H/D's List: 123 songs that should still be played ...

[jag]

OK, so how do we get these tunes--and others of their ilk--played on the air, instead of the exasperatingly, if not excruciatingly, overplayed, over-rotated platitudes that currently pass for oldies radio?

[lastone]

OK, so how do we get these tunes--and others of their ilk--played on the air, instead of the exasperatingly, if not excruciatingly, overplayed, over-rotated platitudes that currently pass for oldies radio?

I have played some of the 'lighter' ones (like Pata Pata) on my little show. Not that anyone would notice! LOL

[Scott Reppert]

OK, so how do we get these tunes--and others of their ilk--played on the air, instead of the exasperatingly, if not excruciatingly, overplayed, over-rotated platitudes that currently pass for oldies radio?

Well, something tells me that the "creative minds" that ran stations like the initial incarnation of WOBG or the last incarnation of Magic 101 have had their voices silenced in this area at least as far as whole stations playing oldies that are not fed via satellite from a corporate office somewhere where "1432 Franklin Pike Circle" was not a hit. I think the best you could hope for is one of the more "extreme oldies" or "deep cuts" channels on XM/Sirius to be your answer. But as for locally? I think the best you could hope for would be one of the "pre-programmed" oldies stations to allow someone to go in for three hours one night a week and do a "live" show where they played all kinds of stuff like this.

As I have stated before: a high percentage of the two million girls that bought "Heartbeat (It's A Love Beat)" when it first came out are still around with a radio at their disposal, somebody just has to be smart enough to play the song to get them to listen. Heck, there's probably a guy in Sutton that gave up listening to Oldies radio because he didn't hear "Mongoose" played anymore...

[Hoosier Daddy]

OK, so how do we get these tunes--and others of their ilk--played on the air, instead of the exasperatingly, if not excruciatingly, overplayed, over-rotated platitudes that currently pass for oldies radio?

Are you looking for a specialty show that features nothing but the more obscure music, or would you like to see more variety in the traditional oldies stations and their playlists? If you want the former, a few programs exist but they're hard to find. If you want the latter, I think you'll have to find some way to destroy the current focus group oriented McRadio programming model. You'd need to hire a good PD or consultant who truly understands the era and the music and can achieve the right mix of recognizable favorites and deep tracks. Right now, Oldies Radio is a canned, generic plug-and-play satellite format that is usually an afterthought of the radio station clusters. You're seeing the 60s stuff shoved off into obscurity right now and the 70s music will soon follow as traditional radio spins the format wheel again and again, trying to re-invent themselves to scrape together every advertising dollar their clients can be enticed to cough up.

Sirius XM does a pretty good job with their 50s/60s/70s channels, although they have some odd favorites that get played way too much (how many times can you stand to hear Richard Harris's MacArthur Park and all that droll from Herman's Hermits in a freaking week, people?!) and there's no rhyme or reason to the deeper cuts they offer up. You can occasionally find some good stuff on the Studio 54 (Disco) channel, the New Wave channel, and on Underground Garage.

One of the best online radio stations I've ever heard is Oldies Radio dot US. As best as I can tell, this is a hobby project that originates from a real radio station in Dallas, Texas. It's very, very well done from a technical standpoint, and they capture the magic of the era perfectly. The jingles, the reverb, the old commercials ... its all there.

To answer your question, look to the internet for your music. LPFM can be an option if available in your area. There are a few adventurous full-power non-comms out there (WFGH/Fort Gay comes to mind -- R.I.P. Vernon Stanfill) that did or still do deep cut oldies.

[EZ103.3FM]

84. THUNDER AND LIGHTNING - Chi Coltrane (1972)

It's pronounced "Shy Coal-train", in case you're wondering. This song kicks some serious butt, yet you never hear it anymore.

This song is one of my favorite oldies, and it used to get played a lot on B97 in Huntington. I haven't heard it for a while, so I assume it was a personal favorite of someone who worked there and doesn't work there any longer.

[Hoosier Daddy]

84. THUNDER AND LIGHTNING - Chi Coltrane (1972)

It's pronounced "Shy Coal-train", in case you're wondering. This song kicks some serious butt, yet you never hear it anymore.

This song is one of my favorite oldies, and it used to get played a lot on B97 in Huntington. I haven't heard it for a while, so I assume it was a personal favorite of someone who worked there and doesn't work there any longer.

That list could include a whole lot of people.



(Agreed -- its a great song!)

[Hoosier Daddy]

80. SWEET MARY - Wadsworth Mansion (1971)

A one-hit wonder from a Providence, Rhode Island band called Wadsworth Mansion. The song charted at #7 on Billboard's Hot 100.





79. I CAN'T STAND THE RAIN - Eruption (1977)

This song was originally recorded by Ann Peebles in 1973 and it reached #6 on the R&B/Black Chart. The British disco band Eruption re-worked the tune in 1977 and released it again, climbing to #18 on Billboard's Hot 100. John Lennon considered it one of his favorites.





78. DO YOU REMEMBER ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO - The Ramones (1981)

I always considered The Ramones to be one of those freaky loser punk bands trying to make a name for themselves by being worse than anyone else out there. Until I heard this song. Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio was the band's second single and it marked a complete change in the Ramones' sound. This was partially because the band wanted commercial success and because of the work of their new producer, a guy named Phil Spector. "Rock 'n' Roll Radio" is a complex song, based on many of the 50's pop songs the band grew up listening to. A piano, trumpet, horn, saxophone, and synthesizer are used along with the standard guitar, drums, and bass. As was common in 1950s rock & roll, the saxophone is the lead instrument rather than the guitar. The opening and closing parts of the song sample a radio tuning into a rock 'n' roll radio channel hosted by a DJ (voiced by Sean Donahue) and the song also contains the saxophone playing of Steve Douglas. That patented Phil Spector Wall of Sound is alive and well! This tune became one of the Ramones' most enduring songs.

[Scott Reppert]

...Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio was the band's second single...

Not that we're scorekeeping here, but it was more like their fourth because "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", "Rockaway Beach" and
"Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" all came before. As a matter of fact, it may have been their fifth because "I Wanna Be Sedated" was
released on RSO as the lead single from the "Times Square" soundtrack in 1980, I believe.

Now back to the standard comments regarding your fine series, of which, these are my favorite "Three In A Row" that you have done:

Is that the Wadsworth Mansion video with the topless chicks at the end? Made a mistake with that one one time.

Eruption is on the disc that I currently have loaded into the CD player in the BRAND NEW CAR!!!

Had to go to the PNC location in the MountainLair last year and asked a guy where it was
located. He told me and proceeded to ask me when was the last time I had been in the
MountainLair was and I said 1982 to see The Ramones in concert. He was speechlessly impressed...

[Hoosier Daddy]

...Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio was the band's second single...

Not that we're scorekeeping here, but it was more like their fourth because "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", "Rockaway Beach" and
"Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" all came before. As a matter of fact, it may have been their fifth because "I Wanna Be Sedated" was
released on RSO as the lead single from the "Times Square" soundtrack in 1980, I believe.

You are probably right. I have several music anthology books I consult and one of them listed this song as the second single. I was thinking most of those songs you listed were released on an album but not on a single. The only song I can vaguely remember that might have been offered as a single is I Wanna Be Sedated. The late 70s/early 80s is a little outside my primary area of interest. I'm also not much of a Ramones fan, so I will defer to your musical knowledge!

Yes, the Wadsworth Mansion video has that little *bonus* on the end of it.

[Scott Reppert]

You are probably right. I have several music anthology books I consult and one of them listed this song as the second single. I was thinking most of those songs you listed were released on an album but not on a single.

I hate to say this outside of talking about anything that has to do with Jesus, God and the Bible but: trust me on this one!

[Hoosier Daddy]

EXTRA: Instrumentals

OK, these songs aren't officially part of the 123 song countdown, but they still hold a place in Top 40 radio history. Back in the day, a stack of instrumentals was kept handy somewhere between the cart machines and that massive Gatesway 80 console, just in case you had a last minute backtiming problem with a network feed, such as the top-of-the-hour news or a sports program. Since the instrumental had no words, you could fade it out at the appropriate time and it was less conspicuous than killing a vocal in the middle of the second verse. Lesser known instrumentals often became music beds for commercials and other production work. The ones you'll hear here are charting songs in their own right. They actually received airplay in regular Top 40 or MOR rotation and were played sometime during the programming clock hour in their entirity.


ON THE REBOUND - Floyd Cramer (1961)





TELSTAR - The Tornados (1962)





POPCORN - Hot Butter (1972)





MUSIC BOX DANCER - Frank Mills (1979)





THEME FROM CLOSE ENCOUNTERS - Meco (1977)




I know. There are a hundred more that could be added to the list. Maybe some day!

[EZ103.3FM]

If I remember correctly during my time at WHEZ-FM we had 3 songs that we were playing while they were in the Top 40. Music Box Dancer was one of them. If I have time I'll try to do some research and find out the other 2. I think 1 of the others was another instrumental and 1 was a vocal. We only played 1 vocal per 12-13 minute set, or 4 per hour.

From Wikipedia, here's the history of Music Box Dancer and how it became a Top 40 hit.

Mills released an album in 1974 that featured "Music Box Dancer", but it was not a hit initially. When he re-signed with Polydor Records Canada in 1978, the label released a new song as a single, with "Music Box Dancer" on the B-side. The single was sent to easy listening stations in Canada, but a copy was sent in error to CFRA-AM, a pop station in Ottawa. The program director played the A-side and couldn't figure out why it had been sent to his station, so he played the B-side to see if the record was mistakenly marked. He liked "Music Box Dancer" and added it to his station's playlist, turning the record into a Canadian hit. Iconic Ottawa Valley radio personality Dave "50,000" Watts gave the record extensive airplay on the station. The album went gold in Canada, which prompted Polydor in the US to release the album and single.

In Nashville, news producer Bob Parker at WNGE-TV began playing the song over the closing credits of the newscast. Nashville DJs quickly latched on and both the single and album were hits. The million-selling Gold-certified single reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1979 as well as #4 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, while the album reached #21 on the Billboard Top Album chart and also went gold. Polydor awarded a gold record to TV station WNGE for breaking the single in the U.S.

It was Mills' only U.S. Top 40 pop hit; the follow-up, another piano instrumental titled "Peter Piper", peaked at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100 although it was a popular Top 10 hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Mills managed one final Adult Contemporary chart entry, "Happy Song", which peaked at #41 at the beginning of 1981.

[Scott Reppert]

Back in the era right before widespread internet, a friend of mine (Pete Malik, host of "Penn Highlands TFCRS") asked me if I had a copy of a song. Now Pete is not your normal "music listener", so I figured that this could go anywhere from Al Jolson to Stryper. So I says, "Sure, Pete. What do you want me to find?" and his reply is "Telstar". When I saw him in the studio the next time, I played it for him (probably from it's appearance on one of the Rhino "British Invasion" compilations). As soon as it started, so did his tears. The man cried for the duration of the song and then simply said, "Thank you".

Such is the power of music...

[Hoosier Daddy]

... and here we go again! ...


77. THE DEDICATION SONG - Freddy 'Boom Boom' Cannon (1966)

Dedications. Remember those? Freddy Cannon does. It's a made-for-radio song that made its debut about four years too late. You got Freddy's power rockin' voice, the overdubbed music, that gigantic drum beat, and the loud, noisy, infectious melody. But this was 1966, not 1962, and the kiddies wanted The Beatles and The Animals and psychodelic stuff and not teen pop left over from the early days of JFK. But it was a great song and I share it with you here ...





76. IT'S COLD OUTSIDE - The Choir (1966)

Here's another rare one and a perfect example of a regional hit. The Choir was a Cleveland garage band and this song received a lot of airplay in Cleveland, Detroit and even Pittsburgh, then later in Toronto and Chicago. Many midwestern stations gave the song a whirl but it failed to cast a significant national shadow. It's Cold Outside topped the Billboard Hot 100 at #68 after being re-released in 1967. In 1970, three of the members of this band hooked up with a dude named Eric Carmen and they became The Raspberries.





75. LAY A LITTLE LOVIN' ON ME - Robin McNamara (1970)

Robin is a HE, not a SHE. From the summer of 1970, this one hit wonder hit #11 on Billboard's Hot 100.

[Dave Loudin]

"I Can't Stand the Rain" was one of the first songs I "rescued" from vinyl in my ongoing digitizing process. My Mom's parents had a Floyd Cramer album that I played the heck out of when we visited.

[Scott Reppert]

I got turned on to the Robin McNamara song while trying to impress a young lady's Mom. I wanted to get on her best side, so I asked her "What oldie am I not playing that you haven't heard in years that you would lovvvvve to hear on the radio?" and her answer was "Lay A Little Lovin' On Me". I hooked up with Alfie and the rest is history. Like Conrad says: "Rep, we should write a book"...

[Hoosier Daddy]

I got turned on to the Robin McNamara song while trying to impress a young lady's Mom. I wanted to get on her best side, so I asked her "What oldie am I not playing that you haven't heard in years that you would lovvvvve to hear on the radio?" and her answer was "Lay A Little Lovin' On Me". I hooked up with Alfie and the rest is history. Like Conrad says: "Rep, we should write a book"...

I worked at an MOR station just after high school and played Lay a Little Lovin' on Me one afternoon. Having no idea who Robin McNamara was at the time, I proceeded to backsell the song by saying something klutzy and stupid, like "Robin's a beautiful lady with a beautiful voice ..." The next day, the PD met me at the door with the Robin McNamara album in hand. "He", he said, pointing to the album cover. "Somebody called". Oops.

[Hoosier Daddy]

74. NEW YORK GROOVE - Ace Frehley (1978)

Ace Frehley once told Rolling Stone magazine that his unique take on the song was inspired by his experience with hookers in New York City's pre-Rudy Giuliani Times Square. New York Groove was originally recorded by the British glam band Hello in 1975 and it became a Top 10 hit that year in the UK. When each member of Kiss recorded a solo album in the late 70s, Frehley struck gold when this song was released as a single. The tune reached #13 on Billboard's Hot 100 and was the highest charting solo single released by any Kiss band member.





73. BORN TO BE ALIVE - Patrick Hernandez (1979)

A Power Gold one-hit-wonder from the late days of Disco ...





72. CAT SIZE - Suzi Quatro (1974)

She's best known for her 1979 duet with Chris Norman called Stumblin' In, and for her role on the ABC television series Happy Days as Leather Tuscadero, the little sister of Fonzie's girlfriend. Suzi is from Detroit but enjoyed almost all of her musical success in Europe and Australia. This song is from her 1974 album Quatro and is a radical departure from Suzi's usual punk/heavy metal Joan Jett-style musical fare. Cat Size was featured in its entirety on one of the Happy Days episodes that featured Quatro.

[Hoosier Daddy]

71. I CAN NEVER GO HOME ANYMORE - The Shangri-Las (1965)

Three things you probably didn't know about the Shangri-Las: They were the only nationally successful all-white all-girl group of the early 60s. Lead singer Mary Weiss was just 15 years old and in the 9th grade when she recorded Leader of the Pack. And the Brill Building studio musician that played the piano in many of the early Shangri-Las songs (including the iconic Remember Walking in the Sand) was an unknown kid who went on to establish a very solid solo music career for himself. His name? Billy Joel. My four favorite girls from NYC's Andrew Jackson High School and the undisputed queens of teen angst and unrequited love sing their last song that charted in Billboard's Top 10 ...





70. TELL IT TO THE RAIN - Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons (1966)

A forgotten oldie from that Jersey guy with the powerful falsetto singing voice. This song charted at #10 on Billboard's Hot 100.





69. CONCRETE AND CLAY - Unit 4 + 2 (1965)

A one-hit-wonder from a British pop band that got its name because the original band had only four members. When two additional members were added, the band modified its name accordingly. Pirate radio stations in the UK are credited with breaking and promoting this record, giving it critical exposure to European audiences.

[Greg Goodfellow]

jag wrote:OK, so how do we get these tunes--and others of their ilk--played on the air, instead of the exasperatingly, if not excruciatingly, overplayed, over-rotated platitudes that currently pass for oldies radio?

Lastone: I have played some of the 'lighter' ones (like Pata Pata) on my little show. Not that anyone would notice! LOL

Lastone, I really enjoyed hearing 'Pata Pata' on last week's show! Everyone, THANK YOU for all the submissions. I have GOT to get these songs on our station, especially since the former oldies FM station in New Martinsville is now simulcasting country (the AM is still oldies, but will soon be also heard on an FM translator). We eventually will return WRSG to mostly 50's-70's, but will certainly not remove what we're currently running (THANK YOU, Scott Northcraft and Seven Ranges!). Many people that would listen to Carman Harman's Sunday night show outside of New Martinsville will certainly be unhappy that they won't receive his show-and he does a great job.

Long story short-we're positioning ourselves as the dominant FM oldies outlet-at around 950 watts-again, MANY thanks to Tom Taggart and Seven Ranges.