The Chart Game

jbnv

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A few years ago the show "Lost 45s" devoted an episode to what they called "The Chart Game." The Chart Game is very simple:

1. Find a well-known classic hit that peaked outside of the Top 10. The lower the peak, the better.
2. Find the chart from the week that it peaked.
3. List the "lost" songs that were higher on the chart that particular week.

Here are several examples from the show itself. Unfortunately I don't have any chart dates because the show didn't mention them and I don't have the time to research them.

"Angel in Your Arms" Hot at #8 > "Life in the Fast Lane" Eagles at > #11
"Atlantis" Donovan at #7 > "Pinball Wizard" Who at #19
"Betcha By Golly Wow" Stylistics at #11 > "Tiny Dancer" Elton John at #41
"Boogie Fever" Silvers at #3 > "Bohemian Rhapsody" Queen at #9
"Breakdance" Irene Cara at #14 > "Authority Song, The" John Mellencamp at #15
"Count On Me" Jefferson Starship at #10 > "Sweet Talking Woman" Electric Light Orchestra at #17
"Dim All the Lights" Donna Summer at #10 > "Bad Case of Lovin' You" Robert Palmer at #14
"Don't Cry Out Loud" Melissa Manchester at #10 > "Big Shot" Billy Joel at #14
"Don't Tell Me Goodnight" Lobo at #27 > "Young Americans" David Bowie at #28
"Get Closer" Seals & Croft at #34 > "Crazy on You" Heart at #35
"Get Used to It" Roger Voudouris at #25 > "Old Time Rock & Roll" Bob Seger (missed the peak rank)
"Happiness" Pointer Sisters at #30 > "Roxanne" Police at #32
"Hey Deanie" Shaun Cassidy at #19 > "Your Smiling Face" James Taylor at #20
"Hip to Be Square" Huey Lewis & the News at #25 > "In Your Eyes" Peter Gabriel at #26
"I Dig Rock & Roll Music" Peter, Paul & Mary at #9 > "Brown Eyed Girl" Van Morrison at #10
"Lady (You Bring Me Up)" Commodores at #8 > "In the Air Tonight" Phil Collins at #19
"Let Her In" John Travolta at #10 > "Boys are Back in Town, The" Thin Lizzy at #12
"Let Me Tickle Your Fancy" Jermaine Jackson at #18 > "Should I Stay or Should I Go" The Clash at #45
"Love Is Like Oxygen" Sweet at #15 > "Only the Good Die Young" Billy Joel at #24
"Montego Bay" Bobby Bloom at #8 > "Our House" Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young at #30
"My Mistake (Was to Love You)" Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye at #19 > "Piano Man" Billy Joel at #25
"Next Plane to London" Rose Garden at #22 > "Love Me Two Times" Doors at #25
"Pump Up the Volume" M/A/R/R/S at #13 > "It's the End of the World as We Know It" R.E.M. at #69
"Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose" Dawn f. Tony Orlando at #13 > "China Grove" Doobie Brothers at #15
"Show Must Go On, The" Three Dog Night at #13 > "Let It Ride" Bachmann Turner Overdrive at #23
"Sideshow" Blue Magic at 11 > "Radar Love" Golden Earring at 13
"Somewhere Down the Road" Barry Manilow at #21 > "Working for the Weekend" Loverboy at #29
"Special Lady" Ray, Goodman & Brown at #14 > "Heartbreaker" Pat Benatar at #23
"This Time I'm In It For Love" Player at #13 > "Werewolves of London" Warren Zevon at #21
"Two Places at the Same Time" Raydio at #37 > "Love Stinks" J. Geils Band at #38
"Two to Make It Right" Seduction at #4. > "Free Falling" Tom Petty at #7
"What a Difference a Day Makes" Esther Phillips at #20 > "Born To Run" Bruce Springsteen at #23
"You're My World" Helen Reddy at #31 > "Piece of Mind" Boston at #38

And perhaps my personal favorite, the one that closed the show:

"Years" Wayne Newton at #35 > "What I Like About You" Romantics at #49

The show covers the late 1960s to the end of the 1980s, so there are three more decades that we can cover.
 
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Channel98

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Oh, I see how this game works. I'd like to play.

The Isley Brothers' Shout peaked at #47 on the October 26 1959 chart. Don't You Know by Della Reese was #5.
A reissue of Glen Campbell's Gentle On My Mind peaked at #39 on the November 2 1968 chart. (The song had
reached #62 a year earlier.) Hold Me Tight by Johnny Nash was #8.
Metallica's Enter Sandman peaked at #16 on the October 12 1991 chart. Do Anything by Natural Selection was #3.
Aerosmith's Livin' On The Edge peaked at #18 on the June 5 1993 chart. Knockin' Da Boots by H-Town was #3.
Train's Meet Virginia was #20 on the January 22 2000 chart. Bring It All To Me by Blaque was #5.
Bon Jovi's Who Says You Can't Go Home peaked at #23 on the April 15 2006 chart. What You Knoiw by T.I. was #4.
 
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Channel98

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Ritchie Valens wrote and recorded La Bamba in 1958. The song, a staple of oldies radio stations for decades, peaked at #22 on the February 2 1959 Hot 100. The All American Boy by Bobby Bare was #2. It was inspired by Elvis Presley's success and induction into the Army. Two days after recording the song at King Records' studio in Cincinnati, Bare was inducted into the Army. Fraternity Records released the song but erroneously credited co-writer Bill Parsons as the artist. The story gets more bizarre: While Bare was in the Army, Bill Parsons lip-synched the song on American Bandstand!
 
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jbnv

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Metallica's Enter Sandman peaked at #16 on the October 12 1991 chart. Do Anything by Natural Selection was #3.
Also ahead of Metallica that week:

11 15 LOVE… THY WILL BE DONE –•– Martika – 10 (11)
13 19 REAL REAL REAL –•– Jesus Jones – 8 (13)
 
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sadchild

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Cure "In Between Days"

PEAKS:
UK #15
NZ #15
AU #16
BE #23
FR #23
NL #26

US PEAK: #99 on 2/15/86

Who was charting above this classic First Wave staple that's been covered by Ben Folds, Luka Bloom, Kim Wilde and Korn?

LOST SONGS:

#21 A-Ha "The Sun Always Shines On TV" - Rolling Stone called them a one-hit wonder..... for their OTHER hit.

#23 Ready For The World "DIgital Display" - Sheila thinks this long forgotten song sucks. And "Oh, Sheila", I agree with you.

#29 Jellybean "Sidewalk Talk" - Must be one of those gross flavored Jelly Belly 'Beanboozled' flavors. Like Moldy Cheese, Barf, Booger or Stinky Socks.

#41 Chicago Bears Shufflin Crew "Super Bowl Shuffle" - I bet even Walter Payton hates this song.

#52 Dan Seals "Bop" - Maybe Canada remembers this Great White North chart-topper, but here in the States, this #42 peaker "Bops" the baloney.

#74 Phyllis Nelson "I Like You" - The feeling's not mutual.

#98 Klymaxx "The Men All Pause" - This debuted alongside the Cure this week. It will climb to #80 in the coming weeks (while the Cure will fall off immediately). But I think we ditched this old "men-all-pause"-al gray mare years ago!
 

sadchild

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Metallica "Sad But True"

PEAKS:
FIN #1
POR #2
DEN #3
NOR #5
NL #10
IRE #13
UK #20

US PEAK: #98 on Halloween 1992.

Who was charting above a song probably still getting played every 15 minutes somewhere on American rock radio every day of the year?

LOST SONGS:

#7 Hi-Five "She's Playing Hard To Get" ... Maybe that's because you're a forgettable Boys II Men clone? Their main singer went from New Jack Swing to New Crack Fridge (aka huffing freon).

#16 Color Me Badd "Forever Love" ... destination: comedy fodder for Justin Timberlake and Lonely Island.

#38 Technotronic "Move This" ... right into the bin of lost hits.

#43 Prince "My Name Is Prince" ... or is it just a weird symbol today? Or TAFKAP? Or Christopher? Or Camille? Or 3rd-Eye-Girl? Not a memorable song from a guy with more identities than pairs of underwear.

#50 Damn Yankees "Where You Goin' Now?" .... answer: into the 'forgotten songs' pile. Because airplay and sales couldn't get this song "High Enough".

#54 Marky Mark "You Gotta Believe" ... and "you better believe" their sophomore album tanked.

#69 Kris Kross "I Missed The Bus" .... and the top 40.

#81 Billy Ray Cyrus "Could've Been Me" ... the follow-up single to "Achy Breaky". This one was just broken and made people's ears ache.
 

Aaron

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I've always been amazed that Billy Joel's "Piano Man" only peaked at #25.
Here are the songs that were ahead of it.
"The Lord's Prayer" really?? There's like 7 songs in here I don't even know.

1 TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) –•– MFSB Featuring the Three Degrees (Philadelphia International)-8 (1 week at #1) (1) B
2 BENNIE AND THE JETS –•– Elton John (MCA)-10 (1) A
3 HOOKED ON A FEELING –•– Blue Swede (EMI)-10 (1) F
4 BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME –•– Gladys Knight and the Pips (Buddah)-10 (4) A
5 COME AND GET YOUR LOVE –•– Redbone (Epic)-15 (5) A
6 OH MY MY –•– Ringo Starr (Apple)-7 (6) A
7 SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS –•– John Denver (RCA)-13 (1) B-
8 THE LOCO-MOTION –•– Grand Funk (Capitol)-7 (8) C
9 THE LORD’S PRAYER –•– Sister Janet Mead (A&M)-9 (4) C
10 I’LL HAVE TO SAY I LOVE YOU IN A SONG –•– Jim Croce (ABC)-8 (10) B+
11 LOOKIN’ FOR A LOVE –•– Bobby Womack (United Artists)-12 (11) A
12 A VERY SPECIAL LOVE SONG –•– Charlie Rich (Epic)-9 (11) B-
13 DANCING MACHINE –•– The Jackson 5 (Motown)-6 (13) B
14 SEASONS IN THE SUN –•– Terry Jacks (Bell)-15 (1) F
15 JUST DON’T WANT TO BE LONELY –•– The Main Ingredient (RCA)-12 (15) A
16 TUBULAR BELLS –•– Mike Oldfield (Virgin)-9 (16) B
17 KEEP ON SINGING –•– Helen Reddy (Capitol)-7 (17) C
18 MOCKINGBIRD –•– Carly Simon and James Taylor (Elektra)-12 (5) C
19 THE SHOW MUST GO ON –•– Three Dog Night (Dunhill)-6 (19) B
20 (I’ve Been) SEARCHIN’ SO LONG –•– Chicago (Columbia)-6 (20) B
21 TELL ME A LIE –•– Sami Jo (MGM South)-11 (21) B
22 MY MISTAKE (Was To Love You) –•– Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye (Motown)-9 (22) B
23 TOUCH A HAND, MAKE A FRIEND –•– The Staple Singers (Stax)-9 (23) A
24 LET IT RIDE –•– Bachman-Turner Overdrive (Mercury)-9 (24) B
25 PIANO MAN –•– Billy Joel (Columbia)-9 (25) A
 

Channel98

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Hooked On A Feeling was a remake of a 1968 top-ten hit by B.J. Thomas. Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me was a remake of a 1973 number-one country hit by Ray Price. The Loco-Motion was a reamke of a 1962 number-one hit by Little Eva & The Cookies. Lookin' For A Love was a remake of a 1962 R&B hit by the Valentinos. Mockingbird was a reamke of a 1963 top-ten hit by Inez & Charlie Foxx.

Albert Hay Malotte set The Lord's Prayer to music in 1935. More than 100 artists have recorded the song, including Elvis Presley, Sarah Vaughan, Johnny Nash, Perry Como, Connie Francis, Mario Lanza, Ray Price, Jim Nabors, Glen Campbell, Dinah Washington, Doris Day, Pat Boone, Patti Page, Johnny Mathis, Mahalia Jackson and the Sons Of The Pioneers. Sister Janet Mead's recording was not a remake, however. She was the first artist to record The Lord's Prayer with a new tune written in 1973 by Australian composer Arnold Strals.
 

sadchild

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Motley Crue "Home Sweet Home" #89

It surprised me this wasn't a top 40. I heard it all the time back then, and it followed the single "Smokin' In The Boys Room" which hit #16 just two months earlier.

#24 ONJ "Soul Kiss" Kiss off!
#27 Corey Hart "Boy In The Box" Cue the 80s on 8 "lost gem" intro...
#35 Eddie Murphy "Party All The Time" On its way to #2, if you can believe that s**t
#36 Ray Parker Jr "Girls Are More Fun" This song was a (ghost)bust
#43 Starpoint "Object Of My Desire" It was big then, but long forgotten now
#48 Sheena Easton "Do It For Love" Not on her 1989 Greatest Hits comp, released 4 years after this single
#57 Howard Jones "Like To Get To Know You Well" Did anyone get to know this song well?
#75 Katrina & The Waves "Que To Quiero" Taco Bell?
#77 9.9 "All Of Me For All Of You" All but forgotten
#84 Godley & Creme "Cry" Good grief!
#88 John Waite "Welcome To Paradise" I keep waite-ing for someone who remembers this one