Top 10 Hits That Missed the AT40 Year-End Chart!

[Josh Joel's Top 40]

Rolling Stones "Harlem Shuffle" 1986 #5 (13 weeks on the Hot 100)

Don Johnson "Heartbeat" 1986 #5 (15 weeks on the Hot 100)

[coldcardinal]

Michael Jackson's PYT hit #10 right on the border between 1983 and 1984 year-end eligibility but didn't make either countdown.

[larryravenswood]

How about Barry White's "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love,Babe..a no. 1 record..spent all weeks on chart in 1974 survey year and didn't make year end Top 100..I think the only song to accomplish that.

[Shannon Lynn]

John Lennon - Whatever Gets You Through The Night
Gordon Lightfoot - Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Abba - Fernando

[humbleheavy]

1971 Your Song -Elton John
1972 I need You -America
1973 Uneasy Rider - Charly Daniels Band
1974 Everlasting Love - Carl Carlton
1975 Emma - Hot Chocolate
1976 Happy Days - platte & McLean
1977 You Make Loving Fun - Fleetwood Mac
1978 We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again - England Dan
1979 - maybe no songs (Someone knows ?)

[Caseyfan4everRyanfanNever]

AT40 only broadcast a Top 50 for 1979 so there were lots of top ten songs that were not included. Three that come to mind include the #2 song "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge, "Gold by John Stewart which peaked at #5, "Love is the Answer" by England Dan and John Ford Coley which peaked at #10 and "Goodnight Tonight" by Wings which peaked at #5.

[mkarns]

Sept 15, 2009 2:25:42 GMT -5 Shannon Lynn said:

John Lennon - Whatever Gets You Through The Night
Gordon Lightfoot - Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Abba - Fernando

Not to be the annoying know-it-all kid in the classroom, but "Fernando" only hit #13.

I'd add Steve Miller's "Rock'n Me", which was a #1 hit in the same month that Gordon Lightfoot's "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" reached #2 (November 1976), but neither made either the 1976 or 1977 AT40 yearend countdown.

[briguy52748]

As I've noticed through years of listening to "American Country Countdown," songs that peaked in the latter part of November or in December were sometimes not included in that year's year-end countdown show. As was most often the case, those late-year chart toppers and accompanying top 10 hits were held over to the following year.

Still, there were a few country No. 1's that never made a year-end ACC survey. Coming immediately to mind: "I'm in a Hurry (and Don't Know Why)" by Alabama, and "I Cross My Heart" by George Strait, both No. 1s from the late fall of 1992, and were on neither the 1992 or 1993 year-end countdown. The 1992 ACC year-end countdown ended with "No One Else on Earth" by Wynonna Judd (the four-week chart topper from Halloween), and the 1993 recap show skipped ahead to Christmastime 1992, considering Alan Jackson's "She's Got the Rhythm (and I've Got the Blues)" its oldest No. 1 in the show.

Many years during the 1980s, there were more than 100 top 10 hits on the Hot Country Singles chart in a given survey period, making it impossible to include every song in a seven-hour show; it was tough enough to play 100 songs, given Bob Kingsley's tight formatting of those year-end shows during his era. Remember, the 1980s was an era where there were around 50 chart-toppers in a year, the range being from 43 (in 1980) to 51 (in 1985 and 1986). So generally, a song had to have peaked at No. 5 to make it in the year-end countdown, and at least once that I can think of, that wasn't enough — 1984's "Attitude Adjustment" by Hank Williams Jr. (Hank's comic(?) take on domestic abuse). And while a few songs which stopped at No. 9 or 10 made it in, the lowest peak as a rule was No. 7. (Also important to note: ACC compiled its own year-end survey during all 10 years of the 1980s).

Looking at the 1974 year-end ACC survey that I found on ebay (that year's show apparently was based exactly on Billboard's year-end Hot Country Singles chart), my guess is that at least five No. 1 songs — "I Overlooked an Orchid" by Mickey Gilley, "Love is Like a Butterfly" by Dolly Parton, "Country Is" by Tom T. Hall, "Trouble in Paradise" by Loretta Lynn and "Back Home Again" by John Denver — were never included in an ACC year-end top 100 countdown, for either 1974 or 1975 (because they all went No. 1 in November 1974).

I haven't seen a 1975 ACC year-end top 100 countdown cue sheet. But based on what was printed in Billboard's year-end issue, the oldest No. 1 song in the top 50 was "I Can Help" by Billy Swan, from December 1974; the newest was Tanya Tucker's "San Antonio Stroll," which topped the chart in late October.

Hope this lends some insight on how it worked on the country end. While there were often favorite country songs that some probably thought deserved a top 100 year-end placement on ACC, it worked just the same as AT40 and the Hot 100.

[briguy52748]

As far as the pop charts go, probably the most famous No. 1 song that missed a year-end survey (during the AT40 era) I can think of is the Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You" (from November 1970), which made neither the 1970 nor 1971 year-end shows.

By the same token, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles' "Tears of a Clown" (from December 1970) also never made an AT40 year-end show, either.

From the end of 1971, I don't recall seeing Issac Hayes' "Shaft" or Sly and the Family Stone's "Family Affair" on either the 1971 or 1972 year-end shows. And from late 1972, songs missing in action on both the 1972 and 1973 year-end AT40s were "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" by the Temptations and Helen Reddy's feminist anthem "I Am Woman."

Remembering that the 1973 year-end AT40 only had 40 songs, it was possible that "Photograph" by Ringo Starr may have been included had there been 100 songs, but this "as-close-to-a-vintage-Beatles-song-as-you'll-get song (listen to the harmonies) was certainly not heard on the 1974 show. Also not heard on AT40's year-end show from 1973 — but certainly was on Billboard's year-end top 100 that year — was George Harrison's "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)." Interesting that neither George nor Ringo ever got to take their place in a most successful year for ex-Bealtes ... but Paul did — and only once at that, as his No. 2 song, the Bond theme "Live and Let Die," didn't make the top 40 that year.

From late 1974, "You Haven't Done Nothin'" by Stevie Wonder and "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" by John Lennon were not among the year's top 100 hits in either 1974 and 1975. Interestingly, the song that came between those two songs reaching No. 1 — Bachman Turner Overdrive's "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" — was on the 1975 year-end survey (at No. 97).

I think all of the No. 1 songs were accounted for in a year-end countdown for 1976, 1977 and 1978 ... which leads to 1979, where I see that two songs were not heard on that year's Top 50 countdown, although they did make Billboard's year-end Top 100 and would have been heard had there been a top 100 countdown that year: Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and Herb Alpert's "Rise." The 1980 countdown would start with M's "Pop Muzik," and it goes from there ...

Brian

[dougray2]

Rock N Me by Steve Miller was not included in the 76 or 77 coutdown. It was #1 on Nv 6, 1976. Otherwise all chart toppers from 76 to 78 were included. In 79, Rise was #80 and Don't Stop Till You Get Enough was #91, but they were not played on the AT40 countdown because they only did the top 50.

[vto66]

From 1983: Musical Youth's "Pass The Dutchie" (No. 10)
From 1980: Jimmy Ruffin's "Hold On To My Love" (No. 10)

[vince]

Here's another one from 1976, "Magic Man" - Heart.

Although "Theme From Shaft" and "Family Affair" were not on AT40's Year End (YE) shows, "Shaft" was on Billboard's YE charts at #89 in 1971 and " Family Affair" at #80 in 1972.

"Start Me Up" - Rolling Stones did not make BB's YE chart for either 1981 or 1982, but was #21 on AT40's 1981 YE chart.

Going back before AT40 to perhaps the biggest hit not to make a YE countdown, "Big Girls Don't Cry" - Four Seasons was #1 for 5 weeks beginning in November 1962 and didn't make either the 1962 or 1963 YE charts.

[Caseyfan4everRyanfanNever]

However, AT40 recognized its mistake in some manner by ranking "Family Affair" at #50 in its Top 50 of the 1970s show.

Songs peaking at the end or beginning of a survey period have either been at what I consider a strong advantage or strong disadvantage. Sometimes the chart statistician will assign extra points for songs that peak during the week or two at the end of the year to compensate for a lack of chart, either include chart points for weeks outside the survey period or not, or estimate future points for songs that are still on the chart at the very moment that the year end chart is published. As a result, songs that peak high may either rank real high (often the #1 songs of the years in the late 1980s were those that straddle chart periods) or not at all (as noted by the existence of top 10 and even #1 songs that don't make either year end chart).

[coldcardinal]

^
Indeed, it's almost 2 separate questions: which songs got caught in the wedge between survey periods? And, less commonly, which songs hit the top 10 but didn't accumulate enough points on their full chart run to make a 100-song countdown? The latter would include Pass the Dutchie, Harlem Shuffle, and Heartbeat, as well as a few others listed above. Pass the Dutchie is perhaps the most surprising, since 1983 was a slow-turnover year and thus the year-end countdown included several songs that didn't hit the top 10.

[mkarns]

Others not yet mentioned from the 1980s: (Note- some of these were hits late in the calendar year and so could have made one of two year end charts, but didn't appear on any)

1980- One In a Million You (Larry Graham)

1985- The Old Man Down the Road (John Fogerty)
High On You (Survivor)
I'm Goin' Down (Bruce Springsteen)
Lovin' Every Minute of It (Loverboy)
The Goonies 'R' Good Enough (Cyndi Lauper)
Invincible (Pat Benatar)
Get It On (Power Station)

1986- This Could Be the Night (Loverboy)
Opportunities (Pet Shop Boys)
Modern Woman (Billy Joel)
A Matter of Trust (Billy Joel)
War (Bruce Springsteen)
My Hometown (Bruce Springsteen)
Love Zone (Billy Ocean)
The Edge of Heaven (Wham!)
The Rain (Oran "Juice" Jones)

1987- We're Ready (Boston)
The Final Countdown (Europe)
It's Not Over (Til It's Over) (Starship)
I Know What I Like (Huey Lewis & the News)
The One I Love (REM)
Stone Love (Kool & the Gang)
Wot's It To Ya (Robbie Nevil)
Paper In Fire (John Cougar Mellencamp)
One Heartbeat (Smokey Robinson)
Talk Dirty to Me (Poison)

1988- Love Will Save the Day (Whitney Houston)
Hysteria (Def Leppard)
I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man (Prince)
Alphabet St. (Prince)
Rush Hour (Jane Wiedlin)
Some Kind of Lover (Jody Watley)
Two Occasions (The Deele)
It Would Take a Strong, Strong Man (Rick Astley)
I Saw Him Standing There (Tiffany)
Tunnel of Love (Bruce Springsteen)
Please Don't Go, Girl (New Kids on the Block)

1989- Walk the Dinosaur (Was (Not Was))
Superwoman (Karyn White)
Where Are You Now? (Jimmy Harnan/Synch)
One (Bee Gees)
Kisses On the Wind (Nenah Cherry)
Friends (Jody Watley)
I Drove All Night (Cyndi Lauper)
You're Not Alone (Chicago)
Your Mama Don't Dance (Poison)
Didn't I (Blow Your Mind) (New Kids on the Block)
Don't Tell Me Lies (Breathe)
When I Looked at Him (Expose)
Mixed Emotions (Rolling Stones)

For whatever reason, the late 1980s were a time of rather high chart turnover, so there are a lot of #9s and #10s, and some that went higher, that didn't make the yearend top 100 due in part to fast, short chart runs. And I'm sure I missed quite a few.