# Hit songs that totally disappeared **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 11, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825 "2016-01-11T17:08:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/81 "2016-01-22T22:14:06Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > You may not hear those two on the radio anymore, but you hear them \*mentioned \*a lot. Sure, like whenever Dave Barry does a column on the worst songs of all time. ---
**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:** [January 22, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/82 "2016-01-22T22:52:24Z")
Personally, I can’t remember the last time I’ve heard any Debbie Gibson on the radio. I remember the album “Electric Youth” being some hot shit back in the day, along with the single “Lost in Your Eyes.” Or even “Foolish Beat” from her debut album. It’s possible I just don’t listen to enough nostalgia 80s radio, but I thought I did. Wikipedia tells me she’s had reasonable success as an actress and on Broadway since, but she completely fell off my radar. While we’re at it, what about her contemporary Tiffany? ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2016, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/83 "2016-01-22T23:02:41Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Well, let me look through the Billboard Charts from the Sixties through the Eighties, and name you all the #1 hits I haven’t heard played ANYWHERE in ages: > > “He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You)” by Tony Orlando and Dawn I was just thinking about this trio, and realized how well they fit this thread - not only with the above song, but all of these Top Ten hits: 1970 **“Candida”** No. 3 US (Gold); CB No. 1; No. 9 UK; No. 8 AC 1970 **“Knock Three Times”** b/w “Home” No. 1 US (Gold); CB No. 1; No. 1 UK; No. 2 AC 1973 **“Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree”** No. 1 US (Gold); CB No. 1; No. 1 UK; No. 1 AC 1973 **“Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose”** No. 3 US (Gold); CB No. 4; No. 12 UK ; No. 1 AC 1974\*\* “Steppin’ Out (I’m Gonna Boogie Tonight)” \*\*No. 7 US; CB No. 14; No. 4 AC Those first 3 were played ALL THE TIME in the early to mid 1970s. I’m surprised “Candida” didn’t hit Number 1, given how popular it was at the time. I have no memory of “Steppin’ Out”, but I’m sure a lot of Top 10 hits would be in the same boat. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2016, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/84 "2016-01-22T23:04:58Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Meco’s disco “[Star Wars](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhg2OuE7ef4)” (1977). I got that on CD. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/85 "2016-01-22T23:33:01Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > While we’re at it, what about her contemporary Tiffany? She was in _Playboy_ several years ago. I saw her on some Food Network reality show recently. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2016, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/86 "2016-01-22T23:41:17Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > I1973 **“Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree”** No. 1 US (Gold); CB No. 1; No. 1 UK; No. 1 AC > 1973 **“Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose”** No. 3 US (Gold); CB No. 4; No. 12 UK ; No. 1 AC Maybe it’s just my faulty memory, but weren’t these two basically the same damn song? ---
**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:** [January 22, 2016, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/87 "2016-01-22T23:56:08Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > She was in _Playboy_ several years ago. I saw her on some Food Network reality show recently. Huh, apparently she was, though “several years” takes us back to 2002. Researching that, I also just learned that her last name is Darwish. In 2011, she apparently starred alongside Debbie Gibson in the movie [_Mega Python vs. Gatoroid_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bITmSpxUAA8). How did I miss all this? ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/88 "2016-01-22T23:58:58Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Maybe it’s just my faulty memory, but weren’t these two basically the same damn song? Yep! They were the proto-AC/DC. (This is the only time in the history of mankind where Tony Orlando & Dawn and AC/DC have been referenced in the same post.) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2016, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/89 "2016-01-23T00:28:32Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I got that on CD. I had it on a 45. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/90 "2016-06-15T12:25:41Z")
Music Box Dancer > **[Music Box Dancer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_Box_Dancer)** > > "Music Box Dancer" is an instrumental piece by Canadian musician Frank Mills that was an international hit in the late 1970s. It features an arpeggiated piano theme in C-sharp major (enharmonic to D-flat major) designed to resemble a music box, accompanied by other instruments playing a counterpoint melody as well as a wordless chorus. (Most modern piano music sheets have the song in the key of C major.) > Mills wrote and recorded "Music Box Dancer" in 1974, but it did not become a single until De... [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwa0c8VO71s) ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Mama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@Atomic\_Mama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Mama)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/91 "2016-06-15T13:01:58Z")
[quote=“casdave, post:4, topic:742825”] I think this might qualify, but before you hit the stop button, check out the lead guitarist virtuoso performance [/QUOTE] Wow! Brit chicks doing go-go dancing! in 1964! LOVE this :eek: 😃 I am from the era when the Tokens did it in the USA … “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” Thanks for posting! ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/92 "2016-06-15T14:07:44Z")
Thought I posted this back in January, but apparently not: Everyone remembers “Don’t Stop Believin’” from Journey’s _Escape_, which has appeared in endless movies & TV shows and is the most downloaded song recorded in the 20th Century. The song reached #9 in 1981, but hardly anyone remembers the two higher-charting hits from that same album: “Who’s Crying Now” (#4) and “Open Arms” (#2 for six weeks, kept from the top spot by J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold”). Also, J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold”. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/93 "2016-06-15T14:43:42Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Also, J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold”. I just heard “Centerfold” the other day on one of our local radio stations. I’ve heard “Who’s Crying Now” more often than “Open Arms”. That’s fine by me. “Open Arms” still makes me want to scratch out my eyeballs :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/94 "2016-06-15T15:16:13Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Huh, apparently she was, though “several years” takes us back to 2002. Researching that, I also just learned that her last name is Darwish. In 2011, she apparently starred alongside Debbie Gibson in the movie [_Mega Python vs. Gatoroid_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bITmSpxUAA8). How did I miss all this? Seen it. It makes the **Sharknado** films look Oscar-caliber. I cheered when Tiffany gets eaten by a giant alligator. I swear the guy in the helicopter left her dangling on purpose. Anyway, I just got one thing to say to you guys: [Shaddap You Face](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaddap_You_Face). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/95 "2016-06-15T18:11:53Z")
_The Morning After_ – the theme song of _The Poseidon Adventure_, was inescapable in 1973 and never heard from since. According to Wicki, the Maureen McGovern version was never even covered until 2010 when the movie score was released as an album. ---
**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:** [June 15, 2016, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/96 "2016-06-15T18:29:42Z")
> [@Atomic\_Mama](#): > > Wow! Brit chicks doing go-go dancing! in 1964! LOVE this :eek: 😃 > > I am from the era when the Tokens did it in the USA … “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” > > Thanks for posting! Remember Robert John from 1972? If you don’t well that’s the point (;0) ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/97 "2016-06-15T18:57:47Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > 1973 **“Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose”** No. 3 US (Gold); CB No. 4; No. 12 UK ; No. 1 AC I think that was the first record I ever bought (I still have the single around somewhere I’ll bet). ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/98 "2016-06-15T19:05:31Z")
[Abracadabra](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QyoRzZrF00) by the Steve Miller Band ---
**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:** [June 15, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/99 "2016-06-15T19:35:18Z")
There was a song that got incessant play on the radio in the late 1970s, around the same era as “You Light Up My Life” with the refrain “Knock Three Times on the Ceiling If You Want Me…” Kind of an annoying song actually, but one that seemed to be ubiquitous and then disappear. Other very popular songs that have faded over time: “Time In a Bottle” (ironically enough) “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” “Country Roads” (and just about anything else by John Denver) “Let the Love Flow” “Here You Come Again” (I think by Dolly Parton) “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blues” “Don’t Fear the Reaper” “Bette Davis Eyes” “The Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades” “In a Big Country” (by a band called ‘Big Country’) “Don’t You Forget About Me” “Sara” (the other, actually listenable, big hit by Starship, nee Jefferson) ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825/100 "2016-06-15T19:45:08Z")
> [@chancetx](#): > > Does anyone else remember Peter Wolf from the J. Geils Band? He had a few solo hits in the early-mid 80s but they get zero retro play. I had completely forgotten [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfstjeYFIkE) until I fell down a youtube rabbit hole one night. (My sister and I used to argue about the lyrics - was he singing “Lights out! Uh-huh. Blast, blast, blast” or “…Flash, flash, flash”?) I always thought “Flash” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hit-songs-that-totally-disappeared/742825.md?page=6)