Why Did The Rolling Stones ' Shattered ' Do So Poorly As A Single?

I don't ever remember anything as hard rocking as Shattered cracking the top ten in the late 70s.
Top ten radio in late 70s NYC where I lived at the time was WABC AM. Shattered was more WPLJ FM type material for NYC in those days....That station was "New York's best rock"... Heard Shattered on there plenty.......WPLJ listeners were more album buyers...I bought a few singles because of being in a store and that was all I had enough money for.

 

Judging by the replies in this thread alone, I would say that this claim is pretty far from acurate

 

I wonder if anyone actually saw it at the time, though.

 

When it wasn't a big hit, Mick and Keith were shattered. In fact, Keith was so upset that he took a 45rpm of the single and shattered it against the wall.

 

I don't know anybody who was buying singles at that time anyway. I'm surprised any single sold well after the early 70s.

The last 'current' single I bought was in 1970.

Let it Be/You know my name, Look up the number

 

just being honest. The majority of the SG album is Mick’s attempt to go punk/disco, whatever. I realize it was a hugely successful album with the Miss You hit. I just never cared for it.

to end on a positive note - I absolutely love the final two songs (which are basically considered “Keith” songs) - Before They Make Me Run & Beast of Burden. Just beautiful those two are.

But Shattered? I don’t think so.

 

Thanks. Quite a number of people don't appear to understand that the phrase "but seriously" indicates that the previous remark was made in jest. Oh well.

 

This forum is hardly representative of top 40 listeners.
I was there when it came out. It didnt sound anything like the hits of the day. It was too raw for top 40, too tame to be new wave.
It's a great song, though. Feels fresh today.

 

Shattered is my favorite Stones song, but I'm not that much of a Stones fan.

 

It was certainly played more than once in the U.K. on Top of the Pops

 

Actually the production is complex with many layers of guitar...some of the production on Some Girls is almost Wall of Sound when it comes to the guitars on
Shattered, Whip and Respectable...layers of electric and pedal steel. Great headphone listening.

 

Yeah it was definitely not your typical Stones or for that matter late 70s rock...
perhaps a bit of Never Mind The Bullocks production with some glossy guitar.
Don't know which came first Some Girls or Bullocks...too lazy to google.

Bollocks came out in 1977
...Stones probably heard it.

 

Actually, NY's best rock was on WNEW-FM, but I digress.

 

I bought both Miss You and Shattered...
the single was hardly dead in 1978.

 

I never realized it had not done so well. Shattered was all over the radio when Some Girls was released. They performed it on Saturday Night Live. I still hear it all the time.

Great song.

 

Vin Scelsa!

 

They had a slew of excellent DJ's like Scelsa, Roscoe, Alison Steele, Scott Muni (whose Things From England show was something I always looked forward to), Pete Fornatele, Meg Griffin (the list goes on). All with different tastes and before the corporate overlords took over their personalities were all over their playlists.
Late sixties thru the seventies it was must hear radio.

 

there's always the 10% that will insist on a bad counterargument just to make their live more exciting


re-listened to the album yesterday, love the way Charlie bends the first 20 seconds of Whip, but there is lots of crap on that album.... still a few more albums to arrive that had legit hits on them

 

You last bought a single in 1970 so nobody else was buying them in the late 70s? Bizarre. Single sales were higher in the 70s and 80s (peak decade) than the 60s by quite a margin, 90s too probably.

 

I also remember for a short time (1979-80) WPIX FM in NY played quite a bit of punk/new wave. Living in Central NJ I would try to get it in but my receiver didn't always cooperate. Once in while I was able to......it was a revelation hearing it mixed in with standard FM rock.

 

Yup, the soundtrack of my youth. Can't forget Dennis Elsas either, the King of the segue. He's still "spinning" at WFUV:

Dennis Elsas | WFUV

Brownie points for anyone who remembers Muni's first "Perfect Album Side." No, it wasn't a Beatles LP.

 

Vinnie was a great story teller.

 

Are there soundchecks online for 70s-80s WNEW? I'd love to hear that old station again!

 

I think you've answered your own question here. With it being the third single release from 'Some Girls', most Stones fans already had the song. The laughably 'punk' video probably didn't help matters either. Good song though! One of my favourites off that album.

 

T Shirt and Razoo Kelley.