl...@yahoo.com
You know, I've really forgotten which version he played that night (I
did tune in for the countdown, because these kinds of things were fun
or mattered to me, plus the fact I did send in my 10 favorite R&B/Soul
sides, and I wanted to see how my favorite records came out, and
printed copies of the survey were mailed out to the listeners who
requested them at the time of voting with a self-addressed stamped
envelope, which is why I have this item to share today), but owing to
this particular spelling of "Nite" (sic), usually associated with the
1956 single, added to the fact that some of, or only the most popular
of the 50's R&B singles were penetrating into the upper ranks of this
survey/contest, I tend to think it was the 1956 version.
Additionally, I've more often than not seen the 1969 version spelled
out "Night".