Raised by Radio

Jan 1st, 2026!! This year, we celebrate the USA’s 250th Anniversary! I clearly remember all the celebrations of The Bicentennial in 1976. It’s hard to believe time went so fast!

Let me take a step back, I’m Kenny, and I happen to now be a Pastor, at the East Hampton and Hampton Bays United Methodist Churches on Long Island, NY. I love what I do, it’s a second “career” for me, well, it’s a calling, I’m going into my 5th year as a Pastor. I only mention this because I still listen to secular music. Not all the time, and I’m very guarded on what I listen to, but that is frowned upon in some circles. I listen to a lot of Christian music as well, and my secular music is confined to the 60’s/70’s/80’s and part of the 90’s. When I invited Jesus into my heart in 1997, I stopped listening to even the older secular music.

But I found that the music from my childhood and young adulthood shaped who I am. And who I am led me to be in Ministry today. In fact, I have used several pop songs in my sermons over the last few years. Some examples are “Stoned Love” by the Supremes, a song that talks about love, peace, forgiveness and being on the shoulders of the man who the world must depend (Jesus). That song made it all the way up to #7 on the pop charts and #1 on the R&B chart.

Or I used “Unconditional Love” by Donna Summer and Musical Youth, a song that mentions Agape Love! That only got up to #41 on the pop charts but was a big hit here in NY.

There are two radio stations that I primarily listened to…77WABC in the 70’s and Z100 in the 80’s. I always when I could, listened to American Top 40 and realized that at times, the national view on songs was very different than the NY view. Much more on that in the posts to come.

Ok, that is some background, let’s talk about 50 years ago and the billboard to 100 from 1976. What a sweet spot for the music of the decade! I did not turn the radio off; I took a transistor radio with me wherever I went! I had already fallen in love with radio, but the love grew in that summer and year. Here are some of my favorites from 1976, and you can tell I loved a variety of music:

“Fanny (Be Tender with my Love)” by the Bee Gees #79

“Let’s do it Again” by the Staple Singers #66

“I’ll be Good to You” by The Brothers Johnson #61

“Fool Around and Fell in Love” Elvin Bishop #56

“Times of Your Life” Paul Anka #54

“Lowdown” Boz Scaggs #49

“That’s the way I Like It” KC and the Sunshine Band #45

“Let Your Love Flow” Bellamy Brothers #36

“Afternoon Delight” Starland Vocal Band #12

“Play That Funky Music” Wild Cherry #5

“Don’t go Breaking My Heart” Elton John/Kiki Dee #2

An amazing year! What were your favorites? What radio station did you listen to? I would love to hear from you! Much more to come tomorrow! We’ll stay in 1976 and look at a top 40 chart from that year.

Talk soon…Radio, we still love you!