For those who think surveys are based on local sales, think again.
Kent has mentioned more than once that had Stairway to Heaven been
issued on a commercial 45, it probably would have been a number one hit. Well,
the song was issued on a 45. I even had two copies of it at one time, but it
was never issued commercially. Yet here at WRAW, in Reading, PA, it sits at #1,
fifty years ago.
Jack
As you said, it wasn’t sales that spurred this to #1 …
because you literally couldn’t buy it at the time. (I’ve had a couple of 45 rpm pressings of
this, too, over the years … usually an import with the small center hole … yet
it doesn’t look like it ever actually sold enough copies as a single to make an
impact anywhere … so it had to be listener requests and airplay that pushed it
to #1 in Reading, PA.
One thing that Radio and Records Magazine did differently
than Billboard and Cash Box is that they charted songs based on what radio was
actually playing. (It’s kinda funny
because all these years later, they were way ahead of the curve on this
one! Billboard’s charts today have
absolutely nothing to do with a song’s actually SALES anymore … it’s just how
many streams it receives or YouTube views it gets.) Unfortunately, Radio And Records didn’t start
publishing until October of 1973 … so they missed the main time period where “Stairway
To Heaven” would have made its greatest impact by a full year and, as such, it
never charted at all.
However, songs like Elton John’s version of “Pinball Wizard”
(which can only be described as “radio hit” … even WLS charted it here in
Chicago), No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak” and Led Zeppelin’s “All My Love” all made
The Top Ten … even though you couldn’t actually walk into a record store and buy
them! (In fact, “Don’t Speak topped
their Top 40 Chart for ELEVEN Weeks!) kk
Speaking of the charts …
>>>Now, reader Pat Kelly has calculated year-end rankings that include those songs (Sean Ross / Ross On Radio)
Sigh ... another year-end chart
ranking that lists "I'm A Believer" as the No. 1 song of 1966 instead
of 1967.
On the Billboard Hot 100,
the record spent 11 of its 15 weeks on the chart, and 6 of its 7 weeks at No.
1, in 1967; on the Cash Box Top 100, it spent 12 of its 17 weeks on the
chart, and 6 of its 8 weeks at No. 1, in 1967. Those of us who listened to the
radio on a daily basis back then consider "I'm A Believer" to be one
of the biggest hits of 1967, not 1966 (and most radio stations had it listed on
their 1967 year-end surveys).
– Randy Price
Definitely one of my biggest chart pet peeves as well. (That’s what happens when you look back in
hindsight and only consider a song’s chart peak date - not at all representing
reality at the time.)
I’m sure there are dozens and dozens of others - but this is
the one that always leaped out at me (as it was just SO obvious if you were
there at the time.)
Seems nobody looking back does deep enough research to
report this information accurately. (kk)
Have
you voted for your ten favorites yet?
Rewound
Radio has already started tabulating the votes for their Annual Top 77
Countdown, which plays back during the week between Christmas and New Year’s.
(In
actuality, you’ll hear over THREE THOUSAND songs during this very special week …
EVERY song that got a vote will get played at some time during this week long
salute.)
Get
over to the website and vote now: https://musicradio77.com/voting2022.html
And PLEASE …
let’s do our best to FINALLY unseat “Hey Jude” as the world’s all-time favorite
song … it’s already held that position for over twenty years … it can’t
POSSIBLY still be the opinion of all of the music fans out there as the Greatest
Song of All-Time!!! (I say we all vote
for “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport” and shake things up a little bit this
year!!!)
Actually, I’ve already
cast my votes for my ten favorites … which is a joke in and of itself because I
can’t POSSIBLY narrow down my top ten favorites of ANYTHING, much less 60+
years of great music!!! (Still, I predictably
named “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” as my all-time favorite … and it probably is …
but I also gave a nod to our good buddy John Madara’s Lesley Gore hit “You Don’t
Own Me” and a few others that have continued to move me over the years.) Incredibly NO Chicago artists on my list this
year (hey, I’ve got to mix things up now and again, too!!!) Well, actually that’s not true … after
featuring it on Phil Nee’s recent Top 40 Favorite Songs of 1972 Show, I added
Jamestown Massacre’s “Summer Sun” to my list this year!
But don’t let ME
influence you … I’m just out here trying to motivate you to vote!!!
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So please DO vote for your favorites … and
then be listening back the week between Christmas and New Year’s to see
where all of your favorites fell.
(kk)
THE ROLLING STONES “2000 LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME” MUSIC VIDEO
RECEIVES 4K
RESTORATION AND OFFICIAL DIGITAL RELEASE
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| 1967 PROMOTIONAL
SHORT DIRECTED BY PETER WHITEHEAD
SHOT ON 35 MM
FILM
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The Rolling
Stones and ABKCO Music & Records Inc. have released the official music
video for “2000 Light Years From Home.” Filmed and produced in 1967, the
“promotional film” (as videos were referred to in the pre-MTV era) has been
faithfully restored in 4K resolution.
Released in the
US as a B-side to the single “She’s a Rainbow” and worldwide as part of the
band’s experimental/psychedelic album Their Satanic Majesties Request in
late 1967, “2000 Light Years From Home” was written by Mick Jagger and
Keith Richards earlier in the year. Jagger reportedly penned the lyrics
inside Prison Brixton while incarcerated from a drug bust. The song was
recorded at Olympic Sound Studios in the summer of ’67 and was produced and
arranged by The Rolling Stones. The A.V. Club describes “2000 Light Years
From Home” as “one of the highlights of The Rolling Stones’ brief
psychedelic phase . . . a trip through the far reaches of what we’ll call
inner outer space—the classic science-fiction metaphor of the infinite,
exotic unknown as a mirror for feelings of loneliness and isolation.” With
Jagger on lead vocals and maracas, Richards providing backing vocals, lead
guitar and fuzzed out bass, Brian Jones on Mellotron and electric dulcimer,
Bill Wyman on bass and oscillator, Charlie Watts on drums, and studio
musician Nicky Hopkins on piano, the song is light years sonically from the
band’s bluesy roots.
The video for “2000 Light Years From Home” was directed by the late Peter
Whitehead — a Liverpool native and filmmaker who also made The Rolling
Stones tour documentary Charlie Is My Darling: Ireland 1965, as well as
their 1967 music video for “We Love You,” which was released in 4K this
past August . The video begins with closeups of all five original members
and features a staged performance by the group on color-treated film.
Jagger’s painted face as a motif would be reprised for the “Jumpin’ Jack
Flash” music video the following year, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. | | |
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For
me, this has always been a great, overlooked track by The Stones … so I am
happy to feature it today. (At the time,
I actually liked it better than the A-Side!
Lol But I’ve come to REALLY
appreciate “She’s A Rainbow” these days … this was a VERY strong two-sided
single for The Stones!)
You
guys must have liked it, too …
When
we did our All-Time Favorite Psychedelic Songs Survey back in 2005, you voted
it as your #19 favorite, just ahead of The Doors’ “Light My Fire.” (This became our first REALLY big countdown …
and got a lot of coverage back in the day, including several radio program
spins … so it’s kinda cool to revisit it again today as we end this week by
celebrating our 23rd Anniversary of doing Forgotten Hits!!!) kk
http://forgottenhits.com/top_20_favorite_psychedelic_songs
Frannie
and I agree that this year’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony was
one of the best (if not THE best) we’ve seen.
The show just kept right moving along (and at four hours without a commercial
interruption, that’s saying something!)
While
I didn’t consider this year’s class to be the most appealing (and, in some
cases, even the most deserving), we were entertained throughout. Best performances for me were the Eurythmics
hits-filled set and Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp teaming up for a
killer version of “Great Balls Of Fire” … although all of the artists brought
their A-Game. After its initial airing
Saturday Night, it’ll be streaming on HBO Max (and probably replaying on HBO at
least sixty more times in the next month or so as well!) … but this one is
definitely worth checking out. (With
Pink and Pat Benatar performing a double bill next summer here in Chicago, I
just may have to break my personal ban on Wrigley Field and go see this
concert!!!) kk
Speaking
of Bruce Springsteen, he made the music news a couple more times this past week
…
His
two hour interview with Howard Stern (airing next Sunday Night, the 27th,
on HBO) is supposed to be one of the best of his career (promos show The Boss
bringing The King Of All Media to tears with a performance of “Thunder Road”) …
and then, of course, there’s also the controversy about face value ticket
prices for some of Bruce’s upcoming shows topping out at $5000 apiece … and the
fact that The Boss is ok with that. (See
the below link sent in by FH Reader Tom Cuddy)
kk
https://tonedeaf.thebrag.com/bruce-springsteen-concert/
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/bruce-springsteen-dynamic-pricing-controversy/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Ugh&utm_term=UCR
And
while we’re talking about career achievement awards, did you hear that ABBA has
been nominated for FOUR Grammy Awards this year for their big “Voyage” reunion
album???” (Shocked the heck out of me!)
After
never winning a Grammy before during the peak of their career, the group finds
itself nominated for Album Of The Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Record Of The
Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
(Hmm … makes you wonder if this means they may have one more left in ‘em!!!) kk
And,
speaking of reunions, Queen and Adam Lambert say they want to do one last world
tour next year (with a heavy emphasis on The United States.) We may just have to look into that one. (kk)
The
December issue of Endless Summer Quarterly takes a look back to remember our FH
Buddy Billy Hinsche. You can pick up a
copy of this issue here:
https://esquarterly.com/esq-store/winter-2022-issue-140-celebrating-billy-hinsche-morrison-hotel-art-gallery-exclusive/
Next
Week In Forgotten Hits …
Monday’s
1972 Coast-To-Coast Survey Journey takes us to Montana …
And
on Tuesday we’ll be running our Joel Whitburn Trivia Contest (for your chance
to win a copy of the Record Research book of your choice)
Wednesday
Chuck Buell’s prepared another special anniversary tribute …
And
then on Friday we celebrate an anniversary of our own …
The
23rd Anniversary of Forgotten Hits!
And
then on Saturday Phil Nee interviews one of our all-time favorites …
David
Gates of Bread.
In
between, we’ll celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, the 24th …
And
if you’re looking for something other than “The Usual Lions And Cowboys
Football Ritual,” Forgotten Hits Reader Tim Kubat as an alternative suggestion …
How
about celebrating Hanksgiving instead!!!
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/245271/tom-hanks-to-curate-wyep-on-hanksgiving-day/
