ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS 2023… IS A NEW (Older) XMAS SONG AT NO. 1!

Happy Holidays everyone!  I hope you are all doing well and staying safe out there!  So, it’s been awhile.  How long, you ask?  Well, since July 2022, when I was bursting with excitement over the newfound success of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God).”  Before that, just two blog posts in 2021.  

Before I continue with this (return) blog post, I want to thank everyone who’s been reading my blog (which started in early 2016) and continue to enjoy it and comment about it, and continue to subscribe to it!  I’m forever grateful. 

With Thanksgiving in the rear view mirror, Christmas 2023 is already here…at least in the form of holiday music.  

For decades, pop singles charts in other parts of the world have celebrated the holiday season with an annual offering of old and new Xmas classics.  And, in Britain, at least, they’ve always made a big deal out of what would be the coveted “Christmas No. 1!”

Over here in the U.S., from at least the late 70s until a few years ago, it was very hard for a Christmas song to even chart on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.  The Eagles’ “Please Come Home For Christmas” reached No. 18, and the 1984 charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid (the biggest-selling U.K. single during the entire 1980s, and still the second-biggest of all time in the U.K.) made a big debut inside the Top 40, but by then, it was already January, and the highest it could go was No. 13, despite selling 2.5 million copies here in America and going Gold, because, at that point, no radio stations were playing it. 

Well, thanks in large part to streaming services and digital song sales, a few years ago, BILLBOARD updated its Hot 100 rules to include Christmas songs every year, if they got enough sales, airplay and streaming to warrant an appearance.  It’s been interesting.  

You have holiday classics more than or close to 60 years old by Burl Ives (“A Holly Jolly Christmas” from 1964), Brenda Lee (“Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” from 1958) and Bobby Helms (“Jingle Bell Rock” from 1957) hanging around the Top 5 every Xmas since the Hot 100 update, and it’s cool.  

Even Wham!’s “Last Christmas” (which was never officially released as a single here in America) has found its way to the upper echelon of the BILLBOARD Hot 100, and with every year, climbs higher and higher, and in the last chart week of 2022, has since given Wham! their first Top 5 hit since “I’m Your Man” reached No. 3 in February 1986. 

And, leading the way during the holiday season every year since the update, Mariah Carey’s HUGELY POPULAR “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” from her 1994 multi-platinum holiday album, MERRY CHRISTMAS (which has sold 15 million copies worldwide).  “All I Want For Christmas Is You” was not allowed to chart in 1994, per BILLBOARD Hot 100 rules at the time, since it wasn’t officially released as a physical single.  

Now, I will easily admit that, while Mariah certainly has talent and then some, I have never really been a fan of Mariah Carey, and certainly not a fan of “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”  But, when BILLBOARD updated its Hot 100 rule to include holiday music, as a singles chart nerd, when “All I Want For Christmas Is You” went to No. 1 in 2019 (after waiting 25 years), the various records (no pun intended) it set were impressive.  

To briefly borrow from Joni Mitchell’s “River” (from 1971), we’re coming on Christmas 2023, after ruling the BILLBOARD Hot 100 for 12 non-consecutive weeks spanning four holiday seasons, can we PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let another song, a new (older) song be the Christmas No. 1 here in America? 

With that said, and kind of inspired by Kate Bush’s monumental, unparalleled and triumphant return to the Hot 100 over the summer of 2022 with her brilliant 1985 classic, the aforementioned “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” what if we delved deep into the 80s for other Xmas classics to be the new (older) Christmas No. 1!

Thanks to its Season 4 inclusion in STRANGER THINGS, “Running Up That Hill” (the BILLBOARD No. 5 Song of Summer in 2022; No. 23 for all of 2022!) surprised everyone (yours truly included) by reaching No. 3 on the Hot 100, spending 15 consecutive weeks in the Top 10, and 20 new weeks on the Hot 100 (for a total of 40 weeks, when adding the 20 weeks it spent on the Hot 100 in 1985).

We could take a page from Kate Bush’s amazing chart run in the Summer of 2022 and do the same with a holiday gem from the 80s and beyond!  I know these are all long shots (…or are they?…), but it’s fun to think about.  So, let’s go!

KATE BUSH — DECEMBER WILL BE MAGIC AGAIN (1979).

Kate Bush performed a song on her 1979 Christmas holiday special called “December Will Be Magic Again.”  That version was never released as a single.  Another version a year later WAS released, and reached the U.K. Top 30.  But, it’s the original 1979 version I would love to see released and maybe even do well, especially after the comeback Kate had in 2022.

JOHN & YOKO AND THE PLASTIC ONO BAND — HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) (1971).

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly 43 years since the tragic death of John Lennon.  But, John’s music has endured, and, surprisingly, the 1971 song never reached the Top 40 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, until 2022, where it reached No. 38 on the Hot 100.

Following John’s death in 1980, several of his songs re-charted in the U.K. and other parts of the globe.  “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” reached a new U.K. peak in 1981 at No. 2 — right behind “Imagine” at No. 1.  I could totally see “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” re-enter the upper reaches of the Hot 100 every holiday season!

THE WAITRESSES — CHRISTMAS WRAPPING (1981).

“Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses (from the 1981 EP, I COULD RULE THE WORLD IF I COULD ONLY GET THE PARTS) is a song that started many of the holiday shows Maryhope and I did on STUCK IN THE 80s.  Honestly, it’s so much fun, I don’t know why it’s not on the Hot 100 every Christmas already!

THE RAMONES — MERRY CHRISTMAS (I DON’T WANT TO FIGHT TONIGHT) (UK REMIX; 1987).

The Ramones have actually hit the BILLBOARD Hot 100 three times, and all from the 1977 album, ROCKET TO RUSSIA: “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker” reached No. 81, “Rockaway Beach” (their highest-charting single) went to No. 66, and their cover of the 1958 Bobby Freeman classic, “Do You Wanna Dance?” stopped at No. 86.  

In 1987, they released the song, “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight),” and a U.K. remix of which became a holiday staple on STUCK IN THE 80s for a long time.  Wouldn’t you like to see The Ramones back on the chart and in the Top 40 for the first time?  Or the Top 10?  Or even No. 1?  I know I would!

CHRIS REA — DRIVING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS (1986).

Englishman Chris Rea has had so much success in his U.K. homeland, but very little success here in America.  He reached No. 12 on the Hot 100 in 1978 with “Fool (If You Think It’s Over),” and despite having five other Hot 100 hits between 1978 and 1989, Chris Rea is criminally regarded as a one-hit wonder here in America.

First released in 1986, “Driving Home For Christmas” was widely available in 1988, found on the Chris Rea compilation, NEW LIGHT THROUGH OLD WINDOWS.  In 1988, “Driving Home For Christmas” stopped at No. 53 on the U.K. singles chart, and reached a new peak of No. 10 in 2021!, and over the years, has reached the Top 10 in at least 10 other countries.  It’s time for some American chart love during this holiday season!  

Up until a few years ago, I had actually forgotten about this holiday treasure, but since then, it’s been part of my holiday go-to playlist.  And, I love it more and more each year.  If you have never heard this gem before, in a word, I call it “lovely.”  You will too!  Check it out!

DAVID BOWIE & BING CROSBY — PEACE ON EARTH/LITTLE DRUMMER BOY (1977 / 1982).

When I saw this performed on BING CROSBY’S MERRIE OLDE CHRISTMAS on television during the 1977 holiday season, I thought it was so magical, and it will be a part of me for all time.

Since I wasn’t really following music back in 1977 (I know, hard to believe now), David Bowie was not on my radar (also very hard to believe).  But, for a long time now, “Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy” has been my favorite Xmas song ever.  There’s just something so special about it.

This song was one of the last songs Bing Crosby recorded before he passed away in October 1977 at the age of 74.  It reached No. 3 in the U.K. and Ireland, and No. 6 in Norway.  I will love this song for all time, and I’m kinda surprised it hasn’t reached the Hot 100 ever.  Maybe this year?

THE HIVES & CYNDI LAUPER — A CHRISTMAS DUEL (2008).

Cyndi Lauper has put out so many holiday songs over the years that are worthy of Hot 100 representation EVERY holiday season, like 1992’s “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” with Frank Sinatra, 1993’s “Feels Like Christmas” and the always fun “Christmas Conga,” from Cyndi’s wonderful 1998 holiday album, MERRY CHRISTMAS…HAVE A NICE LIFE.  But, it’s Cyndi’s memorable 2008 duet with the Swedish band The Hives, “A Christmas Duel,” that has topped my Cyndi Xmas list for the past 15 years.

One of the many things I love about Cyndi Lauper is that she will perform with pretty much everyone, no-holds-barred.  And on “A Christmas Duel,” you have this amazing 60s Motown-type, girl-group sound replete with lyrics that are, well, I’ll just say, non-traditional.  It’s brilliant, it’s fun, it’s bold, it’s got swears and managed to reach No. 4 in The Hives’ homeland of Sweden.  Pretty fucking impressive.  And, yes, a big honkin’ longshot of making the Hot 100 here in America ever.  But it’s a nice thought.

THE POGUES featuring KIRSTY MacCOLL — FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK (1987).

I had already started working on this blog post when today, Thursday, November 30, 2023, I learned of the very sad passing of The Pogues’ singer and principal songwriter, Shane MacGowan, who had passed away at the age of 65.  Of Shane MacGowan’s passing, Irish president Michael Higgins said:

“[Shane’s] words have connected Irish people all over the globe to their culture and history …  The genius of Shane’s contribution includes the fact that his songs capture within them, as Shane would put it, the measure of our dreams — of so many worlds, and particularly those of love, of the emigrant experience and of facing the challenges of that experience with authenticity and courage, and of living and seeing the sides of life that so many turn away from.”

If there is any one holiday song that I have come to love more and more every year, it’s this one.  “Fairytale Of New York” by The Pogues and the late, great Kirsty MacColl has become one of my all-time favorite holiday songs.

“Fairytale Of New York” originally reached No. 2 in 1987, and has returned to the Top 20 on the U.K. singles chart every year since 2005.  It is THE most-played Christmas song in the U.K. of the 21st century, and as of the week ending today, November 30, 2023, “Fairytale Of New York” has amassed a total of 113 non-consecutive weeks on the U.K. Top 75 singles chart, good for sixth-best of all time.  There are many in the U.K. and beyond that are calling for “Fairytale Of New York” to be this year’s Christmas No. 1 in the U.K., myself included.

Though the song has gone five-times Platinum in the U.K., “Fairytale Of New York” and its holiday message of nostalgia, alcoholism, addiction and lost love has never quite resonated here in America, which is disappointing and sad, though with Shane’s passing today, “Fairytale” is now No. 11 (as of this writing) and moving up on the iTunes chart here in America.  That makes me smile!

In the U.K., the most-popular Xmas song ever is “Fairytale Of New York,” while here in America it’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”  Let’s go to change that!

LAST CHRISTMAS — WHAM! (1984)

So, if “Fairytale Of New York” isn’t an option for a new (older) Christmas No. 1 in the U.S. of A., how about one of the songs that has the best chance of unseating Mariah Carey at the top this Xmas — “Last Christmas” by Wham!

Why would it be cool to have “Last Christmas” be the Christmas No. 1 here in America this year?  Well, besides replacing Mariah Carey at No. 1, “Last Christmas” is already No. 13 and moving up on the latest BILLBOARD Hot 100 (dated December 2, 2023).  “Last Christmas,” which has risen steadily in the past few years, reached a new peak in 2022 at No. 4.  

The late, great George Michael (who passed away on Christmas Day 2016) was just inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Class of 2023.  I think that a 39-year-old holiday pop song reaching the top all these years later is a testament to George Michael’s work, with Wham! and solo.  

The day after Halloween 2023, Mariah Carey released a video basically saying it’s almost Christmas and time to play her song and make it No. 1 again.  Ugh.  How fucking annoying.  Some say it’s not Xmas until Mariah Carey says it is (and the day after Halloween no less)?!  I don’t think so.  But it’s another reason to hope that “Last Christmas” rules the top of the Hot 100 chart this Xmas.  AND, it’s an 80s Xmas song!  Of course I want it to be No. 1!  

So, let’s go to make it this year’s new (older) Christmas No. 1 song in America!  “Last Christmas,” the 2023 Christmas No. 1 in America, and “Fairytale Of New York” as the 2023 Christmas No. 1 in the U.K.!  And no Mariah Carey!!  That would be a Happy Christmas for this chart nerd indeed and beyond!

Thank you, so much, my partner, Maryhope, for inspiring me to write and get back to doing something I love, and for everything you do, and everything you are!

Maryhope and yours truly during our annual holiday and solstice show at WMPG-FM, Portland, Maine, December 17, 2017!

And thank you Shane, for your words and your music, Christmas will definitely be missing a light and then some this year…

A toast to you, Shane MacGowan, wherever you are…

song of the day – “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” | KATE BUSH | 1985 / 2022!

It’s honestly not common for me to be writing about a song that’s currently setting singles chart records here in the U.S. and around the globe, but then again, stranger things have happened.  AND STRANGER THINGS DID HAPPEN!  

One of the posters for the fourth season of STRANGER THINGS.

Maryhope and I have been fans of the original Netflix series, the brilliant STRANGER THINGS, since the show began in 2016, the very same year I started the bloggy thing here.  Funny how STRANGER THINGS has inspired me to come out of my unintended blog-writing hiatus and write my first blog post in far too long.  Not to mention writing about a song I already wrote about in October 2016 (https://foreveryoung80s.wordpress.com/2016/10/19/song-of-the-day-running-up-that-hill-a-deal-with-god-kate-bush-1985/), the 1985 Kate Bush classic, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God).”

The original 1985 single cover art for “Running Up That Hill.”

This season of STRANGER THINGS has prolly been the best in the series so far, and its continued use of “Running Up That Hill,” serving as a recurring theme / favorite song of character Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink).  No spoilers here, but the use of “Running Up That Hill,” ESPECIALLY in Season Four’s “Chapter Four: Dear Billy,” is so intense and so unforgettable, that it’s prolly THE BEST use of any song in a television show ever, and certainly since the last six minutes of the 2005 SIX FEET UNDER series finale, “Everybody’s Waiting,” using Sia’s “Breathe Me.”  

After watching the “Dear Billy” episode of STRANGER THINGS, I now know why Kate Bush was trending and “Running Up That Hill” was making waves on the singles charts around the globe.  And, as I watched all of these countries in Europe and Australia and New Zealand showing some serious love to “Running Up That Hill,” I was hoping — finally — that the U.S. would follow suit.

From Season 4’s memorable “Chapter Four: Dear Billy” episode.

“Running Up That Hill” (like parent album, HOUNDS OF LOVE; one of my all-time favorite albums) originally stopped at No. 30 in 1985 here in America.  In Canada, “Running Up That Hill” peaked at No. 27.  While, outside of North America, people all over the globe understood Kate Bush and the powerful “Running Up That Hill.”  

In its original 1985 release, “Running Up That Hill” reached the Top 10 in (at least) Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and a No. 3 peak in Kate Bush’s U.K. homeland, her highest-charting U.K. single of the 80s there.

Amazing artwork of Sadie Sink and Kate Bush.

Since STRANGER THINGS started prominently featuring “Running Up That Hill,” new singles chart records all over the world have been broken for this nearly 37-year-old gem.  New peak positions have been recorded (including some No. 1 rankings), and here are just some of them (as of this writing, 14 June 2022):

• Australia (No. 6, 1985; No. 1, 2022)
• Canada (No. 27, 1985; No. 2, 2022)
• Croatia (No. 4, 2022)
• Czech Republic (No. 2, 2022)
• Denmark (No. 6, 2022)
• Finland (No. 6, 2022)
• Greece (No. 2, 2022)
• Hungary (No. 3, 2022)
• Iceland (No. 4, 2022)
• Ireland (No. 4, 1985; No. 3, 2022)
• Lithuania (No. 1, 2022)
• New Zealand (No. 26, 1985, No. 1 2022)
• Norway (No. 4, 2022)
• Singapore (No. 5, 2022)
• Slovakia (No. 2, 2022)
• Sweden (No. 1, 2022)
• Switzerland (No. 10, 1985; No. 1, 2022)

In the United Kingdom, the original 1985 release peaked at No. 3, and “Running Up That Hill” is now battling for No. 1, currently at No. 2 (behind the popular Harry Styles hit, “As It Was”).  I think it has a chance to reach No. 1 in the U.K., while here in the U.S., it’s going to be a harder sell, but that doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying the ride.

Back in 1985, the BILLBOARD Hot 100 was based solely on radio airplay and record store sales.  In 2022, you have all sorts of metrics that still include radio airplay, plus digital singles sales, and streaming.  Not to mention the fact that ANY song from an album can chart on the Hot 100 if it’s got enough points, whereas in 1985, an actual physical single had to be released to be on the Hot 100.  That’s why, in 1985, you never saw Madonna’s “Into The Groove” (from DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN) or “Back In Time” by Huey Lewis & The News (from BACK TO THE FUTURE) on the Hot 100 — because they weren’t officially released as singles, though they were radio hits.

Madonna’s “Angel” 12″ B-side cover art for “Into The Groove.”

Not too long ago, BILLBOARD finally started allowing Xmas holiday titles to re-chart on the Hot 100 at the end of every year.  Wham’s No. 1 1984 U.K. hit, “Last Christmas,” for example, was never released as a single here in America, but with these re-entries every holiday season, it has become a BILLBOARD Hot 100 Top 10 hit, increasing in sales and radio airplay every Xmas.  So far, “Last Christmas” has gone as high as No. 7 on the Hot 100.  Pretty damn cool.

The single cover art for 1984’s “Last Christmas” by Wham!

But, apart from annual holiday hits and sales surges when a recording artist passes away (i.e. Prince, Whitney Houston, David Bowie), it’s quite rare for a song that is nearly 37 years old to re-enter the Top 50 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100, let alone the Top 10.

Fleetwood Mac’s No. 1 hit from 1977, “Dreams,” saw a big resurgence because of a 2020 viral TikTok video by Nathan Apodaca, where he is lip-syncing to “Dreams” whilst on a skateboard and drinking cranberry juice.  Other similar videos followed (including one by Mick Fleetwood himself), and the video’s popularity brought “Dreams” back to the Hot 100 briefly, stopping at No. 12, which was cool.  

Lip-syncing to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” on a skateboard whilst drinking cranberry juice! Mick Fleetwood (left) and Nathan Apodaca’s original viral video on the right.

The STRANGER THINGS-inspired 2022 chart story of “Running Up That Hill,” however, is WAY cooler, not to mention unprecedented.

“Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” returned to the BILLBOARD Hot 100 on the chart dated 11 June 2022 at No. 8, a whopping 22 positions higher than its original No. 30 peak in October 1985.  Even its parent album, HOUNDS OF LOVE, has reached a new position, No. 12, on Billboard’s album chart dated 18 June 2022.  Phenomenal.

The cover art for Kate Bush’s 1985 masterpiece, HOUNDS OF LOVE.

Here are just a few achievements of “Running Up That Hill” so far on the BILLBOARD Hot 100:

• Only the eighth song to re-enter the BILLBOARD Hot 100 IN the Top 10. 
• The longest run (for a non-holiday song) from its Hot 100 debut (7 September 1985) to the Hot 100’s Top 5 (18 June 2022) in the 63-year-history of the BILLBOARD Hot 100.  For those keeping score at home, that’s 36 years, nine months and two weeks.  Fucking impressive, and third longest-run overall.
• “Running Up That Hill” is the first Top 5 song (overall) since 2014 by a solo singer, writer, producer, and the first song in almost 18 years by a solo female artist, writer and producer.  That’s way too long.

NERDY FUN CHART FACT: Kate Bush and the Hot 100 share a birthday within a week of each other (30 July vs. 4 August, 1958)!  I couldn’t believe it when I discovered that just tonight!

A STRANGER THINGS poster featuring Max (Sadie Sink).

One of my young co-workers at the non-profit I currently work for in Central Maine has been watching STRANGER THINGS with his daughter, and he told me today that she’s been listening to Kate Bush, because of STRANGER THINGS.  I think that’s so wonderful, and so incredible that a song (and artist) which didn’t get much time on American radio back in 1985 is seeing such a resurgence nearly 37 years later!

Kate Bush has never really been known to have her music in anything, whether it’s TV, films or commercials.  “This Woman’s Work” was featured in the 1988 John Hughes film, SHE’S HAVING A BABY, but that was before it was featured on Kate’s 1989 album, THE SENSUAL WORLD (Kate thanked John Hughes in her album’s liner notes).

Another poster for STRANGER THINGS, this one with Winona Ryder.

The creators of STRANGER THINGS, The Duffer Brothers, sought Kate Bush out, who was a fan of the show, and once they showed her how they wanted to use “Running Up That Hill,” Kate authorized its use.  STRANGER THINGS star Winona Ryder (who got her start in the 80s, the same time period the show is set), had also apparently been giving out hints over the course of the show’s run, lobbying to use Kate Bush’s music.  The response of “Running Up That Hill” has been nothing short of amazing, and has even surprised Kate herself, loving the fact her classic song is being discovered by so many young fans, as am I.

It’s weird — this new and incredible and beautiful popularity of a song from the year I graduated from high school; a song, an album, and an artist I have loved for so long FINALLY getting some long-deserved love here in the U.S., has made me so overjoyed, it’s nearly moved me to tears, I’m not kidding.  Never in my lifetime did I think that I would see or hear the words “‘Running Up That Hill’ is the biggest-selling single and most-streamed song in the country, and ranks at No. 4 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.”

Kate Bush, 1985, from the HOUNDS OF LOVE photo shoot.

I don’t know how long Kate Bush and “Running Up That Hill” will be running up the singles charts, there’s literally no playbook for this.  I’m guessing it will be short-lived, but it’s truly a phenomenon I could have never imagined and yet I am so grateful for, and thanks to STRANGER THINGS, there is a thunder in my heart again for Kate Bush and “Running Up That Hill.”

song of the day – “On The Radio” | DONNA SUMMER | 1979 / 1980.

For December 31, 2020, Maryhope, my partner in radio and my partner in love, and I remotely recorded some radio shows for WMPG-FM Community Radio out of Portland, Maine and WMPG.org.  Maryhope and I covered several shows at WMPG for New Year’s Eve a few years before (when it was on a Sunday night) in an eight-and-a-half hour marathon show to ring in the new year.  We had a blast, until the DJ with the first show of the New Year (the one who would replace us after our special New Year’s broadcast) overslept, because he thought, since it was a holiday, he didn’t have to go in (cue the eye roll).  Other than that, we had a an incredible time ringing in the New Year in the place we had first met many years before, and we certainly do make some amazing radio together!

In thinking about our fun time with that New Year’s Eve at WMPG, Maryhope had the excellent idea of ringing in 2021 at WMPG too!  But, when Covid-19 hit in March 2020, WMPG has been broadcasting remotely ever since.  First, they were airing recently-archived shows (WMPG keeps archives of their shows for five weeks on WMPG.org), and then just about everyone started recording shows remotely from home.  That’s when Maryhope and I joined in, submitting shows to air whenever there was an open spot in the schedule.  

Maryhope started airing her wonderful new badass retro show, PURPLE MONKEY DISHWASHER, eventually getting her old slot back, 9:00 – 11:00pm on Sundays, with me contributing a STUCK IN THE 80s spotlight!!  You can find the archives of her past five shows at wmpg.org/show/sun2100/.  And I resurrected our old radio show, STUCK IN THE 80s, for some new shows and rebroadcast some old ones as well.  It was a lot of fun bringing the show back after a few years!  

But, when Maryhope mentioned doing some shows for WMPG to air on New Year’s Eve 2020 and early New Year’s Day 2021 (she recorded somewhere in the vicinity of four shows, and I did a couple), at the time, I didn’t realize I would be writing about one of the shows I did a few months later.  

The show I’m referring to was a fill-in show for the WMPG Station Manager, Jim Rand, and his longtime Thursday afternoon Punk show, LAND OF THE LOST.  But, in my 25 years at WMPG, I learned a long time ago, that if you’re subbing for a show, you don’t always have to play what is normally played on that particular show.  Those hosts “encourage” you to play what they normally play, but it’s not usually required.  

My show that New Year’s Eve afternoon (from 3:00 – 5:00pm Eastern time) was called 1979.  That’s it; that’s the title.  It was the year I fell in love with music, and I wanted to highlight that.  I lovingly put together two hours of kickass music in a multitude of genres that included no less than Rock, Punk, Disco, Soul, Alternative (before it was called that), Rap, Country, New Wave, Ska….and Pop Muzik, which was also the song I started the show off with, by Robin Scott (better known as M, and one of my all-time favorite songs).

That first set of my 1979 show was admittedly one of THE BEST sets I have ever done in the 36 years I’ve been a DJ.  After “Pop Muzik,” I played “Dance This Mess Around” by The B-52’s, “Grinding Halt” by The Cure, “Do The Dog” by The Specials, Madness and “One Step Beyond…,” plus “Tears Of A Clown” by my friend, Dave Wakeling, and The English Beat, and “Train In Vain” by The Clash.  

In total, I played 30 full songs, a playlist that included songs from Blondie, Led Zeppelin, The Ramones, the Electric Light Orchestra, the Buzzcocks, Fleetwood Mac, The Jacksons, Nick Lowe, Sister Sledge and David Bowie.  I also played part of “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang, in a special mix I put together with “Good Times” by Chic, and I played a comedy bit from Robin Williams’ brilliant 1979 comedy album, REALITY…WHAT A CONCEPT.  

I was pretty proud of the show.  I still am.  Maryhope loved it too, and I even got a piece of fan mail from a WMPG listener about my 1979 program, less than an hour into the show, with the email subject line to WMPG titled, “Today’s fabulous selection from 1979!”  

The email read, “Today doing laundry and plugged in my old boombox!  I searched for a station,  WMPG,  came in crystal clear!!  What a fabulous selection of ’79 music!!  The English Beat, the Clash, Blondie, and the Ramones, to name a few!  I am mighty impressed with your choices today!!  I grew up listening and have a few of the above artists’ albums!!  Thank you for going back in time…”

Well, not long after the start of 2021, Maryhope and I were still talking about that show.  I think I told her that I could do a 1979 show for a year.  And, I believe she said something along the lines of, “Well, why don’t you?”  I hadn’t planned on doing another show, to be honest, and was going to just submit the occasional STUCK IN THE 80s until Covid was finally behind us, and everything was back to the old normal.  Or maybe I thought I didn’t have time to work on a weekly show.  Of course, Maryhope was right.  She also reminded me, much to my surprise, that I had been talking about doing a 1979 show for years.  

So, with a request to see if there were any open slots on the WMPG schedule right now, I sent an email to Jessica Lockhart, the Program Director for WMPG, who has been with the station longer than I’ve been with the station, and who has been doing some absolutely incredible work scheduling all of these remote radio shows from everyone, and helping to keep WMPG on the air all this time.  

There was an open slot from Saturday nights 11:00pm to 1:00am Sunday mornings, and I snagged it right away.  I slightly reworked my New Year’s Eve show, and on January 23, 2021, WMPG aired the first installment of my new radio show, 1979 – THIS AIN’T JUST DISCO.

The poster for my new show, 1979 – This Ain’t Just Disco, on WMPG!

“This Ain’t Just Disco” is paraphrased, of course, in a line from “Life During Wartime,” a Talking Heads song from their 1979 album, FEAR OF MUSIC (“This ain’t no party / this ain’t no disco…”).  And, “This Ain’t Just Disco” fits perfectly because Disco was EVERYWHERE in 1979.  You couldn’t escape it.  Even non-Disco artists like Rod Stewart, Wings and Kiss had big Disco hits in 1979.  And Blondie’s “Heart Of Glass” united Punk and Disco fans alike.  No easy trick.

And the more I thought about subsequent 1979 shows, I thought of a tagline that is 1979% accurate:  “Songs from the year I fell in love with music, and songs from 1979 I fell in love with later on.”  And, for two hours every week, it’s a fun combination of songs that wouldn’t normally go together in (almost) any radio playlist.  Six shows in, I didn’t repeat a single artist (except a medley of “Hot Stuff” and “Bad Girls” by Donna Summer in the debut show).  Seven shows in, I hadn’t repeated a single song.  That’s not so bad!  AND, as an added bonus, like I’m doing for Maryhope’s show, she is doing a PURPLE MONKEY DISHWASHER 70s spotlight for each of my shows!  Pretty damn bleeping cool!!!

For Show No. 7, which aired at a special time Sunday, March 7th into International Women’s Day, March 8, 2021 (and was rebroadcasted in my normal Saturday night slot on March 13, 2021), I celebrated International Women’s Day 2021 with a show featuring all female artists.  One of those artists is the aforementioned late, great Donna Summer, from Boston, MA.  Donna Summer was not only the “Queen of Disco,” she was the Queen of 1979.  Donna Summer RULED 1979.  

On the first BILLBOARD Hot 100 chart of 1979, she was still in the Top 40 with her No. 1 cover of “MacArthur Park,” and two weeks later, she was back in the Top 40 with “Heaven Knows,” which peaked at No. 4.  She was only out of the Top 40 for one week in 1979.  

The No. 1 songs “Hot Stuff” and “Bad Girls” followed in the Summer of 1979, plus “Dim All The Lights” (also from the No. 1 BAD GIRLS album) reached No. 2 in November, and her duet with Barbra Streisand, “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough),” moved into No. 1 the following week, which was also the week her new single, “On The Radio” (and the title track of her greatest hits album) was released.  And Donna Summer was STILL in the Top 10 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 the last week of 1979!  Phew!  Holy cats!

Some shots of Donna Summer for the (literally!) ON THE RADIO hits collection.

“On The Radio” was played on my International Women’s Day show.  It’s also one of my favorite “radio” songs, and before I proudly owned the double greatest hits album it’s named after, I proudly owned the single.  The history is fuzzy on this, but ON THE RADIO: GREATEST HITS VOLUMES I & II may have actually been the first album I ever owned (though not the first album I ever bought with my own money — that was 1981’s GREATEST HITS by Queen). 

The single for “On The Radio” debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in the first half of January 1980, and within two weeks, was already in the Top 40.  Three weeks later, it was already in the Top 10, and headed for No. 1.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of competition at the top of the chart in the early months of the new decade, and other songs had plans for No. 1, notably Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2).”  The best “On The Radio” could settle for is two weeks at No. 5 (for two weeks) in March 1980.  

Still, “On The Radio” ended up as one of the biggest hits of 1980, and Donna Summer had another big year, reaching No. 3 with “The Wanderer,” the title song from her new album (and a new label for her, Donna was the first artist signed to the brand-new Geffen Records, founded by David Geffen, who had co-created Asylum Records back in 1971).

Donna Summer made four song appearances in the first seven shows of 1979 — THIS AIN’T JUST DISCO, and I KNOW she’ll make some more, especially with Show No. 10 (airing Saturday, April 3, 2021) devoted to the short-lived but popular labels Casablanca (Donna Summer’s first label), and RSO Records (responsible for the huge SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER and GREASE soundtracks).  

I’m not how long the show will be on.  Like I said, I could prolly do the show for a year, though, honestly, I’d happily give it up to bring WMPG back to its normal schedule, because that would mean that Covid-19 is behind us, which, after a year already, is already a year too long.  

For now, though, I’m enjoying the show and putting together new shows every week!  One of the best parts of doing this show is discovering new-to-me music that is 42 years old!  Kickass.  You can find the archives of the show at wmpg.org/show/sat2300/.  And that is where you will find me, Maryhope’s PURPLE MONKEY DISHWASHER 70s SPOTLIGHT,  and where you will find Donna Summer…“On The Radio.”  

song of the day – “Human Touch” | RICK SPRINGFIELD | 1983.

A gorgeous night for the Rick Springfield concert at Savage Oakes Vineyard and Winery, Union, Maine, 08.30.2019.  Not a bad seat in the house!

It occurred to me recently that yesterday (August 30, 2020) marked two important anniversaries in my life: the 20th anniversary of the surgery to remove my pituitary tumor, and the one-year anniversary of the Rick Springfield concert my brother Jonn and I attended.

In 1998, I started having these ungodly headaches out of nowhere, and I know they weren’t migraines, but I didn’t know anything else as to why they were happening.  A CT scan of my brain revealed nothing, so the mystery of my mysterious headaches continued.  And when they happened, it was like I was the worst version of myself.  And I didn’t know why.

In the year 2000, I started losing hair.  Not the hair on my head or the hair on my face, but armpit hair, arm hair, leg hair, and chest hair.  And, back in the 90s, I had a full chest of hair.  In 2000, it just disappeared. 

I saw my doctor, who referred me to an endocrinologist, which, prior to 2000, was a word I had never used, or never had to.  After some lab work and mostly from the results of an MRI, it was revealed that I had a pituitary tumor.  For those who don’t know, the pituitary gland is this tiny gland situated at the base of the brain, and is responsible for so many things in your body.

The tumor was, thankfully, benign, but was the size of a quarter, which itself isn’t very big, but on the scale of a normal pituitary gland, it was enormous, and it was bordering my optic nerve.  And if it wasn’t operated on, I would have gone blind.

This was taken post-surgery in Portland, Maine, in September 2000.  It seems like forever and a lot of pounds ago.  Thankfully.

So, on August 30, 2000, at Maine Medical Center in Portland, I was in surgery for 3 1/2 hours to remove the tumor.  I had to take two months off from work to recover. 

They performed what is called a transsphenoidal hypophysectomy, which basically means they went through my nasal passage to get to the tumor and remove it through there.  I’m sure in 20 years, pituitary tumor surgeries have advanced phenomenally, but that’s what was available at the time, and it was certainly a much better (and less invasive) option than cracking open my skull.

Unfortunately, they could not get the entire tumor out, and it grew back to its original size.  So, I decided to go with radiation therapy.  A “helmet” was created, customized to accommodate my ginormous melon, and to hold my head in place during each radiation session.

Maine Med gave me the most radiation they could without it affecting my vision.  And for five weeks between Memorial Day and Independence Day 2001, I had 25 10-minute radiation sessions.  It was unpleasant and exhausting (some days, I would have to leave work early because I was so tired), but in the end it worked out, and I went from having MRI’s every month to every two months, three months, six months, a year, two years and so on.  The tumor was still there (a non-active tumor), but, it remained at 4 millimeters, which is pretty close to the size of a normal pituitary gland…and not a worry.

I went many years without an MRI, and had one as recently as 2017, and I am happy to report that the tumor is still non-active and at 4 millimeters! 

So, the radiation therapy thankfully proved successful, but the tumor changed my life forever.  It killed my adrenalin, my thyroid, my testosterone, and I am on medication for each and for the rest of my life.  Before the tumor, I was a morning person, but every day since, for 20 years, I start each day from zero.  Some days are better than others, but I always get up, regardless of how tired I might be.

Post-tumor, I ballooned to a now-unimaginable top weight of 326 pounds.  I became a Type II diabetic, was very unhappy and closed off for the most part, and it took a long time before any weight started to come off.

In 2012, I rediscovered swimming.  I swam more that summer than I had in the previous 10 years or more combined!  In 2017, I started running again for the first time in 30 years!  I lettered in Cross-Country my Senior year of high school, and Maryhope introduced me to this app called C25K (or Couch to 5K), which, in eight weeks, gets you off the couch and running the equivalent of a 5K race!  Maryhope and I did the program together (and we are doing it again this year!), and I have been running ever since. 

In the past few years, I have also been eating better, trying new foods from multiple cultures from multiple parts of the world, plus doing yoga, kettlebell and meditation for the first time in my life, and I couldn’t have done this without Maryhope’s love and support and her constant belief in me, a belief that has never been paralleled in my whole life by anyone else in this entire universe.  I’m forever grateful! 

Something Maryhope would prolly say (and has) is that I finally gave myself permission to take care of myself and be healthy and realize I am worth it!  This year, I even dropped down to my lowest weight in 25 years, which 20 or 10 or even five years ago may have seemed unrealistic.  Thank you, Maryhope, for everything you do, and everything you are!!  I absolutely love you!!!

Taken at Fort Halifax Park, Winslow, Maine, 08.30.2020.  I may be 20 years older since my surgery, but I feel younger, I look better than I did back then!  And I’m certainly happier!!

On August 30, 2019, my baby brother Jonn and I saw Rick Springfield perform at the Savage Oakes Vineyard and Winery in a small town called Union, Maine (about 30 miles from where I’m typing this).  Jonn had won a concert package from a local commercial radio station I briefly worked for 12 years ago.  Along with five other pairs of concertgoers / package winners, we all took this cool limo bus to and from the venue for the outdoor show.

The limo bus that took me and my brother Jonn to the Rick Springfield show!  Noice!

Jonn was born six years after “Jessie’s Girl” had been a huge hit, so, even though Rick Springfield had 16 of his 17 Top 40 hits from 1981 through 1988, that one song was basically the extent of Jonn’s knowledge of Rick Springfield, who himself turned 70 just the week before.

The best shot my phone could get of Rick Springfield performing in Union, Maine, 08.30.2019.  He was amazing to see live and worth the 38-year wait!!

I had always wanted to see Rick Springfield perform, and I had no idea how the show would be, or how if Jonn would even be into it, but we ended up having an incredibly fun time that I will forever be grateful for, and I will treasure forever.

Just five weeks and a day later, on Saturday, October 5, 2019, I decided to take a day trip for myself to my birthplace of Bar Harbor, Maine, and go running as well (I was very close to running my first official 5K race ever and had been looking at races for later that October in Massachusetts.).

A pano I took on a beautiful day at Agamont Park, Bar Harbor, Maine, 10.05.2019.

Well, on my way back from a wonderful day in Bar Harbor, I got a call from my sister, Beth, that was the absolute last thing I expected to hear that day:  Jonn, my adopted baby brother, had died unexpectedly that afternoon.  He was just 32 years old, and I had just been with him the night before, at the elementary school playing Bingo with him and his two young girls.

I was devastated beyond belief.  It had been less than two years since I had lost my biological baby brother, Mark, and now my adopted baby brother was gone too.

2019 had already been a hard year, as Maryhope had lost her dad, Dennis, just a few months earlier (almost to the day) to cancer, at the age of 77.  Dennis was an amazing man and one of the strongest men I have ever known and will ever know.  I miss him every day.

Back in the late 70s through the early 90s, my parents were foster parents for the State of Maine, and over a five-year period or so starting in the late 80s, my folks ended up adopting six of the foster kids, two of them biological sisters.  Jonn was born in 1987 and was the youngest of the six, and one of the last two to be adopted by my parents.  So, I went from having two sisters and a brother to having six sisters and three brothers early in my adulthood.

With 20 years separating me and Jonn, there was a generational gap between us, which was prolly most noticeable with our tastes in music and movies, but it usually wasn’t an issue.  If anything, it brought us closer.

Me and Jonn hamming it up at the Raymond compound on Thanksgiving 2017.

One of the things I admired most about Jonn was his unwavering ability to say whatever was on his mind.  He was a straight shooter, telling it like it is, and didn’t hold back.  Sometimes I kinda wish he hadn’t been so vocal about everything, and we always didn’t agree, but I always respected that he said what he meant to say, instead of having the tendency to freeze up and avoid confrontations like his big brother.

Jonn joined the United States Army not long after graduating high school, and he was a gunner on a Black Hawk, serving two tours in Iraq.  He got married and was the father of two amazing young women — Alex and Emmy.  Jonn was a computer genius and one of the smartest people I ever knew.  Emmy especially reminds me so much of him.  Watch out for that one — she’s gonna rule the world someday!  I guaRONtee! 

For most of my life, I never smoked pot because I always thought I would become addicted to it, but in 2014, inspired and encouraged by Maryhope, I tried marijuana for the first time.  It wasn’t so bad, but I didn’t feel anything.  That is, until July 4, 2016.

Dragonfly fireworks, Winslow, Maine, 07.04.2016.  At least that’s what I saw.

On Independence Day 2016, Jonn gave me a peanut butter pot cookie he had made, and with my love for peanut butter cookies (and not thinking), I gobbled up the entire thing right before the fireworks display across the street from my parents’ house.

I saw an 80s record album cover in these fireworks!

After the fireworks, I was going through the pictures I had just taken (I like to take non-trad photos of fireworks), and then the cookie kicked in.  OMHFG!  I went through every pot stereotype there is!  The paranoia, the mad munchies, a different kind of creativeness than I was used to.  I saw things in these fireworks photos I might not have seen otherwise!  Luckily, I documented all of it at the time.  I’ll never forget that.  Or those cookies!  Holy cats!

Ain’t no firework high enough!  Somehow I saw Diana Ross in this shot, not her face, but mainly her hair and her arms raised to the sky.  Although I do see part of a face in there!

I thought of Jonn the first time I bought legal weed in Northampton, Massachusetts with Maryhope in February 2019.  He would have loved the communal experience.  The store had just opened, people were patient and kind and talking with each other (despite the cold), and even helped one disabled customer navigate around the line to his car.  It was beautiful!  I hope that kind of communal experience (not to mention the kickass selection) is what it’s like when Maine starts selling legal weed in October 2020.

Maryhope and yours truly, proud owners of our first legal weed, outside of NETA, Northamption, MA, 02.02.2019.

I don’t know what Jonn would have thought about legal weed in Maine.  He really seemed to love growing his own.  That crafty little bastard even managed to grow pot in a closet in his bedroom at my parents’ house while he was in high school!  My mother was not thrilled.  Prolly because it took her awhile to figure it out.

The last few years of his life, Jonn and I got to be very close, prolly closer than we had ever been.  He was the one family member I could truly confide in, and vice versa.  These last few years were especially hard for him, and he was in a lot of physical and mental pain.  I was there for him as much as I could be.

In September 2018, I had the worst health scare of my life (even worse than the brain tumor).  I called out sick from work (which I didn’t do often), and that afternoon, Jonn drove me to the hospital without us knowing what was going on.  The best way I can describe it was that it felt like I was on every drug there is, but I wasn’t on anything.  I had never ever felt that way before, and I was really out of it; awake, but out of it.  My blood pressure was 64/30.  There were several people in the ER, but I couldn’t tell you how many.  Jonn saved my life that day.  He stayed with me in the emergency room, texted Maryhope when I couldn’t, and stayed the entire time.  I am forever grateful he was there.

My awesome post-ICU haircut, courtesy of Maryhope, 09.22.2018.  I don’t think my hair had been that short since I was a bebe!

It was later determined that my ER visit was septic shock, and after four days and four nights in the ICU, Maryhope (who had traveled up from MA to be with me) and I learned that the septic shock was caused by a blocked colon (I had had three unsuccessful colonoscopies in early 2018, with no explanation as to why).  While in the hospital that week, I finally had a successful one, and another in early 2019, and don’t need another colonoscopy until 2024!  Huz to the ZAH!

A week and a half later, it would be me taking Jonn to the same hospital ER for a a health scare of his own.  And this time, I ended up saving his life. 

Jonn and I had such fun at the Rick Springfield concert, but sadly no at-concert photos to share, because they were all on his phone, which is gone. 

After the show, we were at Applebee’s in Waterville having post-concert snacks, where he confided in me that he didn’t feel like he had a lot of time left to live.  He didn’t elaborate and he didn’t want me to be upset.  He had cancer, but everyone at Togus (the Maine VA hospital located about a half hour down the road) who worked with Jonn couldn’t figure out where the cancer was.  Like my brain tumor, his cancer was non-active.  I just wished they could have found out where it was, and what was causing him such physical pain.

Me and Jonn, Bar Harbor, Maine, 04.06.2019.

My trip to Bar Harbor in October 2019 was my second trip there of the year.  During the off-season (in April 2019), Jonn, his girls and I went up there (or down and east there, ayuh) for the afternoon, and had such a great time.  And, we even tried to catch the sunset at Seawall (part of Acadia National Park) on the southwestern part of Mount Desert Island, but as it turned out, the sunset was on the other side of the island!  We managed, however, to get some nice shots of the post-sunset sky in nearby Bass Harbor.

Post-sunset pano shot of Bass Harbor, Maine, 04.06.2019.

Out of all of the songs we played from Spotify that day in a makeshift playlist for the car, I don’t think any song was played more than “Baby Shark” (I think the most popular version by Pinkfong; yes, I had to look it up).  The night before Jonn died, after I had dropped him and the girls off, I stopped at the local Walmart and saw “Baby Shark” cereal.  Knowing Jonn would appreciate it, I snapped a picture with my iPhone, and sent it to him.  His last text to me (that following morning) was in response to the picture – “Haha.” 

I know he was in pain, I know he had issues he was working through, and I know he wasn’t ready to go just yet, regardless of what he told me that night a year ago.

Jonn excited about being in Bah Hahbah, Maine, 04.06.2019!

Jonn was so full of life, and he loved Alex and Emmy more than anything in the universe.

Right before Jonn died, we were talking of spending the second weekend in October 2019 in Salem, Massachusetts, one of their favorite places, and talked of meeting up with Maryhope there (also one of our favorite places).  It would have been an amazing and magical weekend.

Halloween was, by far, Jonn’s favorite holiday.  In his honor, my niece Cheyenne (and I think my dad, too) put up some of Jonn’s Halloween decorations in the front yard of the Raymond compound.

At Jonn’s military memorial service, it broke my heart to see 7-year-old Emmy and 11-year-old Alex without their dad, and when Alex was handed his flag.  I think this was the first time I had seen them since Bingo night a few weeks before.  My heart still breaks to think about it, and as I type this.

When Mark died just before Xmas 2017, I went through the “year of anniversaries” — the year without Mark on holidays, birthdays, etc.  I’ve since gone through that with Maryhope for her wonderful dad, Dennis, and with Jonn.

For almost a year, I’ve been going through some variation of the five stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.  I know Jonn wouldn’t want me to go through this, and some days are better than others, but I can’t help it.  I just miss him so fucking much!

I visit him at the Maine Veterans Cemetery as often as I can and I talk with him, usually while crying.  I can’t fight it, I won’t fight it.  And I always tell him how much I miss him and miss his laugh and his energy and how I always hope that he and Mark and Dennis are all hanging out, maybe even sometimes hanging out with Prince or Mr. Bowie.  Just the mere thought of that makes me smile.

It also makes me smile at how happy he was for me and Maryhope, how he knew how much she makes me happy, and how much I know he loved her.  One of the things they had in common was their love for the Douglas Adams classic, THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY!

One of my favorite shots of Jonn, from Thanksgiving 2017.

I’ve had this blog post in my head for a very long time now.  With the losses in my life of three extraordinary men in less than two years, I just haven’t been able to write as much as I’d like.  And, with the shirt show that has been 2020, I’ve lost any concept of time I did have.  But, when I realized the double anniversary of my brain tumor surgery and the Rick Springfield show with Jonn last year, I realized it was time to write about it. 

When thinking about a song to coincide with this blog post, the only song that was even considered was Rick Springfield’s 1983 hit, “Human Touch.”

From the album LIVING IN OZ (the album I brought to the show on the off-chance Jonn and I would get to meet Rick; we didn’t), “Human Touch” reached a respectable No. 18 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in September 1983.  Over in the U.K., somehow it was his only Top 40 hit, reaching No. 23 (the U.K. was prolly the only place in the world where “Jessie’s Girl” was NOT a hit, reaching No. 43 there).

And though “Human Touch” was far from Rick Springfield’s biggest American hit, it was always my favorite of his, and it was actually the most-requested Rick Springfield song in the history of my WMPG radio show, STUCK IN THE 80s.  When Rick played it at the show in Union, Maine a year ago, Jonn and I were both jamming to it as if Jonn had been a fan of the song as long as I had been.  And, like Jonn, it’s something I will treasure forever. 

I love you and I miss you so very much, my brother!  Please give my love to Mark and Dennis when you see them again…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo0uTu2uLtI

My baby brother, Jonn, and I, waiting for the limo bus to take us to the Rick Springfield show, 08.30.2019.

(real) one-hit wonder of the week – “Heaven (Must Be There)” | EUROGLIDERS | 1984.

Between late 1979 and the end of 1989, there were nearly 500 (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s that reached the BILLBOARD Hot 100 just one time, a list that includes Soft Cell, Gary Numan, Timbuk 3, The Church, Bronski Beat, Nik Kershaw, The Buggles, The Waitresses, Ultravox and two different bands named The Silencers.  Once a week or so, I’ll highlight a (real) one-hit wonder for you.

As I was pouring through the lengthy list of (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s that I haven’t written about yet, I came across some fun ones (like “Turning Japanese” by The Vapors, “Oh Yeah” by Yello and Total Coelo’s “I Eat Cannibals”), the surprising artists who were (real) one-hit wonders on the Hot 100, but not on your radio (like The Waitresses, George Thorogood, XTC and The Replacements), the novelty songs (like “Take Off” by Bob & Doug McKenzie, “The Curly Shuffle” by Jump ’N’ The Saddle and “Pac-Man Fever” by Buckner & Garcia), the ones that make you go, “WHAT THE WHAT?!” (like “OWWWW!” by Chunky A – AKA Arsenio Hall), the songs that were No. 1 U.K. hits, but charted low here in the U.S. (like “The Only Way Is Up” by Yazz & The Plastic Population and the not-so-PC-and-hasn’t-aged-well “Shaddup You Face” by Joe Dolce), and ones I will love forever (like “Born To Be Alive” by Patrick Hernandez, “Under The Milky Way” by The Church, “Just Got Lucky” by JoBoxers, Nik Kershaw’s “Wouldn’t It Be Good,” “Someday, Someway” by Marshall Crenshaw, “A Girl In Trouble (Is A Temporary Thing)” by Romeo Void and M’s “Pop Muzik”).

But the (real) one-hit wonder of the 80s that caught my attention tonight was Eurogliders, and a song that didn’t catch my attention until many years after its 1984 release – the lovely “Heaven (Must Be There).”

The Pop / Post-Punk / New Wavers out of Perth, Western Australia formed in 1980, and in 1982, their debut album, PINK SUIT BLUE DAY, gave the (then) six-member band the first Top 40 hit in their Australian homeland, “Without You.”

The following year, Eurogliders switched record labels, with CBS Records (Columbia here in the U.S.), and it proved to be good fit.  The band’s second album, 1984’s THIS ISLAND, shot up to a No. 4 peak on the Australian album chart, and gave Eurogliders their biggest hit, “Heaven (Must Be There).”

The cover art for the Australian 7″ single of “Heaven (Must Be There).”

“Heaven” and its parent album were both released in May 1984, and “Heaven” quickly became one of the biggest hits in Australia that year, peaking at No. 2 and ended the year at No. 15.

From the music video of “Heaven (Must Be There).”

I don’t know if it was the long distance from the U.S., but it took awhile for “Heaven” to make its way onto American shores and into American radio stations, but finally, in the first part of November 1984, “Heaven (Must Be There)” debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 at No. 79, ahead of new hits by Thompson Twins and Bananarama.  For about a month, Eurogliders slowly inched their way up the Hot 100, but stopped for a week at a respectable No. 65, before gliding off the chart a couple of weeks later.  It was their only BILLBOARD Hot 100 hit.  They did, however, also reach BILLBOARD’s (then) Mainstream Rock chart with “Heaven,” climbing all the way to No. 21.  “Heaven” was (also there) on the New Zealand charts as well, reaching No. 6.

The U.S. cover art for the album, ABSOLUTELY (for whatever reason, Columbia Records not only changed the cover art for the U.S. release, but also kept the exclamation point out of the title).

After flirting with international success in 1984, Eurogliders kept their primary fan base in Australia and kept recording, and between 1985 and 1988, they reached the Top 40 of the Australian singles chart five times, including the Top 10 hits “We Will Together” and “Can’t Wait To See You,” both from the 1985 album, ABSOLUTELY!

Eurogliders today (Bernie Lynch and Grace Knight)!

After the ABSOLUTELY! album, there were a number of personnel changes in the band, and in 1989, Eurogliders broke up.  They reformed in 2005 for a couple of years, released a self-titled album, and in 2013, original members Grace Knight (vocals / saxophone / keyboards) and Bernie Lynch (vocals / guitar / keyboards) reformed Eurogliders, they are still together today, and in 2015, released another album, their most-recent, DON’T EAT THE DAISIES.

Another reason I chose “Heaven (Must Be There)” for this blog post is prolly because we are in the hardest, most alarming, frightening and heartbreaking world crisis of (at least) my lifetime.  Some folks on the interwebs suggested this song may be about finding “The Good Place” (brilliant show — binge it!), or, in six letters, Heaven.

Heaven, er, THE GOOD PLACE!  Brilliant and binge-worthy!

Maybe that’s what the songwriters had in mind, but I’m sure everyone has their own interpretation.  Since I discovered this song about 25 years ago, I’ve always loved it, and I think it especially resonates with me right now, because we’re in this “new normal,” which is totally fucking far from normal, and I want to get back to the “old normal,” if there is such a thing.

Thankfully, none of my friends or family has contracted the coronavirus, and I am grateful for that every day, and pray everyone I know and love is safe from harm.  For me, “Heaven (Must Be There)” is just that — we don’t want to live in this place (the “new normal”), and that Heaven represents life post-COVID-19 — families can be reunited, friends can go out and have fun at the restaurant or go dancing or catch a movie, people can travel wherever they want, and I can see Maryhope again, and we can do all of those things.

Foggy or not, a favorite place for me and Maryhope – Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, Maine.  Yeah, I we wish we were there too..

I know this won’t happen overnight (it’s been about two months already), but my hope is that it’ll be safe(r) by the end of the month to at least be able to leave Maine and meet Maryhope halfway, even if we have to stay six feet apart while we’re together.  I pray for that every day…

Me and Maryhope, Pine Point, Scarborough, Maine, 10.24.2019. I want to go to there!  (and by “there,” I mean Maryhope!)

“Heaven, must be there-ere / Well, it’s just got to be there-ere / I’ve never – never seen Eden / I don’t want to live in this place…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7VnipJMP1A

song of the day – “Hungry Like The Wolf” | DURAN DURAN | 1982 / 1983.

Happy Star Wars Day (it’s still Star Wars Day somewhere)!  May The 4th Be With You! (and also with you!  aaah, Catholic humor, I never tire of it…)

Being the singles chart nerd that I am, I was looking through the BILLBOARD Hot 100 charts from the 80s to see if there was (1) a chart dated May 4 (1985 was the only one in the decade), and (2) to see if there was anything out of this world (like Star Wars) that was new and noteworthy to write about.  Mmmm not so much.  But, over in the U.K., I did find a single that might as well have been out of this world, and it was released on May 4, 1982: “Hungry Like The Wolf” by Duran Duran.

I’ve always loved this rooftop picture from the RIO album! From L to R: Andy Taylor, Nick Rhodes, Simon Le Bon, Roger Taylor, John Taylor.

Unbeknownst to me and most of the United States, Birmingham England’s Fab 5, Duran Duran — consisting of lead singer Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor, guitarist Andy Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor (all three Taylors are unrelated) — was pretty successful in their homeland prior to the first time I had discovered “Hungry Like The Wolf” on the radio. 

Duran Duran formed in 1978, and in 1981, released their eponymous debut album, a No. 3 Platinum release that remained on the U.K. Top 100 album chart for over two years and generated three U.K. Top 40 hits, including the big No. 5 hit, “Girls On Film.”

The original 1981 release of Duran Duran’s eponymous debut album.

But, despite being successful in the U.K. and other parts of the globe, Duran Duran initially had a hard time reaching an audience here in the U.S. with their debut album, and their second album, RIO, which was released globally on May 10, 1982.

At the time of its initial release, “Hungry Like The Wolf” reached No. 5 in the U.K., and No. 4 on the Irish Singles Chart, which was Duran Duran’s first Top 10 hit in Ireland.  “Hungry Like The Wolf” was released in the U.S. in early June 1982, but did not even make the Billboard Hot 100.  U.S. radio wasn’t interested.

A U.K. 12″ single version of “Hungry Like The Wolf.”

But Duran Duran wanted success in America, and then an unexpected part of the equation came to fruition: the untapped resource that was MTV.

One of the many MTV logos in 1982.

MTV (or MTV Music Television as it was known back in the day) was less than a year old at that point, and Duran Duran was not getting any airplay on the new music video channel AT ALL. 

But, in a smart move by music video director Russell Mulcahy, who had directed the band’s first video, for “Planet Earth,”  the video for “Hungry Like The Wolf” (and two other songs on RIO) was filmed in Sri Lanka, was inspired by RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, and the exotic, slick and creative video paid off.

The powers that be at MTV absolutely loved the video for “Hungry Like The Wolf,” and less than a couple of months after the video was shot, it was already in heavy rotation at MTV.  By then, it was only a matter of time before Duran Duran would get their wish for success in America. 

On Xmas Day 1982, “Hungry Like The Wolf” finally made its debut on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, at No. 77.  Within a month, it worked its way inside the Top 40, and for awhile, it seemed to be a chart race between “Hungry Like The Wolf” and Culture Club’s debut single, “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me,” which had been on the chart for a few weeks more.

Both songs reached the Top 10 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 the same week in the second half of February 1983, with Culture Club consistently and directly in front of Duran Duran every week for 10 consecutive weeks.  Starting for three weeks at the end of March 1983, “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” peaked at No. 2 (behind Michael Jackson’s monster hit, “Billie Jean”), and true to form, for the same three weeks, “Hungry Like The Wolf” peaked at No. 3.  Both songs finished the year in the Top 20 for all of 1983 here in America.

The U.S. 7″ single version of “Hungry Like The Wolf.”

A lot of the global success of “Hungry Like The Wolf” can also be attributed to famed American producer, David Kershenbaum, who remastered the RIO album in November 1982, and remixed a number of the songs on the album, including “Hungry Like The Wolf.”  These remixes were part of an EP called CARNIVAL and included “Night Versions” of “Rio,” “Planet Earth,” “Girls On Film” and the aforementioned “Hungry Like The Wolf.”

The European version of the CARNIVAL EP.

Some Carnival remixes that didn’t make the CARNIVAL EP ended up on the U.S. Harvest Records version of RIO, a version of the album that I have had in my collection for almost 40 years.  For the longest time, I didn’t know certain other versions of some of RIO’s songs even existed.  That’s the way I will always remember RIO though — the “U.S. Kershenbaum version 2” release.  It will forever be one of my all-time favorite albums.

Around the globe, fans of the Fab 5 were hungry for “Hungry Like The Wolf,” and it spent five weeks at No. 2 in Canada, reached No. 4 in Finland, Italy, New Zealand and South Africa, No. 5 in Australia, No. 25 in Poland, No. 36 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart, and spent three weeks at No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s Rock chart.

Between 1982 and 2004, Duran Duran racked up 21 BILLBOARD Hot 100 hits.  15 of those reached the Top 40, 11 of those reached the Top 10, and two went to No. 1 – 1984’s “The Reflex” (also aided by a remix, this one by Nile Rodgers, a longtime collaborator with the band), and 1985’s “A View To A Kill,” still the only James Bond theme to reach No. 1 here in the U.S., despite strong Top 10 attempts by Paul McCartney and Wings, Sheena Easton, Madonna, Adele and the unforgettable Shirley Bassey.

The U.K. version of “A View To A Kill.”

Duran Duran is no longer the Fab 5 (Andy Taylor left the band again after their 2004 reunion album, ASTRONAUT), but in 2015, they released their most recent studio album, the excellent PAPER GODS, which brought them back to the Top 10 of the BILLBOARD Album Chart for the first time in 22 years!

The cover art for the 2015 PAPER GODS album.

The band is still together and thriving today, with their 15th studio album in the works for a Fall 2020 release!  Four years ago, with Duran Duran promoting PAPER GODS, my dear friend Shawn and I got to see them perform (with Nile Rodgers and Chic opening!) in Brooklyn, NYC for one of THE BEST concerts we have ever seen.  And we’ve seen some.  It was totally worth the 34-year wait!

Duran Duran in 2015.

So, even though “Hungry Like The Wolf” may not be “out of this world,” I’m grateful, because it introduced me to a world with Duran Duran in it, a band that remains as one of my all-time favorite bands, and is from an album I will treasure forever.  I also take comfort in the fact that, after nearly 40 years, “Hungry Like The Wolf” is still a staple on radio stations today, and will be for all time, thankfully in a galaxy not so far, far away…

“Burning the ground, I break from the crowd / I’m on the hunt down, I’m after you / I smell like I sound, I’m lost and I’m found / And I’m hungry like the wolf…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJL-lCzEXgI

Duran Duran, 1982.  I may actually have this poster somewhere!

song of the day – “Mickey” | TONI BASIL | 1982/1983.

As part of their Oscars tribute for the 2.9.2020 awards show, CBS SUNDAY MORNING aired a wonderful segment featuring the one and only “Toni Basil, Choreographer To The Stars” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY69LqURago).

When you mention the name Toni Basil, most folks would say, “Sure!  She had that one hit, ‘Mickey’!”  Even the interviewer of the CBS SUNDAY MORNING piece called Toni Basil a one-hit wonder.  Well, “Mickey” may have been her only big hit (and only Top 40 hit), but she did have two more singles chart on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, and if you only know her for “Mickey,” like I did back in 1982, there’s so much more to her story than that.

That’s Toni Basil “with the red dress on,” getting everyone’s attention, including Elvis, in a scene from 1964’s VIVA LAS VEGAS.

Long before “Mickey” was even a thought, Toni Basil had already made her mark as an actress, dancer, singer, filmmaker and choreographer.  In 1964, she appeared in the Elvis Presley film, VIVA LAS VEGAS (as the dancer in the red dress during the song, “What’d I Say”), and was the assistant choreographer and a dancer for the concert film, THE T.A.M.I. SHOW (which included her friend and fellow dancer, Teri Garr).

Toni Basil in 1965’s VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS.

In the second half of the 60s, Toni appeared in a number of films, including 1965’s VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS (a MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 favorite), 1968’s HEAD (co-written and co-produced by Jack Nicholson and starring The Monkees, and which Toni also choreographed), and 1969’s EASY RIDER (opposite Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper).

Toni Basil and Peter Fonda in 1969’s EASY RIDER.

During the 70s, Toni Basil appeared in 1970’s FIVE EASY PIECES (also with Jack Nicholson), and continued her multi-decade career in film choreography, including major films like 1973’s AMERICAN GRAFFITI and 1979’s THE ROSE (with frequent collaborator, Bette Midler).  She also appeared on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE numerous times in the show’s early years, and sold out solo performances at The Roxy in Los Angeles in 1976.

In 1979, popular British songwriters / producers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman wrote a song called “Kitty,” recorded by the British Glam Pop band, Racey, for their 1979 album, SMASH AND GRAB.  A year later, Toni Basil renamed the song “Mickey,” recorded it, and in 1981, before the advent of MTV, she also conceived, choreographed,  directed (and I believe paid for) the video, and even used a modified version of her Las Vegas High head cheerleader outfit for the video (which she still owns!).  She was 37 or 38 at the time the “Mickey” video was shot, and the video is widely considered to be the very first choreographed music video.

From the “Mickey” music video.

Toni Basil’s debut album, WORD OF MOUTH, was released in the U.K. in late May 1981, and “Mickey” was released as a single, but was not a hit at that time.  The album also features covers of the David Essex classic, “Rock On,” and three Devo covers — “You Gotta Problem” (a reworked cover of “Pity You”), “Be Stiff” and “Space Girls.”  And as a bonus, Devo performs on the songs (she was also involved with Devo co-founder and bass player Gerald “Jerry” Casale at the time, and she was a fan of the band)!

WORD OF MOUTH would be released in the U.S. in April 1982, nearly a year after its U.K. release.  Though not immediate, the success of the album and first single “Mickey” would rely on word of mouth (and a whole lot of cheering) that would get Toni Basil onto the music map. 

“Mickey” debuted unsuspectingly on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 at No. 83 in early September 1982.  Five weeks later, it made its debut in the Top 40, and took its time climbing up the chart, until exploding into the Top 15 in mid-November 1982.  The following week, it leapt into the Top 10 on the Hot 100, and in mid-December 1982, it spent a week at No. 1, and would have stayed on top longer, had it not been for the huge hit by Daryl Hall & John Oates (who had a number of huge hits around the holidays in the 80s), “Maneater.”   “Mickey” would go on to spend over half a year on the Hot 100, sell over two million copies in the U.S. alone, and finished the 1983 American singles chart year at No. 36.

The original U.K. single cover art for “Mickey.”

Word of mouth got out about “Mickey” around the globe, too, and it spent five weeks at No. 1 in Canada, two weeks at No. 1 in Australia (the sixth biggest hit of 1982 there), plus it reached No. 2 in New Zealand and through a re-release in the U.K., No. 3 in Ireland, South Africa and BILLBOARD’s Dance chart.

After “Mickey,” Toni Basil released three more singles from WORD OF MOUTH, and the final single released from the album, “Shoppin’ From A To Z,” reached No. 77 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in March 1983.  Later that year, Toni Basil released her second studio album, a self-titled effort that generated her third and final Hot 100 entry, “Over My Head,” which reached No. 81 in early 1984, plus it reached No. 4 on BILLBOARD’s Dance Chart, and was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in 1984 (the first year of the VMA’s) for Best Choreography In A Video, losing out to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”  Toni was actually nominated twice in that category that year, also being nominated for the choreography for Bette Midler’s video for her cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Beast Of Burden.”

Toni Basil has received a number of nominations and awards over the years, and won an Emmy Award in 1988 and Hip Hop International’s Living Legend Award.  “Mickey” is in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as one of the groundbreaking singles of the 80s.

NERDY FUN FACT: One of my favorite pieces of trivia regarding Toni Basil is that she taught both David Byrne and David Bowie how to dance.  She choreographed and co-directed the Talking Heads video for “Once In A Lifetime” in 1980.  Apparently, she and David Byrne studied archival footage of “preachers, evangelists, people in trances, African tribes and Japanese religious sects” to see how David could somehow incorporate a combination of it into his performance.

From the “Once In A Lifetime” music video.

According to a 2007 interview she did about the making of the video, Toni Basil said, “David kind of choreographed himself.  I set up the camera, put him in front of it and asked him to absorb those ideas.  Then I left the room so he could be alone with himself.  I came back, looked at the videotape, and we chose physical moves that worked with the music.  I just helped to stylize his moves a little.”

Toni Basil and David Byrne, 1987.

For David Bowie, Toni Basil choreographed his 1974 Diamond Dogs tour and his 1987 Glass Spider Tour, as well as the video for his song, “Time Will Crawl.”  In 2008 and 2009, Toni was the associate director and choreographer for Tina Turner’s LIVE: 50th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT TOUR.  25 years before, Tina made the biggest comeback of the 80s and one of the biggest comebacks of all-time, thanks to Mr. David Bowie believing in her (another one of my favorite pieces of 80s music trivia).

Talk about your selfies!  Toni Basil, Debbie Harry and David Bowie!

When “Mickey” reached No. 1 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, Toni Basil was 39.  Toni Basil is now 76, in amazing health and still thriving.  In 2019, at the age of 75, she choreographed Quentin Tarantino’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, which just picked up two Academy Awards, including a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Brad Pitt.

From 2019’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, that’s Leonardo DiCaprio hamming it up and dancing 60s style, courtesy of choreography by Toni Basil.

What’s up next for Toni Basil?  I’m guessing more hella amazing choreography, maybe some cheerleading, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she even resurrected her own music career.  A return to the singles chart in more than 35 years to join the likes of Billie Eilish and Lizzo?  That’s something I would cheer about… 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aqLwHP4y6Q

song of the day – “Images Of Heaven” | PETER GODWIN | 1982.

Over the course of the past four years, since I started the FOREVER YOUNG: MY LIFE STUCK IN THE 80s blog, the majority of the posts have some sort of combination of singles chart nerdiness and are autobiographical, and most are about the music I am most passionate about, music from the 1980s, or, more specifically, 1979 (the year I really discovered my love for music) through 1989.

Peter Godwin, early 80s.

And honestly, I can’t remember writing a blog post about a song that didn’t have any chart nerdiness to speak of that goes with it, or some sort of autobiographical attachment to it.  That’s not so bad.

I know I got into 80s Alternative music late in the 80s (better late than never!), and even in 2020, I still find it cool and fascinating that I’m still learning about cool and fascinating music from the 80s I didn’t know existed.

German-born, English-raised New Waver Peter Godwin is one of those artists I had never heard of, and I think sometime after my show, STUCK IN THE 80s, started, I discovered Peter and his incredible 1982 song, “Images Of Heaven.” 

I think was in the second half of the 1990s when Peter Godwin and “Images Of Heaven” came onto my radar, courtesy of my dear friend and Jedi Master, DJ Shawn.  “Images Of Heaven” became a semi-regular staple on STUCK IN THE 80s during the show’s nearly 21-year run on WMPG Community Radio in Portland, Maine.

Besides the synthesizer-driven “Images Of Heaven” becoming a cult favorite on New Wave and College stations, another of the songs Peter Godwin is most-remembered for is co-writing “Criminal World,” a song that David Bowie covered for his brilliant 1983 LET’S DANCE album.  Somehow, I never made the Peter Godwin connection of “Criminal World” and “Images Of Heaven” until many years later.

In his solo career, Peter Godwin (who was with a band called Metro, who had three releases from 1977 through 1980), Peter released two EPs in 1982 (the year New Wave finally kicked into high gear in America), DANCE EMOTIONS and IMAGES OF HEAVEN, and a full-length album, CORRESPONDENCE, in 1983, and a compilation album in 1998.

On the METRO cover: Duncan Browne (L) and Peter Godwin.

“Criminal World” was released by Metro as the leadoff track of their self-titled 1977 debut album.  David Bowie was reportedly a fan of the song and the album, and LET’S DANCE co-producer, Nile Rodgers, originally thought “Criminal World” was written by David Bowie when they recorded it.  In an interview years later, Peter Godwin said of Bowie’s “Criminal World”:

“For me, Bowie’s choice to make it brighter — more up and major key in the verses — it makes a lot of sense to me.  It takes the song in a different direction, rather than just emulating our version.  It also better fits that way with the pop/‘fake disco’ vibe of  LET’S DANCE.”

As I’m reminded of “Images Of Heaven,” nearly three years after the end of STUCK IN THE 80s’ run on WMPG, I’m interested in learning more about Peter Godwin.  And, if you’re like me, still learning, “Images Of Heaven” is a great place to start…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSCr5E5vW3k&t=2s

  

song of the day – “I Palindrome I” | THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS | 1992.

Today, February 2, 2020, is not only Groundhog Day and Super Bowl Sunday here in America, today, everywhere around the globe, has been 02/02/2020 — the first global palindrome day in 909 years. 

Today’s date is a palindrome, which reads the same forwards and backwards — 02/02/2020.  So, naturally, I couldn’t resist going outside of the 80s for a blog post, inspired by Brooklyn’s self-proclaimed Ambassadors Of Love, They Might Be Giants, and their song, “I Palindrome I.”

The (rightfully so) sold-out 2020 tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of FLOOD.

They Might Be Giants (John Linnell and John Flansburgh) formed in 1982, and they are currently celebrating the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough album (and major label debut), FLOOD.  They continue their 30-date, sold-out FLOOD 30th anniversary tour on 02/06/2020 in New Haven, Connecticut, with the tour running (at least) through mid-May 2020.  “I Palindrome I” is from FLOOD’s acclaimed follow-up album, 1992’s APOLLO 18.

For the documentary, GIGANTIC: A TALE OF TWO JOHNS, actor / comedian / musician Michael McKean recited the lyrics of “I Palindrome I.”  John and John performed the song on LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN (where they originally got their television debut) in 1992, while supporting APOLLO 18.  In a review for the Boston Phoenix, Karen Schlosberg wrote, “the lyrics of ‘I Palindrome I’ sound like ‘Edgar Allan Poe and David Lynch meeting the Monkees,’ creating an ‘unlikely sing-along hook’.”  High praise indeed (and so true)!

They Might Be Giants (John Linnel and John Flansburgh) performing “I Palindrome I” on LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, 1992.

To get even nerdier about this whole thing, February 2, 2020 is also the 33rd day of the year, with 333 days left in the year.  If you’re a big fan of today’s palindrome date, enjoy it now, because the next time a palindrome date happens, it will be 101 years from now, on 12/12/2121.  And, after that, you’d have to wait until 03/03/3030.  I don’t know anyone who is waiting for that.

The CD single cover art for “I Palindrome I.”

For now, you don’t have to wait 101 years to enjoy this fun 2-minute, 20-second gem from one of my all-time favorite acts.  02:20?  I see what they did there…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7not2z4-oo

They Might Be Giants (the incredibly gifted and fun John Flansburgh and John Linnell).

song of the day – “Basketball” | KURTIS BLOW | 1984 / 1985.

When you think of the origins of Hip-Hop / Rap music, for most, The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” is oft-cited as the start of Rap music.  And it should be.  “Rapper’s Delight” was the first Hip-Hop / Rap hit ever (charting all over the globe in 1979 and 1980).

Not far behind The Sugarhill Gang in getting the Hip-Hop / Rap revolution going in 1979 was New York’s own Kurtis Blow.  That year, at the age of 20, Manhattan-born Kurtis Blow became the first rapper to be signed by a major record label (Mercury Records).

The first single he released in late 1979 was “Christmas Rappin’,” and it went on to sell over 400,000.  Pretty impressive.  Equally impressive was Kurtis Blow’s next single, “The Breaks,” from his self-titled 1980 debut album.  While the 7” single peaked on the lower part of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 at No. 87, the 12” single of “The Breaks” became just the second 12” single of all-time (after “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)” by Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer) to be certified Gold (selling over 500,000 copies in America). 

Also impressive, Kurtis Blow released an album a year from 1980 through 1986 (perhaps inspired somewhat by Prince, who would go on to release an album a year from 1978 through 1992), plus Kurtis released a greatest album in 1986, and another studio album in 1988.  From his fifth album, 1984’s EGO TRIP (with his last name appropriately taking up most of the top half of the album cover art), one of the singles Kurtis Blow released from the album was “Basketball,” a tribute to the sport, and to the National Basketball Association here in America (the NBA).

“Basketball” debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in mid-April 1985, and became the second and final Hot 100 chart single for Kurtis Blow.  Two weeks later, it stopped at No. 71 for a couple of weeks, and bounced out of the chart after six weeks.  But, the legacy of “Basketball” the Rap song and “Basketball” the sport was just the start of the connection between the two.

From the “Basketball” music video.

In response to Kurtis Blow’s tribute to basketball, the NBA got in touch with him and asked him to perform after games.  Those games sold out fast, mainly because of the fans showing up for the concert following the games.  And, in the process, Kurtis got to meet some of his basketball heroes, like Dominique Wilkins and Dr. J.

I have to go back a long way to remember a time in my family where basketball didn’t play some sort of role.  My Uncle Mike played basketball in high school, my sister Lynn played basketball in high school, my brother-in-law played basketball at Husson University (then Husson College, where I met him while attending broadcasting school, years before he became my BIL), where his father Bud played, and who is in the Husson Basketball Hall Of Fame. 

My niece Elizabeth was hugely successful at basketball in both high school and college, my niece Cheyenne was good and fun to watch at basketball in high school (and will be playing again in post-high school hoops soon), my niece Jennifer was on the team that won the State Championship a few years ago and is currently on the team for hopefully another championship year, and my youngest nieces Emmy and Alex have cheered at games. 

I never played basketball (running was the only sport I was ever good at), but I have fond memories of playing basketball with many family members over the years in the driveway of my parents’ house (the equivalent of a small parking lot).

Some rappers throughout the years have tried basketball (including Snoop Dogg), while a number of basketball payers have tried Rap (including Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, who has five Hot 100 chart singles to his credit, and two Top 40 hits that were certified Gold).

These “Skillz” got Shaq a second gold record.

By now, you’ve heard the news of the tragic helicopter crash from earlier today (1.26.2020) in Southern California that took the lives of nine people, including Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter.  Kobe was already in the news this weekend, as LeBron James surpassed Kobe as the basketball player with the third-most points scored in NBA history (at 33,655).

Two basketball legends in happier times: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

From Twitter to basketball games to the Grammy Awards tonight, Kobe Bryant was remembered everywhere today, and in his last tweet, he praised LeBron James for “continuing to move the the game forward.”

From the opening of the 2020 Grammy Awards, 1.26.2020.

Kurtis Blow has often been referred to as The King of Rap (rightfully so), and that genre continues to flourish today, more than 40 years later.  In 2009, he became an ordained minister, and founded The Hip Hop Church in Harlem, where he’s not only the minister, but serves as the rapper, DJ and worship leader as well.  I’m betting (like many others around the world), he’ll be saying prayers for Kobe (and Kobe’s daughter, and everyone in the crash).

Kurtis Blow at The Hip Hop Church in Harlem.

Kurtis Blow and Kobe Bryant, in their respective fields of Rap and Basketball (which have, throughout history, crossed paths many times), have themselves moved their games forward in ways they couldn’t have foreseen at the time they started, ways of which I’m sure will continue to thrive for years to come. 

While I’m heartbroken that I won’t get the chance again to play basketball in my parents’ driveway with my brothers Mark and Jonn, I look forward to playing basketball (albeit badly) with many of my family members in the driveway sometime after the winter.  And I’ll get out the 2020 equivalent of a boom box, play some 80s Rap and think of Kurtis and Kobe, and Mark and Jonn, for getting us there…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_shxzlTRK44