"Queen of Hearts" by Juice Newton

Top 10 Alert!

Gold Record Alert!

Song#:  0624
Date:  05/30/1981
Debut:  76
Peak:  2
Weeks:  27
Genre:  Pop, Country Crossover



Pop Bits:  Newton followed up her smash remake of Merrilee Rush's "Angel of the Morning" (#4) with this second single from her "Juice" album. This single even exceeded the previous one hitting #2 and becoming her biggest hit on the pop chart. It was also her second gold single in a row and her biggest hit to that point on the country chart (#14). Newton receive a Grammy nod for the song for Best Country & Western Vocal Performance, Female.

ReduxReview:  Here is another dorkily good song.  I say that because people kind of chuckle when the song is brought up or when it starts playing it is met with a few "oh man - stupid song" comments. But barely through the first chorus people are usually boppin' to it. Or you are grabbing a hairbrush like a mic and singing to the cat (not that I've done that...well...maybe). It's just a fun song and a bit of irresistible pop-country.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  Like "Angel of the Morning," this song is a remake, but just not as well-known. The song was originally recorded by Dave Edmunds in 1979 and he had a hit with the song in the UK where it reached #11. It was also recorded by Rodney Crowell in 1980, but it was not issued as a single.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" by Jim Steinman

Song#:  0623
Date:  05/30/1981
Debut:  80
Peak:  32
Weeks:  16
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Steinman's background is in musical theater and he was writing shows in college in the late 60s. One of his shows from 1973 featured an actor named Marvin Lee Aday, aka Meat Loaf. The two hit it off and would work together on Meat Loaf's hugely successful debut album "Bat Out of Hell" (1977). While beginning production on that album's follow-up, Meat Loaf had voice issues and had to drop out of the project. Steinman decided to pick up the torch and finish the album himself singing most of the lead vocals (Rory Dodd picks up some lead work as well). It became his one and only solo album titled "Bad for Good" and this first single made it into the Top 40. The LP hit #63 here in the States, but was a hit in the UK where it reached the Top 10. This song would also be Steinman's one and only chart entry.

ReduxReview:  I really do like Steinman's epic, oddball songs but my nickname for him is The Great Recycler. He continually takes ideas/passages from stuff he already wrote/recorded and will use it in another "new" song. Or he will work on a project with an artist and instead of writing something new, he will use a song that another artist already recorded. A good example is the song "Stark Raving Love" from Steinman's "Bad for Good" LP. He took sections from that song and reworked it into "Holding Out for a Hero," done by Bonnie Tyler.  Meat Loaf was the intended singer for the "Bad for Good" songs and he did end up covering some of them on later LPs. Even the crazy-ass spoken word piece on the album, "Love and Death of An American Guitar," was used in other songs and itself was a spinoff of Meat Loaf's "Paradise By the Dashboard Lights." I think this particular single may be one of his originals that was truly original and for me it is one of his best. Steinman really does not have a good voice, so it helps that this song was actually sung by Rory Dodd instead of Steinman. Although still epic in a way, it is not so crazy-over-the-top as some of his hit songs would be like "Total Eclipse of the Heart" or "Making Love Out of Nothing at All."

ReduxRating:  9/10

Trivia:  Originally intended for Meat Loaf, he did finally cover it in 1994 for his reunion album with Steinman "Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell." It served as the second single from the album, following the #1 "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)." The song reached #13 on the pop chart.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Slow Hand" by The Pointer Sisters

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  0622
Date:  05/30/1981
Debut:  83
Peak:  2
Weeks:  24
Genre:  R&B, Pop, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  With the success of "Fire" and "He's So Shy," the Sisters' would continue their new pop-oriented direction with producer Richard Perry and their third album together, "Black & White," featured this #2 single, which ultimately became their biggest pop chart hit. The success of this single drove the LP to #12, making it their best charting album at the time.

ReduxReview:  They went down the same sultry, smokey path of "Fire" and came out with another winner. The Pointers had a knack for taking songs like these and really making them simmer, but soon they would be all about the pop/dance and there wasn't much room for songs like this, which is too bad. This would be their last hit ballad.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  This is one of those occasions where a pop hit was remade and turned into a country hit - and in this case, twice. First, country singer Del Reeves release a version of this song in 1981 which reached #53. Then country superstar Conway Twitty released his version in 1982 and it reached #1 - just one among his 40 country #1's

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Give It to Me Baby" by Rick James

Song#:  0621
Date:  05/30/1981
Debut:  84
Peak:  40
Weeks:  14
Genre:  R&B, Funk



Pop Bits:  Funkster James only had some minor success on the pop chart with his debut single for the Gordy label, "You and I," doing the best by hitting #13 (and it remained his best charting pop single). His first three albums were solid hits, but his fourth was not well received and it even failed to hit the R&B Top 10. So James threw down the gauntlet and released the best LP of his career with "Street Songs." This lead-off track and first single was an immediate blast of funk and it soared to #1 R&B and returned him to the pop Top 40.

ReduxReview:  How on earth this did not go Top 10 pop is a mystery. Well, maybe not as pop radio was still resistant to a good chunk of rap/funk/R&B unless you were Stevie Wonder or Michael Jackson. It's too bad as this is about as good as it gets from James. Could he even top this song? Actually, yes and very soon. But this song comes very, very close to being his best. Just try to stand still and listen to this - I bet you can't. And if you can, you must be dead.

ReduxRating:  9/10

Trivia:  After enlisting in the Navy, he eventually went AWOL and headed to Toronto in 1964. He worked on his music career there and ended up forming a group called the Mynah Birds. By 1966, the group had its lineup set which included soon-to-be famous rocker Neil Young. The group recorded tracks for an album for Motown, but issues with their manager killed the album and lead to Motown discovering James' AWOL status. He was forced to turn himself in and spent a year in naval prison. After his release, the group convened at Motown once again but eventually broke up.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"It's Now or Never" by John Schneider

Song#:  0620
Date:  05/30/1981
Debut:  85
Peak:  14
Weeks:  19
Genre:  Pop, Country Crossover



Pop Bits:  The TV show "The Dukes of Hazzard" was in it's third and most popular season in 1981 with the show ranking #2 in viewers. Co-star Schneider, who did have some experience singing on stage and with groups, decided to strike while the iron was hot and got signed to do an album for Scotti Brothers. His debut album "Now or Never" featured this title track that found its way into the Top 20, thanks in part to his popularity on the "Dukes." It would be his highest peaking pop entry, but later in the 80s Schneider would prove that it was no fluke and he continued a successful country music career that got him four #1 hits.

ReduxReview:  I have to say that this is just...awful. If you choose to cover Elvis, it had better be damn good. This is so weak that if Elvis had heard it, he'd probably choke on his fried peanut butter/banana sandwich. Now, Schneider does have a voice and he would do so much better later on with solid country material and even on Broadway, but he just can't compete with Elvis. The arrangement is so old-fashioned that is sounds like what a karaoke backing track does now. How bad is it? I loved "Dukes" and watched it all the time back then and even had a crush on Schneider. Yet I couldn't even go out and buy this dud.

ReduxRating:  2/10

Trivia:  This song was originally a huge #1 hit for Elvis Presley in 1960. The song is based on the popular Italian song "O Solo Mio," as was another hit from 1949, "There's No Tomorrow" by Tony Martin. At the point where Presley was in the military and stationed overseas, he heard the Tony Martin song and got the idea to do something similar. Songwriters Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold were recruited to do the song and "Now or Never" was born.

_________________________________________________________________________________