Chart Week: February 25, 1978
\nSong: \u201cFalling\u201d – LeBlanc and Carr
\nChart Position: #28, 20th week on the chart. Peaked at #13 the week of April 1. <\/p>\n
Normally I put my song grade at the end of these posts, but for this entry it seems best to offer the assessment up front. This is not a good song. In fact, it is borderline terrible. I\u2019m sure a lot of people who were young and in love in 1978 remember it fondly. I was six when it was getting heavy airplay, so not sure how I felt about it then. I know that I do not like it now. It\u2019s middle of the road, weightless, AM radio fluff. It strikes me as a lame, misguided attempt to thread the needle somewhere between an Eagles ballad and 10cc\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m Not In Love.\u201d Let\u2019s call it a 2\/10<\/strong>. <\/p>\n On this show, Casey related an awful story about the duo that performed it.<\/p>\n Lenny LeBlanc and Pete Carr served as an opening act for Lynyrd Skynyrd\u2019s 1977 Street Survivors<\/em> tour. On October 20 the bands played a show in Greenville, SC. The headliners had their own plane for the tour, an aging Convair CV–240, which they would take to the tour\u2019s next stop in Baton Rouge, LA. <\/p>\n Three of the band\u2019s roadies decided to road trip to Baton Rouge rather than fly, and the band offered LeBlanc and Carr two of those open seats. However, at the last minute the roadies changed their minds and decided to fly. The guys in Lynyrd Skynyrd thought it wasn\u2019t fair to boot LeBlanc and Carr after promising them a lift, but Lenny and Pete overheard the conversation and backed out on their own.[1]<\/a> <\/p>\n Later that night, just before its scheduled landing in Louisiana, the plane ran out of fuel. The pilots attempted to land in an open field but overshot the field and flew into a line of trees. Six of the 26 people on the flight died, including LS lead singer Ronnie Van Zant. Most of the survivors were severely injured, including the two roadies who were flying in place of LeBlanc and Carr. <\/p>\n