The Hits of 1976: USA! USA!

This week on Past Tens, we celebrate America's 200th birthday the only way we know how—by firing up the musical time machine and heading back to the Billboard Top 10 for Bicentennial week, ending July 10, 1976. But first, there are pressing matters to address. Why has Burger King effectively been outlawed in Milt's house? Did Thelma the bird finally convince her babies to leave the nest? And perhaps most importantly, was Milt secretly replaced by AI on last week's episode? Listener feedback pours in, and we tackle it all. Then we unveil something brand new for the show: our first-ever Listener Substitution Survey. We've picked 25 songs that made the charts but never cracked the Top 10, and we're turning the decision over to you. Vote for your favorites, and in two weeks we'll count down an all-listener-selected Top 10. Once we're back in July of '76, it's a packed week. We revisit the daring Entebbe rescue, note the birth of Fred Savage, remember The Omen terrifying moviegoers, and somehow discover that the Miss Universe Pageant was America's favorite TV show. The countdown itself is loaded with stories. We talk about Hall & Oates finally breaking through with "Sara Smile," the wonderfully confusing album cover that had everyone doing a double take, Gary Wright's "Love Is Alive," Dorothy Moore's "Misty Blue," the Brothers Johnson's arrival, and Captain & Tennille at the height of their powers. Along the way we uncover gems like Joe Pesci recording a Beatles cover, Andrea True's unlikely path from adult films to disco stardom, Quincy Jones' fingerprints all over the charts, and the bass line connection to "Billie Jean." We also review Questlove's terrific new Earth, Wind & Fire documentary, argue about spoken-word intros, answer songs, and musical ripoffs, laugh over some truly questionable 1970s comedy, and, after all is said and done, crown Hall & Oates' "Sara Smile" as the clear winner of the week. We finish by giving this chart our official rating—solidly in Bee Gees territory—and remind everyone to cast their vote in the Listener Substitution Survey before next week's results are locked in. Topics 00:50 Fast Food Banter 02:55 Thelma Bird Update 04:32 Last Week Pod Fallout 06:35 Listener Mail Highlights 09:41 Listener Substitution Survey 12:29 Bicentennial Week Setup 14:30 1976 News And Pop Culture 20:49 Concert Tragedy Detour 23:29 Top 10 Begins Beatles At 10 33:32 Hall And Oates Breakthrough 36:40 Androgynous Album Cover 39:07 Why Sarah Smile Works 41:00 Gary Wright Rediscovered 42:11 Love Is Alive Backstory 47:37 Dorothy Moore Misty Blue 51:35 Paul McCartney Diss Track 56:37 Linda on the B Side 59:17 Questlove Rock Doc Review 01:08:34 Andrea True Disco Scandal 01:15:39 Captain and Tennille Remake 01:17:58 Answer Songs and Ripoffs 01:19:32 Captain and Tennille TV 01:20:56 Corny Hat Comedy 01:22:59 Shop Around Revisit 01:23:31 Brothers Johnson Breakout 01:25:26 Quincy Jones Connections 01:27:46 Billie Jean Bass Reveal 01:31:20 Kiss and Say Goodbye 01:34:48 Spoken Word Intros 01:39:05 Afternoon Delight Scandal 01:43:30 Pop Culture Karaoke Clips 01:48:12 Recap and Winner 01:52:06 Ratings and Farewell