(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
The Manhattans - "Kiss and Say Goodbye"
Hit Number 1: July 24, 1976
Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks
For a minute in the '70s, it was common for country songs to cross over into the pop side of things. This is something I've gotten into a lot over the years on this blog, but it's worth repeating. It's really strange to me why country songs don't cross over more often, considering how popular the genre is, especially today, but here we are. (I don't think there's been a country Hot 100 #1 since around 2000) Artists like Charlie Rich and Glen Campbell were able to change that for a bit in the mid-'70s, but in one case there was a song that was intended to be country that ended up being more like a late '60s R&B or Soul type song. Of course, that was the Manhattans' "Kiss and Say Goodbye," which was written by Winfred "Blue" Lovett, who envisioned someone like Campbell to do the song. He said he'd listened to a lot of country music lately, and figured someone like Campbell would do the song justice, but for whatever reason, he changed his mind, and his band, the Manhattans, recorded it instead.
Lovett said that he had written the song in the middle of the night one night, after the lyrics just "came to him." (If I had a nickel every time I've seen that) He said "Everything was there. I got up about three o'clock in the morning and jotted down the things I wanted to say. I just put the words together on my tape recorder and little piano. I've always thought that when you write slow songs, they have to have meaning. In this case, it's the love triangle situation we've all been through. I figured anyone who's been in love could relate to it. And it seemed to touch home for a lot of folks." He's pretty right about all of that, the song is a slow song with some deep meaning. It's about a guy who's clearly breaking it off with some girl he's loved for a long time, however I think the reason for that is left up to the listener. He makes it be known that the two have their own lovers back home, as he talks about their "ties" and that they need to break this off because of that, but then he says "maybe you'll meet another guy," so I don't know. The song sounds similar to a "Me and Mrs. Jones" type situation, but we never get a clear view of that. All we know is that the guy wants to break off this relationship with this girl, and the two of them are both pretty upset about it. The narrator just "thinks this is the thing to do."
However you choose to look at these lyrics, there's no denying that the song is extremely somber. It's slow and gentle, but it can really hit you hard if it catches you at the right time. If you're going through a tough time in your love life, this kind of song can feel like a brick wall falling right on top of you. The Manhattans' vocalists are what make the whole song, as they build and harmonize on top of each other, blending together beautifully. In the extended version, we even hear Lovett give his best Barry White impression, starting off with "This has got to be the saddest day of my life," with some breezy "oohs" and "ahhs" coming from the backing vocalists. Lead tenor vocalist Gerald Alston then jumps in with "I had to meet you here today." It's truly a touchy/feely kind of song, which often times turns a song into some corny, sappy thing, but "Kiss and Say Goodbye" sounds genuine. Whatever led up to this guy wanting to break this thing off, the listener can become sad about the whole situation. The guy sounds sad, the girl appears to be sad, everything just sounds so sad. But that's what makes the song great in my opinion. It's a song built on pure emotion, without trying too hard to do that. That's how the good ones do it.
The song also sounds like a hat tip to the way late '60s R&B sounded, which is a sound I never tire of. It sounds like something the Temptations would do. So that even makes it kind of a throwback in a way, which I like. The Manhattans were not a super notable band like the Temptations were, but it's clear that they could do R&B well, I just wish they would have done more of it. Either way, it's hard to imagine "Kiss and Say Goodbye" working quite as well as a country song. It was meant to be a sad, gloomy R&B song, which, thankfully, is exactly what it became.
GRADE: 8/10
JUST MISSED:
Gary Wright's galactic banger "Love Is Alive" peaked at #2 behind "Kiss and Say Goodbye." It's an 8.
IN POP CULTURE:
UB40 did a cover of "Kiss and Say Goodbye," which I thought was interesting, but it's not that bad. Here's that:
(UB40 will eventually appear in this blog)
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