I remember Blondie getting play on the R&B stations in Dallas, but not in the small town where I grew up in East Texas (Longview). When I was growing up, we went to Dallas almost every weekend and found K-104 fm playing LOTS of white music mixed in with the r&b stuff. I remember them playing "I Can't Go For That" from Hall & Oates, "Sarah Smile", "Owner of A Lonely Heart" (Red Hot Dance Mix) from Yes and "Another One Bites The Dust" from Queen. I believe all of these songs charted on the r&b charts (with the exception of Owner of A Lonely Heart).

daPrettyman said:

Did "Rapture" chart on Billboard R&B?

vainandy said:

Nah, he go back to 1979 when he did "My Bologna" (ripoff of "My Sharona"). He also did a spoof of Queen's "Another One...", his was called "Another One Rides the Bus".
[Edited 6/30/08 15:57pm]

Timmy84 said:

Not according to Wikipedia. It says it was number on on the dance charts. I will look it up in my billboard book when I get home and find out.

All those songs you listed were played on the R&B stations in my area. And don't forget Rod Stewart's "Passion", that was another one. I think those were pretty much played on R&B stations across the country. I do remember DJs had more freedom back then to play what they thought their audience would like. In later years, the R&B stations even played "Talking In Your Sleep" by The Romantics and even "Jump" by Van Halen. However, the ones in my area never played "Rapture" though and I never knew why.

Timmy84 said:

Yeah, Blondie's "Rapture" peaked at No. 33.

As for daPrettyman's other responses, Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" peaked at No. 2 in 1980; Hall and Oates' "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" peaked at No. 1 in 1982. Yes' "Owner of a Lonely Heart" peaked at No. 69, but like he said I recall the remix version getting some airplay on the black radio stations where I lived.
[Edited 6/30/08 16:09pm]

LittleAmy said:

Thanx

vainandy said:

Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard R&B Singles charts in 1979.

vainandy said:

I remember we got "Talking In Your Sleep" played in Dallas. I believe they played a version that had more of a "groove" than the single version (maybe it was the 12" remix version).

The dance charts back then was just another word for the gay charts. Whites were listening to rock and hated, I mean hated disco. Blacks were listening to funk. Years later, when I started going to the gay clubs in the 1990s, I would hear disco-ish sounding songs, obviously recorded in the early years after disco's "death" and the older folks in that crowd remembered them very well. Gay folks love a party and don't let it end too soon without a fight. It took them forever to let go of house music even after shit hop took over. Gay folks just love to jam and party, and much harder than straight folks (I never knew that growing up, I pictured them all as listening to classical music...boy was I wrong).

vainandy said:

That is very interesting, lol.

LittleAmy said:

Yeah...they just re-aired an old Soul Train where that song was played.

The 12 Inch remix version was the only version that got played on the black stations in my area. Apparently, The Barkays must have heard it up in Memphis also because their dub and bonus beats version of "Sex-O-Matic" is definately a rip off of Yes's remix. Of course, The Barkays were known for lifting other folks sound.

vainandy said:

Definite yes on both accounts (the Yes remix getting airplay and The Bar-Kays' theft).
[Edited 6/30/08 16:15pm]

BlaqueKnight said:

interestingly, there was a minor issue in which james brown released a single that was thought to have ripped off the riff from "fame", though in the end-all bowie dismissed the issue out of respect for james brown.

thanks for telling me about bowie's style though. as everyone on the org can attest, i don't know much about his music.

Anxiety said:

Nah I think James did that response song to TELL David "hey man, you ain't as funky as me " GOOD GOD!

Timmy84 said:

The song was called "Hot (I Need To Be Loved, Loved, Loved)" and its pretty hard to find compared to a lot of the other James Brown tracks.

BlaqueKnight said:

Thanks. The song's title was on the tip of my tongue.

BlaqueKnight said:

The song can be found on the "Star Time" box set, and it does sound rhythmically similar to David Bowie's "Fame."

And yes, Anx, last I heard James Brown has been cited by hip-hop artists as an influential act to the genre.
[Edited 6/30/08 17:40pm]

vainandy said:

Yes. Those songs got airplay in my area too. You can add Human League's
fascination and don't you want me to the list. Tears for Fears everybody
wants to rule the world and shout. Howard Jones things will get better are
a few others. It seems during that time r&b stations were adding pop songs
to their playlist and pop stations were adding R&b music to theirs. I freaked
out when i heard a pop station in my area playing confunkshun's don't let
your love grow cold even though it does have a bit of a pop feel to it.
Needless to say it didn't chart very well on r&b either.

LittleAmy said:

Your point was that the momentum that "Rapture" got on pop radio is what propelled it into the R&B chart, but you answered my question by stating that "Rapture" was played more than Blondie's bigger hits because... it features a rap! Evidently it fit in better with the rotation of R&B songs at the time. And this showcases my point exactly. In this very thread, "Rapture" has been referred to as a hip hop song, a pop song, a rock song, a disco song, a new wave song, a no wave song, and a funk song. Its appeal extends to many different demographics and styles, and is rightfully considered a classic, in my opinion.

LittleAmy said:

Originally found on "Hot", got the album on wax. The track does indeed sound very much like "Fame".

Okay, guys. I am about to play devil's advocate here. Since, we been talking about this song for some time now, it got me to thinking about another song from that era. Who here remembers, the Billy Squire's song "Big Beat". How do we feel about song's influence on hip-hop and rap in general. Remember it was the back bone for "Roxanne, Roxanne", by UTFO as well as many others. For those of you who don't know the song let me explain. It was done by the guy who did, "Stroke" and "Rock me tonight". As a D.J., I have it on a break beat compilation that I use from time to time. I think this is a song that has had a MUCH bigger influence on the genre. "Rapture", while not really a hip-hop song, opened a lot of people's eyes to rap...enough to make them wanna find out about it more. It made rap more acceptable to those who did not know a thing about it.
[Edited 7/1/08 0:45am]

Here is the video...Again, to me, this song has had more influence on hip-hop than Blondie's.


[Edited 7/1/08 0:55am]

Moonbeam said:

[Edited 7/1/08 3:43am]

Cinnie said:

I'm sayin'.

Moonbeam said:

As you have seen several people's responses, they lived in markets where R&B stations didn't play "Rapture" at all. Also, this was during the pre-Soundscan Billboard era where radio playlists and sales numbers were somewhat mixed in and based on assumptive reasoning. There may have been some R&B stations that played "Rapture," but hardly to a degree where it was a relevant record.

Maybe it's the way I'm reading your responses, but it seems you're under the impression that "Rapture" was a song the R&B market jumped all over. On the '80s R&B radio scene, a typical song rotation was basically 20 to 25 songs (current, emerging and just fading out). And it was easier to track then because there were fewer black radio stations than today (and only a few that were FM stations). I know this in part because a family friend was a DJ for a nationally syndicated radio show in the '80s (Doug Steele of "Coast to Coast Soul") and before that he was the on-air personality for V-103 in Atlanta, one of the prominent black FM stations in the country.

In other words, it didn't take a helluva lot to have a top 25 hit on the R&B charts back then and "Rapture" didn't even do that. Some R&B radio stations may have played "Rapture" but it's evident nationwide the song was a marginal success in the R&B market, given its chart position. Songs that make the top 20 are considered minor hits, so I don't see why "Rapture" (which did worse) should be given this revisionist benefit of the doubt.

Moonbeam said:

I don't believe anyone is doubting "Rapture" was a good song; what is the issue here is it's being called a hip-hop song with the implication that it was a formative song in the genre. The reality was it was a pop/rock where mainstream white audiences got their first full introduction to someone rapping. People have named songs that came out before "Rapture" that weren't a crossover success (even "Rapper's Delight").
[Edited 7/1/08 6:36am]

Anydamnway, here's a good live performance clip from 1982.

Moonbeam said:

i used to have that problem all the time back when my username was Mommy.

Anxiety said: