This week we revisit the week before the official start of the spring of 1988. The U.S. presidential primaries that would eventually produce a Bush/Dukakis matchup were taking place. And as Republicans and Democrats drove to the polls, many of their car radios were playing the following:
40 - "Prove Your Love," Taylor Dayne
39 - "Need You Tonight," INXS
38 - "You Don't Know," Scarlett and Black
37 - "Never Knew Love Like This," Alexander O'Neal featuring Cherelle
36 - "I Saw Him Standing There," Tiffany
35 - "Don't Shed a Tear," Paul Carrack
34 - "Push It," Salt-N-Pepa
33 - "Could've Been," Tiffany
32 - "Rock of Life," Rick Springfield
31 - "Because of You," The Cover Girls
I'm going to start with songs by female solo singers. Taylor Dayne picked up her second hit with another serviceable slice of dance-pop. She needs to know if someone's affection for her is genuine. She doesn't have to worry about that with me. I can't even pretend I enjoy her music. And teen sensation Tiffany is here twice. First, she shows up with a terrible Beatles' cover that turns a British invasion classic into a limp, synth-pop disaster. Tiffany makes a game attampt to affect a raspy edge to her voice on it, but all in all, it's just a travesty. And what's worse, I'm now learning that whereas I thought I remembered that it got stuck in the 20s, it turns out it made it to #7. Ugh. Compared to this, "Could've Been," which is back for a third time, is a masterpiece.
There are two groups here with songs we've already encountered. INXS still have there funky nocturnal desires, And the Cover Girls are still jumping and annoying me with their high voices. So let's move on.
Three duos grace us with their presence. Britain's Scarlett and Black, whose names were actually Sue and Robin, had their only success with this Tears for Fears-ish lite-popper about not being able to express one's emotions. Perhaps it's appropriate that this song makes me feel absolutely nothing. Ex-The Time singer Alexander O'Neal and R&B hitmaker Cheryl Anne Norton had their second and last hit together with this okay soul-popper about a really good love affair. Cherrelle, for the record, also recorded the original version of Robert Palmer's #2 hit "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On." That's nice. And Salt-N-Pepa return one more time with their immortal rap standard about a dance that isn't for everyone, "only the sexy people." So it's for me, then.
We finish this opening bunch with solo men. Paul Carrack is back again, telling his ex that there's no need to cry for him. Before he played it, Casey played a medley of hits with "tear" in the title, including Jackie Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops," ? and the Mysterians "96 Tears," The Rolling Stones' "As Tears Go By," and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles "The Tears of a Clown." All of which are better songs than "Don't Shed a Tear." And Rick Springfield had his last American hit with a song he wrote after a three year absence from show business. During this time, he had his first child, who is referenced as "the little boy in my hands" in the lyrics. Overall, it's an awkward attempt to update his sound while remaining true to the pop-rock he made his name with. The horns and synths sound like they were forced on him. It might have been a better in a stripped-down version, but either way, it was clear that pop had passed him by.
30 - "Angel," Aerosmith
29 - "Say You Will," Foreigner
28 - "Where Do Broken Hearts Go," Whitney Houston
27 - "Wishing Well," Terence Trent D'Arby
26 - "Seasons Change," Exposé
25 - "When We was Fab," George Harrison
24 - "Check it Out," John Cougar Mellencamp
23 - "Some Kind of Lover," Jody Watley
22 - "Devil Inside," INXS
21 - "Pump Up the Volume," M/A/R/R/S
We begin this section with rock bands. Aerosmith followed up their comeback hit "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)," with this earnest power ballad about how love can rescue the lonely. Featuring a pop-friendly string arrangement, it's as sappy as hell, but it worked, becoming the band's first Top Five hit and cementing them as being back to stay. And it's several thousand times better than "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." Foreigner are back, asking you to make up your mind about them. I have, guys. You were solid back in the day, but by this point, you were just phoning it in. And INXS had their second hit this week with a sleek, slightly menacing rocker about how we all have a little bit of a naughty streak in us. Not me, though. I've never had even the most remotely sinful thought in my head. Unless you count the ones about Christina Hendricks.
Then we have three R&B hits. Whitney Houston is here with the ballad about trying to find one's way back to love that became the last of her record-setting seven consecutive #1s. It's one of her stronger love songs, even though she was initially reluctant to record it. Of course, some of her albums have returned to the upper reaches of the charts lately because of her death. That's always an odd phenomenon to me. Terence Trent D'Arby was born in Manhattan, raised in Florida, moved to Germany when he joined the Army, then went AWOL to pursue a music career. After being in a few bands in Germany, he moved to London, where he got a record deal and quickly became a major star. Then his music reached the land of his birth, and he scored a #1 with this sexy, retroish soul number. It definitely sounded nothing like the electronics-heavy productions that were ruling the R&B scene at the time, and that probably helped it stand out and make an impact. It holds up, but I have to say, my favorite TTD single will always be the one before this, "If You Let Me Stay." That one fell short of the Top 40, which I still say is an injustice. And ex Shalamar singer Jody Watley about a guy who's really good at kissing and stuff. It's probably my favorite of hers, but that just means it's slightly above average.
Two non-rock groups return with hits we've already covered. Exposé are here one more time, singing about the passing of time, which seems slower than it actually is when I listen to this boring-ass song. And M/A/R/R/S return with their groundbreaking dance classic that, due to lack of new competition, becomes a rare repeat winner of the Uneasy Rider.
We finish the first half with two solo male rock singers. George Harrison had his last Top 40 hit with this paean to his days with The Beatles. The lyrics are a bit inscrutable ("But you mo better wise when the buzz gonna come and take you away"?), but still, it really captures the spirit of the thing. Of course, this wasn't the Quiet Beatle's last great pop culture moment. That came five years later, when he met a "nice fella" named Homer Simpson and directed him to a big pile of brownies. And John Cougar Mellencamp is here with a pensive midtempo rocker that ruminates on the responsiblities of adulthood {jobs, kids, home buying), and wonders if that's really the most fulfilling way to live. Also, Mellencamp hopes that future generation "have a better understanding" of how to be happy. Pretty deep stuff, but buried in a catchy melody that helps the medicine go down.
Tomorrow, a singer who is in no way related to Fred Flintstone, nocturnal visions are invited into automobiles, and a cover even worse than "I Saw Him Standing There."
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