Okay, before we wrap up 1986, let's go all the way back and see what was goin' on on October 31, 1970. The Jackson 5 were at #1 with "I'll Be There." And below...
...The Carpenters were at #2 with "We've Only Just Begun." Recently, through the magic of YouTube, I managed to watch Todd Haynes' Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. Yes, it tells the story through the unusual medium of Barbie dolls, but it's no less powerful and genuinely moving for it. I definitely recommend it..."Fire and Rain," "Cracklin' Rosie" and "Lola" are other highlights of the Top Ten...The first newbie we come across is Joe Cocker's rollicking blues cover of the classic torch song "Cry Me a River" at 19. No, it's not the same song Justin Timberlake did a few years back. There are no references to a cheating Britney Spears here...Wilson Pickett is at #25 with the funky train song "Engine Number 9." It's good, but my favorite song referencing that train remains Black Sheep's 1992 rap hit "The Choice is Yours." Pick it up, pick it up, pick it up!...Dionne Warwick is at 39, doing her usual bang-up job on a Burt Bacharach/Hal David song, "Make it Easy on Yourself"...And Stevie Wonder started to give hints of the direction he was about to go in with the fantastic gospel prayer for the worlds sinners and their victims, "Heaven Help Us All," which we find at #40...But this week, I've chosen to put the spotlight on...
37 - "Yellow River," Christie
The only hit for this British band named after bassist/vocalist Jeff Christie was this catchy little pop-rocker about going back to the title location after some sort of war. It's one of those songs that I couldn't identify by the title and artist, but as soon as I heard it, I thought, "Oh, it's that song." That has happened quite a bit in the course of doing these things. Oh, and the Yellow River these guys are singing about is almost certainly not the one in China that the natives there call "Huang He."
Okay, now back to '86:
20 - "Heaven in Your Eyes," Loverboy
19 - "Girl Can't Help It," Journey
18 - "The Rain," Oran "Juice" Jones
17 - "Word Up," Cameo
16 - "You Give Love a Bad Name," Bon Jovi
The second half begins with Mike Reno and his Canadian cheese crew, returning from last time with this glob of romantic goo. No, I didn't like this side of them.
Next it's Journey. There's almost always Journey, it seems. This week, they show up with a midtempo ballad about starcrossed lovers. Nothing special about it at all. I'd rather they'd have tried to cover the similarly titled Little Richard song. It would have surely sucked, but at least it would have sucked in an interesting way.
Ex-Marine Oran Jones made his biggest impression on the world with this darkly funky tale of finding his girlfriend walking hand-in-hand with another man. But "Juice" doesn't just take this lying down. In the song's spoken-word coda, he confronts the lady when she comes home and tells her that he saw her with her lover, who he refers to as an "alley-cat-coat-wearing, punch-bucket-shoe crumbcake." His first instinct, he tells her, was to "do a Rambo" and shoot them both dead, but instead, he merely drained her bank account, cancelled her credit cards, sold all the jewelry and designer clothes he'd bought for her, and packed the rest of her things and left them for her to take away with her. Well, better than murder. Anyway, Mr. Juice earns this week's Uneasy Rider
Atlanta funk trio Cameo had been hitting the R&B charts for a decade before they finally cracked the pop Top 40 with this vaguely spooky yet entirely awesome groover that introduced the title phrase to mainstream America. It also introduced MTV viewers to the fashion accessory known as the codpiece, which singer Larry Blackmon wore in this video. And as Carl Carlson once pointed out to Homer Simpson, you can't feed your family with a codpiece.
This section closes with what I always assumed was Bon Jovi's first Top 40 hit. Apparently, I was wrong, because "Runaway" snuck onto the list by hitting #39 two years earlier. But I'm sure most pop radio listeners had forgotten about that when they heard this driving hard rocker about a woman whose seductive powers cause Jon Bon Jovi to refer to her as "a loaded gun." It remains unspeakably catchy to this day, and not surprisingly, it hit Number One and began the band's reign as the kings of pop-metal. Who'd have known that twenty years later, they'd go country?
15 - "Take Me Home Tonight," Eddie Money
14 - "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)," Glass Tiger
13 - "True Blue," Madonna
12 - "A Matter of Trust," Billy Joel
11 - "Two of Hearts," Stacey Q
This section opens with E-Money and his biggest hit, a song about lust notable for its use of legendary girl-group singer Ronnie Spector singing portions of her Ronettes hit "Be My Baby." Not a big fan of this song, but I'm not going to begrudge Ronnie its success. After being married to Phil Spector, she deserves it.
Glass Tiger are back, and they still don't want you to forget them. Lord knows I've tried, but no luck yet.
Next is Ms. Ciccone with the title track of her third album. It has kind of a retro, girl-group feel. It could almost pass for a Supremes outtake if not for Madge's distinctive vocals. I must admit, her 80s singles have generally held up pretty well.
Then it's Billy Joel with a song from last time. I repeat, I think this is one of his better songs. For lack of a better description, it's an "adult" rocker.
Closing things out for this bunch is Stacey Q with the song I might like better if it was about a playing card. But it's not, so fuck you, Ms. Q.
Oh, when the Ten come marching in, you want to be the lowest number.
10 - "Sweet Love," Anita Baker
The return of this slice of honeyed jazz-soul. Baby-making music to be sure, but the classy kind.
9 - "Human," The Human League
After a minor hit slump in America, these British synth-poppers hooked up with the Minneapolis production duo of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The result was this Jam/Lewis-written ballad about infidelity that would become the group's second and final U.S. #1. I don't like it nearly as much as "Don't You Want Me." It just leaves me cold.
8 - "All Cried Out," Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
And I'm all out of things to write about this song after last time. Sorry.
7 - "Throwing it All Away," Genesis
Again, all I had to say about this, I did here.
6 - "Amanda," Boston
After an eight-year battle with their old record company, Tom Scholz and his craft-rockers returned on a new label with a new album. Apparently, America had been waiting anxiously for their return, because the first single, this boilerplate rock ballad that sounded like it would have fit perfectly on either of their first two LPs became their first and only Number One. There's nothing remarkable about it. There was no video. I don't know who the real-life Amanda was. I wouldn't be surprise if there wasn't one. Boston may be the most boring multi-platinum rock band ever.
5 - "Heartbeat," Don Johnson
I really should try to find some of Philip Michael Thomas' recordings and give them a listen. They can't be worse than this.
4 - "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On," Robert Palmer
Well, you did, Bob. More precisely, those pasty-faced, robotic women in your videos did. But no need to apologize.
3 - "When I Think of You," Janet Jackson
This is a far stronger example of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' work than "Human." It helps that Janet sounds like a much warmer human being than either singer on that track. I really want to remember this version of her. Hopefully someday I'll forget words and phrases like "Nipplegate" and "wardrobe malfunction."
2 - "Typical Male," Tina Turner
I'm kind of surprised that this song was this big a hit, because it seems to have been forgotten compared to a lot of her other 80s hits. Though I can't say I think it's been hard done by. It's decent, but it doesn't really stick in the mind.
And this week we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the pop chart reign of...
1 - "True Colors," Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi's second and final #1 is a ballad just like her first, "Time after Time." Although this is a more positive song, about devoted, unconditional friendship. Cyndi didn't write it, but apparently when she sang it, she was thinking about a friend who'd recently died of AIDS, and it helped comfort her. Cyndi now uses the title of the song in the names of charitable projects she puts together to support LGBT causes. And the song remains great after all these years. So, good stuff all around.
The NotCaseys this week were "Shake You Down" by Gregory Abbott, "Don't Get Me Wrong" by The Pretenders, "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King, and "Is This Love" by Survivor. And of course, there were two Long Distance Dedications: A teenage girl had Casey play Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All" for other kids her age who were facing peer pressure, and a Marine dedicated Journey's "Faithfully" to his girlftiend to let her know he still loves her even after she was paralyzed in a car accident.
And boom goes the dynamite.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
October 25, 1986 Part One
First of all, I'd like to correct a mistake from last week. "Another One Bites the Dust" was in fact Queen's second American Number One, after "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." Sorry about that.
And now, back to 25 years ago. I was 15. In a week, the first story about what would be known as the "Iran-Contra affair" would appear in a Lebanese magazine. And here's what American ears that had yet to hear the name "Oliver North" were listening to:
40 - "Point of No Return," Nu Shooz
39 - "Love Walks In," Van Halen
38 - "Freedom Overspill," Steve Winwood
37 - "Everybody Have Fun Tonight," Wang Chung
36 - "To Be a Lover," Billy Idol
35 - "Hip to be Square," Huey Lewis and the News
34 - "Dreamtime," Daryl Hall
33 - "Missionary Man," Eurythmics
32 - "Earth Angel," New Edition
31 - "Somebody's Out There," Triumph
I'll start this week by just skimming through the four songs in this group that were in our last 1986 chart. Nu Shooz are still here, and this song is still not "I Can't Wait" so who cares? Van Hagar show off the power ballad side no one wanted to see. And the Daryl Hall and Eurythmics tracks are still great.
The rest divide nicely into British and North American sections. First, the Brits. I'm not sure exactly what a "Freedom Overspill" is, and I'm not sure Steve Winwood knows either. Apparently, it involves horn-heavy pop-rock and "coffee and tears the whole night through." Okay. Wang Chung, a band that once claimed their name was Chinese for "perfect pitch," then later said they named themselves after the sound of a guitar, had their biggest hit with this peppy song of celebration in which the band dubiously decided to use their name as a verb in the chorus. I'm not sure if I want to "wang chung" tonight, or on any night for that matter, but apparently, Frasier Crane did after hearing this on the way to his bachelor party. And Billy Idol is here with a synthabilly (yes, I made that word up) cover of a 1968 William Bell R&B hit about neglecting one's significant other in favor of work and other concerns. Oh Billy, will you ever learn?
We close this bunch with two American acts and one from the Great White North. Huey Lewis and the News are here with their bouncy ode to cutting one's hair, wearing suits, and eating healthy. The song came off as lame to me then, and time has not changed my opinion. And for the record, I have neither read nor seen the movie version of American Psycho. Boston vocal group New Edition were given their name by someone who decided they were the "new edition" of the Jackson 5. They weren't, but they had a few hits, including this cover of a Penguins/Crew Cuts doo-wop classic. It's too slick to measure up to the Penguins' definitive version, but it's all right. And it was the only Top 40 hit they had as a quartet, in between the firing of Bobby Brown and the hiring of Johnny Gill. And while Toronto's Triumph will always be #2 on Canada's proggy-power-trio depth chart, they did have two U.S. Top 40 hits compared to Rush's one. And the biggest of those is their entry this week, a big rock anthem about searching for one's destiny. It's not a great song by any means, but there are times and places when this is something one wants to hear and sing along to.
30 - "The Way it Is," Bruce Hornsby and the Range
29 - "Jumpin' Jack Flash," Aretha Franklin
28 - "Friends and Lovers," Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson
27 - "Love Will Conquer All," Lionel Richie
26 - "In Your Eyes," Peter Gabriel
25 - "Emotion in Motion," Ric Ocasek
24 - "I am by Your Side," Corey Hart
23 - "The Next Time I Fall," Peter Cetera with Amy Grant
22 - "I'll be Over You," Toto
21 - "Stuck with You," Huey Lewis and the News
I'll start this section with the two "and the" bands that bookend it. Virginian Bruce Hornsby and his band had their first and biggest hit with this future #1, a piano-driven pop-rocker about racism. It couches its message in a catchy tune, which is always effective. And Huey and co. are here again with a song about how great it is to be "stuck" with someone. I'm sure he meant well, but I still think whoever this was written for was just a bit annoyed with the way he put things.
I'm just going to give Aretha her own section, if that's all right. On this cover of the Rolling Stones classic, she's backed up by none other than Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood themselves, and this slower, bluesier version is much more awesome than I remembered. Aretha kills it. Oh, and you might remember that this was recorded for the Whoopi Goldberg movie of the same name. I don't think I ever saw it, but I do remember the commercials, especially the part when Whoopi's in a phone booth being dragged by a truck and telling someone on the other end of the line "I'm a little black woman in a big silver box!"
We've got two duets in this bunch. I didn't need to hear Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson's sapfest again, but it was worth it to hear Casey talk about Gloria's previous successes co-writing sitcom themes with then-husband Alan Thicke. He even played a bit of Gloria singing the Facts of Live theme. That was a fun little cheese break. And Peter Cetera, one of my least favorite male singers, teams up with Christian star Amy Grant, whose voice I've always found warm and inviting, on this big ballad in which they promise each other that their next relationship will be with each other. I don't think they ever got around to it in real life, which is just as well. As far as I'm concerned, Vince Gill > Peter Cetera. In every imaginable way.
We finish with four solo men, and their little dog, too. Lionel Richie followed up "Dancing on the Ceiling" with this midtempo ballad about, well, the title says it all, doesn't it. In his introduction, Casey says "We should have sent (Lionel) to Iceland," referring to the recent Reykjavik summit in which Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev failed to reach an agreement on a nuclear arms reduction treaty. Yes, Casey. Lionel's experience recording "Say You, Say Me" for the Soviet-set movie White Nights would have made all the difference. Nah, just kidding, Case. I got ya. Peter Gabriel is here with the song that three years later would come blasting out of John Cusack's boombox in his last-ditch attempt to win back Ione Skye in Say Anything Solid song, and I enjoyed being introduced to Youssou N'Dour. Lead Car Ric Ocasek had his only solo hit with this spacey ballad about a woman he wants to hold on to because she's his "magical potion." I assume he was singing about Paulina Porizkova. She must really like this kind of thing, because I don't think she married Ric for his looks or his money. Canada's Corey Hart introduced Fields of Fire, the followup to his platinum Boy in the Box LP, with this drippy ballad about how he will always be there for you. It's not a great song, and he wasn't that convincing as rebellious oil field worker in the video, either. And Toto show up with this terrible, terrible ballad about how they'll stop pining for their ex "as soon as forever is through." Good lord did they suck at this point. And this was just a year after they did my favorite song of theirs, "Stranger in Town."
Tomorrow: a cheater gets caught, another one confesses, and romance overall gets kind of a negative reputation.
And now, back to 25 years ago. I was 15. In a week, the first story about what would be known as the "Iran-Contra affair" would appear in a Lebanese magazine. And here's what American ears that had yet to hear the name "Oliver North" were listening to:
40 - "Point of No Return," Nu Shooz
39 - "Love Walks In," Van Halen
38 - "Freedom Overspill," Steve Winwood
37 - "Everybody Have Fun Tonight," Wang Chung
36 - "To Be a Lover," Billy Idol
35 - "Hip to be Square," Huey Lewis and the News
34 - "Dreamtime," Daryl Hall
33 - "Missionary Man," Eurythmics
32 - "Earth Angel," New Edition
31 - "Somebody's Out There," Triumph
I'll start this week by just skimming through the four songs in this group that were in our last 1986 chart. Nu Shooz are still here, and this song is still not "I Can't Wait" so who cares? Van Hagar show off the power ballad side no one wanted to see. And the Daryl Hall and Eurythmics tracks are still great.
The rest divide nicely into British and North American sections. First, the Brits. I'm not sure exactly what a "Freedom Overspill" is, and I'm not sure Steve Winwood knows either. Apparently, it involves horn-heavy pop-rock and "coffee and tears the whole night through." Okay. Wang Chung, a band that once claimed their name was Chinese for "perfect pitch," then later said they named themselves after the sound of a guitar, had their biggest hit with this peppy song of celebration in which the band dubiously decided to use their name as a verb in the chorus. I'm not sure if I want to "wang chung" tonight, or on any night for that matter, but apparently, Frasier Crane did after hearing this on the way to his bachelor party. And Billy Idol is here with a synthabilly (yes, I made that word up) cover of a 1968 William Bell R&B hit about neglecting one's significant other in favor of work and other concerns. Oh Billy, will you ever learn?
We close this bunch with two American acts and one from the Great White North. Huey Lewis and the News are here with their bouncy ode to cutting one's hair, wearing suits, and eating healthy. The song came off as lame to me then, and time has not changed my opinion. And for the record, I have neither read nor seen the movie version of American Psycho. Boston vocal group New Edition were given their name by someone who decided they were the "new edition" of the Jackson 5. They weren't, but they had a few hits, including this cover of a Penguins/Crew Cuts doo-wop classic. It's too slick to measure up to the Penguins' definitive version, but it's all right. And it was the only Top 40 hit they had as a quartet, in between the firing of Bobby Brown and the hiring of Johnny Gill. And while Toronto's Triumph will always be #2 on Canada's proggy-power-trio depth chart, they did have two U.S. Top 40 hits compared to Rush's one. And the biggest of those is their entry this week, a big rock anthem about searching for one's destiny. It's not a great song by any means, but there are times and places when this is something one wants to hear and sing along to.
30 - "The Way it Is," Bruce Hornsby and the Range
29 - "Jumpin' Jack Flash," Aretha Franklin
28 - "Friends and Lovers," Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson
27 - "Love Will Conquer All," Lionel Richie
26 - "In Your Eyes," Peter Gabriel
25 - "Emotion in Motion," Ric Ocasek
24 - "I am by Your Side," Corey Hart
23 - "The Next Time I Fall," Peter Cetera with Amy Grant
22 - "I'll be Over You," Toto
21 - "Stuck with You," Huey Lewis and the News
I'll start this section with the two "and the" bands that bookend it. Virginian Bruce Hornsby and his band had their first and biggest hit with this future #1, a piano-driven pop-rocker about racism. It couches its message in a catchy tune, which is always effective. And Huey and co. are here again with a song about how great it is to be "stuck" with someone. I'm sure he meant well, but I still think whoever this was written for was just a bit annoyed with the way he put things.
I'm just going to give Aretha her own section, if that's all right. On this cover of the Rolling Stones classic, she's backed up by none other than Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood themselves, and this slower, bluesier version is much more awesome than I remembered. Aretha kills it. Oh, and you might remember that this was recorded for the Whoopi Goldberg movie of the same name. I don't think I ever saw it, but I do remember the commercials, especially the part when Whoopi's in a phone booth being dragged by a truck and telling someone on the other end of the line "I'm a little black woman in a big silver box!"
We've got two duets in this bunch. I didn't need to hear Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson's sapfest again, but it was worth it to hear Casey talk about Gloria's previous successes co-writing sitcom themes with then-husband Alan Thicke. He even played a bit of Gloria singing the Facts of Live theme. That was a fun little cheese break. And Peter Cetera, one of my least favorite male singers, teams up with Christian star Amy Grant, whose voice I've always found warm and inviting, on this big ballad in which they promise each other that their next relationship will be with each other. I don't think they ever got around to it in real life, which is just as well. As far as I'm concerned, Vince Gill > Peter Cetera. In every imaginable way.
We finish with four solo men, and their little dog, too. Lionel Richie followed up "Dancing on the Ceiling" with this midtempo ballad about, well, the title says it all, doesn't it. In his introduction, Casey says "We should have sent (Lionel) to Iceland," referring to the recent Reykjavik summit in which Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev failed to reach an agreement on a nuclear arms reduction treaty. Yes, Casey. Lionel's experience recording "Say You, Say Me" for the Soviet-set movie White Nights would have made all the difference. Nah, just kidding, Case. I got ya. Peter Gabriel is here with the song that three years later would come blasting out of John Cusack's boombox in his last-ditch attempt to win back Ione Skye in Say Anything Solid song, and I enjoyed being introduced to Youssou N'Dour. Lead Car Ric Ocasek had his only solo hit with this spacey ballad about a woman he wants to hold on to because she's his "magical potion." I assume he was singing about Paulina Porizkova. She must really like this kind of thing, because I don't think she married Ric for his looks or his money. Canada's Corey Hart introduced Fields of Fire, the followup to his platinum Boy in the Box LP, with this drippy ballad about how he will always be there for you. It's not a great song, and he wasn't that convincing as rebellious oil field worker in the video, either. And Toto show up with this terrible, terrible ballad about how they'll stop pining for their ex "as soon as forever is through." Good lord did they suck at this point. And this was just a year after they did my favorite song of theirs, "Stranger in Town."
Tomorrow: a cheater gets caught, another one confesses, and romance overall gets kind of a negative reputation.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
October 18, 1980 Part Two
Before we resume 1980, let's have a look at the list from October 27, 1973. At the top were Gladys Knight and the Pips with the immortal "Midnight Train to Georgia." And below...
Good bunch in the top ten, including "Angie," "Half-Breed," "Heartbeat, It's a Lovebeat" and "Higher Ground"...There's Cheech and Chong again, with their fun, funny ode to hoops obessesion, "Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces" at 17. "I can dunk it with my nose!"...Before she was known for creepy album covers, Millie Jackson had scored two pop hits, the second and biggest of which was this week's #24, the more than a little masochistic "It Hurts So Good"...Bobby Goldsboro makes the questionable decision to rhyme "julep" with "two lips" on his last Top 40 hit, the older-woman-deflowers-teenage-boy tale "Summer(The First Time)," which this week was at 25...Kool and the Gang had their first pop hit with a triumph of truth in advertising, "Funky Stuff," found this week at #29...Roberta Flack is here with one of her more minor hits, "Jesse," a lush love song that got no higher than this weeks position of 30...The Doobie Brothers scored one of their more enduring hits with this week's #31, a bluesy ode to a town called "China Grove"...Future Eagle Joe Walsh had his first solo hit with the bluesy, eventual-Coors-jingle "Rocky Mountain Way," here at #33 Is it just me, or does it's opeining sound very similar to that of "China Grove?"...The Jackson 5 would continue their two-year Top 10 drought with this week's #34, "Get it Together," but its slippery funk deserved a better fate...The Ohio Players had their second pop hit with the bubbly funk of "Ecstasy," here breaking into the 40 for a third time (after falling out twice) at 35...But this week, I shine my spotlight upon...
39 - "You've Never Been This Far Before," Conway Twitty
The man born Harold Lloyd Jenkins in Mississippi changed his name and pursued a singing career, first finding success as an Elvis soundalike, most notably on the 1958 #1 "It's Only Make Believe." When the pop hits dried up, he went country in the mid-60s, beginning a run that saw him top that chart over thirty times. But of those, only one managed to crack the pop chart. This tune is extremely suggestive for the times, with it's mention of "trembling fingers touch(ing) forbidden places." But with Twitty's almost comically deep voice, and those cheesy "bum bum bums" punctuating so many lines, the song sounds more corny than sexy to these ears. Still, an interesting bit of music history.
Okay, now let's dial it forward to 1980.
20 - "Dreamin'," Cliff Richard
19 - "Master Blaster (Jammin')," Stevie Wonder
18 - "I'm Coming Out," Diana Ross
17 - "Lady," Kenny Rogers
16 - "Look What You've Done to Me," Boz Scaggs
The second half opens with the last U.S. Top Ten for the British music institution born Harry Rodger Webb. It's inoffensive pop-rock about an unattainable lover. Nowhere near as memorable as "Devil Woman."
Next is Stevie Wonder with his bouncy tribute to Bob Marley, who he had been tourning with that year. As a kid, I didn't know about Bob Marley, or Jah, or the political situation in Zimbabwe, all of which are referenced in the lyrics. I didn't even know that this was a reggae song. All I knew was that it was infectious and fun, and that my local radio station wasn't playing it for some reason. So I looked forward to my one weekly listen on Casey's show. This song probably has a lot to do with why American Top 40 holds a special place in my memory, and thus it has a lot to do with why I write these things. So there you go. Blame Stevie.
Then it's Diana Ross with her funky statement of existence that has become a gay anthem of self-esteem ("I want the world to know/Got to let it show.") Appropriately, its origins lie in a drag performance witnessed by the song's co-writer, Chic's Nile Rodgers. Diana herself related to the song's message in terms of her leaving Motown Records. I wonder how gangsta rap legend The Notorious B.I.G. viewed it when he decided to use it as the base for his posthumous hit "Mo Money Mo Problems." Anyway, it's great no matter how you look at it, plus it features a trombone solo of all things, performed by the man who took Star Wars to the dance floor, Meco Menardo.
Kenny Rogers follows with what would be his only solo pop #1, a drippy ballad written and produced by Lionel Richie. I'm sure I'd like it a bit better if Lionel had done it himself, but as it stands, not a fan.
This section ends with William Royce Scaggs' contribution to the Urban Cowboy soundtrack. I don't know, I've never liked it. Looking it up now, I've learned that it was co-written by David Foster. That just might explain it. It just sounds like a sludgy downer to me.
15 - "Hot Rod Hearts," Robbie Dupree
14 - "Give Me the Night," George Benson
13 - "Jesse," Carly Simon
12 - "Never Knew Love Like This Before," Stephanie Mills
11 - "The Wanderer," Donna Summer
This section opens with Brooklyn's Robbie Dupree, returning from last time with his soft rockin' song about girls and cars. Not to be confused with "Girls in Cars," the song he'd perform seven years later on the World Wrestling Federation album Piledriver. I like that one a little better than this, and that's very faint praise.
George Benson is next with his biggest pop hit, a gently funky tune about going out in the evening to party. Decent enough. Also, I just saw a recent picture of him, and he currently looks a bit like former World Heavyweight Champion Larry Holmes. Interesting.
Carly Simon returns from last time with her biggest 80s hit, a song about a guy she can't live with and can't live without. But unlike the subject of "You're So Vain," no one cared who this song was about. Myself included.
Stephanie Mills also returns from last time, singing about happiness with a new love. And yes, I'm going to mention the fact that she dated Michael Jackson again. Wouldn't you?
This group is rounded out by Donna Summer's first Geffen single. The lyrics aren't that special, as they're about traveling "from here to outer space." But the sound is what makes this stand out. Unlike the disco that made her name, this song is stuttery, new wave-influenced pop rock. And through most of it, her voice is unrecognizable. On the verses, she affects what sounds like an attempted impression of either Elvis, or The Cars' Ric Ocasek, or both. And on the choruses, she employs a sort of falsetto. It was a pretty radical departure, but with disco dying, it was the right thing to do, and the song reached #3. It sounded trippier when I was a kid, but it's still pretty cool.
And now, ten songs that sold themselves:
10 - "Late in the Evening," Paul Simon
The Rhymin' one returns, singing about music. Still cool.
9 - "Drivin' My Life Away," Eddie Rabbitt
Fun stuff about life on the road from the man I assume is the biggest country star to ever come from New Jersey. He can't have too much competition, can he?
8 - "Xanadu," Olivia Newton-John and the Electric Light Orchestra
The movie this came from is laughable cheese, and totally unworthy of containing Gene Kelly's last film role. But if you can't lose yourself in the lush boogie of the title song, I'm not sure I want to know you.
7 - "I'm Alright," Kenny Loggins
Kenny's run as the soundtrack king of the 80s started here with this song that soundtracked a gophers triumph over certain death in Caddyshack. Speaking of Loggins-laden movies, why did they remake Footloose? I mean, seriously, jump back!
6 - "Real Love," The Doobie Brothers
The Doobies' final Top 5, a typical Michael McDonald blandwich where he tries to convince a woman who, shall we say, entertains multiple suitors, that he is the one that can provide her with genuine affection. I wonder if he was singing this to Amy Holland.
5 - "He's So Shy," The Pointer Sisters
I probably think this song is about me. Yeah, the guy with the glove on his head isn't the most comfortable person in social situations. Surprised? Anyway, this might be second only to "Fire" on my list of Pointer faves.
4 - "All Out of Love," Air Supply
Probably the best of their early hits, but it would of course be completely blown out of the water by "Making Love out of Nothing at All."
3 - "Upside Down," Diana Ross
As Donna Summer was abandoning diva disco, Miss Ross was riding high on the groove. So for a brief period, Diana donned Donna's dancefloor crown. Gotta love alliteration.
2 - "Woman in Love," Barbra Streisand
As a new decade dawned, Babs decided the way to approach the new era was to have Barry Gibb write her first 80s album. The first single from that LP was this sumptuous ballad in which the Streisanator belts out some typically solid Gibbian lyrics about devotion and passion. It's as gargantuan and bombastic as you'd expect from this combination, but that turns out to be a good thing.
And at the top of the charts 31 years ago was...
1 - "Another One Bites the Dust," Queen
Freddie Mercury and co.'s only American charttopper was this funky strut that sounds like a three-minute audio version of a slick, violent action movie. Few songs can create such a cinematic atmosphere in such a tiny space of time. Still undeniable after all these years.
The NotCaseys this week were "Without Your Love" by Roger Daltrey, "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors, "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC, and "Theme from The Dukes of Hazzard" by Waylon Jennings. Casey himself opened the show with the previous week's Top 3 (exactly the same as this week's), and later played three early-60's #1s: "Don't Break the Heart that Loves You" by Connie Francis, "Johnny Angel" by Shelley Fabares, and "Good Luck Charm" by Elvis Presley. And there were two Long Distance Dedications: A man who was a patient in a psychiatric hospital dedicated David Naughton's "Makin' It" to the family and medical professionals who helped him, and a college freshman dedicated Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight," to his girlfriend, a senior veterinary student who was about to go away to serve a three-year stint in the Army.
And we're clear.
Good bunch in the top ten, including "Angie," "Half-Breed," "Heartbeat, It's a Lovebeat" and "Higher Ground"...There's Cheech and Chong again, with their fun, funny ode to hoops obessesion, "Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces" at 17. "I can dunk it with my nose!"...Before she was known for creepy album covers, Millie Jackson had scored two pop hits, the second and biggest of which was this week's #24, the more than a little masochistic "It Hurts So Good"...Bobby Goldsboro makes the questionable decision to rhyme "julep" with "two lips" on his last Top 40 hit, the older-woman-deflowers-teenage-boy tale "Summer(The First Time)," which this week was at 25...Kool and the Gang had their first pop hit with a triumph of truth in advertising, "Funky Stuff," found this week at #29...Roberta Flack is here with one of her more minor hits, "Jesse," a lush love song that got no higher than this weeks position of 30...The Doobie Brothers scored one of their more enduring hits with this week's #31, a bluesy ode to a town called "China Grove"...Future Eagle Joe Walsh had his first solo hit with the bluesy, eventual-Coors-jingle "Rocky Mountain Way," here at #33 Is it just me, or does it's opeining sound very similar to that of "China Grove?"...The Jackson 5 would continue their two-year Top 10 drought with this week's #34, "Get it Together," but its slippery funk deserved a better fate...The Ohio Players had their second pop hit with the bubbly funk of "Ecstasy," here breaking into the 40 for a third time (after falling out twice) at 35...But this week, I shine my spotlight upon...
39 - "You've Never Been This Far Before," Conway Twitty
The man born Harold Lloyd Jenkins in Mississippi changed his name and pursued a singing career, first finding success as an Elvis soundalike, most notably on the 1958 #1 "It's Only Make Believe." When the pop hits dried up, he went country in the mid-60s, beginning a run that saw him top that chart over thirty times. But of those, only one managed to crack the pop chart. This tune is extremely suggestive for the times, with it's mention of "trembling fingers touch(ing) forbidden places." But with Twitty's almost comically deep voice, and those cheesy "bum bum bums" punctuating so many lines, the song sounds more corny than sexy to these ears. Still, an interesting bit of music history.
Okay, now let's dial it forward to 1980.
20 - "Dreamin'," Cliff Richard
19 - "Master Blaster (Jammin')," Stevie Wonder
18 - "I'm Coming Out," Diana Ross
17 - "Lady," Kenny Rogers
16 - "Look What You've Done to Me," Boz Scaggs
The second half opens with the last U.S. Top Ten for the British music institution born Harry Rodger Webb. It's inoffensive pop-rock about an unattainable lover. Nowhere near as memorable as "Devil Woman."
Next is Stevie Wonder with his bouncy tribute to Bob Marley, who he had been tourning with that year. As a kid, I didn't know about Bob Marley, or Jah, or the political situation in Zimbabwe, all of which are referenced in the lyrics. I didn't even know that this was a reggae song. All I knew was that it was infectious and fun, and that my local radio station wasn't playing it for some reason. So I looked forward to my one weekly listen on Casey's show. This song probably has a lot to do with why American Top 40 holds a special place in my memory, and thus it has a lot to do with why I write these things. So there you go. Blame Stevie.
Then it's Diana Ross with her funky statement of existence that has become a gay anthem of self-esteem ("I want the world to know/Got to let it show.") Appropriately, its origins lie in a drag performance witnessed by the song's co-writer, Chic's Nile Rodgers. Diana herself related to the song's message in terms of her leaving Motown Records. I wonder how gangsta rap legend The Notorious B.I.G. viewed it when he decided to use it as the base for his posthumous hit "Mo Money Mo Problems." Anyway, it's great no matter how you look at it, plus it features a trombone solo of all things, performed by the man who took Star Wars to the dance floor, Meco Menardo.
Kenny Rogers follows with what would be his only solo pop #1, a drippy ballad written and produced by Lionel Richie. I'm sure I'd like it a bit better if Lionel had done it himself, but as it stands, not a fan.
This section ends with William Royce Scaggs' contribution to the Urban Cowboy soundtrack. I don't know, I've never liked it. Looking it up now, I've learned that it was co-written by David Foster. That just might explain it. It just sounds like a sludgy downer to me.
15 - "Hot Rod Hearts," Robbie Dupree
14 - "Give Me the Night," George Benson
13 - "Jesse," Carly Simon
12 - "Never Knew Love Like This Before," Stephanie Mills
11 - "The Wanderer," Donna Summer
This section opens with Brooklyn's Robbie Dupree, returning from last time with his soft rockin' song about girls and cars. Not to be confused with "Girls in Cars," the song he'd perform seven years later on the World Wrestling Federation album Piledriver. I like that one a little better than this, and that's very faint praise.
George Benson is next with his biggest pop hit, a gently funky tune about going out in the evening to party. Decent enough. Also, I just saw a recent picture of him, and he currently looks a bit like former World Heavyweight Champion Larry Holmes. Interesting.
Carly Simon returns from last time with her biggest 80s hit, a song about a guy she can't live with and can't live without. But unlike the subject of "You're So Vain," no one cared who this song was about. Myself included.
Stephanie Mills also returns from last time, singing about happiness with a new love. And yes, I'm going to mention the fact that she dated Michael Jackson again. Wouldn't you?
This group is rounded out by Donna Summer's first Geffen single. The lyrics aren't that special, as they're about traveling "from here to outer space." But the sound is what makes this stand out. Unlike the disco that made her name, this song is stuttery, new wave-influenced pop rock. And through most of it, her voice is unrecognizable. On the verses, she affects what sounds like an attempted impression of either Elvis, or The Cars' Ric Ocasek, or both. And on the choruses, she employs a sort of falsetto. It was a pretty radical departure, but with disco dying, it was the right thing to do, and the song reached #3. It sounded trippier when I was a kid, but it's still pretty cool.
And now, ten songs that sold themselves:
10 - "Late in the Evening," Paul Simon
The Rhymin' one returns, singing about music. Still cool.
9 - "Drivin' My Life Away," Eddie Rabbitt
Fun stuff about life on the road from the man I assume is the biggest country star to ever come from New Jersey. He can't have too much competition, can he?
8 - "Xanadu," Olivia Newton-John and the Electric Light Orchestra
The movie this came from is laughable cheese, and totally unworthy of containing Gene Kelly's last film role. But if you can't lose yourself in the lush boogie of the title song, I'm not sure I want to know you.
7 - "I'm Alright," Kenny Loggins
Kenny's run as the soundtrack king of the 80s started here with this song that soundtracked a gophers triumph over certain death in Caddyshack. Speaking of Loggins-laden movies, why did they remake Footloose? I mean, seriously, jump back!
6 - "Real Love," The Doobie Brothers
The Doobies' final Top 5, a typical Michael McDonald blandwich where he tries to convince a woman who, shall we say, entertains multiple suitors, that he is the one that can provide her with genuine affection. I wonder if he was singing this to Amy Holland.
5 - "He's So Shy," The Pointer Sisters
I probably think this song is about me. Yeah, the guy with the glove on his head isn't the most comfortable person in social situations. Surprised? Anyway, this might be second only to "Fire" on my list of Pointer faves.
4 - "All Out of Love," Air Supply
Probably the best of their early hits, but it would of course be completely blown out of the water by "Making Love out of Nothing at All."
3 - "Upside Down," Diana Ross
As Donna Summer was abandoning diva disco, Miss Ross was riding high on the groove. So for a brief period, Diana donned Donna's dancefloor crown. Gotta love alliteration.
2 - "Woman in Love," Barbra Streisand
As a new decade dawned, Babs decided the way to approach the new era was to have Barry Gibb write her first 80s album. The first single from that LP was this sumptuous ballad in which the Streisanator belts out some typically solid Gibbian lyrics about devotion and passion. It's as gargantuan and bombastic as you'd expect from this combination, but that turns out to be a good thing.
And at the top of the charts 31 years ago was...
1 - "Another One Bites the Dust," Queen
Freddie Mercury and co.'s only American charttopper was this funky strut that sounds like a three-minute audio version of a slick, violent action movie. Few songs can create such a cinematic atmosphere in such a tiny space of time. Still undeniable after all these years.
The NotCaseys this week were "Without Your Love" by Roger Daltrey, "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors, "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC, and "Theme from The Dukes of Hazzard" by Waylon Jennings. Casey himself opened the show with the previous week's Top 3 (exactly the same as this week's), and later played three early-60's #1s: "Don't Break the Heart that Loves You" by Connie Francis, "Johnny Angel" by Shelley Fabares, and "Good Luck Charm" by Elvis Presley. And there were two Long Distance Dedications: A man who was a patient in a psychiatric hospital dedicated David Naughton's "Makin' It" to the family and medical professionals who helped him, and a college freshman dedicated Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight," to his girlfriend, a senior veterinary student who was about to go away to serve a three-year stint in the Army.
And we're clear.
October 18, 1980 Part One
Once again, back to the beginning. Ronald Reagan was two weeks away from crushing Jimmy Carter. And these were the songs that accompanied the last days of his campaign:
40 - "Hit Me with Your Best Shot," Pat Benatar
39 - "She's So Cold," The Rolling Stones
38 - "Could I Have this Dance," Anne Murray
37 - "Touch and Go," The Cars
36 - "Walk Away," Donna Summer
35 - "More than I Can Say," Leo Sayer
34 - "I'm Almost Ready," The Pure Prairie League
33 - "That Girl Could Sing," Jackson Browne
32 - "Let Me Be Your Angel," Stacy Lattisaw
31 - "The Legend of Wooley Swamp," The Charlie Daniels Band
A good chunk of rock kicks off the proceedings. Pat Benatar debuted this week with what would become her first Top Ten, a "real tough cookie" of a rocker where she dares a prospective suitor to do his best to impress her before she will allow him to become "another notch in my lipstick case." It's gotten a bit overplayed over the years, but the swagger that made it connect in the first place still shines through. The "good old Rolling Stones," as Casey referred to them this week, followed up the slinky funk of "Emotional Rescue" with a stuttery rock number about a particularly frigid lady. compared to whom Mick Jagger is "a bleedin' volcano." Kind of an odd image, but still a solid song. The Cars cracked the 40 for the first time in the 80s with this unspectacular bit of new wave that is somewhat redeemed by the following fantastically weird verse: "All I need is you tonight/Flying like a cement kite, yeah/In your headlock on the floor/Who could ever ask for more?" I have no idea what it means, but I love it. And Jackson Browne shows up this week with a tale of a dalliance with a lady who was fun to be with, but too much of a free spirit to be tied down. Oh yeah, and she was a pretty good singer. Anyway, it's typical Jackson Browne, and it's all right.
A couple of country tunes are in this section. Anne Murray had her next-to-last Top 40 with her contribution to the huge Urban Cowboy soundtrack, a twangy, sappy waltz that I'm sure has been a wedding staple ever since. It won't be played at mine, though, this I promise you. And Charlie Daniels made one of his last marks on the pop charts with this fun, swampy stomper that spins a yarn about two young punks who rob and murder an old, miserly hermit to try and steal the money he has buried in the woods. The thieves dump the body in the swamp, but as they try to get away, they find themselves sinking in quicksand, and as they die, they hear the creepy laughter of the old man. And even 50 years later, the last verse goes, their are nights when you can hear the dying screams of the thieves and the cackling of the miser. A cool little ghost story, with echoes of Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein" in the keyboard riff. Perfect for this time of year. And once again, Charlie Daniels fittingly wins this week's Uneasy Rider.
Two R&B ladies are present. Donna Summer is here with a song that her old label, the infamous Casablanca Records, released to compete with the new single she was putting out on her new label, Geffen. It barely scraped into the 40, and as it's mediocre-for-her dissco, that's about right. What happened to her Geffen single? Stay tuned. And Stacy Lattisaw hadn't yet turned 14 when she made her Top 40 debut with this sweet retro-soul ballad that, of course, contains the line "You might think I am much too young to understand." It's actually pretty good, though. It sounds like something they might have given to Michael Jackson at that age, and Stacy sings it solidly.
We finish with a couple of acts driving down the middle of the road. Leo Sayer is here with his last American Top Ten, a gentle midtempo song of devotion. It's nice, especially because he tones down the falsetto. Maybe this is why the guy who taught Barney Gumble how to fly a helicopter likes Leo so much. And the Pure Prairie League, with future country star Vince Gill up front, had their penultimate hit with
this bit of mild Southern rock about having had just about enough of a lover's cheatin' ways. I can't say I like Vince Gill as much as my Dad does, but I gotta say, he's got a nice voice. I still like his wife's better, though.
30 - "Out Here on My Own," Irene Cara
29 - "Who'll Be the Fool Tonight," The Larsen-Feiten Band
28 - "Lovely One," The Jacksons
27 - "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling," Daryl Hall and John Oates
26 - "Whip It," Devo
25 - "Midnight Rocks," Al Stewart
24 - "On The Road Again," Willie Nelson
23 - "Dreamer (Live)," Supertramp
22 - "How do I Survive," Amy Holland
21 - "Lookin' for Love," Johnny Lee
We start with R&B. Irene Cara is here with her secondFame hit, a showpiece ballad about overcoming adversity that I'm sure many a diva-in-training has belted out in her room over the years. Not my cup of tea, but certainly a good vocal/acting exercise. And Michael Jackson's first hit with his brothers after the mega-success of Off the Wall was this fun bit of disco-funk that might as well have been another MJ solo single, because you can't really hear any of the other brothers on it. It's a notch or two below the likes of "Don't Stop 'til Your Get Enough," but still pretty damn awesome.
Our next category is "American Bands." Keyboardist Neil Larsen and Howard "Buzz" Feiten were session vets who'd played on, among other things, the 1979 Rickie Lee Jones smash "Chuck E.'s in Love." This, their only hit under their own names, isn't nearly that good, but it's serviceable, Boz Scaggs-ish jazz-pop. Daryl Hall and John Oates had their biggest hit in a while with this faithful cover of the Righteous Brothers classic. Musically inessential, but it did set the table for H&O's long run of Top Tens through the first half of the decade. And Devo, the former Kent State art students who took their name from the concept of "de-evolution," had their only Top 40 single with this jittery synth-pop treat about dealing with problems and avoiding cracks in the sidewalk. Not even its use in a Swiffer commercial could detract from my eternal love of this.
This group contains three acts from Britain and Europe. Scotland's Al Stewart had his last hit with this boring bit of MOR about not wanting a relationship to end. There's nothing interesting about it, unlike "Year of the Cat" or "Time Passages." He went out with a whimper. England's Supertramp had their first hit of the 80s with this live-in-Paris cover of a track from their 1974 LP Crime of the Century. To me, it's just a lot of keyboard noise and Roger Hodson caterwauling, but it sounds like the French loved it. And Dutchwoman Amy Boersma changed her name and scored one American hit with a pop-rock snoozer that no one who's ever heard it will be surprised to learn was produced by Doobie Brother Michael McDonald. Amy didn't get any more hits out of her collaboration with Mikey Mac, but she did get a marriage and two children, so I guess that's some consolation.
This half closes out with country. This year, Willie Nelson tried to launch a film career by playing a country singer in Honeysuckle Rose. The movie has faded into obscurity, but the hit from its soundtrack, this jaunty pickfest celebrating the life of the traveling musician, had endured and is now one of Willie's best-known hits. You can't not smile while listening to it. And Johnny Lee is back from last time, still searching for affection in inappropriate locations. I have no more to say about it.
Tomorrow: a song I didn't know was reggae, but I liked it; an empowerment anthem inspired by drag queens;, and a genre monarch's new direction.
40 - "Hit Me with Your Best Shot," Pat Benatar
39 - "She's So Cold," The Rolling Stones
38 - "Could I Have this Dance," Anne Murray
37 - "Touch and Go," The Cars
36 - "Walk Away," Donna Summer
35 - "More than I Can Say," Leo Sayer
34 - "I'm Almost Ready," The Pure Prairie League
33 - "That Girl Could Sing," Jackson Browne
32 - "Let Me Be Your Angel," Stacy Lattisaw
31 - "The Legend of Wooley Swamp," The Charlie Daniels Band
A good chunk of rock kicks off the proceedings. Pat Benatar debuted this week with what would become her first Top Ten, a "real tough cookie" of a rocker where she dares a prospective suitor to do his best to impress her before she will allow him to become "another notch in my lipstick case." It's gotten a bit overplayed over the years, but the swagger that made it connect in the first place still shines through. The "good old Rolling Stones," as Casey referred to them this week, followed up the slinky funk of "Emotional Rescue" with a stuttery rock number about a particularly frigid lady. compared to whom Mick Jagger is "a bleedin' volcano." Kind of an odd image, but still a solid song. The Cars cracked the 40 for the first time in the 80s with this unspectacular bit of new wave that is somewhat redeemed by the following fantastically weird verse: "All I need is you tonight/Flying like a cement kite, yeah/In your headlock on the floor/Who could ever ask for more?" I have no idea what it means, but I love it. And Jackson Browne shows up this week with a tale of a dalliance with a lady who was fun to be with, but too much of a free spirit to be tied down. Oh yeah, and she was a pretty good singer. Anyway, it's typical Jackson Browne, and it's all right.
A couple of country tunes are in this section. Anne Murray had her next-to-last Top 40 with her contribution to the huge Urban Cowboy soundtrack, a twangy, sappy waltz that I'm sure has been a wedding staple ever since. It won't be played at mine, though, this I promise you. And Charlie Daniels made one of his last marks on the pop charts with this fun, swampy stomper that spins a yarn about two young punks who rob and murder an old, miserly hermit to try and steal the money he has buried in the woods. The thieves dump the body in the swamp, but as they try to get away, they find themselves sinking in quicksand, and as they die, they hear the creepy laughter of the old man. And even 50 years later, the last verse goes, their are nights when you can hear the dying screams of the thieves and the cackling of the miser. A cool little ghost story, with echoes of Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein" in the keyboard riff. Perfect for this time of year. And once again, Charlie Daniels fittingly wins this week's Uneasy Rider.
Two R&B ladies are present. Donna Summer is here with a song that her old label, the infamous Casablanca Records, released to compete with the new single she was putting out on her new label, Geffen. It barely scraped into the 40, and as it's mediocre-for-her dissco, that's about right. What happened to her Geffen single? Stay tuned. And Stacy Lattisaw hadn't yet turned 14 when she made her Top 40 debut with this sweet retro-soul ballad that, of course, contains the line "You might think I am much too young to understand." It's actually pretty good, though. It sounds like something they might have given to Michael Jackson at that age, and Stacy sings it solidly.
We finish with a couple of acts driving down the middle of the road. Leo Sayer is here with his last American Top Ten, a gentle midtempo song of devotion. It's nice, especially because he tones down the falsetto. Maybe this is why the guy who taught Barney Gumble how to fly a helicopter likes Leo so much. And the Pure Prairie League, with future country star Vince Gill up front, had their penultimate hit with
this bit of mild Southern rock about having had just about enough of a lover's cheatin' ways. I can't say I like Vince Gill as much as my Dad does, but I gotta say, he's got a nice voice. I still like his wife's better, though.
30 - "Out Here on My Own," Irene Cara
29 - "Who'll Be the Fool Tonight," The Larsen-Feiten Band
28 - "Lovely One," The Jacksons
27 - "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling," Daryl Hall and John Oates
26 - "Whip It," Devo
25 - "Midnight Rocks," Al Stewart
24 - "On The Road Again," Willie Nelson
23 - "Dreamer (Live)," Supertramp
22 - "How do I Survive," Amy Holland
21 - "Lookin' for Love," Johnny Lee
We start with R&B. Irene Cara is here with her secondFame hit, a showpiece ballad about overcoming adversity that I'm sure many a diva-in-training has belted out in her room over the years. Not my cup of tea, but certainly a good vocal/acting exercise. And Michael Jackson's first hit with his brothers after the mega-success of Off the Wall was this fun bit of disco-funk that might as well have been another MJ solo single, because you can't really hear any of the other brothers on it. It's a notch or two below the likes of "Don't Stop 'til Your Get Enough," but still pretty damn awesome.
Our next category is "American Bands." Keyboardist Neil Larsen and Howard "Buzz" Feiten were session vets who'd played on, among other things, the 1979 Rickie Lee Jones smash "Chuck E.'s in Love." This, their only hit under their own names, isn't nearly that good, but it's serviceable, Boz Scaggs-ish jazz-pop. Daryl Hall and John Oates had their biggest hit in a while with this faithful cover of the Righteous Brothers classic. Musically inessential, but it did set the table for H&O's long run of Top Tens through the first half of the decade. And Devo, the former Kent State art students who took their name from the concept of "de-evolution," had their only Top 40 single with this jittery synth-pop treat about dealing with problems and avoiding cracks in the sidewalk. Not even its use in a Swiffer commercial could detract from my eternal love of this.
This group contains three acts from Britain and Europe. Scotland's Al Stewart had his last hit with this boring bit of MOR about not wanting a relationship to end. There's nothing interesting about it, unlike "Year of the Cat" or "Time Passages." He went out with a whimper. England's Supertramp had their first hit of the 80s with this live-in-Paris cover of a track from their 1974 LP Crime of the Century. To me, it's just a lot of keyboard noise and Roger Hodson caterwauling, but it sounds like the French loved it. And Dutchwoman Amy Boersma changed her name and scored one American hit with a pop-rock snoozer that no one who's ever heard it will be surprised to learn was produced by Doobie Brother Michael McDonald. Amy didn't get any more hits out of her collaboration with Mikey Mac, but she did get a marriage and two children, so I guess that's some consolation.
This half closes out with country. This year, Willie Nelson tried to launch a film career by playing a country singer in Honeysuckle Rose. The movie has faded into obscurity, but the hit from its soundtrack, this jaunty pickfest celebrating the life of the traveling musician, had endured and is now one of Willie's best-known hits. You can't not smile while listening to it. And Johnny Lee is back from last time, still searching for affection in inappropriate locations. I have no more to say about it.
Tomorrow: a song I didn't know was reggae, but I liked it; an empowerment anthem inspired by drag queens;, and a genre monarch's new direction.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
October 20, 1985 Part Two
Before we wrap up 1985, let's go back to October of 1979.
Herb Alpert's "Rise" was on top. And below...a lot of familiarity. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "Pop Musik," and "My Sharona" are my personal highlights of the Top Ten...At 17 we find The Atlanta Rhythm Section's cover of "Spooky," which was originally done by Classics IV, a group that featured future ARS members. Kinda redundant...Gerry "Baker Street" Rafferty had his last American Top 40 with "Get it Right Next Time," a peppy song about learning from your mistakes found this week at 21...Hey, look, it's Lobo at 23, squeezing out one last hit by going disco on "Where Were You When I was Falling in Love."...Michael "Bluer Than Blue" Johnson had his last pop hit with "This Night Won't Last Forever," found here at 25. He'd later, to no one's surprise, go counrty and score a couple #1s...The pop-machine era Doobie Brothers decided not to let Michael McDonald sing on this week's #31, "Dependin' on You." But it sounds like they should have. It's not exactly a return to their rockier roots. But this week, I cast my metaphorical spotlight on...
28 - "Midnight Wind," John Stewart
The man who gave us "Gold" followed up that terrific hit with a midtempo ballad in which he tries to convince a woman named Miranda to come on out and join him in a search for whatever the night may bring. The Fleetwood Mac influence is felt even stronger than on "Gold," with Stevie Nicks' vocals even more prominent on this chorus. One I don't remember, but I'm definitely glad to have heard it now.
Okay, now back to '85.
20 - "The Way You Do the Things You Do," Daryl Hall and John Oates featuring David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks
19 - "Four in the Morning (I Can't Take Anymore)," Night Ranger
18 - "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down," Paul Young
17 - "Cry," Godley and Creme
16 - "Don't Lose My Number," Phil Collins
The second half begins with Daryl and John performing live at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theatre, covering two Temptations classics with help from two members of the group's most famous lineup. Without question, the older guys outshine their younger counterparts. Probably not a great comparison to invite, Hall and Oates.
Next are San Francisco's Night Ranger with a bland "can't live with you, can't live without you" pop-rocker. Really, the only song of theirs a person needs to know is "Sister Christian."
Then it's Britain's Paul Young, following up his #1 "Every Time You Go Away" with a cover of an Ann Peebles R&B hit about threatening to shut down someone's pattern of romantic manipulation. It's kind of Prince-ish, and Young, generally known for milder numbers, does surprisingly well with it. An underrated gem.
Kevin and Lol of 10cc and video directing fame return from last time with their spacey ballad in which they claim "you don't know how to ease my pain." No, I don't, but I'll try. The things we do for love...
Rounding out this bunch is Phil Collins, once againg asking Billy to keep his phone number handy. Okay, but well behind a certain Steely Dan hit on the list of "Best Songs About Not Losing Numbers."
15 - "Lovin' Every Minute of It," Loverboy
14 - "Freedom," Wham!
13 - "Head Over Heels," Tears for Fears
12 - "I'm Goin' Down," Bruce Springsteen
11 - "Fortress Around Your Heart," Sting
This section begins with the biggest hit for Canada's amorous arena rockers. Apparently it was written by Def Leppard/Billy Ocean/Shania Twain collaborator Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Listening to it, I realize that should have been obvious, what with the song's stuttery cadence, big chorus, and lyrics about driving, motors and rockets. The man definitely has a signature style. This isn't one of his best, but maybe it would have come off better if he'd produced it as well.
Wham! return with their hit about not wanting to have an open relationship. Because of this, George Michael had to call his solo hit five years later "Freedom '90." And to be honest, that's a much better song. But this one isn't bad by any stretch.
Next are Tears for Fears with the third hit from their American breakthrough, Songs from the Big Chair. It's a midtempo ballad about how strange love makes you feel. I think. For 26 years, I thought there was a line in the song that went "It's hard to be a man when there's a note in your lunch." Today, I found out that it's actually "It's hard to be a man when there's a gun in your hand." I guess that makes more sense, but I still like what I thought I heard better.
Then it's The Boss with the sixth of the whopping seven Top Ten singles from Born in the U.S.A.. It's a song about a man trying to figure out where his relationship stands. Maybe not one of his best, but it definitely shows what a pale imitation the likes of John Cafferty is.
Closing this group is Sting, back singing about battlements and land mines as some kind of metaphor for love. He does this sort of thing well, I suppose. And it worked on the radio probably because it was something different. So different, in fact, that in a weak field, it wins this week's Uneasy Rider.
Johnny's in the basement, mixin' up the Top Ten:
10 - "Dress You Up," Madonna
This isn't one of my favorites of Madge's, but it is notable for being one of the "Filthy Fifteen;" a list of pop and rock songs that Tipper Gore and the Parents' Music Resource Centre found especially objectionable. Ah, the PMRC senate hearings. The place where Dee Snider came off as more mature and intelligent than most elected officials, and where the defenders of decency found out that their clean-cut hero John Denver actually sided with the grotty likes of Snider and Frank Zappa on the side of freedom of expression. But Tipper did get the "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" sticker out of it. And kids everywhere had a new way of easily determining the coolest albums. Good times.
9 - "Miami Vice Theme," Jan Hammer
Czech keyboardist Hammer had been a prolific sideman for more than a decade, working with Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, and many others, when he was given the job of composing and performing the musical score to an NBC series about South Florida police detectives. One year later, the show was such a phenomenon that the theme tune went all the way to the top of the charts. Never liked it that much, but it's still an essential relic of the decade.
8 - "Cherish," Kool and the Gang
This sapfest was used as a Long Distance Dedication. A woman sent it out on behalf of her recently-deceased mother to her father. Well, I guess if it meant something to someone in a situation like that, its existence is justified.
7 - "Dancing in the Street," Mick Jagger and David Bowie
The two British rock legends return, still dancing all over the world. For some reason, Bowie sounds constipated on his vocals here. But maybe that's just me.
6 - "Lonely 'Ol Night," John Cougar Mellencamp
The smalltown Indiana boy looks for one evening of a particular form of comfort on this one. He references the song "Standing in the Shadows of Love," which gives it extra points, because Levi Stubbs!
5 - "Part-Time Lover," Stevie Wonder
Stevie's last Number One is more interesting than the crushingly awful "I Just Called to Say I Love You," but still, for a song about adultery, it's much too bouncy and fluffy. But with all the awesomeness that came before, I can forgive the man. He is what the phrase "lifetime pass" was invented for.
4 - "Saving All My Love For You," Whitney Houston
Whitney's back with what would be her first #1. Too bad she spent whatever love she had left after this on a certain ex-member of New Edition.
3 - "Take on Me," A-ha
Norwegian new wave + sketchy animation = stone cold classic.
2 - "Money for Nothing," Dire Straits
Mark Knopfler and Sting as blue-collar appliance deliverymen. Can you imagine? Me neither.
And trumping all other single records 26 years ago this week was...
1 - "Oh Sheila," Ready for the World
I just love the everloving crap out of this song. Yes, it's very much a Prince imitation, but a damn good one. You can dance to it, you can laugh at the hilariously bad Aussie accent the singer puts on, and you can also do...other things. Like baking, or cleaning your bathroom. Whatever you're doing, it'll be more fun with this in the background.
The NotCaseys this week were "Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister, "I Miss You" by Klymaxx, "Perfect Way" by Scritti Politti, and "Party All The Time" by Eddie Murphy. And there was one more Long Distance Dedication: An 11-year-old girl from Oklahoma dedicated Phil Collins' "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)," to her boyfriend (!) who had apparently started going out with four other girls (!!) after her mom made her transfer to another school. Most people don't have that kind of romantic drama in their lives until...well, ever.
If you liked this, come back for more around this time next week.
Herb Alpert's "Rise" was on top. And below...a lot of familiarity. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "Pop Musik," and "My Sharona" are my personal highlights of the Top Ten...At 17 we find The Atlanta Rhythm Section's cover of "Spooky," which was originally done by Classics IV, a group that featured future ARS members. Kinda redundant...Gerry "Baker Street" Rafferty had his last American Top 40 with "Get it Right Next Time," a peppy song about learning from your mistakes found this week at 21...Hey, look, it's Lobo at 23, squeezing out one last hit by going disco on "Where Were You When I was Falling in Love."...Michael "Bluer Than Blue" Johnson had his last pop hit with "This Night Won't Last Forever," found here at 25. He'd later, to no one's surprise, go counrty and score a couple #1s...The pop-machine era Doobie Brothers decided not to let Michael McDonald sing on this week's #31, "Dependin' on You." But it sounds like they should have. It's not exactly a return to their rockier roots. But this week, I cast my metaphorical spotlight on...
28 - "Midnight Wind," John Stewart
The man who gave us "Gold" followed up that terrific hit with a midtempo ballad in which he tries to convince a woman named Miranda to come on out and join him in a search for whatever the night may bring. The Fleetwood Mac influence is felt even stronger than on "Gold," with Stevie Nicks' vocals even more prominent on this chorus. One I don't remember, but I'm definitely glad to have heard it now.
Okay, now back to '85.
20 - "The Way You Do the Things You Do," Daryl Hall and John Oates featuring David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks
19 - "Four in the Morning (I Can't Take Anymore)," Night Ranger
18 - "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down," Paul Young
17 - "Cry," Godley and Creme
16 - "Don't Lose My Number," Phil Collins
The second half begins with Daryl and John performing live at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theatre, covering two Temptations classics with help from two members of the group's most famous lineup. Without question, the older guys outshine their younger counterparts. Probably not a great comparison to invite, Hall and Oates.
Next are San Francisco's Night Ranger with a bland "can't live with you, can't live without you" pop-rocker. Really, the only song of theirs a person needs to know is "Sister Christian."
Then it's Britain's Paul Young, following up his #1 "Every Time You Go Away" with a cover of an Ann Peebles R&B hit about threatening to shut down someone's pattern of romantic manipulation. It's kind of Prince-ish, and Young, generally known for milder numbers, does surprisingly well with it. An underrated gem.
Kevin and Lol of 10cc and video directing fame return from last time with their spacey ballad in which they claim "you don't know how to ease my pain." No, I don't, but I'll try. The things we do for love...
Rounding out this bunch is Phil Collins, once againg asking Billy to keep his phone number handy. Okay, but well behind a certain Steely Dan hit on the list of "Best Songs About Not Losing Numbers."
15 - "Lovin' Every Minute of It," Loverboy
14 - "Freedom," Wham!
13 - "Head Over Heels," Tears for Fears
12 - "I'm Goin' Down," Bruce Springsteen
11 - "Fortress Around Your Heart," Sting
This section begins with the biggest hit for Canada's amorous arena rockers. Apparently it was written by Def Leppard/Billy Ocean/Shania Twain collaborator Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Listening to it, I realize that should have been obvious, what with the song's stuttery cadence, big chorus, and lyrics about driving, motors and rockets. The man definitely has a signature style. This isn't one of his best, but maybe it would have come off better if he'd produced it as well.
Wham! return with their hit about not wanting to have an open relationship. Because of this, George Michael had to call his solo hit five years later "Freedom '90." And to be honest, that's a much better song. But this one isn't bad by any stretch.
Next are Tears for Fears with the third hit from their American breakthrough, Songs from the Big Chair. It's a midtempo ballad about how strange love makes you feel. I think. For 26 years, I thought there was a line in the song that went "It's hard to be a man when there's a note in your lunch." Today, I found out that it's actually "It's hard to be a man when there's a gun in your hand." I guess that makes more sense, but I still like what I thought I heard better.
Then it's The Boss with the sixth of the whopping seven Top Ten singles from Born in the U.S.A.. It's a song about a man trying to figure out where his relationship stands. Maybe not one of his best, but it definitely shows what a pale imitation the likes of John Cafferty is.
Closing this group is Sting, back singing about battlements and land mines as some kind of metaphor for love. He does this sort of thing well, I suppose. And it worked on the radio probably because it was something different. So different, in fact, that in a weak field, it wins this week's Uneasy Rider.
Johnny's in the basement, mixin' up the Top Ten:
10 - "Dress You Up," Madonna
This isn't one of my favorites of Madge's, but it is notable for being one of the "Filthy Fifteen;" a list of pop and rock songs that Tipper Gore and the Parents' Music Resource Centre found especially objectionable. Ah, the PMRC senate hearings. The place where Dee Snider came off as more mature and intelligent than most elected officials, and where the defenders of decency found out that their clean-cut hero John Denver actually sided with the grotty likes of Snider and Frank Zappa on the side of freedom of expression. But Tipper did get the "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" sticker out of it. And kids everywhere had a new way of easily determining the coolest albums. Good times.
9 - "Miami Vice Theme," Jan Hammer
Czech keyboardist Hammer had been a prolific sideman for more than a decade, working with Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, and many others, when he was given the job of composing and performing the musical score to an NBC series about South Florida police detectives. One year later, the show was such a phenomenon that the theme tune went all the way to the top of the charts. Never liked it that much, but it's still an essential relic of the decade.
8 - "Cherish," Kool and the Gang
This sapfest was used as a Long Distance Dedication. A woman sent it out on behalf of her recently-deceased mother to her father. Well, I guess if it meant something to someone in a situation like that, its existence is justified.
7 - "Dancing in the Street," Mick Jagger and David Bowie
The two British rock legends return, still dancing all over the world. For some reason, Bowie sounds constipated on his vocals here. But maybe that's just me.
6 - "Lonely 'Ol Night," John Cougar Mellencamp
The smalltown Indiana boy looks for one evening of a particular form of comfort on this one. He references the song "Standing in the Shadows of Love," which gives it extra points, because Levi Stubbs!
5 - "Part-Time Lover," Stevie Wonder
Stevie's last Number One is more interesting than the crushingly awful "I Just Called to Say I Love You," but still, for a song about adultery, it's much too bouncy and fluffy. But with all the awesomeness that came before, I can forgive the man. He is what the phrase "lifetime pass" was invented for.
4 - "Saving All My Love For You," Whitney Houston
Whitney's back with what would be her first #1. Too bad she spent whatever love she had left after this on a certain ex-member of New Edition.
3 - "Take on Me," A-ha
Norwegian new wave + sketchy animation = stone cold classic.
2 - "Money for Nothing," Dire Straits
Mark Knopfler and Sting as blue-collar appliance deliverymen. Can you imagine? Me neither.
And trumping all other single records 26 years ago this week was...
1 - "Oh Sheila," Ready for the World
I just love the everloving crap out of this song. Yes, it's very much a Prince imitation, but a damn good one. You can dance to it, you can laugh at the hilariously bad Aussie accent the singer puts on, and you can also do...other things. Like baking, or cleaning your bathroom. Whatever you're doing, it'll be more fun with this in the background.
The NotCaseys this week were "Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister, "I Miss You" by Klymaxx, "Perfect Way" by Scritti Politti, and "Party All The Time" by Eddie Murphy. And there was one more Long Distance Dedication: An 11-year-old girl from Oklahoma dedicated Phil Collins' "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)," to her boyfriend (!) who had apparently started going out with four other girls (!!) after her mom made her transfer to another school. Most people don't have that kind of romantic drama in their lives until...well, ever.
If you liked this, come back for more around this time next week.
October 12, 1985 Part One
This week we return to '85. Quite a few repeaters from last time, but there's enough new stuff for me to give it the full treatment.
40 - "One of the Living," Tina Turner
39 - "So in Love," Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
38 - "The Power of Love," Huey Lewis and the News
37 - "Separate Lives (Love Theme from White Nights)," Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin
36 - "Boy in the Box," Corey Hart
35 - "Who's Zoomin' Who," Aretha Franklin
34 - "Communication," The Power Station
33 - "Never," Heart
32 - "Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire," David Foster
31 - "Dare Me," The Pointer Sisters
There are two repeaters in this bunch. Huey and the News return with the song Huey himself hated when Marty McFly's band played it for his teacher character in Back to the Future, and the Pointer Sisters want to be challenged.
There are three solo singers in this pack. Tina Turner is here with the her second hit from the Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome soundtrack. It's an atmospheric rocker about surviving in an unforgiving wasteland. I actually like it better than "We Don't Need Another Hero." Corey Hart followed up "Never Surrender" with the title song from its parent album, a noisy bit of paranoia and fear. One question, though: Why would a wolf cry "Fox!"? And Aretha Franklin continued her comeback with a smooth midtempo number about the games prospective lovers play with each other. I'm still not quite sure what the title phrase means, but this is one of those times when such minor details don't matter at all.
Three groups are present and correct. British synth-poppers OMD had collected quite a few hits at home before finally breaking through in the States with this evocative song about leaving behind any thoughts of rekindling an old relationship. A very cool blend of synth and sax. The Power Station, a supergroup featuring two of the three unrelated Taylors from Duran Duran, solo star Robert Palmer, and Chic drummer Tony Thompson, had their third and final hit with this numberabout desperately trying to get through to someone. It's got the big beat and the breathy vocals of their other hits, but it just doesn't click on the same level as "Some Like it Hot," or their cover of "Bang a Gong (Get it On)." And Heart followed up the ballad that revived their career but made me lose all respect for them with a glossy rocker in which Ann Wilson tries to convince a would-be lover to stop being so bashful and "walk those legs right over here." It just lacks the edge and passion of a "Barracuda" or a "Heartless." Too much production and cold calculation.
We finish this first section with two movie love themes. Phil Collins teamed with then-unknown session singer Marilyn Martin for this song about two people who think they might want to get back together someday, just not now. This was from a movie about ballet and the Cold War that starred Mykhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, and Helen Mirren. The song hit #1 and was nominated for an Oscar, but lost to another charttopper from the same movie, Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me." And super-producer David Foster had his biggest hit on his own with this instrumental from that Brat Pack summit movie. Lots of strings, piano and sax, but nothing that makes it rise above waiting-room level.
30 - "Lay Your Hands on Me," The Thompson Twins
29 - "You are My Lady," Freddie Jackson
28 - "And We Danced," The Hooters
27 - "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)," John Parr
26 - "Sunset Grill," Don Henley
25 - "We Built this City," Starship
24 - "You Belong to the City," Glenn Frey
23 - "Be Near Me," ABC
22 - "C-I-T-Y," John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band
21 - "One Night Love Affair," Bryan Adams
We'll begin this section with two British groups. The unrelated, non-identical trio The Thompson Twins scored the second of their three U.S. Top Tens with this midtempo synth-ballad about wanting to "see your face and sense the grace and feel the magic in your touch." Wow, they expect a lot. Good song, though. And ABC do their classy thing with a simple song with a simple message. Not much to it, but what there is is somehow enough.
We have three solo singers who were never in a certain L.A.-based country-rock band. Freddie Jackson had ten #1s on the soul chart, but he didn't even have that many Top 40 pop hits, and this decent-but-unremarkable wedding ballad, his biggest pop hit, only reached #12. That seems wrong somehow. John Parr's theme from that Brat Pack movie was on its way down this week, but it was also used as a Long Distance Dedication from a Chilean woman to both her late paraplegic cousin and his hero, wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen, the "Man in Motion" whose worldwide journey inspired the song. And Bryan Adams had the fifth of six hits from his mega-album Reckless with this catchy rocker about a one-night stand that both participants hope would turn into something more, but neither makes a move to create that situation, and so "now we're left with nothing." Oh Bryan, you shy heartbreaker you.
Three American bands make the scene. Philadelphia's The Hooters had the first of their two Top 40 hits with this pleasant rocker about young teenage romance. Okay, but not as weird as my favorite song of theirs, the Biblical reggae number "All You Zombies." Oh, and their name was inspired by a nickname for the melodica, a musical instrument that's like a flute with a keyboard on it. Not owls. Or tits. Starship had finally, mercifully dropped "Jefferson" from their name, and they debuted the new moniker with this immortal bit of big dumb rock disguised as some sort of deep treatise about the man who invented wireless radio, corporate and police malfeasance, and the power of music to save us all from it. Or something. Anyway, this song is hated by many, but I always liked it somehow. Except when local radio stations would replace the DJ patter near the end with one of their own jocks. I hated that. Say what you want in between songs, but don't fuck with the songs themselves, no matter how tempting it is. And John Cafferty's crew are back with their lesson in both spelling and how to chart with watered-down Springsteen.
We finish with a pair of Eagles and what they did while they were broken up. Don Henley is here with a downbeat song about life in L.A. Surprise, surprise. Oh, and there's an actual Sunset Grill in Los Angeles, and I would hope that eating their is a happier experience than listening to this song about "jerks" and "basket people." Not that it's a bad song, it just feels like work at some points. Glenn Frey, on the other hand, seems to celebrate the idea of going out into the seedy big city night, with dark-yet-enticing sax and synths helping him make his point. But the city he's singing about is Miami, as this song was from the Miami Vice soundtrack. I know I wasn't enthusiastic about the Henley song, but I'll take it over "You Belong to the City" every time. I just don't like solo Glenn Frey.
Tomorrow: the sixties meet the eighties, a song to chase drug dealers on speedboats by, and another disappointment from one of my favorites.
40 - "One of the Living," Tina Turner
39 - "So in Love," Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
38 - "The Power of Love," Huey Lewis and the News
37 - "Separate Lives (Love Theme from White Nights)," Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin
36 - "Boy in the Box," Corey Hart
35 - "Who's Zoomin' Who," Aretha Franklin
34 - "Communication," The Power Station
33 - "Never," Heart
32 - "Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire," David Foster
31 - "Dare Me," The Pointer Sisters
There are two repeaters in this bunch. Huey and the News return with the song Huey himself hated when Marty McFly's band played it for his teacher character in Back to the Future, and the Pointer Sisters want to be challenged.
There are three solo singers in this pack. Tina Turner is here with the her second hit from the Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome soundtrack. It's an atmospheric rocker about surviving in an unforgiving wasteland. I actually like it better than "We Don't Need Another Hero." Corey Hart followed up "Never Surrender" with the title song from its parent album, a noisy bit of paranoia and fear. One question, though: Why would a wolf cry "Fox!"? And Aretha Franklin continued her comeback with a smooth midtempo number about the games prospective lovers play with each other. I'm still not quite sure what the title phrase means, but this is one of those times when such minor details don't matter at all.
Three groups are present and correct. British synth-poppers OMD had collected quite a few hits at home before finally breaking through in the States with this evocative song about leaving behind any thoughts of rekindling an old relationship. A very cool blend of synth and sax. The Power Station, a supergroup featuring two of the three unrelated Taylors from Duran Duran, solo star Robert Palmer, and Chic drummer Tony Thompson, had their third and final hit with this numberabout desperately trying to get through to someone. It's got the big beat and the breathy vocals of their other hits, but it just doesn't click on the same level as "Some Like it Hot," or their cover of "Bang a Gong (Get it On)." And Heart followed up the ballad that revived their career but made me lose all respect for them with a glossy rocker in which Ann Wilson tries to convince a would-be lover to stop being so bashful and "walk those legs right over here." It just lacks the edge and passion of a "Barracuda" or a "Heartless." Too much production and cold calculation.
We finish this first section with two movie love themes. Phil Collins teamed with then-unknown session singer Marilyn Martin for this song about two people who think they might want to get back together someday, just not now. This was from a movie about ballet and the Cold War that starred Mykhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, and Helen Mirren. The song hit #1 and was nominated for an Oscar, but lost to another charttopper from the same movie, Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me." And super-producer David Foster had his biggest hit on his own with this instrumental from that Brat Pack summit movie. Lots of strings, piano and sax, but nothing that makes it rise above waiting-room level.
30 - "Lay Your Hands on Me," The Thompson Twins
29 - "You are My Lady," Freddie Jackson
28 - "And We Danced," The Hooters
27 - "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)," John Parr
26 - "Sunset Grill," Don Henley
25 - "We Built this City," Starship
24 - "You Belong to the City," Glenn Frey
23 - "Be Near Me," ABC
22 - "C-I-T-Y," John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band
21 - "One Night Love Affair," Bryan Adams
We'll begin this section with two British groups. The unrelated, non-identical trio The Thompson Twins scored the second of their three U.S. Top Tens with this midtempo synth-ballad about wanting to "see your face and sense the grace and feel the magic in your touch." Wow, they expect a lot. Good song, though. And ABC do their classy thing with a simple song with a simple message. Not much to it, but what there is is somehow enough.
We have three solo singers who were never in a certain L.A.-based country-rock band. Freddie Jackson had ten #1s on the soul chart, but he didn't even have that many Top 40 pop hits, and this decent-but-unremarkable wedding ballad, his biggest pop hit, only reached #12. That seems wrong somehow. John Parr's theme from that Brat Pack movie was on its way down this week, but it was also used as a Long Distance Dedication from a Chilean woman to both her late paraplegic cousin and his hero, wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen, the "Man in Motion" whose worldwide journey inspired the song. And Bryan Adams had the fifth of six hits from his mega-album Reckless with this catchy rocker about a one-night stand that both participants hope would turn into something more, but neither makes a move to create that situation, and so "now we're left with nothing." Oh Bryan, you shy heartbreaker you.
Three American bands make the scene. Philadelphia's The Hooters had the first of their two Top 40 hits with this pleasant rocker about young teenage romance. Okay, but not as weird as my favorite song of theirs, the Biblical reggae number "All You Zombies." Oh, and their name was inspired by a nickname for the melodica, a musical instrument that's like a flute with a keyboard on it. Not owls. Or tits. Starship had finally, mercifully dropped "Jefferson" from their name, and they debuted the new moniker with this immortal bit of big dumb rock disguised as some sort of deep treatise about the man who invented wireless radio, corporate and police malfeasance, and the power of music to save us all from it. Or something. Anyway, this song is hated by many, but I always liked it somehow. Except when local radio stations would replace the DJ patter near the end with one of their own jocks. I hated that. Say what you want in between songs, but don't fuck with the songs themselves, no matter how tempting it is. And John Cafferty's crew are back with their lesson in both spelling and how to chart with watered-down Springsteen.
We finish with a pair of Eagles and what they did while they were broken up. Don Henley is here with a downbeat song about life in L.A. Surprise, surprise. Oh, and there's an actual Sunset Grill in Los Angeles, and I would hope that eating their is a happier experience than listening to this song about "jerks" and "basket people." Not that it's a bad song, it just feels like work at some points. Glenn Frey, on the other hand, seems to celebrate the idea of going out into the seedy big city night, with dark-yet-enticing sax and synths helping him make his point. But the city he's singing about is Miami, as this song was from the Miami Vice soundtrack. I know I wasn't enthusiastic about the Henley song, but I'll take it over "You Belong to the City" every time. I just don't like solo Glenn Frey.
Tomorrow: the sixties meet the eighties, a song to chase drug dealers on speedboats by, and another disappointment from one of my favorites.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
October 9, 1982 Part Two
Before we finish 1982, a very quick look back at 1976. #1 was Walter Murphy's "A Fifth of Beethoven," and below it, lots of stuff we've covered before. "Play That Funky Music," "Disco Duck," "Shake Your Booty," "Muskrat Love." Casey even played a version of "Do You Feel Like We Do" with the talk box! But there are only two songs on this chart that I haven't come across in the past, so what the hell, I'll spotlight 'em both.
36 - "Like a Sad Song," John Denver
This wasn't one of this nature boy's biggest hits, and it's not hard to understand why. Yes, it's got the natural imagery and the gentle, feather-light arrangement, but there's nothing that you can grab onto, like a big chorus or a memorable line. And it's a bit of a downer, to be honest. But I kind of like it. There are definitely times and places for songs like this.
29 - "It's O.K.," The Beach Boys
The surf vets followed up their hit cover of Chuck Berry's "Rock n' Roll Music" with this breezy celebration of the summer. Of course, it couldn't match the greatness of similar songs from their prime more than a decade earlier, but it's still pleasant enough. And it's far from an embarrassment on the level of "Kokomo." God, I hate that song. I find the fact that it hit #1 personally offensive.
Okay, now let's return to the year that saw the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals meet in Major League Baseball postseason play for the first time. Coincidentally, their second such encounter is taking place right now.
20 - "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)," Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
19 - "What's Forever For," Michael Murphey
18 - "Gloria," Laura Branigan
17 - "Up Where We Belong," Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
16 - "Hold On," Santana
The second half begins with Joan Jett's rollicking cover of a Gary Glitter song that is highly creepy when you know what that guy's into. So I prefer to pretend that it's a Joan Jett original. When I do, it's a fun song about lust. It's just better for all concerned.
Next is Michael "Wildfire" Murphey with his final pop hit, a goopy country ballad that laments the fact that relationships don't last as long as they used to. He himself didn't exactly have a great track record of remaining with the same woman, but apparently, his fourth marriage has stuck for a while. Good for him, I guess. Anyway, not my cup of tea, but I guess it's not a bad song.
Then it's Laura Branigan's breakthrough hit. Originally, "Gloria" was a tender love song by Italian pop star Umberto Tozzi, but when Branigan decided to record it, she wanted to give it "an American kick," and had the English lyrics written as a warning to a woman who has gone from lover to lover and now finds herself finding paramours fewer and farther between. "If everybody wants you," Branigan sings, "why isn't anybody calling?" The change of lyrical direction worked well, as this discofied melodrama reached #2, and remains one of the decade's best known hits.
Raspy-voiced rocker Joe Cocker and smooth popstress Jennifer Warnes are here with the smash ballad about love making one soar with the eagles and such. It gained popularity after accompanying the ending of An Officer and a Gentleman, playing in the background as Richard Gere carries Debra Winger out of the plant where she works. It reminds me of when Marge Simpson decided to visit her husband Homer at work instead of going to the apartment of lusty bowler Jacques, and Homer carries Marge out of the Springfield Nuclear plant, announcing that he's taking her to the back seat of his car, "and I won't be back for ten minutes!"
Ending this section is Santana and a cover of a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Ian Thomas, brother of Dave "Doug McKenzie" Thomas. I was disappointed that I didn't get to cover Ian's only U.S. Top 40, 1973's "Painted Ladies." Oh well, maybe it'll come up and be a 70s spotlight song. This song here isn't one of his better ones, and is only notable for being Santana's last hit until he hooked up with another guy with the last name Thomas seventeen years later.
15 - "Hurts So Good," John Cougar
14 - "You Should Hear How She Talks About You," Melissa Manchester
13 - "Break it to Me Gently," Juice Newton
12 - "Blue Eyes," Elton John
11 - "Heart Attack," Olivia Newton-John
This group is led off by young Mr. Mellencamp's first Top Ten, a driving rocker about how his relationship "don't feel like it should," but is still somehow wonderful. I like most of the Coug's 80s hits, and this is no exception.
Melissa Manchester primarily charted with ballads, but she would have her biggest hit with this dance-popper in which she encourages a friend that the woman he likes is just as into him, if not more. Nothing special as these things go.
Next is Juice Newton with a cover of a 1961 Brenda Lee weepie that pleads with a departing lover to make the separation as easy as possible. Juice does all right, but she's just not Brenda Lee. No one is. This would be her first Top 40 to miss the Top 10. The two more pop hits she'd go on to have would do the same.
Then it's Sir Elton with a song about how his lover's presence is felt even when she's not with him, and how he's glad to cure her (no comment) loneliness when he returns home. Sweet and simple, but a cut below his best stuff.
Rounding out this quintet is ONJ with an upbeat dance number in the "Physical" mode about how the object of her affection gives her figurative cardiac arrest. Another song that hasn't really stood the test of time.
Ten for the road:
10 - "I Ran (So Far Away)," A Flock of Seagulls
It should come as no surprise that the lead singer of these Liverpudlian New Wavers, Mike Score, was a hairdresser. Why else would he feel the need to sculpt his locks into an odd "Hawkman with an eyepatch" 'do if not to just show off? That hair alone would make sure this band was never forgotten, but fortunately, they also have this catchy, atmospheric hit about being unable to escape from a woman who makes Mike see Aurora Borealis and float in beams of light to remember them by. Definitely an essential musical moment of this decade.
9 - "You Can Do Magic," America
The final Top Ten for the patriotically-named ones was this song about a woman with certain powers, among them the ability to turn hearts of stone to...clay? Um, is that any better? Seems to me that wouldn't function much better in the body, but I'm no doctor, so, whatever.
8 - "Somebody's Baby," Jackson Browne
JB's second and last Top Ten hit was this midtempo number about being afraid to approach a girl because she's so beautiful she must be spoken for. This was from the soundtrack of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the teen sex classic that gave the world Sean Penn, Phoebe Cates, and Judge Reinhold, among many others. Even the woman Phil Spector (allegedly) killed was in it.
7 - "I Keep Forgettin'," Michael McDonald
The ex-Doobie's first and biggest solo hit is this slick, stuttery pop gem (featuring musical backup from three members of Toto) about a guy who just can't keep the fact that he and a certain lady are no longer together from slipping his mind. Later, it would get a new life as a go-to sample for hip-hop artists. You just never know, do you?
6 - "Eye of the Tiger," Survivor
This Chicago band cracked the Top 40 for the first time in 1981 with a song called "Poor Man's Son." I don't remember it, but apparently it impressed Sylvester Stallone enough that he asked them to do the theme for Rocky III. What they came up with was this now-iconic rocker about struggling for success. Yes, it's a cliche, but I dare you not to hear those opening notes and not get even just a little pumped. I don't think it's possible.
5 - "Who Can it Be Now," Men at Work
These Aussies took their first American hit, a deceptively peppy number about a paranoid recluse, all the way to #1. Loved it then, love it now, and I think it may contain the decade's greatest sax solo.
4 - "Eye in the Sky," The Alan Parsons Project
The biggest hit for this studio amalgam was this song about being all-knowing and all-seeing. It's a little sleepy for my taste, and to me, that blunts it a little. But it's still all right.
3 - "Hard to Say I'm Sorry," Chicago
Another Chicago ballad, but it has a catchiness to it that makes me put it somewhat above "If You Leave Me Now" and "You're the Inspiration." I'll take it.
2 - "Abracadabra," The Steve Miller Band
These 70s stalwarts only had two Top 40s in the 80s, but the second and last was this sultry number about wanting to "reach out and grab" a woman who wears "black panties with an angel's face." For some reason, I never liked this one that much. It just seemed, I don't know, off. Can't put my finger on why.
And at the summit of the pop peak 29 years ago this week we find...
1 - "Jack and Diane," John Cougar
The Indiana heartland rocker reached the top just once in his career, and this "little ditty" about frisky teenage lovers was the one that did it. Good song, but I probably like it even more because John himself performed it in the SCTV sketch "The Nutty Lab Assistant." Anything for you, Miss Purdy.
The NotCaseys were "Pressure" by Billy Joel, "Truly" by Lionel Richie, "I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters, and "Rock the Casbah" by The Clash. Casey opened the show by playing last week's Top 3, which were the same three songs as this week's, in the same order. He also played "Imagine" to mark what would have been John Lennon's 42nd birthday. And there were two Long Distance Dedications. A girl dedicated The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" to her brother with Down syndrome, and a Navy sailor sent Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle" out to the wife and children he rarely got to see.
Nice looking back with you. We'll have to do this again. How does next week sound?
36 - "Like a Sad Song," John Denver
This wasn't one of this nature boy's biggest hits, and it's not hard to understand why. Yes, it's got the natural imagery and the gentle, feather-light arrangement, but there's nothing that you can grab onto, like a big chorus or a memorable line. And it's a bit of a downer, to be honest. But I kind of like it. There are definitely times and places for songs like this.
29 - "It's O.K.," The Beach Boys
The surf vets followed up their hit cover of Chuck Berry's "Rock n' Roll Music" with this breezy celebration of the summer. Of course, it couldn't match the greatness of similar songs from their prime more than a decade earlier, but it's still pleasant enough. And it's far from an embarrassment on the level of "Kokomo." God, I hate that song. I find the fact that it hit #1 personally offensive.
Okay, now let's return to the year that saw the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals meet in Major League Baseball postseason play for the first time. Coincidentally, their second such encounter is taking place right now.
20 - "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)," Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
19 - "What's Forever For," Michael Murphey
18 - "Gloria," Laura Branigan
17 - "Up Where We Belong," Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
16 - "Hold On," Santana
The second half begins with Joan Jett's rollicking cover of a Gary Glitter song that is highly creepy when you know what that guy's into. So I prefer to pretend that it's a Joan Jett original. When I do, it's a fun song about lust. It's just better for all concerned.
Next is Michael "Wildfire" Murphey with his final pop hit, a goopy country ballad that laments the fact that relationships don't last as long as they used to. He himself didn't exactly have a great track record of remaining with the same woman, but apparently, his fourth marriage has stuck for a while. Good for him, I guess. Anyway, not my cup of tea, but I guess it's not a bad song.
Then it's Laura Branigan's breakthrough hit. Originally, "Gloria" was a tender love song by Italian pop star Umberto Tozzi, but when Branigan decided to record it, she wanted to give it "an American kick," and had the English lyrics written as a warning to a woman who has gone from lover to lover and now finds herself finding paramours fewer and farther between. "If everybody wants you," Branigan sings, "why isn't anybody calling?" The change of lyrical direction worked well, as this discofied melodrama reached #2, and remains one of the decade's best known hits.
Raspy-voiced rocker Joe Cocker and smooth popstress Jennifer Warnes are here with the smash ballad about love making one soar with the eagles and such. It gained popularity after accompanying the ending of An Officer and a Gentleman, playing in the background as Richard Gere carries Debra Winger out of the plant where she works. It reminds me of when Marge Simpson decided to visit her husband Homer at work instead of going to the apartment of lusty bowler Jacques, and Homer carries Marge out of the Springfield Nuclear plant, announcing that he's taking her to the back seat of his car, "and I won't be back for ten minutes!"
Ending this section is Santana and a cover of a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Ian Thomas, brother of Dave "Doug McKenzie" Thomas. I was disappointed that I didn't get to cover Ian's only U.S. Top 40, 1973's "Painted Ladies." Oh well, maybe it'll come up and be a 70s spotlight song. This song here isn't one of his better ones, and is only notable for being Santana's last hit until he hooked up with another guy with the last name Thomas seventeen years later.
15 - "Hurts So Good," John Cougar
14 - "You Should Hear How She Talks About You," Melissa Manchester
13 - "Break it to Me Gently," Juice Newton
12 - "Blue Eyes," Elton John
11 - "Heart Attack," Olivia Newton-John
This group is led off by young Mr. Mellencamp's first Top Ten, a driving rocker about how his relationship "don't feel like it should," but is still somehow wonderful. I like most of the Coug's 80s hits, and this is no exception.
Melissa Manchester primarily charted with ballads, but she would have her biggest hit with this dance-popper in which she encourages a friend that the woman he likes is just as into him, if not more. Nothing special as these things go.
Next is Juice Newton with a cover of a 1961 Brenda Lee weepie that pleads with a departing lover to make the separation as easy as possible. Juice does all right, but she's just not Brenda Lee. No one is. This would be her first Top 40 to miss the Top 10. The two more pop hits she'd go on to have would do the same.
Then it's Sir Elton with a song about how his lover's presence is felt even when she's not with him, and how he's glad to cure her (no comment) loneliness when he returns home. Sweet and simple, but a cut below his best stuff.
Rounding out this quintet is ONJ with an upbeat dance number in the "Physical" mode about how the object of her affection gives her figurative cardiac arrest. Another song that hasn't really stood the test of time.
Ten for the road:
10 - "I Ran (So Far Away)," A Flock of Seagulls
It should come as no surprise that the lead singer of these Liverpudlian New Wavers, Mike Score, was a hairdresser. Why else would he feel the need to sculpt his locks into an odd "Hawkman with an eyepatch" 'do if not to just show off? That hair alone would make sure this band was never forgotten, but fortunately, they also have this catchy, atmospheric hit about being unable to escape from a woman who makes Mike see Aurora Borealis and float in beams of light to remember them by. Definitely an essential musical moment of this decade.
9 - "You Can Do Magic," America
The final Top Ten for the patriotically-named ones was this song about a woman with certain powers, among them the ability to turn hearts of stone to...clay? Um, is that any better? Seems to me that wouldn't function much better in the body, but I'm no doctor, so, whatever.
8 - "Somebody's Baby," Jackson Browne
JB's second and last Top Ten hit was this midtempo number about being afraid to approach a girl because she's so beautiful she must be spoken for. This was from the soundtrack of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the teen sex classic that gave the world Sean Penn, Phoebe Cates, and Judge Reinhold, among many others. Even the woman Phil Spector (allegedly) killed was in it.
7 - "I Keep Forgettin'," Michael McDonald
The ex-Doobie's first and biggest solo hit is this slick, stuttery pop gem (featuring musical backup from three members of Toto) about a guy who just can't keep the fact that he and a certain lady are no longer together from slipping his mind. Later, it would get a new life as a go-to sample for hip-hop artists. You just never know, do you?
6 - "Eye of the Tiger," Survivor
This Chicago band cracked the Top 40 for the first time in 1981 with a song called "Poor Man's Son." I don't remember it, but apparently it impressed Sylvester Stallone enough that he asked them to do the theme for Rocky III. What they came up with was this now-iconic rocker about struggling for success. Yes, it's a cliche, but I dare you not to hear those opening notes and not get even just a little pumped. I don't think it's possible.
5 - "Who Can it Be Now," Men at Work
These Aussies took their first American hit, a deceptively peppy number about a paranoid recluse, all the way to #1. Loved it then, love it now, and I think it may contain the decade's greatest sax solo.
4 - "Eye in the Sky," The Alan Parsons Project
The biggest hit for this studio amalgam was this song about being all-knowing and all-seeing. It's a little sleepy for my taste, and to me, that blunts it a little. But it's still all right.
3 - "Hard to Say I'm Sorry," Chicago
Another Chicago ballad, but it has a catchiness to it that makes me put it somewhat above "If You Leave Me Now" and "You're the Inspiration." I'll take it.
2 - "Abracadabra," The Steve Miller Band
These 70s stalwarts only had two Top 40s in the 80s, but the second and last was this sultry number about wanting to "reach out and grab" a woman who wears "black panties with an angel's face." For some reason, I never liked this one that much. It just seemed, I don't know, off. Can't put my finger on why.
And at the summit of the pop peak 29 years ago this week we find...
1 - "Jack and Diane," John Cougar
The Indiana heartland rocker reached the top just once in his career, and this "little ditty" about frisky teenage lovers was the one that did it. Good song, but I probably like it even more because John himself performed it in the SCTV sketch "The Nutty Lab Assistant." Anything for you, Miss Purdy.
The NotCaseys were "Pressure" by Billy Joel, "Truly" by Lionel Richie, "I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters, and "Rock the Casbah" by The Clash. Casey opened the show by playing last week's Top 3, which were the same three songs as this week's, in the same order. He also played "Imagine" to mark what would have been John Lennon's 42nd birthday. And there were two Long Distance Dedications. A girl dedicated The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" to her brother with Down syndrome, and a Navy sailor sent Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle" out to the wife and children he rarely got to see.
Nice looking back with you. We'll have to do this again. How does next week sound?
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