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Latest comment: 3 years ago2 comments2 people in discussion
There is a confusing (though properly cited) explanation in this article about how "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good to Be True)" became a hit without making the Billboard Hot 100. The song supposedly "was never officially released as a single because of legal difficulties between Michael's label, Epic, and Jermaine's label, Arista." Those difficulties supposedly meant the song couldn't be released as a single... and therefore it couldn't be on the Billboard Hot 100 because at the time (1984) a song had to be released for public sale on an actual 45rpm single (and/or 12-inch single) to be eligible. (At some point Billboard relaxed that policy, but maybe not in time for this song.) This all sounds plausible, but... "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good to Be True)" WAS in fact released by Arista on a 45rpm single as the B-side of Jermaine Jackson's "Do What You Do." So, Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good to Be True)" probably should have been eligible for the Hot 100 after all. Certainly, many B-sides did make the Hot 100 during the heyday of the 45rpm single. This is a minor point, which may not be clarifiable 35 years after the fact, but maybe someone can clarify this. Timothy Horrigan (talk) 18:39, 21 October 2019 (UTC)Reply
Billboard didn't allow songs to chart on the Hot 100 based on airplay alone (without a physical single released) until November 1998. "Do What You Do" wasn't released until the end of the year, and "Tell Me I'm Dreamin'" was a hit at radio in the spring (it peaked at #6 on the Radio & Records Top 40 chart). So its inclusion as a B-side months later after radio stations weren't playing it regularly anymore might have been why it wasn't charted along with that other song. Ww adh77 (talk) 19:25, 16 June 2021 (UTC)Reply
