Michael Stanley Band - He Can't Love You (1981)

He Can't Love You
b/w Carolyn

Released: 1981 (EMI America) Written by: Kevin Raleigh Produced by: The Michael Stanley Band Album: Heartland

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Note: when I label a song a "Lost AT40 Single," I'm only speaking for myself.  Your mileage may vary.

So I'm listening to a rerun of the American Top 40 broadcast from January 10, 1981 and this song debuts in the #39 spot.  Casey describes the band as "a six man band from Cleveland." Evidently, the group was a big deal in Ohio, but since I was living 1000 miles from that state in 1981, this single was my first exposure to the group. I heard it for a few weeks on AT40, but that was it - my local Houston stations weren't playing this one. These days, Stanley is the afternoon drive disc jockey for classic rock radio station WNCX in Cleveland.

This tune lasted 5 weeks in the Top 40, eventually peaking at #33. The song reminds me a lot of Steel Breeze's "You Don't Want Me Anymore" and Sammy Hagar's "I've Done Everything for You." In other words, it's the best tune Rick Springfield never recorded. And I think that's Clarence Clemons on the tenor solo, no?

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Helen Reddy - I Can't Hear You No More (1976)

I Can't Hear You No More
b/w Music is My Life

Released: 1976 (Capitol) Written by: Gerry Goffin and Carole King Produced by: Joe Wissert Album: Music, Music

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Note: when I label a song a "Lost AT40 Single," I'm only speaking for myself. Your mileage may vary.

So I'm listening to a rerun of the American Top 40 broadcast from August 21, 1976 and this song debuts in the #38 spot. I either never heard the song in '76 or I'd forgotten all about it.

I've always associated Reddy with slower songs ("I Am Woman," "Angie Baby") with which young Mark had no interest. So when I hear this disco take on a '60s Goffin-King tune, I was pleasantly surprised. However, the novelty quickly passed as it turns out to be a catchy, but average disco tune that could use a bridge or solo of some sort.

The song ultimately spent 5 weeks in the Top 40, peaking at #29. It did much better on the Adult Contemporary charts, hitting #1 for the week of October 2. According to The Billboard Book of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits (1999), Reddy didn't even want to record the thing: "That was the record company really putting its foot down and saying, 'You have to have a disco hit.'"

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George Harrison - Blow Away (1979)

Blow Away
b/w Soft-Hearted Hana

Released: February, 1979 (Dark Horse) Written by: George Harrison Produced by: George Harrison and Russ Titleman Album: George Harrison

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Note: when I label a song a "Lost AT40 Single," I'm only speaking for myself. Your mileage may vary.

So I'm listening to a rerun of an American Top 40 broadcast from May 5, 1979 and after backselling the Bee Gees' "Love You Inside Out," Casey Kasem introduced this song thus:

Well, in a recent interview in Rolling Stone, former Beatle George Harrison said he thought Beatle parodies, like the Rutles, were a great idea. He said the Beatles needed to be deflated. Maybe that's what he had in mind when he wrote his latest hit, titled "Blow Away." This week, up a notch to number 16. George Harrison.

Fortunately, the song is better than that intro. Harrison's guitar is immediately identifiable and there's a so-so verse, but when it gets to the chorus, things get real good fast:

All I got to do is to love you
All I got to be is, be happy
All it's got to take is some warmth to make it
Blow away, blow away, blow away.

Positive lyrics and hook-filled chorus? Count me in! Just the kind of message a kid dealing with adolescent angst at a new school needs (speaking about myself, of course). I've often written that I'm not much of a lyrics guy, but I couldn't miss these. Harrison simply speading the gospel of love. Preach on, George.

Unfortunately, #16 was as high as this single rose in its 8 short weeks in the Top 40. Its chart arc was as follows, beginning on 3/31/79: 32, 26, 24, 22, 17, 16, 16, 37. Shame. The question remains: why don't I ever hear this on the oldies stations?

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Point Blank - Nicole (1981)

Nicole
b/w Restless

Released: June, 1981 (Epic) Written by: B. Randolph, B. Keith, K. Davis, M. Hamilton, B. Gruen, R. Burns Produced by: Bill Ham Album: American Exce$$

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Note: when I label a song a "Lost AT40 Single," I'm only speaking for myself. Your mileage may vary.

So I'm listening to a rerun of a fairly lackluster American Top 40 broadcast from September 5, 1981 and Casey Kasem introduced this song thus:

Eight years ago in Dallas, six men formed a band and called it Point Blank. They're still based in Texas and last week their first chart single debuted in the countdown at number 40. Up a notch this week to 39, Point Blank with "Nicole."

Partly because of the Texas connection and partly because it sounds like a poor man's ZZ Top single, "Nicole" was a huge regional hit in the Houston market (at the time, I was mainly listening to KILT-AM, KLOL-FM, and KSRR-FM). The verse is a forgettable blues-based shuffle, but the the chorus is an organ-drenched taste of southern rock with a melody that will stick in your head for days and reappear whenever you hear the name Nicole. The song's also got a nice bridge that raises it's rating a full letter grade.

This would be Point Blank's last week ever to appear on Casey's show. The single only spent 2 weeks in the Top 40 and was the group's only Top 40 hit. Overall, it stayed in the Hot 100 for a respectable 14 weeks. It also peaked at #20 on the Mainstream Rock chart. It's the only Point Blank song I've ever heard, but I'm glad to reconnect with it here.

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Ray Parker, Jr. - Bad Boy (1982)

Bad Boy
b/w Let's Get Off

Released: November, 1982 (Arista) Written by: Ray Parker, Jr. Produced by: Ray Parker, Jr. Album: Greatest Hits

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Note: when I label a song a "Lost AT40 Single," I'm only speaking for myself. Your mileage may vary.

So I'm listening to a rerun of the American Top 40 broadcast from January 15, 1983 and the countdown begins with the debut of this song in the 40 spot. I either never heard the song in '83 or I'd forgotten all about it. The groove reminds me more than a little bit of the Brothers Johnson's song "Stomp!" but it's a decent song even if lacks a strong hook. Casey doesn't say much about the song's content and for good reason: the lyrics were definitely not family-friendly. In fact, I can't believe this got on the radio back in '83. S&M lyrics wouldn't bother anybody these days, but back in the early '80s, incense, wine, and candles could make for a freaky scene. Here's a sample from "Bad Boy":

Bad boy
I'll do the dishes, baby
Bad boy
Now I got to be punished

Spank me, whoop me
Let me come back home
Break out the leather, baby

Granted, doing the dishes is punishment enough, but then things escalate rather quickly, don't they? Like I said, not much to fret about these days, but those lyrics would have definitively caught my attention as a 16 year old. In any case, this is one of the rare cases where the lyrics have made more of an impression on me than the music. On the January 15 AT40 show, the song was at position 40; it would peak at 35 two weeks later. It spent a total of 4 weeks in the Top 40.

On a somewhat related note, Parker is a fantastic guitarist and did more session work, songwriting, and production than he's usually given credit for. Unfortunately, his legacy will be his derivative #1 single, "Ghostbusters." How do I know this? I saw Parker perform during halftime of a 2010 Memphis Grizzlies basketball game (it was "'80s Night") and the only song he performed was "Ghostbusters." And he brought down the freakin' house.

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The Afternoon Delights - General Hospi-Tale (1981)

General Hospi-Tale
b/w General Hospi-Tale (Instrumental)

Released: July, 1981 (MCA) Written by: Harry King & Lisa Tedesco Produced by: Harry King Album: General Hospi-Tale

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Note: when I label a song a "Lost AT40 Single," I'm only speaking for myself. Your mileage may vary.

So I'm listening to a rerun of the American Top 40 broadcast from October 3, 1981 and sandwiched between songs from legendary artists John Lennon and Simon & Garfunkel, I heard words I hadn't heard in 33 years:

"I just can't cope without my soap!"

"General Hospi-Tale" was a rap parody of the soap opera General Hospital in which a female voice rapped basic plot lines from the show over a disco beat. In addition to the rapping, re-created soap opera dialogue is interspersed throughout. The chorus was sung by a mostly female backing group, ending with the aforementioned punchline. There's also an occasional yakety sax line that is catchy as hell and sticks in your head for days.

I can't speak to the accuracy of the rap as I didn't watch General Hospital. My sister was a Guiding Light fan, which meant that if I wanted to watch a soap, it had to be that. I tried it for a while in the summer of '81, but quickly realized soap operas weren't my thing. However, General Hospital was earning more than $50 million a year in profits in 1981 and was watched by over 14 million people every day. In other words, this single had a built-in audience. A month after this single peaked, the marriage of popular characters Luke and Laura would net a viewership of 30 million people—the highest rated soap opera episode ever.

On the October 3 AT40 show, "General Hospi-Tale" was "up a notch" at position 33, which would be its peak chart position (it would peak at #23 on the R&B chart around the same time). The song spent a total of 5 weeks in the Top 40. Originally a single-only release, an album was hastily put together in order to cash in on the single's (minor) success, but never saw the album charts.

I can't in good conscience give this a good grade, but that doesn't mean that it isn't worth a listen every few years.

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Kansas - People of the South Wind (1979)

People of the South Wind
b/w Stay Out of Trouble

Released: June, 1979 (Kirshner) Written by: Kerry Livgren Produced by: Kansas Album: Monolith

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Note: when I label a song a "Lost AT40 Single," I'm only speaking for myself. Your mileage may vary.

So I'm listening to a rerun of the American Top 40 broadcast from July 28, 1979 and after an Anne Murray song, Casey Kasem tells a story about Kansas playing at the 1973 State Fair of Iowa. This song begins and I'm immediately grabbed by the disco-licious keyboard riff in the intro and suddenly I remember what an earworm that lick was when I was a 13 year old. I bet I haven't heard this song since 1979, but I couldn't get it out of my head during that summer.

The verse melody isn't memorable and the guitar solo is fairly routine, but the syncopated, singalong chorus is kinda catchy. But I'm happy when the disco synth strings return later in the song. To me, it sounds like something that should have been in a tune by The Spinners and is oddly out of place in a Kansas single.

On the July 28 AT40 show, "People of the South Wind" was at position 24; it would peak at 23 the following week. The song spent a total of 8 weeks in the Top 40. For what it's worth, according to Wikipedia the song was written about the Kaw people who gave the state Kansas its name. In the Kansa language, the tribe's name could roughly be translated to "People of the South Wind".

On a related note: if you have access to that particular episode of AT40, make sure you listen to the Long Distance Dedication between songs #20 and #19 in which a wife dedicates "I Will Survive" to her ex-husband. It's unlike any other LDD I can recall.

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Q - Dancin' Man (1977)

Dancin' Man
b/w Love Pollution

Released: March, 1977 (Epic) Written by: Robert Peckman Produced by: Q Album: Dancin' Man

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Note: when I label a song a "Lost AT40 Single," I'm only speaking for myself.  Your mileage may vary.

So I'm listening to a rerun of the American Top 40 broadcast from May 7, 1977 and Casey Kasem comes out of a commercial break and introduces this song.  As he's talking over the introduction, I get very confused and think I'm listening to Rachel Sweet's cover of B-A-B-Y, but when the vocals come in, I recognize a song I haven't heard in almost 35 years: "Dancin' Man" by Q.  

On the May 7 AT40 show it was at position 25; it would peak at 23 the following week.  The song spent a total of 7 weeks in the Top 40.  Q was a quartet that hailed from Beaver Falls, PA and this was their only Top 40 hit.  The song is a mid-tempo disco track centered around the '60s R&B lick mentioned earlier, but the ear-catching bit comes from the background singers:

Gotta get up
Get the get down feelin'
Gotta get up
Get it on (clap, clap)

It's not a great song, but it's fun to reconnect with it.

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