(real) one-hit wonder of the week – “Axel F” | HAROLD FALTERMEYER | 1985.

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, I’ll highlight a (real) one-hit wonder for you.

Released in December 1984, the critically-acclaimed film BEVERLY HILLS COP not only shot Eddie Murphy into superstardom, the action comedy was one of the biggest films of the 1980s, and for nearly 20 years, it was the biggest R-rated film of all-time (today, it’s ranked at No. 7). 

BEVERLY HILLS COP was even nominated for an Academy Award (Best Original Screenplay), two Golden Globe Awards, and won a Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Score Album.  Thirteen people shared that Grammy Award, including Keith Forsey (Billy Idol, THE BREAKFAST CLUB score) and a Munich, Germany-born musician, composer and producer – Harold Faltermeyer.

Harold Faltermeyer has scored nearly 20 films, including BEVERLY HILLS COP II, FLETCH, THE RUNNING MAN, THIEF OF HEARTS and TOP GUN (both with Giorgio Moroder), and contributed to several more, including MIDNIGHT EXPRESS and AMERICAN GIGOLO (again, with Giorgio Moroder).  But, Harold Faltermeyer didn’t get his start in films.  Over the years, he’s worked as a songwriter, producer, arranger, musician and remixer for artists like The Sylvers, Janis Ian, Sparks, Laura Branigan, Billy Idol, Pet Shop Boys and Bonnie Tyler. 

What started as a 1978 trip to Los Angeles to help Giorgio Moroder with the MIDNIGHT EXPRESS soundtrack turned into a 10-year collaboration between Giorgio Moroder and Harold Faltermeyer.  In 1979, Harold was involved with Giorgio on the making of BAD GIRLS, the double album by the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer.  Harold co-wrote five songs on the the album, including the first single, “Hot Stuff.” 

“Hot Stuff” was a massive hit that spent 3 weeks at No. 1 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 and 14 weeks in the Top 10.  For 4 of those weeks, “Hot Stuff” and 5-week No. 1 “Bad Girls” (which Harold Faltermeyer arranged) were in the Top 3 simultaneously.

In 1984 and 1985, Harold got his big break with the BEVERLY HILLS COP soundtrack.  In addition to scoring the film, Harold also co-wrote (with Keith Forsey) Glenn Frey’s hit from the film, “The Heat Is On” (which spent a week at No. 2 on the Hot 100 in March 1985) and “Axel F,” the Synthpop instrumental theme from the film.

Sticking bananas in the tailpipe of an unmarked police vehicle – the inspiration behind the instrumental “Axel F.”

Originally referred to by Harold Faltermeyer as “the banana theme” (“You’re not gonna fall for the banana in the tailpipe?!”), “Axel F” (short for Eddie Murphy’s character, Axel Foley) was a huge hit in its own right, spending three weeks at No. 3 on the Hot 100 in June 1985 (held out of the top spot by two big No. 1 songs – “Everything She Wants” by Wham! and “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” by Tears For Fears).

Around the globe, “Axel F” was a huge hit, reaching No. 1 in Holland and Ireland, and the Top 10 in the U.K., Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and Switzerland, plus No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart AND Adult Contemporary chart (no easy feat), and No. 13 on the R&B chart.

In 2005, “Axel F” became a massive hit again, this time in the form of a novelty song by Crazy Frog (also known as the “Crazy Frog Song” – some of my youngest nieces enjoyed that version, God help me).  Somehow, this version was even bigger than the original, reaching No. 1 in 11 countries, while here in the U.S., it stopped (thankfully) at No. 50.

Most recently, Harold Faltermeyer scored – at the request of one of my all-time favorite directors, Kevin Smith – the 2010 film, COP OUT, starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan.

Though “Axel F” was Harold only American hit, he did reach No. 1 on the Hot 100 one more time as a writer, on Bob Seger’s “Shakedown” (from BEVERLY HILLS COP II; co-written with Bob Seger and Keith Forsey).  It was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

Now 63, Harold Faltermeyer’s been pretty quiet for the past several years, but to me, he’ll always be a hit-writing, film-scoring, Synthpop pioneer, and the lone hit under his own name lives on for eternity through one of THE best films ever, by way of a banana…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx2gvHjNhQ0

song of the day – “Beat’s So Lonely” | CHARLIE SEXTON | 1986.

Today, Saturday, August 6, 2016, is the seventh anniversary of the passing the brilliant writer / producer / director / 80s film hero and a personal hero of mine, John Hughes.  John was in NYC when he died of a heart attack at the far too young age of 59.

Over the past 20 years on my little 80s radio show, STUCK IN THE 80s (on WMPG community radio in Portland, Maine), there have been various tributes to John and the music from his films.  On the Sunday following his passing in 2009, I vowed to dedicate a show every August as a tribute to John.  On Sunday, August 7, 2016, it will be my eighth and last John Hughes tribute on STUCK IN THE 80s and WMPG.

One song that has made it on to nearly every tribute show I’ve done for John is a song that appeared in a brief but pivotal scene in 1987’s SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL (which John wrote and produced), and wasn’t on the soundtrack – “Beat’s So Lonely” by Charlie Sexton.

In his early days, the San Antonio, Texas native was taught (along with his brother Will) how to play guitar by the “Godfather of Austin Blues,” W.C. Clark.  In 1982, not quite 14 years old, “Little Charlie” Sexton played a number of dates with the Joe Ely Band after that band’s guitarist broke some bones in his hand.

Charlie’s impressive guitar work was already legendary, especially for such a young man, and in 1985, then just 16 years old, he released his first album, PICTURES FOR PLEASURE.  On the album, Charlie Sexton merged Rock and Blues with New Wave, and instantly drew comparisons to David Bowie and Billy Idol (Keith Forsey, Billy’s longtime producer and collaborator – and the man who scored the John Hughes classic, THE BREAKFAST CLUB – produced PICTURES FOR PLEASURE).

The lone single from the album, “Beat’s So Lonely,” debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in mid-December 1985 and took its time climbing the chart, reaching the Top 40 two months later.  In early April 1986, (and a statistic only a singles chart nerd like myself can prolly appreciate), a then-17-year-old Charlie Sexton spent his third week at No. 17 (in its 17th chart week on the Hot 100) with “Beat’s So Lonely.”  And, after that, for 24 years, Charlie Sexton was a (real) one-hit wonder of the 80s.

Then, in 2010, following the devastating Haiti earthquake, Charlie appeared on a cover version of Leonard Cohen’s eternal “Hallelujah” with Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris on the HOPE FOR HAITI NOW compilation, to benefit those affected by the earthquake. “Hallelujah” was one of 19 performances from the live telethon, which also included folks like Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Madonna, Bono, The Edge and Stevie Wonder.  That version of “Hallelujah” reached No. 13 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 and was the most-downloaded song from the album.

Charlie Sexton and David Bowie on stage together, 1987.

Charlie Sexton has released a total of four albums between 1985 and 2005, but he’s remained busy.  He performed in the brilliant 1991 Ridley Scott film, THELMA & LOUISE, and contributed to the soundtrack.  He was also a guitarist for Bob Dylan’s backing band from 1999 to 2002, and again from 2009 to 2012. 

To this day, Charlie continues to perform, supports other musicians such as Eric Clapton and Spoon, and has even done some more acting, appearing in the 2014 Richard Linklater film, BOYHOOD, nominated for six Academy Awards and picking up a win for Best Supporting Actress, Patricia Arquette.

Charlie Sexton, in a scene from the 2014 film, BOYHOOD.

And on this day, yeah, the beat is lonelier without John Hughes around, but every time I play songs like Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” Oingo Boingo’s “Weird Science,” “Pretty In Pink” by The Psychedelic Furs, “Tenderness” by General Public, “If You Were Here” by Thompson Twins, OMD’s “If You Leave” or this gem by Charlie Sexton, I know the beat of John Hughes is still there, and as long as people keep playing the music from his films, and watching those amazing films, the beat will always be there, and maybe, not so lonely…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCRtHVEroQ0