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Off The Beaten Track

E

EZway2go

Guest
What are some of your favorite NON-hits? (album tracks, singles that didn't chart very high, or any other discoveries)

Abba "I Have A Dream"
Alison Krauss & Union Station "Wouldn't Be So Bad"/"The Lucky One"
Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman "Time To Say Goodbye"
Anne Murray "A Million More"/"Let There Be Love"/"Song For The Mira"
The Babys "Silver Dreams"
Bee Gees "Morning Of My Life"/"Spirits (Having Flown)"
Bert Kaempfert "That Happy Feeling" (instrumental)
Bette Midler "My One True Friend"
Billy Joel "And So It Goes"
Brady's Leap "Dublin In The Rare Old Times"
The Carpenters "Bless The Beasts & Children"/"Sweet Sweet Smile"
Celtic Thunder "The Voyage"/"Hallelujah"
Charlotte Church "All Love Can Be"
Dan Fogelberg "Sometimes A Song"/"Sovenirs"/"Place In The World For A Gambler"
David Lanz & Paul Speer "Behind The Waterfall" (instrumental)
David Rose "Calypso Melody" (instrumental)
Denise Young "Images Of Spring" (instrumental)
Eva Cassidy "Over The Rainbow"
Free Design "Kites Are Fun"
The Groop "Jet Song (When The Weekend's Over)"
Gunter Kallman Chorus "Wish Me A Rainbow"
Harpers Bizarre "Witchi Tai To"
Henry Mancini "The Thorn Birds"/"Theme From The Molly Maguires" (instrumentals)
Jackie DeShannon "Vanilla Olay"/"The Weight"
James Last "The Rare Ould Times" (instrumental)
Jerry Goldsmith "Rudy (Main Title)" (instrumental)
Joe South "Don't It Make You Want To Go Home"
John Barry "John Dunbar Theme (Dances With Wolves)" (instrumental)
John Denver "Farewell Andromeda"/"Two Different Directions"
Johnny Pearson "Sleepy Shores" (instrumental)
Jon Lord & Sam Brown "Wait A While"
Josh "Was A Sunny Day"
Joshua Kadison "Beautiful In My Eyes"
Justin Hayward & John Lodge "I Dreamed Last Night"
Karla Bonoff "Standing Right Next To Me"
Landon Pigg "Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop"
Lenny LeBlanc "Ain't It Funny"
Louise Tucker "Midnight Blue"
Mamas & the Papas "Step Out"/"Twelve Thirty"
Mary Chapin Carpenter "Grow Old With Me"/"Halley Came To Jackson"
Mary Hopkin "Water Paper & Clay"/"Temma Harbour"
Melissa Manchester "Better Days"
Michele Lee "L. David Sloane"
Mike Curb Congregation "Sweet Gingerbread Man"/"It's A Small Small World"
Moody Blues "For My Lady"/"Land Of Make Believe"/"Voices In The Sky"
Nana Mouskouri "Even Now"
Nancy Sinatra "It's For My Dad"/"Some Velvet Morning" (w/Lee Hazelwood)
New Seekers "The Greatest Song I've Ever Heard"/"When There's No Love Left"
Nickel Creek "When You Come Back Down"
Olivia Newton-John "Love Song"
Paul Mauriat "La Mer (Beyond The Sea)/"San Francisco (Flowers In Your Hair)" (instrumentals)
Peppermint Rainbow "Don't Wake Me Up In The Morning, Michael"
Percy Faith "Love Theme From Mary Queen Of Scots (This Way Home)" (instrumental)
Perry Como "Once Upon A Time"/"I Know"/"Oowee Oowee"
Randy Edelman "If Love Is Real"
Ron Goodwin "Swingin' Sweethearts" (instrumental)
Sarah McLachlan "Ordinary Miracle"
Secret Garden "Greenwaves"
Starland Vocal Band "The Light Of My Life"
Steve Lawrence "Everybody Knows"/"Sweet Maria"
The Supremes "I Guess I'll Miss The Man"
Suzanne Ciani "Turning"
Tim Moore "Second Avenue"
Tom Grant "Happy Feet" (instrumental)
Vangelis "Hymne"/"L'Enfant"/(instrumentals)
Verdelle Smith "Tar & Cement"
 
Many I don't know.....

I play Joe South's record listed, as well as "Some Velvet Morning" by Nancy on my pt 15 AM.
Some of the artists shown too, just not those songs.
I would add My Lady, by The Moody Blues.... if I had a copy.
 
EZway2go said:
What are some of your favorite NON-hits? (album tracks, singles that didn't chart very high, or any other discoveries)

Abba "I Have A Dream"

Bert Kaempfert "That Happy Feeling" (instrumental)

The Carpenters "Bless The Beasts & Children"/"Sweet Sweet Smile"

Ron Goodwin "Swingin' Sweethearts" (instrumental)
Click to expand...
The three vocal performances I believe are all on Dial Global. I don't know about Bert Kaempfert though they do a lot of his stuff. Maybe not that one. Timeless classics used to do that Ron Goodwin song but I'm not sure whose version. I liked it a lot.
 
Oh wow I could add a few here, but my mind's a blank for now...folks, keep this thread alive!

"The Last Time I Felt Like This" Johnny Mathis/Jane Olivor
"Come In from the Rain" Capt & Tennille (best arrangement....rain falling effect is soothing)
"This Is Your Song" Leslie Kendall version
"Like a Sunday Morning" Lana Cantrell

more when they come to mind, God willing.

cd
 
In 1985 I worked at a Soft AC/Easy Listening station that played Anne Murray-Let Me Be The One. It was a cover of the Carpenters song, I don't believe either version was a big hit...certainly not the Murray version this station played. Yet this instantly became one of my favorites. The song has such a nice arrangement and great hook. I remember it lit up the phones everytime I played it. This was impressive because this station's passive audience rarely called the studio line.

BTW working at this station as a young man (it was a Bonnieville soft vocals format) is what really gave me an appreciation for soft oldies, some of which was new to me at the time.
 
WLYF Miami played that Anne Murray one in 1992 or thereabouts. Yes, very nice....too short though! Paul Williams wrote that one, no?

cd
 
LOTS of NBC owned stations used "That Happy Feeling" when they had technical difficulties. I can remember WMAQ tv, Chicago OFTEN playing that with a slide.

Check out Youtube for Bert conducting the orchestra doing this song.
Bert Kaempfert "That Happy Feeling"

I LOVE it!
 
Turkish Delight - The Village Stompers

Puts me in mind of a Peter Nero concert at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall...oh, about 20 years ago. A lady friend and I wanted to see his pops concert. We were pretty close up, dressed to the nines, complete with hats and gloves (LOL). He looked directly at us and said that he would just love to play some Beethoven, but that it just did not work with pops. As we were well within hearing distance, I asked, "Mr. Nero, why not?" He said, "Well then!", turned and sat down and played Turkish Delight. As I recall he got a standing ovation.

Fun memory.
 
cd637299 said:
Oh wow I could add a few here, but my mind's a blank for now...folks, keep this thread alive!
Click to expand...

Actually, I was hoping others would list their favorite non-hits... it's always fun to make new discoveries. For instance, I thought I knew every Anne Murray song, but I'm not familiar with "Let Me Be The One," so I will definitely check it out.

Who knows? Maybe some Program Directors (Dial Global, MOYL, our own Chuck, Prais, and others on this board) will see something of interest and incorporate it onto their own playlists. Many of the songs I listed were songs I never knew before hearing them on various easy listening stations. So, it is possible to keep this format fresh by delving into the unknown once in a while.

Here's a supplement for the list:
Brenda Lee "Johnny One Time"
Foster & Allen "After All These Years"
Beth Neilsen Chapman "All I Have"
Jo Stafford "Ay Round The Corner"
Daniel O'Donnell "Footsteps"
Johnny Ferguson "Angela Jones"
Irish Tenors (Anthony Kearns) "Grace"
Billy Dean "Somewhere In My Broken Heart"
Alan Jackson "Remember When"/"Livin' On Love"/"I'll Go On Loving You"
George Strait "I Cross My Heart"/"I Just Want To Dance With You"/"One Night At A Time"
Vince Gill "Look At Us"/"Go Rest High On That Mountain"/"Tryin' To Get Over You"
Alabama "Forever's As Far As I'll Go"/"Once Upon A Lifetime"
Kathy Mattea "Where've You Been"
K.T. Oslin "80's Ladies"
Bering Strait "I Could Be Persuaded"
Reba McEntire "I'll Be"
Lulu "Oh Me Oh My (I'm A Fool For You Baby)"
Pozo Seco Singers "Time"
Miss Abrams Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class "Mill Valley"
Matt Monro "Walk Away"
Gladys Knight "So Sad The Song"
Art Garfunkel "Bright Eyes"/"A Heart In New York"
5th Dimension "The Girls' Song"
Felix Cavaliere "Only A Lonely Heart Sees"
Sawyer Brown "The Walk"
Mike Reid "Walk On Faith"
Prelude "After The Goldrush"
Jennifer Rush "The Power Of Love"
San Remo Golden Strings "Hungry For Love"
Whistling Jack Smith "I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman"
Joan Baez "In The Quiet Morning"
Crystal Gayle "When I Dream"
Stealers Wheel "Star"
Tracy Byrd "Keeper Of The Stars"
Poppy Family "That's Where I Went Wrong"
Lettermen "Come Back Silly Girl"
Anne Murray "What About Me"
Roger Whittaker/Rita MacNeil "Sing Away Your Tears"
Rankin Family "Orangedale Whistle"
Barra MacNeils "My Heart's In The Highlands"
Lennie Gallant "Which Way Does The River Run"
John Denver/Placido Domingo "Perhaps Love"
Bellamy Brothers "I Need More Of You"
Judds "Love Can Build A Bridge"
Tanya Tucker "Two Sparrows In A Hurricane"/"Strong Enough To Bend"
Jack Jones "The Race Is On"
Glenn Yarbrough "It's Gonna Be Fine"
Poco "Indian Summer"
Heart "Dog & Butterfly"
Yaz "Only You"
Spanky & Our Gang "Give A Damn"
Association "Names, Tags, Numbers & Labels"
Til Tuesday "Coming Up Close"
Everly Brothers "On The Wings Of A Nightingale"
Stevie Nicks "After The Glitter Fades"
Moody Blues "Driftwood"/"Forever Autumn"
Petula Clark "Look At Mine"
Tony Hatch "Music"
Frank Mills "Love Me, Love Me, Love"
Carl Wilson "Heaven"
Helen Reddy "No Sad Song"
Olivia Newton-John "Come On Over"/"Let It Shine"
Neil Diamond "Morningside"
Sergio Mendes/Brasil 66 "Pretty World"
Billy Vaughn "Pearly Shells"
Simon & Garfunkel "The Only Living Boy In New York"
Jaye P. Morgan "That's All I Want From You"
Kirby Stone Four "Baubles, Bangles & Beads"
Peggy Lee "Pass Me By"
Joey Heatherton "Gone"
Sonny & Cher "When You Say Love"
Hillside Singers "We're Together"
Melanie "Bitter Bad"
Lesley Gore "Young Love"
Kraftwerk "Autobahn" (not for this format, but I like it anyway)

So what's on your iPod? :)
 
Carpenters "I Believe You," "Make Believe It's Your First Time," "A Song For You," "Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again"
Dionne Warwick "After You," "No Night So Long"
Jennifer Warnes "I'm Dreaming"
Jack Wagner "Lady Of My Heart"
Sade "Please Send Me Someone to Love"
Roberta Flack "Jesse"
Jennifer Holliday "Read It In My Eyes" (kind of a soul screamer slow-jam, but it got a lot of play on WNIC/Detroit's "Pillow Talk" show in the '80s)
Janis Ian "Jesse," "Stars," "Love Is Blind" (major hit in Japan but not even a single in North America), "Fly Too High"
Carly Simon "Better Not Tell Her"
Sheena Easton "I Wouldn't Beg For Water"
Nancy Wilson "Face It Girl, It's Over"
Seals & Crofts "My Fair Share"
Rita Coolidge "You"
Norah Jones "Feelin' the Same Way"
Diana Krall "Peel Me a Grape," "You're Getting to Be a Habit With Me"
Dolly Parton "Love Is Like a Butterfly," "It's All Wrong But It's All Right"
Anne Murray "Cotton Jenny"
Gordon Lightfoot "Daylight Katy"
ABBA "One of Us"
Rita MacNeil "Flying On Your Own," "Reason To Believe" (not the Rod Stewart hit), "Working Man," "Walk On Through," "Fast Train To Tokyo" (the latter two are too '80s synth-rock/pop for standards, but still great songs)
David Roberts(?) "Boys Of Autumn"
Dan Hill "Carmelia"
Stampeders "Oh My Lady," "Minstrel Gypsy"
5th Dimension "Everything's Been Changed"
Chaka Khan "Love Me Still"
Bette Midler "In My Life," "Every Road Leads Back To You"
Paul Davis "Do Right"
Susan Boyle "I Dreamed A Dream"
Larry Evoy "Here I Go Again" (lead singer of Edward Bear)
Susan Jacks "You Don't Know What Love Is," "You're A Part Of Me," "Anna Marie"
Kenny Rogers & Gladys Knight "If I Knew Then What I Know Now"

BTW, the Carpenters' version of "Let Me Be The One" was, I believe, the B-side of "Superstar." Though I don't believe it charted anywhere, there were some AC and Top 40 stations at the time that charted it as an album cut.

If my list seems a little heavy on Cancon that comes from listening to too much Classic Gold CFCO (Chatham, Ontario), an excellent softer-skewing oldies station before they dropped the format two years ago to go country.
 
ChrisInMI said:
Rita MacNeil "Flying On Your Own," "Reason To Believe" (not the Rod Stewart hit), "Working Man," "Walk On Through," "Fast Train To Tokyo" (the latter two are too '80s synth-rock/pop for standards, but still great songs)
Click to expand...

A little influence from our neighbors to the North, eh? :)
I listed a few of these, too - the Barra MacNeils, Rankin Family - discovered some nice music on a trip up to Nova Scotia and PEI a decade ago.

Anne Murray "Cotton Jenny" - good one; Carpenters version of that Leon Russell classic "Song For You" - really nice.

The nice thing about technology today is you can look practically anything up on the internet - "Turkish Delight" by the Village Stompers - never heard of it, but there it was, right on YouTube.
 
I like the fact that you've listed a number of supposedly "country" acts (Vince Gill, Reba, Alabama, Alan Jackson).

I would add another: Kenny Rogers. I could hear tunes like "Blaze of Glory", "The Greatest", or even "Ruby (Don't take your love to town)" mixing in well with a lot of the soft pop hits that have been brought up.

I also like the Jazzy ladies you mentioned (Diana Krall, Chaka Khan). A number of these tunes are being played on Timeless Cool.
 
"Top of the World" by the Carpenters, a light upbeat fun tune, was a substantial hit. I like this thread to, and just stumbled upon it. I cover the same territory on the 60/70s and 80/90s boards. Please check them out as I go into some detail, and would like to "see" if other radio people have done the same thing as I've done. Go to those boards to find out what I'm talking about. For here, I will mention one that I have that fits... "Somebody Found Her (Before I Lost Her)" by The Addrisi Brothers (1973). I go into detail about this one on one of my posts. Then, one I haven't mentioned is their 1977 version of "Never My Love", a song they wrote that was a hit for The Association, 5th Dimension and Blue Swede. The Addrisi's have a rather haunting arrangement of it.
 
Since this isn't the stiffs board....

Sincerely - The Maguire Sisters
Sugartime - The Maguire Sisters
 
Some lesser hits (or not hits) that I love to hear are:

Eydie Gorme - Blame It on the Basa Nova

Supremes - Forever Came Today

Supremes - live version of "Reflections" recorded at "Talk of the Town" (London)

Carpenters - Ticket to Ride

Carpenters - Don't Cry for Me Argentina

Fifth Dimension - Which Way to Nowhere

Fifth Dimension - Go Where You Wanna Go

Fifth Dimension - Poor Side of Town

Fifth Dimension - Declaration of Independence medley (sung at the White House in either July 1971 or 1972)

Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes - Wake Up Everybody

Claudine Longet - Love is Blue

drt
 
Alabama "Forever's As Far As I'll Go" This one's as bad as country ever got going in the direction of synthesized garbage. It needs to be handled carefully by men in special suits and buried deep.

Crystal Gayle "When I Dream" This one's nice. It would fit perfectly.

I don't know most of the rest.
 
My first radio job, in 1979, was at an AM station that played a blend of soft AC, some country crossovers, and oldies. When you see the list, though, you'll see some of it wasn't real soft!

A lot of tho songs we played have already been mentioned, but here are a few others:

Olivia Newton-John - Dancin' Round and Round
Nicolette Larson - Back In My Arms, Dancin' Jones
Lauren Wood - Please Don't Leave
Natalie Cole - The Winner
Oak Ridge Boys - Dream On
Kim Carnes - More Love
Dottie West - Leavin's for Unbelievers
Smokey Robinson - Let Me Be the Clock
Randy Vanwarmer - Just When I Needed You Most, Call Me, All We Have is Tonight
Maxine Brown - Sugar Cane County
Addrisi Brothers - Ghost Dancer
John Denver - Autograph
Carly Simon - Jesse

I still have these records, although I haven't played some of them for a while..
 
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