{"podcast":{"title":"Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia","slug":"hit-parade-music-history-and-music-trivia-59900","podcast_index_feed_id":59900,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/695d4ed8d1ba84fb8f043f94","website_url":"https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/695d4ed8d1ba84fb8f043f94/show-cover.jpg","author":"Slate Podcasts","episode_count":215,"summary":"What makes a song a smash? Talent? Luck? Timing? All that—and more. Chris Molanphy, pop-chart analyst and author of Slate’s “Why Is This Song No. 1?” series, tells tales from a half-century of chart history. Through storytelling, trivia and song snippets, Chris dissects how that song you love—or hate—dominated the airwaves, made its way to the top of the charts and shaped your memories forever. Get more of Hit Parade with Slate Plus! Join for monthly early-access episodes, bonus episodes of \"The Bridge,\" and ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/hitparadeplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hit-parade-music-history-and-music-trivia-59900"},"episode":{"title":"Near-Miss Hits—’70s Edition","slug":"near-miss-hits-70s-edition","published_at":"2026-05-30T03:55:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hit-parade-music-history-and-music-trivia-59900/near-miss-hits-70s-edition","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hit-parade-music-history-and-music-trivia-59900","url":"https://shows.acast.com/hit-parade/episodes/6a1a5424dd90858af94606a4","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/695d4ed8d1ba84fb8f043f94/e/6a1a5424dd90858af94606a4/media.mp3","summary":"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. In 1977, Steely Dan helped invent Yacht Rock with the jazzy bop “Peg.” They would have loved it better if it had cracked the Top 10. In 1972, Elton John told a timeless tale of a blue-jean baby, a “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, even 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.","meta_description":"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…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2132,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/hit-parade-music-history-and-music-trivia-59900/episodes/near-miss-hits-70s-edition/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/hit-parade-music-history-and-music-trivia-59900/near-miss-hits-70s-edition.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}