SUPER STAR COLLECTION [1978]

For their final offering of 1978, the kids at K-Tel released Super Star Collection, their third annual thirty-six track, double album collection featuring songs they had previously released on other albums.  With a lone song failing to make the Top 40 and a whopping eight Number One songs, Super Star Collection has the potential to do very well on the K-Tel Scale.

The marketing geniuses on K-Tel Drive pulled out all the stops with Super Star Collection though they somehow missed up in the sole surviving television commercial for the album from 1978 by showing the US cover art and announcing the Canadian track listing.  (More on that below.)  The album also came with a gatefold featuring seven more artists photos in addition to the four featured on the front cover.

In addition to the double album, each record was issued on its own as Volume 1 and Volume 2 respectively.  For the 1978 Winter Holidays, shoppers could buy Super Star Collection on vinyl, as an 8-track tape or, in an apparent K-Tel first for the US market, on a pair of cassettes.  Pictured below are the Volume 1s in each format.

If you click on the back of the Super Star Collection Volume One 8-track above to embiggen it, you'll notice the four Program times.  HERC did the math and it clocks in at half a minute under an hour meaning most of the songs are not too severely edited in K-Tel's notorious fashion.  Once again, HERC has high hopes for Super Star Collection on the K-Tel Scale.

Super Star Collection [1978]		K-tel Scale:				31.18
		Billboard Top 40s
		Pop	R&B	DISCO	AC	CB	WLS
Imaginary Lover	Atlanta Rhythm Section	7			20	9	9
(Love Is) Thicker Than Water	Andy Gibb	1			18	1	2
On And On	Stephen Bishop	11			2	5	8
We Just Disagree	Dave Mason	12			19	15	25
Living Next Door To Alice	Smokie	25			24	18
Moonlight Feels Right	Starbuck	3			2	3	21
It's Sad To Belong	England Dan & John Ford Coley	21			1	13	15
I Like Dreamin’	Kenny Nolan	3			4	3	7
You And Me	Alice Cooper	9			23	8	10
Keep It Comin' Love	K.C. & the Sunshine Band	2	1		36	2	2
Star Wars Title Theme	Meco	1	8	6	18	1	2
Let's All Chant	Michael Zager Band	36	15	1		25
Heaven On The 7th Floor	Paul Nicholas	6			23	5	4
Do Ya Wanna Get Funky With Me	Peter Brown	18	3	9			3
Love Me	Yvonne Elliman	14			5	10	18
You Can't Turn Me Off	High Inergy	12	2			12	33
You Don’t Have To Be A Star	Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr.	1	1		6	1	6
Theme from Close Encounters	Meco	25		33	30	29
Baby Come Back	Player	1	10		20	1	4
Swayin' To The Music (Slow Dancin')	Johnny Rivers	10			8	6	7
Undercover Angel	Alan O'Day	1			31	1	1
You Keep Me Dancing	Samantha Sang
Isn't It Time	The Babys	13				8	8
Christine Sixteen	Kiss	25				20	26
Lonley Boy	Andrew Gold	7			38	3	2
Smoke From A Distant Fire	The Sanford-Townsend Band	9			34	9	20
Blinded By The Light	Manfred Mann's Earth Band	1				1	1
The Name Of The Game	ABBA	12			9	16
Rich Girl	Hall & Oates	1				1	1
Do You Wanna Make Love	Peter McCann	5			22	9	4
The Way I Feel Tonight	Bay City Rollers	24			16	19	19
Angel In Your Arms	Hot	6	29		8	6	7
Gonna Fly Now	Bill Conti	1			20	1	1
I'm Gonna Take Care Of Everything	Rubicon	28				31
Float On	The Floaters	2	1			3	23
Peg	Steely Dan	11			30	8	24

The score is disappointing.  Eight Number One Pop song and twelve more Top 10s weren't enough to push the score up into the mid-thirties which was HERC's initial guess.  The 31.18 score is good enough to just barely crack the current Top 10 rankings and end up at Number Nine.  Still, Super Star Collection is a better than average collection that is fun to listen to - don't forget to listen to the Spotify playlist sandwiched above between the album's front and back coverart.

Setting the small gaffe in the commercial above aside, it becomes quite possible that the Canadian configuration of Super Star Collection might be superior to its US counterpart as the usual government mandated Canadian artists on it actually crossed-over onto the American charts. Plus it only has nine tracks in common with the US edition of Super Star Collection, setting the stage for a possible mega 60+ song Spotify playlist at the end of this post. Before we get to the K-Tel Scale scorecard, here's the cover art and playlist for the Canadian collection.

Super Star Collection [1978]		K-tel Scale:				35.33
		Billboard Top 40s
		Pop	R&B	DISCO	AC	CB	WLS
Hot Line	Sylvers	5	3			4	1
Saturday Night	Bay City Rollers	1				1	1
Magic	Pilot	5				5	2
Only Sixteen	Dr. Hook	6			14	5	7
I Write The Songs	Barry Manilow	1			1	1	1
Hooked On A Feeling	Blue Swede	1				1	1
Jeans On	David Dundas	17			37	14	34
I Only Want To Be With You	Bay City Rollers	12			27	8	2
Boogie Fever	The Sylvers	1	1			1	2
All By Myself	Eric Carmen	2			6	1	4
This Will Be	Natalie Cole	6	1			9	38
Mandy	Barry Manilow	1		COU	1	1	1
Right Times of the Night	Jennifer Warnes	6		17	1	5	8
Midnight Blue	Melissa Manchester	6			1	7	5
Mr. Melody	Natalie Cole		10		25
She Did It	Eric Carmen	23			26	15	6
You Won't See Me	Anne Murray	8		COU	1	8	5
Rhinestone Cowboy	Glen Campbell	1		1	1	1	1
On And On	Stephen Bishop	11			2	5	8
Emotion	Samantha Sang	3			5	1	1
(Love Is) Thicker Than Water	Andy Gibb	1			18	1	2
Baby Come Back	Player	1	10		20	1	4
If I Can't Have You	Yvonne Elliman	1			9	1	9
Fallin' In Love	Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds	1			1	1	1
Heaven On The 7th Floor	Paul Nicholas	6			23	5	4
Peg	Steely Dan	11		COU	30	8	24
It's A Heartache	Bonnie Tyler	3		10	10	3	5
I Go Crazy	Paul Davis	7			25	7	31
Lady Love	Lou Rawls	24	21		5	20	19
I Just Want To Be Your Everything	Andy Gibb	1	19		8	1	1
Dance With Me	Peter Brown with Betty Wright	8	5	4		8	11
Christine Sixteen	Kiss	25				20	26
Swayin' To The Music (Slow Dancin')	Johnny Rivers	10			8	6	7
You Make Me Feel Brand New	Stylistics	2	5		6	1	12
Keep It Comin' Love	K.C. & the Sunshine Band	2	1		36	2	2
Star Wars Title Theme	Meco	1	8	6	18	1	2

Sure enough, a great score, high enough to be #5 in the Rankings if not for the ban on Canadian versions.  Only eight songs missed the Top 10 and an incredible dozen Number One songs, this one was a chart cross-over monster.  Here's that MEGA-SIZED Spotify playlist featuring the songs from both versions of the album.