Maybe I should have let this thread hibernate for the winter, but while walking through a store today, I heard not Christmas music, not even one of Buffalo's two All Christmas Music AC stations, but a song from Heart that I barely recalled hearing on the radio a few times in the mid 80s. It must have stiffed. Heart's remake of Aaron Neville's classic, "Tell It Like It Is" was pouring out of the speakers and I wondered, "Who the hell put THIS in rotation? Why not play the original version?" Heart must have had writer's block or been in a re-make state of mind because they also did a version of the Righteous Brothers great hit, "Unchained Melody." Two great songs, two unremarkable stiff-a-rellos ...on Epic records and tapes.
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And The Stiffs Just Keep On Comin'
- Thread starter Radknowski
- Start date
I recently heard Rupert Holmes' "Escape" aka "the Pina Colada Song" - not a stiff by any means, but it brought to mind a follow up by Rupert called "Him." (him....him....him...what's she gonna do about him?) I recall playing it in Portland, Maine. Kind of a cool song, but a stifferoo, for sure.
Nick Seneca
Nick Seneca
Good grief! Songs even more cringe-worthy than "Escape"? Oy!
I knew Chas would be all over "Answering Machine" when I saw the previous post. 
Though not a Rupert Holmes entry I believe Poco's "Under The Gun" was from around the same time. It never made Top 40, not sure how high it charted but I do remember it getting airplay back in the day. Good to see The Stiffs back on page 1. Another Pabst for Radknowski! ;D
Though not a Rupert Holmes entry I believe Poco's "Under The Gun" was from around the same time. It never made Top 40, not sure how high it charted but I do remember it getting airplay back in the day. Good to see The Stiffs back on page 1. Another Pabst for Radknowski! ;DJohn C said:I knew Chas would be all over "Answering Machine" when I saw the previous post.
I'll join that toast John!
"Under The Gun" was a hit for Burbach's K104/Erie, therefore it was played by all the Burbach Top 40's, including OK-100/Cortland-Ithaca, where I ran into it as a power oldie in 1983.
Never could get used to seeing Poco...or any of the great ABC/Dunhill acts on MCA. "Crazy Love", to my knowledge, was the last hit on the ABC imprint.
B
Bob1370
Guest
Saw a couple references to Rupert Holmes' "Him" and "Answering Machine", and both songs actually did well enough among 25-54 listeners in Buffalo to make WBEN's hot rotation when they first were released (and IIRC they got a lot of play on WGR as well). Of course, Buffalo was an early hotbed of the AC format, along with New York City (WNBC), Syracuse (WHEN) and Cleveland (WHK, WGAR).
unitron said:
IIRC "That's Where I Went Wrong" went Top 15.
In the early '70's Nashville had a creepy habit of bastardizing Top 40 hits...(not to be confused with such remarkable (AHEM!) covers like Anthony Armstrong Jones' "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" or Narvel Felts' "Drift Away".)
I remember a rework of Loggins & Messina's "Your Mama Don't Dance" with completely new lyrics that were absolutely vomitific. Buck Owens turned "The Cover Of 'Rolling Stone'" into "The Cover Of The Music City News". And now that I think of it, someone in Nashville covered "Garden Party" about the same time. That has to be the song you're thinking of here.
There's a lot of long forgotten stuff that Waylon & Willie fought against when they started the "outlaw" movement circa 1975. When The Eagles sounded more Country than 80% of what Country radio was playing in 1975, you knew there was a problem.
Element9 said:
That's a new one on me. Video looks like it wasn't cheap to produce for its day.
Did I ever mention Blue Oyster Cult's "Dancing In The Ruins"?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlVWprYozR8
Great song we played at Burbach's Top 40 OK-100 Cortland/Ithaca in 1986. Think we were the only one...
Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting" was certified gold 38 years ago today. I remember it hitting in the top 30 of the year on the KB year-end countdowns in 1974 (#4) and 1975 (#27). His follow up was a true stiff called "Dance The Kung Fu". I don't know if it ever had any airplay anywhere?
Hard to believe that a follow-up to "Kung Fu Fighting" would stiff... </sarcasm>