jcs72
Full Member
Posts: 141
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Post by jcs72 on Mar 2, 2012 13:44:39 GMT -5
While "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John gets considerable airplay today, it only got as high as #41 on the Billboard charts when it came out in 1972. (So Casey in all likelihood never played it on his show!) It didn't do much better on the Adult Top 40 chart at #35.
How come it gets so much airplay despite the poor chartings?
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Post by dukelightning on Mar 2, 2012 15:41:32 GMT -5
One of my fave Elton songs, it also got airplay in 1972 when it was on the charts. I have wondered that same thing myself. The length of the song is on the long side but not any longer than other hits of that time like "Taxi". Elton was not quite established as a superstar at the time having hit top 10 once to that point. Not unlike the situation with Prince in 1982-83 who missed the top 40 with "1999" and then after establishing himself with "Little Red Corvette", he re-released it and it nearly made the top 10. Elton should have done that later in 1972 after his next 2 singles hit the top 10.
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Post by at40petebattistini on Mar 2, 2012 17:44:36 GMT -5
If somehow the AT40 staff would've misplaced the Billboard chart for the show dated April 8, 1972, and if they would've used the Cashbox chart instead, listeners would've heard "Tiny Dancer" at number 29.
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Post by dukelightning on Mar 2, 2012 18:13:52 GMT -5
Good point. "Tiny Dancer" which peaked at 29 is one of at least 4 songs on that chart which peaked at least 10 notches higher on Cashbox than Billboard, all of which I heard quite a bit back then. The others are "Runnin Away" peaked at 11, "No One to Depend On" peaked at 17 and "Glorybound" peaked at 22. Either the stations I listened to were on the Cashbox radio panel and not the Billboard radio panel or Billboard's chart methodology did not accurately reflect popularity of songs. If I was listening to AT40 back then, I would have been wondering where the heck is "Tiny Dancer".
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Post by bestmusicexpert on Mar 2, 2012 19:14:47 GMT -5
I LOVE RUNNIN AWAY!!!!! Glad it charted higher in other places!
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Post by mrjukebox on Mar 2, 2012 19:47:25 GMT -5
"Tiny Dancer" was featured on the soundtrack of Cameron Crowe's 2000 movie "Almost Famous".
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Post by jmorgan on Mar 2, 2012 20:31:38 GMT -5
It's also on the soundtrack to "My Girl 2".
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Post by tarobe on Mar 19, 2012 0:48:43 GMT -5
"Tiny Dancer" got considerably more airplay on album oriented FM stations and has, in fact, always been an FM radio staple. When oldies radio (most of which today is FM) began playing seventies material in the late twentienth/early twenty-first century, it simply carried along this song, along with "Your Song," "Levon," "Crocodile Rock," and others which were primarily AM hits in the seventies.
Elton was originally an underground album-oriented rock act from 1970-72. He scored only two big hits on AM Top 40 radio during this time, "Your Song" and "Levon." But on album-oriented rock stations, his albums, especially Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across the Water, were HUGE and tracks from them, like "Love Song," "Country Comforts," "Madman Across the Water" and "Tiny Dancer" were played heavily.
Honky Chateau in 1972 was a turning point. From here on until around 1977, Elton would be on both wavebands. His albums would continue to be spun heavily on AOR stations, making him one of the biggest rock stars, while his singles were mostly Top 10 hits, earning him a high place as a pop act.
After 1977, Elton took a great dive in popularity, but he continued to be played on both rock and pop stations for a time. I remember AOR stations in 1980 playing "Little Jeannie," which was also a big pop hit (#3 on AT40).
But after 1982 or so, Elton's place in rock radio quickly disappeared. He continued to be played on Top 40 stations throughout the 80's, but big hits like "I Guess That's Why They Call the Blues," "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" and "I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That" were never played on rock stations. This has continued to the present day. Today, far from a rock star, Elton John is known as a pop/adult contemporary artist.
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Post by michaelcasselman on Mar 19, 2012 8:32:28 GMT -5
Tiny Dancer also got a huge 'shout out' from it's usage on an episode of WKRP in Cincinatti, where it was featured as the song (IIRC) a Russian visitor took a particulat shine to, along with Bailey.
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Post by bestmusicexpert on Mar 19, 2012 14:52:10 GMT -5
Tarobe. We play Elton at WLLW, but I believe everything we have is Pre Captain Fantastic album. The A/C station plays alot from his whole career though...
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Post by tarobe on Mar 19, 2012 16:12:30 GMT -5
Yeah, oldies stations play a lot of Elton's songs from 1970 to about 1975 or so. I've heard "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" from 1976 too. But classic rock stations don't play him that much, at least around here (KY). "Tiny Dancer," "Rocket Man," and maybe "Candle in the Wind" and that's about it.
A far cry from the middle seventies. 1975 was probably Elton's high point. He started out with his remake of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." This was naturally spun on top 40 stations and played on album-oriented rock stations too, even though it was only available as single. Since AOR stations played album tracks and there was wasn't really any additional albums tracks to play, they played the flip side, "One Day at a Time."
Same thing with the next record, which was also a single-only release. "Philadelphia Freedom" was heavily played on top 40 pop radio. It was played on album-oriented rock stations, too, but not as much. Instead, AOR played it's rocking flipside, "I Saw Her Standing There" (a duet with John Lennon).
Then the Tommy soundtrack came out, featuring Elton's version of "Pinball Wizard." This immediately found heavy airplay on the album rock stations and, because it was released as a promo single, on top 40 stations as well. It was not released as commercial single, however, which accounts for its absence on the Hot 100.
Shortly thereafter, Elton's LP Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy was released. Album rock stations quickly played it to death, giving heavy airplay to songs like the title track, "(Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket" and 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight." The latter was issued as a single and was a big pop hit on top 40 radio as well.
Finally, in the fall came Rock of the Westies. It's lead off single, "Island Girl" was a monster hit on both rock and pop radio. Other tracks from the album which were heard on rock radio included 'Grow Some Funk of Your Own" and "I Feel Like a Bullet (in the Gun of Robert Ford)." These last two tracks would receive considerable top 40 airplay when they were released early the following year as a single.
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Post by bestmusicexpert on Mar 19, 2012 16:41:08 GMT -5
On WLLW we have: Your Song, Take Me To The Pilot, Country Comfort, Madman Across The Water, Tiny Dancer, Levon, Rocket Man, Honky Cat, Daniel, Crocodile Rock, Funeral For Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, Bennie & The Jets, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Grey Seal, All The Girls Love Alice, B*tch Is Back and Candle In The Wind.
We SHOULD have: The Cage, Burn Down The Mission, Hercules, Have Mercy On The Criminal, You're So Static, Meal Ticket, Better Off Dead, Lucy, Grow Some Funk Of Your Own, Bitter Fingers, Dirty Little Girl & Danny Bailey.
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Post by jimjterrell4210 on Jun 4, 2017 5:40:50 GMT -5
Sorry to bump this thread, but I have a question about "Tiny Dancer" myself.
I think a reason that "Tiny Dancer" failed to make the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 is because of its length (6:14). Does anyone else here think so, too? I think singles that reached the Top 40 have to be five minutes or less. If this hasn't already been asked before, What are some possible reasons that "Tiny Dancer" couldn't just be edited down to, say, four-and-a-half minutes so it would have a higher peak than just #41?
Also, according to its Wikipedia article, "Tiny Dancer" lacked a hook.
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Post by djjoe1960 on Jun 4, 2017 7:14:35 GMT -5
In 1968, two songs broke the 7 minute barrier, Hey Jude by the Beatles and MacArthur Park by Richard Harris, but then there was a backlash by a lot of radio stations indicating that they wouldn't play long songs (songs over 3-4 minutes) unless they were hits by established artists. There was a feeling that back in the early 1970's that shorter songs were better, since many big cities had up to 4 stations playing Top 40 hits and were fighting for the same advertising dollars. I guess that is why Tiny Dancer did better on Cash Box (#29) than on Billboard (#41)--since Cash Box was a sales based only chart (at the time) vs. the sales/airplay chart of Billboard.
Although one thing that is interesting is that Elton's next two hits (Rocket Man and Honky Cat) were both between 4 and 5 minutes and both reached the Top 10--I guess that helped make Elton an 'established' artist in the minds of the music and program directors of Top 40 radio.
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Post by dukelightning on Jun 4, 2017 7:27:21 GMT -5
And as a reminder because I posted this in the other thread the other day, "Tiny Dancer" is almost Elton's biggest hit in classic rock. Came in at 69 on the top 500 classic rock songs, only behind "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding in My Hand" at 59 among his songs. I heard Dancer on top 40 stations however when it was out in 1972. Do not recall if it was the whole song however. My memory is not that good!
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