Songs of 1976 That Should Have Been Bigger Hits Part 3

[DaveWollenberg]

Dennis Locorriere was also the lead singer of Dr. Hook.

[SundownerDrifting]

The reason "You to Me Are Everything" wasn't a big hit was that the American group Revelation covered it and the two versions fought it out on the charts, neither cracking the top 40. A pity, as the Real Thing version at least was really great.

1976 songs I thought should have been bigger hits:

Joan Armatrading: "Love and Affection"

A Band Called "O": "A Smile Is Diamond"

Cado Belle: "Got to Love"

Lake: "On the Run"

John Miles: "Music"

The Movies: "Dancin' on Ice"

10cc: "I'm Mandy, Fly Me"

[cwrightwi1]

Yuck.

[classie60]

ANYBODY have the full version of SUNDOWN COMPANY doing "Norma Jean wants to be a Moviestar" ?

[SissingPyd]

Soul music was rubbish then and it's the same now.

[QueenReigns1]

Ray Sawyer was NOT the lead singer of DR Hook, that was Dennis Locorriere, Sawyer sang mostly backing vocals.

And this compilation?

No surprise they weren't hits, it's just a pile of garbage.

[arkady714]

No offense, really. But not one of these songs has anything resembling a catchy melody and not one set of lyrics has anything substantial behind them.

Some of the words are either weak, cliche or both. "Let me in, sweet mama?" "That should have been me?"

Please. Dropping names of famous people who have worked on some of these songs is no argument against their failures. They're just not good music.

[nccvball]

@arkady714

To each his (or her) own. All these songs have a hook, beat, or rhythm that caught my ear at some point.

I never claim that any of these songs are "Pet Sounds", "Sgt. Pepper", or "Some Girls". If the lyrics are to be the main selling point, I grab any random Beatles tune or Top 10 song on today's chart and demonstrate the simplicity of vocabulary and repetitive use of words.

Very rarely do artists randomly become successful. Someone saw talent, and I try to highlight that.

[MultiGuarddog]

@nccvball This is a very sorry ist of no nothing songs

[chriswz261]

@arkady714 Dude are you kidding??? This is when music was actually GOOD! And the funny thing about that is I am only 31...I have grown up in the 90's and heard Nirvana (my favorite) all the way to Eminem...both great artists but this kind of music is just classsic bro! For real...

[arkady714]

@chriswz261 It is important to live in your own era. I was a kid during these times and got sick to my stomach whenever someone (normally a jealous baby boomer who could not handle growing old) say how things were better in the old days.

There was still a generation of American who hated rock music back then. Try not to laugh, but 20 years from now, people who are kids today and the kids of tomorrow will sing the praises of Britney, Miley and Justin. I promise you.

[GINGERALER]

@arkady714 Well I am 44 and the 70s was my era, as was the 80's, as was the 90's. Nothing wrong in appreciating music of different 'era's" regardless of age. I even like a lot of stuff that was a hit before I was born. I am always proud when I hear of people under 30 who love 70's pop, rock and disco. You should never limit yourself to any one era.

[lefthandedgenious]

@arkady714 That would only confifm that thier generation did not know what talented people really are.

[libidooverdrive]

@arkady714 failures. that's pretty harsh considering most of them made a living in music. And many of them have damn fine voices. dropping names. oh please yourself do you even know the meaning of dropping names.? He's telling us who they have worked with or knew. some of them were discovered by these "dropped names'. stop being a prick

[gunny112]

u 2 me r everything

[038368]

I think these were rightfully forgotten...but thanks anyway for resurrecting some obscure stuff!

[999YORK]

I always thought Marmalade's "Falling Apart at the Seams" should have been a bigger hit in 1976. It was huge in England and Germany.

[tommieparch]

ray sawyer aint good without the medicine. ive looked at all your complications on all years. i think u missed mammy blue/long version / by the stories

[ottawangel]

Haven't heard this before but love it.

[Lisarata]

I remember the song from 2:15. I was twelve in '76 and I would've been touched by this. And the one about Marilyn Monroe about 7:00 I kind of remember but it was eclipsed by Goodbye Norma Jean from that Elton John album earlier. If the novel I'm writing were made into a movie, this kind of music would be on the soundtrack because it sounds like a lost world of the past. You had to be there.

[themachman19691]

ahh the real thin you to me are everything.what a great track.im from liverpool and its a track thats always played at birthday partys.

[Kwikkill34]

I'm always to open to new stuff, old, new, popular or not...thank you!

[nccvball]

@Kwikkill34

You're welcome. More videos are on the way.

[berylman]

Well I have to say this was interesting. Born in '77. Regardless you got some good taste in music.

[imajeepster]

One more year of daddy's little girl? I'm glad that one WASN'T played that much...yeech!

it seems that a lot of the british releases just don't make it over here...

[catgirl6717]

I agree!

[Magicohen]

THNAK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

IT IS GREATTTTT

[elc1960]

About "Rain Oh Rain": you can very plainly hear Timothy Schmit on backing vocals there. He was with Poco at that time (oddly enough, Poco recorded an instrumental called "Fools Gold"). Just wondering about Ellison Chase: Shirley Ellis ("The Name Game") was married to Lincoln Chase ("Jim Dandy (To The Rescue)"). Shirley's real last name was Ellison. Could they be the parents of this artist? (BTW - Craig Fuller was also a member of Little Feat in the '90s.)

[ecnalubma696969]

What a gigantic pile of unadulterated wank.

[handinside]

Prelude's For a Dancer should've top tenned. K.c's that's the way I like it for instance should have even made the top 100!

[wmbrown6]

I.I.N.M., it was after the music group Prelude that the record label got its name (prior to then, it was U.S. Pye, the failed American arm of the British label).

[LolaCrazy222]

YES!!! It's great that you included American Flyer's "Let Me Down Easy". I found the American Flyer record "Let Me Down Easy" is on at a used record shop for only three dollars. It's good that Craig Fuller got success later with the Pure Prairie League. You would think with Beatles producer George Martin they would get the success they deserved.

[nccvball]

@LolaCrazy222

Same here, I thought the novelty of having George Martin as your producer would have been enough to get more airplay.

[raymarkus]

I think charts are right. on these song suck!!!

[DjJohnnyM68]

WOw Yvonne Fair haven't heard that in a few minutes..great song and very under-rated...and the other songs i've heard before..in a few cases i didn't know the title/artist.

[SDE1979]

Fun to listen to these and scratch my head trying to remember if I heard any of them when they were "hits". One line that I know was in the inner recesses of my brain was the line "Norma Jean wants to be a movie star". Would have probably gone to the grave without recalling it again were it not for this post. Thanks.

[nccvball]

@SDE1979

My pleasure. That song has a whole history to it that I could devote to an entire video.

[recordman64]

@SDE1979: There was also a country hit version of the song, the title changed to simply "Norma Jean", by Sammi Smith (the girl best-known for her version of "Help Me Make It Through the Night" in 1971).

[tommaletic]

just checking, but "for a Dancer" was written by Jackson Browne after a friend committed suicide, does that sound right?

[elc1960]

@tommaletic No. You're thinking about "For A Rocker" which was released in the '80s.

[999manman]

Thanks for the trip back!!!! Great year to be alive!!!

[lakebay972]

Prelude sounds a lot like the band America

[lilian1952]

can,t believe yvonne fair only reached 85 in the charts !!!!! everyone knows this song ...a classic

[heine71]

No "Hey Shirley this is Squirrely" here too!

[999manman]

I better be getting some 'Shirley and Squirrelly' or someone gonna be losin' they testicles!