70's, 80's 'Feel Good' Music

"If You Don't Know Me by Now" is a song written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and recorded by the Philly soul musical group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, which became their first hit after being released as a single in 1972 topping the US R&B chart and peaking at number three on the US Pop chart.
The song was originally written for Labelle (a trio led by Patti LaBelle) but they never recorded it. Much like the issue with "I Miss You" and The Dells passing on it, the song's composers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff gave the song to Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, which featured Teddy Pendergrass as lead vocalist. In addition to the single release, the song was included on their eponymous debut album.
Patti LaBelle later made the song as part of her concert repertoire in 1982. A live version appears on her 1985 album, Patti.
It was later covered by the English pop/soul band Simply Red, also becoming their best-known hit after reaching number one on the U.S. Hot 100 on July 15, 1989 and at number thirty-eight on the Hot Black Singles chart
Rod Stewart also included this song on his 2009 album Soulbook.
The song was chosen as one of the Songs of the Century by the RIAA. It was featured at the end of Michael Apted's movie Class Action.

"When Will I See You Again" is a song by American soul group The Three Degrees, from their third album The Three Degrees. The song was written and produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.
It was one of the most successful recordings of the "Philly Soul" era. In the U.S., the song reached number one on the adult contemporary chart, number two on the pop singles chart, and number four on the R&B chart in the autumn of 1974. In the UK, it fared even better, spending two weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in August 1974. The Three Degrees performed the song at Prince Charles' 30th birthday party at Buckingham Palace in 1978.

"Save Your Kisses for Me" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1976, performed for the United Kingdom by Brotherhood of Man in The Hague, Netherlands. The lyrics and music were written by Tony Hiller, Lee Sheriden, and Martin Lee, the latter two being members of the band. The song became a worldwide hit, reaching No.1 in many countries, including the UK, where it became the biggest-selling song of the year. Overall, it remains the biggest-selling Eurovision winner ever.

"Making Your Mind Up" is a song by British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was the winner of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and a UK Number-one single. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut single, the group having been formed just two months earlier. From 2004 to 2007 the BBC used the name Making Your Mind Up for their Eurovision selection show in honour of the song.

"A-Ba-Ni-Bi" (Hebrew script: א-ב-ני-בי, Bet-language language game for the word אני ("ani"), meaning "I" in Hebrew) was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, performed for Israel by Izhar Cohen and Alphabeta.
This was Israel's first Eurovision win, which meant under the rules of the contest that they would host the following year's contest, marking the first time that the Eurovision Song Contest would take place outside geographical Europe. According to author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor, broadcasters in many of the non-participating Arab countries in North Africa and Asia, who had been transmitting the contest, had to cut the broadcast when it was clear Israel was going to win. Jordanian television cut the broadcast and showed pictures of flowers. Afterwards, the Jordanian news media refused to acknowledge that Israel had won and announced that the winner was Belgium (which had actually come second).

"I Just Wanna Stop" is a song by Canadian singer/songwriter Gino Vannelli. Released as a single in 1978, the song is his biggest hit single to date, reaching number one in his native Canada and number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It appears on his sixth album, Brother to Brother. The song was produced by the three brothers Gino, Joe and Ross Vannelli, and written by Ross.

"The Groove Line" is a 1978 single by the British-based funk-disco group Heatwave. It was written by Rod Temperton. It was included on Heatwave's second album, Central Heating.
The song became one of the best-known disco songs by a British group and charted at #12 in the UK Singles Chart and #7 in the Billboard Hot 100. It also appeared on U.S. Billboard R&B at #3. The single was certified platinum by the RIAA.

"Sometimes When We Touch" is a 1977 ballad written by Dan Hill (lyrics) and Barry Mann (music) on the album Longer Fuse, but was also released as a single in 1978. It was Hill's biggest hit, peaking at #3 on the United States Billboard Hot 100. Musicians included Larrie Londin (drums), Bob Mann (guitar), Don Potter (guitar), Tom Szczesniak (bass). The record was produced by Fred Mollin and Matthew McCauley, recorded at Manta Sound, Toronto.
The song has appeared on many "worst songs" lists, including #9 on the list of the worst 75 songs on the Pop Culture Madness website, and #40 on the list of AOL Radio's 100 Worst Songs Ever, with Matthew Wilkening exclaiming, "There isn't enough room to run down the oversharing, self-mythologizing and total sissy-ness displayed here."

"Can't We Try" is a 1987 duet performed by Dan Hill and Vonda Shepard. The passionate ballad was Billboard's #1 Adult Contemporary Song Of The Year for 1987. "Somewhere Out There" was #2.)
"Can't We Try" was released as a single from Dan Hill's 1987 self-titled album. The song reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Dan Hill's second-biggest hit behind "Sometimes When We Touch", which reached No. 3, and was Vonda Shepard's only top-ten hit.

"Walking on Sunshine" is a song written by Kimberley Rew for Katrina and the Waves' 1983 eponymous debut full-length album. The re-recorded version was at first released on the band's 1985 self-titled album as the album's second single (see 1985 in music) and reached No. 4 in Australia, No. 9 in the United States, and No. 8 in the United Kingdom. It was the Waves' first U.S. top 40 hit, and their biggest success in the UK until "Love Shine a Light" (1997). Conceived of as a ballad, Katrina decided to belt the song out.
Royalties from airplay and advertisements of "Walking on Sunshine" have been extremely high. Katrina and the Waves kept the publishing rights and the royalties that typically go to the songwriter have been divided among the band members. Estimates are the song has earned $1 million per year for the ten years ending in 2010. According to a former employee of EMI, "Walking on Sunshine was the crown jewel in EMI's catalog," and that it was one of EMI's biggest earners from advertisers.
Walking on Sunshine is a 2014 British musical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini. The film features covers of hit songs from the 1980s and was released on 27 June 2014. It is also a debut role for singer-songwriter Leona Lewis. The trailer was released on April 9, 2014.


Soundtrack

1."Holiday" (Madonna) performed by Hannah Arterton
2."Venus" (Bananarama) performed by Katy Brand, Annabel Scholey and Hannah Arterton
3."How Will I Know" (Whitney Houston) performed by Hannah Arterton, Danny Kirrane, Giulio Corso and Leona Lewis
4."The Power of Love" (Huey Lewis and the News) performed by Hannah Arterton, Annabel Scholey, Katy Brand, Danny Kirrane, Giulio Corso, Giulio Berruti and Leona Lewis
5."Don't You Want Me" (The Human League) performed by Greg Wise and Annabel Scholey
6."Walking on Sunshine" (Katrina and the Waves) performed by Leona Lewis, Hannah Arterton, Katy Brand, Danny Kirrane, Giulio Corso and Giulio Berruti
7."Eternal Flame" (The Bangles) performed by Hannah Arterton
8."Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (Cyndi Lauper) performed by Leona Lewis, Hannah Arterton and Katy Brand
9."The Wild Boys" (Duran Duran) performed by Danny Kirrane, Giulio Corso and Giulio Berruti
10."It Must Have Been Love" (Roxette) performed by Hannah Arterton and Giulio Berruti
11."Faith" (George Michael) performed by Greg Wise and Annabel Scholey
12."White Wedding" (Billy Idol) performed by Katy Brand, Danny Kirrane, Annabel Scholey, Giulio Corso, Greg Wise, Hannah Arterton and Giulio Berruti
13."If I Could Turn Back Time" (Cher) performed by Hannah Arterton and Giulio Berruti
14."Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (Wham!) performed by Leona Lewis, Danny Kirrane, Katy Brand, Hannah Arterton, Annabel Scholey, Giulio Corso, Greg Wise and Giulio Berruti

"Working My Way Back to You" is a song made popular by The Four Seasons in 1966 and The Spinners in 1979.
The song is about a man who cheated on his girlfriend and also emotionally abused her. When she leaves, he realizes that he did love her and is very remorseful about his past actions. He vows to win her love back. It is in some ways a re-casting of the melody from their previous hit, "Let's Hang On," although "Working My Way" is much better known nowadays due to the Spinners' cover.

"Woman in Love" is a song performed by Barbra Streisand and taken from her 1980 album, Guilty. The song was written by Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, who received the 1980 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.
After the success enjoyed by the Bee Gees in the late 1970s, the band was asked to participate in musical endeavors for other artists, and Streisand asked Barry Gibb to write an album for her. This album ultimately became Guilty. "Woman in Love", as the lead single, became one of the most successful songs of Streisand's music career. It spent a total of three weeks at the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Streisand's fifth (and last to date) number one on this chart. It also spent five weeks atop the adult contemporary chart, her sixth number one on that tally. The song also proved very popular internationally, reaching number one in many countries, including in the UK Singles Chart. According to Billboard Magazine,the single sold 2.5 million copies worldwide till December 1980.
About midway through the song, Streisand holds a note for about 10 seconds while singing the line: I stumble and fall / But I give you it all (the word "all" is the one held for that duration). During the chart run of "Woman In Love", Casey Kasem claimed in an edition of the radio program American Top 40 that this was the longest unaltered note held by a soloist in a number-one song. Streisand has openly stated that she doesn't like the song because she doesn't believe in the meaning of the lyrics. She has rarely performed the song live but she did however sing it on a couple of dates on her 2013 European tour.

"Barbra Streisand" is a nu-disco song by American-Canadian DJ duo Duck Sauce. It was released on September 10, 2010. The song peaked at number one in Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland, Austria and Norway. It became a top ten hit in Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the UK. On November 30, 2011, the song received a nomination at the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Dance Recording.
The song, named after American entertainer Barbra Streisand, extensively uses a copied sample from German disco group Boney M.'s 1979 international hit single "Gotta Go Home", which in turn borrows content from 1973 German song "Hallo Bimmelbahn" by the band Nighttrain (de) (the brothers Heinz and Jürgen Huth and Michael Holm; the hookline written only by Heinz Huth).
The single’s album artwork is modelled directly after Streisand's own 1980 album, Guilty, which features a picture of her and Barry Gibb on the sleeve. For the "Barbra Streisand" cover, Streisand and Gibb's faces are digitally removed and replaced with duck beaks. The sample of "Gotta Go Home" was replayed by Mark Summers at SCORCCiO Sample Replays.

"You Don't Bring Me Flowers" is a song that hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978. It is a song about two lovers who have drifted apart while they "go through the motions" and heartache of life together.
The song was written by Neil Diamond with Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman for the ill-fated TV show All That Glitters. The song was intended to be the theme song, but Norman Lear changed the concept of the show and the song was no longer appropriate. Diamond then expanded the track from 45 seconds to 3:17, adding instrumental sections and an additional verse. The Bergmans contributed to the song's lyrics.
In 1977, Diamond released the album I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight, which included the track "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" as a solo performance. Early in 1978, Barbra Streisand covered the song on her album Songbird.
The roots of the duet version, as chronicled in myriad Streisand and Diamond biographies as well as Streisand's Just for the Record box set, revolve around WAKY-AM/Louisville KY program director, Gary Guthrie, who spliced the two solo tracks together as a going away present to his wife, whom he had just divorced. As the real life fairytale behind the song unfolded, it triggered a media buzz worldwide from Good Morning America and People magazine to the BBC. Interest in the duet caused such a clamor on the retail level that Columbia Records was compelled to bring Streisand and Diamond into the studio to record an "official" version in October 1978. The song reached number one on the Hot 100 chart for two non-consecutive weeks in December 1978, producing the third number-one hit for both singers. Acknowledgment and gratitude for Guthrie came from CBS with a Gold record plaque, flowers from Diamond and a telegram from Streisand. The duo performed the song at the 1980 Grammy Awards show, a performance released on the 1994 album Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume I.

"You to Me Are Everything" is a single by The Real Thing. Written by Ken Gold and Michael Denne and produced by Ken Gold, "You to Me Are Everything" was The Real Thing's sole number-one single in the UK Singles chart, spending three weeks at the top in July 1976. A remixed version of the song returned to the chart in March 1986 reaching number five.

"Pass the Dutchie" is a reggae song recorded by the British group Musical Youth from their 1982 album The Youth of Today. It was a major hit in the UK, holding the number one position on the singles chart there for three weeks in October 1982 and selling 5 million copies worldwide.