5 Above picks five great things within a specific category. Look out below--these are five that rise above.
As my nearly half-dozen regular readers are aware, I recently decided to cut back on blogging, reducing my posting schedule from its clinically stupid daily frequency to three or maybe four posts a week. So, of course, right after walkin' away from the ol' Bop a day grind, the latest episode of one of my favorite podcasts compels me to slap together a fifth post this week. Just when I think I'm out....
The podcast is Only Three Lads, the weekly celebration of classic alternative music from the '70s through the '90s. For this week's O3L, hosts Uncle Gregg and Brett Vargo, along with guest Third Lad Alex Boucher, discussed their choices for the top five bands who were almost famous. It's a fascinating subject, it made for a fascinating show, and it made me want to compile my own Top 5 list.
It's difficult for me to separate the idea of great bands who were almost famous from the idea of great bands who were unfairly obscure. They're similar categories, but not quite the same. The "almost famous" qualifier suggests we're specifically talking about acts who seemed poised to grab the brass ring in some big and spectacular way.
Before we get to my Top 5, let's mention a few acts who are just outside our chosen parameters:
TOO SOON!
The Remains and the Mynah Birds should be legit contenders to top anyone's list of rock's all-time Almosts, but both groups had their brief careers in the 1960s, predating the O3L era. The Remains were Boston's most popular rock combo in the mid '60s, and they seemed to have it all: Songs, talent, charisma, a major label deal, national TV exposure, and oh, by the way, THEY OPENED FOR THE BEATLES in 1966. They had everything but record sales.
The Mynah Birds, with future superstars Rick James and Neil Young, were set to be Motown's first rock group, but they broke up when James was arrested for being AWOL from Uncle Sam.
THEY WERE FAMOUS! Then they weren't
The Cowsills and the Bay City Rollers had huge hits (in the '60s and '70s respectively), but the public at large was uninterested in their second acts. The Cowsills' 1998 album Global is my # 1 favorite album of the '90s, yet it's been an obscure rarity until its recent deluxe reissue.
When the Bay City Rollers' lead singer Les McKeown left the group at the end of the '70s, the remaining Rollers recruited new lead singer Duncan Faure, shortened their name to just "the Rollers," and released some very fine rockin' pop records that sold a metric bupkis.
FAMOUS...later
The Ramones. Icons now, so we can't claim they're a mere almost. At the time, though, they did not receive anywhere near the recognition or record sales they deserved.
And now...MY list of the Top 5 almost-famous bands of the O3L era.
5. ARTFUL DODGER
Artful Dodger released three albums on Columbia in the '70s, then a fourth (the long outta print Rave On) on Ariola. Live and on record alike, the group seemed like an irresistible cross between the best of Badfinger and the best of the Faces. I don't think I'd ever heard a note of their music before catching them at a club show in '79, but their performance nailed everything worth nailing. Goosebumps. Goosebumps, and a raised fist. Although they hailed from Virginia, I understand they were big, big stars in Cleveland, where they received notable FM radio exposure. The stardom did not translate elsewhere.
4. THE PANDORAS
There were at least two distinctly different phases of the Pandoras' career in the '80s. The original line-up was a proud product of the garage, armed with Nuggets-inspired attitude and a fantastic original song called "It's About Time." That version of the Pandoras exploded into rock and dust after just one album. Founding member Gwynne Kahn went on to form the magnificent Mad Monster Party, the single best '80s group that no one got to hear. Paula Pierce formed a new Pandoras group, which included Kim Shattuck, later of the Muffs.
Paula's version of the Pandoras recorded a brilliant pop album (Stop Pretending) for Rhino Records, and the group was subsequently signed to Mercury. They recorded an album called Come Inside, bigger things appeared imminent, but the record was never released. Mercury dropped the Pandoras without ever issuing even a single Pandoras track.
3. THE NEW YORK DOLLS
Everything I know and love about punk rock owes its rambunctious genesis to the New York Dolls. No Dolls? That would mean no Ramones, no Sex Pistols, no Clash, no punk scene, no new wave scene, no alternative scene; just something bland and boring in its place. The Dolls weren't built to last, but man, they were important, and man they were kickass fun. And they looked fine on television: Go watch 'em on YouTube clips from The Midnight Special, cavortin' and paradin' in America's face like they were--book it!!--The Next Big Thing. Stars. STARS!, I tell ya!
America turned its face to...well, probably to something bland and boring. The New York Dolls are not in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Odds are they never will be.
2. THE FLASHCUBES
Yeah, I know. Syracuse's own power pop powerhouse the Flashcubes never came close to breaking out, only released a couple of singles during their original 1977-1980 lifespan, never got a record deal. What's so almost famous! about that?
You. Weren't. There.
In the '70s, Flashcubes fans like me absolutely and completely believed the group was going to be huge. They were such a great live band, they wrote such irresistible songs, they had such sheer rock 'n' roll presence, that we all knew--knew--their stardom was inevitable. On paper, sure, I guess they never came all that close. But in our hearts, our imaginations? The first time I saw them, I was certain it was like seeing the Beatles at The Cavern.
A few years back, I wrote a what-if story about what could have happened if the Flashcubes had achieved the success they deserved. But in that imaginary world, the Flashcubes stopped being Flashcubes. Our real world still has the Flashcubes--score a rare win for the real world! They're working on new recordings. I heard one of the new songs a couple of days ago, and it's guaranteed to be one of my favorite tracks in 2025.
Fame. Pfui. Who needs fame when you have the Flashcubes?
1. THE RUBINOOS
In this discussion of bands who almost hit it big, the Rubinoos are my unchallenged # 1. Unlike the Flashcubes, the Rubinoos did come tantalizingly close to the top, top, top of the pops. Their 1977 cover of Tommy James and the Shondells' "I Think We're Alone Now" missed the Top 40 by just five notches, and they seemed on the brink of mega success. I saw 'em on American Bandstand! They had the look, the image, the spirit, the chops, the charm...everything.
And they had the songs. "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" is like THE surefire # 1 hit that, y'know, didn't even chart. Didn't. Even. CHART?! Oh, the humanity! Hey, hey, you, you, I wanna see a recount!
But like the Flashcubes, the Rubinoos are still with us, still making extraordinary music, still putting on incredible live shows. I wish more people knew about them.
But I'm glad I know about them.
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