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Programming & Music
This essay, Bad Career Moves, But Great Singles, was written by Sean Ross for Radio-Info.com's Programming & Music column.
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Bad Career Moves, But Great Singles
Consider the pressure for an act preparing a first single from the new project that follows-up a smash album. Sometimes they walk in with an even more phenomenal song than their previous hits, and they move from stardom to superstardom (think Prince’s “When Doves Cry” or Pink’s “Get The Party Started”). But there are also a lot of ways to quickly derail your momentum at radio.
You can dig in your catalog for an older song and hope that your career momentum will make it a hit this time (Hootie & the Blowfish’s “Old Man & Me [When I Get To Heaven]”); Even better, you can dig in your catalog for an older song with a children’s chorus (Kings Of Leon’s “Radioactive”);
You can come back with a pale copy of a previous hit (the Knack’s “Baby Talks Dirty,” Men At Work’s “Overkill”);
You can keep coming back with singles that invite unfavorable comparisons to your previous hits (Bob Seger’s “American Storm,” which sounded like “Even Now,” which sounded like “Hollywood Nights”);
You can make a radical departure and try to show the audience that everything they liked you for before was wrong (Christina Aguilera’s “Dirrty,” for which she was eventually vindicated);
You can try to show the industry that you’re not just that shallow pop act who makes records that people like (George Michael’s “Praying For Time,” Human League’s “The Lebanon,” Paula Abdul’s “Spellbound” LP);
If you’ve pleasantly surprised the industry by showing people that you can go hard, this time you can come back gangsta (Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Gangsta”);
You can follow-up one of the most crowd-pleasing songs of all time with a first single about how the phony bastards in the industry can’t handle your new stardom (Joan Jett’s “Fake Friends”);You can release a self-lacerating rant about what a phony industry bastard you are (Elton John’s “Ego”);
You can remind people that you still rock, adding a lyric about rough sex as a bonus (Van Halen’s “Black & Blue”).
For the most part, the first singles that slow an act’s career momentum are just mediocre. Sometimes they become chart hits anyway, but the hit streak sputters out a single or two later (e.g., Boston’s “Don’t Look Back,” Stevie Wonder’s “Send One Your Love,” or New Kids on the Block’s “Step By Step”). Sometimes they’re not strong enough to derail a building backlash (Spice Girls’ “Spice Up Your Life,” Bobby Brown’s “Humpin’ Around,” or Killers’ “When You Were Young”).
And sometimes, the first singles that either derail or destroy an act’s radio momentum are pretty good. Sometimes, they’re too different from the previous album of crowd-pleasers, but they’re great on their own merit. Sometimes, they’re as bad as everybody thinks, but in a fascinating way. Occasionally, they’re even the uptempo, seemingly radio friendly first singles that no A&R person could have possibly objected to. It’s happened to Coldplay twice, now, with “Speed Of Sound” and “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall.”
Four years ago, when Kelly Clarkson derailed her own momentum for a while with “Never Again,” I came up with a chronology of “moment of truth” singles, where acts had to deliver the goods the second time out, and only sometimes did. Here are more than a dozen such songs that weren’t good career moves, but were actually good singles. Clarkson has now been back in the good graces of her label and radio for two projects now, and not all of these were actually “career suicide” either, but many at least slowed down an act’s radio momentum for a few years.
Sweet, "Action" (1976)–After“Ballroom Blitz”and“Fox On The Run,”listeners stopped caring whether they were a bubblegum act or a rock band. But, obviously, they still had something to prove. Instead of coming back with something fun, Sweet somehow stumbled on to speed metal a decade before Metallica.“Action”got out-of-the-box airplay and then roared to a halt, although I remember it doing better in Chicago than other places. Deserves major reconsideration now, just for being so ahead of its time. And a few years later, they reclaimed their place at both Top 40 and AOR with“Love Is Like Oxygen.”
Aerosmith, Draw The Line (1977) – They had an unusual relationship with pop radio at the time. Their first hit, “Dream On,” was a reissue of a three-year-old song. The kick-off single from their next album,“Last Child,” mid-charted. Then they had another Top 40 hit with a reissue, “Walk This Way.” “Draw The Line” was the next kick-off single, an unsparing rocker that ends in Steven Tyler’s most demented “screeching from the bottom of the throat” moment ever. Even at Rock radio, Aerosmith was about to be upstaged by Van Halen, even though this song wouldn’t have been out of place on the first Van Halen album. And the real squandered opportunity for Steven Tyler turned out to be “It Hurts So Good,” dismissed quickly by many as a rewrite of “Jaded.”
Fleetwood Mac, Tusk (1979) – It came out on the same day as the Eagles’ “Heartache Tonight,” which lacked the ambition of “Hotel California” but certainly sounded like a hit record and rode happily along on their career momentum. “Tusk,” on the other hand, came off as the ultimate celebrity self-indulgence, even before the marching band. It is often cited as the song that would have been most quickly exposed if monitored airplay had existed in 1979. Fleetwood Mac had another eight years of radio hits, but they were on a song-by-song basis from here on in. But only "Go Your Own Way" and "Second Hand News" rival it for visceral energy now. And I'd definitely hear it another 50 times before wanting to hear "Dreams" or "You Make Loving Fun" again.
Donna Summer, “The Wanderer” (1980) – With monitored airplay, this probably wouldn’t have been a top 10 single either. The artist who gave us “Hot Stuff” shouldn’t have had any problem moving beyond disco and rocking a little. Instead, her constituency wasn’t happy, and the “disco sucks” people weren’t fooled. But this song actually sustains for me now, as does much of “The Wanderer” album, which was an unsatisfying Donna Summer album for many people, but wasn’t a bad Pat Benatar album. Bee Gees, He’s A Liar (1981) – And speaking of bad in a fascinating way… The so-so singles from “Spirits Having Flown,” (“Too Much Heaven,” “Tragedy,” “Love You Inside Out”) had already sapped radio’s post-“Saturday Night Fever” enthusiasm a little. Then came the disco backlash and a two-year hiatus. When they came back with rock guitars blazing, a similar story line to Maroon 5’s “Wake Up Call,” and references to cocaine and leather, it was the last thing anybody wanted from them. The Gibbs would recover their hitmaking streak in the U.K. (“You Win Again”) but never here.
Bruce Springsteen, Brilliant Disguise (1987) – Springsteen had already tested radio’s enthusiasm with two live singles. And then, as Top 40 was veering toward rhythmic pop and hair bands, came the mournfulness of this departure from “Born In The U.S.A.” Radio played it, but not enthusiastically or for long, and by the time the “Tunnel Of Love” singles were exhausted, so was much of his radio goodwill. On the other hand, you can almost view this Springsteen as a folk/Americana artist who did well to get on the radio at all, and this as his equivalent of Steve Forbert’s “Romeo’s Tune” or Freedy Johnston’s “Bad Reputation.” And in New York, it still pops up on the radio occasionally.U2, “Desire” (1988) – Recently saluted in ROR’s “Radio’s Best & Worst,” this really good neo-garage single had the bad fortune to follow U2’s “The Joshua Tree” singles during a changing time in pop music. And “Rattle & Hum,” wasn’t really more than a hiccup in their career momentum. The real damage came from too many other radio-taunting first singles like “The Fly” (quickly forgotten when “Mysterious Ways” came out), “Numb” (which I alone love anyway), and “Discotheque.”
Bangles, “In Your Room” (1989) – It was a textbook “first single.” They brought in songwriting help. They were relentlessly uptempo. It was the most commercial possible distillation of what they were as an act. Again, there was grudging airplay. Again, it sounded kinda quaint next to “Funky Cold Medina” and “Straight Up.” Instead, the ballad, “Eternal Flame,” was the hit. And, as often happens when a band tries to give radio what it wants, and it doesn’t work, they broke up (for a while) afterwards. 
Bernadette Cooper, “I Look Good” (1990) – The former Klymaxx lead singer took the attitude of “The Men All Pause” and “Meeting In The Ladies Room” and upped the ante on her solo kick-off. Pop PDs probably never knew it existed. Urban PDs immediately tagged it as a career-destroying stiff—a not totally surprising response to a nearly five-minute epic that begins with the singer having herself interviewed on its way to a jazz piano break. Twenty-plus years later, this sort of self-referential/reverential irony is far more common and more easily understood/digested.
Lenny Kravitz, “Dig In” (2001), Pink, “Trouble” (2003) – Two more textbook first singles—bouncy, uptempo, melodic, guitar-driven. It’s just that the 16-year-olds of the “In The Club” and Simple Plan era didn’t read the textbook. In each case, I turned on the radio the weekend they came out and waited to hear them. And waited. “Dig In” also came out two weeks before 9/11, and while I always thought its uptempo message was especially right for the tough times that followed, PDs became even less interested. As for Pink, one had to wonder if her attempt to change producers/collaborators and rock a little somehow alienated herself from the label, just as Kelly Clarkson would a few years later.Vanessa Carlton, “White Houses” (2004) – I never personally felt the magic in “A Thousand Miles” or “Ordinary Day.” So if those were hits, a first single that was fun, uptempo, and a little provocative, courtesy of then-boyfriend Stephen Jenkins, should have been huge, right? Instead, I heard her premiere it live on WHTZ (Z100) New York, and never heard it again on the radio. Avril Lavigne, whose second project, released around the same time, was disappointing but much less challenging, would pull off a much smoother transition of the same sort on “Girlfriend,” perhaps wisely leaving off the Tori Amos-like vocal acrobatics.
Green Day, “Know Your Enemy” (2009) – In 1995, they had the whole world waiting for a real follow-up to “When I Come Around,” and they came back with… “Geek Stink Breath.” Of course, many of the new rock revolutionaries of the mid-’90s were giving radio an ultimatum that didn’t always work (Live’s “Lakini’s Juice,” Alanis Morissette’s “Thank U,” Counting Crows’ “Angels Of The Silences”). Even after “Time Of Your Life” revived their Top 40 career, Green Day was never shy about viewing the first single as a policy statement, rather than a potential hit. But in this case, the real setback was the dirge-y “21 Guns,” while there are those among us who would have liked to see what happened if this had at least been worked to Top 40. So what are your favorite career-destroying records? Please leave a comment.
About the Writer
Sean Ross, one of the radio and music industry’s most widely respected writers and programming analysts, is the author of the newsletter Ross On Radio, an extension of his long-running column of the same name.
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Not really a career destroyer, as they did rebound later with "Hey Baby". But No Doubt's "Ex-Girlfriend" was, for me, a real radio-tester. So much so that Pop radio didn't give it a chance and radio-friendlier follow-up "Simple Kind of Life" just went Top 30.
I'm not sure the Bee Gees could have released any song and had chart success in 1981. Although they definitely wrote some hits with the Bee Gees sound for others that did pretty well. Too bad about You Win Again though, that and For Whom The Bell Tolls were a couple great singles that never did well stateside. I remember seeing the latter on AC charts but I never actually heard it on the radio.
During my time at WUEV, the song that drew more phone calls of "Wow, who is that and what is the name of the song?!?" than any other during my tenure there was "Lovefool" by The Cardigans in the fall of 1996. I knew from the response (and my own gut reaction) that it was destined to become a hit. And sure enough it caught on with CHR big-time. Their follow-up single was "Been It" which, while a good song that I liked, didn't have the magic of "Lovefool" and didn't last long at CHR.
Jason Ray just nailed the Bee Gees song I'm going to mention: For Whom the Bells Toll. Sean--here's the dirty little secret. The LABELS play a very large role in how all of this plays out.In the 1990s--I can't tell you how many times a great song would be sent to me--but never promoted. The Bee Gees were screwed every time. I NEVER got a promotion call for the Bee Gees singles. I'd get FIVE copies sent to me--but no follow up promotion. I'd even ask the reps about their songs--and they'd say--literally--"Oh, never mind about them--what about so and so?" Of course--some labels were so focused on CHR--that it could be that the label(s) knew they were not going to get the Bee Gees on a revenue creating format--so why bother promoting their music to the one format that would have been still interested in playing them. Also--labels are BAD at picking hits. Day parting has killed many a great Rock record. best case in point: "Last Child" was BY FAR the biggest song Aerosmith ever had on Columbus radio. It was one of the Top 10 songs of 1976--but barely made the Top 25 Billboard Top 40 chart. Here are my favorite songs from1980 that should have been bigger hits: (Not necessarily career enders, but, worth noting) Vitamin L-B.E. Taylor Group (1984) Long Time Lovin' You-McGuffey Lane (This is a #1 Country Hit if anyone is ever smart enough to look at their early catalog) Wait For Me-Hall & Oates Train, Train-Blackfoot Clones-Alice Cooper (This was HUGE on WXIZ in Waverly, Ohio) Too Late-Journey Voices-Cheap Trick The First Time-Styx (Dennis DeYoung said that this song from Cornerstone was supposed to be the follow-up to Babe--but the band revolted and they went with the mid-chart Why Me followed by Borrowed Time at FIRST TIME--a potential #1 song was never issued as a single.) Remember (Walking in the Sand)-Aerosmith (Another dandy that was misunderstood) Flirtin' With Disaster-Molly Hatchet (Our most requested song in the spring of 1980 at WXIZ--didn't crack the Top 40 nationally) Rockin' into the Night-.38 Special (Another GREAT song that missed the Top 40 because of texture) What I Like About You-Romantics (Stiffed at #49...are you kidding me?) A lot of people forget that the mid chart stiff--When A Man Loves a Woman preceded the #1 The Rose from Bette Midler. Both Come Back and Love Stinks were better received songs than there chart positions suggested--especially LOVE STINKS. New Romance-Spider Here Comes My Girl and A Woman in KLove from Tom Petty were much better than their respective chart positions would suggest. Don't Push It, Don't Force It-Leon Hayward Time For Me to Fly-REO (Always much bigger than any chart position shows) Let's Go Round Again-AWB (Is one of the greatest dance/disco songs of all time--didn't get its due on the charts--but reigned in the clubs) --------------------------------------------------------- Gotta wrap this up. And the Hits Just Keep on Coming :-)
I think most everyone who lived through it will agree the biggest blunder of all time was PETER FRAMPTON's "I'm In You" complete with satin outfit on the cover following "Frampton Comes Alive". Of course, the Sgt. Pepper movie exacerbated this whole disaster. He is still one of the most remarkably talented artists of all time, but never recovered from the career damage.
Ricardo, I think "Ex-Girlfrend", the leadoff single from "Return Of Saturn", is a good example. Interestingly, several months ago I was surprised to see on yes.com that KIIS played that at least twice (granted one of those spins was at 4:56am). Even though No Doubt is from Orange County, I was still surprised to see that KIIS played what was considered a stiff at CHR from 11 years ago.
Two of the most notorious career killer singles that I recall took out two of the biggest women in pop almost simultaneously in late 1985. Olivia Newton John tried to out sexualize Madonna with single and LP "Soul Kiss" and its somewhat veiled double entendre about oral pleasure ("get down on my knees and thank you baby') turned most of her audience off. Even the image presented on the back album cover was too over the top with her topless draped in a scarf holding a riding crop.It scraped the top 20 on her brand value but her Top 40 radio career was over after this save a medley of hits from Grease despite releasing a few really good singles after this (see "The Rumour" from 1988, an Elton John/Bernie Taupin song that was sonically similar to John's then current single "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That" which radio ate up and got to #2 on the Hot 100.) Ironically, the song sounds pretty good today and is certainly tamer than a lot of currently playlisted hits. Diana Ross was coming off a great era with her prior album "Swept Away" which produced 3 top 20 pop singles including her tribute to Marvin Gaye "Missing You." For her follow up she turned to the hottest artist in the industry, Michael Jackson, in hopes of getting another "Muscles" sized hit from him but instead he gave her the career killer "Eaten Alive" which was supposed to be fresh and edgy but was really an incoherent lyrical mess with her vocal buried in the mix. Barry Gibb produced the album (and co-wrote the song with Jackson) and I'm sure the hope was Gibb could produce the same sales and magic for Diana he'd supplied Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers, and Dionne Warwick but that song was so off putting radio never gave her another shot. The LP's second single, "Chain Reaction," was a great throwback to Ross' Supremes era hits and probably would've gone all the way had it been the lead single since it was huge in almost every territory except the USA. It was a chart topper in the UK who forgave the prior misfire and kept her fairly consistently in their Top 40 for 13 years after this. After these faux paus, Top 40 radio whole heartedly embraced their replacements Whitney Houston (who used Ross' main ballad writer Michael Masser for her first few albums) and Madonna (after Madge proved she wouldn't be just a flash in the pan act wearing a boy toy belt) as core acts and put these gals out to pasture.
I think "Overkill" is Men At Work's finest single. "Who Can It Be Now?" & "Down Under" (not to mention the non-single radio & MTV hit, "Be Good Johnny") were all great but "Overkill" was deep. "Overkill" certainly wasn't a first listen tune. The song has a new life due to its use in an episode of "Scrubs".
Thanks to all for the great comments. Frampton's "I'm In You" definitely should have gone on the list of career-buzzkills, just not good ones. On the other hand, "I Can't Stand It No More," the next kickoff single, was pretty good, by then the damage was done. I also liked ONJ's "Soul Kiss," but I knew immediately that I was in the minority on that one, as well as Diana Ross' "Swept Away," which seemed like a smash, but was quickly forgotten in favor of "Missing You."
One more I forgot about until Chynna Phillips was on the news for getting the boot on DWTS. Wilson Phillips moved 5 million copies of their self titled debut and scored three numbers ones, a top five, and a top 15 from it on the Hot 100 utilizing a blend of the classic California harmonies & pop that made the girls parents groups so famous (Beach Boys & Mamas & The Papas) and an image of being the nice girls next door. Then came the second album "Shadows And Light" and first single "You Won't See Me Cry" which got a big opening promo blitz including a making of mini film that was shown in movie theaters. The overall shift to darker subject matter (child neglect, child abuse), some self indulgence about how hard it is to be rich and famous ("Goodbye Carmen" is about deportation of their Maid), and sexualizing their image (wearing negligees in the You Wont See Me Cry video) while simultaneously downplaying Carnie Wilsons weight gain to the point of almost totally cutting her out of videos caused a fatal disconnect with their core audience. (Both Wilson Phillips and Alanis Morrisette's first two CD's were produced by Glen Ballard but that's a conspiracy theory about sophmore slumps for another day) It's a shame because "You Won't See Me Cry" was a fine record and holds up well today (as do most of their singles) although its totally vanished off the airwaves.The second single "Give It Up" was the sunniest song that went back to the first album sound but barely made top 30 and the final single "Flesh And Blood" bombed out barely Bubbling Under the Hot 100 and they disbanded about 6 months later. Thanks to "Bridesmaids" use of "Hold On" and 90's nostalgia coming back around people are appreciating the band again and the girls are prepping a new album so who knows they might just have another comeback.
great article Sean....i remember in 1980 when Donna Summer's The Wanderer (she also had switched to Geffen),WPGC and Q107 in DC were IN ONE OF THE BEST RADIO BATTLES EVER....Q107..trying to maintain a more "rock"image..played the song and never said who it was.."Here's The Wanderer on MusicradioQ107!" in an effort to play down any 'disco' or "pop" reference..Q also did the same to Streisand's Guilty singles.
