song of the day – “Mickey” | TONI BASIL | 1982/1983.

As part of their Oscars tribute for the 2.9.2020 awards show, CBS SUNDAY MORNING aired a wonderful segment featuring the one and only “Toni Basil, Choreographer To The Stars” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY69LqURago).

When you mention the name Toni Basil, most folks would say, “Sure!  She had that one hit, ‘Mickey’!”  Even the interviewer of the CBS SUNDAY MORNING piece called Toni Basil a one-hit wonder.  Well, “Mickey” may have been her only big hit (and only Top 40 hit), but she did have two more singles chart on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, and if you only know her for “Mickey,” like I did back in 1982, there’s so much more to her story than that.

That’s Toni Basil “with the red dress on,” getting everyone’s attention, including Elvis, in a scene from 1964’s VIVA LAS VEGAS.

Long before “Mickey” was even a thought, Toni Basil had already made her mark as an actress, dancer, singer, filmmaker and choreographer.  In 1964, she appeared in the Elvis Presley film, VIVA LAS VEGAS (as the dancer in the red dress during the song, “What’d I Say”), and was the assistant choreographer and a dancer for the concert film, THE T.A.M.I. SHOW (which included her friend and fellow dancer, Teri Garr).

Toni Basil in 1965’s VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS.

In the second half of the 60s, Toni appeared in a number of films, including 1965’s VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS (a MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 favorite), 1968’s HEAD (co-written and co-produced by Jack Nicholson and starring The Monkees, and which Toni also choreographed), and 1969’s EASY RIDER (opposite Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper).

Toni Basil and Peter Fonda in 1969’s EASY RIDER.

During the 70s, Toni Basil appeared in 1970’s FIVE EASY PIECES (also with Jack Nicholson), and continued her multi-decade career in film choreography, including major films like 1973’s AMERICAN GRAFFITI and 1979’s THE ROSE (with frequent collaborator, Bette Midler).  She also appeared on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE numerous times in the show’s early years, and sold out solo performances at The Roxy in Los Angeles in 1976.

In 1979, popular British songwriters / producers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman wrote a song called “Kitty,” recorded by the British Glam Pop band, Racey, for their 1979 album, SMASH AND GRAB.  A year later, Toni Basil renamed the song “Mickey,” recorded it, and in 1981, before the advent of MTV, she also conceived, choreographed,  directed (and I believe paid for) the video, and even used a modified version of her Las Vegas High head cheerleader outfit for the video (which she still owns!).  She was 37 or 38 at the time the “Mickey” video was shot, and the video is widely considered to be the very first choreographed music video.

From the “Mickey” music video.

Toni Basil’s debut album, WORD OF MOUTH, was released in the U.K. in late May 1981, and “Mickey” was released as a single, but was not a hit at that time.  The album also features covers of the David Essex classic, “Rock On,” and three Devo covers — “You Gotta Problem” (a reworked cover of “Pity You”), “Be Stiff” and “Space Girls.”  And as a bonus, Devo performs on the songs (she was also involved with Devo co-founder and bass player Gerald “Jerry” Casale at the time, and she was a fan of the band)!

WORD OF MOUTH would be released in the U.S. in April 1982, nearly a year after its U.K. release.  Though not immediate, the success of the album and first single “Mickey” would rely on word of mouth (and a whole lot of cheering) that would get Toni Basil onto the music map. 

“Mickey” debuted unsuspectingly on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 at No. 83 in early September 1982.  Five weeks later, it made its debut in the Top 40, and took its time climbing up the chart, until exploding into the Top 15 in mid-November 1982.  The following week, it leapt into the Top 10 on the Hot 100, and in mid-December 1982, it spent a week at No. 1, and would have stayed on top longer, had it not been for the huge hit by Daryl Hall & John Oates (who had a number of huge hits around the holidays in the 80s), “Maneater.”   “Mickey” would go on to spend over half a year on the Hot 100, sell over two million copies in the U.S. alone, and finished the 1983 American singles chart year at No. 36.

The original U.K. single cover art for “Mickey.”

Word of mouth got out about “Mickey” around the globe, too, and it spent five weeks at No. 1 in Canada, two weeks at No. 1 in Australia (the sixth biggest hit of 1982 there), plus it reached No. 2 in New Zealand and through a re-release in the U.K., No. 3 in Ireland, South Africa and BILLBOARD’s Dance chart.

After “Mickey,” Toni Basil released three more singles from WORD OF MOUTH, and the final single released from the album, “Shoppin’ From A To Z,” reached No. 77 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in March 1983.  Later that year, Toni Basil released her second studio album, a self-titled effort that generated her third and final Hot 100 entry, “Over My Head,” which reached No. 81 in early 1984, plus it reached No. 4 on BILLBOARD’s Dance Chart, and was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in 1984 (the first year of the VMA’s) for Best Choreography In A Video, losing out to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”  Toni was actually nominated twice in that category that year, also being nominated for the choreography for Bette Midler’s video for her cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Beast Of Burden.”

Toni Basil has received a number of nominations and awards over the years, and won an Emmy Award in 1988 and Hip Hop International’s Living Legend Award.  “Mickey” is in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as one of the groundbreaking singles of the 80s.

NERDY FUN FACT: One of my favorite pieces of trivia regarding Toni Basil is that she taught both David Byrne and David Bowie how to dance.  She choreographed and co-directed the Talking Heads video for “Once In A Lifetime” in 1980.  Apparently, she and David Byrne studied archival footage of “preachers, evangelists, people in trances, African tribes and Japanese religious sects” to see how David could somehow incorporate a combination of it into his performance.

From the “Once In A Lifetime” music video.

According to a 2007 interview she did about the making of the video, Toni Basil said, “David kind of choreographed himself.  I set up the camera, put him in front of it and asked him to absorb those ideas.  Then I left the room so he could be alone with himself.  I came back, looked at the videotape, and we chose physical moves that worked with the music.  I just helped to stylize his moves a little.”

Toni Basil and David Byrne, 1987.

For David Bowie, Toni Basil choreographed his 1974 Diamond Dogs tour and his 1987 Glass Spider Tour, as well as the video for his song, “Time Will Crawl.”  In 2008 and 2009, Toni was the associate director and choreographer for Tina Turner’s LIVE: 50th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT TOUR.  25 years before, Tina made the biggest comeback of the 80s and one of the biggest comebacks of all-time, thanks to Mr. David Bowie believing in her (another one of my favorite pieces of 80s music trivia).

Talk about your selfies!  Toni Basil, Debbie Harry and David Bowie!

When “Mickey” reached No. 1 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, Toni Basil was 39.  Toni Basil is now 76, in amazing health and still thriving.  In 2019, at the age of 75, she choreographed Quentin Tarantino’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, which just picked up two Academy Awards, including a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Brad Pitt.

From 2019’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, that’s Leonardo DiCaprio hamming it up and dancing 60s style, courtesy of choreography by Toni Basil.

What’s up next for Toni Basil?  I’m guessing more hella amazing choreography, maybe some cheerleading, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she even resurrected her own music career.  A return to the singles chart in more than 35 years to join the likes of Billie Eilish and Lizzo?  That’s something I would cheer about… 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aqLwHP4y6Q

song of the day – “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.

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 – “Let’s Dance (Live In Europe)” | TINA TURNER & DAVID BOWIE | 1985 / 1988.

It’s hard to believe that David Bowie has been gone three years today (1/10/2019).  Doesn’t seem like it’s been that long, prolly because I still feel like he’s always here.  And I know I’m not the only one who feels that way.  This morning, I read a lovely column from London’s THE INDEPENDENT – “Why David Bowie will never really die.”

Columnist Lucy Jones said that “of all the musical legends who have died in the last decade, [David] Bowie feels strangely present and alive, thanks to both the internet and the alternative worlds he created which still exist for his fans…  In breaking his own ‘suburban curse,’ as he put it, Bowie ushered multiple generations of people to do the same.  Often, he wrote about loneliness and isolation, a feeling of falling to Earth and not really knowing what’s going on, and either leaving it there and reveling in nihilism or exploring its treatment: connection…  Essentially, his legacy lives on because he changed the way people felt about themselves and the world.  And not in a flash-in-a-pan way.  When swayed here and there by this and that, I often think of his singularity and force, and ape his spirit to forge ahead.  Be more Bowie.”  Brilliantly said, and absolutely true.  Teenagers across the globe are discovering David Bowie as I type these words, and I think it’s extraordinary. 

Speaking of extraordinary, I can think of at least a couple instances in the 80s where David Bowie changed the lives of extraordinary recording artists – and they both have the same Bowie connection. 

When I saw Duran Duran and Chic in Brooklyn, New York a few years ago, just three months after the sad passing of David Bowie – one of the amazing stories to come out of that show was the story of how, after the early 80s disco backlash, no one wanted to work with Nile Rodgers (crazy, right?).  Nile told everyone in attendance that David Bowie was the first person who wanted to want to work with him in the 80s after the disco backlash.  Not only did Nile Rodgers’ incredible producing efforts give David Bowie one of the biggest albums of his career, it also gave him one of his biggest singles ever, if not the biggest.  And Nile Rodgers didn’t have to look for work again – the work came to him.

Nile Rodgers and David Bowie.

Not only did David Bowie change the artistic life of Nile Rodgers, he did the same for Tina Turner.  Before Tina became THE comeback story of the 80s (if not for all-time), Tina was struggling as a solo artist.  She released four solo albums and 11 singles between 1974 and 1979, and out of those, only one album and one single charted low on the respective BILLBOARD charts.

Fast forward to 1983, where, at the insistence of David Bowie, Tina was signed to a singles deal with Capitol Records.  The first single released under this deal was a gorgeous cover of the Al Green classic, “Let’s Stay Together,” her second collaboration with Sheffiield, England New Wavers Heaven 17.

The “Let’s Stay Together” 12″ single.

“Let’s Stay Together” was a huge success across the globe, reaching the Top 10 in Belgium, The Netherlands and New Zealand, and the Top 20 in Finland, Germany and Ireland.  Over in the U.K., it reached No. 6 and was certified Silver (Al Green’s original reached No. 7 there).  Over here in the U.S., “Let’s Stay Together” gave Tina her first solo Top 40 hit on BILLBOARD Hot 100.  It also reached No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart and No. 3 on BILLBOARD’s R&B chart.

After the success of “Let’s Stay Together,” Capitol Records had to rethink their contract with Tina, and gave her a three-album deal, asking for an album immediately.  That album was PRIVATE DANCER, which reached No. 3 on the BILLBOARD album chart, sold 5 million copies in the U.S. alone and generated three Top 10 hits, including the No. 1 sensation, “What’s Love Got To Do With It.”

After another Top 5 album, 1986’s BREAK EVERY RULE, Tina Turner released her TINA LIVE IN EUROPE album in 1988, consisting of performances between 1985 and 1987, and featuring the likes of Robert Cray, Eric Clapton, Bryan Adams and two songs in 1985 with David Bowie, including “Let’s Dance.”  But there was a sweet twist and a play on the song’s title.

Tina Turner and David Bowie, 1985.

Tina and David began their duet with “Let’s Dance,” the 1962 global Top 10 hit by Chris Montez (“Hey baby won’t you take a chance? / Say that you’ll let me have this dance / Well, let’s dance, well, let’s dance…”).  Then, about 75 seconds later, they brilliantly moved from that “Let’s Dance” to Bowie’s No. 1 “Let’s Dance” from 1983, switching off on vocals.  The crowd went nuts for the collaboration and the medley, but I think Tina and David enjoyed it most of all.  You can see it in their faces, it’s beautiful.

From the live version of “Let’s Dance,” 1985.

I don’t know how this live medley escaped me for so many years, but luckily Maryhope had introduced this to me years ago, and it’s still one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard.  Thank you, Maryhope!

This morning, I was nearly in tears upon hearing Peter Gabriel’s stunning orchestral version of “Heroes,” and it was as if I had just heard the news about David’s passing, but as the day progressed, I heard this song in my head, and I knew this was the song I wanted to share and to remember David Bowie today.  I’m still smiling from it.  You will too… #BowieForever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNvkOLYz9I4

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 – “Abracadabra” | STEVE MILLER BAND | 1982.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

39. SLIPPING AWAY – DAVE EDMUNDS (1983)

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

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

36. SOMETIMES A FANTASY – BILLY JOEL (1980)

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

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

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

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

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

30. LIES – THOMPSON TWINS (1983)

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

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

27. THE RIGHT THING – SIMPLY RED (1987)

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

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

24. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER – BLONDIE (1979)

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

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

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

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

19. PUSH IT – SALT-N-PEPA (1988)

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

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

16. HOLIDAY – MADONNA (1984)

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

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

13. TARZAN BOY – BALTIMORA (1986)

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

11. EDGE OF SEVENTEEN – STEVEIE NICKS (1982)

10. RELAX – FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD (1985)

09. THE ONE I LOVE – R.E.M. (1987)

08. LET THE MUSIC PLAY – SHANNON (1984)

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

06. INFATUATION – ROD STEWART (1984)

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

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

03. LOVE SHACK – THE B-52’S (1989)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Steve Miller Band, 1982.

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

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

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

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

The Steve Miller Band, 2015.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On June 15, 2014, Casey Kasem, host of the longtime countdown program, AMERICAN TOP 40, passed away at the age of 82.  From my first blog post (and prolly some more inbetween then and now), I explained how, in 1979, I was a geeky, lanky and somewhat lost 12-year-old living in Central Maine, had a few friends and not a lot of interest in much of anything, but at some point early that year, I discovered AMERICAN TOP 40, and was glued to it every weekend.  Not only could I hear the 40 biggest songs in the country every week, but also Casey’s cool trivia and facts about the songs and the artists, a trait I treasure to this day.  For me, the show was No. 1 with a bullet.  And still is (thanks to the re-airing of broadcasts of AT40 on iHeart Radio).

In honor of my radio hero, Casey Kasem, since the start of June, I have been highlighting songs that peaked in the Top 40 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (including five (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s), just like on AMERICAN TOP 40, the hits have gotten bigger with each post.  On June 1, 2017, I featured a song that peaked at No. 40.  With the next post, I’ll feature a “song of the day” that went all the way to No. 1. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bruce Springsteen with The E Street Band, 1984.

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

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

song of the day – “One Of The Living” | TINA TURNER | 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 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!”

One of the best comeback stories (if not THE BEST) is the comeback Tina Turner had in 1984 with her big No. 1 hit, “What’s Love Got To Do With It.”  Before that, Tina’s sweet 1984 cover of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” became her first Top 40 hit in more than 10 years, since 1973’s “Nutbush City Limits” (with her ex-husband, Ike Turner) reached No. 22.  Released a couple of months in advance of the excellent PRIVATE DANCER album, “Let’s Stay Together” was Tina’s first solo Top 40 hit, after having released four solo albums since 1974. 

Tina reaching No. 1 with “What’s Love Got To Do With It” for three weeks in September 1984 was the conduit she needed to jumpstart an already 10-year solo career.  She followed “Love” with three more Top 40 hits from PRIVATE DANCER, and a string of nine more Top 40 hits between 1985 and 1993.

Betweeen 1979 and 1989, there were nearly 60 songs that reached No. 15 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, and Tina Turner has three of them – “The Best” (from November 1989), “It’s Only Love” (with Bryan Adams, from his monster album, RECKLESS), which was climbing the chart when her other No. 15 hit was peaking, and that hit is “One Of The Living.” 

It was the second single released the motion picture, MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME, which she starred opposite Mel Gibson and served as a worthy foe for Mel’s title character.  Tina received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress for her role in MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME. 

The follow-up single to “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” which spent a week at No. 2 in September 1985, “One Of The Living” was hot on the heels of “Hero,” rocketing onto the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in early October at No. 52.  The following week, it switched places with its chart predecessor and reached the Top 40 in its second chart week.

“One Of The Living” made a steady climb up the Hot 100, stopping at No. 15 in November 1985 the same week “It’s Only Love” blasted in as the “Hot Shot Debut” that week.  “One Of The Living” spent two weeks at No. 15, and was still on the Hot 100 when the Rockin’ “It’s Only Love” spent a week at No. 15 in mid-January 1986. 

Around the globe, “One Of The Living” was a Top 40 hit in several countries, reaching No. 5 in Canada, No. 6 in Germany, No. 7 in Belgium, No. 9 in Finland and Switzerland, No. 10 in the Netherlands, No. 12 in Austria, No. 15 in Ireland, No. 24 in New Zealand, No. 34 in Australia and No. 6 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart.

Singer / songwriter Holly Knight (of the band Device, and who had written and/or  co-written several hits for Pat Benatar, Bonnie Tyler, Divinyls, Animotion, Heart and Scandal featuring Patty Smyth) wrote “One Of The Living,” and had also written “Better Be Good To Me” (from PRIVATE DANCER).  “One Of The Living” would go on to win a Grammy award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

A 1985 publicity shot with Mel Gibson and Tina Turner. Sorry, Mel, but my $ is on Tina.

I know a lot of folks have forgotten about this gem, and to this day, that puzzles me.  It’s a kick-ass song and a Top 20 hit which showcases her strong vocals and confident attitude to match, not to mention a sweet sax solo.  In fact, it’s one of my all-time favorite Tina songs, and I just wanted to share it with folks who had either forgotten or didn’t know it existed.

Tina turned 46 when “One Of The Living” spent its two weeks at No. 15, and is now 77, and though she hasn’t released a studio album in nearly 20 years, she was (as of December 2016) working on TINA, a new musical based on her life.  It’s scheduled to begin in London’s West End sometime in 2018.

Back in the 80s (and since), Tina Turner has been triumphed for her comeback and strength, after the abuse she suffered for many years by her late husband Ike, and that strength and courage not only resonated through her many hits in the 80s and early 90s, but she’s been an inspiration and a hero(ine) to women all over the world.  From stories and articles I’ve read, Tina is quite happy and enjoying life in Switzerland (where she as been a citizen – and married (!) – since 2013), and why not?  She’s certainly earned it and then some.

Tina Turner and her husband, Erwin Bach.

“So now you’re gonna shoot bullets of fire / Don’t want to fight but sometimes you’ve got to / You’re some soul survivor / There’s just one thing you’ve got to know / You’ve got ten more thousand miles to go / Because you’re one of the living / And if we can’t stick together / One of the living / Who’s gonna make it tonight…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc3IEdllaxc

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 – “Lies” | THOMPSON TWINS | 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, 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.  On June 30, 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!”

I have to say, as a self-proclaimed singles chart nerd, researching for each blog post in this tribute to Casey Kasem has been pretty awesome.  Casey would often say, “As the numbers get smaller, the hits get bigger!”  That may also true with how many songs peak at each position.  For the songs that reached No. 30 between 1979 and 1989, there were over 40. 

What I found interesting (to me, anyway) is that, out of these 40+ songs that peaked at No. 30 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, there were only two (real) one-hit wonders.  Also, I’ve already highlighted five No. 30 hits – (real) one-hit wonder Frankie Smith and “Double Dutch Bus,” “The One Thing” by INXS, “The Prisoner” by Howard Jones, Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” and “Space Age Love Song” by A Flock Of Seagulls (one of my favorite blog pieces so far; from September 2016).

Taken at the Seawall Picnic Area (part of Acadia National Park) on 9.12.2016, a photo I took of a lone seagull (no flocks), and included with my blog post that day for “Space Age Love Song,” a No. 30 hit on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 for A Flock Of Seagulls.

Another interesting quirk is that there are a lot of big-name artists who had No. 30 hits, but the hits themselves have been largely forgotten, including songs by The Bangles (“Be With You,” 1989), Tina Turner (“Two People,” 1987), Kool & The Gang (“Let’s Go Dancin’,” 1983), and two each by Daryl Hall & John Oates (“How Does It Feel To Be Back,” 1980, and “Possession Obsession,” 1985) and Toto (“Make Believe,” 1982, and “Stranger In Town,” 1984).

Yet another interesting fact is how there were so many memorable hits from other decades that stopped at No. 30 (like Iron Butterfly’s classic “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” Ted Nugent’s “Cat Scratch Fever,” the brilliant “Walk On By” by Isaac Hayes, “Come Monday” by Jimmy Buffet, “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers, “Our House” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, “She Talks To Angels” by The Black Crowes, “Firestarter” by Prodigy, R.E.M.’s wonderful “Man On The Moon,” the amazing “Love Is The Drug” by Roxy Music, and one of THE BEST pieces of music for all time, “Give It To Me” by The J. Geils Band), and yet, with the songs that peaked at No. 30 in the 80s, for whatever reason, most of those songs have been forgotten.

Thankfully, though, there were a handful of cool ones, too.  There’s the aforementioned ones I’ve already posted on the blog, but then there’s “Dance Little Sister” by Terence Trent D’Arby, “Love Will Find A Way” by Yes, The Human League’s “Mirror Man,” and “Lies,” the first big American hit by a New Wave / Synthpop trio who weren’t at all related – Sheffield, England’s Thompson Twins.

The trio of Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway made up the Thompson Twins in 1982, a time when MTV was so popular, it was affecting what was bought in stores and what was played on the radio, and a time when New Wave was becoming more prominent in mainstream music.  1982 was also the start of the Second British Invasion on the U.S. singles chart, which lasted through 1986.  Thompson Twins were a big part of that. 

By 1982, Tom, Alannah and Joe already had one No. 1 song to their credit here in America – “In The Name Of Love,” which spent five weeks at No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart in May and June 1982.

In October 1982, they released “Lies,” the first single from their upcoming third album, QUICK STEP AND SIDE KICK.  The band was still looking for their audience in their U.K. homeland, and it stopped at No. 67 on the U.K. singles chart there. 

“Lies” would find an audience here in America a few months later, and it debuted at No. 80 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in late January 1983, a couple of weeks after it spent two weeks at No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart (with its B-side, “Beach Culture”).

As “Lies” made its climb up the Hot 100, the song’s parent album was released in February 1983, and with the Twins being signed to Arista Records, that meant, well, much like fellow Brits (The) Icicle Works in 1984, a name change for the album in the U.S. and Canada.  So, the name of the album was shortened to just SIDE KICKS.

A month after the album’s release, “Lies” found its way to the Top 40.  By the end of March 1983, it reached No. 30, but got stuck there for three weeks, and was gone from the Top 40 after that.  It stayed on the Hot 100 for a respectable total of about four months.  “Lies” also reached No. 6 in New Zealand and the Top 30 in Australia and Canada.

Though the “Lies” follow-up single, “Love On Your Side” would fail to reach the Top 40 here in the U.S. (it stopped at No. 45 in early June 1983), Thompson Twins would finally find their U.K. audience, and that song was their first of five Top 10 hits, reaching No. 9.  QUICK STEP AND SIDE KICK was also certified Platinum there and reached No. 2 on the U.K. album chart.

I loved Thompson Twins from the start.  I reserved any quick-stepping and side-kicking for at-home dancing, but I was a fan as soon as I heard “Lies.”  Not only was I hooked by the music, but I really enjoyed Tom Bailey’s style of singing.  Don’t know if there’s a particular name for it, I just enjoyed it.  All these years later, I would put his vocal style in the same high class as Howard Jones and Cy Curnin of The Fixx.  They also had one of the coolest band logos.

It was pretty cool seeing them on the TV performing with Madonna at Live Aid.  What I didn’t know was that it was the beginning of the end for the trio I knew and loved as Thompson Twins. 

Madonna and Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey, Live Aid, Philadelphia, July 13, 1985.

After Joe Leeway left the Twins in 1986, Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie kept the band and the name going until 1993, when they changed it to Babble, reflecting a change in musical direction from New Wave to “dub-influenced chill-out” (mixing Electronica, World Beat, Alt-Dance and Club styles).

Babble’s second and final album, 1996’s ETHER.

As Babble, Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie (who were married at the time and living in New Zealand) released a couple of albums before calling it quits in 1996.  Alannah Currie retired from music, and they were divorced in 2003 (though they remain friends). 

Tom Bailey now lives in London with his second wife, he took part in the 2014 version of the Retro Futura Tour as “Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey” and earlier this year on “The ‘80s Cruise,” an annual event of which I hope to attend at some point.  Under the moniker of “Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey,” he released a single last year called “Come So Far,” and has another one scheduled for release this year.

Tom Bailey today.

When I think of Thompson Twins, the first songs that come to mind are “Lay Your Hands On Me,” “Hold Me Now,” “If You Were Here” (from SIXTEEN CANDLES), “Sugar Daddy,” “In The Name Of Love” (both the 1982 and 1988 versions), their kick-ass cover of The Beatles’ “Revolution,” “Doctor! Doctor!” and “Love On Your Side,” but it was all “Lies” that made me fall in love with those three non-related kids back in 1982, who were, at one time, Twins…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVHwD58Ne3Y