ADVERTISEMENT

OT: Songs that never got deserved airplay....

Seneca_Valley

Seneca_Valley

Sophomore
Jun 30, 2005
2,781
916
113
Owt in the recent guitar riff thread mentions a U2 song, I will follow, that was always one of my favorites and that never seemed to get the props it deserved. Got me to thinking what other songs that fall into that category (at least for me). I could go on but here are a few. Dinosaur rock I know but great songs; give them a play if unfamiliar.

ZZ Top Move me on down the line.
BTO Gimme your money please
Beach Boys All summer long
Led Zeppelin What is and what shall never be
Deep Purple Child in time

Again my list of unappreciated treasure. I'm sure you have yours
 
Seneca_Valley said:
Owt in the recent guitar riff thread mentions a U2 song, I will follow, that was always one of my favorites and that never seemed to get the props it deserved. Got me to thinking what other songs that fall into that category (at least for me). I could go on but here are a few. Dinosaur rock I know but great songs; give them a play if unfamiliar.

ZZ Top Move me on down the line.
BTO Gimme your money please
Beach Boys All summer long
Led Zeppelin What is and what shall never be
Deep Purple Child in time

Again my list of unappreciated treasure. I'm sure you have yours
Click to expand...


This is a GREAT topic ... give me some time to think about it!
 
DT_PITT said:
This is a GREAT topic ... give me some time to think about it!
Click to expand...
Yeah. I think we are going to have lists from our favorite groups which weren't hits. Like for example, "Acrobat" from U2 which they finally, finally played after much fan pleading in their past tour.
 
Beatles “Hey Bulldog”
Who-Entwistle “Boris the spider”
Side B Abbey Road
Jo Jo Gunne. “Take me down easy”
Talking Heads “Psycho Killer”
Who “Dr Jimmy”
Beck Bogert and Appice. “Superstition”
Devo “Satisfaction”
Blind Faith
Traffic “”Low spark of high heeled boys”
Mott the Hoople “All-the young Dudes”
Most of the music played on WYDD and WZUM Circa 1970
That’s enough of a list.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Saboteur II, HOF Coach and recruitsreadtheseboards
Pitt1975 said:
Beatles “Hey Bulldog”
Who-Entwistle “Boris the spider”
Side B Abbey Road
Jo Jo Gunne. “Take me down easy”
Talking Heads “Psycho Killer”
Who “Dr Jimmy”
Beck Bogert and Appice. “Superstition”
Devo “Satisfaction”
Blind Faith
Traffic “”Low spark of high heeled boys”
Mott the Hoople “All-the young Dudes”
Most of the music played on WYDD and WZUM Circa 1970
That’s enough of a list.
Click to expand...

Nice list, although I don't know how Psycho Killer makes it, seems to me it got a lot of play.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pitt1975
Breakin' Me Down - SOiL
Scattered - Green Day
Shelter Me - Cinderella
No Man's Land- Billy Joel
 
I have been thinking of this category and it is good, but hard to define. I mean, is it some obscure B cut or album song, or was it a song that was legit a single and just underplayed? And take a So Central Rain or Pretty Persuasion by REM, while they didn't get mainstream play, they were staples of college (and then alternative) stations in the 80's.

But this is interesting.....
 
Another Devo song - That's Good

Two songs by Electronic: Getting Away With It & Get The Message. Hits in the UK but did nothing here.
 
Last edited:
Just a couple I can think of that weren't big hits but I thought were good or at least interesting.

Elton John "The Greatest Discovery"
Yes "South Side of the Sky"
Dahnnie "How You Gonna Mend It?
Stevie Nicks "Room on Fire"
Stones "Can't You Hear Me Knocking"
Queen "Who Wants to Live Forever"
Hendrix Exp. "She's So Fine". (stolen from the Monkees no doubt!)
Gin Blossoms "As Long As It Matters"

And just for fun, who remembers "Mirror Star" by the Fabulous Poodles?
 
  • Like
Reactions: GulfCoastLion
Another good thread topic. A few that come to mind that were favorites of mine, but not big hits, or even released as singles as I recall. Some may have been, but didn’t chart that high if released as singles (Seger, Lou Reed, Bowie) ??

*Jungleland - Springsteen
*Roll me Away - Bob Seger
*Sweet Jane - Lou Reed
*Just Another Nervous Wreck - Supertramp
*Night Rider - ELO
•Light Up - Styx
•Take the Highway - Marshall Tucker Band
•Dirty Work - Steely Dan
•Wavelength - Van Morrison
•Young Americans - David Bowie
•Sky Pilot - The Animals
*Mona Lisa’s and Mad Hatters - Elton
 
Last edited:
Seneca_Valley said:
Owt in the recent guitar riff thread mentions a U2 song, I will follow, that was always one of my favorites and that never seemed to get the props it deserved. Got me to thinking what other songs that fall into that category (at least for me). I could go on but here are a few. Dinosaur rock I know but great songs; give them a play if unfamiliar.

ZZ Top Move me on down the line.
BTO Gimme your money please
Beach Boys All summer long
Led Zeppelin What is and what shall never be
Deep Purple Child in time

Again my list of unappreciated treasure. I'm sure you have yours
Click to expand...
Always thought All Summer Long was the best song by the Beach Boys.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GulfCoastLion
GulfCoastLion said:
Another good thread topic. A few that come to mind that were favorites of mine, but not big hits, or even released as singles as I recall. Some may have been, but didn’t chart that high if released as singles (Seger, Lou Reed, Bowie) ??

*Jungleland - Springsteen
*Roll me Away - Bob Seger
*Sweet Jane - Lou Reed
*Just Another Nervous Wreck - Supertramp
*Night Rider - ELO
•Light Up - Styx
•Take the Highway - Marshall Tucker Band
•Dirty Work - Steely Dan
•Wavelength - Van Morrison
•Young Americans - David Bowie
•Sky Pilot - The Animals
*Mona Lisa’s and Mad Hatters - Elton
Click to expand...
Bruce's Racing In the Streets is my favorite by him. Sad, but hopeful.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ONGB, eastender2 and GulfCoastLion
"Surf's Up" is a song recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks. It was originally intended for Smile, an unfinished Beach Boys album that was scrapped in 1967. "Surf's Up" failed to chart when issued as a single in November 1971.

In 2000, Radio City Music Hall held the All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson, a concert that included a performance of "Surf's Up" by Jimmy Webb, David Crosby, and Vince Gill.[63] Gill had accepted the invitation to perform the song without having heard it before, expecting it to be in the style of the band's uptempo hits. He remembered his reaction to hearing the song for the first time:

I put it on and my eyes got really big. I said, "This is like a classical piece. This is deep. This is all the way over my head, I can't even touch the bottom here." [I told the organizer] "Dude, I don't know if I can cut this. It's got stupid range ... I walked off stage doing it that night ... and Brian was on the side of the stage, and I walked by him, and he shook my hand and goes, "That was really beautiful. We never did that song live because it was too hard." [laughs] I said, "Thanks a lot!"[64]
Click to expand...



Musician Elvis Costello said that when he discovered a bootlegged tape of Wilson performing the song, "It was like hearing a tape of Mozart. It's just Brian and his piano and yet it's all there in that performance. The song already sounds complete."[9]


  • In 2011, Mojo staff members voted it the greatest Beach Boys song. The song's entry stated, "Not so much timeless but a song out of time, Surf's Up is an elegy the richness and mystery of which only deepens with age."[72]
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Saboteur II, RaleighPittFan and GulfCoastLion
Seneca_Valley said:
Owt in the recent guitar riff thread mentions a U2 song, I will follow, that was always one of my favorites and that never seemed to get the props it deserved. Got me to thinking what other songs that fall into that category (at least for me). I could go on but here are a few. Dinosaur rock I know but great songs; give them a play if unfamiliar.

ZZ Top Move me on down the line.
BTO Gimme your money please
Beach Boys All summer long
Led Zeppelin What is and what shall never be
Deep Purple Child in time

Again my list of unappreciated treasure. I'm sure you have yours
Click to expand...
I'm going to define my songs as NOT deeper cuts from albums which are songs that I like. I'm going to define this list as songs that were actually "offered" as singles, and are really POP style songs at their core, but never charted on something like a Billboard Top 40 chart.

Or, in an alternative universe, these would be top 5 hits.

"Here Comes Your Man" -- The Pixies
"Imitation of Life" -- R.E.M.
"Wouldn't It Be Good" - Nik Kershaw
"Flesh Without Blood" -- Grimes
"I've Been Waiting" -- Matthew Sweet
"It Looks Like Love" -- Josh Rouse
"Islands in the Sun" -- Weezer
"Jump Start" - The Hang Ups
"I Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely" -- Husker Du
"The Big Sky" -- Kate Bush
"Mistake" -- Middle Kids
"Lucky One" -- Freedy Johnson
"I Will Dare" -- The Replacements
"Here's Where the Story Ends" -- The Sundays
"Ready to Start" -- Arcade Fire

These are the first several that came to mind. Maybe I'll throw some more out there later.
 
Last edited:
GulfCoastLion said:
Another good thread topic. A few that come to mind that were favorites of mine, but not big hits, or even released as singles as I recall. Some may have been, but didn’t chart that high if released as singles (Seger, Lou Reed, Bowie) ??

*Jungleland - Springsteen
*Roll me Away - Bob Seger
*Sweet Jane - Lou Reed
*Just Another Nervous Wreck - Supertramp
*Night Rider - ELO
•Light Up - Styx
•Take the Highway - Marshall Tucker Band
•Dirty Work - Steely Dan
•Wavelength - Van Morrison
•Young Americans - David Bowie
•Sky Pilot - The Animals
*Mona Lisa’s and Mad Hatters - Elton
Click to expand...

Very interesting list. "Young Americans" did chart though -- in fact it was Bowie's most successful song to that point in his career. Sweet Jane is actually a Velvet Underground cut, although written by Reed. Many songs by Bruce Springsteen probably below in a topic such as this.
 
GulfCoastLion said:
Another good thread topic. A few that come to mind that were favorites of mine, but not big hits, or even released as singles as I recall. Some may have been, but didn’t chart that high if released as singles (Seger, Lou Reed, Bowie) ??

*Jungleland - Springsteen
*Roll me Away - Bob Seger
*Sweet Jane - Lou Reed
*Just Another Nervous Wreck - Supertramp
*Night Rider - ELO
•Light Up - Styx
•Take the Highway - Marshall Tucker Band
•Dirty Work - Steely Dan
•Wavelength - Van Morrison
•Young Americans - David Bowie
•Sky Pilot - The Animals
*Mona Lisa’s and Mad Hatters - Elton
Click to expand...
I hate this....the Nitter has got the idea. Most of these were songs that had some play, but really deserved more. This is a great list.
 
DT_PITT said:
I'm going to define my songs as NOT deeper cuts from albums which are songs that I like. I'm going to define this list as songs that were actually "offered" as singles, and are really POP style songs at their core, but never charted on something like a Billboard Top 40 chart.

Or, in an alternative universe, these would be top 5 hits.

"Here Comes Your Man" -- The Pixies
"Imitation of Life" -- R.E.M.
"Wouldn't It Be Good" - Nik Kershaw
"Flesh Without Blood" -- Grimes
"I've Been Waiting" -- Matthew Sweet
"It Looks Like Love" -- Josh Rouse
"Islands in the Sun" -- Weezer
"Jump Start" - The Hang Ups
"The Big Sky" -- Kate Bush
"Mistake" -- Middle Kids
"Lucky One" -- Freedy Johnson
"I Will Dare" -- The Replacements

These are the first ten that came to mind. Maybe I'll throw some more out there later.
Click to expand...
LOL....Im was waiting for your since we are of similar age and music likes. I am having a problem with this, because I am not sure if it is "never charted" vs "under charted". I mean a great example here is Wouldn't It Be Good, did it chart? Not sure, but it was a feature song in Pretty in Pink. Everyone has probably heard "Here Comes your Man" even though they may not recognize the song or the band. This is tough for me. Kate Bush for example, it is criminal that Running Up that Hill, which was a college radio all star, is likely not a recognizable top 40 type of hit. I am having a hard time and probably over thinking this.
 
recruitsreadtheseboards said:
LOL....Im was waiting for your since we are of similar age and music likes. I am having a problem with this, because I am not sure if it is "never charted" vs "under charted". I mean a great example here is Wouldn't It Be Good, did it chart? Not sure, but it was a feature song in Pretty in Pink. Everyone has probably heard "Here Comes your Man" even though they may not recognize the song or the band. This is tough for me. Kate Bush for example, it is criminal that Running Up that Hill, which was a college radio all star, is likely not a recognizable top 40 type of hit. I am having a hard time and probably over thinking this.
Click to expand...

If it made the Top 40, I didn't put it on my list. Simple as that. But in "my world" these should have been hits.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RaleighPittFan
recruitsreadtheseboards said:
LOL....Im was waiting for your since we are of similar age and music likes. I am having a problem with this, because I am not sure if it is "never charted" vs "under charted". I mean a great example here is Wouldn't It Be Good, did it chart? Not sure, but it was a feature song in Pretty in Pink. Everyone has probably heard "Here Comes your Man" even though they may not recognize the song or the band. This is tough for me. Kate Bush for example, it is criminal that Running Up that Hill, which was a college radio all star, is likely not a recognizable top 40 type of hit. I am having a hard time and probably over thinking this.
Click to expand...

"Running Up That Hill," did make the top 40 for example. "Wouldn't It be Good" did not.
 
recruitsreadtheseboards said:
LOL....Im was waiting for your since we are of similar age and music likes. I am having a problem with this, because I am not sure if it is "never charted" vs "under charted". I mean a great example here is Wouldn't It Be Good, did it chart? Not sure, but it was a feature song in Pretty in Pink. Everyone has probably heard "Here Comes your Man" even though they may not recognize the song or the band. This is tough for me. Kate Bush for example, it is criminal that Running Up that Hill, which was a college radio all star, is likely not a recognizable top 40 type of hit. I am having a hard time and probably over thinking this.
Click to expand...

One more thing ... the title of the thread is never got DESERVED airplay. So you can simply define it as any song that should have been played more than it was.

I just avoided songs that weren't really ever released as singles because there are literally 1,000's of songs that are deeper cuts on albums that were never played that I like.

I more or less went for songs that were kinda TRYING to get airplay but didn't get enough of it.
 
DT_PITT said:
One more thing ... the title of the thread is never got DESERVED airplay. So you can simply define it as any song that should have been played more than it was.

I just avoided songs that weren't really ever released as singles because there are literally 1,000's of songs that are deeper cuts on albums that were never played that I like.

I more or less went for songs that were kinda TRYING to get airplay but didn't get enough of it.
Click to expand...
That's the point DT. Thank you. That is it. It isn't about "Deep Cuts" it is about releasing singles. Like I mentioned at the beginning, Acrobat by U2, amongst U2 fans it was a cult classic and something there was always pressure for U2 to play live and it was neve released as a single, even though it was certainly a song that could fit that genre. So.......that is hard tom say, but "I Will Follow" was their first single.

A lot of REM songs fit this bill. I mean, my personal fav (OK 2nd fav) REM song Begin the Begin, was that actually a single? I think so. (By the way my all time fav REM song is Country Feedback which I was proud to learn is also Stipe's) but that wasn't released a single.
 
recruitsreadtheseboards said:
That's the point DT. Thank you. That is it. It isn't about "Deep Cuts" it is about releasing singles. Like I mentioned at the beginning, Acrobat by U2, amongst U2 fans it was a cult classic and something there was always pressure for U2 to play live and it was neve released as a single, even though it was certainly a song that could fit that genre. So.......that is hard tom say, but "I Will Follow" was their first single.

A lot of REM songs fit this bill. I mean, my personal fav (OK 2nd fav) REM song Begin the Begin, was that actually a single? I think so. (By the way my all time fav REM song is Country Feedback which I was proud to learn is also Stipe's) but that wasn't released a single.
Click to expand...

Begin the Begin wasn't really ever a single. Fall on Me and Superman were the singles from LRP.

Yep, Michael did say CF this was his fav -- he did the lyrics basically off the top of his head for the recording.
 
Joe the Panther Fan said:
Stairway to Heaven was never released as a single, so it's on my list. That song didn't get nearly enough air time!

:D
Click to expand...

But it has placed on the top 40 for the Billboard Hot Digital Songs Chart and the Hot Singles Recurrents Chart!

:p
 
"Lyrics to Go"--A Tribe Called Quest
"Hey"--The Pixies
"These Walls"--Kendrick Lamar
"Guns of Brixton"--The Clash
"Winter in America"--Gil Scot Heron
"Soma"--The Smashing Pumpkins
"She's Leaving Home"--The Beatles
"Queen Jane Approximately"--Bob Dylan
"Them Changes"--Thundercat
 
DT_PITT said:
But it has placed on the top 40 for the Billboard Hot Digital Songs Chart and the Hot Singles Recurrents Chart!

:p
Click to expand...


I listen to Eddie Trunk sometimes at work on the Volume channel on the SiriusXM app and one day a few months ago someone called in to talk about Alice Cooper's new album debuting at number one on one of these Billboard charts, and as Eddie said to the guy, they have so many of these charts now between sales on all the different physical formats and streaming and whatnot that having a number one song or album on one of them really isn't a big deal anymore, because there are so many of them.

I'm not even sure I would have any idea what the Hot Singles Recurrents Chart would be!
 
HOF Coach said:
"Surf's Up" is a song recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks. It was originally intended for Smile, an unfinished Beach Boys album that was scrapped in 1967. "Surf's Up" failed to chart when issued as a single in November 1971.

In 2000, Radio City Music Hall held the All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson, a concert that included a performance of "Surf's Up" by Jimmy Webb, David Crosby, and Vince Gill.[63] Gill had accepted the invitation to perform the song without having heard it before, expecting it to be in the style of the band's uptempo hits. He remembered his reaction to hearing the song for the first time:
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting those links. I never heard this song. Not AM friendly but it's a very good piece. I think BW went wrong going with a ragtime arrangement. The Vince Gill & Co. took a much more King Crimson slant and I think that works much better.

BW hits me as kinda like the Eddie and the Cruisers character. His experimentation was held back by his band and the current music industry/scene/style. I can only imagine what could have been had he hooked up with other more progressive musical partners.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HOF Coach
Academy Fight Song. Mission of Burma.
Black and White. The dbs.
I Can't Help You. The Chills.
 
Pitt1975 said:
Beatles “Hey Bulldog”
Who-Entwistle “Boris the spider”
Side B Abbey Road
Jo Jo Gunne. “Take me down easy”
Talking Heads “Psycho Killer”
Who “Dr Jimmy”
Beck Bogert and Appice. “Superstition”
Devo “Satisfaction”
Blind Faith
Traffic “”Low spark of high heeled boys”
Mott the Hoople “All-the young Dudes”
Most of the music played on WYDD and WZUM Circa 1970
That’s enough of a list.
Click to expand...
The one Who song I absolutely hated the most is Boris the spider. Psycho Killer is a great song.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pitt1975
Rocket Queen - GNR
Downeaster Alexa - Billy Joel
Tops - Rolling Stones
Man on the Corner - Genesis
Bleed the Freak - AIC
To Defy the Laws of Tradition - Primus
Go With the Flow - Queens of the Stone Age
 
steelcurtain55. said:
Rocket Queen - GNR
Downeaster Alexa - Billy Joel
Tops - Rolling Stones
Man on the Corner - Genesis
Bleed the Freak - AIC
To Defy the Laws of Tradition - Primus
Go With the Flow - Queens of the Stone Age
Click to expand...
That's mostly "deep cuts" not songs that didn't receive the airplay they should have as singles.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mike412

OT: The Rock & Roll HOF

Replies
50
Views
2K
Football Board
happjack
H
jlazinger

Lazinger's Lists - 2024 Bball @ Clemson - The one that got away.

Replies
4
Views
353
Center Court at the Pete
jlazinger
jlazinger
recruitsreadtheseboards

OT Top Chef World All Stars

Replies
2
Views
160
Football Board
bayardstreet
B
mike412

OT: Springsteen Live In Barcelona

Replies
10
Views
515
Between Fifth And Forbes
TitoBeagle
T
mike412

OT: 2022 Rock & Roll HOF Induction Ceremony

Replies
7
Views
622
Between Fifth And Forbes
Ray-Ray
Ray-Ray
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT
Top Bottom
Back