Re: Great songs Casey didn't count down: Part 1, stalled in the 40s -- American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century

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Date Posted: 16:34:22 04/16/02 Tue
Author: Chris
Subject: Re: Great songs Casey didn't count down: Part 1, stalled in the 40s
In reply to: Tom Best 's message, "Great songs Casey didn't count down: Part 1, stalled in the 40s" on 21:18:25 04/15/02 Mon

>I thought I'd start a thread that highlights songs we
>didn't hear on AT40. These are songs that were not
>popular in the original chart runs, but became popular
>later.
>
>Tiny Dancer #41, 1972.
>This song was kept out of the 40 by James Brown's
>spoken word "King Heroin". While Brown was a well
>established star,
>Elton John was still a rising star. He would hit #1 a
>year later with "Crocodile Rock", but in Spring 72, he
>was just getting a foothold on the charts with his
>first hits. Elton's eventual transition to superstar
>probably helped this song grow in popularity.
>Recently it was
>used in a memorable scene in the movie "Almost Famous".
>
>What I Like About You - The Romantics #46, 1980
>Had this song not come out at awkward time when New
>Wave was not quite commercial enough, it would have
>been a huge hit. Perhaps in 1980, "new wave" was too
>much confused with "punk rock". In any event, new wave
>eventually won over post-disco America and this song
>remained
>popular after it left the charts. By 1984, much of
>the music sounded like this song and the Romantics
>finally had their hit as "Talking in Your Sleep" hit
>number 3.
>
>Tempted - Squeeze, #49, 1981
>Hard to believe that this staple of today's retro 80s
>radio never hit the top 40. Squeeze broke up shortly
>afterward, but their greatest hits collection
>"Singles, 45s and Under" sold well in the 1980s. Later
>in the Squeeze reformed and finally hit the top 40
>with "Hourglass".
>
>Anyone come up with some others?

Well, this one probably doesn't count, since it stalled out below number 50, but I cannot believe that "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top petered out so low (number 58, I believe). The way that radio stations played that made it seem to be a Top Ten hit like "Legs".

A song that did make it into the forties: "Take The Short Way Home" by Dionne Warwick. That song stalled right outside the AT40 chart, at number 41. But it managed to make it up to seventeen on the R&R chart. Strange...

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