’80s non-top 40 hits, yet classics today

How about "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by Nick Kershaw?

Hi All,

Thanks 80'smusicfreak, I'm glad you ran with the topic.

I agree with most of the above tracks, too! And yes I agree with EdisonLite that MTV had a big influence on some of these songs becoming "mainstream" hits.
In later years, when they effectively killed the single, they had no choice but to start measuring other factors but i found it interesting in the 80's, when it was still   singles-driven that we saw many more of these non-charting or low-charting songs eventually becoming "hits of the day" right along side the top-10's and #1's.

..and I'm glad someone mentioned The Monroes...what a great "sleeper hit"!


-Mark M

TimNeely wrote: "Blister in the Sun" by Violent Femmes

Played that song at a wedding a few weeks back... people love it!

Hi People,

Yes, most of these songs were in rotation on MTV which is why they are revered today.

However, please don't forget that most of these records were big hits in rock & "wave" style dance clubs throughout the country (sometimes even before MTV play).

There really is no chart documenting just how big these tracks were in the rockin' bars in mainstream America (most of these establishments DID NOT report to the Billboard Dance chart as too many of them were in Secondary/Tertiary markets).

Only the people who lived through it will know how big these songs really were at the time (prime example -- The Gen X import of "Dancing With Myself" was a HUGE rock club hit years before American radio was introduced to it.)

Andy

in the parallel 50s/60s/70s thread, TimNeely wrote: You have two different categories of songs here: Those that never charted because they were never issued as commercial singles...and those that were issued as singles but didn't catch on with the Top 40 crowd...I'm going to list some that you might hear on the radio today, usually on "classic rock" stations. These lists are far from complete.

Looking at all the responses in both threads, I see four different categories:

1) Songs that were popular with Top 40 audiences, but weren't Top 40 hits because they weren't eligible to chart (generally because they weren't released as singles at the time). Examples: "Into The Groove", "Isn't She Lovely", numerous Beatles album cuts.

2) Songs that weren't popular with Top 40 audiences when new, but eventually became popular with audiences that listen to formats that play old Top 40 hits, to the point where a modern observer who isn't familiar with chart data might assume that these songs must have been Top 40 hits. Examples: "What I Like About You", "I Melt With You".

3) Songs that were/are popular with some type of non-Top 40 audience (AOR seems to be the main focus in the responses of this type so far) but never crossed over to Top 40 audiences. Examples: numerous Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd songs.

4) Songs that people feel should have been Top 40 hits. Everyone's are different.

I'm not sure what the original poster had in mind, but in this post I'd like to focus on #1 and #2. They are probably the easiest to define, and the most relevant for this board. By contrast, #3 and #4 both cover a lot of ground.

Under #1, the most obvious '80s example is undoubtedly "Into The Groove". Another that comes to mind is "Be Good Johnny" by Men At Work. Although it was eventually released as a single, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was getting Top 40 airplay well before the single came out.

Once Billboard began maintaining an airplay chart (and allowing non-singles to chart in it), "Never Say Goodbye" by Bon Jovi and "Spotlight" by Madonna both made the Top 40 of the airplay chart despite the unavailability of commercial singles. (Tim's Goldmine price guides actually indicate that a 45 of "Never Say Goodbye" does exist, but it doesn't seem to have been available when the song was on the airplay chart, and it seems to be a very obscure release; I've never see one myself.)

Did "Back In Time" by Huey Lewis & The News or "Pink Cadillac" by Bruce Springsteen receive significant Top 40 airplay when new? I don't think the former was ever released as a single, while the latter was a B-side. I remember hearing these on the radio, but in the mid '80s I was switching back and forth a lot between CHR and AOR, and I don't really remember which stations I heard these on. If they don't fit here, they definitely fit under #2.

Under #2, "What I Like About You", "Dancing With Myself", "I Want Candy", "I Melt With You" and "Tempted" are all great examples.

I'd bet that many people would assume that Squeeze had at least one Top 40 hit before "Hourglass" (certainly "Tempted", maybe "Pulling Mussels From The Shell" or "Black Coffee In Bed"), and U2 at least one before "Pride" (certainly "New Year's Day", maybe "I Will Follow" or "Sunday Bloody Sunday", which wasn't even released as a single).

Among others noted upthread, I'm sure that "Rebel Yell", "Mexican Radio" and "Blister In The Sun" are all probably widely believed to have been Top 40 hits, and that many people would be surprised to learn that Yaz never had any Top 40 hits, and New Order just one during the '80s. If "Just Like Heaven" by the Cure hadn't managed to sneak into the Top 40 for one week, it would belong here as well. Several others already listed are at least arguable. I'd also add "Workin' For A Livin'" by Huey Lewis & The News and "I Don't Care Anymore" by Phil Collins to the "arguable" list.

What a lot of these songs have in common, of course, is the MTV factor alluded to upthread. Many of them are new wave/alternative songs that were ahead of the curve in terms of what Top 40 radio was playing at the time. When new, they were considered too "out there" for Top 40 radio, but in hindsight they seem to fit in with what we now think of as "'80s Top 40".