Song#: 0589
Date: 05/09/1981
Debut: 90
Peak: 82
Weeks: 5
Genre: R&B
Pop Bits: The disco-ish title track single to their new album "All American Girls" didn't fare too well only reaching #79 on the pop chart. For their second single the try the ballad approach, but it did about the same as the first and was even a low-charter at R&B (#28). The album continued the downward slide of the group from which they wouldn't really recover - at least here in the US.
ReduxReview: The ballad route worked for A Taste of Honey after disco died out with their "Sukiyaki" reaching #2. The Sisters probably should have done the same thing right off the bat instead of releasing the dance-oriented "All American Girls." But the lack of exposure of that single probably affected this single when they finally went for a ballad. It's a nice song, but probably wasn't strong enough to really get them back to the Top 10. However, I think it might have done better as the first single. Or they had a terrific rock-ish tune on the album called "He's Just a Runaway" that seemed primed to be a hit.
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: The lead singer and youngest of the Sledge sisters, Kathy, left the group in 1989 for a solo career. Although she never reach the pop chart, she did have a #1 Dance/Club chart hit with "Take Me Back to Love Again" in 1992.
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Tuesday, October 22, 2013
"The Waiting" by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Song#: 0588
Date: 05/02/1981
Debut: 61
Peak: 19
Weeks: 13
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: Coming off of their most successful album to date, "Damn the Torpedoes," there were high expectations for their follow-up since they basically graduated to superstar status. They issued the LP "Hard Promises" and this first single, while not hitting the Top 10 like the previous album's "Don't Do Me Like That" (#10), it was another Top 20 hit for them and was their first song to reach #1 on the new Mainstream Rock chart.
ReduxReview: I really thought this would be a Top 10'er. I think it is one of his most accessible, pop-leaning songs. Add the call-response "yeah-yeah" and it's a tailor made hit. But for whatever reason it stalled just inside the Top 20. The song probably wouldn't top any list of Petty's best songs, but it certainly was a solid song and a good single.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: "Hard Promises" had a bit of delay getting released. Petty's record company was going to issue the album with their new "superstar pricing," which would list an album $1.00 more than the standard $8.98 LP price. Petty had issues with this and it started a bit of a public feud between the artist and label. Since Petty had creative control, he was considering naming the album "Eight Ninety-Eight" or not submitting the album at all. Eventually, MCA agreed to drop the superstar pricing and the album got released with the normal list price.
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Date: 05/02/1981
Debut: 61
Peak: 19
Weeks: 13
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: Coming off of their most successful album to date, "Damn the Torpedoes," there were high expectations for their follow-up since they basically graduated to superstar status. They issued the LP "Hard Promises" and this first single, while not hitting the Top 10 like the previous album's "Don't Do Me Like That" (#10), it was another Top 20 hit for them and was their first song to reach #1 on the new Mainstream Rock chart.
ReduxReview: I really thought this would be a Top 10'er. I think it is one of his most accessible, pop-leaning songs. Add the call-response "yeah-yeah" and it's a tailor made hit. But for whatever reason it stalled just inside the Top 20. The song probably wouldn't top any list of Petty's best songs, but it certainly was a solid song and a good single.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: "Hard Promises" had a bit of delay getting released. Petty's record company was going to issue the album with their new "superstar pricing," which would list an album $1.00 more than the standard $8.98 LP price. Petty had issues with this and it started a bit of a public feud between the artist and label. Since Petty had creative control, he was considering naming the album "Eight Ninety-Eight" or not submitting the album at all. Eventually, MCA agreed to drop the superstar pricing and the album got released with the normal list price.
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Monday, October 21, 2013
"You Make My Dreams" by Daryl Hall & John Oates
Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 0587 Date: 05/02/1981
Debut: 82
Peak: 5
Weeks: 21
Genre: Pop
Pop Bits: The duo just scored their second #1 single with "Kiss on My List," which was the third single from their "Voices" LP. A fourth single from an album was rarely issued back then, but it seemed obvious that they needed to supply a follow-up to a major hit. So this fourth single was issued and their hot-hot status pushed it right into the Top 10.
ReduxReview: Again, this seemed like a no-brainer. Why they issued two other lackluster songs before this one and "Kiss" is a mystery. Maybe they were trying to get mileage out of the album by putting what would normally be lesser singles first than after the big songs. I mean, any idiot could listen to the album and easily pick these two songs as the hits. Whatever the case may be, luckily these two songs found their way to the singles chart. I prefer "Kiss" a little bit more, but there is no denying that this song is just terrific pop - c'mon, just try not to bop around to this - I dare you!
ReduxRating: 8/10
Trivia: Are you familiar with the Keyboard Cat? You know, the short vids where a guy dressed up his cat and manipulates it to play a keyboard? Well one was done where the he inserts the cat into the video for this song. It's pretty funny. Amazingly, it is still on YouTube. You'd think copyright issues would block it. Check it out.
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"Sweet Baby" by Stanley Clarke & George Duke
Song#: 0586
Date: 05/02/1981
Debut: 83
Peak: 19
Weeks: 20
Genre: Pop, R&B, Adult Contemporary
Pop Bits: Both Clarke and Duke were well established stars in the jazz world long before this collaboration. Clarke was an influential bassist noted for his work with Chick Corea's group Return to Forever, and Duke was a session keyboardist/composer who worked with greats like Miles Davis and Frank Zappa. Both dabbled in crossover music, especially R&B, and it created high expectations when they were set to release their first of three "Clarke/Duke Project" albums. This first single release was definitely commercial in nature and it paid off for them with a Top 20 hit (#6 R&B). Their jazz-based fans were not really impressed with their direction, but it make them even more famous and they gained a new audience. This would be their only pop chart entry. The two would continue to work together on two more collaborations, along with working as separate solo artists and session musicians in multiple genres.
ReduxReview: Here is another example of jazz musicians crossing over to the chart. It was kind of hot at the time and it seemed most any jazz person looking to expand their audience was dabbling in either pop or R&B music. It doesn't always work, but in this case the single was quite nice. It's a lovely slice of AC/R&B that doesn't necessarily highlight the expertise of each musician, but for a couple of jazzy dudes going commercial, this is pretty tasty.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Double Shot! 1) Clarke has gone on to be a prolific composer of film scores and TV music. His works include the films "Boyz n the Hood" and "What's Love Got to Do With It," and the TV show "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" for which he received an Emmy nomination. 2) Their album "The Clarke/Duke Project" would receive a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Duo or Group.
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Date: 05/02/1981
Debut: 83
Peak: 19
Weeks: 20
Genre: Pop, R&B, Adult Contemporary
Pop Bits: Both Clarke and Duke were well established stars in the jazz world long before this collaboration. Clarke was an influential bassist noted for his work with Chick Corea's group Return to Forever, and Duke was a session keyboardist/composer who worked with greats like Miles Davis and Frank Zappa. Both dabbled in crossover music, especially R&B, and it created high expectations when they were set to release their first of three "Clarke/Duke Project" albums. This first single release was definitely commercial in nature and it paid off for them with a Top 20 hit (#6 R&B). Their jazz-based fans were not really impressed with their direction, but it make them even more famous and they gained a new audience. This would be their only pop chart entry. The two would continue to work together on two more collaborations, along with working as separate solo artists and session musicians in multiple genres.
ReduxReview: Here is another example of jazz musicians crossing over to the chart. It was kind of hot at the time and it seemed most any jazz person looking to expand their audience was dabbling in either pop or R&B music. It doesn't always work, but in this case the single was quite nice. It's a lovely slice of AC/R&B that doesn't necessarily highlight the expertise of each musician, but for a couple of jazzy dudes going commercial, this is pretty tasty.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Double Shot! 1) Clarke has gone on to be a prolific composer of film scores and TV music. His works include the films "Boyz n the Hood" and "What's Love Got to Do With It," and the TV show "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" for which he received an Emmy nomination. 2) Their album "The Clarke/Duke Project" would receive a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Duo or Group.
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Sunday, October 20, 2013
"Can You Feel It" by The Jacksons
Song#: 0585
Date: 05/02/1981
Debut: 89
Peak: 77
Weeks: 5
Genre: R&B
Pop Bits: The Jackson's "Triumph" album already spawned two Top 30 singles and that helped the album reach the Top 10 - their first since 1972. It was also their first #1 R&B album since 1971. This third single didn't do as well at pop or R&B (#30), but it did reach #6 in the UK and Top 10 in other countries.
ReduxReview: It took me a few listens to get into this song. Once I did, I kind of liked it. It's the sections with Michael on lead that make the song come to life. The rest kind of falls a bit flat. This probably could be a killer song as a Michael solo song with a more amped-up arrangement. I don't remember the video of this at all (see below) and after viewing it, I'm sure I would have remembered. Like a lot of what Michael did later in his career, it's way over the top and is some kind of message thing that I can't quite figure out.
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: A concept and story for a video was developed by Michael Jackson and it was filmed with lots of special effects and sounds. It was more of a mini-movie lasting over 7 minutes (over 9 if you count the credit roll). The song kind of gets overpowered by the sound effects and visuals, but it was considered a bit groundbreaking at the time. For MTV's 20th anniversary (2001), they issued a list of the 100 best videos and this one was included.
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Date: 05/02/1981
Debut: 89
Peak: 77
Weeks: 5
Genre: R&B
Pop Bits: The Jackson's "Triumph" album already spawned two Top 30 singles and that helped the album reach the Top 10 - their first since 1972. It was also their first #1 R&B album since 1971. This third single didn't do as well at pop or R&B (#30), but it did reach #6 in the UK and Top 10 in other countries.
ReduxReview: It took me a few listens to get into this song. Once I did, I kind of liked it. It's the sections with Michael on lead that make the song come to life. The rest kind of falls a bit flat. This probably could be a killer song as a Michael solo song with a more amped-up arrangement. I don't remember the video of this at all (see below) and after viewing it, I'm sure I would have remembered. Like a lot of what Michael did later in his career, it's way over the top and is some kind of message thing that I can't quite figure out.
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: A concept and story for a video was developed by Michael Jackson and it was filmed with lots of special effects and sounds. It was more of a mini-movie lasting over 7 minutes (over 9 if you count the credit roll). The song kind of gets overpowered by the sound effects and visuals, but it was considered a bit groundbreaking at the time. For MTV's 20th anniversary (2001), they issued a list of the 100 best videos and this one was included.
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