Old Top 40 Music that isn't played anymore

[Interstate 78]

A local community radio station I listen to is doing a weekly series of the best music of the year 1980. The DJ claims that 1980 was the best year for pop music ever. Most of the tunes are fantastic so I'm starting to believe him. But other of the tunes I never heard of. But all of the tunes charted somewhere on the pop top 40. I've checked and he's right. They all were in the Top 40 in 1980. So my question, why do we hear some songs on his ever-growing weekly list and never hear some of the other tunes on radio anymore? I know it has to do with this infamous "testing" radio corporations do, but I figure "if the song sold that many copies back in 1980, isn't that proof enough that it 'tests' well?" Could a radio pro share some light on this conundrum? By the way, here's his list so far. He's been posting it on the station Facebook page. The numbers don't appear to be indicative of anything. It looks more alphabetical to me. Some real clunkers in here, but really fun!!

1) Abba - The Winner Takes in All (December 1980)
2) AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long (October 1980)
3) Air Supply - Every Woman in the World (November 1980)
4) Ambrosia - Biggest Part of Me (April 1980)
5) Bee Gees w/ Barbra Streisand - Guilty (November 1980)
6) Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot (October 1980)
7) George Benson - Give Me The Night (August 1980)
8 Blondie - Call Me (March 1980)
9) Blues Brothers - Gimme Some Lovin' (June 1980)
10) The Brothers Johnson - Stomp! (April 1980)
11) Jackson Browne - Boulevard (July 1980)
12) Rocky Burnette - Tired of Toein' the Line (June 1980)
13) Irene Cara - Fame (July 1980)
14) Kim Carnes & Kenny Rogers - Don't Fall in Love With a Dreamer (April 1980)
15) Harry Chapin - Sequel (November 1980)
16) Cheap Trick - Voices (January 1980)
17) Eric Clapton - Cocaine (July 1980)
18) The Clash - Train in Vain (Stand By Me) (April 1980)
19) Natalie Cole - Someone That I Used to Love (August 1980)
20) Commodores - Old Fashion Love (July 1980)
21) Rita Coolidge - I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love (January 1980)
22) Christopher Cross - Sailing (July 1980)
23) Roger Daltrey - Without Your Love (October 1980)
24) Paul Davis - Do Right (April 1980)
25) Neil Diamond - Love on the Rocks (November 1980)
26) Dr. Hook - Sexy Eyes (March 1980)
27) Doobie Brothers - Real Love (September 1980)
28) Robbie Dupree - Steal Away (May 1980)
29) Eagles - I Can't Tell You Why (March 1980)
30) Electric Light Orchestra - Xanadu (August 1980)
31) Fleetwood Mac - Think About Me (March 1980)
32) Dan Fogelberg - Same Old Lang Syne (December 1980)
33) Steve Forbert - Romeo's Tune (January 1980)
34) J. Geils Band - Love Stinks (May 1980)
35) Genesis - Misunderstanding (June 1980)
36) Andy Gibb - Desire (February 1980)
37) Mickey Gilley - Stand By Me (June 1980)

 

[landtuna]

I have heard Eric Clapton's "Cocaine" every once in awhile on KSLX (Classic Rocker) but considering that "drug songs" might not be in the public interest it is understandable why it isn't played more often. I've also heard Pat Benatar's "Shot" on the same station. And Blondie's "Call Me" was played just the other day but I don't remember the source (either KSLX or KOOL classic hits).

As for the others....a few on the list reside in my personal library (Dan Fogelberg - Same Old Lang Syne, Christopher Cross - Sailing, Eagles - I Can't Tell You Why) but I never hear them on the radio. The majority of the remainder are just, IMHO, crap.

 

[dave73]

Any stations I list are Chicago, unless noted

1) Abba - The Winner Takes in All (December 1980)
Haven't heard this one on radio at all.
2) AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long (October 1980)
Primarily played on a classic hits/classic rock station. Heard this one locally on WXRD Crown Point, IN & on the DRV/WWDV simulcast from Chicago.
3) Air Supply - Every Woman in the World (November 1980)
played occasionally on WLIT & WILV (WILV usually much more upbeat than WLIT)
4) Ambrosia - Biggest Part of Me (April 1980)
Played occasionally on WLIT & on WZVN Lowell, IN
5) Bee Gees w/ Barbra Streisand - Guilty (November 1980)
Haven't heard this one, & might have been years since it was heard on the radio.
6) Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot (October 1980)
This one is played all the time on WLIT, WILV, WZVN Lowell, IN, & I believe even WJMK & the WDRV/WWDV simulcast
7) George Benson - Give Me The Night (August 1980)
Played here & there on WILV & WLIT
8 Blondie - Call Me (March 1980)
Still played on WILV, but not sure about WLIT
9) Blues Brothers - Gimme Some Lovin' (June 1980)
Not sure I heard this one
10) The Brothers Johnson - Stomp! (April 1980)
Haven't heard this one at all on the radio
11) Jackson Browne - Boulevard (July 1980)
Not sure I heard this one
12) Rocky Burnette - Tired of Toein' the Line (June 1980)
Haven't heard this one
13) Irene Cara - Fame (July 1980)
WILV has this one in regular rotation
14) Kim Carnes & Kenny Rogers - Don't Fall in Love With a Dreamer (April 1980)
I don't remember WILV playing this one when it was all love songs. Doubt WLIT played this one much.
15) Harry Chapin - Sequel (November 1980)
Haven't heard this one
16) Cheap Trick - Voices (January 1980)
Not sure this one is on the radio. Might be on WJMK
17) Eric Clapton - Cocaine (July 1980)
I've heard this song on the WDRV/WWDV simulcast, WJMK, WXRD Crown Point, IN
18) The Clash - Train in Vain (Stand By Me) (April 1980)
If played at all, mightr be on WJMK or the WDRV/WWDV simulcast.
19) Natalie Cole - Someone That I Used to Love (August 1980)
I definitely have not heard this song on WLIT or WILV. If heard on Chicagoland radio at all, maybe WVAZ Oak Park, IL or WSRB Lansing, IL.
20) Commodores - Old Fashion Love (July 1980)
I might have heard this song only once or twice, but the Commodores aren't heard much on AC radio these days
21) Rita Coolidge - I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love (January 1980)
Definitely haven't heard this song
22) Christopher Cross - Sailing (July 1980)
Occasionally heard on WLIT & WZVN Lowell, IN
23) Roger Daltrey - Without Your Love (October 1980)
If heard on the radio at all, maybe WJMK
24) Paul Davis - Do Right (April 1980)
Not sure any radio station has played this song
25) Neil Diamond - Love on the Rocks (November 1980)
Neil Diamond is virtually non-existent on Chicagoland radio
26) Dr. Hook - Sexy Eyes (March 1980)
I personally haven't heard this song, but I know WXRD Crown Point, IN does play Dr Hook
27) Doobie Brothers - Real Love (September 1980)
Haven't heard this one, but The Doobie Brothers are heard occasionally on WILV, WLIT, & WZVN Lowell, IN
28) Robbie Dupree - Steal Away (May 1980)
WILV plays this occasionally
29) Eagles - I Can't Tell You Why (March 1980)
I've heard this mainly on WXRD Crown Point, IN
30) Electric Light Orchestra - Xanadu (August 1980)
Haven't heard this one, but ELO is heard on the WDRV/WWDV simulcast as well as WXRD Crown Point, IN. Maybe played on both stations.
31) Fleetwood Mac - Think About Me (March 1980)
Not sure I heard this one
32) Dan Fogelberg - Same Old Lang Syne (December 1980)
Haven't heard this one
33) Steve Forbert - Romeo's Tune (January 1980)
Haven't heard this one
34) J. Geils Band - Love Stinks (May 1980)
I've heard this one mainly on WXRD Crown Point, IN, but might have heard it on the WDRV/WWDV simulcast as well
35) Genesis - Misunderstanding (June 1980)
Regular play on WILV, played occasionally on WLIT. Also heard this one on WJMK, WDRV/WWDV simulcast, WLS-FM, & WZVN Lowell, IN
36) Andy Gibb - Desire (February 1980)
Haven't heard this one
37) Mickey Gilley - Stand By Me (June 1980)
Mickey Gilley is a country artist, but might have been lucky to chart on the AC charts. No AC station plays this song, & Chicagoland does not have a classic country station. So this song gets no airplay here. In fact, most classic country music doesn't get played at all in Chicagoland.

 

[michael hagerty]

I know it has to do with this infamous "testing" radio corporations do, but I figure "if the song sold that many copies back in 1980, isn't that proof enough that it 'tests' well?" Could a radio pro share some light on this conundrum?

Most radio stations are trying to get an audience in the 25-49 year old demographic. It's like archery. You shoot for the center of the target and you'll take the rings. So dead center would be someone who's 37. That person was born in 1975. They were 5 in 1980.

Even if you moved up to the age group that might have been buying 45 RPM records in 1980 (let's just say 15 year olds, who'd now be 47), their purchasing decisions in 1980 don't necessarily have any relevance to their tastes today. The Chevy Citation was the best-selling car in 1980. The Dukes of Hazzard was a Top 5 TV show. Smokey and the Bandit II was in the top 10 movies of the year. I won't even get into food, clothes and hairstyles. 32 years is a long time and people change and grow.

Also, a dirty little secret Casey Kasem never fessed up to: A top 40 record isn't a hit. Anything outside the Top 15 (and some years, Top 10) didn't move a lot of copies in comparison to the real hits at the top of the charts. And this guy's got a lot of stiffs on his list. "Gimme Some Lovin" peaked at #18. "Sequel" stalled at #23. "Voices" at #32. "Without Your Love" at #20. "Think About Me" at #20. Fact is, except in smaller markets, most Top 40 stations wouldn't touch a record unless it was Top 15 or a sure thing to get there. WABC in New York was infamous for waiting until the record hit the Top 10 in Billboard before playing it. A lot of these songs were only heard by American Top 40 listeners once a week on Sundays.

 

[davideduardo]

So my question, why do we hear some songs on his ever-growing weekly list and never hear some of the other tunes on radio anymore? I know it has to do with this infamous "testing" radio corporations do, but I figure "if the song sold that many copies back in 1980, isn't that proof enough that it 'tests' well?"

Music testing is intended to find out what songs listeners want to hear today, and, more important, what ones they do not want to hear.

This statement applies to any format. After all, would a station want to intentionally play a song that will drive a significant percentage of listeners away?

Those of us who program or have programmed stations that play non-current music know that just because a song charted some time ago does not mean listeners want it today.

Music testing takes the premise that a song that was a hit long ago may not be a hit today and puts numbers next to each song. Testing also identifies the songs we thought were hits but which really charted due to past practices like payola, record company dumping, etc., and were not ever real hits.

Mr. Hagerty already mentioned the fact that songs that are not in the top 15 or so were really not hits at all. But beyond that there are so many songs that we hate today, were embarrassed to have ever liked, that we have moved on from and don't want to hear ever again.

Since programmers are individuals... with their own likes and dislikes... it is just good sense to consult with real listeners about what they do and don't want to hear.

Here is a little thing I put together about music tests, complete with some pictures of a real test...

http://www.americanradiohistory.com/research_AMT.htm

 

[michael hagerty]

My assertion that anything that peaked below #15 wasn't a hit reminds me of legendary programmer Buzz Bennett, who insisted that at any given time, only 7 records were really hits. The rest of the chart were either songs that had peaked and were on their way down, records that weren't hits yet, and those that would never be.

 

[firepoint525]

A couple of clarifications to the above list: "Guilty" was done by Barry Gibb (not the BeeGees) and Barbra Streisand. The anti-BeeGees backlash had begun by 1980, and anything with the BeeGees' name on it would have sunk like a rock during most of the '80s. (Although somewhat surprisingly, the Gibb brothers could easily write and produce hits for other artists during that time.)

"Cocaine" by Eric Clapton was the live version, if you are referring to July 1980. The studio version (from Slowhand) was at least a couple of years old by then. Clapton had a double live album that came out that summer, and I believe "Cocaine" was one of the singles from it.

 

[Tom Wells]

So my question, why do we hear some songs on his ever-growing weekly list and never hear some of the other tunes on radio anymore? I know it has to do with this infamous "testing" radio corporations do, but I figure "if the song sold that many copies back in 1980, isn't that proof enough that it 'tests' well?"

This statement applies to any format. After all, would a station want to intentionally play a song that will drive a significant percentage of listeners away?

Excellent point! This is where you find "your real friends".

A common ploy in "alternative music" dance clubs (or parties) was to play something that actually drives away those who were
a drag on the party or mood. A lttle strong medicine to keep the situation from becoming dull with people who weren't "into"
a particular sound or otherwise of decidely closed mind.

I really like "Subhuman" by Throbbing Gristle, "I Wanna Watch Cartoons" by the Happy Flowers, and "Wowee" by Larry Harmon,
as good songs to weed out the faint of heart or constitution.

 

[firepoint525]

Also, a dirty little secret Casey Kasem never fessed up to: A top 40 record isn't a hit. Anything outside the Top 15 (and some years, Top 10) didn't move a lot of copies in comparison to the real hits at the top of the charts. And this guy's got a lot of stiffs on his list. "Gimme Some Lovin" peaked at #18. "Sequel" stalled at #23. "Voices" at #32. "Without Your Love" at #20. "Think About Me" at #20.

I'd be very careful about judging a record solely by its peak position. "What I Like About You" by the Romantics stalled at #49 back in 1980, yet probably gets far more airplay now than it ever did back then. I don't even remember ever hearing it at all back then!

Fact is, except in smaller markets, most Top 40 stations wouldn't touch a record unless it was Top 15 or a sure thing to get there. WABC in New York was infamous for waiting until the record hit the Top 10 in Billboard before playing it. A lot of these songs were only heard by American Top 40 listeners once a week on Sundays.

My experience was almost the exact opposite. I grew up in a very small town a couple of hours north of Memphis, and the small station there was often loath to touch any new material. I often heard new songs on Memphis stations a good month or more before I heard them over my own local top 40 station.

 

[Bongwater]

There's a LOT of music that sits in the subconscious of everybody. Songs we heard often on the radio at one time or another that haven't been heard from again since. Then one day, you hear them again and think "Oh Wow!"

This hasn't been lost on the vast majority of music fans. There were MANY CD compilations of "lost" hits of the '70s and '80s that sold respectably well during the '90s and 2000's (or at least enough to have many sequels). In fact, many of them APPRECIATE a deeper variety of music - INCLUDING a few of those "stiffs".

To repeat the same top oldies over and over and over with nothing to break it up once in a while gets old and eventually wears people out. Especially today. Most people already have these same songs on their MP3 players. I don't think listeners are as narrowly focused as many programmers assume. The hits are nice, but there is a lot of music that comes and goes every year on the charts. And a lot the listeners also remember.

 

[landtuna]

There's a LOT of music that sits in the subconscious of everybody. Songs we heard often on the radio at one time or another that haven't been heard from again since. Then one day, you hear them again and think "Oh Wow!"

In fact, many of them APPRECIATE a deeper variety of music - INCLUDING a few of those "stiffs".

EXACTLY! And I submit for your consideration my "favorite" stiffy:

"Hey Little Girl" - Syndicate of Sound (a One Time Wonder and garage band to boot).

 

[michael hagerty]

Also, a dirty little secret Casey Kasem never fessed up to: A top 40 record isn't a hit. Anything outside the Top 15 (and some years, Top 10) didn't move a lot of copies in comparison to the real hits at the top of the charts. And this guy's got a lot of stiffs on his list. "Gimme Some Lovin" peaked at #18. "Sequel" stalled at #23. "Voices" at #32. "Without Your Love" at #20. "Think About Me" at #20.

I'd be very careful about judging a record solely by its peak position. "What I Like About You" by the Romantics stalled at #49 back in 1980, yet probably gets far more airplay now than it ever did back then. I don't even remember ever hearing it at all back then!

Fact is, except in smaller markets, most Top 40 stations wouldn't touch a record unless it was Top 15 or a sure thing to get there. WABC in New York was infamous for waiting until the record hit the Top 10 in Billboard before playing it. A lot of these songs were only heard by American Top 40 listeners once a week on Sundays.

My experience was almost the exact opposite. I grew up in a very small town a couple of hours north of Memphis, and the small station there was often loath to touch any new material. I often heard new songs on Memphis stations a good month or more before I heard them over my own local top 40 station.

Quite often, use in commercials or movies ("What I Like About You" had had both) will make a record more popular years later than it was initially. That should be taken into consideration when programming a station.

The basic point of my post, though is: Just because a record hit #40 or above in Billboard 32 years ago does not mean it should be played today and is not "proof enough that it tests well today".

As to your experience near Memphis...some smaller stations were very cautious and conservative. But many weren't. Apart from superstar acts that got played out of the box, the traditional path for record promotion was to break songs in small and medium markets and use sales and request action from those to get ever-larger stations to add the song.

 

[michael hagerty]

There's a LOT of music that sits in the subconscious of everybody. Songs we heard often on the radio at one time or another that haven't been heard from again since. Then one day, you hear them again and think "Oh Wow!"

In fact, many of them APPRECIATE a deeper variety of music - INCLUDING a few of those "stiffs".

EXACTLY! And I submit for your consideration my "favorite" stiffy:

"Hey Little Girl" - Syndicate of Sound (a One Time Wonder and garage band to boot).

Landtuna: Your "favorite stiffy" (sure you don't want to re-phrase that?) made it to #8 in Billboard, and #7 at WABC.

 

[michael hagerty]

There's a LOT of music that sits in the subconscious of everybody. Songs we heard often on the radio at one time or another that haven't been heard from again since. Then one day, you hear them again and think "Oh Wow!"

This hasn't been lost on the vast majority of music fans. There were MANY CD compilations of "lost" hits of the '70s and '80s that sold respectably well during the '90s and 2000's (or at least enough to have many sequels). In fact, many of them APPRECIATE a deeper variety of music - INCLUDING a few of those "stiffs".

To repeat the same top oldies over and over and over with nothing to break it up once in a while gets old and eventually wears people out. Especially today. Most people already have these same songs on their MP3 players. I don't think listeners are as narrowly focused as many programmers assume. The hits are nice, but there is a lot of music that comes and goes every year on the charts. And a lot the listeners also remember.

All of which is true, but here's where it gets tricky when you're programming radio: Most truly big hits are consensus records. More people liked them (whether they'll admit it publicly or not) than didn't. Fewer people liked the stiffs. Doesn't mean no one liked them, just not most. So when you play an "oh wow" record, it's very likely "oh wow" for a third or less of your audience, with the rest probably evenly divided between "oh no" and "huh?".

In a world with tons of music choices, mercilessly measured by PPM, playing an "oh wow" for 33% or less of your audience is a huge risk. Which is why testing is so important.

What I haven't said in previous posts: Testing can also tell you not to play that record just because it was #1 (sparing us "Honey", "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" and "You Light Up My Life" today). And, if you've got the bucks to test a larger number of records, it can identify records that didn't set the world on fire at the time that thanks to cultural changes or exposure in other media, are now important records (see "What I Like About You" above). In fact, Adult Contemporary stations are struggling with what to do with some of that information. Turns out The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated" is a strong "goodtime" record for 45-year old women today. It didn't chart at all upon release. But you'd be way better off playing it than "Sequel" by Harry Chapin.

 

[landtuna]

Landtuna: Your "favorite stiffy" (sure you don't want to re-phrase that?) made it to #8 in Billboard, and #7 at WABC.

I was just back from Vietnam and living near S.F. in '66 when that song came out and only one station in the Bay Area was playing it (one of the South Bay T-40's IIRC because the band was from somewhere on the peninsula). In May of that year I took the sister of my best friend to her senior prom and the Syndicate of Sound was the live band. I believe that was the last time I heard the song played publicly.

 

[michael hagerty]

Landtuna: Your "favorite stiffy" (sure you don't want to re-phrase that?) made it to #8 in Billboard, and #7 at WABC.

I was just back from Vietnam and living near S.F. in '66 when that song came out and only one station in the Bay Area was playing it (one of the South Bay T-40's IIRC because the band was from somewhere on the peninsula). In May of that year I took the sister of my best friend to her senior prom and the Syndicate of Sound was the live band. I believe that was the last time I heard the song played publicly.

I'm pretty sure both KFRC and KYA played it. They would have been the only two, as KEWB was transitioning out of Top 40 and rock on FM was still a year or so away.

 

[landtuna]

I'm pretty sure both KFRC and KYA played it. They would have been the only two, as KEWB was transitioning out of Top 40 and rock on FM was still a year or so away.

It's probably KFRC that I am thinking of. Reception was very intermittent in Marin County.

KYA was always on at work and I don't remember hearing that song from them.

KEWB went all-news sometime in the summer of '66. I remember being at Stinson Beach one day and being surprised at all the jocks saying goodbye. Very sad day in the North Bay.

KGO-FM (103.7) was the first rock FM I listened to but I seem to remember other AOR FM's already on the air then. I don't remember exactly when it began airing but it was on the air in '67 because I have some airchecks from that time period.

 

[jfrancispastirchak]

"What I Like About You" by the Romantics stalled at #49 back in 1980, yet probably gets far more airplay now than it ever did back then. I don't even remember ever hearing it at all back then!

I hear ya! In fact, What I like... was the music bed for a TV (beer?) commercial back then. I remember joking that the song could have been a hit on it's own merits, and should be released. I could be pretty clueless back then. Still can.

 

[michael hagerty]

I'm pretty sure both KFRC and KYA played it. They would have been the only two, as KEWB was transitioning out of Top 40 and rock on FM was still a year or so away.

It's probably KFRC that I am thinking of. Reception was very intermittent in Marin County.

KYA was always on at work and I don't remember hearing that song from them.

KEWB went all-news sometime in the summer of '66. I remember being at Stinson Beach one day and being surprised at all the jocks saying goodbye. Very sad day in the North Bay.

KGO-FM (103.7) was the first rock FM I listened to but I seem to remember other AOR FM's already on the air then. I don't remember exactly when it began airing but it was on the air in '67 because I have some airchecks from that time period.

KGO-FM stopped simulcasting KGO-AM sometime in 1967, but I can't find an exact date. The acknowledged first in the nation album rock (or "freeform" or "underground") FM was KMPX. Tom Donahue's first show was from 8PM to Midnight on April 7, 1967. The station was block programmed at the time. Over the next month or two, as contracts ran out, Tom's format and other DJs moved into the timeslots.

Did a little research...both KYA and KFRC played "Little Girl". In fact, KYA was the first station in the country to play it (local band). If KYA was dayparting its music, you might not have heard it during working hours.

KEWB flipped to talk, not all-news.

 

[landtuna]

KGO-FM stopped simulcasting KGO-AM sometime in 1967, but I can't find an exact date.

KGO-FM may have begun as an AM simulcast but the aircheck I have of KGO-FM is not a simulcast of the AM side. It is an automated and dedicated Rock genre. You can listen to it at the Bay Area radio site. They had their own calls and jingles. I don't think any of the jocks were live but may be mistaken.

Did a little research...both KYA and KFRC played "Little Girl". In fact, KYA was the first station in the country to play it (local band). If KYA was dayparting its music, you might not have heard it during working hours.

Well, it was a long, long time ago. The record I remember best from KYA during that time was "Red Rubber Ball" by the Cyrkle.

The Syndicate of Sound was from San Jose. The Bay Area was overflowing with local bands during that time.

KEWB flipped to talk, not all-news.

You are correct. To me talk and news are the same. At any rate a great loss to those of us who loved their T-40 format.