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And The Stiffs Just Keep On Comin'

Bob1370 said:
Now that the classic hits stations are beginning to dip pretty deeply into the 80s, some of the real "disappearing acts' include Donnie Iris (remember "Ah, Leah" from 1980-81, which I think hit top 5 nationally?) and Howard Jones ("What Is Love?", "You Know I Love You" and "No One Is To Blame"). They were everywhere on the dial back in the day...now, noplace...
Click to expand...

Rounding out our Howard Jones Superset, "Things Can Only Get Better"

While we're travelling through the 80s how about The Style Council "My Ever Changing Moods" #29 in 1984 and Benjamin Orr "Stay the Night" from '86.
 
As long as we're noting solo efforts by members of The Cars... Ric Ocasek's "Something to Grab For" probably fits the category, while "Emotion in Motion" probably charted high enough to be more of a "where is it now" than a True Stiff.

Neither is on my iTunes, but the late Ben Orr's "Stay The Night" certainly is. (He died of pancreatic cancer in 2000.)

And as the resident suggestor of Chicago songs, I will point out that they had a "Stay The Night" single as well, which is not heard much any more either.
 
Bob1370 said:
Now that the classic hits stations are beginning to dip pretty deeply into the 80s, some of the real "disappearing acts' include Donnie Iris (remember "Ah, Leah" from 1980-81, which I think hit top 5 nationally?) and Howard Jones ("What Is Love?", "You Know I Love You" and "No One Is To Blame"). They were everywhere on the dial back in the day...now, noplace...
Click to expand...
Hear Donnie Iris often on 94.9 The Rock {Marsden's station} I never realised "Ah Leah" was that old!
 
Spent some time yesterday listening to "Vinyl 95.3" a Classic Hits station with a pretty good signal (but no live or even voice-tracked jocks) from Hamilton, Ontario. "Glamor Boy" by Burton Cummings (of the Guess Who) came up and immediately set off the "stiff alarm" (patent pending.) The lyrics reminded me of a backsell by a jock (probably on 1050 CHUM or 68 CFTR) who opined the song was about David Bowie. Strange how stuff like that stays in the mental filing cabinet. It's like remembering Don Berns' version of "The Night Before Christmas." "Glamor Boy" also brought to mind "Stand Tall" which was a marginal hit (on Portrait records, tapes and cassettes, available at all Cavages and Record Threatre.)
 
Ha! "My" version of The Night Before Christmas actually came off of a card I had received years earlier.
By the way, at my age, "stiff alarm" means something else entirely...

So now I guess it's time to add to this thread again:

I Live For The Sun-The Sunrays
Softly Whispering I Love You-The English Congregation.
 
I heard a Christmas song yesterday in Wegman's of all places that I think stiffed originally but gained much favor in the after-life: Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping". Anyone who can fill me in on the actual trajectory of this song please do.
 
Wegmans has a broader playlist than a non-trivial percentage of radio stations (insert [banghead] here).

Don't have any facts on "Christmas Wrapping" but I believe you're correct on this.

Great song, has a beat, you can dance to it. Pretty clever lyrics also.

The embargo on holiday music has been lifted from my iTunes and the first play was the Vince Guaraldi "A Charlie Brown Christmas" soundtrack, in its entirety. (Not part of our subject category.)

Have not gotten to "Mele Kalikimaka" yet though ;D
 
Mike Sheridan said:
Anybody here ever heard of "Mechanical World" by Spirit? Maybe it just got airplay in South Florida?
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We played it at WDRC in Hartford. Great tune...and lost to the ages, I'm afraid. I think the folloow up to that song was the more-successful "I've Got A Line On You"...another great song.
 
Debaser said:
Mike Sheridan said:
Anybody here ever heard of "Mechanical World" by Spirit? Maybe it just got airplay in South Florida?
Click to expand...

We played it at WDRC in Hartford. Great tune...and lost to the ages, I'm afraid. I think the folloow up to that song was the more-successful "I've Got A Line On You"...another great song.
Click to expand...
"I Got a Line On you" kicks the llama's ass, DB! As long as we're working the Spirit stiffs catalogue, I'll offer "Fresh Garbage," circa 1968. I first heard it on 1080 WUFO, which for a brief time (not much more than the summer) did a progressive format from 6 to signoff. The show was hosted by "Brother Love" who was actually Jim Sotet, an outstanding (progressive and jazz) jock who also worked at WYSL-FM 103.3 ; WBNY-FM 96.1 ; 1570 WBUZ and later did A&R and promotion for record companies, including Warner Brothers, IIRC.
 
"How about "All You Zombies" by The Hooters?"

That one is a good example of how the single and CHR airplay started to become less important, and AOR album cut play rose in importance in making a group's reputation. That cut was all over stations like WCMF, 97 Rock, WNEW and of course WMMR and WYSP in the band's home town. It became a good example of the album cut hit, which you saw lots of once Lee Abrams' Superstars programming concept Helped the Hooters album Nervous Night go platinum in '86.
 


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