August 11, 1984 Part One

First of all, I apologize for not doing that 70s odds and ends post I promised last time.  It's been a busy week.  But I do plan to do it sometime after this week's regular 80s lookback.

Which brings us to August 1984.  On the day this countdown aired, Ronald Reagan joked during the sound check for his weekly radio address that he had ordered a massive bombing attack on Russia.  The joke didn't air, but word did get out, and it was sufficient enough to create a brief state of alert among certain Soviet forces.  Ah, those were the days.  Anyway, while the Great Communicator was making light of nuclear annihilation, these were the songs that other radio stations were playing.

40 - "Right By Your Side," Eurythmics
39 - "My Oh My," Slade
38 - "Almost Paradise," Mike Reno and Nancy Wilson
37 - "Cruel Summer," Bananarama
36 - "When You Close Your Eyes," Night Ranger
35 - "Let's Go Crazy," Prince and the Revolution
34 - "Drive," The Cars
33 - "Dynamite," Jermaine Jackson
32 - "Turn to You," The Go-Gos
31 - "Leave a Tender Moment Alone," Billy Joel

We'll start with British groups.  Eurythmics are here with one of their lesser American hits, a Latin/Calypso-flavored ode to a lover.  Just fun smiley pop, a departure from the icily cool stuff they'd previously charted with.  Veteran rockers Slade had their second and last American hit with this anthemic ballad about how we can all come together and no one has to be lonely and face the world alone.  Maybe not a great song, but I imagine it would be fun to sing along to with a bunch of drunken friends.  And the girls of Bananarama return from last October with their song about how hot the months of July and August are.  And honestly, for me, this summer has been far from cruel.  It's actually been pretty nice.

The other seven songs I'm just dividing into sections marked "Rock" and "Um, not rock, really."  First among the latter, ironically, is a duet between the lead singers of the hard rock bands Loverboy and Heart.  We covered this Footloose cheese ballad last time, and I have nothing to add.  Back from October is Jermaine Jackson's sex jam that's more of a blasting cap than a load of TNT.  And Billy Joel had his fifth hit from the An Innocent Man LP with this harmonica-laden homage to midtempo R&B ballads of the fifties and sixties.  He sings okay, and his heart's in the right place, but this is a little bland to my taste.

We finish with the rock.  Night Ranger are back from last October with a rocker on which drummer Kelly Keagy sings about wondering if an old flame still misses him and the times they had sex in the back of a Chevy.  I don't know if he ever found the answer, and I don't want to speculate.  Also back from that chart is Prince, who advises one and all to "look for the purple banana before they put us in the truck."  I wiil, Prince!  I will!  The Cars make three October returnees with their ballad of concern for a friend's travel arrangements.  They slowed things down, but maintained what made them who they were.  Always a noteworthy accomplishment.  And The Go-Gos had their final Top 40 hit with this power-popper about wanting a lover to make himself emotionally available.  This frequently jockeys for top spot on my Go-Gos favorites list with "Head Over Heels."  Just when I think the latter has permanently taken #1, I hear this again, and my inner debate begins anew.

30 - "All of You," Julio Iglesias and Diana Ross
29 - "Alibis," Sergio Mendes
28 - "Self Control," Laura Branigan
27 - "The Glamorous Life," Sheila E.
26 - "I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)," Kenny Loggins
25 - "The Warrior," Scandal featuring Patty Smyth
24 - "Sexy Girl," Glenn Frey
23 - "Lights Out," Peter Wolf
22 - "Rock Me Tonite," Billy Squier
21 - "She's Mine," Steve Perry

This group contains quite a bit of the soft stuff.  After picking up his first English hit in America with help from Willie Nelson, Julio Iglesias followed it up with another duet, this one with Diana Ross.  The blend of the two voices on this romantic ballad is less jarring then the one on "To All the Girls I've Loved Before," but that strangeness was part of its charm.  This is just another love song, and it's been justly forgotten.  Brazil's Sergio Mendes had his last American hit with this MOR pop song on which singer Joe Pizzulo suspects his lover of cheating.  It's much better than "Never Gonna Let You Go," but I hate that song, so that doesn't say a lot.  Ex-Eagle Glenn Frey is here with a bland midtempo number about lusting after an unattainable neighbor.  More evidence to throw on my "Why Glenn Frey sucks on his own" pile.  And Steve Perry followed up "Oh Sherrie," with this midtempo ballad on which he threatens other men who might even be remotely interested in his girlfriend.  Possessiveness...sooooo sexy.

The other songs I'm dividing into "Sung by Women" and "Sung by...um, what do you call them...oh yeah, men."  Laura Branigan returns from this past May with her ominous rocker about looking for lust in all the so-wrong-it's-right places.  Her best moment.  And the other two in this category are back from last October.  First it's Sheila E. with her funky ode to falling in love when that's not your objective.  I wonder if there really is a "55 Secret Street" somewhere in the world.  And if you had sex there, would you be arrested?  And then it's Patty Smyth and her band with her totally-80s classic about love as struggle between hunter and prey.  I wonder what she'd have said then if you'd told her that thirteen years after this, she'd marry John McEnroe.  Perhaps something along the lines of  "You can't be serious!  You can NOT be SERIOUS!"

We finish off the first half with the singing dudes.  Kenny Loggins is here with his other contribution to the Footloose soundtrack.  It's a mild rocker about staying where he is to fight for love.  A much smaller hit than the title tune, and deservedly so.  The man born Peter Blankfield had his first and biggest hit after leaving The J. Geils Band with this funky rock ode to "dancing in the dark to the radio of love." Interesting metaphor.  What could it possibly mean?  Don't matter, fun song.  And rocker Billy Squier had what would be his biggest pop hit with this energetic and catchy number about going out into the evening to find adventure and such.  However, the song's video, which featured Squier dancing around his bedroom in a pink tank top, is cited by most observers (and Billy himself) as being responsible for the steep decline in his career.  Me, I didn't think it was that bad, but I see the point.  There was a certain element of the "rock" audience back then who didn't want to see someone they regarded as a meat-and-potatoes guitar slinger move like that.  Sad, but true.

Tomorrow (all dates approximate.  Card subject to change.): rodent rock; a song that isn't about hats, canals, or Manuel Noriega; and a vocal duel between two of the biggest music stars ever.