song of the day – “Following” | THE BANGLES featuring MICHAEL STEELE | 1986.

Lately, on the off-chance I don’t have my iPod at the ready, I’ve been flipping through the Central Maine/Southern Maine radio dial in hopes of finding something good.  Usually I’m disappointed. 

Yesterday (Saturday, 11.9.19), I was in the basement of my parents’ house helping my dad stack some wood for the winter, and had the radio blasting his go-to station, which has been his go-to station for over 40 years.Right now, they play mostly the big hits of the 70s and 80s, and throw in the occasional 60s and 90s songs as well. 

The DJ on yesterday was horrible.  He talked over every goddamn song (and most likely pre-recorded 4 days ago), and there were hardly any women played.  I kept yelling into the radio, “play some women dammit!” to no avail.

We should all start some sort of coalition to get women played on the classic hits stations like this one.  And it’s not just here; it’s all over, sadly.  I’ve brought this subject up before on the blog, and it’s an alarming fact that almost no women are represented on classic hits radio, and the ones that make appearances on playlists are usually repeated the next time a female artist is represented on the air.  Equally breaks my heart and pisses me off.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is another case.  They have this weird reluctance of nominating women in.  For the class of 2020, only 2.5 women out of 16 were nominated: Pat Benatar, Whitney Houston, and Chaka Khan (Rufus featuring Chaka Khan).  It’s disgraceful!  Why is the Rock Hall so afraid of nominating women, like Cyndi Lauper?!  Cyndi was eligible 11 years ago, and not one single nomination.  There’s plenty of great women nominees out there!  And I’m sure we could have inducted at least one more woman over the Dave Matthews Band.  Christ.

More women dammit, and less Dave Matthews!

I know this won’t make up for the lack of women played on CHR, but I’m devoting my next several blog posts to women — solo women, women in bands, women-led bands.  Just feels right.

The Bangles: “We love being played on the radio! Kickass! Now how about some more women dammit!”

One of the few songs featuring women I heard yesterday on the radio was “Manic Monday” by The Bangles.  The Prince-penned track was a big hit and totally deserves its place in classic hits radio and beyond.  But, why stop there or “Walk Like An Egyptian” or “Eternal Flame?”  The Bangles had eight consecutive Top 40 hits between 1986 and 1989, popular hits including “In Your Room,” “Walking Down Your Street” and their brilliant cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Hazy Shade Of Winter” (from LESS THAN ZERO).

Their lesser-known songs are also worthy of being on the radio more.  Songs like 1984’s “Going Down To Liverpool” and “James,” or their 2003 comeback single, “Something That You Said,” or the stunning song on 1986’s DIFFERENT LIGHT, written by bassist Michael Steele, “Following.”   

It took awhile for DIFFERENT LIGHT to make any sort of noise on the charts or in record stores.  The album was released January 2, 1986, and by the end of the year, “Walk Like An Egyptian” was No. 1 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, and the album was riding high on the BILLBOARD album chart.

Mixed in with the four major singles from the 12-song album — “Manic Monday,” “If She Knew What She Wants” (written by Jules Shear), “Walk Like An Egyptian” and “Walking Down Your Street” — are a couple of songs sung by bassist Michael Steele: a cover of Big Star’s “September Gurls” (written by Alex Chilton), and “Following.”

I remember the first time I heard “Following.”  It was later in my adult life, and long after The Bangles had broken up in 1989.  Having been used to all their big Pop hits, I never knew a song like “Following” ever existed in The Bangles’ catalog.  Well, upon my first listen, it didn’t take long (maybe about three minutes and 18 seconds) for it to become my favorite song by them.

I once described “Following” as a “DIFFERENT LIGHT” for The Bangles (a play on the album’s name), because it’s so different from anything on that album, or anything they have put out, before or since. 

“Following” is an Alt-Folk-type ballad, sung in the first person, and about Michael’s high school sweetheart, and you can hear the conviction in her voice.  Though not released as a single here in America, it was released around Europe and even reached No. 22 in Ireland, and was a minor U.K. hit single.  I had kind of hoped at one point, The Bangles would grow out of the Pop sound and embrace more songs like this.  But, it was not to be.

In 1999, the four of them — vocalist and rhythm guitarist Susanna Hoffs, sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson (on lead guitar and drums, respectively) and Michael Steele — got back together and in 2003, released their fourth studio album, DOLL REVOLUTION.  The album was well-received, less Pop-oriented, and of the 15 songs on the album, many were written or co-written by each member of the band.

FUN MICHAEL STEELE FACT: as Micki Steele, she was a founding member of The Runaways, but left just before the band’s big major-label debut.  And she co-wrote one of the songs on 1977’s QUEENS OF NOISE, the second studio album for The Runaways, “Born To Be Bad,” sung by Joan Jett.

The Runaways, 1975: Micki Steele, Sandy West, Joan Jett.

“Something That You Said” was the lead single from DOLL REVOLUTION (co-written with Charlotte Caffey, guitarist for The Go-Go’s, who had their own reunion album in 2001, GOD BLESS THE GO-GO’s), and reached No. 38 on the U.K. singles chart.  The album’s opener (and inspiration for the album title) was “Tear Off Your Own Head (It’s A Doll Revolution),” a cover of an Elvis Costello song released just a year before, on his WHEN I WAS CRUEL album.

The Bangles reunion was short-lived, though.  Although she left in 2004 during the middle of The Bangles’ comeback tour, Michael Steele officially left the band in 2005 over artistic disputes involving touring and recording (she didn’t want the band to be a “Dick Clark oldies band” and wanted to focus more on new material; not a bad thing).

I couldn’t find anything recent on Michael Steele, sadly, but I am forever grateful for “Following,” and I will always admire her for wanting to be more than “Walk Like An Egyptian” and “Eternal Flame.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hMGJbESQCs

song of the day – “Slipping Away” | DAVE EDMUNDS | 1983.

On June 15, 2014, Casey Kasem, host of the longtime countdown program, AMERICAN TOP 40, passed away at the age of 82.  From my first blog post (and prolly some more inbetween then and now), I explained how, in 1979, I was a geeky, lanky and somewhat lost 12-year-old living in Central Maine, had a few friends and not a lot of interest in much of anything, but at some point early that year, I discovered AMERICAN TOP 40, and was glued to it every weekend.  Not only could I hear the 40 biggest songs in the country every week, but also Casey’s cool trivia and facts about the songs and the artists, a trait I treasure to this day.  For me, the show was No. 1 with a bullet.  And still is (thanks to the re-airing of broadcasts of AT40 on iHeart Radio).

In honor of my radio hero, Casey Kasem, for the entire month of June, I will be highlighting a song each day (some days will have two songs!) that peaked in the Top 40 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (including five (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s), and with every blog post, just like on AMERICAN TOP 40, the hits will get bigger with each post.  On June 1, 2017, I featured a song that peaked at No. 40.  On June 30, I’ll feature a “song of the day” that went all the way to No. 1. 

As Casey used to say on AT40, “And on we go!”

In researching for this blog post, I found a lot more songs from the 80s that peaked at No. 39 than expected, at least 30.  There were some great ones, like “Atomic” by Blondie, “I Don’t Care Anymore” by Phil Collins, “In The Mood” by Robert Plant,” “Looking For A Stranger” by Pat Benatar, “My Town” by the Michael Stanley Band, “Skin Trade” by Duran Duran, “Tomorrow People” by Ziggy Marley, “(What) In The Name Of Love” by Naked Eyes, “Second Nature” by Dan Hartman, “Who’s Making Love” by The Blues Brothers, Bon Jovi’s first hit, “Runaway,” ELO’s sadly-forgotten “Last Train To London,” the gorgeous “Wake Up (Next To You)” by Graham Parker And The Shot, and six (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s.

I also found some songs I had forgotten about, like “Don’t Let Him Know” by Prism and “New Romance (It’s A Mystery)” by Spider, and some stinkers among the bunch, including “Memory” by Barry Manilow, “Sartorial Eloquence” by Elton John (sorry Elton, with a song title like that, it was bound not to work out), and the “WTF was I thinking with this song” song by Mick Jagger, “Let’s Work.”  Downright awful.  Don’t watch the video – that’s four minutes you’re not getting back.

I nearly chose “Wake Up (Next To You)” as my selection for a song that peaked at No. 39 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, but I wanted to choose instead a gem from the sensationally-talented Welsh singer / songwriter / guitarist / über-producer, Dave Edmunds.

Born in Cardiff, Wales, Dave Edmunds first got his big break with a band called Love Sculpture, and in 1968, they reached No. 5 on the U.K. singles chart with a song called “Sabre Dance.”  Two years later, he had himself a huge international solo hit called “I Hear You Knocking,” which spent six weeks at No. 1 in the U.K., reached No. 3 in Canada and New Zealand, and No. 4 in the U.S. and Australia.  Dave’s version was actually a cover of a 1955 hit by R&B singer Smiley Lewis, and then covered by the legendary Fats Domino in 1961.  It’s also been covered many times over the decades, including versions by Bruce Springsteen and Bryan Adams.

Through the end of the 1970s, Dave Edmunds picked up another three Top 10 U.K. hits, including Silver-Certified “Girls Talk,” written by Elvis Costello and appearing on his 1979 album, REPEAT WHEN NECESSARY (on Led Zeppelin’s SWAN SONG label). 

NERDY FUN FACTS: Huey Lewis appears on that same 1979 Dave Edmunds album, playing harmonica on a song he wrote called “Bad Is Bad,” four years before it would appear on Huey’s own monster album with The News, SPORTS.  And a song called “Queen Of Hearts” was also on the album, a No. 11 U.K. hit for Dave Edmunds that would become a big global hit for New Jersey Country singer, Juice Newton, in 1981.

Yepper, that’s Huey Lewis’ name and song on Led Zeppelin’s label, years before Huey became a star in his own right…

In addition to being a successful singer, songwriter and musician, Dave Edmunds was also a popular producer for other artists, including producing several albums by The Stray Cats, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, his side project with Nick Lowe, Rockpile, and k.d. lang’s second album, ANGEL WITH A LARIAT.

In all the years Dave Edmunds produced his own albums and the works of other artists, when it came time to work on his own 1983 album, INFORMATION, Dave did something he had never done before – he collaborated with another producer, in this case, Jeff Lynne of the Electric Light Orchestra.

Jeff Lynne would go on to produce two songs on the album – the title track, and the album’s first single, “Slipping Away,” which Jeff Lynne also wrote.  “Slipping Away” entered the BILLBOARD Hot 100 at No. 93 in mid-May 1983.  I confess I didn’t know much about Dave Edmunds when this song came out, but I loved the updated twangy sound. 

With the help of airplay on the relatively new MTV, “Slipping Away” inched its way up the Hot 100, reaching its peak position of No. 39 nearly three months after debuting on the chart.  Four weeks after reaching the Top 40, “Slipping Away” slipped its way out of the Hot 100.  It’s his last Top 40 hit to date. 

Dave Edmunds, now 73, released two albums in recent years, one in 2013 called …AGAIN (featuring recordings from the 90s and four new songs), and in 2015 (ON GUITAR…RAGS & CLASSICS).

It’s his twangy, Jeff Lynne-penned and produced No. 39 hit, though, that caught my ear, which introduced me to a music legend, and is a song that has never slipped away from me since, and won’t…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFETrcH1Dks

song of the day – “Love Is A Battlefield” | PAT BENATAR | 1983 / 1984.

I have been a fan of Pat Benatar since the first time I heard “Heartbreaker” in late 1979.  I own several of her albums, and yes, 12” singles too (hey – almost everybody did remixes back in the 80s!).  But, oddly enough, as much as I have loved Pat Benatar and her music for almost 40 years, I have never seen her perform live.  I am hoping to rectify that this Summer.

This week, I found out that Pat and her long-time husband and guitarist, Neil Giraldo, will be performing at Portland’s Maine State Pier for the second time in three years.  In 2015, I believe they had the distinction of being the first performers at the Maine State Pier, performing in early May 2015.  I wasn’t at that show, but from what I heard, it was incredibly cold (we were barely out of our longer-than-usual Winter that year) and I feared Pat wouldn’t be back to Maine again.

The Winter of 2014-2015 was what I classified as “The Winter That Would Never End,” in that it snowed on November 1, 2014, and snowed in six consecutive months, through April 2015.  Even for Maine, that’s pretty unusual.  I love Maine but not its Winters, and always hope they won’t last more than their calendared three months.  (This year, Mom Nature is playing her own April Fool’s Joke on us, with several inches of snow predicted the first day of April.)  I’m so glad Pat and Neil have picked to return to Portland’s Maine State Pier in late July, when – theoretically – it’ll be an awesome Summer (like 2016!).

Neil and Pat, having fun on the road and hopefully in my view this Summer…

By late 1983, the then-30-year-old from Brooklyn, NYC already had released four hugely successful albums, including a No. 1 album – 1981’s PRECIOUS TIME – and a No. 2 album – her biggest album to date, 1980’s CRIMES OF PASSION, which has been certified (at least) 4x Multi-Platinum.  She had also nine out of 10 singles reach the Top 40 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100, including one Top 10 hit, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” which reached No. 9 in late December 1980.

Pat’s fifth release, a mostly-live album called LIVE FROM EARTH, was released in mid-October 1983, and contained two new studio tracks, “Lipstick Lies” and “Love Is A Battlefield,” the latter of which was written by popular songwriters Mike Chapman and Holly Knight, who have written a combined amount of huge songs that would require their own entire blog post, which I may write one day.  I can say that Holly Knight (a member of the short-lived Dance / Rock band, Device) also wrote and/or co-wrote three other Pat Benatar songs, including 1985’s “Invincible (The Theme From THE LEGEND OF BILLIE JEAN).”

From the back of the LIVE FROM EARTH album.

“Love Is A Battlefield” was released a month in advance of LIVE FROM EARTH, and only took 12 days to reach the BILLBOARD Hot 100, debuting at No. 78.  In just four weeks, “Love Is A Battlefield” debuted in the Top 40, giving Pat her tenth Top 40 American hit.  In a chart coincidence that only a singles chart nerd like myself could love, “Love Is A Battlefield” also debuted in the Top 40 the same week as Eurythmics debuted with “Love Is A Stranger.”

Like most Pat Benatar singles, “Love Is A Battlefield” made a steady climb up the chart and spent a week at No. 5 in early December 1983.  It stayed on the Hot 100 until the second half of February 1984 and one of BILLBOARD’s biggest Hot 100 hits of 1984.  With 1985’s “We Belong,” it remains her highest-charting American hit so far, and gave Pat her fourth consecutive Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

Around the globe, there was a lot of love for “Love Is A Battlefield.”  It spent five weeks at No. 1 in Australia, four weeks at No. 1 in Holland and BILLBOARD’s Mainstream Rock chart, two weeks at No. 1 in Belgium, plus Top 10 rankings in Canada, Germany, Ireland and New Zealand, and the Top 20 in the U.K. and Switzerland.

From the back of the bus in the “Love Is The Battlefield” video.

A special remix was used for the popular music video, which features Pat as a teenager running away from her family, Pat exploring the fast life in the big city, becoming a dancer, her father eventually showing regret for things he said that drove her away, and through all of this, she ends up discovering strength and independence, and the incredible undeniability of girl power.  Pat also showed off some pretty cool dance moves in this partially-choreographed video, which was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video.

I know the dancing and using a drum machine was out of Pat Benatar’s normal Rock ’n’ Roll element, and that remixes prolly weren’t her thing (although she’d end up releasing a few more; I know, because I own them), but in the end, “Love Is A Battlefield” is a song that worked, even when songwriter Mike Chapman didn’t think it would work, and even when Pat’s record company didn’t think it would work.  But all’s fair in love and war and pop hits, right?  What most folks involved with the record thought wouldn’t work is one of THE songs Pat Benatar is remembered most for to this day, and is a song I hope to hear her sing in Portland, Maine in late July.

Writing about “Love Is A Battlefield” here made me think of a time back in the mid-00s, when I was still living in Portland and had a Saturday night retro DJ gig at one of the clubs intown, where, in the small, already crowded Alt-Rock / Dance and New Wave “rec room” full of the music of New Order, Blondie, Duran Duran, Smiths, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Nine Inch Nails and the oft-requested Elvis Costello, there wasn’t much room for Pat’s Benatar’s straight up, kick-ass Rock ’n’ Roll, but I remember a couple of times I got a request for something by Pat.  And I was pleasantly surprised both times. 

The first time Pat Benatar was requested, for a second, I thought, “what could I possibly play for this amazing crowd of people that would blend in?”  The only song that came to mind – and what proved to be THE best choice – was the 12” dance remix of “Love Is A Battlefield.”  When Pat was requested another time, the choice that time was a no-brainer, because, not only did “Love Is A Battlefield” get a sweet reception the first time, when it comes to dance music from the 80s, whether it’s Pop, Rock, Punk, Funk, Dance, Rap, New Wave, New Romantics – to me, there IS no battlefield. 

“We are strong / No one can tell us we’re wrong / Searching our hearts for so long / Both of us knowing / Love is a battlefield…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGVZOLV9SPo

xmas song of the day – “Fairytale Of New York” | THE POGUES featuring KIRSTY MacCOLL | 1987.

Happy Holidays!  Since it’s the first year of my blog, and since it’s the last year for my Annual Holiday Show on my little 20-year-old 80s radio program, STUCK IN THE 80s (on WMPG community radio in Portland, Maine), I wanted to present to you THE 31 DAYS OF 80s XMAS SONGS, or, 31 of my favorite 80s holiday musical treats.

Well, it’s officially a holiday weekend – both Xmas Eve and the start of Hanukkah fall on the same day this year, and that means only a couple more blog posts after this one highlighting some truly great 80s holiday gems.  For Day 29 of THE 31 DAYS OF 80s XMAS SONGS is a wonderful holiday treasure that has prolly grown on me more than any other since its release – “Fairytale Of New York” by The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl.

Released in late November 1987, a couple of months in advance of The Pogues’ amazing third album, IF I SHOULD FALL FROM GRACE WITH GOD, “Fairytale Of New York” was the result of the brilliant pairing of The Pogues and the late, great Kirsty MacColl (the originator of the Tracey Ullman hit, “They Don’t Know,” and who died of a tragic boating accident in 2000).

In 2012, music journalist Dorian Lynsky of the British national daily newspaper, THE GUARDIAN, wrote a piece celebrating the 25th anniversary of “Fairytale Of New York,” where he states that the song is “not about snow or sleigh rides or mistletoe or miracles, but lost youth and ruined dreams; a song in which Christmas is much the problem as it is the solution.”

“Fairytale Of New York” is not only a personal and STUCK IN THE 80s favorite, but it remains as one of the most revered Xmas songs ever, and some even contend that it’s THE greatest Xmas song ever. 

The original 1987 cover art for “Fairytale Of New York.”

The video for “Fairytale Of New York” was indeed filmed in New York around the time of the single’s release, during an extremely cold Thanksgiving week in 1987.  Actor Matt Dillon, who plays a police officer in the video, was apparently a huge fan of The Pogues. 

From the “Fairytale Of New York” video…

Super-producer Steve Lillywhite (famous for producing acts like U2, Big Country, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads and many more) was brought in to produce IF I SHOULD FALL FROM GRACE WITH GOD, and it paid off.  It was the band’s biggest-selling album ever, and for five weeks over the 1987 / 1988 holiday season, “Fairytale Of New York” was the No. 1 song in Ireland. 

All of these years later, it’s hard to believe Kirsty MacColl wasn’t even originally considered to sing the female lead.  Former Pogues bassist Cait O’Riordan left the band in 1986, the same year she married Elvis Costello (together until 2002).  So, that left a big gaping hole in the duet for this future holiday gem.  The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde was considered, as was Suzi Quatro, but when Steve Lillywhite brought in his wife, Kirsty MacColl (who, in 1984 / 1985 reached the Top 10 of the U.K. singles chart with her cover of Billy Bragg’s “A New England”), everything fell into place.

Over in The Pogues and Kirsty’s U.K. homeland, they were hoping “Fairytale Of New York” would capture the coveted “Christmas No. 1” that year, but the song was held from the No. 1 spot by the Pet Shop Boys’ “Always On My Mind” and peaked at No. 2.  It ended up being ranked No. 48 for all of 1987, which is not bad considering the song had only been out for a month…

Kirsty MacColl and The Pogues’ Shane MacGowan in a promotional shot for “Fairytale Of New York.”

After charting in the U.K. and Ireland in 1991, “Fairytale Of New York” has reappeared on the singles charts in both countries every year since 2005, and since 2007, has also made frequent appearances on the singles charts in New Zealand, Norway and Sweden. 

The legacy of the song has extended well beyond that of singles charts around the globe.  Another popular U.K. publication, THE TELEGRAPH, revealed in 2014 that “Fairytale Of New York” was the most-played Xmas song of the 21st Century in the United Kingdom.  And, with all of its reissues over the past 29 years, “Fairytale Of New York” has now accumulated (as of the official U.K. Top 75 singles chart dated December 29, 2016) a whopping 77 weeks, good enough for the seventh most-charted song of all time.

Since the 1987 original, “Fairytale Of New York” has been covered by the likes of Sinéad O’Connor, Nina Hagen and Coldplay, but for me (and many others across the planet, I’m sure), there’ll never be another version like the one I fell in love with all those years ago, and that I love and then some even more with each passing year…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9jbdgZidu8

song of the day – “Johnny And Mary” | ROBERT PALMER | 1980.

Hard to believe at one time of my life, namely the years between 1979 and 1985, I only knew of two songs from the late, great Robert Palmer – “Every Kinda People” (No. 16, BILLBOARD Hot 100, 1978) and “Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)” (No. 14, Hot 100, 1979).  Then, in 1985, The Power Station (Duran Duran’s Andy and John Taylor, Chic’s Tony Thompson and Robert Palmer) released their kick-ass self-titled album, which garnered three Top 40 hits on the Hot 100 – “Some Like It Hot” (No. 6), “Get It On (Bang A Gong)” (No. 9), and the very underrated “Communication” (No. 34).

The success of The Power Station breathed new life into Robert Palmer’s career and then some, and here in the U.S. between 1986 and 1991, he picked up a few platinum albums and seven more Top 40 hits, including two songs that reached No. 2, and one song – the hugely popular “Addicted To Love” – which reached No. 1 in 1986.

Fast forwarding to today, I know many folks around the globe are talking about an audio soundbite from 2005 that may or may not have an effect on the upcoming American presidential election, but it’s another audio soundbite, a 2-CD set, actually, that I want to talk about here. 

In the Summer of 2005, I picked up an incredible 2-CD set called NEW WAVES: 45 ORIGINAL 45s FROM THE POST-PUNK ERA, featuring gems like M’s “Pop Muzik,” The Buggles’ “Video Killed The Radio Star,” “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” by Joe Jackson, and other gems from The Cure, The B-52’s, Blondie, Elvis Costello, Martha + The Muffins, The Creatures, and a 1980 song from Robert Palmer I had surprisingly never heard before – “Johnny And Mary” (from his album, CLUES).

“Johnny And Mary” is a lovely, simple New Wave gem that Allmusic once suggested was the inspiration to the recently knighted Sir Rod Stewart, and his 1981 Top 5 hit, “Young Turks.”  And, while I can hear a similarity in there, I think it may or may not have inspired a longtime 1984 favorite by the Sacramento Rock / New Wave band, The 77s, on a song titled “Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba” (from their album, ALL FALL DOWN), which is slightly faster, but with that same recognizable beat.  It wasn’t a hit or anything, but I highly recommend you check it out.

Although “Johnny And Mary” was never a hit here in the U.S., it did reach No. 18 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart, and it was a big hit around the globe, spending five weeks at No. 1 in Spain, and reaching the Top 10 in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa and Switzerland.

“Johnny And Mary” has been covered a number of times over the years, including versions by Tina Turner, Paris’ own lovely 80s cover masters, Nouvelle Vague, as well as Bryan Ferry, Placebo, and even Melissa Manchester.

Robert Palmer sadly passed away in 2003 at the young age of 54, but his great music lives on for all time.  And though in the song, “Johnny” cheats on “Mary” and “Mary” is bored in the relationship, and “Johnny” tries to prove himself and “Mary” says she “should be used to it,” I’m so glad I was finally introduced to this 1980 treasure, albeit 25 years late…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_SAMrDnXOE

NEW YORK – AUGUST 13: English singer Robert Palmer on the street on August 13, 1980 in New York City. (Photo by Waring Abbott/Getty Images)

song of the day – “Jimmie Jones” | THE VAPORS | 1981.

As I was telling Hope, my dear and super-talented friend, earlier today, when I try to figure out what song I’ll write about from day to day, some days it’s a no-brainer, and other days, I have no fucking idea.  That’s the way it was for me just a few hours ago.  And then, in a roundabout way, I figured it out.  Bear with me.

When a “song of the day” doesn’t come to me right away, I will often browse my digital copies of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 for every week of the 1980s (told you I was a singles chart nerd), and choose a song from the Hot 100 whose date during the decade corresponds with a current date.  That’s where I started my search tonight. 

On this date in 1980, “Turning Japanese” by the Guildford, England New Wave band, The Vapors, debuted on the Hot 100.  But The Vapors were one of the nearly 500 (real) one-hit wonders here in America during the 80s, as “Turning Japanese” was the only hit they had here (and most everywhere).  And I didn’t want to do the one-hit wonder post tonight (plus, I wanted to wait to feature “Turning Japanese” at a later date).

So, I then perused the Interweb, and came across a scene from one of my favorite films, the 2000 John Cusack film, HIGH FIDELITY (based on the 1995 Nick Hornby book, and whose title comes from a 1980 Elvis Costello song).  It’s a scene in the record store where it’s the turn of John Cusack’s character Rob (the store owner and main character of the film) to pick out a Top 5 song subject list.  He goes with “Top 5 Side 1’s, Track 1’s,” and the first song he mentions is “Janie Jones” by The Clash (from the band’s 1977 self-titled debut album).

Well, long story longer, “Janie Jones” prompted me to think of a kick-ass song by The Vapors that most folks won’t remember.  It’s from their excellent and sadly overlooked second (and final) album, 1981’s MAGNETS – and (conveniently) also a Side 1, Track 1 – “Jimmie Jones.” 

Despite its cool New Wave sound and smart lyrics, MAGNETS was actually full of dark subject matter.  The title track was about the assassinations of John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, two songs were about mental illness, and “Jimmie Jones” was about Jim Jones, the founder of The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ religious movement, who, on November 18, 1978, led the cult to a mass murder-suicide of over 900 of its members in Jonestown, Guyana, as well as the murder of Congressman Leo Ryan of California.  Almost 300 children were murdered at Jonestown, nearly all by cyanide poisoning.  Jim Jones died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.

There were positive reviews for MAGNETS and “Jimmie Jones,” the second single released from the album (a No. 44 U.K. hit and a Top 40 hit on BILLBOARD’s Mainstream Rock chart), but the band’s record company, United Artists, was sold to EMI Records around that time, and EMI revived the old Liberty Records moniker (and was primarily used as a Country music label).  The band was among those acts who were not treated very well after the label change, and broke up in 1982, shortly after the album was released.

It’s criminal that a band like The Vapors is remembered just for the one big, great hit, but it’s my hope that folks will eventually discover their two albums, 1980’s NEW CLEAR DAYS (which features “Turning Japanese”) and 1981’s MAGNETS.  I discovered both albums through a 1998 CD called VAPORIZED, featuring the albums on one CD.  One of my best friends, Michael, has had both albums for as long as I’ve known him.  You can still find VAPORIZED on outlets like Amazon, or you might find both albums on streaming services like Spotify.  Either way, I highly recommend you check them out.  I’ve always loved “Turning Japanese,” but The Vapors, before they did eventually vaporize from the music scene, were really much more than the one-hit wonder name they became known for…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK1YlD3W7Pg

song of the day – “Would I Lie To You?” | EURYTHMICS | 1985.

For the fifth studio album by London’s Eurythmics, 1985’s BE YOURSELF TONIGHT, Scotland’s Annie Lennox and England’s David A. Stewart were sounding less like the New Wave / Dance sound they had on the first four albums (including their soundtrack to the film, 1984), and more like a Pop / Rock band.  For this album, they meshed the Motown sound into their “newly-found” Rock sound, and with the help of Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Elvis Costello, the new sound worked.  BE YOURSELF TONIGHT remains as their biggest-selling album worldwide.

“Would I Lie To You?” was the first single released from BE YOURSELF TONIGHT, which debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in late April 1985, the same week the album was released.  “Would I Lie To You?” (an MTV favorite) had a steady climb up the chart, and reached No. 5 (their last U.S. Top 10 hit to date) on July 13, 1985 – the day of Live Aid.  (SIDE  NOTE: Annie and David weren’t able to perform at Live Aid because Annie was recovering from vocal fold nodules, which prevented her from singing.)

The Hot 100 wasn’t the only BILLBOARD chart to see “Would I Lie To You?” in the upper echelon of the charts: It reached No. 2 on BILLBOARD’s Rock chart, and No. 5 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart – no easy feat.

Around the globe, “Would I Lie To You?” didn’t lie to fans, and it spent 2 weeks at No. 1 in Australia, plus Top 10 rankings in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland and Sweden.  In their U.K. homeland, it reached No. 17.

Annie Lennox and David Stewart have released four more Eurythmics studio  albums since BE YOURSELF TONIGHT, the most recent of which was 1999’s excellent comeback album, PEACE.  The pair last performed on 2014’s “The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles” in Los Angeles, the day after the Grammy Awards, with an amazing version of “The Fool On The Hill.”

In 2007, Annie Lennox announced that she didn’t foresee any future Eurythmics projects in the works, and while that remains true to this day, David A. Stewart, in 2012, remained hopeful: “We’re not talking about a [new album] right now, but never say never.”

I have loved this band from the moment I heard “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” blaring from my Panasonic boombox.  Of course, I would absolutely LOVE to see the Eurythmics get back together and work on a new album (and tour again).  Would I lie to you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhpu2N4rQZM

song of the day – “The Other End (Of The Telescope)” | ’TIL TUESDAY with ELVIS COSTELLO | 1988.

It’s an oft-told music tale – a recording artist has a vast body of work, but only remembered for those one or two big hits.  Beck comes to mind, as does Radiohead, Beastie Boys and the Boston-based band, ’til Tuesday, led by the sensationally-talented Aimee Mann.

’til Tuesday released 3 albums between 1985 and 1988 – VOICES CARRY (1985), featuring the BILLBOARD Hot 100 Top 10 title track (and aforementioned “big hit”), WELCOME HOME (1986), featuring the Top 40 hit, “What About Love?” and the underrated excellent follow-up, “Coming Up Close,” and their last album, 1988’s EVERYTHING’S DIFFERENT NOW, whose title perhaps was a sign of things to come for the band.  Actually, though, it more likely put a period at the end of the relationship between Aimee Mann and singer / songwriter Jules Shear, though Aimee Mann claims that not all the songs on the album were about the relationship.

One of the highlights on EVERYTHING’s DIFFERENT NOW was a collaboration between ’Til Tuesday and Elvis Costello – “The Other End (Of The Telescope).”  Aimee Mann and Elvis Costello (under his real name, Declan MacManus) co-wrote the song, and I’m betting it wasn’t about Aimee’s relationship with Jules Shear, though there’s clearly some heavy-duty relationship hope and bitterness in there (if that makes any sense).

In 1996, Elvis Costello re-worked and re-recorded “The Other End (Of The Telescope)” for his 17th album, ALL THIS USELESS BEAUTY.

Since the 1988 breakup of ’Til Tuesday, Aimee Mann has had a successful solo career, which has included 8 studio albums, a live album, her marriage to singer / songwriter Michael Penn, and an Academy Award nomination for “Save Me,” from the 1999 film, MAGNOLIA. 

Aimee Mann & Michael Penn, 2015.

Always had a lot of respect for Aimee Mann, and even had the pleasure of meeting her after a Portland, Maine show, in support of her 2002 LOST IN SPACE album.  I hope she begins work on a new album soon, and it’s my continued hope that people will take that look at the other end (of the ’Til Tuesday telescope) and realize that Aimee and the band had some really great music in the short time they were together, music that goes way beyond those carrying voices… 

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

song of the day – “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding” | ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS | 1978.

The whole idea of me writing an 80s-related music blog, much like my STUCK IN THE 80s radio show, is to highlight music from the second half of 1979 to the end of 1989.  And I’ll continue to do that proudly.  After the events in Brussels today, though, I can’t help but get the words “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding” out of my head. 

Written by Nick Lowe in 1974, recorded by his band, Brinsley Schwarz, and produced by Dave Edmunds, “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding” founds its best-known version four years later by Nick’s friend, Elvis Costello, when it appeared as a B-side to the Nick Lowe single, “American Squirm.” 

On the single, it was credited not to Elvis Costello & The Attractions, but to Nick Lowe And His Sound.  But, when word got out that it was really Elvis & Co., the American version of Elvis’ 1979 album, ARMED FORCES, quickly replaced the song “Sunday’s Best” with “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding.”

It’s a question that’s just 8 words long, but, after events like today in Brussels, “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding” is probably the question I ask most in this world, and will continue to do so. 

For the people in Brussels, Paris, Lebanon, San Bernardino, London, Turkey, New York and beyond that have been affected by terrorist attacks, I know it’s not much, but I’ll continue to hope for peace, love and understanding, as long as I’m around…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssd3U_zicAI 

song of the day – “Right Now” | THE CREATURES | 1983.

I had known about and enjoyed the music of Londoner Siouxsie Sioux, her band, Siouxsie And The Banshees, and her other band, a side project with Banshees drummer Budgie – The Creatures – for many years before learning about “Right Now,” today’s “song of the day.”

In 2005, at a time when I was still living in Portland, Maine and Newbury Comics was still interested in being one of the best places to pick up CDs instead of trendy clothes, I found this incredibly cool compilation called NEW WAVES: 45 ORIGINAL 45s FROM THE POST PUNK ERA. 

NEW WAVES had great gems from the likes of M, Squeeze, The Buzzcocks, The Undertones, The B-52’s, Billy Bragg, The Buggles, The Tubes, Trio, Martha & The Muffins, Blondie, Joan Armatrading, Robert Palmer, Elvis Costello and “Right Now” by The Creatures.

I still find it funny how I had no idea this song existed before 2005.  And on top of that, it was actually a cover of a 1962 Jazz/Pop song by Herbie Mann!  (Mel Tormé also recorded a version the same year.)  The Creatures recorded a faithful cover version in the style of the 1960s original, replete with a brass section, and it paid off.  It was a No. 14 hit on the U.K. singles chart, the band’s biggest hit. 

In a great July 1983 review by writer Paul Colbert for the British weekly music newspaper, MELODY MAKER, he wrote:

“The Creatures slipped through an unlocked back window, ransacked the place and left with the best ideas in a fast car.  Like all the greatest criminal minds they strike without a warning and only they know the plan.  We have to piece the clues into a cover story.  From the earliest seconds of ‘Right Now’ you know you’re on shifting ground.  Siouxsie baba da baping away to the noise of her own fingers clicking until Budgie barges in with congas on speed.  Christ which way is this going?  The one direction you don’t expect is a vagrant big band coughing out drunken bursts of brass in a Starlight Room of it’s [sic?] own making.  Budgie and Siouxsie – the Fred and Ginger of the wayward world.”

The Pussycat Dolls, an all-female group from Los Angeles, covered the song for their 2007 debut album, not in the style of the original Herbie Mann version, but in the version by The Creatures.

The Creatures disbanded in 2004, but memorable songs like “Standing There,” “Fury Eyes,” “Miss The Girl” and “Right Now” live on.  I think I’ll listen to them, um, right now…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_9SdrN6D-o