Styx - Lady

Thanks, Aaron. This is the first info I've ever heard about the existence a
(2:32) short promo 45 for "Lady". However, my mono/stereo promo 45
copy, confirmed as Wooden Nickel 10102, is different. My promo copy
includes a listed and actual length of (2:58) for both sides. Mono side
deadwax: handwritten "WA10102C", followed by a machine-stamped
"TML-M", followed by a handwritten "3S". Stereo side deadwax:
handwritten "WB10102A 3S', followed by a faint, machine-stamped "TML-
M".

I immediately started sniffing around, to see if I could find where Aaron
spotted his short promo version info. I think I just found it. There's both a
listing and scan for it on 45cat. Listed time both sides is (2:33). But this
promo does not have the "hit" stock #, which I've already listed above.
This one says Wooden Nickel 0116.

For those not familiar, "Lady" was first released on 45 in 1973, as Wooden
Nickel 0116. It got a small amount of Chicago-area airplay then, but
quickly dropped off radio's radar. These findings lead me to conclude that
the 1973 short promo 45 is from an "earlier, non-hit 45 release" of the
song, and shouldn't actually be added to Pat's db.

For anyone wondering how "Lady" became a big "from the vaults" hit in
1975: The night DJ on powerhouse Chicago Top 40 station WLS, Dick
Biondi, loved the song, thought it should've been a smash, and started
playing it every single night, at exactly 8PM. It started getting huge
reaction from his audience, leading to demand for it at retail, prompting
its 45 re-release. This was both good and bad news for Wooden Nickel,
however. Yes, the label scored their only-ever Top 10 hit. But Styx had
already left the label, signing with A&M, leaving Wooden Nickel/RCA to
re-issue their old 1972-74 tracks. It was A&M that got the huge Styx
boost from the belated success of "Lady", serving as a major "launching
pad" for the band. They were now a "known" act, instead of the still-
unknowns they were when they'd signed with A&M the year before.

Edited by jimct

I have the stock copy of the original release 73-0116. The dead wax
has hand written BFKS 9123. There is a very small machine stamp that
says Sterling. The label has a time of 2:33. I can not time it out because
of a nasty warp at the beginning of the song but when I match up the
rest of the song with the full version, the edit is near the the end of the
song when they are in full swing.

MPH711 wrote: That would be a great story, but Dick Biondi was not on Chicago radio at that time. It is true that it became a hit from WLS playing the song. I'm not sure that they played it each night at 8pm but they did create a hit by playing it when no one else was at the time. It had gotten nice exposure on FM radio in Chicago on WBBM-FM when it was first released off the Styx 2 album. 'BBM-FM also played their earlier single, Best Thing prior to Lady.

                                                                                                         
  
  
Sorry for the apparent bad info, MPH711. I was doing a quick "soup to
nuts, overall research sweep" on the song this morning, after Aaron's
initial post. I did want to try to provide some background info on the
genesis of the 1973 & 1975 45 releases, since it was key to my "earlier,
non-hit 45" assertion. I had previously known that WLS was responsible
for the 1975 resurgence of "Lady". So when I saw its Wiki entry (which
currently does have the Biondi/8PM info on it), I just went with it (which I
normally wouldn't have, without a double/triple check), because it
basically jived with what I did know to be true. And also due to
its "basically FYI" nature. I've spent my life in CT, not Chicago, so I much
appreciate your personal WLS airstaff/timeline knowledge, MPH711, to
refute the info on Wiki.

Do any of our midwest "regulars", with good 70's knowledge (like my
buddy Doug, aka "sriv94", for example) have more accurate WLS/Lady
details? Like was there just one specific DJ who was playing it? Or was this
a decision made by the MD and/or PD at WLS? Doing things like this could
often cause positive buzz for a radio station-especially if the song catches
on. Knowing the inner workings of Top 40 radio myself, it was very
uncommon back in 1975 for a DJ of a 50,000 watt, major market station
to be playing a two-year old, stiff 45, on his own, and without prior
MD/PD approval. Doing things like that would usually get a DJ in big
trouble - if not fired.


Edited by jimct

Well that was quick!   :)

Thank you for answering my "gong", Lurch!!! You are now free to rejoin
Morticia, Gomez, Uncle Fester, Wednesday, Pugsley, Thing, Cousin Itt and
Grandmama, from my beloved, iconic "Addams Family" 60's b/w sitcom....

Edited by jimct

The sound on RCA's Nipper's Greatest Hits The '70s (1989) is quite nice. There's a digital clone on Simitar's Love Rocks 2 Tonight's The Night (1998; 1.684 dB louder).

Using Nipper's Greatest Hits The '70s as a source, you can create the non-hit 1973 45 version by removing 2:20.1 to 2:44.4. The edit is on the first syllable of the word "sparkling", as Aaron noted.