song of the day – “Shadows Of The Night” | PAT BENATAR (1982 / 1983)

Recently, when I’ve been driving in the Batmobile (what I call my cross-bred compact-to-midsize car, or what Bruce Wayne would prolly drive if he wanted an unsuspecting vehicle, unlike say, the Batmobile), sometimes I take a break from my iPod or Spotify, and I tend to listen to Classic Rock or Classic Hits Radio (80s are apparently considered Oldies now, go figure).

The real Batmobile, from 1989’s BATMAN.

One thing that has caught my attention is the amount of airplay given to songs that didn’t do as well as they should have back when they were released, and based on the huge amount of airplay they still get to this day, would have been bigger hits back in the day.

The first song that comes to mind is Stevie Nicks’ incredible “Edge Of Seventeen.”  One of the most-played Stevie Nicks solo hits played today.  And somehow, it only managed to peak at No. 11 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 back in April 1982.  But, as I’ve mentioned before, with respect to Casey Kasem’s AMERICAN TOP 40 and BILLBOARD magazine, in the scheme of radio, sometimes it doesn’t matter what position you peaked at on the singles chart.

One of the best examples of this is “I Melt With You” by Modern English (from the album, AFTER THE SNOW).  Upon its original 1982 release on 4AD (the independent label’s first hit), it fared well on BILLBOARD’s Mainstream Rock chart (No. 7) and even charted on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart, but stopped at No. 78 on the Hot 100 in 1983.

The 1982 single cover art for the original “I Melt With You.”

Fast forward to 1990, and a re-recorded version of “I Melt With You” (from the album, PILLOW LIPS) reached two positions higher on the Hot 100, peaking at No. 76 in the Summer of 1990.

The single cover art for the 1990 reworking of “I Melt With You.”

But, regardless of chart position(s) attained, “I Melt With You” has been a radio staple for over 35 years, and rightfully so. 

Another song that was a Top 20 hit back in the day and would have been a Top 10 hit (with all the airplay it’s getting today) is “Shadows Of The Night” by 2020 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominee (and future inductee) Pat Benatar.

Released in September 1982 (a month in advance of the album, GET NERVOUS; my personal favorite), “Shadows Of The Night” was the lead single released from the album, her fourth studio release. It debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in mid-October at No. 69. 

In its fourth week on the chart, “Shadows Of The Night” reached No. Top 40.  The following week, it rocketed up to No. 23.  But, in November 1982, usually a relatively quiet time on the charts (at least back then), there was a lot of heavy activity in the Top 20, from songs like “Sexual Healing” by Marvin Gaye, “The Girl Is Mine” by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney, Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry,” “Rock This Town” by The Stray Cats, and “Maneater” by Daryl Hall & John Oates.

The Stray Cats, rocking up the singles charts in late 1982.

This heavy activity on the chart slowed down Pat’s climb into the Top 20.  Starting a couple of weeks before Xmas and lasting into the first week of 1983, “Shadows Of The Night” occupied its respectable No. 13 peak for four weeks, and dropped off the Hot 100 a month later.

Around the globe, “Shadows Of The Night” also reached the Top 20 in Australia and Canada, No. 50 in the U.K. (in 1985) and charted in New Zealand as well. On BILLBOARD’s Mainstream Rock chart, it was one of her biggest Rock hits on that chart, peaking at No. 3.  “Shadows Of The Night” also scored Pat Benatar her third Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1983.

The first time I recently heard “Shadows Of The Night” on the radio, I was pleasantly surprised to hear it.  Usually these stations play “Heartbreaker” (her first hit) or “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “Love Is A Battlefield” or “We Belong” (her biggest hits), and they still do, often. 

But, then I started hearing “Shadows Of The Night” more, and on different stations.  Maybe it’s the Rock Hall nod, maybe it’s radio stations branching out from the more familiar, it’s hard to say, though it’s quite welcomed.

Pat Benatar has been one of my all-time favorite artists for a long time.  She also has an incredible track record on the BILLBOARD charts.  Her first six albums were certified Platinum or Multi-Platinum, and on the Hot 100, she has an impressive Top 40 chart history.  Out of her 17 Hot 100 appearances between 1979 and 1988, only two of them didn’t reach the Top 40 (1980’s “You Better Run,” No. 42, and the second video to air on MTV; and, 1986’s underrated “Le Bel Age,” No. 54).

After several missed attempts over the years to see Pat perform live, in February 2018, I finally saw Pat Benatar and her longtime guitarist, producer, songwriter, collaborator, and husband (since 1982), Neil Giraldo, perform an acoustic show in Cranston, Rhode Island.  It was totally worth the wait.

Neil Giraldo and Pat Benatar, from their wedding day, 1982.

Can’t tell you how happy I was that they played acoustic versions of two of my favorite Pat Benatar songs, the lesser-remembered “Promises In The Dark” and “We Live For Love,” the latter a song for which their 2016 tour was named after.

NERDY MUSIC VIDEO FUN FACT: The World War II-themed music video (which unfortunately I can’t find) features actors Judge Reinhold and Bill Paxton (who appeared together in 1981’s STRIPES).

From the “Shadows Of The Night” music video.

I am so hoping Pat Benatar gets inducted into the Rock Hall next year, not just because I’ve been a big fan for 40 years, but also because there were only 2.5 women (along with Whitney Houston and Chaka Khan, of Rufus And Chaka Khan) who were nominated out of the 16 total artists nominated.  I hope they all get inducted, actually.

Will the induction of more women into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame get commercial Classic Rock radio stations to play more women?  I hope so.  Right now, Pat Benatar is one member of an elite group of female artists heavily played currently on Classic Rock and Classic Hits radio, which also consists of artists like Joan Jett, The Go-Go’s and Fleetwood Mac. 

Maybe more female inductees will garner even more female nominations.  Maybe the upcoming (and highly anticipated) WONDER WOMAN 1984 movie will inspire the Rock Hall and Classic radio as well.  That soundtrack will kick much ass I’m sure!

In the meantime, I still haven’t given up on somehow fixing the algorithm commercial stations currently use on the warped ratio between the male artists played vs. the female artists played.  Let’s even it out already!  Damn…

“We’re running with the shadows of the night / So baby take my hand, it’ll be all right / Surrender all your dreams to me tonight / They’ll come true in the end…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6hZ4NwFCg0

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 – “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” | CYNDI LAUPER | 1983 / 1984.

It’s March 8, 2019, and International Women’s Day today!  Today, and all through the month of March (and, really, every day), is a celebration of women that began when the Socialist Party of America organized a Women’s Day on February 28, 1909.  The following year, it was suggested that it be held annually.  It became a national holiday in Soviet Russia on March 8, 1917, and in 1975, the United Nations officially chimed in.  In 2019, it’s embraced in many places and ignored in others.  I say let’s go to embrace International Women’s Day!

Over the course of writing this blog, my love of radio has been mentioned a lot.  And why not — it’s a huge part of who I am today.  I also may have mentioned my love / hate relationship with radio.  I have loved radio for 40 years, but apart from my wonderful time at college stations like WUMF and WHSN, and community stations like WMPG, radio has not loved me…yet.  And, the radio I listened to at age 12 vs. the radio I listen to at 52 is far from the same.

A potential bumper sticker for WMPG’s 45th birthday, designed by my friend and former radio neighbor, the incredibly-talented DJ Shaxx.

One thing I’ve noticed as of late on commercial radio, namely Classic Rock or Oldies stations (OMG 80s is Oldies now!  Holy cats!), and the question I ask more than any other — where are the women at?!  Yesterday (March 7, 2019), I researched a few radio stations around Portland, Maine, Boston and New York just to compare how many women are represented in playlists today.  And, apart from Top 40, which has always had a large representation of women played on their stations, even dating back to when I listened to Top 40, the playlists at the Classic Rock and Oldies stations I researched were sadly dominated by men.

Apparently (and unfortunately), the whole “recently played” feature has yet to catch on in the three major Portland, Maine radio stations I researched.  C’mon Portland, you’re the 96th radio market in America!  Act like it dammit!

So, when I struck out in Portland, Maine, I went down to the No. 1 radio market in the country — New York — to find a Classic Rock station.  And success!  Well, depending on how you look at it. 

In the three-hour period I first researched of this iHeart radio station that brands itself as “New York’s Classic Rock,” Pat Benatar was played once, and Fleetwood Mac was played twice.  I go back another three hours, and Fleetwood Mac is there again!  I get it!  RUMOURS is one of the biggest albums of all time, an rightfully so; it’s an incredible album.

But, in the six hours I researched, so many great male artists were played more than once, and yet no Joan Jett, no Heart, no Janis Joplin, no Go-Go’s.  Hey, Men At Work is in there, and I love Men At Work!  So, why not The Go-Go’s?  In six hours, three songs by Fleetwood Mac (two featuring Stevie Nicks on vocals) and one Pat Benatar song.  Three songs featuring women on vocals in six fucking hours.  Where are the women at?!  And no proper 80s radio station in New York?  What the what?!  I’ll have to get right on that.

I then went up to Boston to the station formerly known as “Boston’s Greatest Hits.”  This was promising.  Then the station recently rebranded itself as “80s & More.”  I was intrigued.  Apparently, “80s & More” for this station means they play 70s and 90s with an emphasis on 80s.  Still intrigued. 

In the same six-hour research time period, Stevie Nicks and Don Henley’s “Leather And Lace” kicked things off.  Then it took almost 90 minutes for Pat Benatar’s “We Belong” to be played.  That was followed later by Scandal, Eurythmics, The Go-Go’s (!), Fleetwood Mac, Pat Benatar again (three hours after “We Belong”), Nena, and Cyndi Lauper’s gorgeous “Time After Time.”

So, compared to the other station, seven female artists (or female-led acts) were played on eight songs in the same six-hour timeframe vs. three female artists.  That’s better, but still not great.  After the 90-minute wait between Stevie Nicks and Pat Benatar, it was a 45-minute wait between Pat and Scandal, another 45 minutes between Scandal and Eurythmics, 40 minutes between Eurythmics and The Go-Go’s, and so on.  An average of six to eight songs by men vs. one song by a woman in the average span of 45-60 minutes.  It’s better than the New York station, but it’s not enough.  You play Michael Jackson, why not Madonna?  And where’s Aretha?  The Motels?  Janet Jackson?  Tina Turner?!  I shouldn’t have to get angry about this shit.

Back in mid-December 1983, more than three months after its release, a new single by a relatively unknown 30-year-old woman by the name of Cyndi Lauper made an unassuming debut on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 at No. 80 with “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” (which features Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian of The Hooters, Jules Shear, and David Letterman’s house drummer, Anton Fig).

Three months later, in March 1984, the native New Yorker reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 and had a huge hit with “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” but was denied the No. 1 spot by the four-man Pasadena, California Hard Rock band, Van Halen, and their hit, “Jump.”

“Girls Just Want To Have Fun” was written and recorded in 1979 by Robert Hazard (whose “Escalator Of Life” was a moderate hit in the Spring of 1983), but when Cyndi recorded her version for her brilliant album, SHE’S SO UNUSUAL, it took on a whole new meaning and a whole new life.

As Cyndi mentioned about “Girls” in her 2012 autobiography, CYNDI LAUPER: A MEMOIR, “I said to myself, ‘Hell yeah, I’ll make [it] an anthem!  Maybe it’ll be something that will bring us all together and wake us up.’  It would be a movement right under all the oppressors’ noses, and no one would know about it until there was nothing they could do to stop it.

“It was very blatantly feminist [and] it doesn’t mean that girls just want to fuck.  It just means that girls want to have the same damn experience that any man could have.”  And absolutely should have. 

“Girls Just Want To Have Fun” may have stopped at No. 2 here in America, but globally, it was the fourth-biggest single of 1984, reaching No. 1 or the Top 10 in at least fourteen countries around the globe.  And, its staying power and strong message has lasted through generations and I know it will continue to be an inspiration for women (and girls) for generations to come. 

Every time I’ve seen Cyndi perform “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” in concert, I often find myself looking at the crowd, and I see so many girls dancing to this song with their friends or sisters or mothers or aunts or grandmothers, and it’s beautiful.  The last time I saw Cyndi was in Bangor, Maine on a July 2017 double bill with Rod Stewart (and her first time performing in Maine since the TRUE COLORS tour!).  I was near the front, and reveled in the excitement over Cyndi performing this amazing anthem for those in attendance.  I look forward to the next time I can experience that again.

Cyndi Lauper, amazing and on the big screen, live in Bangor, Maine, 7.14.2017.

For 35 years, Cyndi Lauper has been a beacon of hope and love and peace and music and togetherness for everyone, especially for those who don’t get the respect and love and peace they deserve and then some.  TRUE COLORS UNITED (formerly the TRUE COLORS FUND; truecolorsunited.org) exists to combat homeless youth, especially LBGT youth, who, as of 2016, made up 40% of the homeless youth population in the United States.

And for 35 years, Cyndi’s “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” has conveyed that all women truly want to have the same experiences that men have.  And I know that could be conveyed to radio, too. 

So, if there are any actual program directors left out there who might be reading this (and not some stupid computer-generated program which predicts what people want to hear, as opposed to listening to what people really want to listen to), Cyndi’s right. 

For those stations out there (in any genre) already playing women in heavy rotation, I applaud you.  I love you, radio, I always have.  And I have always believed in you.  But, you can do better… 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A

Cyndi Lauper, 1983.

song of the day #2 – “Fake Friends” | JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS | 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!”

It’s been interesting and fun in my research for the blog posts of this special series paying tribute to Casey Kasem.  Some might say it’s neither interesting NOR fun, but since Casey is my radio hero, and since I still am, at age 50, a proclaimed and proud chart nerd (I still check out the BILLBOARD Hot 100 each week, even though I don’t know most of the artists on there), I am digging this.  No, literally, today I AM digging into BILLBOARD chart history by looking up all of the songs that reached No. 35 between 1979 and 1989, and there are around 40 of them.  You could have Casey on repeat, saying, “And in at No. 35…and in at No. 35…”

If you look at the discography of the amazing Joan Jett, you can tell she had a penchant for cover songs, and then making them all her own – songs like “Crimson And Clover,” “Everyday People,” “Light Of Day,” “Roadrunner,” “Dirty Deeds,” “Love Hurts,” “Summertime Blues,” “Destination Unknown,” “Do You Wanna Touch Me?” and her huge No. 1 hit, “I Love Rock ’N’ Roll” – all of these gems were actually cover songs, whether you knew that or not (I’m betting you did).

For Joan’s third album, however (an album simply titled ALBUM), she took a different route – all but three of the album’s 11 songs were original songs, co-written by Joan and her longtime collaborator and producer, Kenny Laguna.  “I Love Playing With Fire” was actually written by Joan herself, but this song originally was performed by Joan’s former 70s Punk band, The Runaways.  One of the original songs on ALBUM was the effort’s first single (and album, er, ALBUM, opener), “Fake Friends.” 

Debuting on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 at No. 68 in early July 1983, “Fake Friends”  reached the Top 40 by the end of July, becoming the band’s fifth Top 40 hit in two years, and their first original composition to reach the Top 40.  But, like many songs that reach the Top 40 in a short amount of time, for whatever reason, the songs lose steam and they peak quickly.  In the case of “Fake Friends,” it peaked for two weeks at No. 35 in August 1983.  Joan and Co. were gone from the Hot 100 after just 10 weeks. 

After ALBUM’s second single, the aforementioned spirited cover of Sly & The Family Stone’s “Everyday People,” peaked at No. 37 in October 1983, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts wouldn’t return to the Top 40 until 1987, when the Bruce Springsteen-composed “Light Of Day” reached No. 33 on the Hot 100 in April of that year. 

“Light Of Day” was the title song from the film of the same name, starring Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett, her first film as an actress.  Michael and Joan starred as brother and sister, and their band was called The Barbusters.  On the Hot 100, “Light Of Day” was actually credited to The Barbusters, with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts in parentheses. 

The next time Joan & Co. would chart the Hot 100 again on their own accord was in 1988, when Joan’s second original song to reach the Top 40, “I Hate Myself For Loving You,” reached No. 8.

Oft-credited as the Queen of Rock ’N’ Roll and the Godmother of Punk, Joan and The Blackhearts were rightfully inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2015.  Their last album was in 2013 (UNVARNISHED), and Joan and the band continue to tour. 

Last year, on a tour I had hoped to see but couldn’t, they performed with Heart and Cheap Trick, and starting June 14, 2017, they head out on a Summer tour with 70s and 80s Rock legends, Boston.  Don’t know if it’ll be this year, but one day I hope I get to see Joan Jett & The Blackhearts perform.  It’s long overdue.

I suppose it’s a bit weird to highlight a song called “Fake Friends” on a day of heartbreak (sadly again) in London, and much love and unity at the impressive One Love Manchester concert in Manchester, England, but Joan Jett has never been one to back down or not tell it like it is, and neither should I, and neither should you. 

And, if you should ever encounter one of these “fake friends,” whether on social media or in person, and feel dejected about the whole thing after you’ve told them to eff off, just remember what Joan says:

“Ya got nothin to lose / Ya don’t lose when you lose fake friends…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTDJWZ4WiI0

song of the day – “Baby, Oh No” | BOW WOW WOW | 1982.

The London New Wave / Worldbeat band, Bow Wow Wow, didn’t get the proper love they should have when they were recording in the early 80s and got a pretty raw deal here in the U.S. (or, most of the world, actually).  Created by the late, great Malcolm McLaren, Bow Wow Wow (or, if you prefer, Adam And The Ants without Adam plus Anglo-Burmese teenager and singer Annabella Lwin) is mostly known for their spirited 1982 cover of “I Want Candy,” The Strangeloves’ classic original from 1965.  But there is so much more to Bow Wow Wow than that one great cover.  One of the many other songs Bow Wow Wow should be remembered for is the sweet bass-heavy gem, “Baby, Oh No.” 

In 1982, RCA (Bow Wow Wow’s label at the time) released a compilation titled I WANT CANDY, building on the success of the popular cover of the same name.  Co-produced with Kenny Laguna (famous for his work with Joan Jett), this compilation featured “I Want Candy,” plus remixes of songs like 1981’s “Go Wild In The Country” and “Jungle Boy,” and other songs previously released but not as readily available. 

“Baby, Oh No” was included on the I WANT CANDY album and was the follow-up to the “I Want Candy” single.  It just missed the BILLBOARD Hot 100, stopping at No. 103.  It fared better on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart, however, reaching No. 58.  I haven’t heard that remix yet (which adds about three minutes to the original), but I’m sure it kicks some serious ass on the dance floor and then some.

After releasing their third and final studio album, the ironically-titled WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING, the band called it quits for about 15 years, reforming in 1997 for a two-year stint with Annabella Lwin and original bassist Leigh Gorman, plus guitarist Dave Calhoun of The Vapors and drummer Eshan Khadaroo. 

Original Bow Wow Wow drummer David Barbarossa did not rejoin them.  In 1997, he was in the Alt-Rock band, Republica, enjoying success with the single, “Ready To Go” (your prolly heard that at a local sporting event; I know I heard it many a time at Portland Pirates hockey games, when there was such a thing in Portland, Maine).  Original guitarist Matthew Ashman sadly died in 1995 at the age of 35 due to complications from diabetes. 

Bow Wow Wow, the band with three-times as many compilations as studio albums, is still around today, led by Leigh Gorman and most likely performing the songs – like “Baby, Oh No” – that they should be remembered for…and I think will be.

“Late Friday night, when I’m feeling alright / I’m so ready to go, and my baby, oh no / You make me lose my self-control…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-B82bxnudI

xmas song of the day – “Little Drummer Boy” | JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS | 1981.

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.

The song for Day 12 of the 31 DAYS OF 80s XMAS SONGS is a kick-ass rockin’ version of the Xmas classic, “Little Drummer Boy,” and a song that appeared on early editions of  I LOVE ROCK ’N ROLL, the huge 1981 album by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts.  It’s been a staple on my STUCK IN THE 80s holiday shows every year.

On an album with an even mix of original songs and cover versions of songs by Arrows (“I Love Rock ’n’ Roll”), Tommy James & The Shondells (“Crimson And Clover”), The Dave Clark Five (“Bits And Pieces”), and a song that was both a cover and a Joan Jett-penned song for her previous band, The Runaways (“You’re Too Possessive”), “Little Drummer Boy” (whose history dates back to 1941) seemed to fit right in.

After the 1981 / 1982 holiday season, “Little Drummer Boy” was replaced with “Oh Woe Is Me,” what would become the B-side to “Crimson And Clover and an original Joan Jett composition.  Not to worry, though – both songs were represented in the 1998 CD reissue and the 2009 vinyl reissue.  Rum pa pum pum 🙂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5_gk-1OGXU

song of the day – “Tonight It’s You” | CHEAP TRICK | 1985.

One of the things that amazes me to this day is the where, when, why and how a song evolves from being just a song by a band or a singer to being a FAVORITE song by a band or a singer. 

On this date in 1985, Cheap Trick, one of the hardest working Rock bands out there, whose music I had enjoyed since the 1979 live version of “I Want You To Want Me,” debuted at No. 93 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 with “Tonight It’s You.”

From Cheap Trick’s eighth studio album, STANDING ON THE EDGE, “Tonight It’s You” was the Rockford, Illinois band’s first single to reach the Hot 100 in three years, and the last time they had reached the Top 40 in this country was back in early 1980 with “Voices” (from 1979’s DREAM POLICE album).

“Tonight It’s You” had a great first week on the Hot 100, moving from No. 93 to No. 73, and from there steadily rose an average of 2-3 positions each week.  By the time “Tonight It’s You” reached its No. 44 peak in mid-October 1985, I was more than a month into my first semester at college, attending the (then) New England School of Broadcasting (now Communications, or NESCom for short).  “Tonight It’s You” would stay on the Hot 100 for 17 weeks total, a longer stay than some songs that reach actually No. 1.

Cheap Trick’s 1985 album, STANDING ON THE EDGE.

 

As to the where, when, why and how “Tonight It’s You” became my favorite Cheap Trick song, well, I think where and when happened while at NESB.  I went there to become a radio broadcaster, and part of the training was to have one weekly morning news slot and one weekly radio DJ slot on the Husson College (now Husson University) radio station, WHSN. 

Today, they may be Bangor’s Rock Alternative, but back in 1985, WHSN aired Adult Contemporary (AC) music.  I can’t remember if “Tonight It’s You” was considered “AC enough” to be aired on WHSN or if I aired it on my own volition (which I prolly did and is prolly the “how” in this equation), but somewhere along the way, a chord stuck inside of me that semester and I fell right in love with “Tonight It’s You.” 

In the original poetic-like ROLLING STONE review by the amazing David Fricke for STANDING ON THE EDGE, he mentioned this about “Tonight It’s You”:  “‘Tonight It’s You’ is gorgeous Top Forty mischief, reminiscent of the Raspberries’ 1973 neo-operatic nugget, ‘Overnight Sensation (Hit Record).’  Cascading acoustic guitars decorate axeman Rick Nielsen’s wall of monster fuzz while singer Robin Zander wails in front of sheetmetal harmonies. The cumulative effect is like three or four hit songs vacuum-packed into one.”

Cheap Trick would not have another Hot 100 hit until 1988, when their big comeback album, LAP OF LUXURY, gave them their first and, to date, only No. 1 song, “The Flame.”  I don’t know about you, but I can actually hear a bit of “Tonight It’s You” in “The Flame.”  I might not have been conscious of the similarity or inspiration right away, but after nearly 30 years, you’re bound to notice stuff like that.

With my dear and sensationally-talented friend, Hope, I saw Cheap Trick for the first time in 2015 on Portland’s Maine State Pier (opening for Peter Frampton), and they were phenomenal.  Though “Tonight It’s You” wasn’t performed, it was certainly worth the multi-decade wait. 

This year, Cheap Trick is on the same live bill as Joan Jett and Heart, and the tour was in Mansfield, Massachusetts a few nights ago.  They are also touring in support of their new album (released on 4.1.2016), BANG, ZOOM, CRAZY… HELLO.  It is their first studio album in seven years, and was not only well-received, but it’s their highest-charting album here in America since LAP OF LUXURY back in 1988.

As for the “why” in regards to “Tonight It’s You” being my favorite Cheap Trick song?  Well, I’m not entirely sure, but I do know I can definitely feel the honest passion in Robin Zander’s vocals: “All I want is a place in your heart / To fall into / All I need is someone to love / And tonight it’s you…”  He sings it like he means it, and I believe him.  And, “Tonight It’s You” will always have a place in my heart to fall into…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL251usi-K8

album of the week – I LOVE ROCK ’N ROLL | JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS | 1981.

It’s odd to think about now, but when I first saw the picture of Joan Jett on the cover of this week’s “album of the week,” I LOVE ROCK ’N ROLL, I thought she looked a bit ghoulish.  But, as I would soon find out, there was nothing ghoulish about Joan Jett; just the opposite (although I’m quite sure she could still kick my ass).  Joan Jett was (and still is) a hard-working, hard-rocking woman and superstar.  And, in 1981, there weren’t many hard-working, hard-rocking women out there in music (maybe there still aren’t).

Pennsylvania-born Joan Jett has been labeled the Queen of Rock ’n Roll and the Godmother of Punk, and in 2015, she and her band, The Blackhearts, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  All deserved.

Joan Jett was a founding member of the all-female rock band, The Runaways (their debut single, “Cherry Bomb” hit No. 1 in Japan and just missed the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in 1976).  In January 1981, her album, BAD REPUTATION, was released (which was a re-issue of her self-titled 1980 debut album), but BAD REPUTATION didn’t really take off until the release of her next album in November 1981, I LOVE ROCK ’N ROLL.

Like many of Joan Jett’s albums, I LOVE ROCK ’N ROLL was a mix of cool originals and kick-ass cover songs.  The title track starts off the album.  As soon as I heard it on the radio, I KNEW I had to have this album.  The guitars, the drums, the vocals all hit the right chords (pun intended).  Joan Jett heard the original “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll” back in 1976 by the band Arrows, and it resonated with her greatly, and her version sure resonated with me.

The single “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll” hit No. 1 in the U.S. on March 20, 1982, and didn’t relinquish the top spot for 7 weeks. It was a worldwide hit as well, reaching No. 1 in Australia, Canada, Holland, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and the BILLBOARD Rock chart.  It also reached the Top 10 in at least 7 other countries and even reached No. 31 on the BILLBOARD Dance chart, which is impressive, considering most rock songs don’t even touch that chart.

The second single, “Crimson And Clover,” was a No. 1 hit for Tommy James and the Shondells back in 1969, and Joan & Co. took their updated rock version to No. 7 on the Hot 100 for a couple of weeks in late June 1982.

Other covers on the album include “Nag” (a 1961 hit by the Bronx doo-wop group, The Halos), “Bits And Pieces” (a No. 4 hit by The Dave Clark Five in 1964), “You’re Too Possessive” (written by Joan Jett, but originally recorded by The Runaways) and her kick-ass rockin’ version of the Christmas staple “Little Drummer Boy,” which was always a staple on my STUCK IN THE 80s holiday shows every year. 

Later editions of the I LOVE ROCK ’N ROLL album would also include popular covers of Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues” and Richard Berry’s “Louie Louie,” popularized by The Kingsmen in 1963.

I’m actually blessed to own 2 copies of the I LOVE ROCK ’N ROLL album – the one released before Christmas 1981 with “Little Drummer Boy,” and the one released after Christmas, with the Joan Jett composition, “Oh Woe Is Me.”  Other Joan Jett originals on the album include “Love Is Pain,” “Victim Of Circumstance,” “You’re Too Possessive,” and “Be Straight,” which was co-written with Greg Kihn and sounds like a cross between The Soft Boys’ “Wey Wey Hep Uh Hole” and Bow Wow Wow’s “I Want Candy.”

The popularity of I LOVE ROCK ’N ROLL invigorated new life into Joan Jett’s previous album, BAD REPUTATION, and her brilliant cover of Gary Glitter’s 1973 hit, “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah),” which spent 3 weeks at No. 20 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in September / October 1982.

Joan Jett has released 11 more studio albums since I LOVE ROCK ’N ROLL, and hit the Top 40 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 6 more times.  She’s also delved into acting, including 1987’s LIGHT OF DAY film with Michael J. Fox, appeared in the 2000 Broadway production of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW as Columbia, and recently made an appearance as herself on both the new Denis Leary show, SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL, and on the new TV series, THE MUPPETS.

My dear friend, Michelle, once said to me (the year we met in 1994), “You’re original at being nostalgic.”  It’s one of the best compliments I’ve even been given. I think the same could be said about Joan Jett and how she can take a cover song and make it her own, whether it’s Arrows, Tommy James, The Dave Clark Five, Sly & The Family Stone (“Everyday People”), Bruce Springsteen (“Light Of Day”), Jonathan Richman (“Roadrunner”), Missing Persons (“Destination Unknown”) or AC/DC (“Dirty Deeds”).

This year, Joan will be on tour with Heart and Cheap Trick, and I hope to be there.  Her last album, UNVARNISHED, was released in 2013, and I wasn’t able to find any info on whether or not she and her band, The Blackhearts, are going into the studio anytime soon, before or after the tour, but even if she doesn’t, I have many memories of the album where she got me and 10 million others to proclaim, “I LOVE ROCK ’N ROLL!”  And, whenever Joan sang those words, even though they weren’t initially her own, you believed her…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiegZra59uw