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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amazing artwork of Sadie Sink and Kate Bush.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A STRANGER THINGS poster featuring Max (Sadie Sink).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

song of the day – “We Got The Beat” | The GO-GO’s | 1981 / 1982.

On January 15, 2020, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame announced their 2020 inductees, which included a semi-diverse list of artists, including Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, The Doobie Brothers, T. Rex (long overdue), The Notorious B.I.G. and the only woman to be inducted in the 2020 class, Whitney Houston.

While it was hoped that Pat Benatar and Chaka Khan (as half of Rufus and Chaka Khan) would also be inducted this year, it’s not surprising they weren’t.  At the very least, the Dave Matthews Band didn’t get in.  How the fuck did they get nominated in the first place?  Christ.  But I digress.

A couple of days before the Rock Hall inductees were announced, the Academy Award nominees were announced.  Only one woman of color was nominated for a major acting award and no female directors (and there were many in 2019) were nominated. 

Here on the blog, I know I’ve often mentioned the lack of women in the Rock Hall, and I know I’m not the only one who feels that way.  And, with the double whammy of the Oscar nods and the Rock Hall inductees this week, I’m hopeful that by 2021, we’ll see a lot more women nominated everywhere. 

On the day the Rock Hall inductees were announced, I read an article online about 10 female artists who should be in the Rock Hall (and five who might be next).  At the top of the list, Carole King.  Abso-fucking-lutely.  One of the greatest songwriters of all-time, her 1971 TAPESTRY album was so huge, it spent 15 weeks atop the BILLBOARD album chart, won four Grammy Awards, has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, and was the No. 2 album of the year in the U.S. for both 1971 and 1972, and the No. 22 album for 1973.  Pretty fucking amazing.

Other women on the list I would certainly vote for included Björk, Kate Bush, Dolly Parton and The Go-Go’s.  Courtney Love and her band, Hole, were on the list as well, and as was written in the article, “this one should be a no-brainer.”  WTF?!  She is only on the list because she was married to Kurt Cobain.  She did a decent acting job in a couple movies in the late 90s (including 1998’s MAN ON THE MOON), and the band had one okay song, but really?  A “no-brainer?”  How about just NO!!!  I would much rather have chosen Mariah Carey and Sheryl Crow (both on the list) over Courtney Love, and those are artists I am not really a fan of.  And nowhere (again) on the list was Cyndi Lauper.

Future Rock Hall inductees (yes, please!) Cyndi Lauper and Dolly Parton.

I’ve made my case for Cyndi to be in the Rock Hall (or at least nominated, fer fuck’s sake) many times here on the blog, and you can go back and read about my reasons for why she should have been inducted years ago, so if you see #Cyndi2021 trending anywhere this year, that’s prolly why. 

Even Steve Miller (who has had his own issues with the Rock Hall) called them out when he was inducted in 2016, and said, “keep expanding your vision, to be more inclusive of women.”  That’s goddamned right.

The Go-Go’s are definitely worthy of being in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.  The Los Angeles New Wave / Punk Rockers, formed in 1978 and consisting of singer Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin on rhythm guitar, Kathy Valentine on bass guitar, Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, and drummer Gina Schock, were the first all-female group to reach No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s album chart with their 1981 album, BEAUTY AND THE BEAT.

One of two covers used for BEAUTY AND THE BEAT.

The album spent six weeks on top in March and April 1982, sold over two million copies in the U.S. alone, was the No. 2 album in America for 1982, and was one of the biggest debut albums of all-time.  To date, The Go-Go’s remain as the only all-female band to both write their own songs and play their own instruments on an album that reached No. 1 on the BILLBOARD album chart.  Still pretty impressive nearly 40 years later. 

BEAUTY AND THE BEAT was released in early July 1981 on I.R.S. Records, and took awhile for it to catch on.  The first single released from the album, “Our Lips Are Sealed,” also took awhile to catch on, but it ultimately reached No. 20 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, and also took its time leaving the survey, spending its 30th and final week on the Hot 100 in late March 1982.  It was on the chart so long, it ranked at No. 63 for all of 1982, beating out about 20 Top 10 hits, including their own single, “Vacation” (the No. 8 title track from their 1982 album).

The second single chosen from BEAUTY AND THE BEAT was “We Got The Beat,” released this week in January 1982.  Written by Charlotte Caffey, this song made its original 1980 appearance on Stiff Records, and in the U.K., was released as a single in July 1981.  It was so popular in the dance clubs, the import got so much play, it even reached No. 35 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart in 1981.

The cover art for the original Stiff Records single version of “We Got The Beat.”

The re-recorded version you hear on BEAUTY AND THE BEAT did not take long to debut on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.  Just a couple weeks after its release, it debuted at No. 79 in late January 1982, and just two weeks later, debuted inside the Top 40 at No. 31.  By mid-March, the catchy two-and-a-half-minute New Wave / Dance classic had beat its way to the Top 10.

For three weeks in April 1982, “We Got The Beat” stayed at No. 2 on the Hot 100, held off by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ monster hit, “I Love Rock N’ Roll,” and stayed on the chart for 19 weeks, exiting in early June 1982, nearly a full year after the release of BEAUTY AND THE BEAT.  “We Got The Beat” also reached No. 3 in Canada, No. 29 in Austria and No. 7 on BILLBOARD’s Mainstream Rock chart.

NERDY CHART FACT: Both “We Got The Beat” and the namesake of the The Go-Go’s originated from a song they covered, “Going To A Go-Go,” a 1965 hit by The Miracles, co-written, co-produced and sung by the legendary Smokey Robinson.  The week after “We Got The Beat” left the BILLBOARD Hot 100, a live version of “Going To A Go-Go” by The Rolling Stones debuted on the chart.  So, in a way, the Go-Go’s kept beating on until “Vacation” immediately followed The Stones into the Top 40 in July 1982.

The Go-Go’s broke up in 1985, after their third album, 1984’s TALKSHOW, Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wiedlin had successful solo careers, got back together briefly in 1990 and 1994, and have been together for over 20 years, and released their fourth album, the wonderful GOD BLESS THE GO-GO’s, in 2001.  In the summer of 2018, a musical about the band, HEAD OVER HEELS, premiered in New York.

One of the posters for the HEAD OVER HEELS musical.

“We Got The Beat” was named as one of “The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock And Roll,” a list that includes songs by the also-yet-to-be-nominated/inducted Siouxsie And The Banshees, Salt-N-Pepa, The B-52’s and the aforementioned Cyndi Lauper. 

Today (January 18, 2020) was the fourth annual Women’s March, which started worldwide the day after Donald Trump was sworn in as President Gas.  This year’s protest march for women’s rights and more took place in many cities in the U.S., including an event in Portland, Maine.

From the 2020 Women’s March in Philadelphia, January 18, 2020.

A hope I have for 2020 and beyond is that more women everywhere are recognized for the incredible work they do, not just in entertainment, and are treated (at least) as well and as fairly as their male counterparts.  Nearly 40 years ago, five young women from L.A. shouted, “Yeah!  We Got The Beat!”, and it was an inspiration to women everywhere.  And women still have the beat and then some.  It’s time for men everywhere to take notice and start dancing to that beat.  It’s long overdue…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f55KlPe81Yw

song of the day – “Shadows Of The Night” | PAT BENATAR (1982 / 1983)

Recently, when I’ve been driving in the Batmobile (what I call my cross-bred compact-to-midsize car, or what Bruce Wayne would prolly drive if he wanted an unsuspecting vehicle, unlike say, the Batmobile), sometimes I take a break from my iPod or Spotify, and I tend to listen to Classic Rock or Classic Hits Radio (80s are apparently considered Oldies now, go figure).

The real Batmobile, from 1989’s BATMAN.

One thing that has caught my attention is the amount of airplay given to songs that didn’t do as well as they should have back when they were released, and based on the huge amount of airplay they still get to this day, would have been bigger hits back in the day.

The first song that comes to mind is Stevie Nicks’ incredible “Edge Of Seventeen.”  One of the most-played Stevie Nicks solo hits played today.  And somehow, it only managed to peak at No. 11 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 back in April 1982.  But, as I’ve mentioned before, with respect to Casey Kasem’s AMERICAN TOP 40 and BILLBOARD magazine, in the scheme of radio, sometimes it doesn’t matter what position you peaked at on the singles chart.

One of the best examples of this is “I Melt With You” by Modern English (from the album, AFTER THE SNOW).  Upon its original 1982 release on 4AD (the independent label’s first hit), it fared well on BILLBOARD’s Mainstream Rock chart (No. 7) and even charted on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart, but stopped at No. 78 on the Hot 100 in 1983.

The 1982 single cover art for the original “I Melt With You.”

Fast forward to 1990, and a re-recorded version of “I Melt With You” (from the album, PILLOW LIPS) reached two positions higher on the Hot 100, peaking at No. 76 in the Summer of 1990.

The single cover art for the 1990 reworking of “I Melt With You.”

But, regardless of chart position(s) attained, “I Melt With You” has been a radio staple for over 35 years, and rightfully so. 

Another song that was a Top 20 hit back in the day and would have been a Top 10 hit (with all the airplay it’s getting today) is “Shadows Of The Night” by 2020 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominee (and future inductee) Pat Benatar.

Released in September 1982 (a month in advance of the album, GET NERVOUS; my personal favorite), “Shadows Of The Night” was the lead single released from the album, her fourth studio release. It debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in mid-October at No. 69. 

In its fourth week on the chart, “Shadows Of The Night” reached No. Top 40.  The following week, it rocketed up to No. 23.  But, in November 1982, usually a relatively quiet time on the charts (at least back then), there was a lot of heavy activity in the Top 20, from songs like “Sexual Healing” by Marvin Gaye, “The Girl Is Mine” by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney, Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry,” “Rock This Town” by The Stray Cats, and “Maneater” by Daryl Hall & John Oates.

The Stray Cats, rocking up the singles charts in late 1982.

This heavy activity on the chart slowed down Pat’s climb into the Top 20.  Starting a couple of weeks before Xmas and lasting into the first week of 1983, “Shadows Of The Night” occupied its respectable No. 13 peak for four weeks, and dropped off the Hot 100 a month later.

Around the globe, “Shadows Of The Night” also reached the Top 20 in Australia and Canada, No. 50 in the U.K. (in 1985) and charted in New Zealand as well. On BILLBOARD’s Mainstream Rock chart, it was one of her biggest Rock hits on that chart, peaking at No. 3.  “Shadows Of The Night” also scored Pat Benatar her third Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1983.

The first time I recently heard “Shadows Of The Night” on the radio, I was pleasantly surprised to hear it.  Usually these stations play “Heartbreaker” (her first hit) or “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “Love Is A Battlefield” or “We Belong” (her biggest hits), and they still do, often. 

But, then I started hearing “Shadows Of The Night” more, and on different stations.  Maybe it’s the Rock Hall nod, maybe it’s radio stations branching out from the more familiar, it’s hard to say, though it’s quite welcomed.

Pat Benatar has been one of my all-time favorite artists for a long time.  She also has an incredible track record on the BILLBOARD charts.  Her first six albums were certified Platinum or Multi-Platinum, and on the Hot 100, she has an impressive Top 40 chart history.  Out of her 17 Hot 100 appearances between 1979 and 1988, only two of them didn’t reach the Top 40 (1980’s “You Better Run,” No. 42, and the second video to air on MTV; and, 1986’s underrated “Le Bel Age,” No. 54).

After several missed attempts over the years to see Pat perform live, in February 2018, I finally saw Pat Benatar and her longtime guitarist, producer, songwriter, collaborator, and husband (since 1982), Neil Giraldo, perform an acoustic show in Cranston, Rhode Island.  It was totally worth the wait.

Neil Giraldo and Pat Benatar, from their wedding day, 1982.

Can’t tell you how happy I was that they played acoustic versions of two of my favorite Pat Benatar songs, the lesser-remembered “Promises In The Dark” and “We Live For Love,” the latter a song for which their 2016 tour was named after.

NERDY MUSIC VIDEO FUN FACT: The World War II-themed music video (which unfortunately I can’t find) features actors Judge Reinhold and Bill Paxton (who appeared together in 1981’s STRIPES).

From the “Shadows Of The Night” music video.

I am so hoping Pat Benatar gets inducted into the Rock Hall next year, not just because I’ve been a big fan for 40 years, but also because there were only 2.5 women (along with Whitney Houston and Chaka Khan, of Rufus And Chaka Khan) who were nominated out of the 16 total artists nominated.  I hope they all get inducted, actually.

Will the induction of more women into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame get commercial Classic Rock radio stations to play more women?  I hope so.  Right now, Pat Benatar is one member of an elite group of female artists heavily played currently on Classic Rock and Classic Hits radio, which also consists of artists like Joan Jett, The Go-Go’s and Fleetwood Mac. 

Maybe more female inductees will garner even more female nominations.  Maybe the upcoming (and highly anticipated) WONDER WOMAN 1984 movie will inspire the Rock Hall and Classic radio as well.  That soundtrack will kick much ass I’m sure!

In the meantime, I still haven’t given up on somehow fixing the algorithm commercial stations currently use on the warped ratio between the male artists played vs. the female artists played.  Let’s even it out already!  Damn…

“We’re running with the shadows of the night / So baby take my hand, it’ll be all right / Surrender all your dreams to me tonight / They’ll come true in the end…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6hZ4NwFCg0

song of the day – “Following” | THE BANGLES featuring MICHAEL STEELE | 1986.

Lately, on the off-chance I don’t have my iPod at the ready, I’ve been flipping through the Central Maine/Southern Maine radio dial in hopes of finding something good.  Usually I’m disappointed. 

Yesterday (Saturday, 11.9.19), I was in the basement of my parents’ house helping my dad stack some wood for the winter, and had the radio blasting his go-to station, which has been his go-to station for over 40 years.Right now, they play mostly the big hits of the 70s and 80s, and throw in the occasional 60s and 90s songs as well. 

The DJ on yesterday was horrible.  He talked over every goddamn song (and most likely pre-recorded 4 days ago), and there were hardly any women played.  I kept yelling into the radio, “play some women dammit!” to no avail.

We should all start some sort of coalition to get women played on the classic hits stations like this one.  And it’s not just here; it’s all over, sadly.  I’ve brought this subject up before on the blog, and it’s an alarming fact that almost no women are represented on classic hits radio, and the ones that make appearances on playlists are usually repeated the next time a female artist is represented on the air.  Equally breaks my heart and pisses me off.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is another case.  They have this weird reluctance of nominating women in.  For the class of 2020, only 2.5 women out of 16 were nominated: Pat Benatar, Whitney Houston, and Chaka Khan (Rufus featuring Chaka Khan).  It’s disgraceful!  Why is the Rock Hall so afraid of nominating women, like Cyndi Lauper?!  Cyndi was eligible 11 years ago, and not one single nomination.  There’s plenty of great women nominees out there!  And I’m sure we could have inducted at least one more woman over the Dave Matthews Band.  Christ.

More women dammit, and less Dave Matthews!

I know this won’t make up for the lack of women played on CHR, but I’m devoting my next several blog posts to women — solo women, women in bands, women-led bands.  Just feels right.

The Bangles: “We love being played on the radio! Kickass! Now how about some more women dammit!”

One of the few songs featuring women I heard yesterday on the radio was “Manic Monday” by The Bangles.  The Prince-penned track was a big hit and totally deserves its place in classic hits radio and beyond.  But, why stop there or “Walk Like An Egyptian” or “Eternal Flame?”  The Bangles had eight consecutive Top 40 hits between 1986 and 1989, popular hits including “In Your Room,” “Walking Down Your Street” and their brilliant cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Hazy Shade Of Winter” (from LESS THAN ZERO).

Their lesser-known songs are also worthy of being on the radio more.  Songs like 1984’s “Going Down To Liverpool” and “James,” or their 2003 comeback single, “Something That You Said,” or the stunning song on 1986’s DIFFERENT LIGHT, written by bassist Michael Steele, “Following.”   

It took awhile for DIFFERENT LIGHT to make any sort of noise on the charts or in record stores.  The album was released January 2, 1986, and by the end of the year, “Walk Like An Egyptian” was No. 1 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, and the album was riding high on the BILLBOARD album chart.

Mixed in with the four major singles from the 12-song album — “Manic Monday,” “If She Knew What She Wants” (written by Jules Shear), “Walk Like An Egyptian” and “Walking Down Your Street” — are a couple of songs sung by bassist Michael Steele: a cover of Big Star’s “September Gurls” (written by Alex Chilton), and “Following.”

I remember the first time I heard “Following.”  It was later in my adult life, and long after The Bangles had broken up in 1989.  Having been used to all their big Pop hits, I never knew a song like “Following” ever existed in The Bangles’ catalog.  Well, upon my first listen, it didn’t take long (maybe about three minutes and 18 seconds) for it to become my favorite song by them.

I once described “Following” as a “DIFFERENT LIGHT” for The Bangles (a play on the album’s name), because it’s so different from anything on that album, or anything they have put out, before or since. 

“Following” is an Alt-Folk-type ballad, sung in the first person, and about Michael’s high school sweetheart, and you can hear the conviction in her voice.  Though not released as a single here in America, it was released around Europe and even reached No. 22 in Ireland, and was a minor U.K. hit single.  I had kind of hoped at one point, The Bangles would grow out of the Pop sound and embrace more songs like this.  But, it was not to be.

In 1999, the four of them — vocalist and rhythm guitarist Susanna Hoffs, sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson (on lead guitar and drums, respectively) and Michael Steele — got back together and in 2003, released their fourth studio album, DOLL REVOLUTION.  The album was well-received, less Pop-oriented, and of the 15 songs on the album, many were written or co-written by each member of the band.

FUN MICHAEL STEELE FACT: as Micki Steele, she was a founding member of The Runaways, but left just before the band’s big major-label debut.  And she co-wrote one of the songs on 1977’s QUEENS OF NOISE, the second studio album for The Runaways, “Born To Be Bad,” sung by Joan Jett.

The Runaways, 1975: Micki Steele, Sandy West, Joan Jett.

“Something That You Said” was the lead single from DOLL REVOLUTION (co-written with Charlotte Caffey, guitarist for The Go-Go’s, who had their own reunion album in 2001, GOD BLESS THE GO-GO’s), and reached No. 38 on the U.K. singles chart.  The album’s opener (and inspiration for the album title) was “Tear Off Your Own Head (It’s A Doll Revolution),” a cover of an Elvis Costello song released just a year before, on his WHEN I WAS CRUEL album.

The Bangles reunion was short-lived, though.  Although she left in 2004 during the middle of The Bangles’ comeback tour, Michael Steele officially left the band in 2005 over artistic disputes involving touring and recording (she didn’t want the band to be a “Dick Clark oldies band” and wanted to focus more on new material; not a bad thing).

I couldn’t find anything recent on Michael Steele, sadly, but I am forever grateful for “Following,” and I will always admire her for wanting to be more than “Walk Like An Egyptian” and “Eternal Flame.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hMGJbESQCs

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 – “The One I Love” | R.E.M. | 1987.

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!”

Nearly 80 songs found a home at the No. 9 position of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 between 1979 and 1989, and many of them seemed to be split up into categories, like the (real) one-hit wonders – Gary Numan, Buckner & Garcia, Ollie & Jerry and Oran “Juice” Jones. 

Then you had the first big Top 10 hits (or first big Top 10 solo hits) by established artists – “Let My Love Open The Door” by Pete Townshend, “Touch Of Grey” by The Grateful Dead, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar, “Trouble” by Lindsey Buckingham, “Don’t Shed A Tear” by Paul Carrack, “Lovin’ Every Minute Of It” by Loverboy, “Rush Hour” by Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go’s, “Be Near Me” by ABC and “Burning Down The House” by Talking Heads.

A few second-chance singles reached No. 9 as well – In 1982, Steve Winwood’s original version of “Valerie” stalled at No. 70, while a remix on the CHRONICLE hits compilation in 1987 propelled the song to No. 9.  The Pointer Sisters’ No. 30 hit from 1982, “I’m So Excited,” re-entered the chart in 1984 with a new mix and a new chart peak.  Ben E. King’s iconic No. 4 hit from 1961,“Stand By Me,” re-entered the chart in 1986 thanks to the brilliant film of the same name, and charted in the Top 10 for the second time, 25 years apart.

Plus, you also had No. 9 hits from well-known artists that have been mostly forgotten for whatever reason (though not by me), like “Walking Away” by Information Society, “Room To Move” by Animotion, “We’re Ready” by Boston, “Love Will Save The Day” by Whitney Houston, “Love Will Conquer All” by Lionel Richie, “I Know What I Like” by Huey Lewis & The News, “Love You Down” by Ready For The World and “Let’s Go!” by Wang Chung (who could forget that one?!).

And, there were the big Top 10 comeback hits (“The Doctor” by The Doobie Brothers, “Your Wildest Dreams” by The Moody Blues, “You Got It” by the late, great Roy Orbison), and folks who had more than one No. 9 hit – Sheena Easton, Dan Fogelberg, Barry Manilow, John Mellencamp and The Motels, all with two No. 9 hits, while both Bruce Springsteen and Journey had three each.

In the Summer of 1987, I was two years removed from high school and DJing wedding receptions, and spinning tunes and showing music videos to crowds of up to 600 teenagers and young adults at a chem-free night club in Waterville, Maine (called Studio 2).  That’s where I met Michael, one of my future best friends, who somehow conned me into giving him my 45 of “Burning Down The House” either the night I met him or the next time I saw him.  Clever bastard.

There’s not a whole lot of nightclubbing to be had by youngsters here in Central Maine, even less so now.  I met Michael on a Wednesday, when Studio 2 was trying out a mid-week night, trying to duplicate their popular Saturday night dance excursions for the area youth.

Though the Wednesday experiment didn’t work, I’m forever grateful to have met Michael that night.  He came down with a crowd from Pittsfield, about 20 miles north of Waterville, and they wanted to hear Alternative music.  Well, by the Summer of 1987, my knowledge of “Alternative music” consisted of select songs by Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Clash, Talking Heads and R.E.M., and maybe The Cult and a couple others, but that was about it. 

From that moment on, Michael and I became close friends (he was just out of high school), and he started his 30-year (so far) tutelage of music I never even knew about.  And some of those bands and singers (Robyn Hitchcock especially), Michael has influenced and inflicted more music on me than anyone, and while I still love most of the Top 40 music I grew up with, I am a HUGE fan of Alt-Dance and Alt-Rock today, mostly thanks to Michael.

Thank you, Michael, for introducing me to Robyn Hitchcock and his music all those years ago.  One of the best things anyone ever did for me…

R.E.M. was one of those bands that did have a Top 40 hit in 1987, and I had no idea prior to “The One I Love” and its parent album, DOCUMENT, that they had been together since 1980 and had already released four critically-acclaimed, full-length albums and an EP, but through Michael’s amazing music collection, I was introduced to all of it.  When I went back to college in 1990 (or College 2.0 if you prefer), Michael made me a mix tape (when there was still such a thing) of R.E.M. songs up through 1990.  I still have it!

Formed in Athens, GA in 1980, R.E.M. – consisting of singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry – were critical darlings in their first several years, and had some success on BILLBOARD’s album chart – their first four albums were certified Gold – but on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 singles chart, they couldn’t chart any higher than No. 78. 

But somehow, with DOCUMENT (their last album for I.R.S. Records), they broke out beyond the critical praise of music journalists and college programmers and landed into the realm of commercial radio, and garnered a shit-ton more fans, yours truly included. 

Part of the success of DOCUMENT is most likely attributed to Scott Litt, who worked with R.E.M. for the first time, and he produced the album.  He would also go on to produce their next five albums (the first five R.E.M. albums for Warner Bros.), and all five albums did incredibly well.

The album was universally hailed as a great achievement.  ROLLING STONE’s David Fricke called the album R.E.M.’s “finest album to date” and how DOCUMENT is “a vibrant summary of past tangents and current strengths, [it] is the sound of R.E.M. on the move, the roar of a band that prides itself on the measure of achievement and the element of surprise.  The end of rock & roll as R.E.M. knows it is a long way off.”

Pitchfork said of the album on DOCUMENT’s 25th Anniversary in 2012: “If 1985’s FABLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION was R.E.M.’s most self-consciously Southern record to date and 1986’s LIFES RICH PAGEANT their most overtly political, DOCUMENT maintained both their regional self-definition as well as their indirect social engagement.”

The first single from DOCUMENT, “The One I Love,” was released in August 1987, a month before the album.  The song was oft-mistaken for a love song (and maybe still is, I’m not sure).  It even might have been featured as one of Casey’s “Long Distance Dedications.”  But, the song is just the opposite.  Michael Stipe has said “The One I Love” is about “using people over and over.  It’s deceptive because it could be a love song until the line, ‘A simple prop to occupy my time’.”

Well, deceptive or not, something worked.  “The One I Love” debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in mid-September 1987 at No. 84.  The following week, it had already surpassed the three previous R.E.M. singles to reach the Hot 100.  A month after its debut, it shot into the Top 40.

Two weeks after its Top 40 debut, it won the Sales award for that week.  And in early December 1987, the first Top 40 hit for R.E.M. became their first Top 10 hit, as “The One I Love” spent a week at No. 9.  In an interview that appeared in ROLLING STONE a couple of days before, Michael Stipe half-jokingly spoke of the song’s oft-misinterpretation: “I’ve always left myself pretty open to interpretation.  It’s probably better that they just think it’s a love song at this point.”

Another version of the cover art for “The One I Love.”

“The One I Love” stayed on the Hot 100 for 20 weeks, spending their last week on the chart in late January 1988, the same week follow-up single, “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” made its debut.  Both songs helped propel the DOCUMENT album, and it was the band’s first album to be certified Platinum, and wouldn’t be their last.

Around the globe, “The One I Love” reached No. 5 in Ireland, No. 6 in New Zealand, No. 14 in Canada, No. 16 in the U.K., and No. 2 on BILLBOARD’s Mainstream Rock chart.  Once BILLBOARD got their Modern Rock chart going September 1988, R.E.M. was the first band to have two No. 1 songs on that chart – “Orange Crush” (eight weeks at No. 1) and “Stand” (two weeks).

After R.E.M. left I.R.S. for Warner Bros., the band’s success exploded from there.  They would go on to have two No. 1 albums – 1991’s OUT OF TIME and 1994’s MONSTER, two No. 2 albums – the brilliant AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE from 1992 and 1996’s NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI, a No. 3 album, 1998’s UP, eight more Top 40 hits (led by 1991’s “Losing My Religion”), and an incredible contract with Warner Bros. that gave them quite a ride for awhile.

R.E.M. broke up in 2011 after more than 30 years of putting out amazing music.  Though I sadly never got to see the band perform, in March 2007, I was 10 feet in front of Peter Buck at a show in Cambridge, MA at T.T. The Bear’s, when he was part of Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 (I was also standing next to Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls, though I think Michael – who was a huge fan of her and her band – had to point her out to me). 

Robyn Hitchcock and Peter Buck, hamming it up at SXSW, March 2007.

Robyn & Peter & the rest of The Venus 3 played some Venus 3 originals, covers by The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, and some of Robyn’s songs, both solo and with The Soft Boys.  It was an incredible show.  That’s attributed to Michael, for introducing me to Robyn Hitchcock from the start of our friendship.

Mike Mills, Record Store Day 2014.

I also got to meet Mike Mills when he came for a signing at Record Store Day at the Bull Moose in Scarborough, Maine in 2014.  Bull Moose’s Chris Brown was the inspiration for Record Store Day (also founded in 2007), and I believe the inspiration for getting Mike Mills to come to the store that day.  In the brief moment I met him, Mike was very cool and really down to earth, and he was kind enough to sign a GREEN 25th Anniversary CD for a WMPG auction, and for me, he signed the 4-album set Mike was promoting, R.E.M.’s UNPLUGGED: THE COMPLETE 1991 AND 2001 SESSIONS.  So, I got to see half of R.E.M., in a sorta roundabout way.

It’s funny, “The One I Love” is NOT the R.E.M. song I love the most.  I actually can’t choose a favorite.  But, if I could choose more than one, that distinction would go to “Laughing” (from 1983’s MURMUR), the 1981 Hib-Tone version of “Radio Free Europe,” “Cuyahoga” and “I Believe” (from my favorite 80s R.E.M. album, 1986’s LIFES RICH PAGEANT), “Can’t Get There From Here” (from 1985’s FABLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION, and an old popular saying here in Maine), “Near Wild Heaven” and “Belong” (from 1991’s OUT OF TIME), “At My Most Beautiful” (from 1998’s UP), the original 1992 version and the 1999 orchestral version of “Man On The Moon,” and “Nightswimming” (from my favorite 90s R.E.M. album, 1992’s AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE). 

But, “The One I Love” will always be the R.E.M. song that I loved FIRST, and, with Michael’s help, made me love the band’s music forever…

Me and Michael, 10.31.2015, right before the wedding of his daughter, Devon.  Can’t remember if he or one of his sisters was trying to make me laugh. ‘Twas a really great day of many in a wonderful friendship…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7oQEPfe-O8

song of the day – “Flamethrower” | THE J. GEILS BAND | 1982.

Back in the 1980s, long before THE DIGITAL AGE of music (or of everything, I suppose, but music in this case), people had to rely on the radio to hear their favorite songs, or rely on their friends who had the albums or tapes, and you could borrow theirs, OR you purchased either the 45s or the full albums, depending on the artist.  If you purchased the full LP, sometimes, like with albums by ASIA or Bruce Springsteen or Thomas Dolby or Cyndi Lauper or Michael Jackson or INXS, you’d consider yourself lucky that the entire album (or most of the album) was a keeper. 

Not ranking on Millennials here, but youngstahs today have it easy, with iTunes and Spotify and Pandora and YouTube to check out entire new albums first and / or they can pick and choose any tracks off the albums that they want to purchase.  Even now with vinyl making a strong (and deserved) comeback, almost always when you purchase a full-length record album, there is a digital counterpart included for your convenience (kinda like a marriage of the old and the new).

Well, back in 1982, I only had a handful of albums to my name because (1) I was being frugal about purchasing albums for reasons stated above, and (2) I was frugal about buying albums because I just didn’t have the ca$h.  There was one album, though, that proved to be a MUST BUY – the 12th studio album by Worcester, MA Rock legends, The J. Geils Band – FREEZE-FRAME.

Not only did the nine-track FREEZE-FRAME album have the awesome singles “Centerfold,” “Angel In Blue” and the title track, it also had gems that could have been singles themselves – “Rage In The Cage,” “Piss On The Wall” and “Flamethrower.”

Before owning the FREEZE-FRAME album, I had already purchased the “Centerfold” single (at last check, ranked at No. 63 on BILLBOARD’s 2016 list of the Greatest Hot 100 Songs Of All-Time), which had “Rage In The Cage” as the B-side.  My oldest friend, Pete, had the album, and I remember going to his house and listening to it, which inspired me to pick it up as well.  The FREEZE-FRAME album deserves its own blog post, and I’ll prolly write about the entire album on the bloggy thing here at some point.  Today, though, it’s all about that Rockin’ and Soulful “baby who’ll melt you with her touch.”

“Flamethrower” is the sixth song on FREEZE-FRAME (or the first song on Side Two, if you prefer), and right from song’s start (featuring a killer harmonica courtesy of the band’s longtime harmonica and saxophone specialist, Magic Dick), you quickly realize there’s NO WAY you’re gonna be able to sit still through this five-minute jam.

Back in 2015, for the first time, I (along with one of my besties, the super-talented and awesome Hopey T.), saw The J. Geils Band perform in Portland, Maine, and they were phenomenal.  There are many bands who work well together, and then there’s The J. Geils Band, whose musical interaction between band members is amazing to watch.  And on songs like “Flamethrower,” it’s amazing to listen to.

Almost exactly half-way through “Flamethrower,” each of the band’s (then) six members – Peter Wolf on vocals, guitarist and band namesake J. Geils, keyboardist and vocalist Seth Justman, bassist Danny Klein, drummer / percussionist Steven Bladd and the aforementioned Magic Dick – play together on a sensational minute-long-plus instrumental jam, even prompting Peter Wolf to exclaim, “Yeah!”  It actually kinda reminded me of one of THE best instrumental gems, er, jams in Rock history – the last four minutes of their brilliant 1973 hit, “Give It To Me.”

NERDY FUN FACT: “Flamethrower,” “Angel In Blue” and “River Blindness” (all on the FREEZE-FRAME album) featured five backup singers, including Whitney Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, and the late, great R&B / Pop legend, Luther Vandross.

Even though “Flamethrower” was never officially released as its own single, it does have an interesting BILLBOARD chart history.  As a 12” B-side to lead single, “Centerfold,” both songs reached No. 12 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart in 1982.  As the 7” B-side of the album’s second single, “Freeze-Frame,” it was actually “Flamethrower” that led both songs to reach No. 25 on BILLBOARD’s R&B chart for two weeks in April 1982.  And, over on BILLBOARD’s Mainstream Rock chart, it was the only non-single song from FREEZE-FRAME to chart there, reaching No. 30.

Hearing this song again on my iPod this afternoon makes me want to pull out the 41-minute FREEZE-FRAME album and play it all the way through a couple of times, from the title cut through to “Piss On The Wall.” 

Seth Justman, who wrote or co-wrote every song on FREEZE-FRAME and who was the sole writer on “Flamethrower,” once told NME (New Music Express) that the song was “not just about a woman, it’s about a woman factory worker and how she lets loose at night.  It’s about a certain spirit that’s in everybody. 

“In the middle of that song the spirit in the body has taken over.  It’s not just a hot chick in hot pants.  It’s a woman who punches the clock every day at 8 and 5 and when she leaves she does something with her life, whatever she has to do to punch the clock the next day and not go crazy.  That punch clock is in everyone; there’s something inside everyone that makes you want to go on and get better and stronger.” 

I can’t tell you enough how much I wholeheartedly agree with Seth’s amazing and surprising comment.  Or maybe I just did.  Or maybe when you jam out to “Flamethrower” again, you’ll think about that punch clock or flamethrower inside of you, and figure out ways on how to get better and stronger.  I know I will…

“I forget the darkness / I forget the pain / When she’s movin’ through my heart / And when she’s pumpin’ through my veins / She’s the part inside me / I can never control / And she’s the only reason / I know I’ve got a soul…”

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

don’t you (forget about me).

As I start this blog post, it’s in the 7:00pm hour on Sunday, February 26th, 2017, and during this time for the better part of the past 21 years, for the folks of Portland, Maine and beyond, I’d be playing a lexicon of the great 80s music you remember and much more on my little 80s radio program, STUCK IN THE 80s (on WMPG community radio).  More on the amazing last STUCK IN THE 80s show in a bit.

Once the show ended, I wanted to take a couple of weeks off from the blog, though truth be told, I’ve been thinking about this post since before the last show even aired.

The original STUCK IN THE 80s logo…

After nearly 21 years, over a thousand shows, thousands of requests, tens of thousands of songs played, these two weeks later, it’s still hard to believe that the last STUCK IN THE 80s has aired on WMPG, a radio station that has been like a second home for me for nearly half my life.  Though I’m still considered a volunteer there, I’ll miss being a regular part of it.

Back in August 2015, I first announced that I would be ending the show at the end of August 2016 after 20 years on WMPG, but in April 2016, I decided I wasn’t ready to end the show yet.  The show started part-time in the Spring of 1996 (I was 29 years old), and full-time on Sundays in the Fall of 1996.  When I realized that my 50th birthday in 2017 fell on a Sunday, it just felt right; it felt cathartic to end the show then.  I’m still happy with that decision.  But the last weekend for the show wasn’t without its moments.

This didn’t exactly happen here in Maine the weekend of the last STUCK IN THE 80s on WMPG, but it wasn’t too far off…

Many months ago, I half-joked about the last show, saying, “Wouldn’t it be funny if there was a blizzard and I couldn’t do my last show?”  Well…I’m not sure if it was an official blizzard in Portland, Maine, but the weather was more blizzard-like than blizzard-lite.  I always planned on co-hosting my last show with my dear, dear friends and regular STUCK co-hosts, Hope and Shawn.  Shawn lives in Portland, and Hope (who did a touching radio tribute for me in November 2016 and put together a wonderful tribute video for me recently) traveled all the way from Springfield, MA to be there.   I’m so grateful to both of them.

Hope, me and Shawn, having a fun time at Bayside Bowl, Portland, Maine 2.11.2017.

That Saturday night (2.11.2017) before the last show, I had planned on a “cheers and thanks” get-together at a Portland venue, but with the inclement weather, most folks weren’t able to attend.  The last show’s attendance was another story.

Before the last show could happen, though, I needed to contact WMPG’s fantastic Program Director, Jessica, to see if the station was going to be shut down due to the storm, which was in full force before Sunday night.  Jessica was indeed planning on shutting down the station but knew it was my last show that night, and was kind enough to let Hope, Shawn and I go on with the last STUCK IN THE 80s and then shut the station down, which was actually kinda cool in a way.

The show’s STUCK IN THE 80s “Parting Shot” playlist featured songs Hope and Shawn wanted to hear, and songs that meant a lot to me over the years (and many of those songs have appeared on this blog so far): 

• ALPHAVILLE – FOREVER YOUNG (SPECIAL EXTENDED MIX) (1984) – This Cold War Classic was part of the inspiration for my blog.
• BOOK OF LOVE – MODIGLIANI (LOST IN YOUR EYES) (1986 / 1987) – One of my “Desert Island” songs, or rather, one of the songs I would want to have with me if I was stranded on a desert island.
• BLONDIE – DREAMING (1979) – Another of my “Desert Island” songs, this is my all-time favorite Blondie song, from the Fall of 1979.  I remember it well.
• THE ENGLISH BEAT – I CONFESS (DAVE ALLEN REMIX) (1982) – One of my best memories during the show was interviewing and meeting Dave Wakeling in 2009.  I’ve seen him and the band perform in Portland almost every year since.  Hearing this song live gives me such joy!
• THE CLASH – THIS IS RADIO CLASH (1981) – Released as a stand-alone single between 1980’s SANDINISTA! and 1982’s COMBAT ROCK, this was requested for DJ HopeyT!
• BAUHAUS – SPIRIT (ALTERNATIVE VERSION) (1982) – The original version from THE SKY’S GONE OUT and requested for DJ Shawn!
• PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION – TAKE ME WITH U (1984 / 1985) – This gem from PURPLE RAIN is one of my all-time favorite Prince songs that doesn’t get nearly enough love as it should, so I wanted to play it.
• THE THE – THIS IS THE DAY (EXTENDED 12” MIX) (1983) – A true statement that night…  The end of an era and the beginning of a new one…
• TALKING HEADS FEAT. JOHN GOODMAN – PEOPLE LIKE US (1986) – My favorite version of this spirited T-Heads gem from TRUE STORIES…
• JOE JACKSON – CANCER – Recorded live during the NIGHT AND DAY tour on 5/8/83 at the Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia.  One of my all-time favorites (of many) by Joe Jackson.
• DAVID BOWIE feat. THOMAS DOLBY – HEROES – Like many others, David Bowie’s sad passing in 2016 did a number on me.  But, ever since, I’ve been inspired too.  On July 13th, 1985 (at LIVE AID), he dedicated this song to his son, “to all our children, and the children of the world.”
• ROBYN HITCHCOCK – CHINESE WATER PYTHON (1990) – One of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard, from one of the most brilliant singer / songwriter / storytellers in the world.
• THE DREAM ACADEMY – PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME GET WHAT I WANT (instrumental version) (1985 / 1986) – I couldn’t leave STUCK IN THE 80s on WMPG without playing this gorgeous Smiths cover by one of my favorite 80s bands, and from a pivotal scene in one of my favorite John Hughes films (FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF).
• INXS – DON’T CHANGE (1982 / 1983) – A favorite gem from my favorite album by my favorite band…
• PET SHOP BOYS – WEST END GIRLS (1986) – I remember hearing this for the first time like it was yesterday, and it was around this time 31 years ago…
• YELLO – DOMINGO (1985) – When DJ Hope and her sister, DJ Weez, teamed up for a 4-hour edition of her awesome show, POWERHAUS, in early 2016, they played this song.  I don’t know how it was off my radar for so long, but I’m glad it’s there now!
• THE KLF feat. TAMMY WYNETTE – JUSTIFIED & ANCIENT (12” MIX) (1991) – The origins of this song date back to 1987, when The KLF were still The Timelords.  One of THE best one-time collaborations of all-time.
• PETER GABRIEL – IN YOUR EYES (2011 NEW BLOOD ORCHESTRAL VERSION) – Hope and I were so glad to see Peter Gabriel perform in 2016, but I wish I had also seen him on this tour, featuring orchestral versions of his amazing songs.  This is my favorite, originally from 1986’s brilliant SO album.
• CYNDI LAUPER – TIME AFTER TIME (1983 / 1984) – Meeting and interviewing Cyndi Lauper in 2002 was a moment, much like Cyndi herself, that I’ll treasure forever.
• SIMPLE MINDS – A BRASS BAND IN AFRICA (1985) – This amazing instrumental was the B-side of “Don’t You (Forget About Me).”
• SIMPLE MINDS – DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) – Recorded live from The Ahoy in Rotterdam, 12.3.1985.  My favorite song for all-time.

The response to the last STUCK IN THE 80s on WMPG was incredibly overwhelming and heartfelt.  It was prolly the most-listened-to show I’ve ever had.  Wanted to share just some of the truly amazing and kind comments shared by my WMPG family, friends and fans:

• “Better safe than sorry, I suppose…  Better to Be Stuck in the 80’s than in the low teens and a blizzard…  Big shout out to Ron for all his years on the air, and his show to end all shows, tonight… at least for a day or two…  cheers!”
• “Thank you Ron.  Our Sunday nights won’t be the same without you.”
• “Ron …….Rock it….tear the roof off……and then shut it down buddy!”
• “What an end to a great run.  SHUT IT DOWN, Ron!”
• “What a way to go – a birthday, a blizzard, and then shutting down the station.  Tonight will be epic – thank you for the tunes and enjoy the next great adventures in Life!”
• “Thanks Ron for one last – and hopefully not final – Sunday night kitchen dance party.”
• “Ron, Sunday nights will not be the same.  Thank you so much.  It has been a pleasure listening to your programs.  It was a thrill to program and co-host a show.  You will be missed.  All the best in what lies ahead.”
• “Wow your birthday, last show and an epic nor’easter on its way.  You certainly know how to party!!!!”
• “Congrats on such a great show.  I’ll miss tuning in to you.”
• “Happy birthday Ron!  Forever grateful for your show!  You truly are the King of the 80’s!”
• “What the hell am I supposed to do on Sunday evenings; be sociable?”
• “REALITY sets in as Sunday evening approaches without STUCK IN THE 80s.  It’s kinda going to be like a zombie achieving consciousness and understanding that everyone’s a zombie and there are no fresh brains.”
• “You’re gonna get me crying again…forget you?  You, Hope and Shawn were our Sunday nights….we’ll never forget.”
• “This will be a last show you can never forget!”
• “Happy Birthday, Ron! Congratulations on an incredible radio run!”
• “This is the end of an era!!  No 80s show on the radio even came close to yours.  The research, the knowledge and the vast music catalog are unparalleled.  Sad to see it go, but glad you gave Portland a proper 80s experience for so many years.  I hope the next phase in your life is great as well.”
• “What do you do when the radio show you love and have been listening to for the last 15-plus years goes silent (Wow, Ron, you really went out in dramatic fashion, this blizzard and all!)?!  Will and I miss you already!  Thank you so much, Ron – all the best to your next chapter!”
• “Happy Birthday to you, my brother!  Today is bittersweet for sure.  Can’t wait for your next musical adventure.  Peace & Love (and birthday spankings) to you!”
• “Mike drop!!! Thanks for 20 years Ron & crew!!!”
• “Ron does final show.  Shuts down transmitter.  /mic drop/”  (more on that in a bit…)

DJ Shaxx, Whitney and me, 1.29.2017…

And from my radio neighbor for the past 11 months, host of the wonderful LEFT OF THE DIAL, the incredibly talented DJ Shaxx:

“First, Happy birthday, friend!

“Can’t believe I won’t be there tonight for you to pass the broadcasting baton to me as I begin LEFT OF THE DIAL.  One of the reasons I love doing my show is that it has always followed STUCK IN THE 80s.  I come into the studio on a wave of positivity and grooving to your music; your legendary presence in the big chair as I walk into the on air studio.  Your personality and music has always helped me start my show with a bang.  In fact, my intro, my first song… you’re the audience.  I have so much enjoyed our conversations transitioning between shows.  And then, as you hit the road, I continue to spin music and speak on the mic and imagine you driving up interstate 295.

“With your departure, Ron Raymond Jr., a big part of what I do will change.

“Changes…  The only constant in life, right?  But change is good.  I’m excited for you and the changes coming up in your life.  The opportunities for great things to happen.  Your future is bright, Ronnie.  You gotta wear shades.

“Man, I’m gonna miss you.  I will miss your DJ mentorship, extensive knowledge and impeccable taste in music.  I will miss your humor and your kindness.

“Thank you for all that you’ve given to WMPG.  Thank you for sharing your great, great knowledge of the 80s every week.  You can feel it tonight.  Everyone tuning in.  Theirs are invisible airwaves crackling with life.  Ripe and tender, whistling with energy (as Geddy Lee would sing).  Thanks for carrying on that great Spirit of Radio.  Because of what you’ve done.  It will live on.  For a long, long time.  Someday inhabitants of a distant universe will be hearing these broadcasts and they will say, ‘Geez!  These people are stuck in the 80s.  We must rescue them.’  And then our planet will never be the same.

“Excelsior!”

When you host a radio show for as long as I did with STUCK IN THE 80s, I had 20 years of thank-you’s and shout-outs to announce.  Of course, I wasn’t able to get to everyone.  That alone would have taken a whole entire show.  The last of my deserved thank-you’s were dedicated to two of my dearest and closest friends in the whole world – DJs extraordinaire Hope and Shawn, who I’d like to truly love to thank again, for their love and knowledge of music and the 80s, their mad DJ skillz, and their passion, dedication and innumerable contributions to STUCK IN THE 80s!  I couldn’t have done it all these years without them!  (BTW, at the end of the show, since we were shutting down the station, Hope came back on the air and said, “STUCK IN THE 80s OUT!”  And then, in sorta dramatic fashion, Shawn and I did drop out mics…  It was great.)

Shawn, me and Hope, WMPG-FM and WMPG.org, 2.12.2017, hiding from the blizzard outside and truly STUCK IN THE 80s!

For over a year now, people have been asking me why I’m ending the show.  Well, there’s a number of reasons, but mainly, for now, I want to take a break and take some time for me, do some screenwriting, maybe some voiceover work, continue with the little bloggy thing here, and with me turning 50 a couple of weeks ago, to figure out the next step of my path in this next chapter of my life. 

Thank you, for 20 years and then some…

I don’t know where, and I don’t know when, but STUCK IN THE 80s will be back, I guaRONtee.  I’ll be back too.  And don’t worry ‘bout a thing, ‘cause every little thing is gonna be alright.  And please know that STUCK IN THE 80s has been the proudest moment of the first half of my life.  Thank you.  I love you and I’ll miss you all.

So, until the next time you hear me on your radio, take care, be good, talk hard, and don’t you forget about me.  I’ll catch you on the flip side.  And as Mr. David Bowie once said, “I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.”  So stay tuned…

Hope and Shawn, I couldn’t have done it without you.  Thank you!

song of the day – “You Know I Love You…Don’t You?” | HOWARD JONES | 1986 / 1987.

Happy 2017 everyone!  Hope your holiday season treated you well!

For the January 8, 2017 edition of STUCK IN THE 80s, my little retro radio show on WMPG community radio in Portland, Maine, I’ll be hosting my final (?) All-Request Fest.  It’s something I thought of years ago as a way to give back to everyone who tuned in to the show and pledged money on STUCK IN THE 80s during the bi-annual pledge drives.  From Pop to Punk, Rap to Rock, New Wave to New Romantics, it’s about the listeners and their requests, and it’s always spontaneous and fun. 

For this final (?) edition of the All-Request Fest, I’ll also be channeling my inner chart nerd and will bring folks 17 for ’17, where I’ll be playing just some of the many songs that peaked at No. 17 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 between 1979 and 1989.  So, from now until the All-Request Fest, I’ll be posting all No. 17 hits…just because, well, I AM a chart nerd.  And I’m okay with that.

One of my favorite No. 17 hits on the Hot 100 is courtesy of one of my all-time favorite recording artists – Southampton, England’s wonderful Howard Jones – “You Know I Love You…Don’t You?”

From Howard’s third studio album, ONE TO ONE, “You Know I Love You…Don’t You?” was the first single released from the album here in America (in the U.K. and other parts of the globe, “All I Want” was the first single released). 

Just four weeks after HoJo’s biggest American hit, “No One Is To Blame,” departed the BILLBOARD Hot 100, he debuted at No. 69 with “You Know I Love You…Don’t You?”

The U.S. cover art for “You Know I Love You…Don’t You?”

The creative part-animated, part-live action video (perhaps inspired by the Richard Lowenstein-directed INXS video of “What You Need” earlier that year) was directed by Wayne Isham, who was attending the University of California at Santa Barbara when the video for David Bowie’s “Ashes To Ashes” was released in 1980, and the video inspired him to start making videos.

While the majority of the early videos Wayne directed were by Hard Rock and Metal artists like Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, Queensrÿche and Megadeth, he also directed videos for folks like The Psychedelic Furs (“Pretty In Pink”), Whitney Houston (“So Emotional”), The Rolling Stones and Roxette.  At the MTV Video Music Awards in 1991, Wayne Isham (along with Bon Jovi) received the Lifetime Achievement Award, better known as the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.

The U.K. cover art for “You Know I Love You.”

With help from the cool music video, “You Know I Love You” debuted on the Top 40 of the Hot 100 in just four weeks.  Just before Xmas 1986, it was stuck in a competitive part of the chart, and spent three weeks over the holiday season at No. 17.

While “You Know I Love You” was one of HoJo’s biggest hits here in the U.S., it sadly didn’t fare as well elsewhere.  In Canada, it reached No. 26, a peak of No. 61 in Australia, and in his U.K. homeland, it stalled at No. 43.

My oldest friend, Peter, and I got to see HoJo in Portland, Maine in late June  2016.  It was my second time seeing HoJo perform (the first time was in 1998 in Boston, on a tour with The Human League and Culture Club).  I honestly could see this man perform every day of the week and twice on Sunday.  Howard hasn’t had a Top 40 hit in 25 years, but as much as I love singles chart trivia, I also know the Pop charts don’t define recording artists, and definitely doesn’t define HoJo.

Howard Jones today…

One of the things I love about seeing Howard Jones perform is how comfortable he is in his element.  And the things that man can do with a synthesizer!  Holy cats!  Brilliant, and incredibly fun to watch. 

HoJo performing live, 2016…

I know I don’t have to ask this question, but Howard, “You Know I Love You…Don’t You?”  You bet I do.  Hope to see you around these parts again soon…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy3K8tLhQpE

song of the day – “Cannonball” | SUPERTRAMP | 1985.

In my last blog post from earlier today (9.17.2016), I talked about the English Progressive Rock band, Supertramp, and the departure of one of the band’s founders and co-frontmen, Roger Hodgson, in 1983.  In 1984, Roger joined the club of nearly 500 artists who reached the BILLBOARD Hot 100 just one time.  He did it with his moderate hit, “Had A Dream (Sleeping With The Enemy).”

Well, that inspired today’s “song of the day.”  After Roger’s departure from the band (who, at that point, had been situated out of Los Angeles for several years), Supertramp concentrated on their next album, BROTHER WHERE YOU BOUND, an album the band’s frontman, keyboardist and vocalist (and now sole writer) Rick Davies wanted to make since their last album, 1982’s …FAMOUS LAST WORDS…

Rick Davies wanted to get the band back to a more Progressive Rock sound than in previous efforts.  A demo for the album’s title track was recorded for the last album, but differences between Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies prevented it from being on the album.  For the new album, Supertramp recruited Thin Lizzy’s rhythm guitarist Scott Gorham and Pink Floyd’s legendary David Gilmour on the guitar solos.  The song “Brother Where You Bound” wound up being 16-and-a-half minutes long. 

In a 2012 piece about the album on the web ‘zine PROG SPHERE, it states that the title track “is a prime example of ‘crossover’ prog at its very best, and as such highly recommended to anyone but those prog fans who think that ‘pop’ is inevitably a bad word.

Speaking of “pop,” one song out of the six songs on BROTHER WHERE YOU BOUND, “Cannonball” (the album’s opening track), did manage to reach the BILLBOARD Hot 100.  “Cannonball” debuted on the Hot 100 four months after the departure of Roger Hodgson’s lone solo hit, “Had A Dream.”

“Cannonball” was well-received at first, reaching the Top 40 in just three weeks.  But, unlike a cannonball, it slowed down after reaching the Top 40, and spent its second of two weeks at No. 28 on July 13th, 1985, the day of Live Aid.  It dropped off after 12 short weeks, and to date, is the last song Supertramp has charted on the Hot 100.  “Cannonball” did, however, return the band to BILLBOARD’s Mainstream Rock chart (No. 4), and even placed them on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart (No. 9), no easy trick.

I love many songs by Supertramp, but prolly strangely enough to some, “Cannonball” remains my favorite song by them (or the seven-minute, 42-second album version anyway).  I just love it.  There are so many elements and layers to the song, and such great instrumentation.  Rick Davies wrote and sang the song entirely in the chord of G minor.  Now, I’m no musician, but it sounds like something that’s not normally done, at least not in 1985.  He said in an interview, “I did it simply to see if it could be done.” 

The 12″ single for “Cannonball.”  Not much difference between the 12″ mix and the album version, but this cover art reflects more dancing than the single version!

After “Cannonball” and BROTHER WHERE YOU BOUND, the biggest noise Supertramp would make was on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart, where their song “I’m Begging You” (from their 1987 album, FREE AS A BIRD) would spend a week at No. 1 in January 1988, wedged inbetween Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional” and Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”  It sounded more like should have come out 1978 as opposed to 1988, but maybe that’s just me.

Supertramp released two studio albums and four live albums after FREE AS A BIRD, but apart from a popular 2005 compilation, Supertramp never achieved international success again.  They are still together, and were to have a 25-date European tour in 2015, but Rick Davies was sadly diagnosed with multiple myleoma (a cancer of plasma cells).  I’m sure the band and fans around the world (including yours truly) are holding out hope for the recovery of Rick Davies. 

Rick Davies, now 72, has sang lead on not only my favorite Supertramp song, but also great songs like their first hit, “Bloody Well Right” (No. 35, 1974), “My Kind Of Lady” (No. 31, 1983) and “Goodbye Stranger” (No. 15, 1979).

When “Cannonball” was released, the song’s lyrics (like “I’m washing my hands on you / How could you be so untrue”) were, contrary to belief, not about Roger Hodgson, but instead (according to a French radio interview) a “less than perfect” concert promoter Rick Davies wouldn’t name.

“Cannonball” may not have been Supertramp’s biggest or best hit, but it was released during the best year of my youth (a year of a lot of great music), and I still dig it (and still dig driving to it) to this day…

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