song of the day – “Why Can’t I Have You” | THE CARS | 1985.

The Apple LISA II Macintosh XL home computer, 1985.

On January 7, 1985, my almost 18-year-old self couldn’t even begin to fathom what life would be like 35 years later, as an almost 53-year-old, on January 7, 2020.  Blogging wasn’t a thing, MacBook Pros (like the one I’m typing on) didn’t exist (the Apple LISA II Macintosh XL home computer, released January 1, 1985, was a whopping $3,995 at the time of release), I had yet to become a radio DJ (that reality wouldn’t happen for another eight months), and I wasn’t one of the cool kids (far from it), and madly in love with my best friend (who I wouldn’t meet — and meeting through the wonders of community radio — for 21 years).

Me and Maryhope, WMPG-FM, Portland, Maine, 10.23.2019.

And, on January 7, 1985, I certainly wouldn’t have been thinking about The Cars’ then 40-year-old Ric Ocasek not being around anymore (Ric passed away at the age of 75 on September 15, 2019).  He’s surely missed, but I take comfort in the fact that the music of Ric and The Cars will drive up and down the radio dials forever.

January 7, 1985 was also the release date of “Why Can’t I Have You,” the fifth single from one of The Cars’ biggest and highest-charting albums ever, HEARTBEAT CITY.  Released in mid-March 1984 to much acclaim, HEARTBEAT CITY was certified Platinum in New Zealand and certified Gold in the U.K., sold four million copies in U.S. alone, reached No. 3 on BILLBOARD’s album chart, and was one of the 50 biggest albums in America for both 1984 and 1985.

Half of the gatefold artwork for the cover of HEARTBEAT CITY.

“Why Can’t I Have You” followed the singles “You Might Think,” “Magic,” “Drive” and “Hello Again,” all Top 20 singles on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.  If my nerdy singles chart math is correct, HEARTBEAT CITY was just the second album by a group (followed by the Huey Lewis & The News album, SPORTS) and just the fourth artist overall (following Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Huey Lewis & The News and Cyndi Lauper) to produce five Top 40 singles from one album.

The U.K. 12″ version of “Why Can’t I Have You.”

Entering the BILLBOARD Hot 100 about three weeks after its release, “Why Can’t I Have You” debuted on the chart at No. 79.  Five weeks later, in early March 1985, “Why Can’t I Have You” reached the Top 40 of the Hot 100, wedged in between the wonderful “This Is Not America” by David Bowie and Pat Metheny, and the (well, not so wonderful, but extremely popular) “Rhythm Of The Night” by DeBarge.

By the end of March 1985, “Why Can’t I Have You” spent a week at No. 33, fell out of the Top 40 a couple weeks later, and hung around the Hot 100 for a respectable 17 total weeks, ending its run in mid-May 1985, more than a year after the release of HEARTBEAT CITY.

NERDY HEARTBEAT CITY FUN FACT: The second song on the album, “Looking For Love” (written by Ric Ocasek and not a cover of the 1980 Johnny Lee hit from URBAN COWBOY), was actually covered later in 1985 by the pride of Austria, Falco, as “Munich Girls,” a German-language version of “Looking For Love.”  I never made the connection until researching for this blog post.  Holy cats!  I mean, Heilige Katzen!

NERDY HEARTBEAT CITY FUN FACT No. 2: For the cover art of the album, The Cars (having fun with their namesake) used a 1972 piece of artwork by English artist Peter Phillips called Art-O-Matic Loop di Loop, and features the 1971 Plymouth Duster 340.

The full gatefold cover art for HEARTBEAT CITY.

The Cars have so many incredible and infectious songs they’ll always be remembered for, so many still thankfully being played on the radio today, I don’t know if I could even put together a list of my 10 favorites, but I do know that if I could, “Why Can’t I Have You” would definitely be in that Top 10, if not the Top 5. 

In the 1984 ROLLING STONE review for HEARTBEAT CITY, writer Don Shewey wrote, “‘Why Can’t I Have You’ is easily the LP’s most affecting song, because Ocasek drops his usually chilly persona and, against a gorgeous whispered chorus, sings with plaintive desperation.”

The cover art for the Germany version of “Why Can’t I Have You.”

The only known cover of “Why Can’t I Have You” that I have ever heard is this stunning version by Brooklyn, NY Folk / Americana singer-songwriter-musician Kris Delmorst, who in 2011 put together a collective of singers and musicians from the Boston / Cambridge, Massachusetts area (including The Cars’ own keyboardist, Greg Hawkes) for her album of entirely Cars covers, appropriately titled, CARS.  Her version of “Why Can’t I Have You” is one of the best covers I’ve ever heard.

I think why I love “Why Can’t I Have You” so much is because it’s gorgeous, haunting, not quite like the rest of HEARTBEAT CITY, but yet still belonging to the essence of the overall feel of the album, and though it didn’t match the success the album’s other singles, I love how the band took a chance with this different, non-trad Cars Pop/Rock/Punk/New Wave offering, and still managed to reach the Top 40 anyway. 

And, as I blog about this 35 years later, I’m hoping a new generation of Cars fans will read this post and listen to “Why Can’t I Have You” and fall in love with song they’ve prolly never heard on the radio before, and if some members of this new generation of Cars fans are radio DJs, maybe they’ll end up loving the song as much as I do, and they’ll play this gorgeous treasure on the radio themselves…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxGO23cI92U

 

song of the day – “Skateaway” | DIRE STRAITS | 1980 / 1981.

In 1980, when I was a geeky, lanky 13-year-old living in Central Maine, I was not what you would call popular, which was fine, because I had my select friends in junior high school, and that was good enough for me.  When I wasn’t nerding out during the day at school, I would nerd out after school and on weekends by the radio, listening to the favorite radio station of my youth, WIGY 105.9 (or Y106, as it was called).  Back then, more stations (at least in Maine) didn’t bother to mention their full number on the dial, they would either round up or round down.  The biggest Classic Rock station in Maine, WBLM, was just seven years old at the time, and at the time broadcasted from a house in Lewiston/Auburn, Maine.  They were at 108 on the FM dial.  They were my second-favorite station back then.

The infamous WBLM blimp logo that’s been around almost as long as I have…

It was not uncommon for students anywhere in Central Maine to possess and often wear their WBLM T-shirts, featuring their call letters and their logo, “the blimp.”  They were everywhere, and I think I had one.  I can’t imagine I wouldn’t.  (Haven’t seen them for a very long time, though, sadly.)  It was also not uncommon for stores like Ames or Zayre (remember those?) or Kmart to sell huge polyester tapestries and square mirrors housed in a wooden frame featuring band logos on them.  Those were everywhere too.  I should know – I had a huge J. Geils Band handprint tapestry on one of my walls, and a Rolling Stones tongue logo mirror on another wall, replete of course, with cut out bumper stickers of the call letters for my two favorite radio stations stuck on the mirror.  Aaaah youth.

Not quite the mirror I had, and mine was a regular square mirror with the logo, but it’s not far off.

Remember when radio stations gave away albums back in the day?  WIGY did that often, and I was lucky enough to win a few albums from them in 1980, including The Doobie Brothers’ ONE STEP CLOSER and Dire Straits’ MAKING MOVIES.  I would like to think I still have the MAKING MOVIES album I won, but I fear I parted with it long ago.

My respect for Dire Straits grew over the next few years, and my respect for MAKING MOVIES even more so.  In 1980, the four-man Rock band from London led by guitarist and songwriter Mark Knopfler, was coming off a successful year with their 1978 self-titled debut album, and huge hit, “Sultans Of Swing,” which reached No. 4 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in 1979 and was a Top 10 hit around the globe.

The band’s second album, 1979’s COMMUNIQUÉ, fared well, but it wasn’t until MAKING MOVIES, released in October 1980, that I heard from Dire Straits on the radio again. 

The album was co-produced by Mark Knopfler and Jimmy Iovine, who Mark recruited for MAKING MOVIES after hearing Jimmy’s production of Patti Smith’s 1978 version of “Because The Night,” which she wrote with Bruce Springsteen, and not only became a Top 15 hit on the Hot 100, but one of the biggest songs of 1978.

And since Jimmy Iovine had also worked on a couple of Bruce’s early albums – BORN TO RUN and DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN – E Street Band keyboardist Roy Bittan was also recruited to play keyboards on MAKING MOVIES (Mark Knopfler’s brother, David, left during the recording of the album). 

“Skateaway,” the third in a killer trio of songs on Side One of MAKING MOVIES (which also included future singles “Tunnel Of Love” and the U.K. Top 10 hit, “Romeo And Juliet”) was about a female roller-skater zooming through the busy streets of the city, listening with her headphones to a radio station on her portable radio (a Sony Walkman, perhaps, since that was just released a year before).  “Hallelujah, here she comes!”

Around the time “Skateaway” and MAKING MOVIES caught my attention on WIGY, it debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 at No. 90 in late December 1980.  “Skateaway” was a moderate hit on the chart, spending a week at No. 58 the end of January 1981.  Four weeks later, it skated away off the chart after 10 weeks.  It also reached No. 31 on the BILLBOARD Rock chart and No. 37 on the U.K. singles chart. 

From the “Skateaway” music video.

I think, kind of like my delayed respect for MAKING MOVIES and “Skateaway,” it was the same for a lot of folks.  It’s an amazing album.  Dire Straits always had a sweet (and successful penchant) for recording long songs (there’s only seven songs on MAKING MOVIES), which doesn’t always bode well as radio hits, and I don’t think radio stations were ready for Dire Straits in 1980, apart from the chart success of “Sultans Of Swing.”  If radio embraced the band like record buyers did, they would have had more than four Top 40 hits in America and 1983’s brilliant “Industrial Disease” wouldn’t have stalled at No. 75 on the Hot 100.

After the huge success of 1985’s BROTHERS IN ARMS album, Dire Straits would release one more studio album, 1991’s ON EVERY STREET, a live album from that tour, 1993’s ON THE NIGHT, and one final live album, LIVE AT THE BBC, in 1995.  After that album’s release, Mark Knopfler disbanded Dire Straits and pursued a successful solo career (he had already scored many films, including the gorgeous score for 1987’s THE PRINCESS BRIDE).

In a 2008 BBC interview, Mark Knopfler was asked about a possible Dire Straits reunion, and he declined, saying, “It just got too big.  If anyone can tell me one good thing about fame, I’d be very interested to hear it.”

The band was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2018, though Mark Knopfler didn’t show up.  Dire Straits bassist John Illsley accepted the honor, and of Mark’s absence, he said, “I’ll assure you it’s a personal thing.  Let’s just leave it at that.”

The legacy of MAKING MOVIES lives on, however, with much respect and admiration nearly 40 years later.  On a 2012 list of the 100 Best Albums Of The Eighties, ROLLING STONE ranked MAKING MOVIES at a very respectable No. 52. 

So, if you haven’t heard MAKING MOVIES before, or haven’t heard it in a long time, go pick it up, or if you still have a Walkman like I do, pop in a cassette of MAKING MOVIES, put on your roller skates (or roller blades, or whatever the young kids are using these days) and skateaway, that’s all…

“She gets rock n roll and a rock n roll station / And a rock n roll dream / She’s making movies on location / She don’t know what it means / But the music make her want to be the story / And the story was whatever was the song, what it was / Roller girl, don’t worry / DJ play the movies all night long / All night long…”

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

song of the day – “1984” | TINA TURNER | 1984.

Today (May 29, 2019) marks the 35th anniversary of the release of Tina Turner’s PRIVATE DANCER album, a multi-platinum triumph that sparked the biggest comeback of the 80s and one of the biggest comebacks for any singer or musician or band of all time.

The nine songs on PRIVATE DANCER were an extraordinary collaboration of original songs written for the album (like her multi-Grammy winner and No. 1 hit, “What’s Love Got To Do With It”), and cover versions (like first single “Let’s Stay Together,” Ann Peebles’ “I Can’t Stand The Rain,” The Beatles’ “Help!” and Dire Straits’ “Private Dancer,” written by Mark Knopfler) that became Tina’s once she belted them out.

Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler and Tina Turner, 1986.

Tina on the cover of ROLLING STONE, October 1984.

Nearly 10 producers worked on the album, including Martyn Ware of Human League and Heaven 17, the late Jazz great Joe Sample, and super English producer / musician / songwriter Rupert Hine, who has also worked with the likes of The Fixx, Howard Jones, Stevie Nicks and Thompson Twins.

The personnel on this album was equally extraordinary.  Members of Heaven 17, The Fixx and Dire Straits are all throughout the album, as were veteran English saxophonist Gary Barnacle, and Jeff Beck, who played the memorable guitar on the title track.

Also on the album is Tina performing an amazing, electronic update of David Bowie’s 1974 classic, “1984,” whose appearance on the album was quite fitting, considering it was Mr. Bowie who was instrumental in getting Capitol Records to release her cover of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” a global success that prompted Capitol to sign Tina Turner to a multi-record deal.  It’s also timely, with it being the year 1984, that the song “1984” was included on the album, itself inspired by the George Orwell novel (a film version of which was also released that year).  Also in that same year, Tina Turner returned the favor and sang on the title track of David Bowie’s album, TONIGHT.  Definitely the Mutual Appreciation Society at work there.

Tina Turner and David Bowie having a laugh, 1985.

Now 79, happily married since 2013 and a citizen of Switzerland, Tina Turner had an amazing year in 2018, where she received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the autobiographical musical TINA she had been working on opened in London, and her second memoir, TINA TURNER: MY LOVE STORY, was released.  In the fall of 2019, the musical TINA opens on Broadway!

For anyone outside of the 20 million people worldwide who has yet to hear the masterpiece that is PRIVATE DANCER, on this 35th anniversary of the album’s release, what the what are you waiting for?!  You will not only listen to one of the most-charismatic and powerful voices in the history of music, you will hear history in the making; the history of 1984 and 1985 in 44 minutes…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOycYEA57y0

Tina Turner, 1984.

(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.

(real) one-hit wonder of the week – “Drop The Pilot” | JOAN ARMATRADING | 1983.

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.

I know what you’re saying – WHAT THE WHAT?!?!  Joan Armatrading can’t possibly be a one-hit wonder!  It’s hard to believe, I know.  The British singer / songwriter/ guitarist has released 19 acclaimed studio albums between 1972 and 2018, and a lot of singles.  But, here in America, only one of those singles reached the Hot 100 here — 1983’s “Drop The Pilot.” 

Many years ago during the time of my radio show, STUCK IN THE 80s, when I compiled my list of the (real) one-hit wonders on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, and long before I started writing the blog, Joan Armatrading wasn’t really on my radar.  But, thanks to Maryhope, I have a new respect and love for the music of Joan Armatrading, and still happily learning about her music.  She’s been making music for nearly 50 years — I’ve got some catching up to do!

The 1976 U.K. Top 10 single, “Love And Affection.”

Joan Armatrading is really known for her albums more than her singles, though in her native U.K., she’s reached the U.K. singles chart 14 times with 13 songs, led by the wonderful 1976 hit, “Love And Affection,” which reached No. 10 there, and was reissued 15 years later, in 1991, and charting a second time (or, if you prefer, “once more with the feeling”).  Joan, whose career spans multiple music genres including Pop, Rock, Alt-Folk and Blues, has been long-established as an “album artist,” and I imagine she’s totally fine with that.

In late January 1983, in advance of her eighth studio album, THE KEY, she released a song called “Drop The Pilot.”  Of the song, Joan said in a SONGFACTS interview, “‘Drop the Pilot’ just means don’t go out with that person, come out with me.  It’s just a different way of saying that.  I could have said, ‘Don’t go out with that person, come out with me,’ but it’s not as intriguing, is it?  The other words are a little more boring, this is a bit more mysterious.”

When Joan submitted THE KEY to her record label, A&M Records, they said the album wasn’t commercial enough (record labels, am I right?), so they asked her to come up with some songs that were more commercial.  “Drop The Pilot” was one of those songs.  Some reviews panned the album for leaning more towards commercial, including ROLLING STONE, but honestly, I think Joan was just trying to do right by her record label and her fans.  And I think she had fun!

In the 2007 book, I GOT THUNDER: BLACK WOMEN SONGWRITERS ON THEIR CRAFT, Joan talked about the experience writing “commercial” songs for THE KEY: “I wanted to just write things that were catchy, and that’s when ‘Drop the Pilot’ came about.  I just wanted things that would catch people’s attention.  It’s the only time I ever sat down to do that really.  To say, ‘I’m sitting down to write a single.’  And it worked.  It was very successful, a very popular song.  Who knows why I wrote it, but it worked.’”

The U.K. single cover art for “Drop The Pilot.”

Exactly three months after the release of THE KEY, “Drop The Pilot” dropped onto the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in late May 1983, debuting at No. 95.  A month later, it spent a week at No. 78 before dropping off the chart after six weeks.  On BILLBOARD’s Mainstream Rock chart, it fared better, reaching No. 33.  Across the globe, “Drop The Pilot” reached No. 6 in Australia and New Zealand, No. 11 in the U.K., and No. 35 in Belgium. 

NERDY FUN FACT: Joan Armatrading has a cameo vocal appearance on Queen’s 1986 album, A KIND OF MAGIC, on the Roger Taylor-composed, drum-heavy track, “Don’t Lose Your Head.”  This transpired because Joan and Queen were recording in nearby studios at the time she was recording THE KEY.  From a 2018 interview with THE GUARDIAN, she said, “I was in the Townhouse studio making The Key album and Queen were in the next studio to me, and Roger Taylor came over and asked me if I would just walk over to his studio and say these words on the song [the title words to the song, “Don’t Lose Your Head”], which I did, and then after I’d finished, the next thing I knew was Roger walking in with a MASSIVE bunch of flowers!”

Joan Armatrading released her 19th studio album, NOT TOO FAR AWAY, in May 2018.  It was her first Top 30 U.K. album since 1990’s HEARTS AND FLOWERS, and her supporting tour for the album in the U.K., Ireland, and the U.S. was nearly sold out in all three countries.

On her website, joanarmatrading.com, she says, “I will never retire” and “I write because I love it.”  I’m still learning about Joan’s music, but I believe that sentiment.  And, as much as I love writing about (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s, in many cases, like Joan’s, “(real) one-hit wonder” is a term that’s not defining.  I’ll let her music do that; it’s more accurate…

“Animal, mineral, physical, spiritual / I’m the one you need, I’m the one you need…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifARMmcqhD8

Joan Armatrading, 1983.

song of the day – “Heart Of Glass” | BLONDIE | 1978 / 1979.

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

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

The “Heart Of Glass” 7″ single.

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

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

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

Mike Chapman and Debbie Harry hamming it up.

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

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

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

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

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

From the “Heart Of Glass” music video.

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

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

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

The “Heart Of Glass” 12″ single.

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

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

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

Blondie on the cover of ROLLING STONE, June 1979.

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

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

The special 2018 EP of “Heart Of Glass.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

song of the day – “Whenever You’re On My Mind” | MARSHALL CRENSHAW | 1983.

Played John Lennon from 1978 to 1980 in productions of BEATLEMANIA on both sides of the United States.  Appeared with his band in the 1986 Francis Ford Coppola film, PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED.  Played Buddy Holly in 1987 film, LA BAMBA.  Golden Globe and Grammy nominee.  Songs covered by the likes of Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, Ronnie Spector and Bette Midler.  10 studio albums, seven EPs, six live albums, six compilations.  1982 self-titled debut album at No. 72 of ROLLING STONE’s 100 Best Albums Of The 80s.

When talking about Detroit native Marshall Crenshaw, with all these accomplishments, it’s hard to think of him as a (real) one-hit wonder of the 80s on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, despite the fact that it’s actually true. 

After the success of 1982’s MARSHALL CRENSHAW album and “Someday, Someway” single, for his second album, the multi-talented singer / songwriter / musician recruited über-producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, Big Country, The Psychedelic Furs, Peter Gabriel, Joan Armatrading) to produce his second album, FIELD DAY.

Originally, fans weren’t happy with the noticeably sharper-produced album, but ultimately critics heralded FIELD DAY (Robert Christgau gave the album an A+), and fans followed.  Though the album didn’t fare as well as his self-titled debut, Marshall Crenshaw avoided the dreaded “sophomore slump” of second albums, and more importantly, he found his feet.  Compared to the Power Pop style of the late, great Alex Chilton, Marshall Crenshaw once admitted, “Some of the stuff I’ve done you could call power pop, but the term does have sort of a dodgy connotation.”

The first single released from FIELD DAY, “Whenever You’re On My Mind,” is, dodgy or not, just over three minutes of pure Power Pop perfection.  Though it was a hit on MTV and reached No. 23 on BILLBOARD’s Rock Tracks Chart, it just missed reaching the BILLBOARD Hot 100, stopping at No. 103. 

For many years, all I knew of Marshall Crenshaw was his film work and the gorgeous “Someday, Someway.”But, a few years back, I found one of his collections and discovered how incredible and brilliant and underappreciated he is, and how this guy should have had a ton of big hits!I honestly don’t know anyone who doesn’t like (or even more accurately, love) Marshall or songs such as “Someday, Someway,” “You’re My Perfect Waste Of Time” or “Whenever You’re On My Mind.” 

If you take anything away from this post, I hope it’s this: whenever someone like Marshall Crenshaw’s on your mind, keep listening long after “Someday, Someway,” because even if they technically are a (real) one-hit wonder, it doesn’t make it right, it doesn’t mean you have to believe it, and you can rejoice in finding such a music treasure. 

Some (real) American one-hit wonders are exactly what they are labeled and known for.  But others, like World Party, Timbuk 3, The Church, Tom Tom Club, Romeo Void, The Vapors, Bronski Beat, Split Enz and Marshall Crenshaw, absolutely deserve your attention to listen further and go past that one “hit.”

“I never thought I’d be in this situation / It seems wherever I go I’m with you / And though I never seem to find my place / At every turn I see your face / Whenever I think about you / It seems to be a reverie, you’re here with me / ’cause whenever you’re on my mind / Whenever you’re on my mind / I leave the world behind / Whenever you’re on my mind…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-or2AET9L4

Left to Right: Robert Crenshaw (drums; Marshall’s brother), Marshall Crenshaw, Chris Donato (bass).

 

song of the day – “Sleeping Angel” (from FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH) | STEVIE NICKS | 1982.

You ever think back and remember how you never thought about age when you were younger?  It’s true.  Maybe we didn’t need to.  My parents took us kids to the movies when we turned 13 and 16, which was fun, but I don’t think I really started thinking about age until I was 15, when I lost my grandmother Leona (my Mom’s mom) in 1982.  That was not so much fun.  She was just 55 and died of emphysema.  She never smoked a day in her life.

But, then, you turn 16, and then 18, and 20, 21 and 30, and so on, and along the way, you think about age, and getting older.  John Hughes tackled age, or rather, life in general, in 1986’s FERRIS BUELLER’s DAY OFF.  “Life moves pretty fast…” 

Remember that funny diatribe about aging by Billy Crystal in 1991’s CITY SLICKERS?  He was at his kid’s school for “career day,” and expanded on Ferris’ advice five years earlier: “Value this time in your life, kids.  This is the time in your life when you still have your choices.  It goes by so fast.”  There’s definite truth to that.

Blondie’s Debbie Harry, turning 73 in July and looking fantastic!

I think back to some of my first TV, film and music crushes when I was 13, and some were as old as my Mom, if not older.  Debbie Harry turns 73 this Summer and is still rockin’ it.  But, at 13, you don’t think about age like that.  It catches up to you, though, and then age does become a part of your life. 

But, it’s also a frame of mind, too.  As I stated in my last blog post, I look and feel better at 51 than I did at 41 or 31.  I know it’s not like that for everyone, but I’m embracing age like never before.  But, John Hughes and his creation, Ferris Bueller, were right – “Live moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”  I’m making sure I stop and look around these days.  With Maryhope, I am the happiest I have ever been in my life, and I don’t want to miss anything.

Maryhope inspires much in my life, and inspired this post.  She reminded me that today is Stevie Nicks’ 70th birthday, which, in itself is hard to believe.  Same age as my Mom, which is pretty cool.  Being stuck in the 80s all the time is fun, but you also lose track of time sometimes.  You think, Stevie can’t be 70!  “Stand Back” just came out!  Then you realize that was half her life ago, and more than half of yours. 

In a ROLLING STONE article from a year ago, of turning 70 this year, Stevie Nicks said, “I don’t like that number.  I see lots of people my age, and lots of people who are younger than me, and I think, ‘Wow, those people look really old.’  I think it’s because they didn’t try.”

For the massive double-album soundtrack to the 1982 classic film, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, many popular artists of the time were recruited, including Donna Summer, The Go-Go’s, Oingo Boingo, Jackson Browne, Quarterflash, Sammy Hagar, Jimmy Buffett and Billy Squier.  Several members of the then-disbanded Eagles were on there, including Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Don Felder and Timothy B. Schmit.  That wasn’t a coincidence.  One of the film’s producers, Irving Azoff, was also a personal manager of The Eagles and Stevie Nicks, who appears on the soundtrack with “Sleeping Angel.”

Stevie Nicks’ monster solo debut album, BELLA DONNA, had been released in 1981, almost a year to the day prior to FAST TIMES, and “Sleeping Angel” was actually meant to appear on the album, but ended up not being used for the record.

Paul Fishkin and Stevie Nicks, 1980.

In my research for this blog post, I found that “Sleeping Angel” was not written about Lindsey Buckingham (as many had thought), but was about a music executive by the name of Paul Fishkin, who she was with in 1980, and who would co-found (Atlantic Records imprint) Modern Records (1980) with Stevie and Danny Goldberg.

I also stumbled upon FleetwoodMac.net, where a bunch of people put the “Sleeping Angel” in perspective, or rather, an interpretation, and it makes sense.  Age comes up in their interpretation, and in the song:

“Well someday when we’re older / And my hair is silver gray / Unbraid with all the love that you have / Like a soft silver chain…” 

On FleetwoodMac.net, it’s interpreted that “age plays a big part in Stevie’s songs, that life keeps going and you can’t stop it; she knows she can’t stop it.  She is trying to embrace old age, embrace death.” 

Well, I’m not at a point where I want to embrace old age or death, but I embrace my 50s and love being healthy and happy and madly in love with Maryhope (who was an absolutely amazing super-sized Stevie Nicks for Halloween 2017), and when it’s my turn to be 70, maybe then I’ll be ready to embrace old age. 

Maryhope is enchanting as Super-Sized Stevie!  I took this gorgeous photo at Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, Maine, 10.29.2017.

I took this absolutely stunning photo of Maryhope (also on 10.29.2017) at Portland, Maine’s famed Evergreen Cemetery.  One of my all-time favorite photos of Maryhope.

On that FleetwoodMac.net interpretation of “Sleeping Angel,” they write about that “soft silver chain” in the song, and how Stevie’s “that chain now: sturdy, letting her sleeping angel wake up.  Stevie is a woman of prophesy – fully aware of who she is and her capabilities…and I believe she doesn’t regret one thing that happened to her.  Now she can stand tall and as a survivor…her sleeping angel has awakened.” 

For a long time, I was pretty dead inside.  Well, maybe not dead, but not really alive, not living life the best I could, or should.  I truly know, especially in the last four years, that Maryhope was the inspiration for awakening my sleeping angel…and for reigniting my love for Stevie Nicks’ music.  Thank you, Maryhope!  I absolutely love you!  And Happy 70th Stevie! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q7mtQKQPQE

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