June 20, 1981 Part Two

Concluding our first visit to the eighties. Let us return now to a simpler time, a mere six weeks before the launch of a little game-changer called MTV.

20 - "Theme from The Greatest American Hero," Joey Scarbury
19 - "The Waiting," Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
18 - "Hearts," Marty Balin
17 - "Is it You," Lee Ritenour
16 - "Sweetheart," Franke and the Knockouts

The second half begins with Joey Scarbury, a journeyman singer who made his only major impact on pop when prolific TV-theme writer Mike Post tapped him to sing the opening song for a new show about a nerdy teacher who is given a special costume by aliens that gives him superpowers. The song is a cheesy ballad, but it became a huge hit. And the show made sure William Katt was remembered for more than being the guy who took Carrie to the prom. But neither Katt nor Scarbury would match this success again.

Then it's Tom Petty and company with his jangly rocker about impatience. The Heartbreakers' rootsy, meat-and-potatoes sound helped keep this decade musically grounded, as far as I'm concerned. And this might be my favorite of theirs.

Next is former Jefferson Airplane/Starship member Marty Balin. He was the voice of crap like "Miracles" and "Count on Me," before jumping Ship in 1979. One might have hoped he would have gone in a grittier direction upon going solo, but instead, he put out this, which is just as bland and pointless as the worst of the band he left. No, Marty, everything isn't all right.

Lee Ritenour is a prolific jazz guitarist and session musician who was nicknamed "Captain Fingers." On his only pop hit, he plays while singers Eric Tagg and Bill Champlin deliver a bland lyric about a guy wondering about the identity of the mystery lady he longs for. More doctor's office pap, with vocals that sound like a low-rent Kenny Loggins. And the guitar playing isn't that memorable either. Not necessary at all.

Rounding out this section is the first and biggest hit by Franke and the Knockouts (yes, he spells his name without an "i.") A simple pledge of love, blunted quite a bit by a lame synth solo and the fact that the whole thing sounds like the softer version of Toto's "Hold the Line," that no one was asking for.

15 - "What Are We Doing in Love," Dottie West
14 - "Take It on the Run," REO Speedwagon
13 - "Living Inside Myself," Gino Vannelli
12 - "I Love You," The Climax Blues Band
11 - "This Little Girl," Gary U.S. Bonds

Dottie West was 39 and had been racking up country hits for 18 years when she scored her only pop hit with this song about opposites attracting that features vocal assistance from one Kenny Rogers. I enjoy it, especailly Dottie's expressive, smoky voice.

REO Speedwagon, a group named after a vintage make of fire engines, also had to wait quite a while for their first taste of the Top 40. After eight albums that built a strong fanbase but produced little mainstream airplay, LP #9, Hi Infidelity, was a monster right out of the box thanks to the #1 ballad "Keep On Lovin' You." That was followed by this second single, in which singer Kevin Cronin proclaims he "heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend who heard it from another" that his girlfriend was being unfaithful. Probably my favorite of the band's hits. Waaaaay better than "Can't Fight This Feeling."

Next is Montreal's Gino V. with his third and last American hit, a typically overwrought ballad about withdrawing from the world after his woman leaves him. It's really too bad 1985's "Black Cars" stalled at #42 in the States. That was a fun, slinky little strut.

Then it's the only other American hit from Britain's Climax Blues Band. When talking about "Couldn't Get it Right," I derided this song as a goopy, sappy ballad, which is how I remembered it. But refamiliarizing myself with it, I find that it's actually a pretty earthy, heart-on-sleeve declaration of devotion to a lover. My apologies to everyone concerned.

Ending this section is Gary U.S. Bonds, an R&B singer who had seven hits in the early 60s, including the #1 "Quarter to Three" before fading into what seemed like permanent obscurity. But then, Bruce Springsteen, who was a fan, went to see Bonds at a New Jersey club, joined him onstage, and eventually, Bruce offered to write and produce tracks for a comeback album. One of those songs was this one, a rollicking raveup that wouldn't have sounded out of place on the Boss' first two albums. Oh, and I'm not 100% sure if Clarence Clemons played the sax solo here, but regardless, I'm going to take this opportunity to say R.I.P., Big Man.

And now, our first Top Ten of the nineteen eighties:

10 - "Jessie's Girl," Rick Springfield
The comeback hit for the man who had just taken on the role of Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital because he didn't believe his music career would ever get back on track. But it did, on the strength of this timeless pop-rocker about envy that was inspired by Springfield's crush on the girlfiend of his friend Gary, whom he met when they all took a stained-glass class together. On such stange foundations are earworms built.

9 - "You Make My Dreams," Daryl Hall and John Oates
Daryl and John had just ended their top ten drought with the #1 "Kiss on My List" when they followed it with this jaunty tune about the euphoria of love. That stuttery guitar just hooks you and doesn't let go.

8 - "America," Neil Diamond
The third, and arguably best-remembered, single from the soundtrack of the much ridiculed 1980 remake of the pioneering 1927 Al Jolson film The Jazz Singer. It's a big, bold song celebrating the hopes and dreams of immigrants to the United States. I've never seen the movie, nor even sought out the infamous scene in which Laurence Olivier declares "I...have...no...son!" But I will admit that as a child, I owned the soundtrack on cassette. Yeah, go ahead.

7 - "The One That You Love," Air Supply
This Australian soft rock duo was in the midst of an incredible run of seven consecutive U.S. Top Fives. This one was typical of their hits: the higher voiced one (not sure if he's the one whose first name is Russell or the one who has that as his last name) singing intensely on the verses and the first couple choruses before really bringing the vein-popping noise on that last chorus. All right, but I'll always prefer the only big hit they had after this run ended, the mighty "Making Love Out of Nothing at All."

6 - "Being With You," Smokey Robinson
After leaving the Miracles, Smokey didn't have much solo success on the pop charts until he scored a #4 smash with the slick MOR number "Cruisin'" He revisited that vein with this "I don't care about your past or what your friends say, I love you, baby." tune, and this time he made it all the way to #2. The middle of the road may be safe and boring, but it can also be very profitable.

5 - "All Those Years Ago," George Harrison
In the year's following John Lennon's assassination, several artists would wrtie tribute songs about him, but one of the first, and arguably the best, was this one from one of his former bandmates. Over an upbeat yet slightly mournful track, George refers to John as "the one who imagined it all," and says "I always looked up to you," while pointedly referring to his killer as "the devil's best friend." This was Harrison's biggest hit in years, but I'm sure he didn't care.

4 - "A Woman Needs Love," Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio
Foreshadowing his eventual breakaway, Ray Jr. gives himself separate billing from his band on this smooth, bland song in which Parker warns men that women enjoy sex too, and that if they don't get what they need from their man, they'll go somewhere else for it just like men do. Another one of those songs that states something that seems obvious now, but at the time some people saw this as a revelation.

3 - "Sukiyaki," A Taste of Honey
In 1963, Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto had a huge worldwide hit with a song sung in his native language whose original title translates as "I Shall Walk Looking Up." But for its release in English-speaking countries, his record label gave it the title "Sukiyaki." Sukiyaki is a Japanese beef and vegetable dish that has nothing whatsoever to do with the song's lyrics, but the label decided that the best thing was to identify the song with a familiar and easy-to-remember Japanese word. Eighteen years later, the R&B group A Taste of Honey, who was in danger of becoming known solely for their #1 disco smash "Boogie Oogie Oogie," decided to cover the song as a ballad with English lyrics that, while not a direct translation, cover the same lyrical ground of someone's eyes filling with tears at the thought of their lost love. This song's bizarre provenance made it a strong contender for this decades' first Uneasy Rider, but in the end, it fell just short.

2 - "Bette Davis Eyes," Kim Carnes
The biggest-by-far hit for the raspy-voiced Carnes, this dark, sultry classic describes an mysterious("All the boys think she's a spy."), sexually aggressive ("She'll take a tumble on you/Roll you like you were dice/Until you come up blue.") seductress who has hair like Jean Harlow, sighs like Greta Garbo, and who has eyes reminiscent of the star of Jezebel and All About Eve. Great delivery by Carnes, fantastic use of synths and drum machines to create atmosphere, just great stuff all around.

And 30 years ago, the biggest song in the United States of America was...

1 - "Medley," Stars on 45
This record came to be when a Dutch record executive decided to create a dance medley of several popular songs. It begins with the familiar opening guitar notes of Shocking Blue's "Venus,: then segues into a disco beat, over whichsomeone sings "Sugar Sugar" by the Archies, and what then follows are snippets of eight Beatles tunes: "No Reply," "I'll Be Back," "Drive My Car," "Do You Want to Know a Secret," "We Can Work it Out," "I Should Have Known Better," "Nowhere Man," and "You're Going to Lose That Girl," performed by John and Paul soundalikes. The whole thing ends with a Bee Gees soundalike chorus sings something to the effect of "We're Stars on 45." It was extremely disco, at a time when America's motto was supposedly "Disco Sucks!" And yet somehow, it topped the U.S. chart. Weird. Anyway, this gets the first Uneasy Rider Award of the 80s.

Apparently, some stations play NotCasey extras, but this one didn't, so I'm not looking them up. But there were plenty of extra songs played by Casey. First, the show open with the previous week's top two hits (which were this week's top two, but in reverse order). Then there were three #1 hits from mid-1966: "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge, "Paint It, Black" by the Rolling Stones, and "Paperback Writer" by the Beatles. And on top of it all, there were two Long Distance Dedications. A woman named Michelle dedicated Bread's "If" to her older sister, who she looked up to growing up and always treated her with respect. Then, a woman named Sherry dedicated Rita Coolidge's "Higher and Higher" to her wonderful father and her just-as-wonderful husband. Liked the sentiment, but the songs, not so much.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this little preview of the direction I will be heading in very soon. And I will be back tomorrow with a bonus entry, where I look at this week's 1978 episode.