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’80s non-top 40 hits, yet classics today

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Topic: ’80s non-top 40 hits, yet classics today
Posted By: 80smusicfreak
Subject: ’80s non-top 40 hits, yet classics today
Date Posted: 05 February 2008 at 9:41am
Originally posted by MMathews MMathews wrote:

And yet the original never needed to be a top 40 hit, it just became a classic of the era without chart status.
The 80's produced a few of those....

-MM


Thought I'd steal MMathews' comment above regarding Modern English's 1983 "hit"(?), "I Melt With You", which of course managed to climb to only #78 in "Billboard" and #68 in "Cash Box" at the time. However, I agree w/ him 100% that it somehow turned into a classic that still gets a lot of airplay to this day - w/ countless CD appearances to match - despite the fairly poor chart showing...

I also agree that there are many other examples from the '80s, so rather than hijack the "IMWY" thread, I thought I'd open the topic in this new one instead...

So what other '80s songs that topped out below the top 40 - including those that perhaps only "bubbled under" or failed to chart at all - qualify as classics today??? (By coincidence, a few years ago I made just such a list of about a dozen songs, although I by no means consider it complete!) At this time, I'll go ahead and add:

THE ROMANTICS - "What I Like About You" (1980) (#49 "Billboard"/#53 "Cash Box")

Agree??? Disagree??? :-)



Replies:
Posted By: sriv94
Date Posted: 05 February 2008 at 9:45am
That was the first song that popped into my head as well.

I'd go ahead and add "Tempted" by Squeeze (1981).

-------------
Doug
---------------
All of the good signatures have been taken.


Posted By: Underground Dub
Date Posted: 05 February 2008 at 10:57am
Madonna's "Into The Groove".

Most. Irritating. Witheld. Single. Ever. (thanks Billboard)


Posted By: bdpop
Date Posted: 05 February 2008 at 1:48pm

I'll add a few:

Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode
What Do All the People Know - The Monroes
New Year's Day - U2
Red Skies - The Fixx
Words - Missing Persons
Goodbye To You - Scandal
Black Coffee In Bed - Squeeze
Lunatic Fringe - Red Rider
Mexican Radio - Wall of Voodoo
Radio Free Europe - R.E.M.
Rock Lobster - B-52's
Private Idaho - B-52's
Dancing With Myself - Billy Idol with Gen X


Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 05 February 2008 at 5:01pm
Originally posted by Underground Dub Underground Dub wrote:

Madonna's "Into The Groove".

Most. Irritating. Witheld. Single. Ever. (thanks Billboard)


Not sure if this song fits this theme. The only reason it didn't chart on the Hot 100 is because it was only available as a 12" single which Billboard didn't count at the time. By any other definition the song was a big hit...it was all over CHR radio in 1985.

A couple others I'd add to the list are
"It's The End Of The World As We Know It"-REM
"Tenderness"-General Public


Posted By: 80smusicfreak
Date Posted: 06 February 2008 at 12:10am
Originally posted by sriv94 sriv94 wrote:

I'd go ahead and add "Tempted" by Squeeze (1981).


Absolutely - that one also made the list I compiled a few years ago, and would've been my next pick, had somebody else not mentioned it first!


Posted By: 80smusicfreak
Date Posted: 06 February 2008 at 12:32am
Originally posted by Hykker Hykker wrote:

Originally posted by Underground Dub Underground Dub wrote:

Madonna's "Into The Groove".

Most. Irritating. Witheld. Single. Ever. (thanks Billboard)


Not sure if this song fits this theme. The only reason it didn't chart on the Hot 100 is because it was only available as a 12" single which Billboard didn't count at the time. By any other definition the song was a big hit...it was all over CHR radio in 1985.


Agreed, not to mention they made a video for it as well. I remember "Billboard" having to justify its absence from the "Hot 100" at the time, as I'd already been buying the magazine for a couple years, at that point. But w/ the extra effort that Sire went to to promote "Into the Groove", it made no sense to me at the time why they didn't just go ahead and press a 45, too...

But I'd probably disqualify "ITG" from this list for the same reason, Hykker...

Quote A couple others I'd add to the list are
"It's The End Of The World As We Know It"-REM

Agreed...

Quote "Tenderness"-General Public

Ineligible, due to hitting #27 in "Billboard" and #24 in "Cash Box" in 1985 - and thus its appearance in Pat's book/database as well...


Posted By: Underground Dub
Date Posted: 06 February 2008 at 1:40pm
Well, screw you both! j/k

Had "Into The Groove" fresh on my mind as I was trying to (within strict, Billboard Hot 100 guidelines) compile a Madonna hits collection, and had to "cheat" to include it.

How about...

- Pat Benatar "You Better Run"

- Billy Idol "Rebel Yell" and "Dancing With Myself"

- Scandal "Goodbye To You"

- Van Halen "Hot For Teacher"

- New Order "Blue Monday"


Posted By: bdpop
Date Posted: 06 February 2008 at 2:08pm
Some more:

Why Me - Planet P
Bizzare Love Triangle - New Order
Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top
And She Was - Talking Heads
I Will Follow - U2
Shakin' - Eddie Money
Working In a Coal Mine - Devo
Walking In LA - Missing Persons
Girl's Talk - Dave Edmunds
Message In a Bottle - The Police
Save It For Later - English Beat
Love On Your Side - Thompson Twins
Candy Girl - New Edition
Popcorn Love - New Edition
Body Talk - The Deele
Everybody - Madonna
Physical Attraction - Madonna
IOU - Freeze
Situation - Yazoo


Posted By: bdpop
Date Posted: 06 February 2008 at 2:10pm
All these lists just show how much good music was released in the 1980's.


Posted By: Gary
Date Posted: 06 February 2008 at 6:33pm
How about "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by Nick Kershaw?


Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 06 February 2008 at 7:09pm
One song no one's mentioned, that I'd put high up in this category, is Boomtown Rats' "I Don't Like Mondays," which only peaked at #73.

BTW, I'll put out this theory that the reason so many of these lower charting hits still became so known is that most of these songs in question (including the Boomtown Rats) GOT MASSIVE PLAY ON MTV - even after their peak moment. Anyone agree?


Posted By: MMathews
Date Posted: 06 February 2008 at 7:40pm
Hi All,

Thanks 80'smusicfreak, I'm glad you ran with the topic.

I agree with most of the above tracks, too! And yes I agree with EdisonLite that MTV had a big influence on some of these songs becoming "mainstream" hits.
In later years, when they effectively killed the single, they had no choice but to start measuring other factors but i found it interesting in the 80's, when it was still   singles-driven that we saw many more of these non-charting or low-charting songs eventually becoming "hits of the day" right along side the top-10's and #1's.

..and I'm glad someone mentioned The Monroes...what a great "sleeper hit"!


-Mark M


Posted By: TimNeely
Date Posted: 06 February 2008 at 11:06pm
Another one I'll add to the list:

"Bang the Drum All Day" by Todd Rundgren -- only got to #63 in Billboard and #73 in Cash Box, but it's hard to find any sporting venue that doesn't have this song on its Jumbotron playlist.

And another:

"Blister in the Sun" by Violent Femmes -- didn't chart at all in the top 100 of either Billboard or Cash Box, but it's on almost every 1980s radio format today.


Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 06 February 2008 at 11:17pm
Originally posted by TimNeely TimNeely wrote:


"Blister in the Sun" by Violent Femmes


Played that song at a wedding a few weeks back... people love it!


Posted By: sriv94
Date Posted: 07 February 2008 at 7:46am
Can't believe we've overlooked Talking Heads' "Once In A Lifetime" (another MTV fave).

And Gary, it's "Wouldn't It Be Good" ("Wouldn't It Be Nice" was the Beach Boys' tune).

-------------
Doug
---------------
All of the good signatures have been taken.


Posted By: AndrewChouffi
Date Posted: 07 February 2008 at 8:12am
Hi People,

Yes, most of these songs were in rotation on MTV which is why they are revered today.

However, please don't forget that most of these records were big hits in rock & "wave" style dance clubs throughout the country (sometimes even before MTV play).

There really is no chart documenting just how big these tracks were in the rockin' bars in mainstream America (most of these establishments DID NOT report to the Billboard Dance chart as too many of them were in Secondary/Tertiary markets).

Only the people who lived through it will know how big these songs really were at the time (prime example -- The Gen X import of "Dancing With Myself" was a HUGE rock club hit years before American radio was introduced to it.)

Andy


Posted By: bdpop
Date Posted: 07 February 2008 at 12:59pm
These should have been much bigger hits too:

Looks That Kill - Motley Crue
Take the L - The Motels
Promised You a Miracle - Simple Minds
Satisfaction - Devo
Senses Working Overtime - XTC
Der Kommissar - Falco
Wind Him Up - Saga
Bringing On the Heartbreak - Def Leppard
Antmusic - Adam and the Ants
Should I Stay Or Should I Go - The Clash
Desperate But Not Serious - Adam Ant
Fields of Fire - Big Country
Everything Counts - Depeche Mode



Posted By: MCT1
Date Posted: 07 February 2008 at 10:21pm
Originally posted by in the parallel 50s/60s/70s thread, TimNeely in the parallel 50s/60s/70s thread, TimNeely wrote:

You have two different categories of songs here: Those that never charted because they were never issued as commercial singles...and those that were issued as singles but didn't catch on with the Top 40 crowd...I'm going to list some that you might hear on the radio today, usually on "classic rock" stations. These lists are far from complete.

Looking at all the responses in both threads, I see four different categories:

1) Songs that were popular with Top 40 audiences, but weren't Top 40 hits because they weren't eligible to chart (generally because they weren't released as singles at the time). Examples: "Into The Groove", "Isn't She Lovely", numerous Beatles album cuts.

2) Songs that weren't popular with Top 40 audiences when new, but eventually became popular with audiences that listen to formats that play old Top 40 hits, to the point where a modern observer who isn't familiar with chart data might assume that these songs must have been Top 40 hits. Examples: "What I Like About You", "I Melt With You".

3) Songs that were/are popular with some type of non-Top 40 audience (AOR seems to be the main focus in the responses of this type so far) but never crossed over to Top 40 audiences. Examples: numerous Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd songs.

4) Songs that people feel should have been Top 40 hits. Everyone's are different.

I'm not sure what the original poster had in mind, but in this post I'd like to focus on #1 and #2. They are probably the easiest to define, and the most relevant for this board. By contrast, #3 and #4 both cover a lot of ground.

Under #1, the most obvious '80s example is undoubtedly "Into The Groove". Another that comes to mind is "Be Good Johnny" by Men At Work. Although it was eventually released as a single, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was getting Top 40 airplay well before the single came out.

Once Billboard began maintaining an airplay chart (and allowing non-singles to chart in it), "Never Say Goodbye" by Bon Jovi and "Spotlight" by Madonna both made the Top 40 of the airplay chart despite the unavailability of commercial singles. (Tim's Goldmine price guides actually indicate that a 45 of "Never Say Goodbye" does exist, but it doesn't seem to have been available when the song was on the airplay chart, and it seems to be a very obscure release; I've never see one myself.)

Did "Back In Time" by Huey Lewis & The News or "Pink Cadillac" by Bruce Springsteen receive significant Top 40 airplay when new? I don't think the former was ever released as a single, while the latter was a B-side. I remember hearing these on the radio, but in the mid '80s I was switching back and forth a lot between CHR and AOR, and I don't really remember which stations I heard these on. If they don't fit here, they definitely fit under #2.

Under #2, "What I Like About You", "Dancing With Myself", "I Want Candy", "I Melt With You" and "Tempted" are all great examples.

I'd bet that many people would assume that Squeeze had at least one Top 40 hit before "Hourglass" (certainly "Tempted", maybe "Pulling Mussels From The Shell" or "Black Coffee In Bed"), and U2 at least one before "Pride" (certainly "New Year's Day", maybe "I Will Follow" or "Sunday Bloody Sunday", which wasn't even released as a single).

Among others noted upthread, I'm sure that "Rebel Yell", "Mexican Radio" and "Blister In The Sun" are all probably widely believed to have been Top 40 hits, and that many people would be surprised to learn that Yaz never had any Top 40 hits, and New Order just one during the '80s. If "Just Like Heaven" by the Cure hadn't managed to sneak into the Top 40 for one week, it would belong here as well. Several others already listed are at least arguable. I'd also add "Workin' For A Livin'" by Huey Lewis & The News and "I Don't Care Anymore" by Phil Collins to the "arguable" list.

What a lot of these songs have in common, of course, is the MTV factor alluded to upthread. Many of them are new wave/alternative songs that were ahead of the curve in terms of what Top 40 radio was playing at the time. When new, they were considered too "out there" for Top 40 radio, but in hindsight they seem to fit in with what we now think of as "'80s Top 40".


Posted By: MCT1
Date Posted: 07 February 2008 at 10:39pm
Originally posted by Gary Gary wrote:

How about "Wouldn't It Be [Good]" by Nick Kershaw?

I have lived my entire life in the Boston area, and my sense is that this song may have been bigger in Boston than it was in other places. This song missed the Top 40 nationally, and I was not listening to any non-Top 40 format that would have played it, yet I definitely remember hearing it back in the '80s. It is very commonly heard on "retro '80s" programs in the area today. (Did MTV play this? I have no idea, because the cable system in the town where I lived didn't have MTV until 1992. My video watching in the '80s was either local programming or things like "Friday Night Videos" or "Night Tracks".)      

Another regional hit was "Candy Girl" by New Edition, a year before they really broke nationally. This song was a significant airplay hit on Top 40 stations in both Boston and Providence.

We also got the English version of "99 Red Balloons", at least on whatever station I was listening to at the time it was on the charts (WHTT in Boston, I think). At the time, I could never figure out why Casey Kasem always played the German version. When local radio stations began digging out '80s hits back in the mid '90s, though, they pulled out the German version, so now we have that just like everyone else. At first the German version sounded weird to me, but I've heard it so many times over the past 10-15 years that now it sounds normal and the English version sounds strange.


Posted By: AndrewChouffi
Date Posted: 07 February 2008 at 11:10pm
To MCT1,

Yes "Back In Time" got significant CHR/Top-40 play as the follow-up track to "Power Of Love".

I believe it charted on Radio & Records.

Andy


Posted By: Brian W.
Date Posted: 07 February 2008 at 11:14pm
Originally posted by AndrewChouffi AndrewChouffi wrote:

To MCT1,

Yes "Back In Time" got significant CHR/Top-40 play as the follow-up track to "Power Of Love".

It did chart on Radio & Records (possibly top 10).

Andy


Hmm, it's not listed on this Radio & Records page, which supposedly lists everything to ever chart in the top 40.

http://www2.uta.edu/hunt/charts/hueylewis.html - Huey Lewis Radio & Records songs


Posted By: TimNeely
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 4:09am
Originally posted by MCT1 MCT1 wrote:

(Tim's Goldmine price guides actually indicate that a 45 of "Never Say Goodbye" does exist, but it doesn't seem to have been available when the song was on the airplay chart, and it seems to be a very obscure release; I've never see one myself.)

A number was assigned, but no records or sleeves were pressed in America. My current 45 book has no value listed and a note underneath saying "Never released in U.S."

"Never Say Goodbye" was released as a 45 in at least the U.K., Australia, France and the Netherlands, however.




Posted By: MCT1
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 8:55am
Originally posted by Tim Neely Tim Neely wrote:

A number was assigned, but no records or sleeves were pressed in America. My current 45 book has no value listed and a note underneath saying "Never released in U.S."

I apologize for attributing information to you that's out of date; I guess I need to upgrade to a newer edition! I haven't because I use the books more as discography references than for the prices, but I guess my post can serve to show why one should buy a new price guide every few years. Even if you only use it for "old" information, that old information does get updated as new things come to light. I'm sure Pat can sympathize; he's making updates to his database on this web site all the time, but there are still people out there working off old hard copies of his book.      

I have two of your price guides, and after going back and checking, I notice that while one of them has a listing for a "Never Say Goodbye" 45 (the 3rd edition of the 45 rpm guide), the other (the post-1976 "Standard Catalog") does have a note stating that no U.S. release is known to exist. The latter guide was published several years ago, so this is clearly something that you had updated quite a while ago.     


Posted By: MCT1
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 9:17am
Originally posted by Brian W. Brian W. wrote:

Hmm, it's not listed on this Radio & Records page, which supposedly lists everything to ever chart in the top 40.

http://www2.uta.edu/hunt/charts/hueylewis.html - Huey Lewis Radio & Records songs

Looking at that site, and assuming that the information on it is accurate, I'm confused at to what R&R's policy was on charting songs that weren't commercially available as singles. "Isn't She Lovely", which seems to have received heavy airplay on Top 40 stations when new, isn't listed. Neither is "Be Good Johnny", which at least in my area has to have been in the top 40 in airplay (I'd say probably more like top 20, maybe even briefly top 10). But Led Zeppelin's "All My Love", which chronologically falls in between the two of them, is. So are the later "Into The Groove" (which, to be fair, could have charted on the basis of its availability as a 12" B-side) and "Never Say Goodbye".

I also notice that Bon Jovi's "Edge Of A Broken Heart", which was not commercially released as a single, charted in the lower reaches of R&R's Top 40. I didn't mention it in my earlier post, but this song also scraped the bottom of the Top 40 on Billboard's airplay chart.

I'm really intrigued by this site's claim that "All My Love" hit #10 in R&R. If that accurately represents this song's popularity on Top 40 radio, it was probably Led Zeppelin's second-biggest pop hit, but nobody knows that because it was ineligible to chart in Billboard. Does anyone remember this song getting Top 40 airplay back in 1979? Did Atlantic do anything to promote it?

I was just starting to listen to Top 40 radio right around the time "All My Love" was out, and I have a vague memory of having heard it on the radio. When I first saw one of Joel Whitburn's chart books back in the mid '80s, however, I noticed that "Fool In The Rain" was shown as the hit from the In Through The Out Door album. I was suprised to see that, and can remember wondering if maybe this was some kind of two-sided hit with "All My Love" was the B-side. As I got into record collecting, I learned that wasn't the case, and that "All My Love" had in fact never come out on a single at all. All this made me think that my memory must have been mistaken; maybe it was "Fool In The Rain" that I remembered hearing on the radio. But if this web site is accurate, my memory probably was accurate. That "All My Love" was a pop radio hit would also explain while the album's lone commercially released single ("Fool In the Rain") didn't come out until so long after the album itself was released. I had always attributed that to Zeppelin just being an extremely album-oriented band, but maybe there was more to the story.           


Posted By: AndrewChouffi
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 9:29am
Hi Brian,

Thank you for pointing out that R&R chart site!

I have caught a couple of errors on that site, so I'm going to have to rummage through my old R&Rs in the basement to see what I can find on that Huey Lewis track.

In the meantime I've edited my post above until I actually find the magazines from 1985.

Andy


Posted By: AndrewChouffi
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 9:34am
Hi MCT1,

Yes, "All My Love" received significant CHR/Top-40 play as the first (non)single from the album.

"Fool In The Rain" was the second charter (but first official commercial single) after "All My Love" received at least three months of airplay.

Andy


Posted By: Fetta
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 1:02pm
"We Said Hello Goodbye" by Phill Collins was a B-Side to "Don't Lose My Number" and got significant play in NY (I listened to all sorts of radio back then so I am not sure which stations played it). Anyone outside of NY remember hearing this.

While we are on this subject of B-Sides, how is it that a B-Side gets played anyway? I know it was done alot in the 50s and 60s, but very rarely did it happen in the 80s. A song like "We Said Hello Goodbye" is a good song, but no greater than any other B-Side or Album cut. So once again, how does a song like this end up getting airplay.

Thanks.


Posted By: Yah Shure
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 1:25pm
Fetta, most promo 45s in the '50s and '60s contained both A- and B-sides, thus allowing the more adventurous deejays an opportunity to flip the bird, as it were. By the mid-'70s, most promos were stereo/mono A-side-only, preventing those rebellious radio folks from disrupting the labels' game plans.


Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 2:41pm
I've seen an import 45 online for sale (like $50.00 or more) for "All My Love." The label time listed is 4:00, so some sort of edit must have been made. I'd be more than curious to see how the edit was achieved.


Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 3:12pm
I remember when the soundtrack to Back To The Future came out in 1985, "Back In Time" was played a lot as an album track at a Top 40 I worked at.


Posted By: Fetta
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 3:39pm
Thanks Yah Shure.....But in the 80s, I would assume that almost every DJ was following a playlists which doesnt allow for adventureous DJs. I just always wondered how a song like "We Said Hello Goodbye" got picked up at numerous stations without being released as a single (only as the B-Side of Don't Lose My Number)


Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 5:12pm
The last station I worked at that still had 45's in the studio was 1980. Then, a couple stations that had all carted music. I remember well the big rolls of tape we'd buy and make our own carts. Then, in 1982 and 1983, 45's played at a country station (all promos), LP's at an AOR. Loved the day I played the 12" for "Big Log" at 33. Speed was supposed to be 45, lol. Then, carted music again at a top 40 in '83-'86. By 1986, CD's made their way into studios. Got out of radio before the digital age hit.


Posted By: Yah Shure
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 6:34pm
"We Said Hello Goodbye" was picked up by some stations because it became a consensus cut from the album. Radio & Records didn't care about physical configurations; it was the reporting of actual airplay that they were concerned with. Some stations aired such consensus cuts on a limited basis in an effort to differentiate themselves from the competition.

John Fogerty's B-side, "Centerfield," began to emerge as a consensus cut from the album at about the time that the single's A-side, "Rock And Roll Girls," peaked at #20. "Centerfield" first charted as a B-side on the Hot 100 the same week that the A-side spent its twelfth and final week on the same chart. Although "Centerfield" (#44) wasn't a big hit as a single, it kept the album's momentum rolling right along. Today, most people would assume that it was the album's big hit.


Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 6:46pm
Originally posted by MCT1 MCT1 wrote:


I'm really intrigued by this site's claim that "All My Love" hit #10 in R&R. If that accurately represents this song's popularity on Top 40 radio, it was probably Led Zeppelin's second-biggest pop hit, but nobody knows that because it was ineligible to chart in Billboard. Does anyone remember this song getting Top 40 airplay back in 1979? Did Atlantic do anything to promote it?


In the autumn of '79 I did weekends at a station that was (like many AMs at the time) not-quite Top 40, but not quite AC. We played "All My Love". It was carted, which was what they did with album cuts...I never saw a promo single of it either.

My "day job" entailed considerable travel, I remember hearing the song on T-40s in many cities.

I don't know whether Atlantic did anything to promote the song, but I'm guessing they did...after all it had been many years since Led Zep had a hit on top 40 radio...an album cut by them would not likely have been a "must add" like it would have on an AOR.


Posted By: AndrewChouffi
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 6:52pm
Hi 'Yah Shure',

If I recall correctly "We Said Hello Goodbye" wasn't even on the LP in America (it might have been on the burgeoning CD format, though).

The track was strictly a B-side and to answer 'Fetta's' question as to why was it getting played when it wasn't an exceptional cut -- At the time Phil Collins was a HOT artist and stations were trying to play anything by him that their listeners' might think is "new music" as many of them owned all of his LPs.

Andy


Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 6:54pm
Originally posted by Yah Shure Yah Shure wrote:


John Fogerty's B-side, "Centerfield," began to emerge as a consensus cut from the album at about the time that the single's A-side, "Rock And Roll Girls," peaked at #20. "Centerfield" first charted as a B-side on the Hot 100 the same week that the A-side spent its twelfth and final week on the same chart.


Wasn't "Centerfield" issued as a separate release to radio? I'm pretty sure I have a mono/stereo copy of the single. Could it be that it was simply intended as a follow-up to R&RG (despite being on the flip side)?

Another one I've always wondered about is Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac"...a non-LP B side from an artist who prior to "Dancing In The Dark" was considered more of an album act than a CHR artist. Promo copies of DITD had the same song on both sides...if Columbia ever re-serviced the record to promote PC I wasn't aware of it.


Posted By: Yah Shure
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 6:55pm
Thanks for the correction, Andy!


Posted By: Yah Shure
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 7:11pm
Originally posted by Hykker Hykker wrote:

Wasn't "Centerfield" issued as a separate release to radio? I'm pretty sure I have a mono/stereo copy of the single. Could it be that it was simply intended as a follow-up to R&RG (despite being on the flip side)?


Yes, it was (mine's a stereo/stereo promo 45.) I think Warners would have been crazy to ignore the fact that the track had emerged as a consensus cut, and because retail and jukeboxes already had the single, it was a no-brainer to service it to radio in the 45 format.

Whether or not it was ever designated as an "official" follow-up could be debated 'til the cows come home, I suppose, but because the two sides shared only one week on the chart (and at different positions) I agree: the song stood on its own. "Centerfield"'s so-so 45 chart performance could be a reflection that the track peaked on radio shortly after the single was flipped.


Posted By: cmmmbase
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 8:14pm
We Said Hello Goodbye does appear on the CD edition of No Jacket Required as well as the Soundtrack of Playing For Keeps. It seems like AC radio was jonesing for "fresh" Phil Collins tunes in the spring of '88...


Posted By: MCT1
Date Posted: 08 February 2008 at 8:31pm
Originally posted by AndrewChouffi AndrewChouffi wrote:

If I recall correctly "We Said Hello Goodbye" wasn't even on the LP in America (it might have been on the burgeoning CD format, though).

The back of the "Don't Lose My Number" picture sleeve states that "We Said Hello Goodbye" was available on the CD version only of No Jacket Required. As alluded to, though, CDs only held a small portion of the album market in 1985.

The practice of using a CD-only or CD/cassette-only bonus track as the B-side to a 45 was not uncommon in the '80s. Another example is "A Apolitical Blues", the B-side to Van Halen's "Black And Blue". Similar to "We Said Hello Goodbye", the back of the picture sleeve states that "A Apolitical Blues" is available on the CD version only of OU812.


Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 09 February 2008 at 12:36am
"We Said Hello Goodbye" is actually one of my favorite Phil Collins songs. And it did get a LOT of radio airplay on Washington DC stations, too. I was quite aware that it wasn't an A-side single, that it was a (technically) non-LP B-side in terms of "LP." Luckily, it didn't take me too long to figure out it was on the album if you bought it in CD format.


Posted By: Gary
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 5:29pm
Originally posted by sriv94 sriv94 wrote:

Can't believe we've overlooked Talking Heads' "Once In A Lifetime" (another MTV fave).

And Gary, it's "Wouldn't It Be Good" ("Wouldn't It Be Nice" was the Beach Boys' tune).


Thanks Sriv94, My memory isn't like it used to be!


Posted By: MMathews
Date Posted: 11 February 2008 at 6:16pm
Hello, i must be going...

but before i do i have to say NY radio was also playing "We Said Hello Goodbye" . . also a big fav, and i had the flip side on vinyl but was also very happy to see it as the cd bonus track.
And Phil was unstoppable at the time...seem to recall "Inside Out" - also from 'No Jacket Required' - would also fit this catagory nicely? Still hear that from time to time...

-MM


Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 12 February 2008 at 9:29pm
MM:

I'm glad you mentioned Phil Collins' "Inside Out" getting some airplay because I thought I may have heard it on the radio back when the No Jacket Required album was on fire, but could never remember for certain. And speaking of No Jacket Required (since this thread keeps digressing anyway), I always thought the album track "Who Said I Would" sounded like "Sussudio" but far superior and should've been released as a single.


Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 12 February 2008 at 9:32pm
One note about the LP version of "We Said Hello Goodbye."
If I recall, the 45 didn't have the long instrumental intro like the LP. The 45 I think was just over 3:00.


Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 12 February 2008 at 9:34pm
Yep... That's also how I also remember hearing "We Said Hello Goodbye" on the radio, John.


Posted By: Fetta
Date Posted: 13 February 2008 at 6:06am
My 45 which was a stock copy, not a promo, DID have the long instrumental. I remember having to cue past it when I was listening to it.

-Fetta


Posted By: Santi Paradoa
Date Posted: 23 November 2009 at 2:17pm
"Need Your Loving Tonight" may not be a classic, but Queen's fourth single from their LP "The Game" should have been a bigger hit (stalled at #44 on BB late 1980). I heard it here on south Florida radio back then.

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Santi Paradoa

Miami, Florida


Posted By: bdpop
Date Posted: 23 November 2009 at 4:52pm
While were on the subject of Queen "A Kind of Magic" should have been a top 40 hit as well.

I also thought "Too Late" by Journey, "Tom Sawyer" by Rush and "Say It Isn't So" by the Outfield should have made the top 40.

"Back In Time" by Huey Lewis and the News was released as a 12" promo single back in 1985. If I remember correctly, it was only the LP version on both sides.


Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 24 November 2009 at 6:13am
Originally posted by bdpop bdpop wrote:


I also thought "Too Late" by Journey, "Tom Sawyer" by Rush and "Say It Isn't So" by the Outfield should have made the top 40.


I'm not familiar with the Journey song, but keep in mind that in 1982 when "Tom Sawyer" was released CHR/Top 40 radio was still in "early 80s wet noodle" mode, and didn't play much rock. AOR airplay didn't count toward the Hot 100, and I'd guess that most sales were albums, not singles.


Posted By: NightAire
Date Posted: 07 September 2011 at 10:24pm
Anybody know if the FANTASTIC single "Why Me" bu Planet P Project chopped off the synth intro, faded early, or did something else to get from the 4:06 length album to the 3:30 - 3:35 7" single length?

http://www.discogs.com/Planet-P-Project-Why-Me/master/182569 - Discogs.com doesn't even list a 7" / 45 RPM / single release for the United States for this song, but I sure heard my local "the music you see on MTV" hot hits station burning it. The only 7" singles mentioned were Spain & the Netherlands.

Timings seem to vary on the 12" / dance remix, too: 6:30, or 7:00. I found a video on YouTube of the remix that ran almost 7:00, but of course I have no idea if his turntable was running the proper speed or if there were two 12" mixes released globally... although I doubt it. I suspect these are just label errors.

(Chopping the synth intro off of the album version gives me a new "single" length of 3:41, BTW. That's not too far off of the 3:30, and 3:35 is of course even closer.)

-------------
Gene Savage
http://www.BlackLightRadio.com - http://www.BlackLightRadio.com
http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage - http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage
Tulsa, Oklahoma USA


Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 08 September 2011 at 6:50am
I have a promo 45 for this, listed as Geffen 29705, and it is labeled as a remix-edit. I don't believe the 45 version can be edited from the LP version.


Posted By: NightAire
Date Posted: 08 September 2011 at 5:39pm
YIKES... did not know that! So now the quest for the promo mix begins.

Does it indeed run 3:35 3:40-ish?

And (and I know this is a l-o-n-g shot), have you EVER seen that version in digital form?

Thanks for this information!!!

-------------
Gene Savage
http://www.BlackLightRadio.com - http://www.BlackLightRadio.com
http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage - http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage
Tulsa, Oklahoma USA


Posted By: Indy500
Date Posted: 08 September 2011 at 6:36pm
Originally posted by NightAire NightAire wrote:

Anybody know if the FANTASTIC single "Why Me" bu Planet P Project chopped off the synth intro, faded early, or did something else to get from the 4:06 length album to the 3:30 - 3:35 7" single length?

http://www.discogs.com/Planet-P-Project-Why-Me/master/182569 - Discogs.com doesn't even list a 7" / 45 RPM / single release for the United States for this song, but I sure heard my local "the music you see on MTV" hot hits station burning it. The only 7" singles mentioned were Spain & the Netherlands.

Timings seem to vary on the 12" / dance remix, too: 6:30, or 7:00. I found a video on YouTube of the remix that ran almost 7:00, but of course I have no idea if his turntable was running the proper speed or if there were two 12" mixes released globally... although I doubt it. I suspect these are just label errors.

(Chopping the synth intro off of the album version gives me a new "single" length of 3:41, BTW. That's not too far off of the 3:30, and 3:35 is of course even closer.)


The extended version runs 6:29 and is on several CDs. There is also a 5:20 instrumental version.


Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 08 September 2011 at 6:43pm
My promo copy runs 3:15.


Posted By: Yah Shure
Date Posted: 08 September 2011 at 8:47pm
Originally posted by eriejwg eriejwg wrote:

My promo copy runs 3:15.


I suspect steroids, then. ;)    http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh240/YahShure/PlanetP-WhyMeDJremix-edit.jpg - My copy just makes it to (3:14).


Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 08 September 2011 at 9:09pm
Yes, mine does too. Forgot the half-second silence I added at the beginning of the file I dubbed.


Posted By: NightAire
Date Posted: 08 September 2011 at 9:23pm
Good GRIEF... so it's even shorter than I was led to believe by the label!

Does anybody have a digital source for this promo / remix? If it's truly unavailable for purchase, I may have to beg for somebody's needle-drop...

(P.S. - A co-worker had the same reaction to this song today that I had last night: OH MY GOD where has this song been?!?

This thread was originally about marginal 80s singles that are popular today; are 80s shows / stations outside of Tulsa playing this song a bunch while Tulsa pretends this song never existed?)

-------------
Gene Savage
http://www.BlackLightRadio.com - http://www.BlackLightRadio.com
http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage - http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage
Tulsa, Oklahoma USA


Posted By: Indy500
Date Posted: 25 September 2011 at 9:21am
Anyone have a vinyl 45 of Kim Carnes - "You Make My Heart Beat Faster" Billboard #54? It runs just short of 4 minutes on the Cafe Racers CD and I'm wondering if the single is edited or remixed.

A forgotten Kim Carnes song.


Posted By: Fetta
Date Posted: 25 September 2011 at 11:16am
I think I may have it but may take me a few days to pull... I will send
you a mint needle drop.


Posted By: budaniel
Date Posted: 18 October 2012 at 7:39am
Funny thing is, I think many 80s listeners would recognize Kershaw's "Wouldn't It Be Good" simply because it was rerecorded by danny hutton and the hitters for Pretty In Pink. Actually had a friend streaming a new wave 80s station one day and the kershaw version came on and she said she loved the song because it was on the Pretty in Pink soundtrack, so I didn't hesitate in destroying her excitement by pointing out that it wasn't actually the same version.


Posted By: The Hits Man
Date Posted: 21 October 2012 at 9:47pm
That Romantics sone "What I Like About You" seemed to come out of nowhere in recent years. being steeped in mostly top 40 music in the late 70s/early 80s, I had certainly never heard of the song, and I only knew "I Melt With You" by Modern English from the film "Valley Girl" from 1985.

My feeble take on this is that the generation that were weaned on 80s music had less regard for charts, and status, especially because MTV, new in the early 80s, couldn't afford to limit itself to whatever was new and popular until around late 1983.

-------------


Posted By: musicmanatl
Date Posted: 22 October 2012 at 4:41am
That's interesting that you never heard "What I Like About You" when it was out in 1980. I was living outside Cleveland at that time, and I heard that record quite a bit. I always assumed that it didn't reach the top 40 because top 40 radio was so soft at the time - more Kenny Rogers and less Romantics, so to speak. :)

Frank


Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 22 October 2012 at 5:50am
Originally posted by musicmanatl musicmanatl wrote:

That's interesting that you never heard "What I Like About You" when it was out in 1980. I was living outside Cleveland at that time, and I heard that record quite a bit.


Likewise around Boston, it got a lot of airplay. I was very surprised when I updated my Whitburn a couple years later and found it was only a mid-charter.


Posted By: The Hits Man
Date Posted: 22 October 2012 at 4:05pm
Originally posted by musicmanatl musicmanatl wrote:

That's interesting that you never heard "What I Like About You" when it was out in 1980. I was living outside Cleveland at that time, and I heard that record quite a bit. I always assumed that it didn't reach the top 40 because top 40 radio was so soft at the time - more Kenny Rogers and less Romantics, so to speak. :)

Frank


Music was more regional back then. It got nowhere out here. I suppose the college crowd had it, but I was still in high school back then.   People out here were into either R&B/funk or country in 1980.

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Posted By: sriv94
Date Posted: 13 July 2015 at 9:11pm
Originally posted by eriejwg eriejwg wrote:

One note about the LP version of "We Said Hello Goodbye."
If I recall, the 45 didn't have the long instrumental intro like the LP. The 45 I think was just over 3:00.


So was there ever an official promo release that shaved off the long piano intro?

-------------
Doug
---------------
All of the good signatures have been taken.


Posted By: Bill Cahill
Date Posted: 14 July 2015 at 4:57am
On "We Said Hello Goodbye" my recollection is that there wasn't much airplay on the song until (as cmmmbase noted) it was included on the soundtrack of the movie "Playing For Keeps". That version was a remix and as I recall, drove the airplay. Although some PDs might not have known that it was a remix and grabbed the 45 version. I don't recall Atlantic sending either a new 45 or a soundtrack to promote it, I think I had to go to Turtles to buy the soundtrack. But they might have re-sent the soundtrack with a sticker on it promoting the song after the airplay started to grow, I can't remember. I believe the majority of the airplay happened after the final single from "No Jacket Required" and before "Invisible Touch" but I might be wrong with the timing.


Posted By: cmmmbase
Date Posted: 14 July 2015 at 5:48am
We Said Hello Goodbye hit Billboard's AC chart 4/2/88 and
peaked at #34 (15 weeks on the chart).


Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 14 July 2015 at 6:45pm
Is the remix of "We Said Hello Goodbye" noticeably different? Was the "Playing for Keeps" soundtrack released on CD?


Posted By: Bill Cahill
Date Posted: 15 July 2015 at 4:35am
Looks like Programmers may have gone to the song later
than I remembered. There was a move to "even out"
playlists in the late 80's by going back and grabbing
songs (usually pop songs) that in some programmer's
minds "should have" been hits. I just remember
specifically finding the soundtrack version because that
was supposed to be the better mix.


Posted By: 80smusicfreak
Date Posted: 15 July 2015 at 7:37pm
Originally posted by EdisonLite EdisonLite wrote:

Was the "Playing for Keeps" soundtrack released on CD?

Indeed, it was. Label & no. for the U.S. CD was Atlantic 81678-2; I have it myself. The soundtrack was a complete flop (didn't even make the top 200 in Billboard), and thus was a cut-out rack staple back in the late '80s - hence 90% of all copies you find today (any of the three formats) will have a drill hole or saw-mark on the spine. This is one of those titles that is fairly rare on CD, but because it stiffed, there is little demand, and thus it can still be had fairly cheap. (It contained no top 40 hits, and therefore, isn't included in Pat's db.) So while I don't run across Playing for Keeps on CD every day, when I do, it's one that I almost always see in the $1-$2 cheapie bin or in thrift stores while out on my music travels. It was released in September of '86, and because that was still the early days of the digital format, all U.S. copies of the CD I've seen to date were pressed in Japan. In addition to being a remix, the title of the Phil Collins track was actually modified slightly to "We Said Hello, Goodbye (Don't Look Back)" on the soundtrack. Used copy currently on eBay, w/ photos: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MADE-IN-JAPAN-BY-SANYO-rare-PLAYING-FOR-KEEPS-cd-SOUNDTRACK-pete-townshend-/331601096508?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d34f72f3c - O.S.T. - "Playing for Keeps" (U.S. CD)

Quote Is the remix of "We Said Hello Goodbye" noticeably different?

On YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHRJ5dGYynk - PHIL COLLINS - "We Said Hello, Goodbye" (45 & No Jacket Required CD version) (4:15)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH5vsf18KD4 - PHIL COLLINS - "We Said Hello, Goodbye" (O.S.T. Playing for Keeps version) (3:42)


Posted By: Ringmaster_D
Date Posted: 16 July 2015 at 6:24am
Wow. I never realized there was a second mix of this track. The version on the No Jacket Required CD is the only one I ever heard on the radio, complete with the long intro.


Posted By: Underground Dub
Date Posted: 27 July 2015 at 10:12pm
MTV was such a huge influence on perceived hits!


Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 20 December 2015 at 8:48am
Here's another one I didn't see posted yet: "I Got You" by Split Enz.

-------------
Aaron Kannowski
http://www.uptownsound.com" rel="nofollow - Uptown Sound
http://www.919thepeak.com" rel="nofollow - 91.9 The Peak - Classic Hip Hop


Posted By: Steve Carras
Date Posted: 22 December 2015 at 10:22pm
Originally posted by MCT1 MCT1 wrote:

Originally posted by in the parallel 50s/60s/70s thread, TimNeely in the parallel 50s/60s/70s thread, TimNeely wrote:

You have two different categories of songs here: Those that never charted because they were never issued as commercial singles...and those that were issued as singles but didn't catch on with the Top 40 crowd...I'm going to list some that you might hear on the radio today, usually on "classic rock" stations. These lists are far from complete.

Looking at all the responses in both threads, I see four different categories:

1) Songs that were popular with Top 40 audiences, but weren't Top 40 hits because they weren't eligible to chart (generally because they weren't released as singles at the time). Examples: "Into The Groove", "Isn't She Lovely", numerous Beatles album cuts.

2) Songs that weren't popular with Top 40 audiences when new, but eventually became popular with audiences that listen to formats that play old Top 40 hits, to the point where a modern observer who isn't familiar with chart data might assume that these songs must have been Top 40 hits. Examples: "What I Like About You", "I Melt With You".

3) Songs that were/are popular with some type of non-Top 40 audience (AOR seems to be the main focus in the responses of this type so far) but never crossed over to Top 40 audiences. Examples: numerous Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd songs.

4) Songs that people feel should have been Top 40 hits. Everyone's are different.

I'm not sure what the original poster had in mind, but in this post I'd like to focus on #1 and #2. They are probably the easiest to define, and the most relevant for this board. By contrast, #3 and #4 both cover a lot of ground.

Under #1, the most obvious '80s example is undoubtedly "Into The Groove". Another that comes to mind is "Be Good Johnny" by Men At Work. Although it was eventually released as a single, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was getting Top 40 airplay well before the single came out.

Once Billboard began maintaining an airplay chart (and allowing non-singles to chart in it), "Never Say Goodbye" by Bon Jovi and "Spotlight" by Madonna both made the Top 40 of the airplay chart despite the unavailability of commercial singles. (Tim's Goldmine price guides actually indicate that a 45 of "Never Say Goodbye" does exist, but it doesn't seem to have been available when the song was on the airplay chart, and it seems to be a very obscure release; I've never see one myself.)

Did "Back In Time" by Huey Lewis & The News or "Pink Cadillac" by Bruce Springsteen receive significant Top 40 airplay when new? I don't think the former was ever released as a single, while the latter was a B-side. I remember hearing these on the radio, but in the mid '80s I was switching back and forth a lot between CHR and AOR, and I don't really remember which stations I heard these on. If they don't fit here, they definitely fit under #2.

Under #2, "What I Like About You", "Dancing With Myself", "I Want Candy", "I Melt With You" and "Tempted" are all great examples.

I'd bet that many people would assume that Squeeze had at least one Top 40 hit before "Hourglass" (certainly "Tempted", maybe "Pulling Mussels From The Shell" or "Black Coffee In Bed"), and U2 at least one before "Pride" (certainly "New Year's Day", maybe "I Will Follow" or "Sunday Bloody Sunday", which wasn't even released as a single).

Among others noted upthread, I'm sure that "Rebel Yell", "Mexican Radio" and "Blister In The Sun" are all probably widely believed to have been Top 40 hits, and that many people would be surprised to learn that Yaz never had any Top 40 hits, and New Order just one during the '80s. If "Just Like Heaven" by the Cure hadn't managed to sneak into the Top 40 for one week, it would belong here as well. Several others already listed are at least arguable. I'd also add "Workin' For A Livin'" by Huey Lewis & The News and "I Don't Care Anymore" by Phil Collins to the "arguable" list.

What a lot of these songs have in common, of course, is the MTV factor alluded to upthread. Many of them are new wave/alternative songs that were ahead of the curve in terms of what Top 40 radio was playing at the time. When new, they were considered too "out there" for Top 40 radio, but in hindsight they seem to fit in with what we now think of as "'80s Top 40".


SInce you mention Yaz, their biggest "hit" was probaly 'Situation"(aka that "Move Out, don't mess around" song), and it's their best, early 80s).

-------------
You know you're really older when you think that younger singer Jesse McCartney's related in anyway to former Beatle Paul McCartney.


Posted By: headstar
Date Posted: 13 September 2020 at 1:14pm
There's a ton of these early Alt retroactive hits that didn't reach the American Top 40 when released. But became well known regardless.

Alphaville - Big In Japan
The Alarm - Rain In The Summertime
The Alarm - Sixty Eight Guns
Dramarama - Anything, Anything (I'll Give You)
XTC - Dear God
Iggy Pop - Lust For Life
Echo & The Bunnymen - Lips Like Sugar
The Cure - Close To Me
The Cure - Boys Don't Cry
The Smiths - How Soon Is Now?
The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated
Q-Feel - Dancing In Heaven (Orbital Be Bop)
Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
B-Movie - Nowhere Girl
Berlin - Sex (I'm A...)
The Toyes - Smoke Two Joints

Just to name a few, in addition to the classic Alt songs already mentioned in this thread.



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