The whole argument is pointless. Trans Europe Express and Autobahn were huge hits on black radio. I know because I heard them a lot on the major DC stations (WOL and WOOK) at the time. Same in Detroit I'm sure. Whether Juan was influenced directly or not is for him to say. "Influence" could mean "I heard it on the radio" or it could mean "I had the album and studied how they were making the sounds." For our purposes here, what does it matter, Kowalsky?
For what it's worth, the first electronic pop hit I recall was Dick Hyman's "Minotaur." That was 1968. He's a pretty remarkable guy, by the way -- had an illustrious career as a jazz player, composer and researcher and is still alive. He has recordings released in every medium from 78s to MP3s. fh
