Harry Chapin - Cats In The Cradle (1974)

The lyrics of "Cats in the Cradle" were originally written as a poem by Harry Chapin's wife, Sandy, who is credited as the song's co-writer. The poem itself was inspired by the awkward relationship between Sandy Chapin's first husband, James Cashmore, and his father, a New York City politician. She was also inspired by a country song she heard on the radio.

More than a year later, after the birth of his own son, Harry added the music and the chorus. Label executive David Geffen selected the song as a single, over Chapin's objections.Even though it received lots of airplay it never made the UK chart but did hit the top-spot in the US Billboard Hot 100.

Billy Joel - Piano Man

"Piano Man" was Billy Joel's first major hit and is considered Joel's signature song.
When originally issued as a single, the song was deemed too long by record executives
(5 minutes and 38 seconds), so two verses were cut in half and spliced together for the release as a 45.

"Piano Man" is a fictionalized retelling of real people Joel met during his days as a piano-lounge singer in Los Angeles, after the failure of his first album, Cold Spring Harbor.
Joel's own personal feelings about this failure are expressed in the failed dreams of the characters in his song. At the time, Joel was trying to get out of a bad deal with the record company Family Productions, so, according to Joel, he was "hiding out" at the bar, performing under the name Bill Martin while Columbia Records tried to get him out of the deal.

With Heavy airplay on London's Capital Radio it still failed to chart. This is the full version.

Back From A Watery Grave (1) 1960's

If you are of a certain age you may well remember the offshore commercial radio stations of the 1960's. Broadcasting from ships lying at anchor three and a half miles off the British coast, they bombarded the UK listening public with pop music twenty four hours a day. Other stations used the derelict Army and Navy war time forts in the Thames Estuary.

The two most popular stations of that period were Radio Caroline and Radio London, both of which had their own weekly music charts. Depending on how big a record was, or how much they were being paid to play a particular song, most records in the lower part of their charts only had a short life on the stations play list.

Here are four old Turntable Hits from the 60's that are back from their watery grave.

Marc Bolan - The Wizard (1965)

An unknown name in the sixties but huge in the seventies as the main man
behind glam rockers T.Rex. This is Marc Bolan's first solo single which had
a lot of air play on Radio Caroline.










Silkie - You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (1965)

A Lennon and McCartney song which made it big on the Radio London Fab 40 in
September 1965 for Silkie.











Episode Six - Morning Dew (1967)

Episode Six had a lot of exposure on Radio London but they failed to make the UK chart.

They were a British rock group during the mid-sixties. The band wasn't well known but foreshadowed the arrival of Deep Purple in late 1960s.
Episode Six were formed in July 1964; in May 1965 Ian Gillan joined as vocalist.

# Ian Gillan - vocals
# Graham Dimmock - guitar
# Tony Lander - guitar
# Sheila Dimmock - keyboard
# Roger Glover - bass
# Harvey Shield - drums

Glenda Collins - Something I've Got to Tell You (1966)

Another Radio London Turntable Hit.

Bob Welch - Ebony Eyes (1977)

In September 1977, Welch released his first solo album, French Kiss, a mainstream pop collection featuring contributions from former band mates Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie.
This release brought Welch his greatest success, selling two million copies and yielding three hit Billboard Hot 100 singles: a revamped version of "Sentimental Lady", the rocker "Ebony Eyes" and "Hot Love, Cold World". Radio Caroline and London's Capital Radio had "Ebony Eyes" on their play lists but it failed to chart despite heavy air play.

Tin Tin - Toast and Marmalade for Tea (1971)

Toast and Marmalade for Tea is a song written by Australian musician Steve Groves.

It was a Top 20 U.S. hit for Grove's group Tin Tin in 1971.

The song's distinct distorted piano melody was discovered accidentally when an engineer leaned on a tape machine creating the sound.

Tin Tin obtained their recording deal with the help of Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees; Gibbs produced their album and "Toast and Marmalade for Tea." The song was released on the Atco label in the U.S. and Polydor Records in the UK and was heavily played on the offshore station Radio North-Sea.

The Most Famous Turntable Hit Of Them All !

McWilliams made his first single in 1966, and was lifted to a higher
profile throughout the U.K. by Phil Solomon, an influential Irish manager
who had worked with Them and the Bachelors. In 1967 McWilliams managed to
record three albums which tickled the lower regions of the British album charts, with the second, Vol. 2, almost making the Top 20. These albums were produced and arranged by Mike Leander, who had already proven his facility for mixing pop/rock with classical-influenced orchestration on records by Marianne Faithfull. "Days of Pearly Spencer" got a lot of airplay on Radio Caroline, Radio Luxembourg and BBC Radio One when it was released at the end of 1967, and is well remembered by listeners of the time, but somehow did not make it onto the U.K. charts, although it was a big hit in several European countries.