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 – “The Bottom Line” | BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE | 1985.

“The horses are on the track…”

In September 1983, with what was prolly the beginning of the end for The Clash, Mick Jones, the legendary band’s lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist and songwriter since their inception in 1976, was fired from the band.  Punctuality (or lack thereof) was a prominent factor in his dismissal from The Clash. 

Not long after getting booted from “the only band that mattered,” Mick Jones did something that prolly felt natural for him – he helped start another band – General Public, which was founded with The English Beat’s Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger, from the ashes of that band, which broke up in 1983.

But, the association Mick Jones had with General Public was quite short-lived.  Although his name is featured on the credits of General Public’s debut album, …ALL THE RAGE (he did play guitar on “Tenderness,” “Never You Done That” and at least three other songs), Mick left during the recording of the album.  I think had Mick stayed with Dave and Roger and General Public, it would have been quite interesting and amazing.  But, I can’t be mad at Mick and forgive him for leaving because…

…in 1984, Mick went on to co-found the Post-Punk, Alt-Dance band, Big Audio Dynamite, with film director Don Letts, who had previously directed a number of Clash videos and later the 2000 Clash documentary, WESTWAY TO THE WORLD, which picked up a Grammy Award in 2003 for Best Long Form Video.

The first album for Mick’s third band in two years, the appropriately-titled THIS IS BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE, was released in October 1985, interestingly enough, the month before the release of CUT THE CRAP, the last album by The Clash, which most folks thought was, well, crap (save for tracks like “This Is England”).

When ROLLING STONE’s David Fricke reviewed CUT THE CRAP in January 1986, THIS IS BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE got mentions as well: “If CUT THE CRAP is a cheat, then Mick Jones’ new band Big Audio Dynamite is an unexpected gamble.  ‘That old time groove is really nowhere,’ Jones shrugs in ‘The Bottom Line,’ brusquely dismissing [Joe] Strummer’s retropunk didacticism.  Instead, he continues, ‘I’m gonna take you to part two,’ which on THIS IS BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE is an intoxicating subversion of Eighties dance-floor cool with SANDINISTA!’s dub-funk turmoil…  THIS IS BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE hardly transcends the Clash’s finest hours, but for Jones it is a new beginning.  With CUT THE CRAP, one might well wonder if Joe Strummer’s at the end of the road.”  David was right – The Clash broke up in early 1986.  Many folks, yours truly included, thought they had already broken up long before then.

No, that’s not Terence Trent D’Arby standing next to a seated Mick Jones.  That’s film and video director, DJ, musician and B.A.D. co-founder Don Letts.

But, with songs like “E=MC2,” “Medicine Show,” “C’Mon Every Beatbox” and “BAD” (featured in the 1986 John Hughes classic, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF), Big Audio Dynamite and THIS IS BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE were thriving.  The album was certified Gold in their U.K. homeland, and reached the Top 10 in New Zealand.

The first single released from the album (and the only song on the album solely written by Mick Jones) was “The Bottom Line.”  It was also the first song by B.A.D. that made me fall in love with the band, though not until 1987, when one of my (future) best friends, Michael, introduced me to them.  “The Bottom Line” did not fare well in the U.K. (where it reached a surprising No. 97 chart peak), but it was a Top 40 hit in Australia, New Zealand and BILLBOARD’s Dance chart.

There were at least a couple of different remixes for “The Bottom Line,” and though I enjoy the U.S. 12” mix by Rick Rubin, I have always favored (and will always prefer) the original and glorious 8-minute, 40-second U.K. 12” Remix.  Not only does it mirror the 4:35 album version, but when the album version is ready to cut out, in the U.K. Remix, Mick and Co. actually DO take you to Part Two (“I’m gonna take you to, I’m gonna take you to part two, part two…”)

Nearly 32 years after its release, it’s interesting how the song’s lyrics could still apply today:

“A dance to the tune off economic decline / Is when you do the bottom line / Nagging questions always remain / Why did it happen and who was to blame

“When you reach the bottom line / The only thing to do is climb / Pick yourself up off the floor / Don’t know what you’re waiting for

“They’ve been doing it down at the zoo / And I can show ya here’s what to do / All of the States and over UK / Even the Soviets are swinging away…

“So when you reach the bottom line / The only thing to do is climb / Pick yourself up off the floor / Anything you want is yours…”

Apart from a 2011 reunion, Big Audio Dynamite (and later, the successful Big Audio Dynamite II) stopped years ago, but Mick (who turns 62 in June 2017) is still keeping busy, performing in recent years with the live band for the popular U.K. Alt-Rock / Electronica band, Gorillaz, and on albums for Alt-Rockers, The Wallflowers, and Algerian singer, Rachid Taha (who released a brilliant Arabic cover of “Rock The Casbah” in 2004).

All these years later, my bottom line on “The Bottom Line” is that it’s still so infectious (especially the original 12” U.K. Remix) and amazing to dance to or listen to in the car, or anywhere.  And, if for some Godforsaken reason you have never heard this song, click on the link to the original video below, or take the next 10 minutes, find the link to the original 12” U.K. Remix and get ready to move.  It may not be that “new dance that’s going around” anymore, but “when the hits start flying,” you’re GONNA get down.  And then you’re gonna “pick yourself up off the floor” and do it again…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V5Zoe84BjE

song of the day – “Redemption Song” | BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS | 1980.

Hard to believe it’s been 35 years today since we lost the amazing Bob Marley.  I didn’t know much about Bob until years after his passing, but before the 80s were done, I made sure he had a spot in my record collection.  And, he’s still there.

Released in the Summer of 1980, Bob’s 12th album UPRISING was the last studio album he & The Wailers put out while he was still alive.  From that album is the incredible “Redemption Song,” which he wrote in 1979, around the time he was diagnosed with cancer.  According to his widow, Rita Marley, “he was already secretly in a lot of pain and dealt with his own mortality, a feature that is clearly apparent in the album, particularly in this song.”

But, for many months, the cancer didn’t stop Bob from touring in support of UPRISING.  He and his band had played to 100,000 people in Milan, Italy, and then they toured America, including two shows at Madison Square Garden.  Bob’s last performance was at the former Stanley Theater (now The Benedum Center For The Performing Arts), in Pittsburgh, PA, on September, 23, 1980.

While a full band recording of “Redemption Song” exists and appears on the 2001 remastered edition of UPRISING, the gorgeous original version of “Redemption Song” was just Bob and his acoustic guitar.   

“Won’t you help to sing / These songs of freedom? / ‘Cause all I ever have / Redemption songs, Redemption songs.”

U2’s Bono once said, “I carried Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’ to every meeting I had with a politician, prime minister, or president.  It was for me a prophetic utterance or as Bob would say ‘the small ax that could fell the big tree.’  The song reminded me that freedom always comes with a cost, but for those who would prepare to pay it, maybe ‘emancipation from mental slavery’ would be our reward.” 

Mutabaruka, a Jamaican musician, dub poet, actor and broadcaster, who put out 14 albums between 1982 and 2009, chose “Redemption Song” in 2009 as the most influential recording in Jamaican music history. 

“Redemption Song” is one of the most-beloved songs of all time, and in ROLLING STONE’s 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, it was ranked at No. 66.  It has been covered by the likes of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Stevie Wonder, The Chieftains (with Bob’s son, Ziggy Marley), Afropop artist Angélique Kidjo, and prolly the two most famous versions, by The Clash’s Joe Strummer in 2002 before his death, and a version featuring both Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash (and both songs were produced by Rick Rubin).  In Paris in December 2015, Madonna, along with her son, David, did a live cover version of “Redemption Song” to pay tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks there a few weeks before.

I know “Redemption Song” is prolly most-referred to as a protest song, but for me, it’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard – a song not just of freedom, but encompassing hope, peace, faith, love and yes, redemption.  Bob would have been 71 this year.  Sometimes I catch myself wondering what life would have been like if cancer hadn’t taken him at such a young age.  Would their be so much anger and hate and violence and negativity around the world if he were still here?  Hard to say, but I’m betting my record collection and yours that the world would be a better place today if he was here to have a say in it.

But, since the DeLorean can’t help me out this time, for now, all I’ll ever have (of which I’m grateful) is this “Redemption Song,” and many more.  (I just had an image of Bob and Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash and David Bowie and Prince and The Ramones sitting around a huge campfire upstairs, while Bob plays his guitar and sings this song.  Wow…)  Thank you Bob.  Miss you, wherever you are…

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