"Say You Will" by Foreigner

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  3355
Date:  12/05/1987
Debut:  59
Peak:  6
Weeks:  19
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  After the band's #4 triple-platinum LP Agent Provocateur, lead singer Lou Gramm decided it was time to do a solo album and pushed out Ready or Not early in '87, which resulted in the #5 hit "Midnight Blue." After the success of the album, it seemed Gramm's tenure in the band was in question as commitments to his solo work interrupted progress of Foreigner's next effort. Luckily, everything got worked out and a full compliment of Foreigner finally finished off their sixth album Inside Information. This first single was released and it shot to the top of the Rock chart where it stayed for four weeks. It also ended up doing well on the Pop chart becoming their eighth Top 10 hit. The tune was also able to scratch the AC chart at #41. It seemed the hit would easily push the album into the Top 10, but in late February of '88, it stalled at #15. It would be Foreigner's first album to miss the Top 10.

ReduxReview:  While this kind of sounded like a Foreigner track thanks mainly to Lou Gramm's voice, it certain was one of their most pop-oriented singles. It seemed like they were following Journey's journey towards attracting a more adult soft rock audience. Foreigner was never really cutting edge rock, but they did well in balancing their guitar-driven rock with radio friendly hooks. It just seemed that by this time they had really toned down the guitars in favor of 80s keyboards, perhaps in an attempt to secure a pop hit. It certainly wasn't the Foreigner of "Hot Blooded" or even "Urgent." Still, this wasn't a bad song at all. It was a credible pop tune that played well on the radio and got the band back into the Top 10.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  Prior to forming Foreigner, guitarist and co-songwriter Mick Jones had been a member of a couple of other bands that had some limited success. As an 18-year-old, Jones spent about a year playing in the British rock 'n' roll instrumental band Nero and the Gladiators, who lived up to their name by sporting togas and gladiator costumes. The band had scored a couple of minor UK single entries in 1961, which brought them attention. They even opened some shows for The Beatles in their early Cavern Club days. While the band wouldn't chart again, they continued to tour and in 1963 Jones joined them when the band's guitarist left. He'd stay on for a while, but would eventually leave. The band called it quits in 1964. Jones would then mainly be a session musician until he began working with Gary Wright, leader of the British rock band Spooky Tooth. The pair became the duo Wonderwall in 1971, but then in 1972, Wright decided to reform Spooky Tooth and took Jones with him. The band recorded three albums before disbanding again in 1974. Two years later, Jones started to form Foreigner.

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"In God's Country" by U2

Song#:  3354
Date:  12/05/1987
Debut:  84
Peak:  44
Weeks:  12
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  By this point in time, U2's The Joshua Tree had already spent 9 weeks at #1 and had sold over 4 million copies. Two of its singles hit #1 while a third, "Where the Streets Have No Name," just missed the Top 10 peaking at #13. For most markets, the three singles would be it. However, for the US and Canada, the band's label decided to take a chance on a fourth single and released this track. The song would do well at Rock reaching #6, but it couldn't fully catch on at Pop and missed making the Top 40. The results didn't really matter as the album had already sold millions and in March of '88 it would win the Grammy for Album of the Year, which boosted sales. By the fall of '88 it would go 5x platinum. The LP would continue to sell over the years and in 1995 it would reach the diamond mark (10+million). Worldwide sales stand at 25 million making one of the best-selling albums of all-time.

ReduxReview:  This jangly upbeat track was probably the best choice for a fourth single, but it didn't have the same mainstream/pop appeal as the band's previous singles. With the band's popularity sky high at the time, it wasn't a bad choice to push this out as a single. Odds were 50/50 that it would do anything. The fact it nearly made the Top 40 wasn't too bad. Apparently, a video for the song was made but it wasn't serviced to MTV. An assist there might have helped get the single a bit further up the chart, but it still wasn't destined to be a hit. The song still works best as an album track.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  In addition to the four singles released from the album, two other tracks from The Joshua Tree album and sessions would reach the Rock chart. The caustic LP track "Bullet the Blue Sky" received enough airplay to reach #14 at Rock. Another song from the recording sessions, "Spanish Eyes," also made the Rock chart at #11. "Spanish Eyes" was initially developed during The Joshua Tree sessions and a cassette tape of the idea/song was created. Somehow the tape got set aside and lost, so the song was not revisited. As the recording of the album was coming to a close, the cassette was found. The band thought the tune had potential, but by that point it was too late to get it done in time to be a possible candidate for the LP and had to set it aside. Later, they picked back up on the song and got it recorded with a couple of other leftover tracks. These would be used for b-sides to upcoming singles. "Spanish Eyes" was used for the b-side to "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Not long after that song peaked at #1, "Spanish Eyes" began to pickup some airplay on rock radio stations. By the first week in August of '87, it would nearly make the Rock Top 10 stopping at #11.

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"Lover's Lane" by Georgio

Song#:  3353
Date:  12/05/1987
Debut:  86
Peak:  59
Weeks:  12
Genre:  Dance, R&B



Pop Bits:  Georgio's debut LP for Motown, Sex Appeal, sold a few copies and ended up reaching #27 R&B and #117 Pop thanks to a pair of singles that included the #1 Dance/#5 R&B hit "Tina Cherry" (#96 Pop). Hoping to keep up some momentum, this third single from the LP was released. Like his previous two singles, it would make the Dance Top 10 reaching #2. It did less well at R&B getting to #26 while missing the top half of the Pop chart. A fourth single, "Bedrock," would make it to #5 Dance and #37 R&B. It would fail to make the Pop chart.

ReduxReview:  Just like his other singles, this one leaned heavy on the Prince/Minneapolis sound. It wasn't quite as Prince-ly as "Tina Cherry," where it sounded like he was trying to beat Prince at his own game, but elements of the Purple One were still evident. It also wasn't quite as bad as "Tina Cherry." The groove was solid while the production was crisp and clean. It got a bit repetitive and didn't have enough hooks to lure in pop radio, but overall it was a fairly good dance track.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  This song would end up being Georgio's last to reach the Pop chart. His second Motown album was a self-titled effort that came out in 1988. It seems for the most part, Georgio was still chasing after Prince. The LP's first single, "I Don't Want 2 Be Alone," which used the "2" instead of "to" in the same way Prince had started to do years earlier, was a ballad that didn't create any distance between Georgio and the Prince sound. The single got to #37 R&B. Another track on the album, "Romantic Love," only got to #39 at Dance. With those results, the album topped out at #55 R&B while not making the Pop chart. Georgio then left Motown and signed on with RCA for his third album, 1991's Rollin'. The title track got to #35 R&B while a second single only got to #70. The album failed to make any chart and with that, Georgio's music career came to a close. He would later attempt a career in film by writing, directing, and starring in the 2003 music biz crime drama Tapped Out, which featured an appearance by rapper Coolio. After that, Georgio seemingly disappeared from the entertainment business.

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"Reason to Live" by Kiss

Song#:  3352
Date:  12/05/1987
Debut:  98
Peak:  64
Weeks:  12
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  The band's fourteenth studio album, Crazy Nights, would end up being their best performing of the decade reaching #18 and going platinum. The effort focused on a more mainstream sound with Ron Nevison, who produced Heart's 1985 comeback LP, helping the band along. While the title track first single wasn't a significant hit (#65 Pop/#37 Rock), the associated video proved popular on MTV and helped to sell albums and tour tickets. In addition to having Nevison on board as producer, the band also reached out to hit-making songwriters to assist in shaping their songs. Diane Warren would co-write a track while Desmond Child, who had previously worked with Kiss, helped out on three songs including this second single. It would perform nearly the same as the previous single topping out at #64 Pop and #34 Rock, but once again the video proved to be a hit on MTV. A third single, the Diane Warren co-write "Turn on the Night," wouldn't chart. While critics were mostly negative towards the album, Kiss fans showed up and made it a platinum seller.

ReduxReview:  Nevison and the band were shooting for a "These Dreams" kind of hit with this power ballad and they got fairly close. I'm not sure if it was Top 10 worthy, but it should have at least cracked the Top 40. My guess is that pop radio stations were not that willing to put a Kiss song in rotation even though this track leaned heavily towards Heart/Bon Jovi territory. The band's reputation for hard rock songs and stage theatrics were never really in-step with the pop world, so it was going to be a hard sell to get them accepted on mainstream radio stations. Whatever promotion the label did, it just wasn't enough and the song stalled the same way the title track did. Neither could get over that hump. While I wasn't a fan of the title track, I thought this was a good attempt by the band to keep up with current trends. It just didn't work out as well as it should have.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  The last track on the Crazy Nights album was "Thief in the Night." It was written by Kiss member Gene Simmons along with Mitch Weissman. The song was originally recorded by punk rock/heavy metal singer Wendy O. Williams for her 1984 solo debut album WOW. Williams had led the controversial punk band The Plasmatics since 1978. In 1982, the band opened up for Kiss on some of their tour stops. Afterward, The Plasmatics went on a hiatus due to label issues, so Williams chose to do a solo album and secured Simmons for producer. Simmons would co-write five tracks for the LP and got members of Kiss to play on it as well. The album wasn't a big seller, but it got enough attention to earn Williams a Grammy nod for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. "Thief in the Night" was first recorded for the LP. Kiss then decided to cover the track for their Crazy Nights album. The lead single from the WOW album was "It's My Life." The tune was co-written by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley and first demoed by Kiss as a potential track for their 1982 album Creatures of the Night. The song didn't get a formal recording and was set aside. Simmons then revived it for Williams' album. Kiss would re-record the song for their 1998 album Psycho Circus, but once again it got shelved. The unreleased song would finally see the light of day on the 2001 Kiss compilation collection The Box Set.

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"Seasons Change" by Exposé

#1 Alert!

Song#:  3351
Date:  11/28/1987
Debut:  57
Peak:  1 (1 week)
Weeks:  20
Genre:  Pop, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  The female vocal trio's debut album Exposure had already gone platinum thanks to three Pop Top 10 hits. It was decided that a fourth single was in order and this ballad was selected. While it wasn't a major risk, the trio had established themselves with upbeat dance tunes so this slower paced track was definitely a change of pace and it went over extremely well. The song became their first to hit #1 on both the Pop and AC charts, while also getting to #27 on the R&B chart. It would end up being the biggest chart hit of the trio's career.

ReduxReview:  The timing of this single was a bit unusual, yet perfect. After a pair of uptempo hits, this song seemed like a natural follow-up, but another dance track was released instead. The (pardon the pun) overexposure generated by the first three hits might have hampered the chart prospects for this ballad. Luckily, the tune was strong enough to crash both the Pop and AC charts in a big way. It was the perfect way to end the run of singles from the album. Producer/songwriter Lewis A. Martineé did an excellent job with composition and production on the track and I'd rank it as his best effort.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  With this song making the Pop Top 10, it set a chart record. Exposé became the first group to earn four Top 10 hits from a debut album. However, they weren't the first overall artist to achieve that feat. The first artist to get four Top 10 hits from a debut album was Cyndi Lauper who did it with her 1983 multi-platinum debut She's So Unusual.

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