Song#: 2322
Date: 05/18/1985
Debut: 89
Peak: 58
Weeks: 11
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: This Philly band was formed in 1980 by Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian. They quickly became a successful club attraction on the East Coast and along the way issued a few indie singles that sold well. By 1983, they were ready to issue their first album titled Amore. It was a regional hit that later helped them secure a contract with Columbia Records. For their second album, Nervous Night, the band revamped a few songs from their debut LP and recorded some new tracks. One of the older tunes they updated was this first single. The tune found an audience at Rock and made it to #11. It then crossed over to the Pop chart where it peaked near the halfway point. It was a good start for the band and they would do even better with their next few singles.
ReduxReview: While it wasn't a big hit at Pop, I remember this song getting played quite a bit. It stood out on radio thanks to its ska/reggae-influenced feel, bible references, and title, which happened to be same as a 1958 sci-fi short story by Robert Heilman that Bazilian had read as a kid. The song was an unusual choice for a single, but it did get the ball rolling for them. It took me a while to warm up to the tune, but the zombies reference and mysterious music made it an interesting and creepy little track. Oddly, it's become a bit of a Halloween staple these days even though there is nothing remotely in common between the song and the holiday outside of the zombie reference.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Hyman and Bazilian had a chance at major label success in the late 70s. They were in a band called Baby Grand that got signed to Arista. Baby Grand released two albums in '77 and '78, but nothing came from them and the band broke up. However, one connection from their debut album would be critical in helping to launch the Hooters into the mainstream. Late in '82, The Hooters decided to split following a grueling tour. A few months later, Rick Chertoff, who was a member of Baby Grand, called on Hyman and Bazilian to help with a project he was working on. Chertoff was producing a debut album for a new artist named Cyndi Lauper. Hyman and Bazilian jumped in and worked on the album with Lauper and Chertoff. Hyman even co-wrote "Time After Time" with Lauper and that song became a #1 Grammy-nominated hit. The success with Lauper prompted Hyman and Bazilian to reform The Hooters and by the summer of '84, the band was signed to Columbia. Chertoff would produced Nervous Night for the band.
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Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Monday, February 19, 2018
"You're the Only Love" by Paul Hyde and the Payolas
Song#: 2321
Date: 05/18/1985
Debut: 95
Peak: 84
Weeks: 4
Genre: Pop, Rock
Pop Bits: Canadian new wave band The Payolas originally formed in the late 70s. The two main members/songwriters were Paul Hyde and Bob Rock. They signed on with A&M Records and after an initial 1980 EP, the band issued their full-length debut, In a Place Like This, the following year. It didn't do well, but their next two albums each featured a Top 10 Canadian hit including 1982's #4 "Eyes of a Stranger." The song would go on to win two Juno awards - one for Single of the Year and one to Hyde and Rock for Songwriters of the Year. However, despite their homeland success, they were having problems trying to break into the US market. To help that along, the label brought in hit producer David Foster to helm the band's fourth LP, Here's the World for Ya. The new commercial sound didn't sit well with a lot of the band's fans and the album was not the hit that the label expected. Although this first single did finally get them on the US charts (#84 Pop/#37 Rock), the overall results were not good and the album quickly disappeared. As a result, the band was dropped from A&M and that was the end of The Payolas. However, the two main members would have a little success later in the decade as the duo Rock & Hyde.
ReduxReview: This is some pretty slick pop. I think Foster did to this band what he did with The Tubes, which was push them into corporate rock territory. The Tubes ended up with a couple of chart hits out of the deal, but The Payolas weren't so lucky. I kind of like this tune and I'm surprised it didn't catch on more and cross over to AC. It's not a fantastic song, but it is a lovely, well-done tune. However, it is in sharp contrast to what the band had been producing before getting Foster-ized, so I can understand why their fan base was turned off by it.
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: The band was initially know as The Payolas or also as Payola$. They got the name from the illegal activity of payola, which is where someone (usually a record company) would quietly pay money to a DJ, station, show, or other entity to play specific songs in their lineup. One of the most famous cases of payola happened in the early 60s when it was discovered that popular DJ/TV personality Alan Freed had accepted money from record companies to play certain records. The scandal ended his career. Payola issues have happened since then and it's a sore subject with DJs and radio stations. Because of that, the band The Payolas though that perhaps their name, which referred to the practice, caused US radio stations to not play their records. Therefore, when trying to break into the States with their new David Foster-produced disc, they decided to alter their name to Paul Hyde and the Payolas. This gave stations a chance to just say "Paul Hyde" if they want to and ignore any reference to payola. Whether it helped or not isn't really clear, but they did finally get a song on the US chart.
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Date: 05/18/1985
Debut: 95
Peak: 84
Weeks: 4
Genre: Pop, Rock
Pop Bits: Canadian new wave band The Payolas originally formed in the late 70s. The two main members/songwriters were Paul Hyde and Bob Rock. They signed on with A&M Records and after an initial 1980 EP, the band issued their full-length debut, In a Place Like This, the following year. It didn't do well, but their next two albums each featured a Top 10 Canadian hit including 1982's #4 "Eyes of a Stranger." The song would go on to win two Juno awards - one for Single of the Year and one to Hyde and Rock for Songwriters of the Year. However, despite their homeland success, they were having problems trying to break into the US market. To help that along, the label brought in hit producer David Foster to helm the band's fourth LP, Here's the World for Ya. The new commercial sound didn't sit well with a lot of the band's fans and the album was not the hit that the label expected. Although this first single did finally get them on the US charts (#84 Pop/#37 Rock), the overall results were not good and the album quickly disappeared. As a result, the band was dropped from A&M and that was the end of The Payolas. However, the two main members would have a little success later in the decade as the duo Rock & Hyde.
ReduxReview: This is some pretty slick pop. I think Foster did to this band what he did with The Tubes, which was push them into corporate rock territory. The Tubes ended up with a couple of chart hits out of the deal, but The Payolas weren't so lucky. I kind of like this tune and I'm surprised it didn't catch on more and cross over to AC. It's not a fantastic song, but it is a lovely, well-done tune. However, it is in sharp contrast to what the band had been producing before getting Foster-ized, so I can understand why their fan base was turned off by it.
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: The band was initially know as The Payolas or also as Payola$. They got the name from the illegal activity of payola, which is where someone (usually a record company) would quietly pay money to a DJ, station, show, or other entity to play specific songs in their lineup. One of the most famous cases of payola happened in the early 60s when it was discovered that popular DJ/TV personality Alan Freed had accepted money from record companies to play certain records. The scandal ended his career. Payola issues have happened since then and it's a sore subject with DJs and radio stations. Because of that, the band The Payolas though that perhaps their name, which referred to the practice, caused US radio stations to not play their records. Therefore, when trying to break into the States with their new David Foster-produced disc, they decided to alter their name to Paul Hyde and the Payolas. This gave stations a chance to just say "Paul Hyde" if they want to and ignore any reference to payola. Whether it helped or not isn't really clear, but they did finally get a song on the US chart.
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Sunday, February 18, 2018
"Sussudio" by Phil Collins
#1 Alert!
Gold Record Alert!
Song#: 2320 Date: 05/11/1985
Debut: 39
Peak: 1 (1 week)
Weeks: 17
Genre: Pop, Blue-Eyed Soul, Synthpop
Pop Bits: Collins' third solo LP, No Jacket Required, would easily reach the top of the chart thanks to the #1 single "One More Night." The album stayed at #1 for four weeks before yielding the spot to the USA for Africa charity LP. Four weeks later, it would return to #1 thanks in part to this second single that became Collins' third gold-selling chart topper. It was a multi-format hit that got to #4 Dance, #10 Rock, and #30 AC. It was also Collins' biggest hit at R&B getting to #8. In his UK homeland, this was actually the first single released from the album. It didn't do quite as well there only getting to #12.
ReduxReview: Honestly, this is an insipid little ditty. But damn if it ain't catchy! The thing is that I never want to hear this song. Yet if I end up hearing it, I just can't help getting into the Prince-ish groove and horn fills. It's just stupid fun. Collins has obviously done far better work than this, but I don't think he set out to create a musical masterpiece here. Sometimes fun is just fun. It's okay if you don't like it, but you also don't have to be a dick and wish yourself bodily harm if you hear it (see below). I'd call that su-sustuppid.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: So what's with the song title? Apparently, Collins wanted to write a dance tune and while playing around with a drum machine and some chords he began improvising and blurted out "sus-sussudio." He used it for the time being expecting to change it to an actual word later on. Yet when he tried to find a good replacement, he just couldn't. He then decided to keep the word as-is. The problem is that it had no meaning and the song kind of required that it referred to something. Since the lyrics were mainly about a schoolboy's crush on a girl, he decided that Sussudio stood for the name of the girl. The catchy song and it's odd title/name certainly divided listeners, and especially critics. While some though it was a terrific, funk-lite jam, others despised it. Words like "vapid" and "inane" were tossed around to describe the song. Even years later, one critic wrote that the song "makes me just want to go deaf - it's awful." Although reviled by a lot of people, there were plenty more that loved the tune and turned it into a #1 gold record.
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Saturday, February 17, 2018
"Tough All Over" by John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band
Song#: 2319
Date: 05/11/1985
Debut: 53
Peak: 22
Weeks: 15
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: Cafferty and his band got pushed into the spotlight thanks to their soundtrack contributions to the film Eddie and the Cruisers. With that successful experience behind them, the band then had the opportunity to record their first official album under their own name. They came up with Tough All Over and this title-track became the first single. It was greeted with open arms at Rock with the song becoming their second #1 on that chart. It also did fairly well at Pop just missing out on the Top 20. While the album didn't sell nearly as well as the Eddie soundtrack, it did respectable business and demonstrated that they had more to offer than just being the band was Eddie and the Cruisers.
ReduxReview: This a good pop/rock tune and it helped establish a career for Cafferty away from Eddie. However, where Cafferty's tunes on Eddie sounded like Springsteen-lite, this one leans towards Jackson Browne territory. Cafferty obviously wears his influences on his sleeve, but he manages to maintain his own identity without sounding like a clone or weak knock-off. Cafferty didn't have spectacular tunes that were gonna wow the critics, but he did have a bit more to offer than the typical "they're a good bar band" critique that they got saddled with on occasion.
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: The Eddie and the Cruisers soundtrack was on the Scotti Bros. label and it was a no-brainer for them to sign Cafferty to a record deal following the album's success. The band would do two albums for the label along with delivering a soundtrack to the Eddie sequel. After diminishing returns, the label ended up dropping the band. However, they were not done with the band's material. In conjunction with a new reissue of the Eddie soundtrack released in 1993, Scotti Bros. also reissued the two albums the band had done for the label. But instead of issuing them with the original front cover artwork, the label decided to capitalize on the Eddie tie-in and created new covers that stated "From the Voice of Eddie and the Cruisers." The Eddie and the Cruisers part was in a much larger and bolder font than that of the band's actual name. In addition, the covers featured images of Eddie from the film, not the band. It was corporate marketing at its best!
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Date: 05/11/1985
Debut: 53
Peak: 22
Weeks: 15
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: Cafferty and his band got pushed into the spotlight thanks to their soundtrack contributions to the film Eddie and the Cruisers. With that successful experience behind them, the band then had the opportunity to record their first official album under their own name. They came up with Tough All Over and this title-track became the first single. It was greeted with open arms at Rock with the song becoming their second #1 on that chart. It also did fairly well at Pop just missing out on the Top 20. While the album didn't sell nearly as well as the Eddie soundtrack, it did respectable business and demonstrated that they had more to offer than just being the band was Eddie and the Cruisers.
ReduxReview: This a good pop/rock tune and it helped establish a career for Cafferty away from Eddie. However, where Cafferty's tunes on Eddie sounded like Springsteen-lite, this one leans towards Jackson Browne territory. Cafferty obviously wears his influences on his sleeve, but he manages to maintain his own identity without sounding like a clone or weak knock-off. Cafferty didn't have spectacular tunes that were gonna wow the critics, but he did have a bit more to offer than the typical "they're a good bar band" critique that they got saddled with on occasion.
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: The Eddie and the Cruisers soundtrack was on the Scotti Bros. label and it was a no-brainer for them to sign Cafferty to a record deal following the album's success. The band would do two albums for the label along with delivering a soundtrack to the Eddie sequel. After diminishing returns, the label ended up dropping the band. However, they were not done with the band's material. In conjunction with a new reissue of the Eddie soundtrack released in 1993, Scotti Bros. also reissued the two albums the band had done for the label. But instead of issuing them with the original front cover artwork, the label decided to capitalize on the Eddie tie-in and created new covers that stated "From the Voice of Eddie and the Cruisers." The Eddie and the Cruisers part was in a much larger and bolder font than that of the band's actual name. In addition, the covers featured images of Eddie from the film, not the band. It was corporate marketing at its best!
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Friday, February 16, 2018
"Crazy in the Night (Barking at Airplanes)" by Kim Carnes
Song#: 2318
Date: 05/11/1985
Debut: 65
Peak: 15
Weeks: 16
Genre: Pop, Synthpop
Pop Bits: Carnes' eighth album, Cafe Racers, didn't perform well. Although it featured the #9 AC track "I Pretend," the only song to crack the Pop Top 40 was the #40 "Invisible Hands." The lack of single support made the album her worst performing since 1979. She really needed a hit and one came courtesy of this track from her next album Barking at Airplanes. The tune became her first to reach the Pop Top 20 since her 1981 #1 signature hit "Bette Davis Eyes." It also got to #24 at Dance. The single helped sell some albums and it got to #48, which was her second best showing following her #1 LP Mistaken Identity. Unfortunately, this song ended up being her last to reach the Pop Top 40.
ReduxReview: Being a big Carnes fan, I was so excited when I found out she had a new album coming out. I believe I ran out and got this single as soon as it was released heard it for the first time via the 45. I really wasn't sure what to make of it. The song was catchy, but lyrics and melody sounded like something from a child's nursery song. I liked it, but was confused as to why this was a single. I thought for sure it would tank. I didn't think this sing-song ditty would catch on. Call me surprised when it crept up and nearly made a bid for the Top 10! I think it may have been more popular in certain markets because I never heard it on the radio where I resided at the time. Once the album came out I bought it and thought it was excellent. It was the first one Carnes produced (with Bill Cuomo) and it's a consistently enjoyable disc with some solid writing. It should have done a lot better especially since this kooky song caught on.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Not long before writing this post, singer David Cassidy died. He was a huge star back in the days of his TV show The Partridge Family and in addition to recording albums under The Partridge Family name, Cassidy also set out on a solo career, which included tours. Back in 1971 when Cassidy first started to tour, a producer friend of Carnes' got hired as Cassidy's musical director. He contacted Carnes and her and her husband Dave Ellingson to do background vocals for Cassidy's show in addition to performing as an opening act. They accepted the job and started to work with Cassidy. A friendship developed between the three and there were many times Cassidy would stay at Carnes/Ellingson's house. While there, the trio would occasionally write songs together. Four of those songs ended up on two of Cassidy's solo albums. By 1974, Carnes was pregnant and signed to A&M Records. With her personal life and solo career taking over her time, Carnes along with Ellingson had to quit touring with Cassidy.
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Date: 05/11/1985
Debut: 65
Peak: 15
Weeks: 16
Genre: Pop, Synthpop
Pop Bits: Carnes' eighth album, Cafe Racers, didn't perform well. Although it featured the #9 AC track "I Pretend," the only song to crack the Pop Top 40 was the #40 "Invisible Hands." The lack of single support made the album her worst performing since 1979. She really needed a hit and one came courtesy of this track from her next album Barking at Airplanes. The tune became her first to reach the Pop Top 20 since her 1981 #1 signature hit "Bette Davis Eyes." It also got to #24 at Dance. The single helped sell some albums and it got to #48, which was her second best showing following her #1 LP Mistaken Identity. Unfortunately, this song ended up being her last to reach the Pop Top 40.
ReduxReview: Being a big Carnes fan, I was so excited when I found out she had a new album coming out. I believe I ran out and got this single as soon as it was released heard it for the first time via the 45. I really wasn't sure what to make of it. The song was catchy, but lyrics and melody sounded like something from a child's nursery song. I liked it, but was confused as to why this was a single. I thought for sure it would tank. I didn't think this sing-song ditty would catch on. Call me surprised when it crept up and nearly made a bid for the Top 10! I think it may have been more popular in certain markets because I never heard it on the radio where I resided at the time. Once the album came out I bought it and thought it was excellent. It was the first one Carnes produced (with Bill Cuomo) and it's a consistently enjoyable disc with some solid writing. It should have done a lot better especially since this kooky song caught on.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Not long before writing this post, singer David Cassidy died. He was a huge star back in the days of his TV show The Partridge Family and in addition to recording albums under The Partridge Family name, Cassidy also set out on a solo career, which included tours. Back in 1971 when Cassidy first started to tour, a producer friend of Carnes' got hired as Cassidy's musical director. He contacted Carnes and her and her husband Dave Ellingson to do background vocals for Cassidy's show in addition to performing as an opening act. They accepted the job and started to work with Cassidy. A friendship developed between the three and there were many times Cassidy would stay at Carnes/Ellingson's house. While there, the trio would occasionally write songs together. Four of those songs ended up on two of Cassidy's solo albums. By 1974, Carnes was pregnant and signed to A&M Records. With her personal life and solo career taking over her time, Carnes along with Ellingson had to quit touring with Cassidy.
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