A couple of weeks ago, Disc Jockey Big Jay Sorensen, a self-proclaimed Record Pig, sent me this article … an interesting follow-up to the Ross On Radio Lost Factor songs from the ‘70’s and ‘80’s …
(You may recall that a couple of weeks before that, Me-TV-FM saluted many of these “Lost Songs of the ‘70’s” in a special weekend programing tribute.)
https://radioinsight.com/ross/210213/your-lost-factor-favorites-are-easily-justified/
Wow!
I have to admit that I’m surprised by some of these …
Not so much by the “lost factor” … but more so by the “hear factor.”
I counted at least 50 of the songs on this list of 109 song titles described as “missing in action” that I have personally heard played in the past week alone. (And I’ll bet there are another half dozen that I could add to that list if I included the entire month.)
If these are the songs you want to hear and you aren’t hearing them, then you simply aren’t listening to the right radio stations!
In today’s day and age, there is really NO excuse to limit yourself to a terrestrial “oldies station” offering a playlist of just 300 songs … again and again and again, day in and day out.
It's kinda like cable vs. network tv ... network tv shows don't even get NOMINATED for Emmy Awards anymore ... the stuff you WANT to see is all on cable tv and all of the various streaming services.
The same is true of radio these days ... and has been for a while now. Between internet stations, satellite radio, streaming services, YouTube mixes, iPods and great oldies programs dedicated to keeping these Forgotten Hits alive, you should NEVER have to punish yourself again by listening to the same old same old on a daily basis.
Now don't get me wrong ... I totally embrace the whole concept of pointing out what is missing in radio today ... heck, it's that very concept that launched Forgotten Hits nearly 23 years ago. We would point out the songs and artists you didn't hear anymore and then feature this music to prove how radio continued to insult our intelligence by only playing the same 2-300 songs each day instead because their research consultants convinced them that THOSE were the songs their listening audience really wanted to hear ... that the attention span of the average listener couldn't process more than that.
Thankfully, we have proven that this ISN'T the case. And, as a result of this, great radio stations like Me-TV-FM and Rewound Radio, WCFLChicago.com and The True Oldies Channel ... specialized programming like "Those Were The Days," "Relics And Rarities" and "The Lost And Found Oldies Show" now feature a great percentage of these tunes all the time.
So while it's great that Sean Ross continues to point out that which is missing from the radio dial from coast to coast, my feeling is that he should ALSO be telling listeners where they can go to widen their horizon ... because you don't have to put up with these restricted playlists any longer.
And when I tel you that I regularly hear better than half the songs on this list "all the time," I don’t mean oversaturation … which can be worse than being simply ignored.
I mean a proper mix of these songs based on their merit in the archives.
Sean Ross polled other industry insiders, disc jockeys and programmers to get THEIR take on songs that they feel deserve a better take than being ignored. (The fact that they concentrated on ‘70’s and ‘80’s music shows you the trend that is already dominating the broadcast market these days … there are SO many great songs from the ‘60’s that would also fall into this category that, due to his '70's and '80's criteria, won’t show up on a list like this … because radio is desperately trying to phase out the music of the ‘60’s … other than say the 200 most popular cuts that get played repeatedly ad nauseum or songs by artists like The Beatles that will make an immediate listener connection, thus ignoring HUNDREDs … if not thousands … of other very deserving tracks in the process. Again, for TRUE variety, I can only recommend that you head on over to Me-TV-FM or Rewound Radio or WCFLChicago.com or True Oldies or Sirius/XM or any number of other internet stations that DON’T have blinders on when it comes to playing what listeners REALLY want to hear. The fact that Forgotten Hits is about to start our 23rd year should say SOMETHING about the love and affection we all feel toward these “ignored” tunes! And the fact that over six million of you have discovered our journey along the way proves that most listeners are NOT content to just listen to that force-fed same old, same old every single day.)
But I digress …
Most surprising to me is how many times the SAME song is listed by so many different voting parties when asked to randomly pick their favorites as songs that have fallen off the commercial radar. “Take It Away” by Paul McCartney, for example.
Now don’t get me wrong … this is a GREAT song and was a Top Ten Hit in 1982 … a FAR more enjoyable listen than its predecessor, “Ebony And Ivory,” which went to #1 for seven weeks! But I never would have guessed that this tune would have been on so many different peoples’ "missing in action" radar! It was named to four of the Top Five lists (and ranked #1 on three of them!)
Other songs had even more mentions … “How Do I Make You” by Linda Ronstadt and “Starting All Over Again” by Mel and Tim made SIX ballots … while The Beginning Of The End’s “Funky Nassau” made five (and was #1 on three of those!)
Other songs like “Lay Down Candles In The Rain” by Melanie, “Timothy” by The Buoys (!!!), “This Little Girl” by Gary US Bonds and “Special Lady” by Ray, Goodman and Brown matched McCartney’s four mentions.
Yet I have heard every single one of these songs (and some more than once) in the past week alone.
But the one that COMPLETELY blew me away was Ross’ collective #1 song, “Justified And Ancient” by KLF featuring Tammy Wynette.
WHAT?!?!? WHO?!?!?
I can state with 100% honesty and certainty that I have NEVER heard this song before in my life!!! In fact, when I went to iTunes to try and listen to it, it isn’t even listed as being available!!! (A version recorded “in the style of” is there … but not this tune that, more than any other according to this Ross On Radio list, people are dying to hear on the radio again. (For the record, it peaked at #11 in 1992 … KLF’s biggest hit, “3 AM Eternal” hit #5 the year before ... and I didn't know that one either! These must have completely blown by Chicago without ever leaving a mark! You won't "3 AM Eternal" on iTunes either!)
Still, it was unreal to me that I wasn’t familiar with the song that Ross On Radio’s Poll had determined to be the most neglected song out there.
But then the more I thought about it, a couple of things struck me …
This song came out in 1992 … not the ‘70’s or ‘80’s like the poll criteria said … and it wasn’t the only one. In all, 109 different song titles were “nominated” … and 16 of those were from the ‘90’s, thus tipping the scales a bit in the accuracy department. (In fact, two of those date from 1994 as being the “most recent”!)
Then, when calculating my own list based on the actual rankings received in the poll (all of which can be found at the link shown above), I find that the MOST “missing in action” tune is really “Starting All Over Again” by Mel and Tim, chosen on six ballots and placing at #2 on three of them. (Averaging their total rank factor, “Starting All Over Again” earns a 3.17 … just ahead of both “How Do I Make You” by Linda Ronstadt and “Justified And Ancient” by KLF featuring Tammy Wynette, both of which earned a 3.333 rating.)
In fact, most of their Top Ten mimics mine (albeit in a different order in some cases) with the exception of Quarterflash’s “Harden My Heart” (#9 on their list and #16 on mine) and Melanie’s “Lay Down Candles In The Rain” (#6 on my list and not in their Top Ten.)
Calculating the votes received by Sean Ross in his industry poll and then ranking them by the position given for each (1-5), weighing against this a recap of how many responses each song received, I rank The Top 109 this way …
|
1 |
Starting All Over Again |
Mel and Tim – Made 6 LISTS * - Heard Last Week |
|
2 |
How Do I Make You |
Linda Ronstadt * |
|
3 |
Justified And Ancient |
KLF featuringTammy Wynette (1992) – NEVER HEARD THIS SONG IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!! |
|
4 |
Funky Nassau |
The Beginning Of The End – MADE 5 LISTS * (heard at least 4 times in the past week!) |
|
5 |
In Your Room |
The Bangles |
|
6 |
Lay Down Candles In The Rain |
Melanie – MADE 4 LISTS * |
|
7 |
Take It Away |
Paul McCartney * |
|
8 |
Timothy |
The Buoys * |
|
9 |
This Little Girl |
Gary "US" Bonds * |
|
10 |
Special Lady |
Ray, Goodman and Brown * |
|
11 |
Lay A Little Lovin' On Me |
Robin MacNamara – MADE 3 LISTS * |
|
12 |
Why Can't I Touch You |
Ronnie Dyson * |
|
13 |
Superstar |
Murray Head * |
|
14 |
Pilot Of The Airwaves |
Charlie Dore * (AND I DON’T MISS IT AT ALL!!! |
|
15 |
Don't Let Go |
Isaac Hayes |
|
16 |
Take Me To Heart |
Quarterflash * |
|
17 |
Get Down |
Gilbert O'Sullivan * |
|
18 |
The Other Woman |
Ray Parker, Jr. * (HEARD 3 TIMES) |
|
19 |
Patches |
Clarence Carter * (HEARD 3 TIMES) |
|
20 |
Love Land |
Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band * |
|
21 |
Love Is In Control |
Donna Summer |
|
22 |
Down By The Lazy River |
The Osmonds * |
|
23 |
Ariel |
Dean Friedman * (TWICE – AND NEITHER TIME WAS IT THE HIT SINGLE VERSION – IF YOU’RE GOING TO PLAY THIS SONG, PLAY THE ONE THAT ALL OF US REMEMBER – NOT THIS ONE WITH ALL THE EXTRA CRAPPY VERSES!!!) |
|
24 |
Popcorn |
Hot Butter * |
|
25 |
Hey Deanie |
Shaun Cassidy – MADE 2 LISTS * |
|
26 |
An American Dream |
The Dirt Band * |
|
27 |
Who's That Girl |
Madonna |
|
28 |
If |
Janet Jackson (1993) |
|
29 |
Dead Giveaway |
Shalamar |
|
30 |
Monkey |
George Michael |
|
31 |
Wait For Me |
Daryl Hall and John Oates * |
|
32 |
I Never Cry |
Alice Cooper |
|
33 |
Make A Move On Me |
Olivia Newton-John * |
|
34 |
Don't Expect Me To Be Your Friend |
Lobo * |
|
35 |
Scorpio |
Dennis Coffey * |
|
36 |
Looking Through Patient Eyes |
PM Dawn (1993) |
|
37 |
JoJo |
Boz Scaggs |
|
38 |
Oh Babe, What Would You Say |
Hurricane Smith * (3 TIMES) |
|
39 |
You Made Me Believe In Magic |
The Bay City Rollers * |
|
40 |
Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through |
Meatloaf (1994) |
|
41 |
Deeper And Deeper |
Madonna (1993) |
|
42 |
Did It In A Minute |
Daryl Hall and John Oates * |
|
43 |
She's Not Just Another Woman |
The 8th Day * |
|
44 |
Cry For Help |
Rick Astley (1991) |
|
45 |
Up The Ladder To The Roof |
The Supremes – MADE 1 LIST * (HEARD 3 TIMES) |
|
46 |
I'm Easy |
Keith Carradine * |
|
47 |
You And Me |
Alice Cooper |
|
48 |
Justify My Love |
Madonna (1991) |
|
49 |
Gonna Fly Now |
Bill Conti * |
|
50 |
I Gotcha |
Joe Tex * |
|
51 |
Perfect World |
Huey Lewis and the News |
|
52 |
You Could Have Been With Me |
Sheena Easton |
|
53 |
Way Down |
Elvis Presley |
|
54 |
Carrie |
Europe |
|
55 |
Stay |
Shakespears Sister (1992) |
|
56 |
Something's Burning |
Kenny Rogers and the First Edition * |
|
57 |
Boogie On Reggae Woman |
Stevie Wonder * (TWICE) |
|
58 |
Top Of The World |
The Carpenters * |
|
59 |
Love Is Like Oxygen |
Sweet * (TWICE) |
|
60 |
Delta Dawn |
Helen Reddy * |
|
61 |
Praying For Time |
George Michael (1990) |
|
62 |
Peaceful |
Helen Reddy |
|
63 |
To Be A Lover |
Billy Idol |
|
64 |
Baby Love |
Regina |
|
65 |
Stay Awhile |
The Bells * |
|
66 |
Angie Baby |
Helen Reddy * |
|
67 |
Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang |
Silver * |
|
68 |
Neutron Dance |
The Pointer Sisters |
|
69 |
Take It Easy On Me |
Little River Band * |
|
70 |
Jungle Fever |
Chakachas * |
|
71 |
Hooked On Classics |
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
|
72 |
Dark Lady |
Cher * (TWICE) |
|
73 |
Man On Your Mind |
Little River Band |
|
74 |
Twist Of Fate |
Olivia Newton-John |
|
75 |
Outa Space |
Billy Preston * (TWICE) |
|
76 |
No Son Of Mine |
Genesis (1992) |
|
77 |
The No No Song |
Ringo Starr * (TWICE) |
|
78 |
How Can I Fall |
Breathe |
|
79 |
Put Your Hands Together |
The O'Jays |
|
80 |
Anytime You Need A Friend |
Mariah Carey (1994) |
|
81 |
Real Real Real |
Jesus Jones (1991) |
|
82 |
Here We Go |
C+C Music Factory (1991) |
|
83 |
Reflections Of My Life |
Marmalade * |
|
84 |
Luka |
Suzanne Vega |
|
85 |
Let Her In |
John Travolta |
|
86 |
Jeans On |
David Dundas |
|
87 |
A Little In Love |
Cliff Richard * |
|
88 |
Chariots Of Fire |
Vangellis |
|
89 |
Every Heartbeat |
Amy Grant (1991) |
|
90 |
An Innocent Man |
Billy Joel * |
|
91 |
Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep |
Mac and Katie Kissoon * (IN FACT, WE EVEN FEATURED IT!) |
|
92 |
Mama's Pearl |
The Jackson Five * |
|
93 |
Soldier Of Love |
Donny Osmond |
|
94 |
Batdance |
Prince * (HOW ON EARTH DID THIS SONG EVER GET TO #1?!?!) |
|
95 |
Always |
Erasure |
|
96 |
Too Funky |
George Michael |
|
97 |
Wishing On A Star |
Cover Girls |
|
98 |
Baby Don't Forget My Number |
Milli Vanilli |
|
99 |
Billy Don't Be A Hero |
Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods * |
|
100 |
Think Of Laura |
Christopher Cross |
|
101 |
Family Man |
Daryl Hall and John Oates |
|
102 |
Short People |
Randy Newman * |
|
103 |
Miami Vice Theme |
Jan Hammer |
|
104 |
Get Used To It |
Roger Voudouris |
|
105 |
Lonely Night (Angel Face) |
The Captain and Tennille * (TWICE) |
|
106 |
My Ding-A-Ling |
Chuck Berry * |
|
107 |
Change Of Heart |
Cyndi Lauper |
|
108 |
In The Still Of The Night |
Boyz II Men (1993) |
|
109 |
Piece Of My Heart |
Tara Kemp (1991) |
Now I will admit …
I listen to a LOT of radio …
Because I just LOVE to hear those surprises … those unexpected gems … I live for it! (The rare times when radio steps outside the box to take a risk by playing something other than what every other radio station in the country is playing! You know ... uniqueness and originality!)
The other night, Frannie and I just looked at
each other in complete amazement when we heard WRCO play “Our Love” by Natalie
Cole … I’ll bet I haven’t heard that song since it was out in 1978 … and this
was a Top Ten Song!!! As I've mentioned several times here before, it isn't even always hearing this GREAT song ... sometimes it's as simple as just hearing something DIFFERENT ... something that justifiably should be played ... but just isn't anymore. In fact, even if I don't LIKE the song, I still give the station props for digging it out and giving it another spin.)
But that's just me. My love and affection for radio and this music is a labor of love ... and that's enough for me (and seems to be enough for our readers.) However, the simple fact of the matter is, Sean Ross listens to and reports on radio for a living …
His column is
one of the most-read in the industry. He is highly respected in this regard.
As such, I guess I just expected his expose to be a little better informed … especially when it comes to the results of his own poll!
Fine, point out the musc that is missing ... but then ALSO point out where you can go to find it ... because it exists out there if you feel that you want to hear it.
Check out the resources I've described ... Rewound Radio, Me-TV-FM, WCFLChicago.com, The True Oldies Channel, Sirius / XM's Decades Channels ... and relive all of these great musical memories again. (But I should warn you ... you're probably not going the hear the KLF / Tammy Wynette song on ANY of them!)
I know, I know … I’ve come across as the crotchedy, cranky old man these past few days …
But that’s just my passion for this music showing thru.
Seems to me, if we all just step back for a moment ... and take a look at what’s really wrong with radio today, we just might have half a chance to fix it!
But if we continue to program and evaluate with blinders on, radio … and this music … doesn’t stand a chance of survival. (kk)
I can't even begin to guess how many times over the pas 22 years I have been approached about doing "Forgotten Hits Radio." (Believe it or not, the very FIRST person to ever suggest it was Bobby Vee, way back in the year 2000!)
I must admit that for the first 12-15 years or so, I thought that this might be the ONLY way to get some of this music back on the air. (But the truth is, I didn't have the knowledge, the finances or the talent to pull it off! lol)
Thanks to the Internet and a few enterprising programmers and disc jockeys willing to step outside the box ... and music fans and listeners like all of you out there who really DO remember more than just 200 songs from your youth ... radio really HAS improved. Now we get the legitimate hits, the Forgotten Hits and the Shoulda-Been-A-Hits playing side by side on a regular basis ... and it's a better listening experience for all of us as a result.
Thanks again to all who have stuck with us over the years ... and all that have climbed onboard along the way. We DO appreciate you! (kk)
