song of the day – “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” | CYNDI LAUPER | 1983 / 1984.

It’s March 8, 2019, and International Women’s Day today!  Today, and all through the month of March (and, really, every day), is a celebration of women that began when the Socialist Party of America organized a Women’s Day on February 28, 1909.  The following year, it was suggested that it be held annually.  It became a national holiday in Soviet Russia on March 8, 1917, and in 1975, the United Nations officially chimed in.  In 2019, it’s embraced in many places and ignored in others.  I say let’s go to embrace International Women’s Day!

Over the course of writing this blog, my love of radio has been mentioned a lot.  And why not — it’s a huge part of who I am today.  I also may have mentioned my love / hate relationship with radio.  I have loved radio for 40 years, but apart from my wonderful time at college stations like WUMF and WHSN, and community stations like WMPG, radio has not loved me…yet.  And, the radio I listened to at age 12 vs. the radio I listen to at 52 is far from the same.

A potential bumper sticker for WMPG’s 45th birthday, designed by my friend and former radio neighbor, the incredibly-talented DJ Shaxx.

One thing I’ve noticed as of late on commercial radio, namely Classic Rock or Oldies stations (OMG 80s is Oldies now!  Holy cats!), and the question I ask more than any other — where are the women at?!  Yesterday (March 7, 2019), I researched a few radio stations around Portland, Maine, Boston and New York just to compare how many women are represented in playlists today.  And, apart from Top 40, which has always had a large representation of women played on their stations, even dating back to when I listened to Top 40, the playlists at the Classic Rock and Oldies stations I researched were sadly dominated by men.

Apparently (and unfortunately), the whole “recently played” feature has yet to catch on in the three major Portland, Maine radio stations I researched.  C’mon Portland, you’re the 96th radio market in America!  Act like it dammit!

So, when I struck out in Portland, Maine, I went down to the No. 1 radio market in the country — New York — to find a Classic Rock station.  And success!  Well, depending on how you look at it. 

In the three-hour period I first researched of this iHeart radio station that brands itself as “New York’s Classic Rock,” Pat Benatar was played once, and Fleetwood Mac was played twice.  I go back another three hours, and Fleetwood Mac is there again!  I get it!  RUMOURS is one of the biggest albums of all time, an rightfully so; it’s an incredible album.

But, in the six hours I researched, so many great male artists were played more than once, and yet no Joan Jett, no Heart, no Janis Joplin, no Go-Go’s.  Hey, Men At Work is in there, and I love Men At Work!  So, why not The Go-Go’s?  In six hours, three songs by Fleetwood Mac (two featuring Stevie Nicks on vocals) and one Pat Benatar song.  Three songs featuring women on vocals in six fucking hours.  Where are the women at?!  And no proper 80s radio station in New York?  What the what?!  I’ll have to get right on that.

I then went up to Boston to the station formerly known as “Boston’s Greatest Hits.”  This was promising.  Then the station recently rebranded itself as “80s & More.”  I was intrigued.  Apparently, “80s & More” for this station means they play 70s and 90s with an emphasis on 80s.  Still intrigued. 

In the same six-hour research time period, Stevie Nicks and Don Henley’s “Leather And Lace” kicked things off.  Then it took almost 90 minutes for Pat Benatar’s “We Belong” to be played.  That was followed later by Scandal, Eurythmics, The Go-Go’s (!), Fleetwood Mac, Pat Benatar again (three hours after “We Belong”), Nena, and Cyndi Lauper’s gorgeous “Time After Time.”

So, compared to the other station, seven female artists (or female-led acts) were played on eight songs in the same six-hour timeframe vs. three female artists.  That’s better, but still not great.  After the 90-minute wait between Stevie Nicks and Pat Benatar, it was a 45-minute wait between Pat and Scandal, another 45 minutes between Scandal and Eurythmics, 40 minutes between Eurythmics and The Go-Go’s, and so on.  An average of six to eight songs by men vs. one song by a woman in the average span of 45-60 minutes.  It’s better than the New York station, but it’s not enough.  You play Michael Jackson, why not Madonna?  And where’s Aretha?  The Motels?  Janet Jackson?  Tina Turner?!  I shouldn’t have to get angry about this shit.

Back in mid-December 1983, more than three months after its release, a new single by a relatively unknown 30-year-old woman by the name of Cyndi Lauper made an unassuming debut on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 at No. 80 with “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” (which features Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian of The Hooters, Jules Shear, and David Letterman’s house drummer, Anton Fig).

Three months later, in March 1984, the native New Yorker reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 and had a huge hit with “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” but was denied the No. 1 spot by the four-man Pasadena, California Hard Rock band, Van Halen, and their hit, “Jump.”

“Girls Just Want To Have Fun” was written and recorded in 1979 by Robert Hazard (whose “Escalator Of Life” was a moderate hit in the Spring of 1983), but when Cyndi recorded her version for her brilliant album, SHE’S SO UNUSUAL, it took on a whole new meaning and a whole new life.

As Cyndi mentioned about “Girls” in her 2012 autobiography, CYNDI LAUPER: A MEMOIR, “I said to myself, ‘Hell yeah, I’ll make [it] an anthem!  Maybe it’ll be something that will bring us all together and wake us up.’  It would be a movement right under all the oppressors’ noses, and no one would know about it until there was nothing they could do to stop it.

“It was very blatantly feminist [and] it doesn’t mean that girls just want to fuck.  It just means that girls want to have the same damn experience that any man could have.”  And absolutely should have. 

“Girls Just Want To Have Fun” may have stopped at No. 2 here in America, but globally, it was the fourth-biggest single of 1984, reaching No. 1 or the Top 10 in at least fourteen countries around the globe.  And, its staying power and strong message has lasted through generations and I know it will continue to be an inspiration for women (and girls) for generations to come. 

Every time I’ve seen Cyndi perform “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” in concert, I often find myself looking at the crowd, and I see so many girls dancing to this song with their friends or sisters or mothers or aunts or grandmothers, and it’s beautiful.  The last time I saw Cyndi was in Bangor, Maine on a July 2017 double bill with Rod Stewart (and her first time performing in Maine since the TRUE COLORS tour!).  I was near the front, and reveled in the excitement over Cyndi performing this amazing anthem for those in attendance.  I look forward to the next time I can experience that again.

Cyndi Lauper, amazing and on the big screen, live in Bangor, Maine, 7.14.2017.

For 35 years, Cyndi Lauper has been a beacon of hope and love and peace and music and togetherness for everyone, especially for those who don’t get the respect and love and peace they deserve and then some.  TRUE COLORS UNITED (formerly the TRUE COLORS FUND; truecolorsunited.org) exists to combat homeless youth, especially LBGT youth, who, as of 2016, made up 40% of the homeless youth population in the United States.

And for 35 years, Cyndi’s “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” has conveyed that all women truly want to have the same experiences that men have.  And I know that could be conveyed to radio, too. 

So, if there are any actual program directors left out there who might be reading this (and not some stupid computer-generated program which predicts what people want to hear, as opposed to listening to what people really want to listen to), Cyndi’s right. 

For those stations out there (in any genre) already playing women in heavy rotation, I applaud you.  I love you, radio, I always have.  And I have always believed in you.  But, you can do better… 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A

Cyndi Lauper, 1983.

song of the day – “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” | MICHAEL JACKSON | 1983.

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, for the entire month of June (and now through July), I will be highlighting a song each day (some days will have two songs!) that peaked in the Top 40 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (including five (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s), and with every blog post, just like on AMERICAN TOP 40, the hits will get bigger with each post.  On June 1, 2017, I featured a song that peaked at No. 40.  Sometime here in July, 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!”

Well, we’re finally into the Top 5!  Normally it would have taken Casey Kasem three-and-a-half hours to reach this point, but he had a script, a chart already set up courtesy of BILLBOARD magazine, and he didn’t have to write everything out.  Not that I mind.  While it’s taken me quite a bit longer than I had hoped, I have really been enjoying this series, and hope you have too.

The songs that peaked at No. 5 between 1979 and 1989 are, so far, in a class all by themselves.  More than 100 songs reached that position, including some memorable cover songs, like “Respect Yourself” by Bruce Willis (originally by The Staple Sisters), “Cum On Feel The Noise” by Quiet Riot (Slade), “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” by Great White (Ian Hunter) and “Pink Cadillac” by Natalie Cole (Bruce Springsteen, who also had three No. 5 hits of his own).

One of three singles to reach No. 5 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 for Bruce Springsteen between 1979 and 1989.

Many artists had more than one No. 5 hit, including Pat Benatar, Gloria Estefan (with and without the Miami Sound Machine), Exposé, Lou Gramm (with and without Foreigner), Daryl Hall (solo and two with John Oates), Janet Jackson (solo and with Herb Alpert), Madonna, Sade, Willie Nelson (solo and a duet with Julio Iglesias), George Michael (solo and as a guest vocalist for (real) one-hit wonder, Deon Estus), Olivia Newton-John, Eddie Rabbitt, Rolling Stones, Bob Seger and Rod Stewart.  Australia’s Air Supply had four No. 5 hits.

One of two singles to reach No. 5 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 for Madonna between 1979 and 1989.

The late, great John Lennon and his son, Julian Lennon, both hit No. 5 within a two-year period of each other, and some of my favorite 80s songs peaked at No. 5, like Thomas Dolby’s “She Blinded Me With Science,” “When Smokey Sings” by ABC, “In Your Room” by The Bangles, The Dazz Band’s “Let It Whip,” “What You Need” by INXS, “Stand Back” by Stevie Nicks, “Sister Christian” by Night Ranger, “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross, “(She’s) Sexy + 17” by The Stray Cats, “On The Radio” by Donna Summer, “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” by Stevie Wonder, and “All Through The Night” by Cyndi Lauper, which set a BILLBOARD Hot 100 record for Cyndi as she was the first female recording artist who would reach the Top 5 with four chart hits from a debut album.  And she wouldn’t be the last.

Another of my favorite No. 5 hits belongs to the man who was not only the biggest recording artist of the 1980s, the entire year of 1983 belonged to him.  Of course, I’m talking about the late, great Michael Jackson.  The THRILLER album spent a massive 37 weeks at No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s album chart.  THRILLER was so big, in fact, that it was the No. 1 album in America for two consecutive years.

By now, everyone and their mother (and grandmother) knows all about the Quincy Jones-produced THRILLER album and the success it has had.  It’s still the biggest-selling, non-compilation album of all time.

The first song on the THRILLER album was the fourth (of seven) singles released from the album – “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.”  What a heluva way to start off an album!  From the opening drum beats, you just knew Michael Jackson had something special with this album.

“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” (a song about strangers – i.e. the press – spreading rumors to start arguments for no apparent reason), was released in early May 1983 and didn’t waste any time debuting on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.  It debuted on the chart at No. 41, three weeks after its release, and with “Billie Jean” still on the chart (at No. 42) and “Beat It” at No. 3. 

The following week, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” roared to No. 22, looking like a third No. 1 hit in a row from THRILLER (the album’s first single, “The Girl Is Mine,” with Paul McCartney, peaked at No. 2).  After a few slow chart weeks, it reached the Top 10 by early July 1983, and a couple weeks later, spent a quick two weeks at No. 5.  THRILLER’s fifth single, “Human Nature,” had already reached the Top 40 while “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” was still in the Top 10.  It was one of five singles from THRILLER to finish the year in the Top 100 here in the U.S. in 1983.

Around the globe, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” spent two weeks at No. 1 in the Netherlands, and reached No. 3 in Belgium, No. 5 in Ireland, No. 8 in the U.K., No. 11 in Canada, No. 14 in Spain and No. 16 in Germany.

“LET’S ALL GO TO COURT, LET’S GO MAKE SOME LAW NOW” FACT:  As talented as Michael Jackson was, he had a bad habit of “borrowing” other people’s music for his own songs – without their consent.  At the “We Are The World” recording in 1985, he confessed to Daryl Hall that he used the beat of “I Can’t Go For That” for the beat in “Billie Jean.”  Daryl Hall didn’t seem to mind, but for “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” that catchy vocal bit near the end, you know the one – “Mama-say mama-sah ma-ma-coo-sah” – was actually taken directly from a 1972 Disco song by Manu Dibango called “Soul Makossa” (Manu Dibango is a saxophonist from Cameroon, and Makossa is a type of music and dance in that country), and the bit was used without permission. 

For years, there was no lawsuit about this, but when current Pop star, Rihanna, used the bit in one of her songs from 2007, both she and Michael Jackson were sued.  In early 2009, just months before Michael Jackson died, Michael had admitted he “borrowed” the line, and he ended up settling out of court.  Apparently, when Rihanna asked Michael Jackson to see if she could use the line in her song, that’s when the fit hit the shan, and once again, Manu Dibango was not contacted by Michael Jackson prior to the song’s use, hence the lawsuit.

It’s hard to believe Michael’s been gone nine years already.  He was 50 at the time of his death, the age I’m at right now (don’t worry – I’m not leaving anytime soon), and I’m convinced that Michael had a big comeback in the works when his life was cut short on June 25, 2009.  While I have my own theory about what really happened with his death, I would much rather choose to celebrate his music, in this case “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” which is six minutes of pure Post-Disco joy and dance floor gold.  Honestly, who do you know that WOULDN’T get out on the dance floor and dance to this as soon as they heard it?!

“Lift your head up high / And scream out to the world / I know I am someone / And let the truth unfurl / No one can hurt you now / Because you know it’s true / Yes, I believe in me / So you believe in you…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KWf_-ofYgI

  

song of the day – “Take Me With U” | PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION featuring APOLLONIA | 1985.

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 2 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 2 this day.  4 me, the show was No. 1 with a bullet.  And still is (thanks 2 the re-airing of broadcasts of AT40 on iHeart Radio).

In honor of my radio hero, Casey Kasem, 4 the entire month of June, I will B highlighting a song each day (some days will have two songs!) that peaked in the Top 40 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (including five (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s), and with every blog post, just like on AMERICAN TOP 40, the hits will get bigger with each post.  On June 1, 2017, I featured a song that peaked at No. 40.  On June 30, I’ll feature a “song of the day” that went all the way 2 No. 1. 

As Casey used 2 say on AT40, “And on we go!”

When my radio show, STUCK IN THE 80s, had its final show on my 50th birthday – and during the Maine Blizzard Of 2017 (Hope, Shawn and I had 2 literally shut WMPG-FM down afterwards; Shawn: “We’re rockin’ so hard, the station cannot handle it anymore!”; Hope: “No one can follow U Ron!”). 

With the 2017 Maine blizzard in the window behind us, from L to R that’s Shawn, Hope and yours truly all sporting STUCK IN THE 80s T-shirts on the final STUCK broadcast on WMPG-FM, 2.12.17.

One of the songs I chose 4 the last show was “Take Me With U” by Prince & The Revolution featuring Apollonia.  As I mentioned on the last show, and will re-mention here (if I haven’t already on the bloggy thing), it’s one of my all-time favorite Prince songs that DOESN’T get nearly enough love as it should.

Released as the last of five singles from 1984’s PURPLE RAIN and written by Prince (of course), “Take Me With U” was a duet between Prince and Apollonia Kotero, who played Prince’s girlfriend in PURPLE RAIN.  “Take Me With U” was initially 2 have appeared on the APOLLONIA 6 album (released on October 1, 1984, and featured one song from PURPLE RAIN – “Sex Shooter,” which Apollonia 6 played in the film). 

But, with Prince being rightfully particular about his songs (4 example, all of his videos that went back up after he died have all pretty much been removed from YouTube), he pulled the song off of the APOLLONIA 6 album, and included it on PURPLE RAIN. 

All of the singles from (and of course, the entire album) PURPLE RAIN were sensational, but unlike the other singles released from the soundtrack, “Take Me With U” had this really cool vibe 2 it, featuring a drum solo and finger cymbals at the beginning and the end of the song.  This Psychedelic-y style might have actually been the precursor 2 his next album, AROUND THE WORLD IN A DAY, especially on the singles “Raspberry Beret” and “Pop Life.”

“Take Me With U” was released on January 25, 1985, exactly seven months after the release of the soundtrack 2 PURPLE RAIN, and almost exactly six months after the release of the film, and it only took a couple of weeks 4 the single 2 debut on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (at No. 61).

Reaching the Top 40 of the Hot 100 in just its fourth chart week, “Take Me With U” became the fifth Top 40 single from PURPLE RAIN, and, at that point, Prince became just the seventh recording artist in history (if my math is correct) 2 have five or more Top 40 hits released from one album on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, following Michael Jackson’s THRILLER, Lionel Richie’s CAN’T SLOW DOWN, Billy Joel’s AN INNOCENT MAN, SPORTS by Huey Lewis & The News, Tina Turner’s PRIVATE DANCER, and the incomparable Cyndi Lauper, and her wonderful SHE’S SO UNUSUAL.  (The Cars would join that group a week later with “Why Can’t I Have You,” the excellent and highly-underrated fifth single from their fantastic 1984 album, HEARTBEAT CITY.)

“Take Me With U” spent a couple of weeks at No. 25 in late March 1985, and without much fanfare, faded out of the Hot 100 after 12 short weeks.  Over in the U.K., it was a double A-sided single with “Let’s Go Crazy,” and it reached No. 7.  I would like 2 think the folks in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland didn’t just listen 2 “Let’s Go Crazy” (as awesome as that song is), and flipped the record over and really enjoyed “Take Me With U” too.

Everyone in The Revolution was involved with this gem, and the unity involved with this song is amazing.  And, 4 those who didn’t already own PURPLE RAIN by the end of January 1985, when “Take Me With U” was released, and were kind enough 2 buy the single anyway, and 2 those radio stations who were kind enough 2 play it, I thank U.  “Take Me With U” is that sorta-forgotten gem (though not by me) that, when U listen 2 it 4 the first time in awhile, U will remember why U loved it all those years ago, and, like me, U will love it 4evah…

“I don’t care where we go / I don’t care what we do / I don’t care pretty baby / Just take me with u…”

song of the day – “Money Changes Everything” | CYNDI LAUPER | 1985.

One of the first things I learned about WMPG community radio in Portland, Maine when I started my little 80s radio program, STUCK IN THE 80s, there in 1996 was the Begathon.  WMPG gets approximately 1/3 of its funding from the University of Southern Maine, approximately 1/3 from underwriting, and approximately 1/3 from listener donations.  A large chunk of the latter comes from the Begathon.  What started out as a 2-week pledge drive in which volunteer radio hosts would “beg” to raise money for the station is now split up into two 1-week pledge drives, one in the Spring and one in the Fall.  It’s come a long way since my first Begathon in the Fall of 1996.  My very last Begathon for WMPG will be on Sunday, 9.25.2016.

An artist I love to play any time of the year, Cyndi Lauper, is responsible for a  song I love to play any time of the year – especially during Begathon – her 1985 hit, “Money Changes Everything” (from her amazing 1983 debut album, SHE’S SO UNUSUAL).

“Money Changes Everything” was actually a cover of a song first recorded in 1978 by the Atlanta, GA Rock band, The Brains, written by vocalist and keyboardist Tom Gray.  Their version led them to a contract with Mercury Records, and they re-recorded “Money Changes Everything” for their 1980 self-titled debut album, produced by the legendary Steve Lillywhite, who also produced albums that year for The Psychedelic Furs (their self-titled debut) and Peter Gabriel (his third self-titled album, also known as MELT, and featuring “Games Without Frontiers” and “Biko.”

SHE’S SO UNUSUAL contained a near-even mix of originals, like “Time After Time” and “She Bop,” and cover songs, including “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” (originally by Robert Hazard), “All Through The Night” (Jules Shear), “When You Were Mine” (a fantastic cover of the Prince original), and “Money Changes Everything.”

Released in late 1984 as the fifth single from SHE’S SO UNUSUAL, “Money Changes Everything” debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 three days before Xmas 1984, the same week Cyndi’s fourth Top 5 single from SHE’S SO UNUSUAL,  “All Through The Night” dropped out of the Top 10 (Cyndi was the first female recording artist to have four Top 5 singles from one album, and a debut album at that).

“Money Changes Everything,” which features a solo from friend and “Time After Time” co-writer, Rob Hyman of The Hooters on the Hohner Melodica (otherwise known as a “hooter”), reached the Top 40 of the Hot 100 in just four weeks, but stalled for a week at No. 27 in February 1985, and though it didn’t reach the Top 10, “Money Changes Everything” did help keep Cyndi in the Top 40 every week for 13 consecutive months, ever since “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” debuted in the Top 40 in late January 1984.

Around the globe, “Money Changes Everything” reached No. 14 in New Zealand, No. 19 in Australia and No. 40 in Canada.  It was a big hit in South America, reaching No. 3 in Colombia and No. 10 in Chile.

The official video for “Money Changes Everything” (a link to the video is below) was a live performance piece, where she sported a haircut not many folks could pull off (but she did), she was getting love much love from the audience, and when she wasn’t dancing all over the stage, she was kicking and beating the shit out of this metal garbage can.  She eventually she climbed into another garbage can on the stage, and she (and the garbage can) were elevated over the audience.  When I saw Cyndi perform in Boston in May 2016 with my dear and talented friend, Hope, it was also nice to see Cyndi still showing love for the song (and the audience too), and it was the last song she performed before her first encore.

“Money Changes Everything” is actually about money and how it interferes with personal relationships.  While that’s certainly true in real life, I’ve never looked at the song that way, especially at Begathon time.  For a small community radio station like WMPG that, for one week twice a year, asks listeners for help to keep the station running 24/7/365, money from listeners DOES change everything…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp4suZ4jNXg