The Friday Flash

I have to admit that I was a little bit surprised to wake up to “Living In The Past” by Jethro Tull playing on Me-TV-FM this morning!  (At first I thought maybe I had it tuned to The Drive … but this was my clock radio, which has never deviated from Me-TV-FM since the day they began broadcasting … so that couldn’t be the case!)

I guess it just wasn’t what I would typically expect to hear them play on their soft-rock oldies format.  Don’t get me wrong … I thought it was GREAT to hear this … and, once again, this type of variety, on the station.  (To prove THAT point, they followed it up with the Leif Garrett version of “Runaround Sue”!!!  Those two songs and artists are about as “opposite ends of the spectrum” as you can get!)

Which is exactly what I LOVE about the station … you just never really know what you’re going to hear … and it’s those types of surprises that keep you tuned in.

Who would have EVER dreamed 45 years ago that we’d be hearing Jethro Tull on the soft rock stations?  And yet they fit … right along side their airplay on the classic rock stations (although classic rock seems to favor their album tracks “Aqualung” and “Locomotive Breath” more than their two Top 40 Hits, “Living In The Past,” #11, 1972, and “Bungle In The Jungle,” #10, 1974.  (“Living In The Past” first “bubbled under” in 1969, but I guess radio and listeners just weren’t ready yet for this new “art rock” sound.

Tull currently have eleven songs nominated in our Classic Rock Essentials Poll … in addition to the four titles listed above, we’ve also been receiving votes for “Cross-Eyed Mary,” “Hymn 43,” “Skating Away,” “Teacher,” “Thick As A Brick,” “Too Old To Rock And Roll” and “Wond’ring Aloud.”  (Surprisingly, “A Passion Play,” “Minstrel In The Gallery” and “The Whistler” were never even nominated.)  kk 

>>>Ballot #5 is incredible!  I could have picked a Top 20!  This is addictive, Kent.  Thanks so much!!!  (Rimjberger)
>>>Forgotten Hits is COMPLETELY addictive and habit forming!!!  (What are you some of guys going to do when we run out of titles?!?!   Lol)  kk 
Hi Kent,

I agree that this stuff is totally addicting!  The first thing I look for every morning is the fresh ballot.  Many of these songs bring me back to my college radio days from 1985-88.  I had a weekly show from 10pm - 2am and other than two new songs per hour, I was able to play ANYTHING I wanted to, as long as it was in the station record library.  Songs like "Behind The Wall Of Sleep" by The Smithereens were a staple.  Of course, I would always play some of the older stuff and actually talk about the songs and artists, something that seems to be lost on today's radio.  Thanks for bringing back so many great memories.  Can't wait to see the final tally!

Paul Haney

Record Research 

Remember the other day when we told you that “American Woman” by The Guess Who completely CRUSHED to competition in Ballot #2?

Well, the results for Ballot #5 are in … and “Born To Be Wild” by Steppenwolf better than doubled that tally … so they are now currently the leader in the balloting.

What I am loving about these results are the surprises … you know certain songs are going to score well no matter what (although I didn’t expect “Born To Be Wild” to come in at #1, I certainly knew it would be way up there.)

This poll PROVES that classic rock listeners want more from their stations.  Check out some of Ballot 5’s top vote-getters and major surprises.  (There is SO much room for improvement in today’s playlists … let’s just hope SOMEBODY out there is paying attention!)  kk

BALLOT #5 TOP VOTE-GETTERS:

 #1 – Born To Be Wild – Steppenwolf  (WOW!  There aren’t enough words to describe what an impact this song had … no only on all of our lives, but also on the Ballot #5 Chart!)

 #2 – Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen  (Earned about 2/3 of the votes that “Born To Be Wild” did … but still enough to surpass “American Woman” in this new round of voting … and surprisingly, nearly three times as many votes as Bruce’s own “Born In The USA.”)

 #3 – Break On Through – The Doors  (Much bigger than I expected, this one finished just one vote shy of The Boss’s hit above)

 #4 – Born On The Bayou – Creedence Clearwater Revival (This one, too, eclipsed “American Woman”’s showing from the other day … a GREAT album track that exceeded by expectations - although it's always been one of my favorites by them)

 #5 – The Break-Up Song – Greg Kihn Band (Who doesn’t love this song???  One of those VERY pleasant surprises I was talking about … great to see this one place so high on the list!)

 #6 – Burning Love – Elvis Presley (The King continues to make his mark in our Classic Rock poll.  About all you hear these days are this one and “Suspicious Minds” … but several of Elvis’ OTHER tracks have also scored very well in this new round of balloting.)

 #7 – California Girls – Beach Boys (Perhaps Brian Wilson’s first symphony … a TRUE classic in every sense of the word … and part of the journey that shows where classic rock came from)

 #8 – Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon and Garfunkel  (Another true classic that makes EVERY “favorites” list)

 #9 – California Dreamin’ – Mamas and Papas (This is one of those songs that fits EVERY format)

#10 – Breakdown – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers  (It’s tough to go an hour without hearing a Tom Petty song on the radio these days … but this one has always been my favorite … so it’s great to see it finish so high on the list)

MORE SURPRISES:

Bus Rider by The Guess Who  (Missed The Top Ten by one vote.  Anybody out there who isn’t adding this track to their playlist right now is missing the boat.  Originally a B-Side, it still got plenty of airplay back in the day when The Guess Who were at their peak.  I still maintain it was the “Goddamn” lyric that kept it off the charts.)

Born To Wander by Rare Earth  (Guessing this is one of those that most of you had forgotten about … so I am happy to remind you about this great track)

Both Sides Now – Judy Collins (A soft-rock / classic rock cross-over)

Bowling Green by The Everly Brothers  (This one really surprised me … but apparently you guys love it!)

Brooklyn – Steely Dan

Burn Down The Mission – Elton John

Can The Can – Suzi Quatro

Can We Still Be Friends – Todd Rundgren

(Each of the above seven tracks received 25 votes or more on the #5 Ballot … more than I would have figured based on the previous voting collected prior to our posting of this ballot.

While I didn't think today's selections were as strong as the last two ballots, there are still plenty of songs that deserve a listen to every so often.

Cut out one airplay of Freebird a week and substitute King Crimson. They both clock in at about the same time length. Then cut out another spin of Freebird and substitute about four wham bam thank you ma'am songs like C'mom Everybody.

Jack

Because the daily ballots list the songs alphabetically, we’re kind of at the mercy of this factor when it comes to each daily list … but I guarantee you, you will ALWAYS be able to find at least two dozen GREAT tracks that classic rock radio is ignoring in favor of playing the same tracks, sometimes as often as two, three and even four times per day.  I’ll buy the idea that folks want to hear something “familiar” whenever they tune in (so I suppose some day we’ll have the all “Bohemian Rhapsody” station, playing nothing but Scaramouch, Scaramouch 24/7) but mix it up then with more surprises in between … because once again we are proving that this is what listeners would prefer to hear.  (Seriously … is there anybody out there who couldn’t live another day if “More Than A Feeling” wasn’t played during a 24-hour period?)  kk

Hi Kent,

This isn’t easy - and that's a good thing!

Colin Donahue

Variety … that’s the name of the game here in Forgotten Hits … and stirring up a memory … or two … or twenty! … on a daily basis!  (kk) 

 

Man it's hard to vote for songs you hate even thought they belong on the list. <grin>

Bill Scherer

That’s why I recommend the two-ballot option …

A single point for every song you know belongs on the list (and any borderline entries) … and a SECOND form listing your absolute Top Ten Favorites for any given day!  (kk)

Ballot #8 has now been posted, leaving Ballots #6, #7 and #8 eligible for voting today.  Hop on over to the Classic Rock Essentials website and check out the nominees … and then get your votes in … and continue with your support to help us determine, once and for all THE TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK TRACKS OF ALL TIME!