"Cars" by Gary Numan

Top 10 Alert!

One-Hit Wonder Alert!

Song#:  0052
Date:  02/16/1980
Debut:  81
Peak:  9
Weeks:  25
Genre:  Pop, Electronic, Synthpop



**Here is the first One-Hit Wonder of the 80s! Just to be clear, my definition of a One-Hit Wonder is an artist who had a Top 10 hit with their first chart song and then never made another appearance on the Hot 100. Other lists are more liberal and consider just charting in the Top 40 and not hitting the Top 40 again to be the standard, but I'm strict on this!

Pop Bits:  In his native UK, Numan was definitely not a one hit wonder. He had 39 chart hits with six of them Top 10's. Here in the States he is basically only known for the highly influential "Cars" and his severe, mechanical look and performance. The single is from his album "The Pleasure Principle" which was a rock album that had no guitars - keyboards with pedal effects drove the album. Although there were previous chart songs that were synth, moog, or keyboard driven, arguably "Cars" is the first real shot of synthpop to really hit and it set the tone for a lot of 80s pop to come.

ReduxReview:  I remember hearing this on the radio and thinking this was the coolest thing ever. There was nothing like it at the time. Both the song and Numan were creepy too, which was an added bonus. This is a synthpop classic and to me it doesn't sound dated. There are current bands who have learned a thing or two from this and are applying to their own music. Goldfrapp and Metric come to mind. Other groups in the 80s would be more popular with this sound, but Numan really hit it out of the park first.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  Numan's distinctive look at the time came about by accident. Plagued with some acne before a TV show appearance, the makeup folks caked him up with a bunch of white makeup to cover it up and then used black for the eyes. Combined with his self-conscious stage presence and glam outfits, it worked with the music and the androgynous look stuck.

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"What I Like About You" by The Romantics

Song#:  0051
Date:  02/16/1980
Debut:  85
Peak:  49
Weeks:  8
Genre:  Rock, Power Pop, New Wave



Pop Bits:  This is one of those songs you would swear was a Top 10 hit; yet it couldn't even get into the Top 40. Its legacy obviously grew after its chart run as this was all over rock radio for years. It was the breakout song for the Detroit group debuting the same week as their hometown bros The Rockets single "Desire" (covered in a previous post). The Romantics' polished new wave rock and heavy hooks pushed them nationally into the spotlight leaving The Rockets behind. They had a quick rise and fall, but it was a big enough legacy to keep them going and you can still catch them on tour as of this writing.

ReduxReview:  When I first heard this back in the day I thought it was The Kinks. I knew it wasn't, but it sounded so Kink-ish to me (notice I did not use "Kinky"). The sound is so retro and there are influences from all previous decades of rock crammed in a short three minutes. It's a massive blast of power pop that sounds just as good today as it did then.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  From 1987 to 1993 the band was unable to record due to a lawsuit against their management for misappropriation of funds; in particular the licensing of this hit song. They ended up winning their case.

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"Small Paradise" by John Cougar

Song#:  0050
Date:  02/16/1980
Debut:  88
Peak:  87
Weeks:  3
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Before he told the tale of "Jack & Diane" and before he returned to his Mellencamp name, Cougar was a young musician trying to find his place in the major label music world. His first album "Chestnut Street Incident" failed and his follow-up "The Kid Inside" didn't get released (although it did once he became a star). He was dropped by MCA and picked up by the small Riva label. His first album for them, "A Biography," was not released in the US. It did contain "I Need a Lover" which became a #5 hit in Australia and was subsequently put on his next US album "John Cougar." The song was a minor US hit (#28) and it got him on the chart. Critics were not impressed and he was considered a Springsteen wannabe, but that would all change in a few short years. "Small Paradise" was his second chart single.

ReduxReview:  Back in the day labels usually gave artists with potential a chance to grow. Luckily Mellencamp was given that opportunity as it really took five albums to start finding his footing. Today that probably would not have happened. I will say that Mellecamp is one of my all-time favorite artists. However, on the early career albums I mostly agree with critics. With minor exceptions the material just wasn't there. Less epic than "I Need a Lover," "Small Paradise" is more dramatic and has a dark tone. Not a good choice for a single. "Miami," which was the next single in Australia, would have been the better choice.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  Double Shot! 1) His first albums were listed as by "Johnny Cougar," which he disliked but was goaded into using. He got it down to "John Cougar" for that self-title album. It would still take years and a lot of albums sold before he could reclaim his given name. It was 1991's "Whenever We Wanted" that he was finally billed as John Mellencamp. 2) "I Need a Lover" was covered by Pat Benatar on her debut album and it became a rock radio hit in 1979.

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"Desire" by The Rockets

Song#:  0049
Date:  02/16/1980
Debut:  89
Peak:  70
Weeks:  6
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  The Rockets came together in 1972 when two members of Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels struck out and formed the band. They were popular and had a very good following in Detroit, along with Michigan in general. Their biggest national hit was the #30 Fleetwood Mac cover "Oh Well" in 1979. Five studio albums and one live set couldn't push them any further on the national radar and the band split in 1983.

ReduxReview:  I could see where this song would go over well on the bar circuit. It's kind of a good head nodder. It grew on me after repeated listens, but they still sound like a local band. Nothing really wrong with that, but there has to be a more universal sound if the plan is to break onto the national scene. Otherwise, this is pretty good Detroit rock.

(Side Note: I have a pet peeve of someone using "desire" and rhyming it with "fire" or "higher." It worked for The Doors, but that is about it. Otherwise, it's lazy lyric writing that has been used countless times. At least come up with a better rhyme. I prefer "I have a great desire - to win the lottery and retire."  See - much better.)

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Band member Dennis Robbins went on to better success as a country songwriter with several big hits including the #1 country songs "Two of a Kind (Working On a Full House)" by Garth Brooks and "The Church on Cumberland Road" by Shenandoah.

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"You Are My Heaven" by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway

Song#:  048
Date:  02/16/1980
Debut:  91
Peak:  47
Weeks:  11
Genre:  Pop, R&B



Pop Bits:  Flack and Hathaway recorded together several times during the 70s and scored Top 10 hits with "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You." They released a full duets album in 1971 and won a vocal performance Grammy for "Where Is the Love." They began recording a second full duets album in 1979 and had two tracks done before Hathaway committed suicide. The tracks were included on the "Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway" album where she filled out the balance with solo material. This song, written by Stevie Wonder, was released and was the last recording Hathaway made.

ReduxReview:  This does sound like one of those breezy Stevie Wonder tunes he would write in about two minutes. Just kind of wistful and pleasing - nothing more than that. It sounds like something that was picked up out of a rejected Wonder song pile. Had Flack and Hathaway finished the complete album, I think this might have been relegated to an album cut. But due to the circumstances and sentiment in the song, this was probably seen as the proper choice for a single; albeit a bland one.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Flack is only one of two artists who won back-to-back Grammys for Record of the Year. She did it in 1973 with "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and again in 1974 with "Killing Me Softly." The other artist who did this?  U2 in 2001 ("Beautiful Day") and 2002 ("Walk On").

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