# "Perfect" pop songs that failed to make US Top 40 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2006, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748 "2006-03-17T15:06:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/21 "2006-03-18T03:51:25Z")
_Stubborn Kind Of Fellow_, Marvin Gaye’s first single, is an amazing record that only went to #46 in late 1962. I just discovered it recently when I got the Motown Hitsville box set. I guess the world wasn’t ready. _Papa Oom Mow Mow_ by The Rivingtons only made it to #48 in the fall of 1962. A classic, rockin’ soul tune that many people only know from its chorus being sung in The Trashmen’s _Surfin’ Bird_. _Unless You Care_ by Terry Black is a Canadian record that was picked up from the Arc label out of Toronto by Tollie Records in the US. It’s a great, jangly electric 12-string tune in the British Invasion mold, by a Canadian artist, recorded in New York. It went to #12 on the 1050 CHUM (Toronto) chart, but in the States, it died at #99 in September 1964. _Tainted Love_ by Gloria Jones, the original recording, is a driving soul number with a great band. It didn’t chart at all when it was released in 1964, although Soft Cell’s minimalist 1982 cover went to #8. Terry Stafford’s brilliant Elvis impersonation, _Suspicion_ went to #3 in March 1964. Elvis’ own version from May 1964 went no further than #103. _Gloria_ by Them, the original recording from February 1965, only managed #71, but The Shadows Of Knight took it to #10 spring of 1966. _I Can’t Explain_ by The Who only went to #93! (April 1965) ---
**Author:** ![dinahmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/22 "2006-03-18T04:51:37Z")
> [@bup](#): > > “Kiss Me on the Bus” by the Replacements Holy crap that was a great song. I haven’t thought about that song in about a dickety-million years. Cheers, **bup** , for making me feel 15 again for a minute. And back on topic, how about “Lonelyhearts” by the Atlantics? Maybe a bit Bostoncentric, but a great, angsty, heavy pop song. ---
**Author:** ![Jacob\_Silj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Jacob\_Silj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jacob_Silj)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/23 "2006-03-18T05:12:31Z")
ok, two more, Mike Oldfield’s “Moonlight Shadow” and “Man in the Rain”. You could add his “Crime of Passion”, but its really just the same song as “Moonlight Shadow”… ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/24 "2006-03-18T06:00:46Z")
**Reality Chuck** I knew the SDMB had a few **Spirit** fans. Yes, **12 Dreams of Dr Sardonicus** is one of the all-time great albums and it is a shame it never really garnered much popularity or airplay. “ **Outside Chance** ” (a song on the **Turtles** Greatest Hits) _seemed_ to have “pop chart success” written all over it but it never connected as a hit. I consider “ **I Who Have Nothing** ” by **Terry Knight and the Pack** to be the best rendition of the song but I think it only made it to the “forties” in the Top 100. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/25 "2006-03-18T10:03:40Z")
On the edge of the category: “Then I Met You” - The Proclaimers. I saw them a while ago, and while “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” got some of the girls dancing (this was a dinner-and-a-concert place with tables and benches), it was TIMY that they saved for the encore and really got everyone off their butts. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/26 "2006-03-18T13:31:31Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > On the edge of the category: “Then I Met You” - The Proclaimers. I saw them a while ago, and while “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” got some of the girls dancing (this was a dinner-and-a-concert place with tables and benches), it was TIMY that they saved for the encore and really got everyone off their butts. With songs like TIMY, “Cap In Hand,” and “I’m On My Way,” as well as “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” I have to wonder why these guys were only a “One Hit Wonder” here. These are great songs. I haven’t heard everything they’ve done, but if it’s all as good as these, they should’ve been around the charts just a little more! ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/27 "2006-03-18T14:49:22Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > Where did Ike & Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High” end up? > > That should have been a number 1 hit… and wasn’t. It peaked at #88 in 1966, and according to [allmusic](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE4781CDF49A97620C8852D1599E620D210DF4BF58150234558C0B73844810473FD0FBAD8C5AEF875B47FE3F624A05E05D1CAFE2781&sql=33:5ga9kebtjqan), its failure to chart higher crushed Phil Spector. Shame. It is _indeed_ a masterpiece! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/28 "2006-03-19T04:16:49Z")
I could make a long list of what sound to me like perfect or near-perfect pop songs that, for one reason or another, never made it to the top 40 or, in some cases, to the radio at all. However, the best example of what the OP is looking for that I can think of is “Love Is The Answer” by **Utopia** ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/29 "2006-03-19T14:07:36Z")
I don’t know where it ranked, but I loved the song _Rick James_ by Jude. It just went nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/30 "2006-03-20T21:34:46Z")
Did Marshall Crenshaw’s “Someday, some way” make the top 40? I’m too lazy to look it up. Hell, I’m too lazy to check to see if that’s even the right title. ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/31 "2006-03-20T21:50:36Z")
> [@Airblairxxx](#): > > Did Marshall Crenshaw’s “Someday, some way” make the top 40? > > I’m too lazy to look it up. > > Hell, I’m too lazy to check to see if that’s even the right title. Withdrawn, it apparently topped out at #25 in 1982. > **[Marshall Crenshaw Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More | AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/marshall-crenshaw-mn0000853492)** > > Find Marshall Crenshaw best songs, album reviews, biography, credits, awards, and more on AllMusic. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/32 "2006-03-20T22:50:40Z")
Yeah, but apparently **Cynical Girl** never charted. There’s no justice. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/33 "2006-03-21T01:45:27Z")
> [@Jacob Silj](#): > > Surrender- Cheap Trick (studio version) > > Sundays- Here’s Where the Story Ends I can’t believe Surrender was never in the top 40. The Sundays were almost underground. I don’t remember hearing much of them on the radio until we got a non-college independent alternative radio station in New Orleans. And right off hand, that’s the only song I can name by The Sundays. I know there were a couple of other songs I liked, but I never bought the album and it’s been years since they were played on the radio. ---
**Author:** ![Jacob\_Silj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Jacob\_Silj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jacob_Silj)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/34 "2006-03-21T14:33:55Z")
almost forgot “Best Friend” by the (English) Beat. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/35 "2006-03-21T17:29:21Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > “Silver Springs”, Fleetwood Mac Amen to that. It probably would have been the most successful single on Rumours had band politics not made it a B-side. My own vote goes to “Live” (short i) by Emitt Rhodes. It got intermittent airplay in Cleveland, generally only part of the song before the news. It’s finally available on CD, although the ending is slightly truncated. Great, great song. Runnerup would be “The Wall of Death” by Richard & Linda Thompson. IMO, “Henry the Human Fly” and “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight” are Thompson’s best albums, but there was nothing on them that was ever going to chart. But it took true record company genius to make “The Wall of Death” fail to chart. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748/36 "2006-03-21T17:55:41Z")
> [@jasonh300](#): > > I can’t believe Surrender was never in the top 40. [Allmusic](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:jxdsyx72xpsb) says it peaked at #62. > [@](#): > > The Sundays were almost underground. I don’t remember hearing much of them on the radio until we got a non-college independent alternative radio station in New Orleans. And right off hand, that’s the only song I can name by The Sundays. I know there were a couple of other songs I liked, but I never bought the album and it’s been years since they were played on the radio. They got a lot of airplay out of “Summertime” in 1997, but it quickly faded from the airwaves and public consciousness soon after. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfect-pop-songs-that-failed-to-make-us-top-40/348748.md?page=1)