Posted by Marty Brooks on August 19, 2008 at 23:21:03:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Least Played Beatles Song posted by Marion G. on August 19, 2008 at 19:50:01:
Every early Beatles track got very heavy play because radio was hungry for anything by the Beatles. I remember that Murray the K had a 10 second excerpt of the Beatles playing Shout (not "Twist & Shout") during a rehearsal and he played it constantly.
WABC got an advance copy of What Goes On, which wasn't released in the U.S. until "Yesterday & Today" on June 15, 1966, but was released in the UK on "Rubber Soul" in October of '65, which is probably where they got it from. I'm surprised this didn't happen more often: the Beatles were so big I'm surprised that every U.S. station didn't place a mail order with some Brit record store to get the British versions of the LPs, although playing tracks in advance of local release usually got you a cease & desist order from the record label.
When WABC played What Goes On, they put Dan Ingram's voice on top of it throughout the record, just so another radio station couldn't steal it. But there were three other tracks on the British Rubber Soul that also didn't appear in the U.S. until "Yesterday & Today" and I don't remember them getting the same treatment.
But there were some Beatles tracks that were either not up to other Beatles material or didn't get play for other reasons.
IMO, every single Beatles track got a lot of play, except for these:
You Can't Do That: a great record, but didn't get a lot of play.
Mr. Moonlight (ugh!)
Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby
Tomorrow Never Knows: got plenty of FM play, but little AM play.
Within You, Without You: FM play, not AM
A Day In the Life: a lot of AM stations wouldn't play it and it was banned by the BBC because they misinterpreted the lyrics, but the first edition of Bill Drake's "History of Rock and Roll" 48-hour documentary, which premiered over Labor Day weekend in 1969 made it the #1 rock record ever released (in terms of importance, influence, etc.)
Blue Jay Way
Long, Long, Long
Revolution #9 got FM play when it first came out, but this track is NEVER heard today.
Only A Northern Song
Dig It (51 second track from Let It Be)
Old Brown Shoe
You Know My Name, Look Up the Number
The Inner Light
Across the Universe (the original version of this was only on a benefit album until the "Past Masters" CD Release)