"Straight Up" by Paula Abdul

#1 Alert!

Platinum Record Alert!

Song#:  3737

Date:  12/03/1988

Debut:  79

Peak:  1 (3 weeks)

Weeks:  25

Genre:  Dance-Pop, New Jack Swing

Pop Bits:  By this point in time, Abdul's debut album Forever Your Girl wasn't flying off record store shelves. Its first two singles each broke through to the R&B Top 10, but neither single could reach the Pop Top 40. The results left the LP peaking at a very minor #155 Pop. It seemed that Abdul's bid for mainstream success was not gonna happen, but then a DJ in San Francisco started to spin the album track "Straight Up." It gained enough momentum that Abdul's label, who didn't think the song was a hit, decided to give it a go as the LP's third single. With a more national push, the song began to take off. It would become her third and biggest hit at R&B reaching #2 while also making it to #3 at Dance. More importantly, the tune wound its way to the top of the Pop chart and remained there for three weeks. The hit would also do well enough to become a platinum seller. The album would then rebound and crack the Top 20 for the first time. By March of '89, it would go platinum. The third time was certainly the charm for Abdul who went from a former cheerleader and choreographer to a platinum-selling singer in a matter of a few short months.

ReduxReview:  How the label didn't hear this as a hit is just crazy. The honking synth line is one hook, then the synth whistle line is another, then the bridge with the "please, please" was another and that was all before the main chorus even started! Add to that the timely new jack feel and there was no question that the song was a hit. Abdul lobbied for the tune (see below) because she heard something and she was exactly right. While it should have been her first single, I don't think it was necessarily bad that it came later. Her first two singles got her established at R&B and Dance, so that put her name out there. Then this third hit took her to a whole new level and it was as if she got a second, bigger start. I've always waffled when it came to Abdul. Sometimes I'm a bit of a fan, then sometimes not. However, I applaud her for knowing what she wanted and going for it. She basically became a huge star mainly on instinct. It certainly wasn't her vocal ability (although she had a capable, interesting voice), but she had a vision as to what made a pop star and it worked out. It all more or less started with this massive hit.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) Since Abdul's label, Virgin Records, hadn't even considered "Straight Up" for single release, a video for the song wasn't available once it began to climb the charts. They had to scramble to arrange one and paired Abdul with music video director (and later Oscar nominated director) David Fincher. Shot in black and white and choreographed by Abdul, the video started off with a tap dance from Abdul before it broke into the song. The video would also feature an appearance by her friend, comedian Arsenio Hall whose syndicated TV talk show was set to debut in January of '89; just as this song was shaping up to be a hit. Also seen in the video was model/actor and future two-time Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou. It was his first video gig and he would go on to do more with Fincher before beginning to land film and TV roles. The video for "Straight Up" would later be nominated for six MTV Music Video Awards. It would end up winning four including Best Female Video and Best Choreography.  2) This song was written and produced By Elliot Wolff. With a couple writing credits to his name, Wolff was tasked to write a song for a new artist signed to Virgin Records. He came up with "Straight Up." Unfortunately (or fortunately), that artist's deal never got off the ground and that left the song available. The tune found its way to Abdul, who loved it and wanted to record it. The label was less keen on the tune and didn't hear a hit. Abdul persisted though and apparently after agreeing to record a couple songs the label wanted her to do, she was given the green light. The song was actually recorded at Wolff's apartment and Abdul's vocals were recorded in his shower. Apparently, the noise didn't sit well with at least one neighbor who banged on the wall. Abdul said that in the original masters, you could hear someone banging and yelling "shut up!"

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"Kiss" by Art of Noise with Tom Jones

Song#:  3736

Date:  12/03/1988

Debut:  80

Peak:  31

Weeks:  11

Genre:  Dance-Pop, Synthpop, Electronic

Pop Bits:  Although this UK outfit's 1987 album In No Sense? Nonsense! didn't perform as expected (#134 US), a single from the LP, "Dragnet," would be the used in the Dan Aykroyd/Tom Hanks comedy film of the same name and would win a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. The award was a nice boost, but the group needed something that was going to get them back in the Top 10 in the UK and expand their audience in the US. Inspiration came when they was 60s/70s pop star Tom Jones do a version of Prince's #1 hit "Kiss" on TV. Jones had been including the cover tune in his shows and his performance inspired Art of Noise to get in contact to see if he would record the tune with them. Jones agreed and the track got recorded. Since it was a spur-of-the-moment one-off project, the tune wasn't going to be associated with a new album. So instead, a compilation of previously released songs was assembled along with "Kiss" and pushed out as The Best of the Art of Noise. "Kiss" would be released as a single and it would do well in the UK (#5) and several other countries. In the US, the results were mixed. It would become their highest peaking single at Pop, but it would stall short of the Top 30. It would also get to #18 at Dance and #14 Modern Rock. The album would then peak at #83. While it wasn't a major hit, the video did get some good attention on MTV and it helped folks rediscover Tom Jones. Art of Noise's next album, 1989's Below the Waist, fizzled upon release and the group split up in 1990. They would reunite for the 1999 concept LP The Seduction of Claude Debussy and would perform a few shows over the years.

ReduxReview:  While the pairing of Art of Noise along with Jones was a cool idea and enticing, the end result wasn't necessarily inspired. The song itself was a perfect vehicle for Jones' sexy, smarmy delivery, which is most likely why he had already been singing it in his shows. Adding in the Art of Noise should have made the tune odd and quirky, yet I thought their arrangement was just okay. There are certainly flairs of their synth-based sound and even a reference to their own remake of "Peter Gunn" included, but I was expecting something a bit more out-there and interesting along the lines of "Paranoimia." Overall, I think the final result was fun, it just didn't take the Prince classic to a new level. It kind of came off as a good cover tune that featured an unexpected blast-from-the-past singer.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Prior to recording "Kiss," Tom Jones had been performing in Las Vegas. He had spent a good part of the 80s recording country music. He had some success scoring nine Top 40 Country hits including his lone Top 10 "Touch Me (I'll Be Your Fool Once More)" (#4). Still, he wasn't as massively popular as he had been during his heydays in the late 60s and early 70s. In that time period, Jones earned 16 Pop Top 40 hits including 5 Top 10s (three of those were gold sellers). He would also have ten of his album go gold. His career cooled off in the 70s, but then his turn into country music in the 80s gave him a bit of a second wind. Regardless of chart success, Jones has always remained a top touring performer. "Kiss" with the Art of Nose eased him back into pop. He tried to capitalize on the moment with the album At This Moment, but it only got to #34 UK and failed to chart in the US. However, in 1999 Jones would record the biggest selling album of his career. Reload was a duets album that paired Jones with artist like Simply Red, The Cardigans, Portishead, The Pretenders, and Van Morrison. Three of the album's singles would hit the UK Top 10 including the #3 "Sex Bomb," featuring Mousse T. The hits would drive the LP to #1 in the UK and it would be a hit in many other countries as well. It would sell over 4 million copies worldwide. Oddly, the album wasn't released in the US. However, several tracks would later appear along with some of Jones' biggest hits on Reloaded: Greatest Hits, which was issued out in the US and would get to #127.

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"As Long As You Follow" by Fleetwood Mac

Song#:  3735

Date:  12/03/1988

Debut:  81

Peak:  43

Weeks:  14

Genre:  Soft Rock

Pop Bits:  Following the Mac's 1987 triple-platinum LP Tango in the Night, singer/songwriter Lindsey Buckingham left the band in an acrimonious fashion. Prior to him leaving, the band had already signed contracts for a tour, so the balance of the Mac hired in Billy Burnette to take on Buckingham's spot along with additional guitarist Rick Vito. With the new lineup, the band went out on tour in the fall of '87. They would finish up in the summer of '88. To keep the band's momentum going following the tour and the success of Tango in the Night, it was decided that a hits compilation would be assembled and released. Greatest Hits would cover the Buckingham/Nicks era between 1975's Fleetwood Mac and Tango in the Night. It would include fourteen chart hits along with two new tracks recorded by the new lineup. One of the new tunes, the Christine McVie/Eddy Quintela-penned "As Long As You Follow" would be issued out as a single. It would do very well at AC reaching #1 while also getting to #15 Rock. Over at Pop, the song fizzled before it could reach the Top 40. Despite the lackluster result of the single on the Pop chart, the album was able to reach #3 and quickly go platinum. While the other new track on the LP, the Stevie Nicks-penned "No Questions Asked," would not be pushed out as a single, it garnered enough airplay to reach #37 on the Rock chart. As with many hit compilations by superstar artists, the Mac's Greatest Hits continued to consistently sell over the years and in 2000 it was certified for sales of over 8 million copies making the band's second biggest selling LP after their 1977 classic mega hit Rumours, which has racked up over 20 million in sales.

ReduxReview:  This is a lovely tune from McVie, but I do think it is missing that magic touch that Lindsey Buckingham provided as a producer. As pretty as the song was, it had an older soft rock sound that just wasn't quite fitting in with the other hits of the day. It still had a good Mac sound to it and that seemed to resonate with long-time fans who made it a hit at AC. However, it just wasn't a tune that was going to cut through the rap, freestyle, and glam rock hits of the day on the Pop chart. The Mac would release two pretty awful studio albums before reuniting for the live LP The Dance, which was okay. As of this posting date their last studio LP was 2003's Say You Will, which I enjoyed. But in general, the true prime days of the Buckingham/Nicks era ended with Tango in the Night.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  The new lineup of the band would record one album together. In 1990, they would issue out Behind the Mask. Its first single, "Save Me," another McVie/Quintela composition, would do fine at AC (#6) and Rock (#3), but it could only reach #33 at Pop. Further singles failed to chart at Pop and that left the album peaking at #18 and only going gold. It was the band's worst showing on the chart since the 1974 pre-Buckingham/Nicks LP Heroes Are Hard to Find. The band's complicated history continued to be complicated over the years. Stevie Nicks would leave, but then both Nicks and Buckingham would return for a performance in 1997, which was recorded and the subsequent live album The Dance would result. It would hit #1 and sell over 5 million copies. Then Christine McVie would leave the band. She would return in 2014, but then Buckingham would be "dismissed" from the band in 2018. The last time the band recorded a studio album was in 2003 with Say You Will. That was at a time when Buckingham and Nicks were heading up the band. It would be a #3 gold seller. Both Buckingham and Nicks would release a few solo albums over the years while Buckingham and McVie would release an album together in 2017 that got to #17 (and was very good).

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"Wild Thing" by Tone Lōc

Top 10 Alert!

Double Platinum Alert!

Song#:  3734

Date:  12/03/1988

Debut:  92

Peak:  2

Weeks:  25

Genre:  Rap

Pop Bits:  Anthony Terrell Smith began rapping as a teenager in his home of West Los Angeles. Throughout high school and afterwards while holding jobs in real estate and computer programming, Smith continued to rap. While a career in music wasn't necessarily at the forefront of his mind, Smith kept on rapping and eventually he was heard by Matt Dike and Michael Ross. The pair had started their own indie label called Delicious Vinyl. Liking Smith unique husky rap voice, Dike and Ross signed Smith to the label. In 1987, they would work with Smith (now known as Tone Lōc) on his first single, the double-sided "On Fire/Cheeba Cheeba." It garnered good attention and so Dike and Ross began to work up and album with Tone Lōc. By the fall of '88, they were ready to release the new single "Wild Thing." The song suddenly began to take off and started to climb the Pop, R&B, and Dance charts. Eventually, it would reach #2 Pop, #3 R&B, and #1 Dance. The single would sell so well that it would go double-platinum, which was a rare feat at the time. It was also the first rap single to reach that level. A debut album, Lōc-ed After Dark, would follow in January of '89. It would eventually reach #1 and in doing so would become the second rap album to reach the top 10 of Pop chart (Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill was the first). Within a short period of time, Tone Lōc went from obscurity to stardom.

ReduxReview:  This song was all over the place back in the day. Any bar, party, gathering, etc., you went to, this track got played. It was also ever-present on the radio. I was irritated because I didn't like the tune. I didn't like Tone Lōc's rapping, I thought the wink-wink lyrics were borderline novelty and juvenile, and I was bothered by the use of the Van Halen samples. It didn't help that the song's video basically was a rip off of the Robert Palmer series of vids. I ignored the track as much as one could. Time and knowledge makes you look at things differently and these days the song doesn't bother me as much. The production with the use of the VH samples was pretty ingenious. The snippets made the groove very cool and memorable and it is most likely was helped the song become so popular upon release. I'm still not a fan of Lōc's rap or cheeky lyrics, but both pushed the song into party territory, which helped it become a mainstream hit. I can tolerate the tune and even have fun with it in the right circumstances, but it is still not one that I'd see out.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  This was another song that got caught in the sampling issues from the 80s. "Wild Thing" contains samples from Van Halen's "Jamie's Cryin'." That song appeared on the band's 1978 self-titled debut album. Although it was not officially released as a single, it became a staple on US rock radio stations.  For "Wild Thing," producers Matt Dike decided to lift Eddie Van Halen's guitar lick from "Jamie's Cryin'" along with some drum lines for use in the track. Stories vary on what happened regarding the samples, but it seems that Van Halen's management, without the band's knowledge, okay'd use of the samples for a small flat rate, figuring that the track by an unknown rapper wouldn't get far. But then the song exploded all over the place with both Eddie and Alex Van Halen hearing it. With the tune making millions, the Van Halen's chose to file a civil suit regarding the use of the samples. The case was apparently settled out of court for about $180k. 

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"Holding On" by Steve Winwood

Song#:  3733

Date:  11/26/1988

Debut:  71

Peak:  11

Weeks:  17

Genre:  Rock

Pop Bits:  Winwood's Roll with It album would end up being his only one to reach #1 in the US. It got there thanks to the #1 showing of the lead single title track, which was his second and final song to hit #1. After a second Top 10 with the beer ad-related tune "Don't You Know What the Night Can Do," this third single was issued out. It would go on to become Winwood's fourth AC #1 while making it to #2 at Rock. It seemed like the song was going to make the Pop Top 10, but then it stopped just shy at the dreaded #11 spot. Just as this single was debuting on the Pop chart, the album reached the double-platinum mark. More copies would sell, but not enough to match the triple-platinum sales of his previous LP Back in the High Life.

ReduxReview:  I barely remember this song. As an album track it grooved along just fine and sounded good. As a single it couldn't compete with Winwood's bigger, hookier hits. I'm surprised it nearly made the Top 10, but he was at a popularity peak at the time and with this song doing well at AC and Rock, Pop was bound to follow suit.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  The song "Roll with It" would earn Winwood Grammy nods for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, while the album would get one for Album of the Year. Winwood would lose all three, but the album would end up winning a Grammy in a technical category. It would win for Best Engineered Record, Non-Classical. That award would be handed over to Tom Lord-Alge. It was his second win in that category. He previously won for Winwood's Back in the High Life album. As part of the team that created Santana's 1999 hit LP Supernatural, Lord-Alge would win a third Grammy when the LP won for Album of the Year. His work with Winwood really boosted his career and over the years Lord-Alge has worked with top artists like The Rolling Stones, P!nk, Peter Gabriel, Dave Matthews Band, Marilyn Manson, and Sarah McLachlan. Lord-Alge's brothers Chris and Jeff also had successful careers as music engineers. Chris would earn five Grammys for his work.

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