# Ever Been Shocked By A Song's Year of Release? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 24, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671 "2015-08-24T00:29:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/21 "2015-08-24T18:23:48Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Actually, you were close. Charlene recorded her song in 1976, and it was released the following year as a single but did very poorly (only reached #97 on the charts.) Then in 1982, a Tampa DJ discovered the song and started playing it frequently, which eventually led to it becoming a #3 hit. > > Trivia note: [A 2006 CNN poll](http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2006/04/27/Paul-Anka-wins-worst-song-poll-by-CNN/UPI-74281146163429/) ranked “I’ve Never Been To Me” as the 4th worst song of all time, with the top three being “(You’re) Havin’ My Baby”, “Muskrat Love” and “You Light Up My Life”. Heavy competition! I did not know that, and it makes a whole lot of sense. Funny how the four worst songs of all time are from the same milieu of mid-70s AM radio. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/22 "2015-08-25T05:18:39Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I would have bet money the song “Crazy” was from the 70s but I learned embarrassingly recently it was by Gnarls Barkly and was from the mid 2000s. Wow way off. Some I have heard express thinking “What A Wonderful World” is from the forties even though it is a sixties single. “I Want You To Want Me” by Cheap Trick has aged mighty well for 1979. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/23 "2015-08-25T10:55:06Z")
The only time I’ve been shocked is when I found out that Japan’s “Fall In Love With Me” came out when I was two, not in the mid-2000s like I assumed upon hearing it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/24 "2015-08-25T14:11:27Z")
Actually, the first time I heard Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab,” I thought it was some deep Motown track from the 60s I had never heard before. The main thing that clued me in that it might be a modern song was the subject matter. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/25 "2015-08-25T14:37:12Z")
“[Open My Eyes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjKx-yLOGEY)” by Nazz (Todd Rundgren’s early group) sounded like it was out of the mid-70s when I first heard it (I think, in part, because of the heavy use of the phaser effect). But, it’s from 1968. OTOH, if you watch the video, it absolutely screams “Monkees Knock-Off”, and clearly slots it in its proper time frame. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/26 "2015-08-25T14:42:35Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I would have bet money the song “Crazy” was from the 70s but I learned embarrassingly recently it was by Gnarls Barkly and was from the mid 2000s. You can be excused for that; it was undoubtedly intentionally made to sound like it was from that period. Listen to it with headphones on, and you can hear vinyl record hiss and pops. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/27 "2015-08-25T15:27:33Z")
Pretty much anything by Can, but [Vitamin C](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a1NhRbNJ_Y) works. I don’t remember how many songs I listened to before I asked “when was this released”, but I was very surprised to find out that it was from the early 70’s at the latest. It sounded so angular and groovy, I thought it had to come after new wave. Nope, that’s what influenced them. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/28 "2015-08-25T16:56:49Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > The hymn “The Old Rugged Cross” was written in 1912. Yet years ago, I read two novels set during the 1800’s in which the main character sings it. (Sorry, can’t remember the titles.) This is a thread winner for me - I would have placed that song at a century earlier, at least. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/29 "2015-08-25T17:01:34Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Actually, the first time I heard Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab,” I thought it was some deep Motown track from the 60s I had never heard before. The main thing that clued me in that it might be a modern song was the subject matter. I think that “Tears dry on their own” bears the same chords and arrangement as “Ain’t no mountain high enough”. Just a different melody, and really great. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/30 "2015-08-25T17:05:51Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I think that “Tears dry on their own” bears the same chords and arrangement as “Ain’t no mountain high enough”. Just a different melody, and really great. It’s actually sampled (with permission and shared writing credits with Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, who were two of the credited composers on “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/31 "2015-08-25T17:55:35Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > I did not know that, and it makes a whole lot of sense. Funny how the four worst songs of all time are from the same milieu of mid-70s AM radio. Make that five. #5 in their poll was Terry Jacks’ “Seasons in the Sun” (1974). ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/32 "2015-08-26T12:34:41Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Pretty much anything by Can, but [Vitamin C](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a1NhRbNJ_Y) works. I don’t remember how many songs I listened to before I asked “when was this released”, but I was very surprised to find out that it was from the early 70’s at the latest. It sounded so angular and groovy, I thought it had to come after new wave. > > Nope, that’s what influenced them. Excellent example! I would have guessed mid-‘80s, too. I first heard the Smiths’ [“This Charming Man”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJRP3LRcUFg) in the early '90s and thought it was contemporary, but it was released in 1983. Even now that date amazes me; Johnny Marr’s guitar riffs were so ahead of his time. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/33 "2015-08-26T12:40:15Z")
When I first heard Rasputin by Boney M I thought it was 90s techno rather than 70s disco. The Cure also has one song that was ahead of its time although I didn’t mistake its date: Boys Don’t Cry. The guitar part would fit in with 2000s stuff like Float On, as of course would the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/34 "2015-08-26T13:53:17Z")
Not so much shocked but impressed, realising that both “Tommy” and “Quadraphenia” are over 40 years old (and Tommy is closer to 50!) there are so many tracks on both albums that haven’t dated a jot. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/35 "2015-08-26T19:45:29Z")
I was amazed to discover “Sweet Emotion” by Aerosmith came out in 1975; I somehow had come to believe it was a song they released during their renaissance (well, it was, of course, but it was a re-release). The original song sounds very modern to this day. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/36 "2015-08-26T20:19:24Z")
Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the release of _Born to Run_. Umm, what? No it wasn’t. I distinctly remember buying it, listening to it, etc. at a place I lived in in 1974. Ditto with the dating of the famous _Time/Newsweek_ pair of cover appearances. It’s like I’m in that _Twilight Zone_ episode. (I think the explanation must be that I was regularly going back to visit the previous place at that time, including staying there the summer of 75.) ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/37 "2015-08-26T21:24:56Z")
That splendid example of Chap Hop ( SteamPunk ) [**Sir Reginald’s Marvellous Organ**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XWo4ufMkG4) by Sir Reginald Pikedevant came out in 2013 and not 1893. _O, I have an organ that’s reasonably large, And I’ll gladly display it without fee or charge. It’s made of hard wood which I rub every day; And whenever she wants to, I let my wife play. It’s adorned with two nuts; there are balls hanging down. For its age, it’s exceedingly fine ! And instead of some roses, I’d rather have tulips On this marvellous organ of mine._ ---
**Author:** ![Moris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moris/32/2846_2.png) [@Moris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moris)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/38 "2015-08-27T02:40:05Z")
[Never Let Go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPAhdLJonJA) by Camel. It sounds like it’s from 1986: crystal clear production, thin acoustic guitars, breathy ethereal keyboards, and that vocal could be comfortably sang by U2 or even the Pet Shop Boys. And yet it was released in 1972. Yes, it’s a 6-minute song with solos and stuff and that could be a giveaway but then again Toto and Dire Straits were doing similar things in the mid-80’s. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/39 "2015-08-27T13:32:46Z")
I can think of a lot of songs that sound like they’re from a different time, but to stick the spirit of the OP I will confine myself to songs that I actually thought were from a different time and was surprised when I learned the truth. The one that comes to mind first is “She’s Not There” by the Zombies. This song had no business coming out in 1964; it’s way too sophisticated… it really anticipates the sound of 1966 or 1967, which was very different. Also I cannot get my mind around the fact that _Tommy_ didn’t come out until May 1969. Even if I heard that album the day it came out, I would have been almost 14, and for some reason, it feels to me like those songs were present in my life at an earlier age than that, at least a couple of years earlier. I have no idea why. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671/40 "2015-08-27T13:55:20Z")
Anther for me: when discussing Rush with a friend recently I mentioned the last album of theirs I could say I _loved_ versus liked was Counterparts and it was then I realized that album was 21 years old. I still thought of it as a “recent” album but it was old enough to drink. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-by-a-songs-year-of-release/728671.md?page=3)