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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amazing artwork of Sadie Sink and Kate Bush.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A STRANGER THINGS poster featuring Max (Sadie Sink).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

From the “Basketball” music video.

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

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

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

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

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

These “Skillz” got Shaq a second gold record.

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

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

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

From the opening of the 2020 Grammy Awards, 1.26.2020.

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

Kurtis Blow at The Hip Hop Church in Harlem.

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

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

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

song of the day – “A Love Bizarre” | SHEILA E. featuring PRINCE | 1985.

More and more lately, I keep coming back to these Classic Rock and these retro radio stations playing “80s and More,” and how they are limiting themselves to the same songs by the same artists that every other station like them always plays.  They always tout variety, and yet, the song(s) remain the same.  And, not in a great Led Zeppelin way either.  And in turn, I’ve been thinking about songs they are not playing, and SHOULD BE playing already.  Damn.

Is it really more, or just the same?

Somewhere in the space and time of radio, some “professional” programmer or programming “team” for a collective of similar radio stations thought that it would be brilliant to play the same select group of artists within a six-hour span, maybe even longer. 

Using an “80s and more” station out of Boston as an example, on Tuesday, December 10th, the same artists are repeated a number of times in just a short six-hour span.  Aerosmith was played three times (understandable since they’re from Boston, but still, is hearing Aerosmith on the same radio station once every two hours necessary?), two Elton John songs were played in an hour, and multiple (male) artists were played twice: Men At Work, The Police, Queen, Billy Joel, Journey, Michael Jackson, Foreigner, Hall & Oates, and fucking Bon Jovi, the band who killed New Wave back in 1986 when “You Give Love A Bad Name” hit No. 1 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (I half joke about that, but it’s true.).

During that same six-hour span, women were represented just nine times, and though all are awesome, the songs are by the same handful of female (or female-driven) artists they always play in heavy rotation: Scandal, Eurythmics, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Pat Benatar, Heart, The Bangles, and three of the same 70s Fleetwood Mac songs everyone plays (did they forget about all of their sweet work in the 80s?  Or “Tusk” from 1979?  Now THAT would kick ass, and would be branching out!).

Radio programmers! Play this song already, dammit!

While Michael Jackson was played a couple times, I didn’t see any other Soul or R&B artists from the 80s OR MORE OR ANY played at all.  No Aretha?  No Donna Summer (from Boston)?  No Blondie?  No Sheila E.?

Sheila E. performing live, 1978.

Sheila E. turns 62 today (December 12), and by the time she branched out on her own in 1983, she had already worked with music R&B and Pop royalty, including the likes of Lionel Richie, Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock, Diana Ross, and she was even a member of The George Duke Band for a few years.

In 1978, the year Prince released his debut album, FOR YOU, he also met Sheila E. (full name Sheila Escovedo) at a concert where she was performing with her father, percussionist Pete Escovedo.  Six years later, 1984 would prove to be a huge year for both of them. 

They teamed up during the PURPLE RAIN recording sessions and sang together on the B-side of “Let’s Go Crazy,” the highly memorable (not to mention one of the best B-sides ever), “Erotic City.”

One of THE BEST (and certainly naughtiest) B-sides EVER.

Working with Prince gave Sheila E. a huge boost to her own career, and just a couple of weeks before the release of PURPLE RAIN, she released her own debut album, THE GLAMOROUS LIFE, which would eventually be certified Gold.  Prince co-produced the album with Sheila E., and wrote the album’s title track, a huge Top 10 hit around the globe.  She also opened for Prince on his PURPLE RAIN tour (THAT would have been a concert to see!).

In late August 1985, Sheila E. released her second album, ROMANCE 1600, again co-produced with Prince (and on Prince’s Warner Bros. imprint, Paisley Park).  By late January 1986, ROMANCE 1600 became another Gold-certified album here in America for Sheila E. 

Fast forward to November 1985, and the funky first single from the album, “A Love Bizarre,” co-written by Prince and Sheila E., and featuring Prince on guitar, bass guitar and backing vocals, was released.  A month earlier, the song was featured in the film, KRUSH GROOVE, starring Sheila E., Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Kurtis Blow, The Fat Boys, New Edition, Rick Rubin and Blair Underwood (who you would later see in TV shows like L.A. LAW and SEX AND THE CITY, and many other films in his long acting career).

Most of the music video for “A Love Bizarre” was taken from the film, and the 3:46 single version was whittled down from the album’s epic 12-minute version.

“A Love Bizarre” debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in mid-November 1985 at No. 84.  After a slow start, “A Love Bizarre” reached the Top 40 in the last week of 1985, and after a steady 16-week climb up the Hot 100, it spent a week at No. 11 in early March 1986.  After 23 weeks, “A Love Bizarre” fell off the chart in mid-April 1986.  It was one of the biggest hits of 1986 here in America.

Around the globe, “A Love Bizarre” found some not-so-bizarre love from Germany and The Netherlands, reaching the Top 10.  It also hit No. 14 in Austria, No. 16 in Switzerland, No. 20 in Canada, and charted in the U.K. as well.  It spent two weeks at No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart, and was her biggest hit on BILLBOARD’s R&B chart, reaching No. 2.

NERDY FUN FACT: In 1987, the late New Age / World singer and guitarist, Michael Hedges, released his much-heralded live album, LIVE ON THE DOUBLE PLANET, and on that album was a spirited acoustic cover of “A Love Bizarre,” performed live in the Spring of 1987 at the University of Maine at Orono, just about 90 minutes north of where I’m typing this.  At the beginning of the song he sings, “A, B… A, B, C, D… Sheila E!”  It was a frequent covers favorite played during the 20-year-plus run of my 80s radio show, STUCK IN THE 80s, and remains as one of my all-time favorite cover songs.

Though Sheila E. never had another big hit, it doesn’t mean she hasn’t been busy.  She appeared in four total movies, toured with Prince on his SIGN “O” THE TIMES and LOVESEXY tours (when she was briefly engaged to Prince during this time), has released eight albums between 1984 and 2017, performed as a member of the “All-Starrs” for three tours as part of Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, played percussion on Phil Collins’ cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors,” and a few years later, played percussion on the Maurice Williams classic, “Stay,” for Cyndi’s brilliant 2003 album of standards,  AT LAST.  She has also provided percussion and/or drums for many motion pictures, including MAN OF STEEL and BATMAN V SUPERMAN.

Sheila E. and Prince, late 80s.

Sheila E. and Prince occasionally got together to perform over the years, and in 2016, following his sad death in April of that year, she released a new song in honor of Prince, called “Girl Meets Boy.”

A 2016 tribute song for Prince.

I still love hearing “The Glamorous Life” on the radio 35 years later, though it’s not played as much as it should be.  But, it’s certainly played more than “A Love Bizarre,” which to this day is highly-regarded as Sheila E.’s signature tune, and yet I NEVER hear it on the radio. 

For those “professional” 80s and retro programmers out there, what in THE H-E-double hockey sticks are you doing?!  What are you waiting for?  I love that Barry Scott’s long-running program, THE LOST 45s, brings some of these big hits, most of which sadly remain lost and forgotten, back to the radio with his wonderful show, but until I can finally get that programmer job I’ve always wanted, radio programmers need to please please please show Sheila E. some birthday love and highly regard “A Love Bizarre.”  Not only does it kick much ass, but NOT showing this song any love IS truly bizarre.

Happy Birthday, Sheila E.!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56gpwl6cohc

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

(real) one-hit wonder of the week – “Love Plus One” | HAIRCUT ONE HUNDRED | 1982.

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

This morning (11.4.2019), Maryhope texted me in all caps, RONALD WAKE UP PEOPLE ON TWITTER ARE ARGUING ABOUT ONE-HIT WONDERS!!!

Whenever I hear about one-hit wonders in the media (like National One-Hit Wonder Day on September 25), or social media (like on Twitter this morning), I tend to cringe.  Because everyone who knows me well knows I am a singles chart nerd of epic 80s proportions and I am passionate about the subject of one-hit wonders, or namely, those artists who are continually labeled as one-hit wonders who had more than one hit on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.

The Bangles: “We had more than one hit, dammit!”

“One-hit wonder” artists, or rather, “Forgotten one-hit wonders” as mentioned on the Twitter today, included The Bangles, who had not one, but two No. 1 songs on the Hot 100 (“Walk Like An Egyptian” and “Eternal Flame”), in addition to three other Top 5 singles, starting with their first chart hit, the Prince-composed “Manic Monday.”  Kinda feels like a Manic Monday with all of these crazy tweets about what people consider are one-hit wonders.

Other artists mentioned are the usual band of oft-mistaken one-hit wonders (forgotten or not) here in America: a-ha, Dead Or Alive, Terence Trent D’Arby, The Dream Academy, Eddy Grant, Fine Young Cannibals and Men Without Hats, all who had multiple Top 40 hits on the Hot 100.

a-ha: “We, too, had more than one hit in America, Jäklar!”

I have loved radio for 40 years, and I have been a part of radio (mostly community radio) for nearly 35 years, but a part of commercial radio that has always bothered me is how, somewhere over the course of time, radio programmers have chosen to just forget that many of these artists had more than one hit, and it somehow becomes radio law?  To quote Prince’s brilliant “Housequake” from his equally brilliant SIGN “O” THE TIMES album, BULLSHIT!.  Maybe that’s one reason commercial radio hasn’t been a fit for me.  Because I can’t get behind that. 

I get it.  Radio time on Classic Rock stations and the like is valuable.  “All the hits and nothing more right here on WTF-FM!”  For what it’s worth, I’m here to lobby for all those artists who are always misrepresented with the one big hit and who had more than the one big hit that people are forced to remember and nothing more. 

I’m also here to lobby on behalf of the nearly 500 (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s, those artists who just had the one hit on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.  Some of the tweets today got a few right, like The Buggles, Nena, The Vapors, and even The California Raisins. 

One of my all-time favorite (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s is British New Wavers Haircut One Hundred.  Formed in Beckingham (in Greater London) in 1980 by lead vocalist and guitarist Nick Heyward and bassist Les Nemes, it didn’t take long for the six-man band for their sort of Jazzy / New Wave combo to catch on in their native U.K.

They were quickly signed to Arista Records in 1981, and in October of that year, released their first single, “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl).”  In late 1981, that horn and percussion-heavy debut single (described as “Jazz-Funk”) turned into a No. 4 U.K. hit, and was certified Silver in the U.K., selling more than 200,000 copies.

In January 1982, the next single for Haircut One Hundred, “Love Plus One,” was released a month in advance of their debut album, PELICAN WEST, with every song written or co-written by Nick Heyward. 

Ian Birch of SMASH HITS magazine called the single “a nifty mover with plenty of interesting details” and predicted it would chart higher than “Favourite Shirts” did.  He was right.  “Love Plus One” was an instant hit on the U.K. singles chart, reaching No. 3 and was certified Gold with over 400,000 copies sold.

The huge success of the band’s first two singles propelled the PELICAN WEST album to even greater success, reaching No. 2 on the U.K. album chart and it was certified Platinum.

Over here in America, or at least in 1982, music from away sometimes take awhile to catch on and reach the States, and in most cases (not always), it works out.  “Love Plus One” debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in late May 1982, four months after its initial release.

The U.K. 12″ single of “Love Plus One.”

It took its time climbing the Hot 100, but “Love Plus One” eventually reached the Top 40 in mid-July 1982, peaked at No. 37 a few weeks later, and spent 17 weeks on the Hot 100, departing the chart in early September 1982. 

Haircut One Hundred would not grace the Hot 100 again.  However, “Love Plus One” did cross over to BILLBOARD’s Mainstream Rock chart (No. 18) and BILLBOARD’s Dance chart (No. 8).  It also reached the Top 3 in Canada and France.  The success of “Love Plus One” also brought success to PELICAN WEST on the BILLBOARD album chart.

NERDY FUN FACT: If it wasn’t for One Hundred and One, Haircut One Hundred might not have been a (real) one-hit wonder here in America.  “Favourite Shirts” just missed the Hot 100 in 1981, stopping at No. 101.

The overall success of Haircut One Hundred, however, was sadly short-lived.  They did reach the Top 10 of the U.K. singles chart with their next two singles, 1982’s “Fantastic Day” (from PELICAN WEST) and “Nobody’s Fool.”

Their next single, “Whistle Down The Wind,” was postponed in early 1983, and it was announced that Nick Heyward was leaving Haircut One Hundred for a solo career.  Nick would go on to have a long solo career, with nine albums released between 1983 and 2017, and reached the Top 40 in the U.K. with six times, led by the aforementioned “Whistle Down The Wind,” which you can hear during one of the dance scenes in the 1984 John Hughes classic, SIXTEEN CANDLES.

Haircut One Hundred, meanwhile, tried to carry on without Nick Heyward, but with their lead singer and primary songwriter gone, also gone was the chemistry.  In 1984, they released an album called PAINT AND PAINT, which was not well-received and sealed the fate of the band for 20 years.

In 2004, Nick Heyward reunited with Haircut One Hundred on VH1’s BANDS REUNITED show, and performed again from 2009 through 2013.  While no new Haircut One Hundred albums are in the works, in a 2017 interview with BBC Radio 4, Nick Heyward said he “has a deep love for the band,” and he is “ever hopeful” for a reunion show. 

In the meantime, I am forever grateful that Haircut One Hundred, one of my all-time favorite (real) one-hit wonders, gave us the gorgeous “Love Plus One,” one of my all-time favorite songs ever…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_msHpEa3_Y

(real) one-hit wonder of the week – “White Horse” | LAID BACK | 1984.

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

When it comes to music from Denmark, you don’t really hear about Danish acts making much noise here in America.  But, it occasionally does happen.  In 1997, the Bubblegum Pop band Aqua had a big Top 10 earworm with “Barbie Girl.”  In 2003, the Danish Pop-Dance duo who called themselves Junior Senior had a huge European hit with the catchy “Move Your Feet” (which danced its way to a number of American commercials and on the BILLBOARD Dance chart, and quickly onto my music library as well).

The only other act from Denmark that comes to mind for me is Laid Back, a duo from Copenhagen who formed in 1979 and who have a talent for seamlessly moving from one genre to another without missing a beat, going from Electronic and Synthpop to Funk to Post-Disco to New Wave.

Laid Back is John Guldberg (vocals / guitar / bass) and Tim Stahl (vocals / keyboards / drums / bass), and they are still together after 40 years!  Their debut single in 1980, “Maybe I’m Crazy,” went straight to No. 1 in their homeland of Denmark, but global success would elude them for awhile.  In 1983, their second album, KEEP SMILING, was released.  The first single from the album (released in advance of the record) was “Sunshine Reggae.”  This time, it not only reached No. 1 in Denmark, but it also reached No. 1 in Austria and spent six weeks at No. 1 in Germany, as well as Top 10 rankings in Belgium, The Netherlands and Switzerland.

Over here in America, however, the global hit single “Sunshine Reggae” was not embraced at all.  Radio and club DJs around the U.S.A. instead decided to embrace the Funk-influenced, New Wave Dance-driven B-side of “Sunshine Reggae,” “White Horse,” which led the song to be re-released as its own A-sided single in late 1983.

It didn’t take long for “White Horse” to reach No. 1 on the BILLBOARD Dance chart in February 1984, where it stayed on top for three weeks.  Over on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, “White Horse” debuted at No. 85 at the end of February 1984, sandwiched between Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For A Hero” and The Romantics’ “One In A Million.”  “White Horse” galloped off to a slow start, but would end up surpassing those two songs on the Hot 100 in the coming weeks.

It took “White Horse” 10 weeks of steadily climbing the BILLBOARD Hot 100 to finally reach the Top 40.  The following week, it climbed a fast 10 spots to No. 27 (keeping the pace of Duran Duran’s “The Reflex”), but the next week, in mid-May 1984, it inched up just one spot to No. 26, where it stayed for a couple of weeks before falling out of the Top 40.  “White Horse” spent a total of 18 weeks on the Hot 100 before falling out the end of June 1984. 

Even though the 5:45 12” and 4:42 album versions (which featured the word “bitch” used about half a dozen times), were trimmed down to a clean three-and-a-half minute single edit, some cite the quick peak of “White Horse” based on the lyrics and the subject matter (which has “the white horse” and “the white pony” as references to heroin and cocaine use).  ROLLING STONE once described “White Horse” as prolly “the most unconvincing anti-drug song of all-time.”  And co-writer Tim Stahl once said, “Another cute anecdote about the song was when we got a letter from a little girl in Jutland [Denmark] in 1983, thanking us for making a song for her white pony.”  Aaaah, youth…

Around the globe, “White Horse” reached No. 15 in the Netherlands, No. 18 in Belgium, No. 28 in Canada, No. 49 in New Zealand, and over on BILLBOARD’s R&B chart, it reached an impressive peak of No. 5.

NERDY FUN FACT: Perhaps it was that No. 5 R&B peak that piqued Prince’s interest in the song.  According to the 2017 book about Prince by author Ben Greenman, DIG IF YOU WILL THE PICTURE: FUNK, SEX, GOD, AND GENIUS IN THE MUSIC OF PRINCE, the synth line in “Erotic City” was “inspired by, if not borrowed from” “White Horse.”  I never made the connection before, but I can hear it now.

Though “White Horse” was Laid Back’s only BILLBOARD Hot 100 hit, the duo remains together today and have released many albums and compilations over the years, with 2013’s UPTIMISTIC MUSIC being their most recent album.  They even won the Danish equivalent of an Academy Award, a Robert, for composing the 2001 soundtrack for the film, FLYVENDE FARMOR.

I mentioned / half-joked about the word “youth” a few paragraphs ago.  That term hits home for me as well.  I was 17 years and two weeks old when “White Horse” was a hit here in America.  It was actually the No. 1 Dance song in America on my 17th birthday.  And, you know, at 17, I didn’t care or think or know anything about the song being drug-related.  All I thought was that it was a cool, quirky, kick-ass, Funky-meets-New Wave Dance song that didn’t sound like anything else on the radio at the time.  And, 35 years later, I still think it’s a cool, quirky, kick-ass, Funky-meets-New Wave Dance song that doesn’t sound like anything else out there, and somehow managed to be a hit for a little while…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlYJf6CJXV8

song of the day – “Housequake” | PRINCE | 1987.

It’s hard to believe that April 21, 2019 marked the third anniversary of the passing of Prince.  But, for me and for Maryhope, and for millions of fans around the globe, he still holds a place in our hearts and iPods and Spotify playlists and record collections and radio shows and then some.  And it was a Spotify playlist that inspired renewed interest in “Housequake,” from Prince’s 1987 double-album masterpiece, SIGN “O” THE TIMES.

The full album cover of Prince’s SIGN “O” THE TIMES.

I absolutely love and adore Prince & The Revolution’s brilliant PURPLE RAIN soundtrack, and always will, but it’s SIGN “O” THE TIMES that remains as my favorite album from him, for 16 different and wonderful reasons.  “Housequake” is one of those reasons.  And, excitedly, I’m not alone with my praise for this album.  It was Prince’s masterpiece in the eyes of many in the industry. 

In 1989, TIME OUT magazine called it the greatest album of all time, while that same year, The Cure’s Robert Smith said SIGN “O” THE TIMES was one of the best things about the 80s.  Dublin’s HOT PRESS magazine ranked the album No. 3 on their list of the 100 Best Albums Of All Time,  No. 16 on the same list for Britain’s NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS (NME), No. 8 on SPIN’s list of the 100 Greatest Albums (1985-2005), and in 2003, SIGN “O” THE TIMES was ranked at No. 93 on ROLLING STONE’s list of The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time.

For years now, Maryhope and I have been creating and sharing playlists with each other, and at the beginning of this year, I created one of the best playlists I’ve ever put together, titled after a fun 2003 song called “Hip Hip Chin Chin,” by Nu Jazz and Lounge act Club des Belugas, based out of Germany.  For someone who programmed a weekly radio show for over 20 years, comparatively, this 27-song playlist took me three weeks to get right.  But it worked — and included the likes of the Incredible Bongo Band, Kool & The Gang, INXS, The Stone Roses, Big Audio Dynamite, Beastie Boys, Wu-Tang Clan, Grace Jones, Janet Jackson, Björk, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie and Blondie.

This is the cover art for a Spotify playlist I put together back in January 2019 for the new year.

Maryhope told me the one thing missing from this awesome playlist was Prince.  In response, I put together a kickass 40-song all-Prince playlist called “that skinny MOTHERFUNKER with the high voice,” paraphrased from a line Prince described himself as in “Bob George,” from Prince’s controversial (and limited) release, THE BLACK ALBUM.  I think it took just a day or two to put that Prince playlist together.  “Housequake” was the fifth song I put on the list.

Originally the B-side of Prince’s No. 2 hit with Sheena Easton, “U Got The Look,” Prince started recording “Housequake” the day after he announced the breakup of The Revolution.  He called “Housequake” (in most-likely a post-Revolution musical statement) a “brand-new groove.”  And it’s one of four songs on SIGN “O” THE TIMES (including “U Got The Look”) to feature Prince with sped-up vocals as his alter-ego of that time, Camille.

In his altered high voice, Prince’s “Housequake” starts with a resounding “Shut up already!  Damn!” (which he brilliantly repeats at the end of the song in his normal speaking voice).  “Housequake” could very well be an homage to James Brown, and inspired actor Chris Tucker’s character of Ruby Rhod (especially the high voice) 10 years later in the brilliant 1997 Bruce Willis film, THE FIFTH ELEMENT.  And, HOLY CATS!  Something I just learned TONIGHT (which blows my mind and explains a lot about Chris Tucker’s performance), was that French director Luc Besson said Prince was actually supposed to play Ruby Rhod, and Prince even met with French clothing designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, but in the end, Prince wasn’t able to sort out his tour schedule with the shooting schedule. 

HOLY CATS!  Prince’s proposed outfit by designer Jean-Paul Gaultier,  if he had appeared as Ruby Rhod in THE FIFTH ELEMENT.

Aided by the fun and Electro-Funk of “Housequake,” are the huge talents provided by Jazz trumpeter Atlanta Bliss, and saxophonist Eric Leeds, who both worked with Prince post-Revolution.

Prince was apparently a fan of playing “Housequake” live, and while it was never officially released as a single, on the 12” single version of “U Got The Look,” Prince also released an extended version of “Housequake” (Prince had a history of putting extended B-sides on his 12” singles.  I don’t recall any other artist or band who ever did that!  Genius!).

An alt-backing cover of “U Got The Look” featuring “Housequake” as the B-side.

“Housequake” might not be one of Prince’s most-remembered songs, but it’s a huge favorite of mine, and now Maryhope’s.  And, I did end up putting “Housequake” at the end of that HIP HIP CHIN CHIN Spotify playlist, because, as she has rightfully said, “no one can follow Prince.”

Prince, performing “Housequake” live in 1987.

Miss you Prince, wherever you are.  And thanks for always getting our groove on and thanks for your delivery of four words that will always make us laugh every time you say them, in any voice:

“Shut up already.  Damn.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd9v8eJ_8Ow

Prince, 1987.

song of the day – “Dazzle” | SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES | 1984.

I was quite late jumping on to the Siouxsie And The Banshees train.  I was a fan of Top 40 music for many years, before branching out in 1987 (thanks to my new friend, Michael) into more Alternative music (called Modern Rock back in the day). 

The memory in my ginormous melon is a bit fuzzy on this, but I honestly believe my first introduction to Siouxsie And The Banshees was with 1988’s “Peek-A-Boo.”  The band had been together for 12 years at that point, and had been releasing music for 10 years. 

While American college radio had been enjoying the London band’s first eight studio albums and one live album, commercial American radio was late in hopping aboard on the Siouxsie train as well.  By 1988, Siouxsie Sioux and Co. had racked up 14 Top 40 hits in their U.K. homeland, while “Peek-A-Boo” was their first American hit.

The following year, The Creatures (a side project away from The Banshees featuring Siouxsie Sioux and drummer Budgie) released their second album, BOOMERANG, and I fell in love with the remixes of the gorgeous, pulsating “Standing There,” and the fun, playful “Fury Eyes.”  I still have the CD single.

The Creatures (Siouxsie and Budgie), 1989.

From there, my love for the music of Siouxsie And The Banshees only grew.  Unlike 1989’s brilliant BATMAN, which featured an incredible score by Danny Elfman and songs by Prince, 1992’s BATMAN RETURNS primarily featured Danny Elfman’s score throughout the film, but with a lone song featured in the movie – the stunning and haunting “Face To Face.”  That song was co-written by Siouxsie And The Banshees and Danny Elfman, who orchestrated the song, and which was produced by Portland, Maine native, Stephen Hague.

Later that year, their second singles compilation, TWICE UPON A TIME: THE SINGLES, was released, and I was able to catch up some with the band that had eluded me for so long.  And by the time my STUCK IN THE 80s program first aired in 1996, Siouxsie And The Banshees became a regular staple throughout the show’s nearly 21 years.

It’s funny how you can love a band for so long, but become enamored with certain tracks much later after you discover them.  That happened with me and 1984’s “Dazzle.”  From their sixth studio album, HYÆNA(their only album to feature The Cure’s Robert Smith, on guitars and keyboards), “Dazzle” was dazzling from the start.  The band recruited a 27-piece orchestra by the name of the “Chandos Players,” which played strings from a piece written by Siouxsie Sioux that originated on piano (which itself was originally called “Baby Piano”).

From there, “Dazzle” thrusts itself into an incredible anthematic marriage of pounding drums and guitars and strings, complimented by Siouxsie Sioux’s stirring vocals, enhanced with the perfect amount of reverb.

In a 1984 MELODY MAKER review of HYÆNA by critic Steve Sutherland, “Dazzle” was referred to as “naively daring.  Siouxsie’s voice, framed alone against the firmament of strings.  It could be [Andrew] Lloyd Webber’s CATS or something by Vaughn Williams.  You can get impressed, wrapped up and lost in this.” 

The U.K. 12″ of “Dazzle,” featuring the beautiful 7-minute Glamour Mix.

From a review of the 25th anniversary reissue of the album, “[HYÆNA] was [Siouxsie And The Banshees’] most experimental work, [Robert] Smith’s presence is keenly felt on the disciplined execution of the grandiose ‘Dazzle’” (which Robert Smith co-wrote with the band).  “Dazzle” became the band’s 11th Top 40 U.K. hit (out of 18 total, between 1978 and 1994).

Eve since I’ve known the dazzling Maryhope, “Dazzle” has always been a huge part of playlists for any of her incredible radio shows on WMPG, and was on her playlist for the first time she filled in for me on STUCK IN THE 80s in late July 2006, not long after I had met her. 

The July 30, 2006 playlist from the first time Maryhope filled on STUCK IN THE 80s. As you can see, it kicked much ass.

And because of Maryhope, I latched onto a song I had known for years but didn’t latch on to initially for whatever reason.  “Dazzle” may not be as well known as “Cities In Dust” or “Peek-A-Boo” or “Kiss Them For Me,” but it’s one of my favorite Siouxsie And The Banshees songs, and will dazzle for years to come.  You should revisit it if you haven’t heard it in awhile.  You’ll be dazzled too… 

The dazzling Maryhope, Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, ME, 10.09.17.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94wZxJBbv3g

Siouxsie And The Banshees with The Cure’s Robert Smith, 1984.

song of the day – “Abracadabra” | STEVE MILLER BAND | 1982.

Waiting for the real Colin Hay to begin, Rockland, Maine, 8.16.2017. He was, of course, fantastic and soulful.

Hey everyone!  Thanks so much for being patient with me, as I’ve taken an unexpected (but quite enjoyable) absence from the bloggy thing since the end of July.  There’s been work stuff, home stuff, I had a fun time attending concerts featuring Blondie, the 80s Retro Futura Tour (including Howard Jones, Modern English, Men Without Hats, Paul Young, Katrina of Katrina And The Waves, and The English Beat!), and most recently, seeing the wonderful Colin Hay in beautiful Rockland, Maine. 

I’ve also been spending a lot of quality time with the incredible and awesome Hope, my superfriend, sassy radio co-host and writing hero, which included a swim in the cold Atlantic Ocean here in Maine that changed me forever.  There’s a lot more to say, and I will, in a post coming soon that will be about Hope and that swim in the ocean and much more!  And Hope comes up again later in this post, so stay tuned!!

That’s the absolutely lovely HopeyT and me, Kettle Cove State Park, Cape Elizabeth, Maine, 9.2.2017!

When I started my tribute to my radio hero, Casey Kasem, back on June 1, school was in session and Summer was weeks away.  Well, it’s now September 9, 2017, school is back in session and Fall is less than two weeks away.  I’ve had fun bringing you this tribute to Casey (who passed away in June 2014 at the age of 82), and wanted to make sure (1) you all didn’t think I would hold out on the Number One song of this tribute, and (2) that I get this in ASAFP, because what’s a Top 40 countdown without a Number One song?

Much like AMERICAN TOP 40, this post will be full of nerdy chart facts and then some, but first, I wanted to recap the songs I’ve posted in this series so far.  These songs (which include five (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s), are ranked at the positions they peaked at on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (with peak year), and though they do not represent a definitive Top 40 list for me, but I love all of them, and hope you’ve enjoyed reading about them!

40. CLONES (WE’RE ALL) – ALICE COOPER (1980)

39. SLIPPING AWAY – DAVE EDMUNDS (1983)

38. PROMISES IN THE DARK – PAT BENATAR (1981)

37. WHISPER TO A SCREAM (BIRDS FLY) – ICICLE WORKS (1984; (real) one-hit wonder of the 80s)

36. SOMETIMES A FANTASY – BILLY JOEL (1980)

35. FAKE FRIENDS – JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS (1983)

34. ME MYSELF AND I – DE LA SOUL (1989)

33. PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) – U2 (1984)

32. VALLEY GIRL – FRANK & MOON ZAPPA (1982)

31. (GHOST) RIDERS IN THE SKY – THE OUTLAWS (1981)

30. LIES – THOMPSON TWINS (1983)

29. TURN UP THE RADIO – AUTOGRAPH (1985; (real) one-hit wonder of the 80s)

28. POINT OF NO RETURN – NU SHOOZ (1986)

27. THE RIGHT THING – SIMPLY RED (1987)

26. NOT JUST ANOTHER GIRL – IVAN NEVILLE (1988)

25. TAKE ME WITH YOU – PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION featuring APOLLONIA (1985)

24. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER – BLONDIE (1979)

23. YOU CAN CALL ME AL – PAUL SIMON (1986 / 1987)

22. AIN’T NOBODY – RUFUS & CHAKA KHAN (1983)

21. FOOL IN THE RAIN – LED ZEPPELIN (1980)

20. OUR LIPS ARE SEALED – THE GO-GO’S (1982)

19. PUSH IT – SALT-N-PEPA (1988)

18. LET ME TICKLE YOUR FANCY – JERMAINE JACKSON with DEVO (1982)

17. YOU ARE THE GIRL – THE CARS (1987)

16. HOLIDAY – MADONNA (1984)

15. ONE OF THE LIVING – TINA TURNER (1985)

14. DIGGING YOUR SCENE – THE BLOW MONKEYS (1986; (real) one-hit wonder of the 80s)

13. TARZAN BOY – BALTIMORA (1986)

12. WHAT’S GOING ON – CYNDI LAUPER (1987)

11. EDGE OF SEVENTEEN – STEVEIE NICKS (1982)

10. RELAX – FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD (1985)

09. THE ONE I LOVE – R.E.M. (1987)

08. LET THE MUSIC PLAY – SHANNON (1984)

07. WHAT I AM – EDIE BRICKELL & NEW BOHEMIANS (1989)

06. INFATUATION – ROD STEWART (1984)

05. WANNA BE STARTIN’ SOMETHIN’ – MICHAEL JACKSON (1983)

04. HEART AND SOUL – T’PAU (1987; (real) one-hit wonder of the 80s)

03. LOVE SHACK – THE B-52’S (1989)

02. DANCING IN THE DARK – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (1984)

Throughout this series, I’ve been mentioned how many songs peaked at each position between 1979 and 1989.  It’s only fitting that songs which reached No. 1 would have the highest number of songs hitting the apex of the BILLBOARD Hot 100.  For this post, I am only counting the songs that reached No. 1 between January 1980 and December 1989, and for that 80s time period, 232 songs went all the way to No. 1.  Let’s get nerdy now (if you’re not already there), with some chart feats about No. 1 songs during the 80s and the BILLBOARD Hot 100:

• FOUR (REAL) ONE-HIT WONDERS reached No. 1 during the 80s – Bobby McFerrin (“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”), the second-chance single, “When I’m With You” by Sheriff, Jan Hammer’s “Miami Vice Theme,” and Vangelis (“Chariots Of Fire (Titles)”), though the composer did reach the chart separately twice in the early 80s as part of the duo Jon & Vangelis, with Jon Anderson of Yes.

• MOST WEEKS SPENT AT NO. 1 IN THE 80s (27); MOST NO. 1 SONGS FROM ONE ALBUM (5); MOST NO. 1 SONGS IN THE 80s (9) – Michael Jackson.  The King Of Pop reached No. 1 in the 80s with “Rock With You” (1980; 4 weeks at No. 1), “Billie Jean” (1983; 7 weeks), “Beat It” (1983; 3 weeks), “Say Say Say,” with Paul McCartney (1983 / 1984; 6 weeks), “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” with Siedah Garrett (1987; 1 week), “Bad” (1987; 2 weeks), “The Way You Make Me Feel” (1988; 1 week), “Man In The Mirror” (1988; 2 weeks); “Dirty Diana” (1988; 1 week).

• MOST NO. 1 SONGS IN THE 80s (if you’re NOT Michael Jackson): Madonna (7), Phil Collins (7 solo hits), Whitney Houston (7), George Michael (6 solo hits, which includes “Careless Whisper”), Daryl Hall & John Oates (5), Lionel Richie (5).

• NO. 1 WITH MOST WEEKS SPENT ON THE HOT 100 – 40 – “Red Red Wine” – UB40. It spent 25 weeks on the Hot 100, including a week at No. 1 in 1988, and had charted for 15 weeks in its first chart run in 1984.

• MOST CONFIGURATIONS AT NO. 1 – PAUL McCARTNEY, with Wings (“Coming Up (Live At Glasgow),” 1980), with Stevie Wonder (“Ebony And Ivory,” 1982), and with Michael Jackson (“Say Say Say,” 1983 / 1984).

• NO. 1 WITH MOST WEEKS SPENT IN THE TOP 10 OF THE HOT 100 (15) – “Physical – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (1981 / 1982), and “Eye Of The Tiger” – SURVIVOR (1982).  SUPER NERDY FUN FACT: the song which spent the most weeks in the Top 10 in the 80s didn’t even reach No. 1 – “Hurts So Good” by John Mellencamp spent 16 weeks in the Top 10, with four of those weeks in the runner-up spot.

• MOST WEEKS SPENT AT NO. 1 IN THE 80s (10) – “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John (1981 / 1982).  While it’s more commonplace on the Hot 100 these days, the biggest song of the 1980s would be the only song to spend at least 10 weeks at No. 1 on the chart for next 10 years.  In 1992, Boyz II Men spent a then-record 13 weeks at No. 1 with “End Of The Road.”  Two No. 1 songs later, Whitney Houston would break that record with “I Will Always Love You,” which spent its 14th and final week on top in late February 1993.  The current record is 16 weeks at No. 1.

In the most recent tabulation of the Greatest Of All Time Hot 100 songs for BILLBOARD’s legendary singles chart, many songs from the 80s were represented, and are currently ranked as follows:

08. “Physical” – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (1981 / 1982; 10 weeks at No. 1)

15. “Bette Davis Eyes” – KIM CARNES (1981; 9 weeks)

16. “Endless Love” – DIANA ROSS & LIONEL RICHIE (1981; 9 weeks)

24. “Eye Of The Tiger” – SURVIVOR (1982; 6 weeks)

29. “Every Breath You Take” – THE POLICE (1983; 8 weeks)

31. “Flashdance…What A Feeling” – IRENE CARA (1983; 6 weeks)

40. “Another One Bites The Dust” – QUEEN (1980; 3 weeks)

41. “Say Say Say” – PAUL McCARTNEY & MICHAEL JACKSON (1983 / 1984; 6 weeks)

54. “Call Me” – BLONDIE (1980; 6 weeks)

57. “Lady” – KENNY ROGERS (1980; 6 weeks)

63. “Centerfold” – THE J. GEILS BAND (1982; 6 weeks)

64. “(Just Like) Starting Over” – JOHN LENNON (1980 / 1981; 5 weeks)

68. “I Love Rock ’N Roll” – JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS (1982; 7 weeks)

73. “Ebony And Ivory” – PAUL McCARTNEY & STEVIE WONDER (1982; 7 weeks)

75. “That’s What Friends Are For” – DIONNE & FRIENDS (1986; 4 weeks)

77. “Upside Down” – DIANA ROSS (1980; 4 weeks)

83. “Billie Jean” – MICHAEL JACKSON (1983; 7 weeks)

86. “Abracadabra” – THE STEVE MILLER BAND (1982; 2 weeks)

89. “Say You, Say Me” – LIONEL RICHIE (1985 / 1986; 4 weeks)

91. “All Night Long (All Night)” – LIONEL RICHIE (1983; 4 weeks)

95. “Waiting For A Girl Like You” – FOREIGNER (1981 / 1982; 10 weeks at No. 2; still tied for a record for spending the most weeks peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100)

98. “Hurts So Good” – JOHN MELLENCAMP (1982; 4 weeks at No. 2)

So, for now, the 80s represent more than a fifth of the greatest hits to grace the BILLBOARD HOT 100.  Pretty damn cool.  I know it won’t always be like that, and I always wonder why some huge hits like Prince’s “When Doves Cry” (No. 1 for 1984) or Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall” (No. 2 for 1980) aren’t up there, but songs these days tend to stay atop the Hot 100 (and the chart as a whole) a lot longer than they did back in the day, but honestly, I’m grateful for the songs that are still there. 

When I was preparing for this hefty blog post (prolly my second-longest, save for the Prince tribute post in April 2016), I was going through the list of No. 1 songs, and there are some songs I’ve already featured as a “song of the day” (Tears For Fears’ “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” comes to mind, and has often as of late), and there are many others I love. 

But, I concede that there are some real stinkers in there, too: Will To Power’s awful covers medley of “Baby, I Love Your Way” and “Freebird” (subtitled “Freebaby,” which is just heinous)?!  How in THE HELL did that get to go to No. 1 and “I Don’t Want Your Love” by Duran Duran stops at No. 4, and U2’s “Desire” stops at No. 3?!  For the love of all things holy!  And though I admit enjoying the movie MANNEQUIN, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship?!  Are you kidding me?!  Even Grace Slick denounced that piece of shit.  While the go-to “worst song of the 80s” award is usually 1985’s “We Built This City,” I can tolerate that way more over “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.”  Yes, I’m THAT guy.

If I was going for my absolute favorite No. 1 song of the 80s, there’s no competition.  It’s “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds.  It’s also my all-time favorite song.  But it’s a post I want to save for another time.  So, I thought it would be fun to bring in Hope, my writing hero, who, unlike yours truly, doesn’t obsess and write about nerdy chart facts or Top 40 hits, let alone ones that hit No. 1.  I thought it would be cool to have her choose the song for this post.

On August 11, 2017, Hope was kind enough to send me her list of her picks for No. 1 songs from the 80s, many of which have been already mentioned in this post!  One of those songs, and a song that is almost universally loved (like “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie, “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper, or the aforementioned Tears For Fears, Prince and Simple Minds gems) is “Abracadabra” by The Steve Miller Band.

Hope had included “Abracadabra” under the category of “Situational” No. 1 songs.  For Hope, “Abracadabra” was popular during the Summer after her high school graduation (“the glamorous Summer in The Hamptons!”), and she loves the line, “black panties with an angel’s face.”  Who wouldn’t love that line?!  It’s awesome (much like Hope herself)!

Milwaukee, Wisconsin native Steve Miller formed his Psychedelic Rock / Blues Rock band in San Francisco back in 1966.  Since his first two albums were released in 1968, through to his 1988 Jazz album, BORN 2 B BLUE, Steve Miller had been on Capitol Records, and he had some huge albums in the 70s. 

After 1981’s CIRCLE OF LOVE album (with the sweet Top 40 hit and criminally-forgotten gem, “Heart Like A Wheel”) failed to become his fourth consecutive platinum album here in America (though it was certified Gold), Steve was undeterred, got to work, and released the ABRACADABRA album in mid-June 1982.

Of the album, ROLLING STONE said, “The essence of good magic is deception, and with the release of this album, Steve Miller has earned the right to twirl his wand and shout, ‘Abracadabra!’”

Well, Steve thought so too, but Capitol wasn’t so sure.  The song inspired by Diana Ross (whom Steve met on a Pop music TV show in the 60s) told THE HOWARD STERN SHOW in 2016 that Capitol Records didn’t see a hit with the song “Abracadabra”:

“Capitol didn’t believe in [“Abracadabra”] and didn’t want to release it.  I had a different deal with Phonogram in Europe.  When it came out in Europe, I cancelled my American tour because it was Number One everywhere in the world, except the States.”  Once again, the record label got it wrong.

Well, after seeing the success of “Abracadabra” overseas, Capitol gave in and released it in the U.S., a month before the ABRACADABRA album was released.  “Abracadabra” debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in late May 1982 at No. 75, and took just four weeks to debut within the Top 40. 

The next few weeks were a steady climb, and by late July 1982, “Abracadabra” had become Steve Miller’s first Top 10 hit in five years, to the month.  With John Mellencamp’s “Hurts So Good” camped out at No. 2, and Survivor’s “Eye Of The Tiger” camped out at No. 1, “Abracadabra” was stuck at No. 3 for four weeks before it could work its magic on reaching No. 1. 

In early September 1982, after 15 weeks on the chart, “Abracadabra” finally hit No. 1 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, giving Steve Miller his third No. 1 U.S. single overall, and his first No. 1 single since 1976’s “Rock’n Me” spent a week on top.  The No. 1 run of “Abracadabra” was just as quick as “Rock’n Me,” and his first No. 1 song, 1974’s “The Joker,” which also spent a lone week at No. 1.

The Steve Miller Band, 1982.

The following week, Chicago’s “Hard To Say I’m Sorry” snuck into the No. 1 position when no one was looking and stayed there for two weeks.  “Abracadabra” dropped to No. 3 (behind previous No. 1, “Eye Of The Tiger”).  But, in a magical chart feat, “Abracadabra” moved back up to No. 2 the next week, and by the end of September, “Abracadabra” reclaimed the No. 1 spot for one more week, before John Mellencamp’s little ditty about “Jack And Diane” started its four-week run at No. 1.  “Abracadabra” stayed on the Hot 100 until mid-Novemer 1982, and left the chart after nearly half a year.  It finished the year at No. 9 here in America. 

Around the globe, “Abracadabra” worked its magic on the singles charts of many countries, reaching No. 1 in Switzerland (six weeks), Sweden (four weeks), Australia and Canada (two weeks), and Austria, No. 2 in the U.K., Germany and Ireland, No. 4 in Norway, No. 8 in New Zealand, and No. 26 in the Netherlands.

“Abracadabra” was the last song The Steve Miller Band placed inside of the Top 40 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100, though they charted several more times through 1993, including the brilliant but oddly-underrated “I Want To Make The World Turn Around” from 1986.

Steve Miller continues to tour today, and in 2016, he was inducted as a solo artist into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, where he had some not so nice things to say about the whole thing, calling the Hall a “private boys’ club full of fucking gangsters and crooks,” and vowing to make it better. 

The Steve Miller Band, 2015.

He suggested taking the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominating committee, replace every one of them and start over.  I hope it works out, because Devo, from Akron, Ohio (less than an hour south of Cleveland, where the Hall is based), should have been inducted years ago, much like the incomparable Cyndi Lauper, who has taken on Blues, Standards, Folk, Dance and Country music in the past 15 years, not to mention writing a book, winning a Tony Award and co-founding the True Colors Fund, which works to end homelessness among LGBT youth, and even testified before Maine Senator Susan Collins in 2015 about this very subject. 

This photo of Steve at the 2016 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony speaks volumes, and not favorably for the Hall…

As for me and Hope and many others for “Abracadabra,” it’s one of those infectious songs that deserved to go to No. 1, and 35 years later, it still holds up.  At least the five-minute, eleven-second album version.  When the single was released, I bought it, but was instantly pissed it wasn’t the long version!  Sure, it’s only a minute and change difference, but if you hear the single version vs. the album version, you can tell the single version is a bit sped up, and the kick-ass instrumental that closes out the rest of the song isn’t there.  That’s even why I chose the video link below.  It’s not a link to the actual video, but to the album version.  You know, all these years later, I’m still impressed that sped up, edited single version got the song to No. 1.  Maybe that was magic too.

Speaking of magic, Hope inspired me recently to start training for a 5K using the Couch To 5K app (C25K); we’re both training for it, and finishing Week 5 of 8 this weekend!  Hope and I haven’t run a proper 5K in our adult lives, and the last time I ran the equivalent of a 5K was in high school during Cross Country, where I lettered my senior year.  Holy cats, that was 33 years ago! 

Post-run workout, 9.7.2017! (With a kick-ass playlist by DJ HopeyT to keep me going!)

But, you know what?  Maybe it’s not magic after all that’s got us training for our first 5K ever – and in our early 50s!  Maybe you just need to believe.  Just like Steve Miller believed he had a hit with “Abracadabra,” even as his longtime record label disagreed – and he was right!  It’s one of THE BEST songs of the 80s and of all-time.  And I believe getting through this 5K (and other aspects of my life) will happen with belief over magic, though I have to say, when it happens, it will feel pretty damn magical and then some…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKCV8gzSlYw

song of the day – “Dancing In The Dark” | BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN | 1984.

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, since the start of June, I have been highlighting songs that peaked in the Top 40 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (including five (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s), just like on AMERICAN TOP 40, the hits have gotten bigger with each post.  On June 1, 2017, I featured a song that peaked at No. 40.  With the next post, 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!”

If you listened to AMERICAN TOP 40 as faithfully as I did back in the 80s, before Nos. 2 and 1 were announced, he’d usually take a commercial break before announcing them, and would usually say, “The two biggies are coming right up!”  “The two biggies.”  Always cracked me up and still does.

But, when it came to AMERICAN TOP 40, “the two biggies” were, in fact, a big deal.  There a few positions on the chart that are the most frustrating, like Nos. 101, 41 and 11, but no other peak position on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (or any singles chart, for that matter) was more frustrating to stop at than No. 2.

Foreigner endured the No. 2 position the longest in the 80s, spending 10 weeks in the runner-up spot in 1981 and 1982 with “Waiting For A Girl Like You,” a chart record Foreigner still shares to this day.  And I believe Madonna, who has six No. 2 songs to her credit (four of them in the 80s), still holds the chart record for most No. 2 singles in Hot 100 history.

All told, nearly 100 songs reached No. 2 between 1979 and 1989, including songs by three Beatles (Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison, whose 1981 No. 2 hit, “All Those Years Ago,” was a tribute to John Lennon), two Jacksons (Michael and Janet), and a couple of (real) one-hit wonders, including the Cold War Classic by Nena, “99 Luftballons.”

Some of the biggest songs in history that maybe you thought were No. 1 hits in America were actually No. 2 hits, such as “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper, “Easy Lover” by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins, “We Got The Beat” by The Go-Go’s, “Electric Avenue” by Eddy Grant, “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins, “Hurts So Good” by John Mellencamp, “Start Me Up” by The Rolling Stones and “Purple Rain” by Prince And The Revolution.

Several artists peaked at No. 2 between 1979 and 1989 with two songs, including The Bangles, Culture Club (with their first two hits), Air Supply, Duran Duran, Glenn Frey, Kool & The Gang, John Mellencamp, Billy Ocean (including the guilty pleasure, “Loverboy,” which a DJ back in the day once referred to as “Heavy Metal Disco”; I would disagree), plus Robert Palmer, Pointer Sisters, Linda Ronstadt (in two big duets with James Ingram and Aaron Neville), Tina Turner and Jody Watley. 

Michael Jackson gets an honorable mention, as he peaked at No. 2 with “The Girl Is Mine” with Paul McCartney, and he is featured in an uncredited role backing up Rockwell on “Somebody’s Watching Me.”  Likewise with Sheena Easton, who backed up Prince uncredited on “U Got The Look” and had her own No. 2 hit in 1989 with the sexy Dance hit, “The Lover In Me” (a long way from when she took that “Morning Train” to No. 1 in 1981; I’m sure Prince may have had something to do with it).

Speaking of Prince, he had three No. 2 hits between 1979 and 1989, or in this case, 1984 through 1987, with the aforementioned “Purple Rain” and “U Got The Look,” but also with “Raspberry Beret.”  He, too, gets an honorable mention, as he composed the No. 2 hit for The Bangles, “Manic Monday.”

And a number longtime recording artists saw their biggest hits stop at No. 2, like The Cure (“Lovesong”), Journey (“Open Arms”), The Greg Kihn Band (“Jeopardy”), and Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark.”

If there was any one huge artist in the 80s I wanted to see reach No. 1 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 singles chart, it was Bruce Springsteen.  I was first introduced to Bruce’s music with 1980’s “Hungry Heart,” from his first No. 1 album, THE RIVER.  At the time, I had no idea he had already released four critically-acclaimed and successful albums.

After “Hungry Heart,” I was a Bruce fan for life – granted, not the superfan that Hope is, but I don’t think anyone loves Bruce’s work more than Hope, except maybe for Bruce’s wife, Patti Scialfa.

“Dancing In The Dark” was released in early May 1984, a month before the BORN IN THE U.S.A. album was released.  And, right out of the gate, it was a hit.  “Dancing In The Dark” blasted onto the BILLBOARD Hot 100 the last week of May 1984 all the way into the Top 40, at No. 36.  By the next week, it was already No. 18, with its eyes set on No. 1.

Bruce had hit No. 1 before – as a songwriter.  A song from his 1973 debut album, GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J. – “Blinded By The Light” – was recorded by the London Rock band, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, in 1977, and spent a week at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in February 1977, exactly four years to the month when Bruce’s original was released as a single.

“Dancing In The Dark” had a lot going for it – a popular video directed by Brian de Palma (SCARFACE, THE UNTOUCHABLES, CARRIE, DRESSED TO KILL and the first MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE film) with actress Courtney Cox (FAMILY TIES, FRIENDS) dancing with Bruce on the stage (the video would win the MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance). 

It also had a 12” Dance remix courtesy of Arthur Baker (who’s remixed songs for Daryl Hall & John Oates, Afrika Bambaataa, Cyndi Lauper, Pet Shop Boys and New Order).  The “Blaster Mix” was miles away from anything on 1982’s NEBRASKA or 1980’s THE RIVER, but people loved it.  Not only did it reach No. 7 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart, it was the biggest-selling 12” single for all of 1984.  Arthur Baker would also go on to remix the follow-up Bruce singles “Cover Me” and “Born In The U.S.A.” as well.

As much as “Dancing In The Dark” had going for it in its second week on the Hot 100, another single debuting on the same chart that early June was “When Doves Cry” by Prince, released in advance of the album and film, PURPLE RAIN.  “When Doves Cry” reached the Top 40 a week later, and just like “Dancing In The Dark,” made a big move into the Top 20 the following week.

By late June 1984, “Dancing In The Dark” had climbed to No. 4, while “When Doves Cry” was closing in at No. 8.  The following week, “When Doves Cry” had jumped to No. 3, and “Dancing In The Dark” was at No. 2, right behind Duran Duran’s “The Reflex.”

“When Doves Cry” proved to be too powerful for “Dancing In The Dark,” which stayed for four weeks in the runner-up position.  “When Doves Cry” was the biggest song of 1984 here in America.

Though “Dancing In The Dark” didn’t reach No. 1, Bruce Springsteen still had a lot to be proud of.  The song gave Bruce his first Grammy Award, winning for Best Rock Vocal Performance.  In the 1984 ROLLING STONE readers poll, “Dancing In The Dark” was voted “Single Of The Year.”  It’s also listed as one of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock And Roll.”  It sold a million copies in the U.S. alone, and the single’s B-side (one of the best ever), “Pink Cadillac,” was a Top 5 hit for Natalie Cole in 1988.

Around the globe, “Dancing In The Dark” was an international smash (though in some countries it took awhile), reaching No. 1 in Belgium and the Netherlands, No. 2 in Ireland, New Zealand and Sweden, No. 4 in South Africa and the U.K., No. 7 in Canada and Norway, No. 11 in Finland and No. 12 in Italy.  In Australia, though it stopped at No. 5, it was the No. 1 song of the year, spending 40 weeks on the singles chart there.

“Dancing In The Dark” was just the first part of an amazing journey for Bruce Springsteen and the BORN IN THE U.S.A. album.  Seven out of the album’s 12 songs were released as singles, and all seven reached the Top 10 on the Hot 100 between 1984 and 1986, tying a record set in 1984 by Michael Jackson’s THRILLER album. 

The first compact disc manufactured in the U.S.A. was BORN IN THE U.S.A.

BORN IN THE U.S.A. was No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s album chart twice, in July / August 1984 and January / February 1985.  PURPLE RAIN may have been the album of the year here in the U.S. for 1984 (BORN IN THE U.S.A. was No. 28), but for 1985, BORN IN THE U.S.A. was the No. 1 album of the year in America (and even No. 16 for 1986).

NERDY FUN FACT: BORN IN THE U.S.A. was the first compact disc manufactured in the U.S. for commercial release.  I remember seeing it at a DeOrsey’s in Waterville, Maine, and think it sold for something like $25.00.  And the record album still sounds better.

NERDY FUN FACT 2: According to a 1984 ROLLING STONE interview, the “Dancing In The Dark” Blaster Mix by Arthur Baker happened because Bruce had heard the remix Arthur did for Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” and he thought it was incredible: “It sounded like fun, so I hooked up with Arthur.  He’s a character, a great guy.  He had another fellow with him, and they were really pretty wild.  They’d get on that mixing board and just crank them knobs, you know?  The meters were goin’ wild.”

Bruce Springsteen is one of those rare artists who have been on the same record label from the start – Columbia.  Two other Columbia artists instantly come to mind – Barbra Streisand and Bob Dylan.  There won’t be anyone else like them.  Ever. 

Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen (along with many other familiar faces) at the “We Are The World” recording session, 1985.

If you pull away the catchy dance beat, “Dancing In The Dark” is a personal song about the difficulty of writing a hit song and Bruce’s frustration of trying to write songs that will please everyone.  Though I’m thinking Bruce would have liked to have another of his more personal songs become his biggest hit, I would almost bet my record collection he’s alright with that hit being “Dancing In The Dark.”

Bruce Springsteen with The E Street Band, 1984.

“You can’t start a fire / You can’t start a fire without a spark / This gun’s for hire / Even if we’re just dancing in the dark…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=129kuDCQtHs