This week we ventute back to the winter of 1987. I had just turned 16. The Iran-Contra scandal was heating up. And on the charts, this was happening...
40 - "We Connect," Stacey Q
39 - "Shake You Down," Gregory Abbott
38 - "Don't Dream it's Over," Crowded House
37 - "Lean on Me," Club Nouveau
36 - "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight," Genesis
35 - "Let's Go," Wang Chung
34 - "The Final Countdown," Europe
33 - "Stay the Night," Benjamin Orr
32 - "Land of Confusion," Genesis
31 - "Candy," Cameo
A mere three solo acts in this bunch. Stacey Q had her second and last Top 40 hit with this bit of dance fluff in which she describes a dalliance with "a boy from the wrong side of town." Apparently, she "explode(s) when we connect." Wonder what that means. Anyway, more interesting than "Two of Hearts," if not necessarily better. Gregory Abbott returns with his #1 bedroom ballad. It doesn't take me all the way to heaven, but it's good. And the late Cars bassist Benjamin Orzechowski had his only solo hit with this decent synth-ballad. It's not quite up their with the Cars hits he sung on like "Just What I Needed" and "Drive," but it was a worthy hit.
The rest of this section is made up of songs by groups, and I've decided to divide them up into "bands that start with C" and "bands that don't." First among the former is Crowded House, a band formed in Australia by New Zealander Neil Finn, who had had some previous success with the band Split Enz. Their first and biggest American hit is this this catchy midtempo pop-rocker about staying positive in spite of life's troubles and obstacles. I love Crowded House. They should have had more American hits, but I think pop radio there turned in a direction that left little room for them. Shame. R&B group Club Nouveau had their biggest hit with a hip-hop flavored cover of Bill Withers' classic about loyalty and friendship. Again, I have to admit that a cover was my first exposure to a great song. Obviously, the original is loads better, especially because it doesn't contain a pointless use of of the phrase "We be jammin'." But the Club Nouveau take works as an introduction, so I'm glad it happened. And funk stars Cameo followed up "Word Up" with their second and last pop hit, a song that compares a beautiful woman to a variety of sweet flavors like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and...violets? Oh well, I've never ate them, so how would I know? No matter, it's full of lascivious goodness.
And we end the section with the non-C-starters. Genesis are here with two of their Invisible Touch hits. First, on the way up, is "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight," a song that, to me at least, sounds like a pale attempt to recreate "In the Air Tonight." And I don't know what Phil Collins means when he says he's "goin' down like a monkey," but I probably don't want to. Anyway, I remember this song most for being used in Michelob beer commercials. And then, on the way out, is "Land of Confusion," a stab at political commentary. The better of the two by far. Wang Chung had their last American hit with this song that's like "Everybody Have Fun Tonight," except it seems to be describing a somewhat more private party. Not bad. And Swedish hair-farmers Europe had their most enduring hit with this song that seems to be about a time when people have to flee a dying Earth for a new life on Venus. But most people probably don't realize that, because this song's most distinctive feature is that chilling synthesizer opening that leads into the rousing "Dah-dah-dah DAH, dah-dah-dah dah DAH!" You know it. It's been a staple of sports arenas for a quarter-century now. Anyway, it's this week's Uneasy Rider.
30 - "Someday," Glass Tiger
29 - "C'est La Vie," Robbie Nevil
28 - "Come Go with Me," Exposé
27 - "Facts of Love," Jeff Lorber featuring Karyn White
26 - "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," Starship
25 - "Brand New Lover," Dead or Alive
24 - "Can't Help Falling in Love," Corey Hart
23 - "I Wanna Go Back," Eddie Money
22 - "Let's Wait Awhile," Janet Jackson
21 - "Talk to Me," Chico DeBarge
Four groups in this section. Canada's Glass Tiger are back with their second biggest hit, a crap ballad. I shed no tears for them. Miami's Exposé had their first hit with this meh dance number. Again, this group did absolutely nothing for me, but I'm sure they filled a niche, so good for them. Starship are here with their terrible smash from that movie where Kim Cattrall plays a mannequin that comes to life after a mannequin-maker falls in love with one of his mannequins. I think it was called The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down. Anyway, I hate the song, possibly even more than Jefferson Starship's 70s crap. Grace Slick traded in a good chunk of the cool points she'd accumulated over the years to get a #1. Hope it was worth it. And Dead or Alive had their last U.S. Top 40 with this splashy dancefloor confection about wanting someone to love who "doesn't notice all the others." Because of his look, I'm sure singer Pete Burns is considered a poor man's Boy George, but I think that gives him short shrift. This and "You Spin Me Round" are both terrific singles in their own right.
Next I'll cover three solo men. Robbie Nevil returns from last time, resigned to the ups and downs of existence. For some reason, I always compare him to Richard Marx. And Robbie always comes off better. Corey Hart is here with a drippy cover of one of Elvis' most famous ballads. I'm not sure what's worse, this or the version UB40 went to #1 with in the 90s. And Eddie Money followed up "Take Me Home Tonight" with this soft-rocker about wanting to return to the days of youth and "do it all over." A common sentiment, and an okay song.
We close with three R&B hits. Jazz keyboardist Jeff Lorber had his only pop hit with this slick bit of lite-funk greatly enhanced by singer Karyn White, who would go on to have several hits on her own. Janet Jackson scored her fifth hit from Control with this ballad that advises delayed sexual gratification. As fear of AIDS began to permeate the culture, this was counsel that people were perhaps more willing to listen to than at other times in the past 40 years or so. Regardless, it's probably Janet's best ballad. And I bet she wished she'd taken that advice before eloping with James DeBarge a few years earlier. Speaking of which, here's James younger brother Chico, who was never a member of his family's band, but did have a solo career that produced one Top 40 hit, this alright dance tune about wanting more conversation in a relationship. Interesting. Maybe he learned something from big bro's mistake. Or maybe I'm full of shit.
Tomorrow: a princess of a band, a struggle for the freedom to celebrate, and a young lady goes from Page 3 to Top 5.
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