Idolator

Time for another installment of the Coulda-Shoulda-Woulda Files, where we blow the dust off of a forgotten favorite and give its lack of chart success a once-over.

Artist: Starz
Song: "Cherry Baby," 1977
What happened: With their bizarre pedigree (two members used to be in the soft-rock outfit Looking Glass), big-name industry support (Kiss maestro Bill Aucoin served as their manager), and metal-power-pop sound, it's amazing that most people never got a chance to hear New Jersey's Starz. From 1976 to 1978, the group released four gloriously riffy albums (all of which were re-mastered and re-released last year), only to watch Cheap Trick and Kiss get all the attention.
Why it should have been a hit: Actually, "Cherry Baby" was a hit—or at least a brief blip in the Top 40. But considering its stellar opening guitar line and shot-through-the-heart chorus, it's amazing it didn't become a sing-along standard.

Starz - Cherry Baby [MP3, link expired]