The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » The Songs Oldies Radio Forgot

Dale Patterson · January 9, 2019 5:26 pm

Thanks for your support SOWNY. Each and every one of your suggestions is being considered and many are being used. Hopefully you'll make "Oh Wow!: The Songs Radio Forgot" a regular stop. Nearly 850 songs with more added every day.

I'm pleased to announce that we're the Spotlight Site this week on Liive 365!

https://live365.com/blog/oh-wow-the-songs-radio-forgot/

Last edited by Dale Patterson (January 9, 2019 5:28 pm)

DeepTracks · January 23, 2019 11:24 am

Feeling a bit piss-ka-delic today....

Last edited by DeepTracks (January 23, 2019 11:27 am)

Dale Patterson · January 23, 2019 12:08 pm

Up to about 900 songs now, many from the SOWNY list.

RadioActive · January 23, 2019 12:51 pm

Hey Dale:

I posted this WGTO chart in another thread. It's amazing to me how many songs there are in their Top 50 that I've never heard of.

Where Did Our Love Go by Donnie Elbert (#18)
Hey Big Brother - Rare Earth (#24)
White Lies - Bullet (#26)
I Can't Do It - Trade Martin (#28)
Daisey Mae - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds (#32)
Hallelujah - Sweat Hog (#36)
Sanctuary - Dion (#38)
You Want It - The Detroit Emeralds (#45)
Kentucky - Sammi Smith (#46)
Really Got A Hold On Me - Gail McCormick (#48)
Lookin' For A Love - J. Geils Band (#50)

And that's just a few of them. I've only heard of two of the tunes listed in their "Plus 4." Most are on YouTube, so somebody knows them.

What a very different world their radio was in than ours.

Fitz · January 23, 2019 3:19 pm

Looking for a Love by J Geils was an FM rock staple and was originally a lower rung R&B hit by another group . Hey Big Brother by Rare Earth got a fair amount of AM and FM airplay and I am I am not familiar with the Gayle Mccormick song but she was the lead singer of Smith who had a big hit with their version of Baby It's You and they were also on the soundtrack to Easy Rider with a version of the Weight because the producers did not get the rights to use the Band version.

When I saw White Lies by Bullet I got excited for a minute because I though it might be a version of the song by Grin ( w Nils Lofgren) with the same name and from the same era. Alas a listen via You Tube and it's a different song.

Last edited by Fitz (January 23, 2019 3:25 pm)

RadioActive · January 23, 2019 4:04 pm

CKFH was also known for a much wider playlist than CHUM during the early 70s. CHUM's tighter Top 30 (by that time) was pretty narrow compared to the folks on Grenville St. That's one of the reasons, while I grew up loving 1050 and it made me want to get into radio, I eventually made the switch to 1430 after the Drake format came to 1331 Yonge St.

RadioActive · January 23, 2019 4:31 pm

Compare the Jan. 3, 1972 CKFH chart to the WGTO one above. While some of the songs are the same, many are very different. Some of that can be attributed to the need for CanCon here. And part of it is a Top 50 vs. a Top 30.

And yet there are the Donnie Elbert, Rare Earth and Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds tunes that are listed on both charts - and despite being a faithful listener, I have no memory of ever hearing any of them on radio here.

And here's the CHUM Chart for the same week. (Courtesy CHUMTribute.com)

Last edited by RadioActive (January 23, 2019 4:43 pm)

Lorne · January 24, 2019 12:04 am

I do remember CHUM playing all three songs. However, Where Did Our Love Go and Daisy Mae only spent 5 weeks on the CHUM chart, peaking at #18 and #13 respectively, and I think that this meant that they didn't get any airplay after their brief chart runs. Hey Big Brother was a more significant hit, spending 8 weeks on the chart and peaking at #8 ... that was enough to get it onto the year-end top 100, but only at #100, and so I doubt it got played much after its chart run either. I don't think it helped with any of them that they fell well short of making the top 10 on Billboard ... with the exception of Cancon, I noticed over the years that songs that were big hits here but not on Billboard tended to not get the same airplay after their chart runs ended as songs that had also been big Billboard hits.

DeepTracks · January 24, 2019 1:40 pm

I'm just a little strung out today....

Last edited by DeepTracks (January 24, 2019 1:42 pm)

DeepTracks · February 21, 2019 1:33 pm

(Oh) Wow - it's been a month since this thread 'topped the charts' . Or by this posting, would doing so make it a 'hit' ?

What can I say? I'm feeling a bit like the keywords in the following songs.

Last edited by DeepTracks (February 21, 2019 1:41 pm)

Dale Patterson · July 14, 2019 9:40 pm

Nearly 1,200 songs on the playlist now. I'm revisiting this thread to add any songs I may have overlooked and maybe solicit some more requests. Specifically interested in pre-regs Can-Con. Thanks for your help SOWNY.

https://live365.com/station/Oh-Wow--The-Songs-Radio-Forgot-a68406

Last edited by Dale Patterson (July 14, 2019 9:43 pm)

Fitz · July 15, 2019 9:01 am

ok's here's a pre cancon reg Montreal hit that I first heard well after the fact on the Pebbles garage rock comp:

RadioActive · July 15, 2019 1:04 pm

Not Can Con, but incredibly, some were touting the Hudson Brothers as sounding like The Beatles when they released this tune in 1974.

RadioActive · July 15, 2019 1:07 pm

Ken Tobias was Can Con and made a dent on the charts here with this one in 1975.

Damian · July 15, 2019 7:27 pm

How about “I symbolize you” or “Give Me Time” . Both by Clarkson’s “Last Words”

Dale Patterson · July 15, 2019 7:55 pm

Great suggestions today. I'm adding them all. Keeping it Canadian!

TomSanders · July 16, 2019 11:59 am

The Sixties At Six hour on CKWW (6-7 PM Eastern time every day except Friday) is an excellent source of pre-regs Canadian songs. Two examples:

The Staccatos "Move To California."

The other is "Let Her Down" by Barry Allen, that Youtube doesn't have.

the original hank · July 16, 2019 12:41 pm

This was a hit on both sides of the pond (but is now classified as a forgotten oldie)

Last edited by the original hank (July 16, 2019 12:43 pm)

Dale Patterson · July 16, 2019 9:26 pm

TomSanders wrote:
The Sixties At Six hour on CKWW (6-7 PM Eastern time every day except Friday) is an excellent source of pre-regs Canadian songs. Two examples:

The Staccatos "Move To California."

The other is "Let Her Down" by Barry Allen, that Youtube doesn't have.

Good stuff! Thanks Tom.

"Oh Wow! The Songs Radio Forgot" - Where The Hits Never Start!

DeepTracks · December 23, 2019 9:30 am

Just wanted to take say Merry Christmas Dale, and offer-up a couple of songs with a little twist on the word order of their titles.

Last edited by DeepTracks (December 23, 2019 9:36 am)

Dale Patterson · December 24, 2019 12:04 am

Thanks DeepTracks, and Merry Christmas to you!