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Radio Edits in the 80's...?

OK, one more and I promise I'll leave this topic alone....for today. I have to admit, this topic is opening the floodgates of memories for me of what I've heard on the radio back in the 80s.

In 1983, the British duo Naked Eyes released a cover of a Dionne Warwick tune that was penned back in the early 60s by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It hit #8 and was their highest chart single in the US.

There were 2 slightly different versions of the intro of the song. The first one had explosions and church bells in the intro, which was the single version. This was also originally used in the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZQ4-K6xrfs

The other one had a more drum machine intro. This is the album version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blwc8myYLWA

The album version wound up being played more as time moved on.

Here is the 12 inch version that some stations played around the time as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBABuHn-nBs

Robyn
 
One that I have not seen mentioned before on this thread: "Sometimes a Fantasy" by Billy Joel, from his 1980 album Glass Houses. The version on the album fades out just short of four minutes, but the single version continues on for another 30-40 seconds, and you can actually hear it "break down" at the end. Billy screams out "I've got blisters on my blisters!" right before it ends, similar to the "I've got blisters on my fingers!" at the end of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter." Both of these are great if you want to hear how a song that "fades" out actually ends!

Unfortunately, I don't have a youtube link to the longer single version of "Sometimes a Fantasy," but I have it on an mp3 if anyone wants a copy of it.
 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Billy Ocean's Caribbean Queen! There are two different mixes I know of for the short version. One version has the glass breaking SFX, the other doesn't. Both versions were under 4 minutes. Then there's the album version which runs almost 8 minutes!

Album Version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW6CQNngpNM
 
There is a remix that probably has not been played since the early 80's:

"I Can't Go For That", by Hall & Oates- 1981/82

In the remix, the sax sounds "doubled" or reverb throughout the song. Got it on a 45
 
I recall back in the WJAD days, we played the original mix of "Always Something There..." with just the bells in the intro (I heard one jock intro it with "I see white smoke, we have a new pope!"), then when it came time to swap out dupes, we were playing the new mix with the backbeat throughout the intro.

Billy Ocean's "Caribbean Queen" had the alternate versions "African Queen" and "European Queen."
ZZ Top's "Legs" had two different mixes. One had a more intense guitar track.

Then there was Emmylou Harris' cover of the Chordettes' "Mr. Sandman." In the version on her album "Evangeline," Harris harmonized with her pals Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt. But her label (WB) would not let her release it as a single with Dolly and Linda on it, so Emmylou had to re-record their parts herself. (WJAD only played the album version.) Eventually, they managed to straighten out the matter between the labels so they could record the "Trio" album a few years later.
 
Regarding "The Wanderer" by Donna Summer (1980): does anyone remember a totally different mix of this song being played on the radio when it was originally released? I do, but doggone it I can't find it anywhere! She sang that version totally different than all of the versions I can access today on iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, etc. In the version I remember, there was less "reverb" in the chorus, and she was a lot less breathy in the verses. I swear I remember it but can't find it to save my life!

Or am I just crazy?
 
One song I definitely know has a radio edit, is Seal's Crazy. When WEII was WRZE, it played the version that had two drum breaks. Now most stations play the version with just one drum break.
 
oldies76 said:
There is a remix that probably has not been played since the early 80's:

"I Can't Go For That", by Hall & Oates- 1981/82

In the remix, the sax sounds "doubled" or reverb throughout the song. Got it on a 45
Click to expand...

The single uses the 12-Inch dance mix using a different drum machine.

H&O also used an edit of the dance remix of "Your Imagination" for the single version too. But I think this remix kept it from becoming a big Top 40/AC hit. They should have stuck with the LP mix.

Album Version - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jy34PKbJJQ
Single Remix - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WsVvO79ehE
 
Another few that I've thought of:

Cyndi Lauper's "She Bop": The original album version from "She So Unusual" was slightly shorter than the single version as well as the single version being remixed. Also the single version had a longer intro time (important for air talents to talk up to, which is probably a good reason why it is still commonly heard today) as well as a fade out, compared to the album version which ends cold.

Album Version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcLv2RB49_k

Single Version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyXr5UNs85g

FWIW: Rick Springfield had a song out around the time of the Cyndi Lauper'e song called "Bop Till You Drop", which on one occasion, a air talent at Kiss 108/Boston named Jo Jo "Cookin'" Kincade" played the songs back-to-back, saying "You've heard of "She-Bopin", now it's the guy's turn for some "He-Bopin..." LOL. ;D

Since Hall and Oates was mentioned earlier in the thread, there has been a few songs by them that had singles that were different than the album versions. Here a few that I have in my collection.

"Adult Education"
Album version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kVM74BCiMU

Single version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf5abszufYA

"Everything Your Heart Desires"
Album Version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCby40QxhgY

Single Version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVTSgI8Gco0

"Seventh Ave Remix" (This version, IIRC, was played on Urban and CHR-Rhythmic stations as well as a few CHRs at the time)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH14RcArgss

"Family Man"
Single version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roy12daxSAU

Extended version (this was used in the music video to the song):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv2sEkf9nSg

Robyn
 
"One on One" by Hall & Oates also had a slightly different version on the single than on the album.

And John Waite had two versions of "Missing You." One of them had the whispering "missing you"s throughout the intro, and the other did not.
 
The Alan Parsons Project "Eye In The Sky". The album version had the long instrumental intro and the edit cut about the first two minutes.
 
CatCall said:
The Alan Parsons Project "Eye In The Sky". The album version had the long instrumental intro and the edit cut about the first two minutes.
Click to expand...
That "long instrumental intro" is actually a separate track (on the album) entitled "Sirius," and yes it is cool when radio stations not only play the single from the album, but also play any "supporting" tracks along with it as well.

"Sirius" was often used as "bumper" music, especially during the '80s.
 
Been away from this forum for a while, but a search engine result led me here on another matter.

As for song edits; one that comes to mind is Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of The Heart." There were 3 versions of this song in 1983, the album version which came in at around 7 minutes, a short version which was 4:29 and what I call the Goldie Loks version at 5:37.

Back then, most stations played the 5:37 version as that was what MTV was playing. At some point, easy listening stations would occassionally play the album version. I never heard the actual 4:29 version until I bought a best of CD. Funny thing though, For years I thought the 4:29 version was the one I liked because the 45 I own list the time as 4:29, but the song is the 5:37 version. I guess Columbia changed their mind on which one to release as the single, but never changed the printing dies for the record labels.

The 5:37 version appears on the Billboard Top Hits-1983 CD.

Merry Christmas
 
I use a 4:16 version of TEOTH on Legendary 80s.

R
 
CatCall said:
The Alan Parsons Project "Eye In The Sky". The album version had the long instrumental intro and the edit cut about the first two minutes.
Click to expand...

One of my favorite 80's tunes. Off the Turn of a Friendly Card album.
 
Going back to 1978, as far as edits go.....Much prefer the full length version of "Baker Street" than the radio edit.
 
Great thread. This brings back memories of when I was operating my deep Oldies webstream and I was on the hunt for as many radio edits/radio versions I could get my hands on. Whatever I couldn't restore to pristine condition I would use the vinyl as a template and edit to match, assuming I could find the comparable mix.

There were also tracks where there were portions that I was forced to lift off of vinyl, restore and then drop into the edit as those portions were never part of the commercial mixes. Barbra Streisand's "Main Event/Fight" as well as Roberta Flack's "The Closer I Get To You" radio edits were prime examples of these sort of editing.

I've also done some custom editing for use on radio as well. I edited George Benson's "On Broadway" to just under 4 minutes to make it fit the top-of-hour break and it doesn't lose a beat.

But here's one that's open to discussion. While not of American origin, there's an elusive "French Edit" of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody that's about 3 1/2 minutes long. I've never been able to locate a copy of the legit release of it, as YouTube has several fake edits on there. I don't think this edit was ever played in the states.
 
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