Two Forgotten Friday Favorites

I'm starting a new recurring feature on Go Retro: Two Forgotten Friday Favorites. Every Friday, I'll choose two songs that never seem to get played on the radio anymore. They may be lesser known hits from a well-known artist, or two songs from a performer who is long forgotten.

The reason for these posts is because I've noticed oldies radio stations becoming more and more insular. It seems they just concentrate on post-Beatles music and only then the very top hits of a musician. There are so many great songs I used to hear played on the radio and I'm amazed at how narrow the playlists are becoming. Recently I requested to hear Neil Diamond's Yesterday Songs for a favorite oldies station's request hour, and was told that the station manager didn't have that song in the station playlist. What gives? Maybe it wasn't a major hit, but I'm pretty sure it at least charted. Yeah, I realize I could probably hear a lot more stuff by subscribing to Sirius or XM radio but I don't want to pay for it. Radio should be free.

So without further delay, today's Forgotten Friday Favorites are by Elton John. I always hear his slower tempo, piano based ballads - Your Song, Tiny Dancer, Candle in the Wind, etc. on the radio. Nothing wrong with that, but it's his livelier hits, particularly from the 80s that I love so much. Here are two I haven't heard in eons, Who Wears These Shoes and I'm Still Standing (the ultimate screw you song!) The videos are also 80s awesomeness at their best. If you're a fan of Dancing With the Stars, keep your eyes peeled for judge Bruno Tonioli in the I'm Still Standing video.



7 comments:

  1. Can't say I remember the first one...second yes. But Elton's "In Neon" is my favorite of that era...

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  2. Great idea!!!! I am always a fan of the more obscure hits.The stuff that gets overplayed on the radio is so lame!

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  3. Definitely know the second one - and play it often on my iPod, but I can't say I remember the first one!

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  4. I was just thinking about how tired I am of hearing the same songs and wishing that they'd play other hits by artists. When I listen to Saturday Night 70's I sometimes hear songs that I'm not familiar with by artists that I like and am glad that this station plays them. I wish they'd play a wider variety on the Saturday Night 80's on my other station - I don't listen to that much anymore because it gets boring because of this.

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  5. "That's Why They Call It The Blues" Love the harmonica in that song and wish more pop artists would use it. Did that statement just make me a total dork?

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  6. Anonymous - you're not a dork. I miss hearing harmonicas (and saxophones!) in modern music. And That's Why They Call It The Blues is another favorite Elton tune of mine.

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  7. If I hear "More than a Feeling" one more time I'm going to vomit. Would it kill these radio stations to branch out a little? I mean, it's better than Nickelback.... but, then, anything is better than Nickelback.

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