Night on Bald Mountain 25 December 1858, has been interpreted as an indication of Mussorgsky's intent to write an opera on the subject of Gogol's short story "St. John's Eve" (, "Vecher nakanune Ivana Kupala", "St. John's Eve"). Gogol's tale contains the elements of witchcraft common to other stories in the "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" collection, but does not feature a witches' sabbath. No further plans for this project were mentioned. The theme of a witches' sabbath, the central theme in all subsequent "Night on Bald Mountain" projects, appears to have been derived from the nonextant play "The Witch" (, "Ved′ma") by
Bobby Bare continued to record critically acclaimed albums and singles. His biggest hits during this time included "Alimony" (1975), "The Winner" (1976), and "Drop Kick Me, Jesus (Through The Goalposts Of Life)" (the world's only Christian-football waltz, and a 1976 Grammy nominee). In 1977 he recorded "Redneck Hippie Romance" and "Vegas" (a duet with his wife Jeannie). Bare signed with Columbia Records and continued to have hits like "Sleep Tight Good Night Man", which barely cracked the Top 10 in 1978, alongside continuing to score critical acclaim with his releases "Bare" and "Sleeper Wherever I Fall". In 1979, he started off Rosanne