top 50 "lost" US hits of the early '70s

By far the most fascinating Mud-related fact is of course that guitarist Rob Davis (the glammest of the bunch) would end up co-writing Kylie’s “Can't Get You Out of My Head” and “Come into My World” with Cathy Dennis. He also had a hand in Fragma’s “Toca's Miracle” and Spiller’s “Groovejet”!

waht

Yes! I've been reminded of this truth many times over the years, but it never ceases to amaze me. Low-key one of the most miraculous pop careers of all.

i had long thought Rob Davis had had a hand in the early KLF releases but am becoming increasingly convinced i have completely imagined this.

He did however definitely write several Saint Etienne songs.

and then there was the time Showaddywaddy supported Einsturzende Neubauten.....

I went into this thinking it would be some elaborate hoax, but apparently it's true.
There it is, 7 September 1987: http://www.fromthearchives.com/en/chronology1.html

I only know Showadaddy from one of those Hipgnosis album cover books, one of their records has an epic gatefold street scene thing going on

Showaddywaddy, whatever

x post Indeed! Stevo who ran their label at the time, Some Bizzare, was famed for coming up with mad ideas guaranteed to generate lots of press and all the music papers of the time of course lapped it up.

@ Alfred - No diss intended on Reddy! I also spent some time with her best-of a couple years back after my brother got obsessed with her for a minute. US #8 "Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady" is her stealth best earworm, I think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoaRbhlWji4

But she's absolutely perfect for this thread insofar as, post-"I Am Woman," she had five top ten hits, including two number ones, and I suspect none of them have been heard outside of Sirius specialty stations since, I don't know, the early 90s? She should be at least as well known as Captain & Tennille.

Wiki indicates that she transitioned more into a stage acting career, and she unsurprisingly did a ton of TV guest spots. There were abortive plans for her to have a sitcom in 1981, where she would star as a single mother living on Lake Tahoe. Maybe if Pete's Dragon had been better, or a bigger hit, she might have been more familiar to later generations as an on-screen presence... I bet should could have hosted a beloved 80s kids' musical program or something.

Rob Davis here at age 71 in the 2018 Xmas Celebrities edition of the BBC quiz show Pointless, along with other UK pop luminaries like Sonia and two-thirds of Bananarama: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXYzbbOx82Y

(his segment starts at 17:50)

Great clip. He's very humble. Who is the Larry David lookalike behind him?

Roger McGough of The Scaffold, who had the 1968 UK Xmas number one with "Lily the Pink" (which is the reason he's on there).

Thanks. i sense i will get sucked into watching the whole thing.

Interesting to me to see Showaddywaddy's approximation of 50s garb (updated drape coat and brothel creepers) vs. Sha Na Na's Brylcreem and black leather jackets a la Fonzie.

There was a Teddy Boy revival in the 70s

Yeah, I love Crazy Cavan. That white suit above looks like disco Teddy Boy though.

Seven of the top 50 and four of the next 50 held prominent places in my heart when I was aged 3-7 playing my parents singles on their aging Technics turntable. Billy Don't Be a Hero, Chick-a-Boom, Playground In My Mind, Spiders and Snakes, Cowboy's Work, Monster Mash (which shouldn't count, but does), and The Streak, plus Which Way You Goin' Billy, The Way We Were, My Girl Bill, and that version of The Lord's Prayer were all in their collection. So were The Joker, Won't Get Fooled Again, and Rocket Man, but they didn't make the impact of the Sonny & Cher tune, for example, which got my vote because I didn't think anyone else would care for it.

re: "monster mash," the spin counts used for this feature were collected over a seven-day period, so obviously the fact that the table on the link shows zero spins for the song reflects that the data collection was done over a non-halloween week

weirdly, in addition to being reissued in 1973 and becoming a big hit again, it had apparently seen a reissue in 1970, but that time only went to #91

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP1bg1R5XQc

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Went for "Tubular Bells" but actually probably think of the album rather than the single.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I'm pretty certain I never heard the single edit of "Tubular Bells" on my local stations (Hey, Geir.) And I always thought "Ben" was kind of barfy even back then. Otherwise all the other multiple vote getters are ace.

4 Helen Reddy hits / 0 votes

a Reddy reappraisal should start about now

Words get in the way: top two are instrumentals, #3 is essentially an instrumental, and #4 is close.