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SONGBIRD [1981]

Anyone else get a Jimmy Buffet read from the cover graphic of the 1981 K-tel album, Songbird?  How about Bertie Higgins?   Must just be me then.   Songbird is the third in a trilogy of K-tel albums featuring soft rock and adult contemporary music.  Five of the album's fourteen tracks can be found scattered across a few different albums in Rhino's all too brief Radio Daze series.
If the 14 songs on Songbird were boxes of cookies and you came to my door selling them so you could attend summer camp, I would buy eleven of them provided you didn't overcharge me.  Is $3 a box doable?  I can't do $4 a box.  You do $4 a box and I'll take three or four tops and that's only $16 towards camp.  You do $3 a box, I'll buy eleven boxes and that is $33 towards a fun summer.  Is that your Mom out there on the sidewalk, minding the wagon full of cookies?  What kind of price you giving her?  Looks like she's eaten a few boxes of these cookies.  $3.50?  You know I can't do $3.50 like I'm gonna go digging for change.  Let's say $3 and you can go charge the next guy $4?  $3.25?  Did you watch Glengary Glenn Ross before you hit the bricks today?  I have $35 dollars American right here in my hand and the AC is fixin' to come back on so I'm either gonna shut this door with my $35 or without... Smart girl.  Have fun at camp.

SONGBIRD [1981]
K-tel Scale:
28.64
Billboard Top 40s
PopR&BCOUACCBWLS
Every Woman In The WorldAir Supply52910
How 'Bout UsChampaign124110
Crazy LovePoco1711417
GamesPhoebe Snow(46)(80)
TogetherTierra189302329
Biggest Part of MeAmbrosia335329
CryingDon McLean562615
More Than I Can SayLeo Sayer2138
Lookin' For LoveJohnny Lee511046
The Winner Takes It AllABBA811112
Fool In Love With YouJim Photoglo251223
Killin' TimeFred Knoblock and Susan Anton28105(64)
Her Town TooJames Taylor with J.D. Souther115820
Somebody's Knockin'Terri Gibbs13310

Snow, Photoglo and Knoblock wouldn't make the cut.  (Those last two aren't even on Spotify.)  And all  three were the lowest charting records from Songbird on the Top 40.  Eleven of the songs were Top 10 on the AC chart and there was an even amount of both R&B and Country crossover.  Unfortunately, "Games" missed the Top 40 entirely resulting in Zero points and several of the songs got no love or airplay on WLS.  All totalled, it is a slightly below average score of 28.64 - counting this album, the average K-tel Scale score is 28.77 after 49 albums.  Which means only one thing: the next album will be the 50th featured here on the Kollection!

Listen to original vinyl rip of Songbird:


Listen to Show N K-tel's Songbird show:


Though the Songbird album seems easy to find, I could find no trace of an 8-track, a cassette or even a Canadian version of it.  If you have any of the three please drop me a line and let me know.  Join us next time out as our special 50th album here on the Kollection will be Pure Rock, both literally and figuratively:
  

4 comments:

  1. It's not a bad group of songs; it's just that they don't seem to go together. The compilation seems to lack cohesiveness.

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    1. Some slow jams, some country, some AC - I see what you mean.

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    2. Hi
      You know I still have my Stereo Turntable that I got from Amazon.com because yesterday me and Christy took me to Collingswood Flea Market in New Jersey and I got 1 K-Tel Record Album that I got at Collingswood which is Songbird. and enjoy listening to that 1981 K-Tel Record Album on my stereo turntable. so next time when It's nicer outside in the spring,summer and fall I can always love to add more K-Tel Record Albums from 1979-1984 when I'm gonna add them for my K-Tel Record Album Collection when I'm gonna order them on Ebay because I still have these 2 K-Tel Record Albums that I have in my room like The Elite and Songbird. and now I really want to collect more K-Tel Record Albums. so I can add them to my collection because I'm a big fan of K-Tel International!

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  2. Funny.. I have the SongBird 1981 cassette playing in my VW Jetta TDI every day! My kids are 8 and 10 and they often sing along! Love your website.

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