Over the last eight years, Dave Kinzer has listened to 16,402 songs. Start to finish. All of them.
No, he's not a musical masochist - or at least not much of one. There's a valid reason behind all that ear work. Three books: "The 60s Music Compendium," "The 70s Music Compendium" and "The 80s Music Compendium." Each contains every hit that landed on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart in that particular decade.
"The first step in my research is listening to every song. And yes, I mean every song," says Kinzer, a full-time music teacher in Illinois and a part-time financial coach who helps people develop a plan on how to best use their money.
It's necessary when you're putting together lists like "Songs That Use Castanets" or "Songs With Harmoniums."
In his just-released "70s Music Compendium," he waded through 5,344 songs, listening closely to figure out which instruments are used in each song or what the lyrics are saying.
"Most songs are pretty easy," he says. "The piano, organ, harmonica, etc. are pretty easy to differentiate from the sounds of other instruments. If I hear an instrument and I'm not sure what it is, then I start doing a bunch of research, looking for interviews about songs, checking a bunch of different websites. It can get tedious."
His first compendium was for the 1980s, his favorite decade for music. He listened to 4,172 songs for that one. Then came the 1960s and 6,886 songs.
"I've learned that at some point, I'll grow a little weary of the project," he says. "I'll think something like, 'Great, I've listened to 2,300 songs!' Then I look at the list of the songs I STILL have to listen to and say, 'Dang. I've still got over 3,000 songs to go.'
"It's all I can do to keep my brain from turning to mush right then. I might take a break at that point and go listen to a playlist from 1987 or Debbie Gibson's first album or something to refresh my mind."
With that many songs to plow through, it's inevitable that he'll find some that are true stinkers, ones that he just can't believe were hits. In the '60s there were; in the '80s he heard.
For the'70s, among others, he came across "Once You Understand" by Thin and "Please, Daddy" by John Denver.
"They're probably No. 1 and No. 2 for the worst songs of the decade in my mind. Truly awful," Kinzer says. "'Disco Duck (Part One)" by Rick Dees is pretty bad, too. Somehow, it made it to No. 1."
On the other side of the street are songs that were so popular they're still heard on the radio today (mostly classic-rock stuff), but they weren't anywhere close to big hit when they first came out.
"For example: REO Speedwagon's 'Roll With the Changes' only made it to No. 58; 'Peace of Mind' by Boston peaked at No. 38; Aerosmith's 'Sweet Emotion' hit No. 36; the Police's 'Message in a Bottle' hit No. 74; Peter Gabriel's 'Solsbury Hill' hit No. 68; and Journey's 'Wheel in the Sky' peaked at No. 57. And yet these songs are classic-rock staples!
"And let's not forget that 'Stairway to Heaven,' arguably the most famous/popular rock song of all time, was never actually released as a single; therefore, it technically wasn't a 'hit' at all."
Email Shawn Ryan at mshawnryan@gmail.com.