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 – “Heart Of Glass” | BLONDIE | 1978 / 1979.

Happy 2019!  I hope this young year is treating you all well so far! 

Today, January 3, 2019, is a special day in music history, as it marks the 40th anniversary of the release of one of the most prolific and most memorable and downright cool singles of all time – “Heart Of Glass” by Blondie.

The “Heart Of Glass” 7″ single.

Founded by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein back in 1974, Blondie built up a following in places like the U.K. and Australia, but it took the New York Punk and early New Wave band four years and three albums to finally make it in their home country. 

Blondie’s third studio album, PARALLEL LINES, was released in late September 1978, but it took awhile to catch on here in America.  The first two singles off the album, “Picture This” and “Hanging On The Telephone,” were U.K. hits.  By the time “Heart Of Glass” was released on January 3, 1979, Blondie had already picked up three Top 10 U.K. hits out of four chart singles.  Back here in America, Blondie had yet to crack the BILLBOARD Hot 100.

The origins of “Heart Of Glass” began during the first year of Blondie, when Debbie Harry and Chris Stein wrote an early version of the song, called “Once I Had A Love.”  It was a slower version, then more funky than disco-sounding, and it was inspired by the 1974 song “Rock The Boat” by The Hues Corporation, which is regarded by many as the first-ever disco song to ever hit No. 1.

Mike Chapman and Debbie Harry hamming it up.

When popular producer Mike Chapman came on board to produce PARALLEL LINES, things started coming together for Blondie.  Mike Chapman produced for many successful artists and produced and/or wrote or co-wrote many singles in the 70s and 80s, such as artists like Sweet, Suzi Quatro, The Knack, Tina Turner, and songs like Exile’s “Kiss You All Over,” Nick Gilder’s “Hot Child In The City,” Toni Basil’s “Mickey” (all No. 1 hits), Huey Lewis And The News’ “Heart And Soul,” Bow Wow Wow’s “Do Ya Wanna Hold Me” and Pat Benatar’s “Love Is A Battlefield”

The early version of “Heart Of Glass” was the last song Blondie presented to Mike Chapman, which appealed to him.  Different versions of the song were tried out, none of them working, and Debbie Harry was getting frustrated.  But Mike Chapman was focused.  He knew the song was something special, or could be.  And he asked her, “Debbie, what kind of music that’s happening right now really turns you on.”  Debbie said, “Donna Summer.”  Then Mike responded, “OK, then how about us treating this song like it was meant for Donna Summer?”  And, by way of the Giorgio Moroder-produced 1977 masterpiece, “I Feel Love” (which Blondie performed in concert for the first time in May 1978, and did again when Maryhope and I saw them in August 2017), “Once I Had A Love” transformed into “Heart Of Glass.”

I’m not sure if Mike Chapman or the band knew that “Heart Of Glass” would become a part of music history, because, oddly enough, on the track listing of the album, “Heart Of Glass” was relegated to the (normally filler) fourth song (of six) on Side 2 of PARALLEL LINES.  But, then again, PARALLEL LINES is not something I would call “filler.”

Maybe the answer of the song’s placement on the album comes from Chris Stein, who didn’t think it would as big as it was.  He once said, “We only did it as a novelty to put more diversity into the album” (which is prolly why it ended up buried on the second side of PARALLEL LINES).

Less than a month after the release of “Heart Of Glass,” fans’ hearts were full of love for the song in the U.K., and it spent the entire month of February 1979 at No. 1 on that singles chart, their first U.K. No. 1 single (of six).

From the “Heart Of Glass” music video.

Over here in the U.S., Blondie entered the BILLBOARD Hot 100 for the very first time, as “Heart Of Glass” debuted six weeks after its release, coming in at No. 84. A month later, they blasted into the Top 40, and by early April 1979, had made their way to the Top 10.  By the end of April 1979, “Heart Of Glass” spent its sole week at No. 1 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, and in the process, united Punk and Disco fans alike – no easy trick.

“Heart Of Glass” found much success outside of the U.K. and the U.S., reaching No. 1 in Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and New Zealand (where it was the No. 1 song of the year), plus the Top 10 in Belgium, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, South Africa and Sweden. 

One piece of singles chart trivia that boggles my mind is the fact that “Heart Of Glass” was not a big hit on the BILLBOARD Dance chart (then known as the Disco Top 80).  It stopped at No. 58 there.  No worries, though, a 1995 remix of “Heart Of Glass” reached No. 7 on the Dance Club Play chart.

The “Heart Of Glass” 12″ single.

One piece of trivia regarding “Heart Of Glass,” however, I’ll never tire of.  In the first year of my second-favorite TV show ever, WKRP IN CINCINNATI, played “Heart Of Glass” so much on the show, the fictional WKRP was credited on helping the single and PARALLEL LINES do as well as they did, and an official RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) Gold record was presented by Blondie’s label, Chrysalis, to show creator Hugh Wilson.  For the show’s second season through the fourth and final season, you can see the Gold record hanging in the station’s “bullpen.”  Pretty damn cool.

An official Gold record of PARALLEL LINES, proudly hanging on the set of WKRP IN CINCINNATI.

The legacy of “Heart Of Glass” continues all these years later.  In 2010, ROLLING STONE listed “Heart Of Glass” at No. 259 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.  In 2016, PITCHFORK listed it at No. 18 of the best songs of the 1970s, and that same year, “Heart Of Glass” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.  Dozens of covers spanning many genres dating back to 1979 have been released, including versions by late Country guitar legend Chet Atkins, Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, The Bad Plus, Nouvelle Vague, Erasure, and a lovely Jazz Pop vocal cover by The Puppini Sisters back in 2006.

Blondie on the cover of ROLLING STONE, June 1979.

Just this past year, “Heart Of Glass” was ranked at No. 66 among the biggest-selling singles of all-time in the U.K. (and Blondie remains as the all-time biggest-selling American band in the U.K.), and in 2006, Blondie was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.  No doubt “Heart Of Glass” played a big role in that. 

And, to mark the 40th anniversary of “Heart Of Glass,” in October 2018, a new 12” single was released, featuring six different mixes, including the 1975 and 1978 versions of “Once I Had A Love,” two single versions, and the original 12” dance mix and its 12” instrumental counterpart.

The special 2018 EP of “Heart Of Glass.”

You can hear the legacy of “Heart Of Glass” on their latest album, 2017’s brilliant POLLINATOR, especially on the song, “Long Time,” one of my all-time favorite Blondie songs, and probably my favorite song of this decade.  Stephen Thompson of SPIN Magazine praised “Long Time,” and regarding its oft-comparison to “Heart Of Glass,” states it “never feels like a mere rehash, [showing] a future brighter than fans had any right to expect. It’s the best Blondie song in ages and a joy to behold.”  I couldn’t agree more.

Before “Heart Of Glass” was a hit, there was trepidation within Blondie.  Even drummer extraordinaire and original member Clem Burke refused to play it live at first.  But, eventually he gave in.  So did fans who initially thought Blondie sold out.  “Heart Of Glass” has long since been embraced the world over and lives on in radio immortality.  Though it’s not my favorite Blondie song (that distinction goes to 1979’s “Dreaming”), it’s one I’ll always treasure, especially since it introduced me to the band in early 1979. 

So, raise your hearts of glasses up high, and wish “Heart Of Glass” a Happy 40th!    Many of my favorite songs turn 40 this year, but I’m glad you’re the first.  I’ll love you and Blondie forever.

Blondie today, from L to R: Clem Burke, Chris Stein, Leigh Foxx, Debbie Harry, Tommy Kesler and Matt Katz-Bohen.

“Yeah, riding high on love’s true bluish light…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGU_4-5RaxU

Blondie, New York, 1979, from L to R: Clem Burke, Nigel Harrison, Jimmy Destri, Frank Infante, Chris Stein, Debbie Harry.

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