olivia newton john "tied up"

although not in the db because of it's low chart peak position, #38 in early 1983, my commercial 45 issued as mca 52155 states a run time on the label as 4:08, but actually runs 4:10, and is an edit on the full length 4:27 cd version......aaron...thanks for the custom edit you did for me awhile ago

Edited by edtop40

Roscoe,
The 45 version (the actual running time (4:10)) has an edit on the intro and a fadeout at the ending.
Probabley, its range is "0:04.063 - 0:11.668" on my "OLIVIA'S GREATEST HITS Vol.2" Japan pressing vinyl LP (the actual running time (4:26)).

--abagon

I've been a big fan of ONJ since I was a kid in the '70s. Have even seen her in concert twice over the years. The 1978-84 period (Totally Hot through the O.S.T. to Two of a Kind), is by far my favorite - which happens to be where this particular song falls...

JL328 wrote: If I'm not mistaken, this song's parent album was Greatest Hits Vol. 2, correct?

Indeed. In fact, 1982's GH, Vol. 2 was the first album of hers I ever bought (on cassette), as it was her then-current album when I first began buying music in '83. Loved both of the new songs included on it ("Heart Attack" and "Tied Up"). I've since added the rare original U.S. cassette that came in the limited-edition 12" x 12" LP-size packaging, as well as an original Japan-for-U.S. pressing of the CD. (Unfortunately, the latter is packed away at the moment, or else I'd double-check the timing for you, but yes, the 4:26 version that appears on 2005's Gold should be the LP version...)

edtop40 wrote: although not in the db because of it's low chart peak position, #38 in early 1983...

I'm not looking to start any trouble here, but researching this myself, and based on my current understanding of Pat's "formula" for determining which songs were consensus top 40 hits, I wish to argue that "Tied Up" WAS a consensus top 40 hit, and therefore, BELONGS in his on-line db... :-)

I'll go ahead and start w/ this quote from Pat made back on 08 April 2013, in response to a post from edtop40 in the aretha franklin ain't no way thread:

Pat Downey wrote: Ed, I do not know how many times I have responded to how I derived a "concensus" top 40 that appears in the database but I will respond one more time. There were 3 major trade publications in the rock and roll era, Record World, Billboard and Cash Box. Each had their own system for rating hit singles and quite often, chart positions were actually purchased so to even the playing field so to speak I averaged chart positions to form a concensus Top 40. Let's look at "Ain't No Way" which reached #71 on Cash Box, #38 on Record World and #16 on Billboard. Sum those 3 numbers to get 125 and divide by 3 to get an average chart position of 41.6...

Okay, as most of us know, as it turned out, Record World bowed out of the game in April of '82, some 8-9 months prior to "Tied Up" being released as a single in December of that same year - leaving only Billboard and Cash Box to measure the song's popularity in early '83. As edtop40 mentioned above, "Tied Up" peaked at #38 in Billboard, but it also got to #42 in Cash Box. So, plugging in that same "formula" Pat used when responding to edtop40 re: the exclusion of "Ain't No Way" from the db, 38 + 42 = 80, and when divided by 2, that equals an average chart position of 40, which WOULD mean it qualifies...

Pat, if I'm missing any additional sources that you may have added to your "formula" once the '80s rolled around (where "Tied Up" must've missed the top 40), then I'll respect your decision to leave this one out of the db. I know you've changed your mind when it comes to the inclusion/exclusion of several other songs in the db over the years, and have even admitted to an oversight or two. I just want to make sure that we all have a correct understanding of your "formula", and that this song didn't somehow fall through the cracks into the "oversight" category - because if it did, I know I'd be more than happy to see "Tied Up" added to the db... :-)

And speaking of ONJ's lesser hits from the 1978-84 era, I've always been shocked at how "Landslide" failed to at least crack the top 40 when released as the third single from Physical in May of '82, on MCA 52069 (only hit #52 in Billboard and #54 in Cash Box). My older edition of Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles book includes a footnote below that song, which states "originally released on MCA 51155 in 1981 with a picture sleeve". Can anyone here back that up??? I ask because while I admit I've never done any extensive searching, I've yet to see either a promo or commercial U.S. 45 w/ that number. True, the back of the picture sleeve that came w/ most copies of MCA 52069 erroneously stated it was "MCA 51155". However, at this time, I suspect what happened was that "Landslide" was initially selected by the label to be the lead single from the Physical album in the Summer of '81, they printed up the picture sleeves, and then decided at the last minute to go w/ the title track instead (wise move). The sleeves were then shelved for a good nine months, until the label did issue "Landslide" as a commercial single the following May, and thus the sleeves didn't end up going to waste, even though the catalog no. on the actual 45 had been updated to "52069". Do any of the radio folks here remember "Landslide" initially being promoted by MCA in the Summer of '81???

I was also surprised (and disappointed) at how ONJ's 1983 duet w/ John Travolta, "Take a Chance", was relegated to the B-side of "Twist of Fate". Great song, and IMHO, it deserved to be a pop hit in its own right, although it did hit the top 5 on the A/C chart in early '84. I do remember the song getting quite a bit of airplay on top 40 radio as well - at least in SoCal, where I lived at the time...

Not to sidetrack into Landslide territory but there was no original 45's or
promos released back in late summer of 81. I checked with a few folks
in radio as well as a promotions guy who worked at MCA in that era
when I saw that note in Whitburn's book. The label rep said MCA
originally held the label number for whatever lead single was chosen
from Livvys then upcoming album. There was division between ONJ,
her management & the label as to what the lead should be. Everyone
but her wanted Physical but she feared backlash over the suggestive
lyric. So for a brief window, Landslide was designated the lead single
and the picture sleeve artwork was mocked up. Once the Physical
video concept showed that the literal meaning of the song was gonna
be obscured by the exercise angle and the few key radio station folks
they tested the song on didn't object, Livvy and everyone agreed to go
with It instead. Everything Landslide related was put on the back
burner. It got pushed back even further when radio programmers came
back to MCA saying they wanted Make A Move On Me as the second
single. The UK did stick to issuing LS as the follow up and it went
to#18. When Landslide finally got released next, the old artwork got
issued with the original label number still on it even though the 45s had
the new 52069 number. Unless Joel has that serial numbered 45 in his
vault, I think all the stories i've heard about it are true. All the promo &
stock copies I've seen never carry the earlier number. Coming off the
Xanadu hits, I cannot imagine radio would've resisted playing LS as the
lead single. She was a core enough artist at that time to at least get
stations to test it. After all that effort though, Landslide got pulled
quickly by the label when radio resisted it as "too rock" (according to
the label rep) for daytime Top 40 play. MCA then quickly issued "Heart
Attack" about 6 weeks later and got ONJ back into the Top 3 for the
final time....

Edited by Glenpwood

Glenpwood wrote: Not to sidetrack into Landslide territory but there was no original 45's or promos released back in late summer of 81...There was division between ONJ, her management & the label as to what the lead should be. Everyone but her wanted Physical but she feared backlash over the suggestive lyric.

Thanks for the confirmation and additional details - sounds like you really went the distance in trying to get the scoop on this one! Yes, I've read/heard in the past about Olivia initially not being too keen on the lyrics to "Physical" - but hey, it's tough to argue w/ success, right??? So it would appear that the scenario I described in my original post above was pretty much spot-on...

Coming off the Xanadu hits, I cannot imagine radio would've resisted playing LS as the lead single. She was a core enough artist at that time to at least get stations to test it.

Agreed. While I think "Landslide" would've charted higher as a result, I DO think that they ultimately made the right decision to go w/ "Physical" as the lead single instead (always LOVED that rockin' guitar solo from roughly 2:18-2:49!). I'm just saying that I think "Landslide" deserved a better fate, and could've easily led to a fourth single being released from the album...

After all that effort though, Landslide got pulled quickly by the label when radio resisted it as "too rock" (according to the label rep) for daytime Top 40 play.

See, that's just it - I've always preferred Livvy's 1978-84 period BECAUSE it "rocked"! (Again, see above comment about the guitar solo in "Physical".) C'mon - let's see, it was 1982, and acts like Joan Jett ("I Love Rock 'n Roll"), the Scorpions ("No One Like You") and Judas Priest ("You've Got Another Thing Comin'") were actually cracking the pop charts! Huh??? So what were they afraid of??? Catering to the male audience (along w/ MTV, of course) was what ultimately brought top 40 radio back to new heights in 1983-84, after the early '80s post-disco slump...

MCA then quickly issued "Heart Attack" about 6 weeks later and got ONJ back into the Top 3 for the final time....

"Heart Attack" was great, too, and deserved its top 10 status, IMO...

Unless Joel has that serial numbered 45 in his vault, I think all the stories i've heard about it are true.

Yes, that's now my angle as well - thanks again!