Oldies - Playing the Greatest Hits of the 50's, 60's, and 70's

I used to hear this song all the time on the oldies radio station at one of my jobs, but never knew the artist. Lou Christie -- a high-pitched voice motherfucker! I always thought the chorus was being sung only by women, but it's also a dude too.

 
  • Winner
Reactions: Shiawase and Ron Jeremy Stan Account
Syaoran Li said:
"Classic Hits" basically refers to any mainstream music that's more than 20 years old. At this point, guys like Smash Mouth and the Backstreet Boys can qualify as classic hits.

"Oldies" is more specific and generally is associated with the Boomers and Silent Generation and can best be described as the popular hits and beloved songs from around the birth of Rock & Roll to around the death of Disco (or about 1955-1980) although some of the earlier oldies stations kept their playlists limited to 1950-1969.
Click to expand...
The Australian equivalent to this format is "Gold", which is a hybrid of Oldies and Classic Hits. Usually 1960-1989, though some Gold stations (particularly those in regional areas) extend their music universe to the turn of the Century. Around a quarter of the tracks played are from Australian or New Zealand artists due to local music content quotas.

A few examples of what a typical Gold format station plays down here.

The Easybeats. Australia's first massive musical success story. As well as being huge overseas (especially the UK), this spawned a couple of other legendary Aussie acts and a solo career for frontman Stevie Wright, along with one of Australia's greatest songwriting partnerships (Harry Vanda and George Young). Gary Moore recorded a cover version in 1987, that sounds very '80s (but in a good way).


Stevie Wright's biggest solo hit. DJs (or Jocks as they're known down here) used to play this track when they needed to sneak out of the studio whilst in the middle of an on-air shift. The single goes for over 11 minutes.


Speaking of George Young, he had a couple of little brothers named Malcolm and Angus.


When George and Harry weren't writing songs for others, they were recording for themselves.


Getting away from the Vanda and Young universe, here's a track that could've only been released in 1969. It took months to make and the record label wasn't keen on a single that ran for over 6 minutes, but it was a smash hit. As a side note, Russell Morris still recording today and he's made some kick-arse blues-rock albums over the last decade.


Australia also has a habit of claiming Kiwis (the other Kiwis) as their own if they make good shit.



Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Informative
Reactions: Гиджет, Frostnipped Todger and Syaoran Li
Some disco / philly soul. Hope you're doing well @Syaoran Li
this one is more balearic than disco, but great cover / tune regardless. The stereo separation sucks though
These two are streaching it. Original production from the late 70s, but remixed in the 2000s-10s. Though the remixes are using all the original stems and nothing new.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Semper Fidelis
Reactions: KeepHopeAlive, Pee Cola and Syaoran Li
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back