SPOTLIGHT [1979]

Welcome to the final K-tel post of 2014.  HERC turns back the clock thrity-five years to feature Spotlight, an album he originally wrote up in January 2013.  This is what he said back then:

Featuring "Original Hits And Stars" mostly from the previous year, 1979's Spotlight features a decent mix of pop, disco, soft rock and pre-Urban Cowboy country crossover.  Spotlight is significant in the history of K-Tel compilations for two reasons:

• Spotlight was among the first of the label's releases not to feature more than 16 tracks which theoretically meant the music sounded better and 
• Spotlight was, to the best recollection of those who should know, the first K-Tel album not to be advertised on TV

Spotlight has been featured on Bruce's Vinyl Voyage Radio as well as Adrian's Show N K-Tel and was recently ripped and posted in all of its click pop glory by Brandon on his BillboardTopHits1980 Youtube channel.  All of these virtual appearances, as well as the fact that this is the second time HERC has written it up might make Spotlight the most popular K-tel album on the interwebs.  But how will it do on the K-Tel Scale?  Let's see, two-across-the-board Number Ones, maybe another six or so Top 10s and other songs that HERC really can't remember hearing on Casey's American Top 40 countdown.  He would like to go on record as saying that it's a crying shame that Nick Gilder's "Here Comes the Night" wasn't a bigger hit - it's a got a killer chorus and HERC has always liked it.

Spotlight [1979]		K-tel Scale:				28.16
		Billboard Top 40s
		Pop	R&B	Disco	AC	CB	WLS
An Everlasting Love	Andy Gibb	5			8	5	11
Boogie Oogie Oogie	A Taste Of Honey	1	1	1		1	1
Love Is In The Air	John Paul Young	7		COU	1	13	15
Talking In Your Sleep	Crystal Gayle	18		1	3	16
Prisoner Of Your Love	Player	27				30
Everybody Needs Love	Stephen Bishop	32			5	29
It's A Laugh	Hall & Oates	20				21
I Love The Nightlife (Disco 'Round)	Alicia Bridges	5	31	2		6	8
Three Times A Lady	Commodores	1	1		1	1	1
Reminisicing	Little River Band	3			10	3	6
Sentimental Lady	Bob Welch	8			10	4	8
Sweet Life	Paul Davis	17			7	15
Here Comes The Night	Nick Gilder			COU		39
Daytime Friends	Kenny Rogers	28		1	13	28
Fool (If You Think It's Over)	Chris Rea	12			1	10	26
Baker Street	Gerry Rafferty	2			4	1	4

HERC had no idea the song he singled out would be the one that failed to make the Top 40 - it stalled at #44.  Seven songs missed the Top 10 and most of the crossover chart action was on the AC chart though #1s are featured from all of the additional charts used in the Scale as well.  Yet even with all of that going for it, Spotlight failed to score 30 on the K-Tel Scale.

Spotlight was also released on eight track and cassette, as shown above.  Unlike previous K-tel releases, the track listing remains consistent across all of the formats.  HERC's research turned up no Canadian version of Spotlight so this is where we'll leave it for now. Join us in January as we kick off the New Year with the highly anticpated non-stop disco of  Hot Nights & City Lights from 1979.