great songs that should have been hits!

[raccoonradio]

Taking nominations; explain further if necessary. Any type of music. It also can include songs that
may have been "alternative radio/college radio" hits but didn't quite make it to the national pop charts.

SUBURBS--Rattle My Bones
(live '84: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G252bIX9EO8 )
SUBURBS--Love is The Law (esp. the extended version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjNBFuByJt4

A band from Minneapolis; danceable new wave. The first one is based on that old foot-bone-connected to
the ankle bone idea...the second is a very catchy dance tune (other great tunes by them included
Waiting, Music for Boys, Dish It Up)

BLOTTO--I wanna Be A lifeguard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KhXbtUldqg
A very lighthearted band from Albany. This did get some MTV video play
(Hello! Their Name Is Blotto, What's Yours? http://blotto.net/ )

I can probably think of many others including country, oldies, etc.

[YEKIMI]

"The Georgia Porcupine" by George Fischoff. Only went to # 94 on the Bilboard Charts in 1974. I could only find a video of some high school band in Georgia playing a bad rendition of it. George Fischoff composed the music for Spanky & Our Gang's hit "Lazy Days" & did music and lyrics [along with T. Powers] for Keith's "98.6" Best way to describe Georgia Porcupine is that it sounded like a cros between rockabilly and old tin pan alley music. Piano, drums and bass guitar, very fast and upbeat.

[fennessy]

1968: Brown Eyed Woman by Bill Medley on MGM
2005: I'm A Broken Heart by The Bird & The Bee
1974: Amorouse by Kiki Dee

[voicetrack]

1985: You're The Only Love - Paul Hyde & The Payolas

Great song, unfortunate band name. They never had a chance with that moniker.

[mimo]

1985: You're The Only Love - Paul Hyde & The Payolas

Great song, unfortunate band name. They never had a chance with that moniker.

They did quite well in their native Canada, in fact I still regularly hear their 1982 hit Eyes Of A Stranger on the radio regularly

A song that never sto0d a chance was Mina Loy by Billy Corgan, it was just as go0d as any Smashing Pumpkins song.  I only heard it on one radio station, a college station in Lewisburg, PA.  It was melodic, catchy and the video is available on Youtube, at least the last time I checked for it.

[Band-Scanner]

I cannot stop you-Cherry Slush..pop psychedelia from a band from Flint Mich.  who recorded this gem for Chicago's USA Records.

I can't hold on-Karla Bonoff written & recorded by her on CBS Records...

Have you seen her face-The Byrds    Bass player Chris Hillman on lead

I've Had it-Fanny   One of the 1st all girl bands.  Remade & Reworked the old Bell Notes hit.

[Johnnyrockin]

"Georgia Porcupine" is a great tune; got airplay on KNBR in SF during their heyday of personality-based AC. Haven't heard it in years.
My nominations:
"Romeo" by Ernie Graham. Nice cover of a Thin Lizzy tune. Released on Stiff in the UK; I think it bombed there, too. Killer sax solo, uptempo tune. Romantic, too. Roughly contemporary with Springteen's stuff with the E Street Band, and it has that feel.
"Edged in Blue" Rory Gallagher. From his excellent "Calling Card" LP. His label boss told him this would be a hit if he released it as a single, but alas, he didn't. This tune would've been a massive crossover hit on  AC/Top Forty/AOR radio. As good as anything that did the same by Fleetwood Mac.
Any of the following by Mickey Jupp:
"Shine on my Shoes"
"Georgia George"
"Cheque Book"
"Nature's Radio"
All of these late-60s/early-70s tunes are anthologized on the Best-of Stiff LP "Mickey Jupp's Legend". How this guy managed to remain obscure in the US is a mystery. These are immensely enjoyable rock tunes; the last one sounds like a Bee Gees clone, which at the time wasn't such a bad idea for a single.

[Johnnyrockin]

Forgot to mention that "Have you Seen her Face" is a great tune; KFRC was all over the Byrds and Dylan at the time of this release, and it got decent airplay. Another from that era, "Mr. Soul" by the Buffalo Springfield -- not the lame stereo version on "Buffalo Springfield Again", but the killer mono mix on the flip of the "Bluebird" single (Atlantic/Atco had wonderful alternate mono mixes and edits of almost everything they released on singles in that era). It got a bit of airplay in SF on Top Forty. Hell, the A-side didn't really do all that well nationally at the time, for that matter...

[txrad]

Two come to mind that only got a bit of regional play:

"She's Almost You" Billy Harner (1968?) and "Money Back Guarantee" Five Man Electrical Band (1972).   Also, not sure if it was too successful to qualify for this catagory, but "No Good to Cry" by the Wildweeds (1967?) should have been bigger.

[Rick B.]

I could be here all night with this topic, but I'll try to restrain myself...

Poco, A Good Feeling To Know (they'd had successful albums, everybody thought this would take them to the next level...and it just stiffed as a single)

Chris Rea, Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? (followup to Fool (If You Think It's Over); a fun record that stalled way down the charts)

Little Feat, Easy To Slip and Let It Roll (some bands just never seemed to sniff Top 40/CHR or AC airplay, even if they had songs that would fit in with whatever else was on the charts at the time)

Tom Cochrane and Red Rider, The Boy Inside The Man (maybe this didn't have quite enough of a hook to be a hit, but you've probably heard a lot worse)

Katrina and the Waves, Going Down To Liverpool (I think the Bangles cut this too)

Mary Chapin Carpenter, Passionate Kisses (this may have been a country hit, but as a pop song it should have done better than bubble under the Hot 100...WPST in Trenton gave it some play, so it wasn't just me)