It this is a lost hit, oldies stations are in deep trouble

[KlassikKountry]

I just happen to pass by OGL today and heard Ron play Hanky Panky, what really shocked me, is this was their lost hit of the day. I don't listen to OGL, so I do not know what they consider a LH, but how can this be possible, this was a constant staple on oldies stations years back. How can a overplayed song like this be considered a lost hit. If they played, Don't bet money Honey-Scott, Do the Freddie-F&Dreamers, Gloria-Them/Shadows of Knight, Walk on By-Van Dyke, The Clock-B. Washington, I would consider the term used correctly. It seems so safe, to make the audiance think its a song that you don't ever hear, when in fact its very popular and was constantly played. Is this the fate of oldies stations, never touch real "oh wow" lost hits anymore. If what they say is so, then WMID's entire playlist must be lost hits.

 

[saund3461]

WMGK constantly misuses the term B-side. They apply this term to a song that was a perennial favorite during the day's of AOR radio before we had Classic Rock stations. It's usually a song that doesen't fall into thier core artist stable, but was played on a regular rotation when it was new. For example, if they played The Stroke by Billy Squire, it would be referred to as a B-side, when in fact, it was never the flip side of anything.

OK Debbie, time to reply, and tell why I'm wrong and how horrible I'm being to your station and Greater Media.

I just happen to pass by OGL today and heard Ron play Hanky
> Panky, what really shocked me, is this was their lost hit of
> the day. I don't listen to OGL, so I do not know what they
> consider a LH, but how can this be possible, this was a
> constant staple on oldies stations years back. How can a
> overplayed song like this be considered a lost hit. If they
> played, Don't bet money Honey-Scott, Do the
> Freddie-F&Dreamers, Gloria-Them/Shadows of Knight, Walk on
> By-Van Dyke, The Clock-B. Washington, I would consider the
> term used correctly. It seems so safe, to make the audiance
> think its a song that you don't ever hear, when in fact its
> very popular and was constantly played. Is this the fate of
> oldies stations, never touch real "oh wow" lost hits
> anymore. If what they say is so, then WMID's entire
> playlist must be lost hits.
>

 

[peppertree]

What about Say I Am by Tommy James? A wonderful song that is not played.

> I just happen to pass by OGL today and heard Ron play Hanky
> Panky, what really shocked me, is this was their lost hit of
> the day. I don't listen to OGL, so I do not know what they
> consider a LH, but how can this be possible, this was a
> constant staple on oldies stations years back. How can a
> overplayed song like this be considered a lost hit. If they
> played, Don't bet money Honey-Scott, Do the
> Freddie-F&Dreamers, Gloria-Them/Shadows of Knight, Walk on
> By-Van Dyke, The Clock-B. Washington, I would consider the
> term used correctly. It seems so safe, to make the audiance
> think its a song that you don't ever hear, when in fact its
> very popular and was constantly played. Is this the fate of
> oldies stations, never touch real "oh wow" lost hits
> anymore. If what they say is so, then WMID's entire
> playlist must be lost hits.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>

 

[Jim_Hicks]

Let's think about this. A song that was number 1 for two weeks back in 1966 is a lost hit. Right. Lost to the new WOGL maybe, but not to oldies fans.

To me, a lost hit is a song that did not make the Top Ten, or better still peaked somewhere between 20 and 40, but became more popular as time went on. A song like "Get Ready" by the Temptations, which peaked at #29 back in the same year of 1966. However, THAT song gets daily play by WOGL.




> I just happen to pass by OGL today and heard Ron play Hanky
> Panky, what really shocked me, is this was their lost hit of
> the day. I don't listen to OGL, so I do not know what they
> consider a LH, but how can this be possible, this was a
> constant staple on oldies stations years back. How can a
> overplayed song like this be considered a lost hit. If they
> played, Don't bet money Honey-Scott, Do the
> Freddie-F&Dreamers, Gloria-Them/Shadows of Knight, Walk on
> By-Van Dyke, The Clock-B. Washington, I would consider the
> term used correctly. It seems so safe, to make the audiance
> think its a song that you don't ever hear, when in fact its
> very popular and was constantly played. Is this the fate of
> oldies stations, never touch real "oh wow" lost hits
> anymore. If what they say is so, then WMID's entire
> playlist must be lost hits.
>

 

[am-fm]

> To me, a lost hit is a song that did not make the Top Ten,
> or better still peaked somewhere between 20 and 40, but
> became more popular as time went on. A song like "Get
> Ready" by the Temptations, which peaked at #29 back in the
> same year of 1966. However, THAT song gets daily play by
> WOGL.

Maybe lost referes to the location of their "Billboards Top 40 Hits" book...<P ID="signature">______________

AOL IM: wnjoldies or jamminoldies105
CBS-FM lives at http://67.83.125.155:8010
Oldies Board co-moderator</P>

 

[fennessy]

Sally Sayin' Something...Billy Harner; Top 5 in Philly
More More More Of Your Love...Bob Bready & The ConChords. Same as above.
When I Die...Motherlode
Evil Woman...Crow

Lost Oldies.

 

[valkyrie777]

Perhaps you misunderstood...

what the jock meant. Perhaps he was referring to the TV show "LOST"...a show about his Oldies station trying to find a playlist that makes sense.







> I just happen to pass by OGL today and heard Ron play Hanky
> Panky, what really shocked me, is this was their lost hit of
> the day. I don't listen to OGL, so I do not know what they
> consider a LH, but how can this be possible, this was a
> constant staple on oldies stations years back. How can a
> overplayed song like this be considered a lost hit. If they
> played, Don't bet money Honey-Scott, Do the
> Freddie-F&Dreamers, Gloria-Them/Shadows of Knight, Walk on
> By-Van Dyke, The Clock-B. Washington, I would consider the
> term used correctly. It seems so safe, to make the audiance
> think its a song that you don't ever hear, when in fact its
> very popular and was constantly played. Is this the fate of
> oldies stations, never touch real "oh wow" lost hits
> anymore. If what they say is so, then WMID's entire
> playlist must be lost hits.
>

 

[KeithThompson]

Not the best method of determining station playlists

Using Joel Whitburn's Top-40 Billboard Hits books are a nice tool, but are not the most effective method of determining station playlists.

All music charts are, are a snapshot of a particular time, and really are a poor indicator of the lasting appeal of a song. There are lots of reasons why a song can hit #1 on the charts but yet fails to register as a gold library song. It could be that it was a mediocre song going up against weak competition at the time. It could be that the song was timely, fitting what was going on in the world at the time. It could be that the song fit a popular but short-lived musical trend at the time. It could be that the song was a novelty that burned rather quickly. Finally, it could be that a mediocre song hit #1 simply because it had a lot of record company push behind it.

On the flip side, there are reasons why a song doesn't particularly chart very high but goes on to have success as a gold title. It could be that it was a song that was radically different or controversial for its day which meant that stations stayed away from it until they got comfortable with it (after its chart life). It could be that the song was revolutionary in that it ushered in a new style and became a blueprint for a particular sound that other records followed, even though it faced some resistance at the time it was a single. It could also be that it was a great song that audiences responded to but did not get a big promotional push from the record label. Or it simply can be that it was a song that radio didn't support, but listeners did.

All in all, the best way to determine the impact (or more importantly the non-impact) of songs is by music research. Certainly a programmer doesn't want to rely entirely on research to make all of his/her decisions, some gut instinct also factors in, but research will give you much more information than Joel Whitburn ever can.




> > To me, a lost hit is a song that did not make the Top Ten,
>
> > or better still peaked somewhere between 20 and 40, but
> > became more popular as time went on. A song like "Get
> > Ready" by the Temptations, which peaked at #29 back in the
>
> > same year of 1966. However, THAT song gets daily play by
> > WOGL.
>
> Maybe lost referes to the location of their "Billboards Top
> 40 Hits" book...
>

 

[SCRHack]

Re: Perhaps you misunderstood...

> what the jock meant. Perhaps he was referring to the TV show
> "LOST"...a show about his Oldies station trying to find a
> playlist that makes sense.
>
Wow you went a long way for that joke and it still wasnt very good.

 

[KlassikKountry]

These would be legit lost hits

Leader of the Laundramat-Detergents
Dawn of Correction or Michelle-Spokesman, wasn't WIBG jock Ray Gilmore a member of that band, and he cut those two songs while working at WIBBAGE. I believe his version of Michelle received more airplay than the Beatles version in Philly. I always thought they were the original artists until I heard the Beatles track.

 

[peppertree]

Re: These would be legit lost hits

I am listening to Triangle by Janie Grant. Wonderful song, totally lost (without a map).

I just heard Oh Julie. Another version from the fifties, not The Crescendos.

> Leader of the Laundramat-Detergents
> Dawn of Correction or Michelle-Spokesman, wasn't WIBG jock
> Ray Gilmore a member of that band, and he cut those two
> songs while working at WIBBAGE. I believe his version of
> Michelle received more airplay than the Beatles version in
> Philly. I always thought they were the original artists
> until I heard the Beatles track.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>

 

[peppertree]

Re: Analysis

Hit-A major recording that received considerable airplay and sales when it was current.

Lost-Forgotten or not played anymore

Lost hit-A song that was a big recording when it was current but has been forgotten and is no longer played as an oldie.





> To me, a lost hit is a song that did not make the Top Ten,
> or better still peaked somewhere between 20 and 40, but
> became more popular as time went on. A song like "Get
> Ready" by the Temptations, which peaked at #29 back in the
> same year of 1966. However, THAT song gets daily play by
> WOGL.
>
>
>
> <P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>

 

[peppertree]

Good choices. The problem with this song, is that if the music director (or whomever chooses music) did not live in Philadelphia when Billy Harner was at the top of WFIL/WIBG charts, then he will not have a clue about it.

The same goes for;

It's Gonna Take A Miracle-Royalettes (also big in NYC)
Let's Get Lost On A Country Road-Kit Kats
The 81-Candy And The Kisses (also big in NYC)
With This Ring-Platters

and many more.


> Sally Sayin' Something...Billy Harner; Top 5 in Philly
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[email protected]</P>

 

[ixnay]

> Let's Get Lost On A Country Road-Kit Kats

I haven't heard "Let's Get Lost..." since I last heard it on WFIL during its "The Boss is Back" days 20 years ago.

ixnay

 

[KlassikKountry]

Re: These would be legit lost hits

> I am listening to Triangle by Janie Grant. Wonderful song,Are you kidding, that is my all time favorite song from March 1961, she hails from Paterson, New Jersey, her real name is Rose Marie Cosili. The odd thing, I never heard the song when it was out, the first time I heard it was on WCAU-FM when they were Oldies, and fell in love with it. Now that is what I mean when an oldies station is fantastic, not the same worn out Motown over and over and over again.....

 

[fennessy]

Right, you guys...there's also the genre I refer to as " Motown Philly", the hits on that label that were marginally played nationwide, but are standards in the minds and hearts of Philly, like:


WOULD I LOVE YOU, MIRACLES
THIRD FINGER LEFT HAND, MARTHA
I GOT A FEELIN', 4 TOPS
GIRL WHY YOU WANNA MAKE ME BLUE, TEMPTS
THERES NO STOPPIN US NOW, SUPREMES
I GUESS I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU,ISLEYS
FIRST I LOOK AT THE PURSE, CONTOURS
TAKE ME IN YOUR ARMS, KIM WESTON

 

[valkyrie777]

Re: Perhaps you misunderstood...

> > what the jock meant. Perhaps he was referring to the TV
> show
> > "LOST"...a show about his Oldies station trying to find a
> > playlist that makes sense.
> >
> Wow you went a long way for that joke and it still wasnt
> very good.
>

Hmmm...a poster with the handle of "hack" is dissing someone for the quality of a one-liner?

As for "it wasn't very good"...you must have heard that one from the last person with whom you had sex.

 

[peppertree]

Re: Motown On Philadelphia Radio

Absolutely.

What wonderful songs I got to hear when I moved to Philadelphia in 1977 to go to college and listened to WPEN on Saturday night (Mike St. John?) in the post oldies days of WPEN when they still had an oldies show with their oldies jingles on Saturday night.


I don't know if there is any city as stongly into Motown as Philadelphia. That includes Detroit.




> Right, you guys...there's also the genre I refer to as "
> Motown Philly", the hits on that label that were marginally
> played nationwide, but are standards in the minds and hearts
> of Philly, like:
>
>
> WOULD I LOVE YOU, MIRACLES
> THIRD FINGER LEFT HAND, MARTHA
> I GOT A FEELIN', 4 TOPS
> GIRL WHY YOU WANNA MAKE ME BLUE, TEMPTS
> THERES NO STOPPIN US NOW, SUPREMES
> I GUESS I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU,ISLEYS
> FIRST I LOOK AT THE PURSE, CONTOURS
> TAKE ME IN YOUR ARMS, KIM WESTON
>
<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>

 

[peppertree]

Re: Motown On Philadelphia Radio

Harvey Holliday introduced me to the Motown song that never made it to a single.

Cindy by The Temptations. From the LP, I Wish It Would Rain and sung by David Ruffin. When the time came to release the single, David Ruffin left The Temptations to go solo, so the single was not released.

Cindy is as good as any ballad that The Temptations ever did.




> Absolutely.
>
> What wonderful songs I got to hear when I moved to
> Philadelphia in 1977 to go to college and listened to WPEN
> on Saturday night (Mike St. John?) in the post oldies days
> of WPEN when they still had an oldies show with their oldies
> jingles on Saturday night.
>
>
> I don't know if there is any city as stongly into Motown as
> Philadelphia. That includes Detroit.
>
>
>
>
> > Right, you guys...there's also the genre I refer to as "
> > Motown Philly", the hits on that label that were
> marginally
> > played nationwide, but are standards in the minds and
> hearts
> > of Philly, like:
> >
> >
> > WOULD I LOVE YOU, MIRACLES
> > THIRD FINGER LEFT HAND, MARTHA
> > I GOT A FEELIN', 4 TOPS
> > GIRL WHY YOU WANNA MAKE ME BLUE, TEMPTS
> > THERES NO STOPPIN US NOW, SUPREMES
> > I GUESS I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU,ISLEYS
> > FIRST I LOOK AT THE PURSE, CONTOURS
> > TAKE ME IN YOUR ARMS, KIM WESTON
> >
>
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