Near-Miss Hits: ’70s Edition

In 1979, Sister Sledge changed the sound of wedding receptions forever with “We Are Family.” Believe it or not, the Chic-penned banger never made it to No. 1. Steely Dan helped invent Yacht Rock with 1977’s jazzy bop “Peg.” (They would have loved it better if it had cracked the Top 10.) And in 1972, Elton John told a timeless tale of a blue-jean baby, “Tiny Dancer.” Casey Kasem never counted it down.

Today on Hit Parade: Chris Molanphy celebrates “near misses”—now-ubiquitous hits that missed the mark on the pop charts, stalling out at No. 2, No. 11, or No. 41. In this episode, Chris zooms in on near-misses from the 1970s, including songs from Paul McCartney, the Spinners, Jackson Browne, Cat Stevens, Diana Ross, and Michael Jackson.

Get more Hit Parade with Slate Plus! Join for bonus episodes of "The Bridge" and ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Hit Parade show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/hitparadeplus to get access wherever you listen.

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.