Top 40 Music on Compact Disc: Missing Top 40 hit from Eddie Rabbitt

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Topic: Missing Top 40 hit from Eddie Rabbitt

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Todd Ireland
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Posted: 30 September 2007 at 7:17am \| IP Logged

Does anyone know if Eddie Rabbitt's "I Don't Know Where to Start" exists anywhere on CD? Though the song isn't listed in the database presumably because it fell short of the Top 40 on some music chart publications, it did reach #35 in Billboard. Given that all of Rabbitt's Top 40 singles were released on Elektra, I'm puzzled as to why "I Don't Know Where to Start" never seems to pop up on any of the artist's many compilations. (And if you'll notice, songs like "Step by Step" and "Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight" never show up on the same Rabbitt best-of CDs with other hits like "I Love a Rainy Night" and "Drivin' My Life Away". It appears his recordings have somehow ended up scattered among different owners.)

jimct
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Posted: 30 September 2007 at 7:34am \| IP Logged

Todd, I just researched that song last week, along with many other early 80s hits, that did make the BB Top 40, but didn't chart high enough in Cashbox to be included in Pat's Top 40 hits database. It IS on the "Step By Step" CD. And if you have similar inquiries of this nature in the near future, I would be happy to save you the time and trouble, and share my findngs.

JMD1961
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Posted: 30 September 2007 at 10:29am \| IP Logged

Jim is right. It is on the "Step By Step" CD... if you're willing to pay out the butt for it. I had a friend who bought the CD and spent about $40 dollars for it, though he had to do a lot of negotiating to get it down to that. To start with, they want about a hundred bucks.

That said, I do believe he still has the CD. I could ask, if you'd like.

edtop40
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Posted: 01 October 2007 at 11:10am \| IP Logged

todd...i have that song on cd, if you need a copy send me a pm...

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edtop40

Todd Ireland
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Posted: 01 October 2007 at 9:02pm \| IP Logged

Thanks, guys! I will very likely be taking you all up on your kind offers to help me track down and obtain these last remaining Top 40 hits missing in my CD collection.

Edited by Todd Ireland on 01 October 2007 at 9:05pm

BradOlson
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Posted: 14 October 2007 at 6:32pm \| IP Logged

I was lucky to get the Step By Step CD at my local Goodwill recently for about $4.

Santi Paradoa
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Posted: 11 March 2012 at 7:05pm \| IP Logged

One heck of a deal there Brad. Over four years later, has "I Don't Know Where To Start" surfaced on another CD release since or is it just the Step By Step cd that includes this song?

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Santi Paradoa
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Fetta
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Posted: 12 March 2012 at 7:09am \| IP Logged

jimct wrote:

Todd, I just researched that song last week, along with
many other early 80s hits, that did make the BB Top 40, but didn't chart
high enough in Cashbox to be included in Pat's Top 40 hits database. It
IS on the "Step By Step" CD. And if you have similar inquiries of this
nature in the near future, I would be happy to save you the time and
trouble, and share my findngs.

Sorry to go off Topic, but IS there a thread that discusses songs that hit
the top 40 on Billboard but did not make Pats Database?

jimct
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Posted: 12 March 2012 at 8:13am \| IP Logged

Jeff, going back to 1960, I have made notes in pencil in my BB "Pop
Annual" books as to what BB Top 40 hits Pat doesn't include in his db.
There's actually a "flip side" to this as well - there are also songs that Pat
does include in his db that did not make the BB Top 40, due to a higher
peak in Cashbox; I've also noted these in pencil as well. The only thing to
keep in mind is that Pat, on occasion, has "changed his mind" on a db
track. (I recall Melanie's "Ruby Tuesday", which used to appear
in his db, but no longer does, due to a later re-evaluation. His
prerogative, obviously, and this was a very rare case, as best I can tell.) So
my findings are based on what he had included in his db at the time I
researched it. I also found that, once in a while, Pat will include a "peak
year" different than BB does, always for December/January peakers. (For
example, during our recent mono/stereo stock 45 project, Todd & I
discovered that Ian Thomas' "Painted Ladies" appears in my Pop Annual as
1974, while Pat has it as 1973 in his db - there are others; usually a
couple each year.) Jeff, I know from my years on here that Pat has long
been an ardent supporter/believer in the Cashbox charts, and this fact
accounts for all the above differences. Again, his prerogative. But if others
feel like you, and would also like to know what these specific "straggler"
titles are, feel free to chime in. This would simply be a "by popular
demand" thing on my part. I can't imagine that Pat would have a problem
here, as only fellow, paying db subscribers would find this type of
"supplemental db info" useful. I can certainly say that making these notes
has helped me "navigate" around Pat's db a little easier over the years,
especially in regard to doing/not doing a specific song search, so I can
see why you asked the question here, Jeff. Any others interested? Let me
know, as there'll be a decent bit of work in it for me to get all these new
details all up and posted. I just wanna make sure there's enough Board
interest to go to all the trouble/bother.

Edited by jimct on 12 March 2012 at 8:46am

Fetta
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Posted: 14 March 2012 at 8:41am \| IP Logged

Jimct.

I would especially be interested but I know it is a TON of work. I am
specifically working on the 80s right now and would be especially helpful
for me. Even the differences in Peak years would be great.

I could also see this spin off into determining if the 45 versions of those
that hit the Top 40 on BB but not in Cashbox are available on CD. I
remember this came up with "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely" by Paul Davis,
which finally made its 45 version appearance but is not included in Pat's
database.

But as I said, I know it is a ton of work so hopefully, others would be as
interested in this as I am.

Thanks.

-Jeff

EdisonLite
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Posted: 14 March 2012 at 10:11am \| IP Logged

Question for you, Fetta -- When you say: "IS there a thread that discusses songs that hit the top 40 on Billboard but did not make Pats Database?"

do you simply want a LIST of those specific songs - or do you want database type entries for those hits (i.e. some examples where the single versions can be found on CD??)

Either way, it does sound like a LARGE amount of work for Jim. I agree it would be great to have a list but would also understand if Jim feels it would be too much work.

Perhaps Jim could provide the list and others could chime in on where the single mix can be found in those cases where it's only on, say, 1 or 2 CDs (e.g. Paul Davis "Love Or Let...") - or if it's on 0 CDs. In that way, it could be more a community project, and not just on Jim's plate.

And btw, Jim, any rough guesses as to how many songs we're talking about here? for instance, would it be under 25 per decade? Over 50? You might have a better idea since you've actually taken notes. Maybe it's not as many as we think.

And a suggestion: Maybe we should copy key posts in this thread into a new thread. It dawns on me that if a person is not looking for a low-charting, missing Eddie Rabbitt top 40 hit, they wouldn't even open this post and be part of this conversation as to whether they want Jim to do this or not.

Edited by EdisonLite on 14 March 2012 at 10:13am

Fetta
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Posted: 14 March 2012 at 10:25am \| IP Logged

My original thought was to see if there was a list that showed the songs that
made the Top 40 in BB but not Cashbox (hence they would not be included
in the database).

If Jim WAS to compile this list (which is a huge undertaking), then I would see
others in the board chiming in if they wanted to share information as to
where the correct 45 version would be found on cd (as you mentioned above)

But just having the list itself would be great.

Paul C
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Posted: 15 March 2012 at 2:18pm \| IP Logged

If I may return to the original topic at hand.....

Warner Brothers owns the masters to the first five albums Eddie Rabbitt recorded for their Elektra label, but the masters to the Step By Step album (his sixth for Elektra) are either owned or controlled by the Eddie Rabbitt estate. The album's only release on CD was in 1990 on Capitol Records shortly after Rabbitt signed with that label. (He had spent the second half of the 1980s on RCA.) Wikipedia claims that Capitol purchased the masters from Warner Brothers, but I doubt this is true.

Since Eddie Rabbitt's death in 1998, his estate has shown no eagerness to have the recordings it controls re-released. A couple of years ago, Rhino prepared for release the album Seventeen Number Ones, containing all 17 of his number one country hits. ('I Don't Know Where To Start' is not one of them.) The Eddie Rabbitt estate objected and the album was withdrawn either right before or right after its scheduled release date. Enough copies were sold somehow for the album to reach #71 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart. I note that this album is not listed in the database, but then it is not clear whether it can be considered to have been officially released.

Santi Paradoa
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Posted: 15 March 2012 at 2:40pm \| IP Logged

Real Gone Music has a release scheduled for May 1st, 2012 titled 13 Original #1 Hits. Below is the track listing. Of course the song "I Don't Know Where To Start" is not included since it never topped the chart(s).

1.Drinkin My Baby (Off My Mind)
2.You Dont Love Me Anymore
3.I Just Want To Love You
4.Every Which Way But Loose
5.Suspicions
6.Gone Too Far
7.Drivin My Life Away
8.I Love A Rainy Night
9.Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight
10.You And I with Crystal Gayle
11.You Cant Run From Love
12.The Best Year Of My Life
13.Both To Each Other (Friends and Lovers) with Juice Newton

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Santi Paradoa
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JMD1961
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Posted: 15 March 2012 at 6:55pm \| IP Logged

Paul C wrote:

Since Eddie Rabbitt's death in 1998, his estate has shown no eagerness to have the recordings it controls re-released. A couple of years ago, Rhino prepared for release the album Seventeen Number Ones, containing all 17 of his number one country hits. ('I Don't Know Where To Start' is not one of them.) The Eddie Rabbitt estate objected and the album was withdrawn either right before or right after its scheduled release date. Enough copies were sold somehow for the album to reach #71 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart. I note that this album is not listed in the database, but then it is not clear whether it can be considered to have been officially released.

I don't know the history of its release, but I bought a copy of "Eddie Rabbitt - Number One Hits" at Wal-Mart for $7.00 last year. They had several copies. So, it appears that it came out at some point.

Todd Ireland
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Posted: 16 March 2012 at 11:42pm \| IP Logged

Paul C wrote:

Thanks for the info, Paul!

Santi Paradoa
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Posted: 14 July 2012 at 2:58pm \| IP Logged

jimct wrote:

The only thing to keep in mind is that Pat, on occasion, has "changed his mind" on a db track. (I recall Melanie's "Ruby Tuesday", which used to appear in his db, but no longer does, due to a later re-evaluation. His prerogative, obviously, and this was a very rare case, as best I can tell.)

Jim is correct. The song "Solitaire" by the Embers (from '61) never hit the BB Hot 100, but Pat had it listed in his book (I remember it in the sixth edition). Another listing not in the current online database.

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Paul Haney
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Posted: 14 July 2012 at 3:31pm \| IP Logged

Santi Paradoa wrote:

Just FYI, "Solitaire" by The Embers peaked at #44 in Music Vendor (precursor to Record World), #36 in Cashbox and #103 in Billboard.

80smusicfreak
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Posted: 21 September 2013 at 5:13am \| IP Logged

Getting back on topic, I just obtained the 1990 re-issue CD of Eddie Rabbitt's Step By Step album, on Capitol 90531...

Paul C wrote:

Warner Brothers owns the masters to the first five albums Eddie Rabbitt recorded for their Elektra label, but the masters to the Step By Step album (his sixth for Elektra) are either owned or controlled by the Eddie Rabbitt estate.

Thanks for this tidbit, Paul C. Like Todd Ireland, I'd been looking to obtain his Billboard top 40 hit, "I Don't Know Where to Start", on CD, but had always been frustrated (and somewhat puzzled) by its omission from ER's numerous hits CDs. (I'd always known it wasn't one of his bigger hits, but w/ so many ER collections available, you'd think it would've appeared on at least ONE of them by now! Oh, and for the record, it hit only #65 in Cash Box, which helps explain why the song doesn't appear in Pat's book/database.) And I, too, had always noticed that "Step By Step" and "Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight" never seemed to appear on any of the hits CDs that featured ER's earlier material, but now it makes sense...

So w/ "IDKWTS" only ever appearing on CD on its original parent album, and "SBS" and "SCLAHT" being my favorite ER hits (along w/ "Suspicions"), after reading your post last year, I decided it would be worth the few extra bucks it would likely cost me to track down the long OOP Step By Step CD. (A shame ER passed away at a relatively early age back in '98, because if he were still alive today, I'd go see him in concert in a heartbeat - something I unfortunately never did.) "IDKWTS" has an actual time of (3:24) on Capitol 90531; that actually matches the timing given in Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual book, as well as the label on the 45 itself - so I assume the LP and 45 versions were the same...

Quote:

The album's only release on CD was in 1990 on Capitol Records shortly after Rabbitt signed with that label.

Sorry, but that is definitely NOT true! While that IS the version of the CD that I just acquired, it was actually the second time the Step By Step album had come out on CD here in the U.S. It was originally issued on CD circa 1983-84, on Warner Bros. 64532; in fact, it was one of the first titles ever released on CD here in the U.S., and is one of the collectible "target" CDs. (Of course, since there weren't yet any CD pressing plants in the U.S. at the time, all copies of those Warner Bros. originals state "MADE IN WEST GERMANY" on them, even though they were produced for the U.S. market.) Full documentation here, complete w/ detailed pics: Original U.S. 'Step By Step' CD on WB label I noticed that Warner Bros. 64532 was NOT included in the listings for "Step By Step" (the song) and "Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight" in the 10th edition of Pat's book, so he will need to add it to the on-line database under both songs. (For the time being, I'd assume that the timings for both songs on Warner Bros. 64532 match those on Capitol 90531...)

Also note that the artwork on Warner Bros. 64532 matched the original 1981 vinyl LP/cassette/8-track issued on Elektra 532, while for whatever reason, it was changed by Capitol for their re-issue on cassette & CD in 1990 (many of the printed song timings were also slightly revised). I scour record stores across the entire northeast for vintage/audiophile/collectible CDs (my brother has been one of the biggest sellers of them on eBay for a decade now, so I'm always contributing to his inventory), and have yet to run across a copy of Warner Bros. 64532 myself, so it's definitely a toughie. However, I wouldn't hesitate to grab the first one I find, even if it wasn't in perfect condition - will report here should that ever happen, unless somebody else beats me to it...

JMD1961 wrote:

["IDKWTS"] is on the "Step By Step" CD... if you're willing to pay out the butt for it. I had a friend who bought the CD and spent about $40 dollars for it, though he had to do a lot of negotiating to get it down to that. To start with, they want about a hundred bucks.

Of course, there are two ways to buy CDs. If you want it right then & there, you can do a "Buy It Now" for one of the copies that always seem to be listed on eBay or several other sites, such as GEMM, etc. - and yes, if you go that route, expect to currently pay at least $40-$50 for the Capitol re-issue of Step By Step, and over $100 for the Warner Bros. original (since it's one of those coveted "target" CDs). Or, you can wait patiently until one gets listed auction-style on eBay - which is what I did - and almost always pay a bit less. (For the record, I got mine for only $30, inc. shipping.) Ultimately, it of course comes down to just how bad you want something - but the Step By Step CD CAN be had for less, at least on today's market. (I realize you made the above comment almost six years ago.) Or better yet, you might just get lucky like BradOlson did, and find one in a used record store or thrift shop for a mere $4 (I find stuff that way all the time) - but as much as I still enjoy hitting the road and getting my hands a bit dirty, in the case of ER, I wasn't willing to be THAT patient, lol... :-)

EdisonLite
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Posted: 21 September 2013 at 11:10am \| IP Logged

I'd been looking for this CD the past 3 months and the cheapest I found it for was $35 so I held off. After reading this post (and seeing it was $30 recently), I decided to look around again and just found a CD in VG condition for $16 (+$3 postage), so I bought it. Interesting to learn why this song so rarely appears on compilations.

I recently bought an Eddie Rabbitt CD called "Number One Hits" and this song was excluded ... for the obvious reason that it didn't reach #1 country. But despite the fact that people here are saying it wasn't a big hit, it did reach #2 on the country charts, and I consider that big. Had it gone one notch higher, it would have been included on this "Number One Hits" CD, along with "Step By Step" and the other #1s from the "Step by Step" album, which were all included on the #1's CD.

Edited by EdisonLite on 21 September 2013 at 11:11am

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