1 of 1- GrimsbyFan
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Offline - Registered: December 30, 2018
- Posts: 219
It Should Have Been a Hit
This is a topic that has been a feature of Lou Christie's web site for quite a while. Thought I would bring it to this board and see what suggestions our members put forward.
I'm sure we all have songs that are among our favorites but they never were hits - for the sake of this discussion, a hit is qualified as cracking the top 40 in either Billboard or Cashbox.
I'll get us started with three of my favorites:
Can't Find The Time - Orpheus
In the late 60's there was an attempt to promote Boston bands (Bosstown Sound). One its biggest boosters was Boston DJ Dick Summer. This song was popular in Boston (of course) and New York, but never got higher than 73 on the national charts. Great sound and great harmonies.
I Was There - Lenny Welch
Written by Goffin & King. Smooth Vocal, sweet back-up singers and lush orchestration. Every bit as good as "Since I Fell For You", yet it was only considered good enough to be a B-side to"Two Different Worlds".
Jody - Del Shannon
Co-written by Del Shannon. B-side to "Runaway". Very haunting melody. Del and his wife Shirley liked this song so much they named their third child after it.
- aflem
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- Registered: August 11, 2019
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Re: It Should Have Been a Hit
I have a couple that fit the bill.
One is “Back When My Hair Was Short” by Gunhill Road, which reached #40 in 1973. There was a brief drug reference in the terrific lyrics that may have kept it off the air in some more conservative markets, but what a great nostalgic tune for a time that – in the year it was released – wasn’t really that far back.
The group actually released two versions, but it’s the upbeat Top 40 one that’s my favorite. It deserved a much better fate.
Then there’s "Jennifer Tomkins," a tune from 1970 credited to The Street People. But it was actually a Rupert Holmes (later of The Pina Colada Song fame) composition that sported an unforgettable chorus that was repeated endlessly and had a hook you couldn't forget. It got stuck at #37 and should have gone higher.
And finally, a tune that wasn’t even the A-side of the record, but was relegated to B-side status, to ensure no one ever heard it. Back in the mid-60s, my older brother bought a novelty 45 by Freddie & The Dreamers called ”A Windmill In Old Amsterdam” that made a small indentation on the charts.
I was always a fan of flipping over the record to see what was on the other side, and that’s when I discovered a song that’s now one of my favorite oldies. It’s called “How’s About Trying Your Luck With Me,” written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King. I would love to know who made the decision to make it the other side of what was essentially a stiff, when it clearly had hit written all over it.
There are a lot more I could list, but that’s a start.
Last edited by aflem (September 6, 2020 3:35 pm)
- gopher
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- From: charleston, west virginia usa
- Registered: February 8, 2019
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Re: It Should Have Been a Hit
GrimsbyFan wrote:
This is a topic that has been a feature of Lou Christie's web site for quite a while. Thought I would bring it to this board and see what suggestions our members put forward.
I'm sure we all have songs that are among our favorites but they never were hits - for the sake of this discussion, a hit is qualified as cracking the top 40 in either Billboard or Cashbox.
I'll get us started with three of my favorites:
Can't Find The Time - Orpheus
In the late 60's there was an attempt to promote Boston bands (Bosstown Sound). One its biggest boosters was Boston DJ Dick Summer. This song was popular in Boston (of course) and New York, but never got higher than 73 on the national charts. Great sound and great harmonies.
I Was There - Lenny Welch
Written by Goffin & King. Smooth Vocal, sweet back-up singers and lush orchestration. Every bit as good as "Since I Fell For You", yet it was only considered good enough to be a B-side to"Two Different Worlds".
Jody - Del Shannon
Co-written by Del Shannon. B-side to "Runaway". Very haunting melody. Del and his wife Shirley liked this song so much they named their third child after it.
didn't orpheus tour with and/or back tom rush sometime in the early to mid-70's? i'd almost swear i saw them on the same bill once, though it's possible i'm thinking of another band, orphan, not sure..
Last edited by gopher (September 6, 2020 11:55 pm)
- Jim Southern
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Re: It Should Have Been a Hit
I've got a herd of favorites that never cracked the Top 40, and in many cases, never charted at all. Just a few include...
The legendary Hank Ballard releases "Work With Me Annie" and "Annie Had A Baby". I heard about them back in 1957 when I was living on Guam but it was many years before I actually heard them.
A special salute to all the 'doo wop' versions of "That's My Desire". Dion & Belmonts probably have the most familiar version.
I managed to find the 45 of Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme singing "This Could Be The Start Of Something Big". A gem written by the famed Steve Allen
"Dance, Dance" by the Fourmost Authority. It was a big hit in Salt Lake City and they did put on a concert in a local nightspot there.
I really like "Invisible Tears" by either Ned Miller (he wrote it) or Ray Conniff.
"One Of Those Songs" by Jimmy Durante from 1966. One of my favorite memories is meeting him in a reception and joining about 10 or so other folks as we gathered around Jimmy at the piano and joined him in singing "Inka-Dinka-Do".
My friends the Challengers 45 'Before You" in 1967
Jerry Fuller is mostly noted for his producer skills working with Mark Lindsay and Gary Puckett but I'll give a shout out for his single "I Only Came To Dance With You" from 1963.
A doo-wop classic, the Dreamers take on "Because Of You"
Some West Coast doo-wop by the Jaguars, "Thinking Of You" an L.A. hit in 1959.