Song#: 0042
Date: 02/09/1980
Debut: 85
Peak: 46
Weeks: 8
Genre: Pop
Pop Bits: Gates is better known as the lead singer of Bread, who had six Top 10 hits including the #1 "Make It With You." Most all their hits were sung and written by Gates which caused friction in the group. They split in 1973 but briefly reunited three years later and captured another hit "Lost Without Your Love," again written and sung by Gates. His biggest solo hit was the title song to the film "The Goodbye Girl," which hit #15 in 1977. Other than that, he just had minor chart entries and he never really caught on as a solo act. In the end, the Bread hits were really his...well...bread and butter.
ReduxReview: Although a solo act, the voice and music still sound very Bread-like. Just not as ear catching as the group's hits. I think it is just missing a real hook of some kind. There is not much memorable here. It's not a bad song, just sounds like a secondary Bread track.
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: Long before Bread, Gates worked as a songwriter and session musician for some major artists like Elvis Presley and Brian Wilson. Teenage trio The Murmaids took his song "Popsicles and Icicles" to #3 in 1964. The Monkees' "Saturday's Child" was a Gates composition as well.
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Saturday, September 22, 2012
"My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" by Willie Nelson
Song#: 0041
Date: 02/09/1980
Debut: 87
Peak: 44
Weeks: 10
Genre: Country
Pop Bits: Some folks forget that Nelson was a country star back in the 60s. At that time and into the very early 70s he was a clean-cut, suit-wearing performer with short hair. He had several country chart songs but only one reached the Top 10. And he couldn't make a dent in the pop chart. Label troubles and declining popularity sent him into a retirement phase and he moved to Austin. Invigorated by the scene there, he returned to recording and changed his sound. The resulting album, "Shotgun Willie," wasn't a major success but it started his "outlaw" persona that would lead to his classic "Red Headed Stranger" album and his first #1 country hit (and first pop hit - #21) "Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain." "My Heroes..." was his first hit of the 80s and it was his fifth #1 country song.
ReduxReview: For me, this is a turgid dud. I know it was a big country hit, but it is not a country style that I like. It could be the arrangement with its syrupy strings, keyboard, and harp(!). Or maybe cowboys were just never my heroes.
ReduxRating: 3/10
Trivia: Double Shot! 1) This was the theme song to the Robert Redford/Jane Fonda movie "Electric Horseman." 2) Just in case someone out there doesn't know this, Nelson wrote Patsy Cline's signature song "Crazy."
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Date: 02/09/1980
Debut: 87
Peak: 44
Weeks: 10
Genre: Country
Pop Bits: Some folks forget that Nelson was a country star back in the 60s. At that time and into the very early 70s he was a clean-cut, suit-wearing performer with short hair. He had several country chart songs but only one reached the Top 10. And he couldn't make a dent in the pop chart. Label troubles and declining popularity sent him into a retirement phase and he moved to Austin. Invigorated by the scene there, he returned to recording and changed his sound. The resulting album, "Shotgun Willie," wasn't a major success but it started his "outlaw" persona that would lead to his classic "Red Headed Stranger" album and his first #1 country hit (and first pop hit - #21) "Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain." "My Heroes..." was his first hit of the 80s and it was his fifth #1 country song.
ReduxReview: For me, this is a turgid dud. I know it was a big country hit, but it is not a country style that I like. It could be the arrangement with its syrupy strings, keyboard, and harp(!). Or maybe cowboys were just never my heroes.
ReduxRating: 3/10
Trivia: Double Shot! 1) This was the theme song to the Robert Redford/Jane Fonda movie "Electric Horseman." 2) Just in case someone out there doesn't know this, Nelson wrote Patsy Cline's signature song "Crazy."
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"I Shoulda Loved Ya" by Narada Michael Walden
Song#: 0040
Date: 02/09/1980
Debut: 89
Peak: 66
Weeks: 6
Genre: R&B
Pop Bits: His name may not be familiar to a lot of folks, but most everyone has heard his work. Walden is one of those artists whose work behind the scenes far outweighs their own recording career. He only had two minor pop entries as a solo artist (he fared a bit better on the R&B chart), but as a producer he churned out a big batch of hits including Aretha's "Freeway of Love," several Whitney Houston songs like "How Will I Know," and chart toppers by Mariah Carey and even Starship. The Grammys handed him a Producer of the Year award in 1987 and he earned one again for Album of the Year with the soundtrack to "The Bodyguard." Pretty impressive.
ReduxReview: Sorry - no single edit to post, which is too bad. At 6+ minutes, this is a tad long in the tooth. And for a bland R&B jam, it just seems to go on forever. Definitely not a bad song, but just not special. Luckily, whatever spark he couldn't ignite in his solo work took off like a wildfire when he got behind the boards.
ReduxRating: 4/10
Trivia: Walden started in the business as a drummer, mainly in the fusion arena with the likes of Mahavishnu Orchestra. Later on in 1976, he found himself collaborating on Jeff Beck's second solo album "Wired." Walden played the drums and wrote four of the songs.
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Date: 02/09/1980
Debut: 89
Peak: 66
Weeks: 6
Genre: R&B
Pop Bits: His name may not be familiar to a lot of folks, but most everyone has heard his work. Walden is one of those artists whose work behind the scenes far outweighs their own recording career. He only had two minor pop entries as a solo artist (he fared a bit better on the R&B chart), but as a producer he churned out a big batch of hits including Aretha's "Freeway of Love," several Whitney Houston songs like "How Will I Know," and chart toppers by Mariah Carey and even Starship. The Grammys handed him a Producer of the Year award in 1987 and he earned one again for Album of the Year with the soundtrack to "The Bodyguard." Pretty impressive.
ReduxReview: Sorry - no single edit to post, which is too bad. At 6+ minutes, this is a tad long in the tooth. And for a bland R&B jam, it just seems to go on forever. Definitely not a bad song, but just not special. Luckily, whatever spark he couldn't ignite in his solo work took off like a wildfire when he got behind the boards.
ReduxRating: 4/10
Trivia: Walden started in the business as a drummer, mainly in the fusion arena with the likes of Mahavishnu Orchestra. Later on in 1976, he found himself collaborating on Jeff Beck's second solo album "Wired." Walden played the drums and wrote four of the songs.
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Friday, September 21, 2012
"I Like to Rock" by April Wine
Song#: 0039
Date: 02/09/1980
Debut: 90
Peak: 86
Weeks: 3
Genre: Rock, Hard Rock, Arena Rock
Pop Bits: April Wine were stars in their home country of Canada years before their US breakthrough. Although a popular touring band here, they only had minor chart success; while in Canada they amassed 32 chart songs with 6 of them Top 10 hits.
ReduxReview: Redneck bar music. Bleh. I think this would be Canada's equivalent to our Southern rock. What would that be? Ontario rock? Hmm. I'll give them a couple points for including Beatles and Stones licks at the end, which I guess are there to prove they like to rock.
ReduxRating: 3/10
Trivia: Like many bands with a long career, April Wine seemed to be a revolving door of musicians. From their inception until present, they have had only one constant original member - lead vocalist/guitarist Myles Goodwyn.
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Date: 02/09/1980
Debut: 90
Peak: 86
Weeks: 3
Genre: Rock, Hard Rock, Arena Rock
Pop Bits: April Wine were stars in their home country of Canada years before their US breakthrough. Although a popular touring band here, they only had minor chart success; while in Canada they amassed 32 chart songs with 6 of them Top 10 hits.
ReduxReview: Redneck bar music. Bleh. I think this would be Canada's equivalent to our Southern rock. What would that be? Ontario rock? Hmm. I'll give them a couple points for including Beatles and Stones licks at the end, which I guess are there to prove they like to rock.
ReduxRating: 3/10
Trivia: Like many bands with a long career, April Wine seemed to be a revolving door of musicians. From their inception until present, they have had only one constant original member - lead vocalist/guitarist Myles Goodwyn.
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"How Do I Make You" by Linda Ronstadt
Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 038 Date: 02/02/1980
Debut: 68
Peak: 10
Weeks: 16
Genre: Rock, New Wave
Pop Bits: Anointed "Queen of Rock" in the 70s, Ronstadt started out the 80s with a bang. Her album "Mad Love" took a different direction with a focus on new wave rock. The album featured three Elvis Costello songs and three Cretone's covers. The different sound met with approval from record buyers and it continued her streak of platinum albums, this being the sixth. This initial single became her seventh Top 10 hit. However, this would not be the only change Ronstadt would make in the 80s as it would be a decade full of different directions and odd projects.
ReduxReview: Ronstadt is one of our great pop vocalists. However, moving into this harder-edged rock territory was not a great fit. Pat Benatar owned this area at the time and Ronstadt falls short in comparison. It just sounds forced, as it does on this song. I think Benatar would have ripped it to shreds. It's not awful by any means and I've always liked the song, but I just don't think this type of material served Ronstadt's voice very well. (Side note: Ronstadt was nominated for a Best Rock Vocal Grammy for this song alongside Pat Benatar for "Crimes of Passion." Benatar won.)
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: A solid chunk of Ronstadt's singles and album tracks were remakes. This one is no exception, but the origins are more obscure. Penned by Billy Steinberg, the song appeared on his band Billy Thermal's debut EP. Ronstadt heard the EP and recorded this version. It was Steinberg's first big hit as a writer. He would have many more when he collaborated with Tom Kelly. Together they wrote a plethora of hits that included "Like a Virgin," "True Colors," "So Emotional," "Eternal Flame, "I Drove All Night," and the infamous "I Touch Myself."
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