# Huge successes then, completely forgotten now **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 5, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315 "2010-08-05T19:32:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/121 "2010-08-08T14:17:55Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > I don’t know if I’d call them huge successes, but [est](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Erhard) and [TM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_Meditation) were pretty big movements in the 70s, and in the dustbin of history now. What a great choice! Also- serious interest in telekinesis/ESP, Jonathan Livingston Seagull and stuff like that. some other ideas– Who Framed Roger Rabbit Slim Whitman ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/122 "2010-08-08T15:51:35Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > (((Actually, neither Doug Henning nor Shields/Yarnell were ‘huge’, so never mind this post))) Lorene Yarnell just died a few days ago. See [here](http://http://althouse.blogspot.com/2010/08/spare-invisible-tear-perhaps-for-death.html). ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/123 "2010-08-08T16:57:04Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > > [@RealityChuck](#): > > > > Popular novelists Mrs. E.D.E.N. Southworth and Winston Churchill (not the British Prime minister, who used the byline Winston S. Churchill to avoid confusion) are completely forgotten today, but they were the best selling writers of their time. > > That’s really interesting. I’d like to think of some other “popular but forgotten” authors. > > As for singers - how about Johnny Mathis or Jim Reeves? Every Christmas season we are ass deep in Johnny Mathis songs. He is the voice of Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/124 "2010-08-08T17:36:23Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > In the same vein as _ET_ and _Close Encounters_, I think _**[Poltergeist](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084516/)**_ is pretty lightly-regarded today (when regarded at all). At the time, it was a phenomenon. > [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > **Poltergeist** is also a great call. Even horror fans won’t watch it these days because it’s not scary enough and it takes that 70s-fad-ESP stuff way too seriously. Pfft. Hardly! _Poltergeist_ is 30 years old and is still on almost every “Top 100 Horror Films” list. “Completely forgotten” wouldn’t be how I’d describe it. My addition to this list would be Max Headroom. Gigantic, then… nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/125 "2010-08-08T19:40:10Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > > [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > > > I don’t know if I’d call them huge successes, but [est](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Erhard) and [TM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_Meditation) were pretty big movements in the 70s, and in the dustbin of history now. > > What a great choice! Also- serious interest in telekinesis/ESP, Jonathan Livingston Seagull and stuff like that. Remember when reincarnation was huge in the '80s? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/126 "2010-08-08T20:07:02Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > I don’t know if I’d call them huge successes, but [est](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Erhard) and [TM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_Meditation) were pretty big movements in the 70s, and in the dustbin of history now. oMg-- I forgot about all these! And Transactional Analysis, and Past Life Therapy, and I remember when all these friends-of-friends on Nantucket Island were getting **ROLFED! ----- Resulting in me getting ROFL’ed.** ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/127 "2010-08-08T20:27:00Z")
We read Pearl Buck in high school. I can’t imagine that changing. Isn’t she up there with Kipling and e. e. cummings? Lit class wouldn’t be the same without them. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/128 "2010-08-08T20:46:15Z")
When was the last time you read about the industrial prowess of Japan and MITI? Or heard the phrase “digital divide”? Boxing. Can one person in a hundred name the heavyweight champion? There are probably about five now. Men like Ali, Louis, Marciano and Dempsey used to be national figures. In the 1950s people would argue about whether a man could run a mile in less than four minutes. Roger Bannister was an international hero when he did. If someone set a new record now, would it be on Sports Center? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/129 "2010-08-08T22:56:33Z")
> [@SoulFrost](#): > > > [@Spoke](#): > > > > In the same vein as _ET_ and _Close Encounters_, I think _**[Poltergeist](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084516/)**_ is pretty lightly-regarded today (when regarded at all). At the time, it was a phenomenon. > > > [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > > > **Poltergeist** is also a great call. Even horror fans won’t watch it these days because it’s not scary enough and it takes that 70s-fad-ESP stuff way too seriously. > > Pfft. Hardly! > > _Poltergeist_ is 30 years old and is still on almost every “Top 100 Horror Films” list. “Completely forgotten” wouldn’t be how I’d describe it. Thank you, I wanted to say this. I just watched it the other day and still think it was a great movie. Granted, it’s pretty boring for the modern audience, in that it doesn’t show people being flayed, torn to pieces, disembowled, or dismembered while still alive, but I’m a simple minded type and content with old fashioned attempts at going ‘boo’. I was going to say beanie babies, but I see it’s been mentioned. Never Mind! ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/130 "2010-08-08T23:27:35Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I was going to say beanie babies, but I see it’s been mentioned. Never Mind! Before those, there were Cabbage Patch Kids! They were notorious for causing violence among groups of parents, as in this article from 1983- [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,921419,00.html](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,921419,00.html) > [@](#): > > Remember when reincarnation was huge in the '80s? I’ve only heard this second hand, but apparently it was also really trendy for westerners to adopt Indian mysticism - people would go to Kashmir to try and become swamis, gurus or lamas > [@](#): > > When was the last time you read about the industrial prowess of Japan and MITI? Business trends! Learning Japanese! Studying Sun Tzu’s The Art of War! Walking on hot coals to build teamwork! ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/131 "2010-08-09T00:09:46Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > I’d only heard of them b/c of my Grandfather, but the [The Ink Spots](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ink_Spots) had 54 chart topping hits, 20 in the top ten, with another dozen in the US R&B charts at the same time. Featured fairly prominently in Fallout 3, with a couple songs on the GNR set including the song that opens the game. One of the most popular mods for the game adds a ton of other music to the playlist including nearly an album’s worth from The Ink Spots. Which isn’t to say they aren’t mostly vanished. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/132 "2010-08-09T02:03:56Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Boxing. Can one person in a hundred name the heavyweight champion? There are probably about five now. Men like Ali, Louis, Marciano and Dempsey used to be national figures. Man, what are the odds that all those Americans were national figures? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/133 "2010-08-09T02:16:12Z")
Country musicians who once were pretty big, but disappeared: Doug Stone - Had hits like _A Jukebox With A Country Song_, _I’d Be Better Off In A Pine Box_, _Why Didn’t I Think Of That_, and _Too Busy Bein’ In Love_. MIA since about 1995. David Ball - _Thinkin’ Problem_, _Look What Followed Me Home_, _When The Thought Of You Catches Up With Me_ were some of his hits. Not heard of since about '96, except for a one off hit with _Riding With Private Malone_ in 2001. Clint Black - was huge in the early 1990s, although overshadowed by Garth Brooks. Was regularly on the charts in the '90s, but pretty much disappeared by 2000. Mary Chapin Carpenter - _I Feel Lucky_, _He Thinks He’ll Keep Her_, _Down At The Twist And Shout_, and _Passionate Kisses_ were big hits. Nothing of hers has charted really since about '98 or '99. Joe Diffie - _Third Rock From The Sun_, _John Deere Green_, _Bigger Than The Beatles_, _Ships That Don’t Come In_ were all popular. Hasn’t had a hit since _It’s Always Somethin’_. Wade Hayes - He had a string of hits from the mid-late '90s, including_On A Good Night_, _Old Enough To Know Better_, _Don’t Stop_, and _I’m Still Dancin’ With You_. His last big chart success was _The Day That She Left Tulsa (In A Chevy In A Hurry)_ in 1999. Hal Ketchum - He did pretty well through the early 1990s, with hits like _Small Town Saturday Night_, _Past The Point Of Rescue_, and _Hearts are Gonna Roll_, but trailed off about 1995. Mark Chesnutt - Was a reasonably big star throughout the 1990s, with hits like _Goin’ Through The Big D_, _I’ll Think Of Something_, _Blame It On Texas_, and _Gonna Get A Life_. Charted irregularly after about 1997, and hasn’t hit the charts since about 2002. David Lee Murphy - _Dust On The Bottle_, _Party Crowd_, and _The Road You Leave Behind_ were his biggest hits, most of his other hits were as a songwriter. His only hit as a performer since his heyday was _Loco_ in 2004. Lee Roy Parnell - Had some big hits like _What Kind Of Fool Do You Think I Am_, _Tender Moment_, and _Hearts Desire_. Not heard of much since about 1998. Others would include Collin Raye, Shenandoah, Sammy Kershaw, Pam Tillis, Diamond Rio, Restless Heart, Daryl Singletary, Lorrie Morgan, Travis Tritt and Sawyer Brown. ---
**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 9, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/134 "2010-08-09T03:06:47Z")
> [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](#): > > I would suggest The Valley of the Dolls. It supposedly sold more copies than TV Guide and the Bible put together. It was a cultural milestone of its day and today no one is remotely interested in it. No one is remotely interested in it? You’re so obviously not a gay man. Music - the Police (Sting’s old band) Books - Snow Falling on Cedars Film - the Piano, Sling Blade, Shine ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/135 "2010-08-09T03:39:39Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Lots of old-time radio and vaudeville acts would fit this category. Lum & Abner. Fibber McGee and Molly. Zasu Pitts. Baby Snooks. The Ziegfeld Follies. Eva Tanguay. Julian Eltinge. I’ve become familiar with lots of old radio shows through podcasts: Fibber McGee and Molly, Inner Sanctum, The Whistler, Lights Out, Crime Classics, Lux Radio Theater, Have Gun Will Travel, Frontier Gentleman, and Escape. Lots of jokes or tag lines from popular radio shows made their way into Warner Brothers cartoons; it’s fun to re-watch these and really get what the characters are referencing. Are kids familiar with older cartoons today? They’re obviously not shown on Saturday mornings anymore, and I’m not sure if any network besides Boomerang airs them on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/136 "2010-08-09T03:55:20Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Not sure if “Birth of a Nation” or stars such as Valentino, Bow or Fairbanks should be mentioned. I think quite a number of people have at least heard of them even today. A lot of their films are still issued on DVD if one wants them > > I nominate Richard Dix. a 20s actor who was so forgotten by the 1960s that Star Trek TOS “City on the Edge of Tomorrow” substituted Clark Gable so modern audiences could chuckle over Kirk and McCoy’s ignorance of what was popular in 1930. > > [The City on the Edge of Forever | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/The_City_on_the_Edge_of_Forever) How about this, Patsy Ruth Miller was a silent movie actress in the '20s, her biggest role was apparently as Esmeralda in the Hunchback of Notre Dame. He legacy however is that many girl babies were named after her. I am amazed at how many women are named Patsy Ruth espesially given that she wasn’t one of the “big name” stars. She was big enough that my grandmother who lived way in the country liked her enough to name a daughter after her. Said daughter hates the name so much that if someon called asking for Patsy we all knew it was no one who knows her. Point being she was well know in her time but is pretty obscure now. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/137 "2010-08-09T04:37:50Z")
70s stars: Peter Frampton The Captain & Tennille Movie Genres: Westerns (mentioned previously) Musicals ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/138 "2010-08-09T05:51:39Z")
It has been, what, 35 years since “Saturday Night Fever”? I’m still hoping my leisure suits and platform heels come back in style! Is Donna Summer still around? ---
**Author:** ![valleyofthedolls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a4c791/32.png) [@valleyofthedolls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/valleyofthedolls)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/139 "2010-08-09T05:57:04Z")
> [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](#): > > I’m not sure some of the things listed here have been at the super-famous phenom level that I think the OP was looking for. > > I would suggest The Valley of the Dolls. It supposedly sold more copies than TV Guide and the Bible put together. It was a cultural milestone of its day and today no one is remotely interested in it. Speak for yourself, I love that book. I also used to work in a bookstore and it sold fairly regularly. It’s ranked at about #8000 on Amazon which isn’t bad for a book that’s been out for decades. The Good Earth is doing even better. It’s ranked at about #700 over at Amazon so it hasn’t exactly disappeared. This thread reads less like the OP’s proposed subject and more like people extrapolating their own narrow tastes to an entire population. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315/140 "2010-08-09T07:43:47Z")
Has anyone mentioned Boyz II Men? I mean, yes they’re still somewhat remembered, especially by chart enthusiasts. They broke the record for longest running Billboard number one single _three times_, and their single with Mariah Carey, ‘One Sweet Day’, still holds that record (16 weeks). But I rarely see them mentioned today, and their style which was so popular at the time has all but completely died out now. None of their songs are still hugely famous (at least not as famous as they should be considering they broke so many records). Their current status is disproportionate with their previous popularity. The group continues to record but they haven’t had a top 30 hit since 1997, and their last album charted at 114! Considering there are acts still going strong from that time who didn’t have as much commercial success as they did, it seems strange they’d be so forgotten now. (I don’t have a problem with the group, by the way, in case this sounds like I’m beating them down because I’m a “hater”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-successes-then-completely-forgotten-now/549315.md?page=8)