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Post by moorlock2003 on Mar 14, 2019 10:38:35 GMT
One of the band's most loved hits, "Long Dark Road", had its best showing on the Canadian charts, where it got to No. 5. I love discovering chart positions I wasn't aware of previously.
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Post by stuball on Mar 14, 2019 14:43:11 GMT
Moorlock, I'm not sure what chart that #5 position was on, but I'd take that with a grain of salt. As a huge Hollies fan back at that time, I never once heard 'Long Dark Road' played on Canadian AM radio back in the day. (And boy, was I listening for it!). I had bought a copy from my local record store and was watching and listening to top 40 radio and checking the charts, and the highest position I saw it at was at #43, bubbling just under the Top 40. I did hear 'Long Dark Road' on the radio a couple of times, but that was on US FM stations located close to to the Canadian border.
By spring of '73, I remember going to a big department store and seeing dozens of copies of 'Long Dark Road' for sale cheap, in the junk bin with dozens of other flop 45s. I picked up a spare copy that day! It appeared to me Epic was expecting 'Long Dark Road' to be a big follow-up hit to 'Long Cool Woman', and although it did make some noise, (#26 stateside and as I've said, #43 in Canada), that #5 position looks very suspect.
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Post by allanangel on Mar 14, 2019 16:16:58 GMT
Moorlock, I'm not sure what chart that #5 position was on, but I'd take that with a grain of salt. As a huge Hollies fan back at that time, I never once heard 'Long Dark Road' played on Canadian AM radio back in the day. (And boy, was I listening for it!). I had bought a copy from my local record store and was watching and listening to top 40 radio and checking the charts, and the highest position I saw it at was at #43, bubbling just under the Top 40. I did hear 'Long Dark Road' on the radio a couple of times, but that was on US FM stations located close to to the Canadian border. By spring of '73, I remember going to a big department store and seeing dozens of copies of 'Long Dark Road' for sale cheap, in the junk bin with dozens of other flop 45s. I picked up a spare copy that day! It appeared to me Epic was expecting 'Long Dark Road' to be a big follow-up hit to 'Long Cool Woman', and although it did make some noise, (#29 stateside and as I've said, #43 in Canada), that #5 position looks very suspect. I don't remember hearing it, either. Music was a big part of our house and I remember a lot of Hollies' songs, but not Long Dark Road. Radio stations 1050 CHUM out of Toronto and WGR 55 (with Shane) out of New York were the favourites.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2019 18:44:11 GMT
'Long Dark Road' certainly isn't one of The Hollies' "most loved hits" in their homeland. 'Find Me A Family' is probably far more recognizable, thanks to millions of people hearing the song throughout three series of 'Find A Family' during 1989-1991. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Find_a_Family
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Post by stuball on Mar 16, 2019 15:27:19 GMT
'Long Dark Road' certainly isn't one of The Hollies' "most loved hits" in their homeland. 'Find Me A Family' is probably far more recognizable, thanks to millions of people hearing the song throughout three series of 'Find A Family' during 1989-1991. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Find_a_FamilyI picked up a copy of 'Find Me A Family' while visiting England back in '90. I believe it actually made the lower end of the charts there. Number 79, if memory serves. Not a bad record at all. I suppose if you can't have a Top 20 hit, the next best thing is a theme song for a series that runs over three seasons. At least your tune receives enough airplay to worm its way into the public consciousness.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2019 22:20:00 GMT
As you say, not a bad record at all, and with it being both a regularly-heard TV theme tune AND the follow-up to the No. 1 reissue of 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother', I was very surprised at the time that it wasn't a bigger hit. Did the band performed it much in concert? I'm sure someone here can tell us.
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Post by moorlock2003 on Mar 29, 2019 19:22:33 GMT
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Post by stuball on Mar 29, 2019 23:07:47 GMT
Don't know what they were smoking in Chicago back in early '73, but Long Dark Road was not a hit in Canada. It struggled to the edge of the Canadian Top 40 and then fell away. However, the rest of that list, Canada's Super Hits', were all major hits up here. So at least they got that bit right. Always fun to look over old charts. Thanks for posting.
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Post by moorlock2003 on Mar 30, 2019 8:11:06 GMT
The proof is in black and white, or black and blue in this case. They got it right all right, and I'm sure whatever they were smoking added to the fun. Hard luck to those who resided in countries where "Long Dark Road" wasn't released as a single. Yes, it is one of the band's most beloved tracks, symbolizing the impending split between Clarke and the rest of the band. ("It's over, well over, and we can't revive what's past"). I remember hearing it on the radio here in Los Angeles. The European issues (Holland, Germany) and the Mexican Capitol 45 were the full-length version. There also was a Singapore "Long Dark Road" EP with 3 other tracks from "Distant Light". US Epic unfortunately edited it to 3:25, omitting the vocal climax, the whole point of the song. Imagine "Hey Jude" without its extended ending. I've always felt if a better edit had been done (or no edit at all) the song would have risen higher on the charts. Epic had a habit of making edited versions of songs, some good (the radio edit of Argent's "Hold Your Head Up", at 2:52, is the definitive version) and some not so good ("Long Dark Road").
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Post by stuball on Mar 30, 2019 16:48:12 GMT
Thought I'd do a little digging on Canadian hit singles and came across the old RPM charts, which was Canada's bible of record rankings, similar to Billboard or Cashbox. It turns out that 'Long Dark Road', which Moorlock's chart showed at a fabulous #5 position, and which I presumed had peaked just short of the top 40, were both well off the mark. Actually, if you take our two numbers and average them, you just about hit the correct position: a respectable #24 for LDR on December 23/72.
Also of some interest, was the follow-up 'Magic Woman Touch'. It reached #56 in the spring of '73. I believe it did similar stateside at #60.
And probably of lesser interest, but against the odds considering The Hollies declining late '70's fortunes, 'Draggin' My Heels' reached # 29 on the RPM Adult Contemporary charts on October 8/77. Unlike 'Long Dark Road', which I never heard played on Canadian radio, 'Draggin' was in heavy rotation in my neck of the woods. And it was spun continuously for about a year. Some local programmer must have been madly in love with that tune!
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Post by moorlock2003 on Mar 30, 2019 16:59:14 GMT
Thought I'd do a little digging on Canadian hit singles and came across the old RPM charts, which was Canada's bible of record rankings, similar to Billboard or Cashbox. It turns out that 'Long Dark Road', which Moorlock's chart showed at a fabulous #5 position, and which I presumed had peaked just short of the top 40, were both well off the mark. Actually, if you take our two numbers and average them, you just about hit the correct position: a respectable #24 for LDR on December 23/72. Also of some interest, was the follow-up 'Magic Woman Touch'. It reached #56 in the spring of '73. I believe it did similar stateside at #60. And probably of lesser interest, but against the odds considering The Hollies declining late '70's fortunes, 'Draggin' My Heels' reached # 29 on the RPM Adult Contemporary charts on October 8/77. Unlike 'Long Dark Road', which I never heard played on Canadian radio, 'Draggin' was in heavy rotation in my neck of the woods. And it was spun continuously for about a year. Some local programmer must have been madly in love with that tune! I've always dug "Draggin' My Heels" and consider it one of the band's hits, even if it didn't make the Top 100 pop chart. It got club play back in those disco days. Thanks for the AC chart info. Both "Stop in the name of love" and "Someone else's eyes" made the Adult Contemporary chart also. I have a chart buried somewhere in my belongings showing "Long Dark Road" at No. 7 in one US city (I can't recall which). "Magic Woman Touch" peaked at No. 43 on the Cashbox chart.
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Post by rokinrobinoflocksley on Apr 1, 2019 14:17:58 GMT
Yall need to login to the ARSA website, the Airheads Radio Survey Archive. Weekly Top 40 charts from radio stations all across the US and a few other countries, from the 50s to the 80s. Here:
Once you setup a login, you get a lot more access to artists, songs, charts, radio stations, yada yada.
As for Long Dark Road, so far on ARSA it has appeared on 202 weekly charts, peaking at: --#9 at WTAC Flint, Michigan --#5 at WFSO St. Petersburg, Florida --#10 at WFMJ Youngstown, Ohio --#4 at KISD Sioux Falls, South Dakota --#7 at WDGY Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota --#17 at WLLL Lynchburg, Virginia (my home town at the time) A lotta love for Long Dark Road all across the US, even though it only "nationally averaged" peaked at #24 on Cash Box & Record World, #26 on Billboard.
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Post by stuball on Apr 2, 2019 13:18:26 GMT
Yall need to login to the ARSA website, the Airheads Radio Survey Archive. Weekly Top 40 charts from radio stations all across the US and a few other countries, from the 50s to the 80s. Here:
Once you setup a login, you get a lot more access to artists, songs, charts, radio stations, yada yada.
As for Long Dark Road, so far on ARSA it has appeared on 202 weekly charts, peaking at: --#9 at WTAC Flint, Michigan --#5 at WFSO St. Petersburg, Florida --#10 at WFMJ Youngstown, Ohio --#4 at KISD Sioux Falls, South Dakota --#7 at WDGY Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota --#17 at WLLL Lynchburg, Virginia (my home town at the time) A lotta love for Long Dark Road all across the US, even though it only "nationally averaged" peaked at #24 on Cash Box & Record World, #26 on Billboard. Thank for that info! Looks to me that if your record didn't break big in the major markets (New York, Chicago, L.A. etc.), your chances of scoring a Top 10 National hit are remote to none. That's a shame re 'Long Dark Road' as it was a great tune from the group.
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Post by stuball on Apr 2, 2019 13:36:59 GMT
I've always dug "Draggin' My Heels" and consider it one of the band's hits, even if it didn't make the Top 100 pop chart. It got club play back in those disco days. Yes, believe it or not, I actually heard 'Draggin' My Heels' played at a disco back in 1978. It seemed surreal to hear that Hollies minor hit played among all the endless thumping dreck, while surrounded by people, packed like sardines squirming about on the dance floor. It took me a few seconds to recognize the song, and then when I did, for a few seconds I thought I was hallucinating. When we sat down, my girl leaned over and said to me, " Bet you never thought you'd hear The Hollies at a disco, eh?" She had that right!
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Post by moorlock2003 on Apr 3, 2019 2:13:49 GMT
I know! It was peculiar for me to hear The Hollies in that setting too. I always felt the song was more "jazz" than disco, but whatever you want to call it, it's one of their better late 70s moments.
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Post by moorlock2003 on Apr 3, 2019 2:21:49 GMT
Yall need to login to the ARSA website, the Airheads Radio Survey Archive. Weekly Top 40 charts from radio stations all across the US and a few other countries, from the 50s to the 80s. Here:
Once you setup a login, you get a lot more access to artists, songs, charts, radio stations, yada yada.
As for Long Dark Road, so far on ARSA it has appeared on 202 weekly charts, peaking at: --#9 at WTAC Flint, Michigan --#5 at WFSO St. Petersburg, Florida --#10 at WFMJ Youngstown, Ohio --#4 at KISD Sioux Falls, South Dakota --#7 at WDGY Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota --#17 at WLLL Lynchburg, Virginia (my home town at the time) A lotta love for Long Dark Road all across the US, even though it only "nationally averaged" peaked at #24 on Cash Box & Record World, #26 on Billboard. Good. Now I don't have to keep buying record surveys!
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Post by anthony on Apr 3, 2019 4:12:07 GMT
Did you know if Magic Woman Touch made it to the charts here in Oz, I remember it being played on the radio all the time?
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Post by eric on Apr 3, 2019 10:04:51 GMT
“Magic Woman Touch” entered the Adelaide chart on 8 December 1972 and stayed there for 9 weeks, peaking at #12. It also entered the Sydney chart on the same day, however, despite spending 12 weeks on that chart, it only managed to rise to #30. I don’t know how it fared in the other Aussie cities.
As the larger Sydney market significantly influences the Aussie National chart, this single is normally shown at the lower chart placing for Australia. I understand that the Sydney chart has been used as the Aussie National chart on occasions.
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Post by anthony on Apr 3, 2019 20:56:59 GMT
thank you Eric,
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Post by moorlock2003 on Apr 5, 2019 2:30:02 GMT
So happy to see the brilliant "You've Got to be Loved" by The Montanas at No. 1 for 2 weeks in Canton, Ohio.
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Post by davidm on Apr 6, 2019 21:00:00 GMT
That Airheads Radio Survey website shows The Hollies at number 1, on Radio London 1133AM At Sea, six times for I'm alive, I can't let go, Bus stop, Stop stop stop, On a carousel and Carrie Anne. I assume that reflects their airplay on that station for that week.
That station also has an interesting alternative run of number 1's:
1967-02-12 Beatles / Penny Lane 1967-02-12 Beatles / Strawberry Fields Forever 1967-02-19 The Beatles / Penny Lane 1967-02-19 The Beatles / Strawberry Fields Forever 1967-02-26 The Hollies / On A Carousel
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Post by moorlock2003 on May 8, 2019 8:16:24 GMT
Another country that released "Long Dark Road" on a 45 was South Africa. It was paired with "Hold On" as its B-side. I found it on Ebay.
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Post by rokinrobinoflocksley on May 8, 2019 11:59:18 GMT
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Post by gee on May 8, 2019 13:51:35 GMT
Tony Hicks and Kenny Lynch song 'Long Dark Road' may appear to relate to Allan Clarke's exit BUT it was far more likely written re Graham Nash's exit from the band
if you look into the river on the back of 'Distant Light' cover the fish jumping out of the water is meant to be Nash leaping out...with a second fish (Clarke ?) looking on...possibly considering doing likewise but not at that point following
then look on the front of the cover into the pool at which the man is crouched - when turned upside down you see various things such as 'two faced men' in business men's hats looking in differing directions, hands shaking, odd faced creatures emerging from mouths and coins etc which relate to business agreements, false words, promises, and money changing hands etc ....
...plus note the 'long dark road' winding away over hills off into the 'distant' future...
Hicks song re: 'and we can't revive whats PAST...' is clearly in the past tense and it appears relates more re Nash's earlier exit from the group and; 'it's gone now, moved on now...'/ it's over well over...' refers it would seem to the band having moved on past Nash's departure to follow that Long Dark Road into the future yet reflecting how they loved the departed one (tieing in with Clarke's several 'Nash exit from his life' songs; 'Goodbye Tomorrow' / 'My Life is Over...' / 'Separated' plus the earlier 'Survival of The Fittest' which foresaw Nash's impending exit)
in these songs the song makes out as if re a woman 'loved one' now gone or re 'Survival' re an actress/singer having to perform when she's so frustrated and feeling low etc but the "girl" in the song is a metaphor character for actual real figures
Nash has spoken of how he asked Clarke to go along with him to the USA in 1968 - that might be reflected in Hicks song's line; 'you tell try sell me it could have been all I ask...'
I suspect Tony's song 'Don't Give Up Easily' is a kind of support message in a song to Allan Clarke to keep it together and carry on etc after Nash's exit from his life after their relationship became strained (Clarke had a bad time then on a personal level)
Allan Clarke's departure in late 1971 came after 'Long Dark Road' had been written by Tony and Kenny and came as something of a shock to all at the time - in retrospect it was a crazy move as unlike Nash in late 1968 Clarke had no record deal in place, any producer or backing band !
I suspect Clarke's 'friends' telling him he WAS The Hollies plus his clashes with Ron Richards (like Nash earlier) and seeing other lead singers quit groups (Paul Jones, Carl Wayne, Steve Marriott etc) combined to make Allan leave when Tony and Bobby gave him an ultimatum
I don't think Allan had it pre-planned as Nash had done before and he was lucky RCA Victor picked him up....and some top musician friends rushed to assist him along with talented guitarist Ray Glynn
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Post by Stranger on May 8, 2019 15:48:16 GMT
"That was an interesting lyric," Tony recalls, "quite innocent from our point of view. But I remember our girlfriends hearing the lyric, "it's over, all over", raising their eyebrows, and wondering where the inspiration had come from!".
Sounds like it's just a song and doesn't relate to anyone leaving the band.
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