Non-Hits you couldn't live without

[Robert Bass]

Mister Bass, you are correct about Mrs. Abdul---she had three number-one hits in 1989: Straight Up (with Cold Hearted as the B-side), then Forever Your Girl, then Cold Hearted, which had been re-released as an A-side (with a different B-side).

Actually firepoint525 gets the credit for pointing out the Paula Abdul information. As far as the B-side of Straight Up goes, my copy's B-side is not Cold Hearted. It's a Power Mix version of Straight Up with a run time of 4:57. I don't think I've ever listened to it either.

R

 

[radioman148]

Here are three "B" sides I've always cherished:

Marlena Four Seasons, flip side of Candy Girl No Surfing Today Four Seasons, flip side of ??? ]Coming Home Baby[/i] Kai Winding, flip side of More

Right there with you--I've always favored "Marlena".

 

[cyberdad]

Here are three "B" sides I've always cherished:

Marlena Four Seasons, flip side of Candy Girl No Surfing Today Four Seasons, flip side of ??? ]Coming Home Baby[/i] Kai Winding, flip side of More

Right there with you--I've always favored "Marlena".

Okay, so let's start a club!

I never really cared for "Candy Girl", but "Marlena" has always been one of my favorites. Regular rotation on my iPod. IMHO, part of what makes this great little pop tune even better is I think most of us have known/dealt with someone like the subject of the song....who keeps "pulling your chain" even when you know exactly what's going on!

 

[jfrancispastirchak]

Here are three "B" sides I've always cherished:
Marlena Four Seasons, flip side of Candy Girl No Surfing Today Four Seasons, flip side of ??? ]Coming Home Baby[/i] Kai Winding, flip side of More

Right there with you--I've always favored "Marlena".

Okay, so let's start a club!
..."Marlena" has always been one of my favorites. Regular rotation on my iPod. IMHO, part of what makes this great little pop tune even better is I think most of us have known/dealt with someone like the subject of the song....who keeps "pulling your chain" even when you know exactly what's going on!

True... But enough about my first wife...

 

[firepoint525]

Mister Bass, you are correct about Mrs. Abdul---she had three number-one hits in 1989: Straight Up (with Cold Hearted as the B-side), then Forever Your Girl, then Cold Hearted, which had been re-released as an A-side (with a different B-side).

Actually firepoint525 gets the credit for pointing out the Paula Abdul information. As far as the B-side of Straight Up goes, my copy's B-side is not Cold Hearted. It's a Power Mix version of Straight Up with a run time of 4:57. I don't think I've ever listened to it either.

I was thinking that Paula Abdul's song "Knocked Out" figured in there somewhere. I'm guessing that it was a major dance club hit, but just never crossed over to mainstream pop. I was thinking that there was some renewed pop interest in it after some of her other songs became hits, but apparently not enough interest in it for it to make the charts. Surprising, since it sounded like nearly all of her other hits. But maybe that was a liability in this case.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3gTLXpXxtk

 

[Tom Wells]

Beatnik Beach by the Go-Gos.

 

[cyberdad]

..."Marlena" has always been one of my favorites. Regular rotation on my iPod. IMHO, part of what makes this great little pop tune even better is I think most of us have known/dealt with someone like the subject of the song....who keeps "pulling your chain" even when you know exactly what's going on!

True... But enough about my first wife...
[/quote]

ROFL! ;D

 

[stevations]

Laid Back's White Horse was the B side of Sunshine Reggae

 

[allenv]

I'll Know Her when I See Her-Cooper Brothers-1979

 

[RIN3GUY]

I have to sneak in just one gem penned by Neil Sedaka that got a bit above #50:

"Don't Hide Your Love" - Cher (#46, '72; #50 Cash Box)
"Shoot For the Moon" - Poco (#50, '82)
"Can You Read My Mind" - Maureen McGovern (#52, '79)
"What 'Cha Gonna Do For Me" - Chaka Khan (#53, '81)
"Tough World" - Donnie Iris (#57, '82)
"All Along" - Blessid Union of Souls (#70, '96)
"I'll Get Over You" - Crystal Gayle (#71, '76)
"Back in My Life Again" - Carpenters (#72, '81)
"Stand or Fall" - The Fixx (#76, '82)
"Holiday Road" - Lindsey Buckingham (#82, '83)
"We May Never Love Like This Again" - Maureen McGovern (#83, '75)
"The Hardest Part" - Blondie (#84, '80)
"Don't Want to Say Goodbye" - Raspberries (#86, '72)
"Boats Against the Current" - Eric Carmen (#88, '78)
"Sunrise" - Duran Duran (#89, '04)
"AM Radio" - Everclear (#101, '00)
"You're an Ocean" - Fastball (#101, '00)
"Sing a Happy Song" - O'Jays (#102, '79)
"Go Away" - Gloria Estefan (#103, '93)
"Keep This Heart in Mind" - Bonnie Raitt (#104, '82)
"Dreams" - Grace Slick (#104, '80)
"Jamaica" - Bobby Caldwell (#105, '82)
"Goin' Back to China" - Diesel (#105, '82)

And the total non-charters, at least on US Hot 100:
"Tell Me Why" - Beatles ('63)
"Give a Little Love" - Bay City Rollers ('75)
"Turn to Gold" - David Austin ('84)
"In the Time It Takes" - Beth Nielsen Chapman & Paul Carrack ('93)
"Never Knew Love" - Oleta Adams ('94)
"She Remembered" - Eric Carmen ('99)
"Someone That You Loved Before" - Diana Ross ('99)
"Little Piece of Heaven" - Neville Brothers ('99)

 

[firepoint525]

"Holiday Road" - Lindsey Buckingham (#82, '83)]

Kinda surprised that "Holiday Road" was not reissued after it was used in Vacation later that year. I'm sure that everyone still remembers that scene with Chevy Chase tooling along in that ugly station wagon making "googly eyes" at Christie Brinkley as she zooms past him in the sports car. ;D

 

[johnbasalla]

Time once again for another set of hard to find vinyl, because they didn't make it so there was no reason to press tons of copies. Every one of the following are promo copies. They were saved from the trash by me from the radio station. They are not trash, which is why they are here.
First, two related to eachother:
HAWKWIND - "Urban Guerilla", United Artists Records (1973). "I'm an urban guerilla, I make bombs in my shelter..."
so the lyrics go. All the makings of a Top Ten hit, right? (NOT). However, this underground sounding hard rock piece flirted with success in Britain. It got pulled as it rose the charts due to some IRA bombings. The IRA were not an issue in the U.S., but the single didn't get off the ground at all. I'll bet there wasn't a load of promotional muscle put behind it. "Lemmy" Kilmeister, later to form Motorhead, was in the band at the time. The only song written and sung by Robert Calvert before leaving the band for about 3 years. It's quite something to hear.

CAPTAIN LOCKHEED AND THE STARFIGHTERS - "Ejection",.United Artists Records (1973). This is from a concept album by Hawkwind member Robert Calvert. It could have been a Hawkwind track. Upbeat underground oriented hard rock. Almost as good as "Urban Guerilla". The LP and, presumably, this track received some radio airplay on burgeoning Progressive Rock stations.

CARAVAN - "Headloss", London Records, 1973. This is an upbeat, happy electric Rock track from an album rock band. An obvious choice for a single, it's too bad it didn't make it. Has "early-1970s" written all over it sound-wise.
Another band that received some airplay on Album Rock/Prog Rock stations of the day. The band continues to perform to this day. Their last record release came in 2010.

CASH AND CARRY (with Bobby Setter and Company) - "Tchip, Tchip", Tara Records (1974). This was a cheesy electronic/moog synthesizer version of the polka tune known by the names "The Birdie Dance - or Song", and "Dance Little Bird". If you hear it, most of you will recognize it because you've probably danced to it at weddings and other parties. Harmless, inconsequential fun. Tara Records was part of the Famous Music Corporation (A G+W Company). Tara Records was the home of "Eres Tu (Touch The Wind)" by Mocedades.

 

[johnbasalla]

Non-Hits you couldn't live without (May 2014 edition)

I would think that "music nuts" have a good number of recordings that didn't make it that they pull out and play.
However, I haven't heard from anyone else who did what I did, and that is to either grab singles that were being thrown out by radio stations or picked up at thrift stores.
The first two are radio station finds, the others are thrift store finds:

"BIG MOUTH" by Big Mouth (Atlantic Records, 1988). This was an attempt to build another Beastie Boys. Big Mouth sounds just like them. The "song", "Big Mouth" is a "Fight For Your Right To Party" wannabe.

"FOREVER IN LOVE" by The Love Unlimited Orchestra (20th Century Records, 1975). Remember the big hit "Love's Theme"? This is another lushly orchestrated Pop instrumental with a light danceable beat arranged and produced by Barry White with orchestration by Gene Page (who had his own unsuccessful records which I may get to someday).
I like it just as much as "Love's Theme". The main guitar lick is the hook of the song. However, everything clicks here, even though it failed to make "The Hot 100". A very pleasant listen.

"THE LEGENDARY CHICKEN FAIRY" by Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan (Mega Records, 1972). "The Tennessee Birdwalk" singers walked from label to label at least through 1974 when they were on Epic Records. For their 1970 hit, they were on a Mercury subsidiary, in 1972 they were on Mega Records, home to the big instrumental hit "Joy" by Apollo 100 which came out around the same time as "The Legendary Chicken Fairy". I can't say this single is "legendary", but I can say it's a lightly upbeat, silly little ditty. It has an old-timey feel within it's soft Pop-Country Rock structure. It also sports Jack & Misty's patented harmony which is also heard on their big hit "The Tennessee Birdwalk".

"CRIPPLE CRICKET" by Harlow Wilcox and The Oakies (Plantation Records, 1970-1972). A great lost pop hit is "Groovy Grubworm" from 1969 on Plantation Record #28. "Cripple Cricket" is record #60. An LP with this song came out in
1972, but I'm thinking the single may have proceeded it. This song is another upbeat, fun Countrified Rock instrumental. Where it separates from its predecessor is it's not a novelty piece like "Groovy Grubworm". Clocking in at one minute and 35 seconds, radio DJs wouldn't have time to go to the restroom during this one, so they'd just have to stay and listen, which is fine, because it's so good. Harlow Wilcox was a successful session guitarist from Oklahoma.

 

[geets]

Here are a few Canadian non hits that I highly recommend.

'Painless' by Eva Everything. This highly talented artist/singer was one of the pioneers in music videos (you can see the music video of this song on Youtube). It is found on the album 'Boob Tube', which I also recommend (if you can find it).

'Call Girl' by Nanette Workman. She performed this in a forgettable Quebec film 'Scandale', and it also appeared on an album rerecorded (but without the same energy) with the same name.

'Mixed Emotions' by Sherry Kean (aka Sherry Huffman). From her debut EP of the same name, she was one of those artists that was poised on the edge of success, but never quite made it over the hump. Her single 'I Want You Back' was a Canadian Top 40 hit.

Chinese Graffiti by Blue Peter. This band received a lot of airplay in the 80s from Toronto's alternative radio station CFNY, and from Canada's largest record store chain at the time (Sam The Record Man - one of the band members was Sam's son, I believe, at the very least related), but they never broke into the mainsteam. Backing vocals on the song are by the then Sherry Huffman.

'Where Do The Boys Go' by Men Without Hats. They had a worldwide hit with 'Safety Dance' but in my opinion this is their best single (it didn't have the same international success, but it was still a Top 40 hit in Canada) and not heard much these days.

 

[johnbasalla]

Non-Hits You Couldn't Live Without

Thank you for the detailed descriptions of your Canadian picks. That's what I like. I have a Nanette Workman single on Atco records (U.S.) from the mid 1970s that's pretty good. I may add it to the growing list here, as it failed to chart anywhere as far as I know.

 

[johnbasalla]

Non-Hits You Couldn't Live Without

Oh... forgot. "Pop Goes The World" was a pretty sizeable hit for Men Without Hats in the U.S. How well did it do in Canada? "Pop Goes The World" is my favorite of theirs.

 

[Avid Listener]

Currently dominating the playlist on my MP3 player are several different versions of "Lilac Wine" and "Bird on a Wire".

 

[JeffM]

I can only agree with Tom Wells that variety in music on radio is not a "train wreck." When I first began listening seriously to radio in the early 70's, there was a new (but short-lived) FM pop station here where you would hear Led Zep followed by the Carpenters, Loggins & Messina, Paul McCartney, Three Dog Night, Barry White, Cher and Charlie Rich! And it's because of this that I developed a wide range in musical tastes; it was an education in pop music. Maybe you didn't "dig" everything you heard, but you became conversant, you knew the players. By the way, the station failed only when the management switched to deep-album prog-rock and acted "too cool for the room."

I've recognized some of my favorite if flopped 45's on some other folks' lists (thanks!) Here are a few more, pop with a slight lean to MOR...

Bobbi Martin - "Something Tells Me"
David Soul - "Silver Lady"
Tony Orlando & Dawn - "Skybird"
Anne Murray - "Sunday Sunrise"
Neil Sedaka - "Amarillo"
The Hues Corporation - "Rockin' Soul"
Bobby Vinton - "Summer Love Sensation"
The Bellamy Brothers - "Crossfire"
The Hollies - "The Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam McGee"
The Sweet - "Wig-Wam-Bam"
Kasenetz-Katz Super Circus - "Down In Tennessee" (45 single version)
Paul Anka - "This Is Love"
Diana Ross - "Chain Reaction"
Shakin' Stevens - "A Love Worth Waiting For"
Midnite Flite - "Don't Turn Away" (NBC used it as their baseball credits music)
Tina Rainford - "Silverbird" (Europop promoted not too successfully as C&W)
Roberta Flack - "If Ever I See You Again"
Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods - "The House On Telegraph Hill"
Mary McGregor - "I've Never Been To Me" (Waaaay better than Charlene's version)
Fox - "Only You Can"
The Sugar Bears - "You Are The One" (Might have been a hit if Post Cereals hadn't given away a zillion cardboard flexi-discs of it on their packages...)

And remember, one man's "crap" is another's "classic."

 

[Avid Listener]

I can only agree with Tom Wells that variety in music on radio is not a "train wreck." When I first began listening seriously to radio in the early 70's, there was a new (but short-lived) FM pop station here where you would hear Led Zep followed by the Carpenters, Loggins & Messina, Paul McCartney, Three Dog Night, Barry White, Cher and Charlie Rich! And it's because of this that I developed a wide range in musical tastes; it was an education in pop music. Maybe you didn't "dig" everything you heard, but you became conversant, you knew the players. By the way, the station failed only when the management switched to deep-album prog-rock and acted "too cool for the room."

"Train wreck" refers to the juxtaposition of songs. Even within a single genre of music, it's a more pleasing experience for the listener to have the mood created by any given song gently transitioned to something different somewhat gradually rather than with a jarring, discordant crash. I don't think that going from "Stairway to Heaven" to "We've Only Just Begun" is a train wreck, but going from "The Immigrant Song" to "Top of the World" would be.

I appreciate many genres of music, just as I appreciate many different kinds of food. I love chocolate ice cream. I love jalapenos. However, I do not put jalapenos on my chocolate ice cream.

 

[radioman148]

"Silver Lady" is an excellent record. It reached #1 in England. I never understood why it didn't get the airplay that "Don't Give Up On Us" did in the US.