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.
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.