Songs Casey Never Played, 2/21/76

By Wm. on February 28, 2026

The second monthly installment in a year-long project; the object each time is to learn a half-dozen "new" songs from half-a-century ago.

98. Dan Hill, "Growing Up"
Hill's first U.S. chart appearance. I bought the 45 for "Sometimes When We Touch" not long after it hit the Top 40, but wound up souring on it over time. This one, about living next door to a superpower, seems particularly timely and is pretty good, besides. It's falling from its #67 peak.

92. Pilot, "January"
Lightweight pop, for sure, but that didn't stop it from hitting the top in both the UK and Australia. It's no "Magic" as far as I'm concerned. Would soon reach #87.

67. Ozark Mountain Daredevils, "If I Only Knew"
Like Pilot, the Daredevils' U.S. Top 40 days were over. This is a pleasant, jaunty piece, though maybe it's not got enough hook in it to have pressed much higher–there's one week left in its chart run, at #65.

61. Smokey Robinson, "Quiet Storm"
Smokey was at the beginning of a four-year gap between Top 40 appearances. This one is sitting at its peak.

At least I know now where the name for the genre originated.

56. Suzi Quatro, "Can the Can"
I'm always fascinated by acts, particularly American acts, who were smashes in Britain but struggled to gain traction in their home country. "Can the Can" had been a chart-topper in the U.K. in June of '73. It was for some reason experiencing a four-week sprint on the Hot 100 more than 2.5 years later. This is another one at its highest spot.

46. Cat Stevens, "Banapple Gas"
Very odd song and maybe even a weirder video. It's hard to top out at #41 spending only six weeks on the chart, but Cat is about to do that (and we'll encounter another one of those soon).