When we’ve looked at the “Lost Factor” that removes big hit records from radio gold libraries and the public’s consciousness over the years, we’ve always used the Billboard Top 100 for a given chart year in our calculations. There are always a handful of songs, most of them Classic Rock, that are now played disproportionately to their year-end standing at the time. But what about those songs that didn’t even make the year-end Top 100 to begin with?
These songs are the opposite of “lost”: they’re the 50 most-played songs, according to BDSRadio and based on combined airplay for all formats in a seven-day period in early September, that didn’t seem big enough at the time to make the year-end Top 100.
Some are fourth-quarter hits whose chart points were split over two chart years, including a few that are mind-boggling now: Steve Miller Band, “Rock’n Me” (a No. 1 hit); Boston, “More Than a Feeling”; Prince, “Purple Rain”; Heart, “Magic Man”; Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Sweet Home Alabama”; Rolling Stones, “Start Me Up.”
Some were top 20 hits that are remembered as bigger now: Rod Stewart, “Forever Young”; Tom Petty, “I Won’t Back Down”; Blue Oyster Cult, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.”
Many are songs that took years to become library staples, usually doing so after the artist involved turned from a now-and-then CHR presence to a consistent hitmaker: Billy Joel, “Piano Man”; Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” and “Rebel Yell”; Aerosmith, “Sweet Emotion”; even Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” (with its extra boost from Miami Vice) on its way to “biggest song in the world” status for a while. Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” made the year-end top 100, but as the poster child for a song that overperforms, it should be no surprise that the band is multiply represented here.
A few songs were victims of the early ‘80s doldrums when CHR radio became AC-flavored and even “In The Air Tonight” was too hard for some radio stations. AC/DC, then considered the hardest band on the radio, is well-represented here with both those songs that CHR should have played more (“You Shook Me All Night Long”) and those that weren’t even worked to pop radio (“T.N.T.,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”).
In fact, there are a number of Album Rock hits that never became anything else and still live mostly on Classic Rock radio. But in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, when AOR had cultural dominance in many markets, and CHR was foundering, some of those songs (Rush’s “Tom Sawyer,” Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train”) seemed far more important than the pure pop hits anyway. Plus, AOR influenced CHR gold libraries as well, helping burn in some songs over the years.
It’s also worth noting that some labels didn’t seem particularly concerned where an AOR crossover peaked in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. For those acts, the album chart was the bigger trophy. Having a hit single of any sort was just a vehicle to sell albums, so what did it matter if “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” was No. 7 (which is how I misremember it), or No. 12 (where it really peaked)? Plus selling albums, rather than singles, meant lower singles chart peaks and fewer year-end chart points.
Besides, in late 1976, when “Reaper” was on the charts, No. 12 still felt like a real hit, especially if you had multi-format support from rock or R&B radio. Today, current hits hardly feel ratified by radio until at least the top nine. That could reflect my teenage chart geek’s more intense chart gaze at the time, but it certainly feels like there are fewer real hits now, and the combined ratings impact of current-based formats is far less than it was in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
And then there are a few songs that I’ve labeled “Lucky Stiffs.” Those are the songs that truly missed at pop radio on the first round, then became hits over time — the Romantics, “What I Like About You”; Modern English, “I Melt With You.” Many of those became radio staples in the late ‘80s during the same run of “bring-backs” that sent UB40’s “Red Red Wine” to No. 1. Some larger songs, like Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes,” also picked up steam around this time.
One of the common hallmarks of songs with high “Lost Factor” scores is that they weren’t quite as big as radio people remember them — they were songs that peaked around No. 9 or lower and never got to power rotation. They never got a true chance to be remembered as hits by most listeners. Yet, a lot of the songs here also peaked between No. 9 and No. 15. It might seem contradictory to say that they endure because listeners never got sick of them in the first place, but a song such as “In Your Eyes” got library play and a concerted effort on its behalf over the years that never went to, say, “Driver’s Seat.”
These songs span the late ‘60s through 1989. While “Lost Factor” covers the years 1960-94 so far, the ‘90s are dominated by grunge and other Alternative hits that were often never worked to pop, or even released as singles by labels that wanted to sell albums and preserve artist cred. Plus, even if Top 40 had been asked to play “Spoonman” by Soundgarden, CHR in many markets was soft or nonexistent.
Here’s our list of the top 50 songs that never made the year-end top 100:
Rank | Title | Artist | Release Date | Chart Peak |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | In The Air Tonight | Phil Collins | 1981 | 19 |
2 | You Shook Me All Night Long | AC/DC | 1980 | 35 |
3 | More Than a Feeling | Boston | 1976 | 5 |
4 | Sweet Home Alabama | Lynyrd Skynyrd | 1974 | 8 |
5 | Sweet Emotion | Aerosmith | 1975 | 36 |
6 | Under Pressure | Queen & David Bowie | 1981 | 29 |
7 | I Won't Back Down | Tom Petty | 1989 | 12 |
8 | White Wedding | Billy Idol | 1983 | 36 |
9 | Rock You Like a Hurricane | Scorpions | 1984 | 25 |
10 | Rebel Yell | Billy Idol | 1984 | 46 |
11 | I Melt With You | Modern English | 1983 | 78 |
12 | Any Way You Want It | Journey | 1980 | 23 |
13 | Back in Black | AC/DC | 1980 | 37 |
14 | Crazy Train | Ozzy Osbourne | 1981 | N/A |
15 | No One Like You | Scorpions | 1982 | 65 |
16 | Just What I Needed | Cars | 1978 | 27 |
17 | Old Time Rock & Roll | Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band | 1979 | 28 |
18 | Tom Sawyer | Rush | 1981 | 44 |
19 | Panama | Van Halen | 1984 | 13 |
20 | Runnin' Down a Dream | Tom Petty | 1989 | 23 |
21 | Black Dog | Led Zeppelin | 1971 | 15 |
22 | Start Me Up | Rolling Stones | 1981 | 2 |
23 | Sharp Dressed Man | ZZ Top | 1983 | 56 |
24 | Highway to Hell | AC/DC | 1979 | 47 |
25 | Into the Groove | Madonna | 1985 | N/A |
26 | Magic Man | Heart | 1976 | 9 |
27 | We're Not Gonna Take It | Twisted Sister | 1984 | 21 |
28 | Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap | AC/DC | 1981 | N/A |
29 | Immigrant Song | Led Zeppelin | 1970 | 16 |
30 | Roxanne | Police | 1979 | 32 |
31 | T.N.T | AC/DC | 1981 | N/A |
32 | Don't Fear the Reaper | Blue Oyster Cult | 1976 | 12 |
33 | Lights | Journey | 1978 | 68 |
34 | Take It Easy | Eagles | 1972 | 12 |
35 | Rock'n Me | Steve Miller Band | 1976 | 1 |
36 | Forever Young | Rod Stewart | 1989 | 12 |
37 | Paranoid | Black Sabbath | 1970 | 61 |
38 | Wheel in the Sky | Journey | 1978 | 57 |
39 | Rag Doll | Aerosmith | 1988 | 17 |
40 | Comfortably Numb | Pink Floyd | 1980 | N/A |
41 | Kickstart My Heart | Motley Crue | 1987 | 27 |
42 | Purple Rain | Prince | 1984 | 2 |
43 | Rock and Roll | Led Zeppelin | 1971 | 47 |
44 | Animal | Def Leppard | 1987 | 19 |
45 | In Your Eyes (Theme From Say Anything) | Peter Gabriel | 1986 | 26 |
46 | P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) | Michael Jackson | 1983 | 10 |
47 | Pride (in the Name of Love) | U2 | 1984 | 33 |
48 | Gimme All Your Lovin' | ZZ Top | 1983 | 37 |
49 | Piano Man | Billy Joel | 1974 | 25 |
50 | What I Like About You | Romantics | 1980 | 49 |
And here are some others that bear mention:
54 – Van Morrison, “Brown Eyed Girl”;
58 – Wings, “Maybe I’m Amazed (Live)”;
59 – Fleetwood Mac, “Landslide”: Not a single in 1975-76 and not a year-end finisher as a 1997 live single;
63 – Queen, “Fat Bottomed Girls”: Considered a relative disappointment after “We Are the Champions”;
64 – Aerosmith, “Come Together”: An American Idol contestant once sang it for Steven Tyler and neither mentioned that it was anything other than a Beatles song. But for years, this has been a library go-to for Active Rock and Classic Rock stations that didn’t want to go back to 1969.
71 – Elton John, “Tiny Dancer”: A hit for some Top 40s, too long for others, and he was only almost-famous at the time.
80 – Billy Idol, “Dancing With Myself”: Probably the luckiest stiff when it comes to “Lucky Stiffs.” This became a library staple. “Mony Mony” went No. 1 as a reissue. “Rebel Yell” and “White Wedding” are hits now disproportionate to their chart status of the time.
82 – Bob Seger & Silver Bullet Band, “Turn the Page (Live)”: “Live Bullet” made him a rock radio star, and not just in Detroit, six months before “Night Moves.” In the Midwest, this would test for some Classic Hits and even AC stations. Helped by Metallica, as well.
93 – Police, “Message in a Bottle”: After “Roxanne,” it felt like they became exotic again, at least for another year until their eventual multi-format breakthrough.
96 – R.E.M., “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”: This wasn’t a pop hit at the time, but even “The One I Love” didn’t make the year-end chart. “Losing My Religion” made the whole catalog seem bigger, but it was also their chart apex.
106 – Rick James, “Super Freak”: The most aggravating victim (among many) of the “disco” backlash, which stalled far more R&B and funk hits. So undeniable that it became a retroactive hit even though James’ own star as a performer was never as big again.
Sean,
Here is something that may contribute as to why some songs appeared like they were bigger than they really were. Back when I started in radio in the late 70s/early 80s, 10 songs in power rotation was not uncommon on many CHR stations. That number was convenient for rotations. 3 powers per hour gave you a good daytime turnover of 3 hours and 20 minutes, while 4 slots per hour had a turnover of 2 and a half hours.
We hadn’t yet discovered that there really were only 3-5 songs power-worthy at any given time. So, many jocks may have assumed that once something made power, it was a hit. And let’s not forget songs moved far more quickly through rotations than they do now. Plus that category gave the appearance that these songs were the “Top 10” . So, in my opinion, that may be a reason some folks perceive songs as hits that really weren’t.
Yes, there were more powers. Yes, they were more often true currents. So I often talk about songs that peaked around No. 9 and never really became powers (or got heard enough to be remembered), but, of course, the No. 9 song could be a power in those days. It just wasn’t likely to be a power everywhere.
I respectfully disagree. You are correct that today there are only 3 to 5 songs worthy of power rotation, but in say 1984? I don’t think so, in fact the opposite. There were too many songs worthy of power rotation in that year and at many times between mid 1982 and 1987.
As for what tests now in relation to how they got played when they were new songs.
TEMPO!!!
Too loud, too fast etc worked against songs then, today being slow works against you. First off you gotta make mention that there are exceptions. Songs just so good, so loved that their tempo just doesn’t matter, they may be slow but they still “take your breath away”.
…but as part of the nostalgia element and also just what sounds good and fun in 2020, there is no doubt that today we want faster, louder songs on our classic hits than what was wanted on chr stations when these songs were first released.
This is so basic I almost want to delete it for that reason but no, this is a huge part of how this plays out. Just as much as ANY 80s SONG that is featured in Stranger Things immediately must be considered not only to be tested but just thrown on the air right away without testing it at all.
For me, Old Time Rock & Roll sticks out–because I’m all but certain that it was in rotation on Madison’s WOLX pretty much when its Oldies format launched, back in ’89. I wouldn’t be surprised if other FM Oldies stations of that era played it–even if they were otherwise essentially late ’50s/’60s/early ’70s. (Of course, being in Risky Business certainly didn’t hurt.)
“Non-industry” observer here. When I look at this list, and similar sections of your other Lost Factor features, I’m hardly surprised, given that I hear these songs on just about any weekday that someone has left on one of my city’s several (supposedly) “mass appeal” stations at work. At the same time, though, I’m utterly gobsmacked at just how uniformly rock-oriented today’s overperformers tend to be. Is there really so little underappreciated gold to be salvaged otherwise?
Musically I came of age around the turn of the millennium, listening almost exclusively to a single pop station that played what struck me as an intoxicatingly rich selection of tunes, spanning a solid range of styles and performers that somehow managed to sound pretty natural together. Now that I’m slightly more knowledgeable of the ways of the world (not to mention your industry’s preferred euphemisms), I would say the station was probably at the time considered a rhythmic-leaning CHR.
My interest in Top 40 waxed and waned over the years, but usually I recognized some of that quintessential character when I did tune in — or at least I did until recent years, when the station I grew up listening to became one of those Top 40s that apparently wouldn’t add any song until it had gone top 10 nationally. Similarly, the “mix” and “variety” branding constantly touted by my city’s Classic Hits and AC stations now strikes me as a total mockery of the very concept. When I do get control of the dial at work, I now find myself regularly switching between fairly different gold-based stations just to get a decent sampling of what I enjoy.
It makes intuitive sense why all these pop/rock crossovers, which wouldn’t have necessarily been doing most of their damage on the singles chart anyway, could persist so well today compared to their initial showing: as you’ve summed it up so well, many can work at Classic Rock, Classic Hits, AC and so on simultaneously. But I fail to see why this is the only set of formats that should see such significant overlap. As far as I can tell, despite R&B crossover having been reasonably popular for most of the years being mined for gold these days, you can count the number of artists with tunes getting significant play at Adult R&B, AC and Classic Hits all at once on one hand. Naturally, all these artists were formidable pop hitmakers in their day, but now you’d be forgiven for thinking a couple of them were one- or two-hit wonders; meanwhile, two thirds of Journey’s Greatest Hits album gets spun every day in every market.
I’ve actually even reached out to some PDs in my area about this, and without coming right out and saying it, the response seems to be that R&B’s function at stations not specifically targeted to a Black audience is as “spice music.” I truly find it all depressing, and I can’t imagine how I would feel if I were Black myself having to listen to these stations at work all the time. By the time they actively start trying to court folks my age (if they ever do — it’s not like we’re an especially wealthy demo), I fear they’re going to try to transport me to some alternate dimension where Usher barely existed, to say nothing of, like, “Too Close” or “Back at One.” Maybe I ought to get an Apple Music account and just give up on terrestrial radio.
You also hear extremely less, if any at all, white artists on rnb ac and rnb oldies stations when the stations that targeted Black Americans in the 70s and 80s played white artists like Culture Club, Hall & Oates Etc all the time! Back then many didn’t see color, today it is all they see!
Just like what the elites are doing with their ‘news’ media, it seems that they are trying to create division, segregation and the racism and bigotry that come along with them.
One man can’t seem to counter them on this, in fact it just makes them take it even further it would seem.
These radio stations are one of many, many examples that prove that we had less racism and more racial harmony, respect, and love for each other all as just Americans in the mid 70s- through mid 90s, and that the segregation and hatred have went on full blast several years into the new century to in many ways worse than things were even in the 1950’s and 1960’s. As it always has, music tells the truth beyond what so called ‘news’ stations are spewing.
Do you think that “U Can’t Touch This” became such as big hit because “Super Freak” didn’t get the airplay it deserved at the time?
It’s as closely tied to that song as “I’ll Be Missing You” is to “Every Breath You Take.” When it was new, it was the boldest reworking of an existing song to date. So it certainly helped that the original was known but not quite ubiquitous.