HIT MACHINE [1976]

listen to Hit Machine on Spotify
Probably the first K-Tel album HERC ever received was Hit Machine from 1976. He had been buying singles since 1974 (owning fully half of Hit Machine's tracks on 45s) and bought his first album in 1976 because the single he wanted was sold out. The K-Tel albums were a value for single buyers so HERC soon became a K-Tel album buyer. Sure he had to save up for a few weeks to afford an album but he was rewarded with more of his favorite songs than the same amount of money could have bought him off the singles rack. As the first, it is probably the most played K-Tel album in the Kollection as well with not a bad song among the 20 ALL TOP 10 (though not in the US) HITS! With every song a winner, this one should score well on the K-Tel Scale.


Hit Machine holds a very special place in HERC's heart. It was a gift for his 10th Christmas which is probably the greatest childhood Christmas he can remember; rivaled only by the Evel Knievel Scramble Van Christmas of 1974.

courtesy of our friends at plaidstallions.com
As expected, this one rocked the K-Tel Scale. With twelve songs from 1976, seven from 1975, and one from 1974, this is a great slice of AM Top 40 radio circa Fall 1976 featuring a little bit of pop, rock, soul, and country. Landing eight #1's on the Billboard Hot 100 and a total of ten #1's on the Cashbox equivalent, Hit Machine is jam-packed with crossover singles featuring Number Ones across the board on the R&B, Country, Disco, and Adult Contemporary charts as well. Only Rick Springfield's "Take A Hand" missed the Top 40, coming in at #41. That song and the zero points it earned on the K-Tel Scale is the only thing that kept Hit Machine from becoming the highest-scoring K-Tel album on the K-Tel Scale thus far. Instead, it settles in at the #2 spot. Not too shabby. HERC's favorites are yellow in the chart below.

HIT MACHINE [1976]
K-tel Scale:
35.60
Top 40 chart peaks
PopR&BDISCOACCBWLS
(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your BootyKC & The Sunshine Band1113
Right Back Where We Started FromMaxine Nightingale2512
Moonlight Feels RightStarbuck32321
SummerWar74COU11510
When Will I Be LovedLinda Ronstadt21314
Happy DaysPratt & McClain5763
Our Day Will ComeFrankie Valli1110214
(You're) Having My BabyPaul Anka with Odia Coates1511
Love Really Hurts Without YouBilly Ocean221638
Disco Duck (Part 1)Rick Dees & His Cast Of Idiots11511
Island GirlElton John12711
A Fifth Of BeethovenWalter Murphy & The Big Apple Band110COU1314
Let Your Love FlowBellamy Brothers121213
Welcome BackJohn Sebastian1111
Evil WomanElectric Light Orchestra1096
Take A HandRick Springfield
Rock And Roll All NiteKiss12COU176
I'm Not LisaJessi Colter41165
Who Loves YouFour Seasons3772
Disco LadyJohnnie Taylor1114


listen to the Canadian version of Hit Machine on Spotify
The Canadian version of Hit Machine featured eight song substitutions including the requisite five Canadian artists' contributions and thus scored rather poorly on the K-Tel Scale. The album was also released in Brazil and the UK with radically altered artwork (Brazil used the Power House cover) and track listings (the UK included eleven songs on each side of the album for a total of 22 ORIGINAL HITS).

4 comments:

  1. But we still enjoy the Canadian version in Canada.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment.

      My apologies for being rather dismissive of the Canadian version of Hit Machine in this post. I actually really like the tracklisting and even updated the playlist to reflect the current Spotify library before posting this comment.

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    2. I agree with Cindyns :). I cannot find the Canadian playlist of Hit Machine, wondering if it was removed?

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    3. Nope, not removed, but in the ten plus years since this post was created Spotify has reconfigured how to share playlist widgets a few times. Created a updated playlist link for listeners like yourself.

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