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Jody Thornton
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| Posted: 25 May 2008 at 3:47am | IP Logged
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I was looking at all the old posts. Boy, do I have a lot of reading cut out for me.
One of the interesting ones was the A-List. I noticed it did include "Thriller" and it started reminding me - was this the promo version that removed Vincent Price. The beginning is a lot like the new "2003 Edit".
During it's heyday in 1984, what vinyl did this version come on (12" or 7")? I wonder why Vincent's rap was thought to be possibly offensive?
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Jody Thornton
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aaronk
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| Posted: 25 May 2008 at 4:59am | IP Logged
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The regular US 45 version is the one that has no Vincent Price rap. The US promo 45 has an edited version that still keeps the rap in tact. You raise in interesting question, though. I wonder why it was cut in the first place?
The US 12" single has the full LP version.
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Bill Cahill
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I figured they didn't want to pay Vincent extra royalties to be on the 45!
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Jody Thornton
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| Posted: 25 May 2008 at 5:04am | IP Logged
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aaronk wrote:
The regular US 45 version is the one that has no Vincent Price rap. The US promo 45 has an edited version that still keeps the rap in tact. You raise in interesting question, though. I wonder why it was cut in the first place?
The US 12" single has the full LP version. |
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So you mean to tell me that the commercial store-bought 45-rpm record in the US was the "non-Vincent" version? REALLY? Wow - see in Canada, we had just the LP version on our 45, but an alternate promo came out with the Vincent ommission. Only CKFM and CFTR played it though in Southern Ontario.
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Todd Ireland
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| Posted: 25 May 2008 at 9:26am | IP Logged
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I must've heard "Thriller" on the radio well over a hundred times when the song became a hit in 1984 and I can honestly say I don't once remember hearing it without the Vincent Price "rap". For me, this is one instance where I don't consider the commercial 45 to be the "true" hit version.
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RichM921
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| Posted: 25 May 2008 at 9:42am | IP Logged
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Thriller on "A-List" runs 5:58 with the 60 second intro. It DOES have Vincent Price.
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eric_a
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I've been wondering if anyone (Jim, maybe?) has any anecdotes from the radio perspective in those days. Was it a surprise that Thriller (the album) turned out to be such a big hit? By the time Epic was a few singles into the album, was each subsequent single an automatic add?
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torcan
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| Posted: 25 May 2008 at 6:27pm | IP Logged
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Jody Thornton wrote:
So you mean to tell me that the commercial store-bought 45-rpm record in the US was the "non-Vincent" version? REALLY? Wow - see in Canada, we had just the LP version on our 45, but an alternate promo came out with the Vincent ommission. Only CKFM and CFTR played it though in Southern Ontario.
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That's not true. I have a commercial Canadian 45 which runs 3:56 and is the edited version without the rap. Maybe there were two Canadian 45s?
Edited by torcan on 25 May 2008 at 6:28pm
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torcan
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| Posted: 25 May 2008 at 6:33pm | IP Logged
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eric_a wrote:
| I've been wondering if anyone (Jim, maybe?) has any anecdotes from the radio perspective in those days. Was it a surprise that Thriller (the album) turned out to be such a big hit? By the time Epic was a few singles into the album, was each subsequent single an automatic add? |
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I know that CHUM in Toronto strayed from their top 40 roots to play more "alternative" or "new wave" music throughout most of '82; however, when "Thriller" was released they automatically added just about every single from the album, and during '83 went back to programming Top 40 music. They knew they couldn't ignore it. "The Girl is Mine" never charted on their chart (it did on CFTR), but the single "Thriller" was the only song in history to debut at No. 1 on the CHUM singles chart.
For the record, I was listening to "Rock 102" (as it was known then) from Buffalo at the time (still am!) - but I followed the Billboard charts, along with the CHUM and CFTR charts religiously back then. Still have 'em, as a matter of fact :)
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Jody Thornton
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| Posted: 26 May 2008 at 6:11am | IP Logged
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And oddly enough - Stereo Rock (used on Rock 102) never played the single "Thriller" in 1984.
They did play "The Girl...", Billie Jean", "Beat It", "PYT", and "Human Nature", but that was it.
CHUM was interesting in 1980 to early 1983, say February. Notice that they presented themselves more like album rock, and even played album versions too? The only edit I remember them playing in that period was "Rapture" by Blondie - they played the US Remix with all the cowbells softly overdubbed. All others were LP versions.
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Hykker
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eric_a wrote:
| I've been wondering if anyone (Jim, maybe?) has any anecdotes from the radio perspective in those days. Was it a surprise that Thriller (the album) turned out to be such a big hit? By the time Epic was a few singles into the album, was each subsequent single an automatic add? |
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Answering your last question first...Yes. Despite the lead-off single (TGIM) being one of the weakest tracks on the album IMHO, once "Billie Jean" hit, Michael's career was on fire. For the next 6 or so years he could have burped into a microphone and had it reach the top 10.
I was working weekends at an AM CHR (yes, there were a few still around) when "Thriller" hit, and I'll have to admit was a bit surprised since MJ was considered a bit of a has-been. I don't remember if we played "Thriller"...by the time it was released as a single, we'd transitioned to AC, and it wouldn't have fit.
1983/84 was a good time to be doing CHR/Top 40. There was almost too much good new stuff around! We were overdue...'80 thru about mid-82 had to be one of the most boring periods of music ever.
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Yah Shure
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| Posted: 26 May 2008 at 6:03pm | IP Logged
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"Thriller" was so huge that the '84 Pepsi radio spots could have been a hit, had they been released, um, commercially.
How many others asked their continuity director for their station's tape and box after the campaign had run its course?
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Todd Ireland
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| Posted: 26 May 2008 at 10:23pm | IP Logged
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Hykker wrote:
| 1983/84 was a good time to be doing CHR/Top 40. There was almost too much good new stuff around! We were overdue...'80 thru about mid-82 had to be one of the most boring periods of music ever. |
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Funny you should say that because I collect music from the '40s through the present (though primarily '50s through '90s) and I actually consider the early '80s to be my very favorite period of music ever. I loved all the mellow, melodic MOR hits that dominated the charts back then and seriously wish music like this would make a comeback.
Edited by Todd Ireland on 26 May 2008 at 10:34pm
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Todd Ireland
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| Posted: 26 May 2008 at 10:25pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for the very cool looking scan, Yah Shure!
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aaronk
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There definitely were some great records from '80 to '82, but I agree that '83 to '85 were probably the decade's best years for music. I loved the new wave and urban records that were impacting top 40.
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torcan
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| Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:19pm | IP Logged
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Jody Thornton wrote:
And oddly enough - Stereo Rock (used on Rock 102) never played the single "Thriller" in 1984.
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Hmmm...they were usually very good about playing just about everything on the Hot 100, and I thought they did, but you may be right. Now, they play it every year on Halloween - just like every other station in North America!
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torcan
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| Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:24pm | IP Logged
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aaronk wrote:
| There definitely were some great records from '80 to '82, but I agree that '83 to '85 were probably the decade's best years for music. I loved the new wave and urban records that were impacting top 40. |
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I love the '80s - I think the whole decade was great - but I do agree that some years were stronger than others.
1983 is my favorite year for music, but 1980, '86 and '89 were very strong too. I always thought there was a bit of a downturn in '81 & '82. I remember Billboard even reporting that sales were way off those years; acts like Bruce Springsteen and Supertramp hit the top 5 on the album chart in mid-82 and didn't even go platinum. As soon as "Thriller" hit so big, everything went through the roof again.
Too bad top 40 music isn't as good now as it was then :(
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Todd Ireland
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| Posted: 27 May 2008 at 9:18pm | IP Logged
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Yep... I'm a huge '80s music enthusiast in general and I agree with the consensus here that the mid-'80s were a very fun time to be a Top 40 music fan. I too have many great music memories from that time period.
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aaronk
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| Posted: 27 May 2008 at 11:23pm | IP Logged
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torcan wrote:
| Too bad top 40 music isn't as good now as it was then :( |
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For a long, long time, top 40 music in recent years was not very good at all. I honestly think that in the past six to twelve months, quite a bit of really good music has come out. I think MySpace and the Internet has really helped break some artists that might have otherwise been passed over by the record labels. (Who runs those companies nowadays anyhow? They complain about low record sales, yet they put out complete garbage and wonder why nobody is buying.)
Recent singles that have been, IMO, pretty darn good are "Apologize" by OneRepublic; "Leavin'" by Jesse McCartney; "See You Again" by Miley Cyrus; "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles; "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie; "No Air" by Jordin Sparks.
There have been quite a few songs recently that remind me a lot of the mid-'90s when you would hear Tonic, Paula Cole, Donna Lewis, Take That, Mariah, etc.
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eriejwg
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| Posted: 28 May 2008 at 5:10am | IP Logged
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I'd add the last few months, I've seen some new dancable music pop up as wedding requests. "Shake It" from Metro Station, "4 Minutes" from Madonna and Justin Timberlake,
"Don't Stop The Music" from Rihanna. Last year, "Makes Me Wonder" from Maroon 5 was big.
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Top 40 Music on Compact Disc : Chat Board
Topic: Micheal Jackson’s "Thriller" on A-List
