# What records were hits because of payola? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-records-were-hits-because-of-payola/470075 "2008-10-29T13:57:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-records-were-hits-because-of-payola/470075/21 "2008-10-30T02:07:07Z")
> [@jali](#): > > Muskrat Sally and Muskrat Sam hold a special place in my heart. I hate to have to admit that it was Muskrat _Susie_, not Sally. Sorry to nitpick, but the mere reading of the name of that song sent me on a spontaneous WayBack® machine ride to the seventies and a woman I worked with named Susie, who was going to marry a guy named Sam, and who was making a list of ‘Susie and Sam’ songs for the wedding, songs which there seemed to be quite a bit of around that time (1976-78). ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-records-were-hits-because-of-payola/470075/22 "2008-10-30T02:16:43Z")
Yeah, Sally is a Mustang. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-records-were-hits-because-of-payola/470075/23 "2008-10-30T03:06:55Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > I don’t know if it was Payola, but there’s got to be something to explain the popularity of the song _Muskrat Love_ by the Captain and Tenille. That’s easy, because it was a follow up song. Many follow up songs are not commercial but ride the success of the previous hit. For instance \*Crimson and Clover \* was popular because of _I Love Rock And Roll_ _Freeze Fame_ was popular because of \*Centerfold \* _Muscrat Love_ wouldn’t have been a hit if it was a lead single ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-records-were-hits-because-of-payola/470075/24 "2008-10-30T05:30:03Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Yeah, Sally is a Mustang. Yeah, an order of magnitude more rideable ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-records-were-hits-because-of-payola/470075/25 "2008-10-30T05:34:42Z")
_Limp Bizkit_ bought thier way to the charts. Just marketing, nothing “subrosa”. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-records-were-hits-because-of-payola/470075/26 "2008-10-30T05:43:35Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Muskrat Love was a hit because of Toni Tenille’s legs. And smile…and looks…and personality. Yup, I was smitten. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-records-were-hits-because-of-payola/470075/27 "2008-10-30T06:17:12Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > VH-1 did a “Greatest One-Hit Wonders” show and hit upon the “classic” _I’ve Never Been to Me_, by Charlene. The narrator broadly hinted that payola was involved in its popularity. If that’s true, that explains so much. I noticed when that song finally dropped off the charts, it seemed to disappear completely from radio playlists–nobody even wanted to acknowledge it’s existence let alone play it again. When a local Top 40 station did an annual recap of the top hits from that year a few months later, they just mentioned where it placed on the yearly countdown but didn’t bother to play the record because they no longer had a copy of the record. (Not that was a bad thing since listening to “I’ve Never Been to Me” is like being forced at gunpoint to read Danielle Steele.) ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-records-were-hits-because-of-payola/470075/28 "2008-10-30T10:33:05Z")
[http://www.allbusiness.com/transportation-communications/communications-radio/4359321-1.html](http://www.allbusiness.com/transportation-communications/communications-radio/4359321-1.html) Sure. Payola’s a thing of the 50s. Suuuuure. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-records-were-hits-because-of-payola/470075/29 "2008-10-30T13:28:52Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > These last two posts make me realize that when I’m thinking of payola in the '70s, I’m mostly thinking of the deejay on _WKRP_ who got caught accepting drugs from a promoter. > > The line between reality and fantasy is sometimes a little hazy for me. 🙂 All I remember from that episode is Art Carlson jumping around yelling, “I’ve got a monkey on my foot!” ---
**Author:** ![Ferd\_Burfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Ferd\_Burfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferd_Burfel)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-records-were-hits-because-of-payola/470075/30 "2008-10-30T15:32:48Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > These last two posts make me realize that when I’m thinking of payola in the '70s, I’m mostly thinking of the deejay on _WKRP_ who got caught accepting drugs from a promoter. However, the image of Arthur Carlson trying to beat sensation back into his foot after using the cocaine as foot powder is priceless. “Help me Travis! I’ve got a monkey on my foot!” ETA: That’s what I get for posting without looking at the entire thread. Great minds think alike. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-records-were-hits-because-of-payola/470075.md?page=1)