Song: One Day Like This
Artist: Elbow, Manchester, England
Album: Seldom Seen Kid, 2008
Big Hit: Not yet
Notes: Album won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in Britain.
Song: Something in the Air
Artist: Thunderclap Newman, London, England
Album: Hollywood Dream, 1969
Big Hit: Something in the Air
Notes: Newman himself was the band’s keyboard player. The Who’s roadie, Speedy Keen was vocalist, produced by Pete Townshend.
Song: Other Side of the World
Artist: KT Tunstall, Edinburgh, Scotland
Album: Eye to the Telescope, 2004
Big Hit: Black Horse and the Cherry Tree
Notes: Terrific follow-up single to her big hit, disappeared without trace.
Song: Too Good for Words
Artist: Angel Taylor, Los Angeles, CA
Album: Love Travel, 2009
Big Hit: Too good to have a mainstream hit it seems
Notes: My weekly Angel Taylor song- why isn't she a star?
Song: Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)
Artist: John Mellencamp, Seymour, Indiana
Album: Mr. Happy Go Lucky
Big Hit: Lots
Notes: My favorite among his hits, great line about John Lennon.
Artist: J.J. Cale, Oklahoma City
Album: 5, 1979
Big Hit: Crazy Mama
Notes: Massively underrated veteran artist, wrote After Midnight and Cocaine for Clapton
Song: Let Me Down Easy
Artist: Chris Isaak, Stockton, CA
Album: Always Got Tonight, 2002
Big Hit: Wicked Game
Notes: Sports a broken nose from his boxing days. Played “one of Jack Crawford’s boys” in Silence of the Lambs.
Song: Pearl
Artist: Chapterhouse, Reading, England
Album: Whirlpool, 1991
Big Hit: None
Notes: Part of short-lived British shoe-gazing indie rock scene. Band once opened for Nirvana.
Song: Girlfriend In A Coma
Artist: The Smiths, Manchester, England
Album: Strangeways, Here We Come, 1987
Big Hit: Lots of modern rock hits
Notes: Two-minute acidic classic.
Song: Here Comes The Sun
Artist: The Beatles, Liverpool, of course
Album: Abbey Road, 1969
Big Hit: oodles
Notes: Harrison’s songwriting moment in the sun.
Song: By Your Side
Artist: Sade, Nigeria; London, England
Album: By Your Side, 2000
Big Hit: Smooth Operator
Notes: Sade is the band name, fronted by silky smooth Sade Adu.
Song: 1979
Artist: Smashing Pumpkins, Chicago
Album: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, 1995
Big Hit: 1979
Notes: Neither Lost nor Found, just a fabulous hit.
Song: No Man’s Land
Artist: Kristina Train, Savannah, Georgia
Album: Spilt Milk, 2009
Big Hit: None
Notes: Remarkable ‘new’ talent, now based in New York. Makes (deeply overrated) Janis Joplin et al sound like amateurs.
Song: Someone Somewhere
Artist: Jason Reeves, Iowa City
Album: The Magnificent Adventures of Heartache and Other Frightening Tales, 2007
Big Hit: Watch this space
Notes: Co-wrote ten tracks on Colbie Caillat’s maiden album, including ‘Bubbly’.
Song: When It’s Cold I’d Like To Die – Featured this week as The Saddest Song of All-Time
Artist: Moby, New York
Album: Everything Is Wrong, 1995
Big Hit: Southside
Notes: Incredibly depressing but brilliant; guest vocalist is the wonderful Mimi Goese.
Song: Bring On The Dancing Horses
Artist: Echo & The Bunnymen, Liverpool, England
Album: Songs to Learn and Sing, 1985
Big Hit: Incredibly none
Notes: Song has been covered by Simple Minds, Flaming Lips and the Killers.
Song: You’ve Got The Style
Artist: Athlete, London, England
Album: Vehicles and Animals, 2002
Big Hit: None
Notes: Hugely underrated in the US, this was their first single.
Song: I Don’t Mind At All
Artist: Bourgeois Tagg, Los Angeles
Album: Yoyo, 1987
Big Hit: This one, mid chart
Notes: Duo of Brent Bourgeois and Larry Tagg, this Beatles-esque nugget was produced by the great Todd Rundgren.
Song: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow- Featured as The Least Fashionable Song of the Week
Artist: Carole King & James Taylor, New York
Album: Live At The Troubadour, 2010
Big Hit: Written dozens of top hits
Notes: Impeccable live version of King’s own composition, originally written for the Shirelles in 1960.
Song: Fly To Me
Artist: Keane, Battle, England
Album: None
Big Hit: Somewhere Only We Know (medium-size)
Notes: Unreleased rare track, soaring glory.
Song: Short Skirt/Long Jacket
Artist: Cake, Sacramento
Album: Comfort Eagle, 2001
Big Hit: A few Alt Rock hits, including The Distance
Notes: Instrumental version of the song is the theme for “Chuck” tv series.
Song: Melody
Artist: Kate Earl, Alaska
Album: Kate Earl, 2009
Big Hit: None
Notes: Discovered by my daughter. Managed by Mariah Carey’s ex-husband.
Song: The Police
Artist: Diefenbach, Denmark
Album: Set & Drift
Big Hit: Don’t be silly
Notes: Immensely unknown Danish group. Obscure but rather good. More on future shows.
Song: The High Road
Artist: Broken Bells, Los Angeles
Album: Broken Bells, 2010
Big Hit: The High Road
Notes: Breakthrough hit by pairing of Danger Mouse and ex-Shins’ dude, James Mercer.
Song: Life In Mono
Artist: Mono, London, England
Album: Formica Blues, 1997
Big Hit: None
Notes: Extraordinary cinematic vibe, completely overlooked gem by the British trip-hop duo.
Song: We Have All The Time In The World
Artist: Fun Lovin Criminals, New York
Album: Come Find Yourself, 1996
Big Hit: None
Notes: Cool update of Louis Armstrong’s original James Bond movie theme.
Song: Louis Louis
Artist: Teitur, Faroe Islands, Scandinavia
Album: Stay Under The Stars, 2007
Big Hit: You must be joking
Notes: Beautiful tribute to Louis Armstrong by outstanding undiscovered singer-songwriter.
Song: The Hardest Part
Artist: Coldplay, London, England
Album: X & Y, 2005
Big Hit: Loads
Notes: This track not heard enough on the radio. Great driving song.
Song: The Feeling I Had
Artist: Amy Grant (yes, Amy Grant), Augusta, Georgia
Album: Behind The Eyes, 1997
Big Hit: Who cares?
Notes: Don't judge a book by its cover: thoughtful, top-notch self-penned ballad.
Song: Hear Me Out
Artist: Frou Frou, London, England
Album: Details, 2002
Big Hit: None
Notes: Outstanding cut by UK duo of Imogen Heap and top producer, Guy Sigsworth. Only made one album.
Song: Shattered (Turn This Car Around)
Artist: O.A.R., Ohio
Album: All Sides, 2008
Big Hit: Shattered (Turn This Car Around)
Notes: Biggest hit so far, band acronym means Of A Revolution.
Song: Mary
Artist: The 4 Of Us, County Down, Northern Ireland
Album: Songs for the Tempted, 1989
Big Hit: Never have, never will
Notes: Never played before on American radio. Band centered around brothers Declan and Brendan Murphy.
Song: Here Is A Heart
Artist: Jenny Owen Youngs, Montclair, New Jersey
Album: Transmitter Failure
Big Hit: Nothing yet
Notes: Jenny also plays the flute and the tuba. Music has been featured on the Showtime series Weeds.
Song: Michael You’ve Got A Lot To Answer For
Artist: Duran Duran, Birmingham, England
Album: Medazzaland,1997
Big Hit: Lots
Notes: Overlooked diamond by veteran synth-pop-rockers, led by dance-challenged Simon Le Bon.
Song: Baby I Can’t Please You
Artist: Sam Phillips, Glendale, California
Album: Martinis and Bikinis
Big Hit: Amazingly, none
Notes: She’s released nearly 20 albums over a long career, and never got her due.
Song: That Summer
Artist: Andy Stochansky, Los Angeles
Album: 100, 2005
Big Hit: Criminally, none yet
Notes: Sorely underrated singer-songwriter. This gem was produced by Johnny Rzeznik of Goo Goo fame.
Song: Could I Be Your Girl
Artist: Jann Arden, Alberta, Canada
Album: Living Under June, 1994
Big Hit: Insensitive
Notes: Lots of hits and Juno music awards in her native Canada where she’s a top celebrity.
Song: Tired Of Being Alone
Artist: Al Green, Forrest City, Arkansas
Album: Al Green Gets Next To You, 1971
Big Hit: Lots of soul classics
Notes: An absolute soul pearl. Today, he’s the pastor at the Full Gospel Tabernacle Church in Memphis.
Song: Shelter
Artist: Ray LaMontagne, Nashua, New Hampshire
Album: Trouble, 2004
Big Hit: Beg, Steal or Borrow
Notes: Overlooked gem from his wonderful debut album.
Song: Canaan
Artist: Black Dub, Hull, Quebec
Album: Black Dub, 2010
Big Hit: None
Notes: New combo assembled by U2’s longtime co-producer, Daniel Lanois.
Song: Harvest Moon
Artist: Neil Young, Toronto, Canada
Album: Harvest Moon, 1992
Big Hit: Heart of Gold
Notes: The excellent Harvest Moon album was the (20 years later) followup to signature recording, Harvest.
Song: Careful
Artist: Horse, Scotland
Album: The Same Sky, 1990
Big Hit: None
Notes: Singer-songwriter, Sheena McDonald who goes by the rather odd name, Horse. Incredibly rich vocal style.
Song: Only You
Artist: Joshua Radin, Shaker Heights, Ohio
Album: We Were Here
Big Hit: None
Notes: Rare acoustic version by this great singer-songwriter of Yazoo’s synth classic, Only You:
Song: Only You
Artist: Yazoo (aka Yaz in the USA), Basildon, England
Album: Upstairs At Eric’s, 1982
Big Hit: Don’t Go (dance hit)
Notes: Duo of ex-Depeche Mode co-founder, Vince Clarke, and pop/soul belter, Alison Moyet.
