We're back for the second half of this week's 1985 list, but before I get into that, I'd like to take a quick look at this week's 70s offering, September 4, 1971.
Most of the songs here I've covered before. "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" was #1. "Saturday Morning Confusion" and "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" are here, as is, um, "Go Away Little Girl." As for the stuff I never got to cover...lets see...A cluster of super-familiar songs from 12-14, beginning with Jean Knight's immortal funky putdown, "Mr. Big Stuff." Then it's Marvin Gaye with another impeccably delivered message in "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)." And lastly it's the last hit by The Doors, the dark and evocative "Riders on the Storm."...James Taylor reminds that "You've Got a Friend" at 22, one place above James Brown's mighty "Hot Pants."...Hey, it's ONJ's first American hit, a sweet little cover of Dylan's "If Not for You." at 25...27 is the bombastic Paul Revere and the Raiders smash with a message "Indian Reservation." I go back and forth on that song...A Shondell-less Tommy James gives us the lazy, swampy "Draggin' the Line" at 29. The Jackson 5 missed the Top Ten for the first time with "Maybe Tomorrow," here at 33. It's good, though. Almost sounds more like Philly soul than Motown...And there aren't many lyrics to the song at 40, "I Likes to Do It" by The People's Choice. But it definitely gets its point across.
What I'm going to do, for this week at least, is pick one song to shine a spotlight on. And this week it's:
28 - "What the World Needs Now is Love/Abraham, Martin and John," Tom Clay
Tom Clay was a DJ who came up at the dawn of the rock era. He worked in several cities and was popular, but at points in his career became involved in scandal: first getting caught up in the "payola" investigations, and later being involved in a fraudulent "Beatles Booster Club" that was just an excuse for listeners to send him money. But his most lasting legacy may be this record, a song that intersperses two 60s hits with clips of marching soldiers, the assassinations of John and Bobby Kennedy, a speech by Martin Luther King, and Ted Kennedy's eulogy for Bobby. And it's bookended by an interview with a child who responds "I don't know" when asked to define "segregation," "bigoty," and "hatred," but then when asked what "prejudice" is, he (I think it's a boy) responds, "I think it's when someone is sick." The middle may go overboard a bit, but the interview with the kid is genuinely moving. And yes, it's so different that it would have won an Uneasy Rider.
Okay, now let's go back to '85.
20 - "What About Love," Heart
19 - "Life in One Day," Howard Jones
18 - "Oh Sheila," Ready for the World
17 - "Dress You Up," Madonna
16 - "Smokin' in the Boys' Room," Motley Crue
The second half begins with Ann and Nancy Wilson's band and the record that announced their transformation from cool rock chicks to awful purveyors of corporate crap. This is just a hollow power ballad that doesn't really have any emotional heft. And now it's featured in commercials that feature people dressed as dirt, dust and mud being sucked up by the Swiffer. An appropriate fate.
Next is Welsh synth-popper Howard Jones with a peppy little number whose basic message is "stop and smell the roses." Although I have no idea what "get the hereditary bone" means, I still like it.
Then it's R&B group Ready for the World, the pride of Flint, Michigan. This lusty, Prince-esque party number was their first hit, and it went all the way to #1. This is a favorite of mine, especially when the lead singer busts out a fake accent that I assumed was supposed to be English, but was actually meant to be Australian. Which makes sense, not only because "sheila" is Aussie slang for a woman, but because it actually sounds more Australian than English. I guess they really were ready for the world.
Madonna makes her BGC debut with the fourth hit from the Like a Virgin LP, a peppy dance floor burner in which the Material Girl offers her love as, well, material. Her "silky caresses" and "velvet kisses", she claims, are even more stylish than custom-made suits. Somehow I doubt that.
Finishing this section is the first Top 40 hit for Motley Crue, a decent but, as I would eventually learn, inferior version of the song first made famous by Brownsville Station in 1973. But all in all, the Crue wore this tale of teen rebellion well. And as Casey reminded us with the story of singer Vince Neil's vehicular manslaughter incident the previous December, tobacco and washrooms mix better than alcohol and cars.
15 - "Dare Me," The Pointer Sisters
14 - "Never Surrender," Corey Hart
13 - "Shout," Tears for Fears
12 - "Freedom," Wham!
11 - "Invincible," Pat Benatar
This group begins with Ruth, June and Anita's next-to-last Top 40, a mild but catchy funk piece where they're either asking a guy to make love to them or challenging them to a fight. I think it's the former, but...
I'm sure if you asked random people in the street what Corey Hart's biggest hit was, a lot of people would mention something about baseball, thinking you were talking about the current Milwaukee Brewers right fielder. But among those who knew you were talking about the pop star from Montreal, I'm guessing most would say "Sunglasses at Night." And they'd be wrong. That only hit #7, while this ballad about not giving up got to #3. But it's awful, whereas "Sunglasses at Night" retains a cheesy charm. So I don't blame people for assuming it was the bigger record. It should have been.
Next are Britain's Tears for Fears with their second U.S. #1, a catchy call to protest and question authority. This is just a big-sounding song that I liked at first, then got sick of, and now I like it again. And you wouldn't be able to do to it what Michael Andrews and Gary Jules did to "Mad World" and have it sound right.
Then it's George Michael and "other guy" Andrew Ridgeley with one of the bouncy confections that made up the bulk of their singles output. In this one, George refuses to fool around on his lover, even though she's admittedly doing it to him. Given the song's title, it's ironic that the song's video was shot during the group's tour of the People's Republic of China.
Last in this group is classically-trained singer Patricia Andrzejewski, who became famous switching to rock and using her first husband's last name. On this hit from the forgotten teens-on-the-run The Legend of Billie Jean, she belts out a solid rock declaration of defiance. Not among her best, but pretty good. I consider Pat Benatar one of the more underrated pop singers of my youth.
Here be the Top Ten:
10 - "Pop Life," Prince and the Revolution
Mr. Nelson of Minneapolis and his capable backup make their first visit to this realm with a rubbery bit of synth-funk that basically encourages people to make the most of life. This includes avoiding drugs and pursuing education ("Show me a boy who stays in school and I'll show you a boy aware"). Very good, and greatly enhanced by the backing vocals of Wendy and Lisa.
9 - "You're Only Human (Second Wind)," Billy Joel
Billy wrote this song about not being too hard on oneself for making mistakes as an anti-suicide measure, going so far as to donate the proceeds from it to a youth suicide-prevention charity. Its upbeat tone and jumpy 80s arrangement seem jarring to me given the subject matter, but apparently Joel felt something more somber might not have the desired effect. I guess I'll trust his judgment, because this is songwriting, not driving.
8 - "Don't Lose My Number," Phil Collins
On this, one of the singles off the monster album No Jacket Required, the Genesis drummer does his big pop-rock thing on this story about a guy named Billy who's on the run for some reason. Phil's apparently a friend of his, and he hopes Billy calls him soon, because whatever happened, "he never meant to do anything wrong" and "it's gonna get worse if he waits too long." An okay song, which I remember had a video that ripped off a bunch of other videos.
7 - "Cherish," Kool and the Gang
In their poppier incarnation, these guys got gooey with this ode to a long relationship that asks "If you receive your calling before I awake, will I make it through the night?" So let me get this straight: he's asking if his wife dies in her sleep, will he die too? And what is he asking her for? How's she supposed to know that? Weird question. And the only interesting thing about this song that I imagined was assembled from a "Make a song that will be played at weddings but will be despised outside of that context" kit.
6 - "Money for Nothing," Dire Straits
Mark Knopfler and co.'s only American #1 is this Sting-assisted rocker, sung from the point of view of a guy who works at an appliance store seeing the bizarre antics of rock stars on MTV and says "That ain't workin'." The song caused controversy in Canada this year when the country's Radio and Television Commission declared the long version of the song "inappropriate for broadcast" because in a verse not included on the single version, the word "faggot" is used. Recently, however, the Commission amended that ruling to basically say that given the cdontext the word is used in, it should be up to individual radio stations whether or not to play it. Whew! Our national nightmare is over.
5 - "Summer of '69," Bryan Adams
The Canadian working-class rocker had his biggest non-ballad hit with this recollection of the summer he put together his first band and had his first serious relationship. Only problem is, in 1969, Adams was 10. So could "69" have another meaning? Perhaps (gasp) a sexual one? Well, near the end, it does sound like he sings "Me and my baby in a 69." At least to me. But maybe I'm just a dirty old man.
4 - "Freeway of Love," Aretha Franklin
The Queen of Soul cracked the Top Ten for the first time in a dozen years with this bouncy tune in which she offers a guy in tight pants a ride in her pink Cadillac on the titular motorway. A little dated, but still good. Plus there's a sax solo from the late Clarence Clemons, and that's never a bad thing.
3 - "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)," Tina Turner
Tina's contribution to Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, a film in which she also co-starred as the boss of a post-apocalyptic town in which disputes are settled by brutal combat in something called, well, "Thunderdome." In this song, however, Tina is not in character. Rather, she's taking the point of view of the people who want something better than a life where things are resolved in a more civilized manner. Anyway, I find this song strange, because if you were to play the song to someone who'd never heard it before and had no awareness of the movie, they'd surely come out of it with one main reaction: "What the hell is a Thunderdome?" And it's for that reason that I'm giving this song this week's Uneasy Rider.
2 - "The Power of Love," Huey Lewis and the News
A horn-driven blues rocker in which Lewis compares love to a train, and informs us that you don't need money, fame, or a credit card to ride it. Oh yeah, and it was used in an obscure film about travel and Oedipus complex. I forget what it was called. I should call my father and ask him. I think I remember that he liked that movie. A lot.
And the big song 26 years ago was...
1 - "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)," John Parr
The second and last Top 40 for Englishman Parr, this slick slice of synth-heavy pop was originally written about disabled Canadian athlete Rick Hansen, who at the time was raising money by propelling his wheelchair around the world. But somehow, it ended up as the theme for the movie that was considered the peak of the "Brat Pack" era, starring as it did Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, and Ally Sheedy. No, I've never seen it, and reading the plot summary just now, I don't think I missed anything. Probably better off just watching The Breakfast Club again.
The NotCaseys were "Part Time Lover" by Stevie Wonder, "Miami Vice Theme" by Jan Hammer, "I'm Goin' Down" by Bruce Springsteen, and "And She Was" by Talking Heads. The Long Distance Dedications were Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" (from a young boy to his dying step-grandfather) and Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)" (from a guy who'd contemplated suicide to others who might be doing the same, and the friends who could help them). And right in the middle of the show, Casey played a medley of hits from "AT40 Hall of Famer" Ray Charles. That, of course, blew most of the rest of what was played away.
So at last we reach the end of the first week of what should be the "new normal" Next week is going to be the same, I believe. Come back and see if I'm right!
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