Singles with huge potential that failed to chart high due to unfortunate circumstances

I agree that Kylie would've had to play some sort of package show or play smaller venues - she wouldn't have been able to play anything bigger than clubs on her own, I don't think.

But if she'd gone that route, I still think it might've helped with exposure and eventual success. It was like she didn't even try to have a US career - promotion seemed to be non-existent.

BTW, I went to the "Aphrodite" show as well and was less impressed - honestly, I barely remember the show! I think it was enjoyable enough but not something that stuck with me, obviously...

 

The talk about Kylie reminds me of the more extreme case of her one-time duet partner Robbie Williams. The biggest recording star of the 1990s in the U. K. released in 1997 "Angels," a major European hit that won the BRIT Award for best song of the past 25 years. It arrived Stateside with a big flourish and some attention from the trades as well as a write-up in Entertainment Weekly announcing Williams as Elton's successor. It got major rotation on VH-1, yet all that and it only reached #53 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Robbie's been up and down in Europe since, with his last U. K. hit being "Candy" in 2012, but never has managed anything in the U. S. since "Angels" tanked.

 

Another one I just thought of is "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin" by Jermaine Jackson & Michael Jackson. I think I remember hearing that Michael's label Epic wouldn't grant Jermaine's label Arista permission. I'm sure that song would have been Top 10, at least.

 

I don't suppose it was at all attributable to the record being absolute crud? We had Bowie, Roxy Music and the rest of glam rock going strong. Philly soul and disco in the U.S. were huge. Zavaroni was never really going to be much more than a localised novelty act. I don't think America needed a Shirley Temple tribute act just then. I'm also not sure where you get the theory that America has some aversion to child performers when many of the Osmonds and Jacksons were kids in 1974 (and then there's little Shirley herself).
Zavaroni's career was beset by personal problems and crass mismanagement by people who really were clueless about the way things were going in pop music. Who on earth came up with the idea to put out a Vaudeville song on the Stax record label?? Her story makes for sad reading.

 

A number of reasons kept this from charting higher.

- Lack of promotion due to unstable mental state.
- Cam'Ron's "Oh Boy" released earlier that year and charted #4 on the hot 100.
- It was a last minute single choice.

 

I was going to add that "I Should Be So Lucky" was a pretty big US hit, but on checking Wikipedia I see it only got to #28. I'm very surprised to learn that: it was huge in New England.


Pat Boone usurped a lot of R&B classics for the pop charts, but for my money the biggest injustice of all was the Flamingos' "I'll Be Home" (which might - there's no proof for or against - have inspired the Beatles' "P.S. I Love You"). If his whitewashed version hadn't become the hit, I don't see how the original could fail to be as revered as "In the Still of the nite" or "Sixteen Candles" today. As it is, only doo-wop fanatics like myself remember it. Which is tragic.

 

Likely the only reason Mariah had such a career is Mattola. He did whatever it took to keep her at the top. She has (had?) a good voice and a certain type of good looks, but so do a lot of other girls. But the rest of them don't have the uninterrupted support of the boss of the biggest label in the world.

When Mattola and Carey had their falling out, it hurt her career. But that she had that kind of career in the first place is very probably because of Mattola.

 

And Angels is a great pop song that should have translated to stateside success. That said, Williams was a grade A a-wipe to work with, and that probably didn't help anything.

 

It was instantly dated songs like this that killed her career. She had too much talent for this foolishness--but sadly this style ended up defining her.

 

"Teach Your Children" - CSNY. Was on the charts and rising when "Ohio" was rush released after the Kent State shootings. I believe "Teach..." still went Top 20 so maybe it doesn't qualify here.

"Eight Miles High" - Byrds. I've always heard that this song was banned from airplay due to drug references but it still reached #14. Once again, maybe it doesn't qualify since it still charted pretty high (pardon the pun).

"Somewhere in The Night" - Batdorf & Rodney. I've heard that Jeff Wald, Helen Reddy's husband & manager at the time, wanted radio stations to play his wife's version of the song, which was released at the same time, instead of Batdorf & Rodney's. B & R is the much better version, IMO, and should have been a hit, but supposedly the stations caved in. May just be urban legend but B & R only got to #69 and Reddy went Top 40.

 

It was banned by many radio stations because of the alleged drug reference, even though eight miles high is about the height of an orbit and the US was launching people into orbit quite a bit in those days.

 

Considering the fact that he cannot stand Mattola, I wouldn't be surprised if the failure of Billy Joel's singles from "River Of Dreams" had something to do with it. Other than the title track which almost got to #1, none of the singles made a huge dent. Unsurprisingly, it was released at the same time as...you guessed it.. Mariah Carey's 'Music Box".

 

The Figgs-Low Fi At Society High

John Waite-Temple Bar and its single "How Did I Get By Without You", which only got to #89.

Aimee Mann-Whatever

All three were victims of the failure of Imago Records, which lost its distribution deal with BMG in 1994.

 

...and of course it eventually was a smash when Tracy Ullman covered it, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Which meant that Tracy Kirsty got the songwriting royalties from the single and album, and even more when Tracy used it as her theme song. I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating to let people know what kind of person Kirsty was; she introduced the song when we saw her at Chicago's Double Door bar by shouting "GOD BLESS TRACY ULLMAN!"

I miss Kirsty more deeply than I do anyone apart from my parents.

 

You mean Kirsty got the songwriters royalties.

 

Oops, my mistake. Yes, Kirsty got the songwriter's royalties. Sorry, I spent last night on a bus and didn't get much sleep.

 

She's a talented song-writer,has the voice of an angel and beauty many girls would die for.
She deserved and earned her success.

Let's not even get started on songs like "Touch My Body","Shake it Off","Obsessed",etc.

 

Yes, but the bloom was off the rose by then..

 

That's a better sleeve than the cheap looking original.

 

Going back to Olivia again. She's often said that when she had her first hits she was advised to move to America and tour it constantly. This she did, but I think luck was a factor too. Plenty of better singers than ONJ have fallen at the wayside even though they may have worked just as hard.

Cliff Richard had a run of US hits and was it was also suggested that he move there and tour, but he didn't want to.

 

What about Kylie for your next 'career overhaul'? Very varied (and large) catalogue. You might get a kick out of some of her stuff. The song mentioned above, Confide In Me, is a good one to have a listen too.

 

This is pretty much what she said in an article I read a few years ago. She figured that since she was wildly successful everywhere else, it wasn't worth risking that to put in the level of time and effort needed to try and crack the US.

 

Plain sexism. That's all... What happened was nothing... The humour overseas was less about the incident itself but about the bizarre, antiquated reaction afterwards. Where was Jon Stewart them??

 

Unfortunately, acts who don't crack America are still thought of as having not really made it.. Kylie, like Robbie Williams, has had immense worldwide success. I'm sure she's happy with her lot.

 

Why did "The Rumour" tank for ONJ in 1988? Did the record company not push it hard enough, or did her time just pass?