Unlikely AC Hits of the 90s

[Jasonthegreat]

As you know, every decade of AC has had its share of unlikely hits. The 1990s certainly had its share of hits.

Some unlikely AC hits I can think of include:

Collective Soul - December
Counting Crows - Mr. Jones
Blessid Union of Souls - I Believe
Melissa Etheridge - Other songs besides "Come To My Window" and "I'm The Only One"
Sarah McLachlan - I Will Remember You (original version)
The Cranberries - Linger, Dreams
Bon Jovi - Always, This Ain't a Love Song
Matchbox 20 - 3 A.M., Real World

Those are a few of the unlikely AC hits of the 90s I can think of right now. Anyone else know of some other unlikely AC hits of the 90s? There are plenty of them, and any songs you can think of are appreciated.

 

[vchimpanzee]

What makes these unlikely?

I will say I like the guitar solo in "December". I used to hear that on a classic rock station when its signal was too strng in the morning and my usual Sinatra/Barry Manilow station became hard to hear.

 

[Jasonthegreat]

What makes these unlikely?

I will say I like the guitar solo in "December". I used to hear that on a classic rock station when its signal was too strng in the morning and my usual Sinatra/Barry Manilow station became hard to hear.

Well, it's probably because when these songs were popular, they were more suited for Hot AC than mainstream AC. In the 90s, you were more likely to hear Amy Grant, Michael Bolton, and Gloria Estefan on AC radio than Collective Soul.

As far as Melissa Etheridge, "Come To My Window" and "I'm The Only One" are AC staples. But her other hits from that era, such as "If I Wanted To", "I Want To Come Over", and "Nowhere To Go" were probably more suited for Hot AC when they were popular. Also, Bon Jovi was not really an AC-leaning band in the 90s like they are now. In fact, I even remember WNIC in Detroit playing No Doubt in the mid-late 90s, and I thought "That's weird that they were playing them", but now, I can understand that. Obviously, you can see how the AC format has changed over the last 15+ years. Songs that were considered unlikely AC hits in the 90s are played on AC stations today.

 

[ChrisInMI]

As you know, every decade of AC has had its share of unlikely hits. The 1990s certainly had its share of hits.

Some unlikely AC hits I can think of include:

Collective Soul - December
Counting Crows - Mr. Jones
Blessid Union of Souls - I Believe
Melissa Etheridge - Other songs besides "Come To My Window" and "I'm The Only One"
Sarah McLachlan - I Will Remember You (original version)
The Cranberries - Linger, Dreams
Bon Jovi - Always, This Ain't a Love Song
Matchbox 20 - 3 A.M., Real World

Those are a few of the unlikely AC hits of the 90s I can think of right now. Anyone else know of some other unlikely AC hits of the 90s? There are plenty of them, and any songs you can think of are appreciated.

I always thought "I'm The Only One" was sort of an unlikely AC hit, because it was such a hard-rocking song. I wonder, though, how many AC stations edited out the guitar solo, as my local Q95 (Detroit) did. (Q95 played some really bizarre and lame song edits sometimes; picture Hootie & The Blowfish's "Hold My Hand" without the guitar solo, or Ace of Base's "Don't Turn Around" or Real McCoy's "Another Night" with the rap parts removed.) Even with "Come To My Window," I seem to recall some ACs played a remixed version which toned down some of the louder guitars.

I wish there were a way to track down past Radio & Records AC charts from before 1996, since Billboard didn't split its AC chart into AC and Adult Top 40 until late that winter as I recall. That would be a more accurate way to gauge how much airplay these songs actually got on mainstream AC stations as opposed to hot ACs. I don't recall "December" getting much in the way of mainstream AC airplay; it seems to me its #14 peak on Billboard's AC chart was due to airplay from hot ACs. Same with Bon Jovi's "This Ain't A Love Song." A number of songs that were big hot AC hits, such as Dionne Farris' "I Know" and Sheryl Crow's "Strong Enough," got significantly less airplay on actual mainstream ACs.

FWIW:
- The Cranberries' "Dreams" never made Billboard AC chart at all (and it's always seemed to me that that song, too, was primarily played on hot AC even as a recurrent/gold).
- "3 AM" only reached #25 on mainstream AC, despite being ten weeks at #1 on Hot AC. No other MB20 song charted mainstream AC until "If You're Gone."
- I don't think "I Believe" was such an unlikely AC hit; it was a ballad and quite soulful. Unless you mean the subject matter of the song, which depicted a theme explored in many earlier AC hits but with considerably grittier language. I do recall when the band performed the song on a daytime TV show, the lead singer replaced the word "brother" with the n-word during the final chorus and it wasn't bleeped; I don't recall if this was a live show or even what show it was or if the n-word dropping was a spur-of-the-moment thing, but it disgusted my mother enough to immediately change channels.
- Re: Sarah McLachlan's "I Will Remember You," I recall (prior to the live version being released) that for some reason Q95 in Detroit finally started playing it about a year or so after it was on the charts. And not long afterward "Possession" from her 1994 album "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" was re-released to radio and became a Hot AC hit in 1997. (I remember hearing it played on Casey Kasem's countdown so I know Q95 wasn't the only station playing it.) Does anyone know the reason for "Possession"'s re-release? Was it to prep radio for her "Surfacing" album which came out soon afterward and catapulted Sarah into mainstream stardom?

 

[ChrisInMI]

Speaking of WNIC, I always personally found it frustrating that they seemed to be so conservative musically. Seemed like they waited until a song was in the top 5 on Billboard or R&R to finally add it, only adding songs by big-name artists like Celine Dion or Mariah Carey out of the box. I personally preferred Cars 108 out of Flint, MI and CKSY out of Chatham, ON to WNIC, except during Pillow Talk of course.

While not exactly an "unlikely AC hit," I do recall WNIC playing Whitney Houston's "It's Not Right But It's Okay" (the dance version) quite a bit in the 1999-2000 time frame. Whitney had by then transitioned to being more of a strictly R&B artist and had sort of left the AC world behind, so perhaps they figured listeners would accept it because it was Whitney. I don't recall any other mainstream AC station ever playing that song, though, and I don't recall WNIC playing the one song from the "My Love Is Your Love" album that actually DID make it onto AC radio ("I Learned From The Best").

 

[carolinaradio]

I don't really consider "Mr. Jones" a mainstream AC staple today. I never even hear it on Hot AC's anymore. Same for "December."

AC has, overall, not been very adventurous with the 90s as discussed on here many times. The majority of the stuff AC's play from that decade were big hits on the format then (unlike a lot of the 70s or 80s material).

 

[Jasonthegreat]

The reason I consider "I Believe" to be an unlikely AC hit is because of the foul language. I think this song was more suited for Hot AC than mainstream AC.

Speaking of WNIC, I don't understand why they were so slow to start playing new titles either. In fact, I remember it taking them forever to add songs like Boyz II Men's "Water Runs Dry", Seal's "Kiss From A Rose", and Sheryl Crow's "All I Wanna Do", and I was happy when they finally started playing them. However, WNIC Quickly dropped "Water Runs Dry" after playing it for a week or so. Chris, I'm sure Q95 in Detroit added these songs quickly (at least quicker than WNIC did).

"Mr. Jones" was really more suited for Hot AC than mainstream AC. Ditto for the Gin Blossoms, Bon Jovi's "Always" and "This Ain't A Love Song", and Collective Soul's "December". The Gin Blossoms did make the Billboard AC charts with "Found Out About You", "Until I Fall Away", and "'Til I Hear It From You", but those songs were more suited for Hot AC than mainstream AC.

BTW, Chris, wasn't Q95 already Hot AC by 1995 or so? I know that by the time I started listening in 1996, they were already Q95-5 (Hot AC).

 

[Gregg]

Let's remember that AC stations are more forgiving of uptempo songs done by women than men. Songs by Melissa Ethridge, Pat Benatar and Heart always got on AC stations faster than if they were sung by men. Same for Rhythmic AC music. Songs by Whitney Houston, Beyonce and Rhianna got on AC stations faster than if they were performed by men.

On the other hand, "I Believe" is a great song for AC stations, provided they use the word "brother." I've never even heard it with the N word.

Of course, today, I'm amazed at what I hear coming from AC stations... totally amazed. Pink, Bon Jovi, Nickelback. These are artists that never cultivated AC audiences but are getting played anyway because AC stations are trying so hard not to be labeled as Soft. Stations that used to claim to be soft, lite, easy, etc. are running away from those adjectives. Sade and Norah Jones had recent successful CDs that got NO airplay because they're too soft for today's AC stations. I imagine their previous hits get little or no rotation on AC stations today, either.

I understand that every generation has its own standards of what AC music should be. No one wants to listen to their parents' music. But AC statons don't even want to suggest they are for soft music. They may still have the word Lite or Easy or Magic in their slogans. But they NEVER refer to their music having those attributes. They're stuck with those handles that they've promoted for decades so they can't change them now.

But I wonder what today's 30-something or 40-something woman does when she wants to relax? Isn't life more stressful today, balancing job, kids, traffic, etc. Yet no woman under 50 wants her radio station to play soft music? When she's trying to relax, or concentrate on her work, she wants to hear Nickelback and Pink?

 

[satech]

The big surprise for me was when AC stations started playing "Livin' La Vida Loca". Even NYC's "Lite FM" played it! That was a sure sign that AC was trying hard to move away from its image of playing sleepy ballads.

Two '90s songs that I'm surprised AC stations are NOT playing these days are Radiohead's "Creep" (the "clean" edit, of course), and Weezer's "Island In The Sun".

The Wallflowers' "One Headlight" deserves more AC airplay, too. The only AC station I've heard it on is 100.7 WLEV.

 

[crainbebo]

"One Headlight" Wallflowers I hear sometimes on hot AC KPLZ here in Seattle.
Also, "Livin La Vida Loca" is aired sometimes on Dial Global AC, and KXXO 96.1 Olympia, WA.
"Mr Jones and Me" is aired sometimes on KRWM. They also play "When It's Over" Sugar Ray, a 2001 pop rock hit that I didn't think would be on ANY AC station.

-crainbebo

 

[satech]

There's an AC station around here which plays Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life" -- including the line about doing crystal meth, although in the radio edit they changed it to sound something like "crystal missile".

The same AC station also plays "California Gurls" including the line "sex on the beach". Other AC stations play the edited version, which leaves out the word "sex".

But I guess these things are easier to let fly here in NJ, as compared to down in the Bible Belt, where you can't even sing "praying to a God I don't believe in" -- Cumulus's AC stations down South edit that line out of the song!

 

[vchimpanzee]

I remember reading that WNMB in Myrtle Beach, SC, which was quite adventurous for a mainstream AC of the time in terms of how loud they would get, would not play Kenny G but also wouldn't play "Bitch" by Meredith Brooks. Later in the decade they went modern AC and I don't know whether they added that song. I do know they alienated their listeners to the point that returning to the mainstream didn't work. By that time, a more soft rock leaning AC had captured their audience, and when new owners moved that station to a frequency that, although it had Delilah at night, had been easy listening (and REALLY made people mad), there was only one thing to do. Easy listening made the former WNMB no. 1 and they've never looked back. Meanwhile, the soft rock station is now hot AC and only recently has anyone in the market gone mainstream, and that new station has a poor signal.

 

[KS-IL-IA]

"Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlisle. A Christian song that crossed over and became the father of the bride dance for years to come.

 

[vchimpanzee]

There's an AC station around here which plays Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life"

I'm fairly certain that was on WNMB. I heard it in a store but not clearly enough to know the specific lyrics.

 

[ChrisInMI]

The reason I consider "I Believe" to be an unlikely AC hit is because of the foul language. I think this song was more suited for Hot AC than mainstream AC.

Speaking of WNIC, I don't understand why they were so slow to start playing new titles either. In fact, I remember it taking them forever to add songs like Boyz II Men's "Water Runs Dry", Seal's "Kiss From A Rose", and Sheryl Crow's "All I Wanna Do", and I was happy when they finally started playing them. However, WNIC Quickly dropped "Water Runs Dry" after playing it for a week or so. Chris, I'm sure Q95 in Detroit added these songs quickly (at least quicker than WNIC did).

"Mr. Jones" was really more suited for Hot AC than mainstream AC. Ditto for the Gin Blossoms, Bon Jovi's "Always" and "This Ain't A Love Song", and Collective Soul's "December". The Gin Blossoms did make the Billboard AC charts with "Found Out About You", "Until I Fall Away", and "'Til I Hear It From You", but those songs were more suited for Hot AC than mainstream AC.

BTW, Chris, wasn't Q95 already Hot AC by 1995 or so? I know that by the time I started listening in 1996, they were already Q95-5 (Hot AC).

I believe you are right. I'm not sure exactly when the changeover from mainstream to Hot AC happened but I tend to put the changeover date in the fall of 1994 or so, because I recall that's when they switched from airing Casey Kasem's "Casey's Countdown" mainstream AC show to "Casey's Hot 20" hot AC. And the interesting thing was that 93.5 WHMI in Howell made the exact same countdown change the exact same week. If I missed Casey's show on Q95 Sunday mornings I sometimes had my aunt who lives in Brighton tape the Sunday-evening airing on WHMI. But I digress.

Of course, there was still a lot of similarity between mainstream and hot AC in 1994. It seemed like that had started to change by the time Billboard split the AC chart into AC and Adult Top 40 in 1996, by the time Hot ACs were no longer playing the newest releases by Michael Bolton, Vanessa Williams and Gloria Estefan and had started taking more cues from the softer side of Alternative. That was when Hot AC started to develop its own personality, as I recall.

 

[satech]

"Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlisle. A Christian song that crossed over and became the father of the bride dance for years to come.

MercyMe's "I Can Only Imagine" also crossed over from Christian Contemporary to AC.

I've also heard Creed's "With Arms Wide Open" on Christian stations, although when it was new I had no idea it had any religious connections. There is an AC mix of it which replaces the electric guitar solo with an acoustic guitar.

 

[ChrisInMI]

"Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlisle. A Christian song that crossed over and became the father of the bride dance for years to come.

MercyMe's "I Can Only Imagine" also crossed over from Christian Contemporary to AC.

I've also heard Creed's "With Arms Wide Open" on Christian stations, although when it was new I had no idea it had any religious connections. There is an AC mix of it which replaces the electric guitar solo with an acoustic guitar.

MercyMe have had several other AC hits, though none as explicitly Christian as "I Can Only Imagine." ("Here With Me" could double as a secular love song as much as a declaration of praise.) And when Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and Kathy Troccoli were crossing over to AC in the '90s, they rarely if ever did it with explicitly Christian songs - despite the fact that Amy's first crossover hit back in 1985, "Find A Way," did have an explicitly Christian message.

As for secular songs crossing over to Christian radio, Daughtry also got Christian AC airplay with "Home," as did Carrie Underwood with "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and I think "So Small" as well.

 

[ChrisInMI]

Speaking of unusual songs from the '90s on AC playlists today, WWRM in Tampa plays Stone Temple Pilots' "Plush" - granted, the acoustic version. I'm also hearing Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under The Bridge" more and more on mainstream AC - it played on 101.5 The River in Toledo, OH (a Clear Channel station, but one that uses Premium Choice only during overnights) just the other day. Not suggesting that's unusual, just thought I'd bring it up.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Speaking of unusual songs from the '90s on AC playlists today, WWRM in Tampa plays Stone Temple Pilots' "Plush" - granted, the acoustic version. I'm also hearing Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under The Bridge" more and more on mainstream AC - it played on 101.5 The River in Toledo, OH (a Clear Channel station, but one that uses Premium Choice only during overnights) just the other day. Not suggesting that's unusual, just thought I'd bring it up.

Yikes! I would hope it would be the acoustic version.

 

[leethalweapon]

It makes sense to add tracks like RHCP and various acoustic versions of 90's alternative hits. My reason would be that when the average 40 year old soccer mom is listening, she wants to hear songs that relate to her. The (early to mid) 90's was the first wave of alternative. The teenagers of that era, are the family of today. So ut makes sense to play the music that they grew up with.