Singles that are hard to find.

kevtronics said:

the single remix of Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" (with the additional lead guitar),

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Which is only available on the original 45, from 1980 that I'm aware of and virtually unheard of today, just the album version.

The only version of "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" listed in the GoldDisc database has a fade-out point of 2:46, so it's even shorter than if you take the album version and cut off the intro (then it would be around 3:31):

http://members.tmstudios.com/members/searchresponse.asp?mode=s_det&sid=7059

OTOH, iHeartRadio does play the long acapella intro to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", with only the little vocal flourish at the end cut off (the way I remember hearing it back when it first was a hit). Because it stayed on the charts so long, many stations began cutting off the intro, which TM Studios lists as the "Special Radio Edit":

http://members.tmstudios.com/members/searchresponse.asp?mode=s_det&sid=9445

There was a 2:50 promo edit in 1983 for the Culture Club song. If you're wondering where the 45 or single versions are on CD, take a visit to top40musiconcd.com run by Pat Downey.

The single version of Hit Me With Your Best Shot is available on the UK version of Best Shots.

kevtronics said:

And as for the aforementioned Billy Joel's "My Life", most stations are now playing a re-done edit of the song that avoids the awkward hacked-off hi-hat where the piano solo is skipped over.

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Do you have a youtube clip of that? I have not heard it that way.

While some stations stubbornly stick to the edit of "My Life," I am noticing that there are those who play it UNedited, which is the way that it should be. That song has stood the test of time. Play it in full!

firepoint525 said:

While some stations stubbornly stick to the edit of "My Life," I am noticing that there are those who play it UNedited, which is the way that it should be. That song has stood the test of time. Play it in full!

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There are many songs that, without question, should be played in full. Chicago's "Beginnings" is tops on the list, followed by "Come Sail Away" and "Green Eyed Lady". Some radio edits are actually better than the full versions. One of those songs is "Biggest Part of Me" by Ambrosia. Hard to find, only off the original 45 so far. Also "Upside Down" by Diana Ross is another, with the shorter instrumental funky ending.

One song that I cannot stand in it's short single edit is the 3 minute "Last Dance" by Donna Summer. So short, so much missing from it. I much prefer the 5:50 edit to the 8:11 TGIF 12" single. Maybe you have heard this version, which is very, very hard to find!

K-Earth 101 actually played this exact version eons ago, but here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0TlPJ3hOAs

Luckily, the 4:07 radio edit of Biggest Part Of Me is available on CD, including: Cornerstone Promotions Presents Touched By Love, TVmusic4U Presents Touched By Love, Rock On 1980 and Only Love 1980-1984.

The 3:37 single version of Upside Down is on a number of CD's.

oldies76 said:

There are many songs that, without question, should be played in full. Chicago's "Beginnings" is tops on the list,

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I know many people dislike it because of how different it is than the album version, but "Beginnings" never would've been a hit if it wasn't for the edit, which added a hook and kept it within the magical 3 minute mark that allowed AM Top 40 stations to play it.

There was also an AM radio edit of Pink Floyd's "Money" which was just over 3 minutes in length. It had a more conservative edit of the expletive (just "bull" instead of "bullsh") and cut out most of the guitar solo.

And the 45 RPM single of Naked Eyes' "Always Something There To Remind Me" has a different intro than the album version. I never hear this version played on the radio anymore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c9HRsRi-cE

kevtronics said:

And the 45 RPM single of Naked Eyes' "Always Something There To Remind Me" has a different intro than the album version. I never hear this version played on the radio anymore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c9HRsRi-cE

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Hmmmm......I don't recall this version before with the explosive intro. And I really was listening to the radio back in 1983....either that, or I just don't remember.

I assume it did play on top 40 back then, recorded on carts off the original 45 or some radio promo version.

As for "Beginnings", I cannot imagine a version as edited as the one that made it a hit. So much is missing from the edit, all the horns and brass, it's way too incomplete.

Thx!

TheBigA said:

Any edits were done by the record label. The original Culture Club song was 4:30, so that wasn't going to work as a single. They had to chop somewhere. The Billy Joel song had multiple edits, all done by the label, but the one you mention was both for time and content.

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The long Culture Club version does add something, that's for sure.

oldies76 said:

Hmmmm......I don't recall this version before with the explosive intro. And I really was listening to the radio back in 1983....either that, or I just don't remember.

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Further searching reveals that the version of "Always Something There to Remind Me" that starts with the thunder and church bells is the original UK version, which was also put on the first pressing of the U.S. single.

The version that starts with the synth drums is an alternate mix done by "Jellybean" which I guess the record label found tested better in the U.S., so it's what they distributed to radio stations here. In the UK, this version was later released as the "American Edit".

Recorded at Abbey Road studios. Paul McCartney was in the building at the time. Just another tid bit to toss in over the intro.

Also the fact that the song's writer Burt Bacharach is now 90 years old.

Another one -- the single version of Eddie Money's "Two Tickets to Paradise" is substantially different from the album version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBcqfr4Rhn0

As written in the comments: "Containing a completely different vocal take from Money, and the music instrumentation spliced together in different jigsaw puzzle forms... some audio analysts say the music tracks were completely different too... that is not a fact... the 'basic tracks' are the same, however the lead guitar solo is indeed an alternate take, as well as the guitar embellishments that encompass the choruses... and the entire mixdown was tooled & leveled differently... HOTTER!"

Apparently this version wasn't released on CD until 2008! (On "Playlist: The Very Best of Eddie Money".)

Not being in radio, I don't have access to many services available to radio such as New Music Server and Radio Express. TM is ceasing production for its PrimeCuts and Hitdisc series on 12/31. Many of us professional entertainment DJs are now left scrambling for a new service. Not exactly the way I wanted to end the year.

oldies76 said:

There are many songs that, without question, should be played in full. Chicago's "Beginnings" is tops on the list,

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Hippie Radio here in Nashville usually plays that version. I first heard it on FM 100 in Memphis many years ago. Love that two minutes or so of just percussion that it ends with!

kevtronics said:

I know many people dislike it because of how different it is than the album version, but "Beginnings" never would've been a hit if it wasn't for the edit, which added a hook and kept it within the magical 3 minute mark that allowed AM Top 40 stations to play it.

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Unfortunately, I would have to agree with this. I was really young when it was a hit, so I only really remember it as an oldie, which is how I heard it on FM 100, as I mentioned above.

DavidEduardo said:

Why can't you get the RadioPlay service from Radio Express?

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David, it's my understanding that RadioPlay is only for radio stations. It's ok, signed with Promo Only today and subscribed to their Pool Audio Silver but thanks for asking.

Several years ago, I bought a mint 45 to get the mono short version of "Beginnings." The run time of 2:50 works for me.