The article argues that four singles which reached No. 2 on the US charts in 1978 were strong enough to have deserved the top position. It frames their near-misses against a chart year dominated by songs associated with Barry Gibb, while highlighting each record’s musical appeal and its artists’ wider careers.

– “Short People” by Randy Newman: a satirical song whose catchy hooks helped it become Newman’s biggest pop hit; it was held off No. 1 by Player’s “Baby Come Back” and the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive”.
– “The Closer I Get To You” by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway: an intimate soul duet written by Reggie Lucas and James Mtume, prevented from topping the chart by Yvonne Elliman’s “If I Can’t Have You” and Wings’ “With a Little Luck”; it was among Hathaway’s final major successes before his death in 1979.
– “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty: a solo comeback hit from the 1977 album City to City, distinguished by Raphael Ravenscroft’s saxophone riff; Andy Gibb’s “Shadow Dancing” kept it at No. 2.
– “Double Vision” by Foreigner: a hard-rock crossover hit with a funk influence from the band’s 1978 album of the same name; Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park” stopped it reaching No. 1, with Foreigner eventually achieving that milestone in 1984.